Jake Arrieta was unstoppable and Kyle Schwarber sent a ball into the stratosphere, making them the easy picks for last night’s Mr. Octobers.
With the LDS round about to begin, all Mr. Octobers of the coming round get 3 points (6 if it’s a Game 5).
Standings so far (PP= Position Player, P= Pitcher, * means eliminated from playoffs):
P Dallas Keuchel 1
PP Colby Rasmus 1
PP Kyle Schwarber 1
P Jake Arrieta 1
It’s time for the Mr. Octobers of Yesterday!
What are the Mr. Octobers of Yesterday? Simple, for each postseason game (not day), there will be a Mr. October pitcher and a Mr. October position player. They will be awarded points based on the round and situation:
At the end of the postseason, the ones with the most will be the MR. OCTOBER of 2015.
So, for example, the Mr. Octobers of last night were Dallas Keuchel (pitcher) and Colby Rasmus (position player). So they each get one point to start.
Standings so far (PP= Position Player, P= Pitcher, * means eliminated from playoffs):
P Dallas Keuchel 1
PP Colby Rasmus 1
I predict…
WILD CARDS:
Yankees over Astros
Cubs over Pirates
LDSes:
Royals over Yankees (in four)
Blue Jays over Rangers (in five)
Cardinals over Cubs (in five)
Dodgers over Mets (in five)
LCSes:
Blue Jays over Royals (in six)
Dodgers over Cardinals (in six)
WORLD SERIES:
Blue Jays over Dodgers (in six)
Over at the Hall of Very Good, the latest Wisdom and Links looks at the theme songs of the 2015 postseason teams, and also has links!
Check it out!
The postseason is full of traditions. And the use of songs again and again by MLB and it’s network affiliates are… one of them. However, we have yet to truly learn what shall be played this year so much that we make memes out of it and/or threaten to throttle somebody whenever we hear them.
And, while they haven’t made it official yet, we can now safely say that the National League side of things on TBS will be having the Zac Brown Band song “Heavy Is The Head” playing, at least if this promo video I found on YouTube is anything to go on:
I don’t like it. Not good enough to be good, nor bad enough to be meme-worthy. Of course, I’m sure after a few games my opinion will be changed based on how Twitter reacts to it.
And so, we now wait/worry on FOX, MLB Network, perhaps ESPN and MLB itself to see/hear what, if anything, they will be adding to the October Song repertoire. Rest assured, I’ll be updating the “Songs of October” database far earlier this year than I did last year.
Well, that was fun.
To be sure, there have been many better All-Star Games. But there have also been many worse All-Star Games as well. And, what’s more, the festivities themselves were above average- the Home Run Derby, for example, has been reborn thanks to the brackets and time limits. It certainly isn’t perfect, but for the first time in quite awhile, I felt like I was watching the Home Run Derby beyond the first round because I was enjoying it, not simply because it was on.
And then there is Mike Trout. He batted four times last night, and in some ways the game became his showcase. He homered, he walked, he beat out a throw to first to avoid a double play. He rightfully was named MVP, his second in a row (the first player to do that), and he’s only 24. It is not out of the realm of possibility that, one day, the quote “The All-Star Game was made for Willie Mays” will instead be “The All-Star Game was made for Mike Trout.”
Not surprisingly, Trout is the MVP of Yesterday, just as he was the MVP of the game. Standings, as always, after the jump:
As you know, the Orioles and White Sox will be playing a game today in front of an empty stadium due to the recent events in Baltimore, with only themselves, journalists, and a skeleton crew of ballpark workers there to see it in person.
While of course the first thoughts should be for everyone in Baltimore in light of the unrest (whether peaceful protest or the violent riots that occurred on Monday), it should be noted that this unusual zero-attendance game will provide a unique look at baseball.
Now, I have, of course by definition, never been to a game with no attendance. But I have been to games that have been very close, with perhaps only a hundred or more fans there, tops. Go to a minor league game on a cold night with a chance of rain and you’ll have a chance to see it (as I have at times), or go to one of the lowest minor leagues, where they play games in large Spring Training facilities in front of crowds far, far smaller than the ballpark is meant to.
It is, in a word that will be said many times today: surreal.
For one thing, there is the fact that almost everything in the stadium is closed. Maybe one or two food stands will be open for the few fans who are there (this won’t be the case for the Orioles game today), and maybe you might still one or two vendors walking around hawking beer, but in general, it is a morgue outside of the seating bowl. They might not even turn on the TVs to show the game to anybody down below.
And yet, much of what the stadium’s PA system and video board play remain the same. They’ll flash out the birthday messages meant for people who probably left during the rain delay in the third innings, they’ll play walk-up music that echoes through the empty stands, they’ll give “fan of the game” awards to people who normally never get the awards because their seats are too expensive, and the mascots are able to give a good chunk of time to every kid in the crowd. Individually.
And, above all else, you can hear almost everything said above a conversational tone. You can hear the players actually call out “I got it, I got it,” and hear them swear after they do something wrong. I don’t know if the mics in Baltimore will be good enough to pick stuff like that up, but if they can, it’ll be a treat (and also NSFW).
Lastly, if it’s possible, baseball with little to no fans there is most definitely connoisseur’s experience. The few people there most definitely want to be there. There are no casual fans. And that is an almost zen-like experience.
In 30 Teams, 30 Posts, I write a post about every MLB team in some way in the lead-up to the beginning of the 2015 season. Previous installments can be found here. Today, in the final installment, an open letter from a Rochester Red Wings fan to their parent club.
TO: Minnesota Twins
CC: General Manager Terry Ryan, CEO Jim Pohlad, Director of Minor League Operations Brad Stell, Manager Paul Molitor
SUBJECT: Sano and Buxton
Hello,
I am writing as a fan of the Rochester Red Wings, your AAA club. You’ve been good to us over the years. We’ve made the playoffs twice and come close a few other times since this affiliation began, and we’ve been lucky enough to see Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer, Brian Dozier, Francisco Liriano, Denard Span, Grant Balfour, Glen Perkins, and many other fine players. We even got to have Joe Mauer and Joe Nathan stop by briefly on rehab assignments, which was nice.
But, not to sound ungrateful, we have a simple request for this coming season: Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton. We very much would like it if you had them stop here before you inevitably call them up in September (if not earlier), perhaps never to grace minor league fields again.
Now, we understand. Neither of them have been able to put much time in AA yet, and with a new affiliate in the Chattanooga Lookouts, you no doubt are looking to make a good first impression. And, what’s more, Chattanooga’s climate is probably way better for a young baseball player in April and May than Rochester’s is.
Seriously, the weather here in April can never seem to remember what season it is. Yesterday, I was in shorts, but this weekend, it could snow.
However, that doesn’t change the fact that, come June, Rochester would be the perfect place for Minnesota’s two biggest prospects since Mauer to prepare for the big leagues. The weather will be getting warmer, schools will start letting out, and Frontier Field will start getting packed. By the 4th of July, the stadium will be full basically every Friday night, with some fans packing cowbells and giveaway thunder-stix, much to the annoyance of some people.
And it’ll be even more special if we have Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano to cheer on. Some of us have been waiting for years to see them. So, please, if at all possible, don’t make them bypass AAA.
Thank you, and good luck on your upcoming season,
-A Rochester Red Wings Fan
In 30 Teams, 30 Posts, I write a post about every MLB team in some way in the lead-up to the beginning of the 2015 season. Previous installments can be found here. Today, the Cubs.
There is a saying that a work of fiction can be good or bad, but the worst thing it can be is be boring. The same could be said for baseball teams. And, well, the Cubs may be many things this season, but they will not be boring.
After all, this is a team with Joe Maddon as manager. He’s never boring. He’s always doing crazy shifts, having his team do themed road-trips where they dress up as 1890s gentlemen or Hawaiian beach bums or whatever.
They have wonder-prospect Kris Bryant. Or, at least, they will. It’s complicated, but basically they’ll call him up within a few weeks, when they’ll be able to start his service clock late enough where they’ll be able to keep him from free agency for an extra year.
They have Wrigley Field still under heavy renovation. The bleachers won’t be done for at least two months. What the heck! How does this happen? Still, not boring.
And, of course, they have their endless quest to finally win their first World Series since 1908, and, perhaps more importantly, the quest to prove Back To The Future II correct.
So, yes… the Cubs are not going to be boring this year. That is for sure.
In 30 Teams, 30 Posts, I write a post about every MLB team in some way in the lead-up to the beginning of the 2015 season. Previous installments can be found here. Today, the Padres.
It’s nice to see that San Diego, one of the most beautiful cities in America, has finally gotten a MLB team again. I mean, maybe they’ve had one the last few years, but I honestly can’t remember. After all, the Padres were like extras in a movie: there, but unnoticed.
So, let’s remember the years where San Diego only technically had a Major League team, because we all forgot they existed:
2007: The last year I can truly remember the Padres existing before this year. They got into a tie-breaker playoff against the Rockies and lost in 13 innings. The age of darkness began.
2008: 63-99 and last place. America only recognized their existence when Jake Peavy or late-career Greg Maddux pitched, along with the occasional Trevor Hoffman milestone.
2009: 75-87, 4th place. The most notable thing listed about them on their Wikipedia page is that Jody Gerut became the first player in history to have a lead-off home run in a new stadium when he led off the first game at CitiField with a homer off of Mike Pelfrey. Jake Peavy was traded this year and Trevor Hoffman had gone to the Brewers. The sinkage into obscurity seemed to be in full swing.
2010: Actually a pretty good year, as they went 90-72 and finished in second place, a beacon of relevance in a ocean of meh. Oh, but they blew a 6.5 game lead late in the season and lost the division to the Giants, and then Adrian Gonzalez was traded after the season. And then they returned to obscuresville.
2011: 71-91, last place. I cannot remember a thing about this team.
2012: 76-86, 4th place. This was Chase Headley’s breakout year, if I remember correctly. Other than that, I can’t think of anything special about the Padres in 2012.
2013: 76-86, 3rd place. Was this the year they had the fight with the Dodgers? I think this was the year they had a fight with the Dodgers. Otherwise, I can’t remember a thing about them.
2014: 77-85, 3rd place. Tony Gwynn died and everything was terrible. Otherwise, I can’t remember much about them.
…And then there is 2015. I guess we’ll see how that turns out, huh?
Next time: The Cubs.
The Baseball Continuum 