The 2009 Baseball Playoffs

[Mister Tee]

Another memorable game, even though it ended up against my guys. The odd part: it was the Yankees who had most of the I-can't-believe-it moments -- tieing it late, catching Abreu off base, surviving man at third/no outs in the 10th -- but the Angels still prevailed. These past two games do confirm what I've heard is a statistical probabilty: in a game tied going to the 9th or later, odds break heavily in favor of the home team.

I'm getting a little edgy about Girardi's over-managing -- he goes through relievers like a five-year-old tearing open Christmas presents. Why he felt the need to replace Robertson in the 11th escapes me. He also might want to re-think the impulse to pinch-run for Matsui so quickly, given that Gardner (or Hairston) as replacement means ARod will be walked at a Bondsian level.

Dodgers lead the Phillies 4-3 in the 8th. If that holds, we might have our first truly competitive NLCS in quite some time.

[FilmFan720]

What. A. Game.

[Sonic Youth]

I'm exhausted.

[Mister Tee]

If I were Vladimir Guerrero I'd be ashamed to show my face in Orange County.

I'd heavily questioned the Red Sox walking Hunter to pitch to Guerrero last Sunday, but after these two games, it seems like a no-brainer. He looks lost at the plate.

[Damien]

I stayed with the game til the bitter end. The Angels had so many chances to win the thing but seemed like chokemeisters. If I were Vladimir Guerrero I'd be ashamed to show my face in Orange County.

The only good thing about the lousy game was the constant views of Giuliani behind the on-deck circle, reminding America of the heart and soul of this heart-less and soul-less team.

[Damien]

whoops double post



Edited By Damien on 1255898271

[Mister Tee]

In more news that will make only Sonic and me happy, Satan's Team won another amazing game last night/this morning. Both teams made egregious, presumably weather-driven errors. Fuentes became the latest closer unable to October-close. ARod continued to rewrite his reputation. And The Series moves on to Anaheim with the Angels in an 0-2 hole.

No Yankee fan with a memory feels close to confident, as Anaheim has been a graveyard for them in recent years. But it's hard not to feel, based on events to date, that this year is differnt from the past half-dozen.

In the NL Series, the Phillies could have gone back home with a 2-0 hammerlock on the Dodgers, but their pre-Lidge bullpen -- with a big assist from Chase Utley -- gave the Angelenos a way back into the playoffs. Maybe the Phils will barrel through from here on, but it's just as likely we'll have a long series.

[Mister Tee]

It was hard to find a Yankee fan in these parts in the mid-to-late 80s. With Gooden, Hernandez, Strawberry, Darling, McReynolds, Carter and Mookie, the Mets owned New York, while all the Yankees had to offer was Mike Pagliarulo.

Where have you gone, Hensley Meulens?

I call those the Oscar Azocar years. At least we had Donnie...poor, cursed Donnie, who missed the Series by one year at each end of his career.

As I said earlier, I'm not a gloater because I don't care for being gloated at. But, having a 28-year-old loss thrown at me made me feel entitled to a slight tweak-back.

Bog is of course correct...most people latch onto the teams of their home town, or at least earliest baseball infatutation. And, once my team is gone, I'm like most others: I root for teams that haven't had much luck in the past. I cheered heartily for your Giants in '02, Damien. I was also crushed when the Indians blew their 9th inning lead in '97. (And howcome no one ever trashes the Marlins team that won that year? Talk about a team totally for hire -- a bunch of stars from other cities who didn't come close to winning the division, won a completely crappy --- except for Game 7 -- Series, and were instantly dispersed afterward. I bet many hardcore fans would be hard-pressed to name more than a few off that roster) And, even though it was at our expense, I felt good for long-timers like Mark Grace and Matt Williams when they won the Series in '01. (Schilling, not so much)

Bog, I imagine for Damien, as for me, it's hard to think of the Reds as such underdogs because we think of them as the team that was in the playoffs every year during the 70s. I also still think of the Pirates as competitive, since I saw them win three championships (more than the Orioles, considered a more dominant team in the era), and then watched them cruise in the NL East in the early 90s.

Perspective is all. I know many people think of the Yankees as the team that "always wins", but, in my experience that's not been the case. My very first encounter with the team was in 1960, when the nun told our class we wouldn't have to do homework if the Yanks won the series that day. Thanks a lot, Mazeroski! Their last championship of my youth came when I was ten years old, following which they sucked till I was in my mid/late 20s. Then, after ruling the roost for a few (admittedly glorious) years, they sunk into a long dark period. So, I'm not one of those entitled Yankee fans (of which I acknowledge there are many) who expect and demand a championship every year. I'm always surprised (and pleased) when they do win.

[Damien]

Cubs, Indians, Padres, Astros, Pirates and, yes, the Giants are the heart and soul of baseball.

Damien...no Reds...come on now, can we include them too?

On the other issue...it seems as though most of our UAADB family roots for the team they grew up with and/or where they are now (if at all)...Tee and Sonic aren't exactly like a Lebron James type who decided a while back presumably during his formative years (90s) to follow the Yankees, Cowboys, and Bulls...while never leaving urban Akron.

All this vitriol is painful

Well the Reds won it in 1990 (seems like yesterday to me), so I don't think they are in the same league as the teams I mentioned.

I love the vitriol -- it is what fandom is all about.

[Bog]

Cubs, Indians, Padres, Astros, Pirates and, yes, the Giants are the heart and soul of baseball.

Damien...no Reds...come on now, can we include them too?

On the other issue...it seems as though most of our UAADB family roots for the team they grew up with and/or where they are now (if at all)...Tee and Sonic aren't exactly like a Lebron James type who decided a while back presumably during his formative years (90s) to follow the Yankees, Cowboys, and Bulls...while never leaving urban Akron.

All this vitriol is painful

[Damien]

That the team has won four championships since does a bit to alleviate the sting. How many have the Giants won in that time, again?

Not too smug, are we? (Yankee People always reveal themselves.)

Umm, the last time the Giants won the World Series was the year before I was born, so I have never experienced the joy of a championship.

How easy to be a Yankee leech! But the sign of a true fan is one who remains devoted to his or her team despite all the heartbreak and disappointment. Fans of the Cubs, Indians, Padres, Astros, Pirates and, yes, the Giants are the heart and soul of baseball.

And New Yorkers are disgusting. I know this doesn't apply to you, Tee, but so many people in this city switch allegiance between the Yankees and Mets depending on which is doing better. It was hard to find a Yankee fan in these parts in the mid-to-late 80s. With Gooden, Hernandez, Strawberry, Darling, McReynolds, Carter and Mookie, the Mets owned New York, while all the Yankees had to offer was Mike Pagliarulo.

Where have you gone, Hensley Meulens?



Edited By Damien on 1255487027

[Eric]

See this is exactly why I don't follow sports.

[Mister Tee]

That the team has won four championships since does a bit to alleviate the sting. How many have the Giants won in that time, again?

I don't have Damien's credentials as a Giants fan, but they are the only team I root for, and I'm very glad he has articulated why I shudder at the idea of the Angels and Phillies losing.

On the subject of championships, my view is: of course it would be nice to have one, but it's not worth using sleazy tactics to get one. I can stand behind the Giants on that; I'm not sure every team's fans can say the same...

Right. I remember Barry Bonds playing for free all those years. Pittsburgh must have just not wanted him.

Be as deep down a Yankee hater as you want to be. Just spare me the sanctimony.

[rain Bard]

That the team has won four championships since does a bit to alleviate the sting. How many have the Giants won in that time, again?

I don't have Damien's credentials as a Giants fan, but they are the only team I root for, and I'm very glad he has articulated why I shudder at the idea of the Angels and Phillies losing.

On the subject of championships, my view is: of course it would be nice to have one, but it's not worth using sleazy tactics to get one. I can stand behind the Giants on that; I'm not sure every team's fans can say the same...

[Mister Tee]

One of my happiest baseball memories was being at Game 6 of the 1981 series, a 9-2 blowout which sent the Yankees off til the following spring with their tails between their legs.

As it happens, I was at that game, as well -- at least, until the 8th inning. When Dave Winfield failed to leap for the ball that went into the stands to make it 9-2, I decided they'd abandoned all hope, so there was no point my sticking around.

That the team has won four championships since does a bit to alleviate the sting. How many have the Giants won in that time, again?

I'm thinking it's going to be a little ugly around here over the next 1-3 weeks.

Prior to a month or two ago, I'd have looked at the Angels as the nightmare opponent for the Yankees -- and of course they may still turn out to be. No team has given the Bronx-ites more trouble for more than a decade...even in the extraordinary 114-48 year, the Yanks lost the season series to LA. But this year's late season encounters went NY's way, including 2 of 3 in Anaheim, and the teams ended with a 5-5 split despite the Angels getting 6 of the 10 on their turf; homefield advantage for NY could be crucial. It's hard to see the series going less than six or seven, but then it was impossible to imagine the Cards going in four, so who knows.

Sonic, I get your feeling for Torre -- it'd certainly be hard to root against both him and Mattingly back at the stadium. Up till yesterday, I'd pretty much concluded the Dodgers were prohibitive favorites to win the NLCS, based on their hip-deep bullpen, and given Joe's history of managing relief-heavy squads to post-season wins. But watching the Phillies pull out yesterday's effort made me appreciate their chances more. They'd blown two early based-loaded opportunities, lost the lead with only one inning to go, were down to their last out, and still managed to come back against an elite closer. This is the same it's-never-over approach that's carried the Yanks so far this year, and l now give the Phillies a good shot at winning. (Especially since they dodged the bullet of a 5th game with Colorado, which would have left them pitching-strapped in the first two games)