Quote of the Week
“ Johnny Damon?! That's some bullsh*t, isn't it! Red Sox all the way! ”
– David Ortiz, about Damon picking the Yankees in the playoffs
This Week in Baseball
Joy Division Playoffs
With the Yankees and Rockies winning the Wild Card playoff games, the Division Series have begun. This round has already been very tough on the visiting teams with the home teams already 7-1 in this round. The good news is that the playoffs now all switch venues. So, the teams that are down 0-2 have the home field advantage—which probably just means they don't have far to travel after being eliminated.
Bye Bye Birdies
GM Dan Duquette and manager Buck Showalter are out in Baltimore after a franchise record 115 losses. The Orioles said they'll hire a new executive from outside the organization and that person will have final say in picking the next manager. No word yet on who they have in mind for this punishment.
Rules Schmules...
MLB released an ad to air during the postseason denouncing the anti-bat flip attitudes of many baseball traditionalists. It mocks old time attitudes like: "Don’t stop and stare. Don’t flip your bat. Respect the jersey." However, the league did not take an official position on other issues like: "Wearing white after Labor Day," "Keep hands at 10 and 2 on the steering wheel," and "Beer before liquor, never been sicker."
I Am an FBI Agent...
The U.S. Department of Justice and FBI have launched an investigation into the recruitment of international players by MLB teams. The probe is centered on potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. It turns out that dealing in cash payouts to people in third world countries might have some corruption in play.
Central Park...
Jacoby Ellsbury had his parking spot at Yankee Stadium taken away. With all of his injuries, Ellsbury hasn't played a game for the Yankees this season and he can probably just park in the handicapped spot.
On the Air
“ I don't have a playoff fever but I do have a playoff cold. ”
-
Episode 81: Game 163; Wild Card Winners; Most Important Postseason Players; Duquette and Showalter Out; Oktoberfest; NASCAR; Leonardo DiCaprio
First and foremost, how about those game 163s and Wild Card games? Ouch for the Cubs, right? Episode 81 of Foul Territory: A Baseball Podcast—the Eddie Guardado edition—brings wall-to-wall, or ball-to-ball, coverage of the game 163s and Wild Card craziness. …
Going Deep
-
State of Pitching (Part I): The Rise of the ‘Opener’
The Art of Pitching—A Brief History When the National League opened for business in 1876, teams began with small rosters of perhaps 11 or 12 players on the entire team. And those who were starting pitchers pitched when they were …
-
Baseball’s Best of the Worst Awards 2018
What an incredible season for Major League Baseball! There were so many great moments throughout the year and if I could remember any one of them specifically I might not be secretly terrified that I have early-onset dementia. Okay, so, …
-
He Gone! A Cubs Fan Says Goodbye to Hawk Harrelson
Several years ago, I wrote a list of 101 reasons why Chicago is the best baseball town in America; but I can boil all the reasons down to one statement: Chicago is divided into two warring factions, the Cubs and …
Off Base
