No need to invoke Gibson and Drysdale and old school yarns of days gone by. No, the proper reference is right across the Hudson River a mere 15 years ago.
Mike Piazza lying on his back, staring into the sky, blinking; Clemens on the mound, hands on his knees, pretending to give a damn.
Mets fans are experts on high and tight fastballs is all I'm saying.
Or one can look back a few weeks ago, when Mets fans wanted to put Old School Utley in jail. A forgotten play because the Mets beat the Dodgers ... and a quick quiz would reveal Mets "fans" in shiny new orange-n-blue hats couldn't name the injured Mets shortstop if Chris Carlin offered them $100 on Beer Money.
Syndergaard is right: if the Royals don't like it, then they ought to fight ... or, better yet, win the game.
Just like if Tejada doesn't like getting slid into, then he ought to get out of the way.
Syndergaard was fine. Six innings, three runs, and, most importantly, the win. He pitched about as well as Harvey and deGrom. Starting pitchers often look better when their offense scores nine runs, but, whatever.
The thing is: if the first pitch was really so intimidating, why did the Royals bat .600 and score three runs the first time through the lineup?
Saturday, October 31, 2015
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Gimme a break.
Brutal Game 1 loss could mean quick finish for Mets in World Series.
After Harper rings the alarm bells, I feel more confident than ever that the World Series will go seven games.
DeGrom, Syndergaard, and Harvey still start five out of the next six games.
Monday, October 26, 2015
He's the saddest boy in the world :-(
Exclusive: Stop the presses! Sports memorabilia practitioner behaves in unethical manner towards its customers!
Sunday, October 25, 2015
I googled.
Lupica + Agbayani found this gem, and I was right. It's the same article:
"After all the heroes of the Mets season, they needed one to step in now against the Yankees. And so Benny Agbayani did that. He had hit in every single postseason game the Mets had played before last night. He had been the hero of Game 3 against the Giants, in the bottom of the 13th. Now it was him against El Duque, on the night when El Duque was trying to get to 9-0 for his postseason career. It was Benny against El Duque in the bottom of the eighth, Todd Zeile on first, the game tied at 2-2. Benny hit one between David Justice and Bernie Williams, hit one hard in the alley. He is part Hawaiian on his mother's side, part Portuguese, part Irish. His father is part Filipino, Chinese, Spanish. In a Subway Series, he was a perfect New Yorker, a melting pot all by himself, suddenly he was the most important guy in town. Justice and Williams chased the ball, Zeile ran all the way home, and now the Mets were ahead 3-2 in Game 3. Bubba Trammell came on later, Bubba, who tried to be the Met hero of Game 1, hit a sacrifice fly to make it 4-2. This time Armando Benitez, protecting a lead of two runs instead of one, did the job. The Mets got a game off the Yankees last night, at last. Maybe we can get the Series we want, after all. Benny Agbayani, a perfect New Yorker, gave us a shot last night, with a shot up the alley in the eighth.
...
But now Zeile worked a walk out of him and then it was once again Benny's turn in the postseason. Another Game 3 for him. He hit a shot past Justice and Williams. All the way to the wall. Mets 3, Yankees 2. ONE HUNDRED AND ONE wins were about to become one hundred and two for Valentine's Mets. Shea made a sound in the night, a minute before midnight, that said it wasn't dead yet. Neither were the Mets. If they can win tonight, they are even with the Yankees."
Root much?
Lupica + Josh Satin doesn't reveal much. In fact, a felzball entry is near the top of the google search.
I distinctly remember Lupica hyping up Satin on the radio. Because I almost drove my car off the road. Maybe not so much in print.
"After all the heroes of the Mets season, they needed one to step in now against the Yankees. And so Benny Agbayani did that. He had hit in every single postseason game the Mets had played before last night. He had been the hero of Game 3 against the Giants, in the bottom of the 13th. Now it was him against El Duque, on the night when El Duque was trying to get to 9-0 for his postseason career. It was Benny against El Duque in the bottom of the eighth, Todd Zeile on first, the game tied at 2-2. Benny hit one between David Justice and Bernie Williams, hit one hard in the alley. He is part Hawaiian on his mother's side, part Portuguese, part Irish. His father is part Filipino, Chinese, Spanish. In a Subway Series, he was a perfect New Yorker, a melting pot all by himself, suddenly he was the most important guy in town. Justice and Williams chased the ball, Zeile ran all the way home, and now the Mets were ahead 3-2 in Game 3. Bubba Trammell came on later, Bubba, who tried to be the Met hero of Game 1, hit a sacrifice fly to make it 4-2. This time Armando Benitez, protecting a lead of two runs instead of one, did the job. The Mets got a game off the Yankees last night, at last. Maybe we can get the Series we want, after all. Benny Agbayani, a perfect New Yorker, gave us a shot last night, with a shot up the alley in the eighth.
...
But now Zeile worked a walk out of him and then it was once again Benny's turn in the postseason. Another Game 3 for him. He hit a shot past Justice and Williams. All the way to the wall. Mets 3, Yankees 2. ONE HUNDRED AND ONE wins were about to become one hundred and two for Valentine's Mets. Shea made a sound in the night, a minute before midnight, that said it wasn't dead yet. Neither were the Mets. If they can win tonight, they are even with the Yankees."
Root much?
Lupica + Josh Satin doesn't reveal much. In fact, a felzball entry is near the top of the google search.
I distinctly remember Lupica hyping up Satin on the radio. Because I almost drove my car off the road. Maybe not so much in print.
Wolf! Wolf!
The Colorado Rockies will win the World Series next year.
If they don't, I will keep predicting that they will.
Over the course of several decades, I may end up being correct:
"So you know the Royals will come into Game 1 on Tuesday night thinking that this is every bit their time in baseball, as they try to win their first World Series since 1985 the way the Mets try to win their first since ‘86, especially after the way the Royals won Game 6 against the Blue Jays on Friday night, Lorenzo Cain running the bases the way Junior Griffey ran the bases against the Yankees in another October."
Yes, every team that goes into the World Series is on a roll and every team feels like a team of destiny.
You brought up an anti-Yankee moment from 20 years ago and compared two plays that were actually very dissimilar. Other than the fact that both plays had baseball players score runs via running around the bases.
But, you know ... good job. So stupid ...
"Still: It is the Mets who come into this World Series as the best and most complete team in baseball, with the best starting pitching in this world."
I think this is inaccurate.
The Mets won 90 games in a terrible division. The Mets absolutely earned their trip to the World Series. They beat the Nationals head to head, they beat the Dodgers, they humiliated the Cubs.
I don't think they're the best and most complete team in baseball, even after their July acquisitions.
The defense is average at best, the lineup is streaky at best, the "bridge" to Familia is non-existent. It wouldn't shock me if the Mets win the World Series. It also wouldn't shock me if the Royals' lineup handles the Mets' starting pitching and then destroys the Mets' middle relievers.
"They come into Tuesday night riding the same kind of wave that the Giants did the last time they won a Super Bowl, after they were 7-7 that time. And by the time those Giants made it to Lucas Oil Stadium, 7-7 didn’t matter anymore the way the Mets being just two games over .500 with 60 games to play doesn’t matter now."
Right.
The New York Giants.
I thought for sure, up until the point it said Super Bowl, that this was a baseball comparison. I thought it was going to say "the same kind of wave that the Giants did last year with Bumgarner ..."
So now, instead of pointlessly comparing two dissimilar baseball plays 20 years apart, we're comparing two different sports.
"The waiting was hard and mean, especially in baseball New York. The Yankees have only won one Series of their own since ’06. But there was the powerful idea, built over so many playoff seasons for the Yankees over the last 20 years, that not only was this their town now, but always would be."
A made-up idea you have been fighting against for 20 years.
So when it finally comes true, guess what? You don't get any credit for making that prediction.
Because, if it took twenty freaking years? That's indistinguishable from forever, for all intents and purposes.
"Only that changes, and maybe for a long time. Because whatever your rooting interest is, if you had to bet your own money right now, you would bet it on the Mets."
So?
What?
I mean, this is the moment you've supposedly been waiting for.
The Yankees are offering no resistance, but they've never been the enemy. This is a prison of your own making. You could fly the whole time, Dumbo.
Besides, baseball analysis-wise? ... the long-forgotten supposed job of baseball journalists? ... one can easily look at the Yankees' future with optimism, independently of the Mets.
The Yankees can quietly build a good team with unheralded promising young players and it would be a dream come true if Lupica crushed on Daniel Murphy for a while instead of Alex Rodriguez.
The worst thing the Yankees can do right now is react to this so-called rivalry with the Mets. Try to get media attention by making a splash. The Yankees are going to have their hands full with Toronto and other AL East teams for a few more years while they wait for all these long-term contracts to finally expire.
"There it was last Sunday night after Game 2 against the Cubs when the loud, cold night had finally ended, and I was with the crowd of people coming down the stairs and out into the parking lot, shouting 'Let’s Go Mets!' as they headed for their cars or for trains, some of the crowd heading towards Roosevelt Ave. and the rest hooking a left up 126th.
And in that moment, you could remember what it was like in this same parking lot when the ‘86 Mets were as big as any New York baseball team had ever been, and people were filing down those old, narrow ramps and out of old Shea; when the huge October swings came from Strawberry and Dykstra and Kid Carter and Ray Knight and Keith Hernandez, the way they come from Daniel Murphy now, and Curtis Granderson, and Yoenis Cespedes."
What were you expecting when your team makes the World Series?
Toronto hadn't even made the playoffs in 22 years. The Cubs haven't won a World Series since 1908. The Royals made the WS last year, of course, but their playoff drought was 29 years.
Are fans in KC sitting on their hands, or something? Does their enthusiasm somehow denigrate the enthusiasm of, say, Cardinals fans?
My gripe is something like this: I am certainly not dismissing the genuine enthusiasm of genuine Mets fans. I'm dismissing the notion that this enthusiasm is somehow unique to the Mets, unique to New York City, that Mets fans in particular are "long-suffering."
I keep hearing, "We've never seen this before," as if Mike Piazza and Edgardo Alfonzo and Robin Ventura and Endy Chavez. never existed. How come nobody remembers Edgardo Alfonzo?
I recall a short-lived Benny Agbayani Obsession. Because: Playoffs! I could probably google Lupica + Agbayani and find the same article from 15 years ago (Lupica + Josh Satin would be truly terrifying).
"There is never any timetable for a moment like this, at Citi Field or anywhere else. There was no timetable for the Giants that time. Then Eli Manning threw one to Victor Cruz and by the time Cruz stopped running it was a 99-yard touchdown play against the Jets.
That was no fluke. Neither is this. There are no straight lines in sports, especially not to the Canyon of Heroes."
OK, not sure why it's necessary to cross-pollinate sports moments.
The 2015 Mets have a very obvious NY baseball analogy and that is the 1996 Yankees. Ahead of schedule, young players, fan base surprised by their playoff success, etc.
If it's important to gauge the relative enthusiasm of New York's two baseball teams, then you can't do this in 2015 because the Yankees aren't good enough. I don't think Yankee fans were, you know, quietly exiting the Stadium in October 2000, bored with their third title in a row :-(
"I love when people who didn’t watch five Mets games during the regular season tell you with great certainty why they are now going all the way, baby!"
I love when journalists who didn't watch five Mets games during the regular season tell you with great certainty why they are now the best baseball team on the planet.
If they don't, I will keep predicting that they will.
Over the course of several decades, I may end up being correct:
"So you know the Royals will come into Game 1 on Tuesday night thinking that this is every bit their time in baseball, as they try to win their first World Series since 1985 the way the Mets try to win their first since ‘86, especially after the way the Royals won Game 6 against the Blue Jays on Friday night, Lorenzo Cain running the bases the way Junior Griffey ran the bases against the Yankees in another October."
Yes, every team that goes into the World Series is on a roll and every team feels like a team of destiny.
You brought up an anti-Yankee moment from 20 years ago and compared two plays that were actually very dissimilar. Other than the fact that both plays had baseball players score runs via running around the bases.
But, you know ... good job. So stupid ...
- Donaldson struck out looking and it reminded me of Beltran taking a third strike against the Cardinals.
- A guy hit a HR and it reminded me of the time that Molina hit that HR to beat the Mets.
- Some pitcher walked a guy and it reminded me of the time Kenny Rogers walked in the winning run against the Braves.
"Still: It is the Mets who come into this World Series as the best and most complete team in baseball, with the best starting pitching in this world."
I think this is inaccurate.
The Mets won 90 games in a terrible division. The Mets absolutely earned their trip to the World Series. They beat the Nationals head to head, they beat the Dodgers, they humiliated the Cubs.
I don't think they're the best and most complete team in baseball, even after their July acquisitions.
The defense is average at best, the lineup is streaky at best, the "bridge" to Familia is non-existent. It wouldn't shock me if the Mets win the World Series. It also wouldn't shock me if the Royals' lineup handles the Mets' starting pitching and then destroys the Mets' middle relievers.
"They come into Tuesday night riding the same kind of wave that the Giants did the last time they won a Super Bowl, after they were 7-7 that time. And by the time those Giants made it to Lucas Oil Stadium, 7-7 didn’t matter anymore the way the Mets being just two games over .500 with 60 games to play doesn’t matter now."
Right.
The New York Giants.
I thought for sure, up until the point it said Super Bowl, that this was a baseball comparison. I thought it was going to say "the same kind of wave that the Giants did last year with Bumgarner ..."
So now, instead of pointlessly comparing two dissimilar baseball plays 20 years apart, we're comparing two different sports.
"The waiting was hard and mean, especially in baseball New York. The Yankees have only won one Series of their own since ’06. But there was the powerful idea, built over so many playoff seasons for the Yankees over the last 20 years, that not only was this their town now, but always would be."
A made-up idea you have been fighting against for 20 years.
So when it finally comes true, guess what? You don't get any credit for making that prediction.
Because, if it took twenty freaking years? That's indistinguishable from forever, for all intents and purposes.
"Only that changes, and maybe for a long time. Because whatever your rooting interest is, if you had to bet your own money right now, you would bet it on the Mets."
So?
What?
I mean, this is the moment you've supposedly been waiting for.
The Yankees are offering no resistance, but they've never been the enemy. This is a prison of your own making. You could fly the whole time, Dumbo.
Besides, baseball analysis-wise? ... the long-forgotten supposed job of baseball journalists? ... one can easily look at the Yankees' future with optimism, independently of the Mets.
The Yankees can quietly build a good team with unheralded promising young players and it would be a dream come true if Lupica crushed on Daniel Murphy for a while instead of Alex Rodriguez.
The worst thing the Yankees can do right now is react to this so-called rivalry with the Mets. Try to get media attention by making a splash. The Yankees are going to have their hands full with Toronto and other AL East teams for a few more years while they wait for all these long-term contracts to finally expire.
"There it was last Sunday night after Game 2 against the Cubs when the loud, cold night had finally ended, and I was with the crowd of people coming down the stairs and out into the parking lot, shouting 'Let’s Go Mets!' as they headed for their cars or for trains, some of the crowd heading towards Roosevelt Ave. and the rest hooking a left up 126th.
And in that moment, you could remember what it was like in this same parking lot when the ‘86 Mets were as big as any New York baseball team had ever been, and people were filing down those old, narrow ramps and out of old Shea; when the huge October swings came from Strawberry and Dykstra and Kid Carter and Ray Knight and Keith Hernandez, the way they come from Daniel Murphy now, and Curtis Granderson, and Yoenis Cespedes."
What were you expecting when your team makes the World Series?
Toronto hadn't even made the playoffs in 22 years. The Cubs haven't won a World Series since 1908. The Royals made the WS last year, of course, but their playoff drought was 29 years.
Are fans in KC sitting on their hands, or something? Does their enthusiasm somehow denigrate the enthusiasm of, say, Cardinals fans?
My gripe is something like this: I am certainly not dismissing the genuine enthusiasm of genuine Mets fans. I'm dismissing the notion that this enthusiasm is somehow unique to the Mets, unique to New York City, that Mets fans in particular are "long-suffering."
I keep hearing, "We've never seen this before," as if Mike Piazza and Edgardo Alfonzo and Robin Ventura and Endy Chavez. never existed. How come nobody remembers Edgardo Alfonzo?
I recall a short-lived Benny Agbayani Obsession. Because: Playoffs! I could probably google Lupica + Agbayani and find the same article from 15 years ago (Lupica + Josh Satin would be truly terrifying).
"There is never any timetable for a moment like this, at Citi Field or anywhere else. There was no timetable for the Giants that time. Then Eli Manning threw one to Victor Cruz and by the time Cruz stopped running it was a 99-yard touchdown play against the Jets.
That was no fluke. Neither is this. There are no straight lines in sports, especially not to the Canyon of Heroes."
OK, not sure why it's necessary to cross-pollinate sports moments.
The 2015 Mets have a very obvious NY baseball analogy and that is the 1996 Yankees. Ahead of schedule, young players, fan base surprised by their playoff success, etc.
If it's important to gauge the relative enthusiasm of New York's two baseball teams, then you can't do this in 2015 because the Yankees aren't good enough. I don't think Yankee fans were, you know, quietly exiting the Stadium in October 2000, bored with their third title in a row :-(
"I love when people who didn’t watch five Mets games during the regular season tell you with great certainty why they are now going all the way, baby!"
I love when journalists who didn't watch five Mets games during the regular season tell you with great certainty why they are now the best baseball team on the planet.
Friday, October 23, 2015
What about the other 50 weeks per year?
1. Don't spend one public dime on this idea.
2. There are about a million venues where people can get together to watch sports.
3. The racial/societal tensions in NYC? Please don't realy on the vicissitudes of a sports team to address these important issues.
2. There are about a million venues where people can get together to watch sports.
3. The racial/societal tensions in NYC? Please don't realy on the vicissitudes of a sports team to address these important issues.
Do not read the comments section if you feel the need to retain the illusion of a properly educated populace in a representative democracy.
One guy does say that he doesn't flaunt his heterosexuality and he's sick and tired of homosexual flaunting their sexuality and shoving their sexuality down his throat.
Assuming this is a Freudian slip, and the chances that it's not a Freudian slip are close to zero, and he's worried about the discomfort of homosexuals shoving things down his throat, I've heard that Chloraseptic (TM) helps and, oddly enough, squeezing your left thumb.
Assuming this is a Freudian slip, and the chances that it's not a Freudian slip are close to zero, and he's worried about the discomfort of homosexuals shoving things down his throat, I've heard that Chloraseptic (TM) helps and, oddly enough, squeezing your left thumb.
Doesnt like ARod, doesn't see irony.
"Of the thousands of baseball players and experts Fox Sports could have
selected to appear on its postseason shows, it picked the worst."
They might be the next-to-worst, but they couldn't be the worst.
"It chose the most notorious, earnest and purposeful cheater to ever play the game. It chose the man whose name is synonymous with performance-enhancing drugs. It chose A-Rod."
I don't think he's the most notorious, earnest, or purposeful cheater to ever play the game by any means.
Though decades' worth of cheaters appreciate your willingness to let them off the hook.
"Alex Rodriguez, who admitted to using steroids from 2001-03 and then was suspended for the entire 2014 season for his big role in the Biogenesis scandal, isn’t just any old baseball steroids guy. He is the guy."
Except he isn't.
Take the Mets. Their emerging superstar closer who hasn't allowed a run in the postseason.
He is the Mets' backup closer.
Can you even name the Mets' primary closer? The guy who was suspended for repeated steroid use?
Not that Mejia is more famous than ARod, but that is Christine Brennan's fault.
"Congratulations, Fox. What a terrible message this sends to children — if kids actually watched playoff baseball games anymore."
I believe that children are our future.
Prohibit them from exposure to ARod and they will lead the way.
"Experts say the use of performance-enhancing drugs by kids in high school sports has reached epidemic proportions. Seeing superstars suspended or hauled before Congress can act as a deterrent to these kids. Seeing them propped up on pregame shows as faux stars does not."
If seeing superstars suspended or hauled before Congress can act as a deterrent to these kids, then how did PED use by kids in high school reach epidemic proportions?
The Congressional hearings were, like, 10 years ago.
ARod became an analyst on Fox Sports, like, yesterday.
"Perhaps next year, Fox can put together a panel featuring A-Rod, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens and Rafael Palmeiro. Now that’s truly hitting for the cycle.
Fox Sports’ baseball audience is minuscule compared with the NFL’s, but that doesn’t make the network’s decision any less egregious. In fact, that’s probably why Fox did it, to try to boost ratings. It’s not a coincidence that one of Rodriguez’s fellow studio analysts is Pete Rose."
1) That sounds like an interesting panel because I haven't heard from Palmeiro in a long time.
2) I think it's a total coincidence that ARod's fellow studio analyst is Pete Rose. The link is that they're both cheaters in MLB. Other than that distinction they share with thousands of other ex-jocks, they don't have much more in common.
3) Boosting ratings is not probably why Fox Sports chose ARod to be a studio analyst ... it's the only reason. What other reason could one possibly imagine?
"For all baseball’s talk and action on the subject of PEDs, it has never taken them as seriously as the Olympic world has, and it still does not. That’s why the sport allows someone who has flouted the rules as badly as A-Rod has to still be one of the faces of the game.
This tells us that the game, and Fox Sports, will do anything to get attention.
Anything."
We wouldn't want to give any attention to ARod, would we?
Think of the children.
They might be the next-to-worst, but they couldn't be the worst.
"It chose the most notorious, earnest and purposeful cheater to ever play the game. It chose the man whose name is synonymous with performance-enhancing drugs. It chose A-Rod."
I don't think he's the most notorious, earnest, or purposeful cheater to ever play the game by any means.
Though decades' worth of cheaters appreciate your willingness to let them off the hook.
"Alex Rodriguez, who admitted to using steroids from 2001-03 and then was suspended for the entire 2014 season for his big role in the Biogenesis scandal, isn’t just any old baseball steroids guy. He is the guy."
Except he isn't.
Take the Mets. Their emerging superstar closer who hasn't allowed a run in the postseason.
He is the Mets' backup closer.
Can you even name the Mets' primary closer? The guy who was suspended for repeated steroid use?
Not that Mejia is more famous than ARod, but that is Christine Brennan's fault.
"Congratulations, Fox. What a terrible message this sends to children — if kids actually watched playoff baseball games anymore."
I believe that children are our future.
Prohibit them from exposure to ARod and they will lead the way.
"Experts say the use of performance-enhancing drugs by kids in high school sports has reached epidemic proportions. Seeing superstars suspended or hauled before Congress can act as a deterrent to these kids. Seeing them propped up on pregame shows as faux stars does not."
If seeing superstars suspended or hauled before Congress can act as a deterrent to these kids, then how did PED use by kids in high school reach epidemic proportions?
The Congressional hearings were, like, 10 years ago.
ARod became an analyst on Fox Sports, like, yesterday.
"Perhaps next year, Fox can put together a panel featuring A-Rod, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens and Rafael Palmeiro. Now that’s truly hitting for the cycle.
Fox Sports’ baseball audience is minuscule compared with the NFL’s, but that doesn’t make the network’s decision any less egregious. In fact, that’s probably why Fox did it, to try to boost ratings. It’s not a coincidence that one of Rodriguez’s fellow studio analysts is Pete Rose."
1) That sounds like an interesting panel because I haven't heard from Palmeiro in a long time.
2) I think it's a total coincidence that ARod's fellow studio analyst is Pete Rose. The link is that they're both cheaters in MLB. Other than that distinction they share with thousands of other ex-jocks, they don't have much more in common.
3) Boosting ratings is not probably why Fox Sports chose ARod to be a studio analyst ... it's the only reason. What other reason could one possibly imagine?
"For all baseball’s talk and action on the subject of PEDs, it has never taken them as seriously as the Olympic world has, and it still does not. That’s why the sport allows someone who has flouted the rules as badly as A-Rod has to still be one of the faces of the game.
This tells us that the game, and Fox Sports, will do anything to get attention.
Anything."
We wouldn't want to give any attention to ARod, would we?
Think of the children.
Thursday, October 22, 2015
No.
Grown ups "should" do whatever they want:
"Stop being sour.
Yankees fans, you're upset, and we get it. Alex Rodriguez is on Fox Sports in a suit. Masahiro Tanaka just had offseason surgery. The team just dumped its second hitting coach in as many years. In the Bronx, the lights are off.
Meanwhile, Queens has been electric. The Mets own all the headlines and the back pages and they have a legitimate chance to reach the World Series.
And, Yankees fans, you should be rooting for them. Here's why:"
The particulars of the argument don't matter much.
Fun? Sure. If you're a Mets fan.
Leadership? Sure. Starting in the playoffs when they started winning, they started demonstrating leadership. That's wonderful ... if you're a Mets fan.
The young arms? They're poised for the future it seems. If you're a Mets fan, that's encouraging.
Guts? I mean ... the bold July acquisitions would be dismissed as mercenary rentals if the Mets were losing. But they're not losing.
Sympathy? Not compared to the Cubs ... or the Royals ... or the Blue Jays, for that matter.
As for the question being posed in the first place: I don't recall Mets fans being implored to join the Yankee bandwagon in '76, '77, '78, '81, '96, '98, '99, '00 (well, that one doesn't count, of course), '01, '03, or '09.
Yankee fan allegiance is not a huge storyline around here, and it shouldn't be, but Yankees fans are sometimes being asked to join the party (what is Mike Francesa doing behind home plate at CitiField?).
"It's a New York thing and we should root for the local team."
No.
Some Yankee fans consider the Mets to be their rivals, so they will root against the Mets. Some Yankee fans (yours truly) don't really consider the Mets to be their rivals, so the proper attitude -- the respectful attitude -- is indifference.
"Stop being sour.
Yankees fans, you're upset, and we get it. Alex Rodriguez is on Fox Sports in a suit. Masahiro Tanaka just had offseason surgery. The team just dumped its second hitting coach in as many years. In the Bronx, the lights are off.
Meanwhile, Queens has been electric. The Mets own all the headlines and the back pages and they have a legitimate chance to reach the World Series.
And, Yankees fans, you should be rooting for them. Here's why:"
The particulars of the argument don't matter much.
Fun? Sure. If you're a Mets fan.
Leadership? Sure. Starting in the playoffs when they started winning, they started demonstrating leadership. That's wonderful ... if you're a Mets fan.
The young arms? They're poised for the future it seems. If you're a Mets fan, that's encouraging.
Guts? I mean ... the bold July acquisitions would be dismissed as mercenary rentals if the Mets were losing. But they're not losing.
Sympathy? Not compared to the Cubs ... or the Royals ... or the Blue Jays, for that matter.
As for the question being posed in the first place: I don't recall Mets fans being implored to join the Yankee bandwagon in '76, '77, '78, '81, '96, '98, '99, '00 (well, that one doesn't count, of course), '01, '03, or '09.
Yankee fan allegiance is not a huge storyline around here, and it shouldn't be, but Yankees fans are sometimes being asked to join the party (what is Mike Francesa doing behind home plate at CitiField?).
"It's a New York thing and we should root for the local team."
No.
Some Yankee fans consider the Mets to be their rivals, so they will root against the Mets. Some Yankee fans (yours truly) don't really consider the Mets to be their rivals, so the proper attitude -- the respectful attitude -- is indifference.
Monday, October 19, 2015
Lupica steps it up on October.
"It was that way for Brian Doyle, who stepped in for Willie Randolph at second base what feels like 100 years ago and hit .438 in the 1978 World Series against the Dodgers. Of course Al Weis, another second baseman, became an unlikely home run hitter for the Mets in the ’69 World Series. And that is just the short list."
I totally have a much bigger list of unlikely NY baseball playoff heroes and that list is easily accessible to me.
I just don't want to share it with you at this time because I wouldn't want to bore you.
There was also, you know ... that guy? ... you know the one ... the guy with the thing? Yes, exactly. That's who I was thinking of. Oh, man, remember when he did that?
"Daniel Murphy, second baseman, is a better hitter and a better ballplayer than Weis was, or Doyle. But it still happens to him now. Does it ever. He has the time of his baseball life, out of the Dodgers series and right into this 2-0 lead in the National League Championship Series against the Cubs. Just like that the Mets are two games from the World Series. And half-a-dozen from winning it all."
The HRs for Murphy are a surprise for sure, but it's not as if he's the #8 hitter.
Those kinds of short-sample-size outbursts happen. They never don't happen.
"But it has been that kind of October for his son. Murphy has made it, finally, to games like the ones he is playing now, after all the empty Octobers in his career. If you are Murphy, and all you’ve ever done is watch somebody else play these games, you had to wonder what it would be like on baseball’s bright, loud, great stage. All athletes, no matter how confident, no matter how strong their faith in themselves and God, wonder what kind of game they will have when the lights get turned up."
Oh, yeah, that God comment reminds me.
Personally? I don't let him off the hook for being an anti-homosexual bigot.
So that's another reason to root for the Cubs.
I totally have a much bigger list of unlikely NY baseball playoff heroes and that list is easily accessible to me.
I just don't want to share it with you at this time because I wouldn't want to bore you.
There was also, you know ... that guy? ... you know the one ... the guy with the thing? Yes, exactly. That's who I was thinking of. Oh, man, remember when he did that?
"Daniel Murphy, second baseman, is a better hitter and a better ballplayer than Weis was, or Doyle. But it still happens to him now. Does it ever. He has the time of his baseball life, out of the Dodgers series and right into this 2-0 lead in the National League Championship Series against the Cubs. Just like that the Mets are two games from the World Series. And half-a-dozen from winning it all."
The HRs for Murphy are a surprise for sure, but it's not as if he's the #8 hitter.
Those kinds of short-sample-size outbursts happen. They never don't happen.
"But it has been that kind of October for his son. Murphy has made it, finally, to games like the ones he is playing now, after all the empty Octobers in his career. If you are Murphy, and all you’ve ever done is watch somebody else play these games, you had to wonder what it would be like on baseball’s bright, loud, great stage. All athletes, no matter how confident, no matter how strong their faith in themselves and God, wonder what kind of game they will have when the lights get turned up."
Oh, yeah, that God comment reminds me.
Personally? I don't let him off the hook for being an anti-homosexual bigot.
So that's another reason to root for the Cubs.
Sunday, October 18, 2015
Baseball is back in the Big Apple!
"Everybody knows the monster pro football has become, here and everywhere else."
Even in Singapore.
So when I say "everywhere," I don't mean "everywhere."
I'll trust the readers to fill in the blanks, read between the lines, come along with me on my linguistic journey, as I expand the meaning of words and thus expand the English language.
"Everybody knows that the Giants’ two Super Bowl wins over the Patriots feel as big as anything that has ever happened in New York sports, at least back to the ’69 Mets and Namath’s Jets."
Almost as big as when the women's soccer team won the World Cup with that lady from New Jersey.
"But then look at what has happened around here now that the Mets are back in play, with a chance to win it all. Look how much of the oxygen in the room baseball takes up even with two winning football teams over there at MetLife Stadium."
Totally valid comparison.
Baseball's semifinal round generates more interest than week 6 of the NFL season for a 3-2 Giants team ... and the conclusion is ... well, there is no conclusion. It's another example Lupica's weird allegiance to Selig.
"The Dodgers may make a splash soon by firing Don Mattingly, as if it was Mattingly’s fault that his hitters left enough runners on base in Game 5 to start a softball team."
Or a baseball team. Softball teams only have one more player. A fourth outfielder ... or, like, a fifth infielder when Lupcia is batting.
Maybe it is Mattingly's fault. Why don't you explore the situation and present some observations and facts?
It's very possible that Mattingly didn't prepare his team mentally or strategically for the playoffs. I know Girardi, for example, is content letting his all-or-nothings accumulate regular season stats that help them in contract negotiations (though nobody on the team even got 100 RBIs this year). It doesn't surprise me that Keuchel shut them down in the playoffs. Partially because Keuchel is flat-out good, but also partially because the Yankees have gotten fat and happy off of hanging curves and middle relievers. What's the backup plan? There ain't one.
I don't follow the Dodgers closely enough to praise or bury Mattingly ... neither does Lupica.
"As you ask another question:
If the Mets’ plan to get back to this moment was so cheap and dumb, how come they’re still playing this season and the Dodgers aren’t?"
The Mets have been kind of cheap and will probably continue to be cheap.
It is a perfectly good strategy if (a) you are willing to wait nine years to make the playoffs, and (b) you understand what happens when you win. Your young players hit free agency at the same time your draft position falls.
So ... is your point the Dodgers' GM is lousy? "Everbody knows that" (heh heh).
That doesn't necessarily let Mattingly off the hook.
Even in Singapore.
So when I say "everywhere," I don't mean "everywhere."
I'll trust the readers to fill in the blanks, read between the lines, come along with me on my linguistic journey, as I expand the meaning of words and thus expand the English language.
"Everybody knows that the Giants’ two Super Bowl wins over the Patriots feel as big as anything that has ever happened in New York sports, at least back to the ’69 Mets and Namath’s Jets."
Almost as big as when the women's soccer team won the World Cup with that lady from New Jersey.
"But then look at what has happened around here now that the Mets are back in play, with a chance to win it all. Look how much of the oxygen in the room baseball takes up even with two winning football teams over there at MetLife Stadium."
Totally valid comparison.
Baseball's semifinal round generates more interest than week 6 of the NFL season for a 3-2 Giants team ... and the conclusion is ... well, there is no conclusion. It's another example Lupica's weird allegiance to Selig.
"The Dodgers may make a splash soon by firing Don Mattingly, as if it was Mattingly’s fault that his hitters left enough runners on base in Game 5 to start a softball team."
Or a baseball team. Softball teams only have one more player. A fourth outfielder ... or, like, a fifth infielder when Lupcia is batting.
Maybe it is Mattingly's fault. Why don't you explore the situation and present some observations and facts?
It's very possible that Mattingly didn't prepare his team mentally or strategically for the playoffs. I know Girardi, for example, is content letting his all-or-nothings accumulate regular season stats that help them in contract negotiations (though nobody on the team even got 100 RBIs this year). It doesn't surprise me that Keuchel shut them down in the playoffs. Partially because Keuchel is flat-out good, but also partially because the Yankees have gotten fat and happy off of hanging curves and middle relievers. What's the backup plan? There ain't one.
I don't follow the Dodgers closely enough to praise or bury Mattingly ... neither does Lupica.
"As you ask another question:
If the Mets’ plan to get back to this moment was so cheap and dumb, how come they’re still playing this season and the Dodgers aren’t?"
The Mets have been kind of cheap and will probably continue to be cheap.
It is a perfectly good strategy if (a) you are willing to wait nine years to make the playoffs, and (b) you understand what happens when you win. Your young players hit free agency at the same time your draft position falls.
So ... is your point the Dodgers' GM is lousy? "Everbody knows that" (heh heh).
That doesn't necessarily let Mattingly off the hook.
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Somebody noticed.
"In 523 at-bats, A-Rod whiffed 145 times in 2015, the most ever for a
season in his career. Before '15, his highest total was 139, a number he
reached twice, once in 2005 and then again '06."
Next up?
David Wright's career postseason batting average.
Next up?
David Wright's career postseason batting average.
Saturday, October 10, 2015
The Future of the Yankees.
"You want to count Monday night’s sleep-inducing 3-0 loss to the Astros as making the playoffs, go ahead. Yet the last time the Yankees played a postseason series was 2012, when the Tigers swept them out of the ALCS. Adding a second wild-card spot is the product of MLB’s marketing department to keep more teams alive in September and a very flawed concept."
George A. King III just atoned for a multitude of sins with one beautiful paragraph.
"Though Hal Steinbrenner doesn’t possess the knee-jerk gene his father did, Steinbrenner likely will make changes if 2016 is the fourth season without the Yankees playing a postseason series.
Here are five topics Girardi likely will be asked to address Friday."
Girardi is not going to find too many supporters, frankly. Suzyn Waldman isn't going to weep on the air, put it that way.
"1. What was more costly in September, losing Mark Teixeira or the way Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner played?"
Easy answer: the latter.
"Considering the Yankees’ starters aren’t likely to go from 12th in the league in innings pitched (927) to among the leaders next season with likely the same names, does the bullpen need another arm in front of Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller to go with Justin Wilson?"
I am a proponent. The game is changing. Relievers are more effective because it's an easier job, so stop relying on starters to get through the lineup four times ... or even three times.
"4. Whom does Girardi see at second base next season?"
George A. King III, I think it's just "who" instead of "whom."
I'm pretty sure the answer is Refsnyder, half a season too late. Which brings me to my digression ...
October 2012 is when Jeter broke his ankle.
The Yankees had just beaten Baltimore in the first round of the playoffs. It was exciting.
In Game One of the ALCS vs. Detroit, the Yankees scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth to tie up the game ... Ibanez did it again!
Jeter breaks his ankle in extra innings, Yankees lose the game, Yankees get swept by Detroit.
Three years ago. Roughly 500 games ago.
The Yankees have been a boring team ever since with virtually zero realistic chance of winning the World Series.
They have finished over .500 every year and a lot of these games have been exciting for sure. At times, the Yankees have over-achieved for extended periods of time, which is nice and perhaps provides some optimism for the fans.
But I think I speak for a lot of Yankee fans when I say the team is boring and the brand is broken. We're all just waiting for the big contracts to end and the team to get a fresh start. The line about striving to win a Championship every year is stale (one whole ring since 2000?).
So the answer to every question should be the younger guy who has potential. Don't worry about the egos of ARod, Teixeira, Beltran, Sabathia, McCann, Headley. We know what they can do. It's not going to be enough.
Rolling the dice with the youngsters isn't just the best strategy, it's the only strategy.
Jeter's broken ankle was a turning point.
I think Tuesday's Wild Card loss may have been the breaking point.
I think this team needs more than a few tweaks.
Girardi is not above criticism.
"Did he misfire at times? You bet. All managers do. He likely regrets benching Jacoby Ellsbury in the wild-card game. The gamble did not work when neither Chris Young nor Brett Gardner got any hits and now, Girardi acknowledged, he may have some fence-mending to do with a player who’s on a $153-million contract. Though Girardi said he and Ellsbury 'had a great conversation about the move,' it had to be an ego sting for the big-name center fielder.
Of course, as Girardi also pointed out: 'If you played Ells would it have been better? Would it have been three runs better? I don’t know that.
'None of us knows that.'"
"Let's see ... according to my spreadsheet, the probability that Ellsbury's presence would have created three more runs is 1.57% ... but this doesn't factor into account that it was a night game and the temperature was under 65 degrees, and we all know that Ellsbury has historically under-performed by 0.25 standard deviations when the temperature is under 65 degrees."
Listen to yourself: "Three runs better, three runs better, three runs better."
That's really how you analyze the situation?
That's the best you've got?
I mean, Ellsbury's ego doesn't concern me in the least, and I think his Yankee career is salvageable if he gets healthy next year.
Don't judge Girardi by the team's performance in the Wild Card game. What about the final two months of the season? What happened to your team, dude?
It's not so much that Girardi is unable to gauge the attitude of his team, it's that he seems completely unwilling to do so ... and, in response, the team goes through the motions.
Of course, as Girardi also pointed out: 'If you played Ells would it have been better? Would it have been three runs better? I don’t know that.
'None of us knows that.'"
"Let's see ... according to my spreadsheet, the probability that Ellsbury's presence would have created three more runs is 1.57% ... but this doesn't factor into account that it was a night game and the temperature was under 65 degrees, and we all know that Ellsbury has historically under-performed by 0.25 standard deviations when the temperature is under 65 degrees."
Listen to yourself: "Three runs better, three runs better, three runs better."
That's really how you analyze the situation?
That's the best you've got?
I mean, Ellsbury's ego doesn't concern me in the least, and I think his Yankee career is salvageable if he gets healthy next year.
Don't judge Girardi by the team's performance in the Wild Card game. What about the final two months of the season? What happened to your team, dude?
It's not so much that Girardi is unable to gauge the attitude of his team, it's that he seems completely unwilling to do so ... and, in response, the team goes through the motions.
Thursday, October 08, 2015
Yahoo writers make their playoff predictions.
They make these playoff predictions after the Wild Card round.
Why?
Because the Wild Card round isn't really the playoffs.
Why?
Because the Wild Card round isn't really the playoffs.
Competition
I can't believe all the whining. If you don't like it, then beat Arrieta ... or beat the Cardinals in the regular season. At least Clint Hurdle is acting like a grown man.
Girardi
"The Yankees
were already well on their way to a drubbing in the first game of a
doubleheader on Saturday when reliever Nick Goody unleashed a pitch in
the bottom of the seventh inning that the Baltimore slugger Chris Davis
swung at and missed. But in a manner fitting for how the day — and the
week — unfolded for the Yankees, the pitch eluded catcher John Ryan
Murphy and bounced to the backstop, allowing Nolan Reimold to coast home
from third.
That put the Orioles ahead by 10-2.
Or so it seemed. Because a moment later, Yankees Manager Joe Girardi
signaled to the umpires that he wanted to challenge the play, believing
that Goody’s pitch had nicked Davis in the foot. If it had, the play
would be dead, and Reimold would have to return to third.
As it turned out, Girardi was correct.
As it also turned out, it mattered little. The Yankees lost, 9-2."
I give him credit for watching this game because I surely had tuned out.
"Girardi
led the Yankees this season, which ended quietly with a 3-0 loss to the
Houston Astros in the American League wild-card game Tuesday night, in
what has become his distinctive manner — chin out, homework finished and
fingers itching to push the right buttons.
If
Girardi seems to be forever seeking windmills at which to tilt or hills
that he can push boulders up, Sisyphus-like — or pitching changes to
execute — that is because that is exactly what he is doing. Tuesday’s
showdown with the Astros was hardly the only game he managed this year
as if the season depended on it.
Whether
he has been too relentless in that approach now seems open to question,
particularly because the 2015 Yankees faded as the season drew to a
close. Still, he remains the man trusted to push the team as far as it
can go. And as Girardi himself might point out, the 2016 season is a
mere six months away."
Overall, the team exceeded expectations.
I thought Girardi failed to push the team down the stretch, actually, growing over-confident with a big lead in the AL East and an easy travel schedule.
"He
was criticized for overusing Dellin Betances, who threw more innings
than any other reliever in baseball this season, including a recent
appearance against the Mets when he was called upon in the eighth inning
with the Yankees ahead, 5-0. But Girardi’s small circle of trust
probably affected the Yankees more on the offensive end.
Is
it a coincidence that the only players who looked fresh at the end of
the season were Didi Gregorius, Greg Bird and Rob Refsnyder (all 25 or
younger) and 38-year-old Carlos Beltran, the only regular who was given
frequent rest over the first half of the season?
Alex
Rodriguez (40 years old), Brett Gardner (32) and Chase Headley (31) all
played more than 150 games — and Mark Teixeira (35) was on pace to do
so when he broke his leg in August. Jacoby Ellsbury (32) played in 111
of the 119 games in which he was not on the disabled list. And Brian
McCann (31), who had three extra-base hits after Sept. 1, started 119
games at catcher — his most since 2010.
Whether
Girardi will trust promising young players like Murphy, the versatile
Dustin Ackley, Refsnyder or a young outfielder like Slade Heathcott or
Mason Williams to take on a bigger role next year is uncertain. Bird
might be back in the minors so he can play regularly if Teixeira and
Rodriguez return in good health, Cashman said.
Meanwhile,
there is little doubt that over the winter, Girardi will examine any
data, conduct his due diligence and head to spring training with plans
and contingencies. As Cashman said, he does not take anything lightly.
Which may or may not be a problem."
I'd say the bullpen management is an ongoing strength. He rode his old, expensive players too much and should have seen the breakdowns coming. He also clearly doesn't possess the "emotional intelligence" that Torre possessed, and that counts for something.
We knew Young would get the start on Tuesday, but it was a bold move to bench Ellsbury instead of Gardner.
Gardner rewarded this loyalty with and 0-for-4 and 3 strikeouts.
Monday, October 05, 2015
100 percentage points.
100% chance that one team will win the World Series, but you can't have more than 100% of anything.
How would you divvy up the ten teams?
It's not easy. The 100 points disappear quickly.
Dodgers 16%
Cardinals 15%
Blue Jays 15%
Royals 14%
Mets 11%
Rangers 10%
Pirates 9%
Cubs 5%
Astros 3%
Yankees 2%
How would you divvy up the ten teams?
It's not easy. The 100 points disappear quickly.
Dodgers 16%
Cardinals 15%
Blue Jays 15%
Royals 14%
Mets 11%
Rangers 10%
Pirates 9%
Cubs 5%
Astros 3%
Yankees 2%
Sunday, October 04, 2015
Maybe the teams don't care as much about these games as you seem to think they do.
What's at stake in game #162? Not much. Nobody cares, evidently, as actions speak louder than words.
Don't sell this as an important game or a playoff-esque game and then bring Capuano out of the bullpen in the fourth inning.
Same goes for Toronto resting up and conceding home field (in the ALCS, for crying out loud) to the Royals. So that's what Toronto is playing for ... home field in the ALCS ... but only if KC makes it to the ALCS.
They also play the winner of the AL West in the ALSA instead of the Wild Card winner ... as if there's a huge difference there in sub-90 win teams.
Oh, and as for home field in the World Series? That's the winner of the All Star Game.
I can't remember who won the All Star Game, can you?
Don't sell this as an important game or a playoff-esque game and then bring Capuano out of the bullpen in the fourth inning.
Same goes for Toronto resting up and conceding home field (in the ALCS, for crying out loud) to the Royals. So that's what Toronto is playing for ... home field in the ALCS ... but only if KC makes it to the ALCS.
They also play the winner of the AL West in the ALSA instead of the Wild Card winner ... as if there's a huge difference there in sub-90 win teams.
Oh, and as for home field in the World Series? That's the winner of the All Star Game.
I can't remember who won the All Star Game, can you?
I don't believe Mike Lupica is a baseball fan, nor do I believe he pays attention to actual baseball games.
The best regular season I can think of -- in terms of weird September comebacks, anyway -- was that season a few years ago when the Rays came from way back and knocked out Boston on the last day of the season. The Cardinals did the same thing to the Braves.
It wasn't that long ago.
It was 2011:
"There has never been a better regular season in baseball than this one, at least not lately."
What is your agenda?
This is such an implausibly ridiculous statement, that I find it utterly impossible that you genuinely feel this way.
"All the way to the last weekend of the season, you had two New York teams in the playoffs, you had Chicago in the playoffs, you had the Dodgers in the playoffs and the Angels still trying to get in."
Well, gee.
When 1/3rd of the teams make the "playoffs," then a lot of teams will make the "playoffs."
There is simply no comparison to the first nine decades of MLB because the teams really had to earn it.
"That’s just the overture.
You had two Texas teams in play and the Cardinals — and their 100 victories — and the Royals in play and the team in Canada with as strong a chance to win it all as anybody."
OK. You're clearly prefer quantity over quality.
I gladly admit that Saturday's game in Texas drew a big crowd who thought they'd witness a division-clinching event. It took to game #161 to get some buzz in Arlington, but it's more buzz than I thought they'd get.
Toronto (aka "the team in Canada") is a huge success story in 2015. Again, that took a division title. I doubt they'd get jazzed up about a wild card, but, on the other hand, they've waited a long time.
"But the country is supposed to have passed the game by.
Sure it has."
Relative to football, I think, but that's water that passed under the bridge a long time ago.
"You know who says that?"
Who?
Who says this?
Who dares to question the Selig Success Story of watered-down playoff teams and luxury taxes and "parity"? Is it one of the usual suspects? Is it one of your unnamed friends, a "huge Yankee fan," or such? Is it Rudy Giuliani? Is it one of the contestants from "Dancing with the Stars"? Is it your father/mother/wife/one of your children? Is it Scott Boras? Is it ARod's platelet-spinning doctor? Is it Mike Baxter, that kid from Archbishop Molloy who saved Johan Santana's no-hitter? Is is Mr. Met?
"People who don’t really know anything about baseball or who never cared about baseball in the first place, and think that the real national pastime is deciding between DraftKings and FanDuel."
DraftKings and FanDuel probably bother with fantasy baseball, but fantasy baseball is undoubtedly a teeny tiny fraction of their fantasy football business.
Which kind of disproves your point, doesn't it? The popularity of football-fueled DraftKings and FanDuel? Millions of Americans ignoring baseball?
If there are enough people who never cared about baseball in the first place, then ... well, you finish the conclusion about national pastimes and such.
I think Cubs vs. Pirates will be an interesting wild card game.
The Yankees will benefit from the wild card this year and the Yankees were the first AL wild card team ever, back in 1995.
I still insist that the 2015 regular season was ruined by the wild card safety net.
The AL East race was boring because Girardi never pushed the gas pedal to the floor. Of course, some of the games were exciting -- Beltran's 3-run HR, a couple of Tanaka masterpieces -- but it was nowhere near the tension of a good old-fashioned pennant race between two legit rivals.
The AL West and all the possible permutations that are coming down to the last week? Imagine if only one of these teams could make the playoffs.
Who loses in this scenario? Pittsburgh and Chicago. Tough. Sorry, but you need to beat St. Louis ... and maybe one of wild card teams would have been compelled to really go for it at the trading deadline, with the knowledge that 95 wins wasn't going to cut it.
That's how I feel about that ... and I've never even looked at DraftKings or FanDuel.
It wasn't that long ago.
It was 2011:
"There has never been a better regular season in baseball than this one, at least not lately."
What is your agenda?
This is such an implausibly ridiculous statement, that I find it utterly impossible that you genuinely feel this way.
"All the way to the last weekend of the season, you had two New York teams in the playoffs, you had Chicago in the playoffs, you had the Dodgers in the playoffs and the Angels still trying to get in."
Well, gee.
When 1/3rd of the teams make the "playoffs," then a lot of teams will make the "playoffs."
There is simply no comparison to the first nine decades of MLB because the teams really had to earn it.
"That’s just the overture.
You had two Texas teams in play and the Cardinals — and their 100 victories — and the Royals in play and the team in Canada with as strong a chance to win it all as anybody."
OK. You're clearly prefer quantity over quality.
I gladly admit that Saturday's game in Texas drew a big crowd who thought they'd witness a division-clinching event. It took to game #161 to get some buzz in Arlington, but it's more buzz than I thought they'd get.
Toronto (aka "the team in Canada") is a huge success story in 2015. Again, that took a division title. I doubt they'd get jazzed up about a wild card, but, on the other hand, they've waited a long time.
"But the country is supposed to have passed the game by.
Sure it has."
Relative to football, I think, but that's water that passed under the bridge a long time ago.
"You know who says that?"
Who?
Who says this?
Who dares to question the Selig Success Story of watered-down playoff teams and luxury taxes and "parity"? Is it one of the usual suspects? Is it one of your unnamed friends, a "huge Yankee fan," or such? Is it Rudy Giuliani? Is it one of the contestants from "Dancing with the Stars"? Is it your father/mother/wife/one of your children? Is it Scott Boras? Is it ARod's platelet-spinning doctor? Is it Mike Baxter, that kid from Archbishop Molloy who saved Johan Santana's no-hitter? Is is Mr. Met?
"People who don’t really know anything about baseball or who never cared about baseball in the first place, and think that the real national pastime is deciding between DraftKings and FanDuel."
DraftKings and FanDuel probably bother with fantasy baseball, but fantasy baseball is undoubtedly a teeny tiny fraction of their fantasy football business.
Which kind of disproves your point, doesn't it? The popularity of football-fueled DraftKings and FanDuel? Millions of Americans ignoring baseball?
If there are enough people who never cared about baseball in the first place, then ... well, you finish the conclusion about national pastimes and such.
I think Cubs vs. Pirates will be an interesting wild card game.
The Yankees will benefit from the wild card this year and the Yankees were the first AL wild card team ever, back in 1995.
I still insist that the 2015 regular season was ruined by the wild card safety net.
The AL East race was boring because Girardi never pushed the gas pedal to the floor. Of course, some of the games were exciting -- Beltran's 3-run HR, a couple of Tanaka masterpieces -- but it was nowhere near the tension of a good old-fashioned pennant race between two legit rivals.
The AL West and all the possible permutations that are coming down to the last week? Imagine if only one of these teams could make the playoffs.
Who loses in this scenario? Pittsburgh and Chicago. Tough. Sorry, but you need to beat St. Louis ... and maybe one of wild card teams would have been compelled to really go for it at the trading deadline, with the knowledge that 95 wins wasn't going to cut it.
That's how I feel about that ... and I've never even looked at DraftKings or FanDuel.
Friday, October 02, 2015
Replaceable
"Where would the Yankees be without Adam Warren this season? They would
be waking up in their Baltimore hotel Friday morning, just as they are.
The only difference is they may not all still be soaked in champagne."
Or they'd have to replace him with Hansel Robles.
Or they'd have to replace him with Hansel Robles.
AL Least?
The AL East is the best division in the AL and probably the second-best division in baseball.
Just sayin'.
Just sayin'.
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