THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2013
PAGE 7
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"He's the best pitcher in baseball and it showed tonight."
—Adrian Gonzalez on Clayton Kershaw after the game one victory over the Braves
FACT OF THE DAY
Hanley Ramirez's six extra-base hits ties Carlos Beltran and Jim Edmonds for the most extra-base hits in a Division Series.
twitter.com/dodgers
TRIVIA OF THE DAY
Q: Who was the last Dodger pitcher to have an ERA below 2,00?
A: Sandy Koufax in 1963, 1964 and 1968
baseballreference.com
THE MORNING BREW Why the Dodgers will win the World Series
It has been said for years that baseball is "America's Pastime" and, as James Jones said playing Terence Mann in the movie "Field of Dreams" "the one constant throughout all the years has been baseball... This game is a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good and could be again."
The historical game of baseball is at its most exciting time of the year again, where the dull month of October seems as alive as the month of March, with all the unpredictable and traditional teams playing for one thing – a championship.
As the MLB playoffs are now underway, there are both unpredictable teams (the Pirates) and traditional teams (the Red Sox) that all have a legitimate shot at claiming the World Series title. However, there is another unpredictable and traditional team I have in mind that will actually win the World Series: the Los Angeles Dodgers.
the Dodgers considered out of the playoff hunt, but manager Don Mattingly was quickly put on the hot seat as well. Things were looking dim for the club as the light at the end of the tunnel became more and more dull.
With a dismissal record of 30-42 after their June 21 loss to San Diego, not only were
other guys on the roster that have helped make this historical franchise relevant once again.
Then came young Cuban star Yasiel Puig, who, since his debut, has provided an electrical spark that this club was desperately lacking at the beginning of the year. Though he was the centerpiece behind the dramatic stretch the Dodgers had in the middle of the season, there have been
Guys like Adrian Gonzalez, whose veteran presence and consistent play throughout the entire year have been essential to the team's success all season. Hanley Ramirez, who has a bat right now that is as hot as the southern California sun, is looking better than the guy who won the batting title in 2009. And let's not forget about the best pitcher in baseball: Clayton Kershaw.
Yes, Clayton Kershaw is the best pitcher in baseball. Forget his regular season record of 16-9, because I agree it is not that impressive. It is how the Dodgers were playing in the beginning of the season that has made his record what it is. With an ERA of 1.89, Kershaw has led the lead in that category for three years, along with leading the league in strikeouts for the second time in three seasons.
Looking at the other teams that are currently in the play offs, there really
has the ability to win the World Series like the Dodgers. They have the best odds of winning at 5-2, and still play like they have something to prove, because they do. The Dodgers have a higher payroll than any other team in the MLB, and it is time to show that money does buy championships in baseball. As a Dodgers fan, I am happy when my team wins. So, theoretically, money should buy me happiness, right?
Edited by Ashleigh Tidwell
This week in athletics
Tuesday
No Events
Wednesday
Volleyball
Oklahoma
6:30 p.m.
Lawrence
Thursday
Softball Labette Community College 5 p.m. Lawrence
Softball
Avila
6 p.m.
Lawrence
Friday
Soccer TCU 4 p.m. Lawrence
Saturday
Football
TCU
11 a.m.
Forth Worth, Texas
Softball
lowa
1 p.m.
lowa City, Iowa
Volleyball Texas 6:30 p.m. Lawrence
Women's Golf
Diane Thomason Invvitational
All Day
Iowa City, Iowa
Women's Swimming
Air Force
1 p.m.
Colorado Springs, Colo.
Sunday
Women's Golf Diane Thomason Invitational All Day Iowa City, Iowa
FOOTBALL
Men's Golf Crooked Stick Intercollegiate All Day Carmel, Ind.
Monday
Baylor, Big 12 teams show power defensively, too
ASSOCIATED PRESS
No. 15 Baylor is holding opponents to 16 points and 321 yards per game, both in the top 20 in those respective categories.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Forget for a second that Baylor is scoring an eye-popping 70 points per game. The Bears — and some other teams in the high-scoring Big 12 — are doing solid work on the other side of the ball, too.
The Bears forced four turnovers last week in a 73-42 win over West Virginia. The Mountaineers scored twice on defense and got many of their 28 second-half points after Baylor defensive coordinator Phil Bennett pulled his starters.
Baylor (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) has another test in its first road game Saturday at Kansas State (2-3, 0-2)
Much of the credit for Baylor's eight-game winning streak that started last season against the Wildcats can be given to the defense.
"Those guys are flying around," Baylor coach Art Briles said Monday. "Phil's done a great job with them. They have a lot of confidence, and it's confidence that they earned through the ending of last season and it's carried on through this year
For all the Bears have done to get into the end zone, Kansas State coach Bill Snyder said Baylor's defense has improved since helping to end the Wildcats' national championship dreams last November in
Waco, Texas.
Texas Tech and Baylor also are
"I think what gets unnoticed probably a great deal is the fact that all the attention is focused on their offense, and yet they're playing quite well defensively," Snyder said. "I thought at the end of the year last year they played so well against us. They have continued that throughout."
Six Big 12 teams rank in the top 50 nationally in total and scoring defense, led by No. 12 Oklahoma (5-0, 2-0).
The Sooners are sixth nationally in scoring defense (13.0) and ninth in the fewest yards allowed (281.6) entering Saturday's Red River Rivalry game with Texas (3-2, 2-0) in Dallas.
in the top 15 nationally in scoring defense. Baylor is 17th nationally in yards allowed, while Texas Tech,
TCU, Oklahoma State and Kansas State are giving up less than 400 yards per game.
Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops likes his defense's speed, discipline and abilities to put pressure on the quarterback and stop the run.
"We'll need to do
We need to do all those things the same way here playing Texas this week," Stoops said.
have surgery for a torn pectoral muscle this week and will likely miss the rest of the season. Nelson
"I think what gets unnoticed ... is the fact that all the attention is focused on their offense, and yet they're playing quite well defensively."
The Sooners will be without line-backer Corey Nelson, who will
BILL SNYDER
Kansas State head coach
was injured in Saturday's 20-17 win over TCU. He was second on the team with 27 total tackles this season.
Stoops called the loss of Nelson "significant."
'Corey's a captain and a guy right there in the
heart of the defense," Stoops said. "It's hard to minimize that. He was having a great, great year and it's unfortunate for him. You hate to see that happen to a guy in his senior year."
Texas quarterback David Ash will sit out the game with concussion-like symptoms, and coach Mack Brown is counting on Case McCoy to help the Longhorns try to break Oklahoma's recent domination in the series.
Texas hasn't surpassed 21 points in each of the past three tries against Oklahoma, all losses.
"This is one of the faster defenses I've seen them have," Brown said. "I think for a Big 12 defense right now, they're exactly what you want. They can all run. They can fly. They're physical but they get to the ball."
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