When this year's playoffs got past the one game playoff "series", there were five teams left for whom I could cheer. Yes, I know, I'm an Indians fan. Well, when one is an Indians fan, but also a big baseball fan, it is nice to have someone to cheer for when the annual Indians Out Of The Playoffs Magic Number comes around in mid-August (or something).
So, I would have been happy to see the Reds in it until the end. The Big Red Machine (about whom I read recently in a fun-read, "The Machine", by Joe Posnanski) was there when I was getting originally immersed in the world of baseball. I was living on the outskirts of Cleveland (Bedford, Ohio, to be exact), but my grandparents in Columbus were big Reds fans. So, when we visit them during the World Series of 1975, my fandom got a tremendous start by watching the Reds win the big one against the Red Sox. What an awesome year.
Anyway, I would have loved to see the Reds make it all the way. [Sigh]
Here were my five-out-of-eight:
Reds
Rangers (I'm a big Nolan Ryan fan, as well as a Josh Hamilton fan... little did I know NR would say some hard things about JH at the end, but I don't blame him)
Cardinals
A's
Nationals
Ideally, the World Series would have been the Reds against the A's--and the Reds would have won vengeance for the 1972 World Series. Yes! If anyone out there knows of a good video story of that World Series, I'd love to hear about it. Having 7 games in a World Series is ideal, but having 6 of them decided by one run? Holy cow. That's awesome.
A little factoid here--the Reds outscored the A's in that World Series, 22 to 15. Too bad that doesn't offer any real salve to the overall loss.
I would have been cheering for the Rangers, for sure. Watching their
sudden and unbelievable demise was painful. Lose the division on the
last day? Wow. Nolan, I sure hope you and yours come back to the Big
Dance next year (unless the Indians do the never-expected).
I would have cheered for the Cardinals, even though they just won it last year. I love the fact that they made it as far as they did even though they lost a formerly top-notch player to bigger money, lost a HOF manager, and worked with a rookie big league manager. They had a great year, and, in my opinion, were by far the better team than the team that removed them from the World Series. Definitely had a better line-up.
Ah, well.
The A's? Well, though I've never been a fan, Billy Beane has me intrigued. I'd love to see him working his magic for the Indians, but... still, his incredible GMing with the A's brings hope to this small market fan. Keep at it!
Then there's the Nat's. What a story. They stunk so bad that they got the top pick two years in a row--and both have come around to play in the bigs in a good way. I'm looking forward to many years of Strasburg and Bryce. Rise to stardom, guys!
So, clearly, four of my five hopefuls were eliminated in that round. That sucked.
Here we are--a World Series with the Central Division foe Tigers and the Left Coast Giants. Gah. I'll watch, but only because I love baseball. Not even sure who I will cheer for yet. I really didn't want Cabrera to be the first Triple Crown winner in 45 years--I'd far rather that had gone to Josh Hamilton, Albert Pujols, or our guy Votto. Alas, it was not to be.
Now to get some snacks for the boys tonight.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Friday, October 5, 2012
MVP
Alright, I'll just come out and say that I think Mike Trout is the MVP of the AL this year.
No, I'm not that big on all the latest metrics. WAR is a nice number, but there are two different versions. There is only one RBI number--and everybody knows how it works. There is a "historic" WAR number in the possession of Mike Trout--which is pretty cool, considering the fact that he wasn't an Angel until a month into the season. But that can also be said of all his other numbers. For example, he is the only player to ever have 30 HRs, 40+ SBs, and 125+ runs. He came very close to getting into an exclusive 30 HR / 50 SB club, but everybody in the stadium on the last night knew he was going for it, so an average catcher caught him doing so. Which, by the way, was only the fifth time this year that he was caught stealing.
Who would have thought that Mike Trout would tie Albert Pujols in HRs for the year?
Nobody. Not even I, who believed Pujols was already on the decline.
But Mike Trout hit a HR in the major leagues before Pujols did this year. Yup, beat him by one day, though Pujols had played 27 games by the time he hit his first, while Trout had played in six. In the end, they tied at 30.
Thirty?! Ten years and 240 million dollars for a man who hasn't hit .300 in two years, hit only 30 HRs, had 105 RBIs, OBP of only .343, and a WAR of merely 4.6. He was in 8th for RBI's (a stat that many of the new folks think is meaningless... which I still don't get, because runs are kind of important), 10th in HRs (tied with his rookie teammate who didn't play a whole season), and nowhere near the top ten in WAR.
I'm sorry, I really like Pujols, but his year totally indicates the Angels made a huge mistake. I can (and do) hope that he comes back and wins the Triple Crown next year.
And, speaking of the Triple Crown, ... really? How did Cabrera end up being the one to get this unusual award? Well, for one, by the sad demise of Pujols, who should have earned at least one of those leading categories. Also, by the Yankee skipper removing Granderson from the last game when he was hot on the trail of the HR lead. Also, by the caffeine-free Hamilton bailing out during the last two weeks of the season.
Cabrera had a tremendous year, yes. It is arguable that this isn't his "career year". I congratulate him on winning the Triple Crown, but I wish he hadn't. First, because he plays for Detroit (remember--I'm an Indians fan). Second, because I would prefer having Hamilton or Pujols or Votto pull it off (there are no Indians who would be even remote possibilities--at least not since Manny). Third, because it will probably mean all the stodgy old reporters will vote for him rather than Trout, who clearly deserves the award.
[Sigh]. Whatever.
No, I'm not that big on all the latest metrics. WAR is a nice number, but there are two different versions. There is only one RBI number--and everybody knows how it works. There is a "historic" WAR number in the possession of Mike Trout--which is pretty cool, considering the fact that he wasn't an Angel until a month into the season. But that can also be said of all his other numbers. For example, he is the only player to ever have 30 HRs, 40+ SBs, and 125+ runs. He came very close to getting into an exclusive 30 HR / 50 SB club, but everybody in the stadium on the last night knew he was going for it, so an average catcher caught him doing so. Which, by the way, was only the fifth time this year that he was caught stealing.
Who would have thought that Mike Trout would tie Albert Pujols in HRs for the year?
Nobody. Not even I, who believed Pujols was already on the decline.
But Mike Trout hit a HR in the major leagues before Pujols did this year. Yup, beat him by one day, though Pujols had played 27 games by the time he hit his first, while Trout had played in six. In the end, they tied at 30.
Thirty?! Ten years and 240 million dollars for a man who hasn't hit .300 in two years, hit only 30 HRs, had 105 RBIs, OBP of only .343, and a WAR of merely 4.6. He was in 8th for RBI's (a stat that many of the new folks think is meaningless... which I still don't get, because runs are kind of important), 10th in HRs (tied with his rookie teammate who didn't play a whole season), and nowhere near the top ten in WAR.
I'm sorry, I really like Pujols, but his year totally indicates the Angels made a huge mistake. I can (and do) hope that he comes back and wins the Triple Crown next year.
And, speaking of the Triple Crown, ... really? How did Cabrera end up being the one to get this unusual award? Well, for one, by the sad demise of Pujols, who should have earned at least one of those leading categories. Also, by the Yankee skipper removing Granderson from the last game when he was hot on the trail of the HR lead. Also, by the caffeine-free Hamilton bailing out during the last two weeks of the season.
Cabrera had a tremendous year, yes. It is arguable that this isn't his "career year". I congratulate him on winning the Triple Crown, but I wish he hadn't. First, because he plays for Detroit (remember--I'm an Indians fan). Second, because I would prefer having Hamilton or Pujols or Votto pull it off (there are no Indians who would be even remote possibilities--at least not since Manny). Third, because it will probably mean all the stodgy old reporters will vote for him rather than Trout, who clearly deserves the award.
[Sigh]. Whatever.
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