Saturday’s 6-pack
— White Sox 4, Phillies 3 (15)— OF Roman Quinn pitched, took the loss; P Vince Velasquez made a great catch and threw a guy out at the plate from LF.
— Cubs 6, Brewers 2— Javier Baez had three hits, knocked in three runs.
— Washington 3, Arizona 0— Diamondbacks had only one hit.
— Rangers 5, Tigers 4— Detroit lost 34 of its last 41 games.
— Dodgers put P Hyun-Jin Ryu (neck) on the IL.
— 77 players were traded in 30 deals at the trade deadline Wednesday.
Quote of the Day
“I would like to know what the deal is with Lowrie, does he even exist?”
Mets radio announcer Howie Rose, talking about oft-injured 2B Jed Lowrie
Saturday’s quiz
Who was the Dallas Cowboys’ coach before Jason Garrett?
Friday’s quiz
Bill Murray, Scarlett Johanssen starred in a 2003 movie Lost in Translation; the movie takes place in Tokyo.
Thursday’s quiz
SF Giants have won three World Series in this decade; they beat Rangers, Royals, Tigers.
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Saturday’s Den: College football knowledge……..
Numbers/ratings in this list are from Phil Steele’s college football magazine:
13) Top 3 quarterbacks in country:
Trevor Lawrence (Clemson), Tua Tagovailoa (Alabama), Justin Herbert (Oregon)
12) Top three offensive lines in country:
Oregon, Georgia, Clemson
11) Most experienced offensive lines in country:
Oregon, UL-Monroe, UL-Lafayette, Texas Tech
10) Teams who lose lot of close games one year tend to improve the next year; these teams had 4 net close losses last year:
Arkansas, Nebraska, North Carolina, Western Kentucky (2 have new coaches this year)
9) Teams who win lot of close games one year tend to regress the next year; these teams had 4 net close wins last year:
Notre Dame, Ohio State, Texas
8) Michigan State gained 18.3 yards per point LY, 2nd-worst in country, which means their defense/special teams provided very little help to the offense. As a result, Spartans regressed from a 10-3 record in 2017 to 7-6 LY.
Here is how Michigan State fared the last six years:
2013-15: 36-5 W-L, +46 turnover margin
2016-18: 20-18 W-L, -1 turnover margin
7) Then there is Utah State, which gained only 10.46 yards/point LY, best in country, as they jumped from 6-7 to 11-2, and their coach jumped to Texas Tech for more money.
Aggies were +14 in turnovers LY, after being -2 in turnovers from 2015-17.
6) These four teams had the best defensive yards/point in country LY:
Clemson, Fresno State, Kentucky, Mississippi State— Bulldogs have only 9 of 22 starters back this season; other three teams all have only four starters back on defense. Experienced teams tend to get the most out of what they have, then take a step back when new guys step n.
5) These three teams had the worst defensive yards/point in country LY:
Bowling Green, Louisville, Western Michigan
Louisville went 57-21 from 2012-17, then went 2-10 LY and fired the coach; Bowling Green also fired its coach, who was 9-27 the last three years (they were 28-14 from 2013-15).
4) Toughest schedules in country this fall:
South Carolina, Auburn, USC, Texas A&M
3) Since 1991, 353 teams went -10 or worse in turnovers; 67% of them improved the next year, only 23% got worse:
-17: UTEP, UConn
-14: East Carolina, Rutgers
-12: Louisville, UL-Monroe
2) Since 1991, 440 teams went +10 or better in turnovers; only 28% of them improved the next year, 64% got worse:
+22 Georgia Southern
+16 Kansas
+14: UCF, Utah State
+13: Syracuse, Ohio U.
1) Over the last seven seasons, 53 teams were +14 or better in turnovers; 45 of those 53 teams did worse the following season.
Kansas went 3-9 with a +16 turnover ratio, which isn’t easy; they fired the coach and brought in Les Miles, so the Jayhawks will be a fascinating study for the next couple years. Miles will improve their talent base.
— White Sox 4, Phillies 3 (15)— OF Roman Quinn pitched, took the loss; P Vince Velasquez made a great catch and threw a guy out at the plate from LF.
— Cubs 6, Brewers 2— Javier Baez had three hits, knocked in three runs.
— Washington 3, Arizona 0— Diamondbacks had only one hit.
— Rangers 5, Tigers 4— Detroit lost 34 of its last 41 games.
— Dodgers put P Hyun-Jin Ryu (neck) on the IL.
— 77 players were traded in 30 deals at the trade deadline Wednesday.
Quote of the Day
“I would like to know what the deal is with Lowrie, does he even exist?”
Mets radio announcer Howie Rose, talking about oft-injured 2B Jed Lowrie
Saturday’s quiz
Who was the Dallas Cowboys’ coach before Jason Garrett?
Friday’s quiz
Bill Murray, Scarlett Johanssen starred in a 2003 movie Lost in Translation; the movie takes place in Tokyo.
Thursday’s quiz
SF Giants have won three World Series in this decade; they beat Rangers, Royals, Tigers.
*************************
Saturday’s Den: College football knowledge……..
Numbers/ratings in this list are from Phil Steele’s college football magazine:
13) Top 3 quarterbacks in country:
Trevor Lawrence (Clemson), Tua Tagovailoa (Alabama), Justin Herbert (Oregon)
12) Top three offensive lines in country:
Oregon, Georgia, Clemson
11) Most experienced offensive lines in country:
Oregon, UL-Monroe, UL-Lafayette, Texas Tech
10) Teams who lose lot of close games one year tend to improve the next year; these teams had 4 net close losses last year:
Arkansas, Nebraska, North Carolina, Western Kentucky (2 have new coaches this year)
9) Teams who win lot of close games one year tend to regress the next year; these teams had 4 net close wins last year:
Notre Dame, Ohio State, Texas
8) Michigan State gained 18.3 yards per point LY, 2nd-worst in country, which means their defense/special teams provided very little help to the offense. As a result, Spartans regressed from a 10-3 record in 2017 to 7-6 LY.
Here is how Michigan State fared the last six years:
2013-15: 36-5 W-L, +46 turnover margin
2016-18: 20-18 W-L, -1 turnover margin
7) Then there is Utah State, which gained only 10.46 yards/point LY, best in country, as they jumped from 6-7 to 11-2, and their coach jumped to Texas Tech for more money.
Aggies were +14 in turnovers LY, after being -2 in turnovers from 2015-17.
6) These four teams had the best defensive yards/point in country LY:
Clemson, Fresno State, Kentucky, Mississippi State— Bulldogs have only 9 of 22 starters back this season; other three teams all have only four starters back on defense. Experienced teams tend to get the most out of what they have, then take a step back when new guys step n.
5) These three teams had the worst defensive yards/point in country LY:
Bowling Green, Louisville, Western Michigan
Louisville went 57-21 from 2012-17, then went 2-10 LY and fired the coach; Bowling Green also fired its coach, who was 9-27 the last three years (they were 28-14 from 2013-15).
4) Toughest schedules in country this fall:
South Carolina, Auburn, USC, Texas A&M
3) Since 1991, 353 teams went -10 or worse in turnovers; 67% of them improved the next year, only 23% got worse:
-17: UTEP, UConn
-14: East Carolina, Rutgers
-12: Louisville, UL-Monroe
2) Since 1991, 440 teams went +10 or better in turnovers; only 28% of them improved the next year, 64% got worse:
+22 Georgia Southern
+16 Kansas
+14: UCF, Utah State
+13: Syracuse, Ohio U.
1) Over the last seven seasons, 53 teams were +14 or better in turnovers; 45 of those 53 teams did worse the following season.
Kansas went 3-9 with a +16 turnover ratio, which isn’t easy; they fired the coach and brought in Les Miles, so the Jayhawks will be a fascinating study for the next couple years. Miles will improve their talent base.
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