MARCO'S BASEBALL
BLOG-O-ROONIE SEPT. 2015
HIDEOUS
REALITY...dispatches from the pennant race
1/ The Houston Astros have lost their mojo. As Lucinda
Williams sings in “I Lost It”...
“I think I lost it
Let me know if you come across it
Let me know if I let it fall along a back road somewhere.
Money can't replace it
No memory can erase it
And I know I'm never gonna find another one to compare.”
This after a season long game of mirrors in which these upstarts
bashed homers and struck out in record numbers. They were young and
strong and they couldn't hit for asverage or win on the road, but
everybody else in the American League West sucked so bad that the
Astros took over first place by default and stayed there most of the
season.
Then the given-up-for-dead Texas Rangers, who seemingly
lost their chance at franchise glory a few years ago in back to back
world Series losses to the Giants and Cardinals and then endured a
couple of voodoo injury years when most of their roster was on the
DL, suddenly woke up, traded for Cole Hamels and decided they
would smoke this division.
The Rangers spanked the Baby-Stros in four straight punishing
contests in Arlington and won the first game of a three game set in
Houston. Sure, the Astros are mathematically in it, but the way they
lost!
Kazmir, the 'Stros big trade deadline addition, continued
to stink up the field with yet another lame outing. The Astros made
errors, misjudged fly balls, threw wildly over cut off men, ran into
their own star second baseman Altuve and knocked him out of
the game with a concussion-watch and in general did everything they
could to make sure they lost big.
The Astros led 9 to 4 in the second game (6 solo homers...their
usual variety...2 each by Altuve and Correa who have been
carrying them)going into the ninth and wound up with the tying runs
on base before they could put down the Strangers 9-7. Sure they won
but it was a sick kind of win. The bullpen is just not there anymore.
Keuchel won the rubber game...he always wins at home and
almost never on the road...so they have given hope to suffering
Houstonians....it's a false hope though.
The Rangers are in their head. Season series is now 13-6 for the
Rangers. Houston has no chance at the division title anymore. The
Astros are clinging to a forlorn hope that they can hold off two bad
teams...Minnesota and L.A. and somehow limp into the
second wild card slot. But...the HIDEOUS REALITY...After the
Rangers series the Astros end the season with 6 road games ...and the
Astros are the worst road team of any of the contenders.
Mojo is so gone...better luck next year Astros.
2/On July 27th the Yankees were up by 7 games over
the Toronto Blue Jays. So they decided to skip the trading
deadline and keep their young and future stars down on the farm and
go into cruise control into the playoffs. Then Ellsbury got
hurt...then Texeira got injured, then a couple of starters got
hurt. Meanwhile...
The Blue Jays went out and traded for mega-shortstop Troy
Tulowitzski and leftie Ace David Price, sending a message
to their already talented bunch that the front office was committed
to winning now. The players responded with a winning streak and now
lead the division by 4. That's an 11 game turn around in less than
two months.
The Yankees are not going to win the division. They better hope
Tanaka has a good day against whoever wins the second wild
card...the Twins, the Angels ...(probably not the Astros). Plus...the
HIDEOUS REALITY...the Yankees know they are not as good as the
Toronto Blue Jays.
3/The Washington Nationals are the biggest disappointment in
many years. They were picked by EVERYBODY (including your idiot
correspondent) to win the division at least and probably the pennant.
And even with Harper having a startling MVP season they are at
least a dozen games OUT OF THE WILD CARD! Suckola!
The way the Nats folded in that series in Washington...getting
leads in almost every game and then coughing up furballs...hard not
to think there is a chemistry problem on that team.
Why did these idiots keep pitching to Yoenis Cespedes after
he killed them over and over and over? HIDEOUS REALITY...Ask
their now sure-to be-fired manager Matt Williams.
What Cespedes did in that series made a certain correspondent
with an historical bent remember the 1949 season, when Joe
DiMaggio, after being on the shelf for 67 games with terrible
bone spurs to start the season, suddenly woke up one morning with no
pain in his heel and talked Casey Stengel into letting him play in a
crucial series at Fenway against the first place Red Sox. Joe hadn't
even SWUNG A BAT in two months! So what happens? The Clipper hits 4
homers in 3 games and the Yankees sweep and go on to win the first of
five straight World Series.
That's what Baseball Gods do. Good start Cespedes. Let's see what
comes next.
4/The Metskies will be playing the Dodgers in the first round.
That should be a good series. The Mets starters have suddenly got
tired arms though...except for Bartolo and Syndergaard...and
you have to like the Dodgers chances with Kershaw and Greinke
pitching the way they are. If Harvey and DeGrom can
pitch up to their capacity, the Mets have a chance.
Hideous Reality...Harvey and DeGrom look tired.
5/Pittsburgh has been beating Chicago like a red-headed
step child. The Pirates have won about 9 straight and are going into
a series with the Cardinals with a chance to pull even or
overtake the once unassailable Redbirds. Amazing! The Pittsburgh
pitching philosophy...”pitch to contact, come inside, try to get an
outcome by the third pitch”...is paying off big time as their
starters seem to have more left at the end of the season after lower
pitch counts.
It's going to be a great play-in game between Cole and
Arrietta. Should be a 1-0 or 2-1 type contest. The Cubs have
been handling the Cardinals pretty well lately. Maybe they should
throw a game to Pittsburgh just so the Pirates have a better chance
of winning the division. That way Chicago can play the Cards in the
wild card and not have to face Cole again in a one-win-takes-all
situation. I know I'd rather go up against Jaime Garcia and
the Molina-less and Carlos Martinez-less Cardinals
right now.
Of course...that would be WRONG! But I wonder if they've thought
of it? Hideous Reality...sometimes teams cheat.
How many times have teams who are out of it in September started a
bunch of rookies against one team and put all their stars in against
a more-hated rival? Only like all the time. Other teams complain and
accuse but who's to stop them “scouting their talent” at the
expense of other teams in the pennant race? (It's a good reason to do
away with expanded rosters...or at least 40 man expansions.)
And always remember that the most famous playoff series of all
time...Giants against Dodgers 1951 decided by Bobby
Thompson's “shot heard round the world” only happened
because the Giants figured out how to put a man with binoculars in
center field to tip pitches to Giant hitters for the final month and
a half of the season. I think the Giants went 37-5 or something
ridiculous like that to gain 12 games on the Dodgers and tie them up.
Ralph Branca still insists that Thompson stole the sign on
that famous homer. A bitter pill to live with all this time.
6/Enough of this crap! Let's say something nice about a wonderful
guy...YOGI!!
I once got in an argument on a call-in radio show with Rob
Dibble. Dibble was dissing Yogi because “he was a midget” and
couldn't have been any good. He seemed to think that all the
old-timers were overrated and couldn't have competed with modern
players.
I pointed out that Yogi won 3 MVPs, finished second twice, third
once and fourth once. He was so durable that he caught over 130 games
a year for a decade. He batted in over a hundred runs 5 times, hit
homers and only struck out 414 times in a 19 year career. He was a
catcher batting third, fourth or fifth for his whole career.
Yogi wasn't the best defensive catcher ever but he was very good.
He was certainly one of the best handlers of pitchers ever. He could
go out to the mound and say something stupid to settle down a nervous
pitcher. They loved him. He had vast baseball knowledge.
Two all-timers had something to say about Yogi: Casey Stengel said
his secret formula for winning all those pennants was “I never
played a big game without my Man out there”....meaning Yogi. And
Ted Williams said “When we play the Yankees I don't worry about
Mantle...I worry about Yogi.”
I think Ted said that because there was no way to pitch to Yogi.
He'd hit any pitch and hit it anywhere. And yet he still got his
walks.
So Berra wasn't a clown...he was a ballplayer, and even though he
was only 5'7” and 180 pounds he takes his place with a lot of other
underrated stocky little guys who could play the game. (Hack Wilson,
Frankie Frisch, Joe Medwick, Jimmy Wynn, Kirby Puckett and Jose
Altuve just to name a few...short arms can equal compressed power and
fewer K's)
My last Hideous Reality of the day...never think Rob Dibble
has a clue!
And thank you Yogi, for entertaining us all these years and making
Baseball a more joyous experience for so many.
Have fun rooting for your favorites.
See you next time!
