The New York Yankees

I am part of that population of baseball fans that can't stand the New York Yankees. I love to see them lose. The best team that money can buy got swept by the Detroit Tigers. Evidently it cannot buy them another World Series title. Justin Verlander is a beast on the mound. I am sure when the time comes, the New York Yankees will try to buy him. The Detroit Tigers have a lot of homegrown talent. I am a lifelong Dodgers fan but I love to see teams win with players that came up through their minor league system. Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera were big acquisitions for the Tigers and a little bit out of character. They were also the driving offensive force behind the Tigers offense. The vast majority of the players came up through the Tigers system. Their starting pitchers are almost all homegrown. They took these players and a smattering of free agents and swept the New York Yankees with ease. The benching of Alex Rodriguez during the series and the internal strife that it caused was an added bonus. It reminded me of Dave Winfield in the 1980's.

Things I Learned About College Football This Weekend

I learned several things about college football this weekend. I think Oregon and West Virginia should have to play each other in the National Championship game just to see how many points would be scored. West Virginia beat Texas 48-45 and Oregon beat Washington 52-21. These were both nationally ranked opponents. I also think that the Heisman Committee should just go ahead and give the Heisman Trophy to Geno Smith, the QB from West Virginia. He's got the numbers and his team has the national ranking to back up my claim that he is the best player in the nation. I also learned that the South Carolina Gamecocks are good and this is probably the best South Carolina team they have had since George Rogers led the way in the late 1970's-early 1980's. They have arguably the best RB in the nation, Marcus Lattimore (provided he can stay healthy), and a QB Connor Shaw who poses a dual threat as a runner and a passer. They beat the #5 Georgia Bulldogs 35-7 with an ease that was almost scary for their future opponents. Steve Spurrier may be a jackass but at least he is a funny jackass. Alabama is still #1 in my ratings but they play boring "old man football" that is very beatable. #3 Florida State and #4 LSU both lost this weekend but it will hurt LSU far worse because they play in a much tougher SEC.

Bad Calls Are Not Limited To One Sport

The Wild Card game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Atlanta Braves last night featured a call that, once again, could have gone either way. I have never really understood the Infield Fly Rule anyway because that is all dependant on whether the fielder catches the ball or not. The fielding team is basically given an out free of charge. The ball fell in between the two St. Louis fielders with Braves runners on first and second. The ball was far enough in the outfield to where the Infield Fly Rule probably should have not been called. It is also supposed to be called early on in the play. The umpire clearly had his hand up signifying an out as the St. Louis Shortstop is backing up on the play. The ball fell to the ground and the Braves runners advanced to second and third but they now had two outs rather than bases loaded and one out. It was the bottom of the eighth inning and the St. Louis Cardinals were leading 6-3. Lost in the outrage over the call was the fact that the Braves were having a bad game. The call was not the deciding factor in the game. The Braves had made three throwing errors leading to four unearned runs for the Cardinals. Braves Shortstop Andrelton Simmons was called out on runners interference going to first base on a bunt attempt. The Braves had their chances but did not come thru in the clutch. That one blown call did not decide the outcome of this game. That pretty well summarizes the Braves playoff history with the exception of one year in 1995. It is a sad end to the career of Chipper Jones, but his career has spanned the Braves playoff failures.