November 2, 2015: Crystal Ball

Only if I really had one… to see what would transpire in the future.  There would be a lot of advantages to that, yet, it would take a lot of the fun out of it… at least from a sporting fan’s point of view.  You would be able to make a lot of money, but there would be no suspense, no drama, no surprises.  I did have a hunch on how the World Series would end…

Kansas City was the best team in baseball.  Yes, maybe not record wise, but they were one of the top teams all year long.  They finished the job last night winning their 2nd World Series in franchise history.  Surprisingly, I actually did watch some of it…

Typically, either the Cubs are so far out of it, that I really don’t pay that much attention, or the Cubs have exited in painful fashion, that I can’t bear to watch what will happen next.  It was the 2nd this time, but it wasn’t that painful… not this year.  So, I was able to follow this World Series pretty closely.  I actually watched most of the clinching game last night, and man, what a game.

I’ll describe some of the drama here… through 8 innings, Harvey had pitched shutout ball, and the Mets were leading 2-0.  He looked dominating.  After walking off the mound and into the dugout after the 8th, the pitching coach (I think) walked over to him and told him he was coming out.  You can see Harvey mouth “NO WAY”.  Then he walked down the dugout to have a discussion with Terry Colllins.  He convinced him.  One of the last players out of the dugout for the top of the 9th was Harvey; Citi Field was going bonkers.  Then it got interesting…

A leadoff walk is never a good way to start an inning.  Lorenzo Cain worked the count, and reached 1st.  Is it time to pull him now?  Nope.  He pitched to Hosmer, who had some interesting splits.  He was 1-28 when nobody was on base, and hitting over 300 with guys on.  Well, there was a guy on 1st, and he came through… again.   Not on the 1st pitch though… Cain stole second.  The 2nd pitch was lined over the left fielder’s head for a double.  2-1.  Now Harvey was lifted…  Tough call for the manager.  Not sure I can blame him… just a tough, tough way to go out…  but they still did have the lead.

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The game went to extras and the KC bullpen didn’t budge.  It was ex-Sox Addison Reed on the mound in the 12th when the dam broke loose.  A leadoff single, pinch runner, stolen base, set the scene for a pinch hitter who hadn’t had a plate appearance in a month.  Of course, he lined a base hit for the go ahead run.  That was all they probably needed, but 4 more runs later, the Royals were sitting pretty up 7-2 with Wade Davis looking for 3 outs.  Congratulations Royals.

I think what if the Cubs had beat the Mets, would they have beat the Royals?  I don’t think so.  I don’t know, but I had my eye on the Royals as the team to worry about in the final 4.  It is definitely disputable who the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th best teams in baseball were this year, but one thing is sure… the Royals were the best.

And as I watched the Mets players and fans look on in agony, I was definitely able to relate.  As I watched the Royals celebrate, I yearned for that moment when all the Cubs fans and players could do the same.  Yes, the Cubs lost, but it was a pretty damn good baseball season.

So, we can close the books on baseball for this year… well, almost.  There is one more piece of business that I have to take care of before we officially turn to 2016.  It has a little something to do with a certain player on a certain New York team; it’s time to break my own personal blog feature drought of 4 months since the last time.  I need to get some stuff of my chest…  I know I said I was OK, I wasn’t too devastated, or mad, but there is a piece of me that is.  I need to satisfy that, and then we can move on.  Then we can look forward to 2016… only then.  Looking into the crystal ball, I see a Hate File in the near future…