Judge, Blue Jays in AL East stretch run
Columnist offers picks for select NFL games this week
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge is making a serious run at breaking the all-time, single-season home run record of 61 by an American League player set by Roger Maris in 1961.
Judge clobbered No. 60 Sept. 20 against Pittsburgh and triggered a last-inning rally that kept the Yankees in front of the surging Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East.
Judge has been carrying the struggling Yankees down the stretch. Had it not been for his home run, Toronto would be closer to the Bronx boys in the pennant race.
If the MVP voting took place right now, Judge would be rightfully so far ahead of anyone else.
Some are suggesting Judge is the greatest Yankee of alltime, ahead of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and possibly Maris, but I wouldn’t go that far.
Let’s not forget, Ruth who held the all-time home run record at 714 for decades, was also a talented lefthanded pitcher and held the record into the 1960s for most consecutive shutout innings in World Series play.
Lou Gehrig, in my opinion, is No. 2 on the Yankees’ all-time list, played 2,130 consecutive games as a Yankee, hit 473 home runs and had a lifetime average of .340 when he was forced to retire due to illness.
There’s no doubt Judge is a standout in today’s game, but I’ll list him third among Yankee greats.
MLB
The exciting Blue Jays have a terrific-hitting team when all guns are blazing. Manager Schneider continues to play light-hitting Cavan Biggio (.210) over Santiago Espinal (.270), and it likely cost Toronto in an extra-inning loss to Philadelphia.
Biggio, who pinch hit for Espinal, and Jackie Bradley struck out with the sacks full. Are you surprised?
I have a lot of question marks with Toronto’s starting pitching, just like the Yankees, which makes a short playoff series with teams like Tampa Bay and Seattle no certainty.
NFL
The NFL had its share of upsets in the first two weeks. Most surprising are 0-2 starts by Cincinnati and Vegas. Another surprise is Miami (2-0) and left-handed quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who tossed six TD passes Sept. 18.
Buffalo looks like the team to beat. Quarterback Josh Allen and receiver Stefon Diggs routed Tennessee in Week 2. Buffalo visits Miami, which allowed 38 points last week, on Sept. 25. Take the Sports Prophet’s advice – jump aboard Buffalo’s bandwagon.
Philadelphia is 2-0 and for real. Philly impressed beating the very good Vikings, who shocked Green Bay in Week 1. QB Jalen Hurts was 26-for-31, had time to throw but Philadelphia also has a sound defence. They’re just too much for host Washington.
Vegas visits Tennessee for a game between desperate 0-2 clubs. The Titans have no offensive line and opponents pack the box, allowing star running back Derek Henry no place to run while quarterback Ryan Tannehill scrambles for his life. The loser can kiss their playoff hopes goodbye. Vegas is the better club.
Denver, with QB Russell Wilson, has been a disappointment – 45-per-cent completion rate, and a 1-1 record, barely beating Houston last week. 49ers’ QB Trey Lance broke his ankle and veteran Jimmy Garoppolo led them to a victory. San Francisco is the better team.
Until Russell shows me something, I’m not a believer. Bet San Francisco.
HARNESS RACING
… Live racing continues in Charlottetown Sept. 24 with a 10-dash card at 6 p.m. The $3,500 feature has a fivehorse field with the likes of No Plan Intended, Time to Dance, Beachin Lindy, Moonwriter and Navalny. Brodie MacPhee drives Time to Dance in place of Marc Campbell, who’s in Sydney with the Atlantic Sire Stakes’ two-year-old colts and three-year-old fillies.
… It's been a huge week for harness racing on the international stage. Sept. 23, we had the Little Brown Jug from Delaware, Ohio, where brothers Anthony and Mark MacDonald made history – the third time in Jug annals where brothers raced against one another. The last duo was Stanley Dancer and his brother, Vernon. The other brother duo was Dana and Del Cameron.
… There’s a terrific card at Mohawk Raceway Sept. 24, including the $1,000,000 Mohawk Million, where brothers Mark and James MacDonald will face one another. James drives his own Hasty Bid; Mark with What An Angel. Ironically, it could have been all three brothers in the Mohawk Million as Anthony opted to go with Yannick Gingras behind The Stable.Ca’s Crantini from the outside 10-spot.
… There’s also the $615,000 Canadian Trotting Classic where James and Mark have Adare Castle and King of the North, and the $900,000 Metro for twoyear-olds, where Dr. Ian Moore’s Stockade Seelster (Jody Jamieson) meets Save America and eight others. Fans can wager on this card at Red Shores via simulcast.
Fred MacDonald's column appears every Saturday in The Guardian. He can be reached at fiddlersfacts@hotmail.com.