Hello Baseball Fans,
Wow, is it just me or has it been a while?! Off seasons can be loooong. Especially when you don’t call, or stop by, or even write for a few months. It’s going to be tough, but I think we can track down where we left off. Oh yeah, here it is. We here at VFTD were mulling over the possibilities of a Game 6 World Series victory by either the Cleveland Indians or Chicago Cubs as Cleveland was up 3 games to 2 and headed home. The discussion even got into the specifics of what kind of victory by either team would make for the best excitement and drama surrounding the Fall Classic. The range was from an Indians clincher to a Cubs blowout and early hype of Game 7. Well, low and behold, those Cubbies did it dammit! Twice in fact. The first time was a Game 6 win to force the winner-take-all seventh game. And then they shocked the world again in Game 7 on Cleveland’s turf by losing a late lead that led to a necessary 10th inning, which followed a rain delay, with enough action to last another 108 years. Just kidding, that won’t hold us over that long. Congratulations Cubbies!! Champions at last!!
Well, sadly, and unsurprisingly, we could not have predicted that type of World Series. But who could? Last year, our season predictions post was appropriately (at least we thought so) named SWEET ’16 (https://viewfromthedish.com/?p=2943). However, one thing we COULD have and SHOULD have gotten right was the correct number of predictions to match the title. Yes, we have quality reviews here at VFTD and fans, we’re going to need your help once in a while. You see, that post should have had 16 predictions listed. And it did. Well, kind of. It began with number one and surely ended with number sixteen. All good, right? WRONG! There was no Number 14!! How could there not be a 14?! That’s like baseball without Ernie Banks or Jim Bunning or Schoolboy Rowe or Jim Rice or Pete Rose or Vida Blue or Mike Scioscia. Yep, we went right from 13 to 15. Wow, our bad and apologies to number 14s all around. But come on kids! Let the grown ups have it when they make a mistake. These chances don’t come along often enough. Nope, too late now. You can’t say you knew that and just didn’t want to mention it. Unacceptable. Ultimately, of course, we take full credit for the blunder and apologize for gypping you out of yet another incorrect prediction. We’re just playing the odds that’d have been wrong. Anyway, let’s get into some hearty numbers of sorts and check out a few other low lights from SWEET ’16.
The Number 3 prediction was that Kyle Schwarber of the Cubs would have the best-selling jersey in all of baseball. Could not have jinxed this kid more with that one. He tore up his knee in his second game and finished the regular season at 0 for 5 at the plate. That’s about the best way to crush jersey sales. However, hopefully you didn’t throw yours away. This kid’s a monster ballplayer. All he did was make a comeback in the Series vs. Cleveland as though he knew FOX’s play-by-play man extraordinaire Joe Buck’s reaction wouldn’t be able to handle his mere presence let alone production vs. the hottest pitching rotation in the world. He simply went 7 for 17 with 2 R, 2 RBI, and 3 BB. WOW!! For the year in jersey sales, he cleared the way in the top 10 for his teammates as Jake Arrieta was 7th, Anthony Rizzo was 4th, and Kris Bryant was 2nd in ’16 jersey sales.
The Number 4 prediction was that we’d see an army of at least 5 pitchers win 20 or more games for the first time since 2003. Well, we got three-fifths of this one correct. Almost doesn’t count and that’s even one short of almost. Rick Porcello (22), Max Scherzer (20), and J.A. Happ (20) were the three 20 game-winners of ’16. Overall, there were 17 pitchers with at least 16 wins though. Eight were from the A.L. and nine from N.L. Nicely balanced. The Cubs led the way with three 16-game winners. The Washington Nat’s had two in Scherzer and Tanner Roark. The Boston Red Sox also had two. Plus, the BoSox acquired a third man from the list in the off-season, in ChiSox Chris Sale, to join Porcello and David Price. You could possibly base your 2017 World Series prediction on the arms race results alone. Cubs and BoSox sound good? Anyone?
At Number 7, we figured we could get more than one player eligible for a batting title to hit above .333. Why you might ask? Because Miguel Cabrera was the only guy in 2015. Well, we actually got this one right as a whopping three guys succeeded in ’16 at hitting better than at a one-for-three clip. D.J. LeMehieu of the Rockies led MLB at .348 and was joined by Daniel Murphy of the Nats at .347 and Houston’s Jose Altuve at .338.
Number 9 is a tie of sorts. Didn’t get it totally right, but it wasn’t totally wrong either. Judge for yourselves. We thought that Texas would lose the A.L. Wild Card game to Toronto as a follow up to their action packed 2015 Division Series. Well, the Blue Jays did defeat the Rangers again and it was a sweep, but it was actually in the ALDS again after Toronto defeated Baltimore in the 2016 Wild Card game. Who knows, maybe they’ll make it three in a row and square off in the playoffs again this year.
Lucky Number 13 involved Boston winning Games 6 and 7 over Houston in the A.L. Championship Series. Yep, David Price and Clay Buchholz were going to lead the way too. Jinxed those guys and couldn’t have been more wrong again. Houston crumbled in ’16 and came nowhere near the playoffs and the Sawx got man-handled by the Indians in the ALDS in a three game sweep.
Number 15 was another tweener. We had the Cubs beating San Francisco in the N.L. Championship Series. Well, the Cubs eliminated the Giants alright, but it actually took place in the NLDS. That ain’t too bad, right? This prediction business is tough so we’ll take all the benefits of the doubt that we can! Out of respect to Number 14, we’re going to make a prediction in an effort to make up for last year’s omission: Former Cardinal (and ’64 MVP), Met, ChiSox, and Dodger Ken Boyer’s major league distinction of being the only player to don Number 14 for exactly 14 seasons will NOT be matched in 2017. For once, we’re feeling good about this one too.
Later Baseball Fans.