Astros rules the baseball world for first time
By HAL McCOY For the first time in its 56 years, or the first time ever, members of the Houston Astros will be wearing gaudy diamonds on their fingers, a ring emblematic of a World Series championship. And they earned every carat. With a 5-1 victory in Game 7 over the Los Angeles Dodges in […]
What else? A World Series Game 7 (of course)
By HAL McCOY Strap yourself in because the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodges are going to strap it on for Game 7 of the 2017 World Series Wednesday night in raucous Dodger Stadium. And that’s the only way this highly entertaining roller coaster World Series should end between two talent-stuffed teams that both won […]
Expect the unexpected in World Series for the ages
By HAL McCOY If there is one thing fans can expect in this most enticing and exciting and enigmatic World Series, it is this: Expect the unexpected. Who would expect the Houston Astros to fall behind 4-0 and 7-4, then blow a three-run lead in the ninth inning and still win Game 5 Sunday night […]
Pitching rules as Dodgers level Series
By HAL McCOY When it comes to postseason play, what wins most often is pitching, pitching, pitching, pitching and more pitching. There was no better exhibit of it than Saturday night in Game Four of the World Series as the pitchers on both sides laid waste to the two best offenses in the baseball world, […]
Astros are as proud as a ‘Peacock’
By HAL McCOY Yu Darvish made a request he probably now wishes he hadn’t made. And Los Angeles Dodger manager Dave Roberts probably wishes he hadn’t granted Darvish his request. Under normal circumstances, Darvish would have pitched Game Two of the 2017 World Series against the Houston Astros in Dodger Stadium. Darvish, though, has had […]
Lastros are now the Blastros
By HAL McCOY Just call them the Houston Blastros and be done with it. Not long ago, when the Houston Astros lost more than 100 games three years in a row, they earned the altered nickname of the Houston Lastros. That is ancient history. Down two runs in the eighth inning in Game 2 of […]
There is no Kryptonite for Kershaw
By HAL McCOY Because Superman is not on any major league roster, Clayton Kershaw probably is the best baseball pitcher on the planet. There is no Kryptonite to stop this guy. The Houston Astros discovered Kershaw’s invincibility Tuesday night in Game One of the World Series when the herky-jerky left hander was practically perfect in […]
Baseball close to a ‘McScrooge’ World Series
By HAL McCOY Baseball is just a pair of losses away from a Scrooge McDuck World Series that would involve the game’s two richest franchises — the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Money talks. Real loud. After losing the first two games in Houston, the Yankees completed a three-game sweep in New […]
Dodgers dominate, Cubs on the brink
By HAL McCOY When the Chicago Cubs win a game at home in Wrigley Field, fans leave the park singing a catchy tune called, “Go Cubs Go.” They weren’t singing that song Tuesday night. Maybe they should have been singing one of the two tunes sung by huge Cubs fan Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam […]