MLB
By C. Eric Lincoln
Dim the lights on the greatest sporting franchise in American history. Say Goodnight, Babe. Thanks for the memories, Mr. October. And even though its crowded. Yogi, no one wants to play there anymore. The Detroit Tigers —bless you boys— are in the World Series, proof that a new day has come to baseball, and the Yankees and George Steinbrenner`s money don’t count for much any more. The king is dead. Long live parity. Long live Marcus Thames.
“I’ll guarantee that nobody, but nobody, has left this ballpark… and if anyone did manage to leave early, man, he’s missin’ … the greatest! … Two strikes and a ball… Mitchell, waiting, stands deep, feet close together… Larsen is ready, gets the sign… Two strikes, ball one, here comes the pitch… Strike three! A no-hitter, a perfect game for Don Larsen! Yogi Berra runs out there, he leaps on Larsen and he’s swarmed by his teammates… Listen to this crowd roar!”
– Bob Wolff, radio broadcaster
They say you have a better chance of being struck by lightning or winning the lottery than dying in a plane crash. According to the BBC, the chances of having a single fatality on a flight are 1 in 16 million. You are actually at a greater risk driving to the airport than you are in flight! Statistically, a person would have to fly once a day every day for over 15,000 years to be involved in an aircraft accident.
On Wednesday, October 11, 2006 former Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle died after his plane crashed into a building on New York’s Upper East Side. He is survived by his wife of 9 years, Melanie, and 6-year-old son Christopher. Lidle was 34.
Maybe it’s because they took it hard to the franchise of evil incarnate, the New York Yankees, the vaunted “Murderer’s Row and Cano” that was supposedly going to mash its way through the 2006 playoffs en route to a coronation in the Bronx for a 27th World Series title.
Dear Sports Gods,
I did everything right. Everything. After my beloved A’s swept Minnesota, I held off on calling my friend Max and taunting him about it. Before the ALCS, I never once mentioned advancing to the World Series. Like Gene Hackman in “Hoosiers” my response was always that we will not be concerned about the next step until we climb the one in front of us. Heck, instead of poking fun at Yankee fans for losing to Detroit…..I took the approach of putting my arm around them and providing encouragement. I heard the words, “don’t worry Steinbrenner will get you some pitching next year” come out of my mouth. It’s not just that though. I did other stuff to help the A’s pull through in this series. Instead of pretending to read my newspaper and ignoring an old lady on the train, I got up and gave her my seat. Five times I was the last person to exit a crowded elevator. I do not understand why you are doing this to us, but it is just inhumane at this point.
The only good thing to come out of the movie “Meet Joe Black” was a scene portraying a quick one-two punch of cars slamming into Brad Pitt. Right in succession. The only good thing to come out of this weekend was that I now have a reason to gratuitously reference this scene. That’s just the kind of few days it’s been.
As I write this, the Tigers are celebrating a win over the Yankees 8-1, clinching a trip to the American League Championship series. With this, a team that lost 119 games just three years ago beat the most expensive, illustrious baseball team ever put on a field.
This hurts right now. Here is what’s on my mind.
by Trevor Freeman
Mike: Are you calling to rub it in?
Trevor: No, I’m calling because I want you to step it up. I want Jason Giambi in the Oakland Coliseum next week. Please beat the Tigers. Do it for me. Do it because all I want is for your Yankees to come to our house.
Mike: Screw you!! After we beat these Tigers, we’re going to kick you’re A’s a$$ too!!
Trevor: Don’t sing it…………bring it……..
I woke up this morning and went out to the porch to grab the newspaper. I noticed two things: it was a little chillier than usual, and the paper felt a little lighter. “This could only mean one thing!” I thought. “It must be October!” (Give me a break, I know it’s the third day of the month; I can’t process those things at 6:30 in the morning).
So with the change in weather, comes a change in baseball. The 32-team league is narrowed down to the elite eight; four from both the American and the National leagues. Every year, the postseason comes and brings along questions that begged to be answered. This year: Who will shine? Who will slump? Can the Cardinals and Tigers pick up their games? Does the loss of Pedro affect the Mets’ championship hopes?
And of course: Who will win it all? Well look no farther my humble subjects, for JDWC has all the answers to these questions and the predictions for the MLB 2006 postseason. (Yeah, I know it’s not timely, but better late than never right?)