Posts Tagged ‘2009 NLCS’
Here's to another year with Wake!
Good news is always welcomed!
According to Ian Browne at MLB.com, the surgery on Tim Wakefield’s back was a success and, if the recovery process goes as planned, “he should be fully recovered long before the start of Spring Training”. Wake has already expressed his desire to play another season and Theo has already expressed that Wake fits into the plans of the team so there is still much hope that number 49 will be taking the mound quite a few times in 2010. I’ll take the good news, thanks!
Phillies are another step closer to back to back World Series championships. Have to admit that I’m genuinely happy for the team. They worked hard to get to where they are and they won in an impressive manner. I’m also more than a bit excited for Pedro Martinez to be returning to the Series. Pedro isn’t even sure he’ll make the WS roster, let alone get to pitch, but he was still so obviously thrilled about it all last night I couldn’t help but share his happiness. Sure, the idea of a team that isn’t mine being the first this decade/millennium to go back to back is a little disappointing – I always have such high hopes for the Sox – but, Brett Myers aside, I like the guys on the Phillies (granted, a lot of their fans haven’t impressed me) and I hope they do well in the Series.
Unless, of course, the Angels come back to put the beat down on the Yankees. Something I still hold out hope for. (Actually, if the Angels beat the Yankees I wouldn’t really care which team won the World Series – but the team beating the Yankees coming out and winning the Series would be pretty sweet!)
After the Angels won that game that other night, I had a genuine belief they could pull it off. Then they showed up in the following game playing like they spent the night before out too late partying. There was no life to the team and the Yankees took full advantage. So I’ll watch some of tonight’s game – depending on how it ends up – and hope for the best. I’m annoyed that everyone is just assuming the Yankees will be playing the Phillies…that kind of arrogance pisses me off and I hope it pisses off the Angels enough to do something about it. I know it looks bad for the Angels right now but baseball is one of those games where genuinely anything can happen…so they have as much of a chance to win this as they do to lose it. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that the chances are better for the Yankees to win the ALCS than the Angels but that doesn’t mean I’ve given up hope. At the VERY least it would be nice for the Angels to make a series of it and force the Yanks to a game 7. Wear them down, fellas, wear them down.
A video this morning that I absolutely adore: Mark Salling on “Glee” singing “Sweet Caroline. Bring some of that Neil Diamond mojo to the Angels tonight!
Lee on Saturday, gearing up for last night's masterpiece! (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
It isn’t often that I don’t post because of good things but that’s what happened this weekend. It was a good weekend, fun to relax and just enjoy it – and we even got some snow to ogle for a few hours!
It’s given me a much better outlook baseball-wise.
After game 2 of the ALCS, I decided that I was “done” with it. I was giving up on the ALCS because watching the Angels losing in such creative and gut-wrenching ways was taking its toll on me. So I was going to stick with the NLCS and just hope for the best with the American League.
Oddly enough, it was the fantastic NLCS game (relatively speaking – not so fantastic if you’re rooting against the Phillies or are a Dodgers fan) last night that has encouraged me to give the ALCS another chance. Serendipitously, today’s ALCS game starts while I’m away from a television, so I won’t have to pay much attention. But if the Angels can scratch one out, I’m in for game 4. Don’t let me down, Jered Weaver.
The first post I made (after the obligatory “HEY! Not only did I change the look of the blog but I changed the name!” entry) when the blog morphed from “Red Sox Chick” to “Toeing the Rubber” was about Cliff Lee. In spite of how I feel about MLB beating us to death with the “inspirational” story of Josh Hamilton, I think it’s obvious that I root for the underdog whenever I can.
A quick digression: When I was at WEEI.com a very nice and quite talented fella named Jesse did all the cosmetic (and other non content-related) work on the blog. He designed the header that I used for the time I was there. I loved it. I loved the color, I loved what it looked like. I loved everything about it. Except the players he used. Originally it was supposed to be Lowell, Pedroia and Ortiz and I asked him to switch at least one out for a pitcher, preferably a reliever, and I got Okajima up there. Now, it wasn’t Jesse’s fault I didn’t like the players in the banner. Hell, I like the players, but if I were to use photos of players to represent my blog it wouldn’t be the superstars I’d have up there. I can’t remember if it was something Jesse and I discussed or just something I assumed, but I figured for a mainstream website it made more sense to have better known players in the header. It turned out fine, like I said, I love the banner, but it never fully felt right for me given the my strongest allegiances seem to go to the guys who don’t have McFarlane figures of their likenesses out there, players who don’t have t-shirts with their faces on them and who don’t have legions of fans.
Cliff Lee had his struggles and people thought he was done. No Cinderella story for him since his only problem seemed to be that he wasn’t any good. No drug addiction, no depression, nothing fancy MLB could capitalize on. He just started playing poorly and then he turned it around. In 2008 he came back after a disastrous 2007 and won the Cy Young award. This year he’s pitching in the post-season and dominating every time he appears. (How great and somewhat ironic is this headline from July 28th of this year? Cliff, yet again, brought me happiness. Giving the Phillies a 2-1 edge over the Dodgers. Who knows how the NLCS will turn out? Right now it’s just an awful lot more fun to watch than the ALCS. Much less painful too.
I had no plans to still be invested in the outcome of the ALCS. I was happy to just let it happen. But Cliff Lee has inspired me to not give up…not yet.
Wake at "Hot Stove, Cool Music" in 2005 (Taken by me)
Generally speaking, it shouldn’t be difficult to find something to write about on a baseball-themed blog during the playoffs, right? I mean, sure, I’m a Red Sox fan and the majority of my blog writing is dedicated to them but it’s the PLAYOFFS, I should get some joy out of them since I’m also just a straight-out baseball fan. I should be writing about game 2 of the NLCS and game 1 of the ALCS.
But, see, both games annoyed the crap out of me so what would I write about? I’d love to write about Pedro’s dominance (and, make no mistake, he DID dominate, just ask Manny Ramirez) but since it was capped by a Phillies meltdown it’s a bit bittersweet. (Shout out to Phillies fans who have had to deal with Charlie Manuel all this time. I’m sure he’s a wonderful manager – hell he got the team the World Series last year – but could he be MORE trigger happy when it comes to pulling pitchers? Chan Ho Park was a victim of bad defense and weird hops not his own pitching. He should have left him in. Speaking of Chan Ho, how is it that I never noticed how pretty his face is? Even with all that hair. The man is quite a handsome fella. )
There is some news out of Red Sox country…according to various sources, Tim Wakefield’s back surgery is set for next Wednesday at Mass General. Nick Green will also be evaluated next week with surgery being a possible option and the word on Jed Lowrie is that his wrist is doing well and he should be ready to play when Spring Training arrives. If Wake’s surgery goes well, the Red Sox plan on bringing him back for another season. So not only for his health but for the team I’m sending out positive vibes for Wake’s surgery next week. I want him back in the red socks. Ditto for Jed Lowrie. (Nick Green? Well, I wish him good health but will be okay if his road doesn’t lead to Ft Myers next year.)
Only one MLB game tonight and it comes from the Bronx. Let’s hope Saunders fares better than Lackey did!
Pedro returns to Fenway in 2006 (Photo taken by me). I still adore him so how can I NOT root for him?
Okay so I caved and watched most of the first game of the NLCS. Baseball has my heart, I can’t help it.
The tough part, for me, about the NLCS is deciding which team I want to win. The Phillies won it all last year (and I was only happy about that because it happened against the Rays) so it isn’t like their fan base is desperate for another win. Plus there is Brett Myers. I just absolutely hate to have to actually cheer for him. Add to that my fondness for the Mets and you see my problems. But then there’s Manny. Honestly, were it not for Manny, this would be a no-brainer. I’d be cheering for the Dodgers to go all the way if only so Joe Torre could drop his pants and moon the entire state of New York. I would love for Joe Girardi to choke on his own bitter bile while watching Joe Torre get doused in Champagne. Alas, as I wrote to a friend last night, I’d rather pick out each of my eyelashes one at a time than watch Manny Ramirez win another World Series. These types of decisions shouldn’t be so tough.
