Giants/Rangers

One of these franchises will win for the first time in years, and in the Rangers case, if they win, it will be the first time ever.

As the 2nd incarnation of the Washington Senators, the Rangers franchise, which has been in Texas since 1971, has not won in the entire time they have existed, nor have they ever been in the position to win since 1961.

The Giants have not won since 1954, and they were in New York at the time.

Other than that, why might we want to watch this series? I really didn't think the Giants had it in them to beat the Phillies, but that mega-offense they have in Philly can get in a strange funk at times, and they just happened to do it in the NLCS. A lot of it has to do with the Giants pitching, but considering the Giants are not exactly a juggernaut, I felt like the Phillies should have won that series.

And thus, I think the Rangers, also with a good pitching staff and a mega-offense that does not seem to slump very much, will probably take this series.

I haven't seen this un-sexy of a matchup since the White Sox/Astros World Series in 2005. That also had a franchise that hadn't won in forever versus a team that had never been (and also a team from Texas). It was a sweep. They were all pretty close games, but in all, a 4-game series sucks no matter how you approach it.

But if this series goes 7, still will anyone care? The last time the Giants were in the World Series was 2002, against the Angels, a series that went 7, and I don't think I watched one game. I'll probably watch some of this if I can, but I won't go out of my way for it.

The Braves Can Blame Themselves, Like Always

Bobby Cox's last game as manager of the Atlanta Braves ends in a 3-2 loss, and like so many postseason games before it, everything in the world went against them: costly walks, barely hit baseballs going for hits, and of course, like sands through the hourglass, bad umpire calls.

The Giants were afforded the benefit of almost every close call, including one where Omar Infante may, or may not have, held second base on a fielder's choice that would have resulted in a tie game, men at first and third, and two outs, rather than tie game, bases loaded, and one out. And like all Braves games in the postseason seem to play out, the next guy struck out (which would have been the third out), and the next guy hit a single to left to give the Giants the lead.

The umpires are generally under fire like every official is in every playoff in every sport. Every playoff results in plays that under review should have gone the other way, in an alarming amount of instances. Because the play is more intense, and plays are closer than usual, calls are always harder, and I think game officials also get caught up in the emotion and are prone to mistakes.

This is called "the human element," and the argument goes, well, the players are human too and they make lots of mistakes. But as fans we accept that players make mistakes, especially since they are going against other humans, two opposing forces trying to stop each other. We are not as forgiving of officials. Their only opposition is their eyes and perception.

The theme throughout the season with umpire calls has been letting what might have happened get in the way of what probably happened. You get the call right most of the time by making the call that is simplest. The play at second base tonight: sure, Infante could have been pulled off the bag before he had possession of Alex Gonzalez's throw, but you can't possibly see that. It wasn't obvious. And even in slow motion replays, it was difficult to see what happened. So the right call is out regardless of what you think you saw. When in doubt, the ball beat the runner and you can't possibly say with any certainty he was off the bag before he caught the ball. This is the problem with a lot of the questionable calls this year.

Of course you have some that are just plain wrong, and those are the most brutal. But those happen less than the close play scenario where an ump inexplicably makes the call that is against common logic.

THAT SAID:

The Braves lost this series because of a punch-less lineup and bad defense. The pitching was stellar, and everything else was not. Injuries were an overrated topic, but yeah, I'd have liked to have Chipper and Martin Prado playing. The lineup had to fill holes with guys who are better suited for the bench and the weaknesses were glaring. I think there's no doubt the Braves win this series with those guys. But they should have won without them. The Giants were ripe to be beat. I don't think the Braves beat the Phillies in the next round, however, and I certainly don't think the Giants have a chance, even with their pitching. The Phillies just shut down the best hitting team in baseball. What are they going to do against a team that has way less offense?

I'll definitely miss Bobby Cox in the dugout. I have had a number of criticisms of his in-game management in the past and that I won't miss. But the guy is like your dad out there, you love him no matter what. All of my teams: the Braves, Titans, and Predators, have had the same guy leading them forever and I'm not used to change. I guess I'm lucky that way, but I'm looking forward to the Braves moving on.

Garbage

After Mike saw his Reds just gift-wrap a win to the Phillies, the Braves followed suit in Game 3 of the NLDS and yes, I blame Bobby Cox.

Brooks Conrad is now the most hated man in Atlanta after he committed three errors and allowed the Giants to win the game 3-2 over a Braves team that had just taken a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the eighth on an awesome line drive HR from Eric Hinske. I haven't been so elated in a long time. My hands were numb from clapping after that hit. The only problem is that Billy Wagner is hurt and they would have to use an unproven guy to close out the game. In comes Craig Kimbrel.

Kimbrel got a fly out on Cody Ross, then walked Travis Ishikawa, then struck out Andres Torres. With two outs, Kimbrel got Freddy Sanchez to swing at two pitches out of the zone and then inexplicably threw him a fastball down the middle on a 1-2 count. Sanchez singles, and up comes Aubrey Huff. Now, even though Aubrey Huff hits left-handers better than right-handers, Bobby Cox played the universal percentages and put in lefty Mike Dunn. Bad move. Huff singled, of course on a pitch he was fooled on, hitting a flair to right field in front of Jason Heyward. Tie game. Then Cox puts in Peter Moylan, who gets the ground ball he wants, but oh, if only Brooks Conrad weren't there to field it. It goes under his glove. Giants take the lead and an undeserved win after Brian Wilson comes in to close it out. And by the way, this patient approach Braves batters have has become a thorn in my side. Jason Heyward allowed a pitch that should have been hit in the stands to just go harmlessly by. And this happens too often.

But the Cox pitching change isn't what lost this game. It's the insistence to play Brooks Conrad that lost this game. I have never seen a man so loved during the season become such a hated person in such a short time. And it's not his fault, in my opinion. When a person becomes a liability in the field, and has made so many bad errors (he made a few that nearly cost the Braves a chance at the postseason), then it is the responsibility of the manager to pull that guy out of the starting lineup. Braves fans like Brooks Conrad when he's up late in the game and can possibly give you a nice pinch-hit HR or something (see the Reds game earlier in the year with the pinch-hit game-winning grand slam). He was never meant to be a guy out there in the field.

So what does Bobby Cox need to do? Seriously, is Troy Glaus that bad of a defender? Glaus should be at third and Omar Infante, who was placed at third when Conrad had fielding issues there, should be back at second where he is more comfortable. Glaus bailed out the Braves with a beautiful double play in Game 2 that if, unturned, would have lost the game. Plus, Glaus, as much as he struggled towards the end of the year, is a better bat. YOU CANNOT DO WORSE THAN THIS. Someone tackle Bobby Cox and explain this. YOU CANNOT DO WORSE THAN CONRAD. If Troy Glaus goes out there and makes three errors, no one will be hoping Brooks Conrad could have been in the game. Hell, I'll take the young Diory Hernandez if Troy Glaus can't go.

Cox will need to make this change because now, they're down 2-1 and the season is completely on the line. And Conrad can not be allowed to play in the field the rest of the playoffs. If he is allowed to play any more positions, this final season's destiny rests in Cox's hands and is his fault.

I was so excited after that Hinske HR. So excited. I can't tell you how hard of a crash that was when it fell apart.

The MLB Playoffs, 2010

UPDATE: One slight error I made was saying the Brewers didn't make the playoffs. I really meant, during the 1991-2005 stretch the Braves went regularly. The Brewers made it in 2008, and lost to the Phillies.

ALSO: I've made a lot out of the Braves facing all those different teams over the years (they've also played many teams multiple times). But the Yankees have also been to the playoffs enough now that they've faced everyone in the AL except the Royals, Rays, and Blue Jays. And while the Braves have faced 4 different AL teams in the World Series, the Yankees have faced off against 6 NL teams.

I know this time of year, people are absolutely immersed in football nowadays, and when your team muffs a kickoff in the last two minutes of the game to seal a victory for a team they had been beating all day, well, that's understandable.

Two of our bloggers have teams in this year's playoffs. Mike's Reds and my Braves, luckily not playing each other in the first round. There are many stories that can come out of these playoffs and I'd like to discuss them here.

First off, I've mentioned it before, but the Braves have played every franchise in the National League since 1991 in the playoffs at least once except for the teams that haven't made it: the Brewers and the Expos/Nationals. This series against the Giants will be the second time the two have faced off, and it's the second DS. The last one was in 2002 when Dusty Baker managed San Francisco and took that team to the World Series. It went five games.

Speaking of Baker, he has the chance to play his old team in the NLCS should the Reds and Giants advance. It's funny, I've never considered Baker a great manager. He's made some huge blunders in the postseason that stick out, especially that 2003 NLCS when he was with the Cubs, but he's now taken three teams into the playoffs and he was within an eyelash of winning the World Series in 2002.

Back to the Giants. This team hasn't won a World Series since 1954, and the team was in New York. They've been in San Francisco since 1957. So they're the team with the longest World Series drought:

The Tampa Bay Rays have been to a Series but they haven't been in existence long enough to qualify for drought status.

The Rangers have the second longest drought, and they've never been the World Series as this team or as the (2nd) Washington Senators. This dates back to 1961. They've been in Texas since 1971.

It'd be fun if the two old Washington Senators franchises faced off the the ALCS: the Twins and Rangers can both claim Washington D.C. as their original home. The Twins last won in 1991.

And of course the Yankees won last year. Screw the Yankees.

In the NL, the Reds haven't won since 1990.

Braves, 1995.

And the Phillies beat the Rays in 2008. Screw the Phillies.

There's only one true rematch on the board and that's Phillies/Yankees from last year (the franchises also played in 1950). Teams tend to change a lot over the years, so the closest to being an honest rematch after that is Phillies/Rays. But it's always fun to look at what possible historical rematches exist:

Braves/Yankees (Braves as Milwaukee in 1957 and 1958, then Atlanta in 1996, 1999)
Twins/Braves (1991)
Reds/Yankees (1939, 1961, 1976)
Giants/Twins (as Senators) (1924, 1933)
Giants/Yankees (and a fun reunion between old NY franchises) (1921. 1922, 1923, 1936, 1937, and then Giants as San Francisco in 1962)

By the way, when's the last time you saw two teams (Braves, Rays) in the playoffs who had no-hitters/perfect games pitched against them in the regular season?

Here's what I hope:

I'd like to see the Braves win it all, sure. But what I'd like to see is a World Series that lasts 7 games. We haven't had one since 2002. But even if a Series goes 7 it doesn't mean it's a good one. You've got to think 1986, 1991, 2001. Games that were competitive throughout. Even last year's Series between powerful teams like the Phillies and Yankees only went 6 and not much of it was compelling.

Here's what I think will happen:

My instinct says the LCS will be Yankees/Rays and Giants/Phillies. And I don't see anybody beating the Phillies when they have that kind of offense, bench, and starting pitching (Halladay, Oswalt, Hamels). It looks like a Phillies rematch with either the Yankees or Rays and both of those teams look like fodder. Guys, I hate the Phillies as much as one man can hate them, but those guys are awfully good. Scary good. Which is why the Reds must pull off an amazing upset and end the madness. They have the offense to do it. But jeez, the pitchers will have to be on their game.

From a Braves Fan:

What a nice surprise that this team ends up in the playoffs in Bobby Cox's final year. But man, did these guys look tired and hurt by the end of the year. It's amazing they're in after all that has happened. They lost two huge bats (Martin Prado and Chipper Jones, and I'll even include Troy Glaus as a third, who couldn't miss pitches in May and then suddenly became very bad afterwards), and it caused a domino effect in the lineup where the bench guys, who are good as bench guys, had to start every day.

But this frustrating September was marked by the feeble at-bats many batters had. Seriously, I could be drunk for the next ten days in a row (barring alcohol poisoning) for the number of shots I could have taken watching weak grounders/and or fly outs. Those fly outs weren't even close to the warning track. Sometimes you say, well, he flew out, but he hit it hard and maybe he'll get them next time. Give you some hope. But when you see those weak, outfielder-didn't-even-move kind of flies, it's demoralizing. And watching Alex Gonzalez swing the bat is brutal. He truly is all-or-nothing. Which means pitchers can throw slider after slider without repercussion.

What works out in favor for the Braves is they get three days off before they have to play again. Maybe those muscles will restore somewhat to health. Seriously, they didn't look like they had anything left, and the eight runs they scored yesterday were a miracle of sheer will.

Anyway, I'm going to love watching the games this year. It'll be fun in lieu of the mediocrity that is the Titans.

Go baseball.

Super Bowl Thoughts, Notes, Suggestions, and WhatHaveYou

-I wrote all this at work today. Not really that much to do...

-It was like the Pats were never really into it. Brady was never under that kind of pressure this year, the Giants D looked fantastic because of it. When the Pats started to get those breaks that they always seemed to get this year, like the interception that fell into that guys hands, they wouldn't let them capitalize. I thought that was it, they were going to make it 14-3, and it never happened. Brady wasn't really on when he wasn't being pressured, with several passes thrown behind his receivers. It was strange from front to back, but it only made it a better game. We'll be talking about this for a long time.

-A theory; Billy B. took the life out of them. He was looking harder and harder throughout the year, admittedly from a distance, but a coach can do that. In the end he just looked soulless, too hard. I don't hate him for that, because you have to be a different kind of person to be an NFL coach, but I think it worked against him yesterday.

-That play that Manning made? You'll be seeing it when you're 80, over and over again.

-The Patriots cheat... and so do many other teams in the league, and quite a few players as well. And, in reality, the NFL doesn't care as long as it doesn't affect their image. That's why they destroyed the tapes, that's why they haven't investigated the Panthers using HGH before the Super Bowl a few years ago, and that's why their drug testing is a joke. Why would they do any different? The NFL as a whole is valued in the billions of dollars now, and no federal laws that they break will cost them as much as a substantial hit to their image could. There's too much money involved in sports now for it NOT to happen. And the media doesn't care, because the last thing they'd want is to kill the entertainment that so many read about in their pages. And who else is there to call them out on anything?

At this point, I think of it as a couple of notches above the WWF, but much more entertaining. I can't help but think that the NFL is going to receive its comeuppance at some point, but don't know when. I'll say it again; if there were a Mitchell report for the NFL, the league would have to shut down for a year. Doesn't that temper your enthusiasm for the league, even a bit?

-All those people surrounding the Petty stage - where do they come from? Do they just stay under the stadium in some enclosed place? Are they forced to leave the stadium when the halftime show is over? Do they watch on a big screen in some remote place? Do you get in by knowing someone, or by being attractive, or young, or what?

-I wish the half-time show weren't so long - I think it affects the players, and I'm not in favor of that.

-I'm thrilled that there is a dominant team in the NFL. For years I was afraid that there never would be another one, that every team would slowly fall to the mean, and that I'd never see another great team again. For the first ten weeks of the season, the Pats were a great team, and I was happy, even thrilled. Finally a team to compare to the 49ers and Cowboys of the 80's (for fear of my life, I kept this opinion to myself)! Yes, I want emotion in sports, and no, I don't want the same teams to win every year, but I also crave greatness, something to watch and be amazed by, something to give high praise to. And for a while we had it, and it was great fun. So maybe this salary cap thing does work, huh? The best teams have the least egos, and intelligence is desired in coaches. This is very interesting to me.

-So, in European sports, regardless of the sport, it is completely free market, and the biggest teams only get bigger as bandwagon fans become permanent; there is never a prolonged period of losing to kill them off! Soon it becomes very hard for other teams to compete. This means that, in Spain, not only are Barcelona and Real Madrid the two biggest soccer teams in the country, they are also the two biggest basketball teams in the country, by far, and could do the same in other sports if they wanted, making the Yankees dominance look pitiful. This would never fly in this country, and I'm glad for it.

-One thing I do like about European sports is promotion and relegation, where the worst teams are sent down to a lower division, and the best teams are promoted to a higher one. So, maybe that combined with a salary cap, and we could have some fantastically entertaining leagues. Oh well, I can dream, I guess.

-I like this.

-I once went undefeated in Tecmo Super Bowl using the Bucs, back when they were horrible. It was my only perfect season. I think I should be proud of that.

-Here's the thing about a mediocre team getting hot and winning the title; their goodness will be over-estimated for a long time. New York fans - and they are legion - will continue to bring them up, speaking about what a magical team they are, when they really just got hot for a couple of months, if that. Like the Bears, I bet they don't make the playoffs next year. If they were in the AFC, they wouldn't have made it in this year.

-And yes, as you may have expected me to say, please don't tell me the Giants are the best team in the NFL. They aren't. Please direct all hatred and slander towards the comments section.

The Giants Have Done It

This NFL season definitely fails the Mike test for "What should decide our champion?" because the New York Giants have beaten the New England Patriots 17-14, ending the Patriots' perfect season at 18-1. Imagine that. You lose one game all year and it's the freaking Super Bowl. Historic doesn't even begin to touch it.

Not only did the best team all year not win, but they had to win it against a team they had already beaten. For awhile, I watched this thinking, "Well, the Patriots never win pretty but they always find a way...somehow..." and miraculously they didn't.

I wish I could say I was at a New York bar tonight experiencing the celebration, but I decided to watch this from the safety of my own home. But I know the city erupted on this win tonight and this will go down as legendary, probably sweeter than the Parcells-era Super Bowls. I really became a Giants fan during all this...and that fandom will, in a funny way, probably all end when the next season begins.

What a hell of a catch by David Tyree on that last drive...he should be the MVP, no doubt.

Biggest upset ever. Classic Super Bowl. What fun.

SB XLII

I've got a bad feeling about this one. Watched the game with George yesterday, and I'm not thinking this is gonna be pretty. The New York media will talk themselves into it, but, man, it could get real ugly real quick. Watching the first game, even with a lifeless Pats team that seemed to be going through the motions, they still found a way to stop the Chargers every time in the red zone. They HAD to score a TD to win that game, they knew they had to, and they couldn't.

The second game seemed like just mistake after mistake, with the least worst team winning. How can that Giants team I watched yesterday put it together, especially with a Pats team that I fele will be motivated again, with two weeks of game planning and rest behind them? I feel a late 80's SB thrashing coming on again, and a sorry way to end our football for the year. Oh well.

Stunning!

Of course, after the post I just wrote, football seems strange to comment upon. But the Giants are getting a second crack at the Patriots in the Super Bowl, after both teams played an awesome season-ender before the playoffs.

I saw a lot of my friends' teams lose, including my own Titans, in these playoffs. But I definitely latched on to a surrogate team in the Giants, and as much as I feel sorry for Doc's Packers and the fact the media doesn't get to have the whole "Favre vs. Brady and the Team He Won His Super Bowl Against" story, I was quite actively rooting for the Giants in this one. It was a good game, and the Giants were practically begging the Packers to steal it from them.

So things will continue to be exciting around here, and New York and Boston can go to war over something besides the Yankees and Red Sox. The headlines will be nonstop: I'm wagering on "Third Tynes the Charm" tomorrow in at least one of the papers. Tell me that isn't going to be the headline.