This is it, dudes. One of the top three World Series of my baseball-watching life ends today.
62 thoughts on “October 28, 2011: Game Seven”
So not only did I miss the end of game six because I had to get up really early this morning, I have plans tonight with friends I haven't seen in a while (and they don't like baseball unless it's the Twins). So I doubt I'll get to see any part of this game either. Hope you all get to see an enjoyable one.
I went next door again to watch with my neighbors; after the second comeback in the 10th, I had to make myself leave to get some sleep. Kinda polar opposites, but the Cards did the Morris anniversary proud.
Here is why Texas will win Game 7: they lost Game 1 then won Game 2. Lost Game 3, then won Game 4. They have lost the first game on a new site then won the next one
Runner daughter's godsister had this Facebook status:
Does anyone else feel like this game was controlled by the bartender at some Bufallo Wild Wings pressing weird buttons like in the commercial??
Now it all makes sense!
Today's quiz: How many teams have been within one out of elimination and gone on to win the World Series?
I am soooo not buying Bell and Malone as "good guys" in this story. The coach wanted to win and the agent was buying a lottery ticket. Had Beasley flamed out at KSU, they weren't going to be there to help him out.
Where do you draft a 6'8 tweener with average athleticism who got himself kicked out of five high schools? If he struggled to stay on track as a no. 2 pick shoehorned into the starting lineup with an entire franchise dedicated to watching his every move, how would he have fared as an afterthought second round pick at the end of the bench?
Anyone who claims Beasley's a victim of a broken system conveniently forgets that were it not for the system we have—AAU basketball, college hoops, the NBA age limit—Beasley's career would have ended in disaster before he ever cashed a check from Adidas or the NBA. Those systems and traditions have their own problems, but if you're looking for someone to personify what's wrong, Beasley's not your guy.
The idea here that the system did well for Beasley is laughable. Compare, say, Beasley to Adrian Beltre. I don't know anything about what Beltre was like as a kid, but he was signed as a professional baseball player at age 15. That in and of itself was even against baseball's rules (I believe you're supposed to be at least 16 according to MLB's rules), but even though he was far from being a finished ballplayer, he was developed into a star--as a professional, under no pretense that he was an amateur. Now maybe Beasley would have turned out just the same, who knows. Or maybe he's just a guy who had no use for school and would be a much better basketball player if he'd actually been taken care of by a professional organization since the time he started getting money in exchange for his talents on the court.
There are plenty of problems with the way professional baseball treats its teen stars, especially when they haven't yet left the Dominican, but you'd have to present an awfully strong case to convince me that those guys would be better off getting money under the table and masquerading as an amateur until they are 20 years old.
If you directed that at me only (which you didn't), it would be known as preaching to the choir.
I figured you would be here to back me up. 🙂
I'm here to sing backing vocals.
If you look at it systemically, I agree with you.
If you just look at Beasley's situation and the world he lived in, having those people involved in his life may have been a positive.
I'm not saying they were altruistic but Beasley may have been better off.
That's how I read the article.
I agree that Beasley having those people in his life was better than nothing at all. My argument is mainly just that we shouldn't be comparing Beasley's actual situation to a situation where he gets no money or guidance, but rather we should compare his situation to what it would be if people were allowed to give money to the families of young basketball players in an above-board manner. If it's so clear that it was good for Beasley's family to get the money and other assistance, then isn't the system broken for making it illegal to give him that assistance? (Therefore making Beasley yet another example of a broken system.)
these stories remind me juuuust a little bit about so many similar situations between recording artists and their early-career managers and recording contracts. More-sophisticated adult professional taking advantage of less-sophisticated, younger talent. The professionals often provide resources that look pretty good up front, and bear some risk that the talent won't make it to the big-money career stage. So the talent isn't exactly blameless when relationships blow up later.
Totally agree.
I'm also ok with a college football player selling some stuff to pay for other stuff. Apparently, the NCAA is not. In fact, I think the NCAA would rather have them steal than sell their stuff.
What is absurd about that Ohio State situation is that the school themselves GAVE THEM SOMETHING OF VALUE! If they had waited to sell the crap until after their football careers were over, no one would have cared. No one. So, the problem wasn't that they sold something, it was when they sold it. I have a serious problem with that.
Stop trying to ruin college football.
We can't have NCAA athletes parading around as professional memorabilia dealers! The next thing you know, they might turn into entrepeneurs or something, and then we'd have a real problem on our hands!
After last night's game, my brother sent me this text:
"It's true...the game is perfect, but the men who play it are not."
I put up a poll on the sidebar about tonight's game. I don't think a lot of discussion will necessarily happen, but the option is there.
Yikes! 16 year old son just passed his drivers test. Since 18 year old daughter hasn't gotten her license yet, this is a first for us.
Welcome to the Jungle, free.
Again, I appreciate California's 12-month restricted license (no other minors in the car without an adult supervising). Also, I advocate having your car stereo stolen.
And check their cell phones at the garage.
In Minnesota it's 1 non-family minor in the car for 6 months, although I know that gets violated a lot as the clock ticks down to 6 months.
Keep him away from my stretch of South Minneapolis :). There's a few Holy Angels students on the block and another one a few years ago when we first moved in. It was always humorous to me that my sister was telling my parents she was spending the night at her friend's house (down the block from us) without somehow realizing we would notice that her car was never there the entire summer.
In celebration of Jeff A's ordination, this joak, courtesy of my parents and "Maxine":
Jim Baker and Jimmy Swaggert have written
an impressive new book. It's called...
"Ministers Do More Than Lay People"
Drive by truckers announce that they wont start their set tonight in st louis until the end of the game. How unhappy were they with that rainout?
Now they've got a shot at playing for a freshly depressed crowd, too.
Higher beer sales!
Ever the optimist, ubes!
This reminds me of the line "Nothin' like a depressant to chase the blues away." What is that from? I could Google it, but instead I'll make it a trivia question.
Where the whiskey drowns
And the beer chases my blues away
[edit] And Google tells me you were talking about something entirely different.
I just Googled it to be sure. I figured it was that, since half of the quotes in my head are Simpsons quotes. I didn't try putting it in Barney's voice, though, so I couldn't figure out when it happened.
so, The Weather Channel has been recalling the 20th Anniversary of The Perfect Storm. What they dont mention is that because of those weather events on the East Coast, we got the great Halloween Blizzard
That one didn't really touch "back home" (which I wasn't there anymore), but we had 6" back on Halloween in the late '70s that I can recall.
richarddeitsch
Fox says last night's Game Six (21.1 million viewers) was most-watched WS game since Game 6 of the '09 World Series (22.3 million).
Ive seen a lot of article about the decline of baseball ratings, but getting 20 mil+ viewers on any network show is pretty damned good these days.
Look at how close those numbers are to a freakin' Yankee series game. If only New York wasn't so entitled and unaware of other teams, these numbers could be through the roof.
'09 wasn't even just Yankees, it was Yankees-Phillies, and Philly is, I think, the 4th-largest media market in the nation, and the biggest media market with just one baseball team.
* Seems like Philadelphia was recently passed by DFW. It's not a stretch to think they may have been tied in 2009.
Huh, I didn't realize DFW had moved up that much in the world. Back in '06, at least, Philly was 4th and DFW was 7th. No wonder the Rangers got that huge TV deal not so long ago. It's unfortunate that they can't fill their stadium a little better after going to the WS and then following that up with a division title. 36K is pretty good, but they are only running at about 74% capacity, as compared to Philly at 45K this last year.
with DFW's traffic patterns and population layout, I think it's a pain in the butt for a lot of people to get to the stadium on any kind of regular basis. still...
I think articles about the decline of (insert dead horse)'s ratings are typically just an easy "things were better in my day, GOML" exercise for columnists. Like you say, ratings across the board are lower, and that's largely a matter of having more alternatives. Certainly having St. Louis in the WS doesn't hurt, I bet they are one of the biggest TV draws in the league. I also wonder if the NBA lockout has given baseball a bit of a boost on top of that.
Comparing recent ratings to past years' ratings hurts my head just as badly as seeing recent postseason stats compared to past years' postseason stats. Apples/Oranges, dangitall!
So this NBA lock out seems like it's never going to end, eh?
At least now they're saying the only real division is the split on "basketball-related income" (52.5 percent vs. 50 percent). That seems like it shouldn't be a season-killer, but that's 100 million dollars right there.
Stern is saying they're not budging above 50. I guess I'd think that 50/50 was fair if it was actually 50... which it doesn't appear to be.
So not only did I miss the end of game six because I had to get up really early this morning, I have plans tonight with friends I haven't seen in a while (and they don't like baseball unless it's the Twins). So I doubt I'll get to see any part of this game either. Hope you all get to see an enjoyable one.
I went next door again to watch with my neighbors; after the second comeback in the 10th, I had to make myself leave to get some sleep. Kinda polar opposites, but the Cards did the Morris anniversary proud.
Here is why Texas will win Game 7: they lost Game 1 then won Game 2. Lost Game 3, then won Game 4. They have lost the first game on a new site then won the next one
Runner daughter's godsister had this Facebook status:
Now it all makes sense!
Today's quiz: How many teams have been within one out of elimination and gone on to win the World Series?
Since you're asking, I'll guess zero.
at least 1 (1986 Mets)
Correct.
Oh, right. Well, at least they didn't do it thanks to a famous play. 'Cause that would be embarrassing for me to have missed!
A fine write up on the strange world where Michael Beasley lives.
I am soooo not buying Bell and Malone as "good guys" in this story. The coach wanted to win and the agent was buying a lottery ticket. Had Beasley flamed out at KSU, they weren't going to be there to help him out.
The idea here that the system did well for Beasley is laughable. Compare, say, Beasley to Adrian Beltre. I don't know anything about what Beltre was like as a kid, but he was signed as a professional baseball player at age 15. That in and of itself was even against baseball's rules (I believe you're supposed to be at least 16 according to MLB's rules), but even though he was far from being a finished ballplayer, he was developed into a star--as a professional, under no pretense that he was an amateur. Now maybe Beasley would have turned out just the same, who knows. Or maybe he's just a guy who had no use for school and would be a much better basketball player if he'd actually been taken care of by a professional organization since the time he started getting money in exchange for his talents on the court.
There are plenty of problems with the way professional baseball treats its teen stars, especially when they haven't yet left the Dominican, but you'd have to present an awfully strong case to convince me that those guys would be better off getting money under the table and masquerading as an amateur until they are 20 years old.
If you directed that at me only (which you didn't), it would be known as preaching to the choir.
I figured you would be here to back me up. 🙂
I'm here to sing backing vocals.
If you look at it systemically, I agree with you.
If you just look at Beasley's situation and the world he lived in, having those people involved in his life may have been a positive.
I'm not saying they were altruistic but Beasley may have been better off.
That's how I read the article.
I agree that Beasley having those people in his life was better than nothing at all. My argument is mainly just that we shouldn't be comparing Beasley's actual situation to a situation where he gets no money or guidance, but rather we should compare his situation to what it would be if people were allowed to give money to the families of young basketball players in an above-board manner. If it's so clear that it was good for Beasley's family to get the money and other assistance, then isn't the system broken for making it illegal to give him that assistance? (Therefore making Beasley yet another example of a broken system.)
these stories remind me juuuust a little bit about so many similar situations between recording artists and their early-career managers and recording contracts. More-sophisticated adult professional taking advantage of less-sophisticated, younger talent. The professionals often provide resources that look pretty good up front, and bear some risk that the talent won't make it to the big-money career stage. So the talent isn't exactly blameless when relationships blow up later.
Totally agree.
I'm also ok with a college football player selling some stuff to pay for other stuff. Apparently, the NCAA is not. In fact, I think the NCAA would rather have them steal than sell their stuff.
What is absurd about that Ohio State situation is that the school themselves GAVE THEM SOMETHING OF VALUE! If they had waited to sell the crap until after their football careers were over, no one would have cared. No one. So, the problem wasn't that they sold something, it was when they sold it. I have a serious problem with that.
Stop trying to ruin college football.
We can't have NCAA athletes parading around as professional memorabilia dealers! The next thing you know, they might turn into entrepeneurs or something, and then we'd have a real problem on our hands!
After last night's game, my brother sent me this text:
"It's true...the game is perfect, but the men who play it are not."
I put up a poll on the sidebar about tonight's game. I don't think a lot of discussion will necessarily happen, but the option is there.
Rangers, duh. 😉
I don't know how I missed out on this until now but Craig Finn is putting out a solo album.
OK, this is great
Wow. Well done, purple guy.
That one went straight to my facebook wall.
LOL.
Yikes! 16 year old son just passed his drivers test. Since 18 year old daughter hasn't gotten her license yet, this is a first for us.
Welcome to the Jungle, free.
Again, I appreciate California's 12-month restricted license (no other minors in the car without an adult supervising). Also, I advocate having your car stereo stolen.
And check their cell phones at the garage.
In Minnesota it's 1 non-family minor in the car for 6 months, although I know that gets violated a lot as the clock ticks down to 6 months.
Keep him away from my stretch of South Minneapolis :). There's a few Holy Angels students on the block and another one a few years ago when we first moved in. It was always humorous to me that my sister was telling my parents she was spending the night at her friend's house (down the block from us) without somehow realizing we would notice that her car was never there the entire summer.
It turns out that in baseball, you can't take a knee and run out the clock.
LOL.
Dewey Wins!
I'm loving this new avatar, meat.
Danke. It may or may not actually resemble me.
In celebration of Jeff A's ordination, this joak, courtesy of my parents and "Maxine":
Drive by truckers announce that they wont start their set tonight in st louis until the end of the game. How unhappy were they with that rainout?
Now they've got a shot at playing for a freshly depressed crowd, too.
Higher beer sales!
Ever the optimist, ubes!
This reminds me of the line "Nothin' like a depressant to chase the blues away." What is that from? I could Google it, but instead I'll make it a trivia question.
Where the whiskey drowns
And the beer chases my blues away
[edit] And Google tells me you were talking about something entirely different.
I just Googled it to be sure. I figured it was that, since half of the quotes in my head are Simpsons quotes. I didn't try putting it in Barney's voice, though, so I couldn't figure out when it happened.
so, The Weather Channel has been recalling the 20th Anniversary of The Perfect Storm. What they dont mention is that because of those weather events on the East Coast, we got the great Halloween Blizzard
That one didn't really touch "back home" (which I wasn't there anymore), but we had 6" back on Halloween in the late '70s that I can recall.
for those wondering
Ive seen a lot of article about the decline of baseball ratings, but getting 20 mil+ viewers on any network show is pretty damned good these days.
Look at how close those numbers are to a freakin' Yankee series game. If only New York wasn't so entitled and unaware of other teams, these numbers could be through the roof.
'09 wasn't even just Yankees, it was Yankees-Phillies, and Philly is, I think, the 4th-largest media market in the nation, and the biggest media market with just one baseball team.
Second* biggest. The biggest? Dallas-Fort Worth.
* Seems like Philadelphia was recently passed by DFW. It's not a stretch to think they may have been tied in 2009.
Huh, I didn't realize DFW had moved up that much in the world. Back in '06, at least, Philly was 4th and DFW was 7th. No wonder the Rangers got that huge TV deal not so long ago. It's unfortunate that they can't fill their stadium a little better after going to the WS and then following that up with a division title. 36K is pretty good, but they are only running at about 74% capacity, as compared to Philly at 45K this last year.
with DFW's traffic patterns and population layout, I think it's a pain in the butt for a lot of people to get to the stadium on any kind of regular basis. still...
I think articles about the decline of (insert dead horse)'s ratings are typically just an easy "things were better in my day, GOML" exercise for columnists. Like you say, ratings across the board are lower, and that's largely a matter of having more alternatives. Certainly having St. Louis in the WS doesn't hurt, I bet they are one of the biggest TV draws in the league. I also wonder if the NBA lockout has given baseball a bit of a boost on top of that.
Comparing recent ratings to past years' ratings hurts my head just as badly as seeing recent postseason stats compared to past years' postseason stats. Apples/Oranges, dangitall!
So this NBA lock out seems like it's never going to end, eh?
At least now they're saying the only real division is the split on "basketball-related income" (52.5 percent vs. 50 percent). That seems like it shouldn't be a season-killer, but that's 100 million dollars right there.
Stern is saying they're not budging above 50. I guess I'd think that 50/50 was fair if it was actually 50... which it doesn't appear to be.