52 dingers. Not a bad rookie season, eh? (With two more to play.)
Alonso had a bit of a slump in July when he batted .177 with “only” six homers, but he battled right back in the following two months. There’s really no knock on the kid. His clutch stats are excellent: he actually batted better in the late innings of close games. His splits are non-existent: he hits right handers as well as southpaws. And he’s as strong as an ox.
In other MLB news, the ten playoff teams have now been determined, but there is one matter still unresolved. The Brewers and Cardinals are both in the post-season, but one of them will go in as a division champ, while the other will have to participate in the much-despised play-in game. The Cards are more likely to win the division. As I type this, they have a one-game edge and have the easier schedule. They will finish the season with two home games. The Brewers have two on the road, and to make it worse, the games are at Coors, where the Rockies are quite competent. (The Rocks are over .500 at home, but finished a pathetic 28-53 on the road.) At the risk of being drummed out of Wisconsin, I have to opine that the Cards deserve it. They have a better team even when the Brewers’ star, Christian Yelich, is healthy, which he currently is not. You do have to tip your cap to the way that the Brew-crew finished the season. Yelich is currently the NL leader in both OBP and slugging, so it was a big loss when he went down, but going into Friday’s game, they had won 13 of 15 without him, leaving the Cubs in the dust.
Condolences go to the Cleveland Indians, who have a better record than THREE of the National League’s post-season teams, but will be watching the playoffs on TV.
As of this moment, the Astros, Dodgers and Yankees are more or less co-favorites to win the World Series, according to Vegas. I have no horse in the race, but I am impressed by Houston’s formidible pitching staff. As I type this, their four regular starters are 61-18, a winning percentage of .772.
