Baseball Thoughts on this Sunday Morning

Baseball Thoughts on this Sunday Morning

Well, we wake up this very, very nice fall morning to some sad, sad news. (Stream of Consciousness moment, I just re-read what I'd written and saw that I'd done the adjective, adjective thing twice in that sentence. I apologize.)

Anyway, the Cardinals secured a playoff spot by winning the Central Division last night. Stupid botards. When I left the house last night to watch the Tennessee/Florida football game at a friend's, the Cubs and Reds were just getting started. During a commercial break in the football game, I was able to see that the Cubs had opened up a 4-1 lead on the Reds.

The bottom fell out, apparently. The Reds put five across the plate against Mr. Maddux. Sammy's solo shot apparently didn't score the two runs, later in the game, that he thought it would.

Which reminds me that I got lent Moneyball. I started reading it at lunch yesterday. I'm flying through--it's a really good read. I found myself identifying and appreciating very much the Sandy Alderson philosophy on offense, especially the bit on how every player should have the capability to both get on base, and hit home runs. As a Cubs fan, this "manufacturing runs" concept is one so alien it might as well be written in Martian. Sammy Sosa's brain would collapse were he in the A's minor leagues at the time Alderson was running things there.

Apparently, it ain't as Mr. Sosa's (and many other Cubs, up to and including their manager) believed: that a run ain't worth scoring unless you've driven it out yourself.

You mean it's okay to walk, or possibly hit to the opposite field for a single, or (Wonder of Wonders) Sacrifice in a run?!?!?!?!?!?

But back to my original point, congrats to the Cardinals. They've played smart baseball the whole season through. Because of that, since the All Star break it was pretty much not a question of "if" the Cards would win the division, but rather, "when."

Now we gotta see if the Cubs can play with the Giants and Astros the rest of the way, or if the sudden drubbing they got in the sixth inning last night will spin them into another spiral of back wrenching whiffs and idiotic baseball. It doesn't take much with this team. They can lose four in a row faster than you blink.

Next weekend, the plan is to head to Atlanta, to catch one more ballgame this season. I've seen woefully little this season, what with the move and the work and the other crap going on. But I do want to catch just one more game.