2013 ALCS game 5, Jim Leyland, and World Series rooting interest

ALC-YES:

Went to my first ever playoff baseball game last Wednesday, and boy was it a great time.  I got my rally towel (which I waved til my arms hurt) and enjoyed my view from the left field upper-deck near the fair pole:

(Yes, my pictures suck this time since I used my phone)

The crowd's energy and noise and the overall atmosphere was incredible, exactly what I was hoping for based on games I'd seen on TV.

The Tigers strung some walks and big hits into a nice inning against Jake Peavy leading to very little late drama.  After the disappointment from most of the previous games in the series, this was a refreshing change of pace.  Starter Doug Fister (my third different Tiger starter this year) was very good for the few innings he pitched and a resurgent Austin Jackson was the star of the evening.

As it turned out, this was the last game in the series the Tigers won.  Oh well, maybe next year?  Anyway, I had a blast and can't wait to make it to another playoff game in-person.

FIRE LEYL--oh, cool, he stepped down:

I'm not particularly sad to see Jim Leyland no longer managing the Tigers.  Too often I took issue with his strategies (or lack thereof) and refusal to see when changes needed to be made (i.e. moving Prince Fielder's fat ass down in the order).  I do give him credit for a great record, multiple playoff appearances and two Pennants over his eight seasons in Motown, and he comes off as a good guy who was obviously proud to be part of the Detroit tradition.  He just always struck me as a guy whose teams just couldn't get over the hump and often disappointed, falling below expectations at times.  With a team this talented I just can't believe he couldn't win a ring with the Tigers.

The story of Detroit's season in one animated GIF

Still, I know I should be careful what I wish for.  I definitely don't want an awful situation such as the Mattingly-Dodgers feud, an embarrassment like Bobby Valentine, or a hateful idiot like Ozzie Guillen.  Time will tell who the Tigers hire as their next manager, and I'm holding out hope for new blood instead of some retread--it's worked out well for a number of teams recently.  Good luck to Leyland on his future with the Tigers and outside of baseball, and best wishes to the team as they try to find a leader to get the team its first ring since 1984!

BEAT THE BEARDS!:

When Detroit threatened to bow out of the playoffs (and then did that), leaving Boston as the AL's representative, I pinned my remaining hopes on St. Louis defeating LA because I couldn't stand the idea of a completely unwatchable World Series featuring two villains.  I mean Boston has pretty much become the Yankees' barely-less annoying younger brother since winning titles in '04 and '07.  Plus they've got those stupid beards and look like idiots.  For me they have no redeeming qualities and I will happily root against them, not out of a sense of revenge for beating the Tigers (hell, I could have pulled for Tampa or Oakland in the Series) but because I just can't stand them and what they've become since finally winning in 2004.

This right here?  This looks stupid.  You look stupid doing this.

I have less of an annoyed attitude towards the Dodgers, really, but the dysfunctional way their front office and manager interacted, plus the attempt to throw a ridiculous pile of money at a title (which the Tigers are guilty of, just not all at once), were really huge turn-offs.  I haven't rooted for the Dodgers since Kirk Gibson's limited time with the team, and I really haven't had any reason to pull for them in a long, long time.  That's not to say that I don't hope some of their guys win it all at some point in their careers, especially Clayton Kershaw and Matt Kemp.

This look familiar, Dodgers fans?

The Cardinals, meanwhile, are a natural fit for my World Series rooting interest.  I can't think of anything I hate about them.  St. Louis is a venerated baseball town with great fans and an excellent history.  It's become a model for draft strategy and success (see:  Wacha, Michael, plus the 2009 haul), and the way they've performed since refusing Albert Pujols' king's ransom is amazing.  This is a Midwestern NL team playing NL ball the way it's meant to be played.  And of course I'm plenty biased since their second-year manager is a Michigan grad, so I'm wishing Matheny and his team the best of luck.  Hopefully this won't be a boring repeat of the very blah 2004 Series; I'd bet against it as this year's games have generally been entertaining.  With sincere apologies to all my Dodger-blogging buddies, I've got St. Louis in six.

GO CARDS!

The toughest man(ager) alive

When I talk a bit about Michigan baseball alumni on this blog, there's a guy I don't mention too often since he was never a big star here or in the Majors, plus he played most of his career during an era when cards weren't quite as out-of-hand as they are now.  However, I'm happy to say that today is a perfect occasion to put the spotlight on this former Wolverine who'll make Michigan alumni the world over (and believe me, there's a LOT of us) proud during a press conference tomorrow:  Mike Matheny.

In news that's sure to matter to fans all over the midwest, the St. Louis Cardinals decided today to hire Matheny to replace baseball legend Tony LaRussa as their manager.  Mike played for the Cards for a few seasons and was most recently a special adviser for the team.  He was chosen over more experienced managers and coaches such as Terry Francona, plus Cubs legend and for some reason not new manager Ryne Sandberg.  Despite Matheny's lack of experience, history shows that he has two factors in his favor:  other first-time managers have gone on to have some success (see perennial asshole Ozzie Guillen) and former catchers, such as the very successful (and classier) Mike Scioscia, due to years of being field generals, tend to enjoy great managerial careers.  Obviously that's my hope here, mainly because I'd love to see a Michigan Man succeed at this level, but also because I genuinely like the Cardinals thanks to their excellent franchise history and the fact that they're one of the best baseball towns period.

From MGoBlue.com

The Michigan Daily did a nice piece on him earlier this year and I totally recommend reading it because it's a fairly interesting story.  (I also recommend this interview with him from this year as well)  As a no-hit, great fielding catcher out of Ohio, the Buckeyes dropped the ball (OSU fans don't get that pun, why people make fun of them for marrying their cousins, the concept of not being a douche) in not recruiting him, but that was Michigan's gain.  The rest of the story is interesting and features several great moments.  One of my favorite aspects was the fact that he met his wife, a fellow Michigan athlete, on the first day of classes, making them a true Michigan family.  I also love his obvious reverence for and pride in the school, something he was definitely serious enough about to spend two years after being drafted finishing up his degree.  Matheny truly is a Michigan Man.

After being drafted by the Brewers (having spurned the apparently "standoffish" Jays years earlier) Mike went on to a solid MLB career.  It was ultimately derailed by concussion-like symptoms, a hazard of the job, but he wasn't nicknamed "The Toughest Man Alive" for nothing--he couldn't really hit but his defensive prowess was almost unheard of.  He won four Gold Gloves, but more impressively, he holds the record for most consecutive chances without an error in a career:  1565.  He was truly a gifted defensive catcher and it's a shame his career was cut short and that he didn't get to enjoy either of St. Louis' World Series titles as a player, but at least he got to participate in one with the Cards in 2004.

All that said, I wish Mike the best in this next step in his baseball career and hope he continues the Cardinals' tradition of excellence, hopefully with slugger Albert Pujols signed to a fat contract extension soon.  Go Cards and GO BLUE!

Trade with MCM and World Series thoughts

Trade with MCM:

Adam from My Cardboard Mistress shot me a note last week mentioning that he had this card for me,

an Austin Jackson 2011 Topps Lineage 1975 mini relic jersey, and that he'd rather send it to me than have to put it back.  That's as good a reason for a trade as any, and the result is a pretty cool Jackson hit, my first of him.  AJax really, really needs to learn to cut down the strikeouts and get on base, because he definitely has the talent to be the leadoff hitter Granderson, the man he replaced, never was.  Granderson, of course, only morphed into the power hitter he is after joining the Yankees, but I hope Detroit's staff can work on him and get him right--the Tigers offense would be ridiculous with a consistent leadoff hitter and stolen base artist.

Anyway, I definitely owe Adam something nice in return, and hopefully I can square us up soon.  Thanks, Adam!

World Series thoughts:

Well, Friday night ended the 2011 baseball season, and I'm happy to say that the amazing Cardinals capped off one of the most unlikely title runs ever for their 11th championship.  I don't mean to imply that I was specifically rooting against Texas, because I would have been thrilled especially for Nolan Ryan after all his hard work trying to revitalize the team.  Still, there's the George W. Bush factor, even if he no longer actually has a hand in the team after it went to shit along with every other one of his ventures. (but that's not a discussion for a sports card blog)  Besides, there's plenty to like about the incredible Cardinals run anyway.  All that said, here are some of my thoughts about the Series, some of which I hope prompt discussion in the comments:

• Is there a more entertaining manager to watch than Ron Washington?  I don't think I could ever root against a skipper who wears his heart on his sleeve.  He does make some goofy decisions but really, what manager doesn't?  He's the type of animated manager that's good for the game, not some moronic asshole like Ozzie Guillen, whom I hope loses 100+ games with the Marlins for all the shit he's pulled in his managerial career.
• I don't care for Josh Hamilton at all, for reasons I won't go into as they're also not relevant to this blog.  Still, I give the guy huge props not only for gutting though an obviously debilitating and painful injury, but for overcoming it with an outstanding performance instead of dogging it and blaming the injury.
• Nobody deserves more props than the Cardinals, though, for squeezing in to the playoffs on the season's final day, then beating the two best NL teams in the playoffs, not to mention a favored Rangers team.  I know they're already getting a lot of credit for this, but seriously, they earned it.  And what's cool is, it's nice to see that the wild card still makes sense--I wasn't always a fan of it, but we've seen some fun teams eke out a playoff spot like this and go on to win a title.  Nothing was handed to the Cardinals, but their resilience was definitely their biggest asset this year.
• Adrian Beltre was the real deal this year in the regular season and playoffs, and I was shocked because it wasn't a contract season, so I was wrong about him, at least this year.  I still think the Rangers massively overpaid him, but for now the results speak for themselves, to be fair.
• The Mighty Pujols had a bit of an impact in the other games, but besides his record-setting game three, he wasn't the deciding factor.  Instead, guys like Allen Craig and David Freese were the heroes who will forever be legends in St. Louis, and that's the fun of the championship being decided by a seven-game series.
• Speaking of Cardinals heroes, besides the two guys above, how about Lance Berkman?  He rightfully caught some flak for comments he made before the season when he called the Rangers an average team without Cliff Lee, although based on their pitching performance in the playoffs, he was somewhat vindicated.  Still, having not signed with them and then being traded to St. Louis, it looks like Fat Elvis had the last laugh.  Protecting Pujols because Matt Holliday was ineffective/injured, he punished the Rangers time and again with clutch hits after Texas was forced to intentionally walk El Hombre.  Hell, Berkman pretty much set up camp on second base throughout the series.
• Can you remember a more exciting World Series in the last decade?  The somewhat similarly crazy Yankees/DBacks matchup back in 2001 is the best I could do.  In my mind, nothing could compare to game six in which David Freese made a crucial error, (one of several between both teams) brought the team back from within one strike of losing, (which the Cards also did in the 10th) then smacked one of the most dramatic walk-offs in the history of the game.  I literally sat on my couch at 12:39 a.m. EST saying "I can't believe it!" after the hometown here Freese punched St. Louis' ticket for game seven.  I hope the Series' ratings improved this year.
• I definitely enjoy the games more when the pitchers bat, because sometimes they have an unexpected offensive impact, and even when they don't, the strategy of the game becomes so much more interesting.  All you DH apologists can have your 300-pound .260 hitter who contributes 20 HR and nothing else to the game, I'll still with exciting matchups like this one.
• I'll admit I like to see teams win championships at home, which has happened quite a bit recently in the World Series, apparently.  Because of that, I might have pulled a bit more for the Rangers had the AL won the All-Star Game this year.  It just has to be 100 times sweeter for the home fans to get the instant gratification of celebrating in the stadium instead of having to wait for the team to arrive at the airport.  The postgame festivities just work better that way.  I understand that the Super Bowl just couldn't work that way, but football really misses out on that experience, unless a team really beats the odds and gets a home game.

And now, in celebration of the Cards, and because this post is seriously lacking in images,

I give you Fat Elvis, sans awesome facial hair and mullet, plus

two-time champion and current best player in the League, Albert Pujols.

Now begins a long offseason, though fortunately for me, one that's devoid of the NBA, which means Christmas came early.  Time to focus on college and pro football, plus college hockey, as the weather turns cold and depressing.  For now, may your teams find success in free agency, trades, the Rule V draft, and the excitement that is baseball's winter meetings, not to mention the upcoming awards announcements.  What a season!