Cleveland v Boston
DMZ · October 13, 2007 at 4:16 pm · Filed Under General baseball
I know, I’m still bummed out the M’s didn’t squeeze into the playoffs, but as an AI once told me*
but there’s no use crying over every mistake
you just keep on trying ’till you run out of cake
That’s right! We’ll get a bunch of new players together and get ‘em next year! No need to be down. In the meantime, there’s a fine game to enjoy. I mean, uhhh, tonight’s playoff game! The Indians/Red Sox series may be the best of the post-season, and I’m looking forward to watching Carmona face up against post season legend Curt Schilling tonight. Go team!
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Go Sox!
I hope David, Manny and the guys grind out the at bats against Fausto like they did against Fatso. That was a very impressive show. But I really fear the Indians hitting the new pitch to contact Schilling hard.
was yesterday’s game as one-sided as the score?
and does anyone know anything about former Marlins pitching coach Rick Kranitz who just interviewed with the Ms?
Yes…Man-Ram and Ortiz reached base all ten times they came to the plate…that’s 29 or 36 trips to the plate in this postseason. Juggernaut!
On a lighter note, the M’s will be charging a “premium game” surcharge of $3 per seat next season. That’s all the “premium” series, such as opening weekend, anytime the Yanks or BoSox come to town, etc. That’s right…got the notice from my good buddy Mr. Aylward along with the season ticket re-up down payment bill today.
“No playoffs, sorry..by the wway, we need more of your money.”
Sorry, 29 OF 36 trips…
Let me just say it in full rolling-R Ricardo Montalban mode:
Fausto Carmona!
(You know, it’s not unusual to see failed starters reborn as effective, even killer, relievers. But how often does a failed reliever become an ace starter?
The “premium game” surcharge is interesting, to say the least. Not sure just how many teams in MLB have been getting away with charging extra for certain series/games, but I know this is not uncommon in professional sports (the Canucks, for instance, have a premium charge for when teams like the Red Wings or Avs come in to play).
crap. I forgot it was now Fox.
was yesterday’s game as one-sided as the score?
Yes. Aside from Manny and Ortiz being the second coming or Ruth and Gehrig, the real story was the effectiveness of Beckett (he’s only the second pitcher in history, after Maddox, to win two consecutive starts in the postseason without giving up a walk) and the ineffectiveness of Sabathia (he’s now walked 11 in his two postseason starts).
and does anyone know anything about former Marlins pitching coach Rick Kranitz who just interviewed with the Ms?
Well, he obviously has experience working with kids. Mazzone’s out there in the wind too, of course, but Baltimore hasn’t done much for his reputation.
The “premium game” surcharge is interesting, to say the least. Not sure just how many teams in MLB have been getting away with charging extra for certain series/games
I think a lot of the “non-premium” teams (in the AL at least) have been doing it for a while (and now that the M’s are in the middle of the pack in attendance, they fall into that category too I guess). A couple of years ago Steinbrenner bitched in an interview about how all these other teams make extra gate money off the Yankees and don’t share it, and at first I didn’t understand what he was talking about.
I can’t believe McClelland just spent what, two minutes explaining bat angle to us including a description of what it means if one hand is above — I can’t even type it, it’s so stupid.
#6– I think premium games are a lot more common around baseball the last few years
#8–Mazzone also has the Perlozzo connection, which could link him to Mac. All I saw about Kranitz was the Balt. Sun description of him as ‘a rising star’ in their piece about him maybe interviewing in Balt.
I missed both games yesterday (dinner & Spamalot, instead ) but got home in time to see the last sad inning of the DBacks game.
M’s attendance actually climbed this year, and the club had the second highest TV ratings in major league baseball this season. The quality of the product is simply not increasing enough to warrant gouging the season ticket holders even more.
And for a change, Steinbrenner has a good point.
#10. I know.
thank goodness I just found Jon Miller on 850 am.
I hate Joe Buck.
“And for a change, Steinbrenner has a good point.”
which is?
So Verducci over at SI has been pushing for two wild-card teams per league, which would have to play a one-game play-in to get to the postseason (exactly like Colorado and San Diego did this year). His argument is that there needs to be more of a handicap for the WC team, but as a bonus it adds a little more drama and adds two more cities to those sniffing the postseason right up to the end of the season. Which I was kind of ambivalent about until his post today in which he noted that this would increase the opportunity for additional tie-breaker games to determine that second WC team. He went back and looked at past seasons:
Holy crap. Always the bridesmaid, never the bride? Your Seattle Mariners.
He also adds up all the contracts the Yankees had invested in players who couldn’t help them stave off elimination and concludes they had “$68 million in dead money.” Yikes, that’s positively Sexsonian. Forget Tampa’s “A” grade: I’m not sure Dave was justified in giving them a “B”….
I hate Fox. Have I mentioned that?
#15– oh, this about Stenbrenner:
weel, FWIW, the Yankees themselves do the premium game pricing (”Premium Games” is defined as the Opening Day game, the Old Timers Day game and all games played against the following teams: Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the New York Mets.”)
These Fox guys are so pro-Boston it makes me sick.
They showed plenty of Shilling’s pitches in their little graphic that showed outside the strike zone they don’t say anything. But when Carmona makes a good pitch and it shows as a ball, but called a strike, its questionable.
Why must I be subjected to this?
Does the Fox “strike zone box thingy” (whatever they call it) even work? It seems like every pitch is on the edges, or outside, even the ones that are called strikes. The one that TBS was using seemed far more accurate (and that’s about the only graphic in all their coverage I thought had any value — I’m trying to forget my experience of sitting beside an idiot Phoenix fan for part of last night who kept exclaiming “That’s cool!” when they displayed their asinine “9ft” graphic for the runner on first or their goofy ball arcs to bring up the hitters’ spray charts… apparently, like many D’Backs fans, he’d only started watching “his” team once they reached the NLCS).
18: Thanks for the “411″ on that…I figured the Yanks were probably one of the teams doing so. I guess from the perspective of FO execs around sports, it makes sense, since they know that those are going to be the games for which there’s the greatest demand to see (as opposed to the match-ups against non-contending teams).
Of course, from the consumer’s perspective, it could also be construed as a “rip-off fee”.
Yeah, if those games are sell-outs, economic theory suggests you’re leaving money on the table if you don’t jack up the price until you see a fall-off in demand. The trouble is, you may be enriching the short-term Peter while impoverishing the long-term Paul: you’re doing yourself no favors with your best customers, and they’re the ones you really want to cultivate. I would think a better practice would be to leave season-ticket prices out of it, and only jack up the prices on single-game tickets, as well as the 16-game and other “packs” to grab that added marginal revenue while trying to drive people towards buying full or half-season tickets (and not punishing the season-ticket holders you already have).
Classy Red Sox Nation.
Mariner Typo Nation.
In general I worry about the squeezing of the fan base for every last dollar for baseball’s future. It’s happening to the music industry so it could happen to sports too.
Martinez: $3M
Garko: $380K
Peralta: $750K
Scoring 3 runs to put your team on top: priceless.
Posts like this are the reason USSM is at the top of sports reporting. I don’t know what the world was like before you could link to a weird song from Half-Life in an article, but it is not a world I ever want to live in.
Did anyone hear the announcers talking about how great Asdrubal is and how stupid the Mariners are?
I think Bill Bavasi read this article and thought it was real:
http://www.theonion.com/content/news/mlb_no_longer_accepting_new
Not explicitly, but that certainly was the subtext. Weird to hear Jose Lopez’ name come up during a Fox broadcast of a Red Sox – Indians playoff game.
And I didn’t realize that the guy the M’s traded for is now completely out of baseball.
I really like watching these teams. I’d have to think about why I prefer the Indians and Red Sox lineups compared to anyone else in the playoffs, but there it is.
Did they really put up a graphic showing “First player named ‘Asdrubal’ in MLB history”?
I’ve been following the Sox since the 1960’s and I didn’t get a chance to see/hear/read about the 2004 Series. I didn’t know the Sox won until about a week after it was over. So for me, I’m watching this stuff like I’m 10 years old again. But this time, there’s no Bob Gibson, so I have hope.
For all your talk about defense and pitching, Derek, face it: you’re just a sucker for the long ball.
I’ve been found out.
Papelbon coming in a tied game in the 9th, with a very important game on the line. I really hope you take note of that Mac for next season.
I guess the premium charge kind of makes sense. I mean most people probably wouldn’t mind paying a mere $3 extra per ticket to see yankees or red sox. But on the other hand, if its a sell out, you are going to have 3 x 45,000 or more, making it an extra 135,000 per game. Add up all the games yankees, Boston, and other important games there are going to be and you probably have atleast 1 player’s salary paid off.
And also, would Leo Mazzone really help out this organization’s pitching? He somehow did wonders with the Braves rotation back in their hayday, but didn’t seem to work those same wonders with Baltimore’s staff.
is Papelbon the replacement vessel of JeterManLove for Tim & Joe?
I don’t know, they were slobbering over Manny earlier.
did they describe the wonder of seeing someone just so full of life and fire, then turning steely eyes towards the batter when it can time to throw a devastating pitch, because there is no closer in baseball, no no one, stop saying that weird Putz name, you, no one in baseball who can close like Jonathan?
McLaren was pretty good about using Putz in tied games at home. Hargrove was the one who just could not understand the value. That’s certainly not a complaint I have about McLaren.
One issue with premium pricing: you’re then arguing that the value for those games is appreciably higher than other games. What happens when the Yankees suck, and you paid extra? Should you then be able to demand your money back? Or at least, the premium? Or is all buyer-beware?
And Steinbrenner’s got a great point: if you’re charging more for those games, the visiting team gets a pretty small portion of that despite obviously being responsible for all of the bump in price.
Also, isn’t there something in the M’s lease that says there have to be x number of seats available for y dollars? It’s why the centerfield bleachers sold for $6 for so long.
I’m just amazed it took them 5+ years to jump on the premium pricing wagon.
YOU WILL BE BAKED,
AND THEN THERE WILL BE CAKE.
Also: Rick White is about to make a playoff appearance.
With the premium, they’re not arguing the value is higher. Just the demand. If one day there’s, oh, a Kansas City Nation that rivals the Red Sox, or a Tampa Bay bandwagon that’s as capacious as the Yankees’ then those will be the “premium” games. In a way, considering all the yahoos in their Red Sox or Yankees gear that show up at what should be M’s home games, I’d like to see them charged up the wazzoo for the privilege.
What the hell happened to Gagne between Texas and Massachusetts?
In fact, it would be great if they could charge a vistor’s tax on fans showing up in gear for a team other than the M’s. Or just stop each person at the gate and say “Hey, the Mountain is out!” and if they don’t immediately look in the right direction, bam, that’ll be $20 extra.
I think they are arguing that the value is higher. I’d have to see their explanation, though.
CLEVELANNNND!! WOOOOO
Holy crap the wheels came off the Red Sox bus fast. While everybody was looking at Manny and Papi, Gutierrez and Peralta stole the show.
not to mention Christopher Trotman Nixon.
Now those are the Red Sox I remember. Nice work, though, by Cleveland, staying patient and crushing them at the end.
Well, maybe they are making that argument but if so it’s a stupid one. They’d be on much firmer ground if they appealed to demand (which also applies to other “special” games like Opening Day, holidays like the 4th of July, etc).
So the Red Sox have Crisp under contract for $4.75M in ‘08, $5.75M in ‘09, plus a $500K buyout for ‘10. Is there any reason why they don’t start Ellsbury next year and try to find someone to take Coco off their hands?
I’m sure they’ll update if eventually, but it looks like the AP stringer wrote the game summary at the end of the 6th inning and then went to bed.
Re: #50
I think they have a good opportunity to trade Manny.
I know it’s a bit of a longshot, but I’d love to see A-Rod in Boston.
A-Rod in Boston frees up money for the Yankees to chase Santana. Though ARod remaining in pinstripes gives Boston that opportunity. I’m just worried it will be ARod to the Angels.
Man its weird how Gagne was on the verge resurrecting his career in Texas to becoming the Rick White of Boston. Poor guy.
50 – Please make sure you don’t hint that to Bavasi, he might be tempted to trade for him.
43/45: I think that’s generally the way the so-called premium tier is supposed to work — with certain high-demand teams (Yankees, Red Sox) ALWAYS being in that tier while the rest of the teams there would rotate in or out depending on their standing and demand (such as the Indians or Tigers). The Canucks, in fact, did just this with their premium ticket scheme — adding teams like Anaheim and Calgary to their premium tier after they’d both been in contention for a number of years and the demand to see them was higher.
BTW, I also love the idea of a visitor’s tax on Yankee and Red Sox Nation. If they’re gonna come into Safeco for the sole purpose of being obnoxious and trying to take the place over, I say charge them Diamond Club rates — even in the bleachers!
The cake is a lie!
Ok, so i have been coming to this site for almost 2 years and have never registered because so often my argument would be brought up by someone more eloquent than I. Then you went and referrenced the coolest game i have played since baseball simulator on super nintendo. Seeing as Teej already beat me too the cake is a lie, i must acknowledge my best friend, companion cube. Through him all things are possible, hes kind of like the Ichiro of Aperture Science.
now a toast to the indians and red soxs, both of whom are Still Alive.
And I didn’t realize that the guy the M’s traded [Asdrubal] for is now completely out of baseball.
Not completely out of baseball. I heard him doing pre-game analysis on, I think, Westwood One, during the NLDS. You would’ve thought the M’s would have him on FSN or KOMO, considering what they gave up to get him.
As far as the premium game fee, not only is there a $3 surcharge, it’s on top of a $2 general increase in ticket prices. As far as I’m concerned, the team is still producing an inferior product to what they had from 2000-2003, and Safeco was barely half-full for most of last season. Did they hire a bunch of ex-public transit folks for their BizDev department (”Hmmm, not enough people riding the bus. Better raise prices to cover our costs.”).
Well, that went horribly awry. The last 3 guys on the pitching staff looked horrible. Of course, it would help if Jason “He studies the scouting reports more than any 10 of you lousy fans studied for the SAT’s” Varitek could be bothered to call some different pitches for Gagne.
They quoted Laird, Texas’s catcher in the Boston Globe a week or so back saying that Gagne was most effective when he threw curves at the start of the at bat then went to mostly changeups. Varitek NEVER calls that mix of pitches. Nobody even swings at Gagne’s curve but Varitek seldom calls it. He started off Blake with a curve and called then finished him off with a fastball.
There’s a cult attitude among the boston media that Varitek is great and magnificent. Any pitched called by Varitek is a brilliant choice because it was called by Varitek. And I’m just a fan. But how does a guy have a pitch that he can throw for strikes that no one ever looks for or swings at and which the most brilliant catcher ever won’t call?
Gagne’s had a couple bad outings where he got behind in the count whereupon Varitek called for fastball after fastball, most of which were out of the strike zone. Maybe there’s some obscure quantum mechanics of pitch calling that makes sense of what seems idiotic from the newtonian understanding of a fan. But until it’s explained to me, the pitch calling for Gagne is simply stupid.
Oh, and Javier Lopez has been, for no discernible reason, a favorite of Francona. But if you’re a lefty reliever and you can’t get Trot Nixon out, you are not of any use.
I didn’t realize Gagne was totally enslaved by Varitek, and couldn’t shake off a pitch or discuss different tactics before a game. Amazing.
Ironically, it seems to be the same enslavement suffered by Felix Hernandez who throws all fastballs then switches to all breaking pitches. Why doesn’t he just shake of most of the signals too?
Shaking off Varitek is like giving God the middle finger, in Boston.
59: James — I think I could hear the collective groan of New England last night from 3000 miles away in that 11th inning! What I’m wondering is…where is the coaching staff in all of this? Don’t get me wrong, Varitek calls a decent game for the most part…however, he’s no living deity amongst us. This is where Francona and the pitching and bullpen coaches need to step in and make sure everybody’s on the same page. JV may study the scouting reports intensely, but he’s obviously missing something if he’s not calling the correct pitch sequence in those situations.
BTW, I agree on Javier Lopez — JAVY Lopez the catcher would’ve probably done a better job pitching to Trot at that point!
All that talk, and no one mentioned that Jonathan Coulton wrote the closing theme DMZ linked to?
Just genius.
63: Scott-I don’t know. I know I and some other fans had a similar complaint about Varitek’s pitch calling for Matsuzaka. He came over with a rep for being able to throw 5 pitches well. But in short order, Varitek was focusing almost solely on two. Fastball and Slider. I was at a game against the Tigers in which Matsuzaka threw 5 or 6 splitters the whole game (8 or 9 innings pitched) and every single time the Tigers hitter flailed risibly at it. But Tek wouldn’t call any more than that.
Finally, about a month ago there was a statement in the papers from Matsuzaka to the effect that he had to throw his breaking pitches better so that Captain Varitek would feel free to call his whole repertoire of pitches. And Farrell, the pitching coach, was also quoted as wanting to see fewer fastballs. It really doesn’t seem to have changed much since then, maybe very slightly. Watch on Monday. See if Matsuzaka isn’t throwing something like 60% fastballs or more with the biggest portion of breaking pitches being sliders so that only 10% or fewer pitchers are any of curves, splitters and changeups.
It’s very odd to watch because before Matsuzaka came over I saw an interview with Bobby Valentine in which he said that it would be a big mistake to make Matsuzaka pitch like every normal pitcher. And yet that’s exactly what’s happened. He doesn’t pitch “backwards” at all.
I guess, going back to the initial point, Farrell seems to be aware of everything that’s going on and while he was quoted obliquely criticizing Varitek’s pitch calling for Matsuzaka I don’t know of it with regard to Gagne.
I meant to note that Matsuzaka’s statement in the papers came across, to me, as classic japanese style taking of blame oneself when actually (reading between the lines) criticizing someone else.
WOW! Never expected to see a Jonathan Coulton reference up at USSM.
Skullcrusher Mountain is sheer brilliance. A love ballad sung from the perspective of an evil super-genius. Pure gold.
msb,
I went to watch the game and didn’t come back. I thought Big Stein had a point that it’s not very fair that the Yankees are making all this “premium game” money for other teams and not seeing any benefit from it…but only in the context that owners are simultaneously pocketing earnings from revenue sharing. Disagree?
By pocketing I mean not putting the money into making the team more competitive, of course. And not to imply that I don’t enjoy things being unfair for the Yankees for a change…
The upside is that Bob Aylward DID promise delicious and moist cake, along with the season ticket increases.
Well, I guess nobody watches the NL. Understandably, for a bunch of reasons. But I’ve been cheering for the Rox since the play-in game vs the Padres, and it’s starting to look like they are never going to lose again this year. So, since this is a game thread where anything goes, here are my…
Top Ten Reasons to Cheer for the Rockies
10. Never been to the WS before, giving fans of certain other teams hope.
9. They’re the only team left that, in the most generous way, can be said to come from the “northwest.”
8. Somehow are going deep into the postseason without “veteran presence” or “being through the wars.”
7. Clearly demonstrate (even if the talking heads don’t notice) that defense matters as much as offense and pitching (just 68 errors for the season — 15 less than the next team — gave them a .98925 fielding percentage, an MLB record).
6. Have maybe the best rookie shortstop in a generation (taken 4 picks after Jeff Clement).
5. Every hit by Kazuo Matsui drives another stake into the hearts of Mets fans (and, more satisfyingly, into the NY media).
4. SP Jeff Francis majored in physics and astronomy for three years at the University of British
Columbia (”I probably won’t finish because it’s not the kind of degree you get through the mail”).
3. Voted a full share of postseason bonus to Mike Coolbaugh’s family, and didn’t make a big PR event out of it (even their GM only found out when he was reviewing the paperwork).
2. Very real chance to see a World Series game called because of snow.
…and the #1 reason to cheer for the Rox:
1. They’re the 4H (Holliday, Hawpe, Helton, and the Humidor) Team of Destiny!
Well, I guess nobody watches the NL.
I do. But it’s breaking my heart. I switched from being a Rockies fan to being an M’s fan a number of years ago.
The more the Rockies win, the more I feel like I made the wrong decision.
Three cheers for our old pal JoeJessica (Yorvit).
71: Great post, Joser…could not have said it better myself!
Three cheers for our old pal JoeJessica (Yorvit).
Yeah, he was definitely the hero tonight, and this postseason he’s 8-for-21 with 8 RBI while handling a young pitching staff. Jeff Cirillo is 2-for-3 as a pinch hitter. Heck, even Bob Melvin has 3 post-season wins (though it sure doesn’t look like he’s going to get any more).
And man, Tulowitzki can pick. “Diamondbacks get a runner on…double play. Dimondbacks get a runner on…double-play.” Combine a ground-ball pitching staff with that kind of defense and great things happen.
Though “Tulowitzki to Matsui to Helton” isn’t going to make for any great “Tinker to Evers to Chance” style ditties.
#68– I wasn’t disagreeing, I had just missed the Steinbrenner quote you were referring back to, from earlier in the thread…
Man, either the AP or SI is asleep at the wheel. Last night after the AL game they posted a summary hat clearly was written no later than the 6th inning. Tonight, in place of summary, we get the history of the humidor. Which actually is quite interesting.
Oh, and Phoenix couldn’t manage a sellout on Thursday when it was shirtsleeve weather all evening. Colorado managed a 50,000-fan sell-out on a Sunday night in a freezing drizzle.
Nicely done, joser. If the Sox aren’t in the Series, I’ll be on the Rox train. They are so much fun to watch.
This 9 day layoff the Rockies are about to get though could kill them.
I was just wondering. How come it seems like the D-Backs aren’t good with attendence? I mean they have a fairly new stadium which keeps people cool, a good ball club, and more. Is it because there aren’t many baseball fans in that area, or is it because they cheer for the older southern California teams, or the other teams that come down for spring training? Is it the same case as in Florida but to a much lesser degree?
81: Bingo — it IS Florida, but to a lesser degree. IMHO (as well as a little personal experience — having lived for a while myself in Vegas, which has a lot of the same issues), the piss-poor attendance of the FL & AZ teams can largely be blamed on the following:
1) A largely transient population — including many recent transplants from other parts of the country;
2) A large number of retirees on fixed incomes, many of which cannot afford to go to major league sports games on a regular basis;
3) A large number of “snowbirds” (i.e. winter-dwellers) who return to northern states for the summer months.
This, to a large degree, accounts for why you sometimes hear things like “well, they only show up when the Yanks, Red Sox, Mets, or Cubs are in town” or “geez, there were bigger crowds here during spring training” in regards to those teams.
You’re right…Chase/BOB is a very nice ballpark. I got to see a D-Backs-Astros game down there back in ‘98 — when it was about 108 outside and a nice cool 78 in! Ironically, there was a pretty good crowd on hand that day; perhaps the “newness” of the place hadn’t worn off yet. Sadly, it seems like the better that team has played over the years, the worse their attendance has gotten.
With all due respect to D-Back “Nation”, one could almost question the existence of ANY of the four major-league sports franchises in Phoenix, since none of them have done particularly well from an attendance standpoint over the years (except for, perhaps, the Suns — who’ve been there longer than anybody else). I know I’m probably gonna get flamed by some passionate D-Backs/Cards/Suns/Coyotes fan for saying so…but just like Florida, major league sports simply could not resist the potential cash cow they saw in growing population numbers — and didn’t realize that, strangely enough, it turned out to be one of the least passionate sports markets in the country.
JoeJessica NLCS Game 3 hero? Wow. Did not see that one coming.
[snerk]
Manager Bob Melvin says he will start Jeff Cirillo at second base for Monday’s Game 4 of the NLCS. Cirillo is starting over Augie Ojeda in an effort to ignite the Diamondbacks’ stagnant offense.
“Torrealba comes up big in big games”
oh, see, that was the problem. He just never had any big games to step up in here….
71- Great post and true. Here are 5 more reasons that I am sure just missed your top 10.
11. Trying to watch Joe Buck and Tim McCarver announce a Rockies World Series win over the Red Sox when they only know Rockies names yet nothing about them. We could see FOX reach broadcastings all time worst.
12. They were predicted to finish last is what was suppose to be the worst division in baseball.
13. I am from Colorado (was at Game 3 NLCS) and could see a World Series game. I bit selfish but I really only had 4 other reasons to root for them.
14. Their post season pitching staff is a Canadian, a Pirate reject, and 2 kids who started pitching at MLB level in August.
15. 25 of 26 to finish a season would never happen again in our lifetimes. On top of the fact they had a 4.2 percent chance at the playoffs on September 28th.
It is sad to me the number of players, who have either played for the M’s or were jettisoned from the farm system, who are playing this October.
It’s good to see them doing well but we sure let a lot of fine players go just to see them play well for others. JoeJessica is having a fine post season series. Many ‘better’ players have totally tanked in the post season and he steps up to deliver night after night.
I’m pulling for the Rockies for many reasons not the least of which their vote of shares to Coolbaugh’s widow. A classy bunch of players who are sticking together despite a resounding lack of battling, war something or another and too many rookies.
ps. I really had to ignore the posting promise. I’m sure this adds nothing…sorry.
Yeah, imagine that…the Rox are getting it done without any of those time-honored intangibles that every “great” team needs — i.e. veteran goodness, whining prima donnas, media-toady superstars whom the Fox guys can have a big man-crush over, etc., etc.
Oh, and on that note, I wonder if Joe Buck will be wearing his “I MISS DEREK JETER” pin on his lapel for Game 1 of the World Series?!
If the Indians come back against the Red Sox and go to the WS, Buck will be wearing his “I miss anybody I’ve ever heard of” pin. Though that won’t stop him: during the last game, he actually called Sizemore “the Indian’s Derek Jeter.”
Buck and all the other Jeterfelators need to grow eyes. If you’re a fan of baseball, you have to love watching Tulowitzki. He gets to balls Jeter wouldn’t even break his crouch for because they are obviously so far out of his zone. Tulowitzki in his rookie season already has an unassisted triple-play (only the 13th in the history of the game) and he probably would’ve had another one last night if Matsui hadn’t got in the way.
Kenny Lofton perpetuating the Veteran Grit Myth.