Major League Baseball is cranking along in the last half of their marathon season, soon to culminate in a marathon postseason.

According to MLB (Major League Baseball) standings, each team has played around 115 games with about 45 or so to go.

The Dodgers in Los Angeles have the most wins at 77.  The Yankees in New York have come out on top 76 times while the Astros just down the road in Houston are at 75 wins.  The Texas Rangers have 58 wins with 56 losses. At least they are winning slightly more than losing. I suspect my good friend Clifton Rankin would prefer improved results.

The Detroit Tigers have one more loss, 78, than the Dodgers have wins.  There must be something missing in their growl. Maybe they need to charge the mound and start a bench-clearing melee on the field to break the monotony.  There is nothing like slinging fists into your opponent’s jaws to improve your batting skills.

Not too far in front of the Tigers are the Baltimore Orioles at 38 losses and just ahead of them are the Marlins at 43 losses.

Does anyone know where the Marlins call home?  I suspect few care at this point.

My apologies to baseball fans across the fruited plains but it all seems a bit inconsequential.  Or to put it another way, boring.

(Editor’s note: Editor Dawn Burleigh quickly informed Bobby Tingle that the Marlins are located in Miami, Florida. The office is still reeling from how she knew this tidbit of information.)

Golf is a fine game.  I enjoy hitting the links from time to time myself.  It is entirely social for my crew when we gather for some ‘pasture pool’.  (I am not sure what a ‘handicap’ really is but the folks I golf with are truly handicapped.  We keep score based on who loses the least golf balls. Strokes are irrelevant because they are too numerous to amount to recordable data.)

We have fun anyway.

Watching Golf on the ‘telly’ is akin to watching paint dry.  They try to jazz it up with wonderful graphics which track the ball in flight with multi-colored arcs.  The technology is interesting. But they only show the guys who hit straight and true. If a guy hits a zinger of a hook or a slice, unless it is on purpose, you just don’t see it.  In a way, it is depressing to see their consistency.

Fortunately, football season is soon upon us.

Van Wade is cranking up a new Football Preview of area High School teams.

Wade has been thumbing through his bible often lately.  It looks like a magazine. The cover says Texas Football.  Must be a new translation I have not heard of.

But just so you know, he has his own private stash of stats he has kept for a long time.  He poses as a Sports Editor but apparently doing so involves being an expert statistician.  He has a complex formula floating through his head very useful in predicting outcomes.

He has let the cat out of the bag on his predictions for the season.  He has a good feel for each teams prospects. Keep reading, but I won’t divulge his predictions.  But you can read about it on August 28 when he publishes the Football Section in the Wednesday edition of The Orange Leader.

It won’t be long now.  In the meantime, GO ASTROS!

 

Lamar University Athletics is on the road

 

In case you missed it, the coaches and athletic director of Lamar University traveled to Orange on Thursday evening.  They were here to mingle with fans at First Financial Bank on 16th street.

Stephen Lee and the bank staff hosted the Lamar crew and their fans providing each with an opportunity to gain a perspective on their prospects this year.

A good run this year by the Cardinals on the football field, softball field, baseball field, basketball arena, and other venues can cause excitement in the community and give us something to collectively enjoy.

As you follow your favorite high school teams keep an eye peeled for the Cardinals.  They had a good run on the gridiron last year. Here’s hoping for good things to come again.

 

Bobby Tingle is the publisher of The Orange Leader.  You can reach him at bobby.tingle@orangeleader.com.