Sunday, October 27, 2002

Scoble's More Philosophical Than I After the Giants' shocking loss in the World Series, my buddy Robert Scoble wrote: Well, onto the rest of our lives. I'm getting married in six days. I was hoping that the Giants would start the week off right, but they didn't. Oh well. I'm still proud of the team. and It'll be a long off season, that's for sure. [The Scobleizer Weblog] I can't be quite so philosophical. I'm twice as old as Robert. I'm not sure how many more seasons I will see. The last time I was a fan of a World championship baseball team was 1968 when the Tigers beat the Cardinals. 10:28:33 PM    Add your viewpoint [ comments so far]

The MVP is WHO? You Gotta Be Kidding Me! The idiots who decide the Most Valuable Player of the World Series gave the trophy to Troy Glaus, who was described as having "the most consistent Series, batting .385 with three doubles, three home runs and eight RBIs." EXCUSE ME! Did you guys see the same World Series I did? The one with a guy who hit nearly .500? Who changed the complexion of the game and the nature of its strategy so dramatically that he was clearly the best player on either team, by a lot? Glaus was the MVA - Most Valuable Angel. But he should reject the MVP trophy and tell the voters to give it to the only one who deserves it, Barry Bonds. This is a damn travesty. 8:09:10 PM    Add your viewpoint [ comments so far]

Someone Else Thinks Dusty's Yank Was Too Quick Just when I repent and allow as how maybe Dusty wasn't wrong to pull Ortiz in the seventh, a New York Times reporter concurs with my first reaction. Baker's Gesture Proves Premature. Dusty Baker's decision to cut short the most impressive outing of any starter in the Series backfired tremendously. By Rafael Hermoso. [New York Times: Sports] 9:41:02 AM    Add your viewpoint [ comments so far]

After Further Review, the Angels Win One of the problems with being a passionate fan and coupling that with instant reportage and analysis is the "homer effect." I have seen this before in my former life as a professional sports writer and it reared its ugly head again last night. This effect is characterized by subjective feelings not just being evident in writing but dominating that writing, so that the emotions themselves become the story. It's bad journalism and after last night, I think perhaps bad blogging as well. In my distress as a hard-core Giants' fan, I allowed myself to wallow in self-pity (which is not necessarily a bad thing in a blog) and to analyze the outcome in a way that was just not accurate (which is). So now in the cool light of day and after a chance to reflect, let me re-cast the game from yesterday. The Giants did not lose that game. The Angels won it. They proved the better team. The Giants did exactly what got them to where they were even playing in the Series. The starter went deep and was throwing a shutout. The opponent got a rally going. Dusty called on his normally trusty bullpen. Barry homered. We could have said we had them right where we wanted them. But the Angels, who rallied from behind in the 7th inning and later so many times this year, did what they do best. Again. And we couldn't withstand the rally. So I'm not looking to blame Dusty or the bullpen. I'm doffing my cap to the Angels for a well-fought victory and moving on. I still think it is now extremely likely the Angels will win the World Series tonight. And if they do, they deserve it. This has been a helluva Series. East Coast fans are missing some terrific baseball. 9:17:02 AM    Add your viewpoint [ comments so far]

© Copyright 2002 Dan Shafer.