Philippine Asian News Today Vol 20 No 20 | Page 29

October 16 - 31, 2018
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY
SPORTS
29
Why Boston Red Sox are World
Series champs
The Boston Red Sox steamrolled
the Los Angeles Dodgers in five
games on Sunday to captured their
ninth World Series championship
in franchise history and fourth since
2004 thus, completing one of the
most impressive postseason runs in
the last few decades.
Though the2018 the Red Sox
don’t have been as many All-Stars as
other teams, between their regular
season and postseason success, they
should be remembered as one of the
best teams of the MLB expansion
era.
Records reveal that since all MLB
teams began playing a 162-game
regular season in 1962, only one team
has won more regular season games
and en route to marching triumphantly,
too, to the World Series.
The 1998 New York Yankees
did the trick by winning 114 regular
season games.
The 1970 Baltimore Orioles,
1975 Cincinnati Reds and 1986 New
York Mets won the same amount of
regular season games as the Red Sox
— 108 — while winning the WS. The
’70 Orioles went 7-1 in the postseason;
the ’75 Reds needed seven games to
win the World Series; and the ’86 Mets
went 8-5 in the playoffs and needed
help from Buckner to win it all.
This year’s Boston Red Sox went
108-54 (.667) in the regular season
and 11-3 (.786) in the postseason
making their road to the World Series
championship as to have been the
toughest.
Only seven times in MLB history
have three teams won 100 games
during the regular season. This was
one of those years, with all three teams
coming in the American League -
- Houston Astros with 103 wins and
New York Yankees with 100 wins.
Boston, therefore, had to navigate
arguably the toughest playoff road
ever just to reach the World Series.
And they didn’t just navigate; they
mowed through.
The Red Sox beat the Yankees
in four games in the ALDS, a Yankee
team that ranked second in the
league behind Boston in runs scored
during the regular season and had
the reigning AL and National League
MVPs in their lineup.
Not only did Boston beat them
in four games, closing the series on
the road, but they also handed the
Yankees their worst postseason loss in
franchise history — an embarrassing
16-1 defeat in Game 3.
Next up, the Red Sox faced the
defending World Series champion
Astros, who had won 103 games in
the regular season, and were fresh
from sweeping an excellent Cleveland
Indians squad and had an extremely
highly regarded pitching staff.
The Astros had the best team
ERA in MLB at 3.11 — 0.27 runs better
than the second-place Dodgers. They
were over half a run better than the
next best team in the AL. Leading all
of MLB despite being in the AL and
having to face the DH is astounding.
The Astros, too, also had the most
strikeouts and lowest batting average
against.
Despite all that, Houston’s staff
was no match for Boston’s hot hitting.
After losing Game 1, Boston racked
up four straight wins over the Astros
— lighting them up for 27 runs in
those games (6.75 runs per game).
They won three in a row in Houston
and beat former Cy Young Award
winner Justin Verlander in the Game
5 clincher. They also won Game 3 8-
2 that was started by Dallas Keuchel,
another former Cy Young winner.
In the World Series, the Red Sox
beat a heavily reinforced Dodgers
squad, which made numerous mid-
season trade acquisitions, smashing
nearly every pitcher thrown their
way. Their only loss came in a 3-2
heartbreaker that lasted 18 innings in
Game 3. They came back from down
4-0 in the seventh to win Game 4
and clinched it all by beating another
former Cy Young winner in Clayton
Kershaw.
Boston clinched all three series
on the road and beat two Cy Young
winners in those clinchers.
Few — if any — MLB teams have
faced a tougher road in the playoffs
and not many have made it look
easier. The Boston Red Sox led MLB
in runs during the regular season,
led the league with 108 wins in the
regular season and needed no more
than five games to beat any of their
three formidable playoff opponents.
They went wire-to-wire as the best
team in the league.
Dan Palami: It’s about time Azkals win Suzuki Cup
The Philippine national men’s
football team is treating the upcoming
AFF Suzuki Cup as so much more
than just a build-up for its participation
to the AFC Asian Cup next year.
The Azkals failed to make it to the
semifinals of the Suzuki Cup in 2016,
ending a run of three straight semifinal
appearances since the fabled Miracle
in Hanoi in 2010.
With former England manager
Sven-Göran Eriksson calling the
shots for the team now, Azkals team
manager Dan Palami is upbeat that
the Philippines can finally take home
the trophy and establish itself as a
power in Southeast Asia.
“For me, this is where it all started
for the Azkals,” said Palami of the
Suzuki Cup, during an appearance at
the PSA Forum on Tuesday. “That’s
why the importance of winning the
Suzuki Cup is… as important, because
it’s about time that we show ourselves
as champions of Southeast Asia.”
“It’s about time,” he stressed.
Moreover, a good performance
in the Suzuki Cup can only bode well
for the Azkals when they make their
first appearance in the Asian Cup in
2018.
“They’re complimentary,” said
Palami.
“A good performance in the
Suzuki Cup gives us that momentum
going to the Asian Cup. So if we do
well, then the guys will have more
confidence going to the bigger
tournament,” he explained.
The Suzuki Cup runs from
November 13 to December 15, with
Swedish coach Sven-Göran Eriksson
set to call the shots for the Azkals
after Palami confirmed his hiring last
Saturday.
The former England manager is
set to arrive on November 2, and hold
his first practice with the team the
next day.
The Philippines has been
grouped with Thailand, Indonesia,
Singapore, and Timor-Leste in Group
B. They open their campaign against
Singapore on November 13 at the
Panaad Stadium in Bacolod.
As they enter the final stretch
of preparations, Palami said “a lot of
positions are still up for grabs” in the
final 23-man line-up.
“It’s a good problem for us,” he
said, noting that they have a “deeper
talent pool” this time around.
After playing Singapore, the
Philippines takes on Timor-Leste
at the Kuala Lumpur stadium in
Malaysia. They return home to
Panaad for a November 21 match
against Thailand, then face Indonesia
at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium on
November 25.(abs-cbn news)

By: Julian Ray Fortaleza
Answers from last week’s issue:
1. 3 fighters have held belts in 2 divisions in the UFC; Conor Mc-
Gregor, Georges St. Pierre, and Daniel Cormier.
2. The starting duties for the Vancouver Canucks are split between
Markstrom and Nilsson
3. The current UFC middleweight champion is Robert Whittaker
New Questions:
1. Who will face off in the finals of the Bellator heavyweight grand
prix?
2. Who is the starting goalie for the Calgary Flames?
3. Which UFC lightweight was the final champion in the WEC?
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