Showing posts with label Detroit Tigers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Detroit Tigers. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
MLB playoffs- Yankees, Rays; Question for Red Sox fans
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I know I’ve said it here often but I really do love baseball. And the best thing about the first round of the playoffs is that they actually play afternoon and early evening games—the kind you can watch to conclusion without worrying about being tired the next morning. Of course if you are a fan of the New York Yankees only a rain out is going to give you the chance to see your team play in the afternoon because they are locked into that primetime slot at 8:37 p.m. every night.
(Am I the only one who has noticed that in the MLB promo about memories being made in postseason about 90 percent of those memories involve the Yankees? I’m convinced if there had been the kind of video available in 1951 that we have today we would have seen the Yankees WATCHING Bobby Thompson’s shot rather than the home run itself).
The Yankees do provide almost unique theater—I say almost unique because the soap opera that is always the Red Sox is right up there. As of this morning, A.J. Burnett is now worth the $82 million the Yankees paid him because he managed to deliver 5 and 1/3 innings of one run baseball in Detroit last night. Sandy Koufax or Bob Gibson would have retired in disgust if they ever came out after 5 and 1/3 innings in a postseason game, but these days any pitcher who can go five innings without getting shelled is a future Hall of Famer.
What’s funny about Burnett’s performance is that if Curtis Granderson doesn’t make a catch that DOES belong on next year’s October promo with the bases loaded in the first inning, he probably doesn’t get out of that inning and may never be able to pitch again in New York. Seriously. That’s how close it was. It sounds funny to say about anyone who plays for the Yankees, but Granderson (who made another terrific catch in the sixth inning) is underrated. In fact, he and Robinson Cano are both underrated because there’s so much focus on Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez and, to a lesser degree, Mark Teixeira.
Cano and Granderson are, without any doubt, the Yankees two best players—C.C. Sabathia and Mariano Rivera are in a different category as pitchers—and Granderson is, from what I can read and hear, the best talker in the clubhouse. Regardless, if the Yankees end up in The World Series, people can point to his catch as the reason. He saved their season.
One other Yankees note: I had to drive to Comcast SportsNet last night because Washington Post Live is now on at 10:30 p.m. (WAY past my bedtime) and, as I always do, I flipped on the Yankees broadcast because John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman crack me up. I like them both personally, but it is truly funny to hear the panic in their voices when the Yankees falter.
When Burnett gave up the home run to Victor Martinez in the fourth inning to close the gap to 2-1, Suzyn was semi-hysterical. “This is the problem with A.J. Burnett,” she said. “He’s like the little girl with the curl. When he’s good, he’s very good, when he’s bad, he’s very bad. In fact, he’s HORRID.” (The home run was the first hit Burnett had given up). Watching the replay, she added, “Uch, look at that. If you put it on a tee you couldn’t have laid it in there any better for him.”
She and Sterling spent the rest of the inning taking deep breaths as Burnett maneuvered through trouble. “Think he’s on a short lease?” Sterling said at one point. “You bet he’s on a short lease. This is an elimination game.”
Sadly, by the time I got back in the car after the show, the Yankees had the game in hand and Sterling was reduced to wondering if Joe Girardi might give, ‘Mariano,’ (he says it with about seven syllables and never uses a last name) an inning.
So, TBS gets a Yankees-Tiger game 5 and all the executives at Fox will be praying that the Yankees advance.
All four series have had some drama to this point—although I admit there was no way I could stay up for all of Milwaukee-Arizona last night.
I honestly don’t know how to feel about The Tampa Bay Rays. As Tyler Kepner, who writes so well about baseball for The New York Times, pointed out this morning, their seasons are almost always the same: they compete superbly because their front office is so good and because Joe Maddon is such a good manager, and they come up short at some point because they simply don’t spend enough money to get that extra key player—the way the Texas Rangers spent $80 million last winter to get Adrian Beltre.
The Rays have now been in the playoffs three of the last four years—truly remarkable given that they play in the same division as the Yankees and Red Sox, each of whom probably spends more on its postgame clubhouse buffet budget than the Rays spend on players.
What’s sad is to see fewer than 30,000 fans in the ballpark for a postseason game. The Rays drew less than 1.6 million fans this year. The ballpark is absolutely awful and that’s a big part of the problem. The other problem is that there are more Yankee fans living in the Tampa Bay area than Rays fans.
Major League Baseball never should have put a team in Tampa—not without a promise to build a stadium with a retractable roof, the kind the Marlins are getting next year after almost 20 years of playing in a football stadium that’s ALMOST as awful as the dome in St. Petersburg.
And yet, somehow, the Rays, after being truly terrible for 10 years, have made it work the last four years. It’s just a shame almost no one down there cares.
Finally, I have a question for any of you out there who are Red Sox fans: As soon as the last day of the regular season concluded, I was convinced there was a book to be done that would focus strictly on that final day, arguably the most dramatic in regular season baseball history. I thought—think—that if you go back to the eight teams involved in those four deciding games, focusing on the four teams fighting for the playoffs but also including the other four teams and get players, managers, coaches, broadcasters to walk you through that day in detail, you have one hell of a story.
My agent, Esther Newberg, who is one of those Red Sox fans who is STILL mad at Bill Buckner, says the story might be good but no Red Sox fan will buy the book even if you get really good stuff from Theo Epstein, Terry Francona, Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz et al.
I understand that feeling. In 2008 when my book on Tom Glavine and Mike Mussina came out, I got a really nice note during spring training from Gary Cohen, the Mets longtime play-by-play announcer who is a good friend. Gary wrote that he loved the book, in fact thought it was the best one I’d written.
I wrote back, thanked him and asked him if it might be possible to come on for an inning or two one night to talk about the book, the process of writing it, why I chose Glavine and Mussina—typical promo stuff.
Gary’s answer was to the point: “John, I loved the book and you know I’d love to help in any way. But after the way last season ended (Glavine getting shelled for seven runs in 1/3 of an inning with the season on the line on the last day) there’s not a Mets fan alive who wants to hear the name Tom Glavine again anytime soon.”
He was, of course, right.
So, Red Sox fans, is Esther right on this one too?
Friday, June 4, 2010
Galarraga-Joyce saga continues – in aftermath, everyone on target except for Bud Selig
It is remarkable how the Armando Galarraga-Jim Joyce saga has continued to dominate the news in the past 48 hours. Remarkable, actually, in a good way because both men have behaved admirably in the wake of Joyce’s blown call on Wednesday. The story has become one of those that transcends sports. Both The New York Times and The Washington Post had stories on the front page of the newspaper this morning and The Post’s editorial page, which generally is completely unaware that sports exists outside the DC beltway, ran an editorial on the story—although it somehow found a way to tie it all back to how it affects Washington.
In the news business we call that the, “Dwight D. Eisenhower, who once flew over Trenton….was elected President last night,” approach to journalism.
Anyway, back to Galarraga and Joyce—and Bud Selig who has now become a major part of the ongoing saga.
The feel good part of this story is the way all of those directly involved have handled it. Joyce not only admitted he had gotten the call wrong once he saw it on replay, he sought out Galarraga to tell him how sorry he was about it. Galarraga accepted the apology and went out of his way to talk about how classy it was of Joyce to come and find him.
On Thursday, the Tigers and Indians wrapped up their series in Detroit with a 1 o’clock game. With Joyce scheduled to work the plate, there was all sorts of potential for disaster and trouble. When Don Denkinger worked the plate in game 7 of the 1985 World Series after his game 6 gaffe at first base, he ended up tossing both Whitey Herzog and Juaquin Andujar. That game was played in Kansas City, not St. Louis. God only knows what would have happened if the Cardinals had been the home team that night.
As has often been the case throughout his career, Tigers manager Jim Leyland did the exact right thing: He sent Galarraga to the plate with the Tigers lineup card. As soon as Galarraga walked up to Joyce and shook his hand, the fans who had been booing the umpires when they walked onto the field stopped. Many stood to applaud Galarraga. Joyce gave him a pat on the back as the meeting broke up and then turned into the Tigers dugout and pointed at Leyland to say, ‘thank-you.’
It was one of those cool sports moments where everyone gets it right. The Tigers won a 12-6 slugfest and there wasn’t any sign of trouble in Comerica Park throughout the afternoon. Kudos to all—including the Detroit fans.
Meanwhile, Selig was doing his best/worst imitation of Hamlet. He had an almost unique opportunity to right a wrong and send everyone home happy and he flat out blew it. All he had to do was say this: “After looking at the replay over and over; after hearing what Jim Joyce and Jason Donald (the Indians baserunner on the blown call) had to say and given the unique circumstances: the game was over if the call was made correctly AND by overruling it I am not changing the result in any way at all—it was 3-0 Tigers when the call was made and the final score was 3-0 Tigers with no further baserunners—I’m invoking my ‘best interests of the game,’ powers to reverse the call. Jason Donald was out. Armando Galarraga pitched a perfect game.”
There is NO reasonable argument against this. To those who say Selig is setting a dangerous precedent I say this: fine. Let him declare that at any time in the future if a pitcher gets the first 26 outs of a game and then fails to get the 27th on a clearly blown call by an umpire who instantly says he blew the call, he will do the same thing. There’s your precedent. Now let’s sit back and wait for it to happen again.
Last night, Ken Burns, the noted baseball historian was on Keith Olbermann’s show. He started going on about ‘unraveling the sweater,’ by reversing this call. He brought up Bucky Dent’s home run, asking if it should be taken away because Dent may have used a corked bat. He mentioned the Giants stealing signs prior to the Bobby Thomson home run and Mark McGwire’s steroid induced home runs.
Oh please. Those are ridiculous analogies. For one thing, they involve cheating, not an out-and-out honest mistake that has been confessed to by the person who made the mistake. Second, a million different things could have happened—we’ll never know—if there was no corked bat (maybe Dent doubles; maybe the game is played differently if the Yankees aren’t ahead after Dent’s at bat, WE DON’T KNOW); same thing with Bobby Thomson or any other example like that baseball people might want to bring up.
Here, we know. There are no ‘what-ifs,’ involved. If Joyce makes the right call, the game is over. Even in the case of Denkinger, the Cardinals still had chances to win the game—all Denkinger did was give the Royals a baserunner leading off the ninth. It was a horrible mistake but there is no way you could go back and correct it once the game was over.
This can be corrected. Put simply, it is the right thing to do. Selig already changed the rules on postseason rainouts in the middle of a World Series, so why not do this? It would be the right thing for Galarraga certainly; it would save Joyce, a good umpire and a good man, a lifetime of carrying the label of blowing this call and it would be—wait for it—RIGHT FOR BASEBALL. If Ken Burns or some of the so-called ‘purists,’ want to get into a dither over it, let them. Most people who love the game would be happy that justice was done and there’s no harm done to anyone in the process. As I said, the next time something EXACTLY like this happens, let the commissioner do the same thing. My guess is Bob Costas’s great grandson will be commissioner by the time this exact circumstance comes up again.
Selig was absolutely babbling yesterday when he went on about how great everyone in the game was; how proud he was of Galarraga and Joyce and everyone else who has ever set foot on a baseball field. Remember, I’m not a Bud-basher. I like the guy and I think he’s done a lot of things right as commissioner. This time though the Selig-gyrations need to just stop and he needs to just do the right thing if only to get the governor of Michigan to stop issuing proclamations.
Here’s the scorecard right now: Galarraga—perfect. Leyland—perfect. Joyce—trying desperately to do anything possible to make up for his mistake. Tiger fans—fabulous. The leader of the sport?—hiding under a rock. Come on Bud, crawl out from under there and get this one right. Everyone else involved has brought honor to the game since Wednesday. Now it's your turn.
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John's new book: "Moment of Glory--The Year Underdogs Ruled The Majors,"--is now available online and in bookstores nationwide. Visit your favorite retailer, or click here for online purchases
To listen to 'The Bob and Tom Show' interview about 'Moment of Glory', please click the play button below:
In the news business we call that the, “Dwight D. Eisenhower, who once flew over Trenton….was elected President last night,” approach to journalism.
Anyway, back to Galarraga and Joyce—and Bud Selig who has now become a major part of the ongoing saga.
The feel good part of this story is the way all of those directly involved have handled it. Joyce not only admitted he had gotten the call wrong once he saw it on replay, he sought out Galarraga to tell him how sorry he was about it. Galarraga accepted the apology and went out of his way to talk about how classy it was of Joyce to come and find him.
On Thursday, the Tigers and Indians wrapped up their series in Detroit with a 1 o’clock game. With Joyce scheduled to work the plate, there was all sorts of potential for disaster and trouble. When Don Denkinger worked the plate in game 7 of the 1985 World Series after his game 6 gaffe at first base, he ended up tossing both Whitey Herzog and Juaquin Andujar. That game was played in Kansas City, not St. Louis. God only knows what would have happened if the Cardinals had been the home team that night.
As has often been the case throughout his career, Tigers manager Jim Leyland did the exact right thing: He sent Galarraga to the plate with the Tigers lineup card. As soon as Galarraga walked up to Joyce and shook his hand, the fans who had been booing the umpires when they walked onto the field stopped. Many stood to applaud Galarraga. Joyce gave him a pat on the back as the meeting broke up and then turned into the Tigers dugout and pointed at Leyland to say, ‘thank-you.’
It was one of those cool sports moments where everyone gets it right. The Tigers won a 12-6 slugfest and there wasn’t any sign of trouble in Comerica Park throughout the afternoon. Kudos to all—including the Detroit fans.
Meanwhile, Selig was doing his best/worst imitation of Hamlet. He had an almost unique opportunity to right a wrong and send everyone home happy and he flat out blew it. All he had to do was say this: “After looking at the replay over and over; after hearing what Jim Joyce and Jason Donald (the Indians baserunner on the blown call) had to say and given the unique circumstances: the game was over if the call was made correctly AND by overruling it I am not changing the result in any way at all—it was 3-0 Tigers when the call was made and the final score was 3-0 Tigers with no further baserunners—I’m invoking my ‘best interests of the game,’ powers to reverse the call. Jason Donald was out. Armando Galarraga pitched a perfect game.”
There is NO reasonable argument against this. To those who say Selig is setting a dangerous precedent I say this: fine. Let him declare that at any time in the future if a pitcher gets the first 26 outs of a game and then fails to get the 27th on a clearly blown call by an umpire who instantly says he blew the call, he will do the same thing. There’s your precedent. Now let’s sit back and wait for it to happen again.
Last night, Ken Burns, the noted baseball historian was on Keith Olbermann’s show. He started going on about ‘unraveling the sweater,’ by reversing this call. He brought up Bucky Dent’s home run, asking if it should be taken away because Dent may have used a corked bat. He mentioned the Giants stealing signs prior to the Bobby Thomson home run and Mark McGwire’s steroid induced home runs.
Oh please. Those are ridiculous analogies. For one thing, they involve cheating, not an out-and-out honest mistake that has been confessed to by the person who made the mistake. Second, a million different things could have happened—we’ll never know—if there was no corked bat (maybe Dent doubles; maybe the game is played differently if the Yankees aren’t ahead after Dent’s at bat, WE DON’T KNOW); same thing with Bobby Thomson or any other example like that baseball people might want to bring up.
Here, we know. There are no ‘what-ifs,’ involved. If Joyce makes the right call, the game is over. Even in the case of Denkinger, the Cardinals still had chances to win the game—all Denkinger did was give the Royals a baserunner leading off the ninth. It was a horrible mistake but there is no way you could go back and correct it once the game was over.
This can be corrected. Put simply, it is the right thing to do. Selig already changed the rules on postseason rainouts in the middle of a World Series, so why not do this? It would be the right thing for Galarraga certainly; it would save Joyce, a good umpire and a good man, a lifetime of carrying the label of blowing this call and it would be—wait for it—RIGHT FOR BASEBALL. If Ken Burns or some of the so-called ‘purists,’ want to get into a dither over it, let them. Most people who love the game would be happy that justice was done and there’s no harm done to anyone in the process. As I said, the next time something EXACTLY like this happens, let the commissioner do the same thing. My guess is Bob Costas’s great grandson will be commissioner by the time this exact circumstance comes up again.
Selig was absolutely babbling yesterday when he went on about how great everyone in the game was; how proud he was of Galarraga and Joyce and everyone else who has ever set foot on a baseball field. Remember, I’m not a Bud-basher. I like the guy and I think he’s done a lot of things right as commissioner. This time though the Selig-gyrations need to just stop and he needs to just do the right thing if only to get the governor of Michigan to stop issuing proclamations.
Here’s the scorecard right now: Galarraga—perfect. Leyland—perfect. Joyce—trying desperately to do anything possible to make up for his mistake. Tiger fans—fabulous. The leader of the sport?—hiding under a rock. Come on Bud, crawl out from under there and get this one right. Everyone else involved has brought honor to the game since Wednesday. Now it's your turn.
--------------------------------------
John's new book: "Moment of Glory--The Year Underdogs Ruled The Majors,"--is now available online and in bookstores nationwide. Visit your favorite retailer, or click here for online purchases
To listen to 'The Bob and Tom Show' interview about 'Moment of Glory', please click the play button below:
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Last night’s imperfect game, renewed calls for expanded replay; Remarkable day in sports overshadowed
It is hard to know where to begin in discussing what will be known forever as Armando Galarraga’s imperfect game. Or maybe it will be known as Jim Joyce’s imperfect game because it was the umpire who broke up Galarraga’s perfect effort not the pitcher or a Cleveland Indians hitter.
By now everyone has seen the replay. Last night, in Comerica Park, Galarraga, who didn’t even begin the season in The Major Leagues after an injury-plagued 2009, retired the first 26 Indians. He got the first out of the ninth inning on an extraordinary running catch in centerfield by Austin Jackson on a long fly ball by Mark Grudzielanek. Jackson had his back to the plate on a play that looked a little bit like Willie Mays’s catch on Vic Wertz in the 1954 World Series, the difference being there was no one on base for Jackson to turn around and double up.
But it was against the Indians and it certainly seemed that fate and history were riding with Galarraga at that moment. (It was also a reminder that the Yankees may long regret trading Jackson). Galarraga got the second out easily and up to the plate came shortstop Jason Donald. He hit a grounder wide of first that Miguel Cabrera ranged right to field. Cabrera fed Galarraga and there it was, the 21st perfect game in history—the third (remarkably) this season.
Except that Joyce blew the call. Just flat out missed what was a routine call for a Major League umpire, especially a respected 22-year-veteran. You could see him start up with his arm for an instant, then change his mind and give the safe signal. Why he did that, what he thought he saw at that moment, is a question that will haunt him for a long, long time.
To his credit, Joyce didn’t try to duck and cover when the game was over—as many umpires and officials do after they blow a call. He made no excuses. “I just cost that kid a perfect game,” he said. “I thought he beat the throw. I was convinced he beat the throw until I saw the replay. It was the biggest call of my career.”
Sadly, it was. Joyce can get every call right for the rest of his life and he’s never going to get past this. Don Denkinger certainly never got past his horribly blown call at first base in the 1985 World Series. That call came in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 6 with the Cardinals leading 1-0. Jorge Orta led off for the Royals and hit a ground ball wide of first (sound familiar?) that Jack Clark fielded and fed to pitcher Todd Worrell. Denkinger called Orta safe when he was clearly out. From there, the Royals built a two-run rally, aided by a passed ball and pinch-hitter Dane Iorg’s two run single, to win 2-1. They then won game 7 in a rout, 11-0.
As badly as Denkinger blew the call, the Cardinals still had chances to win, just as the Red Sox had a game seven (and led 3-0 in the sixth inning) in the 1986 World Series after Bill Buckner booted Mookie Wilson’s grounder to end game six. What’s more, the Mets had already tied the score when Buckner made his error so even if he had made the play, the game would not have been over.
This was game over. No ifs ands or buts. Joyce denied Galarraga a perfect game and there’s nothing that can be done to change that. Like Joyce, Denkinger had a distinguished career as an umpire—he worked in the big leagues for 30 years and was assigned to four World Series and multiple All-Star games and League Championship Series before and after, ‘The Call,’—but his legacy is that call. The same will be true of Joyce although one can only hope he won’t receive death threats the way Denkinger did. His willingness to admit his mistake instantly should help him. He even went so far as to ask to speak to Galarraga to personally apologize to him and was reportedly near tears talking about what had happened. Galarraga said after the game that he forgave him. If Galarraga forgives him, the rest of the world should too.
Of course the blown call will again raise questions about both umpiring and instant replay. Put simply, umpiring needs to be better. There are too many blown calls and too many hot heads umpiring games. When an umpire goes off, the way Joe West did a week ago on Mark Buehrle; the way Bill Hohn did recently on Roy Oswalt; HE should be subject to public discipline just as the player might be. Bad umpires should be demoted and/or fired the same way bad players are demoted and/or fired. Good ones should be given raises.
Replay is a far more controversial topic. No one wants to see baseball games take any longer than they already take. (The game in Detroit last night lasted one hour and 44 minutes, proving that with good pitching and batters standing in the box and hitting, games don’t have to take forever). But there is a way to allow replay for calls like this one without any major delays.
First, take replay out of the umpiring crew’s hands. Under the current rule, if there is a home run call in question, the four umpires all go back to their locker room, call up the replay, discuss it and then come out and announce the call. That’s not the way to do it.
The way to do it is to have a fifth umpire in a replay booth—just like in football—who has the authority if he sees a call that looks WRONG—not questionable, WRONG—to contact the home plate umpire and say, ‘give me a minute to look at this.’ Obviously balls-and-strikes would never be involved in replay. In fact, there should only be three circumstances when replay could be invoked: home runs, out/safe; catch or no catch. It would be nice to add fair/foul to that list but once an umpire calls a ball foul, you can’t go back and restart the play.
If a play is bang-bang or too close to call in any way, the call stands. If the press box ump looks at all angles and can’t tell right away a mistake was made, the call on the field stands. There should never be a delay of more than two minutes. Last night it would not have taken that long for the call to be corrected.
If a call is clearly wrong—as with Joyce last night—the fifth umpire lets the plate umpire know. How much do you think Jim Joyce wishes that system was in place last night? Ninety-nine percent of the officials I’ve met in sports through the years are good guys who want to get it right. I have no doubt that Joyce falls into that category.
All of us make mistakes in our jobs. The number of times I’ve been bailed out by editors is uncountable. Other times, I haven’t been bailed out and had to correct a mistake—including one in which I identified the wrong umpire on a blown call in the 1992 World Series. I felt pretty sick about that one. The only saving grace was that there was another printing to get it right.
Umpires don’t get another printing and they don’t have editors. But they CAN have some backup in the press box. Major League Baseball put in replay in midseason a couple of years ago, it can expand it and improve it in midseason now. It won’t give Armando Galarraga his perfect game back or keep Jim Joyce out of baseball history, but in all likelihood it will make the game better—for players, for umpires and for fans.
*****
The imperfect game overshadowed a remarkable day in sports: Ken Griffey Jr. retired after a remarkable career that should be given its due on another day; Serena Williams lost at The French Open and gave no credit to her opponent (surprise) and The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 in overtime to close the gap to 2-1 in The Stanley Cup Finals. Oh, in case you’ve forgotten, the NBA Finals start tonight after a FIVE-day layoff. I’m not sure which will end first, The NBA Finals or The World Cup.
--------------------------------------
John's new book: "Moment of Glory--The Year Underdogs Ruled The Majors,"--is now available online and in bookstores nationwide. Visit your favorite retailer, or click here for online purchases
To listen to 'The Bob and Tom Show' interview about 'Moment of Glory', please click the play button below:
By now everyone has seen the replay. Last night, in Comerica Park, Galarraga, who didn’t even begin the season in The Major Leagues after an injury-plagued 2009, retired the first 26 Indians. He got the first out of the ninth inning on an extraordinary running catch in centerfield by Austin Jackson on a long fly ball by Mark Grudzielanek. Jackson had his back to the plate on a play that looked a little bit like Willie Mays’s catch on Vic Wertz in the 1954 World Series, the difference being there was no one on base for Jackson to turn around and double up.
But it was against the Indians and it certainly seemed that fate and history were riding with Galarraga at that moment. (It was also a reminder that the Yankees may long regret trading Jackson). Galarraga got the second out easily and up to the plate came shortstop Jason Donald. He hit a grounder wide of first that Miguel Cabrera ranged right to field. Cabrera fed Galarraga and there it was, the 21st perfect game in history—the third (remarkably) this season.
Except that Joyce blew the call. Just flat out missed what was a routine call for a Major League umpire, especially a respected 22-year-veteran. You could see him start up with his arm for an instant, then change his mind and give the safe signal. Why he did that, what he thought he saw at that moment, is a question that will haunt him for a long, long time.
To his credit, Joyce didn’t try to duck and cover when the game was over—as many umpires and officials do after they blow a call. He made no excuses. “I just cost that kid a perfect game,” he said. “I thought he beat the throw. I was convinced he beat the throw until I saw the replay. It was the biggest call of my career.”
Sadly, it was. Joyce can get every call right for the rest of his life and he’s never going to get past this. Don Denkinger certainly never got past his horribly blown call at first base in the 1985 World Series. That call came in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 6 with the Cardinals leading 1-0. Jorge Orta led off for the Royals and hit a ground ball wide of first (sound familiar?) that Jack Clark fielded and fed to pitcher Todd Worrell. Denkinger called Orta safe when he was clearly out. From there, the Royals built a two-run rally, aided by a passed ball and pinch-hitter Dane Iorg’s two run single, to win 2-1. They then won game 7 in a rout, 11-0.
As badly as Denkinger blew the call, the Cardinals still had chances to win, just as the Red Sox had a game seven (and led 3-0 in the sixth inning) in the 1986 World Series after Bill Buckner booted Mookie Wilson’s grounder to end game six. What’s more, the Mets had already tied the score when Buckner made his error so even if he had made the play, the game would not have been over.
This was game over. No ifs ands or buts. Joyce denied Galarraga a perfect game and there’s nothing that can be done to change that. Like Joyce, Denkinger had a distinguished career as an umpire—he worked in the big leagues for 30 years and was assigned to four World Series and multiple All-Star games and League Championship Series before and after, ‘The Call,’—but his legacy is that call. The same will be true of Joyce although one can only hope he won’t receive death threats the way Denkinger did. His willingness to admit his mistake instantly should help him. He even went so far as to ask to speak to Galarraga to personally apologize to him and was reportedly near tears talking about what had happened. Galarraga said after the game that he forgave him. If Galarraga forgives him, the rest of the world should too.
Of course the blown call will again raise questions about both umpiring and instant replay. Put simply, umpiring needs to be better. There are too many blown calls and too many hot heads umpiring games. When an umpire goes off, the way Joe West did a week ago on Mark Buehrle; the way Bill Hohn did recently on Roy Oswalt; HE should be subject to public discipline just as the player might be. Bad umpires should be demoted and/or fired the same way bad players are demoted and/or fired. Good ones should be given raises.
Replay is a far more controversial topic. No one wants to see baseball games take any longer than they already take. (The game in Detroit last night lasted one hour and 44 minutes, proving that with good pitching and batters standing in the box and hitting, games don’t have to take forever). But there is a way to allow replay for calls like this one without any major delays.
First, take replay out of the umpiring crew’s hands. Under the current rule, if there is a home run call in question, the four umpires all go back to their locker room, call up the replay, discuss it and then come out and announce the call. That’s not the way to do it.
The way to do it is to have a fifth umpire in a replay booth—just like in football—who has the authority if he sees a call that looks WRONG—not questionable, WRONG—to contact the home plate umpire and say, ‘give me a minute to look at this.’ Obviously balls-and-strikes would never be involved in replay. In fact, there should only be three circumstances when replay could be invoked: home runs, out/safe; catch or no catch. It would be nice to add fair/foul to that list but once an umpire calls a ball foul, you can’t go back and restart the play.
If a play is bang-bang or too close to call in any way, the call stands. If the press box ump looks at all angles and can’t tell right away a mistake was made, the call on the field stands. There should never be a delay of more than two minutes. Last night it would not have taken that long for the call to be corrected.
If a call is clearly wrong—as with Joyce last night—the fifth umpire lets the plate umpire know. How much do you think Jim Joyce wishes that system was in place last night? Ninety-nine percent of the officials I’ve met in sports through the years are good guys who want to get it right. I have no doubt that Joyce falls into that category.
All of us make mistakes in our jobs. The number of times I’ve been bailed out by editors is uncountable. Other times, I haven’t been bailed out and had to correct a mistake—including one in which I identified the wrong umpire on a blown call in the 1992 World Series. I felt pretty sick about that one. The only saving grace was that there was another printing to get it right.
Umpires don’t get another printing and they don’t have editors. But they CAN have some backup in the press box. Major League Baseball put in replay in midseason a couple of years ago, it can expand it and improve it in midseason now. It won’t give Armando Galarraga his perfect game back or keep Jim Joyce out of baseball history, but in all likelihood it will make the game better—for players, for umpires and for fans.
*****
The imperfect game overshadowed a remarkable day in sports: Ken Griffey Jr. retired after a remarkable career that should be given its due on another day; Serena Williams lost at The French Open and gave no credit to her opponent (surprise) and The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 in overtime to close the gap to 2-1 in The Stanley Cup Finals. Oh, in case you’ve forgotten, the NBA Finals start tonight after a FIVE-day layoff. I’m not sure which will end first, The NBA Finals or The World Cup.
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John's new book: "Moment of Glory--The Year Underdogs Ruled The Majors,"--is now available online and in bookstores nationwide. Visit your favorite retailer, or click here for online purchases
To listen to 'The Bob and Tom Show' interview about 'Moment of Glory', please click the play button below:
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Ernie Harwell was everything you wanted someone you’d admired from afar to be: warm and funny and patient
Ernie Harwell’s death on Tuesday did not come as a shock. He had announced in the fall that he had inoperable cancer and had been told that he didn’t have very long to live. He was 92 and to say that he lived what he would no doubt call a blessed life is a vast understatement.
That doesn’t make his passing any less sad, just not shocking. Ernie was one of those rare people who fit this description: He’s as good as it gets at what he does—but a far better person.
Ernie was one of those voices that came out of my radio at night on occasion when I was a boy. I couldn’t pick up WJR coming out of Detroit on my transistor as regularly as I could pick up WTIC in Hartford (Ken Coleman and Ned Martin doing the Red Sox) or WBAL in Baltimore (Chuck Thompson and Bill O’Donnell on the Orioles) or WWWE in Cleveland (Joe Tait—I think—and Herb Score—I know—on the Indians) but on clear nights it was there along with KMOX in St. Louis (Jack Buck and Harry Caray in those days) and WJR with Ernie.
There wasn’t an announcer in that group—along with my beloved Mets trio of Bob Murphy, Lindsey Nelson and Ralph Kiner, who all did radio and TV in the team’s early days—that I didn’t love hearing. Thompson was an absolute joy and, even though I heard less of him, so was Ernie, with that lilting southern accent that at first sounded out of place coming out of Detroit. Only after I got older did I realize that his voice WAS Detroit.
When I got older and got the chance to meet most of the men I just mentioned, it was about as thrilling as meeting any of the athletes. These guys had been a part of my life in some way since boyhood. I still vividly remember a night when I was in college when I had managed to get myself credentialed to a Yankees-Orioles series in Memorial Stadium. I had convinced the sports editor at The Durham Morning Herald (the paper’s name then) to let me do a feature on Catfish Hunter, who was from North Carolina and lived there in the offseason.
After I had talked to Hunter in the clubhouse, I went up to the old media dining room in the back of the press box. It was dark and cramped (the crab cakes on the other hand were fabulous) and just being there was an adrenaline jolt. I got my food—free in those days, no small thing for a college kid—and sat alone in a booth in the corner. All of a sudden, Chuck Thompson walked up with his food and said, “mind if I join you young man?”
Are you kidding?
When I introduced myself, Chuck began peppering me with questions: what year was I in college; was this what I wanted to do; who else had I done work for; had Hunter been cooperative? If his interest wasn’t genuine, he did a great job of covering it up. Later, when I got to know him, I learned that was the way he was every day. Two years later, when I was in Memorial Stadium again to cover a game, but this time as a Washington Post summer intern, I proudly told him what I was doing there.
“That’s great John,” he said, clapping me on the back. “I’m proud of you.”
THAT was a memorable moment for me.
It wasn’t until years later that I got to know Ernie. I met him on several occasions when the Tigers were in Baltimore, but didn’t spend time with him until I was doing my first baseball book, “Play Ball,” in 1992. That was the year that Tigers management, in one of the boneheaded moves ever made, had decided to ‘retire,’ Ernie (and his longtime partner Paul Carey) who had absolutely no interest in retiring. I was actually in a little bit of an awkward spot because one of the men hired to replace Harwell and Carey was Bob Rathbun, a good friend who had been doing ACC basketball on TV for a number of years.
Rathbun and Rick Rizzs, who came in from Seattle to work with Bob, were in an impossible position: replacing a legend—Ernie had been in Detroit since 1961—is impossible at best but doing so when everyone knows the legend didn’t want to leave is beyond impossible. Fortunately for everyone, Mike Ilitch bought the team during the 1992 season and restored Ernie to the booth in 1993. Rizzs returned to Seattle, where he still works and Rathbun went to Atlanta where he has very successfully worked Braves and Hawks telecasts.
The first time I visited Ernie during the ’92 season was in his hotel in Baltimore. He was doing the CBS game of the week on radio. I told him what a fan of his I had always been but also about my friendship with Rathbun. “Those guys aren’t at fault in any way,” he said. “They didn’t make the decision to fire me and someone was going to sit behind the microphone. I actually feel badly for them because a lot of people are angry at them when they haven’t done anything wrong.”
Like Chuck Thompson, Ernie was everything you wanted someone you’d admired from afar to be: he was warm and funny and patient. Every time I was at a game he was working for the next ten years, I made a point to try to spend some time with him. As anyone who has ever listened to him on the radio knows, he was a great storyteller. When he decided to retire in 2002, I was surprised. Sure, he was 84, but he seemed to me to be as good as he’d ever been. He insisted that he wasn’t, that his vision wasn’t close to what it had been and he got tired far more easily than his younger days. Certainly understandable.
Every once in a while he would do a game here and there or an inning or two for someone and, when he did, he sounded as great as he’d ever sounded. Even when he was honored last fall by the Lions after announcing that he was dying of cancer, his voice sounded like, well, Ernie Harwell.
No doubt others who knew him better and longer than I did will spend a lot of time in the next few days and weeks tell stories about him. He hasn’t done Tigers games since 2003 and the days when the team was on WJR are long gone.
For some reason, I have always remembered certain moments when baseball on the radio has made me feel good about life. Some of those moments are attached to memorable games, some are not. In 1991, I had just finished covering the Duke-St. John’s Midwest regional final in the old Pontiac Silverdome and was en route to the airport. (These days I would have been en route home in the car). It was—surprise—cold in Detroit in late March. I flipped on the radio and there was Ernie, giving the starting lineups for a Sunday night exhibition game in Lakeland. The Tigers were playing the Twins.
I got to listen to two-and-a-half innings before I got to the airport. I could almost feel the warmth of Florida and of Ernie coming through the car radio. Whenever I think of Ernie, I think of those two-and-a-half innings. And every time, without fail, it puts a smile on my face.
That doesn’t make his passing any less sad, just not shocking. Ernie was one of those rare people who fit this description: He’s as good as it gets at what he does—but a far better person.
Ernie was one of those voices that came out of my radio at night on occasion when I was a boy. I couldn’t pick up WJR coming out of Detroit on my transistor as regularly as I could pick up WTIC in Hartford (Ken Coleman and Ned Martin doing the Red Sox) or WBAL in Baltimore (Chuck Thompson and Bill O’Donnell on the Orioles) or WWWE in Cleveland (Joe Tait—I think—and Herb Score—I know—on the Indians) but on clear nights it was there along with KMOX in St. Louis (Jack Buck and Harry Caray in those days) and WJR with Ernie.
There wasn’t an announcer in that group—along with my beloved Mets trio of Bob Murphy, Lindsey Nelson and Ralph Kiner, who all did radio and TV in the team’s early days—that I didn’t love hearing. Thompson was an absolute joy and, even though I heard less of him, so was Ernie, with that lilting southern accent that at first sounded out of place coming out of Detroit. Only after I got older did I realize that his voice WAS Detroit.
When I got older and got the chance to meet most of the men I just mentioned, it was about as thrilling as meeting any of the athletes. These guys had been a part of my life in some way since boyhood. I still vividly remember a night when I was in college when I had managed to get myself credentialed to a Yankees-Orioles series in Memorial Stadium. I had convinced the sports editor at The Durham Morning Herald (the paper’s name then) to let me do a feature on Catfish Hunter, who was from North Carolina and lived there in the offseason.
After I had talked to Hunter in the clubhouse, I went up to the old media dining room in the back of the press box. It was dark and cramped (the crab cakes on the other hand were fabulous) and just being there was an adrenaline jolt. I got my food—free in those days, no small thing for a college kid—and sat alone in a booth in the corner. All of a sudden, Chuck Thompson walked up with his food and said, “mind if I join you young man?”
Are you kidding?
When I introduced myself, Chuck began peppering me with questions: what year was I in college; was this what I wanted to do; who else had I done work for; had Hunter been cooperative? If his interest wasn’t genuine, he did a great job of covering it up. Later, when I got to know him, I learned that was the way he was every day. Two years later, when I was in Memorial Stadium again to cover a game, but this time as a Washington Post summer intern, I proudly told him what I was doing there.
“That’s great John,” he said, clapping me on the back. “I’m proud of you.”
THAT was a memorable moment for me.
It wasn’t until years later that I got to know Ernie. I met him on several occasions when the Tigers were in Baltimore, but didn’t spend time with him until I was doing my first baseball book, “Play Ball,” in 1992. That was the year that Tigers management, in one of the boneheaded moves ever made, had decided to ‘retire,’ Ernie (and his longtime partner Paul Carey) who had absolutely no interest in retiring. I was actually in a little bit of an awkward spot because one of the men hired to replace Harwell and Carey was Bob Rathbun, a good friend who had been doing ACC basketball on TV for a number of years.
Rathbun and Rick Rizzs, who came in from Seattle to work with Bob, were in an impossible position: replacing a legend—Ernie had been in Detroit since 1961—is impossible at best but doing so when everyone knows the legend didn’t want to leave is beyond impossible. Fortunately for everyone, Mike Ilitch bought the team during the 1992 season and restored Ernie to the booth in 1993. Rizzs returned to Seattle, where he still works and Rathbun went to Atlanta where he has very successfully worked Braves and Hawks telecasts.
The first time I visited Ernie during the ’92 season was in his hotel in Baltimore. He was doing the CBS game of the week on radio. I told him what a fan of his I had always been but also about my friendship with Rathbun. “Those guys aren’t at fault in any way,” he said. “They didn’t make the decision to fire me and someone was going to sit behind the microphone. I actually feel badly for them because a lot of people are angry at them when they haven’t done anything wrong.”
Like Chuck Thompson, Ernie was everything you wanted someone you’d admired from afar to be: he was warm and funny and patient. Every time I was at a game he was working for the next ten years, I made a point to try to spend some time with him. As anyone who has ever listened to him on the radio knows, he was a great storyteller. When he decided to retire in 2002, I was surprised. Sure, he was 84, but he seemed to me to be as good as he’d ever been. He insisted that he wasn’t, that his vision wasn’t close to what it had been and he got tired far more easily than his younger days. Certainly understandable.
Every once in a while he would do a game here and there or an inning or two for someone and, when he did, he sounded as great as he’d ever sounded. Even when he was honored last fall by the Lions after announcing that he was dying of cancer, his voice sounded like, well, Ernie Harwell.
No doubt others who knew him better and longer than I did will spend a lot of time in the next few days and weeks tell stories about him. He hasn’t done Tigers games since 2003 and the days when the team was on WJR are long gone.
For some reason, I have always remembered certain moments when baseball on the radio has made me feel good about life. Some of those moments are attached to memorable games, some are not. In 1991, I had just finished covering the Duke-St. John’s Midwest regional final in the old Pontiac Silverdome and was en route to the airport. (These days I would have been en route home in the car). It was—surprise—cold in Detroit in late March. I flipped on the radio and there was Ernie, giving the starting lineups for a Sunday night exhibition game in Lakeland. The Tigers were playing the Twins.
I got to listen to two-and-a-half innings before I got to the airport. I could almost feel the warmth of Florida and of Ernie coming through the car radio. Whenever I think of Ernie, I think of those two-and-a-half innings. And every time, without fail, it puts a smile on my face.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
The Baseball Playoffs, and One of the Most Dramatic Things in Sports
With all the hype--to put it mildly--that surrounded the Vikings-Packers game on Monday night in Minneapolis, I don't think it even qualifies as the most exciting event being played in that building this week. You can talk all you want about Brett Favre getting revenge against the Packers with the win and God-knows ESPN acted as if it was three Super Bowls--at least--being played on one night but here's what it actually was: a regular season NFL game. Period.
The game being played in The Metrodome this afternoon is one of the rarest and most dramatic things in sports: a one game playoff to decide a spot in the postseason. Baseball is the only sport in which this can happen. In football, basketball and hockey there are tiebreakers that decide who makes the playoffs and who doesn't. In college basketball there's a committee that chooses the teams and in Division 1-A college football there's, well, no playoff.
In baseball, if you are in the same division and you finish with the same record you play one game. It can also happen if there's a tie for the wild card. In the old days, before division play, if two teams tied for a pennant they played off two-out-of-three for a spot in The World Series. That produced some pretty dramatic moments including Bobby Thompson's home run in 1951. Unless my memory is bad--which it often is--the first one game playoff after divisional play began in 1969 was in Fenway Park in 1978. That game is remembered quite simply as, "The Bucky Bleeping Dent game."
Enough said.
Of course every playoff game in football is a one game winner advances, loser goes home affair. Hockey, basketball and baseball have game seven (or in division series game 5) in which one team moves on and the other starts waiting till next year. And of course game seven of a Stanley Cup Final, NBA Final or The World Series is almost always memorable.
But what will happen in The Metrodome today is unique. No other sport has it and, even though it has now happened in the American League Central two years in a row, it doesn't happen very often. Last year the Twins lost in Chicago to the White Sox after rallying down the stretch to catch them. This year, after somehow catching the Tigers from seven games back in early September WITHOUT past MVP Justin Morneau, they get to host the one game playoff. The football game is the reason it is being played today rather than yesterday and the winner will have to fly straight to New York and almost surely begin postseason on Wednesday evening. (Technically, the Yankees could opt to start the series on Thursday but no one expects them to. Why give the opposition an extra day to rest when your pitching is lined up?).
The reason there's nothing in sports that compares to this is simple: These two teams began spring training in mid-February, almost eight months ago. They played almost 30 exhibition games and then 162 games that mattered. And now they play one game for the right to at least raise some kind of banner next April. If you are "AL Central Division champions 2009," you raise a banner regardless of what happens in postseason. If you are, "Guys who lost a playoff for the AL Central Division 2009," that doesn't rate a banner.
What's more, unless you are the Yankees, making the playoffs has meaning in baseball. Only eight of 30 teams make it as opposed to 12 of 32 in football; 16 of 30 hockey and 16 of 30 in basketball. No team has ever made the playoffs, even with the advent of the wild card, with a .500 or sub-.500 record. It is a not infrequent occurrence in the other sports.
It's very difficult to decide who to root for in this game. On the one hand, the Tigers are carrying the hopes and fears of a city that has been under huge duress for the last year and beyond. Detroit and the state of Michigan got a boost when Michigan State made its run to the NCAA national championship game in April but the Spartans were hammered by North Carolina in the final. People there almost counted on having the Detroit Red Wings win another Stanley Cup in June but the Pittsburgh Penguins went into hallowed Joe Louis Arena and won game seven of the finals. At least the Lions finally won a game.
Now though, the Tigers having led the division all season, face a one game showdown with a kid pitcher on the mound to try to make postseason for the second time in four years. The Tigers haven't won a division title since 1987 or a World Series since 1984. To be caught and passed by the Twins would be painful for everyone.
On the other hand it is impossible not to admire the Twins. Year after year they go out with one of baseball's lower payrolls and put a solid team on the field. In Joe Mauer they have the game’s next true superstar--and probably this year's MVP--a catcher who has already won three batting titles. They have a hugely underrated manager in Ron Gardenhire who has already coaxed his team into the playoffs four times plus two one-game playoffs last year and this year.
Every year, as I said, they find a way to contend. It will be one of those games where I'll feel good for the winners, awful for the losers. Those are usually the best games.
Of course once postseason begins on Wednesday, the Yankees, with their 103 wins and $200 million payroll will be the favorites. The Twins or Tigers, with their rotations in tatters will have a tough time against them, no doubt. But the Yankees have had serious trouble with two teams the last five years: The Angels and Red Sox. The Angels always seem to beat them and have beaten them twice in postseason since New York's epic collapse in 2004 against Boston. In fact, the Yankees haven't won a postseason SERIES since then while the Red Sox, who once stood for October futility have won two World Series and came within a game of being back there last year. Either will be a tough out for the Yankees because of those recent memories.
In the National League, the Phillies have the experience of having won last year but little confidence in their bullpen--which was a rock last year. The Dodgers have Joe Torre and the Rockies have been the hottest team. The Cardinals have the best one-two punch at the top of the rotation with Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright. It is tough not to like their chances.
Of course postseason baseball is entirely unpredictable because the series are short and some teams that are built for 162 games are not so well built for best-of-seven. (See Yankees, New York the last six years). I will enjoy the division series the most because of the variety of games and because a lot of them start at reasonable hours on the east coast. And I will pray that it snows on the November World Series because that's what Major League Baseball deserves for such ridiculous scheduling. Anyone out there remember who won The World Baseball Classic--which is the reason the schedule was pushed back a week back in the spring?
For now though, I'm going to enjoy Twins-Tigers this afternoon. And Thank God it will be at least 24 hours (I hope) before ESPN starts hyping Packers-Vikings 2. (I refuse to give it a Roman numeral). I will concede this: When Favre returns to Green Bay, THAT will be worth watching.
The game being played in The Metrodome this afternoon is one of the rarest and most dramatic things in sports: a one game playoff to decide a spot in the postseason. Baseball is the only sport in which this can happen. In football, basketball and hockey there are tiebreakers that decide who makes the playoffs and who doesn't. In college basketball there's a committee that chooses the teams and in Division 1-A college football there's, well, no playoff.
In baseball, if you are in the same division and you finish with the same record you play one game. It can also happen if there's a tie for the wild card. In the old days, before division play, if two teams tied for a pennant they played off two-out-of-three for a spot in The World Series. That produced some pretty dramatic moments including Bobby Thompson's home run in 1951. Unless my memory is bad--which it often is--the first one game playoff after divisional play began in 1969 was in Fenway Park in 1978. That game is remembered quite simply as, "The Bucky Bleeping Dent game."
Enough said.
Of course every playoff game in football is a one game winner advances, loser goes home affair. Hockey, basketball and baseball have game seven (or in division series game 5) in which one team moves on and the other starts waiting till next year. And of course game seven of a Stanley Cup Final, NBA Final or The World Series is almost always memorable.
But what will happen in The Metrodome today is unique. No other sport has it and, even though it has now happened in the American League Central two years in a row, it doesn't happen very often. Last year the Twins lost in Chicago to the White Sox after rallying down the stretch to catch them. This year, after somehow catching the Tigers from seven games back in early September WITHOUT past MVP Justin Morneau, they get to host the one game playoff. The football game is the reason it is being played today rather than yesterday and the winner will have to fly straight to New York and almost surely begin postseason on Wednesday evening. (Technically, the Yankees could opt to start the series on Thursday but no one expects them to. Why give the opposition an extra day to rest when your pitching is lined up?).
The reason there's nothing in sports that compares to this is simple: These two teams began spring training in mid-February, almost eight months ago. They played almost 30 exhibition games and then 162 games that mattered. And now they play one game for the right to at least raise some kind of banner next April. If you are "AL Central Division champions 2009," you raise a banner regardless of what happens in postseason. If you are, "Guys who lost a playoff for the AL Central Division 2009," that doesn't rate a banner.
What's more, unless you are the Yankees, making the playoffs has meaning in baseball. Only eight of 30 teams make it as opposed to 12 of 32 in football; 16 of 30 hockey and 16 of 30 in basketball. No team has ever made the playoffs, even with the advent of the wild card, with a .500 or sub-.500 record. It is a not infrequent occurrence in the other sports.
It's very difficult to decide who to root for in this game. On the one hand, the Tigers are carrying the hopes and fears of a city that has been under huge duress for the last year and beyond. Detroit and the state of Michigan got a boost when Michigan State made its run to the NCAA national championship game in April but the Spartans were hammered by North Carolina in the final. People there almost counted on having the Detroit Red Wings win another Stanley Cup in June but the Pittsburgh Penguins went into hallowed Joe Louis Arena and won game seven of the finals. At least the Lions finally won a game.
Now though, the Tigers having led the division all season, face a one game showdown with a kid pitcher on the mound to try to make postseason for the second time in four years. The Tigers haven't won a division title since 1987 or a World Series since 1984. To be caught and passed by the Twins would be painful for everyone.
On the other hand it is impossible not to admire the Twins. Year after year they go out with one of baseball's lower payrolls and put a solid team on the field. In Joe Mauer they have the game’s next true superstar--and probably this year's MVP--a catcher who has already won three batting titles. They have a hugely underrated manager in Ron Gardenhire who has already coaxed his team into the playoffs four times plus two one-game playoffs last year and this year.
Every year, as I said, they find a way to contend. It will be one of those games where I'll feel good for the winners, awful for the losers. Those are usually the best games.
Of course once postseason begins on Wednesday, the Yankees, with their 103 wins and $200 million payroll will be the favorites. The Twins or Tigers, with their rotations in tatters will have a tough time against them, no doubt. But the Yankees have had serious trouble with two teams the last five years: The Angels and Red Sox. The Angels always seem to beat them and have beaten them twice in postseason since New York's epic collapse in 2004 against Boston. In fact, the Yankees haven't won a postseason SERIES since then while the Red Sox, who once stood for October futility have won two World Series and came within a game of being back there last year. Either will be a tough out for the Yankees because of those recent memories.
In the National League, the Phillies have the experience of having won last year but little confidence in their bullpen--which was a rock last year. The Dodgers have Joe Torre and the Rockies have been the hottest team. The Cardinals have the best one-two punch at the top of the rotation with Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright. It is tough not to like their chances.
Of course postseason baseball is entirely unpredictable because the series are short and some teams that are built for 162 games are not so well built for best-of-seven. (See Yankees, New York the last six years). I will enjoy the division series the most because of the variety of games and because a lot of them start at reasonable hours on the east coast. And I will pray that it snows on the November World Series because that's what Major League Baseball deserves for such ridiculous scheduling. Anyone out there remember who won The World Baseball Classic--which is the reason the schedule was pushed back a week back in the spring?
For now though, I'm going to enjoy Twins-Tigers this afternoon. And Thank God it will be at least 24 hours (I hope) before ESPN starts hyping Packers-Vikings 2. (I refuse to give it a Roman numeral). I will concede this: When Favre returns to Green Bay, THAT will be worth watching.
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