This week, both the MVP and Rookie of the year for both leagues will be chosen; And although Miguel Cabrera will most likely win the AL MVP, there is a slight chance that it will go to the Angel's Mike Trout, which would be only the third time in baseball history that a rookie won the MVP. The last time it was Ichiro in 2001, although he was in his late twenties when he won it, having played for years in Japan. The first player to ever win an MVP as a rookie was the Red Sox Fred Lynn in 1975, putting up numbers that he would best four years later. After he left the Sox, however, he became a sort of poor man's Harold Baines; solid, if unspectacular ( although, to be fair, Lynn was a much better fielder, whereas Baines was mostly a D.H. for his career). My brother always thought he should have been the next Willie Mays, but what are ya gonna do?
As for Trout, he should have a great career ahead of him if he can avoid the injuries that plagued Lyn for most of his career. It's too bad he didn't play on the Angels 12-15 years ago;that way he could have played next to Tim Salmon. I myself am more of an ocean fish man, but anyway...
Trout's chances are slim because of Cabrera's triple crown year, so when Cabrera does win it, coupled with Buster Posey winning the NL MVP, we'll have both MVP's that played each other in that years World series. The last time that happened was 1980, When Mike Schmidt's Phillies beat George Brett's Royals in baseball's first all astroturf series. It used to be a lot more commonplace for that to happen, but all these divisional series kind of muddy things up a bit.
I'm always fascinated with rookies who were mostly one year wonders. A few leap to mind; the Royals Bob Hamelin in 1994, the Red Sox Walt Dropo in 1950, and of course there's Joe Charboneau in 1980. The Cleveland Indians were their mediocre selves that year, but Charboneau gave the hometown fans something to root for, even inspiring a song called "Go Joe Charboneau" ( couldn't find the name of the band, for some reason). After his rookie season where he batted .287 with 23 homers and 87 RBI's, he was never the same. The next season he hurt his back and then went in and out of the minors for the next few years, becoming the only ROY to ever get sent to the minors the year after winning the award.
Charboneau, like a lot of players from that era, was an eccentric; long before Dennis Rodman would do so, he dyed his hair different colors. He also opened beer bottles with his eye socket and drank beer with a straw up his nose. After his career ended, he did appear in the movie "The Natural", playing one of Roy Hobb's "teammates", although that would be his only time on film. As for now, he's a hitting instructor for a parks and recreation team in Ohio. Oh how the mighty have fallen...could be worse though;he could be Lenny Dykstra...
Herb Score was going to be the next Bob Feller; he was young, had amazing stuff and his future looked, as Elvis would say, "bright ahead". Then, during a game against the Yankees, the Cleveland Indians hurler had happen to him what most pitchers fear; a line drive to the face...the blow came off the bat of Gil MacDougal, who, to his credit, said he would retire if Score went blind from it. Herb actually recovered his vision, but was a little gun shy for a while, and by the time he started to feel better, he hurt his arm. He would never be the same pitcher and soon retired.
Instead of feeling sorry for himself and quitting the game he loved, he decided to become a broadcaster for the Indians. It was a job he kept for 33 years. First in T.V., then in radio. After he had called games for a while, a younger athlete/broadcaster asked him for advice, and one of things he said to the young man was something to the effect of, "Don't talk about your playing days...you're an announcer now". Oh, if only 80% of jocks- turned- broadcasters would take that same advice.
Listen, I love watching the World series, playoffs, et all...but Joe Buck and Tim McCarver do their best to annoy the ever living shit out of me every time; I actually will go to a bar to watch the game just so I don't have to listen to them talk.
Firstly, I'll get Joe Buck out of the way; he was not a pro athlete, but he is the son of one of the greatest announcers of all time; longtime Cardinal announcer Jack Buck ("I don't believe what I just saw", "Go crazy folks" and so on...)...Joe's Ken Doll looks and non stop pretentiousness are annoying to be sure, but the worst is when he goads McCarver into talking about his playing days with the Cardinals (there's a theme going on here....the fact the St. Louis has been in the series a lot lately isn't helping), and, more specifically, catching Bob Gibson.
Bob Gibson was one of the most feared, intimidating and clutch pitchers of his era and McCarver was his catcher for a lot of his years with the Cardinals. I never count, but I think McCarver brings his name up at least once a broadcast, even when the Cardinals AREN'T playing; when they are, forget about it. Tim also tries to be clever with people's names and will say stuff like ..."to quote Willy Shakespeare, now is the hour of our discontent"...maybe trying to be as pretentious as Buck, but good ole boy it up a little. Funny, because Bob Gibson was about as no nonsense as they come; McCarver was a good catcher to be sure, but it's his post playing days that I'm on a rant about...however...
Believe it or not, McCarver is not the worst athlete-turned broadcaster. That honor goes to a man so bad, that when he was working for ESPN a few years ago (he has since retired from the booth, thank God), there was a website dedicated to his incompetence as an announcer. The site was "firejoemorgan.com"...Yes, hall of famer Joe Morgan was maybe the worst baseball announcer ever; boring, arrogant, condescending...maybe these traits helped him become one of the greatest second basemen ever, who knows. What I do know is that the man was torture to listen to. For all of McCarver's hucksterisms, at least he seems to enjoy himself. Joe Morgan looked like he wanted to be anywhere else in the world. Actually, where he wanted to be is on the playing field circa 1976; the man was a fierce competitor who used his diminutive size to his advantage, winning back to back MVP in '75 and '76 for the fearsome "Big red machine" of Cincinnati...
Morgan had a long, successful career as player; he didn't need to become a broadcaster, I don't think...Score had to, at least if he wanted to stay in the game in some capacity. I'm not saying that "little Joe" should have been hit in the face with a line drive to become a better announcer, but it wouldn't hurt...actually, it would actually REALLY hurt, physically, but you know what I mean. With the salaries players make these days, I'm amazed anyone would do anything after their playing days. I myself could retire on the money some of these players make in a year. It's like that old Steve Martin joke about charging people 500 dollars a ticket so he'd make over a million dollars; "One show....goooodddbbyyee..."
Well, it's over; another baseball season in the books. Shame it had to end like it did, with a World series sweep. The playoffs were something else (I know the Yankees got swept, but I enjoyed that). I really thought the Tigers were gonna do it. It's almost as if you can't win a series too early; 'cause if you do, the team you're going to face will have the adrenaline, which the Giants clearly had. I always love watching the World Series, but Fox is making it harder and harder to enjoy...Tim McCarver and Joe Buck are like a couple of gnats at a campfire; relentlessly annoying. Then there was that bizarre Taco Bell promotion called "steal a taco" ( I wouldn't give people who eat at Taco Bell any ideas, ha) where people can get a free taco because of that Angel Pagan steal in game one. Great idea; remember when Oprah did the same with KFC a few years back? That didn't end in riots at all...
The year had some big chokes as well; the Rangers running out of steam and then losing the one game playoff to the Orioles. The Yankees forgetting how to hit against Detroit, with some of their best players setting records for hitting futility. The Cardinals had a similar problem against the Giants, but that didn't kick in until game 5. As for my team, the Red Sox, the less said about them, the better...
I could guess about the awards this year; NL MVP should be Buster Posey and AL should be Miguel Cabrera. If that happens, it'll be the first time the two league MVP's met in the World Series since 1980, when Mike Schmidt's Phillies beat George Brett's Royals. Cy Young in the NL will hopefully be R.A. Dickey, 'cause it's a great story to boot. AL should be Jared Weaver. What ever happened to his brother, Jeff Weaver, anyway...sorry, off topic. Rookie in the AL will be Mike Trout, who could also win MVP; NL should be Bryce Harper, but there's more competition there. Manager of the year in the AL should be Buck Showalter, although Bob Melvin should get some votes for what he did w/ the A's...NL MOTY should be Davey Johnson.
The offseason in many ways is more interesting; all the trades, free agent signings, hirings, firings...but it's also sad. I like football, but I don't start getting into it until December, really. Basketball is now being played down the street from me (Barclays center...I'd need a free ticket to go see the Celtics) and Hockey's on strike, although no one seems to notice much. I guess I have to give Selig a little bit of credit for avoiding a lockout; I get on him for a lot, but there hasn't been a work stoppage of any significance since 1994. I'll keep writing the blog, of course; there's much to discuss, and remember, I started this in the off season in March, and I had no season to talk about yet. This is the time when I will REALLY get esoteric...so, you know, stay tuned for that...
Well, we finally know who is going to be in the World Series; The Detroit Tigers and the San Fransisco Giants. It seems like 400 years ago, but the Tigers swept the Yankees in four games, although three of those were close. Meanwhile, the Giants/ Cardinals series went the full seven in a series not as close as it would seem; the last two were major blowouts, and a couple other games weren't exactly nail biters. So, in all, I think it will be a good series, although there is a problem: There is no history between the two teams.
Trust me, I didn't want to see St. Louis win the pennant any more than the casual fan, but at least I could have written about the 1934 match-up between Detroit and St. Louis' "Gashouse" gang, or their 1968 meeting with Bob Gibson striking out almost every one who came to the plate in game one. The series that featured a great throw by Willie Horton (the ballplayer, not the murderer endorsed by Mike Dukakis), a stumble in the outfield by Curt Flood, and Detroit winning it all that year in the shadow of their city burning down just a year before.
No, I won't be able to talk about 2006, when a totally non deserving Cardinal team,( who barely got by the Mets, who had 2/5th of their starting rotation out for the NLCS ;if only Endy Chavez were 12 feet tall... he could have caught Yadier Molina's shot as well) met the Tigers for the series. The Cards pretty much put Detroit away easily in 5...ANYWAY, suffice to say, the Tigers and Giants have never met in the World Series. Not in New York, not in San Fransisco. In fact, since the Giants made their move in 1958, they've only been in it five times (this being the 5th) and three of those are within the last ten years. In that time span, Detroit has been in it four times, including now.
There will be one thing that should be of note though; Both teams most likely have their leagues MVP (Cabrera for Detroit and Posey for the Giants), so no matter who wins, there will probably be an MVP on the team that wins it all...significant, because that hasn't happened in 24 years, when Kirk Gibson (undeservedly) won it for the World Champion Dodgers. Cabrera won the triple crown this year, so he's a shoo-in; Posey should win it, but you never know. It may not matter, because I think Detroit is going to win this series in six. Verlander will set the tone in game one tomorrow...although, I've been known to be wrong...
Wow, what a week. I never thought the whole Wild Card series this year would be so competitive. As you may know, this is the first time in the history of the Division series that all four series went the full five games. The A's took the Tigers to game five, thanks to Detroit's Jose Valverde doing his Calvin Schiraldi impression in game four. Luckily for the Tigers, Verlander did his Verlander impression in game five, and that was the end of that. I was convinced that the Reds would meet the Tigers in the World Series, but alas, Cincinnati blew a 2-0 games lead against San Fransisco, which means that at least one out of the last three World Champions will be in the Series this year.
Game five in the Bronx was fairly anti-climactic; Though the O's gave the Yanks a run for their money in the first four games, 290 lb C.C. Sabathia pretty much shut them down in the final game. For my money, though, the most heartbreaking game five of all the division series was the Nationals/Cardinals. Up by 6 runs early on, it looked like Washington was getting closer to their first pennant since the Washington Senators did it in 1933. But then, Davey Johnson decided to do his Grady Little impersonation by leaving Gio Gonzalez in the game a little too long. To be fair though, the bullpen couldn't hold the lead anyway...So as I sat there in Cherry Tavern in the East Village of New York ( of course with my Expos shirt on), watching the same franchise choke away the lead (while hanging out with some Montreal folk, to boot), I though to myself..."Not the Wild Card Cardinals...AGAIN...
As of this writing, we are in the Championship series; Detroit won game one over the Yankees 6-4, despite blowing a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the ninth , as Valverde (of course) let up 2 run homers to Ichiro, and Raul Ibanez (of course). And everyone will remember where they were the inning(12th) when Jeter fractured his ankle, and was out for the rest of the postseason. I was in the other room, but thanks to 7,029 replays of the injury, I'm all too familiar with it. Tigers won game 2, thanks to a truly terrible call involving Omar Infante straying a little too far off of 2nd, and Nick Swisher gunning him down;But was called safe, as the Tigers took advantage off the situation and won game two. Verlander goes game three in Detroit up 2-0, so it might be the end for New York, but you never know.
First game of the NLCS saw the Cardinals jump all over Madison Bumgarner, plating six runs and knocking him out in the fourth inning. Lincecum came on in relief, and the Giants came back, but it wasn't enough; the Cardinals took game one 6-4. Not sure using Lincecum in relief is the best idea, but he doesn't seem to mind, so why should we. Game two is tonight, but if St. Louis continues it's hot hitting, and Detroit just, you know, continues;We're gonna have a Tigers /Cardinals World Series, just like 2006...and 1968...and 1934...and we know how THOSE turned out...well, I do at least...
Well, now that this one game wild card nonsense is over and done with, we can get on with the playoffs as they were intended; three division winners and a wild card...well, actually, that's only been since 1995. Before then, it was two division winners in each league; that was from 1969-1993 (no World series in 1994, because of overall douche-iness...killed the Montreal franchise..), and before that...well, let's just say, if you won a playoff round, you won the whole thing. That's how it was since like the World series started in 1903, when the Boston Americans (Red Sox) beat the Pittsburgh Pirates. There was no series in 1904, because John Mcgraw was being a crybaby, but starting again in 1905 and going til 1968, that's the way it was.
I know why Selig (last name only) does this; more revenue, of course, but it still reeked of the kind of desperation that only he can muster... . Now the games themselves weren't bad; the Braves/Cardinals game was close, and had that controversial infield fly rule play that actually happened in shallow left field, but anyway...then the Rangers continued their late season swoon by losing to the Orioles 5-1, showing to the world once again, that Joe Nathan is one of the best relievers in baseball...until the playoffs start. It was odd that both away teams one, I guess, but it's happened before, I'm sure...oh wait, this is the first one of these...never mind...
So, as for the match-ups for the post season and their history together, we have in the AL the Tigers v.s the A's, who played each other in the ALCS in 1972. Oakland won in 5 games and Reggie Jackson pulling a hammy sliding home, making him ineligible for the series, which Oakland won in 7 over the Reds. Fast forward 34 years to 2006, when the Detroit swept Oakland in 4 games, which ended with Magglio Ordonez hitting a walk off homer to seal the deal.
Then there's the Yankees v.s Baltimore. They faced each other in the post season once, in the 1996 ALCS. That was the series with the bullshit Jeter homer that a fan (who I believe played in the minors recently for someone) caught clearly in fair play...although, in the kid's defense, it WAS a good catch. The series was won by New York 4-1.
In the NL, it's the Nationals v.s the Cardinals. Now, since this is the Nationals first year making the playoffs, other than 1981, when they were the Montreal Expos (who lost to the Dodgers in a heartbreaking 5 game NLCS), there is no playoff history here...although, I will say for the record, I am sick of the Cardinals, and want them to lose. No bad blood, just sick of 'em...which leads us to...
The Reds v.s the Giants: Also two teams who have never faced each other in the post season, mostly because when division playoffs started, they were always together in the N.L. West. Closest they came was in 2010, when the Reds got no hit by the Phillies Roy Halladay, and eventually lost to Philly, who then lost to San Fransisco. Now, as far as World series scenarios go, here's the deal:
Well, the Nationals are out. They, along with the Seattle Mariners are the only two teams left to have never won a pennant. And since they have played in the World series a million times (actually, 40), we can start with the New York Yankees, who are 5-2 against the Giants (4-2 against the New York Giants, and 1-0 against San Fran), 2-3 against the Cardinals ( the only NL team that has a winning record against them in world series play, not counting teams they've only played once), and 2-1 against the Reds.
Keeping in the AL for now, the A's are 2-2 against the Giants (all but one a Philly-New York match-up),1-1 against the Cardinals, and 1-1 against the Reds. The Tigers are 1-2 against the Cards and 0-1 against the Reds. Then the Orioles are 0-1 against the Cardinals (back when Baltimore was the St. Louis Browns) and 1-0 against the Reds.
And although I'm repeating myself, I might as well finish...the NL goes like this: The Giants are 2-5 against the Yanks, 1-2 against the A's, the Reds are 1-2 against the Yanks, 1-1 against the A's, and 1-0 against the Tigers. And finally, the Cards are 3-2 against the Yanks, 1-1 against the A's (both when they were in Philly), 1-2 against Detroit, and 1-0 against the St Louis Browns, who, as I mentioned, used to be the Orioles.
So there...I promise not to be so numbery next time...just was fascinated by it, especially The Cards series record against the Yanks...actually, I withdraw my objection to them not making the series; hey, if it means beating the Yankees, I'm all for it. Just another part of being a disgruntled Red Sox fan coming off their worst season in my lifetime...anyway, I hope the match-ups are good, and there are no sweeps. I guess that's all someone like me can root for at this point...
O.K. everyone, I'm going to delay the rest of my series on managers as players for now so we can focus on Miguel Cabrera and his pursuit of the triple crown. As it stands now, he is tied for homers with Josh Hamilton (44), and has a safe lead in both average (.329) and RBI's (137). The Tigers have clinched their division, so the pressure's off in that regard, so now all he has to do is keep pace with Hamilton, and we'll have the first triple crown winner in my life...which brings me to Yaz...
As pretty much every baseball fan knows, Carl Yazstremski was the last player to win the batting triple crown (not to be confused with the pitching version, which has been done more recently...like, last year, with Cabrera's teammate, Justin Verlander). But , unlike Miguel, Yaz did it during a pennant race between four teams (one of them being the Tigers, ironically...or maybe just a coincidence), and also unlike Cabrera, Yaz basically carried the Red Sox on his shoulders.
Of course, as I mentioned before, I wasn't alive when Yaz did this; I got to see him play later...mostly because he played for like 40 years...but hearing what he did from my dad and brothers, it was like the messiah had come back from the dead. We had a cat named Yaz. There was "Yaz" bread...there was a record that I still have somewhere called "The impossible dream",( featuring the local hit, "Carl Yazstremski", by Jess Cain) which chronicled the 1967 Red Sox season, and how they took the St Louis Cardinals, a team they had no business being competitive with, to 7 games.
And like the Tigers with Verlander, the Sox had a Cy Young worthy ace in Jim Longborg, who enjoyed by far his best season, winning 23 games. The Sox also had a lot of young talent in George Scott, Reggie Smith and Rico Petrocelli...good players, but maybe not quite so fearsome at the plate as say, Prince Fielder, Austin Jackson or Delmon Young (well, not yet, anyway...Rico's best year was 1969, when he hit 40 homers as a shortstop and both Scott and Smith went on to have solid careers...and George could outfield Prince at first any day...)
So, I hope Cabrera does get the triple crown. One thing I would also like to see, however, is Miggy and Hamilton tied for homers at the end of the season with 44, just like Yaz and Harmon Killebrew were in 1967. I also hope the Tigers go far this year; with the confusing-as-hell playoff format this year, it's good to know at least ONE team that's in it and knows where they'll be this weekend...yeah, more on this Wild Card nonsense in a few day....for now, ciao... ( btw, as we all know now, he did get the triple crown...congrats!)
