And Then There Was One

 

And suddenly there is just one contest lest in the Division series. The Astros (AL) are in. In the NL, the Dodgers and Braves are in. The only spot left is for the Rays or the Yankees. 

A couple of ex-Durham Bulls are with the Rays, so guess who I'm rooting for?

On the Verge

 

The Rays, Astros, Dodgers, and Braves need one more game to get into their finals. Rays-Yankees contest is particularly interesting and fun to watch.

Matchups

 Geek stuff. According to the number-crunchers at FiveThirtyEight, here's how the next round of playoffs looks. By the numbers, the LA Dodgers should have a relatively easy time of it over the Padres. So should the Braves over the Marlins. However, The Astros/Athletics matchup is much closer and the Rays/Yankees competition is a wash (even though the Rays owned the Yankees this year). Should be fun.

First Round Done

 

Rays Sweep Blue Jays

 

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The Rays are off to San Diego to play the Yankees in the Division series "bubble". Nice to see Charlie Montoyo, but the Rays were in a groove these last couple of days. 

Rays Have Great Year; Now for the Playoffs

Click on Image for a larger view

 

Congratulations to the Tampa Bay Rays for a terrific year. Also one of the weirdest years in baseball history. But the game itself has not changed ... much. So let's see what happens beginning Tuesday.

It's Official — No Bulls Baseball This Year

Well, it happened. We knew it would, but it still hurts to know that we will not be going to the DBAP to watch the Bulls this year.

Several players we watched last year are on the Rays' 40-man and the new 60-man "pool", and we'll probably see some baseball. But no Bulls, no baseball in Bull City.

Press release here (with terrific video by Mike Birling); N&O article here; thinkpiece out of St Petersburg here, snippet on the 60 pool here.