Thursday, September 24, 2015

Last Place Update - September 24

Is it too early to start a countdown? Nah. The 57-95 Philadelphia Phillies are making their move to become the 2015 MLB Kings of the Cellar and are 4.5 games ahead of my 62-91 Atlanta Braves. Philly is six losses away from clinching the championship. That means the defending Kings of the Cellar champion 73-79 Arizona Diamondbacks are officially eliminated from contention. The 63-89 Colorado Rockies and former cellar tease, 63-88 Cincinnati Reds, are in a battle for third place. The Reds are no longer a tease, because they are out of contention for the beer in the cellar.

Since the last update, the Phillies went 1-4 and just broke a six game losing streak. My Braves went a respectable 5-2, sweeping Philly and are on a two game winning streak. Sporting a pair of four game losing streaks, the Reds and Rockies are in a slugfest...or is it a whiff-fest? Both teams went 2-4 since the last update. This is by far the most interesting race for futility.

The 64-88 Oakland A's continue to be the AL's worst team. As with Colorado and Cincy, the A's are 2-4 since the last update, and yes, losers of their last four games. Today's honorable mention goes to the former three-peat Kings of the Cellar champion, the 80-73 Houston Astros, because I didn't want to give it to the 88-63 Kansas City Royals for the third consecutive week. Besides, the Royals have done just enough winning to get eliminated for the mention this week. Houston is 3-7 in their last ten games, losers of their last two.

The former Washington Senators host the former Cleveland Blues. The also former Cleveland Naps lead the series 1,115-977, but the now Minnesota Twins are 8-5 so far this season. They first met on May 22, 1901, when the former Blues won 6-5. The most runs Minnesota scored against the now Indians was a 23-2 spanking on June 4, 2002. The most runs Cleveland scored against the Twins was on August 7, 1923, when the Indians rolled over the then Washington Senators 22-2. Their longest game in the series happened on August 31, 1993, when in the bottom of the 22nd inning, Pedro Munoz hit a leadoff homerun and led Minnesota to a 5-4 victory.

Will Philly clinch the Kings of the Cellar Championship this week? Will my Braves collapse and pull off a stunning upset? Will Oakland clinch their place as the AL's worst team of the 2015 season?

Stay tuned.

Have a great day!!!

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Last Place Update - September 17

A game and a half, two games ahead, what's the diff? No matter how hard other teams try, no one can be Kings of the Cellar this season like the 56-91 Philadelphia Phillies can. They lead my 57-89 Atlanta Braves by a game and a half. The 61-85 Colorado Rockies bring up the rear at 5.5 games back, making it a two team race right now. The 62-84 Oakland A's remain the AL's worst team, going 2-3 since the last update and 4-6 in their last ten games.

Speaking of, Philly is a semi-respectable 2-3 since the last update and is sporting a three game losing streak. My Braves are a hard charging 1-5 since the last update and had a four game losing streak during that stretch. The new Cellar tease, the 61-84 Cincinnati Reds, is hanging around the Cellar door at six games back. The Reds are 3-3 since the last update and, once again, are 5-5 in the last ten games. Former Cellar tease, the 63-83 Miami Marlins, have moved on. They are 7-3 in their last ten games, winners of their last two.

Today's honorable mention goes once again to the 85-60 Kansas City Royals. They are 3-3 since the last update and 3-9 since September 4. The defending Kings of the Cellar champion 69-77 Arizona Diamondbacks are three losses away from being out of contention for a repeat. They are 1-3 since the last update and are currently 13.5 games behind the Phillies.

This evening, the former Florida Marlins go to DC to take on the former Montreal Expos. The Marlins lead the series 197-172 and are 8-7 this season against the now Nationals. They first met on May 11, 1993, when the Expos won 6-4. The most runs Miami ever scored on Washington was on July 5, 2006, in an 18-9 beating of the Marlins. The most runs the Nationals scored on Miami was on July 22, 2000. when then Florida beat the then Expos with a football score of 17-7. Their longest game went to 14 innings twice. On September 17, 2002, a four run 14th inning propelled then Montreal over the Marlins 8-5. On April 20, 2007, an RBI single by Chris Snelling gave the Nationals their win in 14 innings 6-5.

Will Philly finally take the beer in the Cellar? Will the Diamondbacks be eliminated from Kings of the Cellar contention by Saturday? Will my Braves take the Cellar? Will Cincy continue to be a tease?

Stay tuned.

Have a great day!!!

Saturday, September 12, 2015

Some NCAA Series Trivia

Hadn't posted two blog entries in one day in a while. Let's have fun with some AP Top 10 college football. Since several of the teams are playing for the first time, more games will be featured.

The #1 Ohio State Buckeyes host the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. This is their first ever meeting.

The Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders visit the #2 Alabama Crimson Tide. Bama leads the series 2-0. The Tide rolled 39-34 in 2002 and 26-7 in 2005.

Stephen F. Austin visit #3 TCU. This is the first ever game between the Lumberjacks and Horned Frogs.

The #4 Baylor Bears host the Lamar Cardinals. This is their first ever meeting.

It's the game of the week! The #7 Oregon Ducks invade East Lansing to take on the #5 Michigan State Spartans.  Oregon leads the series 3-2. They first met in 1979 when Michigan State manhandled the Ducks 41-17. Believe it or not, these two teams never played each other in the Rose Bowl. They have only met in September. Each of Oregon's wins over the Spartans was by 35 points or more, including last year's 46-27 win. Neither team has ever shut out the other.

The Jacksonville State Gamecocks go to #6 Auburn to take on the Tigers. Auburn should win this first ever game between the two teams, but the Jacksonville State band has a good chance to outplay the Auburn band.

Idaho invades the L.A. Coliseum to try to vandalize the #8 USC Trojans. USC leads the series 8-0. All but one of the games were played in the 1920's. They first met in 1920, when Trojans shut out Idaho 14-0. The question to ask is when did USC not shut out the Vandals? The answer is only four games. The most Idaho scored in the series was a 38-10 loss in 2010. They never went to overtime nor did they ever meet in a bowl game.

The #9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish take on the Virginia Cavaliers in Charlottesville. There has only been one other game in the series. Notre Dame rolled over the Cavs 36-13 in 1989.

RB Nick Chubb and the #10 Georgia Bulldogs run their way to Nashville to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores. Georgia leads the series 55-19-2. They first met in 1893, when Vandy rolled over the Bulldogs 35-10. They never met in the postseason. The most Georgia scored against Vanderbilt was 62-35 in 1984. The most the Commodores scored against the Bulldogs was 46-0 in 1912. The last tie happened after that shootout. The teams played to a 13-13 tie in 1985. The last time Georgia shut out Vanderbilt was 43-10 in 2010. The last time Vanderbilt shut out Georgia was 21-0 in 1961.

The #14 LSU Tigers invade Stark-Vegas to avenge last season's loss against the #25 Mississippi State Bulldogs. LSU leads the series 69-36-3. They first met in 1896, when LSU nailed the Bulldogs 52-0. Since they are SEC West foes, they haven't nor will they meet in the postseason. The most Mississippi State scored against LSU was a 55-31 win in 1980. The most the Tigers scored against the Bulldogs was 61-6 mauling in 1969. Mississippi State last shut out LSU 25-0 in 1954. The last time LSU shut out Mississippi State was 45-0 in 2007.

The #23 Tennessee Volunteers host the #19 Oklahoma Sooners. Oklahoma leads the series 2-1. They first met in the 1938 Orange Bowl, when the Vols notched their only win and only shutout in the series, 17-0. They faced each other again in the 1967 Orange Bowl and the Sooners edged Tennessee 26-24. Oklahoma won their last meeting in 2014, 24-10.

The #20 Boise State Broncos visit the BYU Cougars. The Broncos lead the series 4-1. They first met in 2003, when Boise State rolled to victory 50-12. BYU's only win came in 2013, 37-20. They never met in the postseason and neither team has ever shut out the other.

The Michigan Wolverines host the Oregon State Beavers in Ann Arbor. This is the first time these two teams are playing each other since 1986. Michigan leads the series 4-0. They first met in 1959, when Michigan won 18-7. They met once in the 1964 Rose Bowl, a 34-7 Wolverine win. The only shutout in the series was a 41-0 Michigan spanking in 1966. The Wolverines easily won their last meeting 31-12.

Good luck to all the teams playing today!

Have a great day!!

Last Place Update - September 12

One of life's constants is change...except for today's Kings of the Cellar. The 54-88 Philadelphia Phillies have a two game lead over my 56-86 Atlanta Braves. Philly is 1-7 since the last update and is enjoying a three game losing streak. My Braves are hanging with the Phillies, going 2-7 since the last update and are 3-22 since August 17.

Bringing up the rear are the 58-81 Cincinnati Reds and 59-82 Colorado Rockies. Both teams are 5.5 games behind Philly. Since Miami has been doing some winning, Cincy replaced them as the Cellar tease. The Reds are 5-5 in their last ten games and just broke a two game losing streak. The Rockies have also been doing some winning, going 5-4 since the last update and are on a two game winning streak.

The 60-81 Oakland A's continue their reign as the AL's worst team. The A's are 3-7 in their last ten games, losers of their last two. The defending Kings of the Cellar champion 68-73 Arizona Diamondbacks are 3-4 since the last update and are on a two game win streak. The Diamondbacks are 14.5 games behind the Phillies and remain no threat to repeat.Today's honorable mention goes to.83-57 Kansas City Royals. KC is 3-7 in their last ten games, losers of their last two.

The former Pittsburgh Alleghenys host the former Seattle Pilots this evening. The former Pilots lead the series against the now Pittsburgh Pirates 163-126 and the now Brewers are 10-7 against Pittsburgh this season. They first met in inter-league play in 1997, when the Brewers won 4-1. The most runs the Pirates scored against Milwaukee was a 17-10 win on August 24, 2002. The most runs the Brewers scored against Pittsburgh was a 20-0 spanking on April 22, 2010. Their longest game went to 14 innings three different times, with the last one occurring last season . On April 20, 2014 Milwaukee won 3-2, marking their only win in the three 14 inning games. Pittsburgh won the other two 2-1 (June 30, 2013) and 6-5 (April 28, 2010).

Will Philly hold on to the Cellar? Will the Rockies or my Braves kick them out? Will Cincy continue to be a tease or will Miami make a comeback?

Stay tuned.

Have a great day!!!

Thursday, September 3, 2015

Last Place Update - September 3

And the saga continues. The once dominating collapse of the season has turned into a real race.

The 53-81 Philadelphia Phillies continue their reign as this season's Kings of the Cellar, but now we have a new team at the door, my 54-79 Atlanta Braves. Philly is 3-5 since the last update, 1-3 in their last four games. The Braves are a game and a half back. They are 1-9 in their last ten games, losers of their last 8. Atlanta is also 1-15 since August 16, including a three game sweep by Cellar tease Miami Marlins. The 55-79 Marlins are two games behind the Phillies and are in a virtual tie with the 54-78 Colorado Rockies, also two games back. Miami is 4-4 since the last update, including said sweep. The Rockies are also 4-4 since the last update.

Today's honorable mention goes to the 69-64 San Francisco Giants. They are 3-7 in their last ten games, losers of their last five. The defending Kings of the Cellar Champion, 65-69 Arizona Diamondbacks, are 3-6 since the last update and 3-8 since August 24. Arizona is 12 games behind the Phillies. You never know.

The former Washington Senators host the Chicago White Sox in an early game. They White Sox lead the series 1,118-1037, but are 4-11 against the now Minnesota Twins this season. They first met on June 2, 1901, when the Senators won 7-5. The went to 18 innings twice in their history. On May 15, 1918, Hall of Famer Walter Johnson pitched a complete game as the Senators won 1-0. LP Lefty Williams also pitched a complete game. Times were different back then. The second time was on June 8, 1947, another 1-0 win by the former Washington Senators. Both teams were battling for the AL cellar during that game. Each team has scored 20 runs on the other twice. Chicago did it to the former Washington Senators in a 20-6 win on May 11, 1911. The second time was a 20-2 spanking on June 17, 1956. The Twins did it in recent years. On July 6, 2007, Minnesota won a 20-14 game that looked more like a game between the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears. The second time was on May 21, 2009, when the Twins nailed Chicago 20-1.

On a personal note, I'd like to wish my daughter, Lauren, a very happy birthday.

Can Philly hang on? Will my Braves take over the Cellar? Will the Marlins continue to be a tease?

Stay tuned.

Have a great day!!!