The title of this post should be your first clue to the fact that this will be Off. You know, as in “not quite getting it”. But I got more than you might think.
I had about convinced myself to watch the final game of the World Series last night, but when the time came, I just couldn’t work up enough interest. The network blocked out 7:30 P.M.to 10:00 P.M. for the game, so around 10:00, I finally paid attention and said, well at least I’ll tune in and find out who won. Au contraire. They were in the 6th inning. (I said, How many innings are there supposed to be anyway? I forgot. )
One of the requirements of watching sports is that you have to be for one team and against the other. So I chose the team I was for using the same logical process that real sports fans do. Namely, I hate Texas. I hate the geography of Texas. I hate its climate (although lately I’m feeling sorry for them because of the drought. I fear they are in for another dust bowl.) I hate their politics and bullying ways. I don’t much like George W. Bush, and I dislike Rick Perry even more.
Then there is St. Louis. I actually lived there once for three weeks–it was a work thing–and flatly refused to go back. I absolutely hated it. But it had its charms. The Gateway Arch and the park around it. The old Courthouse where the Dred Scott decision was handed down. The Eads Bridge. It had history and familiarity on its side, so I had to pick St. Louis. I hate it, but I hate Texas more.
This leads me to a (brief) discussion of men and sports: it seems to me that they funnel a lot of emotional energy and passion into sports, which could be better spent elsewhere. But that’s the way it works. My wishing it were different will not make one whit of a difference. But men can’t help it–it’s the way their brains work.
Back to the World Series. So when I tuned into the game in the sixth inning, it was only seconds before the pitcher for the Texas Rangers hit the Cardinals’ batter with the ball. Holy Shit! The batter was not an idiot, so he tried his best to avoid it, but how fast is that ball going? 100 miles an hour? The ball still hit him on the hip, and I bet he isn’t feeling that well today. Assuming he can walk. But when I saw that, I said, These guys (the Rangers) are about to beat themselves.
Here’s why this was so bad–when it happened, the bases were loaded, so it was an automatic run for the Cards.
My prediction was right on the money. In the sixth inning, the Rangers still had time to come back, but I knew they wouldn’t. You could see it in their faces. They were feeling hopeless. This morning I read that Nolan Ryan walked off the field refusing to comment. I don’t blame him. His team gave up.
So what I would say is…that’s his fault. There is something wrong with the organization. Not with the players. They are amazingly talented. It’s Fakenames’s theory of management–you can’t beat the hell out of people mentally, and expect them to shine and have confidence. On the other hand, some days you just lose anyway.
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And I thought baseball was in the spring…. (A sports fan I am not!)
Lol sc–it is in the spring…and the summer…and the fall. I can remember when there used to be discreet seasons for each of the 3 “major” sports–baseball, football, and basketball. Now they all overlap. Except this year, when there is no major league basketball yet, but there’s still college basketball going on at the same time their football teams are still playing. That seems to be a tendency in sports–take a good thing and run it into the ground. Keep it going until fan fatigue develops. I personally think it’s a mistake. For example, I think that FSU’s basketball games are poorly attended because the football season is still on. Now lest I insult Fakesister, hockey is also a major sport, but it didn’t used to be that way, at least in the U.S. And still probably has a lower following than the other 3.
While you’re trying to insult sports varieties, there’s always soccer.
Quite true, Fakesister. I know that worldwide, soccer fans think the U.S.is nuts for liking our version of “football”. And I am not trying to insult any sport. I’m just making an observation. I don’t know this, but my guess is that soccer ranks even lower than hockey in the U.S.
I went once to a live soccer game and loved it. It has a lot more to do with skill and is a lot more like ballet. I’ve read that American football fans don’t like it because the scores are so low. Hello. You get six points for a TD in a football game. You only get one in soccer for a goal, also in hockey. So that’s better?
I think American sports fans like the violence better than they like the skill.
I’ve said before…I like baseball best, because the players look like real people. Football and basketball players look like genetic freaks to me.
Polo is fun to watch in-person too.
The cards won because they had better hitting, better pitching and better defense. They also had the home field advantage (4 out of 7) because the national league won the all star game AND they had the best fans in baseball (BFIB)
Nolan Ryan’s contribution to the Texas franchise was buying them out of bankruptcy and helping to fund the talent that they have. He was a fierce competitor as a player and doesn’t seem to have lost the fire in his belly. They have made it to the WS 2 straight years which is a significant achievement.
Both managers are considered to be among the best in the sport. It was a great series.:) LaRussa has now announced his retirement, at age 67 he goes out a winner and one of the most beloved of managers.
Baseball has always begun in March with spring training and played the world series in the fall. What has changed is the division playoffs have been added and that has extended the series into late October.