2008 preview

No one is reading this, but it's tradition.

I'll be quick.

NL playoff teams (wildcard *): Padres, Cubs, Mets, Phils *

AL : Angels, Tigers, Yankees, Mariners *

World Series: Mets over Angels

There. I said it. That way, it won't happen.

Leo's Official Response to the Mitchell Report

Meh..... It's not that surprising.

I guess it's nice to see Clemens have to deal with scrutiny.

See there, George, I just saved you seven hours. You're welcome.

Study finds Boston "no longer considered cute"

October 29, 2007 - BOSTON, MASS.

It was reported today that a recent study showed Americans had lost all rooting interest for New England teams and New Englanders themselves, unless they happened to be one. The study comes in the wake of the Red Sox clinching the world series on the same day that the Patriots improved to 8-0 with a 52-7 drubbing of the Washington Redskins. It appears Boston, once the darling of the underdog lovers across the world, is no longer fun to root for.

"I think it comes from the earlier part of the decade, when the Sox and Pats were always destined to fuck up," says Boston street psychologist Sean O' Flannery. "Remember the 2001 Pats? No one thought they'd beat the Rams. They always pissed themselves in the big game. But they won, behind a true underdog in Tom Brady, and it was a great story. And then, my Gawd, the curse. The Sox! Down 3-0! Everyone hates the Yankees! But they pulled it off, and then everyone couldn't help themselves."

The study confirmed that people across the country, exculding New England, began to get tired of seeing the Red Sox and Patriots on TV constantly. The national sports media, once fixated on New York, has made Boston its go-to source of overused footage. The go-fuck-yourself attitudes of Patriots coach Bill Belichick and Sox ace Curt Schilling did not help matters. Former out-of-nowhere, great underdog story Tom Brady now goes through supermodels like a pack of Newports and appears on magazines from GQ to Cat Fancy. The Sox payroll is topped only by the Paris Hilton-esque spending Yankees. The lovable underdog image is clearly gone, according to the report. Both teams were favored to win titles this year, and the Sox have done so.

"You want suffering, we've got it," said longtime Cleveland resident Arnie Biffer. "People thought it was cute that the Sox came back to win the ALCS. CUTE??? We haven't won the series since WW2. We haven't even BEEN to a Super Bowl yet. But there they are, getting all the attention. They think they're cute.

You ain't cute anymore, Boston."

America, it seems, agrees.

Ah, the life of Philly

I've been on the East coast for the past week, basking in the first real playoff excitement in Philly in years. It was luck that I decided to come home this week andwas able to see them pull it off up close. First off, can you believe it? After years of almost doing it, they got enough to squeeze in on the very last day. People were celebrating. I couldn't drive around South Jersey without seeing rally caps and red balloons everywhere. The Cherry Hill mall was finally covered in red instead of green.

I haven't had computer access, but I wanted to post this on here last week:

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FUCK YES!!!!!!

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But instead, I will have to post this now:

AWWWWWWWW FUCK!

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That's it then, as I just saw. That is the end of it.

We shouldn't be so surprised, or disheartened. The Rockies were the hottest team in baseball, only no one was paying attention to them (as opposed to all eyes on the Phils-Mets race). Philly is a constant state of ups and downs. It's still great to see them end the playoff drought, and with only 8 spots, baseball is still the hardest sport to make the playoffs in. Just ask the Brewers, Mets, and Padres, the latter two teams being ones I thought for certain, up until two weeks ago, to be in the NLCS. It's tough.

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but seriously....

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Colorado vs. Arizona? Who the fuck is going to watch that?????

trade deadline deals

Hello? Is anyone still reading this?

You know the trade deadline passed today?

Did you also know that the Phils are one game back in the Wild Card standings?

Weird.

In SoCal, the big news (not really) is that the Angels did nothing. Despite the Mariners creeping up like it's 1995, despite an abundance of young talent, despite a glaring need for a bat, the Angels stood pat. Their G.M., Bill Stoneman, is less active and more in love with his own farm system than the guys who used to run the Phils. They could have easily been a contender, but no, they like their team too much.

They'll like it when Boston or Detroit crushes them, if they even make the playoffs.

Also, them not going for Mark Texiera made it easier for the Braves to get him. Dammit. Now the Phils have to worry about them too.

The Red Sox have gumption. The Angels don't. The Phils made a few nice moves but I'm not going to jinx anything.

Nice job, Stoneman. I've been paying attention to the Angels for three months and I'm already convinced that you are merely a hologram.

Oh, those O's

The Orioles just fired their manager, Sam Perlazzo, but it's not like he had much to work with. This is creating a debate amongst sportswriters everywhere: is this a dead job? Can the Orioles ever win again? Most say no. I would like to pose this question to Mr. Perseghin, but it seems he has fled from humanity in a remote Rhode Island camping colony. I didn't know Rhode Island was big enough to be lost in, frankly. Whenever you come back to the world, Louis, perhaps you can weigh in on this.

I'm interested in this case for a few reasons. Number one, I used to have split allegiances with the Phillies and Orioles. The Orioles were my favorite AL team until I started seeing the abosolute pain the Red Sox fans held. It was easy to get to Baltimore from my house in Lancaster, so they were on the news as much as the Phils. During the mid 90's, when the Phils were awful and the O's were in the playoffs all the time, we needed it. Number two, it might help show people why basbeall needs some sort of salary cap. Number three, I like Baltimore; they have a good stadium and good fans, traditionally. They deserve better.

Are they really dead? Is there no hope for them in the AL East? Let us consider the pros and cons.

THE BAD NEWS

Peter Angelos is..... well, some have called him the worst owner ever. Is there anyone who doesn't hate this guy? Have you ever heard him described as less than despicable?

The AL East is loaded and it's never going to get any easier because the Yankees and Red Sox will always have the cash to spend. Sometimes, the Blue Jays too.

They now have to share the area with the Nationals.

Since the Red Sox-Yankee rivalry heated up again, no national sources have paid any attention to them and they haven't gottten close to the playoffs.

They haven't had a good pitcher in years.

Their big-name signings did nothing.

None of the managers since Davey Johnson did anything... and even he got fired.

THE GOOD

Andy MacPhail has done good work before in other front offices.

They claim to have a lot of young pitchers, and they managed to bring in former Braves svengali Leo Mazzone to help.

At least they did spend for a while. Their payroll is larger than a lot of the bad teams... they haven't gone completely cheap on everyone.

They're getting a lot of money from a new TV deal.

Despite the addition of the Nationals, it should be noted that the Beltway is one of the richest and most prosperous areas of the country. The area is full of people with cash and corporate sponsors.

Camden Yards is still nice.

THE VERDICT

Honestly? I don't know. I think anyone in that division has trouble... you might get a year when one of the powerhouses is down, but then the rest of the AL is tough. I hope we can get a deabte here, if anyone still reads this. I'd hate to see all the hope run out in Baltimore.

one night at Chavez Ravine

So I made my first trip to Dodger Stadium on Monday night. The Boys in Blue (sorry, Pierre Robeire, it actually works for them) lost big to the Cards. I managed to harass Scott Rolen, grab a few Dodger Dogs, and take in most of the game. My rating for the stadium? I'd say a solid B.

The atmosphere is good and the stadium is classically simple. Yes, there are too many rich people who come in late and don't make enough noise, but even most of the fans in the good sections appreciate the game. They weren't falsely excited, either, like those bizarre Angel fans. Good for them. It's not as intense as the Vet, and not as fancy as PNC, but it's a nice mix.