CHAVEZ REVINE, CA – I know that by the middle of October most of our regular readers have turned the page from Baseball to the NFL, and starting this week to the NHL as well. I have slowly and very begrudgingly come to the realization that watching and following Major League Baseball is now limited to the “over 40” set. I get up 3 times a night to pee, so I’m definitely a baseball guy. For those of us who grew up dreaming baseball non-stop, and writing team logos on our denim covered looseleaf binders, this is a sad passing.
Growing up in Queens, the best day of the week was Sunday; The Long Island Press was delivered extra early. The Sunday “Press” had a sports section that included the longhand listing of every single Major League player’s key statistics. I memorized all the stats. And in those days, the stats listed were Batting Average, Hits, Runs, HRs and RBIs. I remember sitting there at the kitchen table with my Dad every Sunday morning. “Hey Dad…did ‘ya know Rennie Stennett is batting .289? Wow… Dad, Dave Cash has 200 hits?” These were the “conversations” that helped to bond our relationship. Fathers and Sons talkin’ baseball. It is easy to trace some of the cracks in the Earth today to the demise of baseball as our national pastime. I’m fond of blaming ESPN for just about everything. Their top 10s, highlights and sound bites have served to dumb-down the sporting public to the point where younger fans cannot sit still to watch an entire game of any sport. And baseball’s cerebral, slower pace, tragically has no mind-share in the brains of Generations X and Y… or K.
One guy who has NOT contributed to the downfall of civilization is Icky Woods. This clip is flat out funny…
https://youtu.be/QFrsR9NByc4
But The “Final Four” of this season’s MLB postseason is fantastic! Surprise, Surprise-either the St. Louis Cardinals, or the San Francisco Giants will represent the National League in the World Series. Again. The Dodgers and especially the Nationals both had significantly more talent than both the Giants and Cards, but once again lacked what it takes to get there. 
Clayton Kershaw will probably make the Hall of Fame someday. But until further notice, I’ll take Jack Morris, and Ryan Vogelsong for that matter and thank you very much. Sure, he’s a big strapping Amish dude but he wasn’t the “Christian” he purports to be in meeting post-game with reporters, showing a surliness and condescension not seen previously. His team needed him to come up huge twice in this series. He failed both times.
The Nationals? When Washington Manager Matt Williams showed mind numbing stupidity by yanking his ace, Jordan Zimmerman in the 9th inning of game 2, the series was history. You can’t overcome that much stupid. Besides, this Nats team is full of boring, colorless, dispassionate guys who never smile and seem to dislike each other. Chemistry in sports is often overrated, but in the Nats’ case, it was posion. Break this team up now.
I’m rooting for Buck Showalter to finally get to the World Series. The man has been a nearly-great manager for many years and he’s led an injury-ravaged lineup and a good, but nowhere-close-to-great starting rotation to the brink of the World Series. He alone should out-do and out-wit dimwit Ned Yost and the Kansas City Royals. The Royals can run. But it says here, the O’s come through in 6 games with a great bullpen and clutch hitting lineup. Meanwhile, gamers like Hunter Pence, Pablo Sandoval and Buster Posey will lead SF to a 7-game series win over Yadier Molina and Adam Wainright‘s Cardinals… A Baltimore-San Francisco World Series would be a great match up of the game’s best managers, and give us a series full of “gamers” and guys who know how to win. I have a big time man crush on Hunter Pence, who should win the NL MVP this season. He will lead the Giants to their 3rd championship in the last 5 years. SF in 6.
Did someone say, Chavez Ravine?
