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“I wanted to kill Eddie, actually. My pitching coach was telling me, ‘I think he’s rushing.’ I said, ‘Rushing, he’s not rushing. This is taking forever.’ ”
We missed all four division series predictions here at Baseball Prospectus. I predicted
that the A’s would beat the Twins in “Three. Four max.” The email immediately started to flow in.
The Week in Quotes, September 30-October 6.
During the regular season, I can see where MLB might fail to get the national deal they’d like. But what’s happening this post-season is a disaster.
Watching the Mariners crawl their way toward respectability like the first fishes onto the world’s beaches, I never would have believed that Ken Griffey Jr. might ever not be the best player in baseball, much less that he would end up being considered junior to his dad. It’s happening, though.
This is my favorite playoff series, if only because it’s going to finally put the lie to Bud Selig’s constant lament that no team in the lower half of payroll has ever advanced beyond the first round of the playoffs. The Twins and the A’s were respectively 27th and 28th in ESPN’s Opening Day payroll tally. I’m surprised that the right Honorable Commissioner didn’t intervene and ‘fix’ the matchups in what he might see as the best interests of baseball. One of these teams will win three games and advance, only to be immediately heralded as an aberration, no matter what happens when they face the Yankees.
“I really have no timetable. The good Lord has blessed me with the health. I’m not going to give it up if I can still perform, compete and enjoy the game.” –Rickey Henderson, Red Sox outfielder, asked how much longer he’d go
It’s Wednesday night, and I didn’t write my column early because I was watching the Mariners-Athletics game. Now I sit down, feeling a little vindicated for my season-long fight against local anti-Mike Cameron sentiment.
The Mariners face the A’s again tomorrow, starting Joel Pineiro against Cory Lidle. The Angels have John Lackey facing Colby Lewis. I don’t think this particularly unfair to the Mariners; it’s not as if they didn’t have their chances to beat up on bad teams, or anything. Their pit is one they’ve dug themselves with crappy pickups and a low-key battle between the manager and GM, where Piniella seems determined to put the awful pieces he’s been given (like Jose Offerman) in crucial game situations where their failures are magnified. Gillick in retaliation doesn’t care.
“We’re pleased with the progress of the club and the direction through Jeff’s leadership.” –Larry Beinfest, Marlins general manager, on bringing manager Jeff Torborg back for the 2003 season
It’s been suggested that there should be different awards, so the MVP would be split into (essentially) the Best Player and the Best Player for a Contender Awards (stackable). This won’t ever happen, if for no other reason than the fact that MVP votes are writers who need topics, and no topic’s better than themselves and the importance of their jobs.
Certainty changes everything. Baseball’s exciting, if for no other reason, because the Devil Rays–an abjectly bad franchise–can beat the Yankees every couple of times they meet. Unlike in football, the outcome of a single contest between a defending champion and a perennial cellar-dweller is relatively uncertain, thus every game has the ability to provide a legitimate sense of drama. It’s the lack of certainty that makes it the greatest sport in the world.
“Now I’m kind of wondering what’s next. I went to sleep with `Karate Kid’ and woke up to Peter Gammons, which was a little frightening.” –Doug Mientkiewicz, Twins infielder, on falling asleep in front of his TV Thursday August 29th