NFL
By: Joe Cardoso
With the insanity of the MLB trade deadline behind us, we are 117 games into the season, and the postseason races are heating up. At the time of this writing, the Milwaukee Brewers have the biggest division lead up five over the Chicago Cubs. Let’s get into it with some headlines I’m looking at and players who you should know as well. Without further ado, this is the weekly word in baseball.
Restless In Seattle
What a week for the Mariners! Walk-off wins, five-game winning streak, and ghost runners winning games in extra innings. They gave you a little bit of everything. Logan Gilbert’s last start was what the team needed, and could the 43rd home run by Cal Raleigh be the spark he needs to break out of his slump and start hitting again? They are 1.5 games behind the Houston Astros and have Josh Naylor working his way through injuries to make his debut. This is going to be one of many fun races to see who grabs the division crown. Player to watch for the M’s is Dominic Canzone, a lefty bat who isn’t afraid to step up in key moments.
Talk about beating up on bad pitching! The Milwaukee Brewers continue to beat down NL Central teams, a franchise record 56 hits in a three-game series. One name to remember is Issac Collins, standing only at 5’8 do not be fooled, kid has been ballin and making plays on defense and offense, just check his numbers lately. He was also the July National League rookie of the month. No one talks about the Brew crew, which is just how they like it. They just hit the field battle and let the chips fall where they may.
Rough Waters
Never a good time to play bad ball, but with division races so tight, this is one of the WORST times to stumble, but here we are. The New York Mets and New York Yankees are a combined 5-15 in their last 20 games and have looked pretty bad during the stretch. The Yankees continue to make stupid mistakes on either the base pads or defense, and it has cost them wins. With the return of Aaron Judge, Bronx Bombers fans hope he can be a spark and get things back on track. Devin Williams had a shot to shut the door on Friday and once again was unable to get the job done.
This has been a very uneasy season for the guys in pinstripes. Can they fix it soon? Looking at the Mets, the spring training hope and excitement are fading away pretty fast, but all is not lost with a Wild Card spot still in play, but the Reds are not making it easy for them. It feels like Juan Soto is playing at a high level, and the other guys can’t get it done. And the pitching staff needs to stack up some solid outings to build off of. Could they bring up one or two of their highly rated pitching prospects?
Playoffs
No one team has a huge lead to claim a wildcard spot, which will give us some really exciting baseball, along with moments. Can the Padres catch the Cubs? Will the Indians or Rangers get hot and move into a spot? And like has been the case most of the season, no one is talking about the Detroit Tigers. Catch you guys next week for The Weekly Word on Baseball.
