Hating The Damn Yankees and Other Thoughful Observations

It is not a good year for baseball as the New York Yankees enter the final month of the season cruising. The Bronx Bombers have a commanding lead in the American League East, crushing Sox of all colors, and sporting the best record in  major league baseball. 

September brings us no tight divisional races, unless by some miracle the sub-500 Twins catch the dismal Detroit Tigers or the Colorado Rockies miraculously pass the Los Angeles (nee Brooklyn) Dodgers.

In fact it is unlikely that the playoff picture will change at all between now and when the first snows fall when the playoffs begin.

The 2009 season was dismal. The White Sox, Cubs, and Brewers collectively are two games under .500 and not likely to improve.

The highlight of Milwaukee's season, as of this afternoon, is a 20 game home wining streak against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The year was marred by the lack of professional pitching, which also can be said about the Cubs.

Of course, no team is going to ever make it to the World Series with Alfonso Soriano's loafing in left field while this so-called "lead-off hitter with power" goes an entire month, at the height of the season, without a four-bagger.

Nothing need be said about my Chicago White Sox other than Ozzie Guillen is the most over-rated manager in baseball and should have been fired long ago. The White Sox won the World Series despite Guillen, not because of him.

Comments

[anon]

You can always become a Rays fan.

[Michael Basford]

The pitching, overall, has been one of the few brighter spots for the Cubs. The team's fortunes boiled down to two horrible offseason moves: They got rid of a clubhouse leader (Mark DeRosa) and brought in a clubhouse cancer (Milton Bradley).

Everything else being the same, those two moves are the difference between the Cubs being in first place and the season being over.

[Jono]

It may be true there are no tight divisional races, but there's a very tight NL wild-card race. The Giants beat the Rockies yesterday (sweep!) to move into a tie with the Rockies for first place in the NL wild-card race. It was an exciting game, with the Giants coming from behind in the 7th with a Edgar Renteria grand slam. We watched from the left field bleachers and stood most of the last three innings. Some fans stood the entire game, having had to purchase SRO tix for this sold-out game.

So take a look west (and let's not talk about the other bay-area team) and the season doesn't look so dismal.

[debt relief]

i hate them and they suck in my opinion

[Brad Clark]

My son and I are going to our first-ever night game at Wrigley tomorrow. Sure wish it meant something...
PS my very first day as an employee of the City of Madison was August 8, 1988 (8/8/88), which also happened to be the date of the very first night game ever held at Wrigley.
Of course, that game got rained out, so make of that what you will...

[Michael Basford]

Don't feel so bad, Brad. I have tickets for Wrigley North on the 22nd.