Unexpected October - First Round Random Thoughts
Going into this year, the baseball playoff picture in both leagues was seemingly set. The Mets and Tigers were coming off great years and seemed to have the momentum to make the playoffs again. Then both teams fell down the stretch and lost. And the Indians, Phillies, Rockies, Diamondbacks, and Cubs came out of nowhere to make it in. Most unexpected of all, however, is how uncompetitive the first round of the playoffs have been. If the Yankees fall to the Indians tonight, every series would have resulted in a 3-0 sweep. Since when did October become so one-sided?
The biggest problem of the playoffs may now lie with Joe Torre. According to the omnipresent boss, a loss to the Indians means that Torre’s career with New York may finally be over. Down 2-0, a win in the first round may be the toughest task the manager has ever had.
And are the Cubs really cursed? Or is that just an excuse. Personally, I lean towards the latter. The Wood and Prior injuries were a direct result of Dusty overusing them. And the Bartman fiasco really had nothing to do with the team losing. Bartman didn’t make the error at shortstop to put a man on or drive in the winning run for the Marlins. The Cubs fans who moan and groan about this curse should really just stop blaming outside factors. Your players stink, your managers stink, and your front office stinks. Its not a goat’s fault or Bartman’s fault. It’s the teams. Deal with it.
On a similar note, does anyone else feel more bad for Phillies fans than Cubs fans. Between the Eagles, Phillies, 6ers, and Flyers, the city almost always comes up short in athletics. Throw the town some sort of bone.
This has been a very weird season in baseball. Whose gonna win the championship? The favorites now have to be the Red Sox…but the way this month has gone, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Rockies win in six over the Angels (not my prediction.) Stay tuned.
