As I’ve gotten busy with other endeavors, my baseball writing time has taken a hit. The Division series was a great way to usher in the 2010 MLB Playoffs though so here’s a piece I wrote today for http://www.shutyourfuckingfaceandlisten.com, where you can find many a musing from yours truly.
he division series have come and gone in momentous fashion. We said goodbye to Atlanta skipper Bobby (“Scourge of Flushing”) Cox, whose Bravos fell to the mastery of Tiny Tim, Brian Wilson and the S.F. Jints in 4. The Phils crushed the Red Leggings three straight with stupid starting pitching including Doc Halladay tossing only the 2nd no-hitter in post season history. In the A.L., Tampa fought back from a 2-0 deficit but fell to the left arm of the human adverb, Cliff Lee and his Rangers of Tejas in the first playoff series in baseball history where the road team won every game. Up in the Boogie Down, the Yanks once again dominated the Twins as expected, sweeping away Minnesota’s hopes “down the banks of the Mississippi River,” as Hold Steady frontman (and big Twins fan) Craig Finn would say.
Oh by the way, Finn loves the Twins so much, he recently penned an ode to his hardball idols: “Please Don’t Call Them Twinkies.” Peep the dissing of the Atlanta Tomahawk Chop at around 2:50. When the Braves play my boys in Flushing, we like to mock the chop while chanting “fuck the braves,” to the tune of their stupid cheer…
http://www.youtube.com/v/DAxVNQTqU1s?fs=1&hl=en_US
Now to review my picks from last week: Got both NL series correct. Picked the Yanks, but in 5 and I had Tampa in 5. Pretty close. My 5-star, triple crown locks for the League Championship round:
American League
These aren’t your father’s Texas Rangers. They aren’t just a bunch of gigantic juice heads (see Juan Gonzalez, Rafael Palmeiro, Jose Canseco and later A-Rod) golfing homers into the short porches of Arlington stadium. Ron Washington’s boys have the good shit and they’re running wild! The Jorge, Cervelli NY catching duo’s got their work cut out for them and Yankee pitchers will have to work extra hard to keep the deer antlers off base. Of course they still hit homers, with Vlad the Impaler, The Natural, Nellie Boomstick and the Jewish Guy, Kinsler all swinging for the seats. Of course the Yanks can run up the score with anyone and their bats were hot in the first round too. With Lee going in the deciding game against Tampa, the Yanks won’t see him until Game 3, so the pressure is on Texas starters C.J. Wilson and Colby Lewis tomorrow and Saturday. If they’re not careful, they could be down 2-0 by the time Lee takes the mound. Yanks ace, C.C. Sabathia hasn’t pitched in 8 days and NY’s hoping he hasn’t been hitting the buffet too hard. Yanks starters Philly Hughes and Andy Pettite have their work cut out for them in Games 2 and 3, but Hughes has had success against the Rangers and Pettite hold runners better than anyone. This is going to be a tough series between two teams that are very evenly matched up and down the roster. I’ll say Yanks win in 7. Why? Mariano. ‘Nuff Said.
National League
It’s David versus Goliath, Sparta versus Persia, Vietnam versus America… you get the idea. As much as it pains me to say it, the Phillies are the most complete team in baseball right now. They have an American League style lineup that hits from 1-8 and they have the best 1-2-3 starting pitching punch in the game. The Giants bats have woken up some but they’re going to need a minor miracle to touch up the Halladay/Oswalt/Hamels three-headed monster. They have a pretty potent 1-2-3 starting pitching combo too and Lincecum/Cain/Sanchez are all going to have to be lights out in order to give their team a shot. While Doc Halladay was almost perfect, Timmy was just as dominating in his game one appearance, throwing a 2-hit, 14 K gem. In a baseball nerd’s wet dream, Saturday the two aces face each other in what may be the best playoff pitching duel in recent memory. If you watch only one game the rest of October, watch this one! These two guys will be enshrined in Cooperstown one day and you’ll be able to tell the kids about this game. Phils are too deep. They beat S.F. in 5.
Three True Outcomes 