Time Out for Sports Talk: Autumn is Always About Raking
Todd: Sometimes in sports it’s better to be fortunate than good. Safe to say that’s what the Patriots must be thinking after defeating two division rivals in a span of five days, in particular last night’s escape against the now 1-6 Jets.
With their 27-25 win over Rex Ryan’s J-E-T-S, the Pats are fortunate that football games only last sixty minutes. They are fortunate to have scored 27 points given that they only possessed the ball for 19 of those minutes.
The Pats are fortunate that Geno Smith overthrew a wide-open Jace Amaro on a potential game-tying two-point conversion. They are fortunate that Danny Amendola, who had already made a remarkable fourth-quarter touchdown catch, was in the right place at the right time to recover the loose ball on the Jets’ ensuing onside kick.
And more than anything, the Pats are fortunate that karma, like payback, is a female dog (only G-rated opines in this space). They were fortunate that Chris Jones, who last year at the Meadowlands was flagged for a penalty on the Jets’ FG attempt in overtime that cost the Pats the game, was this year able to get a hand on Nick Folk’s 58-yard field goal as time expired for the first field goal block of Jones’ entire football career.
Whew!
That’s three straight wins for the Pats, a 5-2 record, an NFL-best 40-9 record in October dating back to 2003, and now a well-deserved ten-day break till the Bears arrive at Gillette Stadium.
Not sure long-term how the Jerod Mayo (his season ends in Week 6 for the second straight year) and Stevan Ridley injuries will affect the Pats, but losing depth never helps. Guess we’ll wait and see if others can step up to fill those voids on the roster.
Final thought on this recent stretch of Pats victories – what does it say about the Cincinnati Bengals and Buffalo Bills, two teams featuring talented rosters and both considered on the rise in the AFC, both had a chance to make a major statement against a Patriots team that looked quite vulnerable, and not only did they both fail to win but came up woefully short (we’re talking flop sweat here, folks). If they couldn’t rise to that occasion, they are far from ready to compete for a Lombardi.
Say hey kids, my Giants-Royals World Series has actually come to fruition! It’s an even-numbered year and San Francisco is once again representing in the Fall Classic. They’re hard not to like with 25-year old southpaw Madison Bumgarner sporting a very Lester-ian 1.42 ERA in four postseason starts.
Then there’s old friend Jake Peavy (1-0, 1.86 ERA in two playoff starts) going for his second championship in as many years. If the recent every-other-year Giants hold true to form, will Peavy be soon buying himself a San Francisco streetcar to add to the duck boat already residing at his sweet home in Alabama?
Red Sox fans might want to follow this World Series not only for Peavy, but they might also be watching their 2015 third baseman in action. Switch-hitter Pablo Sandoval (dubbed ‘Kung Fu Panda’ because of his 5-11, 245-pound frame) is hitting a solid .326 this postseason after claiming World Series MVP honors two years ago for hitting three home runs in SF’s four-game sweep over Detroit (Sandoval hit .364 with 6 HR and 13 RBI in the 2012 playoffs). The 28-year old is also a .294 career hitter over his 7-year MLB career (averaging about 20 HR a season) and would look might good manning the hot corner at Fenway next year.
The Sox could also be going after another potential WS MVP candidate this offseason in Kansas City Royals likely Game 1 starter James Shields. But I don’t think Ben Cherington should be offering a large pile of money to a soon-to-be 33-year old who is only 3-4 with a 5.19 ERA in nine career postseason starts. Even during the Royals’ meteoric rise these playoffs, Shields has given up ten earned runs in sixteen innings over his three starts.
I’ll take Sandoval if Ben goes after a third baseman in free agency, but the Sox should look elsewhere for starting pitching.
Speaking of the Royals, their perfect 8-0 postseason—part of an 11-game postseason win streak that dates all the way back to Game 5 of the 1985 World Series—reminds me a little of what the Sox did last October. Not necessarily record-wise, but like the 2013 Sox the Royals on paper don’t possess as much talent as some of this year’s now-eliminated competition, and yet they find ways to win night after night.
Offensively, KC has averaged one home run per postseason win, but are only hitting .259 as a team which includes 15 infield hits and 13 stolen bases. The reason they look like a team of destiny (and why I think they’ll find a way to take down the Giants in six games) is their pitching, especially at the back end. The Royals’ bullpen has been downright regal this October with a 1.30 ERA, led by the seventh/eighth/ninth inning trio of Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis (the former Ray-now-Royal much more worthy of praise) and closer Greg Holland, who have allowed just three earned runs and amassed 30 strikeouts over 25-2/3 innings (1.05 ERA).
Enough about baseball. I’ll close with my weekly NFL game picks (1-1-1 last week, 8-6-1 season): Bills over the Vikings, Browns over the Jaguars and Cowboys over the Giants. Could last week’s Bengals-Panthers tie potentially help me edge out Mike to win our season-long showdown? Guess I’ll have to get white-hot and maybe Mike can cool down a bit for it to play a factor. Long way to go this season!
Now for the perfect segue—speaking of teams like the Jets and Jags that scare their fans, here’s Mike with another plug this week!
Mike: Yup, another plug--don't forget the Town of Terror (which has nothing to do with how badly the Pats played last night) is open on Friday and Saturday nights at the Pittston Fairgrounds....come on out for a scary good time!
I don't have much else to add this week, Todd did a good job summing up what is going on, so I'm moving on to my weekly picks (2-1 last week, 12-3 season): I'll take Denver over San Francisco, the Cardinals over the Raiders and the Colts over the Bengals.
Our next LIVE show is coming up on Monday night, October 27 from 8-9pm. You can post your questions via Twitter using the hashtag #TOSToct27 or call in at (617) 484-2443.
More From 92 Moose
