Tag: MLB (Page 4 of 9)

Well, the MLB playoffs are here, a bittersweet time for me – and many of my readers – for sure. There is a sadness that the Royals aren’t part of the festivities this year. The last two Octobers were so much fun, even if they were intensely stressful. I imagine my blood pressure will appreciate watching games more casually this year. Yet there will be the constant references to the Royals for the next month, which will be good. Watching the Wild Card games, I couldn’t help but think of dozens of moments from the past two years. So it might suck that the Royals couldn’t put a third-straight playoff run together, but their absence makes the memories of 2014 and 2015 shine a little brighter.

I think this year’s playoffs are set up to the one of the best editions ever. Is that based on the teams involved? Not really. Although there are certainly a number of compelling stories in this year’s participants and the matchups. Is it because of Wild Card games, which were both fantastic, enthralling affairs?[1] As good as those games were, they will have no effect on the quality of the rest of the post-season.

Nope, I base that prediction on one thing: 1986, the year after the Royals won their first World Series, was perhaps the greatest postseason in MLB history. The Mets-Astros NLCS is often mentioned as the best single playoff series in baseball history. The ALCS counterpart, between the Red Sox and Angels, was nearly as good. And then the World Series was an epic, unforgettable one.

The Royals won the World Series last year. History tells us that this year’s playoffs will be amazing.

ALDS

Toronto vs. Texas. This is the Neutral Party series. Folks who have no feelings about either team are looking forward to it after their amazing ALDS series last year and their big fight back in May of this year. Toronto has been banged up all year, but seem to be getting healthy at the right time. But I don’t think they have enough pitching, and Texas is playing to atone for last year, when they feel they should have advanced.
Rangers in Five

Boston vs. Cleveland. On the one hand, Cleveland’s pitching staff has slowly been falling apart over the past month. It’s hard to see them getting through a five-game series with so many problems in their starting rotation. On the other, they weathered every storm this season and kept chugging along. And the city of Cleveland is on a bit of a roll, so perhaps the Indians are this year’s team of destiny. I think Boston is just better, though.
Red Sox in Four

ALCS

Boston is always in the news. That comes with their market, with the national fixation on the franchise, and their bandwagon fans scattered around the country.[2] But Texas was quietly excellent all season long. My guess is the Rangers slowly, methodically, steal this series and end David Ortiz’s career.
Rangers in Six

NLDS

Giants vs. Cubs. There is a specter hanging over the playoffs. That specter is Madison Bumgarner. After his complete-game shutout of the Mets last night, he looks to be back in his 2014 postseason form. All I heard on MLB radio this morning was how he was going to be the difference in this series. Which may be the case. But I think Joe Madden is the perfect manager to counter Bumgarner’s magic. He’ll keep the Cubs loose, and while the Giants will win Bumgarner’s game three start, it won’t be enough. My girls will be excited that Johnny Cueto is pitching game two!
Cubs in Four

Dodgers vs. Nationals. Here is the series I struggle with most. I don’t watch much NL baseball, so I only have a vague understanding of each team. And then do we knock the Dodgers for their recent October collapses, or is this a different team? Are Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy healthy enough to be factors? Will Clayton Kershaw get over his personal October jinx? I think Max Scherzer beats Kershaw twice, and the Nats squeeze out a win in game five to advance.
Nationals in Five

NLCS

There’s a lot of potential destiny at work this year. Can the Indians ride the wave that LeBron and company created in June? Will David Ortiz go out on top? And then the Cubs are trying to end 108 years of postseason failure. When at their best this year, the Cubs were awesome. The concern is they had some awfully mediocre runs sprinkled in there. The Nats have been the flashy team in the past only to come up short in October. This season they were just a steady team that cranked out wins all season. The Cubs are smarting from last season’s NLCS sweet against the Mets. The Nats feel like they should have been in the World Series in 2014. The Cubs will be the team that overcomes their recent past.
Cubs in Seven

World Series

For all the media hype that would go along with it, I’ll admit a Red Sox – Cubs, Fenway – Wrigley World Series would be awesome. So there’s going to be some disappointment with this matchup. The hype will still be deafening with the Cubs in their first World Series since 1945. Everyone will pick the Cubs. Which makes a lot of sense. They were a great team this year, have arguably the best manager in the game, their home games are going to be absolutely raucous, and they have every piece they need to win this year. The Rangers aren’t as flashy or as complete. But the best team doesn’t always win in October, and I think this is the Rangers’ year. Sorry, Cubs fans. You’ll have to wait until next year.
Rangers in Six

Well, that was a pretty good All-Star Game. I mean, it wasn’t the total Royals takeover from last year. But Ned Yost was still making the lineup and calling the shots, Kelvin Herrera had a nice 1–2–3 inning in relief, and Eric Hosmer and Salvador Perez had the two biggest hits of the night. Off former Royal Johnny Cueto for added KC flavor.

It was a good, competitive game to watch that really summed up where baseball is today: the team that got to the middle of the game with the lead had an immense advantage as they rolled out one dominant reliever after another. The National League did make it interesting, getting runners on against everyone except Herrera. The 8th was especially dicey with the bases loaded, two outs, and a 3–2 count on Aledmys Diaz before a terrific fastball right on the paint from Will Harris ended the threat. The only thing that would have made it more Royals-y was if Hosmer and Perez had saved their second inning homers for the bottom of the 8th. And instead of home runs, they sandwiched doubles around a couple walks or singles. And Lorenzo Cain was the guy scoring the winning run.

With the Royals 7 games behind Cleveland and 4.5 out of the Wild Card spot at the break, I hope last night wasn’t the final great moment of the Royals two-plus year run.

Aside from the outcome, my biggest impression of the game was the confirmation that I just don’t have any depth of knowledge of today’s players despite how much baseball I watch. I know just about everyone from the American League. But other than the superstars from the NL, I kept grabbing my iPad to look up who second-tier players were. Yes, I watch a ton of baseball. But it’s all Royals. I never watch the ESPN evening games or Fox’s Saturday games. I don’t watch nightly highlights shows. Most notably, I don’t read a daily paper anymore, so there’s no pouring through box scores from both leagues each morning or Sunday reviews of the league leaders.

For example, I knew Johnny Cueto was having a fantastic year in San Francisco. But I had no idea he was 13–1 with a 2.47 ERA.

It’s not hard to find a website to review the stats I used to read in Sunday’s paper. Or pull up the standings in my At Bat app. But I’ve just never created that routine when I transitioned to digital. So I know all about the Royals, but that’s about it.

Some other random observations from the evening:

• I think I’m required to say in my ASG posts that I dig how players still break out wacky shoes for the game. They’re a lot cooler now than in the 80s when guys just put on white spikes for the night.
• M and L walked into the room in the first inning. When I told them Cueto was pitching, they started jumping up-and-down and began singing the Johnny Cueto song. Good times.
• I love Big Papi. But I thought they overdid things with making the game about him. He’s a Hall of Famer, an iconic player of his generation, and obviously immensely respected by his fellow players. But coming out of the dugout to greet him when he was pinch run for? I thought it was telling that the crowd reaction seemed a bit muted. It’s not like it was Hank Aaron. Granted, I think these celebrations of departing stars are overdone with everyone.
• San Diego seems like a nice city.

And now we’re off for the second half of the season. The Royals sure could use a starter (or two), some good luck on the injury front, and a nice six-week hot streak from everyone in the lineup.

As has become custom, I settled down just a few minutes after first pitch to watch Tuesday’s MLB All Star Game. I was pretty sure it was on Fox and first pitch was in the 8:30 EDT range. Our program guide even said that the ASG was to air at that time. Instead, though, the MLB Tribute To Derek Jeter Starring New York Yankees Captain And World Champion Derek Jeter (with the 2014 National League And American League All Stars) was on.

I crack myself up.

But seeeeeeeriously. That was a bit much. I know, I know, great player, great guy, sure-fire Hall of Famer, the face of baseball since 1998 or so. Played for the game’s iconic franchise his entire career. Involved in two of the most memorable plays of the last 20 years. Blah blah blah. I don’t know if every aspect of the game had to be somehow connected to Jeter.

That slobber job was much of the reason I on half-watched after about the fourth inning. I’ve been hearing about Jeter for nearly 20 years. I didn’t need to pay close attention if that’s all the broadcast was going to be about.

He did handle it well, though, trying to speed things along. He’s always seemed like a decent guy. Still don’t like him.

But I did scribble down some notes during the game. Let’s take a look at what caught my attention.

• OK, for all my Jeter hate, the Jordan Brand commercial for him was pretty great. The Red Sox fans in the middle were a fun addition.
• Loved, LOVED, the guy who was screaming “OVERRATED” at Jeter and then he rips the double down the line. That’s why so many of us dislike Jeter: he always has an answer! He’s not human!
• Aramis Ramirez has 2119 career hits? Shows how little attention I pay to National League ball. I had no idea he had racked that many up. That’s a pretty solid career.
• I was disappointed that, during the interview with commissioner Bud Selig, when he was asked about it being his final All Star Game as commissioner, he didn’t offer an evil laugh and say, “Wellllllll, don’t be so sure about that…”
• I about came unglued when Tom Verducci insisted that Jeter has inspired more future ballplayers than any player ever. There’s no doubt he has influenced tons of kids. But what about Mickey Fucking Mantle? Didn’t every play for like 30 years say that he was their favorite player growing up? Or that he was their dad’s favorite player and that inspired their dad to coach them up as kids? Didn’t baby boomers make sappy homages to the Mick when they hit middle age? But then Harold Reynolds, amazingly, made a fine point. He mentioned Mantle but gave Jeter the nod because of the age he played in, where every game is on TV, where the Yankees are constantly on national TV, and when he played in the World Series a ton. Kids heard about Mickey. They got to see Jeter in high definition for most of his career. A pretty fine and fair point. I was swayed.
• It was excellent that the Oakland Athletics got a little love during the night. I really should try to watch some of their games in the second half. They seem like a fun team to see play. And it’s great that they’re mirroring the classic 1970s A’s teams that were full of personalities and wacky appearances.
• I could not help but compare/contrast the interviewing techniques of the two Fox on-field reporters. Ken Rosenthal’s first question sequence is always the same. Two quick observations followed but a brief question. “You’ve won two World Series titles. An MVP. award How did tonight compare?” Erin Andrews, on the other hand, always seems like a mess. She’ll ramble on for a bit then realize she has to ask a question. “…I mean, what’s up with all that?”¹ Sad thing is because her style is so prevalent these days, it’s not like it gets poorer responses than Rosenthal’s.
• I always wonder about the troops overseas they show during sporting events. Are they allowed to move during the game? If they sneak off to the bathroom does someone yell at them, “Hey! Sit down! Fox could show us any minute!” And, as with all patriotic moments like that, I wonder what the really point is. In the midst of a three-hour tribute to an incredibly rich athlete interrupted by constant reminders to buy more beer and high tech gadgets, don’t these 2-3 shots of troops kind of lose their impact?
• Minnesota has a rich and varied music history. So naturally MLB picked a Broadway singer from Queens and a country singer from Arkansas to sing the National Anthem and “God Bless America,” respectively. Which is exactly what I think of when I think of Minnesota music, Broadway and country. Sigh. I know, you probably don’t want Bob Dylan or Prince singing either song. And Craig Finn, Bob Mould, and Paul Westerberg are probably too nichey to include. I bet Morris Day could have pulled it off, though.
• Fox missed a golden opportunity to throw some local music in when the Adam Wainwright “controversy” broke. After Andrews interviewed Wainwright to clarify his comments about grooving one to Jeter in the first inning, Fox really should have used Prince’s “Controversy” as the bumper music into the next commercial. I would have nodded and given my full approval.
• Dumb controversy. So what if Wainwright threw a cookie to Jeter? The old man still had to hit it. I don’t think there was really a controversy. It was just something to talk about. And Andrews’ dismissive “Don’t you just love social media?” comment was stupid. Especially coming from a social media phenomenon. When in doubt, blame the bloggers and the tweeters.
• Target looks like a nice ballpark. Joe Buck certainly praised it all night, but that’s kind of his job. It got me thinking about how many “bad” ballparks are left compared to 25 years ago, when Skydome opened up the new ballpark era. Back then there was still an abundance of cookie cutter, multi-purpose, AstroTurfed parks that looked alike and were kind of terrible. There were still plenty of other stadiums that weren’t built solely for baseball. And there were several stadiums that were actively falling apart. Today, you have the Coliseum in Oakland, which was old in 1989 and an absolute dump today, Tropicana in Tampa which is an embarrassment, and maybe U.S. Cellular in Chicago which isn’t that old but wasn’t built to be beautiful like the parks that came along shortly after it. Skydome, ironically, seems kind of plain today. Every other team either plays in a relatively new or renovated stadium that is in solid shape and seems like a decent place to go watch a game.
• Oh, and good job American League!

A bit behind thanks to our travels and visitors last week. But I have to offer up some MLB predictions.

First, though, I must link to this fine story about the 25th anniversary of Major League. It arrived during that brief glut of baseball movies in the late 1980s.¹ You can argue it is the best. I’m more of a Bull Durham guy, but Major League isn’t far behind.

I did not know this:

1. THE ENDING WE KNOW ISN’T THE ORIGINAL ENDING
   There’s an alternate ending to “Major League” that was actually the film’s original ending, but it tested so poorly, Ward re-wrote it. In the original ending, cheapskate owner Rachel Phelps reveals that she never wanted to move the team to Miami. She actually believed in the team and was playing the villain role to help them rally together. After spending the whole movie hating her, viewers weren’t ready for that swerve. This ending was included in a 2007 DVD re-release of the film, so some people may know the story.

‘Major League’ turns 25 — here are 15 things you didn’t know about the movie

OK, predictions. As always, half-assed and quarter-considered.

American League

East: Tampa

Central: Detroit

West: Anaheim

Wild Cards: Texas, Oakland

Playoffs:

• Oakland over Texas
• Tampa over Oakland
• Detroit over Anaheim
• Detroit over Tampa

National League

East: Washington

Central: St. Louis

West: Los Angeles

Wild Cards: San Francisco, Atlanta

Playoffs:

• San Francisco over Atlanta
• St. Louis over San Francisco
• Washington over Los Angeles
• St. Louis over Washington

World Series

St. Louis over Detroit. Yawn.

Kansas City wins 83 games and falls just short of making the playoffs.

This year’s All-Star Game retrospective won’t be quite as exhaustive as some in the past have been. By the time S. was home from a meeting and the girls were in bed, it was the top of the third. Fortunately, it was still 0-0 so with the exception of Robinson Cano getting plunked, I saw just about all the best game action.

Obviously the story of the game was Mariano Rivera’s final ASG appearance. I don’t like Yankees. At all. I’ve had grudging respect for the home grown members of their most recent dynastic run – Jeter, Pettite, Williams, Posada – but I was always quick to hate in those guys as well. But Mo is something else entirely.

I’ll admit it took awhile with him, but he’s become the only true Yankee I’ve ever liked, or even loved¹. The greatest relief pitcher in MLB history, a truly fantastic man aside from baseball, and a man who despite his fame and dignity, never took himself too seriously. I loved how he good-naturedly tipped his cap and waved to the massive cheers he got in Boston on Opening Day 2005 as the Red Sox fans mocked cheered him for blowing the save in Game Four of the previous fall’s ALCS. Or his wonderful reaction to his teammates <a href=’http://www.thegreedypinstripes.com/2013/05/royals-have-little-fun-with-mariano.html’>chalking an outline of his body</a> on the warning track in Kansas City this year, a season after his career nearly ended a year early there. And then the stories of how he’s handled his retirement tour, taking extra time to thank the folks who support players in each park. I’m sure he’s not perfect and has pissed someone off over the years, or has misbehaved at some point, but from what we see of him, he sure seems to genuinely understand how to put the game in its proper perspective.

Thus it was a truly fantastic moment when he entered the field Tuesday night, and the other All Stars let him walk out alone and soak up the hometown adulation. Baseball especially seems to revel in these valedictory moments. Last year Chipper Jones received a lot of love as he wound down his career with a final ASG appearance. But Mo’s was extra special since it came in the city he’s spent his entire big league career in. Even for someone as cynical about sports as I am can’t help but be moved by the emotion of moments like Mo’s last night.

Mo’s entrance came at the perfect time, to rescue the game from the incredibly awkward Neil Diamond performance of “Sweet Caroline.” There was the collective “What?!?” followed by noticeable boos as the New York crowd let baseball know they didn’t appreciate a Boston tradition being thrust upon their All-Star Game. There was the tepid reactions by the players in both dugouts. And Neil doesn’t exactly have the same chops he used to have, making it extra uncomfortable. But, it was “Sweet Caroline,” and even the hard-ass New York crowd softened and couldn’t help but sing along by the second chorus.

Worth noting unless something unbelievably strange happens, there will never be another Major League All-Star older than me. Sigh.

Second-best moment of the night was Prince Fielder’s triple in the ninth. Good times. Raise your hand if you thought, two years ago, Fielder would still be raking and playing terrific ball while Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton were sucking.

How about the Royals sending three players to the All-Star Game? Shame it’s not because the team had a hot first half and is, like Pittsburgh, playing some of the best baseball in the league and thinking about who they can add to make a pennant run. But it was still cool to see Holland, Perez, and Gordon all enter the game together in the seventh, and Perez provide an insurance run in the eighth. The great sadness, of course, was Sal’s hit was the first by a Royal in the ASG since Bo Jackson’s MVP performance in 1989, which was before Sal was born. Trust the process!

Holland wasn’t sharp, but still got shafted when Jim Leland decided to channel his buddy Tony LaRussa and get pitcher-changing happy in the seventh.

When we were kids, it was always fun to see which players would don white shoes for the All-Star Game. Looking at shoe styles now, and all the neon colors that were shown off last night, it seems awfully quant that we were excited when Frank White would wear white Nikes and we wondered why the Royals didn’t wear white shoes all the time. And I dug Jose Fernandez’s Day-Glo orange glove.

Speaking of Fernandez, All-Star games are traditionally dominated by established stars. In general that’s still the case, but how about two 20 year olds and two 21 year olds highlighting a fantastic crop of young players who made appearances last night? Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, and Manny Machado are going to be playing in this game for a long, long time.

Finally, <a href=’http://dsnotebook.me/blog/2013/7/9/sports-notes’>it wasn’t that long ago</a> when I said the Royals might re-earn my interest if they closed out the first half strong and didn’t do something dumb like lose four of six. Then they lost their final five games before the break and are closer to fourth place than second. Naturally.

ↁ

Over the weekend, word leaked that MLB was considering a plan that would dramatically reshape the game. One team would move from the National to American league, leaving two, 15 team leagues. Then, all divisions would be scrapped and the teams in each league would compete for five post-season slots.

I think this is horrible news, and not for the reasons you would expect.

I think it’s horrible because it’s a great idea, yet most insiders feel it has little chance of actually being adopted. It serves no purpose other than to get those of us who want some kind of radical change to the structure of baseball excited that the game might really be considering a daring move. And when something vanilla passes, like adding another Wild Card to the current system, we’ll all be disappointed and discouraged.

Bud Selig has made it clear that there will be expansion of the playoffs, probably as soon as next season. Simply adding another Wild Card team to the current set-up is an awful idea. It’s awful mostly because A) the prime benefactor seems to be AL East teams and B) it doesn’t do a thing to remedy the issues with scheduling, competitive balance, etc.

If baseball really wants to add more playoff teams, they must be willing to radically reconfigure the entire game.

Two 15 team leagues feels best for several reasons. First, it honors the history of the game. Before the expansion of 1969, there were no divisions, just two leagues playing for a spot in the World Series. What a perfect way for baseball, which is more tradition-bound than any other sport, to move forward: by looking to the past.

Second, with everyone playing the same schedule, it will be a truer and fairer contest to see who the best teams. Plus, the standings would just look nice, with a line under the team in fifth place and everyone below fighting to pass them.

There is one massive problem with this system: an odd number of playoff teams. That means two teams are probably playing a single-game to get into the second round. That doesn’t feel right.

The big stumbling block appears to be Selig’s love of Interleague play. When ideas similar to this were floated in the past, he shot them down, saying they would cheapen the value of Interleague games, as Interleague games would be played throughout the season. Big freaking deal. No one really cares about Interleague play anymore. Fans of regional rivals enjoy the games, but no one gets excited about the years the Royals and Pirates or Nationals and Mariners play.

In general, I’m against changing the way the playoffs are currently comprised if it means just adding one more Wild Card slot. My ideal system would be moving back to two divisions in each league and eliminating the Wild Card (along with Interleague play). But that ain’t happening. Truly radical ideas, like adjusting the makeup of divisions based on size of market, budget, recent success, etc. interest me as well, but those aren’t ideas that American professional sports will ever entertain.

Ditching the divisions and allowing 15 teams to battle it out for five playoff spots is an inspired idea that would satisfy both those who want to expand postseaon play and those who are always looking back to baseball’s past.

It’s a shame baseball will probably take the easy way out.

❖

We all have our sports weak spots. There are those who think Pete Rose did nothing wrong. Giants fans embraced Barry Bonds when the rest of the baseball world shunned him. I guess there are a few people out there who think Roger Clemens isn’t lying. And then there’s Manny Ramirez.

I’ve written many times over the years about my love for Manny. Through all of his bizarre behavior, I stuck with him because he was such a joy to watch in the batter’s box. He may be the best hitter I’ve ever seen, and his approach combined with his apparent disdain for the fundamentals of the game once he hit the ball always fascinated me.

So, despite his recent retirement after a second failed drug test, it’s hard for me to change my view of him. I’ll miss him.

Just after his retirement, Sara Rimer, who wrote about Manny when he was still a high schooler, put together a new piece for the New York Times. It’s a great read.

That was the Manny who at least seemed knowable, before he disappeared behind the wall of all that surreal major league fame and money. Who is the real Manny? The 18-year-old prospect with everything ahead of him, or the 38-year-old major leaguer who walked away from baseball rather than face a 100-game suspension after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs for the second time in recent years? Who knows?

Opening Day, bitches! In general, I’m against beginning the season on a Thursday. Opening Day should be on a Monday, preferably the Monday of the NCAA title game. But, needing something to take my mind off of basketball, I’m granting MLB a waiver this year. I can’t wait to fire up MLB.tv in a few hours and start watching some games. Of course it snowed here almost all day Wednesday, so odds are most of the early, East Coast games will either be played in shitty weather or not played at all.

It was an odd spring for Royals fans. Once again, it was a spring that held little promise of regular season success. In fact, this year’s edition of the Royals could be one of the worst squads they’ve ever run onto the field. And that’s saying something! But there was also the promise of the future, with the young studs getting another step closer to rescuing the big league club.

Although it was unrealistic to think that more than a pitcher or two from that crop of prospects would make the Opening Day roster, fans still carefully monitored the developments in Arizona. As excited we are about the future, there is a sense that the team could still screw this up. They could bring some of the kids up too quickly and ruin them before they have a chance. They could let them languish too long in the minors, killing their enthusiasm and spirit. They could mishandle the pitchers’ workloads. They could fail to identify issues in players’ makeups that could keep them from adjusting when they reach Kansas City (Hello, Alex Gordon!).

So as the raves about the prospects spilled out of the Twitter accounts of both Royals experts and impartial observers, it was hard to stay realistic about where the young guys should begin the season. When one prominent baseball scout spent an entire afternoon raving about how hard Eric Hosmer hit the ball, my expectations officially got destroyed. No longer was I content with the Royals making sure they were sure about Hosmer, Moustakas, etc. There was the temptation to go ahead and bring them up now. If a scout says Hosmer is a better player than anyone in the big league roster, why force him to start another year in the minors? It was going to be a shitty year anyway, why not get them up now and kickstart the final stage of the rebuilding process?

Fortunately that feeling passed and the Royals ignored any temptations to jump any of the prospects up too quickly.¹ But a lot of fans will be paying more attention to the boxscores from Omaha and Northwest Arkansas that what the big league Royals do this year. And if Moustakas and Hosmer continue to rake, there will be a lot of howling if they aren’t in Kansas City sooner rather than later.

It’s been a long two decades. Forgive Royals fans for being tired of waiting.

And now, some half-assed, mostly wrong predictions for the coming season.

As for the Royals, most think this is a 100-loss team. While I don’t think they will be nearly as good at the plate, this team does remind me a bit of the 1999-2001 teams that could hit but not get anyone out. I think the offense will be halfway decent. I wish I had the same hopes for the starting pitchers. 67-95 feel right.

American League

East: Boston. I kind of feel like this is a sucker bet. As though, despite their excellent off-season acquisitions, they still have too many questions in their rotation, too many fragile players across their lineup, and too much pressure to pull it off. But the Yankees are older, more fragile, and have more questions in their rotation. And it feels like this is a regression year for the Rays.

Central: Detroit. I’ve changed this one three times. I’m counting on Miguel Cabrera getting his shit together and someone behind their big two starters contributing.

West: Texas. Man, outside the East, these divisions suck. I don’t expect the Rangers to be as good as they were last year. I think they’re still good enough to win their division.

Wild Card: Yankees. I’d rather it was the Rays or A’s or Twins. But a bazillion dollar payroll probably means they squeak out another postseason appearance.

National League

East: Philadelphia. I know there are some people out there picking the Braves. And I don’t think that’s a ridiculous pick given the injury problems and age the Phillies are carrying. But I have to go with this pitching staff.

Central: Cincinnati. I don’t think last year was a fluke.

West: Colorado. I want to pick the Dodgers, why I don’t know. But the way this division works, whoever is 12 games out in June will get hot and win it.

Wild Card: Milwaukee. I have to go out on a limb somewhere. Their pitching gets them a narrow nod over the Braves.

Playoffs

Red Sox over Rangers

Tigers over Yankees

Red Sox over Tigers

Phillies over Milwaukee

Rockies over Reds

Phillies over Rockies

World Series

Players on both teams may drop dead during this series, between the strain of a long season, the extra stress of the postseason, and the fact about half of each roster is on the wrong side of 35. Ryan Howard begins the series 0-27, but in the top of the ninth of game seven, his check-swing blooper brings in the winning run after Jonathan Papelbon blows a two-run lead. The Red Sox load the bases with no outs in the bottom of the ninth, but Jason “The Captain” Varitek grounds into a 1-2-3-2 triple play, with Carl Crawford nailed at the plate to end the game.

❖

With the beginning of spring training, baseball is slowly working its way back into the main sports news feed. The big story this week was the deadline for contract extension negotiations between Albert Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals. Pujols said months ago that he would not continue to discuss a new contract with the Cardinals once spring training started. If the sides could not come to an agreement by Wednesday, the Cardinals would have to wait until the off-season to attempt to resign their star.

He did not say he would not talk to the Cardinals after the season. He did not say he would never resign with the Cards if a deal wasn’t in place by his report date. He did not say that he would hold the failure to complete an agreement against the Cardinals front office either during the season or when he becomes a free agent in the fall. He just said he would not negotiate once the job he is paid to do officially began.

Naturally the sports media went bat shit over all of this.

They reported breathlessly, live from the Cardinals spring training facility as the deadline approached. They floated rumors about what the Cardinals were offering and what Pujols wanted. They speculated about Pujols’ motivation and character. They skipped over nine months of baseball and began breaking down what team he will sign with for next year, since he clearly is done in St. Louis.

Manager Tony LaRussa didn’t help matters by throwing bombs at the players union, claiming they were forcing Albert to ask for a maximum contract. Never mind the fact that as the best player in the game, HE’S FREAKING WORTH IT. ¹

I point this out not to argue that none of this was news, because it certainly was. The best player in the game is in the final year of his contract with a team he has spent his entire career with. That alone is a big story. Spending his entire career in a medium-sized, borderline large baseball market city adds intrigue to how the process will progress.

But every major media outlet, with ESPN as always the worst offender, seemed intent on turning this into LeBron’s Decision 2.0. The coverage has been completely over-the-top in relation to the reality of the situation. That reality is that Pujols is still under contract for the up-coming season. He’s not threatening to sit out part of spring training until he gets an extension. He hasn’t said a word about this being the Cardinals only chance to resign him and if he hits the open market in November, they might as well not bother calling his agent. All he wanted to do was create a window in which they could talk extension, and then set it aside until the season was over. But ESPN, Yahoo!, and the other major sports sites did all they could to turn this into a dramatic, dire situation.

Pujols has handled the situation fantastically, saying all the right things and affirming his commitment to the Cardinals this season and his desire to stay there for the remainder of his career. I haven’t paid as much attention to what the Cards’ front office has said, but it seems like they are handling the situation well, too. Neither side is trying to embarrass each other or find some dark angle that will provide them leverage.

Yet we’ve heard rumors of lowball offers from the Cardinals reported as fact. When those rumors were debunked 24 hours later, the headlines were much smaller. You get the feeling that Pujols’ wife could take a trip to LA to visit a friend and there would be ESPN reporters following her, insisting that she was searching out places to live once her husband signs with the Dodgers or Angels.

We don’t know where Albert Pujols will play next year. It’s fine to speculate. That is news. But making something that won’t begin to happen for nine months, and from which we won’t see the effects for over a year, a bigger story that everything that will happen between now and then is just a chase for headlines and page views.

If I had to guess, I say Albert stays in St. Louis. I think he wants to. The Cardinals almost have to keep him. I believe both sides will find a way to make it happen. He may not get the $300 million he allegedly wants, but he’ll come close. People keep saying that the Yankees and Red Sox are out of the running because they already have Mark Teixeira and Adrian Gonzalez. I say not so fast. The Yankees will have no trouble finding a spot for the best bat in the game and for them money is not an issue. And if the Red Sox thought they had a legitimate shot at Albert, they would find a place for him, too. The biggest thing those teams have are not their massive revenue streams, but the chance to win. If Albert doesn’t resign in St. Louis, it will be because he sees his chance to win another World Series being with the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Angels, or another franchise. Not just because they can offer more money than the Cardinals.

One last comment on Pujols. I love the rumors, which have jumped to many national baseball sites, that the Royals might go after him. Please. Despite going to high school and college in KC and batting about .800 in Kaufman Stadium, he’s never showed any particular interest in going back there to end his career. It’s another nice story to spend some time day dreaming about in February, but if David Glass is going to spend $300 million on free agent talent next fall, he’s going to spend it gathering up 5-6 players to fill out the spots the team’s farm system can’t. And he’s not spending $300 million dollars.

❖

There’s something pretty cool going on just a couple hours from my house. The Cincinnati Reds have survived the summer and are poised to enter baseball’s final month with a comfortable lead in the National League Central.

Some writers picked the Reds as a team with the potential to surprise last spring. But after they stumbled out of the gate, it looked like another long summer for Reds fans. The Cardinals, as expected, were going to run away with the division and Reds fans could only hope that their young arms would get some experience and be ready for a run in 2011.

Then April turned to May, the Reds righted the ship, the Cardinals cooled off, and by June the Reds were in first place. Despite a contentious series in Cincinnati last month, which featured a bench-clearing brawl and a Cardinals sweep, the Reds have gotten hot, the Cards continue to scuffle, and suddenly the Reds’ lead is up to five games.

I’ve written here before that it’s tough for me to jump on the bandwagon of any National League team. Growing up an American League fan in the days when the NL won just about every All-Star game made it tough to like the senior circuit. My preference for the AL style of play – more offense, the DH, fewer silly late innings moves – added to that reluctance. Other than when the Yankees make the World Series, and I automatically root for the NL team, I still tend to default to the AL.

The Reds are, technically, Indy’s major league team. I would imagine there are more Cubs fans here, plenty of White Sox and Cardinals fans, and healthy swaths of Yankees and Red Sox fans. However the Reds are the team whose games we see on our local FSN affiliate and the easiest team to hear on the radio.¹ I’ve watched my share of Reds games since we moved to Indy, but as they’ve either been not very good or out-of-the-race by August, it’s never been more than a handful each season.

As they’ve stuck in the race this year, though, I find myself watching more of their games. On nights when I want to listen to a game, it’s been the Reds I pull up on the iPhone instead of the Royals. That says something about how enjoyable they are to watch play, as the Reds broadcasting teams are awful.

Anyway, I won’t say I’m becoming an NL fan or that I’m even officially on the Reds’ bandwagon. It has been fun, though, to watch some games that matter for a quasi-local team. I have several friends here who are big, lifetime Reds fans and it adds to my enjoyment to see them getting excited about their team for the first time in years. It gives me hope that someday that might happen for the Royals again.

Of course, now that I’ve outed myself as following the Reds, I’m sure they’ll go into the tank. Blame me when it happens. Sorry, Reds fans.