It's Red Sox-Yankees in October for the first time since 2004. Despite not knowing my clear-cut plans for the game yet because my friends just don't do making plans or getting together, I am fired the fuck up. I'm scared and nervous, but also excited. This series should be great for baseball and great entertainment (even though it may put my fat ass in an early grave). I just wrote a blog about all that. my-current-mindset-going-into-the-red-sox-yankees-alds.html
This is purely about hate. I fucking hate the Yankees. Everything about them. I hate how they don't have names on either uniform because they're pretentious ass holes who think everybody should just recognize them by number. I hate their stupid fucking outdated facial hair and hair length rules. You are not allowed to have a soul or personality as a Yankee. I hate their boring ass, no fun uniforms. I hate their band wagon fans. Think of all the Yankees fans you know. How many are also fans of other New York teams? Interesting. I hate how they always pouch Red Sox players. I hate their joke of a stadium where RF is 240 feet away. I hate how their stupid fans will say "well the Green Monster is 310. It's also 37 fucking feet tall, you morons. I hate their elitist state of mind. I hate their fans. I hate how everybody on their team has that stupid faux-hawk fade that is all the rage in baseball. I hate how they have retired the number of every player who ever played for them for more than 6 years. (I don't like how the C's have 94 retired numbers too). I hate how much everybody sucks Derek Jeter's dick for running into the stands for no reason when he caught a ball 40 feet from the seats. I hate how I like A-Rod postball for his broadcasting and relationship with Big Cat. I hate John Sterling. I hate Suzyn. I hate how their fans love to chant 27 even though like 15 of them were before black people were allowed to play. I hate every single thing this organization represents. People have said the rivalry is dead. Fuck no it's not, at least not to me. Sure it hasn't been as firery as 2003-04, but it can never be like that again. There was this thing called the Curse of the Bambino, if you have some spare time before the game check it out. But my hate of the Yankees has not dwindled. Sure now I have people I consider close friends as Yankee fans but I still also will always hate that aspect about them as human beings. Over the course of my Red Sox fandom there have been many players I couldn't stand. Now my list may be different than yours. I'm 26 but didn't care about baseball until like 2002. I missed all the great Pedro and Nomar years, that makes me sad. I know everybody hates Paul O'Neil but I never really saw him play so guys like him won't be on my lists. Although some guys who played before my era still may be. What I'm doing here is two blogs in one, to save time and increase my odds of getting a click even though I don't make a cent off my fire blogs. I'm going to do two seperate top 5's. My top 5 most hated current Yankees and top 5 most hated former yankees. They might not even be the most accomplished dudes but in this rivalry (both sides) there are plenty of random guys opposing fans hate. Here's the dozo take: Let's begin with current players.
Honorable Mention: Aaron Judge.
People will always be like "you can't hate Aaron Judge".
I don't hate him as a human-being like the other guys on this list, I hate him because he's good but also kind of fake good. Aaron Judge hits monster home runs, but also strikes out all the fucking time. I feel like he usually strikes out against us, but once in a while he doesn't and it makes me angry. I get it you can make way more money in baseball so in that sense he's smart, but come on man, at that size play football or basketball.
What I do geniunely hate about Aaron Judge is his shitty "nickname". All Rise. Are you fucking kidding me? It's listed as his official nickname and I refuse to believe it. There is no way in hell dudes are like "Hey All-Rise, you wanna play fortnite?" 5. Luke Voit
This douche bag came out of nowhere in the Chasen Shreve trade from the Cardinals. Before I rip into this hardo....FUCK Chasen Shreve. He would be on this list if he didn't get traded. That name is such a fucking loser, millennial name that it makes my blood boil like I'm about to cook rice. I hate his face.
As for Voit. He's a recent addition to the Bombers and has taken the place of that BUM Greg Bird at first.
I can already tell Voit is gonna have a big series and I'm gonna fucking hate his guts, but for reasons that have already happened. Here's exhibit A: Do I ever need to go on? That is the most fuckboi haircut in the history of hair and fuckbois. He pimps balls that aren't homers. I have NO issue with pimp jobs, but you better fucking make sure the ball leaves the ballpark first, Luke. 4. Gary Sanchez Lazy, piece of shit who doesn't hustle and can't catch. Always has a stupid look on his face. Wouldn't be shocked if he couldn't read. So overrated because of power and for 3 months his rookie year. He'll be hitting like .185 but still find a way to go yard against us. His stupid "El Gary" nickname is almost as bad as Showtime Mahomes. He can swing it, but is a liability everywhere else. I simply cannot stand him.
3. Aroldis Chapman
Women beater. Enough said. Luckily he always seems to blow it against the Sox.
2. C.C. Sabathia
Old and sucks now but still owns the Sox. He has pitched incredible well against the Red Sox since leaving the Indians. Just do me a favor and remember that in his Cy Young 07 in the ALCS he went 0-2 with a 10.45 ERA whilst Josh Beckett, the man who should've won the Cy Young went 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA.
Cried about Eddy Nunez bunting last year because he's too fat and slow to field a bunt. cc-sabathia-is-triggered-af.html. Quit on his team in 2015. He's a shit talked and I fucking hate him. Just retire already. As a self-loathing guy with a weight problem and bad teeth I despise this man.
1. Brett Gardner
Mega-mind looking head ass.
State Trooper Gardner is the embodiment of everything I hate about the Yankees. He's the guy you love on your team, but hate on the rival. He's the Yankees Pedroia except he doesn't have an MVP or 4 gold gloves. Big hardo too. Dude got Gardner on his player's weekend jersey. He's not even that good but seems to always come up with the big hit in the biggest spots. What are you like 5 foot 8 gardy?? He for sure will have a moment this series where I wish I could punch him in the face. I'm trying to be quick and not miss first pitch. Just watch this guy play baseball for 2 seconds and you'll understand. Top 5 Most Hated Former Yankees:
Honorable Mention: Mark Teixeiria
That dumbass look on his face when he was hitting, burned Red Sox in free agency. He was all about being a yankee and all the bullshit that goes with it. Kind of overrated guy who I just never liked. Spelling his last name is a fucking nightmare too. Oh I before E just doesn't apply to you?
Honorable Mention: Aaron Boone I don't hate Aaron Boone as much as most Red Sox fans because I fell asleep during game 7 and never saw it happen live. But I hate what he represents. The Sox should've won that game and he should've never even had a chance to get a hit. He 1000% has his current job just because of his famous blast. Winning in 04 made him irrelevant to me as a Red Sox fan, but his role in the history of the rivalry is important.
5. Derek Jeter
Late in his career he sort of got the Peyton Manning treatment from me where the hate turned to respect for what he accomplished in his career. Jeter is obviously a great player, who was able to play for a long time and compile stats. He's also incredible overrated. His stupid jump throw does not make him a good shortstop, He was a poor defender who should have zero gold gloves. Don't even get me started on his swan dive into the stands for no reason. Also a bad teammate...Should've moved from SS when they got A-Rod and for sure should not have been playing short after like 2012. Great player, but fuck Jeter. Nomar was better (for like 4 years).
4. Roger Clemens
Red Sox legend who TWICE went to the Yankees. Sweet frosted tips, bro. I was so ready in 07 for him to come back to the Sox, it was a big rumor but instead he showed up in George's box.
All the steroids came post Boston. I am sorta ok with Clemens now and think he should be in HOF but the fact that he won his WS in New York is a travesity. I'm more a Mike Piazza guy anyway.
T-3. Goose Gossage & Joba Chamberlain
Edit: I can't believe I forgot Joba Chamberlain but I tried to rush this before first pitch. I hatee soooo many of these rat bastard that I forgot this bumpkin exists. My last Joba MLB memory was the piss rocket he gave up to Papi on Sunday Night Baseball.
Edit: I can't believe I forgot Joba Chamberlain but I tried to rush this before first pitch. I hatee soooo many of these rat bastard that I forgot this bumpkin exists.
These guys are sort of the same dude. What I do like about Goose is that his giant mustache was in protest to Yankee facial rules. Went as big as he could, buuut he also is a racist piece of shit, old man yells at clouds baseball guy. He is everything that is wrong with old baseball guys. Just look up the stuff he's said about anything regarding players having swag or emotion. Joba really got all his hype over that 07 second half when he broke onto the scene. That stupid name, the weird number, the "Joba Rules". There was a lot going on. Never really had anything close the success of his first year. One thing going for Joba was how post-yankees he went heavy hair and beard. I love when ex-yankees do that.
But man does he look like shit there. It's no wonder why his career was done not too long after this photo was taken. He looks like that redneck women singer as a duck dynasty brother on meth,
What I don't like is fucking with Kevin Youkilis. My all-time favorite Red Sox.
Fuck those guys!
2. Alex Rodriguez
Ironically I love post-baseball A-Rod, but there was basically no other Yankee I ever hated more. Between how he ended up in New York, the fight on July 24th, the hamburger helper gloves, slapping the ball out of Arroyo's hand, the steroids, his overall mentality and weirdness. Now I can appreciate him and actually am an A-Rod guy (until he starts talking Yankees), but during the heart of the rivalry there was nobody I hated more except for...
1. Johnny Damon
The ultimate sellout, said he'd never sign with the Yankees. Went from Jesus to Judas and retroactively ruined his Red Sox legacy which seemed almost impossible after how important he was in 2004. Now he's siding with the Yankees after his playing days. Fuck Johnny Damon, you balding fuck. I hate him so much, he laid the ground work for Jacoby Ellsbury. Pussy left handed leadoff men, with horrible arms, who chased the money in New York. We were better without him and won a World Series before he did, but I'll always hate Johnny Damon for what he did to Red Sox fans in December of 05. I'll never forget seeing the headline on Red Sox dot com.
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This is Red Sox fucking Yankees so sorry if I'm more all over the place than usual.
It's so close I can taste it, for the first time since 2004 the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees are facing off in the MLB playoffs. For those of you who are like me and refer to any year in the past to what grade you were in...I was 7th grade last time these two titans clashed in October. In years past, this meeting is in the ALCS.
Let's dive in right away with that. I fucking HATE that this is a 5 game series for the following reasons in no particular order: - It's idiotic that in the current format the 2 best teams play each other in the first round. Meanwhile the Astros get to play the Indians who won 91 games. - You shouldn't be able to play divisional opponents in the division series. Rivalries > -5 games scares the shit out of me. So quick, anything can happen. It can play to your advantage for sure, but you can also be down 0-2 in the blink of an eye. Someone can be going home by Monday night. That makes game one even more important with the Red Sox. I honestly think whoever wins tonight wins the series. -A rivalry as storied as this, with such a long time between playoff series should simply be a best of 7. There are new generations of Red Sox and Yankee (granted there's always a new generation thanks to their strong bandwagon following) fans who were too young/not alive to remember the 2003 & 2004 ALCS. You're gonna get fans more invested in a longer series. I don't remember 99 because I didn't care about baseball yet, I was too busy playing tony hawk pro skater 2 on PS1 to worry about real sports back pre-2001. I'm gonna be honest you guys, I'm freaking the fuck out of this series. Obviously there's advancing in the postseason at stake, but as a Red Sox fan there is wayyyyy more on the line for the Sox. The Yankees are in an incredible rare spot where they won 100 games and are playing with house money. If they win they ruined the 108 win Sox. If they lose, it'll obviously suck for the yankees (and be great for the rest of humanity) but I mean they would've lost to the better team (in the record books). The Yankees have a chance to ruin the greatest (regular season) team in Red Sox history and have the ultimate trump card in addition to their idiotic "27" chants (which I'll get to on my next blog which I'm starting immediately after I don't proofread and hit post on this one) If you are a fan of the team, you're well aware of what's taken place the last two seasons. 93 wins and early first round exits. 1-6 in playoff games the last two years including an 0-5 to start. The sweep to the Tribe In 2016 was shocking. I thought that Red Sox team was a legitimate WS contender. Rick Porcello won the Cy Young. It was Papi's final ride. Plus the Indians were dealing with many key injuries, and if I'm not mistaken the Sox won the season series. I for sure thought they'd at least win a fucking game. That was the most surprising sweep of the 3 ALDS sweeps (05, 09, 16) I've witnessed in my fandom. At least last year with the Astros, even though I tried to lie to myself, we all knew that Sox team had zero chance and that team won the World Series. This season the Red Sox followed up their two disappointing division winning seasons (how crazy of a fragment is that?) by winning a franchise record 108 games. That is the most games any team has won since 2001. It's a big deal. They were fucking incredible this season. Yet all season long we've heard all the whisperings about it doesn't mattering because of Boston's lack of postseason success with this core. How that season doesn't matter if they don't produce in October. This graphic gives me nightmares.
Price's postseason struggles are extremely well documented.
On WEEI this week they are harping on this stat that truly blows my mind. 86 pitchers in MLB HISTORY have at least 9 postseason starts. David Price is the only one who hasn't won a game.
How is that fucking possible? How can this guy be a Cy Young winner and then turn into Jose Lima in the playoffs? Mental little person, perhaps??? In Price's defense he pitched a shutout in game 163 in 2013 which basically a playoff game, and he's shown flashes in losses. He has a handful of hard luck playoff defeats, but has also had starts that are simply unacceptable by a high profile ace. That's why I think game 1 is so important. It's basically must win for the Red Sox. Because if Sale wins, I think Price pitches much better in game 2 because there's significantly less pressure since the Sox already have a win. Obviously he's going to be expected to preform regardless, but the pressure of up 1-0 to down 0-1 at home where if you lose Yankees are up 2-0 heading home...it'll be v ugly if the sox lose tonight and Price struggles Saturday. To me it's like a chain-reaction because at this point how can you not say the pressure of October has gotten to Price? What is crazy is that despite how horrible David Price's postseason resume is it still can be righted. Maybe I'm an idiot, but I think he can do it. Now at his age I feel like he pitches more instead of throwing since he's lost a few MPH off the ole heater. If he can beat the Yankees tomorrow he's slaying not one, but two dragons. His lack of postseason success, and trouble with the Yankees. For the love of God and my happiness, please David, earned your fucking money tomorrow. Should he wins 3 or 4 games on the way to a World Series he'll become a hero. Honesty imo, the Sox don't even need to win it all this year, if he can just win this game, I feel like a massive amount of pressure will be off him for the future. Because this team will be back. It'd sure be pretty cool to win now, but the window isn't entirely closed. Just gotta capitalize on this moment because 108 wins doesn't happen often from what I'm told. I'm hoping this is just a classic "I need to see the ball go through the hoop" situation. He doesn't win because he never has before. Makes sense. Just needs to get that first one, I'm hoping the old saying "10th times the charm" pays off. It's also incredibly unfair to lump Chris Sale into the David Price, Rick Porcello grouping of postseason futility. Yes, Sale was horrible in his lone start last season, but I'm 98.4% sure he was pitching hurt and it was only one start, against the eventual World Series champs. The book of Sale still hasn't even been written yet. I think that's why they handled him with kid gloves coming back from the injury. They cannot win a WS without him plain and simple and I think last year he was over-used chasing 300 strikeouts and he just simply wore down. After pitching like 15 innings since July if there's one thing Sale is not, it's over-used. What gives me confidence is the Red Sox offense. Yes, at times they can go cold, but this team fucking rakes. Mookie will win MVP. JD Martinez could also win MVP. Xander had 100 RBI. They are the best offense in baseball. Yankees may have scarier names and more HR potential (since they broke the single-season record for HR by a team) but the Red Sox led baseball in runs scored, hits, doubles, total bases, batting average, slugging %, on-base %, and OPS. To quote internet culture they are an absolute unit offensively. This year there are guys you're scared to face in October. Same cannot be said about last season. This stat blew my mind as I am the biggest hater of the Sox bullpen around.
Despite the feel of ineffectiveness by them they still managed to finish 6th in all of baseball in bullpen ERA. I am so happy to see Heath Hembree was left off the playoff roster. Left him wear a hoodie in the dugout I guess, but I do not want to see him pitching for the Boston Red Sox until 2019/never again.
Stoked Workman made it. He made some HUGE outs in the 2013 postseason. It's nice to have someone who's done it before. I was shocked when he was left off last season's postseason roster.
So am I nervous? Yes. Not because I don't believe in this team (I'm still not entirely sold on the pitching) but because of how good the opponent is and more importantly of what will happen to me emotionally and mentally if the Yankees win. I hate the Yankees like snowflakes hate Trump, or evidence. I cannot even begin to think of what will happen. Likely lots of sadness and coping with food lolol which is a v educated guess. I cannot deal with the shit talk from scumbag Yankee fans. I cannot deal with for a 3rd straight year winning the division, losing the ALDS, and seeing a divisional opponent in the ALCS instead. I've already dealt with the Patriots losing multiple Super Bowls to inferior teams with bad QBs. Giants fans have the trump card over the Pats even though over the course of this decade(s) they've been the far superior franchise. They can say they beat us twice. New York fans do not deserve happiness.
Plus like I said earlier it will totally ruin what has been a historic season. 108 wins will become a punchline if the Yankees win. It'd be like a step and a half below 18-1. I think the Indians and Astros are capable of winning the pennant (as I do w/ yankees too), but losing a hard-fought ALCS would be nothing to be ashamed of. Given the last two years this team needs to win at least a round. And it sucks because this should be the ALCS. We have two 100 win teams facing off in a 5 game series, because the current format is dumber than people who think 21 pilots are a good band. I care way too much about this team to have scuzzy Yankee fans get to take our spot in the ALCS. It's not gonna be an easy series, I'm expecting it to go the full 5, but yeah I'm fucking worried. My happiness until January is at stake. The Yankees are 2nd or 3rd best team in baseball with a great bullpen and a line-up of guys who could sneeze a ball over the fence at their joke of a stadium. But I'm also excited for what could happen. This Red Sox team has the horses to win and under rookie manager Alex Cora it seems like they are not satisfied at all, and know what this team needs to do in October. They don't want to be the team who won 108 and got swept. It didn't feel like that in year's past. They were just happy to be there after back to back 5th place finishes in the AL East. Perfect example when they had champagne showers after Kimbrel gave up a walk-off GS where they still somehow won the division in 2016. I'm cautiously optimistic. This kinda went all over the place, but that's my current writing style right now, like how Picasso had his different eras (blue, cubism, surrealism etc). I FOR SURE have used that analogy before but that's okay, idc. It's a fantastic analogy and shows off my C+ from Art History at URI in the spring of 2011. My official prediction is Red Sox in 5 but you best believe I'm highly considering coming out of retirement to place the emotional hedge on the Yankees. Song: What Is Life Artist: George Harrison Album: All Things Must Pass
After losing out on their respective division tiebreakers the Colorado Rockies head to Wrigley Field to take on the Chicago Cubs. The winner of tonight's National League Wild Card game will head to Milwaukee to play the Brewers...tomorrow. No Days Off... s/o Wale.
One of these teams will go from tied for the division lead, to home for the season in less than 48 hours. See ya, thanks for playing. Sucks to suck,,, I suppose, even though all four of these teams have the juice to make a deep run. The current format is what is it (I have many great ideas to fix it) but one of the many things I dislike about the one-game wild card is how we are robbed out on a potential series. So many of these games have been really intriguing match-ups that we only got for a few hours. Royals-A's, Any of the Pirate series, last year's Rockies-D'backs. I would love to see what would happen between these clubs in a 5 or 7 game series. Sure it's a game 7 environment but I'd love a chance to see the first 6. I am so torn here because I love a bunch of players on both of these rosters. I don't need to list them just follow me on twitter (@rhodydoz). How can you not love the story of Matt Holliday going back to Colorado? There's guys I wanna see win it all on both teams. It sucks that the winner is going to play the Brewers because it will only leave one of the three teams I want to see win the NL left. They're knocking each other out left and right. Braves are alright but would be my 4th choice and I'm all set with the Dodgers *peace sign emoji* What is great about this one-gamer is that both teams have their horses on the mound. If you're gonna have a one-gamer to determine who makes the real playoffs these are the guys you want to see. The Aces. (that's also the name of a great girl-band). Jon Lester is the heart of the Chicago Cubs pitching staff and a big game pitcher. Don't let a 9-7 playoff record fool you. Cliche alert...I don't think there's a pitcher Cubs fans or players want on the mound more than Lester here. (I still can't believe they let Jake walk) The 34 year old lefty went 18-6 this season with a 3.32 era, 1.31 whip, 149 K's. One of my most missed former Red Sox is pitching great late in the year like he usually does. 4-1 in 5 September starts only allowing 5 earned runs in 29.2 innings. After struggling in the 2015 postseason Lester has dealt for the Cubs in October.
The Rockies are a team that have historically been known for their bats going all the way back to the Big Cat Gallaraga and Larry Walker days. The Rockies always mash. Playing 81 games at Coors Field may inflate offensive numbers, but it also makes things harder for pitchers. Pitching at Coors Field makes Kyle Freeland's 2018 even more impressive.
I know nerds don't think stats like ERA matter but you rarely see Rockie starters with sub 4 era's, forget sub 3's.
I love this pitching match-up as a fan and cannot wait for the game. I hope we see them go deep. I'm not a huge fan of the bullpenning method of the last few years. I'm kinda speaking from a casual standpoint without looking at the advanced numbers but I feel like the Cubs offense has been struggling a lot this season. The only way they score seems to be solo homers. I'm almost positive they had a stretch this year where they only scored for like 5 games via the solo shot. But the Cub line up is full of studs. The addition of Daniel Murphy is huge. Probably the best offensive infield of all of baseball. I am a huge Anthony Rizzo guy. Colorado's splits have favored history as they hit only .225 as a team on the road opposed to .287 at home. Idc. With guys like Nolan Arenado, and Chuck Nasty I love the Rockies offense in any location.
The big question to is will the Colorado Rockies make the next step or become the new Pittsburgh Pirates of the late 2010's? The Rockies are a really fun exciting team, but for sure are in their "window" as a smaller market (even though I feel like Denver isn't a small market) payroll team they are gonna have some tough decisions to make coming up. I really want to see this core get a chance to play more than one game in October. In case you forgot the Rockies lost to the D-backs last year in a wild-wild card game that included a triple by a reliever. My gut says they somehow win this game. Team of destiny for sure. I think the Cubs are kind of having a little mini-collapse here. I still can't believe the Brewers ended up catching up and eventually surpassing them. Would be pretty Cubs to lose two straight win and advance playoff games.
Freeland is having a great year for the Rox he lead the team in WAR if you care about that shit. This is his "hello America" moment. Btw he is from Colorado so you're gonna hear that story-line 2 twice an inning as long as he's in the game. He goes have a pretty sweet rockie mountain tat.
I love Jonny Lester. I hope he pitches 8 shut out and then the Rockies win, although I would not be mad to see the Cubs win. I'm not picking both teams I'm just in that happy either way scenario. If I was betting I'd take the Rockies one because they're underdogs so yay more money and two I legitimately think they are going to win.
My official prediction is: Rockies: 6 Cubs: 4
I think it's low scoring early and then in that classic wild holy shit this is a one gamer fashion the late innings feature over-managing and runs a plenty. The Rockies need this more.
Speaking of games where I am happy with either outcome the American League Wild Card Game is not one of those games.
As a Red Sox fan I am highly invested in this game as the winner comes to Boston Friday night. Both scare me in different ways, but I still think they can be beat.
The A's came out of fucking nowhere. Who outside of the Bay Area was giving them a chance this year? Honestly who inside the Bay Area was either? This was a last place team by most experts yet here they are in October with 97 wins. More wins than any A's team since the famous 2002 Moneyball team. The are lead by a powerful offense despite playing in a huge ballpark. My favorite story of the 2018 Oakland A's is how it's the 4th straight year Khris Davis has hit .247.
The class of 2019 will graduate high school only seeing Khris Davis hit .247.
Now let's talk about those 100 win 2nd place (to the Boston Red Sox) New York Yankees.
They take on the New York Yankees who are sort of the early 2000's Patriots dynasty of the Wild Card Game, as they are hosting the contest for the 3rd time in 4 years. To quote the late Gil Santos "THREE OUT OF FOUR, Yes it's a dynasty!" Please do not forget the last time the Yankees won the AL East Gangham Style was just getting popular. I love to take jabs at the Yanks but obviously they're a great club. 100 wins and that's with missing Judge for like two months. If it wasn't for literally an all-time great (regular season) Red Sox team the Yankees would for sure be already in the ALDS but tough tiddies for them. Maybe you shouldn't get swept in the biggest series of the year? I love how much Yankee fans have ripped Boone. Idk if he's good or not but Jeez talk about a tough crowd? 100 wins and they want him gone. As for the game itself we're going to see the A's bullpen for the start as they plan on using Liam Hendriks as the opener. For the 2nd straight year Luis Severino will start for the bombers. If he gets two outs he'll do better than he did last year. After starting the season at a torrid, Cy Young Pace Severino has fallen back to earth, although he's turned it back on as of late. **edit** That being said Sevy is 5-6 with a 5.57 ERA since the all star break. Aces usually pitch better than that. This is a game where my heart says A's and my head says Yankees. Playing at home is huge for the Yanks. If they can get out to an early lead as long as the fans show up it should be a wild atmosphere. I just hope we get a good game. Wouldn't hate seeing a classic 17 inning affair tbh. Let Zach Britton finally get a chance to pitch. It seems to be that everybody is just assuming the 100 win Yankees will waltz there way by the A's but I'd be willing to bet the A's don't mind that; they've been underdogs all year. Of course I'm picking the A's. Fuck the Yankees. I low key love the A's and I'd much rather see them upset the Red Sox instead of the Yankees which for sure would ruin the rest of my 2018 and possibly the entire remainder of the decade. A's: 4 Yankees: 3
p.s. part of my charm is how I don't know how to use punctuation. Still not sure if it's wild-card or wild card. I like to switch it up to keep everybody's head on a swivel. It is October after all. Song: Psycho Killer Artist: Pigeons Playing Ping Pong Album: no album (i think) this is just a live cover bra!
Yesterday was the final *full* day of the 2018 MLB regular season (as two game 163s took place today). Fans got to say to goodbye to team legends. Guys like Adam Jones and Hunter Pence both played in what will likely be their final games for their respective teams. While both of those guys were synonymous with their clubs; they didn't spend their entire career there. Pence played in Philly and Houston while Adam Jones had a cup of coffee in Seattle before getting traded to the Orioles.
Every one of Joe Mauer's 1858 major league games took place as a Minnesota Twin. Joe Mauer has been with his hometown Minnesota Twins since the 2004 season. He was drafted first overall in 2001 and has been with the organization ever since. A Minnesota high school legend, Mauer was All-American as both a QB in football and C in baseball. The only man ever to be the USA Today High School player of the year in two sports. He was even offered a full-ride to be the starting quarterback for FSU. His senior year he threw for 41 TD and only 5 INT. Oh and in basketball he averaged 20 points a game too. However the most ridiculous Joe Mauer high school stat is that he only struck out once in 4 years. Imagine being that one guy that K'd Joe Mauer in high school? What a story to have in your back pocket. I feel like you could use that to get a bullshit scholarship to a small school at the very least off of potential alone. "But Skip, I struck-out Joe Mauer!" While he hasn't been the same Joe Mauer of his career pre-2012 he's been able to stick around as a first basemen and extend his career. Before yesterday 2013 was the last time Joe Mauer caught in the big leagues. In what should be his final game as a member of the Minnesota Twins (as his contract expires this offseason) and possibly of his entire Major League career, Joe Mauer went behind the plate one final time.
If that doesn't give you chills you haven't watched baseball the last 15 years.
In a move that Twins Manager Paul Molitor already spoke with White Sox manager Rick Renteria before the game about doing all of Target Field went nuts to see their native son back behind home plate where he won 3 batting titles in a 4 year span one final time. Molly asked if the lead off batter would take the first pitch of his at bat (which he promised would be a ball) so Mauer could catch one last time before exiting the game. Renteria could've been an ass hole and said no, but in a game that was essentially meaningless for both clubs he did the right thing and let (IMO) the future Hall of Famer get the ovation he rightly deserves. Whether or not Mauer plays again remains to be seen. He still hasn't officially announced his retirement. While he is 35, he did hit .282 this season with an OBP of .351. As just a first basemen/DH at this point in his career I don't know if teams will be signing up for a guy that all with almost no power (although he did hit his first career walk off HR against the Red Sox last year)
At this point in his career he isn't going to be winning batting titles, and he's never been a real power threat, but Mauer for sure could help a contender off the bench. A young up and coming contender could use his leadership and bat off the bench. For some reason the Braves come to mind.
If I was him I'd want to win a World Series, but it's hard to top what he got to experience last night for a send off. It's almost hard to believe but Joe Mauer made the playoffs 4 times in his career and his teams were 0-10 in those games. I'd understand if he wanted to experience at the very least a postseason win before calling it a career. In today's game it's extremely rare to see a guy play his entire career in one uniform. That means a lot to guys, there's wikipedia articles about the very subject. I'm sure the fact that he got to do so for his hometown club makes it extra special, so I wouldn't be surprised if this was the last we saw Joe Mauer as a major league baseball player. I'm just a big Joe Mauer fan and want to give him the respect he deserves. He played the game the right way, stayed loyal to his home, and put up some fucking numbers in the process. From 2005-2010 (you could make the argument until 2012) Mauer was the best catcher in baseball. Playing physically demanding position known much more for defense, Mauer did something no American League catcher ever did; win a batting title. Something Mauer did 3 times in his career (2006, 2008, 2009). A career highlighted by an MVP award in 2009. The one year of Mauer's career where the power numbers showed. 28 homers. In his age 26 season Mauer appeared in 138 games with a gawdy .365/.444/.587 slash line. As someone who's baseball fandom was at its peak in the mid 2000's there was no better catcher in the majors than Joe Mauer. injuries hurt him in the 2nd half of his career but in my eyes he's a hall of famer. It bums me out the Twins weren't more competitive in 2018. I thought they would be, but at least they won in (likely) Mauer's final game as a Twin. Hell of a run for #7. I'm sure no Twin will ever wear that number again. He finishes his Twins career as a .306 hitter. P.S. what a sweet moment between Joe and his daughters pre-game. I'm really happy an all-around well liked and respected guy like Joe Mauer got the send off he deserves.
Double P.S.
If you want to read a way better, real journo article on Mauer's final game this is fantastic. www.startribune.com/joe-mauer-stars-in-what-should-be-the-perfect-ending/494748641/ Song: Guiding Light (live on Fallon) Artist: Mumford & Sons Album: Delta |
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