I know right now that this is a waste of my time. I’m going to write this, and a couple hundred of you are going to read it, and nothing is going to change. MLB Commissioner Bud Selig is going to hold a few meetings this winter to make it look like the league is trying to do something to remedy the situation. The fact of the matter, though, is that Major League Baseball umpires are doing a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad job.
I don’t really need to give examples. You all watch the games. You’ve seen it. You’ve rationalized that it all balances out over time. And quite frankly, it usually does. But this year has just been icky.
We probably all say the same thing every year. In fact, I know we do. But somewhere along the way someone has to step in to say “enough is enough.”
Early in tonight’s game, there were four missed calls. Big calls. Inning ending calls. Home plate umpire Wally Bell called not one, but two fourth-pitch balls as strikes. Not “I’m-watching-this-game-on-TV-so-I-have-a-skewed-perception-of-where-the-ball-actually-crossed-the-plate” kind of balls, but “even-Fox’s-crappy-pitch-track-graphic-shows-the-ball-six-inches-off-the-plate” kind of balls. The umpiring staff missed a blatant balk by Giants starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner as Jimmy Rollins was attempting to steal second base. Jimmy would get picked off (to end the inning) but after seeing the replay from multiple angles, it appears he was indeed safe.
I can’t sit around and make excuses for the Phillies. They have to hit the ball and they have to win this game unless they really want to face Lincecum, Sanchez & Cain back-to-back-to-back to attempt to finish the series. As I write this, the Fightins score their first runs in almost 16 innings. They may be winning right this second, but you can’t get shut out for the equivalent of almost two straight games and expect to move on to the next round of the playoffs. All I’m asking for is that the one constant in the game actually remains consistent. Isn’t that why math-minded people tend to be baseball fans? Consistency! Precision! I don’t understand why the umpiring has gotten more lax when the game itself has not.
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Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
Chicks Dig the... what?
Originally posted by Chicks Dig the Long Ball.
This image has not been used with the express written consent of Major League Baseball, it's employees or affiliates. But Ryan Howard said if I mention his name I can do whatever I want. Suck on that, FOX.
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This image has not been used with the express written consent of Major League Baseball, it's employees or affiliates. But Ryan Howard said if I mention his name I can do whatever I want. Suck on that, FOX.
Official Baseball Ladies Championship Series Predictions!
Originally posted by Chicks Dig the Long Ball.
With the ALCS game between the Yankees and the Rangers about to begin here shortly, it’s time to look at the Official Baseball Lady Predictions for the Championship series. But first, let’s take a look at how we did at eyeballing the Divisional Series that recently came to a close. Here were our individual and collective predictions:
With the ALCS game between the Yankees and the Rangers about to begin here shortly, it’s time to look at the Official Baseball Lady Predictions for the Championship series. But first, let’s take a look at how we did at eyeballing the Divisional Series that recently came to a close. Here were our individual and collective predictions:
Official Baseball Ladies Predictions: Phillies in four, Giants in four, Twins in five, Rays in four.
The final (actual) results? Phillies in three (correctly predicted by Angela, Kelly and Janet), Giants in four (Meghan, Kim, Angela, Kelly, Janet and myself), Yankees in three (none of us thought that would happen, and face it, neither did any of you), and Rangers in 5 (just me). So overall as a group we were pretty good at analyzing the National League and completely tanked the AL. Angela, Kelly, Janet & myself slide into the lead with two correct predictions each while Liz, Natalie, Deanna and Cyn have a lower batting average than Greg Dobbs at 0.000.
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Thursday, October 7, 2010
A Doctoral Dissertation: There Are No Words
I got back to the hotel around 9:00 PM last night, and I've been mulling over this ever since. How exactly can I put into words what Roy Halladay just did? I could write a simple, yet resonating piece reflecting on the evening a la Zoo With Roy, I could analyze every millisecond of the last pitch like Crashburn Alley, or I could write a telling recap the way Dash Treyhorn writes for The Fightins night after night. But in all honesty, the only things I can think of to say are "Doc is three pitches away from pitching three perfect games in 2010," "if he hadn't already, Roy Halladay just put the seal on his Cy Young Award," and "the Jays should fold their entire franchise for stifling him for so long." I don't have anything to add that hasn't already been said, and that's OK. The best I can do is bring you some pictures documenting the evening from my seat in the stands. If a picture is worth a thousand words, consider this my Doctoral Dissertation.
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| Reds & Phillies line up for the National Anthem before Game One of the NLDS. |
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Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Official Baseball Ladies Division Series Predictions!
Originally posted by Chicks Dig the Long Ball.
I'll be honest, I thought there was going to be a lot more variety when I asked the ladies to submit their to-the-point Division Series predictions. Here's the Clifton Phifer Notes version:
I'd say we're being biased in that we ALL picked the Phillies to take down the Reds in the first round, but let's be honest. The Reds haven't been in the playoffs since Deanna was in kindergarten. Charlie has had the past four years to figure out how to manage this team beyond Game 162, and because of that, all the media outlets have Philadelphia picked hands down to win the series. Angela, Kelly & Janet are the only ones of us that feel confident in a sweep, and it's hard to argue with them after what the Phils did to the Reds in the season series, but I'm going to go ahead say the Official Baseball Lady Prediction is Phillies in four.
There was very little (ok, zero) variation in our second NL pick, as well. Liz and Cyn feel the Braves are going to battle for Bobby and push their series with the Giants to five games with the Giants coming out on top. Natalie and Dee are eyeing a Giants sweep but as Natalie mentioned, it depends entirely on which Barry Zito shows up to the party. As for the rest of us, we're calling the Official Baseball Lady Prediction as Giants in four. Even though there hasn't been a playoff game in San Fransisco in seven years, the Giants played their tails off to earn their crown in the West. The fall of the Padres may have helped a little, but this is a crew that has their eye on the prize and they're not going to let a patchwork Atlanta Braves team steal it out from under them.
Over in the American League we have a little bit more of a shakeup. Janet and Cyn were the only gals to peg the Yankees to take down the Twins, but not without a struggle. None of us are predicting a sweep in this matchup, and I'm thrilled to bring you the Official Baseball Lady Prediction of Twins in five. It was an overwhelming consensus that the Twins and Yankees are both going to have to show up ready to fight to the finish in what I think is actually going to be the most exciting series of the first round of the playoffs. The Yankees have all the moving pieces necessary to wrap up the AL, but I'd be lying if I said they didn't back into the postseason on a wing, a prayer, and everyone not named AJ Burnett. If they Yankees can figure out a rotation that doesn't consist of CC, CC, and more CC, they have a shot, but with too much uncertainty lying on the pitching staff, I have to give this one to Minnesota.
Finally, we look at the Rays and the Rangers. Liz is the only one of us to predict a sweep, giving the nod to the Rays in three. Natalie and I are the lone rangers (ha) picking Texas in four and five games respectively. The Rays were the hurdle to leap over in the AL East all season long, giving the Yankees a run for their money right up until the last day of the season. The Rangers, however, held down the West without question practically from day one. Let's be honest, though, their division consists of the Mariners (biggest bust of 2010 if you ask me), Oakland (who finished with a respectable .500 record all things considered), and the rehabilitating Angels (who gave away their entire team in the offseason). The Official Baseball Lady Prediction is Rays in four.
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I'll be honest, I thought there was going to be a lot more variety when I asked the ladies to submit their to-the-point Division Series predictions. Here's the Clifton Phifer Notes version:
I'd say we're being biased in that we ALL picked the Phillies to take down the Reds in the first round, but let's be honest. The Reds haven't been in the playoffs since Deanna was in kindergarten. Charlie has had the past four years to figure out how to manage this team beyond Game 162, and because of that, all the media outlets have Philadelphia picked hands down to win the series. Angela, Kelly & Janet are the only ones of us that feel confident in a sweep, and it's hard to argue with them after what the Phils did to the Reds in the season series, but I'm going to go ahead say the Official Baseball Lady Prediction is Phillies in four.
There was very little (ok, zero) variation in our second NL pick, as well. Liz and Cyn feel the Braves are going to battle for Bobby and push their series with the Giants to five games with the Giants coming out on top. Natalie and Dee are eyeing a Giants sweep but as Natalie mentioned, it depends entirely on which Barry Zito shows up to the party. As for the rest of us, we're calling the Official Baseball Lady Prediction as Giants in four. Even though there hasn't been a playoff game in San Fransisco in seven years, the Giants played their tails off to earn their crown in the West. The fall of the Padres may have helped a little, but this is a crew that has their eye on the prize and they're not going to let a patchwork Atlanta Braves team steal it out from under them.
Over in the American League we have a little bit more of a shakeup. Janet and Cyn were the only gals to peg the Yankees to take down the Twins, but not without a struggle. None of us are predicting a sweep in this matchup, and I'm thrilled to bring you the Official Baseball Lady Prediction of Twins in five. It was an overwhelming consensus that the Twins and Yankees are both going to have to show up ready to fight to the finish in what I think is actually going to be the most exciting series of the first round of the playoffs. The Yankees have all the moving pieces necessary to wrap up the AL, but I'd be lying if I said they didn't back into the postseason on a wing, a prayer, and everyone not named AJ Burnett. If they Yankees can figure out a rotation that doesn't consist of CC, CC, and more CC, they have a shot, but with too much uncertainty lying on the pitching staff, I have to give this one to Minnesota.
Finally, we look at the Rays and the Rangers. Liz is the only one of us to predict a sweep, giving the nod to the Rays in three. Natalie and I are the lone rangers (ha) picking Texas in four and five games respectively. The Rays were the hurdle to leap over in the AL East all season long, giving the Yankees a run for their money right up until the last day of the season. The Rangers, however, held down the West without question practically from day one. Let's be honest, though, their division consists of the Mariners (biggest bust of 2010 if you ask me), Oakland (who finished with a respectable .500 record all things considered), and the rehabilitating Angels (who gave away their entire team in the offseason). The Official Baseball Lady Prediction is Rays in four.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
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