Even the new wildcard rules wouldn’t have helped tribe

I am not a fan of the expanded baseball playoffs, with three wild-card teams in each league. While I’m sure millions of fans are stoked that their franchises have made the playoffs, I find little to crow about. Long ago I accepted the divisional playoff system as legitimate, a recognition that Major League Baseball had […]

Barry Zito crashes and burns as the Giants’ collars get tighter

[picapp align=”left” wrap=”true” link=”term=barry+zito&iid=9900232″ src=”http://view1.picapp.com/pictures.photo/image/9900232/san-francisco-giants/san-francisco-giants.jpg?size=500&imageId=9900232″ width=”234″ height=”277″ /] I wanted Barry Zito to excel to today. To put the horrid outings behind him. To justify his gargantuan salary. To redeem himself, to be the hero, to be the man as the San Francisco Giants clinched the American League West title and advanced to a glorious […]

Does the term ‘pennant race’ mean anything any more?

“Pennant race” conjures images of clutch hits, great catches, overpowering pitching and long shadows slanting across the diamond. But with baseball’s division structure, there isn’t a true pennant race left. Right now, the team I follow — the San Francisco Giants — has a slim lead over San Diego and Colorado in the National League […]

Brewers vs. Phillies, and bratwurst vs. cheesesteaks

Of the division matchups in the baseball playoffs this year, the only one I can illustrate with a pair of caps I own is the Brewers-Phillies series. I’m already on record in expressing my devotion to the Brew Crew. Their place in the playoffs this year takes me right back to their last appearance, when […]