Dodgers and Indians

True, the stat geeks always seem to coming up with trivia from hell that nobody much cares about. I mean, who gives a rat's behind about some guy/girl being only the first player in history from Peoria with a grandma name Gertrude that came in third at a golf tournament, or had a top-ten finish at a NASCAR race? Things like this are where expressions such as TMI and gag me with a spoon originated.

But every once in a while, something truly noteworthy happens. Who saw Broadway Joe knocking off the mighty Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III? Or the OJ murder verdict? Or the results of the last presidential election? Definitely stuff to sit up and take notice of.

Along those lines, enter the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cleveland Indians.

For a while, it appeared as if the Dodgers were going to steam-roll their way to the best regular season record of all time. Then the wheels fell off.

They are the only team in Major League Baseball history to have compiled a 15-1 winning streak with a 1-15 losing streak in the same season. Super hot early -- super cold of late. Maybe they roll into the World Series and actually win it. Or maybe they get bounced early in the playoffs. If you're a betting person, good luck trying to figure out the odds on the LA-LA Landers chances of success.

On the other side were the Cleveland Indians. Remember, they came within a whisker of winning the Series last year. Only a late rally by the Cubbies finally did them in. Given the Chicago north-siders hadn't won a WS in over 100 years, how could anybody begrudge them finally getting that monkey off their backs? This was a good thing.

Yet despite returning so much talent this year, the Indians struggled to be only a .500 team in the early months of 2017.

Yours truly often wondered.... What's wrong with these guys? They're clearly better than everybody else in their division, so how come they're not winning more games? A hangover from the heartbreak of the 2016 WS isn't supposed to last THIS long.

And then finally it kicked in. When you've got the best starting rotation in all of baseball, team speed, hitters galore, a lights out bullpen, a manager that's been there done that, and terrific defense all over the field, it just HAD to happen eventually.

But nobody saw a now 20-game winning streak ever happening either.

Thing is, the Dodgers had amassed such a great lead that even going into a funk for the last month wouldn't derail their playoff eligibility. They'll be there.

If they get hot again in October, like earlier in the year -- look out. Could happen.

Conversely, Cleveland may have peaked just a tad early. Can they keep this going for the next six weeks? Likely not.

And if after being so hot they revert to being cold when it matters most, well, who knows? Sure, they're a lock for the post-season as well, but good luck trying to sort THAT scenario out too.

It's baseball. The last place team can beat the first place team on any given day. It happens all the time.

Throw in the Houston Astros, who were already a terrific team from top to bottom having added former Detroit Tiger pitcher Justin Verlander to their rotation, and who would dare count them out?

The wild card races in both leagues remain very interesting with lots of teams still having a legitimate shot to get there. If any of them can reel off a .700 winning percentage for the last 20 games or so -- they're probably in. If any slip to .400 -- they're probably out. And lots of them will play each other before the playoff field is finally set.

And who knows? Some team that snuck into the playoffs on the last day of the regular season just might wind up winning it all.

Yet for my money, the current winning streak aside, methinks the Cleveland Indians are the most talented team, top to bottom, of them all.

But that doesn't mean they're going to win it. They could get bounced early as well.

All it takes is one short slump, and yer outta here when the post-season starts.

Regardless, this has been quite a year in Major League Baseball.

And that Stanton guy from the Miami Marlins might just hit over 60 homers with nary a whisper of the once dreaded steroids.

Pity the mighty NFL, always the gorilla in the sports room, has cranked up another season. And the roundy-round boys and girls of NASCAR are about to enter their "chase" (playoff) races.

These will certainly detract from baseball viewership.

Still, all in all, pretty good stuff from the stick and ball folks.