Bench Will Press

I think that all of this rain we are supposed to get today is ridiculous, but what are you going to do? On a more happy note, the Phillies won last night, so we are on pace for 98 wins. I must say that that is pretty impressive even though we were playing a lot of the bench last night. It was great to see John Mayberry Jr. launch a massive home run and to see Ben Francisco launch a pair of his own. It always makes me excited to see the bench getting involved because we are going to rely on them quite a bit during the playoffs. I assume that all Phillies fans remember Matt Stairs' homerun two years ago that drove the Phillies past the Dodgers and into the World Series. The bench is necessary for success, and I feel like the Phillies have one of their best benches in a while this year. They have power, experience, and speed and several players that probably could start on another team but are trapped behind the Phillies All-Stars. For example, Ben Francisco is a pretty good player, but being trapped behind Shane Victorino, Jayson Werth, and Raul Ibanez doesn't help anyone get playing time. So, watch the impact that the bench will play this postseason!
Photo by michaelroper on Flickr

Playoff Picture

It was a different experience last night watching the Phillies when it doesn't really matter. Don't get me wrong, I totally would prefer them to win, but it's kind of comforting knowing that no matter what happens, we have won the East. I think that the Phillies are definitely onto something though. Maybe if we secure the division every year ahead of time, I can enjoy this stress-free baseball for about a week. However, it seems like almost the entire league is pretty well clinched since now the Yankees and Rays have grabbed the last two playoff spots and the only thing that matters to them is who ends up with the wildcard. The National League is a little less predictable. We have the Phillies and Reds definitely in, but we are still waiting on the other two teams. However, I am predicting about the Braves and Giants will be in as the remaining two teams, but San Diego also has an outside chance. The way it looks right now, if my picture comes true, the Phillies will have Cincinnati in the first round. That would only be the first step on the way to another World Series!
Photo by DeusXFlorida on Flickr

NL EAST CHAMPIONS

Of course, I was correct. I was correct that the Phillies would win the National League East. Behind Roy Halladay last night, they finished off the Washington Nationals to clinch the division. Now, this gives us the ability to set rotation correctly to have the big three going against whoever our first-round opponent ends up being. Of course, I know that the Phillies can score enough runs to beat whoever they are playing on any given night, but I would rather win 9-0 than 9-8. I know that a win is a win, but since the playoffs are so high stress anyway, I would rather not have to be stressed out every night. However, I feel like the Phillies will probably not be that courteous all the time. They have had to scrap out many victories in the ninth inning and just like everyone else, but the difference is that the Phillies were better at it than most other teams. The bullpen was able to hold the lead most of the time, so that was encouraging because there's absolutely nothing worse than having a bad bullpen blow a win.
Photo by dougtone on Flickr

Avoiding Temption

Josh Hamilton has to be one of the smartest men in Major League Baseball. I read a story last night that talked about the Rangers winning their division. Of course, following this victory, there was the customary drenching of the locker room with champagne. Now, most of you may know that Hamilton is a recovering alcoholic. Many years of drug and alcohol abuse hindered his career, but once he finally broke the habit, he broke out and became the All-Star that everyone knew he could be. Now, I am not an alcoholic and I've never even drunk alcohol (which is good because I am underage), but from what I've heard alcoholism is incredibly slippery slope that is easy to slide back down even if you have kicked the habit for a while. So, Hamilton did the intelligent thing even if it might not have been fun. He left the party. In fact, he never even went in. According to the story I read, he even changed in the trainer's room to avoid the temptation. Congratulations Josh, you showed rare intelligence to avoid the trap and not fall into it again. Awareness of your own faults is a huge step that everyone must make everyone to improve.
Photo by Keith Allison on Flickr

East Coast Trend

Unfortunately, the magic number stays at two, but I bet that will change today. However, that really isn't the important part right now. Why bother speculating about something that will happen? Anyway, let's talk about what might happen with Carmelo Anthony. It is kind of interesting because for years we have been talking about how dominant the West Coast is. It seems that every year in the NBA finals the team from the West Coast has always been the favorite. Now, the East Coast is getting all the hype with the triumvirate in Miami and maybe with Carmelo moving to the Jersey shore. I wonder if this will significantly alter the power balance in the NBA however. The West is still powerful and the three in Miami are still from the East Coast, just reorganized. However, if all of the fire from the East is concentrated on one team, maybe they'll be able to play with the West. Many of you know I have been skeptical about Miami's success simply because I doubt each individual star will be able to get as much attention and therefore as many shots as he did before. But, I hope I'm wrong because I would like to see a little more diversity.
Photo by laffy4k on Flickr

Formulaic Victory

First off, it is awesome to see that the Phillies magic number is down to two although I was little bit nervous after Brad Lidge put runners on first and third with two outs. However, it's kind of funny because I watch the Phillies pretty much every game, and I have seen the trend. I have seen that pretty much every game, the Phillies will be ahead by some margin going into the ninth. Somehow, enough runners will get on base that the tying run is at the plate or in some cases the go-ahead run. Finally, Brad will run the count almost full and then throw a slider in the dirt that the batter inevitably swings at. Of course, because Carlos Ruiz is the best defensive catchers in baseball, he always knocks it down and proceeds to throw out the runner at first. It is pretty formulaic, and it seems like the Phillies just enjoy raising everyone's blood pressure. I think that really is the simple reason behind it. Everybody would turn off the game and go to bed if it was always a 1-2-3 ninth. So, remember this when you're watching the Phillies in the World Series. They might let you get close, but they will pull it out in the end!
Photo by Julie, Dave & Family on Flickr

Jose Who?

I thought it was amazing that José Bautista hit his 50th home run last night. I know that he had been having an awesome year, but I didn't realize that he had shot up so quickly. He is also the first Toronto Blue Jay to hit half a century of bombs, so that is an honor in and of itself. Until this year, Bautista kind of flew under my radar, and I'm not sure why. However, if you look at his stats (which I'm doing on Baseball Reference), his previous career-high in home runs was 16 and that was in 2006. Before this year, he only had one season where he even played near full-time (2006 with Pittsburgh). He has nearly doubled his career home run output this season with 50 so far, and he only had 109 for his career. I cannot honestly remember any other player who has had that type of breakout after already having been in the Major Leagues for six years. So, I must congratulate José for his amazing year, but it is a shame that he played for Toronto where he was able to fly under the radar for so long.
Photo courtesy of http://f00.inventorspot.com/images/4_1196909807_baseball_player.jpg

Free Time...

What do you do on a night when the Phillies don't play? Simply put, you work on your power soccer team's website. When you don't have one sport, you worry about another. Seems pretty simple to me. It seems like that is how most of my life rotates. If you don't have one sport, you find another. Needless to say, the Phillies start up again tomorrow night with a magic number of four. Honestly, I think that we will have the division without much trouble. After we swept the Braves, I sense that they will be slightly discouraged, and with the Phillies on a 10 game winning streak, I feel like some combination of four Philadelphia wins or four Atlanta losses is going to happen. Of course, if I was any good at predicting the future, I may as well star in TV infomercials where people pay an outrageous price per minute to talk to me. Just kidding, but I do think that the odds are in favor of this happening. Again, one of my majors is statistics, so I would say that the odds look good. Anyway, now you know what I did with my free time tonight.

Face Forward

I have realized one of the most important aspects of power soccer that we're all guilty of breaking. Power soccer is a game that is played facing forward. What do I mean by this? Essentially, every role needs to remember about facing forward. If I am playing on the weak side wing, I need to be facing forward to be able to continue pressuring a cleared ball forward. Of course, I have watched enough footage to notice that certain players like Case Calvert actually back down the floor on a fast-break so that he can unleash a spin kick, but for those of us who can't pull that out yet, forward is definitely the way to go. Similarly, if I get beat by the offensive player, I need to get out of the way rather than try to turn and chase back towards my own goal. The reason for this is that if my momentum is going back towards my own goal, any play on the ball that I may make would only push the ball closer to my own goal. I believe and I know others do too that power soccer is a game of field position. If my team is able to keep the ball on the other half of the court, we will not give up any goals. It seems incredibly simple, but if they can't take a shot, they can't score a goal. Anyway, back to my main point, if I get beat, I need to get out of that area so that one of my teammates can pick up the attacker facing forward. So, I need to remember this, but it is always a good reminder for everyone to face forward!

Last Night...

First off, what a win for the Saints last night! Even off of the deflection, somehow the ball managed to get through the goalposts. I have to wonder how hard the ball was kicked for it not to be that affected by a touch. So, great win for New Orleans except for the injury to Reggie Bush. Also, how about the Phillies winning last night to extend their lead over Atlanta! Philadelphia is now tied with the Yankees for the best record in baseball which is exciting considering a few weeks ago the Phillies were in second and having some issues. Also, it looks like the Yankees are potentially going to slip away from Tampa Bay, but they still have three games head-to-head in New York, so that could definitely change. I was also impressed that Joe Torre flew across the country to be at that game for the addition of George Steinbrenner to Monument Park. I'm sure he wasn't an easy man to work for, but there was definitely respect from Torre and others for this man who created a dynasty both loved and hated. All in all, it was a good night for sports, and hopefully the Phillies keep going ahead.
Photo by epSos.de on Flickr

Start With Atlanta

After the Phillies won on the walkoff homerun last night, I feel like they are in pretty good shape. The only problem is that we play Atlanta tonight for a three-game series. With only a three-game lead, we better not get swept or else the lead is gone. However, we will not get swept because we have the best threesome in baseball coming in the series. For those of you who don't know, that would mean Cole Hamels, Roy Oswalt, and the doctor Roy Halladay. That triumvirate can knock out any three Atlanta might throw, but what I'm really concerned about is the offense. The Phillies offense has been far too inconsistent this year for me to bet on them on any given night. However, I also know that we have one of the most dynamic offenses when they are being productive. Very few lineups can match up with the power that Philadelphia can bring. Incidentally, how about Jayson Werth becoming a Scott Boras client? He's going to finish well hopefully, and then he will make a monster paycheck. I just hope that the Phillies can hold on to him, but I guess if we can't, Dominic Brown will have to take over in the future and become a consistent contributor.
Photo by Bess Sadler on Flickr

Statistical Method

I found an interesting article on Yahoo sports today concerning the various myths in baseball. The article uses a much more sabermetric approach to determine how each individual action relates to the probability of adding a win. I do not entirely understand everything concerning this new approach to baseball; I am much better with my traditional statistics. However, I think that it is very cool how people have determined all these different ideas about how to figure out a player contributes individually to a win. If any of you have read Moneyball (which incidentally I'm not sure if I want to see as a movie because while I really enjoyed the book, I am not sure about how well it will translate into on-screen action), you will remember how the Oakland Athletics embraced the sabermetric approach very early on in an effort to make the most out of a limited budget. Now, this kind of stat crunching has become much more popular as most teams, even though they might be reliant on the old-fashioned method of scouting, at least employ some type of statistician to reinforce the notions of the scouts. Maybe this will be where I can use my future statistics degree...
Photo by joanna8555 on Flickr

Highland Games

I'm not sure how many of you have ever been to a Scottish Festival near you. Well, today I was at one in New Hampshire. Even though it is largely a cultural happening, there is a definite athletic side to the event. Some people would definitely argue that dance is in itself an athletic event, but I do not even want to touch that issue right now. Rather, I would rather write about essentially what is the World's Strongest Man for Scotland. There are several different events that I do not know the proper name of, but I do know that they take an incredible amount of full body strength to be good. One event is basically pitching a giant bale of hay over a bar that is attached to a ladder. Even though these events are very basic, there is something entertaining about watching sheer physical strength. There is definitely some technique involved, but the games seemed to be largely about the pure physical. Although I tend to have a mind for the tactical side of things, I really enjoy watching these guys (although I do believe that there have been women before).
Photo By foxypar4 on Flickr

Women's B-ball

I was glad to see that the WNBA finally got a headline story on ESPN. Of course, it was the game that won the championship. In most areas, I would say better late than never, but I must say that I wish that the WNBA got more coverage. Women's basketball is a slightly different game stylistically than men's basketball, but I also know that it is the same game. Sure, fewer women can pull off a highlight dunk, but I know that I have seen some pretty amazing plays in all of the women's basketball I have watched over the years. Dunking is not the only play that is worthy of a highlight, but I feel like it is too often emphasized as the most exciting play during gameplay. Honestly, you never hear about the WNBA, but these women are extremely talented. The WNBA has been around for over a decade now, and I feel like it's finally time that they get some respect not only for their extraordinarily talented women but also for being able to survive as a viable organization. My congratulations go out to the newly crowned champion, and hopefully the league will be able to continue operating and elevating the game for women who want to play after college.
Photo  by Don Nunn on Flickr

In America

As I was sitting at my sister's soccer game last night, I had to think about how so many people play soccer, but if you look at our international reputation, it doesn't correlate with how many people play. With so many players playing, you'd think that they might be more competitive in international competition. However, I think that the main difference is cultural. If you look outside the United States, soccer is much more cultural. Soccer is simply much more important in other countries just as football or baseball are much more important here. However, I wonder why that is? I think that in America, we tend to prefer faster sports with higher scores. Even though football is a slow sport, it is much higher scoring. Baseball is the anomaly as it is even slower than soccer but is still relatively popular in America. (As a side note though, I think that baseball is losing popularity sadly, but that is another story). However, soccer has had problems catching on the professional level as the MLS is nowhere near the Premier League. I don't really know why, but I hope that soccer catches on at a more competitive level in America.
Photo by Beth Rankin on Flickr

Lots Going On

Well, a lot certainly happened in the sports world yesterday. For one, Reggie Bush surrendered his 2005 Heisman. Unfortunately, even though his problems are off the field, his on the field accomplishments are being diminished. Not that any of his problems are excusable, but it is too bad because he was one of my favorite running backs at USC over the past few years. Another piece of big news was that thanks to Jorge Posada and the Yankees are now back in first place by one half of a game. Personally, I am a Rays fan, so not that I have anything against the Yankees, but I will not be rooting for them in this race. One more great piece of sports news was a Phillies victory combined with a Braves loss. That means that we now have a two-game lead in the East and is nice to see that Cole Hamels was able to deal a gem last night. The Phillies are going to need all three of the aces to come up huge because quite honestly I'm not too sure about Joe Blanton. He can be amazing, but he is much more sporadic than the other three. Once the Phillies are in the playoffs, I don't know who can stop them.
Photo by Sev! on Flickr

Just Enough of a Lead

I would just like to note that the Phillies are still in first place, and I'm feeling pretty good about that. It doesn't matter if you are one game ahead or ten games ahead as long as you are ahead when the season ends. Unfortunately, we still have almost a month to hold onto that lead, so hopefully we can get a little bit closer to ten games ahead as opposed to one game ahead, but as long as we keep winning, there is no way that we can behind. Makes sense? Of course, that is easier said than done, but the Phillies have an off day every Thursday for the rest of the year. We will at the very least be extremely well rested and not suffer from the exhaustion that many teams become prone to this time of year. Of course, if you prefer another team, there are some other great races out there. For example, the Yankees and Rays and the Giants and Padres have their own tight races going even though San Diego should not have been gone and lost 10 straight to be in this situation. Whatever, everyone is going to lose the Phillies anyway...
Photo by Yandle on Flickr

Kick-Off Literally

The NFL had an interesting opening weekend. First, the Eagles had quite the game out of Michael Vick after Kevin Kolb went down with a concussion. Vick looked like his old self scrambling all over the field and moving the ball down the field with his arm as well as his feet. Also, I bet all those Cowboys fans are pretty furious that the final touchdown pass from Tony Romo got called back due to a holding call. After seeing the replay on ESPN this morning, it was most definitely a hold, so those fans cannot be too mad. Conversely, if you are Redskins fan, not only are you incredibly happy about that call, but I bet you're pretty happy that you signed Donovan McNabb away from the Eagles. Similarly to Vick, he looked a lot more mobile than he had been recently and his arm was looking good. Another stunner went down as the Colts got beaten by the Texans. We will see what happens with both of these teams down the road. So, it was an interesting opening week for the NFL. Unfortunately, I'm not playing fantasy football this year, but now I can just root for Philadelphia and be a fan for once.
Photo by Jayel Aheram on Flickr

Opening Eyes

I have been thinking about power soccer a lot lately simply because I think that I am going through withdrawal since we didn't practice last week due to Labor Day and our venue being closed. In the United States, if you watch the elite teams or even the national team, you will notice that every player is using a rear-wheel wheelchair. In fact, if you watch most games, most players will use rear-wheel drive due to the obvious advantages that I've talked about before. However, I was watching a short video clip on YouTube the other day that featured a matchup between Team Canada and Team Denmark from the last World Cup. What struck me about the team from Denmark was that many of their players used front-wheel. I wonder how much of that is circumstantial simply because, like myself, when they bought their chair they were not thinking about power soccer. However, I also wonder how much of that is due to the general state of power soccer in Denmark. For example, when we played New Hampshire, my mid-wheel chair seemed more than adequate to play power soccer competitively. However, when we played Syracuse, it became obvious that rear-wheel was the way to go. So I wonder if that was what happened in Denmark. At home they were able to get by because of less competition, but when they brought it into international competition, I am sure that they realized the benefits like I did.
Photo by @boetter on Flickr

Scoreboard Watching

It is that time of year again when the Phillies are back in first place, and I go back to scoreboard watching. It is a really fun activity. What happens is when you see that the Phillies are winning; if they're playing at home you look over to the right-field corner and see where the little ATL is. From there, you have to discover whether the Braves are winning. Right now, it really is that big a deal with the Phillies just ahead of the Braves. However, I'm not the only one who does this. Even the Phillies television station last night kept turning to look at the out-of-town scoreboard at Citi Field since the Phillies were playing the Mets have commenting on whether or not the Braves had a chance at beating St. Louis. Last week when the Phillies were at home, you could actually hear the fans react when the Atlanta score changed. It isn't enough just to win right now; everything is dependent on what happens with their opponents. All this being said, I hope that the Phillies won't need to worry about that because I hope that we'll keep winning and make it impossible for the Braves again on us.
Photo by Christopher Hawley on Flickr

Glad He Wasn't Hurt

First off, I just want to say that I am glad that Tom Brady was not seriously hurt in the car accident yesterday morning. Even though I am not a Patriots' fan, it would have been hard to have one of the brightest stars (and reportedly soon to be one of highest paid stars, if not the richest) out for the year or even for a few weeks. I definitely understand the fact that one man cannot make a team, but I also know that one man can sell a lot of tickets. Since he is one of the most popular players in the NFL, losing him would have meant a lot of lost ticket sales and fan support. There have been many careers derailed by injuries by accident. One that I particularly remember was Jay Williams. The Duke point guard was just starting to break into the NBA when a motorcycle accident put him on the sidelines as an announcer now. And Williams is not alone. That is why some contracts even forbid players from participating in risky activities such as motorcycle riding or others that similarly risky. So, I am very happy that Tom Brady is healthy. You hate to see players get seriously hurt when they had no control over the situation.
Photo by Keith Allison on Flickr

To Keep 5 or Keep 4, That's the Question

I have mixed feelings right now about what the Phillies should do. If I were Charlie Manuel, I'm not sure if I would go to a four man rotation right now, or if I would keep Kyle Kendrick in the rotation. Proponents of keeping the five man rotation would say that they would not want to wear out the front four. I totally understand this, but I also know that we have every Thursday off for the rest of the year. Because of this, each starter would only need to pitch on short rest once while every other start would be at full rest. Dropping Kyle from the rotation would be a tough call because even though he has had some great starts throughout the year, he has had a lot of trouble lately getting outs and getting very deep into games. Another consideration is how well Kendrick may pitch out of the bullpen. Some pitchers just can't do it, so maybe he does not have the proper mindset for the bullpen. I'm not sure about this though, so he may be very good and have no problem adapting to a different role. If I were Charlie, I would probably drop down to the four man rotation right now. That would give Kendrick to adapt to a new role while it will also get our aces out there more often.
Photo by redjar on Flickr

Heisman Loss

I thought that it was a shame to see Reggie Bush stripped of his Heisman. It has never happened before, but I guess that there is a first time for everything. Of course, it does make sense. If the NCAA is wiping that season off the books for Bush, then how could he win the Heisman when his numbers would all be zero? It is a shame though because I do like Bush. I liked him as a Trojan, and I like him as a Saint. I know that many people do not like USC, but I have never had a problem with the Trojans. However, this whole situation has definitely tarnished their image. Whatever though, I somewhat doubt that any of this will affect USC's art. They will still be a powerhouse, and they will still bring in five star recruits year after year. It is kind of like Wal-Mart. People do not always like what they do, but people still shop there. Similarly, everyone might say that USC has been bad, but I don't think I will really change their talent level too much. Do you love USC or hate them? Let me know!
Photo by Ed Yourdon on Flickr

Maybe He's an Alien

Okay, I realized that I am a day late, but how awesome was that when Bill "Spaceman" Lee came back as the 63-year-old to start a baseball game? When I first heard he was doing it, I honestly thought it would be nothing more than a few pitches for the publicity and then be done. However, it is very impressive that he got the win by pitching 5 1/3 innings and only giving up three hits and one run. That isn't a bad day for most major-league starters, but when you are 63, I think that is even more impressive. Of course, you have to take note that this was in an independent league in Massachusetts, but I do not think that that should diminish his accomplishment at all. He still had to throw good pitches in good spots to get outs. He still had to get lucky like all pitchers do on those few hard-hit balls that are seemingly magnetically attracted to the fielders. Bill Lee did everything a pitcher is supposed to do, so I am very impressed that he was able to pull this off. Most people at his age would throw out a first pitch. I guess he did a lot more than that.
Photo by mistycabal on Flickr

Wild Cards

Well, for people who say that losing builds character, I guess the San Diego Padres are about as high integrity as any team in Major League Baseball. 10 losses in a row will do that to a team, but I bet they would sacrifice this newfound character for some of their lead back in the National League West. They are only up by one game now over the Giants, but I'm not sure what would be better for the Phillies. Since the Padres are so cold, it might be better if the Giants took the lead and left the Phillies to do with San Diego. Unfortunately, this would mean that the Giants would need to win a few more games which would put him closer to the Phillies if they don't manage to pass the Padres, but I think we are going to beat them both anyway. The Phillies did not need to play either team for the remainder of the year however, so the Phillies' success will depend on how well they can handle their in-division rivals. Personally, I am waiting for us to pass Atlanta so that none of this Wild Card stuff matters, but first we need to pull out a few more wins.
Photo by by pro_cyp on Flickr

Sayonara Ducks

It is with great remorse that I announce the final loss of the Ducks. We have officially been knocked out of the playoffs, so I must now part ways with so many big performers this year. For one, Evan Longoria has come up huge at the hot corner and Casey McGehee gave me enough flexibility at second to be able to deal Ian Kinsler midway through the season for Roy Oswalt when I heard rumors that he would be traded. Fortunately, my team as well as the Phillies benefited from this pickup. While talking about my pitching staff, it wouldn't be complete without the outstanding work of Mr. Ubaldo Jimenez. The guy is an absolute stud on the mound, and he single-handedly carried my team on many occasions. Of course, there was some nice supplemental work by Joakim Soria and Scott Baker. For much of the year, I had too many good outfielders, but Alex Rios and Adam Dunn led the pack for my boys as we had a good year but not ideal. Hopefully, we will come back stronger in the future. Instead of Remember the Titans, now we all have to Remember the Ducks!
Sorry I don't have the URL for that image

Omaha Change

Just as a little side note, most of you will notice that the Phillies won last night while the Braves happened to lose. Could there really be much better news than that? Now, I guess the better news would be the Phillies passing the Braves for first place in the East. However, we are only one back now, so I think that we will get ahead of the Braves very soon. Anyway, enough about that. In college, you dream of playing in the College World Series because, let's be honest, that is the only time most people ever hear about college baseball. I don't know why, but it is the truth. Anyway, there will be a new location for the World Series from here on out as Rosenblatt Stadium played its final game last night after hosting both the Omaha Royals and the College World Series for about the past 60 years. It is always a shame to see an old stadium torn down, but there isn't much you can do to fight with time. I hope that whatever the park looks like, it doesn't lose the charm that Rosenblatt held for so many college athletes and people on the verge of being called up to the Royals.
Photo by jondejong on Flickr

Potentially Champs

So, the Phillies are closing in on Atlanta as they are now only two games behind in the race for the NL East. However, the Phillies are still two games ahead in the wild card, so if the playoffs started today, I would still be relatively happy because I know we can beat anyone on any given day when the offense is clicking. Honestly, I do not think there is any team that can even approach the Phillies offensively. The only problem is that the offense has been incredibly unreliable this season. However, I know that if we dropped down to the shorter rotation headlined by Ray Halladay and Ray Oswalt alongside former World Series MVP Cole Hamels and the somewhat sporadic Joe Blanton we could definitely score plenty of runs to support these guys as well as our less-than-perfect bullpen. It seems as if we haven't quite lived up our whole potential throughout the full season, but we are definitely looking better now. I definitely do not think that a third consecutive National League crown is unbelievable. It is online to be an issue of potential. If we play as good as we can, I do not believe there is anyone who can stop the Phils.
Photo by micholitzii on Flickr

Baseball Brawls

How about that fight between the Nationals and the Marlins? Maybe I am an abnormal person, but I do not necessarily see the point of getting yourself thrown out of the game. I think that not being intimidated by an opposing pitcher is always positive. However, isn't it better to get revenge by hitting a home run than being sent to the showers? I think there'd be more productive ways to channel that anger so that you don't get kicked out, and the team is better off.

Once the team is in the fight, the situation becomes a little bit different. Of course, no one wants to get kicked out, but you also cannot let your teammate get beat up. This is why you always see those teammates that are trying to pull everyone apart. Unfortunately, they also sometimes incidentally get into the fight, but at least they are trying to help make the situation better. All these massive brawls may be very entertaining for us to watch, but I do not think that they are the best way to get revenge. I would rather hit a home run than hit the pitcher in the face. But what do I know?
Photo by allygirl520 on Flickr

Winding Down

As baseball season is winding down, my fantasy baseball seasons are also finishing up. After a somewhat rocky year, the Ducks are down by 14 points in the first round of the playoffs, but I feel like we should be able to make up that deficit by Sunday as we have three starting pitchers going as well as Joakim Soria whereas my opponent only has two starters left and no relief pitchers in the lineup. Hopefully, our slight pitching advantage will be enough to advance on in the playoffs. The Perpetual Blogging Co. started out hot, but we have kind of died out in the Battle of the Blogs. I don't think we will be able to make the playoffs which is regrettable, but I feel like we had a semi-decent year, and we will have to wait until next year. Finally, TCWT has had the most successful year as we have already clinched a playoff spot even though I've only made one roster move all year. We have been very successful, so I hope that we can progress forward and maybe I'll win a couple of titles this year! I will definitely keep you all posted.
Photo by Rafael Amado Deras on Flickr