Sport Thoughts

The Wild Card round of the MLB playoff has come and gone. There were four total Wild Card series sweeps. Each series had its moments of interest and concern. The Texas Rangers pulled off a series upset against the 99 win Tampa Bay Rays. The Rangers outscored the Rays 11-1 in the two games combined. The Rays were outmatched and outplayed on every level of the game. Their offense missed key players including All-Star shortstop Wander Franco, outfielder Luke Raley and former All-Star second baseman Brandon Lowe. The loss of these three hitters played a major role in the Rays complete lack of offense. The Rays have now lost 7 straight playoff games dating back to the 2021 Division Series. The Toronto Blue Jays were very similar to their rival Tampa Bay Rays. The Blue Jays were eliminated by the Minnesota Twins in surprising fashion. The Twins broke an 18 playoff game losing streak and won their first playoff series since 2002. Both Wild Card games were close but ended in the same result fo...

The MLB season is down to the final 55 games for all 30 teams. The last two months of the season have become a sprint for contention. MLB Teams like the Chicago White Sox, New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates and St Louis Cardinals have waived the white flag on their seasons. The wild card race for both the American League and National League has gotten very interesting. The Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros have showed  signs of being in full control of their wild card spots. That can’t be said about various teams in the National League. The Miami Marlins, Arizona Diamondbacks and Cincinnati Reds are seeing their seasons spiral out of control. All three teams were 10 or more games over .500 during the month of July. The winning records have changed heavily since after the All Star break. The Marlins were 14 games over .500 at the All Star break. They are now just 4 games over .500. The Diamondbacks were once 16 games over .500 on July 1st. After tonight’s loss, the...

The MLB trade deadline has come and gone. Every team has made their big and small moves. Some teams made win now trades and others entered rebuilds. The winners of the trade deadline stood out in various ways. The Houston Astros, Texas Rangers and LA Angels were the clear winners in the American League. The Astros improved their starting pitching rotation and bullpen by trading for former Cy Young pitcher Justin Verlander and closer Kendall Graverman. The Texas Rangers improved their pitching staff by acquiring former Cy Young pitcher Max Scherzer, along with starting pitchers Jordan Montgomery and relief pitcher Chris Stratton. The Angels also improved their starting pitching rotation and bullpen by adding former All Star starting pitcher Lucas Giolito and closer Ronaldo Lopez. They then traded for offensive sluggers Randle Grichette and CJ Cron. The Miami Marlins, LA Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks were the deadline winners of the National League. The Marlins elevated their pitching...

The Miami Marlins have played a total of 10 games since the MLB All Star break concluded. The Marlins went into the All Star break with a impressive 53-39 record. The record was their best first half record in franchise history. It truly looked like the Marlins had put themselves in the elite contender conversation along with teams like the Atlanta Braves and LA Dodgers. That thought is now far from the truth. The Miami Marlins lost 8 straight games to begin their post All Star break. They were swept by the Baltimore Orioles, St Louis Cardinals and lost two of three to the Colorado Rockies. They currently have a mediocre 54-48 record are without a playoff spot. Their All Star Jazz Chisholm is injured and the team’s remaining schedule does not get any easier. The Marlins offense has been putrid and the bullpen has been taxed. All Star Luis Arraez can not carry the offense on his own. Cy Young Sandy Alcantara has yet to get back into ace form. The August 1st trade deadline is less than a...

The second half of the MLB season begins tomorrow. The post All Star break is always crunch time for contending baseball teams. Each game has alot of meaning to the teams in the playoff hunt. This season will mark the second year that 12 total teams make the MLB Playoffs. 2020 was the first year of the expanded playoff format. Since 2020 the number of playoff teams have gone from 14 to 10 to 12 teams. Several MLB teams are in the midst of playoff droughts. These long droughts date back to the late 2010s or earlier. The Miami Marlins and Cincinnati Reds made the playoffs in the shortened 2020 season but have not reached the playoffs in a full season since 2003 and 2013. The Texas Rangers and Balitimore Orioles have not reached the playoffs since the 2016 season. The Arizona Diamondback’s playoff drought dates back to the 2017 season. Long story short, these contending MLB treams have playoff droughts at stake. Every year there are teams such as the Houston Astros, New York Yankees, Atla...

The MLB 2023 season is nearing the Allstar break. There are several MLB teams in unfamiliar territory. There are teams like The Tampa Bay Rays and the Atlanta Braves, who have lived up to expectations. The current MLB standings are somewhat shocking. Teams like the Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers, Miami Marlins, Cincinnati Reds and Arizona Diamondbacks are the biggest surprise teams. They were all not projected to be contenders. Teams like the New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies and LA Dodgers were not predicted to struggle. The more games played, the bigger the sample size for each MLB team. The questions that remain is if the disappointing teams can get hot and if the surprise teams can carry their momentum. Numbers don’t lie and neither does the standing. Will these unexpected contenders make moves at the trade deadline? Only time will tell as the Allstar break approaches. The league will have a better idea and understanding onc...