Tampa Wins…ALCS Tied 1-1…GameThree this Thursday in Cleveland
Tampa pretty much had to have this game tonight. They certainly didn’t want to head to
Ohio down two games with the next three in Cleveland. Good pitching and an unfortunate
error led them to victory.
We had a pitching duel this evening until the bottom of the fourth. Junior Caminero led off
with a walk for the Rays and was forced out at second on a grounder by Victor Mesa. With
two outs Chandler Simpson beat out an infield single with Mesa making it to third base.
Ben Wiliamson reached base on an error by third baseman Jose Ramirez as Mesa scored
the first run of the night. Liam Hicks followed with a single to right field scoring Simpson
and Williamson. 3-0 Rays. All runs were unearned.
Parker Messick started tonight for Cleveland. He went five innings giving up six hits and no
earned runs while striking out three Rays’ batters.
Freddy Peralta had a great start for the Rays. He went six innings while giving up four hits
and no runs while striking out six Guardians’ hitters.
Cleveland scored its first run in the top of the seventh. Patrick Bailey walked to lead off the
inning. With one out Steven Kwan singled to left sending Bailey to second base. With two
outs Chase DeLauter doubled to right field scoring Bailey. 3-1 Tampa.
And that’s all the Guardians could manage as the final score was Tampa 3 and Cleveland 1.
Baseball is a strange game for sure. One day you’re the hero, the next day may not be as kind. Jose Ramirez, the heart and soul of the Guardians, has led his team to the ALCS. Yesterday, he was one of the hitting stars and tonight he made the error that led to all of Tampa’s runs. But one of the good things about baseball…you don’t have to wait long for the next game. And that next game will be in Cleveland, Ohio, this coming Thursday, with a starting time of 6:00 ET. See you then. Post-season baseball at its best…
Dave’s Dime…“Expert” Pre-Season Predictions
I’ve always enjoyed going back to the beginning of the season and see how well the socalled experts, who get paid for their opinions, did in predicting who would make the postseason playoffs and eventually win the World Series.
This year was particularly interesting.
Let’s take a look, and have a good laugh…
This is a pre-season prediction from ESPN, the experts on everything sports.
I’m just listing the final four baseball teams still standing as of today.
Of course, everyone picked the Los Angeles Dodgers to be where they are. I mean, they’ve
won the last two World Series and pretty much have an all-star lineup. ESPN gave them a
98% chance of making the playoffs and a 27.6% chance of winning the World Series.
Number one rated team going into the season.
The Milwaukee Brewers were listed as the eleventh best team at the beginning of the year.
They were given a 41% chance of making the playoffs and the experts gave them a 1.5%
shot at winning the WS.
Tampa Bay ranked twentieth at the start of the season. They had a 23% chance at the
playoffs and a 0.7% of winning it all.
Cleveland was the twenty-first ranked team with a 19% chance at making it to the postseason and a 0.4% shot at the big prize.
I find it extremely amusing that their 20th and 21st ranked teams to start the season are now
battling it out in the ALCS. I guess this is why they play the games…
These ESPN people picked the New York Yankees to win the AL East, the Detroit Tigers to be
on top in the AL Central, and the Seattle Mariners to take it all in the AL West.
In the National League they see the New York Mets taking the NL East, the Chicago Cubs winning the NL Central, and the Los Angeles Dodgers, obviously, on top in the NL West. One out of six. Not good. To make sure the people at ESPN weren’t the only ones I shamed, I looked at the MLB staff writers for CBS Sports. These are their predictions concerning who would win each division and who would end up in the cellar: In the American League East, all five writers had the Blue Jays winning the division, and all five had the Rays finishing last.
In the American League Central, they all had the Tigers finishing first. Three of the five picked the White Sox to finish last and one picked the Guardians. In the American League West, they all gave the Mariners the top spot and picked the Angels to be the caboose. The National League East saw three of the five picking the Mets to win the division and two had the Phillies. All five picked the Nationals to finish in the cellar. Shame on them. In the National League Central the Cubs were the unanimous winners and the Cardinals the unanimous losers. Now we come to the one division they all got right! There’s hope yet… All five had the Dodgers winning the NL West and the Rockies to be dead last. That one was just too easy. One out of six again. Well, at least these sports writers are consistent. I can’t wait to see their predictions for the upcoming season. Spring trading begins on Friday the 19th of February, 2027.
