YANKEES ARE ON THE VERGE...BUT ONE WIN IN HOUSTON IS NO SURE THING
At times this season, it appeared as if the New York Yankees never would get a chance to match manager Joe Girardi’s uniform number by guiding the franchise to a 28th world championship.
The team’s success so far in this postseason probably means Girardi will return as manager of the Yankees in 2018 – if he wants to. The question now: Would be keep No. 28 or – if the team wins this season’s World Series – switch his number to 29. I doubt that third baseman Todd Frazier would object to giving it up.
After trailing Minnesota 3-0 after the top of the first inning against Minnesota in the American League wild-card, the Yankees rallied to win 8-4.
After dropping the first two games to Cleveland in the best-of-five AL Division Series, the Yankees won three straight.
After dropping the first two games of the best-of-seven AL Championship Series in Houston, the Yankees won three straight at home to take a 3-2 lead and close within one victory of reaching the World Series.Two reasons to give the Astros a big chance to foil the Yankees:
1-Houston was by far baseball’s best-hitting team this season and is due to get back on track.
2-Games 6 and 7 (if necessary) will be in Houston.
The Astros led MLB in batting average, runs, total bases, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS this season – mostly be comfortable margins.
So far in the ALCS, Houston is batting .147, with 9 runs and 22 hits.
New York’s pitching – the starters and the bullpen – has been outstanding throughout the playoffs.
The pitching line for the Yankees in their 11 post-season games (including the wild-card win): 7-4 record...2.45 earned-run average...99 1/3 innings...59 hits allowed...39 walks...108 strikeouts...batting average against .169.
The Yankees haven’t been an offensive dynamo in the postseason, but they’ve been good enough: .218 batting average, with 41 walks and 118 strikeouts. They’ve outscored opponents 50-31 and out-homered opponents 15-8.
Houston should feel confident returning to Minute Maid Park, where they are 52-33 this season, including 4-0 in the postseason.
The Yankees now are 57-30 at home but a mere 41-45 on the road. Girardi recently said, “We’re sort of built (for Yankee Stadium).” He wasn’t kidding.
Advantage Yankees. But don’t bury the Astros yet.
WOULD THE 28TH CHAMPIONSHIP BE THE SWEETEST?
These Yankees would not be the greatest of the franchise’s 28 world champions. Far from it.
The Yankees were 91-71 this season. Of the 27 world champion Yankees, only one had fewer victories in the regular season (87 wins in 2000).
These Yankees finished second in the AL East, two games behind Boston. The Red Sox and six other teams had better records.
But the 2017 Yankees could pull off the most remarkable championship run in team history.
Twenty of 27 Yankees championship teams won the World Series without any playoffs (1923 through 1962).
If they go all the way, the current Yankees would have:
1-Rallied from down 3-0 after the top of the first inning to beat Minnesota 8-4 in the do-or-die American League wild-card game.
2-Ralled from down 2-0 to upset the Cleveland Indians 3-2 in the best-of-five ALDS.
3-Rallied from down 2-0 to upset Houston in the best-of-seven ALCS.
4-Upset the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.
The Dodgers (104-58), Indians (102-60) and Astros (101-61) had the three-best records in Major League Baseball this season and outscored opponents by 190-, 254- and 196 runs, respectively.
Beating them all would stamp these Yankees as a very special team even by the lofty standards of this proud franchise.
UPDATED WORLD SERIES ODDS
Here are the updated odds on the 2017 World Series courtesy of Bovada:
Dodgers bet $150 to win $100...Yankees bet $100 to win $200...Astros bet $100 to win $550.
The Dodgers are looking good with star shortstop Corey Seager (sore back) expected to return for the Fall Classic. Houston is tempting at the generous odds. If you’re a Yankees fans, you probably like the 2-to-1 odds and wish you were in Las Vegas.
NFL WEEK “BEST BET”: SEAHAWKS OVER THE GIANTS
My hunch is that the New York Giants played above their heads and caught Denver at the right time in last week’s 23-10 road victory.
Seattle has scored 9, 12 and 16 points in games this season and won two of them.
The Seahawks are due for a solid game on offense and have the defense to stuff the undermanned Giants.
This week’s “Best Bet”: Seattle (-6) 24, NEW YORK GIANTS 7.
Sunday’s other games
(home teams in CAPS)
BUFFALO (-3) 20, Tampa Bay 14 – The Bills are coming off a bye and the coaching staff had extra time to figure out how to exploit Tampa Bay’s lousy pass defense. I think Buffalo QB Tyrod Taylor could have a big day. Another plus: the Bills are 6-0-1 against the point spread (ATS) in their last seven games vs. NFC opponents.
MINNESOTA (-5 ½) 20, Baltimore 13 – Ravens QB Joe Flacco has been terrible (4 TD passes/8 INTs; 66.1 passer rating) and isn’t likely to get well against a stingy defense.
PITTSBURGH (-5 ½) 20, Cincinnati 17 – The Steelers should win but I figure they’re ripe for a letdown after a big road win over Kansas City. The Bengals can keep this one close.
New Orleans (-5 ½) 35, Green Bay 21 – Drew Brees vs. Aaron Rodgers would’ve been a fun QB shootout. Brees vs. Brett Hundley, not so much.
New York Jets 22, MIAMI (-3) 16 – Two strong trends here: the Jets are 8-1-1 ATS the last 10 games against the Dolphins and Miami QB Jay Cutler is 14-30-2 ATS as a home favorite.
LOS ANGELES RAMS (-3 ½) 35, Arizona 28 -- This game is in London and should be a high-scoring affair. There might be a Rams WR Sammy Watkins sighting. Warning: the Rams are 4-25 ATS as division favorites.
Carolina 27, CHICAGO (+3) 15 – The Panthers have played better on the road (3-0) than at home (1-2) this season and I don’t think Bears rookie QB Mitch Trubisky in his third NFL career start is quite ready to outduel Cam Newton.
Tennessee 28, CLEVELAND (-5 ½) 14 – The 0-6 Browns but four of their losses were by a total of 13 points. That trend isn’t likely to continue against the underrated Titans. Warning: Tennessee is 1-8-1 ATS coming off a Monday night game.
Jacksonville 28, INDIANAPOLIS (+3) 20 – The Colts are 11-0 outright and 10-1 ATS in the last 11 meetings. I don’t care. The Jaguars have alternated wins and losses so far this season and are due for a “W”. They’re also the better team.
Dallas 28, SAN FRANCISCO (+6) 17 – The 49ers are 0-6 but the last five losses were by a total of 13 points. They’ve been unlucky. And that bad luck continues as Cowboys star RB Ezekiel Elliott’s six-game suspension was delayed again.
Denver 24, LOS ANGELES CHARGERS (-1 ½) 20 – The Chargers are 0-3 in their new home and the Broncos should be ready to play after a poor showing in a 23-10 home loss to the Giants. Denver is 15-3 outright and 14-4 ATS in road division games since 2011.
Atlanta 28, NEW ENGLAND (-3 ½) 24 – The Falcons are coming off a bye week and had extra time to prepare for this Super Bowl 51 rematch. Atlanta has the weapons to outlast the defensively-challenged Patriots.
Monday night’s game
PHILADELPHIA (-5) 31, Washington 20 –The Eagles are making a case for being the NFC’s best team. QB Carson Wentz appears to be on the verge of stardom and he has lots of weapons at his disposal.
BILLS ARE ON TOP OF THE PINR SPREAD STANDINGS
The Buffalo Bill aren’t a secret to savvy bettors in Las Vegas.
Three-point favored Kansas City’s 31-30 loss Thursday night on Oakland left Buffalo alone on top of the NFL Point Spread standings.
The best records against the Las Vegas point spread: Buffalo 4-1...Chiefs 4-2...Texans 4-2...Eagles 4-2...Bears 4-2...and surprise, 49ers 4-2.
The worst records ATS: Browns 1-5...Cardinals 1-5...Buccaneers 1-4...and surprise, Patriots 2-4.
A FEW MORE NOTES ON THE GREAT DON HOLLEDER
I didn’t know this, but a bit of research reveals that quarterback Don Holleder completed zero passes for Army in the historic 14-6 victory over favored Navy November 26, 1955, before a crowd of 102,000 in Philadelphia’s Municipal Stadium.
Holleder had two pass attempts, one was intercepted and a newspaper account said “the other one should’ve been.” In the regular season, Don was 22-for-63 passing.
Army coach Red Blaik switched his All-American tight end as a junior to quarterback for his senior season.. Everyone – including Holleder and Blaik – knew Don was a poor passer. But Blaik said he needed a leader at quarterback and Holleder was the best man he had.
Holleder was one of the team’s top rushers in 1955 and also started on defense. He forced a fumble and brtoke up a crucial fourth-down pass in the Navy game.
Holleder appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in a preview before the Army-Navy game. It was noted that he became the first QB ever to appear on the cover of SI and then not complete a pass in the big game. He was 22-for-65 passing that season and Army finished 6-3 and ranked 20th in the final Associated Press poll.
WHAT DO SAMMY WATKINS AND TYLER HIGBEE HAVE IN COMMON?
Maybe you’ve never heard of Tyler Higbee. He’s a second-year wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers and he has the same number of targets this season as teammate Sammy Watkins.
Here are quarterback Jared Goff’s favorite targets:
Robert Woods (also a former Bills WR – 37 targets...37 catches/322 yards/14.6 yards per catch/TDs
Cooper Kupp (rookie) – 33 targets...19 catches/265 yards/13.9 yards per catch/2 TDs
Todd Gurley II – 30 targets...23 catches/245 yards/10.7 yards per catch/3 TDs
Sammy Watkins – 24 targets...15 catches/222 yards/14.8 yards per catch/2 TDs
Tyler Higbee – 24 targets...11 catches/166 yards/15.1 yards per catch...0 TDs.
THE SABRES COULD USE A HOT STREAK
The Buffalo Sabres are off to a 1-4-2 start in new coach Phil Housley’s first seven games and 4 out of 14 possible points in the standings is not good.
The Sabres host Vancouver Friday night and play at the Boston Celtics Saturday night.
Buffalo ranks tied for 23rd in the 31-team NHL in scoring (2.57 goals per game), t27th in goals-against average (3.86), 18th on the power play (18.5 percent; 5-for-27) and tied for 16th in penalty killing (80.8 percent; 21-for-26).
The worst stat of all: 5 short-handed goals – matching the number of power-play goals scored.
THE DODGERS ARE SORT OF HOT
How did the Los Angeles Dodgers – after looking like one of the all-time great teams for much of this season -- manage to go 1-16 in an incredibly bad slump after the All-Star Game break?
Whatever happened, the problems have been rectified.
The Dodgers will enter the World Series with this National League playoffs portfolio: 7-1 record...outscored opponents 48-19 (including the Cubs 28-8 in the five-game NLCS)...team batting average .273...13 HRs... 2.28 earned-run average...71 innings pitched...42 hits allowed..2.28 ERA... .169 batting average against. .. .0.76 WHIP (walks+hits per inning)...the unlikely trio of Charlie Culberson, Enrique Hernandez and Yasiel Puig is a combined 22-for-52 (.423 batting average) with 4 HRs and 14 RBI...the bullpen has 25 total appearances, with 25 1/3 innings, 9 hits allowed, 2 walks, 30 strikeouts and one earned run allowed.
Baseball’s highest-paid team has delivered the goods so far.
SHORT SHOTS
Two other former Bills wide receivers are enjoying productive 2017 seasons for their new teams: Chris Hogan (New England) 24 catches for 307 yards and 5 TDs...Marquise Goodwin (San Francisco) 16 catches for 269 yards and 0 TDs.
UFC president Dana White this week described Rochester native and former light-heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones as among the greatest wastes of talent in sports history. That’s harsh but probably true. Few pro athletes have been so dominant but so undisciplined. Jones is 30 and facing a maximum four-year suspension for a failed drug test before his latest victory.
It isn’t nice to root for injuries to opposing quarterbacks, but...Indianapolis Colts star QB Andrew Luck suffered a setback this week while putting his surgically-repaired throwing shoulder to the test and he has been shut down indefinitely. Going on IR is a possibility. The Colts play at Buffalo December 10.
The Houston Rockets 122-121 victory at the defending champion Golden State Warriors Tuesday night isn’t going to silence the observers who say the NBA is a two-team league – Golden State by quite a lot over Cleveland and the Cavaliers by a lot over the rest of the field. The Rockers outscored the Warriors 34-20 in the fourth quarter after Golden State’s Draymond Green left the game for good with a strained left knee. If anything, it further proved how important Green is to the success of the team.
The NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and NCAA this week filed a 71-page brief opposing New Jersey’s attempt to legalize sports betting. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case December 4.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...
Friday, October 20
Jeremy Hill (25)...Eddie Jones (46)...Juan Gonzalez (48)...Herman Moore (48)...Ray Childress (55)...pro wrestler Scott Hall (59)...Dave Krieg (59)...Lee Roy Selmon (63)...Keith Hernandez (64)...Isaac Curtis (67)...Juan Marichal (80). This would’ve been Mickey Mantle’s 86th birthday. He died in 1995....Snoop Dog (46) and Viggo Mortensen (59) are invited to the birthday party.
Saturday, October 21
Ricky Rubio (27)...Festus Ezeli (28)...Zack Greinke (34)...Lee Chong Wei (35)..Anotonio Smith (36)....Mo Lewis (48)...John Flaherty (50)...Bill Berg (50)...Lionel Washington (57)...George Bell (58)...Whitey Ford (89)....Kim Kardashian (37), Benjamin Netanyahu (68) and Judge Judy Scheindlin (75) are invited to the birthday party.
Sunday, October 22
Muhammad Wilkerson (28)...Robinson Cano (35)...Heath Miller (35)...Miroslav Satan (43)...Ichiro Suzuli (44)...Leonard Marshall (48)...Ron Tugnutt (50)...Marvin Washington (52)...Brian Boitano (54)...Keena Turner (59)...Butch Goring (68).