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"Lou is not talking about mechanics when he goes out to the mound,"
~Chicago Cubs pitching coach Larry Rothschild

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Cards Up 2-1



Who'd have thought it? Seriously, who'd have thought that, a month ago, while the St. Louis Cardinals almost had the biggest collapse this side of the 1969 Cubs, that they'd be up two games to one in the 2006 World Series. Not the Detroit Tigers, that's for sure.

After Chris Carpenter shut down the Tigers last night, the Cardinals put their hottest pitcher on the mound tonight in Jeff Suppan, the MVP of the NLCS. With the 3-4-5 hitters of the Tigers all going 0-fer right now, someone's going to have to snap out if it in order to even up the Series. Will it happen?

You'd think that you could only hold down a team so long, but if you look at last year's NLCS, Rolen and Edmonds both were nearly 0-fer as well, much of the reason the Houston Astros found themselves in the World Series. And then were promptly swept by Ozzie and the Southsiders.

As far as prognostications go, I think the Cards will win 2 of 3 in St. Louis and go back to Detroit up 3 to 2, forcing the Tigers to sweep the last two at home to have a chance at their fifth World Series Championship.

As a Cub Fan, it's tough to root for the Cardinals at all, and the Tigers were the team that beat the Cubs the last time they ever saw the Series, way back in '45. My mother is a Cardinals fan, growing up in St. Louis and all, and living there once again, so I'll be happy for her if they win. It's been 22 years since the Tigers have won it, so I'll be alright with that too. In other words, I'm rooting for a Game Seven.

On Kenny Rogers, let the guy be. He wiped off the "substance" (prob pine tar) and still shut down the Cards for seven more innings. Probably helped him mentally more than physically. We'll see him in Game Six and see how that goes.

Later.

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Thursday, October 05, 2006

Twins Chances



Well, Matt, it does look dire, with Game Three going out west to Oakland and the Twins being down 2-0. However, as you most likely already know, here's a stat that might make you feel a tiny bit better:

The Oakland A's are 0 for their last 9 in playoff series clinching games. That's a run since 2000. So, take that with you to bed and perhaps the Twins will at least take Game 3 and make it a series.

At least you didn't have two guys tagged out at home on the same play.

Or finish last in the National League.

Later.

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Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Blowhard Texas Fans



To help erase the thoughts of Frank Thomas from Matt's mind, I'm going to instead comment on the Texas fans behavior this weekend. Yes, the loudmouth, proud, if uninformed, UT fans were out in force this past weekend to celebrate the big game. Oh yeah, the tough matchup of the University of Texas vs. Sam Houston State University. From Div. 1-AA. Who schedules this crap?

I know, it's the Texas AD who realizes the school makes a sh!tload more money hosting a game that won't even count in BCS standings and rakes in the PPV cash than simply having a week off. However, if even one person would have been hurt in the game, it wouldn't have been worth it at all.

That being said, this post is about the behavior of the UT fans, not the Athletic Department. What irked me while watching a couple of hundred fans watch the game on PPV where I work was, after Texas went up 35-0 at half, stomping on the Bearcats from Sam Houston, the fans kept cheering and rooting as loud as ever. Yeah, they were laughing and singing and loudly celebrating every play as if it were for the National Championship. Does anyone else out there see this behavior akin to cheering Mike Tyson beating up on a 10 year old boy?

Yeah, Mike!! Beat that little punk down!! Take that you little snot-nosed brat!! Yeah!! And Stay Down!! Woohoo!!!!!

Kind of makes ya sick doesn't it? Me too.

Just had to be said. They acted the same way in the North Texas game. Unreal.

Then, to make matters worse, they don't know who to root for when it comes to BCS matchups. They root for Ohio State to lose, when they actually want everyone else but OSU to lose. Idiots. Kinda like when they were rooting against Oklahoma in the Oregon game (well, "televised robbery" might be more appropriate). Hey Longhorns, ya want Oklahoma to win every game until they play you, then you beat them down and your SOS goes up. Get it? Probably not. Go ahead and root against Nebraska and Texas Tech too you morons.

Later.

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Monday, October 02, 2006

MLB To Twins/A's Fans: "Go To Hell."

The first three games of the Twins/A's series have been scheduled. 12:00 PM central on Tuesday and Wednesday and 3:00 PM central on Friday. Twins and A's fans may now quit their job if they'd like to see any of this year's playoffs. Now I know New York is the largest city in the country and that the Yankees have a huge following, but is it too much to ask for the Twins to play even one primetime game?

Lucky for me, I'm still in college and can readily skip class whenever I choose. (which I take advantage of quite often) But my heart goes out to all Twins and A's fans that don't have the luxury of being able to simply not go to work/school to watch a baseball game. If it's any consolation, 2Pac care if ain't nobody else care.

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Short, Lazy Post To Follow

This just in: The Bears kick some serious ass. This was supposed to be a matchup between the two best teams in the NFC. Instead, the Seahawks followed the Giants lead from last week by absolutely refusing to show up for an important road game. Anyone wishing to argue otherwise can spare me of the "Shaun Alexander didn't play" excuse. Only a record setting performance such as this, would have made a difference in tonight's game. The Bears defense was dominant, as usual, but the big difference this year is an offense that seems capable of putting up 24-30 points every single week.

The Twins capped an amazing regular season by beating the White Sox and winning the AL Central. Part of me thinks they might've been better served by facing the Yankees in a 5 game series rather than looking at the prospect of seeing them in the ALCS for seven games. Only because Santana's two starts are much more valuable in a short series than in a long one. But homefield in the first round does mean something, and it wouldn't be completely surprising to see the Tigers beat the Yankees. A few good starts from Bonderman, Verlander, and Robertson can change the face of the playoffs in a hurry. Here's one Twins fan hoping that prophecy comes true.

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