carewser

It’ll have to be radio for me. Thankfully, Cory P does a great job. I will miss watching on TV but I’m not going back to cable, and younger people certainly aren’t.

Over the past five years, Eddie’s been the left fielder for well over 300 games at Target Field. And until today, he didn’t know the ballpark’s left field ground rules?

Bombo Rivera played three seasons for the Twins in the late 70s. Not a great player, but everybody definitely loved the name.

As others have said, mere home field advantage in a best of three series is insufficient reward for division winners. Maybe division winners should only be subjected to a best of 3 series in the first round if they lose Game #1. In other words, in the opening round’s best of 3 series, maybe all division winners should be given the opportunity to knock out their opponent in one game. So in order for the lower seed to eliminate the division winner, one of the lower seed’s two wins would have to be Game #1. If the lower seed lost Game #1, then the “series” would end, and the division winner would advance.

Annually we see teams winning their divisions by slim margins after having played 162 games. That’s the nature of baseball: It often takes well over 150 games to truly determine who’s best. So the entire notion of playoffs in baseball runs contrary to the sport’s nature. I’ll watch the playoffs, no matter what their format, and be entertained. But debating which playoff format is purer overlooks the fact that really, in an ideal world, baseball might not have any playoffs at all.

I like their TV people, and I enjoy the variety, although Bert could work a bit harder at keeping up with today’s game of baseball. Last year, during a broadcast, he asked Bremer what OPS was. Come on Bert, do a little homework. But my least favorite announcer is Mr. Gladden on the radio- only because they let him do play by play. I like him as an analyst, but the man’s command of the English language is nowhere near sufficient to enable him to successfully describe live action to a radio audience. He’s awful at that. Cory Provus is outstanding, but if he needs a three inning break, then I’d vote for a new female play by play person- it’s about time- and keep Gladden in the sidekick chair.

No reasons to fret if the goal is to win the division. Plenty of reasons to fret if the goal is to be a serious contender in the playoffs.