July 16, 2018

SportsFilter: The Monday Huddle:

A place to discuss the sports stories that aren't making news, share links that aren't quite front-page material, and diagram plays on your hand. Remember to count to five Mississippi before commenting in anger.

posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 4 comments

And here we are, at the MLB all star break. The Cubs have the best record in the NL. How the hell did that happen?

posted by NoMich at 09:51 AM on July 16, 2018

Some clubs blow hot and cold. The Red Sox are either in first place or last, so it seems.

But it is so comforting to know in this time of almost constant daily turmoil that there are some places where steadiness and consistency are the rule of the day.

My hat's off to the Padres. Here's to 4th or 5th place and .420 ball forever.

posted by beaverboard at 12:45 PM on July 16, 2018

The Orioles are 39.5 games back of the division and 30 games back of the wild card. The Royals are 25.0 games back of the division and also 30 games back of the wild card.

The Orioles/Royals will get worse in the second half because they are actively shopping/trading their best remaining players (like Manny Machado and Mike Moustakas) and they will most definitely NOT be getting back any players that could make an immediate impact on their team.

The real problem is that both teams really don't have much to look forward to with prospects in the minors. They haven't drafted well and they had traded some prospects away during their playoff runs from a few years ago.

posted by grum@work at 03:57 PM on July 16, 2018

2018 NCCA College Football Championship: Long shot Georgia* loses to powerhouse Alabama in the finals.

2018 Olympics Men's Hockey: Long shot Germany loses to powerhouse Not-Russia in the finals.

2018 World Hockey Championships: Long shot Switzerland loses to powerhouse Sweden in the finals.

2018 Stanley Cup Finals: Long shot Vegas loses to powerhouse Washington in the finals.

2018 NBA Finals: Long shot Cavaliers** loses to powerhouse Golden State in the finals.

2018 World Cup: Long shot Croatia loses to powerhouse France in the finals.

*ranked 15th in pre-season polls

**4th seed in weaker conference...just go with it

I should put money down on the long-shot Philadelphia Phillies losing to the powerhouse Houston Astros in the 2018 World Series...

posted by grum@work at 12:19 AM on July 17, 2018

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