We are now down to four teams in the baseball playoffs after the defending World Series champion Chicago Cubs ousted Washington, 9-8, in game 5 on Thursday night. The 3rd seeded Cubs, however, must head West to play the top seeded LA Dodgers to open the NLCS on Saturday night in a rematch of last year's NLCS. Los Angeles, however, will have had four full days of rest after sweeping out Arizona on Monday.
Momentum may be on the Cubs' side for now, but do they risk sending Jake Arietta or Jon Lester back out on 2 days rest? No, I don't think so. Both pitched on Wednesday in a 5-0 game 4 loss to the Nationals. Clayton Kershaw almost certainly will be on the hill for the Dodgers to start the series, hoping to exorcise the ghosts of postseasons past once and for all. If the Cubs aren't feeling fatigued after 5 grueling games with the Nats, they will be when this is over.
Pick-Cubs in 6.
As for Washington, another 1st round loss should, by rights, spell the end for Dusty Baker in DC. He had the same problem in Cincinnati, unable to get past the 1st round, and it may be time for a change. It wouldn't surprise me if a certain spoiled brat in Washington prevailed upon GM Mike Rizzo to fire Baker, but does the President know anything about baseball?
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Meanwhile, Houston is looking to reach the World Series for the first time since they were a NL club back in 2005, when they fell to the Chicago White Sox. To get there, the Astros must first deal with the Yankees. Masahiro Tanaka and Dallas Keuchel will be the starters in game 1 tonight. The Yankees' rise comes a bit ahead of schedule, and while finicky fans were calling for Joe Girardi's head after game 2 of the LDS vs. Cleveland, no one is complaining now, at least until the Astros win a game.
However, it's Houston's time, at long last. Sports bars in the home district will be filled with Yankees and Astros/Valleycats fans for every game in the series, and I do mean every game. I do know some people who are fans of both the 'Cats and the Bombers, so there'll be some conflicted souls during the series. Houston doesn't have an easy out in the lineup, while the Yanks struggled to generate some offense in some positions, like DH, for example, vs. the Indians.
Pick-Astros in 7.
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The NFL has won its battle to uphold the suspension of Dallas RB Ezekiel Elliott, but the case is far from over, as there could be more appeals, much like the Tom Brady case, to drag this out even further. Just let it end.
Meanwhile, the league is looking at an alternate site for Sunday's Raiders-Chargers game due to wildfires in the area. Given the Chargers' horrible luck since moving out of San Diego, this would kill the momentum after beating the Giants last week.
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Troy High's soccer teams ended their regular seasons on Thursday, headed in opposite directions. The girls have lost six in a row after losing to Averill Park, 2-1, and have been outscored an unsightly 26-3 in those six losses, with all 3 goals scored by sophomore star Abby Burns, daughter of football coach Bob Burns. When sectional pairings are announced, as early as Monday, it looks like Troy will be at Bethlehem for the 2nd straight postseason.
The boys, on the other hand, snapped a 5 game winless streak (0-4-1) with a 6-1 Senior Night win over AP. Mike Murnane's club finishes the regular season 6-9-1 overall (5-9-1 in the Suburban Council), and while they too will be on the road for sectionals, at least they have momentum on their side. Senior Kevin Vargas notched another hat trick as Troy scored six unanswered goals after Averill Park drew first blood in the first half. The girls finish the regular season 2-14 (1-13 in league), the 3rd straight campaign with 10+ losses. A few breaks here and there, and maybe things are different.
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