Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Baseball Is Over

What's a man to do when his two favorite sports teams are eliminated from the postseason in the span of a week? Sob uncontrollably. Drink heavily. Eat continuously. It was a rough week. At least the Brewers made it to October and won a game. Its much better being a Brewers fan today than a Cubs fan. The Cubs have lost nine straight playoff games dating back to the infamous Steve Bartman series in 2003. Give it up Cub fans, they will never win the World Series. Be happy you can go to numerous day games at a classic ballpark that serves one of the finest beers on tap, Old Style. Teams should schedule more day games. Cutting out of work or class to go to a ballgame is a staple of summer. Throw in a few beers and some sunny seventy degree weather and you have a perfect day. I envy you Cub fans. For the day games. Not the hundred years of losing. I'll pass on that.

It's been more than two weeks since the Twins lost the one game playoff to the White Sox and it still drives me into fits of mumbling and under-breath talking. If theres one team in sports I despise over all others it's the Packers. That will never change. Stems from my childhood. Irrevocable damage. After the Packers, it's the Wisconsin Badgers. Raised a Michigan fan, went to Minnesota, and Badger fans are often Packer fans. Guilty by association. After the Badgers, its any intramural softball team with a team name such as "Winning Team", "Champions", or "Future Title Holders". It's always sweet when they are ten run ruled by the third inning. After arrogant softball teams, it's the White Sox. This mainly stems from them winning the World Series in 2005, A.J. Pierzynski, a former Twin, being the cheating bastard that he is, and them being a thorn in the Twins side every single year. No team in the AL Central consistently challenges the Twins every year like the White Sox do. The Royals haven't been good in years. The Tigers had one good season recently and look to be on the decline again. The Indians are up and down seemingly every year. Only the White Sox seem to hang around every year and make a pest of themselves. Losing 1-0 to them in the playoff was soul crushing. The Twins barely put up a fight. Thankfully the Rays made us feel better by beating the Sox in Chicago. Watching A.J. stare out of the dugout at the Rays celebrating their victory was a perfect way for the White Sox season to end.

I'll watch some of the remaining playoff games and root for the Rays to pull off one of the most unlikely seasons in recent baseball memory. Ten straight seasons of losing followed by a World Series win would be pretty astonishing. Much of the luster, though, is gone. I love baseball and will be interested to see what happens. Just not that interested. Now comes five months of offseason wheeling and dealing. 2008 was a good year for the Twins and Brewers. 2009 should be even better. Time to hibernate. Wake me when it's March.

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