Of course I'm talking about baseball. The regular season is over and this year, for the first time, there is an extra game - a play-in game, if you will, that will determine which two teams will play against the other division winners for the chance at the National and American League Pennants.
Let's start with the National League because there game was on first and I got to watch quite a bit of it, especially the last few innings when it got interesting. In case you care, there was a call against the Atlanta Braves that caused their batter to be out, which left them with two outs and runners on second and third. The manager of the Braves argued and eventually decided on playing the rest of the game under protest. Basically that means that he wanted to tell on the umpire for not being fair to his team and possibly get the umpire in trouble. A few hours after the game had ended, Joe Torre, one of MLB's Vice Presidents of Baseball Operations (who was at the game) declined the protest. Good for Joe. The sad and embarrassing part of this story, though, is the fact that fans tossed everything from bottles to cups to other garbage onto the field, forcing an 18 minute delay of the game. Did it help in the long run? Nope. If you're going to be mad at the umpire, fine, but there was no reason to embarrass the city of Atlanta and the wonderful people by showing that kind of behavior on television.
Yes, it would have been nice to see Larry Jones, Jr. (or as his friends call him, Chipper) get to the World Series since he's retiring after his last game - which was today. Yes, it would have been cool to see the Braves make it back to the postseason after such a good run. But they didn't make it. The St. Louis Cardinals did. And you know why? Because they just happened to be better and got better hitting. Several times during the game the Braves had chances. They even had a chance in the bottom of the ninth inning and missed. Boo hoo. The umpires didn't want us to win and purposefully called that play so we would lose. No, Atlanta Braves fans. You lost because Chipper hasn't been the same for a couple of years and during the sixth inning, your team made three errors. Three errors! In one inning. That's not a good way to win a ballgame. Good luck to the Braves and congratulations to the St. Louis Cardinals for advancing. Congrats, also, to Chipper Jones. 19 years of playing for the same team is not something a lot of baseball players can say. Good luck on all your future endeavors and we will be waiting for you in Cooperstown in five years.
Onto the nightcap. America's team, the Baltimore Orioles just keep finding ways to win. How? They have moderate pitching and semi-decent hitting but they were going against the Texas Rangers. Of course, they really should have been playing the A's, but the Rangers have not been themselves lately. For the entire baseball season until just this past Monday, the Texas Rangers led the American League West Division. By Tuesday, they had tied with the A's for the lead. Wednesday, when the A's found a way to beat the Rangers, it was the icing on the cake. Rangers fans could complain and cry about their team too, but again, they had their chances. Plus, at the end of the season, when all they needed to do was win, they couldn't win enough. Had they won two of the three games against the A's they would have been just fine and on their way to the postseason for the third year in a row. Oh well. Good luck trying to sign Josh Hamilton.
But what about my team, the Arizona Diamondbacks? They finished at .500 having lost their last game of the season. While it was disappointing in most respects, I found that Tyler Skaggs, Trevor Bauer, A.J. Pollock and Adam Eaton were surprises that will add to the club in the years to come. The best surprise, however, was Wade Miley, a lefty pitcher that has a chance to be Rookie of the Year, though I doubt he would win. I think he surprised everyone that played against him and the Diamondbacks at the same time.
While I still think the Diamondbacks will be a team to contend next year, it is sad that I don't get to watch them through the post season. Of course, even if I could, I'm not sure who would call the games as both television announcers were fired today. Daron Sutton for "philosophical reasons" and Mark Grace because of his drinking and driving arrest (the second in just over a year). Granted, I don't live in Arizona and can't watch them, but when I did get to listen to them, I found them good. Grace is a great guy and he's obviously going through a lot and needs help. Sutton, I just don't know, but I'm sure it was just a difference of opinion with the front office.
Whatever the case may be, I think I'm actually going to enjoy the playoffs and would be happy to see a Washington Nationals - Baltimore Orioles World Series, though that would be annoying for all of us on the East Coast.
Until tomorrow.
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