Wednesday: Baseball overdelivers again
I FLIPPED ON ESPN RADIO DRIVING MY SON TO THE BUS STOP TODAY. They were talking about Jay Cutler. If they were talking about how great this Jay Cutler site is, I might have given them a pass, because that Jay Cutler site truly is great. But they weren’t. They were asking one of their analysts “where Jay Cutler is in his career.”
COME ON, MAN!!!!!
The finish of the baseball season, once again, is unbelievable. Today’s the last day of the regular season, and here’s what we’re looking at:
-The A’s and Rangers play in Oakland at 3:30 p.m. with the AL West title on the line. MLB Network will broadcast. This is not David vs. Goliath. This is David’s crippled little brother against Goliath with +20 chain mail (see, I’m not just a baseball geek; I’m a well-rounded geek). Loser faces the very real prospect of a cross-country flight to face Baltimore in Friday’s one-game free-for-all. However…
-Baltimore has work to do to avoid going on the road for that Friday game. The O’s ensure themselves no worse than a Friday home game with a win over the Rays tonight (7 p.m., MASN).
-The Yankees can wrap up the AL East with a loss by the O’s or a win over the visiting Red Sox (7 p.m. ESPN). Spirited rally by New York last night, getting a two-run shot from Raul Ibanez in the ninth inning to force extras, then a walk-off hit from Ibanez in the 12th.
-If the Yankees lose and O’s win, they’ll play a one-game playoff for the AL East crown in Baltimore tomorrow. My dad’s already purchased 10 tickets; we’re anticipating a refund, but you never know.
-Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers adds two hits and two RBI to help his Triple Crown cause. Cabrera leads the American League in average (.331), home runs (44) and RBI (139), putting him on the brink of becoming the first Triple Crown winner since Boston’s Carl Yastrzemski in 1967. Manager Jim Leyland is debating whether to play him or sit him today. Knowing Leyland, I think Cabrera plays. If he does, ESPN will provide live look-ins of Cabrera’s at-bats during Detroit’s 8:10 p.m. game at Kansas City.
-St. Louis claimed the final NL playoff spot when the Dodgers lost last night.
-If you want to see a fan base show a ton of appreciation to a team, tune into MASN at 1 p.m. when the Nats host the Phillies. Berman has a feature today on Nats exec Roy Clark, a Martinsville High School grad and former longtime Braves front office member.
HOKIES ‘N’ CAVS
-Here’s my column today on Tech and UVa moving closer to clarity on their most vital offensive positions.
-Andy has more on the Tech defense, with special focus on the secondary.
-Doughty examines UVa’s struggles in the turnover battle.
NAME THAT TUNE
I remember the night my dad stopped the car
And got out in the rain
Changed a blown-out tire on a car
For a family with out-of-state plates
I said, “Dad did we know those folks”
As they waved and drove out of sight
He just smiled as he started the car
And said, “Son, not ’til tonight”…
October 3, 2012 - 8:20 AM
AMc, or anyone well versed in today’s baseball climate – why is there ANY question about Miguel Cabrera winning MVP? Is this all just typical sports media ginning up interest in a story that’s already been decided? Or is this WAR stat really THAT overwhelmingly omnipresent now? If the latter is the case – why?
I see that Bass Pro SHops will shortly announce a sponsorship deal with Tony Stewart. That seems like a natural fit. Jamie McMurray always seemed too metrosexual to resonate with the Bass Pro clientele.
Stewart, with his perpetual three day growth beard, and his well documented affinity for huntin’ & fishin’, seems like a natural long term fit. I guess the only question is how ‘primary’ will BPS be on the #14?
Trout has the speed (league-high 49 steals) and defense elements going for him in addition to his high finishes in the triple crown categories (.324-30-83) and a league-high 129 runs. Plus, he’s 20. I think Cabrera will win it because the Tigers are in the postseason and the Angels are out, but if it were the other way around, so would be the voting.
No clue on the song, but I’m guessing country…of which I really don’t care for.
Miggy has said he wants to play, and play at third base…so I’m thinking he does, regardless of what Leyland may want.
This has been a fantastic baseball season. Going back to when the season began, who would have predicted the following: The O’s and A’s both would not only make the playoffs, but have a shot to win their division titles going into the last game of the season? That the Red Sox would completely and utterly implode and essentially give up, finishing with 90+ losses? That the Nationals would not only have a winning season, but have a chance to finish with the best record in baseball? That a team so seemingly stacked as the Angels would scuffle along until the call-up of rookie Mike Trout, who will in all likelihood be Rookie of the Year, and quite possibly MVP, and that his arrival coincided with the Angels becoming a contender? That a team loaded with pitching like the Phillies would never pose any meaningful threat for the post season? I sure didn’t!
I do feel pretty good in that I believe, if I’m remembering right, that I got 3 of 5 teams from the AL and 4 of 5 from the NL right. I picked NY, Detroit, and Texas to win their divisions (all possible), but incorrectly picked Boston and LA for the Wild Cards…I truly didn’t see the O’s or A’s coming…not that many people really did.
In the NL, I picked the Giants for their division, but I had the Braves and Cards winning theirs…just missed. But I did have the Reds also getting in. My NL bust was the Rockies, who were simply and absolutely abysmal at pitching, kind of like my AL bust with the Red Sox.
David Lee Murphy, The Road You Leave Behind
Go O’s!!!!
I like that deal for Tony he is one of the few drivers left I feel I can relate to. Most of the rest are just as cookie cutter as the majority of the tracks! Looking ahead to the weekend looks like there will be several interesting college football games. Baseball has been flat out awesome this year. Great stories all through the year what a season!
Bud Foster should be fined and reprimanded for his unacceptable language and behavior in the media meltdown the other day. What a role model for kids coming to VT. But as usual, Beamer will sweep it all under the rug.
The free world and I will be rooting for the damn Yanks to lose tonight.
The Yanks are the Lindsay Lohan of baseball. Folks can’t seem to get enough of them.
AM can you give us the breakdown or a link to one that tells us what the scenario’s are for Cabrera to win/lose the triple crown?
83 RBI’s is a high number? Seriously? Why is there so much weight put on WAR? Trout is .324/30 HR/83 RBI/129 runs compared to Cabrera’s .331/44 HR/139 RBI/109 runs. The numbers alone seem to set apart Cabrera, but when you add in that he is going to win the TRIPLE CROWN for the first time in 45 years, it seems to be a no-brainer.
Very strange. It seems to me that WAR must be the geek-boy fantasy game stat for everyone now. Is that the case? Is the fantasy ball aspect of it what is driving this?
Well my Cardinals snuck in again. We are now positioned to defend our WS championship. Ain’t life great. OJ, didn’t have time to acknowledge your post on VDOT yesterday, golf and picking up new car. Tough life. The thing that amazes me is how arrogant VDOT’s management is in dealing with the public here. Like we should even question any suggestions. That we don’t have the intelligence to understand. We have 6 colleges in a 40 mile radius, the Armies transportation command at Ft. Eustis(handles all transportation items for the Army), NASA and several transportation consulting firms, etc.. Yet VDOT seems to think they are the only people that can understand the complexities of traffic mgmt.. The icing on the cake was last week when they made the decision to totally close down one side of the JR Bridge for repairs. Local interests recommended going 2 way traffic on one side and repairing the other. VDOT spokes person said that was unsafe, but evidently forgot about all the bridge repair across the state where going from 4 to 2 lanes is being done. She eventually changed her mind. Oh well, I guess it’s our cross to bear. Glad to hear your not part of the problem.
CR — The defense is not close. The steals/havoc wreaked on the bases are not close. That’s where Trout closes the gap significantly. Not many 30-40 guys walking around (never mind 30-50 if he steals one tonight). But I agree with you, M-Cab should win it. After all, not many triple crown winners walking around either.
Jay Cutler seems to have that honey badger don’t care attitude. Seems like he would be a hard guy for the rest of the team to like. As long as they are winning it will be ok but if they lose a couple in a row I could see them imploding.
Tom L, as long as it’s not a replay of the 2006 Series with your Cards snuffing out my Tigers…
But yeah, part of the upper level arrogance was why I left. And the perpetual problems in Hampton Roads are part of why when I moved away for college, I never came back. I miss going to Tides and Admirals games, but aside from family I have no real desire to even visit and deal with the traffic. As to that bridge safety concern…my commuting route has one of those situations, and it’s been that way since 2002 when VDOT closed the bridge due to structural damage (cutting a 4-lane highway to 2-lanes). It’s only now being rebuilt, slated to open in 2014…12 years after it was closed. Magnificent.
I probably should have stayed in the area though. Way back when I was 8 years old, I wrote a LTE ripping VDOT for congestion on I-64 between Virginia Beach and I-564 to Norfolk Naval, saying VDOT should have been on top of the problem by already adding lanes (late 80′s). They finally caught up. A big part of why I think that region still hasn’t landed a pro team, aside from the never-ending bickering between the localities, the lack of Fortune 500 HQ’s, and that a substantial portion of the populace is either directly or indirectly employed because of the military…is that the highway network is so largely insufficient and poorly managed, so that it’s difficult to get into, around, and out of the region on a regular, recurring basis (via any mode, for that matter).
Aaron I agree with your column about Holmes. I tweeted that he was on fire and they should keep handing him the ball. It looks like Holmes and Coleman are starting to assert their roles in the backfield. Scales should be used for short yard and goal line package, like the play he scored a touchdown, but negated by a bogus holding call.
This Saturday is going to be the real season. Technically their season began against Georgia Tech, but this Saturday, they are on their ACC slate, and it’s time for them to step it up. Big boys pant weekend.
Cabrera has had a historic season and definitely more than worthy to be one of the frontrunners for the MVP but it not right to discount Trout’s stats because they don’t line up across the board to Cabrera’s. Trout is by far more of a complete player than Cabrera with the defense and baserunning skills to complement. Not to forget the fact the additional HRs,SBs,RBIs,XBHs that Trout would have racked up to his season total had he not missed the beginning of the season. It is also important to remember the Most “Valuable” Player aspect of the award. There have been past seasons with players who put up “monster” stats to be beat out by a player who contributed much more to his team and their success (i.e. Miguel Tejada over A.Rod in 2002, J. Mauer, D. Pedroia, the Steve Nash back to back seasons, even D.Rose and L.James over 3-time consecutive scoring leader K.Durant). Since Trout joined the club, the Angels have posted the best record in baseball at 82-57 (just 5 fewer wins than the Tigers have now. This is a reason why WAR has become such a prominent tool in evaluating talent in MLB. Just saying, not quite an open and shut case as some people might think.
Announcement from the ACC, the biggest being that they’re sticking with an eight-game football sked rather than the nine-game sked they’d planned. Here you go:
ACC Announces Future Scheduling Formats and Policies
Needham, Mass. (theACC.com) – Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner John Swofford announced today future scheduling formats and conference policies as approved by the ACC’s Faculty Athletic Representatives and Athletics Directors. The announcement was made following the annual ACC Fall Business Meetings.
“The addition of Notre Dame gives us an opportunity to reinforce a number of conference rivalries in basketball and Olympic sports while also giving our schools greater flexibility in nonconference football scheduling,” said ACC Commissioner John Swofford. “With Pitt, Syracuse and Notre Dame joining us, it is an exciting time in our league and our schools have made decisions that position us extremely well for the future.”
A breakdown of the action items are listed below:
Football
With the addition of Notre Dame playing five games annually against ACC teams, the league has determined it will play an eight-game conference schedule for 2013 and beyond. Divisions, primary crossover partners and rotating opponents from the opposite division will remain consistent to what was previously announced.
Men’s and Women’s Basketball
The ACC will continue to play an 18-game conference schedule with the addition of Notre Dame. The scheduling model will be based on a two-partner format.
Each year, teams will play every league opponent at least once with the two partners playing home and away annually. In addition to the four annual games against partners, the remaining 14 conference games will feature home and away games with two rotating opponents and five home-only games and five road-only games.
The two-primary-partner format preserves competitive balance and builds upon traditional rivalries while providing the opportunity to create new ones.
Boston College – Notre Dame and Syracuse
Clemson – Florida State and Georgia Tech
Duke – North Carolina and Wake Forest
Florida State – Clemson and Miami
Georgia Tech – Clemson and Notre Dame
Maryland – Pitt and Virginia
Miami – Florida State and Virginia Tech
North Carolina – Duke and NC State
NC State – North Carolina and Wake Forest
Notre Dame – Boston College and Georgia Tech
Pitt – Maryland and Syracuse
Syracuse – Boston College and Pitt
Virginia – Maryland and Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech – Miami and Virginia
Wake Forest – Duke and NC State
Following the regular season, the ACC Tournament format will continue to feature all league members. The Tournament will begin with three games on Wednesday, followed by four games on Thursday and Friday, two semifinals on Saturday and the championship game on Sunday. The top four seeds will continue to receive byes into Friday’s quarterfinal round.
In the annual ACC/B1G Challenge, the decision was made to include the 12 teams with the best RPI from the previous year.
Baseball
Beginning with the 2014 season, the ACC Baseball Championship will feature 10 teams in a six-day event. A double-elimination format will be used Tuesday through Friday followed by two single-elimination games on Saturday and the Championship Game on Sunday.
Conference Policy and Procedures
The decision was made that should a member institution be ineligible for postseason competition due to NCAA sanctions, it will be ineligible for regular season or divisional recognition.
I think VT will come out with lots of aggression and desire on Saturday against UNC but I don’t think they have the players to sustain it. If UNC stacks the box against them and plays with determination of their own, it could be a blowout by the Tar Heels. If Logan Thomas is pressed very much, you can look for 3 or 4 interceptions. The Tar Heels can play defense when they need to. Not sure what Foster will do when his defense gets shredded again; sooner or later he is going to have to confront the players instead of covering for them. This will be one of the most interesting Saturdays for the Hokies in a long time.
Tech UNC a toss-up. They have problems with consistency as well. Elon, Wake Forest, Louisville, East Carolina and Idaho is a lamer O of C schedule than Tech and WF was a loss. Toss-up. OJ I know the bridge of which you speak. We have a hunt camp in the area and have crossed it many times. Glad they finally decided to finish it. I like the way they protect their boat from theft.
Dustin J, that’s why, even as a major Detroit fan, I’m thinking Trout has a decent case for MVP. While I’d love to see the MVP award stay in the D, I recognize that it’s a very open race, with both players having a lot going for them, and a few going against them, that will make the decision between the two a tough one to make for the voters.
That said, looking at the games shortly after Trout arrived, the Angels were 7-7 in his first 14 games played. He had very pedestrian numbers to that point: .283 average, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 2 SB, 8 Runs. Then, May 15, things really started to change…that was when Albert Pujols broke out of his funk and got his batting average over .200 with a 3-hit game, part of what would be a streak of 19 games where he hit in 17 of them, raising his average almost 50 points, hitting 7 HR, and driving in 16 RBI. In that streak where Pujols woke up, the Angels went 12-7, with 11-5 from May 15 through May 30.
The Angels were 6-14 when Trout arrived, and starting May 15, they were 15-21. They’ve been 74-51 with Pujols actually living up to his potential. How much is Mike Trout’s arrival responsible for that? Impossible to say. He definitely has provided stability at the leadoff position…Aybar was woefully ineffective in that spot, and Izturis was an attempt to improve it that didn’t work. Trout, after a couple weeks with the club, finally got his batting average over .300, where it would stay for the basically the rest of the season, and it coincided with Pujols power surge. Was one responsible for the other? Or was it merely a happy coincidence that both started producing regularly around the same time.
Miggy, combined with Prince Fielder, have been the lone two consistent, offensive producers for the Tigers…no one else was batting above .298, with more than 18 HR, or more than 74 RBI aside from those two. They’ve endured a rash of injuries and some hideous production from the rest of the lineup (witness the Tigers keeping Ryan Raburn on the roster for 66 games amassing a batting average of .171, Don Kelly for 74 games with an average of .189, and Ramon Santiago for 92 games batting .207), and I think it’s safe to say that if he were not on the team, they would have finished mid-pack or worse in the Central. The support around Miggy, outside of Fielder, has been largely absent…while Trout got the benefit of Pujols breaking out of a month+ slump to start the season, and getting consistent production from Morales, Hunter, and Trumbo throughout the season as well.
So, now that I think about it, I’d have to go with Cabrera for MVP after looking at the peripheral conditions each played in…Detroit was far less favorable for success offensively than LA, and Cabrera not only produced, but is a game away from a Triple Crown, when he played much of the season with a roster that the Toledo Mudhens wouldn’t have kept at their level for as long as Detroit did.
Ted Williams won the Triple Crown in 1947 and 1942 without taking MVP honors, so if the voters go with Trout, it’s not just a WAR phenomenon.
Whether the AL MVP is Cabrera or Trout, I don’t think there is a wrong answer. If he wins the Triple Crown, I’d go with Miggy. Whoever was complaining about Trout’s RBI’s, 83 is a lot for a lead off man.
I usually don’t respond to trolls, but Barry, the majority of this blog probably thinks you are a much worse role model than Bud.
I think the Hokies wind a close one Saturday.
Not really caring too much about any of the football games from the Virginia teams this weekend. Just too much other good stuff going on with WVU vs Texs and Florida vs LSU I think there is at least one other matchup with top 10 teams this weekend. Like to see the in state guys do well but they are both too mediocre to watch them and pass up a good game.
Other John- I agree that it is a very open race with many strong arguments to be made for both sides. Definitely won’t complain if either wins.
The one great thing about this year…between the extra wild card, so many teams in the hunt until the last moment, compelling debate over MVP and to maybe a lesser extent the Cy Young, baseball has really stayed pretty exciting and important in the early fall, when football typically dominates. Granted, it still does, but I’ve heard more baseball talk this year than in a while.
And Tom, yeah I always laugh seeing that boat hoisted some 50+ feet in the air…they did it with a generator too…
AMc, it’s been well documented that the AL MVP voting in the 1940′s was extremely biased because of the enmity between Ted Williams and the baseball media, most especially those in both NYC & his team’s residence of Boston. It was not quite like Steve Carlton & the media, because Teddy Ballgame would give them an earful and dare them to print it, ala Bud Foster. there were several writers who feared for their safety, and chose not to interview the Splendid Splinter.
Review the voting & the stats, and see if something doesn’t look fishy.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_1942.shtml
http://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_1947.shtml
Tom L #19—the difference in this game will be the home field factor. I know in the past Tech has done well on the road in the ACC. VT is a different team now and home field will play a much bigger part in the outcome of this game. The pressure is much more on the Hokies and they will probably render a multiplicity of mistakes. UNC 23 – VT 10
Oh, I know CR. Folks cast their votes for a variety of reasons, personal vendettas among them. Just saying that triple crown isn’t auto-MVP, nor should it be IMO.
OMG Josh Hamilton just dropped an easy flyball and let the A’s take the lead. They had been down 5-1 and now lead 7-5. Not sure what is up with Hamilton but he has played horribly in the field since returning from his energy drink eye problem. Unreal.
Funny you should mention Ted Williams in your comment above. I was thinking about his qest for .400 and the fact that he was right on the number going in to the last game of the season. There was discussion about whether he should sit and guarantee a .400 season.
Ted’s response: “Nobody hits for Williams”. Of course he had a multi-hit game.
Cabrera and Lyland should both remember this spirit of baseball.
Actually, Ted Williams had a batting average going into the last day of .3996, which would have been listed as .400, due to rounding. The BoSox had a double header that day, and Williams insisted on playing. He went 4 for 5 the first game and raised his average to .404, but insisted on also playing the second game of the double header also. He went 2 for 3 in the second game and ended up at .406.
Ted Williams never backed down. He got his .406 the man’s way.
I keep reading on Twitter (I think Buster Olney) that polling the players gets Csbrera, and polling GMs gets Trout. Even those in the game can’t reach agreement.
It’s 8 pm, and the O’s look like they are in trouble–Yanks have a lead, and the Red Sox are playing like the bus is already running outside the clubhouse. Rangers vs O’s on Friday, one and done? AMc, you heading to the game?
11.The plan backfired this year for the Hokies because they couldn’t even beat the cupcakes. They might not beat cupcakes Duke, BC or UVA. All of this has worked in the past when they would schedule 6 or 7 cupcakes but Tech doesn’t have the team to overcome it this year. These other ACC teams on Tech’s schedule have their sights set on the Hokies and it could get really ugly for the Hokie Nation. Foster and the Beamers will be ready with their excuses once again. “Well, I am proud of those guys, they really played hard; maybe next week we canput 4 quarters together and get this thing done. I knew at the beginning of the season that we were close and I think we are just about there. If it hadn’t been for those 6 or 7 plays today, we would have won this game…”
You have to admit; Smokin’ Jay is knock down funny!