Four spot of Baseball ^_^

I didn't write anything for yesterday because our family had Canadian Thanksgiving on Sunday. Plus, I was enjoying watching the Forty Niners destroy the HoriBills.

ALDS - Yankees vs Orioles: Game 1

Russell Martin (left) puts the Yankees ahead with
a solo homerun, the first of five runs scored in the ninth inning
to give the Yankees the victory over the Orioles in Game 1 of the ALDS

I thought home field advantage meant playing the first two games of the series at your ballpark, but this year that isn't the case as the AL East Champion New York Yankees stole their first game against the Baltimore Orioles by a 7-2 scoreline. I say "stole" because, until the top of the ninth inning, both teams were tied when normally reliable Oriole closer Jim Johnson gave up five runs to the Bronx Bombers, including a solo home run to Canadian Russell Martin to put the Yankees ahead o_O

Johnson never had a year quite like 2012: An MLB best fifty-one saves, 2.49 ERA, and a lights out 1.02 WHIP put Johnson among the year's elite relief pitchers. The postseason is a different matter, however, and if the Yankees were a heavyweight boxing champion they would be "Smokin' Joes". I call this a rare misstep by Johnson, but for many of the Baltimore Orioles the playoffs are virgin territory. I expect them to rebound tonight with Wei-Yin Chen starting for the Birds in Game 2 against...Andy Pettitte?! Oh dear o_O

ALDS - Athletics vs Tigers: Game 2

Coco Crisp's uncharacteristic error was the keynote play
in the Athletics' Game 2 defeat to the Tigers yesterday. Oakland
heads westward down two games to none in their American League
Division Series with Detroit.

Verlander pitched the Tigers to a 3-1 victory in Game 1; it was an expected Tiger game played on Saturday with no nonsense pitching and clutch hitting. Game 2, however, ended in dramatic fashion with a walk-off sac fly by Don Kelly in the bottom of the ninth to give the Tigers a 5-4 victory. Critics argue the game would have a different ending had Coco Crisp's pathetic, running attempt at a basket catch on a short fly to center field by Miguel Cabrera not gone awry. The gaffe scored two Tigers base runners, gave Detroit the lead, and left Triple Crown winner and hands down MVP Miguel Cabrera with a shocked look on his face! Rangers star Josh Hamilton misjudged a similar flyball to the Athletics a week ago, which gave Oakland the AL West division title. This attempt at Willie Mays mimicry was a careless mistake, plain and simple.

NLDS - Nationals vs Cardinals: Game 1

Nats pinch-hitter Tyler Moore (57) watches his clutch hit
sail to right field to score two runs, and give Washington
the lead for good in Game 1 versus the Cardinals.

This was less about Washington's first postseason victory since 1933, and more about missed opportunities by the St. Louis Cardinals to start their NLDS against the Nationals on a winning note. The visiting Nationals won 3-2 over the defending world champions thanks to a pinch-hit single by Tyler Moore in the eighth inning. One short half inning before, the Cardinals had the bases loaded with no outs with Nationals reliever Ryan Mattheus on the hill. On paper, if you work the count against Mattheus, you can score runs (12.00 ERA in only three innings pitched in bases loaded situations for Mattheus), but Allen Craig and Yadier Molina each hacked at the first pitch they saw resulting in a force out at home, and an inning-ending double play respectively. St. Louis has the experience and bat strength to win Game 2; hopefully, they can even the series. As for the remaining three games in Washington, I don't know.

NLDS - Reds vs Giants: Game 2

Cincinnati Reds players celebrate another postseason victory,
and head back to Ohio with a 2-0 lead in their best-of-five ALDS with
the San Francisco Giants.

Finally, the most complete team effort this postseason coming out of PNC Park in San Francisco, but it wasn't the Giants! Brandon Phillips' stellar leadoff performance in Game 1 got the Reds rolling to a 5-2 win; Bronson Arroyo also kick started their Game 2 victory with seven innings of mastery in their 9-0 drop kicking of the Giants fanning four batters, and relinquishing only one hit and one walk.

Perhaps it's just me, but there is something to be said about dudes named Phil. What do you say, Brandon Phillips? ^_^

Wild Card, Anger Management

The new playoff format is a hit, and gives baseball the added drama we haven't seen since the Rays/Red Sox race to the postseason a year ago. Wild Card Friday was shaping up to be sweet, but a couple of incidents left many fans with a sour taste.

Flip Table: National League Wild Card Edition

Braves fans are a tad disappointed with
the controversial "infield fly" ruling,
and voiced their opinions all over the field

Atlanta Braves fans are still reeling over the controversial finish and premature exit from postseason play yesterday as the St. Louis Cardinals doubled the Braves 6-3 at Turner Field. With the Braves down by three runs in the eighth inning, and runners on first and second with one out, Andrelton Simmons pops a short fly toward left field. Cardinals shortstop Pete Kozma ventured back to left field and made a late signal to catch the ball, but thought he heard teammate and left fielder Matt Holliday call for the ball behind him, and broke off his run. The ball dropped for what appeared to be a hit, which advanced the runners, but the outfield umpire gave the "Infield Fly" signal. This takes away the hit and calls Simmons out at first, but the runners stay.

Adron Chambers (left) scores after a bad throw to home plate
by shortstop Andrelton Simmons (not in picture). The Cardinals
scored four unearned runs on three Braves errors to win 6-3.

This was too much to take for Braves fans as they tossed bottles and debris onto the field prompting a nineteen minute delay. As you can tell from the video below, Braves manager Freddy Gonzalez was not too pleased with the ruling, and protested the game to no avail. As an observer, I find it fanciful the Atlanta Braves were the better team on the night. The Braves committed only eighty-six fielding errors during the 2012 campaign to rank among the best overall in the National League; that night, they committed three errors scoring four unearned runs. If you take those away, the Braves would be playing the Nationals on Sunday. Second, the Atlanta Braves left twenty-one runners on base, so for all their at-bats during the game no one could seal the deal. Finally, the emotion of the game did get the best of both players and umpires. St. Louis, however, used the nineteen minute delay to steady their nerves, prepare their closer Jason Motte to pitch the eighth and ninth innings, and win the game.

Flip Table: American League Wild Card Edition

I think the Texas Rangers are snakebitten. They had success within their grasp numerous times during the final two weeks of the season, but their offense could not seal the deal. It doesn't help matters when the lone left-handed starter turned reliever Derek Holland is pitching three times in seven days, and giving up costly hits, too.

O's, for Pete's sake! D:

The visiting Orioles outlasted the two-time American League champion Texas Rangers 5-1. After Yu Darvish struck out seven Baltimore batters and held them to only three runs, Ron Washington played the percentages and called in the tired Derek Holland to pitch to lefty leadoff hitter Nate McLouth (McLouth was 1-3 versus Holland, but a combined 0-3 versus prime relievers albeit righties Alexi Ogando and Koji Uehara). One wild pitch to move an Oriole baserunner to third, and a hit to left field with two outs later, the Orioles were on their way with a 3-1 lead.

A few of my friends are Rangers fans, so after the game I wrote as my status on Facebook about how each of us were flipping tables over and being surly. I should progress and move on, but the recent history of the Texas Rangers has me thinking there is something weird going on o_O To come within a catch of winning the World Series in Game 6 against the Cardinals, within a strike zone of winning in Game 7, to lose a five-game lead over the Athletics with nine to go for the American League West Division on the final day of the regular season, and then fall apart against the Baltimore Orioles two days later has me thinking there is a new "hoodoo" on the likable losers from Texas.

Are the Texas Rangers the new "Charlie Brown" of Major League Baseball? I don't want to think about that; all I want to do is this:  (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

(All images and video are property of Major League Baseball and MLB Network)

Are The Rangers Snake Bitten?

An image far too familiar to Texas Rangers fans of late.

Last year, some of my friends and I decided to support the Texas Rangers in their World Series bid because we like Josh Hamilton, so when we watched Game 7 on the church projector the three of us were a little...miffed with what we saw.

Cardinals pitcher throws ball.
Ball lands off plate.
Umpire calls strike three.
Phil flips table.

It takes a lot for Andrew and Bryan to get angry, but I remember Game 6 and Game 7 being very trying experiences.

Flyball to right field.
Nelson Cruz to catch ball & win World Series.
Nelson Cruz lets ball drop.
Phil flips table.

I respect the Texas Rangers a great deal, so when they lined up against the Oakland Athletics for the penultimate game for the American League West Division championship, once again, I decided to pull for the Josh Hamilton, Ron Washington, starting pitcher Ryan Dempster, and the rest of the Texas Rangers.

David Murphy wears knee socks;
that means he's good.

Third inning begins.
Rangers rally for five runs.
Rangers on course leading 5-1.
Phil feels good.

I remembered former Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster was pitching this very important game. Since the trade, his ERA progressively rose higher and higher with each start, and was barely pitching past five innings. Naturally, as his pitch count neared sixty heading into the fourth inning, I was concerned.

Fourth inning begins.
Dempster allows two runs to score after facing four batters.
Dempster leaves game with two on, and no outs.

Phil upon learning Dempster will pitch:
I have a bad feeling about this...

Phil finds table.

That's alright. Manager Ron Washington usually finds a way out of these situations. You don't win back-to-back American League Championships, and beat the best in the AL (Yankees, Tigers, etc.) just passing through town. Washington will find a way.

Washington brings Derek Holland into game.
Starter Holland pitching on two days rest.
Holland gives up game-tying double to right on first pitch.
Phil flips table.

The horses officially left the barn, and the game is tied at 5-5. Once again, I'm stressed, but with two Athletics on base, and two out with Yeonis Cespedes at the plate, I draw comfort there is a lot of game left, and Texas can "get out of Dodge (City)" and recover. Then, this happened.

NOOOOOOOO! D:

Cespedes pops ball up to centre field.
Favourite player Josh Hamilton runs to catch.
Hamilton drops ball.
Phil flips table.

Really? REALLY?! Nine batters faced, six runs scored, three doubles, two singles, two walks, one fielding error to bring in two unearned runs that give up the lead, and the Oakland fans are going crazy!

I love Josh Hamilton to death, and what he said in the post game interview is true. When you are running in the outfield to catch a steady flyball, you set your feet so the image of the baseball doesn't "move" as you stand still. There will be times when a diving catch is required, and you will know these times when a girl you like is sitting in the stands watching you play outfield. I'm not nearly as miffed about Hamilton's error as some Rangers fans I know might be (Hi Berent >_< ] ...Hi Tony >_< ] They flipped their tables, too).

Nelson Cruz in WS 2011, and now
Josh Hamilton in Game 162 vs Oakland in 2012.

I already stated "the horses already fled the barn", so if Hamilton makes the catch to end the inning, a tired Derek Holland remains in the game to pitch into the seventh inning and gets tagged with the loss. Although Holland is the losing pitcher, Dempster got the ball rolling with a disastrous fourth inning meltdown pitching down the middle on pitchers' counts. I don't know why Washington would call on Holland at that time, in his state of little rest, to end the inning? Does anyone know? Are the Rangers snakebitten?! o_O

The Rangers play a one game playoff at home to another surprise team, the Baltimore Orioles, tomorrow. I'm hoping the Texas Rangers can put this behind them as superstar Yu Darvish will start for the Rangers on Friday.

Now, if you will excuse me: Phil flips table.

(All MLB baseball images and content are property of Major League Baseball, and are linked to various websites which hold ownership rights.)

Washington Time Warp

Washington Nationals mistake the club house for the shower, and
douse what they think is water on their clothes in celebration
of their city's first post-season berth since 1933.

The 2012 MLB Postseason is upon us, and what better way to return to a formal writing schedule than by writing about this year's surprising Fall Classic? ^_^

Look for loads of new content and insight as I follow the baseball playoffs leading up to the World Series ^_^ I'm excited! The Washington Nationals are quite a story; this is the first time a major league ball club out of Washington will play a postseason game since 1933, when manager Joe Cronin's Senators (AL) lost to John McGraw's New York Giants (NL) in the World Series. According to Wikipedia, lots happened in 1933, including...

• Prohibition ends.
• Amidst the Great Depression, Franklin Delanor Roosevelt's "New Deal" legislation kicks in.
• The first major league "All-Star Game" takes place at Chicago's Comiskey Park.
• Wiley Post becomes the first man to fly solo around the world; aww :(
• The first "Krispy Kreme" doughnut shop opens in Nashville, Tennessee.
• James Brown and Yoko Ono are born.
• RKO releases some gorilla monster movie called King Kong. I heard it was alright.
• In only her third picture, a young actress named Katharine Hepburn wins the Academy Award for Best Actress playing the role of Eva Lovelace in Morning Glory (RKO).

For the latest on the Washington Nationals' winning the National League East Division Championship, click here!

It's My Last Day: Yunel Escobar

In preparing to write this piece, I made a quick study of my writing career. Nothing too elaborate, mind you, I took an account of the number of years I wrote about life, people, events, sports, baseball, and other various things. I made writing "my thing" after a meeting with my English professor in 2004; his name was Mr. Jacobs, and he encouraged me to write, because he thought I could be very good at it. That was really BIG for me, because up until that point I didn't think I could write at all o_O

Moving on, I decided to list the number of years, give or take, I spent writing and separated them by field and/or topic since 2004:

Academic writing: 4 years
Sports writing: 4 years
Baseball writing: 5 years
Life writing: 5 years

Blue Jays shortstop Escobar NOT wearing eye black.

That's eighteen years worth or written work o_O I'm surprised I don't have carpal tunnel LOL All kidding aside, there are a few times when writing became really difficult. For example, when I wrote about abortion about three years ago, I did not experience or feel like my life was under threat, praise God, but I worried I would lose my ability to write professionally. I am still writing, which is great, but I am constantly under threat that my words could harm someone emotionally or physically. Yes, it do receive feedback, both positive and negative. Sometimes, I receive feedback within a half hour of posting what I wrote (Hi Nichole LOL). I am happy for the positive feedback, but I must admit it isn't all roses and daisies; I lost friends over things that I wrote as well, from times I took a stand for what I thought was right according to my faith, beliefs, and so forth, to times when I was a complete jerk for which I spent many weeks and months apologizing for afterward. It's that last point I want to dwell on, because when you take the time to think what to write about, find a writing utensil, find a piece of paper or fabric to write that thought out, and then showcase it for many dozens and hundreds of people to see you are bound to run into problems.

Case in point: Last Saturday, the Toronto Blue Jays were losing another home game to the visiting Boston Red Sox during their weekend series. The game would take on added significance when a fan's photos of Blue Jays shortstop Yunel Escobar revealed an inflammatory, controversial, and derogatory slur written in his native Spanish on his eye black. Toronto is a multicultural city, and the largest city within a country proud of its multiculturalism and diverse population; to call out any particular group of people with a written, derogatory term, take a public stage, and transmit that image to many thousands of people paints the person (Escobar), his teammates, his coaches, his team (Blue Jays), his management, his organization (Rogers), his city (Toronto), his province (Ontario), and country (Canada) in a bad and inaccurate light.

Since the leaking and duplication of the controversial photo on the internet and the story's publication on various social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google+, The Toronto Blue Jays organization and Yunel Escobar came forward, and Escobar publicly apologized saying it was "a joke", and it was "not meant to offend anyone". Escobar received a three-game suspension for his conduct from a "collective" of baseball people such as the Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos, coach John Farrell, commissioner Bud Selig, and Public Relations officials, according to AA on Canadian radio hours after the press conference, but to many critics and fans of the game it is not enough.

No Laughing Matter: Escobar received a three game ban
for displaying an inflammatory slur on his person during last Saturday's
game against the Red Sox.

This morning, I posted on my Facebook wall that I could forgive Escobar for this incident, but anything less than suspension for the year would be unacceptable, and I stand by those words. Contrary to preceding and comparable incidents (See Ben Chapman, John Rocker, Delmon Young), Escobar thought, planned, and executed this act, and to make matters worse did it in 2012 with Facebook and Twitter and Google+ and Pinterest and nationwide television audience and so on...! My reaction and judgment would be the same had another player write the N-word on the baseball cap: If anyone did the same thing in their line of work, whether he was the world's greatest CEO or the assistant to the junior mail room executive, he would have their things in a box taking them out to his car! The debacle that was the press conference, the less than appropriate three game ban handed down not by the GM, but a "collective", and the weird apology Escobar made without taking proper ownership of his actions probably made me angrier than I was this morning, hence all the exclamation points and run-on sentences >_<

I'm sorry you had to read this. I would rather discuss other things baseball, or rant about the precedence of the WHIP statistic over win-loss record, but I must write about the hot topic issue of baseball at the moment. It saddens me, too, because when the Toronto Blue Jays traded for Yunel Escobar from the Atlanta Braves two years ago I was excited. He did a lot of highlight reel things on the diamond, when he started playing here, and although 2012 was a rough year I was more than willing to give the Blue Jays a pass. Now, I'm not so sure anymore -_-

No doubt you noticed there are no pictures of Escobar doning the controversial eye black in question. I did that on purpose; I thought about, planned, and executed it with the purpose of not transmitting those  images on my blog. No, I'm not sorry.

Beckett Decked

I don't know what is more embarrassing for the Dodgers' recently traded, 2003 World Series MVP Josh Beckett; actually, I listed some here that all occurred in the past year.

• 5-12 record with 5.23 ERA in your last year as a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox :(
• Being booed by your fans after leaving the mound with an injury in your last home game as a member of the Boston Red Sox
• Traded out of the American League with another high priced free agent signing to the only club with new found money, and looking to spend it in the midst of a postseason run.
• Picked off at first base on a ground ball to *cough right field.
• Returning to the Dodgers bench after the event to find your teammates laughing at you.

In Josh Beckett's defence, the hit to right field rolled directly to 2012 All-Star, and three-time gold glove recipient Carlos Beltran. The thirty-five year old outfielder played shallow during Beckett's infamous at-bat, and his throw to first baseman Allen Craig was on the money.

Call it what you will, but for a man that some compared with Roger Clemens for his fiery approach and take care of business attitude to undergo an embarrassing series of events this season would be more than most people could take. When he broke into the league with the Florida Marlins in 2002, and manhandled the Yankees on the way to winning the Marlins' second World Series title in 2003, the way seemed clear for another pitching ace to take over the game.

Josh Beckett (LAD) winds up for the Dodgers, strikes back at his critics.

However, this was still "steroid era baseball", and the home runs and statistics are clear evidence of that. Nowadays, kids as young as high school need breaking pitches and curveballs to get ahead of the batters, but they also need delicate number of pitches and inning counts. Individually, they may prolong careers like those of Stephen Strasburg, whom the surprise playoff contender Washington Nationals shut down (again) earlier this week. Nevertheless, the new science behind pitching should improve the game, yes? Should we not see this generation's pitching phenoms winning 30-games in a season like Denny McLain? How about the Bob Gibsons, Sandy Koufaxes, and Don Drysdales pitching close to 150 pitches in a 2012 Major League Baseball game? Josh Beckett and other like him were next in line for that future, but it wasn't to be.

Beckett has alright stats for the Boston Red Sox since joining the club in 2006 with ten or more wins in five of his first six seasons with the baseball club, as well as another World Series championship ring he won in 2007. 2012 was not kind to him, however: If an inflated ERA of 5.23 in twenty-one starts doesn't move you, then a .266 OBA and 1.33 WHIP will o_O His highest totals in those categories since 2010. With playoff aspirations for Boston in the dust, and amidst terrible in-fighting and managerial controversies with the embattled Bosox lead man Bobby Valentine, the trade would help Josh Beckett's numbers, and they have...I guess. What he doesn't need is a "Welcome to the National League" message sent direct from right field, and then forwarded from his club house by his new teammates T_T

Beltran made a heads-up play, and didn't give up just because the ball made its way into the outfield; that's what you preach to kids on the practice field to "play to the whistle". However, for Josh Beckett, one would hope someone would blow the whistle on 2012.

Statistics and footage provided by MLB.com. All rights reserved.

Summer Lessons from First Base o_O

I'm genuinely sorry things on this blog were dry this past summer, but work and extra curricular things got in the way of writing on here. One of those extra-curricular things was another season of baseball (slo-pitch) in my hometown ^_^

During the spring, more than a few of my friends talked me out of retirement to play one more year in a coed slo-pitch league. I thought my knees couldn't take the strain, after what happened to them last year, yet reluctantly I decided to give it one more go. As the season progressed, I decided to ditch the knee pads, and I was in much better shape over the course of the summer than I was last year. My arm, however, had other ideas o_O

Bill Buckner: Pressure and Forgiveness

One night after practice, our team decided to meet at a Vietnamese restaurant ^_^ I remember that trip, not because the moment we all entered "Pho Mi 99" a thunderstorm erupted outside casting billions of raindrops and knocking the power out in the restaurant, but my elbow seized up on the drive. I told my teammate Brendan, who was with me in the car, and he said "Uh oh". Quick note: If you tell a baseball dude that you feel the muscles in your elbow are tightening or you feel it's in pain, and he responds with "Uh oh", that's not good o_O Up until that point, I returned to form as a stalwart left-fielder (What's wrong with stalwart? Nathan, stop laughing), but I was throwing a lot more than I did last year. So our team captain Tony switched me to first base.

I played first base twice before in the last four years, but there is a lot resting on your shoulders. I remember my first game as a starter at first base, o_O and yes, I did make that face. The fortunes of the infielders, the team, and even the season hinge on one's performance; the ability to make your teammates all-stars and give them big time assists on plays, which come from nothing, and then simply catch the ball when it's thrown is quite a burden to bear o_O Our record was 1-5 up until that point in the season, so there was little room for error with only six games left to play. When our team takes the field, to relax and support the infielders, I went to each one and touched gloves. It's a trick I picked up from my days at shortstop, and knowing "the gun wasn't at our heads" I did it to calm down, and not think about...you know o_O Shockingly, the first ball hit came off the end of the bat right to me! The ball surprised me as it skipped along, so I chose to knock it down and keep it front of me. A second later, I picked up the dead ball and stepped on first for the out ^_^ Phew!

The second batter hit a grounder to our third baseman (Hi Marcus...Ivan...and Brendan LOL). The joke was use in practice is "Six foot four", which is my height; it's also a hint to our fielders about throws in the dirt. Unfortunately, when Marcus threw to me, I was still nervous o_O and it skipped past and hit the fence behind me O_O As the batter rounded first, I ran to the ball which was closer than I thought it was, so when I turned to throw to second the runner wasn't even halfway! A rundown ensued, and we tagged the runner out for out #2 ^_^

Buckner, from his Cubs days

A couple more pitches later, I caught a pop fly for out number three, and that was that ^_^ We escaped with our first three up, three down (-ish) inning in recent memory, and that started us off on our run to the championship game. In our next eight games, we only dropped one, and we became "a team of destiny" ^_^ I was never on a "team of destiny" before, so I didn't know quite how to react o_O All I could think about was Bill Buckner.

There are majestic names in baseball like Babe Ruth, heroic names like Jackie Robinson, and even some scumbag names like Barry Bonds. As in every avenue of life, unfortunately, there are tragic names like Bill Buckner. Part of my fear about playing first base was thinking about not being "the goat" or "that dude that cost us the game" or "the reason we sit at the runner's up table and not at the champion's table". It was wrong to envision me not playing like someone because of an unfortunate incident, which never should have happened to begin with (Neyer, Rob. "John McNamara Falls Asleep" in Big Book of Baseball Blunders, P.226-229).

The first baseman I should admire and wish to play like is Bill Buckner: 2715 hits (more than Hall of Famers Ted Williams (2654), and Ernie Banks (2583)), NL batting title winner in 1980 with the Cubs (BA .324), 1981 All-Star, and part of two league pennant winners (1974 Dodgers, 1986 Red Sox). Forget baseball, save for a moment, but if we approached baseball and life like Bill Buckner, with the forgiveness, grace, and humility that he gave us after what happened that night at Shea Stadium, in New York in 1986, I think we would all be better people.

In the meantime, my arm is a little better. I don't plan on wearing a giant pad over it when I play next year (Yes, my friends, I'm playing next year. Kevin, stop clicking on the like button so much LOL).