World Serious Time

Last night the American League and the National League began their annual ritual for the ultimate in baseball prizes, the World Series, and baseball supremecy.

Each team sent it's ace pitcher, the unfatiguable Cliff Lee, the undefeated on, versus the kid they call the Freak, Timmy Lincecum. And they even call him Timmy. Age versus youth, best against best.

The Rangers have the hitters, the Giants have the beards, moustaches, and weird lingerie, so the story lines go.  A game started also when it was still light out, a novel twist for those of us that can recall day baseball.

The game began with all the fanfare, the aged Giants from the past, Monte Irivin at 91 tossing out the first pitch, a strike, as called by Rick Sutcliffe ( still the Charlie Sheen of baseball broadcasters ).

The final score was 11-7, an neither ace lasted even 6 full innings.  The stuff of legends, hah ! Not even close.  MLB was quietly seething as these teams from such places as Arlington and San Francisco mugged for camera time, and the networks pined for New York New York final. Someone tell the Mets about this.

It was a spotty first game, errors, base running gaffs, and it made for more of carnival atmosphere than a traditional World Series game. But that's what we get more of these days, bread and circuses, not 1-0 games picthed by guys named Whitey Ford, Bob Gibson and Orel Hershiser.  We got parity now, and $ 55 million of payroll ( in Texas ) does buy you a nice trip to the west coast.

I am rooting for the Giants, ans I can here Tony Bennett beginning to loosen his pipes and singing about where he left his heart, not because of any hate for Texas, but this Non Barry Bonds squad is just way too appealing with it's collection of great front line pitchers, and odd balls like cast off Cody Ross, red thonged Aubrey Huff, Juan "I hope my belt does not break" Uribe, and rookie catcher Buster Posey, they aren't your fathers' Giants of McCovey, Marichal and Willie Mays, but they have game.

The other interesting side story is that of Ranger ( and ex Giant ) Bengie Molina.  So get this straight, no matter who wins, Bengie gets a ring. He played enough time for both team. He gets a ring even the Giants win. Sit down for that one.

The one story I still laugh over is the one where as the Rangers beat the Yankees, it was suggested that the ALCS MVP was none other than Bud Selig.  Come again ??  Bud Light for MVP, because as you see, when the Rangers were trying to complete the deal for Cliff Lee, they were held in trust ( prior to their sale to Ryan and Daniels ) by MLB. So they needed approval from Buddy. They got it, Lee won every game in the ALDS and ALCS, so if MLB had said no, would the Rangers have beaten the Yankees ?

I am now off until the 12th of November, so likely no blogs until the Series is over.

More Perfection

Doctor Roy

So it was that our former local hero got his chance in the post season against the Cincinnati Reds and he danced through their lineup with effective breaking balls that were set up with a cutter, and fastball that destroyed the Reds confidence. If he were anymore in control they would have given him a saliva test.
    Is this anything new for Jays fans ? C'mon we've watched him for years and have become accustomed top Doc's perfect prescription. The only thing that eluded Halladay here in Toronto was the supporting cast of eager med students to let him reach his Mayo Clinic of baseball, the playoffs.
    So it was that Doc finally got his chance on the big operating room, and surgically and dispassionately carved the Reds up like my Thanksgiving turkey.  Roy, save me the drumstick.....
    A near perfecto, one scant walk, lot's of nice defense, but a lot of Halladay pitches that mesmerized the hitters, but his best pitch all night was Strike 1, which he followed up a lot with his second best pitch, Strike 2.
    Such was the effectiveness we have not experienced in the playoffs sine 1956 and Don Larsen, who when contacted was retrospective that it brought his own memories back, and equally proud to see another pitcher toss a no hitter.
    The commentators joked that as Halladay was going into the clubhouse between innings, perhaps he was on the bike, or stretching, or lifting weights. Roy's regimen is maintained even when he is playing the perfect hand each half inning. No surprise to Jays fans, this one act play we've watched since he started in the majors.
     Since the Reds lost game 2 as well, we might have to wait until the Giants/Braves series ends next week when hew will get another chance to perform in the NL Championship series for the pennant.

    It is Doctober, and the good doctor is definitely in !!!
 

162 and Done

Sunday evening arrives and the last games of the 2010 season have been played, with some predictable results and some surprises.
The Padres went down to the last weekend, the last day, hoping to force game 163, but were sent home packing by their chief nemesis, the Giants from San Fran.
This all started way back in April, all the teams had optimism, every team was 0-0 and tied for first, in the Pirates case it was as close as they'd come.  The Mariners, Royals, Diamondbacks and Orioles all had similar grand expectations but injuries, poor decisions and at time indifferent play put their post season hopes into a clear picture.

So we find ourselves looking ahead at the playoffs, and for some teams, it is a case of what went wrong, why did we do so poorly. Let's look at some teams that the experts had doing better.

The Boston Red Sox -  They finished 3rd, and while that is a credit to Terry Francona, it won't do in Beantown.  A season filled with injuries just piled up on Francona and it never let up. Stars like Mike Cameron, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jason Varitek, Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis all went down for appreciable time. Johnathon Papelbon struggled tot close games, and Josh Beckett was not, well, Josh Beckett.
Victor Martinez can leave as a free agent, so it can get worse for Boston, but the money is there, so expect them back in the AL East hunt come next year.

The Seattle Mariners - were to be the class of the AL West, facing off with the Angels for the division, and again injuries played a part, but they never executed the master plan, Cliff Lee and King Felix plus Eric Bedard were a trio of Cy Young candidates that should have dominated. They got a great year from Felix, but Bedard never surfaced, and the team soon to be free agent Lee to the Cinderella Texas Rangers. Chone Figgins never added the oomph the offense needed, and the hitters were less than productive. Ichiro had another fine season, but there was too little from the other 8 in the line up so they finished last, and changes will be expected in the Pacific northwest.

The St. Louis Cardinals with Wainright, Carpenter and Jamie Garcia , add in Fat Albert and Matt Holliday should have been shoo ins to make the playoffs, and I still look at their team and wonder how did they lose ??  The rest of the team was just okay, and rest of the pitching staff was again, just okay. You cannot win a division with 5 players alone, even those 5 players. The Reds simply had a better 9, and a deeper bench and their MVP won out ( Joey Votto ) over the Red Birds MVP of Pujols.

I could toss the Mets and Cubs in, but that would be silly, they were pretenders not contenders.

8 teams remain, 20 pack up, some finished on an upward note, like the Jays, and Diamnond Backs, the Rockies and the Padres, the team even I had finishing last in the NL West.

Fresh predictions on the playoffs are coming.