[net-gold] Sport and Society 9/30/11 Baseball's Night (fwd)
- From: "David P. Dillard" <jwne@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Net-Gold -- Educator Gold <Educator-Gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Educator Gold <Educator-Gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, net-gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, Net-Gold <Net-Gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, NetGold <netgold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Net-Gold <net-gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, K-12ADMINLIFE <K12ADMIN@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, K12AdminLIFE <K12AdminLIFE@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, MediaMentor <mediamentor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Digital Divide Diversity MLS <mls-digitaldivide@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, NetGold <netgold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Net-Platinum <net-platinum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Sean Grigsby <myarchives1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Net-Gold <NetGold_general@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Temple Gold Discussion Group <TEMPLE-GOLD@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Temple University Net-Gold Archive <net-gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Health Lists -- Health Diet Fitness Recreation Sports Tourism <healthrecsport@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Health Diet Fitness Recreation Sports <healthrecsport@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, HEALTH-RECREATION-SPORTS-TOURISM@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 30 Sep 2011 00:03:15 -0400 (EDT)
.
.
Date: Thu, 29 Sep 2011 18:17:46 -0400
From: richard crepeau <crepeau1@xxxxxxx>
Subject: Sport and Society 9/30/11 Baseball's Night
.
SPORT AND SOCIETY FOR ARETE
.
September 29, 2011
.
It was approximately 12:45 a.m. in London when Mark Teixeira’s bases
loaded blast reached the seats in The Can, and the Yankees added four runs
to the one they were gifted in the first inning. It was 5-0. David Price
had very little, and I turned off my computer and went to bed. At the time
the Braves were 1-1 with Philadelphia, the Red Sox and O’s were scoreless
and that seemed not to matter at that point. The Cardinals and Astros had
not yet begun.
.
When I woke in the morning the baseball earth had shifted significantly.
The baseball gods had been extremely busy overnight. The Tampa Bay Rays
were in the playoffs, the St. Louis Cardinals were in the playoffs, and
both the Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox were heading home after
recording two colossal collapses of the record breaking, mind numbing,
variety. It was a night of nightmares for one current and one former
Boston team.
.
Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees made the understated observation of the
night, and one that ranks as a truism for baseball fans. Commenting on
what had taken place in just a matter of minutes he said, “That’s what
makes baseball the greatest game.”
.
It is also what makes improbable heroes and unforgettable goats. It can
create stars and destroy careers.
.
For those who asked at the beginning of the season, “Will Carl Crawford
find happiness in Boston?” We may now have the answer. Carl Crawford is
likely to take his place as the new Bill Buckner for this generation of
Red Sox whiners. And if he does it will be unfair because this was a total
team effort.
.
A baseball team that gives up a nine game lead in less than a month can
only do so with a total team effort. You have to have a breakdown in
nearly every facet of the game: Starting pitching, bullpen (especially the
closer), hitting, fielding, base running, managerial decisions, and of
course key injuries. The latter of these is generally the least
significant in a true collapse. In fact if there are a multitude of
injuries down the stretch, then it is not really a collapse at all.
.
This of course marks one difference between the Atlanta Braves and the
Boston Red Sox in this “September to Remember.” The Braves lost two key
members of their starting rotation and starting rookies down the stretch
is not generally a formula for winning baseball. Still it was the lack of
hitting that killed the Braves as much as anything.
.
The other thing that makes the collapse of Boston more stunning than that
of the Braves is that it was a collapse of the Boston Red Sox. If it
happens to the Yankees or the Red Sox it is by definition a bigger event
and rivets a nation. Indeed in their self-importance Red Sox fans have
come to refer to “Red Sox Nation.” Can we now lay that one to rest?
Please!
.
The world of baseball is bigger than Ken Burns myopic vision.
.
But I digress.
.
When I turned on my computer and saw what had happened, I was amazed, but
not shocked. When I went to bed I thought the Rays were done, but I have
watched this game long enough to know that anything can happen, and that
as the great Earl Weaver once said, “You can’t run out the clock in
baseball.”
But consider this. The Rays were down 7-0 after seven innings and had only
two hits. The fans that remained in The Can were on a death watch,
diehards who felt a need to suffer with their team. For their faithfulness
they were rewarded with a six-run eighth inning, a home run in the bottom
of the ninth by a guy with the lowest batting average in the majors. Dan
Johnson couldn’t carry Mario Mendoza’s jock strap. But he hit one out to
tie the game. So the fans were treated to extra innings and Evan Longoria
ended the night in grand fashion with his second home run of the night,
this one a walk off in the 12th inning.
.
Five minutes earlier in Baltimore the Red Sox watched as their petulant
closer caved after two outs in the bottom of the 9th and no one on base.
The topper came when Carl Crawford entered Sox Lore with his lame and
futile attempt to put a sinking liner in his glove and the Red Sox in the
playoffs.
.
In the New York Times today the statistics guy, Nate Silver, was busy
pointing out that on September 3 with a nine game lead over the Rays, the
Red Sox had a 99.6% chance of winning the wild card over the Rays. With
two out in the 9th inning last night the Sox had a 95.3% chance of
winning.
.
There was also a zero percent chance of rain in The Can last night. It
didn’t rain in The Can, it did in Baltimore, and after the rain delay the
Red Sox overcame the odds and lost in fine fashion. And don’t forget the
base running, as Marco Scutaro hesitated on the base paths to watch Carl
Crawford’s hit, and the hesitation some would argue, got him thrown out at
the plate. He who hesitates is. . . generally thrown out.
.
Silver also noted that at their low point at the end of the 7th inning the
Rays had a 0.3% chance of winning. If like all these numbers and
probabilities head to the today’s Times.
.
Meanwhile the Braves took extra innings to lose to Philadelphia as they
were swept, while the Cardinals waltzed to an 8-0 win over Houston. Cards
in, Braves out.
.
After the games on Tuesday I saw some video from ESPN on the net. In one
of these sound bites one of their baseball experts looking forward past
Wednesday, boldly predicted there would be two more games on Thursday. I
knew then that there wouldn’t be any games on Thursday, because that’s
baseball.
.
On this kind of night I am always brought back to the immortal words of
Joaquin Andujar who once said: “In baseball there is only one word, you
never know.”
.
On Sport and Society this is Dick Crepeau reminding you that you don’t
have to be a good sport to be a bad loser.
.
Copyright 2011 by Richard C. Crepeau
.
..
Other related posts:
- » [net-gold] Sport and Society 9/30/11 Baseball's Night (fwd) - David P. Dillard
