Baseball Journal 10-11-12: That's More Like It and some NASCAR

Raul Freaking Ibanez! Here I was happy about the Phillies not being in the playoffs, and an ex-Philly is the man of the hour for a team I hate more. Other teams win championships; the Yankees purchase them. Err. Except when the most expensive professional athlete in North American history is benched for a guy probably making close to the minimum, and said guy is the hero, twice over.

You can attribute this to a lefty batter taking advantage of a stadium with the dimensions of a Little League park in right field. But, credit where credit is due. The Orioles had not lost in extra innings all year. Ibanez had two tremendous clutch hits on a big stage (one to tie, two to win it). Girardi made a truly gutsy/fortunate call in pinch-hitting for A-Wad. And lastly, a golf clap for the quarter-billion dollar, steroid-cheating A-Rod for being a good teammate and not pouting.

One ESPN radio host this morning came out as a Yankee fan (they only really come out during the playoffs). The next host up was a big Oriole fan. (No point in naming names. They're all just mouthpieces for the ESPN agenda.) Interesting dichotomy in emotional reactions. Both were in awe of events.

Bah.

I didn't see that game. Nor did I see the Giants pull out the clutch, elimination-saving game. Zito, unfortunately went back to being Zito. Timmy, however went back to being Timmy, but out of the bullpen. I suspect he'll be getting his slot back if the Giants go on to the next series. I also didn't see the Cardinals take batting practice on the Nationals. Hey, Nats! Missing Strassburg yet? I'm sure I'll be the only person who'll be asking you that question in the off-season.

I did see the bottom of the ninth in Oakland. Valverde's perfection last year has been shattered this season. Perhaps he needs to take more time in-between pitches. Add more motions to his OCD pre-pitch routine. (Closers = Headcases.) In spite of the 3 to 1 score, you could almost sense what was coming. The Tigers have under-performed all season (if the White Sox had even played .500 ball down the stretch, they would have been in the playoffs). The A's have been out-of-their-minds, clutch all season (especially capping the Rangers last week). But really, it was the legion of the dead there at the Oakland County Mausoleum (or whatever they're calling it now) that simply willed a win out of their team.

I'm a freaking Tiger fan and even I was rooting A's there at the end! In a post game interview, Jim Leyland sounded like a fan of the Oakland team. If they can beat the Verlander (who's no doubt planning on pitching 9 innings) tonight, change the team's name to Destiny.

Short, out-of-place NASCAR note. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is sitting out the next two Chase races because of a concussion suffered at the Big One at Talledega last weekend.  When Senior was killed at Daytona, NASCAR changed the car to the current COT. NASCAR is coming out with a new car next year with a different aero-package with some more mechanical grip. Regardless, look for some sort of severe rules changes at the restrictor plate races next year as well. There's that fine line between racing and spectacle, and when the fan-favorite is knocked out of the championship by the spectacle, look for changes.

[Edit: Apparently the majority of the brain damage was done during a race in August.  Junior decided he didn't want to get checked out by a doctor after the hit for fear of having to sit out races.  The crash at Talledega just exacerbated that injury.  This will is definitely going to lead a rules change about drivers involved in wrecks, and I'd have to think Junior should get fined or docked points for this.  But if other fans are as careless as I was about this story, they're still going to blame Talledega.  Again, look for rules changes at restrictor tracks.]