Too Early to Panic

By April Whtizman, @AlleyCat17

Invalid date

We're eight games into the season. Should teams with losing records begin panicking?

The answer is no. It’s only the eighth day of the season. Each team has only played 4.9% of their games! Want more proof? Here are the records, after eight games, of the World Series Champions from the past five years:

2012: San Francisco Giants: (4-4): It should be noted that the San Francisco Giants started 1-4 to start the season, before winning three in a row to be merely a .500 team eight games into the season. Despite the slow start, the Giants were 46-40 at the All-Star break and finished the season 94-68, for first place in the NL West.

2011: St. Louis Cardinals: (2-6): The Cardinals were on a three-game losing streak by the time their eighth game was played. Despite the unfortunate beginning to their season, the Cards finished 90-72, clinching a National League wild card, and soon their 11th World Series Championship.

2010: San Francisco Giants: (4-4):The Giants were fortunately on a three-game winning streak by the time their eighth game was played as they had only found one win throughout the first four games. The team continued to waver around .500, holding a record of 40-39 as of July 2. That said, thanks to a strong second half of the season, they finished with a 92-70 record, for first place in the NL West.

2009: New York Yankees: (4-4): Even though the 2009 Yankees started the year slowly with a 4-4 record, it didn’t last long. The team had a nine-game winning streak in May and an eight-game winning streak in July, August and September en route to a 103-win season and their 27th World Series Championship.

2008: Philadelphia Phillies: (4-4): While the Phillies started the first eight games of the year at .500, they soon turned it up and found the win column, finishing the season 93-69, clinching first place in the NL East. They would go on to defeat the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2008 World Series.

Folks – not a single team to win the World Series over the past five years was above .500 at this point. So, while I understand that no one wants their team to lose, it’s wayyyy too early to hit the panic button.