Getting to First Base

I AM excited for tonight’s Game 5 of the World Series. Really. Cole Hamels vs. Scott Kazmir? This could be a lot of fun!!

BUT. As I sit here and wait for one last commercial break (Flomax, Viagra, and DirecTV, oh my!), I must acknowledge with great sadness that this could be the last MLB game I watch this fall. If the Phillies win, that’s it; the fat lady sings and we’re left with no baseball until Spring Training. Sure, I’ll be glad to be rid of Joe Buck (whose broadcasts might be more outright offensive than Joe Morgan’s) and Tim McCarver, but I will miss baseball! (more…)

This is just a rumor so far, but I’m already imagining future Sunday nights, with happy feelings and lower blood pressure and no need to assault my mute button every 30 seconds. I shouldn’t get ahead of myself until it’s official, but the New York Daily News has word that Joe Morgan will no longer be a part of ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball broadcasts.

Could the 19-year “Sunday Night Baseball” broadcasting partnership of ESPN’s Jon Miller and Joe Morgan be coming to an end? And will their ESPN Radio call of the Rays-Phillies World Series be the final chapter?

Well-embedded baseball moles contend the answer is “yes” to both questions.

In a word: Woooooooo!

In more words: (more…)

I’m not, by any means, a sports expert. I spend as close to 24 hours as I can every day thinking about/reading about/studying/watching baseball, but NO. I am NOT any kind of expert. I’m just a fan with a mild case of Nerditis and a couple of blogs. That no more makes me an expert than any other fan, or most other baseball writers. Joe Posnanski wrote a while ago about how silly it is that he has to pick NFL outcomes and scores every week. People think he’s got some kind of magical insight that average fans can’t have, an 8-ball of stats and scores that only sportswriters are able to see.

People make that assumption about me, too, though probably to a lesser extent. In one of my classes, we spend a while every week talking about current events, including sports stories. The teacher always  - ALWAYS - calls on me, out of a class of around 50 kids, to detail the week’s sports stories. I’m a sports writer, she reasons, so I must know what’s up. And yeah, usually I do know what has happened in major sports; I’d be out of work in a hurry if I didn’t.

But please don’t come to me looking for future outcomes. (more…)

I’m not a particular fan of the New England Patriots. I mean, I don’t hate them*, but they’re not my favorite NFL team either. I wasn’t one of the people rejoicing when Tom Brady’s knee went in a direction that knees are not supposed to go during a game against the Chiefs early this season. I think, even if were a Patriot-hater, I’d rather see all their best pieces out on the field. If they win, they’re clearly better (but I can hate on them anyway, for reasons of my choosing). If they lose, then hey - more power to the victor for overpowering the best players New England had to offer.

*my hatred of NFL teams is limited exclusively to the Cowboys, the Raiders, and the Broncos. All other teams are subjected to periods of dislike or utter indifference, but never hate.

Anyway, Tom Brady’s early-season injury isn’t my point at all, because the Patriots have done OK, if a little schizophrenic at times, without him (they’re 4-2, and won handily over the Denver Broncos on Monday).

BUT despite a huge margin of victory, it was a sad night for Pats fans, who saw safety Rodney Harrison suffer a season-ending injury. (more…)

Something about me you might not know, unless you are my mom, is that I like to sing. So every Thursday, shortly after The Office ends, I head over to my campus church to sing in its choir. Tonight wasn’t any different than last Thursday, or the one before that, or the one before that.

I watched as much baseball as I could before I left, but honestly I had lost hope for the Red Sox. I mean, they were down 3 games to 1 and it looked like Tampa Bay had a pretty tight grip on Game 5 and therefore the AL penant. It was 5-0 Rays, the Sawx bats looked beleaguered and completely ineffective, and I thought I’d spare myself the torture of watching them get spanked - again - and just leave for choir.

So I missed all the good stuff, up until Kevin Youkilis was up to bat for Boston in the bottom of the 9th. It was 7-0, Tampa Bay at one point?? Are you kidding me?? And…those sleepy Boston bats woke up, all at the same time? WHAT?!?!?!? One of the greatest single-game comebacks in MLB playoff history…and I wasn’t there. (more…)

He’s Adam now. Grown up, calmed down, focused on nothing except playing footba– what? Pacman Jones is in trouble again?

I’m still a little surprised that a team as completely image-self-conscious as the Cowboys traded for the troubled cornerback in the first place. The Cowboys, after all, are America’s Team, and if one of their players is involved in a nightclub shooting or smokes pot in his hotel room or shoves around his security guard, well by golly that looks bad for America, not just a football team.

And I really have to wonder how Pacman Adam doesn’t watch himself more closely. He was suspended an ENTIRE SEASON in a league where most suspensions are one- or two-game slaps on the wrist. The Cowboys took him anyway, on the condition that he behave his darn self. Surely Jones must realize that if he keeps screwing up, America’s Team will kick him to the curb and no team would scrape him up from the gutter.

Then again, look at this laundry list compiled by The Tennesseean: (more…)

Cubs fans aren’t taking their team’s exit from the playoffs very well, but here’s some good news: If you’re a Marlins fan, you can pay off this guy and double your team’s fan base!

Here’s what’s up with baseball, in case you haven’t followed. Today is an off-day, so it’s a good chance to catch up.

American League:

Both AL divisional series were wrapped up on Monday. The Tampa Bay Rays finished off the Chicago White Sox in Chicago. I am happy for the Rays, but it always makes me a little sad when a team doesn’t get to celebrate important victories in front of their home fans. I also think I want to be a part of one of those champagne celebrations someday, but I’ll probably change my mind as soon as I’m actually in that situation. It would take a lot of showers to get all the champagne out of my hair, no?

Later Monday night, the Red Sox beat the Angels 3-2 with a walkoff single in the 9th. I watched that game at a Buffalo Wild Wings with two very intense, very nervous Boston fans. When the Angels tied the game with a 2-run hit in the 8th, I heard more f-bombs in a 30-second timespan than I ever have before. It was intense, and rather awkward to be around, becuase I like the Red Sox, but I’m not a FAN, so I didn’t feel as awful when the 2-0 lead was blown.  Anyway, it turned out well for the Sawx and their fans.

What’s next: The American League takes an extra day off while the NLCS Game 1 is being played, but play will resume at Tampa Bay on Friday night.  The Red Sox will send Dice-K Matsuzaka to the mound to face the Rays’ James Shields.

Keep an eye on: The crowd. It has been historically difficult to draw fans to Tropicana Field, even this year while the Rays were in 1st place for most of the season. Word is that the crowd could have as many Red Sox fans as it does Rays ones, taking away any home field advantage that St. Pete might have had.

National League:

Cubs fans are selling their loyalty because the Northsiders are finished, again. That makes 100 years without at World Series wins, and a lot of sad folks in blue over the weekend. They fell to the Dodgers after looking helpless for all three games of that series - the Cubs never scored more than three in one game. My very first MLB game was a Cubbies game, so I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for them. But I’m pretty pleased for the Dodgers for a couple of reasons: Joe Torre gets to stick his tongue out at the Yankees and enjoy the postseason while his former employers watch from home; and one of my favorite people in all of baseball is former Royals shortstop Angel Berroa. I’m pleased that he gets to be a part of the postseason; it’s such a stark contrast from being stuck in the minor leagues (which is how I met him) for the last two seasons.

The Brewers did manage one win against Philiadelphia, but the Phils recovered to knock the Brewers out on Sunday.

What’s next: Tomorrow night, it will be a matchup of Cole Hamels vs. Derek Lowe. Hamels pitched brilliantly in his last game a week ago, and Lowe wasn’t bad either in his win over Chicago.

Keep an eye on: Home field advantage. mlb.com seems to think the Phils are a lock in this series because of the distinct difference between Citizens Bank Park in Philly and Dodger Stadium. Will it matter as much as it seemed to during the regular season?

Bonus material: Lots of Cole Hamels, if you please.