Thursday, October 28, 2004
Playoffs: Winners and Losers and Others
Winners: Red Sox. Losers: Everyone Else. Too simple? Ok...
Winners
Red Sox : Don't need to say why.
Curt Schilling: After the fact, his injury was probably less serious than it was made out to be. Bloody and potentially career threatening sure, but more "potentially" then we, craving a hero story, wanted to believe. Doesn't matter though. Came to Boston to win a World Series, then they did.
David Ortiz: "Papi" becomes legend.
Us: No more talk about the curse or how "You can't understand agony if you aren't a Red Sox fan, blah, blah, whine, blah..." Even the most even handed Bostonians would in one hand say how they didn't like fans talking about curses, then in the other talk about how their pain was somehow worse than not being in a World Series since 1950 and not winning one since 1908 (Cubs), not winning one since your team threw a World Series in 1919 (White Sox), never winning a playoff series in 40 years of existence (Astros), being the Phillies (Phillies), or I don't know, HAVING YOUR TEAM DESTROYED BY MLB AND MOVED AWAY?! We can only hope the Red Sox fans shut up now. I feel like I'm talking to a bank robber here. "Please you have what you want. Now just leave. There's no reason for you to whine at anyone else"
Bagwell/Biggio: Finally, the Astros won a playoff series. Takes a monkey off their back which people could have used to keep them out of the Hall. World Series probably won't come, but after all this time, this is almost as sweet.
Carlos Beltran: $$$. Best player in the playoffs by far.
John Scherholz: Braves in the playoffs again? After losing those guys and having these guys? Forget moneyball, what is this guy doing?
Johan Santana: Ready to be "the next big thing" next year.
Jose Lima: Just cause we love Lima Time!
Losers:
Angels/Cardinals: Getting beat in the playoffs can be tough luck. Getting swept in the playoffs means your team did something wrong. It happens, I know, but it generally happens because a team chokes. Sorry.
Rolen/Edmonds: Noone remembers other playoff series chokers, but they remember World Series chokers. 1-30 combined. One for Thirty. Uno por Treinta. Que barbaridad!
MLB: Boston tragedy was a great marketing gimmick. They might try to move on this "noone feels our pain" to another team. The Cubs would be an obvious choice but pain rolls off the Cubs...especially since their crowd is usually 50% tourists looking to get drunk. Could the White Sox be next in line (actually could they realize that the White Sox were actually ahead in line?)
Tony LaRussa: World Series will buy him a few more years in St. Louis, but so far, with superior record teams at least, he's a whopping 1-3 in the WS, with a 1-12 record in the losses. Will continue to be painted as a manager who thinks he's smarter than he is.
Atlanta: Having to give away playoff tickets really doesn't help convince people you're not the city with the worst sports fans in America.
Nomar: Nomah wasn't needed. Bet he feels wicked awful.
Others:
Yankees: Any other team would be forced to relive a collapse like the Yanks had in the ALCS for the next 50 years, but winning a quarter of all World Series shields you from a few things. If they don't win another one in the next say...10 to 20 years you can move them to the Loser category as this will become a "defining moment". If they win one in the next couple years though, it's pretty much a blip on the screen.
Milton Bradley: Outburst at the end of the season hurt his team, but who thought the Dodgers were going anywhere anyway? Wait. One more Lima Time! Everybody congo!
Bobby Cox: Some will say this was his greatest coaching job, others will say it was just another Atlanta choke. I believe it's way closer to the former. While this constant "almost there" does weigh on his coaching record, he has a World Series ring and that's what counts.
Albert Pujols: Didn't dominate series as the best non-roided hitter in baseball should, but didn't let the team down. Unfortunately, middling hitting stats don't make you stand out from the rest of the team. He could easily get branded a choker with the rest of them.
Twins: Small market team that needs to get to a WS soon. Not because they're aging, but because another couple of playoff losses and the media will brand them a team that chokes in the playoffs. Fortunately for them, next year might be their best chance with their young hitters having a year under their belt.
Winners
Red Sox : Don't need to say why.
Curt Schilling: After the fact, his injury was probably less serious than it was made out to be. Bloody and potentially career threatening sure, but more "potentially" then we, craving a hero story, wanted to believe. Doesn't matter though. Came to Boston to win a World Series, then they did.
David Ortiz: "Papi" becomes legend.
Us: No more talk about the curse or how "You can't understand agony if you aren't a Red Sox fan, blah, blah, whine, blah..." Even the most even handed Bostonians would in one hand say how they didn't like fans talking about curses, then in the other talk about how their pain was somehow worse than not being in a World Series since 1950 and not winning one since 1908 (Cubs), not winning one since your team threw a World Series in 1919 (White Sox), never winning a playoff series in 40 years of existence (Astros), being the Phillies (Phillies), or I don't know, HAVING YOUR TEAM DESTROYED BY MLB AND MOVED AWAY?! We can only hope the Red Sox fans shut up now. I feel like I'm talking to a bank robber here. "Please you have what you want. Now just leave. There's no reason for you to whine at anyone else"
Bagwell/Biggio: Finally, the Astros won a playoff series. Takes a monkey off their back which people could have used to keep them out of the Hall. World Series probably won't come, but after all this time, this is almost as sweet.
Carlos Beltran: $$$. Best player in the playoffs by far.
John Scherholz: Braves in the playoffs again? After losing those guys and having these guys? Forget moneyball, what is this guy doing?
Johan Santana: Ready to be "the next big thing" next year.
Jose Lima: Just cause we love Lima Time!
Losers:
Angels/Cardinals: Getting beat in the playoffs can be tough luck. Getting swept in the playoffs means your team did something wrong. It happens, I know, but it generally happens because a team chokes. Sorry.
Rolen/Edmonds: Noone remembers other playoff series chokers, but they remember World Series chokers. 1-30 combined. One for Thirty. Uno por Treinta. Que barbaridad!
MLB: Boston tragedy was a great marketing gimmick. They might try to move on this "noone feels our pain" to another team. The Cubs would be an obvious choice but pain rolls off the Cubs...especially since their crowd is usually 50% tourists looking to get drunk. Could the White Sox be next in line (actually could they realize that the White Sox were actually ahead in line?)
Tony LaRussa: World Series will buy him a few more years in St. Louis, but so far, with superior record teams at least, he's a whopping 1-3 in the WS, with a 1-12 record in the losses. Will continue to be painted as a manager who thinks he's smarter than he is.
Atlanta: Having to give away playoff tickets really doesn't help convince people you're not the city with the worst sports fans in America.
Nomar: Nomah wasn't needed. Bet he feels wicked awful.
Others:
Yankees: Any other team would be forced to relive a collapse like the Yanks had in the ALCS for the next 50 years, but winning a quarter of all World Series shields you from a few things. If they don't win another one in the next say...10 to 20 years you can move them to the Loser category as this will become a "defining moment". If they win one in the next couple years though, it's pretty much a blip on the screen.
Milton Bradley: Outburst at the end of the season hurt his team, but who thought the Dodgers were going anywhere anyway? Wait. One more Lima Time! Everybody congo!
Bobby Cox: Some will say this was his greatest coaching job, others will say it was just another Atlanta choke. I believe it's way closer to the former. While this constant "almost there" does weigh on his coaching record, he has a World Series ring and that's what counts.
Albert Pujols: Didn't dominate series as the best non-roided hitter in baseball should, but didn't let the team down. Unfortunately, middling hitting stats don't make you stand out from the rest of the team. He could easily get branded a choker with the rest of them.
Twins: Small market team that needs to get to a WS soon. Not because they're aging, but because another couple of playoff losses and the media will brand them a team that chokes in the playoffs. Fortunately for them, next year might be their best chance with their young hitters having a year under their belt.
