Hello, my name is Arvind and these are my blogs.
My blogs will consist mainly of sports and predominantly just NY Knicks, Giants and Yankees. Here you will get both in depth and casual series/game previews, reviews, news and other general sports stuff. I try and post at least once a week.
Enjoy!
Arvind.
The World Series is upon us, and the stage is set. Dodgers vs Red Sox. National League Champs vs American League Champs. It all kicks of Tuesday night on Fox.
How they got here:
The Boston Red Sox had a record breaking 108 win season and due to this will have home field advantage being games 1 and 2 will be in Fenway. Boston had a stellar March/April going 21-7 and gaining a huge lead in the AL East over the Yankees. However towards the end of that stretch the had a disappointing series loss to the A’s which included a no-hitter by A’s starter Sean Manaea. This started a bit of bad patch for the Sox going 11-11 over the next 22 games, they also lost their lead in the AL East and were now playing second fiddle to the Yankees. However they picked it back up going 15-5 over their next 20 and reclaiming that top spot in the East as the Yankees went through a bad patch.
After that the Sox never looked back and went 37-15 over the course of July and August which included a certain series sweep at the beginning of August (the less said about it the better). The dropped of a bit in September (15-11) but in reality they were still dominant and weren’t really starting their best pitchers in order to save them for the playoffs. The Sox have looked great in the postseason going 7-2 and beating the Yanks in the ALDS in 4 games and the Astros in the ALCS in 5 games, including a 3 back to back wins in Houston. They go into this one full of confidence having won their last 4 games.
The Los Angeles Dodgers on the other hand have really had to struggle to get here. They started the regular season of woefully going 16-26. However they turned it around and went 33-19 over June and July putting them in contention for the NL West again. They had a horrible start to August (8-12 in the first 20 games) and had many people write them off reaching the postseason, but yet again they picked it back up 8 of their next 9 games. They were still behind the Rockies in the NL West in September, but they proceeded to sweep Colorado 3-0 to bring them within one and after a Rockies loss to the Nationals on the penultimate day of the season, the Dodgers were even with Colorado heading into Game 162. Both teams dominantly won their Game 162 (Dodgers 15-0 Giants and Colorado 12-0 Nationals) to set up a Game 163. In the Game 163, it was LA who prevailed as National League West Champions thanks to a stunning performance by rookie Walker Buehler giving up just 1 hit in 6.2 innings as the Dodgers won it 5-2.
In the playoffs, the Dodgers first matched up with the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS and dominated the first 2 games and started the series by shutting Atlanta out for 21 straight innings. However Atlanta bounced back in Game 3 of the back of a Ronald Acuna JR grand salami, but it was the Dodgers who ended up victorious after taking Game 4 in SunTrust Park thanks to 4 RBIs by Manny Machado meaning the Dodgers go to Milwaukee for a best of 7 championship series. This one was probably the best series of the playoffs yet. The two teams split the first 2 games (both in Miller Park). It was Justin Turner the hero in Game 2 again, this time with a 2 run go ahead homerun in the 8th to win the game 4-3. After losing game 3 in LA, the Dodgers bounced back to take games 4 & 5 on the back of a walk of hit by Cody Bellinger in game 4 and a masterful performance by ace Clayton Kershaw in game 5. The Brew Crew then took game 6 at home due to a 4 run first inning of Dodgers starter Hyun Jin Ryu, but it was the Los Angeles Dodgers who ended victors of the series after taking a deciding game 7 thanks to home runs by Cody Bellinger and Yasiel Puig.
| Red Sox | Dodgers | |
|---|---|---|
| Offense | 5.41 Runs per game | 4.93 Runs per game |
| Offense | .268/.339/.453 (.792 OPS, 110 wRC+) | .250/.333/.442 (.774 OPS, 111 wRC+) |
| Rotation | 3.77 ERA, 3.80 FIP | 3.19 ERA, 3.42 FIP |
| Rotation | 25.4 K%, 7.3 BB%, 1.16 HR/9 | 25.7 K%, 6.1 BB%, 1.05 HR/9 |
| Bullpen | 3.74 ERA, 3.85 FIP | 3.72 ERA, 3.88 FIP |
| Bullpen | 25.1 K%, 9.8 BB%, 0.98 HR/9 | 25.7 K%, 8.2 BB%, 1.16 HR/9 |
| Defense | -23 DRS, 51.7 UZR, 77 E | 59 DRS, -24.9 UZR, 100 E |
To kick off the World Series it will be strong AL Cy Young candidate Chris Sale (LHP, 12-4, 2.11 ERA) against arguably the best pitcher of this generation Clayton Kershaw (LHP, 9-5, 2.73 ERA).
Chris Sale has started just twice this postseason and is coming into this one on 9 days rest having last pitched in Game 1 where he gave 2 runs in 4 innings. He is reported to have stomach illness but is declared fit to start Game 1. Sale has had his best season to date this year with a career low 2.11 ERA, good for 2nd best in the AL behind only Blake Snell of the Tampa Bay Rays. Sale ended the regular season on fire, giving up a total of 6 earned runs over his last 11 starts (56 IP). Sale has only ever faced the Dodgers once in his career, back in 2011 when he was a relief pitcher for the White Sox. He recorded just one hit as he allowed 2 hits and a walk before getting taken out of the game, two of his base runners would later score to give Sale a final statline of 0.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K. Out of the current Dodgers roster only 4 batters have faced Sale in their career: Dozier, Freese, Grandal and Machado. Dozier is currently hitting .255 (12-47 including 3 HRs and 4 doubles). Machado too is pretty successful against Sale hitting .316 (6 for 19) with a homerun and 2 doubles. Chris Sale has 3 pitches in his arsenal, his fastball that he throws at around 92-93 however in the regular season it could reach upto 97. He also has a deadly slider at around 78 and a changeup which is thrown between 86 and 88.
Unlike Sale, Kershaw has started 3 games this postseason and has had a relief appearance in game 7 where he gave the Dodgers a shutout inning with 2 K’s due to this he will be working on just 3 nights rest. Kershaw started the postseason very well going 8 shutout innings while giving up just 2 hits in game 2 of the NLDS. However he followed that up with a disappointing game against the Brewers giving up 4 earned runs in 3 innings to give the Brewers a 1-0 lead in the NLCS before pitching another gem to win the Dodgers the crucial game 5 in the NLCS. In the regular season, Kershaw had his worst year since 2010 where he had an ERA of 2.91 compared to this years 2.73. Not many on the current Red Sox roster have faced him, with the only ones being Eduardo Nunez, Stuart Pearce, JD Martinez and second basemen Ian Kinsler. Red Sox slugger JD Martinez has had a bit of success over the years against Kershaw, hitting .375 (3 for 8) with a home run and 3 RBIs. This will be Kershaws first ever start in Fenway Park. Kershaws fastball can get up to 91 and he also has nasty breaking balls which he uses a lot (58.7%), his slider (42.3%) averages at around 88-89 mph whereas he normally throws his famous curveball (16.4%) between 71 and 73 mph.
| Chris Sale | Clayton Kershaw |
|---|---|
| 13.50 K/9, 1.94 BB/9, 0.63 HR/9 | 8.65 K/9, 1.62 BB/9, 0.95 HR/9 |
| 38.4 K%, 5.5 BB%, .179 AVG | 23.9 K%, 4.5 BB%, .225 AVG |
| 0.86 WHIP, .283 BABIP, 1.98 FIP | 1.04 WHIP, .273 BABIP, 3.19 FIP |
In game 2, it will be yet another lefty-lefty matchup, this time it will be Gary Sanchez’ dad David Price (LHP, 16-7, 3.58 ERA) against Hyun-Jin Ryu (LHP, 7-3, 1.97 ERA). For the former Cy Young winner Price this will not be new to him as he has experience in pitching in the world series. He last pitched in the world series back in his rookie year with the Tampa Bay Rays against the Phillies in 2008. Whereas Ryu, even though he was on the 2017 Dodgers roster didnt not pitch even once in the whole postseason.
Price, who entered this postseason known as one of the biggest chokers in the post continued that reputation with a very disappointing first start. He gave up 3 runs, 3 hits and 2 walks in just 1.2 innings of work as the Yankees went on to win the game 6-2 to take game 2 in the ALDS. In his next start the Sox won but he didn’t pitch too well again, this time giving 4 runs on 5 hits and 4 walks in 4.2 innings. However to everyones surprise and the red sox fans happiness, David Price produced a masterclass and outduelled Justin Verlander in game 5 of the ALCS to send the Red Sox to the world series. His final statline read: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K. Price has faced the Dodgers twice before in his career. His first meeting was with Tampa back in 2013, he pitched a gem going 7 scoreless with 7 hits and 4 strikeouts! However Tampa would still go on to lose that game by a score of 7-6. In Price’s second meeting with the Dodgers, this time with the red sox, it didn’t go as well. This time he gave up 6 runs in 5 innings on 6 hits and 5 walks in a 8-5 red sox loss, however 3 of the 6 runs were unearned. Quite a few of the Dodger hitters have faced Price at some point over their career. The only ones with a lot of experience is infielders Brian Dozier (39 AB, 9 H, 4 2B, 2 HR) and Manny Machado (41 AB, 12 H, 5 HR with 8 RBIs). The only other dodgers with hits against him are: Grandal, Freese, Puig and Turner (whose hit was a homerun). Price is predominantly a three pitch pitcher with a fastball that ranges between 91-93, a cutter at around 89 and changeup at 85/86.
Hyun-Jin Ryu is coming of a very bad start in game 6 of the NLCS against the Brewers, he allowed 5 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks in just 3 innings. This included a big 4 run 2 out rally by the Brewers in the bottom of the 2nd. Other than that start Ryu has been pretty good in the post. In his first start he gave the Dodgers 7 shutout innings in their dominant 6-0 game 1 win. He next pitched in game 2 of the NLCS in Miller Park where he earned the win after giving up 2 runs in 4 and a third innings. Ryu has been very sharp in the regular season, having a career low 1.97 ERA. The only red sox batters to have faced him before are Ian Kinsler (2-3) , JD Martinez (2-7) , Eduardo Nunez (0-3) and Stuart Pearce (1-3). Ryu mainly uses his fastball which can get up to 91/92 and his cutter in and around 87. He also has a nasty curve which he throws around 73-75 and a changeup at 80/81.
| David Price | Hyun-Jin Ryu |
|---|---|
| 9.05 K/9, 2.56 BB/9, 1.28 HR/9 | 9.73 K/9, 1.64 BB/9, 0.98 HR/9 |
| 24.5 K%, 6.9 BB%, .228 AVG | 27.5 K%, 4.6 BB%, .221 AVG |
| 1.14 WHIP, .274 BABIP, 4.02 FIP | 1.01 WHIP, .281 BABIP, .300 FIP |
Week 2 of the NBA season begins and the Knicks go on a 2 game road trip to Milwaukee and Miami before facing Golden State back at the Garden. This should be a tough stretch for New York, especially with injuries piling as Kevin Knox now joins the injured list *sigh*. He will not travel with the team on the road trip and will also most likely be out for the game against Golden State and a couple of games in the week after that.
1st Game (of the week): New York Knicks (1-2) @ Milwaukee Bucks (2-0). Game Time: 18:00.
The Knicks are terrible against the Bucks of late, no other way to put it. We are just horrible against them. Last year we lost all 4 of our games against them, with most of them becoming just highlight reels of Giannis dunking. We have won just 1 of our last 7 games against Milwaukee, and that was back in Jan of 2017. To have any chance of coming away with a dub in this one, we will need Timmy to be on form again and drop 20+ and we will definitely need Kanter to play well yet again and drop a DD. I just hope we dont see Frank at the 3 again as he can’t do anything offensively while playing Small Forward and most of the time just stands around waiting for a pass that never comes. Don’t see our Knicks pulling of a win against the far more talented Bucks. Prediction : 113-102. Bucks
Game 2: New York Knicks (1-2) @ Miami Heat (1-2). Game Time: 19:30.
Like us, the Heat have a win and 2 losses after the first week, and like the Knicks both of those losses have been highly competitive and came down to the last play. Over the last two seasons the Knicks have performed pretty well against the Heat. We won 4 of our last 7 meetings with Miami. The last meeting between the two teams was a blowout victory for New York winning 122-98 with our boi Dot dropping a 30/11 double double. Hopefully he can get some meaningful playing time like he did against Boston and propel us to a win. This was also the game where Luke Kornet became Steph Curry and dropped 4 threes. Going for the Knicks in this one, 104-95.
Game 3: Golden State Warriors (2-1) @ New York Knicks (1-2)
yay the Warriors are in town to give the Knicks their annual beatdown. Fun fact : the Knicks have lost their last 8 games to the Warriors, and to find their last win we have to go all the way back to March of 2014 when the Knicks had a starting lineup of JR Smith, Melo, Amar’e, Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton. look, we are gonna get our asses whooped here lets just accept it and move on, give the young boys minutes and experience. 129-104 Warriors.
So the NBA Season is underway, and the Knicks’ first week is over. They finished with a win and 2 losses, but we fans should be coming away from that week with optimism and hope, as both the losses came down to the last play and overall were very competitive.
Game 1 : New York Knicks 126 – Atlanta Hawks 107.
You couldn’t have asked for a better first game of the year. The Knicks looked like a playoff team in the way we dismantled the Hawks. Except for those first few minutes where the Hawks got a 10-0 lead, the game was all New York. Pretty much everyone looked great (barring Knox who seemed to not find his feet and rhythm). Both Kanter and Vonleh look great as the both of them posted Double Doubles. Frank got a lot of minutes and looked real good. Hardaway was on that night and dropped 31 points. The Knicks also set a franchise record 49 points in the second quarter. (most points scored in the second quarter in franchise history, not any quarter)
Game 2 : Brooklyn Nets 107 – New York Knicks 105.
After the high of game 1, the Knicks went to the Barclays Centre with a lot of hope and came up just short. This one was tightly contested all the way through with no team really holding dominance. After not looking too great in the first game, Knox turned it around and produced a stellar performance dropping 17 points in 28 mins, he shot 75% from the 3 point line including a clutch 3 to tie the game at 93 in the fourth quarter. Though Fiz has looked really good with his managing and the tempo and pace of play he has set his Knicks to play with, one should question his decision to guard LaVert with THJ on that final play instead of Frank.
Game 3 : New York Knicks 101 – Boston Celtics 103.
Ah, this one stung a lot with it being against the Celtics and how it ended with those free throws. However on the positive side, we came close yet again and nearly beat what is probably the best team in the East. Celtics were largely on top here, jumping up to big leads (as big as 16) however the Knicks kept having good runs and making it even. Timmy dropped 20+ yet again, but I felt his shot selection was quite poor and he shot only 38.1% on FGs. Missing free throws was a big problem of the night for the Knicks and that was capped off by Burke. As a team the Knicks shot 17 of 27 from the line (63%) whereas Boston converted 28 of 33 (84.8%). Overall disappointing loss for the Knicks having come so close.
Best Player of the Week: Enes Kanter – dropped 3 back to back double doubles and became the first Knick to do so in the first 3 games of the season since 2014.
Worst Player of the Week: Mario Hezonja – some may disagree with this but I didnt really like what i saw from Hezonja this week. Terrible on defense, put up a total of 4 combined points in the Brooklyn and Boston games.
Mixed emotions after the first week, but tbh generally positive. We looked good, showed a lot of energy and in the end of the day as much as we all hate losing this is going to help the tank and us getting a nice pick for the draft. Tough week up next for the Knicks with back to back games on the road in Milwaukee and Miami before returning home to face the defending champs, the Warriors.
To kick off the 18/19 season, the New York Knicks play 3 games in the first week. First Atlanta comes to MSG to start New York’s season, before the Knicks go across town to face Brooklyn at the Barclays Centre. To finish off the week, Kyrie and his Celtics come to New York on Saturday.
1st Game: Atlanta Hawks @ New York Knicks. Game Time: 19:30.
To start the season, the hawks come to MSG to play what should be an interesting game, between 2 teams expected to get top 5 picks in the draft next year and both we promising young talents who everyone will be eager to see.
The Knicks played the Hawks 3 times last year, winning 2. Porzingis played quite well against them last year dropping 28, 30 and 22 points, so expect to see a good performance from him… oh wait, lets just all go back to depression again and hope he comes back quickly. Both teams will probably end up ‘tanking’ after the all star break (or towards march).
As many expected the starting lineup will be Burke, THJ, Frank, Thomas and Kanter. However there is one very unexpected decision of that Frank – or PG of the future – will be starting at the 3. So this should be a good test for him as to whether he can match up and contain Taurean Prince. Expect to see this same lineup this whole week (with maybe THJ and Frank swapping if things go wrong). Prediction: 116-104 Knicks.
2nd Game: New York Knicks @ Brooklyn Nets. Game Time: 19:30.
The first road game of the season is a trip just across the bridge to Brooklyn to face the Nets. This again should be an interesting game with 2 sides who probably aren’t going to make the playoffs. The Knicks split 2 preseason games with the Nets 1-1. The first game had a great (almost breakout) performance by Allonzo Trier who dropped 25 points in just 26 mins. Kanter also impressed with a 20-20 game. The Nets came out on top in the second game 113-107.
Overall, it should be a tightly fought contest with the Nets looking for revenge after the Knicks beat them in all 4 games last year. Going with the Knicks to make it 2-0 in this one. Prediction: 116-102 Knicks.
3rd Game: Boston Celtics @ New York Knicks. Game Time: 19:30.
Like last year, the Knicks will play Boston for their third game of the season. Last time, the Celtics were victorious in a 110-89 blowout win. The Celtics kicked off the season with a 18 point win over the Sixers. They haven’t made many major changes in the off season, however still have probably the best lineup in the East with Kyrie and Hayward returning. They are most peoples pick to reach the Finals from the East, with LeBron leaving the Cavs.
Should be a hard game for the Knicks, and I don’t see them faring well. Prediction: 123-105 Celtics.
Thanks for joining me!
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
Arvind's Sports Blogs 