Still Americas Pastime

So far my blog has been focused almost primarily on the World Series.  While this is great, especially because the World Series is the ultimate event in baseball (the World Baseball Classic might get there some day, maybe…), this blog is about much more than the World Series, or even just MLB.  It’s about baseball in all its many forms.  So here’s a look ahead at what’s coming up over the next month here at Still America’s Pastime.

“I Call ‘Em as I See ‘Em”: I love baseball, but that doesn’t mean I think everything about it is perfect.  Visit the first Monday of every month to see what’s got me riled up.

“Baseball Terms 101″: As part of my blog’s mission to help others appreciate and come to love baseball, I need to make sure people understand the terms used in the game.  Once a week, I’ll pick a baseball stat, term, or saying and explain it.  While I’ll start with one’s I’ve used or come up with, feel free to leave a comment and ask about terms you want me to explain.

“Offseason Blues”: A three part series about how a baseball fan can survive from November to February and Spring Training.

Leaving in a lefty against Pat Burrell?  Should we second guess Joe Maddon’s decision on this?  Yes, but not too harshly.  After all, he did lead the Rays to their first winning season, their first AL East division crown, and their first AL Pennant.  All the time he was making decisions that ran contrary to popular beliefs.  He even convinced his team that 9=8.  How was he supposed to know that Pat Burrell’s only hit of the World Series would be the biggest?

Joe Maddon had his Rays playing hard and playing to win all season.  He shouldn’t be criticized to harshly for not slavishly following the “normal” way to manage.  His way had led to 97 regular season victories and another 8 in the postseason.

Sure you can second guess Maddon.  I am.  But I don’t manage the Rays, and I don’t see them play and practice everyday.  I’m willing to cut Maddon a little slack.  If he could do it over, and feels he would act the same way, good for him.

Although it meant the first suspended game in World Series History, a big hand should go out to Major League Baseball and the way they handled last night’s game.  The weather was terrible in Philadelphia and with the Phillies up 2-1 entering the 6th inning, to call the game would end the World Series, giving the Phillies the title without playing all 9 innings of the final game.

Play continued and BJ Upton of the Rays was able to get a hit, steal second (easily) in the terrible field conditions, and score on Pena’s RBI single to tie the game.  After the end of the top of the 6th, with the score now 2-2, the Umpire Crew called a rain delay and then postponed the game.

So what happens now?  The game with be continued from where it left off.  Exactly as if the rain had never happened.  There might be a few changes to the pitching staffs though.  While Cole Hamels is technically still in the game, Charlie Manuel, the Philadelphia Phillies manager has said he won’t go back out to the mound.  Joe Maddon, the Tampa Bay Rays manager still has Grant Balfour on the mound, and pitching an inning and having a day off is the norm for relievers.  However, the Phillies are likely to send a left-handed pinch-hitter to the plate for the first at-bat after the game resumes, so chances are the Rays will have a left-handed reliever warming up.  It will be interesting to see how the chess-match plays out.

MLB Commissioner Bud Selig has postponed the restarting of the game until at least Wednesday night now.  So be ready to watch the exciting conclusion of Game 5 of the 2008 World Series tomorrow night, maybe.

The Ray should consider changing back to the Devil Rays after seducing me with promises of power.  Who wouldn’t want to read my blog after I showed my amazing ability as a prognosticator when the Rays won the World Series Title?  Instead I find the Phillies 1 win away from their first title since 1980, and Cole Hamels able to clinch it with only his second win of the series.

Still, the wonderful thing about baseball is that the clock can never run out on you.  You have 27 outs to win a game, no matter how long the other team is in the field.  The Phillies can’t take a knee, or fight defensively and wait for the bell and the judges’ decision.  They have to go out and actively win another game.  So the Rays still have a chance to prove me right, and make a believer out of you!

The Rays started this season with the new math of 9=8.  The message their manager was trying to send was, if they play hard as a team (9) they will make the Postseason field of 8.  They went from worst to first in their division to become part of that 8.  Then they knocked off the White Sox, advanced to the ALCS and changed their math to 9=4.  They beat Boston in 7 games, and celebrated 9=2.  Now, after winning the first World Series game in the history of the franchise, the Rays are aiming at redefining math one more time.

And they can do it too.  The Rays will win this World Series unless Cole Hamels can win three games.  That’s what it will take.  Hamels is the only one who can come out and shut down the Rays, and stop them from taking advantage of opportunities.

Being able to capitalize is what has been the difference this series.  Yes, it’s 1-1, but the momentum seems to be all with the Rays.  They scored 2 in the 1st inning with a single hit.  The Phillies have only a single hit in 28 at-bats with runners in scoring position.  That number should get better as the Fall Classic continues, but there is no reason to believe that the Rays will slow down, especially with Jamie Moyer getting the ball next for the Phillies.

So last time I left you with the statement that baseball is still America’s Pastime, but I didn’t tell you why I thought that.  The answer is in the word.  We are not looking for America’s sport, which would require a different set of criteria.  Here’s a breakdown of three major reasons that baseball beats football in the arena of America’s Pastime.

Baseball translates well to major media sources.  Both football and baseball translate well to TV.  I really can’t argue with that.  But I can mitigate the fact.  Both sports, in fact every sport, are designed with sighted people in mind.  So, it’s to be expected that they both work well on the tube.  Radio is a different story.  Baseball works much better over the radio.  I know a number of people who enjoy putting a baseball game on the radio while they work around the house or in the office.  I don’t know anybody who listens to football games on the radio in similar circumstances.  I’m sure they’re out there, but I’m also sure they’re the minority. 

Baseball’s season is longer and there’s always a game going on (except for two days during the All-Star Break).  Football has Monday, Sunday, and Thursday.  Add Friday and Saturday for College Football if you want.  Think it doesn’t make a difference?  It does.  Football fans are stranded for two days every week.  If you only follow a certain team, you only get one game a week.  Baseball, February through September is there every day for its fans.  Individual teams rarely have more than one day off in a row.  And in the Postseason, baseball continues playing games through October.  Maybe there isn’t a game every day, but rarely is there more than two days without at least one game. 

Finally, perhaps the strongest argument is that baseball is so wonderful to watch in person.  It’s one of the cheapest professional sport outings.  It’s family friendly.  It’s an enjoyable atmosphere.  And the stands are full of people of all ages and levels of interest.  The culture of baseball allows the rabid fan to sit next to someone who brings a book for when the game gets “boring” (a concept I don’t understand).  My girlfriend talks about times when she would go the ballpark with high school friends and maybe catch an inning of the game.  The rest of the time, she would be socializing or sampling the great ballpark food.  Football seat prices are high enough to discourage people not willing to see the whole game.  Some teams have the reputation that you shouldn’t bring young children to the stadium or they might learn some new words.  Baseball just works better live.  You don’t have to sit at an end zone and only see half the game.  Instead, you can see all the action from any seat in the house.   

Media, availability, and the atmosphere at the ballpark all give baseball the edge over football as America’s Pastime.  Not convinced, leave me a comment and tell me why. 

Don’t forget to watch Game 6 of the ALCS on TBS tonight.  First pitch is 8:07

What could be more important than the Red Sox defeating the Rays and trying to complete their third comeback after going down 3-1 this decade?  Why the kick-off of my new blog of course!  But in all seriousness, this truly is a great time to start a baseball blog.  The World Series is approaching and the Rays have the opportunity to come off the infamous list of franchises never to have won a World Series (they currently share this “honor” with the Texas Rangers, the Seattle Mariners, and the Washington Nationals).  The Red Sox are doing their best to join the Yankee’s as the only teams to win 3 World Series Titles since MLB switched to the division format in 1995.  As someone with a brazen love of baseball, this is one of the most exciting times of the year for me.

So my love of baseball is one reason for this blog, but there are two others, proving that baseball is still America’s Pastime and instilling the love of baseball in others. 

I’ve recently been hearing some people scoff when they hear baseball referred to as
America’s Pastime.  They say more people watch the Super Bowl, and therefore, football has replaced baseball.  This statement is just plain false. 

Maybe more people do watch the Super Bowl, but here’s some reasons why this isn’t the best comparison.  First, the Super Bowl happens in the dreary winter months.  More people looking for indoors stuff to do in late January or early February than late October.  Baseball’s World Series occurs when people are trying to soak up that last few days the weather will allow summer/fall outdoors stuff.  Also, the commercials have had a reciprocal effect on the Super Bowl.  Companies noticed lots of people watched the Super Bowl, so they pay exorbitant amounts of money to ad companies to make good commercials, and then even more money for the time slots to run the commercials.  More often than not, it’s the commercials that I hear about the next day, not the game.  Maybe football has become America’s Sport (I’m not ready to give it that title yet), but it’s not America’s Pastime.

What’s the difference?  Check back tomorrow and I’ll tell you.