BRONX, NY – “The Seattle Mariners are going to the World Series,” is a phrase I never thought I’d hear and, once again, I was proven right on Monday night. As I told many friends, who texted offering condolences, “when you’ve seen a movie this many times, ya kinda know how it’s gonna end.” It would have been nice for my no-so-lousy Mariners to make it to their first World Series, even if they were destined to have their a$$es handed to them by the Dodgers. I have one or two additional thoughts on the both ALCS teams, which I’ll get out of the way in today’s first paragraph. Let’s get going.
Seattle’s Strength, Also Its Weakness. I had a quick exchange with a friend who works at the Baseball Hall of Fame Tuesday morning. He too, was reaching out to say he was sorry that Seattle lost Game 7. He said he thought the Mariners bringing in Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suarez at the trade deadline was going to finally put them over the top. Having time to think about it all, I countered that while those additions were solid—and much better than the Mets’ deadline dumpster fire acquisitions—I think Seattle became too dependent on the home run, like another much-more-famous team from the Bronx. Relying on home runs makes for streaky baseball. It can work, but it can also desert you when you need it most. Seattle has a good young club but they need fewer big swingers and at least one or two more guys who can put the ball in play. As for Toronto, I think they win probably one game from the Dodgers. A highly-motivated Springer and Guerrero should be good enough for that. They win more than that and I’ll genuinely be surprised. Guess we’ll see.
Around the NFL. Just kidding, I’m not gonna cover the entire league. I am, however, frustrated that Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offense finally decided to wake up against my Vikings last Sunday. Actually the Vikings outplayed them, but gave up way too many big plays. In that sense, the Eagles look like the football equivalent of a dinger-smashing baseball team… The Jets were covered here hilariously on Monday and the Giants yesterday, so let me just say that the Dallas Cowboys still suck… The Chiefs are looking like they are figuring some things out. Just don’t draft their fantasy players, as they are the undisputed kings of the 2-yard touchdown pass. And, as was covered here yesterday, the Colts all of sudden look like a juggernaut! The team they beat last Sunday, the Chargers, are a joke… The Patriots are in first place? Okay. Finally, the Chicago Bears are a quietly surprising 4-2. They could be dangerous by the end of the season.
NBA Season Tips Off. Well, lookie here, apparently it’s time for basketball to join hockey in the autumn sports fray, when pretty much no one is caring about either of those sports. Last night’s first two games of the season featured two teams with legit NBA title hopes (OKC and Houston) and two teams with marquee players and box office allure that will not be competing for a championship (Golden State and the Lakers). I’ll leave it to tomorrow’s contributor to get all you New York fans needlessly hyped about the Knicks. Speaking of which, that’s all for me today.
Former Knicks City Dancer reject Buddy Diaz is back in this space tomorrow. Miss him at your peril.
