October 3rd, 2007 → 10:52 am @ Seth Mnookin // No Comments
If I was both a Buddhist (note: I am not) and a betting man (not: I am not), I would put a whole pile of money down on the Cubs. Why? Because 2007 seems, fairly clearly, to be a sort of total eclipse year in the world of baseball.
Don’t believe me? Check it out:
* The Mets just suffered through the fifth biggest choke in baseball history – and that’s including both playoffs and regular season. The odds of the Mets missing the playoffs were 499-1. On the morning of September 13, New York’s NL team had a 99.8 chance of making the playoffs. You get the point. (The Sox, it will surprise no one to find out, play a role in four of the top nine spots: the ’86 WS, the ’86 ALCS, the ’04 ALCS, and the ’03 ALCS.)
* The Padres, meanwhile, suffered the tenth biggest collapse. They had three chances to clinch a spot in the playoffs. In two of those games they had the lead during the opposing team’s final at bat, and both times they had baseball’s all-time saves leader the mound…a man with a better save conversion rate than Mariano Rivera. In one of those games, the son of perhaps the Padres greatest player knocked in the winning run. The Padres manager knocked out one of his best players when trying to stop him from attacking a lunatic umpire. And, as if all that’s not enough, the home plate ump blew the call that scored the game’s final run.
* In order to win the Wild Card, the Colorado Rockies became the first team in the last 42 years to win at least 14 of their last 15 games, and only the third team since 1900. (The ’65 Dodgers and the ’60 Yankees are the other two.)
* Which means, yeah, the Colorado Rockies are in the playoffs. Think about that for a few minutes.
* Three of the eight teams in the playoffs (the Cubs, the Rockies, and the Phillies), had 41-40 records at the season’s halfway mark. The Yankees were 40-41.
* The Red Sox spent more days in first place (150) than any other team.
* There wasn’t a single “Manny’s demanding to be traded” story all year.
Yes, indeed, it’s been a strange year. There’s a big part of me that likes rooting for the best story, and that part of me will be rooting for a Sox-Cubs WS (at which point, of course, I’ll be rooting for a Sox victory). I’m also a sentimental bastard, and Josh Byrnes is one of my favorite people in all of baseball, so that part of me will be rooting for a Diamondbacks-Sox series, which’ll feature all sorts of delicious current Sox baseball ops vs. former Sox baseball ops storylines.
Anyway. Buckle up. And hope that the gods of the diamond aren’t Buddhists. (Unless, of course, you’re a Cubs fan.)
Post Categories: 2007 Playoffs & 2007 Season
Shalomar
17 years ago
The Indians are going to take the Yanks in 4. Their starting pitching is better, they’re healthier, and some of their big bats (e.g., Hafner) are getting hot. Wang is hittable and Pettite has been pretty average the past month or so. Unfortunately, I think the Indians will then take the Sox.
kinshane
17 years ago
Mnookage, the young Rattlers respectfully disagree with your assessment about the Cubs.
Gee
17 years ago
Shalomar, man, did you nail it. I’m less certain that the Indians will take us in the LCS, though I wouldn’t predict either way. But I do think the winner should take the Series, no matter who wins in the NL.
Of course, the Tigers should have taken the Cards easily last year, so who the hell knows.