Comments on: Baseball

By: Dallin I

Dallin I — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Right on! A good friend of mine was always telling me that October is the best sports month of the year for sport, mostly because of the MLB playoffs, but also because football (both pro and college) are in full gear. I used to say March is the best, but that’s only because of one event. I agree that October is great, if for no other reason than baseball makes for compelling drama, like you suggest.

One of my favorite aspects of baseball is the potential for unpredictable hero/goat. Francisco Cabrera of the Braves in ’92, Mookie Wilson in ’86/Bill Buckner for the Bosox in ’86. In sports like basketball and football you know who is going to have the ball in the waning seconds – Jordan would always take the last shot, Joe Montana will be throwing the ball, for example. Not true in baseball where lineups are set and you can’t always get your star player the crucial at bat. You can’t take Alex Rodriguez and put him third up in the bottom of the ninth unless his spot in the order happens to come up in the ninth. You never know where the ball will be hit, either. A great defensive play could come from anywhere on the field, or a great error (see: Buckner). That’s why it’s so great. Everytime the ’86 World Series is on ESPN Classic, I gotta watch.

It’s not like your stars won’t have their heroic moments – Schilling’s bloody sock last year is a great example of that. And that’s good stuff too. But when you find yourself rooting so hard for a Cabrera or a guy named Mookie, there’s nothing like that.

Not having cable growing up, I used to love listening to Mets games on the radio. You almost develop a friendship with the announcer. I got so used to Bob Murphy calling Mets games that it seems odd to watch a game now without hearing his voice. Agreed that it is the best way to enjoy a game other than being at the park.

By: Greg

Greg — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Love the Mets talk. Yeah Bob Murphy! Boo Fran Healy! Speaking of playoff underdogs, I miss Timo! And goats? I’ll never forgive Kenny Rogers for walking in the winning run against the Braves in the ’99 NLCS. The shame.

By: Eric Russell

Eric Russell — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Unless you’ve grown up a Royals fan, like me. Then it’s just sad.

By: Ronan

Ronan — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

That’s bollocks, Bryce, and you know it. Americans have to make movies about sport because their sports are so lame. The rest of the world just has sport.

Yanks…always getting Hollywood to gloss over their insecurities. Bothered that it was the Brits not the Yanks who stole and decoded the Enigma machine and thus won the war? That’s OK, just make U571 and rewrite history.

The lastest “baseball” movie, Fever Pitch? The book was about Arsenal Football Club you gimps. Yanks! Bloody Yanks!

By: Bryce I

Bryce I — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

C'mon, Ronan, you ducked the question. Where's the great cricket movie? I know you Brits make films about long distance runners and women soccer players (a wee bit of cricket pops its head up at the end of that one). Could it be that ballet-dancing boxers make for more compelling drama than cricket? I'll grant you that Life, the Universe, and Everything is a brilliant book, though.

By: Ronan

Ronan — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Running, women’s soccer, ballet-dancing – they all need popcorn support. Cricket and football don’t. I’m not ducking your question, just questioning its relevance, monsieur.

By: Bryce I

Bryce I — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Seriously, Ronan, you're putting the cart before the horse. People don't make movies about subjects they think need attention (at least not sports movies). They make movies about subjects that people find interesting. I find it odd that given all of the passion for cricket in the Commonwealth nations, no one has tried to capture it on film. Heck, even Wimbledon got the film treatment last year. And it's not Hollywood vs. the rest of the world; all of the films I've cited are British projects. Here's one link I found: http://www.britmovie.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=234 I'm open to the possibility that cricket is a great spectator sport. Like I said, I've never watched. In the meantime, Clemens vs. Smoltz tonight at 8. Don't miss it.

By: Dallin I

Dallin I — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Last night’s Astros vs. Braves, Game 4 is an instant classic. One of the best playoff games ever. More proof that baseball in October is sports at its very best.

By: Dallin I

Dallin I — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Another reason why baseball is so great is that when it goes to extra innings, there’s no clock to limit the drama. The game could end now with a home run, or 9 innings later – you just don’t know, so of course you have to watch every minute. It adds to the tension like last night.

By: Bryce I

Bryce I — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I missed both games last night. Darn.

Go Yankees!