Sport Thoughts

The 2023 MLB playoffs has officially come to a close. The Texas Rangers are the 2023 MLB World Series Champions. The 2023 World Series will go down as a World Series to remember. The Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks were never expected to reach this year’s World Series. Both teams entered the 2023 playoffs as heavy underdogs. They defied the odds by winning their respective playoff series in upsetting fashion. They showed heart and resilience. The Texas Rangers would finish the playoffs as the superior team. The Rangers offense was aggressive and truly battle tested. Their playoff run can be described as historic when reflecting on their road victory streak. They finished their 2023 playoff run, undfeated on the road. Eleven straight road victories, setting a new MLB record. All Star hitters Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and Adolis Garcia showed out on the biggest stage in this series. Seager would win the World Series MVP, becoming the first player to win World Series MVP in the A...

The World Series is finally here. The big dance will see a very different cast of players compared to the previous years. The 2023 World Series will be the first time since the 2016 World Series to exclude the Houston Astros or the LA Dodgers. The Texas Rangers enter their first World Series dating back to 2011. The Rangers have never won a World Series in their franchise history. The Diamondbacks enter their first World Series in 22 years. 2001 was the year of the Diamondbacks only World Series Championship. Both the Texas Rangers and the Arizona Diamondbacks could be looked at as underdogs in this years championship. Both teams have the star power in offense and excellent caliber pitching. The Rangers are currently the betting favorites over the Diamondbacks, which makes sense from a home field advantage standpoint. The Texas Rangers will need All Stars like Corey Seager, Adolis Garcia and Marcus Seminen to step up. The same could be about Diamondback All Stars Corbin Carrol, Katel M...

The American League and National Championship Series have come to an end after a intense seven game battle. It was the first time since the 2020 postseason where both league championship series went the full distance of seven games. The final results were shocking when reflected upon. The Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies were both favorited to go back to the World Series. A rematch between both teams would have marked the first World Series rematch since the 1978 World Series. The thought of a rematch was legitimate once Game 5 was completed. Both the Astros and Phillies were up 3 games to 2 games with one win remaining. The Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks would need to win back to back games on the road. They did just that, eliminating the Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies in seven games. The Diamondbacks won their series witch clutch hitting from Katel Marte, Gabriel Moreno and Lourdes Gurriel. The Diamondbacks starting pitching and bullpen were nearly perfect i...

The MLB 2023 playoffs have progressed into the league championship series. The final four tesms could be considered a shock to many baseball fans. The 2 Seed Houston Astros will take on the 5 Seed Texas Rangers and the 4 Seed Philadalphia Phillies will take on the 6 Seed Arizona Diamondbacks. All four teams finished the regular season with 90 wins or less. The defending champion Houston Astros will be the favorites over the Texas Rangers. Both teams finished with 90 total Wins but the Astros won the AL West Division through a tie breaker. The Astros won many games in 2023 against the Rangers, recently sweeping them in early September. The Rangers will enter the match up with the hottest offense and have gone undefeated thus far into the playoffs. The Rangers have the better offense but the Astros have the better pitching staff. The Rangers will need Marcus Semien, Corey Seager and Adolis Garcia to lead the way to victory. The Astros will fight fire with fire as Jose Altuve, Kyle Tucker...

The MLB second round has come to a close. The Division Series could be summed up with two words: multiple upsets. For the first time in MLB playoff history, two teams who won 100 or more games were swept at the same time. The 90 win Texas Rangers upset the 101 win Baltimore Orioles and the 84 win Diamondbacks upset the 100 win LA Dodgers. Both series felt like total mismatches. The Rangers offense dominated with clutch home runs from Corey Seager, Mitch Garver and Adolis Garcia. The starting pitching from Nathan Eovaldi was at an elite level. The Orioles starting pitching struggled deeply and their offense went cold in games one and three. The Texas Rangers Vs Baltimore Orioles series could be best described as a veteran caliber team out-slugging and out-pitching a young team on the rise. The Arizona Diamondbacks Vs LA Dodgers series could be described as the complete opposite. The Dodgers were the veteran team, who were competely out-played and out-hustled by the up and coming Dbacks....

The MLB 2023 playoffs has entered the second round. The remaining playoff matchups are all interesting and fairly even matched. The Division Series matchups include the Baltimore Orioles vs the Texas Rangers, the Minnesota Twins vs the Houston Astros, the Philadelphia Phillies vs the Atlanta Braves and the Arizona Diamondbacks vs the LA Dodgers. Each series will have it’s key X-factors. The Texas Rangers have several veteran players with playoff experience, including shortstop Corey Seager, second baseman Marcus Semien and starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi. This veter caliber team will go up against a young and upcoming team, led by catcher Adley Rutschman, third baseman Gunner Henderson and outfielder Cedric Mullens. Playoff experience and veteran leadership could play huge roles in this playoff series. The Minnesota Twins will face the Houston Astros for the first time since the 2020 playoffs. Both teams look very different since that timeframe. The Houston Astros will be heavily favor...

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 Texas Rangers are in deep trouble. They are currently in the midst of a 8-game losing. Their starting pitching staff and bullpen have shown heavy signs of inconsistency. The Rangers offense are hot and cold in the batters box. The Seattle Mariners have caught the Texas Rangers in the American League West standings. The Houston Astros have also gained ground right behind the Mariners and Rangers. The Rangers have been in first place for nearly the entire 2023 MLB season. The Seattle Mariners will have an big opportunity to jump the Texas Rangers during this weekend. They will be playing the awful Kansas City Royals. The Toronto Blue Jays are also making a push in the Wild Card race. The Rangers would need to hold off the Blue Jays in the Wild Card hunt, if they were to fall into third place. Texas Leaders Marcus Semien, Corey Seager and Max Scherzer must step up. Can the Texas Rangers bounce back? Should the Rangers be worried about their remaining schedule? Sometimes a losing strea...

The 2023 MLB Season is down to the final 6 weeks. Several divisions have been determined including the American League Central, National League East and National League West divisions. The American League West Division has become a 3-team race. The third place Seattle Mariners are in the midst of a 7 game winning streak and the first place Texas Rangers are spiraling a 5 game losing streak. The defending champion Houston Astros sit just half a game ahead of the Seattle Mariners. All three teams have elite starting pitching but health has played a huge factor in their recent successes. The Astros are currently missing former all-star first baseman Jose Abreu, while the Texas Rangers are missing all-star Third baseman Josh Jung and ace starting pitcher Natan Eovaldi. The Seattle Mariners are healthy and playing their best baseball throughout this month of August. The Mariners also have the easiest remaining schedule in comparson to the Astros and Rangers. The Rangers have several veteran...

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...

It is MLB trade deadline season and the 49-54 New York Mets are officially sellers. They traded their closer David Robertson and now they have traded their ace starting pitcher Max Scherzer. Scherzer was the Mets big free agent signing in December 2021. He completely changed the vibe and culture of the New York Mets entering the 2022 season. He pitched at an All Star level and contributed to the Mets 101 win season. As great as Scherzer was, he suffered flaws closing out his season. He struggled to pitch in his final regular season start against the Atlanta Braves. This bad start would lead to the Mets losing the NL East. The Atlanta Braves would win the NL by 1 game. Max Scherzer would get shelled in his Mets playoff debut against the San Diego Padres. He gave up 7 Earned runs and was booed off the pitchers mound by the fans. His 2023 season would not start positively. He would have inconsistent pitching outings, allow several home runs and face a 10 game foreign substance suspension....

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...