Thursday’s 6-pack:
Over/under win totals for this year:
54.5— White Sox
59.5— Colorado
63.5— Marlins
70.5— Washington
71.5— A’s
72.5— Angels
Quote of the Day
“Yeah, I expect to be the starter and come in here and be ready to rock and roll every day. I think this team’s really looking for somebody to lead them in every way.”
Russell Wilson
Thursday’s quiz
When was the last time all four #1-seeds made the Final Four?
Wednesday’s quiz
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played the last 14 years of his great career for the Lakers; he played his first six years for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Tuesday’s quiz
From 1954-1996, the Dodgers had only two managers, Walter Alston and Tommy Lasorda; former Dodgers SS Bill Russell replaced Lasorda as the Dodgers’ manager, in 1997.
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Recent trends for major league teams……..
National League
Arizona- Missed playoffs six of last seven years, but in that one year, they got to the World Series, losing to Texas in five games. Last two years, Arizona was 84-78/89-73.
Atlanta- Made playoffs the last seven years, but made only one World Series in those years, beating Houston in six games in 2021. Braves’ last losing season? 2017.
Cubs- Missed playoffs last four years, went 83-79/83-79 the last two years. From 2015-20, they made the playoffs five times in six years, winning 2016 World Series.
Cincinnati- Missed playoffs 10 of last 11 years, losing 2-0 to Atlanta in Wild Card round in 2020. Hiring Terry Francona as manager figures to be a huge upgrade for the Reds.
Colorado- Missed playoffs the last six years, losing 101/103 games the last two years. Since they got swept in the 2007 World Series, Rockies have made playoffs three times in 17 years.
Dodgers- Made playoffs the last 12 years, winning World Series in 2020/2024, losing Series in 2017/2018. Their last losing season was in 2010, when they were 80-82.
Miami- Marlins made playoffs twice in last four years, ending a 17-year drought; they went 62-100 last year, after making playoffs in 2023. They have their third manager in four years.
Milwaukee- Made playoffs six of last seven years; their last losing season in a 162-game schedule was 2016. Brewers won 92+ games in three of their last four seasons.
Mets- Made playoffs two of last three years, have made playoffs only four times since 2007. Mets fans are lucky to have a very wealthy owner who is also a fan and really wants to win.
Phillies- Made playoffs the last three years, ending a 10-year drought; From 2013-20, Phillies weren’t over .500 in any season. Phillies lost World Series to Houston in six games in 2022.
Pittsburgh- Missed playoffs the last nine years, after making it three years in a row under Clint Hurdle, from 2013-15. Won 76/76 games last two years, after winning 61/62 in 2021-22.
St Louis- Missed playoffs last two years, after making it four years in a row before that; they’ve made the playoffs eight times in 13 years since winning the 2011 World Series.
San Diego- Made playoffs three of last five years, lost NLDS 3-2 to the Dodgers last year. Their owner died last year; is still unclear if the new ownership will still be spending $$$.
San Francisco- Made playoffs once in last seven years; they were 107-55 in 2021, haven’t been over .500 since then. Made playoffs twice in last 10 years, since winning 3 WS in five years.
Washington- Won 2019 World Series, have had five losing seasons in a row since, but still have same manager/GM. They let Bryce Harper/Juan Soto/Trey Turner walk.
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Famous birthdays, March 27th:
Dick Ruthven, 74
Cliff Stoudt, 70
Randall Cunningham, 62
Quentin Tarantino, 62
Ed Pinckney, 62
Buster Posey, 38
Clay Holmes, 32
Brandon Nimmo, 32
Brycen Hopkins, 28
Tyler Kolek, 24
American League
Baltimore— Won 101-91 games the last two years; four years ago, they were 52-110, so a huge turnaround down by manager Brandon Hyde. Last World Series title: 1983.
Boston— Missed playoffs last three years, winning 78-78-81 games; they’ve made playoffs once in six years, since winning 2018 World Series- they’ve won four World Series since 2004.
White Sox— Were 41-121 last year, a historically bad season; they lost 101 games the year before, two years after they went 93-69, losing the ALDS. LY, they were 13-29 in one-run games.
Cleveland— Guardians made playoffs six of last nine years; they finished over .500 in 10 of their last 12 seasons. Cleveland was 10-3 in extra-inning games last year.
Detroit— Made playoffs last year for first time in 10 years; they were 21-12 vs lefty starters, 65-64 vs RHP. Detroit was 21-10 when Tarik Skubal was the starting pitcher.
Houston— Made playoffs the last eight years, winning World Series in 2017, 2022. Changed up some this year; Altuve will play LF, Christian Walker 1B, Paredes 3B.
Kansas City— Made playoffs last year for first time since winning 2015 World Series; last year, Royals were 33-19 against AL Central rivals, 53-55 vs everyone else.
Angels— Have had nine straight losing seasons; Mike Trout has been in big leagues 14 years, has played in three playoff games. They still owe Anthony Rendon $77M+ the next two years.
Minnesota— Missed playoffs three of last four years; since 2006, they’re 3-18 in playoff games. Last year, Twins were 18-28 vs NL teams, 10-21 vs AL East, 29-23 vs AL Central rivals.
Bronx— Made playoffs 12 of last 16 years; lost World Series LY, their first WS since 2009. Last year, they were 73-46 vs lefty starters, only 21-23 vs lefties.
A’s— Last three years, lost 102-112-93 games; they were in the playoffs in 2020. .Will play home games the next three years in Sacramento. LY, from July 1st on, A’s were 39-37.
Seattle— Have made playoffs once since 2001; losing 3-0 to Astros in ALDS. Last year, Mariners were 32-20 vs AL West rivals, 53-57 vs everyone else- they missed the playoffs by a game.
Tampa Bay— Missed playoffs LY for first time in six years; they were 80-82, 30-22 in one-run games. This year, Rays are playing in a spring training stadium in Tampa; their dome got shredded by a hurricane this winter..
Texas— Made playoffs once in last eight years, winning 2023 World Series. Bruce Bochy has won four World Series, in his last 12 years as a manager. Rangers were 9-2 in extra innings LY.
Toronto— Made playoffs three of last five years, but went 0-6 in playoffs; last year, Blue Jays were 14-22 vs lefty starters, 19-30 in one-run games.