Another baseball season has come and gone, and as the San Francisco Giants celebrate their sweep of the Detroit Tigers to win the World Series, it is time for me to look back and reflect on what, if anything, I have learned over the past seven months.
1. One player does not a team make. The Washington Nationals made it to the playoffs without Stephen Strasburg being available to pitch in the last month of the season. The Giants won the World Series despite Tim Lincecum's lousy year. The Los Angeles Angels did NOT make it to the playoffs this year despite having Albert Pujols on their team. This is why baseball is a team sport - it takes a nine-man lineup and a strong pitching staff (bullpen included) to win (or lose) a baseball game.
2. David Freese and Marco Scutaro are both very good baseball players. This past season, Freese hit .293 with 20 homers, 79 RBIs, 70 runs scored, and three stolen bases. Meanwhile, Scutaro his .300 for the season, with 7 home runs, 70 RBIs, 87 runs scored, and 53 stolen bases. These two guys are true athletes and also performed very well during the playoffs.
3. They sell very yummy quesadillas at Nationals Park. While many people go to baseball games and indulge in the traditional hot dogs or Cracker Jacks, I like trying out new things, and the chicken quesadillas at the "Taste of the Majors" concession stand were delicious!
4. Baseball umpires really do a good job, and the playoffs were no exception. While they are human and do make mistakes, there weren't any real major controversial calls this year. Some may call that boring; I call it effective.
5. The double play is still my favorite play in baseball. Never mind the grand slam; never mind a player stealing home (that IS exciting, but it just doesn't happen very often). Watching a well-executed double play just doesn't get old. Speaking of double plays...
6. The "infield fly rule" is dumb. For those of you unfamiliar with it, the infield fly rule is intended to prevent infielders from intentionally dropping pop-ups in order to turn double or triple plays. Without this rule, a defense could easily turn a pop fly into a double play when there are runners at first and second base. If the runners stay near their bases to tag up, the defense could let the ball drop, throw to third base and then to second, for a force-out at each base. If any of the runners stray too far from their bases, the defense could catch the pop-up, and double-off any runner who failed to tag up. What's wrong with that? It's called strategy, man! If you are the runner, you need to pay attention; if you get doubled-up, that's your own darn fault!
7. It is possible to get so consumed and caught up in a team's successes during the season that it affects your moods, your appetite, and your sleep pattern. Then when that team is done for the season because of a heartbreaking loss during the playoffs, it also affects your moods, your appetite, and your sleep pattern. Luckily there are four months left until Spring Training, so you have plenty of time to get your moods, appetite, and sleep pattern back to where they should be.
8. Tim McCarver needs to retire from doing color commentary for the FOX network during the playoffs. He may be a former catcher, but he's old, crotchety, and he jinxed Ryan Vogelsong's no-hitter in game 6 of the NLCS. I'm not the only one who thinks so either; Don Cherry of the Huffington Post (www.huffingtonpost.com) said that Tim McCarver "has lost his feel for baseball." Now, I know that the Huffingon Post is not the top authority in all things baseball, but I had to find someone out there who agreed with me. Hang 'em up, Tim; your glory days are long-gone!
9. On the flip side, MASN Sports' Bob Carpenter and FP Santangelo really grew on me this past season (not just because I got to meet them!). They are funny, lighthearted, knowledgeable, and Santangelo (the former player) doesn't get all anecdotal nor does he bore us with stories of "back in the day when I used to play" (which has been my problem with Jim Palmer and the main reason I have to watch Orioles games on "mute" when he's announcing). Since the days of Joe Morgan and John Miller doing the ESPN game of the week are gone, Bob and FP are now my favorite broadcast team.
And finally...
10. Stan Musial (91) and Bobby Doerr (94) are not dead. Other old basebll players I was surprised to learn are still alive include Ralph Kiner (90), Red Schoendienst (89), and Sandy Koufax (only 76). Who knew? Willie Mays is still around too - he's 81 and still saying "hey!"
I hope you enjoyed my blog posts during this past season - I am definitely grateful for you all reading them and therefore putting me above 2,000 views in only two seasons. I will probably post a few times during the off-season as trades and free-agent signings start happening (and hopefully after Bryce Harper gets the Rookie of the Year award or Gio Gonzalez gets the Cy Young), and I will fill you in on the World Baseball Classic, which is played every 4 years and will be expanded for the 2013 season. In the meantime, watch some football and enjoy the upcoming holidays with your family. Signing off for now,
Mudville Mom :-)
Showing posts with label david freese. Show all posts
Showing posts with label david freese. Show all posts
Monday, October 29, 2012
Thursday, April 5, 2012
I Thought I was Going to Watch a Ballgame, not a Circus!
The Miami Marlins opened the 2012 season last night by hosting the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals in their brand-spankin'-new ballpark. I was very excited, not only because it was the first "real" game of the season, but because I was curious to see what the new ballpark looked like and curious to see the new-look Marlins with their new manager (Ozzie Guillen) and new shortstop (former batting champ and Met José Reyes). Well, I must say, it was quite a spectacle.
First, when the starting lineups were announced, each Marlins player was escorted onto the field by a Brazilian dancer, complete with feathers and samba music. I found this a little odd, since baseball is known as a "conservative" sport and not usually associated with partying, dancing, or "carnaval." The ladies did not look comfortable walking onto the field in their high heels, and the players looked uncomfortable as well. I know Miami is a cultural melting pot, but the ladies just looked out of place.
Second, the National Anthem was sung by José Feliciano. I saw nothing wrong with that initially, because, again, Miami is a cultural melting pot and having a Puerto Rican sing the "Star-Spangled Banner" is acceptable (to most people). It was Feliciano's rendition of the song that made it just plain odd. He changed the melody so much that the song was unrecognizable. Now, I know the song is hard to sing and is not exactly a good representation of our country (with rockets red-glaring and "bombs bursting in air"), but those who sing it (especially at a big event such as this one) need to try and keep the song sounding remotely close to how it was supposed to be sung. I'm normally a fan of José, but I did not like his performance last night.
Thirdly, I had a major issue with the ceremonial first pitch. When you think of an Opening Day first pitch, especially at a new ballpark in Miami, you think maybe the President would be there, maybe someone representative of Miami like Dan Marino or Gloria Estefan, or maybe even a former player like Steve Carlton or Andre Dawson, both born in Miami . Heck, I wouldn't have even minded if Marco Rubio had shown up - at least people can associate him with Florida. But no; the Marlins had to schlep out Muhammad Ali, which I thought was inappropriate and insensitive. The man looked terrible - a far cry from the unforgettable moment in history when he lit the Olympic torch to open the 1996 games in Atlanta. His Parkinson's disease has taken over in a big way, and he should be left alone. The Marlins' owner handed him the baseball while they sat in their little cart, and José Reyes took the ball from him. So the ball was not thrown from the mound, it was not caught by a player, and it was just an awkward moment. And since when is Ali associated with Miami? Yes, Cassius Clay did beat Sonny Liston in a boxing match in Miami way back in 1964; but the poor man is in such rough shape now that I don't think he should be wheeled out in public like that. It was one of those moments when I was like "Huh?"
Oh, but after all that, they did play a baseball game, and it was a good one. The Cardinals won it 4-1, with Cards' starter Kyle Lohse throwing a no-hitter that was broken by José Reyes in the seventh inning. The Cardinals picked up right where they left off last year after winning the World Series - despite losing Albert Pujols, newly-acquired Carlos Beltrán, World Series MVP David Freese, and always-on Lance Berkman provided plenty of excitement for the Cards.
Here are some interesting "firsts" for the new ballpark, which seats 37,400 and has a retractable roof (they call it "retractable;" I think it's more like "slide-out" because it looks like it moves out on these tracks as opposed to retracting onto itself):
First hit: Carlos Beltrán
First double: Lance Berkman
First RBI: David Freese (2 in the first inning)
First 1,2,3 inning: bottom of the first
First strikeout: Josh Johnson struck out Daniel Descalso in the top of the fourth inning
First stolen base: Rafael Furcal
First walk: Josh Johnson walked Lance Berkman in the top of the fifth inning
First player hit by a pitch: Emilio Bonifacio by Kyle Lohse in the fourth inning
So the Opening Day games continue today, and you can bet I'll be watching at least 3 of them (the Nationals at the Chicago Cubs is at 2:00 today). Next week is the Nationals' home opener against the Cincinnati Reds, and my husband and I will be there. Until then, watch some baseball, and watch out for the Brazilian dancers!
First, when the starting lineups were announced, each Marlins player was escorted onto the field by a Brazilian dancer, complete with feathers and samba music. I found this a little odd, since baseball is known as a "conservative" sport and not usually associated with partying, dancing, or "carnaval." The ladies did not look comfortable walking onto the field in their high heels, and the players looked uncomfortable as well. I know Miami is a cultural melting pot, but the ladies just looked out of place.
Second, the National Anthem was sung by José Feliciano. I saw nothing wrong with that initially, because, again, Miami is a cultural melting pot and having a Puerto Rican sing the "Star-Spangled Banner" is acceptable (to most people). It was Feliciano's rendition of the song that made it just plain odd. He changed the melody so much that the song was unrecognizable. Now, I know the song is hard to sing and is not exactly a good representation of our country (with rockets red-glaring and "bombs bursting in air"), but those who sing it (especially at a big event such as this one) need to try and keep the song sounding remotely close to how it was supposed to be sung. I'm normally a fan of José, but I did not like his performance last night.
Thirdly, I had a major issue with the ceremonial first pitch. When you think of an Opening Day first pitch, especially at a new ballpark in Miami, you think maybe the President would be there, maybe someone representative of Miami like Dan Marino or Gloria Estefan, or maybe even a former player like Steve Carlton or Andre Dawson, both born in Miami . Heck, I wouldn't have even minded if Marco Rubio had shown up - at least people can associate him with Florida. But no; the Marlins had to schlep out Muhammad Ali, which I thought was inappropriate and insensitive. The man looked terrible - a far cry from the unforgettable moment in history when he lit the Olympic torch to open the 1996 games in Atlanta. His Parkinson's disease has taken over in a big way, and he should be left alone. The Marlins' owner handed him the baseball while they sat in their little cart, and José Reyes took the ball from him. So the ball was not thrown from the mound, it was not caught by a player, and it was just an awkward moment. And since when is Ali associated with Miami? Yes, Cassius Clay did beat Sonny Liston in a boxing match in Miami way back in 1964; but the poor man is in such rough shape now that I don't think he should be wheeled out in public like that. It was one of those moments when I was like "Huh?"
Oh, but after all that, they did play a baseball game, and it was a good one. The Cardinals won it 4-1, with Cards' starter Kyle Lohse throwing a no-hitter that was broken by José Reyes in the seventh inning. The Cardinals picked up right where they left off last year after winning the World Series - despite losing Albert Pujols, newly-acquired Carlos Beltrán, World Series MVP David Freese, and always-on Lance Berkman provided plenty of excitement for the Cards.
Here are some interesting "firsts" for the new ballpark, which seats 37,400 and has a retractable roof (they call it "retractable;" I think it's more like "slide-out" because it looks like it moves out on these tracks as opposed to retracting onto itself):
First hit: Carlos Beltrán
First double: Lance Berkman
First RBI: David Freese (2 in the first inning)
First 1,2,3 inning: bottom of the first
First strikeout: Josh Johnson struck out Daniel Descalso in the top of the fourth inning
First stolen base: Rafael Furcal
First walk: Josh Johnson walked Lance Berkman in the top of the fifth inning
First player hit by a pitch: Emilio Bonifacio by Kyle Lohse in the fourth inning
So the Opening Day games continue today, and you can bet I'll be watching at least 3 of them (the Nationals at the Chicago Cubs is at 2:00 today). Next week is the Nationals' home opener against the Cincinnati Reds, and my husband and I will be there. Until then, watch some baseball, and watch out for the Brazilian dancers!
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