The Sports Maunderer recently wrote a post about the Yankees/Twins game 2, and why we watch baseball. Go ahead and read it again; almost to the word, it could be applied to Yankees/Angels game 2.
Holy Crap.
~The Sports Maunderer~
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
ALCS!
The Yankees haven't gotten here in five years.
Five years ago, no one had heard of Barack Obama.
Five years ago, iPhones didn't exist (the horror!)
Five years ago, there was nothing wrong with the Sports Maunderer's knee yet.
Five years ago, Friday nights at home did not regularly include an extra Crowde(r)d table.
Five years ago, if someone said Teixiera aloud, I would have said... "I don't speak Spanish".
Five years ago, the Sports Maunderer had, thankfully, never been in Pittsburgh.
Five years ago, the Sports Maunderer had not seen Casablanca. That doesn't have much to do with anything but still.
Five years ago, we were at war in Iraq and Afghanistan. (Wait, what? We still are?!)
Five years ago, the national debt was around 7 trillion dollars. It is now closer to 11 trillion dollars (but hey, whats a few more trillion!)
Five years ago, the Patriots won their most recent Super Bowl.
Five years ago, Michael Vick... well, yeah, Michael Vick.
Five years ago, no one had heard of Tim Tebow (*gaspshockhorrorgruesomedeath*)
Five years ago, Gary Sheffield was on the Yankees.
Five years ago, so was Kevin Bronw.
And Jason Giambi.
And, amazingly enough, Bernie Williams.
Five years ago, it all ended in heartbreak. Hopefully that seems as bizarre and unique and unable to be repeated as everything else on ths list.
On a completely random note, the Phillies' victory this NLDS is the fifth time in the history of the National League that a World Series champ has won a postseason series the following year. Forget repeating--just winning a series the following year. Five times! Off the top of my head I can name five times the Yankees alone repeated as World Champions, and the entire National League has only won a series the year after five times! (For those wondering, it was the Phillies, the Braves of 95-96, the Reds of 75-76, the Giants of 21-22, and the Cubs of 1907-1908.)
Holy schmoli. Wow. WOW.
~The Sports Maunderer~
Five years ago, no one had heard of Barack Obama.
Five years ago, iPhones didn't exist (the horror!)
Five years ago, there was nothing wrong with the Sports Maunderer's knee yet.
Five years ago, Friday nights at home did not regularly include an extra Crowde(r)d table.
Five years ago, if someone said Teixiera aloud, I would have said... "I don't speak Spanish".
Five years ago, the Sports Maunderer had, thankfully, never been in Pittsburgh.
Five years ago, the Sports Maunderer had not seen Casablanca. That doesn't have much to do with anything but still.
Five years ago, we were at war in Iraq and Afghanistan. (Wait, what? We still are?!)
Five years ago, the national debt was around 7 trillion dollars. It is now closer to 11 trillion dollars (but hey, whats a few more trillion!)
Five years ago, the Patriots won their most recent Super Bowl.
Five years ago, Michael Vick... well, yeah, Michael Vick.
Five years ago, no one had heard of Tim Tebow (*gaspshockhorrorgruesomedeath*)
Five years ago, Gary Sheffield was on the Yankees.
Five years ago, so was Kevin Bronw.
And Jason Giambi.
And, amazingly enough, Bernie Williams.
Five years ago, it all ended in heartbreak. Hopefully that seems as bizarre and unique and unable to be repeated as everything else on ths list.
On a completely random note, the Phillies' victory this NLDS is the fifth time in the history of the National League that a World Series champ has won a postseason series the following year. Forget repeating--just winning a series the following year. Five times! Off the top of my head I can name five times the Yankees alone repeated as World Champions, and the entire National League has only won a series the year after five times! (For those wondering, it was the Phillies, the Braves of 95-96, the Reds of 75-76, the Giants of 21-22, and the Cubs of 1907-1908.)
Holy schmoli. Wow. WOW.
~The Sports Maunderer~
Friday, October 9, 2009
This is why...
...we watch the game.
People always ask why we play the game. And there are plenty of reasons why. But why do we watch? This is why. A-Rod, Teixiera, Jeter, Burnett, Dave Robertson (who?), Girardi... The look in the eyes of a generation's greatest player when all of the sudden you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this guy, who couldn't buy a hit in the postseason for five years, was absolutely, without a doubt, going to hit a home run. Unless they walked him.
And they didn't walk him.
The Sports Maunderer has had a pretty crappy six months. He's been manipulated, lied to, had rods stuck in his chest, his insides rearranged, and it is still excruciating to reach down for his Pringles. He had to leave the greatest house in the world to go to a city he couldn't care much less about, hours away from everyone he could very much care less about. To add insult to injury, a new blog opened up with possibly wittier, more intelligent and--amazingly enough--more elitist authors.
But A-Rod stepped into the batter's box and the Sports Maunderer might as well have never heard of surgery, psychopathic emotional denial, Pittsburgh, or obliquely angled opposable digits. Then the smoothest, most powerful swing this side of Babe Ruth and Ken Griffey Jr. launched a ball into the night, and everything was alive again. Soon after Dave Robertson stood alone on the mound, much as we all stand alone, only to be twice saved by the friendly glove of the spectacular Mark Teixiera. If that isn't an analogy for leaning on your distant loved ones, I don't know what is.
And then Mark turned into Reggie Jackson, delivering on the big bucks thrown in his direction, and the question "why do we watch?" dissapeared into the cloudy (yeah, Pittsburgh kind of ruins poetic description) night. This is why. We endure a long season of tortuous, sinuous, treacherous twists of fate, the ups and downs of holding onto your team even when they are 15-17 and look more like the Pirates than the fabled Bronx Bombers... because in the end, holding on is more valuable than you can dream whilst undergoing the dog days of summer. It's why we get surgery, it's why we hold onto reality even when those around us can't, it's why we call home instead of going to a beer-soaked social function. It's why we keep writing even when other blogs are more obnoxious and esoteric and knowledgable (okay, so i'm joking a bit on that point. But not the others!)
It's why we believe in God, and it's why God is a baseball fan. He knows a little something about comeback wins, too. No other sport could produce this. no other sport would dare to try.
This is why we watch.
~The Sports Maunderer~
People always ask why we play the game. And there are plenty of reasons why. But why do we watch? This is why. A-Rod, Teixiera, Jeter, Burnett, Dave Robertson (who?), Girardi... The look in the eyes of a generation's greatest player when all of the sudden you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this guy, who couldn't buy a hit in the postseason for five years, was absolutely, without a doubt, going to hit a home run. Unless they walked him.
And they didn't walk him.
The Sports Maunderer has had a pretty crappy six months. He's been manipulated, lied to, had rods stuck in his chest, his insides rearranged, and it is still excruciating to reach down for his Pringles. He had to leave the greatest house in the world to go to a city he couldn't care much less about, hours away from everyone he could very much care less about. To add insult to injury, a new blog opened up with possibly wittier, more intelligent and--amazingly enough--more elitist authors.
But A-Rod stepped into the batter's box and the Sports Maunderer might as well have never heard of surgery, psychopathic emotional denial, Pittsburgh, or obliquely angled opposable digits. Then the smoothest, most powerful swing this side of Babe Ruth and Ken Griffey Jr. launched a ball into the night, and everything was alive again. Soon after Dave Robertson stood alone on the mound, much as we all stand alone, only to be twice saved by the friendly glove of the spectacular Mark Teixiera. If that isn't an analogy for leaning on your distant loved ones, I don't know what is.
And then Mark turned into Reggie Jackson, delivering on the big bucks thrown in his direction, and the question "why do we watch?" dissapeared into the cloudy (yeah, Pittsburgh kind of ruins poetic description) night. This is why. We endure a long season of tortuous, sinuous, treacherous twists of fate, the ups and downs of holding onto your team even when they are 15-17 and look more like the Pirates than the fabled Bronx Bombers... because in the end, holding on is more valuable than you can dream whilst undergoing the dog days of summer. It's why we get surgery, it's why we hold onto reality even when those around us can't, it's why we call home instead of going to a beer-soaked social function. It's why we keep writing even when other blogs are more obnoxious and esoteric and knowledgable (okay, so i'm joking a bit on that point. But not the others!)
It's why we believe in God, and it's why God is a baseball fan. He knows a little something about comeback wins, too. No other sport could produce this. no other sport would dare to try.
This is why we watch.
~The Sports Maunderer~
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Playoff Preview
It has been a while. It has also been a while since the Yankees were in the playoffs. Oh the symmetry. But to prove I'm not a Northeastern Elitist Jackanapes, the Sports Maunderer will give a playoff preview covering the whole league. More or less. Maybe. Well. We'll see how much AAAA I can take.
Let's get the boring stuff out of the way first:
The National League
Dodgers surprise everyone and get to the World Series.
Okay. National League dealt with.
American League
I would take any American League team over any National League team, with the possible exception of the Twins, who just don't seem to match up well with anyone. But then, they went 17-4 to finish the season, so who knows? Regardless, there are two teams here that are worldbeaters, and then there are the two teams who aren't. The NL's only hope is that these two teams match up for a seven game classic, exhaust themselves, injure themselves, and get to the World Series with a "we already practically won our World Series" syndrome a la the 2003 Yankees. Onto the Matchups:
Red Sox/Angels:
The Red Sox have a terrifying starting rotation. Beckett, Lester, Bucholz, even Matzusaka isn't bad. Well, okay, he is, but he's better than the other fourth starters (Some teams don't even seem to have fourth starters, but we'll leave Joba and Chad Gaudin alone for the moment). The Angels have John Lackey. He's good, but he isn't BeckettLesterBucholz good.
For crying out loud, though, Jon Lester is starting game 1? Seriously? I mean, I understand the notion that you have to reward success and he had quite the season, but seriously. Who would you rather be facing in the postseason? Lester or Beckett? Lester is terrific, but Beckett is, and I hate saying this... Josh Beckett. In the postseason.
The Angels have a good lineup. Actually, they have the best lineup this side of the Bronx. That won't be enough. The Red Sox kill the Angels like the Yankees kill the Twins. Speaking of which.
Yankees/Twins:
If there is any justice in the world, the Yankees will handily win this series. They have a better rotation, a better bullpen, a way better lineup, and more rest. The Twins have a better catcher. Now, granted, the difference between Joe Mauer and Jorge Posada is roughly equivalent to the difference between the Empire State Building and a Lego brick, but still. The Yankees should destroy the Twins, emphasis on should. And you should root for them to do so, also, because the Twins would get killed in the next series even if they managed to win this one, and the postseason would be another cakewalk for the Red Sox. Unless you are actually a Red Sox fan, you can't want that. At the very least, you want the seven-game-epic-series-aiding-the-NL-winner scenario laid out earlier.
Yankees/Red Sox:
I don't know if I can take another of these, but it does seem a bit inevitable. And weirdly enough, I might actually be rooting for the Red Sox to get here. The Yankees have won 9 of 10 from the Red Sox. The Angels have beaten the Yankees about 2,230,730,828 times in the past few years. The Yankees actually match up well against the Red Sox. Sabathia and Burnett and Petitte are more than capable of shutting down their surprisingly mediocre line-up, and for all their balleyhooed success this year, the Red Sox starters have done surprisingly not well against the Yankees, all things considered. So the Yankees, again, should win. Should.
World Series:
Yankees/Dodgers
You should root for this to happen if you have a pulse. If, sans a horse in the race, you root against this scenario, you irrationally hate big cities. Yankees. Dodgers. Manny. A-Rod. Torre. TORRE! The most storied franchise in sports history and another franchise with quite a story of its own. The Yankees should (should) crush the Dodgers, but who cares? The intrigue alone makes it worth rooting for this. My mouth is watering. And not because I'm hungry and waiting to get a bagel at Einstein's. Well, that might have something to do with it. But mostly, I just can't wait for postseaon baseball.
It's been a while.
~The Sports Maunderer~
Let's get the boring stuff out of the way first:
The National League
Dodgers surprise everyone and get to the World Series.
Okay. National League dealt with.
American League
I would take any American League team over any National League team, with the possible exception of the Twins, who just don't seem to match up well with anyone. But then, they went 17-4 to finish the season, so who knows? Regardless, there are two teams here that are worldbeaters, and then there are the two teams who aren't. The NL's only hope is that these two teams match up for a seven game classic, exhaust themselves, injure themselves, and get to the World Series with a "we already practically won our World Series" syndrome a la the 2003 Yankees. Onto the Matchups:
Red Sox/Angels:
The Red Sox have a terrifying starting rotation. Beckett, Lester, Bucholz, even Matzusaka isn't bad. Well, okay, he is, but he's better than the other fourth starters (Some teams don't even seem to have fourth starters, but we'll leave Joba and Chad Gaudin alone for the moment). The Angels have John Lackey. He's good, but he isn't BeckettLesterBucholz good.
For crying out loud, though, Jon Lester is starting game 1? Seriously? I mean, I understand the notion that you have to reward success and he had quite the season, but seriously. Who would you rather be facing in the postseason? Lester or Beckett? Lester is terrific, but Beckett is, and I hate saying this... Josh Beckett. In the postseason.
The Angels have a good lineup. Actually, they have the best lineup this side of the Bronx. That won't be enough. The Red Sox kill the Angels like the Yankees kill the Twins. Speaking of which.
Yankees/Twins:
If there is any justice in the world, the Yankees will handily win this series. They have a better rotation, a better bullpen, a way better lineup, and more rest. The Twins have a better catcher. Now, granted, the difference between Joe Mauer and Jorge Posada is roughly equivalent to the difference between the Empire State Building and a Lego brick, but still. The Yankees should destroy the Twins, emphasis on should. And you should root for them to do so, also, because the Twins would get killed in the next series even if they managed to win this one, and the postseason would be another cakewalk for the Red Sox. Unless you are actually a Red Sox fan, you can't want that. At the very least, you want the seven-game-epic-series-aiding-the-NL-winner scenario laid out earlier.
Yankees/Red Sox:
I don't know if I can take another of these, but it does seem a bit inevitable. And weirdly enough, I might actually be rooting for the Red Sox to get here. The Yankees have won 9 of 10 from the Red Sox. The Angels have beaten the Yankees about 2,230,730,828 times in the past few years. The Yankees actually match up well against the Red Sox. Sabathia and Burnett and Petitte are more than capable of shutting down their surprisingly mediocre line-up, and for all their balleyhooed success this year, the Red Sox starters have done surprisingly not well against the Yankees, all things considered. So the Yankees, again, should win. Should.
World Series:
Yankees/Dodgers
You should root for this to happen if you have a pulse. If, sans a horse in the race, you root against this scenario, you irrationally hate big cities. Yankees. Dodgers. Manny. A-Rod. Torre. TORRE! The most storied franchise in sports history and another franchise with quite a story of its own. The Yankees should (should) crush the Dodgers, but who cares? The intrigue alone makes it worth rooting for this. My mouth is watering. And not because I'm hungry and waiting to get a bagel at Einstein's. Well, that might have something to do with it. But mostly, I just can't wait for postseaon baseball.
It's been a while.
~The Sports Maunderer~
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