Baseball drama

Hello there!

Just to introduce myself a little bit. I just got back from my 2-year mission to Kansas in June and have resumed school. My burning passion in my life is sports and I follow as much as I can everyday (probably more than I should). I will try to update you every week on all things sports.



So the MLB playoffs began last week with two exciting wild card games. My favorite team is the San Diego Padres. They did not reach the postseason (again) so I am rooting against the teams I hate like the Giants and Dodgers. Yes, I meant what I said. Last Tuesday, the action began with the Oakland A's falling to the Kansas City Royals in walk-off fashion. The Royals were down by 4 runs heading into the 8th inning but they come back and won. They have carried that momentum into the ALDS against the Angels where they handily swept the top seed in the majors. That was exciting.

The Giants won their wild card game 9-0 against the Pirates in Pittsburgh and have since defeated the Washington Nationals in 4 games (out of five). I REALLY hope they don't win the world series this year because I am predicting that they will. Whenever they get this far into the playoffs they always seem to win even if they don't have all of their weapons. I guess it's a testament that it comes down to pitching to win you games in the postseason. The Cardinals took care of business against the Dodgers beating them in 4 games as well. Every time my Pad-squad plays the Dodgers, it pains me to see Adrian Gonzalez in that blue uniform. Likewise it pains me to see Jake Peavy pitch against us as a member of the Giants. The latter is my favorite Padre of all time and the former is not much behind him. Memories have flown through my mind of Jake's dominating presence and barrage of pitches back in 2007 when he won the Cy Young award. Don't get me started on the wild card game of that year. Anyways, back to today. So the NLCS begins this Saturday in St. Louis as the Cardinals take on the Giants. It's a rematch of the 2012 NLCS when the Giants went on to win the world series. I seriously hope that that is not the case again this year.

Meanwhile, who will the Royals be playing in the ALCS, you ask? The Orioles, behind their powerful offensive lineup and outstanding defense swept a Tigers team whose bullpen decided not to show up (figuratively). It looks like they went to a bar to watch the game and when they realized that they were supposed to be pitching, it was too late. Nelson Cruz enjoyed their pitching woes as did the rest of the Orioles lineup including former Padre Nick Hundley who was traded to Baltimore in May. That ALCS looks to be exciting especially since it involves someone other than the Tigers or Red Sox. But I predict Baltimore to win this series even though Kansas City is absolutely torrid right now and haven't been slowed down since the end of the regular season. I think that is because of the long break that they have had to endure waiting to play again. Baltimore has home field advantage too. Camden Yards is definitely a hitter's paradise. Boy can the Orioles hit too. This series begins Friday on TBS.

In other sports news, the Chargers seem unstoppable as they have won 4 in a row. They face the Raiders in Oakland this Sunday. Go Bolts! The NBA and NHL start up soon. I follow the NBA closely and am entertained by a hockey game, but don't really follow the NHL all that much. My LSU Tigers have been struggling in the SEC this year. After a dramatic victory over Wisconsin to start the year, they didn't play a difficult opponent until Mississippi State owned them. Dak Prescott looks like a QB on a mission. Then they got annihilated by Auburn 41-7. Looks like their hopes in a national title this year are gone. But they do have a ton of talent and will be a power to be reckoned with in years to come.

I think that is it for today. There is a lot more news to cover but I just don't have the time to write about everything. If you want to know anything in the world of sports, please let me know by commenting on this post or by some other means. This is only the beginning on my path toward gaining a career in the sports world. This is my passion! ESPN, I'm coming!