In this week’s edition of the Three Strikes Roundtable, we take a look at logo changes for teams, the two possible pitching triple crowns, and who we think will win the wild card races.
1. If your team changed their logo, would you prefer that they went with an older logo (see: Blue Jays), or a brand new one (see: Marlins)?
Matt Lindner: I’d want both of my teams to go old school. (Brewers, the team I worked for and Cubs, the team I grew up with) I want to see the Brewers go back to the old ball-and-glove logo permanently instead of just teasing it out. The powder blue road jerseys with the script “Milwaukee” and the “MB” glove logo are classics, something that didn’t need to be improved upon. As for the Cubs, why not bring back the 1908 logos? Seems to make sense given that that’s when the franchise peaked on the field.
Garrett Wilson: My team is the Angels and their logo hasn’t changed all that much over the years with the exception of the ill-fated Disney era which involved a much different logo, pinstripes and the color periwinkle. That was a uniform/logo that Angel fans have collectively decided to forget. The team wisely went back to a permutation of the classic Big A with a halo around the top. Now they have some of the classier unis in the league, in my opinion. So, I think that strongly suggests that old school is always better. Personally, I’d love to see teams like the Brewers, Mariners, Astros and Padres all revert back to their traditional logos and/colors. The Diamondbacks can stay the same though. Nobody should ever wear purple and teal uniforms.
Pat Lackey: Personally, the Pirates can trot out whatever professionally designed “Pirate” logo they want, but if they get rid of the Pirate “P,” I’d flip out. Beyond that, I like the character of a lot of the old school logos that look like the guy from Section 402 made them on the back of the napkin, but new logos aren’t universally bad. The Rays’ current logo/uniforms are pretty classy, I think, though they obviously don’t have an “old school” design to fall back on. Lots of times, though, the new logos try to please everyone and fail to please anyone, which ends up sucking the life out of them.
Daniel Moroz: I don’t much like some of the older Oriole logos, so it would depend on which one they wanted to bring back (several look similar enough to the current one). If “brand new one” is anything close to in the vein of the new Marlins logo, I would definitely pass on that.
2. Which possible pitching Triple Crown season do you find more impressive, and why: Justin Verlander’s, or Clayton Kershaw’s?
Matt Lindner: Clayton Kershaw’s if only because he did it playing for a much, MUCH worse team. He’s the main reason why the Giants aren’t playoff bound.
Garrett Wilson: Both are impressive, but the edge goes to Verlander largely because he is doing it in the American League (where hitters can actually hit) and has a virtually identical stat line to Kershaw, albeit in about 20 more innings of work. And while I fully admit pitcher wins are largely meaningless, 24 wins! Day-amn!!
Pat Lackey: They’re really pretty neck and neck as far as I’m concerned. Kershaw does get to pitch in Dodger Stadium, which is pitcher-friendlier than Comerica, and I’d argue that the NL West is more dead offensively than the AL Central, meaning Kershaw doesn’t quite face the level of opponents that Verlander does, but neither division is the AL East, for sure. Verlander’s got some more innings and some incredibly dominant stretches, but Kershaw’s also just 23. If you made me pick, I’d take Verlander by a nose, but I’d be about equally happy with either one if I were building a team.
Daniel Moroz: Verlander and Kershaw have both been very, very good – similarly good, even. I’d give Verlander the edge for pitching in the AL. (This is based on their seasons and doesn’t actually have anything to do with the Triple Crown though.)
3. Final week of the season. Who wins the wild card in each league?
Matt Lindner: The Red Sox are going to back into it in the AL due to the fact that the Rays are playing against much better opponents and don’t appear to have enough left in the tank. In the NL, I think the streaking Cardinals are going to overtake the Braves in the upset of the season.
Garrett Wilson: As bad as the Red Sox are, they are still up three in the wins column over the Rays and Angels and that is a big gap to cover in one week. The Rays have a pretty rough schedule to close things out and the Angels won’t have an easy time either since the A’s always give them trouble. In the NL, I think I have to go with the Cardinals. They are red hot and about to close out the season against the lowly Cubs and Astros who both stink out loud. Meanwhile the Braves face a feisty Nationals squad and finish with the Phillies, who are still formidable even if they figure to be mailing that final series in.
Pat Lackey: Red Sox and Braves. I still don’t see the teams chasing either team catching them at this point.
Daniel Moroz: The teams with the leads, so Boston and Atlanta. With so few games left, it’s really hard to make up even small deficits.
