The View From Wisconsin
Just a random set of rants from a Sports Fan from Wisconsin.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Sunday Afternoon Thoughts
Some random thoughts for a Sunday afternoon:
- The Texas Rangers made history Saturday night, posting the first World Series win for a team based in Texas. If you recall, the Houston Astros were swept in the '05 Series by the White Sox. It'd be interesting to look up what the record of World Series home teams by each state would be. Obviously, my money would be on New York being the leader in the clubhouse.
- On the flip side: Ron Washington is working hard at becoming the 2010 Grady Little Award winner for worst management of a bullpen in the majors. What is it about some managers that they just lose all sorts of common sense about their pitching staffs when the post-season rolls around?
- So much for the "perfect season" in Nashville. Preds now have a two-game losing streak and a West coast road trip staring them down. The conventional wisdom is that you don't really get the sense of what kind of team you have until you've reached the quarter-pole mark (20 games in); that won't be until the day before Thanksgiving for the Preds. There is one disturbing statistic that has reared its ugly head: after going 4-of-13 on the power play in the first three games of the year, Nashville has gone 1-of-26 since that time. Shades of last spring...
- All right, I'm getting a bit perturbed on FarmVille. These "Special Delivery" boxes are supposed to give you something you can use on your farm. Well, all they've given me is vehicle parts. And truth is, I don't have any vehicles that I can upgrade. Sure, I don't have a full garage (13 of 20 vehicles), but why give me parts when I don't have any vehicles that need upgrading? And, of course, there's the twenty "post this to your wall?" questions as you're just trying to harvest or tend to your farm animals.
- Not looking forward to returning to work tomorrow. And no, it's not just because it's the end of my vacation. It's because Tuesday the 2nd is Election Day - or, as I like to call it, "Choose My New Boss Day". Unfortunately, both options don't look very pleasant. Walker seems to like the "professionalism" of the LHS staff. Barrett has been very non-committal about things, but the problem is that there is a bit of truth in those anti-Barrett commercials: Barrett would be, essentially, a third term for Jim Doyle. And if that's the case, the same people who are currently in leadership roles in the state service - the ones who apparently would like to see EAS close - would still be around under the Milwaukee mayor's administration. Of course, there's that big hit against Scott Walker - he wants to "stick it" to state employees (make us pay our pensions, increase cost of health care). All of this means I might actually prefer to write in "None of the Above" as an option...
Thursday, October 28, 2010
First Time Here?
For all of you who are Rangers fans for the 2010 World Series, take note: History is not on their side.
Of the 11 previous expansion teams to make it to their first World Series, only five of them have won it in their first attempt - and only two of them were American League squads (the '92 Jays and the 2002 Angels).
FIRST APPEARANCE IN THE WORLD SERIES
OF AN EXPANSION TEAM, 1961-2010
* - Formerly Montreal Expos, 1969-2004.
Of the 11 previous expansion teams to make it to their first World Series, only five of them have won it in their first attempt - and only two of them were American League squads (the '92 Jays and the 2002 Angels).
OF AN EXPANSION TEAM, 1961-2010
| Year | Team | 1st Game | Opponent | Series |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | New York Mets (NL) | Lost, 4-1 | Baltimore (AL) | Won in 5 |
| 1980 | Kansas City Royals (AL) | Lost, 7-6 | Philadelphia (NL) | Lost in 6 |
| 1982 | Milwaukee Brewers (AL) | Won , 10-0 | Saint Louis (NL) | Lost in 7 |
| 1984 | San Diego Padres (NL) | Lost, 3-2 | Detroit (AL) | Lost in 5 |
| 1992 | Toronto Blue Jays (AL) | Lost, 3-1 | Atlanta (NL) | Won in 6 |
| 1997 | Florida Marlins (NL) | Won, 7-4 | Cleveland (AL) | Won in 7 |
| 2001 | Arizona Diamondbacks (NL) | Won, 9-1 | New York (AL) | Won in 7 |
| 2002 | Anaheim Angels (AL) | Lost, 4-3 | San Francisco (NL) | Won in 7 |
| 2005 | Houston Astros (NL) | Lost, 5-3 | Chicago (AL) | Lost in 4 |
| 2007 | Colorado Rockies (NL) | Lost, 13-1 | Boston (AL) | Lost in 4 |
| 2008 | Tampa Bay Rays (AL) | Lost, 3-2 | Philadelphia (NL) | Lost in 5 |
| 2010 | Texas Rangers (AL) | Lost, 11-7 | San Francisco (NL) | TBD |
| Washington Nationals (NL)* | None | Never appeared in WS | ||
| Seattle Mariners (AL) | None | Never appeared in WS |
* - Formerly Montreal Expos, 1969-2004.
Copyright © 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, Joseph Houk. All rights reserved.
