Friday, October 16, 2015

NOW IT GETS SERIOUS

The championship games begin tonight in Kansas City, the Royals hosting the Blue Jays. I guess this is as it should be: the two teams with the best records in the AL. Toronto has that powerful lineup but it appears they also have karma on their side - and it is said, "Karma's a bitch."
I read a headline today that said, DODGERS FALL APART. Fall apart? 3-2 is hardly falling apart. If that's what you're looking for, I give you the Texas Rangers. Actually, it was all one man - Elvis Andrus. The poor guy, who is a very good fielder by the way, blew three straight plays, and even though no runs had scored yet, you knew it was all over. Later, Jose Bautista flung his bat almost to the shores of Lake Ontario and that was that. I don't think the Rangers will forget that.
KC beat a team that was in over it's head but didn't know it. Royals are good and the defending AL champs but I think Toronto will be the one advancing.

In the NL, the Cubbies continue their magical journey by stunning the Cardinals, so if there is a Cinderella team in the championship series, it has to be the Cubs. The underdog Mets shocked the Dodgers but they will be the favorites only in the New York area. The Cubs own the rest of the country. NY has that awesome pitching staff but right now, nothing scares Chicago. It'll be close, but I'm rooting for the Cubs.

My lovely sister-in-law in California wrote today that she's experiencing "playoff relief." Me, too. Once the Yanks were put out of their misery, I felt that the weight was off my back and now I could just enjoy baseball.  There is talk that Dodger front office is unhappy that the team hasn't fulfilled it's expected destiny - a World Championship. I think the owners are beginning to realize that a $300 million payroll does not buy the title.  It took the Yankees a long time to come to that realization and the Red Sox, a little quicker. So where do the Dodgers go from here? A lot of people think that Dan Mattingly will be the first to go. That little episode in the dugout with Andre Ethier probably didn't help either. Strangely, I can't find out anything about that screaming match, other than Mattingly saying it was nothing (of course). In NY, the tabloids would have published a word-for-word, blow-by-blow account of the incident. But LA is a little more laid back.

Early in one of the Games in Los Angeles, an announcers said he never heard a crowd this quiet. This is LA. the crowd doesn't even show up until the third inning.

Brad Dickson's Bottom Ten
 4. UCF (0-6): The Knights lost to Connecticut in a “rivalry game.” I think the winner got a trophy reading “WHY?”
 8. Fresno State (1-5): Fresno State’s idea of a balanced offense — an equal number of fumbles and interceptions.
 9. Idaho (1-4): The Vandals are coming off a bye week. I’m pretty sure it was homecoming.

***THEY SAID IT***
"Eagles coach Chip Kelly said today he is not a candidate for the head coaching jobs at USC and Texas. Well, makes sense, he’s got a perfectly good job coaching an amateur team now."  -- Janice Hough
"Eli Manning has played behind nine centers. I believe this makes him a certified proctologist."  -- Brad Dickson
"A  fire destroyed 20 books at the Auburn University library: “The real tragedy was that 15 hadn’t been colored yet."  -- Steve Spurrier
"If the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ secondary — after getting torched for four TD passes by the Jags’ Blake Bortles on Sunday — is looking for a theme song for player introductions, here’s a suggestion: “Stand By Your Man."  -- Dwight Perry
"I hear new coach Dan Campbell made the Dolphins do “Oklahoma drills” in practice. Oklahoma drills are tough: it took me days to nail the lyrics to Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’."  -- RJ Currie
"So if  Chase Utley retires in the offseason do they suspend him for his first two old-timers games?"  -- Janice Hough
"The Fernando Rodney story: When he was born, his parents put a cap on their little bundle of joy. The doctor slapped him, but only his head moved, not the cap."  -- Tony Chong (From TC Ripley.)
"Playboy magazine announced it’s no longer going to feature nudes. This is like Popular Mechanics announcing that it’s no longer going to feature socket wrenches."  -- Brad Dickson

 CP-


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