Detroit Rock City
Detroit edges the Yanks to even up the series at 1-1. Kenny Rogers is pitching at home in Game 3, which is good because his demeanor didn’t translate well in the Big Apple when he pitched for New York.
Is there any way Leyland doesn’t win the Manager of the Year?
Peace, E Maj
A Few of My Favorite Things at the Ballpark
(a re-print of a favorite post, and why I love going to the park)
1) A young child learning the game, and eagerly anticipating that foul ball he just knows is going to be hit to him.
2) Singing ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame’ during the 7th inning stretch, and for 5 minutes, the peace and harmony of 40,000 people not caring what’s wrong in their life or in the world.
3) Knowing exactly what hotdogs are made from, and not caring one iota as I order two.
4) Watching the professionalism of the grounds crew, who enjoy their jobs, and treat the field as the sacred place that it is.
5) Having fun with good friends as we think of how many peanut guy slogans we can come up with "Put some of my salty nuts in your mouth, they’re delicious".
6) A classic pitcher’s duel, where the first(and only) mistake loses the game.
7) The crack of the bat, the crescendo of the roaring crowd, a well-timed well-placed Heckle.
8)Being outdoors on a 75 degree night, a 7 dollar beer, and all the Sunflower Seeds one can spit as we map out our ‘Foul Ball Strategy’.
9) Calling pitches and talking baseball w/friends and strangers who appreciate the infinite amount of algorithmic possibilities that can occur from pitch to pitch.
Playoff Seeds w/E Maj
**A’s take 2 in Minnesota. Is it Oakland’s year? The irony would be that Beane went away from his formula, or at least adjusted it. To that, I say, as a big Moneyball critic, kudos Billy.**
**Playoff baseball is great**
**If you step outside the shower to take a pee, you are fired from reading anything I ever write**
**A great example of how America has been over-corporatized over the last decade is watching ESPN’s evolution. The Armani suits/style contests by the vee-jays are over the top……In related news, I’m dusting off my 3-piece so I can go talk baseball with my buddies at the pub**
**Watching the Dodgers, reminiscing, I can’t get Kirk Gibson’s home run blast against Eck outta my head..Aahhh, sweet!**
**Pads lose to the Cards, and all I can think of is Giles(?) mis-executing the bunt that led to a 1-6-3 double play**
**If it’s possible, I think the Yanks were not talked up this year…hmmm…Wang seems a good proxy for that theory**
**Mea culpa: I’ve taken the last 2 of the last 3 Sundays off from baseball….Chicago Bears tailgates have been off-the-charts this year**
**Playoff baseball: just win baby!**
Peace, E Maj
Rangers win the World Series(next year)
Buck Showalter was fired today as manager of the Texas Rangers, which means a World Series title is imminent in Arlington.
Fired by the New York Yankees in 1995, the Bronx Bombers proceeded to win 4 of the next 5 World Series titles. Fired by Arizona in 2000, the D-Backs won their first ever World Series title the next year.
Perhaps Buck prepares these teams to win, but is just grating enough to wear out his welcome as they hit the shaft part of their ‘hockey stick growth’.
Peace, E Maj
p.s. Dusty article posted at www.spikesballparks.com , I’ll run it here in a couple days…l8r
Playoff Picture
Content has slowed a bit over here admittedly, as I am heavily involved with the new bookstore mission, www.transitionsbookplace.com . Playoffs are here however, and I’ll be posting as much as possible. Still sticking with LADodgers to win it all, my pre-season pick. It was supposed to be the year of Grady’s revenge but my Boston RedSox fell apart around the time their heart and soul, Jason Varitek went down with injury. Both New York teams, the A’s, Tigers, and Cards were also E Maj faves. Bit the bag on picking Cleveland to finish much higher. Let’s say the Dodgers over the Yanks in 6.
Peace, E Maj
p.s. even though we’re started, feel free to send playoff picks to me at e-maj@spikesballparks.com
Jetes
Jeter ties a playoff record with 5 hits in the Yanks 8-4 Division Series win over the Tigers. This brings Jeter’s cumulative Division Series batting average to .376(64-170). He’s the man.
Peace, E-maj
update
yo–
been busy as ****…there will be a dusty analysis at www.spikesballparks.com tomorrow…check it out….onto the playoffs….send me your vibes at e-maj@spikesballparks.com
Peace, E Maj
update
yo–
been busy as ****…there will be a dusty analysis at www.spikesballparks.com tomorrow…check it out….onto the playoffs….send me your vibes at e-maj@spikesballparks.com
Peace, E Maj
Dusty Dumped
Dusty Baker fired as manager of the Cubs. A day earlier, Andy MacPhail, was fired as Team President. I will try to bang out a few posts as I gear up for the playoffs, and hammer out some www.spikesballparks.com content. Some quick thoughts:
**I was very surprised at MacPhail getting let go, he had the most cush job in the league—-just field a competitive enough team, keep the turnstiles moving, and sell a lot of beer. Evidently, this year was unacceptable even by the Cubs’ low standards**
**The Cubs will be better no matter who their manager is next year. The players lobbied for Dusty to stay. Of course they did. Wrigley is a f-in country club right now. Whilst all of this **** on the North Side isn’t Dusty’s fault, the excuses, the lack of accountability, the ‘play the victim’ spiel, and general low quality of play wore myself and many Cubs fans out.**
**I think Giriardi would be the perfect fit for this squad. His demeanor, training, and lineage are very attractive. Pinella would certainly shake things up, and whilst Brenly is not my first choice, he got to watch the team up close for 162 games the last 2 years. Stay tuned**
Peace, E-Maj
Squeeze It
With 13 games to go, St. Louis was 8 1/2 games up on the Astros. With 13 games to go, they are 1 1/2 games ahead. In related news, Walmart reports their St. Louis store is sold out of Depends undergarments.
I actually heard a Cubs fan make a baseball comment the other day…..about the St. Louis slide. Too funny.
Peace, E maj
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