{"id":81153,"date":"2018-05-15T13:09:46","date_gmt":"2018-05-15T13:09:46","guid":{"rendered":"\/rcntv\/?p=81153"},"modified":"2023-04-13T20:59:12","modified_gmt":"2023-04-13T20:59:12","slug":"behind-mic-mlb-expected-unexpected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/behind-mic-mlb-expected-unexpected\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind the Mic: MLB – Expected – Unexpected"},"content":{"rendered":"

The views expressed in this blog are<\/em> those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.<\/em><\/p>\n

I ended last week\u2019s blog with a \u201cGo, Phillies!\u201d sign-off. Well, they are indeed playing well.\u00a0As teams approach the completion of the first quarter of the season, they are, unexpectedly, rising in both the standings and in admiration.<\/p>\n

But, I digress. The team that was really expected to do very well was the Yankees<\/a> and they have not disappointed.\u00a0They are tied with the Red Sox<\/a> for the best record in baseball.\u00a0They have won 19 of their last 22 games; average six runs per game and are carrying a team ERA of 2.88 which happens to be the third best in baseball.\u00a0With those stats, they win most games by three runs!<\/p>\n

Everyone expected them to have one of the best, if not the best, offenses in baseball, but I do not think fans expected their pitching staff to be this good. If the pitching and the bats continue as they have, they can certainly claim to be one of the best teams in baseball history.<\/p>\n

The Phillies<\/a>, on the other hand, were not expected to be one game out of first place and winning 60% of their games at this point or at any point in the season. They still trail the Braves<\/a> by a game, but have been winning 73% of their home games and have won seven of the last 10.<\/p>\n

Odubel Herrera<\/a> is batting .360 and leading the National League in hitting. And that is a shock!\u00a0The last Phillie to lead the NL in hitting was Richie Ashburn<\/a> 60 years ago!\u00a0Manager Gabe Kapler seems to be pushing the right buttons (the three-run homer by pinch-hitter Nick Williams in the sixth inning on Sunday to beat the Mets is a good example).<\/p>\n

Last year, they were 6-22 in May and ended up losing 96 games. With the additions of Rhys Hoskins<\/a> for a full season, Scott Kingery<\/a> from the minors, Carlos Santana<\/a>, and Jake Arrieta<\/a> via the trade route, they are greatly improved.\u00a0Aaron Nola\u2019s<\/a> ERA is 1.99.\u00a0It is a team with good starting pitching and an adequate offense.\u00a0Their bullpen remains suspect with two saves blown last week.<\/p>\n

Talent-wise, the Nationals<\/a> and the Braves could stand in the way of the Phillies making the playoffs. The Nationals look like the best team in the division and are making their climb to the top.\u00a0The Braves are obviously in first place as I write this.\u00a0But the Phillies ARE sandwiched between the two.<\/p>\n

The Yankees, on the other hand, appear to be, as expected, the best team in baseball. However, it is always exciting to look forward to the unexpected \u2013 Go, Phillies!<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. New York Giants<\/a> QB Eli Manning<\/a> will be in court this week defending himself against a lawsuit that says he sold fake helmets to collectors. The plaintiff wanted \u201cgame-used\u201d helmets and claims the ones he received were \u201cbogus\u201d and Manning knew they were. Interesting case. Stay tuned.<\/li>\n
  2. This might make Ripley\u2019s Believe It or Not, but some sportswriters are claiming that the NFL Cleveland Browns<\/a> may have improved the most through the draft. Of course, if the Browns win three games, the writers can claim that they were right. The bar is not set very high here.<\/li>\n
  3. It was obvious the Yankees were probably going to have the best offensive team in baseball. They have not disappointed. For the first time in their exulted history, they had four players hit 10 or more home runs by the 40th<\/sup> game. They had never had that distinction in 50 games before! By the way, the Texas Rangers<\/a> did it in 2003.<\/li>\n
  4. The Celtics<\/a> crushed the Cavs<\/a> by 25 points in the first game of the NBA Eastern Finals and held LeBron James<\/a> to just 15 points. Despite not receiving one Coach of the Year vote from his peers, Brad Stevens has shown in the playoffs that he is already one of the top coaches in the league. It was his formula that stopped Ben Simmons<\/a> and the Sixers<\/a> in the Eastern semifinals.<\/li>\n
  5. Speaking of the NBA<\/a>, I unexpectedly have really enjoyed the playoffs. There is plenty of defense, intensity, and some spectacular offense. I have become a fan!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company. I ended last week\u2019s blog with a \u201cGo, Phillies!\u201d sign-off. Well, they are indeed playing well.\u00a0As teams approach the completion of the first quarter…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"Yoast SEO Relevanssi index exclude","inline_featured_image":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,4],"tags":[354,631,883,882,418,421,562],"class_list":["post-81153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-behind-the-mic","category-featured","category-sports","tag-mlb","tag-mlb-baseball","tag-new-york-yankees","tag-odubel-herrara","tag-philadelphia-phillies","tag-phillies","tag-yankees"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBehind the Mic: MLB - Expected - Unexpected - ATVN<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Behind the Mic: MLB - Expected - Unexpected - ATVN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company. I ended last week\u2019s blog with a \u201cGo, Phillies!\u201d sign-off. Well, they are indeed playing well.\u00a0As teams approach the completion of the first quarter...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/behind-mic-mlb-expected-unexpected\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ATVN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-05-15T13:09:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-04-13T20:59:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gary Laubach\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gary Laubach\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/behind-mic-mlb-expected-unexpected\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/behind-mic-mlb-expected-unexpected\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Gary Laubach\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/149d57a8e347f18c57a13b75a3c0f3ee\"},\"headline\":\"Behind the Mic: MLB – Expected – Unexpected\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-05-15T13:09:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-13T20:59:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/behind-mic-mlb-expected-unexpected\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":728,\"commentCount\":0,\"keywords\":[\"MLB\",\"MLB Baseball\",\"New York Yankees\",\"Odubel Herrara\",\"Philadelphia Phillies\",\"Phillies\",\"Yankees\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Behind the Mic\",\"Featured\",\"Sports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/behind-mic-mlb-expected-unexpected\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/behind-mic-mlb-expected-unexpected\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/behind-mic-mlb-expected-unexpected\\\/\",\"name\":\"Behind the Mic: MLB - Expected - Unexpected - ATVN\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-05-15T13:09:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-13T20:59:12+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/149d57a8e347f18c57a13b75a3c0f3ee\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/behind-mic-mlb-expected-unexpected\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/\",\"name\":\"ATVN\",\"description\":\"Local Programming & Astound Digital Cable, Internet & Phone Services\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/149d57a8e347f18c57a13b75a3c0f3ee\",\"name\":\"Gary Laubach\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"\\\/atvn\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/11\\\/Gary-Laubach-Behind-the-Mic-Author-Image.jpg\",\"url\":\"\\\/atvn\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/11\\\/Gary-Laubach-Behind-the-Mic-Author-Image.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"\\\/atvn\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/11\\\/Gary-Laubach-Behind-the-Mic-Author-Image.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Gary Laubach\"},\"description\":\"Gary began his broadcasting career with Twin County in 1972. Twin County eventually became C-TEC and then Astound Broadband. Gary is currently a Sports Broadcaster for Lafayette College.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/author\\\/rcntvgary\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Behind the Mic: MLB - Expected - Unexpected - ATVN","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Behind the Mic: MLB - Expected - Unexpected - ATVN","og_description":"The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company. I ended last week\u2019s blog with a \u201cGo, Phillies!\u201d sign-off. Well, they are indeed playing well.\u00a0As teams approach the completion of the first quarter...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/behind-mic-mlb-expected-unexpected\/","og_site_name":"ATVN","article_published_time":"2018-05-15T13:09:46+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-04-13T20:59:12+00:00","author":"Gary Laubach","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gary Laubach","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/behind-mic-mlb-expected-unexpected\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/behind-mic-mlb-expected-unexpected\/"},"author":{"name":"Gary Laubach","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#\/schema\/person\/149d57a8e347f18c57a13b75a3c0f3ee"},"headline":"Behind the Mic: MLB – Expected – Unexpected","datePublished":"2018-05-15T13:09:46+00:00","dateModified":"2023-04-13T20:59:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/behind-mic-mlb-expected-unexpected\/"},"wordCount":728,"commentCount":0,"keywords":["MLB","MLB Baseball","New York Yankees","Odubel Herrara","Philadelphia Phillies","Phillies","Yankees"],"articleSection":["Behind the Mic","Featured","Sports"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/behind-mic-mlb-expected-unexpected\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/behind-mic-mlb-expected-unexpected\/","url":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/behind-mic-mlb-expected-unexpected\/","name":"Behind the Mic: MLB - Expected - Unexpected - ATVN","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#website"},"datePublished":"2018-05-15T13:09:46+00:00","dateModified":"2023-04-13T20:59:12+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#\/schema\/person\/149d57a8e347f18c57a13b75a3c0f3ee"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/behind-mic-mlb-expected-unexpected\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/","name":"ATVN","description":"Local Programming & Astound Digital Cable, Internet & Phone Services","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#\/schema\/person\/149d57a8e347f18c57a13b75a3c0f3ee","name":"Gary Laubach","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"\/atvn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Gary-Laubach-Behind-the-Mic-Author-Image.jpg","url":"\/atvn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Gary-Laubach-Behind-the-Mic-Author-Image.jpg","contentUrl":"\/atvn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Gary-Laubach-Behind-the-Mic-Author-Image.jpg","caption":"Gary Laubach"},"description":"Gary began his broadcasting career with Twin County in 1972. Twin County eventually became C-TEC and then Astound Broadband. Gary is currently a Sports Broadcaster for Lafayette College.","url":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/author\/rcntvgary\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81153"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81153\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87561,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81153\/revisions\/87561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}