Wohoo!!!!

Yeah! Red Sox make the playoffs for the first time since '99!!

:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce:
:love:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/gammons/story?id=1624162
http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2003/09/27/martinez_makes_short_work_of_rays/


:D

I watched most of the postgame show on NESN (they don't just get the channel in New England, I guess, since sometimes people call in from other parts of the country to the postgame show...) and yes, it was quite a celebration... maybe a bit much for a wild card win and not a division win. But still... its been 4 years, so I thought it was great... :)

Oh yeah, and how about the postseason? Red Sox - A's, Yankees-Twins, and in the NL the Braves, Giants, Marlins, and probably Cubs... hmm, I don't know. I bet the Yankees will beat Minnesota, though.

Yay?

I saw them lose live at Fenway about a month ago to the Yankees. Whould'a 'tunk that they'd come back so well.

Unless you're a Mariners fan... :)

Go, Rangers!! *realizes the Rangers have NO chance of getting in the playoffs* *cries*

The Rangers stink, can't pitch worth anything, finished last, and were eliminated weeks ago. :)

They might not be able to pitch but they have some of best hitters in the league and their rookies are doing pretty good too. If only they had a young Nolan Ryan right about now!!

Cubs win today!!! The Astros lost earlier in the day and the Cubs swept their double header. They are division champs for the first time since 1989, and in the playoffs for the first time since their wild card birth in '98. I smell a Cubs/Red Sox World Series! :D

Let's go Expos, '04. Gosh, I am so glad t be saying that.

...Please sign again, Guerrero. :(

Yes, with 'pitching' they would be able to compete. However, their payroll is already sky-high and I bet they'll cut it, not spend a lot on pitchers... I predict the saga of the pitching of Arlington (I can see why they weren't called the Arlington Rangers, since everyone would think they are in Virginia... :) ) to continue for some time. :)

(they don't just get the channel (NESN) in New England, I guess, since sometimes people call in from other parts of the country to the postgame show...)

I think Directv has NESN. I think I saw it when I was viewing their channel listing a few days ago. So that's probably how these other people are calling in.

I'm happy for the Cubbies, but the only team I even partially kinda care about that had a chance to make the playoffs was Seattle. :(

But hey, the Chargers will get their sorry butts kicked by the incredibly pathetic Raider tomorrow, completing their early season AFC West "un-sweep"*, and next year the Padres might** be good. And if not, we still have Petco Park! Free dogfood to the first 20,000 fans through the gate!!!

*<small>Term created by me to attempt to describe such an amazing feat. The many thousands of words in the English language just weren't enough.</small>
**<small>Very, very unlikely</small>

Well, at least you can rely on the Padres to return year in and year out.

With the Expos, you're always getting your hopes down because they say they're gonna be gone next year. But they still always come back. But I think after next season it's gonna be it. :(

I'd root for the Cubs to get to the series, but they're playing the Giants in round one and the Giants are my second favorite team... so I have to root for the Giants.

As for the Mariners, they're my favorite AL West team (I hate the A's and don't care about the other two), but if they are in the way of the Red Sox...

Oh yeah, and it probably is sattelite networks that would have NESN... that would make sense. They might have all like 25 Fox Sports Net varieties (since most teams are on either Fox or Fox Sports Net...) too... :)

And YES but we do not talk about that channel. :D

And LL... it would be a sweep! Er, a 'swept'... :)

And finally, it is good to see the Expos have one more season in Montreal... I like that team and its really, really terrible what Major League Baseball has done to them. Awful... though I think they'd best move them and be done with it. No one in Montreal wants the team, its clear... I know most teams use new stadiums as bargaining chips that don't help, but the Expos truly need one. They have such an amazingly bad stadium that they really have no choice...

Of course, if MLB breaks up this Expos team, I'll feel differently, since at that point it won't matter (about moving them to save their remote chances at keeping their .500 club mostly intact)

Originally posted by A Black Falcon
I'd root for the Cubs to get to the series, but they're playing the Giants in round one and the Giants are my second favorite team... so I have to root for the Giants.

The Cubs are playing the Braves in the first round, not the Giants.

Originally posted by Fittisize
Well, at least you can rely on the Padres to return year in and year out.

With the Expos, you're always getting your hopes down because they say they're gonna be gone next year. But they still always come back. But I think after next season it's gonna be it. :(

There's actually a group that has gotten together and is thinking of purchasing the Expos and bringing them to Las Vegas. I know you'd probably want them to stay in Montreal, but that's probably not going to happen. Anyway, the group is headed up by Steve Stone, who is one of the announcers during Cubs broadcasts. He has a brilliant baseball mind so your Spos would be in good shape to have him running things. I'd just be mad that Cubs fans would lose his analysis during games.

Actually, there was a 'save the Expos' site to keep them in Montreal. But they only had about a million or two in contributions to keep them in Montreal. 398 million short.

And like I said, I'd rather the Expos go to Portland like I heard before so I could go see them play. But hey, I really don't mind what town, as long as they are respected. And if they keep the name 'Expos'. :D

So I'd root for the Cubs against the Braves, but not against the Giants...

And I think the Expos should go to Washington DC and become the Capitols, v.3... :)

Well, the fantasy league is over.

Too bad I didn't win, I lost in the finals. Eh, second place ain't too bad.

Yeah, that's a good point about the Pads. At least they will stay in San Diego for a while with their new stadium. No matter how bad the name is. But the Chargers, on the other hand, keep threatening to move to LA. And the NFL really wants a team in LA. I know you are thinking "LA is just 100 miles north of SD, it's not that big of a deal", but this would be like the Red Sox moving to New Jersey. It's just wrong. And yeah, the Chargers started in LA and actually were good there, but they only stayed there a year and won the AFL championship while in SD. Although if a move to LA included changing the uniform to those powder blue jerseys, I might have to reconsider. Just kidding.

The Brewers are the luckiest team in the Majors because despite abysmal attendance and a truly awful team they are competely safe from contraction as long as Bud Selig is commissioner...

Yup. It's so cheap. I don't like Selig at all.

Does anyone?

Oh yeah, and the Giants, Twins, and Cubs all won. :D

Brewer attendance is good when they're playing the Cubs. :) Milwaukee's GM actually called the Cubs GM after the Cubs clinched the division thanks to Milwaukee beating Houston and said the Brewers were doing the Cubs a favor because of the sellouts the Cubs generated at Miller Park. It's so cool how many Cubs fans travel to road games. They estimated that 10,000 Cubs fans were at the Atlanta game yesterday. Chicago to Atlanta flights for Tuesday were empty until the Cubs clinched the division. Then you couldn't buy a seat anywhere.

Anyway, I still can't believe the Twins won. I was hoping the Red Sox would beat the Yankees in the ALCS, but if the Yankees lose in the Division Series that's even better.

There is a Junior league team aslo called the Redsox and they battle in my new town with the Ottawa Lynx.


I remeber I also saw a pro game with the red sox vs the montreal expos.


I hope the Red sox win this year.

Last season when the Red Sox were in Montreal one of the games had the highest attendance in Olympic Stadium that year except for the first game of the season...

Oh yeah, and some teams draw fans wherever they go... the Yankees do, the Red Sox do, the Cubs clearly do, and some others...

Oh, and how about the scores yesterday? 2-0, 4-2, 3-1... low scoring!

And while I'd love to have the Yankees in the ALCS (and beat them this time, unlike 1999... :( ), its better to see them go out early. Better, more humiliating, more chances of Steinbrenner of going nuts and trashing the team and coaching staff... :)

Steinbrenner said before the games started on Tuesday that he was furious that the Yankees weren't being broadcast in primetime. He said the Yankees are a much better draw than any other team in the majors. Well, the first Cubs/Braves game ended up being Fox's highest rated game 1 division series broadcast ever. Take that George.

Red Sox lost last night (yes, I stayed up until 2:45am watching it... :) ), as did the Giants and Cubs... and now today the Sox are losing again... I bet they get swept. Stupid bullpen... when you blow game 1 like that you don't deserve to win...

Yeah, I stayed up to watch the first Sox/As game too. It was a great game, but too bad the Sox lost. They are in serious trouble now being down 0-2. The Yankees and Twins are in a close game right now. Hopefully the Twins pull it out.

I'm not too worried about the Cubs losing game 2. They only needed to win one game in Atlanta really. A second game would've just been a bonus. The Cubs still have Prior and Wood pitching, and Clement has been hot at home this year so he'll be tough to beat. I truly expect Prior to win everytime he goes out on the mound. Cubs fans have so much confidence in him right now and he usually delivers.

Speaking of Prior, did anyone hear the comment made by Cardinals' pitcher Steve Kline? He was reponding to a Prior comment made before the last Cards/Astros series saying he didn't care that the Cubs needed the Astros to lose, he wanted the Astros to "beat their brains in." Kline responded on Tuesday saying that he hopes Prior "takes a liner off his face so we never have to hear from him again." I know the Cubs/Cards rivalry is heated, but that's taking it way too far if you ask me.

They are doomed.

Oh, Twins lost 4-1, gave up 3 runs in the 7th. :(

Hmm... the A's will win but the other three are all tied 1-1. I don't know who will win any of them, really...

Oh, and DMiller... that's surprising. Its generally mostly the fans, not the players, who make the rivalries... the players seem to care a lot less usually... or at least they act that way. :)

Don't give up yet ABF. If the Padres can come back from being down 0-2 in a 5 game series, anybody can!

Originally posted by Laser Link
Don't give up yet ABF. If the Padres can come back from being down 0-2 in a 5 game series, anybody can!

BOO!!!!

True, Oakland did lose in '01 after going up 2-0, and the Red Sox came back from a 0-2 deficit against Cleveland in '99, but still... its a big hole, and with this bullpen I can't trust them to hold any leads...

Does every Red Sox have red socks?

I don't know... probably not...

Giants are down 1-2... that is bad. They've got to do better...

Sorry Derek. I wouldn't have even brought it up but I was trying to encourage ABF. And I didn't even mention the Cubs. Anyway, hooray for Prior who gets the job done!

Hehe. I know you didn't mean to diss the Cubs. I don't even remember '84 because I was only 3 years old. Anyway, hopefully the Cubbies clinch today. Matt Clement has been hot the last month so maybe he can shut down the Braves and we don't have to go back to Atlanta.

Not fair... the Marlins just eliminated the Giants! They shouldn't have been able to do that... :(

I don't think anyone would've picked the Marlins at the beginning of the playoffs. I'm shocked that they pulled it off. I guess the Cubs will be playing the Marlins next round. :D

You're confident... :)

I don't like the Marlins. They shouldn't be beating the Giants...

The Cubs can't beat John Smoltz, just like the Twins couldn't beat Riviera today and yesterday (but they will next game, I'm sure of it...Twins are my second fav. team, and I hate the Yankees). The Braves are just a better team than the Cubs, and I'm sure of it that they will pull through and win the series (this playoff series, that is).

Eck, I STILL think the Mariners should have been in there instead of the Red Sox.

Happily, though, they were several games back. :)

Hmm... Cubs-Braves game 5, in Atlanta. I don't know... either one could win. They split in both cities so far... and as for Twins-Yankees, they really need to win at home. Game 5 in Yankee Stadium will be tough... they needed to sweep at home, I think.

Smoltz is hurting. He blew a save in Game 2, and Sosa was a few feet from hitting the tying homerun off of him in Game 4. The Cubs hit him today in case you didn't notice. They just didn't hit him enough.

With Kerry Wood pitching again the Cubs have a very good chance to pull this one out. Atlanta doesn't really have much of a home field advantage so that won't factor in much.

Myt money is on Kerry Wood. He can be dominating, and I think he will be. I think the Cubs have outplayed the Braves, but they just aren't getting runs when they have guys in scoring position.

I saw Smoltz hurting, DMiller, but he was still throwing better pitches than all the other ones that day. But you noticed how he took every throw pitch by pitch, like a closer is supposed to do.

Fight the pain!!

Yes, but this isn't the same Smoltz that was dominating before he was out for a month. Kenny Lofton struck out on a fastball that didn't move at all. Smoltz didn't have good stuff tonight and I think he was lucky to make it out with a save.

Anyway, it won't matter if Kerry Wood dominates again because the game won't even get to Smoltz. We'll see how Hampton does on 3 days rest, but I just don't see the Braves pulling it out. Of course, I'm biased, but that's what baseball is all about. :)

Ha ha, yeah everyone can be biased when it comes to baseball. Or in any sport, for that matter. Like (non-Gretzky fans) people saying that (and this was before my time and when I was really young) that Gretzky won't perform well in the playoffs because of all the added pressure on him!

BAHAHAHAHAHA:chuckle: (it's not very funny, but biased all the same)

And I'm not biased towards Cubs or Braves, 'cause I don't really either team. I'm just giving what I really think.

But ya never know, anything can happen in pro sports.

YES! Red Sox win! Strange game... the A's made four errors and two major baserunning mistakes, giving the Sox a chance they shouldn't have had... :) But still it took 11 innings. But they did it! Game 4 tomorrow! :) :) :)

I am pretty nervous about Burkett vs Hudson, though...

I'm surprised the Sox bullpen didn't play like little leaguers like they usually do.

Oh well, there's always next game for that.

(That LAST thing I'd want is a Cubs/Sox series, mainly because they both haven't won in like, a hundred years and it should stay that way. :))

Cubs and Red Sox win! Kerry Wood dominated of course giving up only 1 run in 8 innings. I know the Cubs' pitching staff is good, but I'm shocked at how much they dominated the best offense in the NL. They held Atlanta to just over a .200 batting average. Fans were celebrating around Wrigley and in Atlanta after the game. It was great to see all the player interviews. Reliever Mike Remlinger had a beer in one hand and a cigar in the other during his interview.

They are competent some of the time... its just not enough. They don't blow up every game... but they will with unpleasant regularity. :(

Oh, and Cubs-Red Sox would be strange... I don't know what I'd do if we actually won... its kind of hard to imagine...

THe A's got robbed in Game 3 with those interference calls, and the Bronocs lost because of 2 clips the refs missed on Dante Hall's 97 yard punt return. And that was right after Deltha Oneal returned a punt for a Bronco touchdown- but it was called back for holding. And these weren't clips 20 yards away from the play- they both were right at the goal line and enable Hall to reverse direction and go back up the left sideline.

Thus ends my weekly ref/ump rant. I know it can't change anything and it's just part of the game, but it makes me feel better.

And the Chargers are now the only 0-5 team in the NFL!!!

Wow, and there were some horrible calls in the MNF game tonight as well. First a phantom "Running into the punter" that gave Tampa another chance in OT, and then a leaping penalty that gave the Colts a second chance aafter Vandejagt missed the game winning kick. And he almost missed on the second try, but it went in off the post. I've seen them call a guy for pushing off his teamates or jumping over the line on a field goal, but the Buc player went straight up and down.

It's too bad such an amazing game had to be won and lost by the zebras.

And the BoSox won. One step closer to that fabled Cubs-Red Sox series. That would be amazing, but also horrible. One of the teams would have to lose, and the rest of us would NEVER hear the end of the whining. ;)

The Colts were pretty lucky with that final field goal as well. If you looked closely a Buc tipped the ball back towards the goal post. If the ball wasn't touched it would have been way right. There were some horrible calls in that game, but still the Bucs have too good a defense to let that kind of comeback happen. I was shocked.

Anyway, the Cubs/Red Sox series would mean the end of human existence. Armageddon isn't far now my friends so you'd better go to confession.

Red soxs rule!

Whoops wrong thread!

YES!!! I watched the game yesterday on Fox... must they keep doing this to us? One more game like that and everyone in New England will be nervous wrecks... four of the five games in this series have had dramatic stuff happening in the last inning! Four close games, two of them extra innings... I'm thrilled that we won, but they've got to stop doing this! Its really bad on the health... :)

Oh yeah, and the A's weren't robbed by those calls that let the Sox win that extra-innings 3-1 victory. The A's were just really stupid... four errors? Two major baserunning mistakes? :)

I called the Sosa shot, but I was hoping the guy before him would get on base too so they would win and not just tie it up. See what happens when you go to extras? :(

Stupid Marlins...

But since it wasn't the Red Sox I wasn't in the same state as last night... or that whole stupid series... :)

I'm not too worried for two reasons: Prior and Wood. They will be pitching 4 games in this series. :D

True, that should give the Cubs a good chance. Still, blowing game 1 at home is never good...

Cubs and Red Sox win! Not surprisingly Mark Prior dominated the Marlins. Surprinsingly the Cubs had another big offensive game. Sammy Sosa hit one of the longest homeruns I've seen hit at Wrigley. I had never seen a ball hit over the camera well in center field before. Anyway, Kerry Wood is up for Game 3 on Friday. Go Cubs and go Sox!

I can't believe the Cubs. Yesterday they hit their most important homerun in franchise HISTORY and they still manage to lose the game. And today they stomp all over the Marlins by 9 runs. Yeesh. It's gonna be an interesting finish.

Darn Red Sox! They're making me believe again...

Hooray for knuckleballers! I've always had an obsession with knuckeballs, and I can throw a decent one myself. Well decent might be too much. It doesn't spin, which is good, but it doesn't move at all. It just sorta floats there screaming "HIT ME!"

Yeah, that knuckleball you have sounds more like a homerun ball, LL. :)

Yes, his knuckleball was working great tonight... sometimes it doesn't and he gets hit hard, but usually its good. Yesterday it was. :)

Cubs win! Cubs win! Tonight's game was incredible. Even better than Game 1 because this time the Cubs won. Doug Glanville drove in the game-winning run with a triple in the 11th, but he wouldn't have had the chance if Randall Simon hadn't given the Cubs the lead in the 8th. There were so many tough spots in this game that the Cubs squeaked out of, and it ended on a weird play with Luis Castillo getting caught in a rundown. Whew! What a game!

I watched part of the game and yeah... another great game. Close, exciting, extra innings... this really has been an amazing postseason...

Cubs win again in a game that was much more relaxing after yesterday's nail-biter. If the Cubs win tomorrow they'll clinch, but I'm not banking on that especially considering how Carlos Zambrano has pitched recently. If they don't win tomorrow, though, Prior should wrap things up on Tuesday.

Anyway, I also watched most of the Sox/Yankees game before and that was getting pretty ugly. I kind of felt sorry for Zimmer when Pedro slammed him to the ground, but he was kind of asking for it running at Pedro like that. I'm still wondering what happened with that situation in the Yankee's pen. Last I heard it was a Sox groundskeeper who instigated the Yankee players. Too bad the Sox lost, but it was an interesting game.

Zimmer had yelled at Pedro before because of what Pedro did, then in the brawl went straight to him and threw a punch. He deserved it.

And I bet the Yankees win... :(

Though, the Cubs look like they well might make it in. 3-1 is a pretty solid lead... amazing...

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs2003/columns/story?columnist=caple_jim&id=1636859 :D

And even better... http://espn.go.com/page2/s/murphy/031013.html

Stupid lying Yankee bullpen pitchers might get arrested... :)

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs2003/news/story?id=1636928

Quite a game, game 3...

Yeah, that opening line by Jim Caple is great! He's very funny. I didn't see any of the game cause I was out of town this weekend, but it sounds like it was quite entertaining. The good news is that Tim Wakefield was the man again and it's all tied up! Knuckleballers rule!!!

Time Wakefield is really getting it done for the Sox. I got a little worried when Rivera hit that homerun in the 9th, but luckily it didn't lead to a run by the Yankees. I would be sorely disappointed if this series went any less than 7 games because we've seen some great games so far.

Wakefield has pitched great in the ALCS. He's usually either good or bad -- not much in between. He's a knuckleball pitcher, so when its not on he doesn't do well... we've been lucky that he's been on for both games in the ALCS. :) He's been with the Sox for a long time (longest on the team... '95 I think?) and has never been better. :)

Anyone who watched the Cubs game tonight has now seen the Cubs Curse in full affect. The Cubs don't just lose, they lose in the most dramatic, fall-apart-at-the-seams way possible. I can't really blame that fan who tried to catch the foul ball. He was just a tool of the evil billy goat that has haunted Wrigley Field since 1945. I am very worried about tomorrow's game. Kerry Wood has been clutch lately, but Mark Prior had been too until tonight's debacle.

In other news, the Yankees won again. :mad:

No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no

The Yankees won today 'cause they are the best team in Major League Baseball. Not that I like it, but that's just the way it is.

Hah, Moises looked pretty mad when the fan got the ball. :) Yeesh, what I find dumb is that the Chicago FANS were booing Moises, a clutch player and a CUB. Fans like that don't deserve a baseball team.

............j/k. :chuckle:

Yankees will likely win the series. Again. Oh well, it's all up to the Expos next year. Hopefully they have a relatively injury free season (last season, maybe? I dunno, they keep saying they are gonna move).

I don't totally blame that fan. He was just a tool of the billy goat. He's lucky security escorted him out at the end of the game, though.

http://image.inkfrog.com/pix/bigpeeler/Cubs___Priceless.jpg

I have a feeling the fans were booing the other fan who touched the ball, not Alou. I sure was. I know he got caught up in the moment, and there is the goat to be considered, but you gotta know what is happening during that play and understand that your team needs this out more than you need the ball. Of course ithe loss is not totally his fault, and Gonzalez sure didn't help, but even with the Gonzalez error only 2 runs would have scored that inning if Alou had made the catch. Only 1 would have scored on Lee's double, making it 3-2, and the next hit was a sac fly that would have been the 3rd out.

Somebody needs to call the Ghostbusters and get rid of this bitter goat and his owner.

Hahaha. That's hilarious Derek. In a sick and twisted sort of way. And it really is a good thing for him that security escorted him out, because I'm sure enough people saw his face on the big screen that he would be in a lot of trouble if he was alone.

Seeing as there is no big screen at Wrigley I doubt many people knew what he looked like. I'd just be worried about the people around him who saw what happened up close.

Really, Wrigley doesn't have a big screen? I know Wrigley is old and even the lights are still a relatively new thing, but I figured every stadium did by now. My bad.

Hopefully this flash movie (http://www.fanta.dk/showmovie.asp?mid=2F45B6D2-0138-4C0A-B417-9EFA7A4BDD39) will make you laugh and ease the pain. But how do they make these things so quick? And here's another (http://www.fanta.dk/showmovie.asp?mid=9E64C770-12E4-4AE0-B463-443F389730B9).

No big screen? Really? Wow... even Fenway has a big screen! Sure, you can't see it from all the seats, but you can from most of them...

Oh, and the Cubs' curse is somewhat different from the Red Sox. The Sox are cursed to blow it at the last, worst possible, moment... like losing four straight World Series game 7's ('46, '67, '75, '86)... the Cubs are usually just bad. :)

Oh yeah, the Yankees win. It'll be near-impossible to take two straight in Yankee Stadium...

And how about game 6? Andy Pettite vs. John Burkett is a ... interesting ... matchup...

The Cubs curse is different because it doesn't allow the Cubs to even get to the World Series. The Sox are allowed to get there, but they just can't win it. People in Chicago are already referring to yesterday's incident as the Inning. Hopefully we won't have to refer to it like that anymore if the Cubs win today.

Yeah, the Cubs usually don't get this far... I hope they win, though. I really don't want to see Yankees-Marlins...

They had a pretty good Page 2 story about the situation at ESPN's Page 2 (http://espn.go.com/page2/s/caple/031015.html). I suggest you all check it out. Anyway, back to the Red Sox/Yankees game. Former Cub Felix Heredia just walked in the go-ahead run for the Sox.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/graphics/art3/cubfan1.jpg

:D

Steve Bartman, 26
Northbrook, IL

Ha ha ha ha....

:D

Now now, don't do something that an angry soccer fan might do....

Why is that picture funny?

Poor Cubs... they can't catch a break. Blowing a 3-1 lead, losing twice at home with two of the best pitchers in the league... now THAT'S choking. :(

But on the bright side, the Sox won! Yeah! Game 7 tomorrow. Pedro vs Clemens, round two... I can't wait. :D

Why is that picture funny?


Because the guy that the arrow is pointing to single-handedly caused his team to lose game #6 of the playoffs. Well, maybe not, but that's the way people will remember him.

I'd call that a lot more tragic than funny.

All I will say is that that stunk. Really, really badly. Nothing else I'm thinking is something I'd say out loud...

Okay, I can think of one thing that I can say. Fire Grady Little. NOW. That idiot lost us the game, blew our chance to beat the Yankees... he lost the biggest Red Sox game since the '86 series and there is NO WAY he should have his option picked up. Kick him out the door now. Idiot...

http://espn.go.com/page2/s/simmons/031017.html

:bummed: :bummed: :bummed: :bummed: :bummed: :bummed: :bummed: :bummed: :bummed: :bummed: :bummed: :bummed: :bummed: :bummed: :hammer: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :guns: :guns: :guns: :guns: :hammer: :hammer: :hammer: :hammer: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bummed: :bummed: :bummed: :bummed: :bummed: :bummed: :bummed: :bummed: :bummed: :bummed: :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :scream: :scream: :scream: :scream: :scream: :scream: :scream: :scream: :scream: :scream: :scream: :scream: :scream: :scream: :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode: :barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :hammer: :hammer: :hammer: :hammer: :hammer: :hammer: :hammer: :hammer: :scream: :scream: :scream: :scream: :scream: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :cuss: :cuss: :cuss: :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :cuss: :cuss: :mad: :mad: :mad:

...

No, I haven't really calmed down yet. I hate the Yankees SO MUCH!!!

I hope the Marlins win.

I hate them both. Stupid Marlins have stupid Jeffery Loria, the guy who destroyed the Expos... I GUESS I have to root for them, but I hate that team...

The Marlins have Ivan Rodriguez, though, that's why I hope they win. Texas made a very stupid move by getting rid of him.

There's a good article at the Chicago Tribune (http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-0310170448oct17,1,4214995.story?coll=cs-home-headlines) about how kids are taking their first Cubs' disappointment. I know most of you won't sign up for the free username so here is the article:

On the morning after, Garrett Mintz exhaled deeply and spoke about one of the worst things that had ever happened in his 11 years.

"The Marlins didn't win it; we lost it," he said tersely. "It was just too painful ... it got to the point that I just stopped watching."

This week, the Flossmoor boy got a little lesson about life: The best don't always win. There is no such thing as a lock. And when the going gets tough, the tough hit the remote.

All across the metropolitan area, baseball's youngest fans grappled with lessons learned from this improbable Chicago Cubs season. As a group, they are the fans most capable of throwing themselves headlong into a season like this.

Homework assignments will finally get completed and bedtimes will return to normal, but not until a new generation fully processes this latest heartache.

Despite the disappointing outcome, being immersed in a historic run for the pennant "offers the lesson of life," said Dr. Karen Pierce, a child psychiatrist at Children's Memorial Hospital, "that things don't always go your way, and, at the end of the day, you move on. It says, `Enjoy the ride ... but recognize that all rides end.'"

And no one is immune.

"I have an 11-year-old son who had probably his biggest disappointment in life thus far last night," said U.S. Sen. Peter Fitzgerald (R-Ill.), in Washington. "He was crying when he went to bed, and I guess that's what it means to grow up a Cubs fan."

Mike Royko, the late Tribune columnist, once observed: "I always believed that being a Cubs fan built strong character. It taught a person that if you try hard enough and long enough, you'll still lose. And that's the story of life."

Eric Samuels, 12, had been warned of this. His father and others had taken the Wilmette lad aside, explaining the facts of Cubs fan life circa 1969, 1984, 1989 and 1998.

"They told me, `It can be really bad, but you'll get over it.' But it was so much worse ... because of the way it happened," he said.

Blair Fischer of Chicago found herself "spacing out" during math class Thursday. "I kept thinking about ways they could have won," said Blair, 11, who first went to Wrigley Field in utero and was on hand for the season-ending game Wednesday night.

Teachers and parents acknowledged that, at least in junior high hallways, a melancholy air was pervasive Thursday.

But they also say that they expect the blues to be short-lived.

"Sure, it hurts today, but in no time at all, they'll be on to the next thing," said Linda Cosby, a mother of two die-hard fans, ages 12 and 16. "By tomorrow, they'll be talking about, `Who should the Cubs keep? Who should they trade? When does spring training start?'"

Even without a World Series berth, the postseason offers a smorgasbord of teachable moments, from enforcing the concept of good sportsmanship to recovering from an error.

"It really doesn't matter how it ends," Pierce said. She recalled Cubs players making errors, but not letting that get them down.

"[They] just make the next play. You can't believe how unbelievably helpful it is for kids to see that. That's the kind of lesson that lasts longer than just one season," she said.

Garrett Mintz, Eric Samuels and their contemporaries are at a critical juncture of fandom--old enough to appreciate the complexities of the game, but not yet jaded by labor disputes, salary demands and off-the-field exploits of star athletes.

Win or lose, being a pre-teen and surrendering your heart carries implications that will undoubtedly shape them in ways they don't even know.

"When you go through a series like this--with all its highs and lows--you become even more attached to the team, because you've had such an emotional experience with them," said David Gottlieb, a south suburban child psychologist. "You'll think about this particular ball club for years to come."

And even though the long-woebegone Cubs didn't win the pennant, they were still one of only four teams to make it that far in the playoffs--a powerful transformation to kids struggling with self-image.

"We all have ways of conceptualizing ourselves," said Dr. Tom Owley, a child psychiatrist at the University of Chicago. "If the Cubs can shed the `Lovable Losers' label, that can tell kids out there that they can too ... and change the way they think of themselves."

Owley, 49, understands the power of heroes. As a boy growing up in Aurora, he worshiped the 1969 Cubs. "Everything seems very sharp and clear ... because kids have less day-to-day worries," said the doctor, proudly adding that he can still recite lineups and statistics from 34 years ago.

Undoubtedly, Dusty Baker and company will leave that kind of indelible mark on a generation that had supposedly rejected the languid pace of America's pastime in favor of skateboards and computer games.

At the Mintz household, Cubs games were family affairs, with Garrett playing the optimist to his father's role of realist--a role the elder perfected over four decades of misery.

In Game 5, Garrett was unperturbed by Marlins pitcher Josh Beckett's shutout, while his father muttered, "I've invested way too much emotion in this team."

In Game 6, during the infamous 8th-inning meltdown, Dad left the den, going upstairs to watch "Nip/Tuck." It wasn't until the 7th inning of Game 7 that youth yielded to destiny.

"I just left. Why didn't [Cubs pitching coach] Larry Rothschild go out and talk with the pitchers? Why did Dusty leave Wood in so long? I couldn't take it."

But even from defeat, there is wisdom to be plucked.

Perspective is one of the best souvenirs of sports, said Gottlieb. "You still have your friends; you still have your family. Life doesn't always go your way, but it doesn't fall apart, either."

Eric Samuels reinforced that principle:

"I don't want to say `wait til next year,' because I don't feel like that yet," said the 7th grader.

"But, you know, the heart of the team is still there ..."

See, he's learning.

Wohoo!

I don't care for baseball in general, and now I don't have to give a damn about the Series either!

To Boston: WTF.
To Chicago: The way you morons blew that series makes me wonder if Kordell Stewart isn't secretly playing for you guys in between Sundays.

"Sure, it hurts today, but in no time at all, they'll be on to the next thing," said Linda Cosby, a mother of two die-hard fans, ages 12 and 16. "By tomorrow, they'll be talking about, `Who should the Cubs keep? Who should they trade? When does spring training start?'"

That sounds like the typical non-sports fan's response. Especially like a mom. They'll get over it eventually, but when I was younger I'd be sick for a week when my team was eliminated in a big game. And it was even longer before I could think about next year. Adults bounce back a lot quicker (probably because we are so used to it), but I don't think most kids will be all happy the next day.

But that article totally reminded me of growing up and seeing the Pads, Chargers, and Broncos blow it every year. I never celebrated a single championship for one of my favorite teams until the Avs won in 96, and then the Broncos won twice in 98 and 99. Then they gutted the team when Elway retired and cut guys like Steve Atwater who were their leaders, and I haven't liked them much since.

Originally posted by Laser Link
That sounds like the typical non-sports fan's response. Especially like a mom. They'll get over it eventually, but when I was younger I'd be sick for a week when my team was eliminated in a big game. And it was even longer before I could think about next year. Adults bounce back a lot quicker (probably because we are so used to it), but I don't think most kids will be all happy the next day.

Tell me about it. There's a reason I made a Kordell Stewart reference before.

Uhh... that's some football player, I assume?

Oh, and that does sound just like a non-fan. They just don't get it... and that article sounds pretty similar to some I've been seeing in our papers. Those kids will get used to it as time passes, though... though the pain will never go away. Hey, it took me over a day to get over the loss Thursday... I was still pretty mad yesterday evening, as that post up there makes clear. :)

But at least we have just one person to blame, and it isn't a player. Stupid Grady Little! He ruined the season, the game... the most important game the Red Sox have played since game 7 in '86 and he blows it. Unforgivable.

Originally posted by A Black Falcon
Uhh... that's some football player, I assume?

He's the quarterback who in 1997 led the Pittsburgh Steelers to the AFC Central title with an 11-5 record. He brought us all the way to the AFC championship game, playing very well all the way, but in that championship game played horribly despite home field advantage, tossing three interceptions in a loss to the Denver Broncos, who ended up winning the Super Bowl.

He's the quarterback who in 2001 led the Pittsburgh Steelers to the second-best record in the NFL, and the Steelers' second-best record in team history. He brought us all the way to the AFC championship game, playing very well all the way, but in that championship game played horribly despite home field advantage, tossing three interceptions in a loss to the New England Patriots, who ended up winning the Super Bowl.

He stunk in 2002 and we shipped his ass to Chicago, where he is a good reason the Bears suck a fat one right now. He choked in big games, and if not for that the Steelers could very well have won both championships.

It's way too easy to just blame one person...Stewart's obviously paid his dues as a player by leading the Steelers to all they did, and saying it's his fault that they didn't win those two championships is a cop-out. Football is a team game, one person doesn't make it.

I don't really like seeing the Oilers lose the first round of every playoff series since forever (well, it seems like it) to the Dallas Stars. Man that gets old fast. Two years was enough. And the Senators, last season in the Conference Final against the Devils where they came back 3-1 and lost the final game by one goal...that was pretty devestating. But the hurt only lasted like half a day, and it wasn't that bad. Because there is no point in taking these things too seriously because they are only games. But it might be different for me, because I'm usually too wrapped in my own hockey to dwell on the losses of other teams...

Originally posted by Fittisize
It's way too easy to just blame one person...Stewart's obviously paid his dues as a player by leading the Steelers to all they did, and saying it's his fault that they didn't win those two championships is a cop-out. Football is a team game, one person doesn't make it.


Yes, but in football, the QB is the catalyst. Your team usually will play only as good as its quarterback. Besides, it was his own mistakes that lost us those games.

It also bears noting that with the exception of those two years, Kordell at best was average. There was a two-year stretch where he was god-awful, a two-year stretch where we had losing records. Of course, back then we also didn't have any good recievers. Last year we had what was by far the best recieving tandem in the league and he still couldn't do anything. When you have Burress, Ward and Randle-El to throw to, you shouldn't have any trouble winning. If you do, it's the QB's fault, and that's why Steeler fans are getting so fed up with Tommy Maddox. He has the same set of recievers that he did so well with last year, and all three are playing well, but Maddox has been making some really bad throws and as such hasn't had a TD pass in weeks. And considering the recievers, that's inexcusable.

Well, Kordell is one of many reasons why the Bears suck this year. An offensive line that couldn't stop a 5 year-old girl from getting to the quarterback certainly doesn't help Stewart.

Anyway, the Yankees lost 3-2 tonight. It was a great game which I didn't think I was prepared to watch, but I toughed it out.

And what that mom said in the article is partly true. My friends and I are already talking about who the Cubs have under contract for next year, who they should resign, and what free agents they should pick up. However, for little kids this is their first Cubs disappointment. I don't remember '84, but I know '89 was hard for me to take so I imagine a lot of kids are pretty depressed.

Eh...I dunno, do you think that kids care enough about baseball these days to get hung up over a loss? Two or three years ago when I was the age of some of those kids in that article I know that me and friends wouldn't get too worked up over a loss/defeat/elimination of a team.

Ya know, the most dissapointed I've ever felt for a single loss (the 8 too many the Expos had this year was extremely dissapointing) was the gold medal game of the U-19 Women's World Cup in Edmonton, last summer. But I think that is because I was at the gold medal game, and a couple of the ones before it. And if Canada didn't win the gold in Salt Lake City at the Olympics in '02, well, then I can only imagine how depressed the entire of CANADA would have been.

I certainly think that kids are going to be upset for a while. It's bad enough when you lose normally- the Cubs did it spectacularly. It will be ingrained in their heads forever.

He's the quarterback who in 1997 led the Pittsburgh Steelers to the AFC Central title with an 11-5 record. He brought us all the way to the AFC championship game, playing very well all the way, but in that championship game played horribly despite home field advantage, tossing three interceptions in a loss to the Denver Broncos, who ended up winning the Super Bowl.

That was an awesome game too. Well, at least from my perspective. :D And just a couple years before the Steelers choked at home in the AFC Championship against San Diego. So maybe it isn't all Kordell, ya know.

Sorry, there are very few sports moments in which I can gloat, and it just sorta happens that the Steelers were the losers in 2 of my favorite football games ever. Thanks. :D

Originally posted by Fittisize
Eh...I dunno, do you think that kids care enough about baseball these days to get hung up over a loss? Two or three years ago when I was the age of some of those kids in that article I know that me and friends wouldn't get too worked up over a loss/defeat/elimination of a team.


In Chicago we live and die with our sports teams. Even when the teams are bad we support them, but when they are doing well everyone puts their hearts with the team. Kids can't help but give everything they have to their team, and when that team eventually loses a little part of everyone in Chicago dies and we become even more cynical.

That's the big arguement, isn't it...who are harder-core fans, Cubs fans or Red Sox Nation? :)

Charger fans are the most hardcore. And we're gonna celebrate like crazy because we WON! :D I wonder if it was because of Angle Grinder Man's nice powder blue suit.

By the way, we need some Anti-Yankee support going on here. Tack my Anti-Yankee pic or one of your own into your sig and show your unsupport for NY. After tonight, I think they need all the unhelp we can give them. I love making up words. :D

I do not want a NY logo in my sig, even with a slash through it. :)

Originally posted by Laser Link
Charger fans are the most hardcore. And we're gonna celebrate like crazy because we WON! :D I wonder if it was because of Angle Grinder Man's nice powder blue suit.

By the way, we need some Anti-Yankee support going on here. Tack my Anti-Yankee pic or one of your own into your sig and show your unsupport for NY. After tonight, I think they need all the unhelp we can give them. I love making up words. :D

And honestly, you couldn't have picked a better opponent to beat, in my opinion. :)

You are welcome. :) And the Chefs [sic] almost blew it against Oakland. Just what we need, the Raiders thinking they are good again. What happened to the mighty KC offense? Believe me, they weren't shut down by the Raider D (that's impossible), I think they just didn't make the plane trip.

Being on their 3rd string QB, Broncos should seriously talk to Elway. That would be sweet, but he's, um, bulked up a bit since 99. But I think he would be big enough to qualify for a 77 instead of just 7 for his number.

This world series stinks. I mean... I can't root for either side! If there's one person in the baseball world I hate as much as George Steinbrenner its Jeffrey Loria... so I really don't know. I hate the Yankees so much... yet Loria is also a utterly despicable human being...

Marlins win. Its all over. Josh Beckett pitched a complete game 2-0 shutout... wow.

Still, I almost wish that the Yankees had won... because Jefferey Loria is the one person I can think of in Major League Baseball that I hade more than George Steinbrenner. But for the rest of the Marlins team, its good... its nice to see Beckett win. I saw him pitch once in Portland... he did great in that game. :)

And Ugueth Urbina, who the Sox refused to sign... and Chad Fox who they cut early this year. :)

Go, Marlins!! And Ivan Rodriguez!!

Yeah, he did it all... without him they'd have gone NOWHERE in this postseason.

Now... who's the MVP, Ivan Rodriguez (strange first name for a Latin American, I think... :) ) or Josh Beckett?

I agree ABF...the only person I really hate off the Marlins is the owner...other than that I like most of them. Especially Urbina. Ex 'Spo. :)

On the other hand it's a shame that the Yankees with all of their talent couldn't pull off the Series win...not that it is by any means an easy task though. By any means at all. Marlins just had more heart. And more evil. And it's good that the Yankees lost, too...they've won 26 championships, the most for any major sport (excluding soccer...the talent pool is much to large to limit it to only one championship for all the teams) and the Montreal Canadiens have won the second most, 23. I want Montreal to pass the Yankees. :) (But it'll never happen, Montreal didn't even make the playoffs last year...but hey anything can happen right).

It's absolutely wonderful that the Yankees didn't win, even with all their talent. You can't buy a championship, although they continue to try. If only baseball had a real salary cap, the Yankees would just go away for a long time until they built a team through their farm system. And when I say farm system I don't mean the 20 baseball teams that are out of playoff contention by July, which is where the Yankees typically get all their talent.

And the Yankees are the second most evil team in sports. Only the Raiders are more evil, and that's because Al Davis is of the undead. Steinbrenner may have sold his soul, but he is (at last check) still alive. But maybe this kicked him over. :D

Loria is a really awful person. He is personally responsible for destroying the Expos... that's a awful thing and no way in the world does he deserve a championship. Sure, the alternative would have been another Yankees victory... but they win all the time anyway...

I don't know, I'm definitely happy for the Marlins players, who deserve it a thousand times more than the Yankees... but with their owner... NO ONE should be rewarded for doing what he did.

People just won't let Steve Bartman live in peace. Apparantly he is the hot costume this Halloween in Chicago. The website that sells the little league team sweatshirts that he was wearing during the Inning crashed last week, and has had hundreds of orders. They even posted on their site that they would try hard to have orders sent before Halloween. It's a pretty simple costume. All you need is a Cubs hat, the sweatshirt, a pair of headphones, and a mitt. What I think would complement the costume is if someone with you went dressed as Moises Alou.

Heh... sounds good. :)

Sure, sure, it isn't REALLY his fault... but he did it, and they lost, so it is now! That's the way scapegoating works... the person has some responsibility, but not all of it. The question is, hjow much do they actually have...

Yeah! The Sox fired Grady Little! He needed to go... good move. :)

Wow. Chicago is pretty amazing.

Amazing? How? It would have been the same in Boston, only maybe worse, so I can certainly understand it...

Originally posted by Laser Link
Wow. Chicago is pretty amazing.

Amazing as in we are a bunch of crazy win-deprived sports fans who hope for the best every year but fear the worst?

Chicago's like Boston, except with less winning and more acceptance for losing, I think. Maybe the difference is that the Red Sox have had far more frusteratingly close brushes with success?

That, and the character of New England, I think. :)

Jay Mariotti stole my joke about someone going dressed as Moises Alou in his column (http://www.suntimes.com/output/mariotti/cst-spt-jay28.html) today. He does a good job ripping into everybody for the whole situation, though.

So does that mean people in New England are dressing up as Grady Little? :)

Heh, no, I don't think so, nothing that nice... :)

Remember, Boston's sports climate is quite a bit less nice than Chicago's. I think that those articles that say that Bartsman is being blamed because the Chicago fans don't really want to blame their team might well be accurate... let's just say that if that was Boston, there would be no such recitence. :D

As for why we're blaming Little and not the players... well, the players did well! The only real thing that could be complained about was Pedro pitching to those last two guys, and I don't think anyone would blame him for trying...

And besides, you'd need to pretend to have a southern accent to be Grady Little. Not easy in New England...