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Most recently published stories in Unbalanced.
Andrew Triggs: The Most Underrated Pitcher on the Most Underrated Staff
For most of you reading this I’m sure the last time you said anything about the A’s, you put your GM hat on and concluded that the Josh Donaldson trade wasn't a good one after he won the MVP award. Wow what a great analysis there, you should work in baseball! Or you noticed that Khris Davis hit 42 HRs last year and thought “Huh, neat,” and moved on with your life.
Owen McGrattanPublished 7 years ago in UnbalancedWhich NBA Finals Stars Deserve Their Own Team?
It’s hard to figure out what’s more disheartening at this point in the common NBA fan’s life- the fact that there’s no meaningful basketball on until the end of October, or that we just finished a relatively unentertaining NBA Finals that will likely feature the same matchup for the next few years. While you dive into NBA Classics or binge on 30 for 30s, you could console yourself with the thought that these teams might not actually feature the same rosters as early as next year.
Dan O'SheaPublished 7 years ago in UnbalancedBreaking Down the WBC: Pool D
The “World Series” is a misnomer — the final round of the MLB playoffs only determines the best team in America/Canada. The true “World Series” is the World Baseball Classic, where the top baseball teams from all across the globe compete.The WBC isn’t like Olympic Baseball, where only the best amateurs compete — instead, countries draw on the best professional talent tied to the nation and assemble powerhouses of teams to compete with one another.The first round of the WBC consists of four pools of four teams who compete in a round robin tournament. The top two teams from each pool move onto the next round. For the next week, I’ll be ranking each WBC team, pool by pool, to see who might be best poised to make it to the next round. Teams are sorted from 1st to 4th by their ability to contend in the WBC. I’m looking at the final pool, Pool D, having reviewed Pool A, Pool B, and Pool C already.
John EdwardsPublished 7 years ago in UnbalancedBuilding a New Future for Baseball
Every year we debate how baseball must adapt to save itself from dying and draw a wider audience. Pace of play comes to the forefront, and for good reason, as the casual fan can grow tired of sitting through a 3+ hour game, and there are sensical ways to change the game. I am a big fan of the two-minute clock for between innings, but when I hear talk of the 20-second pitch clock and automatically putting a runner on 2nd in extras, I cringe. Major League Baseball doesn’t need rule changes, it needs to embrace the true talent of its players.
Owen McGrattanPublished 7 years ago in UnbalancedThree Reasons Why a Zeke Suspension Might Not Be a Bad Idea
As you may have heard by now, Ezekiel Elliott of the Dallas Cowboys is making headlines yet again. This time, it is for allegedly breaking someone’s nose in a bar fight at a Dallas area sports bar. This incident isn’t the first incident that the Cowboys’ young star has been involved in; he was spotted in a marijuana dispensary on the west coast during last season, involved a domestic situation prior to that, and most recently the guilty party in revealing a woman’s breast publicly during a parade.
Kenneth WilsonPublished 7 years ago in UnbalancedSorting Out the Possible Eastern Conference All Star Team
It has been extremely apparent over the last few months how much better the Western Conference is than its Eastern counterpart. To say talent was evenly spread across the two conferences would be a bigger lie than Steph Curry claiming his infamous dance at Harrison Barnes’ wedding wasn’t meant to make fun of LeBron James.
Dan O'SheaPublished 7 years ago in UnbalancedThe D-Backs Are Sneaky Good
If you haven’t paid attention to the D-Backs this year, you should now. The NL West playoff odds currently look like this:
Owen McGrattanPublished 7 years ago in UnbalancedNolan Arenado Is the Best Third Basemen in the MLB
There are many talented players that patrol the hot corner in baseball: Manny Machado, Josh Donaldson, and Adrian Beltre, amongst many others. But Colorado Rockies’ third basemen Nolan Arenado is the best of the best. This guy does it all. He absolutely rakes at the plate, and makes highlight reel plays on a weekly basis.
Quinn AllenPublished 7 years ago in UnbalancedWho Is the Culprit Behind #RallyDildo?
On Friday, Cinco De Mayo, the New York Mets had every reason to be celebrating — they had just completed their biggest come from behind victory of the year, overcoming a 6 run deficit to beat the Miami Marlins. Someone, however, on the Mets must have partied a little too hard, because that night, parties unknown placed a large, black, curved, ribbed sex toy in backup catcher Kevin Plawecki’s locker (WARNING: NSFW images to follow):
John EdwardsPublished 7 years ago in UnbalancedHunter Strickland and Bryce Harper Got Into a Fight and it Was Equal Parts Hilarious and Disappointing
First off the Nationals won the game 3–0, but who cares because you came here for a good ol’ fashioned fight! Before we get into it I just want to make clear that I will NOT get into any discussion on bat flips vs respecting the game or whatever you want to call that argument. And I don’t want to give out or hear your stupid takes on how Buster Posey is a terrible teammate for not stopping Harper.
Owen McGrattanPublished 7 years ago in UnbalancedThe Cavaliers’ Bench Mob is Better than Your Starting Lineup
This week, the Cleveland Cavaliers made their acquisitions of Andrew Bogut and Deron Williams official. Williams even made his debut with the Cavaliers, in a heartbreaking, riveting, and overall entertaining playoff-level intensity game against the Celtics. With these two acquisitions (both former Dallas Mavericks), the reigning NBA Champions have put in a serious bid for a repeat. With the recent news of a Kevin Durant knee injury, the Cavaliers’ title chances may have increased even more. Rival NBA GM’s could be a little disappointed for standing pat at the trade deadline with Durant out.
Charles ManiegoPublished 7 years ago in UnbalancedRationalizing the “Steph” Comparisons
The NBA started to ramp up this past weekend, as this is when many say the NBA season actually “starts”, but it wasn’t necessarily due to the action on the court. As the trade deadline approaches, Sunday night saw what could be one of the most influential trades of the modern day, but definitely one of the more odd ones.
Kenneth WilsonPublished 7 years ago in Unbalanced