The New York Frigging Yankees Win the Series

I was really getting into baseball as the season was winding down.  The Atlanta Braves remarkable run that fell just a few wins short, the last couple of races that kept tightening up, the final race that went to an extra game that went into extra innings -- these were happier times.

As the Division Series gave way to the League Championship Series, my mood worsened.  I was hoping for one (or both) of the Los Angeles teams to advance to the World Series so that I might actually care who won.  A Yankees-Phillies Series was the last thing I wanted to see.  Wasn't there some way that they both could lose?  I was still watching, but I had to root for the Phillies.  I wouldn't (couldn't) root for the Yankees if they were playing the al-Qaeda All-Stars.

A clash of the cretins indeed...

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Keith Olbermann had a segment on his Countdown show the other night -- "The Nine Smartest Plays in World Series History."  (I can't find the video on his show's page; the link goes to Olbermann's baseball blog.)  These are the smart, heads-up, small ball plays that are often overshadowed by the big home runs (although one of the plays is a home run -- on the list because of the scouting report that the player, Kirk Gibson, remembered).  Although my Braves got burned by one of the plays and the top play was made by a Yankee this past Sunday, it's a good list.

So now, in a postseason that has habitually failed to go the way I would have liked, the Yankees have won it all.  Hideki Matsui was named the Series MVP after knocking in six runs in the 7-3 clinching win.  I guess I should have used a live chicken.

What a revolting development -- the Yankees have won and another baseball season has come and gone.  There's a chill in the air and winter will be here before you know it.

Sports Update

Baseball -- the Braves and the pennant races

I was trying to stay up-to-date with the Atlanta Braves, but grew disgusted with them.  In my last update, the Braves were on their way to Florida to begin a four-game set with the Marlins.  They were tied with the Marlins for second place in the NL East and in good shape in the NL wildcard race.  They took the first two games of that series and life was good.  Then they lost the third game on a late home run and got blown out in the fourth game.  The slide continued with the Cincinnati Reds sweeping the Braves in a three-game series at home.  That made five losses in a row and things looked pretty dismal.  But the Braves are trying to salvage something.  They went back on the road and took two out of three from the Astros and three straight from the Cardinals.

But the days are dwindling down to a precious few.  There are just 19 games left and the Braves are pretty much where they were at the beginning of the month as far as the division standings -- they're in third place, 7 1/2 games behind the Phillies.  They've lost ground in the wildcard race though -- they're now in fourth place, 6 1/2 games behind the Rockies.  The good news is that the remaining games are all against NL East opponents.  The bad news is that they've got to win most of them and the Phillies or the Rockies are going to have to have a terrible swoon.  The Braves open up a three-game series against the Mets Tuesday evening.

Overall, the baseball season has been a drag if you like close races.  The Los Angeles Dodgers are holding onto a three game lead over the Rockies in the NL West, and that's about the closest thing we have to a pennant race.  The Phillies lead the Marlins by 6 1/2 in the NL East.  The Cardinals, even after the sweep by the Braves, lead the Cubs by 9 1/2 in the NL Central.  In the American League, the Yankees lead Boston by seven in the East, the Tigers lead the Twins by 5 1/2 in the Central and the Angels lead the Rangers by six in the West.  The wildcard races are a little closer -- Boston leads Texas by four in the AL, and the Rockies lead the Giants by 4 1/2 in the NL.

College Football -- the SEC

Sports Stories

A few sports stories that caught my eye while I was trying to decide if Atlanta really has a pro basketball team...

The only people who seem to be doing great in this dismal economy are Wall Street executives, lottery winners and baseball players. Among the latter, Rafael Furcal might be returning to the Atlanta Braves. The shortstop is mulling over a $30 million, three-year deal. Then again, he may go to the Athletics or stay with the Dodgers. Who knows at this point?

Charles Barkley ripped his alma mater, Auburn, for hiring Gene Chizik to be their head football coach. He would have preferred Turner Gill, head coach of the University of Buffalo, and says the only reason they didn't hire Gill is that he is black. Gill has since signed a contract extention at Buffalo.

Contrary to what Tim Tebow said after the Heisman presentation, Florida coach Urban Meyer says that offensive coordinator Dan Mullen will stay on at Florida long enough to call the plays for Gators in the BCS national championship game. Mullen has been hired to fill the head coaching vacancy at Mississippi State.

Accidents and spins were at their lowest levels in five years in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series. There were 211 incidents that resulted in a caution flag in 2008, down 12% from the previous year.

And Michael Vick's attorney told a federal bankruptcy judge that Vick could be out of jail and in a Virginia halfway house by late January.

Opening Day for the Atlanta Braves

Sunday! Sunday! SUNDAY!!! It's the most wonderful time of the year. It's the final spring harbinger after the blooming dogwoods, the budding trees and the rumbling lawnmowers. It's the final signal that the long, gray winter is finally over. It should be a national holiday. It's Opening Day!

Yes, the baseball season has already begun. The Boston Red Sox and Oakland A's traveled all the way to Japan to open the major-league season with a two-game series in Tokyo. The Red Sox won 6-5 in ten innings Tuesday night. The A's got the series split with a 5-1 win Wednesday. Meanwhile, the other teams still have exhibition games to play.

So who came up with this schedule? The Atlanta Braves open their 2008 season Sunday in Washington with one game (a one-game series?) against the Nationals (ESPN, 8:05 p.m. ET). Tim Hudson will pitch the opener against a former Brave, Odalis Perez. The game will be the regular season debut of the new Nationals Park. The rest of the major league teams begin play on Monday, when the Braves return to Atlanta to open a three-game series (over four nights) against the Pirates. I'm confused already.

The Braves hung in the NL East race for as long as they could last year, but ultimately had to make way for the Phillies, who won the division race after the Mets had one of the greatest collapses in baseball history. Ahead by seven games with just seventeen to play, the Mets lost the division of the last day of the season. (Pardon me while I laugh at them one last time -- Ha Ha Ha!) The Mets dropped off a truckload of money ($137.5 million for six years) at Johan Santana's house to add one of baseball's best pitchers (82-35 over the past five years) to their roster. Talk about overcompensating!

The Braves should be a little better than they were last season when most of their problems started with the starting rotation. It was a return to the days of "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain." It was Hudson and Smoltz and "who the hell is this guy?" Tim Hudson and John Smoltz are still around, but it's kinda iffy as to whether Smoltz will make his scheduled start on April 6 or start the season on the disabled list. He had some stiffness in his pitching shoulder, but felt fine and expected to start after a bullpen session Thursday. Tom Glavine returns to Atlanta after a five-year stint in enemy territory. The future Hall of Famer is now 42 years old and probably won't flirt with 20 wins ever again, but should give the Braves some quality innings, something they were sadly lacking last year. Mike Hampton is also back after two years on the disabled list. The fragile pitcher gave Braves fans heart palpitations after suffering a groin pull during spring training but should be good to go unless he gets a hangnail or something. All of this should mean less pressure on the bullpen, which was badly overworked last season. Rafael Soriano, with only 13 major-league saves, will handle the closer role as long as he can.

Out in the field, Andruw Jones and Edgar Rentaria are gone. Mark Kotsay, Matt Diaz and Jeff Francoeur will try to get to some of those fly balls that Jones always handled effortlessly. Yunel Escobar takes over full-time for Rentaria at short.

The starting lineup should normally look like this:

1B: Mark Teixeira
2B: Kelly Johnson
SS: Yunel Escobar
3B: Chipper Jones
C: Brian McCann
OF: Jeff Francoeur, Mark Kotsay, Matt Diaz
SP: Tim Hudson, John Smoltz, Mike Hampton, Tom Glavine, Jair Jurrjens
Closer: Rafael Soriano

Expect a two-team race between the Mets and the Phillies again, but expect the Braves to be improved and challenging. With a few breaks and a little luck (and maybe a mid-season trade or two) the Braves might just make a return to the playoffs. A wildcard is not completely out of the question.

What Do You Do When You're Branded?

The votes have all been counted. If you'll remember, Mark Ecko, who bought Barry Bond's record-setting home run ball at auction, left it to the public to decide the fate of the ball. The choices were to send it to the Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, New York, send it to Cooperstown with an asterisk branded into it, or launch it into space. The public has spoken. The ball is getting a brand.

The final tally: 47% said brand it, 34% said bestow it unmarked, and only 19% chose the space option. Or, as the website figured it, "80 percent of voters believed the ball should go to Cooperstown (47% opting to mark the ball; 34% without), and two thirds felt that doubts surrounding the record needed to be recognized (47% for the asterisk; 19% for space)."

Straight to the Moon, Alice

Fashion designer Marc Ecko, who bought the ball that Barry Bonds hit to set the all-time home run record (No. 756), is letting the public decide the fate of the ball. Vote now! Your choices are to send it to the Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, to send it to the Hall of Fame with an asterisk branded on it, or blast it into space.

Ben Padnos, owner of the record-tying ball (No. 755), is now also letting the public decide the fate of that ball. Vote now! Your choices are to save it or smash it.

Even though I believe that Bonds took steroids and didn't legitimately break the record, I would like to see both balls go to the Baseball Hall of Fame and be preserved for posterity. And I don't see the need to tarnish the balls further by branding them with asterisks. Everyone knows the story and has their own opinion as to the legitimacy of the record. Save 'em.