By Woodrow Carroll
It really comes as no surprise to those who are familiar with the world of sports. The strange and bizarre are an almost every-day occurrence.
• The Atlanta Braves arrived in Chicago Friday, June 17 on a 14-game winning streak. The Braves’ opponent, the Chicago Cubs were the proud owners of a 10-game losing streak at the time. So, what happened at Wrigley Field? A Cubs’ victory, of course!
Not only did the Braves not win the game one, Atlanta failed to score in what was a 1-0 victory for the Cubs. The Cubs’ shutout victory followed what had been mugged four straight games at home by the San Diego Padres The Padres scored 41 runs at Wrigley Field, so the Braves had every reason to envision big offensive numbers and keep their winning streak intact.
A bit shellshocked after Friday’s defeat, the Braves were 6-3 losers to the Cubs, Saturday before rebounding to whitewash the Cubs, 6-0, Sunday, June 19 in the series finale. The Cubs’ record through Monday, June 20 was 25-42
• The Chicago White Sox were in Houston for three games with the Astros last weekend. The White Sox lost two of three to the talented Astros who are the front-running team in the AL West. The results were no real shocker bercause the Sox have been struggling to find their footing this season and left Houston with a 31-33 record. The real shocker may have been the lone victory recorded by the Sox.
The opener of the Sox-Astros series Friday, June 17 was a 13-3 romp for Houston. With Justin Verlander on the mound for Houston, the Sox werea decided underdogs Saturday, June 18.
Johnny Cueto, 0-3, vs. Verlander, 8-2, was the pitching match-up for the Saturday, June 18 game It was not pretty on paper!
The Cubs’ 1-0 victory over a hot Braves’ team Friday, June 17 was no bigger surprise than the White Sox 7-0 win over Verlander and the Astros Saturday, June 18. Cueto picked up his first pitching victory of the season with Verlander saddled with his third defeat to go with his eight victories.
Sadly, from the Sox standpoint, the Astros took the rubber game of their three-game series with the Sox, by a 4-3 score, Sunday.
• The Atlanta Braves are defending World Series champions by virtue of a four-games to two- games conquest of the Astros in the 2021 World Series. The Braves are a solid team as shown by their recent 14-game winning streak. However, history is not on Atlanta’s side in the franchises quest to repeat as World Series champion.
The last team to repeat as World Series champion was the 2000 edition of the New York Yankees managed by Joe Torre. The Yankees were good enough to win it all in 1998, 1999, and 2000, before falling in seven games to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2001 World Series.
There have been solid MLB teams since the 2000 Yankees. Still, a back-to-back World Series championship has been elusive.
The Boston Red Sox, a team that went 88 seasons (1918-2004) before breaking through to win the World Series in 2004, have four championships, 2007, 2013, 2018, to go with 2004, in the past 20 seasons. But, a quick look tell us the Red Sox were not back in the Fall Classic after winning it the previous year.
The San Francisco Giants had a kangaroo run in winning the World Series in 2010, 2012, and 2014. However, the Giants never played in a World Series following any of those Series championships.
In this century, only the Philadelphia Phillies made it all the way back to the World Series Then, the Phillies faltered.
The 2008 Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays, four games to one in winning the World Series. In 2009, the Phillies came up short and lost to the Yankees, four games to two in the World Series.
Recent history indicates the Braves have their work cut out for them to repeat as World Series champions.