Everything you need to know about Baseball
By Henry Silva
@hsilva2510
The Red October, Pt. 2?
As Nick Castellanos, right fielder for the Philadelphia Phillies, said after sweeping the marlins, “It’s a Red October.” Coming off of a historic 2022 playoff run where the Phillies were the first sixth-seeded team ever to make it to the World Series, they look to make noise yet again. Seeded 4th this year as yet again a wild card team, the Phillies blew by the Marlins and look to face the Braves again in the NLDS. With off season additions of Trea Turner, Craig Kimbrel, Gregory Soto, and Taijun Walker, the Phillies look even stronger than last year and look to become the champs. Deemed the Red October last year, could we see the sequel in 2023? I say yes.
Over-Management
The Minnesota Twins cruised by the Toronto Blue Jays in the Wild Card round of the MLB playoffs. After rookie Royce Lewis came up big in game 1 with 2 HR’s, the Blue Jays went into game 2 with their season on the line. With everything at stake they looked to their #2 pitcher José Berrios to hold down the red hot Twins to keep the season alive. After throwing just 47 pitches and allowing 0 earned runs, manager John Schnieder took the ball out of his hands and went to Yusei Kikuchi out of the pen. The Blue Jays would go on to lose this game with Kikuchi allowing 2 runs (1 ER) and 3 hits through 1.1 innings. Was this the right move? I think not. Seeing a very similar instance in the 2020 world series with Rays pitcher Blake Snell being pulled during a dominant performance, going with the decision to not ride with Berrios proved to be season ending as with Snell. With all of the analytics in today’s game sometimes we overthink decisions when going with your gut might just be the move.
The Baby Birds
With many sportsbooks having the over/under for the Orioles win total set around the mid-70s for 2023, they proved them wrong going 101-6. The first 100 win season for the O’s since 1980. As the number 1 seed in this year’s Playoffs for the American League the Orioles are faced with a tough road lining up to play the Texas Rangers and the reigning champs, Houston Astros. The Orioles unexpected season is credited to their young stars being able to come up to the Big Leagues with instant success. However, this poses a problem for them in the playoffs. As the second youngest team in the playoffs this year, will the inexperienced Orioles be able to rise above the pressure? I think so. While there’s no telling if the Orioles have what it takes to win the world series, seeing them there shouldn’t be surprising. Even with such a young team, the Baby Birds have been able to show resilience and maturity throughout their 2023 campaigns.
Money = Wins?
The Yankees have won 27 championships. The most out of any baseball team by far. How did they do it? Buying players. Money was the key to winning. But their last championship was 14 years ago. Baseball has changed. Money is no longer the key to championships. Sure it can get you a good team. But the real key to success is through development. This year, of the 14 teams above league average payroll, 8 of them missed the playoffs. The top 3 missed the playoffs. Baseball is no longer about who has the most money. It is now who has the best prospects and coaching. The game is changing. I think for the better.
