Winner!
Here’s a little analysis for ya.
Between the ages of 8 and 13, there is nothing I wanted more than to play baseball. Funny thing is that I never thought of it in terms of being a big league player. I just wanted to play.
But a few things happened on the way - pretty much within 2 years that distracted me. I discovered skateboarding - a sport at which I became better at than baseball. I discovered girls. I also discovered a less than ideal crowd of friends, lost my mother. It didn’t take long before I re-discovered my faith (with some gentle guidance), but I broke my hip and discovered that 2 years away from baseball at age 15 was a long time - I had fallen behind everyone else.
I was still a fan, and a student of the game so to speak. I still love a 2-1 pitcher’s duel as much as a 10-8 home run fest. I read a column recently that suggested football had way more strategy involved than baseball. Whoever thinks that doesn’t know baseball all that well. On the converse - sheer determination, skill, and sometimes luck, laziness, and error can trump the best strategy. Walking a power hitter to pitch to someone else does no good if the shortstop bobbles the potential double play ground ball, or the opposing manager puts in a pinch hitter. Bringing the infield in for a force play at home fails when a blooper drops behind them.
Then the Phillies made it to the World Series in 93. With the exception of one game - it was a slugfest, and a lot closer than the 4-2 series final shows. The Phillies had the lead in games 1 and a big lead late in game 4, which was lost by Mitch Williams. They also had the lead in game 6, which he infamously lost by tossing in a batting practice type pitch to Joe Carter in the bottom of the 9th. The worst coaching decision in Phillies history was putting him in and leaving him in the game after he had already allowed two players to get on base. But, I digress, it’s all history now.
Cole Hamels, Brad Lidge, Jamie Moyer, Joe Blanton, JC Romero, Ryan Madson, even a Brett Myers. Can you believe the Phillies won the World Series because of their pitching? Heck, the relief pitching, traditionally their biggest weakness, that really won the series for them. Jason Werth had a higher batting average in the playoffs than Jimmy Rollins. Shane Victorino had more RBI than Ryan Howard. Carlos Ruiz had more hits than Chase Utley. So you see, baseball at a high skill level is all about defense, base running, and pitching. The Phils really only had one game in the post season that they won with big time offense.
I’m a mix between a baseball purist, and a new-ager. I would not have implemented interleague play and would not care if it disappeared, but I can live with it. Teams in the same division should play the exact same cross league opponents. I like he 6 divisions, and the wild card, but I don’t like how it’s been implemented. How in anyone’s mind does it make sense for one division to have 4 teams while other’s have 6? I can find no one who likes the idea of giving World Series home field advantage to the winner of the All Star game. As for instant replay? I don’t have a problem with it. Saying that the human factor of umpires on the field is part of the tradition part of the game does not make sense to me. How can we in a sporting event say that it’s ever wrong to try and get the call right? How is it OK that Jimmy Rollins was called safe when Evan Longoria clearly tagged his butt? How is it OK that Carl Crawford was safe when the umpire was standing behind Howard and could not see either him bare handing Moyer’s flip, or exactly when Crawford stepped on first? Why not let that mysterious new technology, called a video camera, help them do the right thing?
Oh yah - the dumbest long standing idea in baseball? The designated hitter.
But again, I digress. The Phils won the series and are champs. Not only that, their team is still quite young and should contend for a few more years. They have a little work to do in the farm system, but they do have a few pitching prospects at the AAA level who could be in the rotation or bullpen early next year. Given what we’ve seen from the Rays, as well as the decline of the Yankees and age of the Red Sox - we could realistically have a rare World Series repeat in 2009.
Posted on October 31st, 2008 by CJsDaddy
Filed under: Baseball, Fun
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