2009 Playoffs: Who ya got?

Cheeseandcorn — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 21:59:07 -0000

The Brewers' season may be over, but there's still plenty of baseball to be played this year. And I don't know about you, but following baseball is about 10 times more fun for me when I have a rooting interest. The obvious question, then: Who to cheer for? (Or for the copy editors among you, Whom to cheer for?)

I created a handy-dandy guide, just for you.

Philadelphia Phillies

Pros: Generally speaking, they seem like a decent enough group of guys. Jamie Moyer's old. Charlie Manuel is a stand-up guy, if a barely mobile one.

Cons: They have some of the worst fans in the league -- at least by our Midwestern niceness standards. They knocked the Brewers out of the playoffs last year. (Tell me this video doesn't still hurt.) C'mon, they won last year. Let someone else have a shot. Oh, whoops, I forgot about this guy.

St. Louis Cardinals

Pros: They play baseball The Right Way. They saved us from having to watch the Cubs win the division. Will Leitch is a fan, and I kinda like that guy. It might actually be fun to watch a hitter as dominant as Albert Pujols when he's not hurting your team. NL Central represent!!!!1!

Cons: They're the most uptight, anal-retentive team in professional sports. If they win, your only payoff is to watch them shake each other's hands politely and head to the dugout for some warm milk. Al Hrabosky makes my ears bleed. Also, .09.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Pros: Listening to Vin Scully call the final out of the World Series would be pretty freakin' cool. Jonathan Broxton and Clayton Kershaw are a pretty amazing young pitching duo to watch. And most importantly, they take themselves about 100 times less seriously than the Cardinals.

Cons: I believe they're the only playoff team with a player who got caught 'roiding (OK, quasi-roiding) this year.

Colorado Rockies

Pros: If the Twins lose Tuesday, they have the smallest payroll of any playoff team in the playoffs. They're pretty much doing what the Brewers are trying to do: Building around a nucleus of young, talented (and cheap) position players, with a rotation of good-enough young guys and some older castoffs and a pieced-together bullpen. They also have the best chance of getting insanely hot.

Cons: The altitude-inflated stats, the ridiculous streakiness, the fact that they didn't exist when I was in second grade -- something about them just smells a little flaky.

New York Yankees

Pros: After what he did for the Brewers and the city of Milwaukee last year, karma owes CC Sabathia a World Series title. (Also, as a Nebraskan, I'm contractually obligated to root for Joba Chamberlain, the greatest pitcher ever to pass through the hallowed hallways of my wife's esteemed alma mater.)

Cons: To steal Rick Reilly's line, rooting for the Yankees to win the World Series is like rooting for Bill Gates to win the lottery.

Minnesota Twins

Pros: If you like small-market underdogs, they have the lowest payroll of anyone still in this. Joe Mauer is an absolute stud. Like the Cardinals, they seem to play the game The Right Way. Unlike the Cardinals, they don't seem to be arrogant jerks about it.

Cons: Many of the same people who root for the Twins also root for the Vikings. I'm not sure I can handle any sort of outcome that leaves Vikings fans happy.

Detroit Tigers

Pros: The city of Detroit could really use a pick-me-up right about now. Also, tell me you can watch this video of Ernie Harwell and still not like this team.

Cons: Their biggest celebrity fan? This guy.

Los Angeles Angels

Pros: After Nick Adenhart's death in April, this has been a team on a mission. It's hard not to root for a team playing for the memory of its fallen teammate.

Cons: I still can't forgive Angels fans for bringing the abomination that is Thunderstix to our national consciousness.

Boston Red Sox

Pros: Because it's been a whole 16 months since the city of Boston had a sports championship to celebrate.

Cons: Because it's been a whole 16 months since the city of Boston had a sports championship to celebrate.

I'm in Rockies country, so the longer the Rockies are in it, the more baseball I get to watch with friends. Jumping aboard the Rockies bandwagon made the 2007 postseason a blast, so it was a no-brainer to do it again this time. What about you? Who are you rooting for, and why?

Poll

Who are you pulling for this postseason?

Philadelphia Phillies

2 votes

St. Louis Cardinals

5 votes

Los Angeles Dodgers

5 votes

Colorado Rockies

25 votes

New York Yankees

6 votes

Minnesota Twins

20 votes

Detroit Tigers

4 votes

Los Angeles Angels

9 votes

Boston Red Sox

3 votes

Rooting for any other team in any circumstances would irrevocably taint the purity of my Brewers fandom.

9 votes

88 votes | Poll has closed

Is Craig Counsell a new man?

Cheeseandcorn — Tue, 19 May 2009 03:22:18 -0000

Heading into Monday night's game, Craig Counsell is batting an absurd .339/.432/.484. He's coming off a spring training in which he batted .388/.436/.531. The last time he was this hot for a comparable stretch of time was when he began 2006 batting .364/.435/.491.

Now, I know that in the long run, these stats are probably meaningless. Spring training stats are particularly worthless, and a monthlong hot streak is not enough of a sample size to make any sort of meaningful conclusions. That 2006 season? He finished at .255/.327/.347. This year, I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if Counsell went ahead and batted .210/.320/.300 the rest of the way.

The thing that gets me, though, is the fact that this hot streak has coincided with a complete retooling of his batting stance. Does that add anything different to the equation?

Honestly, I have no idea. I haven't been able to watch any Brewers games yet this year, so I've seen all of about three Counsell at-bats in 2009. Those of you who know these things: Has the new stance made any difference in the way Counsell is hitting the ball? Or is this just one of those random streaks that's just part of the game, even for such a historically awful hitter?

I'd love to hear what ideas you have.

What's next for baseball beat writers?

Cheeseandcorn — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 00:50:09 -0000

What's next for baseball beat writers?

From Jim Caple of ESPN.com. I don't want this to turn into a war over the merits of Haudricourt and Witrado; as a newspaper reporter, I simply found this a thoughtful look at the future of baseball reporting as newspapers struggle/collapse/go up in flames.

SB Nation User Blog: Cheeseandcorn

2009 Playoffs: Who ya got?

Who are you pulling for this postseason?

Philadelphia Phillies

St. Louis Cardinals

Los Angeles Dodgers

Colorado Rockies

New York Yankees

Minnesota Twins

Detroit Tigers

Los Angeles Angels

Boston Red Sox

Rooting for any other team in any circumstances would irrevocably taint the purity of my Brewers fandom.

Is Craig Counsell a new man?

What's next for baseball beat writers?

What's next for baseball beat writers?