Totally non-political post ahead...
A few quick observations on both of baseball's League Championship Series -
...The two opponents in the NLCS, the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies, have played for a combined 24 seasons.
The teams in the ALCS, the Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians?
Well over 220 seasons.
I'm not sure what it means (probably nothing), but it's still eye-opening...
...An NLCS matchup between the DBacks and the Rocks? Who would have predicted that in early April?
Hell, who would have predicted that in late August??
I like the DBacks and hope they win (I would *love* to see a Red Sox/DBacks World Series), but I have more than a little admiration for the Rockies.
They were even bigger underdogs than the DBacks; I thought the DBacks were a year and a pitcher away from serious contention, but the Rocks weren't even on the long-range radar.
...Both series should be good ones - in the National League, the Rockies won the regular season series against the DBacks, winning 10 games and losing 8, and they have gotten hot at the right time of the season, but the DBacks have Brandon Webb, Micah Owings and a team that just never gives up.
In the AL, the Indians and the Red Sox entered the playoffs with identical regular season records and both made short work of their first round opponents. They both have strong offenses and solid defenses, and with their short first-round series, rested pitching staffs.
Predictions: DBacks in 6 (Webb is just too much for the Rocks to overcome) and Red Sox in 7 (that's as much wishful thinking as anything else - this pair is *really* evenly matched).
...George Steinbrenner, managing general partner of the New York Yankees, has threatened to fire manager Joe Torre if the Yankees lost their playoff series against the Cleveland Indians.
Tonight, though they made it interesting in the 9th inning with a third deck home run by Bobby Abreu and a monster foul homer by Jorge Posada, the Yankees lost in the first round of the playoffs for the third year in a row.
Now, baseball fans everywhere, not just in New York, are waiting to see if the Boss will carry out his threat.
Steinbrennerwants to fire the man who has led the Yankees to 10 division titles in 12 seasons and 4 World Series titles, the man who has held together a team that in 1998 was considered one of the best teams ever to one that is now better known for its aging pitching staff (Joba-mania notwithstanding) and thin bench, the man who never wilts under the harsh glare of the attention of the New York media and fans?
Whoooo hoooo!!
There is a God in heaven!!
Uncle George and the Bronx Zoo are back and they're loonier than ever!!
Every team in the AL, even the Red Sox, is breathing a little easier tonight.
Later!
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