Results tagged ‘ Playoffs ’
Grrrumpiring
If the White Sox make the series, it will be the first time since 1959. That was the year I was born, and I’m a grandpa. And for the life of me I can’t ever remember a post season as marred by umpiring as this one. Sure there are always bad calls. But there were what, three or four in game 4 of the ALCS? Cuzzi’s strike zone in game 4 of the NLCS was embarassingly erratic, causing La Russa to lose his cool. In all fairness to Cuzzi, he was an equal opportunity bungler. La Russa knew he was going to get tossed. He wanted to make a point: managers getting tossed is like a sac fly. But tossing Edmonds? That’s one of those unwritten rules: you don’t eject an impact player from a playoff game unless he can serve jail time for the offense. You don’t punish an entire city for what someone calls your mother.
But beyond the bad calls and short fuses, it has been the utter chaos that has really defined this year’s playoff umpiring. The Eddings situation. And what about tonight when Ensberg thought he had time called? In both of those situations, the typical behaviour is for umpires to simply “reset” the game—whether the ball was cleanly caught or not, time given or not, the “play” is disregarded, like a ground rule double. Bad calls are part of the game.
One hundred percent accuracy is not attainable, probably not even desirable. Bad calls are like bad hops, introducing an element of randomness into what is essentially a game of concentration. In moderation, they become an acceptable part of the story told at the watercooler the next day and to our grandchildren generations later. This year, unfortunately, officiating is becoming the story. Let’s hope we can get back to playing ball. — amn
Deer in the Headlights
Exciting series, but why do they play the games so late here Eastern time?! I’m forced to live on either little sleep and weekday hangovers, or first three innings, the highlight reel, and game scraps until the weekend! They just have no consideration for us folks who must go to work at 6 A.M. Oh well, I suppose I should find viable solutions like taping the game and watching the next evening. However, it’s hard to avoid inadvertently discovering the results during the course of the day. Perhaps I need to start taking a vacation every October…tell ‘em it’s a “religious retreat.” 
I’ll have to agree with my father and co-author here on SBY regarding the “small ball” thing. The Angels have seemed to impose this upon the series, often leaving Chicago with the “deer in the headlights” look (e.g., not tagging up on flies, making poor base running decisions, etc.) In this regard it is odd that the “little league” error was on the Angels. ****, in my short stint as a catcher in the little league I was burned by that one and learned my lesson.
Yet and still we mustn’t indulge in conspiracy theories on the part of the catcher or the Ump. Remember “Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes you get rained out"…think about that. Take care all! — cmn
T Ball
The ALCS between the Angels and White Sox has turned into a small ball matchup, and I love it. Game One was decided by bunting and baserunning. Game Two? Well, Darin Erstad summed it up: "More proof that people who say they have seen it all, haven’t seen it all." Let’s be clear here: I’m partial to the Angels in this series. My son and co-author here on SBY, is a White Sox fan, hence the logo. I have nothing against the White Sox, and I wouldn’t be sad to see the south siders win the whole thing. But still, I’m partial to the Angels. Why? Because for the last several years they’ve brought small ball to the American League, and I like small ball. So it is ironic that they got beat on the smallest of small ball.
A Little League play. Anybody else think the play looked like a T ball game? Pierzynski was walking back to the dugout with his head down after striking out. You could hear all the parents screaming “Run! Run!”. And sure enough, he did. Heads up play by Pierzynski. Bad play by Paul. I was a catcher and was taught if your glove hits the ground, tag the batter or throw to first. It really doesn’t matter if the ball bounced an instant before it hit the mitt. If you think about it for a moment, there is no way the home plate umpire can see that happen—the mitt itself blocks his angle of view in those scenarios. He is calling that play on what he thinks happened. Nor is the third base umpire really the correct arbiter. Remember, he has to watch whether the batter checks his swing. It is really too much to ask for him to watch the pitch, too. That is precisely why the checked swing call is defered to the third base umpire. The particular scenario is one of those gray areas that caught up with baseball last night. I’ve always thought the dropped third strike rule was one of those anachronisms from the dead ball era at the turn of the century that should be scuttled. — amn
Noticing the Little Guy
Kellia noted that an observation I made in an earlier blog, that the obscure player being the hero in the playoffs, was the one she had also made on her excellent blog, Life, Baseball & Eric Byrnes. Kellia wrote a better post than mine–It’s Not Just the Superstars Who Count. Check it out. — amn
I Can’t Lose
My son and co-author here on SBY, Chris, is fortunate: he has a team he likes and a team he despises in the ALCS. Personally I have nothing but positive vibes for both teams—actually for all four teams. It would be great to see Chicago go to the World Series. Can’t you just see those classic pinstripes and the Cardinals eternal uniforms? It would look like something out of the forties. Then again, I love the way the Angels play small ball. And as much as St. Louis deserves a trip to the Series, so does Houston. Hmmm….I have nothing to lose. Unfortunately I don’t have as much to win, either. — amn
First Day of Winter in New York
For a Yankees fan, the exit of the boys from the Bronx from the stage is the first day of winter. The Hot Stove is heating up already in the chill wind of cold bats. Even the Central Park Zoo’s beloved penguins have shrouded themselves in darkness to conceal their mourning.
I’m always disturbed when I see something like this from the New York Post: “So for $208 million Steinbrenner got an eighth straight AL East title and a fifth 
consecutive empty October.” Championships are not for sale. The marquee players pack butts in the seats all season. Their statistics are meaningful over the course of a long season, and hence predict success. But as my son and co-author of SBY Chris notes, it is amazing how often it is the little guy who contributes the big play in the playoffs. The dynamics of the playoffs are different. If the Yankee management hasn’t figured that out, particularly after this year, then they deserve what they get.
There is a great article on SI.com on this subject, Bang for the Buck.
– amn
Rootin’ Tootin’
C’mon Yanks! Who do you root for in a situation like this? I definitely don’t like the Angels, but a hunch tells me that the ChiSox will have a better chance against them than the Yanks. Would it be wrong to root for a team only in hopes that they will get beat in the next series? I suppose in a way, either team I may root for in this series will have the fate of being rooted against when they play the Sox in the next series. How about that game yesterday between the Braves and Astros? You hate to see either team go home empty handed when both fought so hard. I suppose in a way it was Houston’s turn. You hate to see the same teams get the shot every time. This game sure is getting exciting! Unfortunately, I believe I may have to go to bed and discover the results of this game tomorrow. I live for this! Garr!! — cmn
Watch out for the Padres
Watch out for the Padres
I don’t quite buy the argument that a sub .500 team demeans the playoffs. What if San Francisco makes it? Would they have been a sub .500 team if Barry Bonds had not been hurt? Bad luck to have the player your team is built around go down. Good luck to play that year in a relatively weak division. With Bonds and Alou healthy, no one would question the worthiness of the Giants to be in the playoffs—even with a sub .500 record. It would be explained away as being due to injuries. Those are the breaks.
Every team in the NL East is above .500. But the Padres have a winning record (16-14) against the NL East! They are only one down (20-21) against the NL Central. And they have a winning record against their assigned competition in the NL West (34-33). It is interleague play that have submerged the Padres: they are just 7-11 against the AL. They won a series against the Twins, split two series with the Mariners.They lost two out of three to the Indians and Whitesox back in June, then got swept by Detroit. Interleague play is still difficult to interpret. Because of the DL, they play two different games.
Teams that are on the periphery of the media glare seem to have the most success in the playoffs of late, last years Red Sox excepted. Teams like the Padres that are supposed to be eliminated seem to slip right through the hangman’s noose and before anyone realizes it are lifting the trophy. It is better to be underestimated in any competition.
To Atlanta Goes the Spoils
The White Sox continued their slide; but then, Cleveland lost, fortunately for both the Red Sox and Yankees, who both also lost. In the AL, nobody gained any ground, although in the time/space continuum of a playoff chase the leaders are marginal winners when everyone loses, since time, as counted by games, slips away.
Nobody would spoil the Angels and Braves celebration on this day. Both clinched their divisions, the Braves for a record 14th straight year.
I remember when the Braves were the laughingstock of baseball. My college roommate was attempting to play out an entire APBA (a board simulation) season managing the Braves in the days of Bob “Pig” Horner. Ted Turner bought the team in 1976 to provide consistent content for his then fledgling “superstation”, transmitting via satellite to cable systems. In 1978 the Brave finished last in the NL West with a record of 69-93. In 1990, they were even worse: 65-97. Then came the 95 win season of 1991. John Smoltz was the opening day starter for the 1991 Atlanta Braves, which featured Terry Pendleton, Rafael Belliard, David Justice, Sid Bream, Ron Gant, and Deion Sanders. They, along with teammates Otis Nixon, Keith Mitchell, Lonnie Smith, Jeff Blauser, Brian Hunter, Mark Lemke, Mark Wohlers would go on to become household names through TBS broadcasts. And who could forget Danny “Uriah” Heep (or Chris Berman’s infamous monikers on those early ESPN broadcasts).
Smoltz is the last Brave from that 1991 team. Tom Glavine is wrapping up his great career with the Mets. Kent Mercker has pitched in 77 games for the Reds this year, with a respectable 3.69 ERA. Mike Stanton has thrown in 30 games for the Nationals with a 3.58 ERA. And speaking of the Nationals, cornerstone Vinny Castilla was also a member of the 1991 Braves. Everyone else is retired, or so I assume since they can’t be found via a search on the minor league rosters.
Makes one realize how short a baseball career really is.
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