This is the time of year I watch baseball. Not during the regular season … too many games, too many stats.
But in October I watch. Usually not the division championships, but the LCS’s and the World Series. This year, it hurt.
Had to root for the Chicago Cubs against the Florida Marlins. First of all there is the Loveable Loser thing. The mystique of how the Cubs so often seem to find a way to keep themselves out of the World Series. I nearly always want to see the underdog win, don’t you?
There’s the Goat Curse, which I don’t entirely understand.
Also, I like Chicago, the city. Been there a few times and I find that it’s relatively easy to drive around in and easy to use public transportation. Don’t get me started on the restaurants.
It so looked like this would be the Cubs’ year. The year they finally would get into the series. The stars were aligning over Lake Michigan.
Then comes Steve Bartman. He breaks up a possible eighth inning ending out, the Marlins score eight runs, tie the series and then win game seven.
Let’s get one thing straight, though. I don’t think Bartman did anything wrong. Major media keep referring to him and the guy who interfered with Moises Alou. I don’t see it as interfering. He did not reach over the edge of the stands onto the playing field. Alou was reaching into the stands. There was an umpire right there on the play who could have called fan interference but did not … because it wasn’t.
Still, the Cubs lost and the Marlins got into the series.
Over in the ALCS, I again was rooting for the underdog Boston Red Sox. No particular fondness for Boston, but always happy to see anyone beat those cocky, smug Yankees and anybody else from New York.
Again my personal favorite appeared on their way to winning the pennant, only to see it slip away at the last minute … ”not with a bang, but a whimper” as Pedro Martinez was left in the game too long, lost his arm and gave up 5 quick runs to the Yankees.
So now I guess I have to root for the Marlins.
ABTY.
I found it interesting to read that the Fox network doesn’t expect to earn a profit by carrying both League Championship Series and the World Series. There are a number of reasons, most notably that the net sells the early games when the ratings, even the teams involved, are not known, and can’t charge as much as they would for later games.
Fox reportedly is getting $325 thousand dollars for 30 seconds and has the first five games of the series sold out. But Fox Sports President Ed Goren says that it’s still tough to sell games six and seven until it’s clear they will happen.
Of course, overhead is pretty high. It’s expensive to produce those broadcasts. Couple that with the fact that Fox paid Major League Baseball two and a half billion (that’s with a B) dollars for its six year deal.
Quickly, I want to give you a good news sports story that probably won’t get a lot of play in the major media.
Alex Zanardi finished seventh in an auto race last weekend. That doesn’t sound too impressive until you remember that he has no legs. The Italian Zanardi was injured in a CART race two years ago that destroyed both legs below the knees.
In a specially modified BMW, Zanardi competed in a European Touring Car Championship race.
In his racer the accelerator and clutch both are operated from the steering wheel and a special brake pedal is operated by his thigh.
I’ll try to remember that next time I feel sorry for myself.