See you next season

For 22 teams, today was it. The end. And those fans go back to the drawing board hoping for a better 2011.

It is an important day of the baseball calendar. If opening day is the time where optimism is abound, the last day is where some sobering reality kicks in.

When you come out today, that's it. The baseball card's stats for the year are done.
Some players have played their last games with a team and will appear elsewhere next year.

Some veterans played their last game today and didn't even know it.

Some September call up will not get another shot.

Some managers and coaches know that they'll probably be looking for a new gig.

I'll miss the box scores and scoreboard watching... and man I'll miss seeing MY team play.

But enough reflection. All anyone remembers is the post season... and that is around the corner.

No person I'd rather watch a clinching with than Poppy

My dad was in town this weekend and we watched a lot of baseball. That wasn't the original plan... the plan was we'd watch his Giants clinch on Friday night and spend the rest of the weekend in L.A. County with my kids.

As it turned out Cain got bombed and Barry Zito blew his chance to redeem his contract in the eyes of Giants fans.

So we were glued to the set today... and watching a game with my dad is an experience.

Sometimes he doesn't move. You wonder if he is asleep. Then when Guillen grounds out you just hear a "JE-sus... swinging on the first pitch." And then you know my dad hasn't missed a pitch.

Or then comes his predictions.
When Miguel Tejada came up in a key spot today, he grumbled "This is it... he's about to hit the home run that will haunt us forever." Then with added emphasis pointed at the screen... as if I were about to miss his seer like abilities.

Tejada grounded out.

Later when Aubrey Huff came up in a critical situation, he said "Watch. He's about to hit the home run that will forever cement his legend."

He also grounded out.

Back when Bonds was with the Giants, every time a pitcher threw to him, my dad would say "Gone."

And when the odds caught up to him and Bonds DID hit a homer, my dad would turn to me and say "I called it."

I would reply "You call EVERY pitch."

My dad would have it off and say "admit it... I called it."

And I couldn't deny it. I am thrilled for my dad this year. He follows the Giants closer than anyone who isn't currently employed by KNBR.

I remember in 2008 I was driving home and listening to a Giants/Dodgers game late in the season. The Giants were 100% out of it and it was a week night. Bengie Molina homered for the Giants and I called my dad.

He picked up the phone. He didn't even say "Hello?" He just said "How about Bengie Molina?"

Dedication to a team... my dad has it.

So I'm glad we could see the Giants win the West.

But today my dad asked me "if I can get World Series tickets, will you fly up?"

He's already past Atlanta, Cincinnati and Philadelphia.

Let's go Giants. My dad has paid enough dues watching this team to finally see another World Series title.

And I have a feeling he has many more predictions to make this post season.

I can’t call the Padres chokers

I know it would be easy to call the Padres choke artists… heck you might even have the numbers to back it up.

On August 25th, the Padres looked like a team of destiny. They improved their record to 76-49. They were up by 8 games in the loss column over San Francisco with 37 games to play.

The Padres had a better record than anyone else in the National League by 5 games in the loss column and were on a run where they won 12 of 15 games.

And then it happened.
The 10 game losing streak.
Squandering a 6 ½ game lead in 16 days.

Finishing the season 14-23.

And now out of the playoff picture. The playoffs start this week and the Padres are playing golf.

On the surface it looks like a huge face plant.

But let’s call Doc Brown and go back in time.
Going into this season, the Padres (with the NL’s second lowest payroll) look like they would be sitting with the Nationals, Pirates and Mets as the few National League teams with no hope.

The only questions going into 2010 were “Where is Adrian Gonzalez going to be traded?” and “Should the Padres deal Heath Bell as well?”

What if I told you a Padres team that EVERYONE seemed to have picked for 90 losses would actually be a 90 WIN team?

That they would be in contention for the entire season with arguably the deepest bullpen in baseball and make it all the way to the last day of the season before being eliminated?

That they would play 3 “lose and your season is over” games on the road and win the first 2?

You’d think I was crazy and demand to know the physics of time travel.

But I think the season should be judged based upon expectations and outcomes. A team whose payroll is less than what the Red Sox paid for Tim Wakefield, J. D. Drew, Mike Lowell, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Josh Beckett this year, is not expected to win more games than the Red Sox.

But they did.

A team with a no name rotation and line up (save for Gonzalez) is expected to contend.

But they did.

They didn’t choke. They destroyed all expectations. If they started off horribly and then caught fire and made it to 90 wins, they’d be considered a triumph.

This isn’t going to look pretty for San Diego’s underrated tortured history. But this wasn’t a choke.

If the METS did this, it would be a choke. But then again the Mets didn’t even contend despite paying $95 million more for their players.

But that is another post.

"Hey I have as much managing experience as Don Mattingly as well"

And I bet Hasselhoff would know how to fill out a line up card and what constitutes a trip to the mound.

Hey Joe... you are getting out at just the right time.

IN HONOR OF JEFFREY "HAC MAN" LEONARD

An All Star for the Giants in 1987...

Won the NLCS MVP in 1987 despite being on the losing team...

The good news is he hit 4 homers, batted .417 and had an OPS of 1.417 against the Cardinals and sent the Giants fans into hysterics with his one flap down home run trot...

The bad news is none of those 4 homers came during Games 6 and 7 when the Giants were shut out...

And a man who had another nickname, Penitentiary Face, which was bad ass, but I preferred Hac Man...

THE MAGIC NUMBER IS 00!

THE GIANTS ARE THE NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST CHAMPS!

Now to complete what Hac Man started.

Hey Tampa... you are welcome

A disappointing season has come to an end. Devastating injuries, some subpar performances and the fact that the Rays and Yankees were just better did the Sox in.

All things considered, 89 wins and not being eliminated until the last week wasn't too shabby.

But hey, the Sox won 4 of their last 6 against the Yankees (and the two losses were extra inning losses.) So they showed a little bit of heart at the end.

And oh yeah... they knocked the Yankees out of the Division and into the Wild Card. Not that it matters... but if having the Yankees do some extra traveling makes them miserable, then that is all this petty Red Sox fan needs to know.

Thanks for the season, Red Sox. It wasn't pretty and the results weren't what we hoped... but there were some fun games.

And hey, after all those years just wanting a shot at a title, it is good to have a year that tests the true fans.

Now fix the outfield.

Hey Mariners... let's compromise on Felix Hernandez starting

So the Mariners are at home for the last day of the season... and I guess it is fitting for a year where many people picked them to win the AL West and instead lost 100 games that they are giving their fans nothing to cheer for on the last day.

Felix Hernandez, looking to cement a Cy Young resume that has everything except the eye popping win total (although winning 13 games on a 100 loss team isn't easy) has been shut down for the year.

You see, the young man has thrown too many innings. In fact he has more innings pitched than anyone in the American League.

He's thrown 249 2/3 innings... and evidently his arm will explode if he throws 250.

I get it... innings limits. It works. Just ask Joba Chamberlain and Stephen Strasburg.

But do you really want the final moment of the 2010 Mariners season a start by Ryan Rowland Smith?

The guy let up 11 earned runs in one start in July. I know I am supposed to ignore win totals, but 1-10 just sucks... and the 6.90 ERA doesn't help.

So here's what I propose, Mariners... for the fans.

Have Felix Hernandez start and throw two innings. Inevitably he will strike out 2 batters in those 2 innings.

Then remove him to a thunderous ovation.

Why 2 innings and 2 strikeouts?

2 innings will give him 251 2/3 innings... 1 more inning than Roy Halladay who leads the majors in that category.

He is also 1 strikeout behind big league leader Jared Weaver.

So those 2 innings will give him the most innings pitched in the bigs, the most strikeouts in the bigs, the lowest qualifying ERA in the bigs, and tied for the most starts in the bigs.

Those 2 innings and 2 strikeouts could make a compelling argument to even the old school voters that he pitched better than anyone in baseball this year.

And hey! That would mean people would be talking about the Mariners in the off season.

How nice would that be?
I would say nicer than a Ryan Rowland Smith start.

The Red Sox said good bye to a beloved player properly

The World Series MVP became an official award in 1955 and only two Red Sox players have ever received it.

Manny Ramirez and Mike Lowell.

One had his Red Sox career end so badly that he couldn't be more hated in Boston if he took a crap on Paul Revere's statue.

And the other got to have a dignified day in his honor to celebrate all he meant to the club.

Not bad for a guy who was the expensive potential deal killing toss in for the Josh Beckett trade.

I am glad to see Mike not enter my "All Ungraceful Exit From The Red Sox" roster.

Oh the Red Sox TRIED to make it awkward... the aborted trade in the off season and Mike wanting to be released this season.

But instead we have a salute to a World Series hero.

Alas, Carlton Fisk, Luis Tiant, Fred Lynn, Wade Boggs, Dwight Evans, Johnny Damon and Roger Clemens never got this sort of farewell.

Maybe management is just better now.

Farewell Mike.
Thanks for the big hits.

The Mariners truly appreciate their fans

Thank you fans! Now please enjoy the game that we are waving the white flag in before it even starts.

Thanks for supporting a team that thought Milton Bradley would be a good power source. Thanks for cheering a team that couldn't put one 20 home run hitter, one 70 RBI man and only one .250 hitter.

And seeing that the only thing left to cheer for is King Felix Hernandez, we'll take THAT away from you too.

Thanks a lot fans, and be sure to buy tickets for NEXT season. It will be just as Crap-Tastic as this one.

IF THE PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY... October 3, 2010

Here we are... the last day of the season... and not one single Division Series match up has been set.

The Yankees played a combined 20 innings yesterday and very well might have lost the Division in the wee small hours of the morning. And the Twins may have lost homefield advantage in the Division Series and ALCS with a poorly timed losing streak.

But that is NOTHING compared to the potential double choke that would be the Giants and Braves... especially if a 3 way playoff is necessary.

Let's look at the current match ups.

AMERICAN LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES

TAMPA BAY RAYS (AL East Champion)
has home field advantage over
TEXAS RANGERS (AL West Champion)


MINNESOTA TWINS (AL Central Champion)
has home field advantage over
NEW YORK YANKEES (AL Wild Card)



ONE GAME PLAYOFF FOR
NATIONAL LEAGUE WILD CARD

ATLANTA BRAVES
would host
SAN DIEGO PADRES


NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES
(If ATLANTA wins)

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (NL East Champion)
has home field advantage over
CINCINNATI REDS (NL Central Champion)

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (NL West Champion)

has home field advantage over

ATLANTA BRAVES (NL Wild Card)




NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES
(If SAN DIEGO wins)

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (NL East Champion)
has home field advantage over
SAN DIEGO PADRES (NL Wild Card)

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (NL West Champion)

has home field advantage over

CINCINNATI REDS (NL Central Champion)

Why do I have a feeling that there will still be things left undecided by the end of today?

Oh PLEASE start A. J. Burnett in the playoffs

Not only did he finish the season with a nifty 5.26 ERA and lost 15 games on a team that has won 95 games (he's the REVERSE of Felix Hernandez) but last night pulled a classic Chuck Knoblauch... arguing a call without calling time and letting a run score.

Seeing the Yankees lost the game in the 10th inning, it is safe to say the run was important.
And seeing the loss may have cost the Yankees home field advantage, it is safe to say the game was important.

So clearly Burnett is not just physically ready but also mentally ready for the post season.

PLAY HIM JOE!

Look at that! The Red Sox won a game!

Christ, I forgot what that even felt like.
Well a night where the Red Sox and Yankees played a combined 20 innings, it is nice to know they had one more comeback and one more walk off win.

Granted it was the Red Sox JV team beating the Yankees JV team... but think of THIS, lovers of Schadenfreude... if the Rays win a game against the 94 loss Kansas City Royals tomorrow, they will be AL East Champs.

And if the Yankees have to play a game 5 of the Division Series or Game 7 of the ALCS on the road, they can remember a night when they were pooped and had Ivan Nova chucking meatballs to Bill Hall.

You are welcome Tampa. Now win your game tomorrow.

Are the Giants and Braves drunk?

Seriously... did they start celebrating when they realized all it took was one Padres loss and they'll be October bound?

The Giants are playing with the urgency of a temp checking their Facebook page.
The Braves got shut down twice by the Phillies and haven't yet faced a starting pitcher named Roy.

The only Phillies pitcher the Braves offense has gotten to was Mike Zagurski, who not only won't be on the post season roster but could very well be the 15th caller from Sports Radio 97.5.

The Giants brought back a lot of former greats this weekend for the Wille Mac award and the Braves had a galaxy of former stars honor Bobby Cox.

They should have activated each of the players.
Heck, I think post amputation Dave Dravecky couldn't have done worse than Matt Cain nor Barry Zito.

So now the scenario that seemed so implausible just two days ago is staring the Braves and Giants in the face.

The Braves have to beat Cole Hamels.
The Giants have to beat Mat Latos.

If they don't there is a possibility that they have to burn an ace pitcher in a playoff... or face the Phillies in the Division Series... or be playing golf.

It all seemed so unlikely over 3 games.
Not so much over 1.

Like the PSA says, don't drink and play in a pennant race.

Now pitching for the Red Sox... Ted McGinley

Have you ever flipped around the channels on TV and landed on a show you really liked. And you start watching it because, well, you love the show.

Then you realize it isn't an episode from one of the good seasons... and it is very clear from the beginning that, while it is the same show, you aren't going to get any pleasure out of watching it.

Like finding an All in the Family episode, but it isn't one with Meathead or Gloria but with the little girl Stephanie.

Or an episode of M*A*S*H after Radar left. (Hell, after Frank Burns left!)

Or a Fantasy Island episode without Tattoo (they did a season without him!)

Or just seeing Ted McGinley in the opening credits.

That to me has been the Red Sox this last week. I feel obligated to watch it because it is my favorite show... then I see Cousin Oliver show up, or another game where Daniel Nava is hitting up in the order... and my shoulders slump.

Oh man, this is when the show began to suck.

The one good thing about the 2010 Red Sox? They are about to be canceled.

Chances are there will be an upset in the Division Series

As we get ready to start the second to last day of the season, not one single Division Series match up is official yet… and that’s pretty cool.

All four AL participants are in, but will it be Rays/Rangers?

Yankees/Twins? Rays/Twins? Yankees/Rangers?

It can’t be Yankees/Rays… the logic of which will be questioned in another post.

And we know the Phillies and Reds are in… but the game of musical chairs between the Giants, Padres and Braves has at least another day.

Once the match ups are set, everyone and their moose (including yours truly) will be making their picks.

I can’t tell you who is going to win what… but I WILL say that you shouldn’t put too much weight on which team has Home Field Advantage. Historically at least you can bet a team or two starting the series on the road will advance to the League Championship Series.

Since the creation of the Division Series, only twice has the World Series been played between the National League team with the best record and the American League team with the best record. (1995 when the Braves beat the Cleveland Indians and 1999 when the Yankees swept the Braves.)

But the League Championship Series also rarely has the 1 and 2 seeds. Since the first annual Division Series in 1995, only once did both the NLCS and ALCS been played by the four teams who had home field advantage in the first round:

Last year… when the Phillies and Dodgers played in the NLCS and the Yankees and Angels played in the ALCS.

Now you could argue I should include 1995 when the Reds, Braves, Mariners and Indians all advanced. But remember because of the mind bogglingly stupid home field rules used in the first 3 years of Division Series play, the Indians didn’t have home field advantage in the Division Series, even though they won more games than anyone in baseball that year!

Each year after that, there was an upset or two… or three… or in 2002 there were four.

Wild Card teams advanced to the ALCS in 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2008.

Wild Card teams advanced to the NLCS in 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007.

Underdog Division winners advanced to the ALCS in 2002 and 2006.

And underdog Division winners moved on to the NLCS in 1996, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006 and 2008.

So make your picks and use whatever methods you want.

Look at stats. Look at history. Flip a coin. Stare into at your parrot until you see the winner’s logo appear in their eyes.

But if you just pick all the teams with home field, chances are you’ll get burnt.

Go for 20, Ubaldo

Remember when Ubaldo Jimenez was 15-1 at the All Star break? It looked like not only was he a lock for the Cy Young Award but had a legit shot at 30 wins.

He got his 15th win on July 8th.

If I told you that in the second half, the Rockies would have a 10 game winning streak and Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez would enter the MVP race, you'd think he'd have AT LEAST 25 wins going into the last weekend.

But here we are... in his last start of the season, still searching for win #20.

And like I said about Jon Lester, 20 wins is still a cool milestone no matter what the sabermetric people tell me.

Being a 20 game winner with a sub 3.00 ERA should be a Cy Young contender every year... and as a member of the Rockies should put him #2 or #3 in the voting.

There is something frustrating about 19 wins too. You got THAT close to 20 wins but didn't get it.

It's kind of like Jerry Seinfeld's "Silver Medal" bit. If you won 18 games... that's great. If you won 19 games, you can't help but think "How close did you get to 20? Did you lose a tight game?"

So let's go Ubaldo... win that 20th game. Be the first 20 game winner in Rockies history... and do NOT give announcers the line "He looked like he had a shot at 30 but didn't even win 20."

And enjoy Seinfeld at his best.

Was it really necessary to play a double header between the Orioles and Tigers yesterday?

Did even the fans in Baltimore want to see these two games?

I mean I guess the 20,000 fans who paid to see the games must have been happy to see the birds win both games. But it is one team that played well to avoid 100 losses playing a team that has to run the table to finish about .500.

One lousy team versus an underachiever who has as much chance to play a meaningful game this October as the Seattle Pilots.

I think the baseball world could have still turned if they just played one game and each team finished the season with 161 games.

Now I didn't watch the games (No, I wasn't going to spend my Friday night watching TWO Tigers/Orioles games!) but were there really 20,000 people there?

20,000 people showed up to watch these two teams. I know that isn't a great crowd, but this wasn't a great match up.

Baltimore is a sleeping giant, folks. If 20,000 fans could show up to see this lemon of a match up... then there might very well be a rabid fan base just waiting for a winner.

Do your job, Buck Showalter. You could become a Baltimore God.

NOBODY can blame Freddy Sanchez

Normally when someone gets doubled up at first on a fly ball in the 9th inning of a potential clinching game with your team down, you get pissed.

But I can't get pissed at Freddy Sanchez. Everyone on the Planet Earth thought that was a triple in the corner. Why the hell Ludwick was playing there I have no idea. So instead of a run in and they tying run at third with nobody out, it was 2 outs, nobody on and a 2 run lead.

Don't let the Padres win tomorrow, Giants. Don't give them hope.

IF THE PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY... October 2, 2010

The only change in the playoff match ups came from the weather. The Red Sox and Yankees were rained out and the Rays couldn't take advantage and lost ANOTHER to the Royals.

And the Twins couldn't take advantage and lost again themselves.
Am I the only one who has noticed that the American League pitching for the playoffs has been pretty lousy this week, save for Cliff Lee, David Price and CC Sabathia?

Good news for the fans of high scoring games this October.

And oh yeah, the idea of the the Padres staying alive is a lot more plausible with only two games left... I'm just saying. Let's look at the current match ups.

AMERICAN LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES

NEW YORK YANKEES (AL East Champion)
has home field advantage over
TEXAS RANGERS (AL West Champion)


MINNESOTA TWINS (AL Central Champion)
has home field advantage over
TAMPA BAY RAYS (AL Wild Card)



NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (NL East Champion)
has home field advantage over
CINCINNATI REDS (NL Central Champion)

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (NL West Champion)

has home field advantage over

ATLANTA BRAVES (NL Wild Card)

With only 2 games left, it wouldn't take a long losing streak to send the National League into a one game playoff situation. Just 2 losses in a row...

It could get interesting... maybe TOO interesting for Giants and Braves fans.

Even God doesn't want to see this Red Sox/Yankees game

Man... ending the season with a Red Sox/Yankees showdown looked so good on paper, didn't it?

Now it has all the pleasure of a trip to the DMV.
Don't stop raining...

IF THE PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY... October 1, 2010

September is over after today... teams that are still alive tomorrow can officially say they were in it into October. But how far?

It is now October and only 2 National League spots are locked up while all four playoff teams in the American League have clinched.

However by the end of the day, the two Division Series could be set in the National League while nobody could know who is playing who in the American League.

Sound confusing? It is.

Anyway... Let's look at the current match ups.

AMERICAN LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES

TAMPA BAY RAYS (AL East Champion)
has home field advantage over
TEXAS RANGERS (AL West Champion)


MINNESOTA TWINS (AL Central Champion)
has home field advantage over
NEW YORK YANKEES (AL Wild Card)



NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (NL East Champion)
has home field advantage over
CINCINNATI REDS (NL Central Champion)

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (NL West Champion)

has home field advantage over

ATLANTA BRAVES (NL Wild Card)

If the Giants win tonight... that's it. They are in as NL West Champs. And they will have home field in the Division Series.

If the Giants and Braves win, then everything will be locked.

The Reds will not finish ahead of the Giants (San Francisco has the tie breaker) and the playoff match ups as shown above would be locked in. And alas, there would be no room for the Padres.

The team that on August 28th had a 6 game lead and the best record in the National League would be playing golf.

Meanwhile the Yankees and Rays could continue to mirror each other.
Which will host the Rangers at home?
Which will play the Twins on the road?

We might not know until the final day.

Oh let's play October ball already!