Division Street: Threading the LDSes

[Zvon]

Wow. I'm not used to seeing teams that do things to win games.

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

Guy who doesn't hit many homeruns homers off guy who doesn't allow many homeruns. I guess that makes a nice story of you're not a fan of the latter team.

[Zvon]

Crawfords smacked two boomers over in the Dodger game. Tied 2-2.

Is Rachel Nickles going with that look cause Halloween is coming up? She looks like a witch tonight.

[Gwreck]

I can sort of understand rooting for Boston if you live there. Which I think you do. But who else would want to root for the Red Sox? Particularly given all the other choices in the AL.

--

Amazing facts learned tonight watching the Braves-Dodgers:

1. Freddy Garcia turned 37 years old yesterday. Yes, he's only 37!

2. Freddy Garcia is still in the major leagues!

3. Freddy Garcia is starting a must-win playoff game!

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Braves with the triple Fred attack tonight (Gonzalez, Freeman, Garcia). Must trade them Wilpon.

[Frayed Knot]

I was starting to take the over on 'Sometime Wednesday' for when that Tampa/Boston game was going to end .. IF it ended.
It was an interesting game with a bunch of strategy going on but the Fischer-Spasky match had less down time between action.


In the meantime, the Braves seemed to have pitching all year and now suddenly they're down to starting Freddie Garcia in the 4th game of the playoffs. I know part of that was caused by Eric Young going all WWF on Tim Hudson's ankle, but Paul Maholm went south late in the year and they decided that some of their young pitchers (like Alex Wood) would be better off in the pen.

On the other hand they just tied it up 2-2 although much of that was courtesy of bad LA defense.
Carl Crawford has two solo HRs for the Dodgers.
Mattingly went with Kershaw on short rest rather than start a slumping Ricky Nolasco.

[Zvon]

Fkn Frdy Frmn is 'amazin. And he looks like a nerd.

[Zvon]

They're stretching, I'm falling asleep.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Frayed Knot wrote: On the other hand they just tied it up 2-2 although much of that was courtesy of bad LA defense. Carl Crawford has two solo HRs for the Dodgers. Mattingly went with Kershaw on short rest rather than start a slumping Ricky Nolasco.

And now they're down, 3-2, and it's late, and the Braves bullpen is looking strong.

Good thing you haven't shot your wad for Game 5, eh, Donnie Baseball-Decision-Making-Fills-Me-With-Panic?

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Man, these words are savory!

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Filled with Uribe Umami.

[Zvon]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Filled with Uribe Umami.

I'm about to hit the hay and they pull me back in. That was a blast. Most of these games have been fun to watch.

[Zvon]

They don't get to use Kimbrel because OMG, he's never pitched two innings. Ha! Back in 73 Tug woulda gone 3.

[Zvon]

Cya Atlanta! Have a nice long cold winter of discontent.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Zimmo! Dodgers win!

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Captain Vertical-Hold-Sports-Jacket Craig Sager looks genuinely upset about the Gatorade splashback from Puig/Uribe.

Good on these guys. I hope they get their expensive asses handed to them in the next round.

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Good on these guys. I hope they get their expensive asses handed to them in the next round.

By the Pirates. I don't know if I can handle all the seething hatred I'd have for a Cardinals-Dodgers series.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Oh, I'd be rooting for a the meteor/locusts/bands of roving, postapocalyptic marauding thugs in that case, to be sure.

(Also, there's always the A's.)

[G-Fafif]

Baseball 4
Monday 0

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

Emo Red Sox fan, faithful to the end.

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

Gwreck wrote: I can sort of understand rooting for Boston if you live there. Which I think you do. But who else would want to root for the Red Sox? Particularly given all the other choices in the AL.

Reasons to root for the Red Sox:

* They're a good team with a long, colorful history.
* The current squad are all good guys with no oversized egos or ridonculous contracts.
* Team turned around from a miserable last place season last year to notch the top record in baseball this year.
* Finished with the top record despite arguably being in the toughest division (only division in which four of the five teams had winning records).
* If they win the World Series, your Yankees fan friends will be peeved that the Red Sox have three times as many championships as the Yankees this century.
* Remember how the Red Sox dispatched the Yankees in 2004? That should still earn them some good will.
* Were 13-6 head-to-head against the Yankees this season, a major reason that the Yankees are not in the 2013 postseason.
* Fenway Park would be a better backdrop to the World Series than Tropicana Field or the Oakland Coliseum.
* The A's historically have more World Series wins and appearances than any team in the AL except the Yankees.
* David Price's rant on Twitter.
* The Tigers and the Rays actually have won pennants more recently than the Red Sox.
* The A's beat the Mets in the 1973 World Series. I'm still bitter.
* The Tigers barely put up a fight in the 2006 World Series, allowing the hated Cardinals to win a championship.
* The Rays barely put up a fight in the 2008 World Series, allowing the hated Phillies to win a championship.
* Most seriously, Boston suffered a terrorist attack this year on its major civic holiday. A Red Sox victory would be a nice distraction for people still grieving and recovering from serious injuries and mental anguish.

[G-Fafif]

Reasons to root for the Red Sox: * The current squad are all good guys with no oversized egos or ridonculous contracts.

Exception that proves the rule?

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

* They're a good team with a long, colorful history.

So are the Lakers, Steelers, Canadiens, and Manchester Fuggin' United. (Well, maybe not the latter, these days.)

* The current squad are all good guys with no oversized egos or ridonculous contracts.

I believe my distinguished colleague has handled this one. (Also: Jonny Gomes. Also also: John Lackey.)

* Team turned around from a miserable last place season last year to notch the top record in baseball this year.

["Ahem"ing so much it seems like a tic]

-Pittsburgh, Los Angeles

* Finished with the top record despite arguably being in the toughest division (only division in which four of the five teams had winning records).

[sarcastic clap]

* If they win the World Series, your Yankees fan friends will be peeved that the Red Sox have three times as many championships as the Yankees this century.

My passive-aggressively in-your-face Red Sox-fan friends, though... they'll be okay with it.

* Remember how the Red Sox dispatched the Yankees in 2004? That should still earn them some good will.

Remember how that nice young man Usama and his friends helped out against the Soviets in Afghanistan? I wonder what happened to that guy.

* Were 13-6 head-to-head against the Yankees this season, a major reason that the Yankees are not in the 2013 postseason.

Point, Willets. (Although the biggest reason the Yankees are not in the postseason is the Yankees.)

* Fenway Park would be a better backdrop to the World Series than Tropicana Field or the Oakland Coliseum.

So would virtually anything you can green-screen in there.

* The A's historically have more World Series wins and appearances than any team in the AL except the Yankees.

If their last World Series win was a person, it could serve in the military, drink, and rent a car at a semi-reasonable rate.

* David Price's rant on Twitter.

Oh, I'm not rooting FOR the Rays.

* The Tigers and the Rays actually have won pennants more recently than the Red Sox.

I'd forgotten, since y'know, you don't hear their fans talking about it that often, or bitching about how long it's been since their last one a couple of years back.

* The A's beat the Mets in the 1973 World Series. I'm still bitter.

Well, okay. But this was so long ago, we could currently elect a President who wasn't around to see it.

* The Tigers barely put up a fight in the 2006 World Series, allowing the hated Cardinals to win a championship.

Point two, Willets. (I'm feeling generous here.)

* The Rays barely put up a fight in the 2008 World Series, allowing the hated Phillies to win a championship.

Point three, Willets. (Here, too.)

* Most seriously, Boston suffered a terrorist attack this year on its major civic holiday. A Red Sox victory would be a nice distraction for people still grieving and recovering from serious injuries and mental anguish.

Okay, now you sound like a hacky Michigander newspaperman, or something. (No offense, MGiM. I mean the hacky ones.)

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Y'know, I think part of the reason I'm feeling Athletic-- when not feeling ARR-dently otherwise-- these days is, I wouldn't mind a Billy Beane team finally winning one and shutting some Wfans up.

[dinosaur jesus]

I've been in Michigan for a couple of years now, and I've been trying to get behind the Tigers. I've got nothing against them, but I just can't do it. I was listening to the game yesterday, doing my best ("Bear down, Anibal." "Clutch, Jhonny"). But when Brandon Moss untied it in the fifth, I realized that I was smiling. So the hell with it. I'll be a Tigers fan next year. This year I'm an A's man.

[Guest themetfairy]

Go A's!

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

If I'm to rank the surviving teams in order of whom I'd most like to win the World Series it would be as follows:

Boston
Pittsburgh
Detroit
Oakland
Tampa Bay
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Los Angeles
St. Louis

I'd be fine with any of the top five, and seeth with rage at the bottom two.

[Gwreck]

Pittsburgh
---
Oakland
Tampa
Detroit
---
Los Angeles
Boston
St. Louis


I have very little against the Dodgers, other than jealousy that they got rid of their disastrous owner and we're still stuck with ours.

Boston the city may be generally sympathetic but their baseball team? Forget it. Two recent World Series wins together with a long period of general competitiveness (1 crappy season doesn't do it when 15 of your last 16 were winning seasons) engenders little reason to root for them.

[Guest themetfairy]

The MFYs and Phillies aren't playing. Hence I have no rage in me, no matter how things turn out.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

This is going to be a controversial one no matter what.

(umps meeting on fan-interfered-with HR)