Brian
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Post by Brian on Sept 27, 2010 23:00:56 GMT -8
I would have been able to congratulate the Cincinnati Reds for clinching the National League Central division if only the Cardinals had lost tonight, so I'll have to hold my hosannas for another day.
The Phillies won the East on Sunday and the Braves lead the wild card standings by only half a game.
Which brings me to the National League West. The Giants didn't play Monday but the Padres lost, so San Diego is a full game back in the division and a half game back in the wild card. I will not be satisfied if they stumble into the playoffs and award the Hated Ones the division. Unfortunately, I can't just keep rooting for the Padres to win every game. I desperately need the Giants to lose.
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Brian
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Post by Brian on Oct 3, 2010 23:00:25 GMT -8
The San Diego Padres teased me all weekend, winning their first two games against the Hated Ones in San Francisco and only trailing 2-0 through most of Sunday's game. I had Vin on the TV and mlb.com on the computer all afternoon. But the Dads gave up another run and went down, ending their chance to extend the National League's regular season. If the Padres had won, we would have had playoff games for the National League West title on Monday and for the wild card on Tuesday! Too much to ask, I suppose.
As was the whole idea of keeping the Giants' amazing pitching staff out of the Division Series. Now I have to hope that the Braves dispatch them in three games so I can relax and root for the Reds to steamroll over the Phillies. I like the Reds and I don't need to watch the Phillies in the Fall Classic three years in a row.
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Brian
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Post by Brian on Oct 7, 2010 23:00:53 GMT -8
So far, neither National League Division Series is going my way. It was a gem, but the Giants beat the Braves Thursday night, 1-0. The other was a no hitter -- only the second one ever in baseball's postseason -- but it happened to the Reds. I have to hope both losers will be motivated to win their second games and achieve splits before traveling to home field advantage. As for the American League, the Yankees and Rangers are just one victory from taking long breaks until the Championship Series. I feel sorry for the Twins, who haven't won a postseason game since Bush's tax cuts, yet I have no interest whatsoever in watching the teams from Texas and Florida, my least favorite states. After enjoying Ken Burns' Yankees-centered documentary on PBS last week, I've been trying to soften up even more as I consider the possibility of rooting for them in a World Series against the Hated Ones.
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Brian
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Post by Brian on Oct 10, 2010 23:01:09 GMT -8
Condolences to Roberta and Bruce over the Reds' elimination in the National League Division Series. Roberta told me on the corner Friday that she's just glad her team won their division and got to play in the postseason, which is what I always said when the Dodgers made it to the NLDS and got swept. Presumably, Bruce is in seclusion tonight. But such a great team could dominate next October.
The pitching has been phenomenal in almost every game. The coverage and the announcers on TBS have been good overall, much better than Fox. I even started watching the Rays and the Rangers, who will play Game Five on Tuesday, and getting a little excited. One of them will face the Yankees.
After coming from behind, the Braves suffered a heartbreaking loss Sunday. I walked out the front door when they only needed one out to win and heard the finale on the radio pulling away from Starbucks in Sunland. They must win at home Monday or the Giants will complicate my life and turn me into the nation's most obnoxious Phillies fan.
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Roberta
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Vigil founding member
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Post by Roberta on Oct 11, 2010 18:40:28 GMT -8
Thanks Brian, and sorry 'bout those Giants just now. Yes, I will be rooting for the Phillies to sweep, I'm betting, the truly evil ones the Yankees, in the Series.
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Brian
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Post by Brian on Oct 17, 2010 23:00:12 GMT -8
Thanks Brian, and sorry 'bout those Giants just now. Yes, I will be rooting for the Phillies to sweep, I'm betting, the truly evil ones the Yankees, in the Series. Thank you, Roberta. With both Championship Series tied 1-1 after their first rounds this weekend, it's too soon to say your prediction will come true. But not to hope that the Phillies will prevail. Unlike the messy Division Series, strewn with player errors and bad calls by umpires, the first four games for the pennants have been played and pitched beautifully. I'm struck by the Phillies' big victory Sunday after losing the first game, which they could have and should have won. Yet they didn't lose their nerve -- while the Giants seemed fueled by the animosity from the Philadelphia fans. Anni points out that they might be the better team this year. Watching Renteria's catch last night, I almost had to agree. Tuesday, the action shifts from the land of nasty cheesesteak eaters to a place where weepy people, denied a World Series championship for a lifetime, eat sushi in the stands and chase home run balls in rowboats. They're not the same Giants fans who heaped trash on Dodgers returning to the visiting clubhouse at Candlestick in the 1980's. In fact, they're not even thinking about the Dodgers anymore.
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