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2007 MLB Playoffs (Predictions and Discussion) (1 Viewer)

Walter C

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The only thing that could stop the Rockies is the long layoff, which looks like a real possibility.

Look what happen to the Tigers last season.
 

Mike Frezon

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I figure whichever team comes out of the AL (I am still fully expecting it will be the Red Sox ;) ) will beat the NL team (likely Rockies).

Unless, of course, the Rockies close it down in 4 or 5 and the AL series goes a full seven and the AL winner doesn't have a chance to set up its rotation & bullpen. Even that scenario might put the WS on a more even footing.
 

Shane Martin

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And I figured what Bill Buckner did was unforgivable ;)

Walter,
Excellent theory about the Rockies having too much time off. That could be a distinct possibility.
 

Shane Martin

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Rockies are ahead and looking to sweep.

In the AL, the Indians win another and go up 2-1. I'm guessing Boston didn't pay Matsusaka all the cash to give up a 2 run bomb to Kenny Lofton ;) I didn't stutter either... Kenny Lofton

Boston should have won the game but their offense could never get going.

Now Wakefield has to go out and win them a big game if not then it looks ugly.
 

Jason Harbaugh

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Congrats to the Rockies! What an amazing run so far. Can't wait to see what the city is like once World Series Fever starts to take over.

Loved Hollidays comment about what they talk about. "Mostly fantasy football, we don't talk baseball much." :D
 

Jason Seaver

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And Cleveland isn't mentioned in it.

I have to say, though, Cleveland is starting to annoy me. My brothers and I were talking about how their standards for what merits curtain calls appeared to be even lower than New York's (going ahead by two runs in the second inning isn't that big a deal).

And what's the deal with the fans signaling that they want to surrender when their pitchers go to a two-strike count? :)
 

Mike Frezon

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I said to my 17-year old son (who is a Yankee fan, BTW!), what is up with these teams whose fans have these various props at the ballpark...towels (Cleveland, et al), tomahawks (Braves), thundersticks/what-have-you (Angels), etc.

I know a lot of people can't stand Yankees/Red Sox, but at least the fans don't "resort" to these rather manufactured forms of cheering on their teams.

I wonder how those things got started...and get started at a particular ballpark?

My son shrugged and said he doesn't see what's wrong with it. I answered that all those people should be sitting down and keeping score! :D
 

Jeff Gatie

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It's part of the ADD/dumbing down age of sports. Bull blimps at Chicago basketball games, Jumbotron cues on when to "Get loud", thunder sticks, etc.; all carefully choreographed by sports marketing firms to manufacture a unity that should be allowed to grow naturally. Contrast this with "Sweet Caroline" at Fenway, which arose from a spontaneous song choice by the PA manager, or the "DEREK JETER (clap clap clap)" roll call of the players on the Yankees. That stuff is real. It's no surprise that the first time "Wally the Green Monster" appeared at Fenway, he was pelted with debris from the stands. Tradition is tradition, and it wasn't until Jerry Remy embraced the little guy that the fans even began to tolerate him (I still get pissed if some clown blocks my view to get a picture with that thing. I mean it looks like throw rug wearing a jersey).
 

Mike Frezon

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Yeah. I think the bleacher bum's roll call of the Yankee players is a very cool thing.

What other gimmicks like the Cleveland towels are there around the leagues?

"Dumbing down" is right. :thumbsdown:
 

Jeff Gatie

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The worst is Tampa. Not only do they have a full sized mascot, they have a Jr. sized one too, and they both tool around on quads ripping up the infield dirt. Plus, they annoy the fans to no end. The last thing I need at a ball game is some sweaty loser in a hairy suit sidling up to me for a photo op. I also don't need the exhaust fumes from a recreational vehicle wafting through a domed stadium.
 

Mike Frezon

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Kinda like the Mariner's Moose who almost cost Coco Crisp his season/career?! :rolleyes

I'm really reacting to the "It's the Tribe's Time" (or whatever) towel nonsense. To see nearly everyone in the stands doing the same thing (waving the towels in a circular motion) at certain times is kinda spooky and robotic. It just doesn't seem real.

Maybe it's only because I'm not use to seeing it. I do, however, remember thinking that the Tomahawk chop in Atlanta was always kinda weird. That's been around awhile, I guess.
 

Jason Seaver

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Eh, I don't see the point of looking down on other people too much for how they have fun at the ballpark; it's a short road to old fogey-dom from there. I joke about the towel thing because, hey, it's people waving a white flag, but them all doing it together is kind of awesome. Half the point of being a fan of a team is being part of this bigger community.

Hey, let's not act like our shit doesn't stink. As much as "Sweet Caroline" was initially fun for being spontaneous (although I remember it as being a side-effect of an even lamer promotion), having it show up, "sponsored by Jordan's Furniture", in the eighth every game has more or less caused it to lose whatever credit it might have had in that department.
 

Jeff Gatie

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Doh! When did this start? I haven't been to a game this year so I didn't know. Damn Barry and Elliot for selling out. Their faces are on more shit since they sold the company than back when they owned it. :angry:

Just for this crap, I'm pelting Wally the next game I go to. :D
 

Jason Seaver

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Well, it's been exclusively in the eighth for a while (although I have vague memories of it not being played when the Sox were on their way to receiving a thorough ass-kicking), enough so that at least a couple of years ago I would look forward to how a person at his/her first Sox game would react at that bit of silliness. The sponsorship has been going on all year, at least.
 

Mike Frezon

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And let the record reflect that I have been on the road to old fogey-dom for a long time! :D

I see your point about being part of the "bigger community" but unison towel-waving is not what baseball is all about. You can look it up! ;)

I think I've just taken another step down that long road...
 

Jeff Gatie

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Oh I know it's been in the 8th for a while, I was talking about the sponsorship. I believe the 8th inning stuff started in 2002, but if I remember the story right, the woman who does the music started it sometime before that and became superstitious about playing it only when they were ahead. The crowd picked up on it and took it from there.
 

Mike Frezon

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I was watching a game near the end of the season and heard the remnants of Sweet Caroline as the broadcast re-started from a between-inning break...and it wasn't at Fenway Park.
 

Jason Seaver

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The scary thing is, it's not a long road. My younger brother yells at neighborhood kids to get off his lawn. I feel like he's lapped me by about twenty years. :)

Still, it's worth fighting it. Getting upset about people not enjoying things for the same reasons you do... It just leads to getting upset about things that should give you pleasure. Bah. It's baseball/movies/TV/music/whatever, I'm not going to choose not to enjoy it.
 

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