I love baseball.
I am partial to a certain pinstripe-donning team from the Bronx, but I’m really more a fan of the game than anything else. As a fan of the game, I watch the World Series regardless of the teams playing.
This one is horrible.
The St. Louis Cardinals won the national league pennant after taking down the Milwaukee Brewers, an exciting bunch of misfits that somehow put together a quality team with a lot of character. Highlighted by Nyjer Morgan—though he often goes by alter-ego Tony Plush who wears Gucci suits and fedoras at night clubs because girls don’t know how to pronounce his name—and big, burly, 500 foot home-run-hitting Prince Fielder. Not to mention Ryan Braun, the classic ballplayer, John Axford, the bartender turned handlebar-mustache wearing closer and Rickie Weeks, the slick fielding, scrappy second basemen.
And who do the Cardinals have, but one exciting player in Albert Pujols. The man nicknamed “The Machine” with everything but a personality.
The fact of the matter is, the Cardinals are a boring team. Sure, they’re good, they’ve been in more championships than any team not named the Yankees (this is their 18th trip) and they’ve won the next most with 10; but the Brewers were really fun to watch this year. In the team’s LDS match up against the Diamondbacks, T-Plush hit a walk off single up the middle to seal the series, whereafter he swore on national television and yelled his catch-phrase “GOTTA GO!” before sprinting into the locker room. You cannot beat excitement like that.
On the other hand, in the American League, the Texas Rangers have reached their second consecutive world championship, and nobody outside of Texas has seemed to notice.
Once my Yankees were bumped off, there was only one other fun team to watch (the Rays had been eliminated already by the Rangers). So I was subject to rooting for Justin Verlander to throw a perfect game or something else extraordinary. Instead, all I got were losses and a lot of Delmon Young home runs, which nobody is really able to explain since he was in AAA in mid-July, seemingly on his way down.
So you have a World Series that is largely irrelevant to anybody not living in the Heartland of the United States. This is the first time in 13 years that a big-name from California or the northeast has not been represented in the final four of the MLB playoffs.
This series will be hard to compare to in quality versus something like the 2002 World Series. California was bubbling with rage and enthusiasm. It’s like for two weeks, Northern California and Southern California were different states, they hated each other.
The San Francisco Giants had a ball club with both expected and unexpected heroes ranging from Barry Bonds, who was coming off another phenomenal season, to J.T. Snow, the bubble-blowing, clutch contact-hitting first baseman. Jeff Kent, who epitomized on and off the field, led the infielders, along with Rich Aurilia, a hot-tempered shortstop with an unconventional batting stance. They had a pitching staff full of nobodies minus Jason Schmidt, who had an electric fastball at the time.
The Angels were at the peak of their greatness. Garret Anderson was the essential man for the team and they had a big-name closer in Troy Percival.
This, along with the 2000 World Series are probably the twobest I can recall watching.
This year will be different. You have two teams in the midwest, with very little excitement going on. There are few players on these teams that are fun to watch. Apart from Albert Pujols on the Cards and Josh Hamilton and Nelon Cruz for the Rangers, these teams are boring and I really have no idea how they’ve managed to reach the World Series.
What else is on TV this coming week?
I mean, the PGA Tour has the Grand Slam of Golf coming up. I could watch that.
Who amI kidding?
YEAH! • Oct 30, 2011 at 12:17 am
This Could Be The Worst Article, Ever
Callie • Oct 27, 2011 at 1:15 pm
Notice the publication date, people. This article was a preview of the world series, before it had even started. He’s not saying that it’s not exciting because big name teams aren’t in it, he’s saying that in the players and the teams themselves, they’re not exciting to watch (which I agree with).
Jeff • Oct 27, 2011 at 6:59 pm
That may be true, but these teams together are an exciting matchup.
Jeff • Oct 25, 2011 at 8:18 pm
Really? This isn’t exciting? Have you not watched the games. When’s the last time someone hit 3 home runs in a World Series game? Ya, it was a long time ago. Also, not sure I’d call the San Fran Giants a “big” team.
Aaron • Oct 25, 2011 at 8:16 pm
Sounds to me like you’re just upset your Yankees aren’t playing right now.
Paul • Oct 22, 2011 at 4:38 pm
In order for the World Series to be worth watching, the competing teams have to be from New York, Boston or California? That basically seems to be what you’re saying. You say you’re more of a fan than anything, but that’s clearly not true. I’m from Milwaukee. My team didn’t make it. But I can still appreciate a series between two clubs that fought like hell to get where they’re at. Nevermind the millions of Cardinals fans who live in Midwest states that don’t have teams. But no, those fans don’t deserve to enjoy a series without everyone dumping all over it. Because they don’t live in New York or Boston or California.
MIsty • Oct 27, 2011 at 1:17 pm
Half of the article was praising the Brewers, why are you upset?
Bob • Oct 20, 2011 at 12:40 pm
He says, “This is the first time in 13 years that a big-name from California or the northeast has not been represented in the final four of the MLB playoffs,” and then says, “This series will be hard to compare to in quality versus something like the 2002 World Series. California was bubbling with rage and enthusiasm. It’s like for two weeks, Northern California and Southern California were different states, they hated each other.” After that, the Yankees won it in 2009, the Red Sox won it in 2007 and 2004 . . . Just because the Yankees aren’t in the World Series doesn’t mean it is boring.