Saturday, October 26, 2002

Bullpen Falls Apart, But Dusty Moved Too Quickly Dusty should have left Russ Ortiz in longer. I know. Easy to say in hindsight. But Dusty has always been guilty of leaving pitchers in too long. Tonight he deviated from that usual policy -- which got us to the World Series (among a lot of other things, of course) -- and it backfired. The bullpen stunk tonight. Nen serves up a gofer ball. What's with these guys? If you can't hold a 5-0 lead in the most important game of the season, maybe you don't want it badly enough. Maybe the other guys deserve to win. Disgusting. 10:51:19 PM    Add your viewpoint [ comments so far]

NY Times Dave Anderson to Selig: Pete Rose Deserves HOF I've made no secret of my support for Pete Rose's return to eligibility for lifetime baseball honors, including election to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Dave Anderson of the New York Times agrees. Dear Bud: It's Time to Forgive Pete Rose. Before Game 4 of the World Series this week, fans told Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig that they have forgiven Pete Rose for his betting behavior. By Dave Anderson. [New York Times: Sports] Anderson's most cogent summary of reasoning: "Steroid-using sluggers tamper with baseball's integrity more than Pete's bets did." Yep. 2:38:21 PM    Add your viewpoint [ comments so far]

Another Vote for Bonds as the Greatest of All Time Allen Barra of Salon.com adds his voice to the rising tumult. His wondering about whether the fact that Barry's black might have something to do with baseball fans trying to deny him superiority over Babe Ruth was reminiscent of what happened to Muhammad Ali as he was coming up in boxing. Barry and the Babe. Forget the nostalgia freaks droning on and on about the Mythical White Ballplayer era. Barry Bonds is the greatest player in baseball history. [Salon.com] I suppose it goes without saying that I agree with Allen and the millions of other fans who have seen this truth for a couple of years now. 11:05:34 AM    Add your viewpoint [ comments so far]

History Favors Angels? But There's a Twist Here Dave Winer this morning links to a New York Times piece that outlines why the odds favor the Angels in the last two games of the 2002 World Series. But there's a hidden gem here for Giants fans. In that piece, Murray Chass points out that, " In [the last 20 years], teams have taken a lead of three games to two on the road seven times, and six times returned home without the World Series championship." This, he thinks, mitigates the 2002 edition in the Angels' favor. But later in the piece, he points out that three of those six instances were the only times in history that all of the games were won by the home team. Clearly statistical anomalies. This Series is more like most of them that have been played: teams have won at home and on the road. I'm staying with my original prediction: Giants in six. They win tonight. But an important caveat here: if the Giants manage to lose today, then I think the odds swing strongly to the overcoming, charmed Angels who will then likely win it in seven. (That's not an original idea. As I posted yesterday, Peter Gammons of ESPN makes the same prediction.) 10:30:59 AM    Add your viewpoint [ comments so far]

© Copyright 2002 Dan Shafer.