New York Mets starting ace Jacob deGrom tied a 118 year MLB record last night by allowing three or fewer runs in 25 straight starts. The record will likely be broken later this week when deGrom takes the bump again, but what makes this feat so amazing is that his overall record as a pitcher this year is only 8-8, while his record-breaking start landed him with a no-decision.
When Cubs starter King Cole went 25 straight in 1910 his record increased to 20-4. He had an ERA of 1.80 and Chicago fell to the Athletic’s in the World Series that year. Today, deGrom’s ERA now sits at 1.68 and New York has no shot of contending for a championship, let alone securing a playoff berth.
The fact that there is even a discussion as to who should win the 2018 NL Cy Young Award is hysterical. Not only is deGrom leading the NL in ERA, but he leads all of baseball in the statistic as well. The next closest pitcher in the National League sits at .55 away, while Red Sox phenom Chris Sale trails him by .29 for the league best.
2018 could be the first year that the Cy Young is awarded to a player with a losing record, but would it be that much of a surprise? deGrom, in my opinion, is the best pitcher in baseball right now and his starts have been wasted by brutal nights at the plate. Not only does he get minimal run support, but the Mets’ franchise has been viewed as one of the worst in the league.
Wins and losses are so skewed when it comes to pitching, and at the end of the day baseball is a team sport. But when it comes to selecting an individual award like the Cy Young, deGrom should be the consensus overall selection in the NL and anything less than that would be a disgrace.
PGA Tour
Bryson DeChambeau picked up right where he left off a week ago, winning his second FedEx Cup tournament of the year in back-to-back weeks. The California native claimed the first two legs of the FedEx Cup for the first time since Vijay Singh in 2008 and sits alone atop of the standings overall by 2,328 points.
DeChambeau claimed both the Northern Trust (New Jersey) and TPC Boston to begin the FedEx Cup and has played better than anybody on the tour in the past month. Not only did he rise to the challenge of playing alongside Tiger Woods on Sunday, but he erased a seven shot deficit en route to the title. Sunday he posted an 8-under 63 to shoot himself into the final pairing in which he cruised to victory and his short game has elevated his game altogether.
Seen as having a high profiled and cocky persona, DeChambeau is not the most liked guy on tour by any means. But that’s what makes the game of golf so great. There always needs to be a “bad guy” or “enemy” that the field loves to hate in any sport and that is what makes watching it so fun. The NFL has the Patriots and the MLB has the Yankees. Now, the PGA has DeChambeau and he won’t be going anywhere for a long time.
DeChambeau is a lock to make the Ryder Cup roster for the United States this fall and the world No. 7 ranked golfer and current Bentley Motors partner will give every European a reason to hate him that much more later this month in Paris.
College Football
Notre Dame’s defense was one of the biggest takeaways for me in Week 1 of the college football season. Not only did they make the debut of Michigan QB Shea Patterson a nightmare, but they forced the Wolverines to only 58 yards on the ground.
Everybody knew it would be a defensive battle, but one thing that I stressed on my podcast was the special teams battle. Yes, Michigan housed a kickoff for a touchdown, only making the Wolverines offense look that much worse, but they botched a critical FG attempt in the third quarter that left three points off the board and altered the outcome more favorably for the Irish in a hyped-up South Bend atmosphere to open the season.
With the loss to ND, Jim Harbaugh now falls to 1-6 against Michigan’s rivals (Ohio St, Mich. St and ND) and is now 8-8 in his last 16 games as head coach. I wouldn’t quite hit the panic button just yet, Harbaugh is still a really good football coach, but he needs to start winning the “big games” if he is going to put the university over the hump.
Big time schools pay big time coaches to win games, especially against their rivals. Just look at Ohio State…after the dust settled in the most recent scandal, Urban Meyer received a three-game suspension and a slap on the wrist. College football is about winning games. Period.
Harbaugh has had his fair share of bad luck no doubt. The botched punt against Mich. State, the brutal spot against Ohio State in OT 2016, and now the botched FG versus ND. However, at the end of the day everybody forgets about the what could have been’s and focuses on the one thing that matters–winning.
In other NCAAF News
Virginia Tech might have been the biggest surprise of Week 1. Not only did they face a tough Florida State team on the road, under the lights on ESPN, but from the opening kickoff they did not seem to be fazed one bit.
The Hokies looked like a top-10 opponent all night, forcing five turnovers and dominating the Seminoles in every aspect of the game. Tech has one of the most underrated defenses in the country and they put on an absolute clinic in a tough environment on the road in Tallahassee. I like the Hokies to contend in the ACC and if they play like this every week it will be tough to come away with a W against them.
Sticking with the ACC, Clemson looked like a top-3 team yet again. The Tigers dominated Furman with both Kelly Bryant and Red Shirt Freshmen Trevor Lawrence at quarterback. The two combined to throw for 264 yards and four TD’s, while Bryant took charge on the ground, rushing for 44 yards and a score himself.
Clemson was my preseason pick to walk away with the ACC and with their two-headed monster threat at QB it seems likely. Although, I love what I saw from the Hokies on Monday night and I believe they will be neck and neck come December.
Alabama looks to have “likely” solved the QB controversy. Although, Nick Saban says otherwise. Sophomore Tua Tagavaiola shined in the second half of the National Championship game last January and did so again against Louisville Saturday night. The Hawaiian threw for 227 yards and two scores, while also tallying a TD with his legs. Both him and Jalen Hurts have been competing for the starting role all summer, but Hurts had a couple three and outs and racked up only 79 yards of total offense.
Tua should be and will be the starter going forward as he gives the Crimson Tide the best opportunity to win each week. The dual threat QB is an elite talent that could ultimately win the 2018 Heisman if he continues to play the way he has in his two games at the helm.
Biggest Surprise
This week’s biggest surprise comes from State College, PA. 11 years to the date Appalachian State defeated Michigan in the Big House in the biggest college football upset of all time. Saturday night they almost did it again. App. State brought Penn. State to OT at Beaver Stadium and almost pulled off another massive upset, losing on an interception to end the game.
The Nittany Lions season was almost derailed on opening day even though Heisman hopeful Trace McSorley played a very solid game. One of the Big 10 favorites showed that they have some major flaws defensively that need to be addressed ahead of Week 2 if they are going to have any shot at the 2018 CFP.