Wednesday, October 8, 2008
STUFF ABOUT BASEBALL AND FOOTBALL
First things first: The Chicago Cubs have now failed to win the World Series 100 seasons in a row. Okay, that does deserve a "wow." But can I say this, namely that they are not cursed? Who are all these goofballs saying that they haven't won anything for so long because they are the victim of a curse? There is no such thing as a curse. They just don't happen. There is no such thing as lifting a curse. The Red Sox, a few years ago, just happened to win a World Series after 85 years of trying, and then three years later they won another one. It's not about curses. It's just about not winning. The Giants haven't won in 54 years; isn't that enough of a time frame to decide it's a curse? The Indians haven't won it in 60 seasons; what about that? The Yankees haven't won in eight years; you can't tell me that--wait, what? Eight years? The Yanks haven't won in eight years? Hmmm...Maybe there is such a thing as a curse. That's a hell of a long time, mate.
E.K. Nation (not my real name) would like to salute the Milwaukee Brewers, my somewhat-out-of-leftfield pick to advance to the World Series. They at least made it to the postseason and gave their fans something to really cheer about. Nice work, guys. And how about that CC Sabathia? If it weren't for his short time with the team, he might be a lock to win the Cy Young Award, what with his 1.65 ERA in 17 starts, and possibly the MVP award, since his presence meant so much to Milwaukee's playoff chances. (By the way, here's a trivia question: What does CC stand for? Answer below.)
As for my beloved Giants, we had one bright spot, and that is Tim Lincecum. He should be the National League Cy Young winner after racking up an MLB-high 265 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.62. Yes, I know Brandon Webb won 22 games and Tim won "only" 18. But as I've explained before, wins, as a pitcher's stat, are not a good measure of a pitcher's performance. Webb's ERA was about .70 runs higher and he struck out 82 fewer batters than Tim did. That's my case.
So now we have the Los Angeles Dodgers playing the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS and the Tampa Bay Rays meeting the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS. I sure wish the Brewers had beaten Philly; my pre-season pick of Boston beating Milwaukee in the World Series would still be in effect. But no matter. As much as I don't like seeing myself write this, I'd like to see the Dodgers advance to play the Bosox in the World Series. Manny against his old team? Joe Torre getting back to the World Series while the Yankees missed October baseball altogether?
Maybe there's a reason they're not winning: Yes, the Seahawks have had some injury problems, particularly to their entire wide receiver corps. But you can't tell me that kicking a field goal while trailing 27-3 just before halftime is going to help you win football games. You can't tell me that punting on 4th-and-1 from your own 40 when you're already down 17-3 is going to help you win football games. In fact, Seattle punted at least four times when they shouldn't have. The aforementioned punt, plus a punt on 4th-and-5 from midfield, a 4th-and-6 from midfield, and a 4th-and-4 from midfield with 1:09 left in the game! What????? With a minute left, you're punting? Why??? The Giants are done for the day, leading 44-6; they're not going to try to score again. They're going to kneel down. And sure enough, they did. Yes, I know they weren't going to win, but what's the point in punting right then? To give up? Just for the love of all things holy and almighty, try for a fourth down! You have absolutely nothing to lose!
(Trivia answer: C.C. stands for "Carsten Charles".)
E.K. Nation (not my real name) would like to salute the Milwaukee Brewers, my somewhat-out-of-leftfield pick to advance to the World Series. They at least made it to the postseason and gave their fans something to really cheer about. Nice work, guys. And how about that CC Sabathia? If it weren't for his short time with the team, he might be a lock to win the Cy Young Award, what with his 1.65 ERA in 17 starts, and possibly the MVP award, since his presence meant so much to Milwaukee's playoff chances. (By the way, here's a trivia question: What does CC stand for? Answer below.)
As for my beloved Giants, we had one bright spot, and that is Tim Lincecum. He should be the National League Cy Young winner after racking up an MLB-high 265 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.62. Yes, I know Brandon Webb won 22 games and Tim won "only" 18. But as I've explained before, wins, as a pitcher's stat, are not a good measure of a pitcher's performance. Webb's ERA was about .70 runs higher and he struck out 82 fewer batters than Tim did. That's my case.
So now we have the Los Angeles Dodgers playing the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS and the Tampa Bay Rays meeting the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS. I sure wish the Brewers had beaten Philly; my pre-season pick of Boston beating Milwaukee in the World Series would still be in effect. But no matter. As much as I don't like seeing myself write this, I'd like to see the Dodgers advance to play the Bosox in the World Series. Manny against his old team? Joe Torre getting back to the World Series while the Yankees missed October baseball altogether?
Maybe there's a reason they're not winning: Yes, the Seahawks have had some injury problems, particularly to their entire wide receiver corps. But you can't tell me that kicking a field goal while trailing 27-3 just before halftime is going to help you win football games. You can't tell me that punting on 4th-and-1 from your own 40 when you're already down 17-3 is going to help you win football games. In fact, Seattle punted at least four times when they shouldn't have. The aforementioned punt, plus a punt on 4th-and-5 from midfield, a 4th-and-6 from midfield, and a 4th-and-4 from midfield with 1:09 left in the game! What????? With a minute left, you're punting? Why??? The Giants are done for the day, leading 44-6; they're not going to try to score again. They're going to kneel down. And sure enough, they did. Yes, I know they weren't going to win, but what's the point in punting right then? To give up? Just for the love of all things holy and almighty, try for a fourth down! You have absolutely nothing to lose!
(Trivia answer: C.C. stands for "Carsten Charles".)
