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 2023 MLB season is down to a month and a half left. The fight for playoff contention continues each for the teams still in the race. Baseball is known as a major sport that does not have a salary cap. The New York Mets, New York Yankees and San Diego Padres have the three largest payrolls in the entire MLB. If the MLB Season were to end today, all three high salary teams would miss the playoffs. The New York Mets waived the white flag to begin the month of August with a payroll of $343,809,689. The Mets payroll is the most expensive roster in MLB history. That roster prior to the trade deadline was 5.5 games back from a playoff spot and 5 games under .500. The New York Mets are now 12 games under .500 and 8.5 games back of a wild card. The New York Yankees have a payroll of $279,372,803. That large payroll has them in last place in the AL East division, 2 games over .500 and 5 games back of the last wild card spot. The San Diego Padre’s payroll is slightly lower at $252,800,149. En...