Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Baseball Playoffs are here

The baseball playoffs are here! Tis the season for exciting pitching, great hitting, climactic moments ... most taking place well after my bed time! How I long for the days of daytime postseason baseball, smuggling a transistor radio into school (or the office)! The greatest example was 6th grade in 1969, the year of the Miracle Mets against the powerful Orioles, when Eddie Zelkovsky (sp?) had a radio in his desk with a wire under his shirt and into his ears. We were doing fine, passing notes after every inning, until all of a sudden Eddie leaped out of his chair and yelled "Clendennon (Mets 1B) hit a homer, Clendennon hit a homer!" The teacher was on to us, but her only question was, "Eddie, what is the score"?!

I have been a Dodger fan all my life, save for the few years when Rupert Murdoch owned the team and traded Piazza and forced Lasorda out and tried to erase all Dodger tradition. Over the 20+ years in Atlanta, the Braves have supplanted the Dodgers as my favorite team, but some Dodger blue blood still courses through my veins. This year's team has some exciting players, James Loney, Andre Ethier, Rafael Furcal, Clayton Kershaw and Randy Wolf among them. There is also some guy named Manny, about whom I have very mixed feelings. I want to root for the guy, even when he was in Boston, but he makes it tough with his "me me me" attitude and of course his steroid abuse. Still, I hope he gets hot, because without him, the Dodgers don't advance.

In the A.L. I am for anybody but the Yankees! Go Twins! Overall, I am rooting for the Red Sox, if only because I just bought a Red Sox hoodie to stay warm when I was at Fenway last week! No, I have always liked Boston, especially Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury and of course YOUK, Kevin Youkilis.

My picks ... my head says Cards over Dodgers, but I am going with my heart and picking LA; I have to go with Philly over Colorado, and I am going with my heart again and picking the Dodgers over the Phils. In the AL, much as I would love to see the Twins knock the Yankees off, I don't think it will happen. The Red Sox - Angels series could be a classic; I am picking Boston to win. That leads to yet another Boston - New York ALCS ... Boston owned the Yanks early in the year, but in the second half, no one could beat the Yankees. I HATE to do this, but I am picking the Yankees to win the AL pennant.

So that leads to a traditional Dodgers vs Yankees World Series. I just finished a book on Jackie Robinson, and a great WS between the 2 that year (of course the Yankees won). Again, my head says you gotta go with the Yankees to win it all; my heart is with LA, but if I had to be real money, I'd pick the Yanks. They are just too strong.

So bring it on! Who needs sleep! The Dodgers game starts at 9:30 tonight!

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