How many Opening Days are there? Is it still Opening Day? I've been making way too much use of my MLB.tv subscription over the last week. I swear every day, somebody tries to call it "Opening Day." I'm confused. And angry. As I understand, the Mariners and A's "opened" the season on Wednesday, March 28 in Japan. The following Wednesday, the Marlins "opened" the season by hosting the St. Louis Cardinals. Bummed that I couldn't watch it because nationally televised games are blacked out on MLB.tv, I decided to see what else was available. Guess what! The Oakland A's were now playing a spring training game against the Giants. After they had played regular season games. Then on Thursday, most teams played their first games. But still not all of them. The rest waited for Friday. By my count, that's four opening days.
But wait, there's more. Some people refer to a home opener as "Opening Day" too. There may be a few of those left, too, but I think by this weekend we've safely reached the normal weekend/weekday series pattern. I've made the most of the bizarre schedule with lots of day games- and being between jobs - to watch way too much baseball. Yesterday, my day of baseball began with Johan Santana laboring yet somehow not giving up that many runs. Nearly ten hours later, Joe Nathan blew a save throwing a bunch of junk instead of his fastball.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Clubhouse Guys
On Friday night, I watched the Marlins play the Nationals. I have noticed a few sources praising the Nationals and suggesting that they are contender in the NL East. One in particular contrasted them with the Marlins. The basic premise was that the Nationals improved more in the offseason and had a better year last year.
For Friday's game, only the Nationals had a broadcast crew, so I listened to their announcers. They interviewed the general manager during the game. Both the announcers and GM repeatedly described various players as good "character" or "clubhouse" guys to have on the team. Meanwhile, the Marlins brought in Ozzie Guillen as manager and they're banking on the enigmatic Hanley at third base. Does this sound familiar? The Twins had plenty of clubhouse guys over the last decade. The White Sox weren't quite as fan friendly. The Sox won something that counts. This is exactly why I like the Marlins.
For Friday's game, only the Nationals had a broadcast crew, so I listened to their announcers. They interviewed the general manager during the game. Both the announcers and GM repeatedly described various players as good "character" or "clubhouse" guys to have on the team. Meanwhile, the Marlins brought in Ozzie Guillen as manager and they're banking on the enigmatic Hanley at third base. Does this sound familiar? The Twins had plenty of clubhouse guys over the last decade. The White Sox weren't quite as fan friendly. The Sox won something that counts. This is exactly why I like the Marlins.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
WIld Cards
Apparently baseball has decided to add an additional wild card in each league. Somehow, they claim this will make playoffs more exciting, or pennant races more exciting, or rewards division winners, or includes more teams, or something. I say, let's call a spade a spade. The real reason is obvious. This new rule change all but guarantees that both the Yankees and Red Sox will qualify for the playoffs every year. That greatly increases the likelihood of the Yankees playing the Red Sox in the playoffs. I took a look at the past ten seasons. The Yankees and Red Sox would have combined to take half of the additional wild card spots. In the other five seasons, both of them legitimately qualified. Of those seasons, there would have been only one postseason which did not include both teams.
I actually like that baseball has a few franchises which are always among the best in the league. Despite all the grumblings about the elite teams, a variety of teams actually win the World Series in any given season. One of the biggest drawbacks of such a playoff system is that it fails to distinguish the difference between say the 2011 Red Sox and the 2004 Red Sox. Last season's incarnation had a terrible start to the season, climbed to be a near lock for the Wild Card, and finished a collapse on the last day of the season. The 2004 Red Sox won 6 more games than the West and Central Division champions, beat one of them in the division series, and recovered from a 3-0 hole against their division rival. Ultimately, they won the World Series.
Such a team deserves the championship. That's how a playoff system should be designed. The current format is actually pretty good for that. If you want to make the playoffs, you have to win your division. One team that has a really good year without winning the division gets in. I can't remember any recent champions who were not deserving nor were any deserving teams excluded. I still prefer the old two division format. Mainly, it makes September games more meaningful. Alas, it's harder to take MLB seriously with the new format. I'll just have to settle for what interesting event may happen during any given game.
I actually like that baseball has a few franchises which are always among the best in the league. Despite all the grumblings about the elite teams, a variety of teams actually win the World Series in any given season. One of the biggest drawbacks of such a playoff system is that it fails to distinguish the difference between say the 2011 Red Sox and the 2004 Red Sox. Last season's incarnation had a terrible start to the season, climbed to be a near lock for the Wild Card, and finished a collapse on the last day of the season. The 2004 Red Sox won 6 more games than the West and Central Division champions, beat one of them in the division series, and recovered from a 3-0 hole against their division rival. Ultimately, they won the World Series.
Such a team deserves the championship. That's how a playoff system should be designed. The current format is actually pretty good for that. If you want to make the playoffs, you have to win your division. One team that has a really good year without winning the division gets in. I can't remember any recent champions who were not deserving nor were any deserving teams excluded. I still prefer the old two division format. Mainly, it makes September games more meaningful. Alas, it's harder to take MLB seriously with the new format. I'll just have to settle for what interesting event may happen during any given game.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Popular Demand
Apparently my reader wonders when I'll start posting again. In that case, I'll just start musing.
A few days ago, I was navigating MLB.com to see how pathetic the Twins roster is. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the words "Zambrano" and "Marlins" in the same headline. (Recall that I do not follow the offseason too closely because you can catch up in 5 minutes before the first pitch). I was pretty excited about that. If the goal is to pick the unTwins, I have succeeded. The Marlins may be great. They may be terrible. They'll probably be both.
The Twins already seem remarkably different when they're just another team. They have basically the same team as last year. All that's changed is that Young, Thome, Kubel, and Cuddyer have left. Meanwhile, they added that guy from the A's, that injury prone reliever from the Tigers, and Maddie Bisanz. In particular the starting pitching has not changed. Even if the Monstars return Mauer and Morneau's talent there's not much there.
By contrast, the Marlins also should expect two key players- Hanley and JJ- to return from injuries. They have added experience to the starting rotation. Jose Reyes is a proven performer. Then they have the nucleus of players like Mike Stanton, Gaby Sanchez, and Logan Morrison hitting their primes. I'd certainly think Ozzie should be a good manager for this group. They've taken a few risks but that's way better than patronizing their fans the way others might.
A few days ago, I was navigating MLB.com to see how pathetic the Twins roster is. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the words "Zambrano" and "Marlins" in the same headline. (Recall that I do not follow the offseason too closely because you can catch up in 5 minutes before the first pitch). I was pretty excited about that. If the goal is to pick the unTwins, I have succeeded. The Marlins may be great. They may be terrible. They'll probably be both.
The Twins already seem remarkably different when they're just another team. They have basically the same team as last year. All that's changed is that Young, Thome, Kubel, and Cuddyer have left. Meanwhile, they added that guy from the A's, that injury prone reliever from the Tigers, and Maddie Bisanz. In particular the starting pitching has not changed. Even if the Monstars return Mauer and Morneau's talent there's not much there.
By contrast, the Marlins also should expect two key players- Hanley and JJ- to return from injuries. They have added experience to the starting rotation. Jose Reyes is a proven performer. Then they have the nucleus of players like Mike Stanton, Gaby Sanchez, and Logan Morrison hitting their primes. I'd certainly think Ozzie should be a good manager for this group. They've taken a few risks but that's way better than patronizing their fans the way others might.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Interleague Part II
Earlier, I noted about American League managers and their fascination with double switches. This year, I watched mostly National League games for the first few months. Over the past week, I have watched several games with NL announcers calling a game in an American League park. They kept obsessing over that "9th hitter" in the lineup. There are a handful of tough yet positionless DH's in the AL. Generally, it seems to me that many teams just look at their eight best hitters and DH the worst fielder among them. If it were an NL team, he'd be in the field. In the AL, that extra half of a player is actually in the field. And he probably hits below .250 with little power. Heck, some of them probably hit closer to .200. At this point, there are only two differences between AL and NL baseball. The AL has a slightly better defense on the field. Whereas, in the NL the worthless hitter at the bottom of the lineup has productive at-bats, drives in key runs, and gets the bunt down. This is really just my perception, but I'd be interested to compare it to reality. But if I took the time to fact check everything, then I wouldn't ever post anything.
Personally, I love having a DH in exactly one league. The DH brings a different kind of purity to the game. You have a real pitcher, eight real fielders behind him, and 9 real batters in the lineup. As the game has specialized, it's just not possible to have 9 all-around players out there. That's, of course, the purity of the NL. The rules of the game force everybody to do everything. The players, coaches, and managers have to decide the perfect balance of skills.
Personally, I love having a DH in exactly one league. The DH brings a different kind of purity to the game. You have a real pitcher, eight real fielders behind him, and 9 real batters in the lineup. As the game has specialized, it's just not possible to have 9 all-around players out there. That's, of course, the purity of the NL. The rules of the game force everybody to do everything. The players, coaches, and managers have to decide the perfect balance of skills.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
U2
On Friday night, I knew the Marlins were playing a late game, so I took my chance to watch the early Pirates game. The Pirates finished their win over Boston at about 9:15 and I flipped over to the Marlins game. They were showing the Marlins batting lineup and oddly it included the pitcher. Then I noticed the Marlins were wearing the home white pants and it was the bottom of the first. The field looked suspiciously like Safeco. Of course, the announcers explained the whole story in the top of the first which I had missed. Sure, I could just look it up, but I hoped that at some point they'd mention it. Apparently, there was a U2 concert in Miami. At first, it seemed silly that a concert would bump the ballgame. Then I realized that they're lucky to get 10,000 fans at a Marlins game. For a 3 game series, that might be 30,000. I'm fairly certain that u2 could fill more seats than that.
Also, watch out for catcher Carlton Tanabe of the Clinton Lumberkings. He may only be the backup catcher for the Mariners Single-A affiliate, but he's a real good catch-and-throw guy. He calls a good game. Handles the young staff very well. Forget having a pitching coach out there on the field. He's like having another manager on the field. Or maybe he's just a backup catcher in the minor leagues. I suppose it's guys like this who hang around until they're 30 and find a job somewhere in the majors.
Also, watch out for catcher Carlton Tanabe of the Clinton Lumberkings. He may only be the backup catcher for the Mariners Single-A affiliate, but he's a real good catch-and-throw guy. He calls a good game. Handles the young staff very well. Forget having a pitching coach out there on the field. He's like having another manager on the field. Or maybe he's just a backup catcher in the minor leagues. I suppose it's guys like this who hang around until they're 30 and find a job somewhere in the majors.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Davenport Iowa
Hey, at least I post more often than the Marlins win.
This weekend, I finally took my Eastern Iowa Minor League Baseball road trip. I've been stewing on the idea for a few years when I saw reports that one of the nicer parks in the minors is in Davenport, Iowa. There are also minor league teams in Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Clinton, and Burlington. Just about any weekend should feature a decent amount of baseball. This year, the scheduling worked to go to Clinton on Thursday night and then to Davenport on Friday and Saturday.
Naturally, we had to stop at the Field of Dreams near Dyersville. There are few if any signs directing passing motorists on US-20. You have to know to exit in Dyersville. Then you drive past a Pamida and a Hardees. I'm not sure I knew that either of those existed. In our case, we had to navigate a detour of the main street, too. Otherwise, you just have to know where to go. It's only a mile or two out of town. It looks just like the movie, though the corn isn't too high yet. Having grown up playing baseball on fields with pine trees for an outfield, it seems rather ordinary. I think that's the point and I'm glad that I saw it.
Modern Woodmen Park- as it's called these days- in Davenport exceeded expectations. If you enjoy baseball, you need to attend a game in this stadium. The whole experience feels like you've stepped into one of those old black and white photos you see of baseball from the 30's. We even had to wait for a train to roll through before stopping at the box office. This is just a great place for baseball. Pictures and descriptions don't do it justice. As they said on Reading Rainbow, you don't have to take my word for it. Go and find out for yourself.
This weekend, I finally took my Eastern Iowa Minor League Baseball road trip. I've been stewing on the idea for a few years when I saw reports that one of the nicer parks in the minors is in Davenport, Iowa. There are also minor league teams in Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Clinton, and Burlington. Just about any weekend should feature a decent amount of baseball. This year, the scheduling worked to go to Clinton on Thursday night and then to Davenport on Friday and Saturday.
Naturally, we had to stop at the Field of Dreams near Dyersville. There are few if any signs directing passing motorists on US-20. You have to know to exit in Dyersville. Then you drive past a Pamida and a Hardees. I'm not sure I knew that either of those existed. In our case, we had to navigate a detour of the main street, too. Otherwise, you just have to know where to go. It's only a mile or two out of town. It looks just like the movie, though the corn isn't too high yet. Having grown up playing baseball on fields with pine trees for an outfield, it seems rather ordinary. I think that's the point and I'm glad that I saw it.
Modern Woodmen Park- as it's called these days- in Davenport exceeded expectations. If you enjoy baseball, you need to attend a game in this stadium. The whole experience feels like you've stepped into one of those old black and white photos you see of baseball from the 30's. We even had to wait for a train to roll through before stopping at the box office. This is just a great place for baseball. Pictures and descriptions don't do it justice. As they said on Reading Rainbow, you don't have to take my word for it. Go and find out for yourself.
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