It’s taken a few days to be able to watch more than a couple of innings at a time, but I think I’m back. The Cubs-Dodgers on Saturday and the Angels-Red Sox game last night/this morning kind of did the trick. I don’t know about you, but I’m not really rooting as much as I’m hoping to see good and interesting stuff. Good: The Dodgers totally shutting down the Cubs. Interesting: Torii dropping the fly ball in Game 2 and twisting his knee jumping at first base when he was called out.

Those of you who spent too much time here know that I grew up a Cubs fans, but I don’t feel too bad for the Cubs getting swept. As long as we don’t get swept away by it, we’re all allowed a few of those “the way things used to be” things, and Cubs baseball now isn’t the same as it once was. Of course it isn’t and I have no reason to expect it to be, but I simply don’t embrace the current group as much as the teams of years gone by. (I’m different about the Bears, for some reason. You can have Gus Frerotte, I’ll take Kyle Orton.) I think the 100 years of futility deal is kind of funny — especially when it’s continued under the tone-deaf managing of Lou Piniella — and I pretty much promised myself not to get invested in them unless they got to the World Series. No sense getting hurt by grown men more than once during a baseball season, right?

I am hoping the White Sox are done after today so we don’t have to read about the “black out” any more and we can be done with a fundementally flawed baseball team. The Rays are a nice story. I keep waiting for them to revert, but I think (even if they get eliminated) that it’s not going to be because they fall apart. Whatever happens, it will be nice to see credit directed to Joe Maddon, their manager, who has pulled together a team that believes in itself more than it would in other hands, I suspect. Many of the Rays were judged flawed with their previous teams and he’s brought along young players who have improved on the job. The Rays battled through injuries to top players and the Rays are a poster child for the argument against the value of a studly closer, although I’d still rather have Joe Nathan than rely on the Tampa Bay Relief Committee.

I’d kind of like to see a Dodgers-Red Sox series so that Manny has to play at Fenway. And my problem with Tampa Bay is the idea of a World Series that makes the Metrodome look like an architectural marvel. Watching the Phillies does make me realize that, without the Twins in the postseason, it would have fun to watch Johan in October — especially after another one of his incredible second halves of the season.

More than anything, though, I want the baseball to be good and interesting.

*I want 3-2 instead of 12-10 games.

*I want the weather not to be ridiculous.

*I will figure out a way to listen to Buck and McCarver as little as possible when FOX gets its mitts on the playoffs. I have really enjoyed watching TBS — even Harold Reynolds — and listening to ESPN on the radio (and Bob Uecker on the Milwaukee broadcasts). Buck Martinez should be required to work in the booth of every postseason game.

*I will root for any team playing an elimination game. Unless it’s the White Sox, of course.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 6th, 2008 at 9:02 am and is filed under Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.