Fin d'été

"People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring." -Rogers Hornsby

It's not the years honey, it's the mileage.

Throughout the year we have been told that C.J. Wilson will be the most coveted starting pitcher on the market this offseason.  Does this say more about C.J. Wilson's talent or the class of starters hitting free agency this year? Based on the contracts given out in recent years for top of the rotation starters, Mr. Wilson will be paid handsomely for his services over the next few years (probably somewhere in the $15 million AAV neighborhood for 4-6 years).  

Hold on to your butts. It's the Fall Classic.

Texas Rangers (96-66) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (90-72)
AL West Champs            NL Wild Card Winner
def. DET 4-2 ALCS         def. MIL 4-2 NLCS
def. TB 3-1 ALDS          def. PHI 3-2 NLDS

Six glorious months of summer, an interesting first half of October and we have our Fall Classic.  As is customary, we get a matchup few predicted, including myself (my preseason World Series was Angels vs. Rockies).  Don't worry about me; I stay away from the pony races.  I didn't pick either of these teams to make the playoffs, let alone be the last two standing.  I should reiterate what has been stated in previous posts: I am a Cubs fan, and I do not like the Cardinals.  In fact, I loathe them.  I respect the hell out of the organization, am envious of their accomplishments, but I hope they fail in winning their 11th World Championship.  I am still annoyed by 2006, when they limped into the playoffs, made a mockery of the short series format and became the worst team in  history to win the title.  As much as I would love to see a highly competitive, back-and-forth World Series requiring the maximum seven games for the first time since 2002, I would much prefer the Rangers to sweep in dominating fashion.  That aside, there is much to be excited about in this series.  And much to dread.

Coffee is for Closers

Simpler times

One of the most insightful tidbits of Michael Lewis' Moneyball, takes up a mere page and a half of the 300 page book.  Just a couple paragraphs in a sea of words stood out to me more so than almost anything else, in particular this passage:


" ... it was more efficient to create a closer than to buy one. Established closers were systematically overpriced, in large part because of the statistic by which closers were judged in the marketplace: "saves." The very word made the guy who achieved them sound vitally important. But the situation typically described by the save - the bases empty in the ninth inning with the team leading - was clearly far less critical than a lot of other situations pitchers faced."

Oh My October

Not this year

While much of the baseball watching public reacted in shock to the Cardinals’ dispatching of the Phillies, I was merely resigned.  One could feel it coming; it’s been coming steady since the Wild Card was implemented in 1995.  Once again the best team in the league, and rightful pennant winner, failed to earn the privilege of hoisting that flag.  There is no love lost on my part on behalf of the Philadelphia Phillies.  They are a very good team, the best in the National League by six victories and had a superb 2011 campaign.  And yes, they were much better than the St. Louis Cardinals.  And yet, those of us still excited by the grandeur of the World Series, the last gasp of Summer before the cold North winds force us indoors and the days actually do get shorter, will once again face the possibility of seeing one of baseball’s lesser teams competing on the game’s grandest stage.  But if the Cardinals do in fact defeat the Brewers and advance to the World Series, will they have earned it?  Sure.  They had to win games to get there.  But they still won’t be the National League’s best offering.  Just as the winner of ALCS will fail to represent the best of the Junior Circuit.  It seems this inevitability is good for baseball, good for the fans.  Or at least those men in the position of making decisions on behalf of this two-century-old game seem to think so, as the playoffs are on the verge of further expansion. 

Smoke 'em if you got 'em: ALDS Recap

Tastes like victory

During the Division Series, I found myself intrigued by the AL match-ups more so than the ones in the NL.  This is different than my normal NL-centric leanings, and probably had a lot to do with the fact that I despise both the Cardinals and Phillies, and (wrongly) didn't give the Diamondbacks much of a chance against the Brewers. The junior circuit kicks off their Championship Series tonight in Texas with the two most colorful managers left in the postseason facing off in a battle for the pennant.  Before that happens, lets take a look back at what went down in the Division Series.

How I learned to stop worrying and love the Brewers: NLDS Recap

Important things from the 2011 NLDS

The NLDS wrapped up yesterday with two very exciting one-run elimination games.  Much like no one thought the Diamondbacks had a chance to win their division, no one thought they would give the Brewers much of a fight in the first round of the playoffs.  When the Brewers won the first two games of the series, outscoring Arizona 13-5, with Ryan Braun continuing to rake like he had in the regular season, I wrote this series off as just another Division round rout.  Things changed however when the series moved to the desert, as the Diamondbacks won Games 3 and 4, outscoring the Brewers 18-7.  With a grand slam in each game and an excellent pitching performance from the hatchet-throwing rookie Josh Collmenter in Game 4 (7 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 6 K), the Diamondbacks continued to surprise everyone.   

Memory Demands an Image

I'm a sucker for old black and white baseball photos. Recently a treasure trove of old photos has surfaced courtesy of the Boston Public Library. Over 1,900 of nearly 3,000 photos have been digitized with new additions being posted weekly until all the photos are available.  The photos are all from the personal collection of Boston-Herald photographer Leslie Jones who worked for the paper from 1917-1956, covering both the Red Sox and Bees/Braves organizations.  Jones saved all of his negatives from his career as a photographer, and it was his wish to have his photos available for public viewing. His family granted his wish, donating over 40,000 negatives to the Boston Public Library. 

I've collected some of my favorites here for your viewing pleasure. You can check them all out on the BPL Flickr page.  (Tip of the cap to Ninety Feet of Perfection for pointing this out.)