There have been some pretty weird home field advantage situations in the first round.
Midges swarmed Yankees reliever Joba Chamberlain on the mound in Cleveland, leading to the game-tying run scoring on a wild pitch and an eventual Indians win. Some folks around the web are saying the Off! sprayed on Chamberlain actually attracts midges, along with bright light, perfumes and carbon dioxide emissions, like those you might find around 45,000 people at a night game.
It makes me wonder if it wouldn't be possible to pull off something like that intentionally. Put one of those ultrasonic bug repellers next to a P.A. mic, have guys on the sidewalk by the "knothole" in right field open up boxes full of things that respond to them, watch them converge where the most lights are focused, then turn on the mic at the end of the inning and make 'em go 'way. Sounds like an '80s teen flick.
Meanwhile, a 17-year-old fan in Boston plucked a foul ball away from the Angels, keeping a rally alive for the Red Sox. Nice grab by the son of one a Red Sox limited partner. If you're listening, Cubs brass, here's the idea...
Teams have a responsibility to encourage their minor leaguers to become the stars of tomorrow. So what better time than the playoffs to honor the organization's top 50 defensive prospects with a pre-game presentation of a new glove? Show those fine young men what they're playing for by giving each of them a front-row playoff ticket.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Friday, October 05, 2007
Just a few notes...
...in case any of the Cubs are reading.
Play like there's no tomorrow. Repeat as necessary.
The biggest heroes are often players the enemy overlooks.
Line drives, instead of towering drives, keep a rally going for the next guy.
Laying down a bunt or drawing a walk doesn't make you any less of a man.
If Rich Hill is in command deep into a close game, see if he can go nine.
Get something started and you may never have to pick up a check in this town again.
Play like there's no tomorrow. Repeat as necessary.
The biggest heroes are often players the enemy overlooks.
Line drives, instead of towering drives, keep a rally going for the next guy.
Laying down a bunt or drawing a walk doesn't make you any less of a man.
If Rich Hill is in command deep into a close game, see if he can go nine.
Get something started and you may never have to pick up a check in this town again.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Monday-morning QB
I know, awful metaphor. It's neither football nor Monday. Still...
The big question after the Cubs' Game 1 loss is whether Carlos Zambrano should have stayed in the game.
I can't blame Lou Piniella for pulling someone to go on three days' rest if you have a couple-three runs' worth of lead, but that wasn't the case. And if anyone on the staff has the guts to muscle through a long outing (which 85 pitches isn't) and go again on short rest, it's Big Z.
But if you're going to hold somebody back for Game 4, you better make damned sure you get to a Game 4. And then give him an 85-pitch outing if that's what you have to do.
I have no problem with Carlos Marmol being the first call out of the bullpen if Zambrano had to come out, but I say you have to stay with a hot pitcher instead of rolling the dice. Every time you go to the bullpen you take the chance of getting someone who doesn't have his best command that day.
Hopefully Marmol won't take too much flak for the loss, but to paraphrase what Piniella said after the game, when you score a run on four hits you can't expect to win many ballgames.
One out of two in the visitor's ballpark is a successful playoff road trip, so hopefully Ted Lilly can keep doing what he's been doing all year and right the ship.
The big question after the Cubs' Game 1 loss is whether Carlos Zambrano should have stayed in the game.
I can't blame Lou Piniella for pulling someone to go on three days' rest if you have a couple-three runs' worth of lead, but that wasn't the case. And if anyone on the staff has the guts to muscle through a long outing (which 85 pitches isn't) and go again on short rest, it's Big Z.
But if you're going to hold somebody back for Game 4, you better make damned sure you get to a Game 4. And then give him an 85-pitch outing if that's what you have to do.
I have no problem with Carlos Marmol being the first call out of the bullpen if Zambrano had to come out, but I say you have to stay with a hot pitcher instead of rolling the dice. Every time you go to the bullpen you take the chance of getting someone who doesn't have his best command that day.
Hopefully Marmol won't take too much flak for the loss, but to paraphrase what Piniella said after the game, when you score a run on four hits you can't expect to win many ballgames.
One out of two in the visitor's ballpark is a successful playoff road trip, so hopefully Ted Lilly can keep doing what he's been doing all year and right the ship.
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Congratulations
The Cubs lost tonight, but I have reason to celebrate.
Today is my parents' 40th anniversary, and I love them and I'm proud of them.
More on the Cubs later.
Today is my parents' 40th anniversary, and I love them and I'm proud of them.
More on the Cubs later.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Ex-Cub Factor: Round One
With Steve Trachsel left off the postseason roster, the Cubs are the only team in the playoffs with no ex-Cubs. Boston is next, with only Eric Hinske, who was traded before making the big leagues.
Diamondbacks
Juan Cruz
Augie Ojeda
Phillies
Antonio Alfonseca
Tom Gordon
Jamie Moyer
Rockies
LaTroy Hawkins
Red Sox
Eric Hinske
Angels
Justin Speier
Gary Matthews Jr. (injured)
Yankees
Kyle Farnsworth
Jose Molina
Indians
Joe Borowski
Kenny Lofton
Diamondbacks
Juan Cruz
Augie Ojeda
Phillies
Antonio Alfonseca
Tom Gordon
Jamie Moyer
Rockies
LaTroy Hawkins
Red Sox
Eric Hinske
Angels
Justin Speier
Gary Matthews Jr. (injured)
Yankees
Kyle Farnsworth
Jose Molina
Indians
Joe Borowski
Kenny Lofton
Instant Replay
As I mentioned, I caught last night's game on the radio, but there's a lot of buzz about an instant replay rule. Two questionable calls, one that ended the game and another that could have prevented extra innings in the first place, define the fate of the 2007 Padres and could have cost the Rockies their playoff run.
Two years ago the White Sox eked out a win against the Angels after an incorrect trapped-third-strike call, which tied the ALCS at 1 and pretty much popped the Angels' bubble for the rest of the series. Twenty years before that, Don Denkinger got hate mail and death threats for missing a call.
For all the ideas Bud Selig has taken from other sports, this is one where he really dropped the ball. They say nobody's perfect in baseball, and that includes umpires, but that's a copout. Unlike players' imperfections, those of the umpiring squad largely take place when the play is over. They're rulings that can be corrected to a high degree of accuracy with existing technology.
How many times have you seen a really good manager tirade, the kind where he really gets his money's worth after getting the ax, when the ump really did miss the call? In that amount of time, they could have checked the replay, made sure the call was correct, corrected it if it wasn't, and gone on with the game. You shouldn't lose a manager or player or coach for the rest of the game and the length of a suspension over a ruling that either is correct or it isn't.
You can mount a camera on a golf tee these days. Networks embed cameras in the infield as it is. Put cameras with fixed angles around the bases fair and foul, on the foul poles and along the walls. Put a video engineer in a monitor room to use the TV angles too. Put a dedicated replay umpire in one of the photo wells to call for different angles and show them to the crew chief. Done. Around MLB it would cost less per year than one halfway decent free agent.
Teams could even get sponsors for replays like they do with everything else. "This instant replay brought to you by Ralph's Syrup of Ipicac. When you need an instant replay, think of Ralph's."
There's just too much at stake. When you throw a $100,000,000 roster out there to try to yourself a World Series, you deserve correct rulings. Or, for that matter, if you're a fan who has to get cable to watch the playoffs. Or if you're among the thousands of bartenders, waiters and waitresses, cab drivers, hotel employees, merchandisers, etc., who can have a really good week if their team advances another round. All on the shoulders of four people when, again, nobody's perfect.
Two years ago the White Sox eked out a win against the Angels after an incorrect trapped-third-strike call, which tied the ALCS at 1 and pretty much popped the Angels' bubble for the rest of the series. Twenty years before that, Don Denkinger got hate mail and death threats for missing a call.
For all the ideas Bud Selig has taken from other sports, this is one where he really dropped the ball. They say nobody's perfect in baseball, and that includes umpires, but that's a copout. Unlike players' imperfections, those of the umpiring squad largely take place when the play is over. They're rulings that can be corrected to a high degree of accuracy with existing technology.
How many times have you seen a really good manager tirade, the kind where he really gets his money's worth after getting the ax, when the ump really did miss the call? In that amount of time, they could have checked the replay, made sure the call was correct, corrected it if it wasn't, and gone on with the game. You shouldn't lose a manager or player or coach for the rest of the game and the length of a suspension over a ruling that either is correct or it isn't.
You can mount a camera on a golf tee these days. Networks embed cameras in the infield as it is. Put cameras with fixed angles around the bases fair and foul, on the foul poles and along the walls. Put a video engineer in a monitor room to use the TV angles too. Put a dedicated replay umpire in one of the photo wells to call for different angles and show them to the crew chief. Done. Around MLB it would cost less per year than one halfway decent free agent.
Teams could even get sponsors for replays like they do with everything else. "This instant replay brought to you by Ralph's Syrup of Ipicac. When you need an instant replay, think of Ralph's."
There's just too much at stake. When you throw a $100,000,000 roster out there to try to yourself a World Series, you deserve correct rulings. Or, for that matter, if you're a fan who has to get cable to watch the playoffs. Or if you're among the thousands of bartenders, waiters and waitresses, cab drivers, hotel employees, merchandisers, etc., who can have a really good week if their team advances another round. All on the shoulders of four people when, again, nobody's perfect.
Round one (ding!)
I followed the Rockies-Padres Wild Card playoff on the radio from KOA-Denver. My grandfather's old Panasonic portable transistor has the best antenna in the house, and I listened through 1,000 miles of wavering static and station interference, but I caught a heck of a game. Just the outcome I was looking for, a Rockies win in multiple extra innings where they used ten pitchers. For good measure, the ex-Cub factor poked the Pads in the snoot as Michael Barrett couldn't keep Matt Holliday from getting through with the winning run in the 13th.
As long as the red-hot Phillies are in the other bracket, let them face the hot team since at least one streak will be snuffed out and maybe the winner might get burned out in the process.
The Cubs and Diamondbacks open in Phoenix Wednesday night, Carlos Zambrano against Brandon Webb. Webb is 4-0 in his last five starts, Zambrano 4-1 and working on a 14-1/3 inning scoreless streak. The Cubs are coming off a pair of shutouts and a warmup game, the D-backs off the vapor trail of the Rockies' rampage to the Wild Card playoff. With Zambrano's 12-4 road record this season, I'd say the Cubs have the edge in Game 1.
As long as the red-hot Phillies are in the other bracket, let them face the hot team since at least one streak will be snuffed out and maybe the winner might get burned out in the process.
The Cubs and Diamondbacks open in Phoenix Wednesday night, Carlos Zambrano against Brandon Webb. Webb is 4-0 in his last five starts, Zambrano 4-1 and working on a 14-1/3 inning scoreless streak. The Cubs are coming off a pair of shutouts and a warmup game, the D-backs off the vapor trail of the Rockies' rampage to the Wild Card playoff. With Zambrano's 12-4 road record this season, I'd say the Cubs have the edge in Game 1.
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