The Road to the Fall Classic

 

The World Series; America’s pastime at its finest moment. It’s where heroes are born, and where legends are solidified in baseball history. This year is just another chapter in the ongoing story of Major League Baseball. This postseason has seen many upsets, and has experienced many exciting, nail-biting, and jaw-dropping moments.

All of the challenges that the players have faced throughout the season will finally culminate in this series. The Texas Rangers will face off against the St. Louis Cardinals, in what is sure to be a series that will be historical.

Going into the playoffs, the Philadelphia Phillies were the heavy favorite to win the World Series. The Phillies have won 102 games in the regular season, which became a new franchise record. Many thought that the St. Louis Cardinals would not even win one game against the Phillies in the Division series; however, the Phillies took a turn for the worse when their offense was unable to do anything efficient. In five games, the Phillies batted .226, had only 11 extra base hits (three being home-runs), and had only 21 hits, compared to the Cardinals 44 hits. On top of that, the Phillies clean-up hitter Ryan Howard (who batted 2-19 with 6 strike-outs) tore his Achilles tendon after hitting a sharp-grounder to first base in his last at bat in game five. He will most likely be out for five to six months.

The Cardinals continued to ride their success in the first round all the way through the NL championship series. They defeated their rivals, the Milwaukee Brewers, in 6 games. As a team, the Cardinals had a lot of success at the plate. They hit an average of .310, had 67 hits, and scored 43 runs in the first two rounds of the playoffs. Two of the main contributors to the Cardinals success were NLCS MVP David Freese, and all-star first-baseman Albert Pujols. Despite their success at the plate, the Cardinals pitching proved to be less impressive. The Cardinals’ pitching staff gave up 88 hits, gave up 47 runs, and had a total ERA of 4.18.

In the American League, the Texas Rangers dominated their competition through their overpowering offense led by Nelson Cruz, who had 9 hits (6 of them being home-runs), 8 runs, and 13 RBI’s in the first two rounds of the AL playoffs. The Rangers as a team produced 55 runs, 90 hits, 20 doubles, 13 home-runs, 54 RBI’s, in both the Division series and the AL championship series; thus defeating the Tampa Bay Rays and the Detroit Tigers with relative ease.

The Rangers’ pitching staff also did fairly well against their opponents. The Rays and Tigers combined hit for an average of .241 against the Rangers, and struck out 85 times. Although these stats are impressive, the Rangers pitching staff allowed 42 earned runs, amounting to a mediocre ERA (earned run average) of 4.11 (which all around was still better than the cardinals).

Both teams going into the World Series have been very dominant offensively, however, the team that will come out on top will be the one whose pitching staff is able to prevent the most runs. When asked about whom he thought would win the World Series, DC baseball coach and teacher Mr. Jeff Wisnewski predicted that the Texas Rangers would win it all, saying, “The Cardinals pitching is good, but it probably won’t be good enough to hold down the Rangers. With their offense, the Rangers should win the World Series.”

Fortunately for the Cardinals, they will have home field advantage first in the World Series. However, if the Cardinals hope to win it all, they will have to be able to defeat the Rangers on the road which will be difficult, seeing as the Rangers are 4-1 at home this postseason.

This year’s Fall Classic looks like it is going to be one of the closest ones in a long time. The Rangers have won two straight AL championships, but they still have yet to win a World Series. The Cardinals, on the other hand, have already won 10 World Series, which is more than any National League team, but that will not stop them from giving it everything they’ve got in order to get their 11th World Series title. Game One starts on October 19th, at Busch Stadium.

The Music of 2011: A Retrospective

From mainstream pop to underground rock, from hip-hop to electronic music, 2011 was a huge year for all of these genres of music, and others as well.

It was a year that saw many new breakthrough artists top the iTunes top albums/singles charts, a revival of some old favorite bands, and even the deaths of some of music’s biggest stars.

Breakthrough Artists:
Probably the most successful and most well-known artists to come out in 2011 was Adele, with her latest album 21.

Adele’s bluesy sound along with hit singles like "Rolling in the Deep" and "Someone Like You", made 21 an international hit. The album is currently this year’s best-selling album, and is still on iTunes top albums list.

Other breakthrough artists include Foster the People, Mumford and Sons, The Band Perry, and Wiz Khalifa whose hit single "Black and Yellow", has become the Pittsburgh Steelers theme song at home games. There was also Rebecca Black’s single "Friday" that became popular, but only because it was so hilariously bad (as well as its music video).

Veteran Artists: Many veteran bands also found success during 2011. Radiohead, probably the world’s most critically acclaimed band, released their new album The King of Limbs. Although the album was considered darker than previous Radiohead albums, it still received great reviews, and sold well.

Foo Fighters also came out big this year with their album Wasting Light, which became their most critically acclaimed album yet.

In the hip-hop world, Beastie Boys proved that they’re still hip-hop royalty. Their latest album Hot Sauce Committee Part 2, is the best reviewed hip-hop album of the year.

Successful veterans that came out big this year were Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rise Against, My Morning Jacket, and The Strokes who spawned a hit single with "Under Cover of Darkness".
   
Other Notable Artists:
Pop titan Lady Gaga came out strong this year with her latest album Born this Way, which spawned four singles such as the title track, and "Edge of Glory" (with a cameo appearance by the late Clarence Clemons).

Jennifer Lopez saw a great surge in popularity this year after becoming one of the new judges for American Idol. She also released her new album, Love?, which came out to generally mixed reviews, but still sold well. 

The following artists also dominated the charts this year: Bruno Mars, Katy Perry, and Nicki Minaj who rose to great popularity with her hit song "Super Bass".

Notable Losses:

Clarence Clemons: January 11, 1942 – June 18, 2011


The year 2011 also marks the passing of several musicians whose influence on the music industry has been profound.

On June 18, the legendary Clarence Clemons, saxophonist for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, died after complications related to a stroke. Clarence was well known for his tremendous sound and his sax solos in such songs as "Jungleland", and "Born to Run". 

A month after Clarence’s passing, singer Amy Winehouse died at the age of 27, becoming the 50th member of "The 27 Club", an infamous club of musicians that all died at the age of 27 such as Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, and Kurt Cobain.

Looking Ahead:
Although most of the year’s great music has already been released, 2011 still holds three months of possibility. Coldplay is currently working on their first concept album Mylo Xyloto which will be coming out soon. Also for fans of 90’s rock, Pearl Jam 20, a documentary about the band, will also be coming out later this year.

As long as another song like "Friday" doesn’t come out, 2011 will end on a high note.