The Baseball Continuum

PP Adrian Gonzalez– 3

P Gerrit Cole– 3

PP Pedro Alvarez– 3

P Jon Lester– 3

P Mike Minor– 3

PP Hanley Ramirez– 3

PP Yoenis Cespedes– 3

P Jason Grilli– 3

PP Carl Crawford– 3

P Chris Capuano– 3

PP Seth Smith– 3

P Dan Otero– 3

P Michael Wacha– 3

PP Juan Uribe-3

PP Jhonny Peralta – 3

PP (Position Player) Russell Martin– 1

P (Pitcher) Francisco Liriano– 1

PP Desmond Jennings– 1

P Alex Cobb– 1

Preview/Predictions for the 2013 NLCS

Posted on October 11, 2013 by danglickman

It could be a classic series in the making in the National League Championship Series. After all, we are seeing two pitching-rich members of the “Original 16” facing off, with exciting hitters old and new dotting their lineups as well. Who holds the edge? Well… I don’t know. As I’ve said before and will say again, it’s really difficult to predict a series, where one funny hop or blown call can change everything. So, let’s go aspect by aspect.

First, starting pitching. In this aspect, the Dodgers have an edge. Not too big of an edge, but an edge nontheless. First off, the fact that they were able to finish off the Braves in four games means that they can set up their rotation roughly how they want, with the exception that they will have to swap Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw in the rotation, which, while not what they would have preferred, is hardly a death-blow. By comparison, the Cardinals will be unable to call upon their ace, Adam Wainwright, until Game 3, although they will be able to have young phenom Michael Wacha go against Kershaw. This leads to another advantage that the Dodgers’ rotation has over the Cardinals: depth. Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly are certainly capable pitchers who could defeat the Dodgers, but they aren’t quite at the one-two punch level of Hyun-Jin Ryu (who would be a Rookie of the Year candidate most seasons) or Ricky Nolasco.

Now, lineup. This goes in St. Louis’ favor. They have a deeper bench, more depth, and have Carlos Beltran, who, as has been noted before and will be noted again, is the greatest postseason hitter of our era, if not any era. The redbirds scored 77 more runs this season than any other NL team, and there’s really only one hitter of their eight position players (Pete Kozma) that I wouldn’t fear due to either numbers or reputation.

So, what about bullpen? I give this one to the Dodgers, slightly. Kenley Jansen is an awesome reliever, especially when you consider he once was a catcher. And they also have Brian Wilson, who seems to be back to normal (or whatever he calls normal), as well as other good relievers like J.P. Howell. While the Cardinals certainly aren’t hurting in the bullpen, with Trevor Rosenthal at the helm most notably, but I feel like the Dodgers have a slight advantage here- I’m not entirely sure why, I just feel that way.

However, there are other factors to keep in mind: the Cardinals have home field and more experience, for example, and, well, Don Mattingley still hasn’t won a World Series, despite playing for and then coaching with the Yankees, so you have to wonder if there is some sort of hex upon him.

I don’t believe in hexes, though. Well, not for the purposes of this article at least, as I predict the Dodgers will win in 7.

Mr. Octobers of Yesterday (October 10, 2013)

Posted on October 11, 2013 by danglickman

It’s easy to pick the Mr. Octobers of Game 5 of the ALDS between the A’s and Tigers: Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander. Cabrera had a 2-run HR, while Verlander had a no-hitter into the 7th and more-or-less shutdown the Athletics all eight innings he started in.

So, for that, they get DOUBLE points, adding 6 points to their Mr. October scores.

And, starting with the LCSes, it’s five points for being a Mr. October!

Standings (PP= Position Play, P= Pitcher):

P Justin Verlander– 9

P Adam Wainwright– 9

PP Carlos Beltran– 6

P Clayton Kershaw– 6

P Max Scherzer– 6

P Koji Uehara– 6

PP Shane Victorino– 6

PP David Freese – 6

PP Miguel Cabrera- 6

PP David Ortiz– 3

PP Adrian Gonzalez– 3

P Gerrit Cole– 3

PP Pedro Alvarez– 3

P Jon Lester– 3

P Mike Minor– 3

PP Hanley Ramirez– 3

PP Yoenis Cespedes– 3

P Jason Grilli– 3

PP Carl Crawford– 3

P Chris Capuano– 3

PP Seth Smith– 3

P Dan Otero– 3

P Michael Wacha– 3

PP Juan Uribe-3

PP Jhonny Peralta – 3

PP (Position Player) Russell Martin– 1

P (Pitcher) Francisco Liriano– 1

PP Desmond Jennings– 1

P Alex Cobb– 1

Link

Here’s an excellent long-form story on Hensley Meulens, the Giants’ hitting coach, who also happens to speak five languages, managed the Dutch team in the 2013 WBC and is a knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau.

Worth a read.

Mr. Octobers of Yesterday (October 9, 2013)

Posted on October 10, 2013 by danglickman

Game 5 last night in the NLDS. And the Mr. Octobers are easy to pick: David Freese and Adam Wainwright. For that, they get DOUBLE points, adding 6 points to their Mr. October scores.

Standings (PP= Position Play, P= Pitcher):

P Adam Wainwright– 9

PP Carlos Beltran– 6

P Clayton Kershaw– 6

P Max Scherzer– 6

P Koji Uehara– 6

PP Shane Victorino– 6

PP David Freese – 6

PP David Ortiz– 3

P Justin Verlander– 3

PP Adrian Gonzalez– 3

P Gerrit Cole– 3

PP Pedro Alvarez– 3

P Jon Lester– 3

P Mike Minor– 3

PP Hanley Ramirez– 3

PP Yoenis Cespedes– 3

P Jason Grilli– 3

PP Carl Crawford– 3

P Chris Capuano– 3

PP Seth Smith– 3

P Dan Otero– 3

P Michael Wacha– 3

PP Juan Uribe-3

PP Jhonny Peralta – 3

PP (Position Player) Russell Martin– 1

P (Pitcher) Francisco Liriano– 1

PP Desmond Jennings– 1

P Alex Cobb– 1

Mr. Octobers of Yesterday (October 8, 2013)

Posted on October 9, 2013 by danglickman

Okay, first off, the game between the Tigers and Athletics. Among position players, the Mr. October was Jhonny Peralta. His home run tied the score at 3-3 and he had another hit as well.

Meanwhile, on the mound, I’m going with Max Scherzer. Not because he was good- as he initially not and allowed the Athletics to tie it up during his relief appearance- so much as how he was able to escape the mess, getting out of a bases-loaded situation with no outs without letting another run to score.

As for the Red Sox-Rays game, the position player who wins is Shane Victorino, who’s single in the seventh was ultimately the winning run. The pitcher was Koji Uehara, who made up for his loss in Game 3 by shutting down the four Rays he faced as he finished the game and got the save.

So, tonight is a Game 5. And a Game 5 means points will count double!

Anyway, here are the standings:

PP Carlos Beltran– 6

P Clayton Kershaw– 6

P Max Scherzer– 6

P Koji Uehara– 6

PP Shane Victorino– 6

PP David Ortiz– 3

P Justin Verlander– 3

P Adam Wainwright– 3

PP Adrian Gonzalez– 3

P Gerrit Cole– 3

PP Pedro Alvarez– 3

P Jon Lester– 3

P Mike Minor– 3

PP Hanley Ramirez– 3

PP Yoenis Cespedes– 3

P Jason Grilli– 3

PP Carl Crawford– 3

P Chris Capuano– 3

PP Seth Smith– 3

P Dan Otero– 3

P Michael Wacha– 3

PP Juan Uribe-3

PP Jhonny Peralta – 3

PP (Position Player) Russell Martin– 1

P (Pitcher) Francisco Liriano– 1

PP Desmond Jennings– 1

P Alex Cobb– 1

Mr. Octobers for October 7, 2013

Posted on October 8, 2013 by danglickman

Wow, what a day. Four games, and all of them had something good in them.

In the A’s-Tigers game, the position player Mr. October was Seth Smith, who had 2 hits and 2 RBIs, including a homer. Meanwhile, on the mound, Dan Otero wins the award for his two innings of good relief. Also, just an honorable mention to Grant Balfour and Victor Martinez for getting so many swear-words past MLB Network’s audio guys.

The next game, Pirates-Cardinals, almost saw history get made, as Michael Wacha got into the 8th inning before losing his no-hitter on a Pedro Alvarez HR. Wacha, of course, gets the Pitching award, while the position player getting the award was Matt Holliday, who’s two-run HR was ultimately the difference in the close 2-1 contest, and who had another hit too.

Boston-Tampa Bay was another classic, ending with Jose Lobaton‘s 9th-inning walk-off into the Ray tank in the outfield. Lobaton, of course, gets the award for position players- he only had one at-bat, but he really made it count. On the mound, Jake McGee wins, as his nice escape from having a man on second with no outs allowed the Rays to keep the game tied.

Finally, deep into the night, there was Braves-Dodgers. Clayton Kershaw, on short rest, threw 6 innings without an earned run, allowing him to outduel an overachieving Freddy Garcia (if not for the defensive problems of the Dodgers, the game would have been a shutout) and later Juan Uribe hit a two-run home run to put the Dodgers ahead for good. They are the Mr. Octobers for that game.

Standings (PP= position player, P= pitcher):

PP Carlos Beltran– 6

P Clayton Kershaw– 6

PP David Ortiz– 3

P Koji Uehara– 3

P Justin Verlander– 3

P Adam Wainwright– 3

PP Adrian Gonzalez– 3

P Gerrit Cole– 3

PP Pedro Alvarez– 3

P Jon Lester– 3

PP Shane Victorino -3

P Mike Minor– 3

PP Hanley Ramirez– 3

P Max Scherzer– 3

PP Yoenis Cespedes– 3

P Jason Grilli– 3

PP Carl Crawford– 3

P Chris Capuano– 3

PP Seth Smith- 3

P Dan Otero- 3

P Michael Wacha- 3

PP Matt Holliday-3

PP Jose Lobaton-3

P Jake McGee-3

PP Juan Uribe-3

PP (Position Player) Russell Martin– 1

P (Pitcher) Francisco Liriano– 1

PP Desmond Jennings– 1

P Alex Cobb– 1

Songs of October: A Retrospective (Because Why Not?)

Posted on October 7, 2013 by danglickman

It’s a sensation that’s spreading across the nation: Mups. Their spread is unstoppable, to the point where some like the “Cespedes Family BBQ” and Jesse Spector have begun to engage in a “#Mupwatch”. But some wonder: What is a Mup? Are they some sort of Muppet? Is it dangerous? And why are they being lit on fire?

Well, the answer lies in the commercials that have been playing in the lead-up to and during the post-season, featuring Fall Out Boy’s “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark”. Here is an example of such a commercial. While officially they are saying “Light ’em up”, it sounds, especially during the echoing segments, like they are actually talking about things called “mups”.

And thus continues a long tradition of October songs that have graced our televisions and infected our ears, whether we liked them or not. And, usually, if we DID like them at the start of the postseason, we end up being sick of them by the end just from hearing them so many times.

And, what’s more, these songs and how they become memes aren’t of a universal source. Most of them, for example, are part of TBS’ coverage, but others, including the latest Fall Out Boy song, are actually of MLB’s doing. Like, TBS is using a different song*, and MLB Network itself also has a different song for the commercials for it’s two games**. Also, it should be noted that none of them are explicit about baseball, and most of them are more picked for the imagery of their chorus than any type of lyrical sense and fit.

*Using Google searches of the lyrics I was able to decipher, I’ve figured out it’s 30 Seconds to Mars’ “Do or Die”.

**Again using Google, I’ve found that the commercials use the chorus from Papa Roach’s “Still Swingin’“.

Still, with that out of the way, here’s a history (after the jump) of the Songs of October:

Continue reading →

Mr. Octobers for Yesterday’s games (October 6, 2013)

Posted on October 7, 2013 by danglickman

Okay, so, here are the MR. OCTOBERs for yesterday’s games:

In Pittsburgh vs. St. Louis, the hitting Mr. October was Carlos Beltran, again. Seriously, it would be wise if Pittsburgh just stops pitching to him, it would greatly aid them in winning this series before it returns to St. Louis. As for the pitching Mr. October? Well, this is tough, but I’ll probably go with Jason Grilli, who finished off the Cardinals before they could come back again.

As for Dodgers-Braves? Well, the position player Mr. October is Carl Crawford, as he went 2-5 with a HR and 3 RBIs while also making an awesome catch in the field. As for pitching? Well, this is hard, as it was a slugfest, but I’ll go with Chris Capuano, who’s three innings out of the pen silenced the Braves’ bats long enough as the Dodgers laid what in scientific terms is called a “total beatdown.”

Standings (PP= Position Player, P=Player):

PP Carlos Beltran– 6

PP David Ortiz– 3

P Koji Uehara– 3

P Justin Verlander– 3