Sunday, October 29, 2017
The World Series-2017
The
World Series-2017
They are
putting the finishing touches on the baseball fields in Houston and
Los Angeles for this year's World Series. It is certainly one of the
great traditions of the North American culture. I would write
“American Culture”, but that all changed in 1993, as you well
remember.
Apparently,
it will be a hot time to begin with in Los Angeles. Over the last
couple of days, it has been more than one hundred degrees in
Tinseltown, and that weather is expected to remain for some time. For
the record, the warmest World Series took place in Arizona in 2001.
The Dodgers
send Clayton Kershaw to the mound to face Dallas Keuchel. Both are
outstanding hurlers, with great stuff, and represent two of the best
pitching staffs in baseball. The Dodgers have an edge in the bullpen.
Their relievers have an earned run average of 0.94, whereas the
Astros bullpen's ERA is 5.03. Naturally, the Dodgers look forward to
seeing that bullpen door wide open on the Houston side.
Both of
these teams have been unbeatable in the post-season at home. The
Astros won more games on the road than did any other team. The
Dodgers won more games than any other team. So this thing may come
down to one final game, for all the marbles. That game would be
played in L. A.
Prior to
1969, the pennant winners from the leagues played off for the title.
There were no divisional races, no wild cards, no championship
playoffs within leagues. All that has changed, and will likely change
again, as the powers-that-be tinker with the product.
The Yankees
have won more Series titles than any other team-27. Next in line are
the Cardinals with 11. The Athletics have won 9, the Red Sox and the
Giants 8 each. Combined, the Brooklyn Dodgers and the L. A. Dodgers
have won six titles. The Astros have yet to climb the podium.
The Astros
are a pesky bunch: they run well, field brilliantly, hit for power
and average. The addition of Justin Verlander to the starting lineup
was a great coup.
The Dodgers
have very few holes in their lineup. Look for consistent hitting from
Yasiel Puig, Andre Ethier, Corey Seager, Justin Turner, Curtis
Granderson, Cody Bellinger, and Chris Taylor.
It is a
great accomplishment just to get to the World Series. It is even more
fun when you get to wear the goggles and spray your teammates with
champagne after the last out. To the victors go the spoils.
James Hurst
# posted by James Hurst @ 3:17 PM 
