From my perspective the baseball season is over, so I can get back to doing this wacky blogging thing (for those of you who even bother to read this, thank you!!!).
I think I was almost 100% completely wrong on all my predictions in the AL. I had the Indians in as the wild card, and Boston winning the East. Oh well. I can take solace as a Yankee fan, knowing the Red Sox are not going to repeat and remain 20 world championships behind the Bronx Bombers. At least I can admit my failings, unlike some folks.
Well, here are my thoughts for what is left of the baseball playoffs. I think the Astros blew their wad with that 18 inning win over the Braves on Sunday. As amazing as that game was, and it will go down as great in Divisional Playoff History, the Houston club has to be exhausted after using 23 players from their 25 man roster. Only Andy Pettite and Roy Oswalt did not play. That in itself is amazing. The other amazing thing is the Braves and their 400 straight divisional championships, since 1655. However, during this incredible run they have won exactly one championship, and that is sad. It seems they are built for the regular season, and playing in a weak division must help. They are obviously not built for the playoffs. I feel bad for John Smoltz, who said after the game on Sunday that he is tired of being involved in great games (1991 World Series, Game 7) and on the losing end. I wonder if someone is going to look to flee Atlanta before next season. He deserves it, though Glavine was certainly not the same after he left. It must be Leo Mazzone is a miracle maker, but I digress.
The Astros will be very tired and the well rested Cardinals, who swept away the just above mediocre Padres, should win the NLCS in 5 or 6 games. I think this is the premier playoff match up, and whoever wins should be the favorite going into the World Series. If the Cardinals do not win it all, then Tony LaRusso will have sealed his fate as the 2nd worst all time playoff managers, behind Bobby Cox. I am not even sure that Atlanta’s annual demise is Cox’s fault, but rather a flaw with the general manager and the team in general. The Cardinals have everything that is needed (good pitching, solid hitting, good defense, etc.) to win it all. Now with the Red Sox and the Yankees out of the way, the RedBirds should have an easier path to their first title since Whitey Herzog was their manager in 1982. LaRusso lost 2 of 3 with the A’s from 1988-1990. He is always called a genius, but I am not sold.
In the AL, Fox and MLB has made it extremely difficult on the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of Southern California of the West Coast of the United States of the North American Continent of the Western Hemisphere. By having a rain out in New York on Saturday, they made the Angels and Yankees play a night game on Sunday, fly to LA to play a 5:05 local time game on Monday, then back to Chicago for Game 1 of the ALCS tonight at 8 pm. Meanwhile the Astros and Cardinals get another day off since they start their series on Wednesday. What is the problem with flip-flopping these games to give the Angels a break? Playing 3 games in 3 cities in 3 time zones is going to be difficult and might make it possible for Chicago to get back to the World Series for the first time since 1959. I think the White Sox are a good team, as proved by their sweep of the defending championships, and with home field advantage in their corner, they should win this series in 5 or 6 games as well. Let’s check back on October 22, and see if I am wrong again.
The hockey season is back in full swing after taking a season off to get their labor situation straightened out. I must say, I was shocked to see the Rangers win 5-3 on opening night against the Flyers. I was thinking, maybe this year won’t be a complete waste, maybe these team will come together and play decently with a slew of young kids and gain the necessary experience to be a contender. Then they played the Devils in a home and home and the Capitals for a Columbus Day matinee, and brought me back down to reality. They lost and tied twice in those three games.
However, we are four games into the season and the NY Post is already reporting the Jamie Lundmark, the #1 pick (9th overall) a few years ago, is in Coach Tom Renney’s doghouse and could be traded very soon. Now, how does that show patience in younger players, and allow a team to gel. So either the team is going to allow young players to mature and grow or they are going to begin to discard players who don’t perform, which is it? Time will tell. As I said, and everyone else has said, the Rangers are not going to contend this year or maybe even next year. Let them play, make mistakes and learn. If after 40 or 50 games, they decide that he needs to be traded, then that is a reasonable period of evaluation. Unless of course Glen the Savior Sather, can trade Lundmark for Sidney Crosby, but Craig Patrick is much too smart to ever let that happen.
The Jets pulled off an amazing upset on Sunday, knocking off the previously unbeaten Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with a 42 year old QB, who was retired up until about 2 weeks ago. In all reality, it was more like a parity upset rather than an amazing upset. It was the type of game that you see from time to time in the NFL, when an under-achieving team (Jets) beats a team that is playing above their level (Bucs), leading each team to read result than necessary. Tampa Bay might have been undefeated, but I don’t consider them an elite team. The Jets are still a bad team, who happened to be able to use the adrenaline of Vinny Testerverde’s return to spark a victory.
I still believe the Jets are a very bad, almost borderline terrible team. It would be better for them to tank the season to get Matt Leinart in the draft next year, rather than make a farce of the season and think they can make the playoffs. The AFC East is a weak division this year, and it is not inconceivable to see the Patriots winning the division with a 9-7 record, though they keep chugging along. After getting crushed by San Diego, they bounced back nicely this weekend by beating the Vickless Falcons with a last second field goal, by mister reliable Adam Vinatieri.
On the other side of the Meadowlands, the Giants are off to a strong start behind Eli Manning. I have one word for this “mirage”. The Giants are 3-1. They looked great beating St. Louis, but that is not difficult since Seattle just did the same thing this weekend. The other wins were against the Cardinals and the Saints, none of these 3 opponents will be in the playoffs come January. The Cowboys have looked good 2 of the past 3 weeks and the Redskins could be for real, though I am not convinced about them either, yet. The Eagles are in disarray, but have too much raw talent to rule them out this early. The cushy part of the Giants schedule is over, and we will see what they are made of with Dallas, Denver and Washington over the next 3 weeks. I see them losing all 3 and falling below .500.
With the Yankee season over, the Rangers outlook bleak, and not having high hopes for the Jets or Giants I am not sure but I a might need to start to follow basketball, and the whirling diversh that is the NY Knicks with megalomaniacs Isaiah Thomas and Larry Brown both trying to run that franchise. It should be fun to watch from the sidelines.
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