The Greatest MLB Tournament Ever Created (NL, Round One, Group 7)

Last group is here.

7. 1909 Pirates (won WS)
v.
122. 1885 Giants (2nd in NL)

-5 Pittsburgh teams are already moving forward; no one from the 19th century has made the cut. Wagner's 35 and Clarke's 36 for the Bucs; this is a Giants club with half a dozen Hall of Famers.

C Push
1B Giants-Connor
2B Pirates-Miller
SS Pirates-Wagner
3B Giants-Esterbrook
LF Pirates-Clarke
CF Giants-O'Rourke
RF Giants-Dorgan
SP1 Giants-Welch
SP2 Pirates-Camnitz
SP3 Pirates-Maddox
Cl Pirates-Adams
Double: Bat WAR Pirates
Double: Pit WAR Pirates

Pirates 9 Giants 5 - dead even after the matchups, and it took a Pirate pitching rally just to square it - but they then added to that with both the totals and, once again, the 19th century remains shut out

58. 1946 Cardinals (won WS)
v.
71. 2009 Dodgers (lost NLCS)

-4 Cardinals squads are moving on; the Dodgers have a dozen - the only franchise within a shouting distance of the Yankees. The Cards have a 25 year old Musial and 30 year old Slaughter. The Dodgers have a 25 year old Matt Kemp and a 21 year old Clayton Kershaw.

C Dodgers-Martin
1B Cards-Musial
2B Dodgers-Hudson
SS Cards-Marion
3B Push
LF Dodgers-Ramirez
CF Dodgers-Kemp
RF Cards-Slaughter
SP1 Cards-Pollett
SP2 Cards-Breechen
SP3 Dodgers-Kershaw
Cl Cards-Dickson
Double: Bat WAR Dodgers
Double: Pit WAR Push

Dodgers 7 Cards 6 - the Dodgers trailed headed to the totals, but edged ahead with a slight win in the overall bats. 13 Dodger clubs  have advanced as they continue to dominate the NL. 

26. 1976 Phillies (lost NLCS)
v.
103. 1958 Braves (lost WS)

-2 Phillies teams have advanced; 7 Braves entrants will join them. The Phils have a 26 year old Mike Schmidt and a 31 year old Steve Carlton. For the Braves - Aaron (24) Mathews (26) Spahn (37)

C Braves-Crandall
1B Braves-Torre
2B Phillies-Cash
SS Braves-Logan
3B Phillies-Schmidt
LF Braves-Covington
CF Phillies-Maddox
RF Braves-Aaron
SP1 Braves-Spahn
SP2 Braves-Burdette
SP3 Phillies-Lonborg
Cl Phillies-Reed
Double: Bat WAR Braves
Double: Pit WAR Phillies

Braves 9 Phillies 7 - man, this was super competitive, the Braves tied the mound matchups, even though Philly won the totals, and that allowed Milwaukee's offensive advantage to be the deciding factor.  

39. 1924 Giants (lost WS)
v.
90. 1981 Dodgers (won WS)

-Always fun, Giants/Dodgers --- the Giants have a half dozen teams moving on and their lifelong rivals have more than doubled them up.  It's a Giants club with 8 Hall of Famers, led by a 26 year old Frankie Frisch.  It's the last ride for this Dodger core - Garvey's 32, Cey's 33, Lopes is 36 - there's Dusty (32) and Reggie Smith (36).


C Push
1B Giants-Kelly
2B Giants-Frisch
SS Giants-Jackson
3B Giants-Groh
LF Dodgers-Baker
CF Giants-Wilson
RF Giants-Youngs
SP1 Dodgers-Valenzuela
SP2 Dodgers-Reuss
SP3 Dodgers-Hooten
Cl Dodgers-Howe
Double: Bat WAR Giants
Double: Pit WAR Dodgers

Giants 8 Dodgers 7 - the Giants win almost every bat, the Dodgers win every single arm; it's as close as it can be - but offense beats defense, and the Giants add their 7th victory.

10. 1907 Cubs (won WS)
v.
119. 1981 Reds (1st in NL West)

5 Cubs teams and 5 Reds teams have moved forward - which organization hits a dozen? The Cubs have Tinker (26) Evers (25) Chance (30). The Reds have a 33 year old Bench and a 36 year old Seaver.


C Cubs-Kling
1B Cubs-Chance
2B Cubs-Evers
SS Reds-Concepcion
3B Cubs-Steinfeldt
LF Reds-Foster
CF Reds-Griffey
RF Reds-Collins
SP1 Cubs-Overall
SP2 Cubs-Brown
SP3 Cubs-Lundgren
Cl Reds-Hume
Double: Bat WAR Cubs
Double: Pit WAR Cubs

Cubs 11 Reds 5 - tight through the lineup, but the Cubs blasted them in the pitching matchups and cruised on home.  

55. 1955 Dodgers (won WS)
v.
74. 2005 Cardinals (lost NLCS)

-another Dodgers/Cards matchup; 13 Dodgers clubs are moving forward, the Cards are at 4. The Dodgers have half a dozen Hall of Famers, they're led by a 28 year old Duke Snider and a 33 year old Roy Campanella.  St Louis has a 25 year old Albert Pujols and 33 year old Jim Edmonds.

C Dodgers-Campanella
1B Cards-Pujols
2B Cards-Grudzielanek
SS Dodgers-Reese
3B Dodgers-Robinson
LF Cards-Sanders
CF Dodgers-Snider
RF Dodgers-Furillo
SP1 Cards-Carpenter
SP2 Dodgers-Erskine
SP3 Cards-Mulder
Cl Cards-Isringhausen
Double: Bat WAR Dodgers
Double: Pit WAR Cards

Dodgers 9 Cards 8 - I love a tiebreak; the Dodgers bats just get by the Cards gloves - the Dodgers are nearing the Yankees for total number of teams moving on to the next round, no one else is in the vicinity.  

23. 1911 Giants (lost WS)
v.
106. 1876 Cubs (White Stockings) (finished 1st)

-the Giants try to add to their total, can the 19th century break through? 30 year old Christy Mathewson leads the Giants - Cap Anson's a 25 year old Cub.

C Cubs-White
1B Giants-Merkle
2B Cubs-Barnes
SS Cubs-Peters
3B Cubs-Anson
LF Giants-Devore
CF Push
RF Giants-Murray
SP1 Giants-Mathewson
SP2 Giants-Marquard
SP3 Giants-Ames
Cl Giants-Crandall
Double: Bat WAR Giants
Double: Pit WAR Giants

Giants 11 Cubs 4 - hot start for the Cubs and then the Giants drove them clean out of the tournament.

42. 1911 Pirates (3rd in NL)
v.
87. 1928 Cardinals (lost WS)

6 Pirates clubs, 4 Cardinals - we're finishing up Group 7, who will earn the last slot? It's a 37 year old Honus Wagner; it's a 41 year old Grover Cleveland Alexander. 

C Cards-Wilson
1B Cards-Bottomley
2B Cards-Frisch
SS Pirates-Wagner
3B Pirates-Byrne
LF Cards-Hafey
CF Cards-Douthit
RF Pirates-Wilson
SP1 Pirates-Leifeld
SP2 Pirates-Adams
SP3 Cards-Haines
Cl Pirates-Ferry
Double: Bat WAR Cards
Double: Pit WAR Pirates

Cards 9 Pirates 8 - have I mentioned I love a tiebreak; the Cards bats just get by the Bucs arms to close out Group 7. 

The next time we see Group 7:

7. 1909 Pirates
v.
71. 2009 Dodgers

103. 1958 Braves
v.
39. 1924 Giants

10. 1907 Cubs
v.
55. 1955 Dodgers

23. 1911 Giants
v.
87. 1928 Cardinals

We finish up the AL Round of 128 next time with AL group 8 - led by the 1948 Indians.

2018-19 College Bowl Picks

Here's my confidence order for the college bowl season.  Where there's a play against the number, I'll indicate:

40 Pts: Sugar (Jan 1): Georgia over Texas (Texas +12) Loss (Win)
39 Pts: Orange (Dec 29): Alabama over Oklahoma Win
38 pts: Cotton (Dec 29) Clemson over Notre Dame Win
37 pts: New Mexico (Dec 15) Utah St. over North Texas (N Texas +7.5) Win (Loss)
36 pts: Sun (Dec 31) Stanford over Pittsburgh Win
35 pts: Potato (Dec 21) BYU over WMichigan (WMich +13) Win(Loss)
34 pts: Celebration (Dec 15) NC A&T over Alcorn St  Win
33 pts: Citrus (Jan 1) Penn St over Kentucky (UK +7) Loss (Win)
32 pts: Holiday (Dec 31) Utah over Northwestern (Northwestern +7.5) Loss (Win)
31 pts: Cure (Dec 15) Tulane over Louisiana (Tulane -6) Win (Win)
30 pts: Alamo (Dec 28) Wash St over Iowa St Win
29 pts: Belk (Dec 29) SCarolina over Virginia Loss
28 pts: Quick Lane (Dec 26) Georgia Tech over Minnesota (Minn +6) Loss (Win)
27 pts: New Orleans (Dec 15) App St over Mid Tenn St Win
26 pts: Liberty (Dec 31) Missouri over Oklahoma St (OK St +9.5) Loss (Win)
25 pts: Frisco (Dec 19) Ohio over San Diego St (San Diego St +3) Win (Loss)
24 pts: Las Vegas (Dec 15) Fresno St over Arizona St (Win)
23 pts: Peach (Dec 29) Michigan over Florida Loss
22 pts: Outback (Jan 1) Mississippi St over Iowa (Iowa +7) Loss (Win)
21 pts: Birmingham (Dec 22) Memphis over Wake Forest (Wake +3.5) Loss (Win)
20 pts: Music City (Dec 28) Auburn over Purdue Win
19 pts: Bahamas (Dec 21) Toledo over FIU Loss
18 pts: Carmellia (Dec 15) Georgia Southern over EMichigan Win
17 pts: First Responder (Dec 26) Boise St over BCollege (BC +3) Push
16 pts: Boca Raton (Dec 18) UAB over NIllinois (NIll +2.5) Win (Loss)
15 pts: Texas (Dec 27) Vandy over Baylor Loss
14 pts: Pinstripe (Dec 27) Miami over Wisconsin Loss
13 pts: Military (Dec 31) Cincinnati over VTech Win
12 pts: Fiesta (Jan 1) LSU over UCF Win
11 pts: Camping World (Dec 28) WVirginia over Syracuse Loss
10 pts: Cheez-It (Dec 26) TCU over Cal (TCU pick em) Win (Win)
9 pts: Dollar General (Dec 22) Buffalo over Troy Loss
8 pts: Independence (Dec 27) Duke over Temple Win
7 pts: Arizona (Dec 29) Nevada over Ark St Win
6 pts: RedBox (Dec 31) Oregon over Mich St (Mich St +3) Win (Win)
5 pts: Rose (Jan 1) Ohio St over Washington Win
4 pts: Hawaii (Dec 22) LA Tech over Hawaii (La Tech +1.5) Win (Win)
3 pts: Gator (Dec 31) A&M over NC St (NC St +6.5) Win (Loss)
2 pts: Armed Forces (Dec 22) Army over Houston (Hou +3.5) Win (Loss)
1 pt: Gasparilla (Dec 20) Marshall over SFlorida Win

Top 20 Television Shows 2018

First quarter

Second quarter

Third quarter

4th quarter

2017

Here are the 20 best television shows of 2018.

1. Basketball: A Love Story (ESPN)

2. Better Call Saul (AMC)

3. Succession (HBO)

4. The Americans (FX)

5. Atlanta (FX)

6. Barry (HBO)

7. Cobra Kai (YouTube Red)

8. New Japan Pro Wrestling (AXS)

9. Killing Eve (BBCA)

10. Mr. In-Between (FX)

11. High Maintenance (HBO)

12. The Good Place (NBC)

13. Superstore (NBC)

14. The Deuce (HBO)

15. Ozark (Netflix)

16. All in With Chris Hayes (MSNBC)

17. Crashing (HBO)

18. I'm Dying Up Here (Showtime)

19. Arrested Development (Netflix)

20. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix)

-I mean, a 20 hour documentary about basketball is going to be hard to beat.  Saul has been good from minute one, better than it needed to be as a sequel to an inner circle Hall of Fame drama.  Succession's the best wholly new creation - and Americans is here primarily for the final episode of the series.  Atlanta and Barry are pretty clearly the two best 30 minutes of the year; my favorite show to watch this year was the thoroughly unexpected Karate Kid sequel.  Wrestling occupies a disproportionate amount of my life; and there's never been as good a weekly show in the US as the hour AXS does each week from New Japan.  Two fast paced international dramas round out the top ten.  

Best Television Shows 2018 (Oct-December)

July-September is here.

1. Basketball: A Love Story (ESPN)
2. Mr. In-Between (FX)
3. The Deuce (HBO)
4. Ozark (Netflix)
5. Castaway (ABC)
6. Romanoffs (Amazon)
7. Forever (Amazon)
8. Homecoming (Amazon)
9. American Vandal (Netflix)
10. Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)

Basketball is pretty remarkable, a 20 hour documentary looking to cover the entire existence of the sport - only two shows later on this list avoid the label of being a little disappointing.  One of those is Mr. In-Between, a crackling Australian drama about a bonebreaker with a heart of gold.  The other was Castaway, a network reality show with people dropped off on an island that actually aired over the summer but I didn't get to until October.  Everything else was good...but....The Deuce was the best TV series in 2017, so that it's only third for this quarter represents a bit of a drop off - but only a bit, there's a depth of world building here that surpasses the rest of television. Ozark is almost entirely plot and played the same notes in season two, but played them well.  I'm of the mind that Mad Men is the greatest television show ever created, so the bar for Romanoffs was impossibly high; I think "inessential" would be the best way to describe it. The two star studded Amazon debuts are next; I like Fred and Maya; everyone likes Julia - and those were easy shows to watch and disappeared as soon as the set clicked off.  I loved - loved - season 1 of American Vandal, I was at the high end of critical evaluation of season 1, but without the performance of the main suspect, season 2 lacked the same depth.  About half a dozen shows could have filled this last spot - that Emma Stone/Jonah Hill show, whose name I can't remember, the Patricia Arquette prison escape show - I really like the new late night talk shows on E and had Ladygang in that spot right up until press time.  In the end, it's Maisel, which has a really strong comic performance by the lead and is grating when she's off the screen.  Not here is Kidding; Eternal Sunshine is very high on my all time movie list, and I found Jim Carrey impossible to watch here.  Watch that documentary he did this year instead.

The Greatest MLB Tournament Ever Created (AL, Round One, Group 7)

Previous group

7. 1954 Indians (lost WS)
v.
122. 1994 White Sox (1st in AL Central)

2 Indians teams have already moved on; given that '94 was a shortened season, this is likely to be the third. The Indians have 30 year olds Al Rosen and Larry Doby and then the arms - 34 year old Early Wynn, 30 year old Mike Garcia, 33 year old Bob Lemon.  For the Sox - both Frank Thomas and Robin Ventura are 26.

C Push
1B White Sox-Thomas
2B Indians-Avila
SS White Sox-Strickland
3B Indians-Rosen
LF Indians-Smith
CF Indians-Doby
RF White Sox-Jackson
DH White Sox-Franco
SP1 Push
SP2 Indians-Garcia
SP3 Push
Cl Indians-Narleski
Double: Bat WAR Indians
Double: Pit WAR Indians

Indians 10 White Sox 4 - as expected, it's the Tribe who advances.

58. 1920 Yankees (3rd in AL)
v.
71. 1975 A's (lost ALCS)

-16 Yankees teams are in the Field of '64, 5 A's teams join them. There's a 25 year old Babe Ruth on the Yankees, there's a 29 year old Reggie Jackson with Oakland. 

C A's-Tenace
1B A's-Rudi
2B Yankees-Pratt
SS Push
3B A's-Bando
LF A's-Washington
CF A's-North
RF Yankees-Ruth
DH Yankees-Meusel
SP1 Push
SP2 Yankees-Shawkey
SP3 Yankees-Quinn
Cl A's-Fingers
Double: Bat WAR A's
Double: Pit WAR Push

A's 8 Yankees 5 - New York will have to wait for that 17th entrant; Oakland's solid up and down the lineup and moves on.

26. 1971 Orioles (lost WS)
v.
103. 2018 Yankees (lost ALDS)

-The Yankees have lost several series' in a row, they're holding firm at 16 moving forward, 4 Orioles teams are joining them.  Brooks Robinson is 34, Frank's 35.  Jim Palmer is a decade younger. For the Bombers, Aaron Judge is 26, Giancarlo Stanton is 28. 

C Orioles-Hendricks
1B Orioles-Powell
2B Orioles-Johnson
SS Orioles-Belanger
3B Orioles-Robinson
LF Orioles-Buford
CF Yankees-Hicks
RF Yankees-Judge
DH Orioles-Rettenmund
SP1 Yankees-Severino
SP2 Orioles-Dobson
SP3 Orioles-Palmer
Cl Yankees-Chapman
Double: Bat WAR Orioles
Double: Pit WAR Yankees

Orioles 11 Yankees 6 - the Oriole bats (I don't think we've seen a matchup start like this, Baltimore winning each battle through LF) overcome the Yankee arms. 

39. 1905 White Sox (2nd in AL)
v.
90. 2018 Indians (lost ALDS)

-we just saw the Indians beat the White Sox to move their 3rd team forward; Chicago also looking to advance their third club.  Ed Walsh is 24, George Davis 34 for Chicago - Cleveland's got a 24 year old Francisco Lindor, a 25 year old Jose Ramirez, a 32 year old Corey Kluber. 

C Indians-Gomes
1B White Sox-Donahue
2B Indians-Kipnis
SS Indians-Lindor
3B Indians-Ramirez
LF Indians-Brantley
CF White Sox-Jones
RF White Sox-Green
DH White Sox-Isbell
SP1 Indians-Kluber
SP2 Indians-Clevinger
SP3 Indians-Carrasco
Cl White Sox-Patterson
Double: Bat WAR Indians
Double: Pit WAR Indians

Indians 12 White Sox 5 - the Indians really thump the Sox, getting almost all of the pitching points and nearly running the table with the IF matchups.  

10. 1909 A's (2nd in AL)
v.
119. 1966 Orioles (won WS)

-5 Baltimore teams have advanced to the Round of 64, the A's have six - Eddie Collins is 22, Home Run Baker's 23, Chief Bender's 25 and Eddie Plank is 33.  For the Orioles - Frank's 30, Brooks is 29, Palmer's 20 and McNally's 23. 

C A's-Thomas
1B Orioles-Powell
2B A's-Collins
SS Orioles-Aparicio
3B A's-Baker
LF Orioles-Blefary
CF Orioles-Blair
RF Orioles-Robinson
SP1 A's-Plank
SP2 A's-Bender
SP3 A's-Morgan
Cl Orioles-Miller
Double: Bat WAR A's
Double: Pit WAR A's

A's 10 Orioles 6 - dead even through the matchups, the A's won the overall bats very, very narrowly, but then took the arms and won the day.  

55. 1920 Indians (won WS)
v.
74. 2017 Yankees (lost ALCS)

-3 Cleveland teams have moved on; NYY is holding firm at 16. This Indians club is led by a 32 year old Tris Speaker and 30 year old Stan Coveleski; the Yankees have a 25 year old Aaron Judge and 24 year old Gary Sanchez.


C Indians-O'Neill
1B Indians-Johnston
2B Yankees-Castro
SS Indians-Chapman
3B Indians-Gardner
LF Yankees-Gardner
CF Indians-Speaker
RF Yankees-Judge
DH Indians-Evans
SP1 Indians-Bagby
SP2 Indians-Coveleski
SP3 Yankees-Montgomery
Cl Yankees-Chapman
Double: Bat WAR Indians
Double: Pit WAR Yankees

Indians 10 Yankees 7 - close, Yankees had a slight mound edge, Indians had a slightly larger edge with the bats - and that carries the day. 

23. 1915 White Sox (3rd in AL)
v.
106. 1985 Yankees (2nd in AL east)

-The Yankees, perhaps you've heard, are holding firm at 16 teams advancing; the Sox have just two so far.  Eddie Collins is 28, Red Faber 26; New York has a 26 year old Rickey Henderson, a 24 year old Don Mattingly and a 33 year old Dave Winfield. 

C White Sox-Schalk
1B Yankees-Mattingly
2B White Sox-Collins
SS White Sox-Weaver
3B Yankees-Pagliarulo
LF Yankees-Griffey
CF Yankees-Henderson
RF Yankees-Winfield
DH Yankees-Baylor
SP1 Yankees-Guidry
SP2 White Sox-Scott
SP3 White Sox-Benz
Cl Yankees-Righetti
Double: Bat WAR Yankees
Double: Pit WAR White Sox

Yankees 10 White Sox 7 - there's number 17; New York's bats move their way into the Round of 64.

42. 1948 Yankees (3rd in AL)
v.
87. 1961 Tigers (2nd in AL)

-we finish AL Group 7, 5 Detroit teams and 17 NYY are headed to the Round of '64; there is one Yankees/Yankees matchup set for the next round and if the '48 club can win this one, there will be another.  This Yankees club has a 33 year old DiMaggio and a 23 year old Berra.  Detroit's led by 26 year olds Al Kaline and Norm Cash.

C Tigers-Brown
1B Tigers-Cash
2B Yankees-Stirnweiss
SS Yankees-Rizutto
3B Yankees-Johnson
LF Tigers-Colavito
CF Yankees-DiMaggio
RF Tigers-Kaline
SP1 Tigers-Lary
SP2 Tigers-Bunning
SP3 Tigers-Mossi
Cl Tigers-Fox
Double: Bat WAR Tigers
Double: Pit WAR Tigers

Tigers 12 Yankees 4 - Detroit sweeps the pitching and that moves them forward.  

When we see this group again:

7. 1954 Indians
v.
71. 1975 A's

26. 1971 Orioles
v.
90. 2018 Indians

10. 1909 A's
v.
55. 1920 Indians

106. 1985 Yankees
v.
87. 1961 Tigers

Next time we're back - it's with the 1909 Pirates, heading up Group 7 in the NL