The Baseball Playoff Thread

[JJtheCool]

Well, now that the playoff teams are set for this October, I thought it appropo to start this new thread.



Since my D'Backs are out of it this year, I have to look for other teams to root for. Being that my parents were from Chicago, I keep an eye on the sports teams there. This year both the Cubs and the White Sox not only have had winning seasons at the same time (which is rare) but they were both leading their divisions last month at the same time (which is rarer still). While the South Siders eventually faded in the AL Central, the Cubbies did win the NL Central!!!!!



So I'm rooting for the Cubs to win it all. If they don't win it's a shame; and if that's the case then as an alternative:



1. In the AL, I'll root for anyone but the Yankees; and



2. in the NL anyone but the Giants (sorry, Rally; btw, on behalf of all the Cubs fans I'd like to thank Peter McGowan for letting Dusty Baker go ).



So if any Kittens have any favs in the Road to the World Series, go ahead and post away.

JJtheCool

---

*Sigh*

[MellindraX]

Go Red Soooooox!



Not because I actually like the team, of course (not partial to sports at all, in fact), but more because my mom said I could skip a day of school if they made it to the World Series

HOLY SHIT ITS YOU! -Alyssa [Official Best Reaction for Showing of an Amber Benson Picture: http://www.coldarrow.com/plcochet/Chance%205.jpg]

[Gatito Grande]

Fine, JJ, I'll just root for MY GIANTS twice as hard!



I'm not inconsiderate of the Cubbies' plight, really I'm not. But I ask you: since time as we know began w/ my birth (isn't this true for everyone? ), then the fact that MY GIANTS have not won the World Series in my lifetime makes it just as *tragic* for my 41 years, as it does for the Cubs' 100+ years of futility (or the BoSox 80+)?



And OK, now I'm going to vent: what's w/ all the Saint Dusty stories? DB was a very wealthy (not to mention talented) man, who became an even wealthier man when Chicago offered him more money. Nothin' wrong w/ that; happens in professional sports all the time. But since when does personal capitalism make one a great humanitarian? Mattie Alou has proven that the Giants were a very good team, that could be as good if not better under a different manager. The Giants won the West (they were Wild Cards last year) under a rookie manager (and a bunch of new players): I nominate "Saint Mattie" for Man. of the Year!



GG I'm honestly torn: I don't want the Cubs to experience more sadness than necessary, but I personally would much rather see MY GIANTS pummel the Hated Braves! (And natch', no team would be sweeter to slaughter in the Series than the Damn Yanks ) Out



Good thing I don't take this seriously, huh?

[JJtheCool]

Well, Ms. Grande, I don't know how often the Cubs have gone to the playoffs w/ a 1st-year manager after having finished dead last the year before, but in Chi-Town that would qualify him for sainthood.



I will give props to Senor Alou; he deserves some sort of award after all those years of leading the Montreal Expats (talk about a no-account franchise). Obviously, he's a great manager, but I think when you're surrounded w/ most of the talent leftover from a pennant winning season, it eases the managing burden. Besides, George Seifert managed to take the Niners to the Super Bowl the year after Bill Walsh did and didn't get much respect until 5 years later when his players won it in '94.



Me, I'm looking forward to a Cubs-Red Sox series. Which team of perpetually lovable losers would break their self-imposed curse first?

JJtheCool

---

*Sigh*

[jixer]

Hello Kittens-



Well, since this is the CUBS year I'm hoping they face the Red Sox in the series. GG it's only been since 1908 for my Cubs, so when they win I already have a motto-"Every ninety five years, like clockwork!"



Jixer

[oneyedchicklet]

Greetings Baseball Fans (and other kittens as well)



Not to offend anyone but, I was born a Yankee fan and I will die a Yankee fan. With 26 World Championship titles, its not hard to figure out why.



So I'll leave with: Go Bronx Bombers!!!! Number 27 in 100 years,



Love To All,

Barb

As long as one heart still holds on, then hope is never really gone. ~ The Change ~ GB

[4WiccanLuv]

Guess I'll throw in my two cents, speaking as a hardcore Dodger fan…yes, I realize I should be hiding in shame since they couldn't hit their way out of a wet paper bag this season! How is it possible to have the best pitching staff in the majors and not make the playoffs? For crying out loud, the Detroit Tigers who went 43 -116 still managed a better team batting average and scored more runs! Even with mediocre hitting, I'm positive we would have made the playoffs! Oh well…c'est la vie….there's always next year!



Anyhow, I'm rooting for the Cubs all the way!! I still have a soft spot for Eric Karros, my much missed Dodger! Go Cubbies!

_____________


"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty." - John F. JFK

Edited by: 4WiccanLuv  at: 9/29/03 4:23 pm

[BeatNikJackie7777]

sorry to any giants fans out there, but you cant count my marlins out. They're one of the funnest teams to watch this year, young, enthusiastic and capable of winning in a clutch. The battled hard this season against everyone's expectations to become only the 9th team in MLB history to come back from 10 games behind or more and clinch a playoff spot. They are the epitome of the underdog this year, an erratic bunch you cant count out. I've seen the marlins beat the NL-leading braves, despite being ten games behind them, beat one of the most potent offenses in baseball by a score of 20-1. I'm confident they can give any team a real run for their money. Go fish! (no pun intended )



--Beat



ps: And if I may mention history for a moment, in 1997 the marlins (granted our payroll is slightly lower this time round)....entered the playoffs as the wild card and faced drum roll please....da giants. Will history repeat itself with another giant sweep? As a marlins fan I happen to think that would be awesome and not in possible...just walk bonds the whole game

[seurat]

I'm a Blue Jays fan, so naturally in the American League I want anyone but the Yankees to win. A Red Sox win would be fun, although I sure wouldn't bet on them.



And in the NL, well, pretty much anybody but the Braves. I love Felipe Alou, so it would be ok if the Giants won. But really, who could resist a Cubs/Red Sox World Series?

"Always took candy from strangers/ Didn't wanna get me no trade/ Never want to be like Papa/ Working for the boss every night and day. I need a love to keep me happy, baby won't you keep me happy."-Keith Richards

[Rosenberg]

Gee…it looks like the Tigers aren’t eligible for postseason play, so I guess I can’t root for them. I can’t say that I’m real excited by the teams currently in the hunt, except for the Giants, so GO GIANTS! Poor Felipe Alou paid his dues last year coaching for the Tigers, so he deserves some sort of reward for that. I also have to go along with the “anybody but the Yankees” sentiment as I have loathed the Yankees since I was old enough to throw a baseball at my brother’s head. And, as much as I love Chicago, I can’t stomach the Cub-love that we as viewers would be inundated with if the Cubs were to advance. Even worse… if the Cubs were to play the Red Sox in the World Series it would be a riot of sappy, maudlin features about these teams that haven’t won the ultimate prize since 1908 and 1918. That would get old for me after about 5 minutes and I don’t think I would even bother to watch. Yankees-Braves = bored now.



Why couldn’t it be the Mariners vs. the Cardinals or the Giants vs. the White Sox? Yes, I know the answer to that - because the M’s, Cards and Sox all choked when it came down to demonstrating character when it mattered. I guess Giants-A’s wouldn’t be too bad, as long as there isn’t an earthquake this time around.



By the way, Garner, who might you be rooting for?

[Grimaldi]

i don't really care about the playoffs this year since the Angels won't get a chance to defend their title, but if i had to pick a team that i would like to win it it would be the Giants

I'm not stealing, I'm just taking things without paying for them. In what twisted dictionary is that stealing?
Why do we have to resort to non-violence? Couldn't we just kick their asses instead?

[Gimpgirl]

Ok, so since no one has mentioned my team yet, I guess I better say something. The Twins rock man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I mean sure they sucked at the beginning of the year, but they still kick the people's butts that they needed to in order to get to the playoffs. I just hope they don't choke this year, but since they are playing the Yankees, I just have no clue what to think. Sure, sure they lost their last 2 games against the Tigers, but that's only cause all of their veterans were resting up to try and kick some Bronx Butt. I'm done ranting now, just had to give a shout out to my home state team.....go twins you rock . And I'm done.



Michelle

"just when you think you got me figured out the seasons already changing...."-Meredith Brooks

[tiredsoul]

The Cubbies all the way



The temperature has finally dropped in hell. Damn, I wish I made that bet in Vegas.



Born a Red Sox fan, I have a soft spot for them and hope they make it to the Series, but... a Cubs/Red Sox series would be the ultimate.



--celia

---------------------------------

When innocence is shattered
... madness is inevitable
www.gotlicky.com

[BeatNikJackie7777]

Go Marlins!!!!!!!!!!! And even though he allowed to base hits, you gotta love dontrelle just comin out and straight out pitching to bonds. You could literally see his enthusiasm. and go cubs and twins for beating those annoying yankees and those especially annoying braves

[Garner]

I am just glad I got to see Kerry Wood pitch against Woody Williams earlier this year at Wrigley. Go Cubs! They certainly deserve some winning for a change, and Dusty Baker seems to have worked wonders with them. Still, they certainly ran themselves out of a win tonight and deserved the loss. If they continue to play like that they might as well pack it up.



And much as I agree with Rosenberg about the annoying human interest style warm and fuzzy crap we'd get, I would still love to see Cubs-Red Sox, or maybe even Cubs-Twins. As has been said, anything but the Yankees. I actually don't hate Atlanta and wouldn't mind seeing them back again, it's been a while and they certainly know how to choke with the best of them.



At the very least this has been a great baseball September, some nice close races, and I am looking forward to some good series. No let's go score some runs!



Garner

[amber 4 prez]

Go Detroit Tigers 120 something loses, yeah, umm I am a yankee fan, my dad and brother are yankee fans, my best friend is a yankee fan, but one of the worst things is that one of my brothers is a met fan. not fun. But I do respect all the teams, yeah I know, cheesy.

[Sparky]

GO CUBS GO!!!!



Way to go!! Wood was great!!



Great fifth game!! Chicago is going wild!!

She's my girl, she's my everything.

[BytrSuite]

Woo, go Cubs! I don't watch baseball, mostly, but it's kind of hard to be oblivious when it's all over the news and making WGN show ESPN's feed of a game, hee.





Heh, go Cubs!

________
"Oh, good! I was hoping to add theft, endangerment and insanity to my list of things I did today."
"Ah! You, too?"
(Stitch laughs delightedly)

[Garner]

Woo and Hoo! Cubs Win, Cubs Win! What a great series and especially what a great finish. Kerry Wood was awesome and has been pitching like a maestro. With Wood and Prior the combination of Johnson and Schilling comes to mind. Only we have Zambrano and Clement to back them up and that's not bad either.



Now if we can just put it to Florida, the jinx might finally be truly broken. GO CUBBIES!!



Garner

[willowntaraslovechild]

Ok it seems a lot of people here are big on the Cubs love but I have to say Im so not. Im a die hard South Sider/White Sox fan so I have nothing but hate for the Cubs. I can support any of my hometown teams except the Cubs or the Bears, but thats a different story. And now with the Cubs beating the Braves Im glad Im not in IL to see and hear all of the gushing about this.

[BeatNikJackie7777]

Gotta hand it to the cubbies for beating the braves, but like I said before....cant count my marlins out....Nobody thought they could beat the giants, but beat them they did....Everybody again seems to be counting them out so it'll be interesting to see how this plays out...they have good pitchers...but we do as well....so we shall see...at any rate, if the giants/marlins series is any indication, the games should at least be fun to watch. That series was, i'm sorry but hands down the most exciting thus far in my humble opinion.



--Beat

[jixer]

Hello Kittens-



Given last week and this one so far the high point is the Cubs winning their first series. Boston won as well. Will the 2003 series be the 'Battle of the Curses?"





Jixer

[gspiggott]

Go Cubbies! I'm glad they beat Time -Warner er the Braves and the Cubs will end their curse before the Red Sox do.But Florida's a little tougher than people are expecting.Jixer, I bet this makes you a happy man.

[BeatNikJackie7777]

a little tougher? a lot tougher. Um....can you say, 3 straight homers?

[LiquiDreams618]

See, I'm in a bit of a pickle.....grew up in Chicago, went to college in Atlanta, then moved to Florida. Now, I am back in the Midwest and loving my Cubbies. But, um, yeah.....all I can say is that it is a long time coming for the Cubs to win. I hope they do. Have faith! They have an awesome pitching staff (can we say Kerry Woods rocks!) and then there's Sosa. Corked bat or not, he can still smack um.



MJ

[JJtheCool]

I did the math; both teams combined haven't won a world series in 180 years. OU-WICH!!!!!



Both won tonight though. So the Battle of the Curses is still a possibility.

JJtheCool

---

*Sigh*

[LiquiDreams618]

God! Has it really been 180 years???????? Good grief!!!



MJ

[Garner]

I went into the mental shock when I realized Theodore Roosevelt was president the last time the Cubs won a World Series! Uggh, that's like, ancient history or something, and stuff! I also rooted for the White Sox down the stretch, but when you drop 8 or 11 and get swept by the Twins, well, you can sit down and forget any playoff hopes. Which is too bad as I liked the Sox team.



I also think Florida is a very good and tough team. Their pitching is also young, and maybe that is getting to them a bit right now, but they are hitting well and even Prior was looking a bit sloppy Weds. It should be a great series no matter who wins, though I would love to see Red Sox-Cubs, that way someone would win and end their curse. The Yankees are always trouble in October though. Well, as long as Sosa continues to hit 495 feet monster homers things shouldn't be too bad for the Cubs (not to mention Gonzalez and the displaced "Pirates!")



Garner



Go Cubs!

[jixer]

Hello Kittens-



You know, I can see Willow and Tara at Wrigley or just about any ballpark. Just think of the statistics and the traditions. Tara sketching the scenes and Willow's program filled with notes and equations done with different colored pens. Could you imagine the fan website they could make?



Now of course, which team do they follow?



Jixer

[Rosenberg]

Just in case we need to remember how bad it can be.....here

are 20 major events that have occurred since the Chicago Cubs last laid

claim to a World Series championship:



1. Radio was invented; Cubs fans got to hear their team lose.



2. TV was invented; Cubs fans got to see their team lose.



3. Baseball added 14 teams; Cubs fans get to see and hear

their team lose to more clubs.



4. George Burns celebrated his 10th, 20th, 30th, 40th,

50th, 60th, 70th, 80th, 90th and 100th birthdays.



5. Haley's comet passed Earth twice.



6. Harry Caray was born....and died. Incredible, but true.



7. The NBA, NHL and NFL were formed, and Chicago teams won

championships in each league.



8. Man landed on the moon, as have several home runs given

up by Cubs pitchers.



9. Sixteen U.S. presidents were elected



10. There were 11 amendments added to the Constitution.



11. Prohibition was created and repealed.



12. The Titanic was built, set sail, sank, was discovered

and became the subject of major motion pictures, the latter giving Cubs

fans hope that something that finishes on the bottom can come out on top.



13. Wrigley Field was built and becomes the oldest park in

the National League.



14. Flag poles were erected on Wrigley Field roof to hold

all of the team's future World Series pennants. Those flag poles have since

rusted and been taken down.



15. A combination of 40 Summer and Winter Olympics have been held.



16. Thirteen baseball players have won the Triple Crown;

several thanked Cubs pitchers.



17. Bell-bottoms came in style, went out of style and came

back in.



18.The Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Arizona

Diamondbacks and the Florida Marlins have all won the World Series (not to mention the New York Mets and the Detroit Tigers).



19. The Cubs played 14,153 regular-season games; they lost the

majority of them.



20. Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Oklahoma and New Mexico were

added to the Union.



GO MARLINS!!!!