Baseball Will Crush Your Soul With Pain and Agony

If you have followed baseball the past couple seasons, you should know that no lead in the standings is safe.  One team may seam nearly assured of upcoming post season action, and have it slip away in just a few short weeks, or days, even. Let's take a look at some of the recent collapses around the end of the season.

Exhibit A:  The 2007 New York Mets

This is one of the most LOL-worthy collapses in baseball history.  The Mets held a seven-game lead in the NL east on September 12th, and proceeded to lose 12 of their last 17 games and miss the playoffs altogether.  They lost five out of six against the horrible Nationals, and then, just when they had a chance to stave off this unreal collapse, all they had to do was beat the last place Florida Marlins on the last day of the season...and got smoked 6-1. The Phillies won the division, and the Mets went home.





Exhibit B: The 2009 Detroit Tigers

Oof.  Painful, this one was.  The Tigers were atop the Central for the better part of the season, and when it came down to the final weekend of the season, they held a three-game lead on September 30th.  By October 6th, just six days later, their season was Chinese food.  They were cooked cat.  They were delicious, I heard.  But at least out of the disaster that the collapse, we got Game 163, one of the best baseball games of all time.  Ups and downs, drama, extra innings, heroes left and right.  Good times.  And then the Twins got squashed by the Yankees, the eventual champs, but you know, that's not important here.  What's important is that even on the last weekend of the season, anything can and will happen.

Exhibit C: The 2011 Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox

And this one stings the worst of them all.  I can poke fun these other teams failures, but when it happens to my own team, my beloved Braves, it's no goddamn laughing matter, goddamn it.

Yup.  10 1/2 game lead on August 26th.  Still at 8 1/2 on September 6th, yet only went 9-18 in September. The final blow came on a blown save against the Phillies on that historic last day of the regular season.  I remember now why I hate the Phillies.  I tried as hard as I could to block this whole thing from my memory, but now that I'm writing about it, the wounds are still open, even if I've covered them with bandages for the time being.  I barely watched the rest of the post season because I was so jaded.  The Cardinals beat the Astros that day, and won the National League wild card.  The Braves went home.  UUUUGGGHHHH...however the spotlight on the Braves failure was dimmed a bit because it was being shared by another historic collapse.  Red.  Sox.  Nation.

As far as the Red Sox go, that might have been even worse than the Braves, actually.  They blew a nine-game lead over the Rays with 25 left to play.  That's huge.  Huge huge huge.  Also, on that last day of the season, the one I called historic in the above paragraph, the Red Sox were playing the nearly 100-loss team in the Baltimore Orioles, and all they had to do was win, and lost on a walk-off single.  Meanwhile, in Tampa, the Rays were playing the Yankees.  The Yankees took a 7-0 lead into the 8th inning, for cryin' out loud.  The Rays mounted a miraculous comeback of the ages, culminating in Dan Johnson's game-tying one-strike away from season over, home run.  Then Evan Longoria hit a solo shot in the 12th, just minutes after that Baltimore dagger to the heart of Red Sox Nation. The Rays were in and the Sox were out.  Unbelievable.  Hell, I'm mostly writing this as a way for me to remember what happened on that day.  All this stuff in the AL east, coupled with the Braves v.s. Phillies, and the Cardinals needing a win to keep their hopes of the post season alive, it's just incredible that this all happened at once.  And out of all of that, the least dramatic of the dramatic stuff was the Cardinals, and they ended up winning the whole thing...and they barely made the playoffs.  Insanity.

So if this season finishes anything close to what we got last season, we're in for quite a ride.  I can only hope it goes the right way this year, and these Braves don't screw it up this time.  But even if they do, the wounds will eventually heal, and I'll have a great blog post to write, won't I?

The American League is Heating Up Entering September

Now that it's September, I suppose now would be a good enough time to compose post #5 here at the Safety Squeeze.  Because now that the division races (and wild card races) are heating up, the sprint to the finish line is perhaps the most fun you can have as a baseball fan. Today, I'll focus on the American League, even though it bores the shit out of me.

Soon, the temperature will dip, and the colors on the trees will start to change, and baseball will turn from what you do when you're bored and killing time, to serious business about winning championships.  The only drawback to September baseball is the have-nots.  The Blue Jays and Mariners of the world.    These teams suck and I don't want to watch even more players that I've never heard of play, because they got called up with the September roster expansions.

There are a few races that are going to be fun to watch.  Number one for me is the American League central, where the Tigers and White Sox will assuredly be neck and neck until the final day of the season.  The Tigers superior pitching and offensive power should propel them to the post season, but in this crazy world of baseball, nothing is promised.

On a completely unrelated side note, I have mentioned that I love a good underdog, but I can't explain why I just can't stand the Seattle Mariners.  They fit the bill of underdog perfectly, yet I just can't stand looking at them. I know we're talking about playoff teams here, and they are definitely not one of them, but man, I just don't like them.  Sorry, people of Seattle.  Anyway, back to teams that matter...

And how about those Oakland A's, eh?  I thought to myself the other day, "I should really get to know these A's, since they're probably going to be around a while.  Wouldn't it be hilarious if they knocked the Rangers out of the playoffs, at like, the last day of the season?  Like, what a shitty thing it would be to be a Rangers fan.  Just like last years World Series, you think you got this wrapped up, and the baseball gods kick you in the balls.

Also, I want to touch on the Orioles.  I was watching earlier this season as the O's hung around, but I figured it wouldn't last.  At one point, the Yankees looked like they were going to once again run away with the division, but NOPE, here come the O's.  Now that will be fun to watch.

So basically, it looks like this in the AL as of right now (9-2-12)

Yankees - -
Orioles - 3

White Sox - -
Tigers - 1


Rangers - -
Athletics - 3

The AL Wild card is basically the Tigers, Orioles, A's, Angles, and Rays all right in there.  One of these eight teams will represent the American League in the World Series.  If I were to predict right now which team that would be, I'd have to say Detroit.  They have all the pieces and they're getting hot at the right time.  Look out, here they come.  And they won't have any Twins to knock them out in a game 163 either.  Ouch. Sorry, couldn't resist.

So even thought the American League is the boring league, there should be plenty of excitement down the stretch.  It'll be fun to see who does what.  It always is.  

Reactions to Baseball's First Half of the 2012 Season

I really wanted to write an All-Star break post, giving my thoughts on the first half of this baseball season, and as you know, I had four and a half days to get that done...and completely failed.  Well I suppose two days after the break ended is good enough, right?

I want to talk about surprises, both good and bad, from the "first half" of the season.  I know it's not really half, but it's the baseball half, so that's what I mean.

I'm surprised by Baltimore.  They were in first, or very near first for the majority of the season, only to now be looking up, way up, at the Yankees.  They're not alone in looking up, and it looks like the Yankees are sprinting towards the finish line on cruise control at this point.  An 8-game gap between 1st and 2nd is never promising for the team in 2nd.  So while things have gone to a more normal standings in the AL east, it's still surprising to see Baltimore in 2nd.  Baseball needs teams like Baltimore to be good every once in a while.

I'm surprised that the Oakland A's are over .500.  Even though they're in third place in the ultra-competitive AL west, they've played well.  But the Rangers and Angels are just too good.  The A's won't do anything this season, but they've played good enough ball for me to want to watch them every once in a while.

I'm surprised by the Washington Nationals.  Experts would say I shouldn't be, but I've seen this team, whether they'er in Montreal or DC look like a team that can compete, and they simply don't.  This year is different.  They've got youth, defensively and offensively.  They've got pitching.  They've got it all rolling right now.  It's good to see them finally be alright, but I hate that it's at the expense of my Braves, obviously.


I'm surprised by the Mets.  They're supposed to be cellar-dwellers this year, and while they're not exactly tearing up the competition (they're in third in the NL East), they're really, really good.  I don't think anyone saw this coming.  I blame R.A. Dickey for that.  He's the only Met I will ever root for.  (probably)


I'm surprised by Boston.  Even when they don't look like they're going to be very good, they somehow compete.  Not this year.  They're playing to their expectations, even if they have dealt with some injuries.  Just look at Washington, they've been decimated with injuries, and they're still in first.  And this is the freakin' Nationals we're talkin' about here.


I'm surprised by Detroit.  With that roster, they should have 60 wins already.  There is no excuse.  


I'm surprised by the Phillies.  That is not a last place caliber team, but with injuries to very, very key players like Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Roy Halladay,  it's understandable, moreso than in Boston's case.


Let me just say that I think that Bryce Harper of the Nationals is a real douche-bag.  Sorry, that's clown eye-black, bro.   

That's all I really have to say.  Oh, I'm also surprised I actually wrote this piece.  Enjoy a ballgame today, folks.

Brad

Breaking the Records

I think it would be safe to say that 25-year-old Cleveland Indians center fielder Michael Brantley will never be a household name as a baseball player like Joe DiMaggio is. But in as little as 34 games from now, he might just be mentioned in the same breath as the legendary Yankees outfielder for many baseball years to come.

There are many numbers in baseball that we all recognize immediately and know what they mean. 2,141, 715, 755, 762, 61*, 70, 1947, 1908, 4,256, 511, 42 and last but not least, 56

56 is Joe DiMaggio's hit streak number, and Brantley is the player who has come closest to reaching that number this season. You may say "C'mon, Brad, Brantley's current hit streak is only at 22 games, you can't possibly think he'd break that record at this point." Lots of guys get to 22 game streaks, and no one has come close to 56 in a row in many years.

The point I'm trying to make here is not that I think Brantley will break the record, but I want to know how you would feel if he actually did? Wouldn't that kind of be a bummer? Wouldn't that just feel weird? A mediocre player on a mediocre team breaks the long-cherished record of one of the games all-time greats? I mean, i think its completely possible. Just go out and get a hit. It's one of those records that doesn't take an entire, spectacular career to achieve. It just takes being spectacular for two months.

It makes me understand how people felt about Rodger Maris breaking Babe Ruth's record of 60 homers in a season. The Babe was a legend, and to have his record fall to this guy, not even the star player on his own team at the time, I can see where the derision came from.

Will Michael Brantley break the record? I highly doubt it, and if he did, I think we'd all feel kind of weird about it. The last person to seriously challenge the record was Pete Rose, when he it safely in 44 straight. He was the Hit King. If he would have broken it, that would have made sense. So not to knock on Michael Brantley, but...HIM? Say it ain't so.

I suppose if he did break it, that maybe he would become a household name among baseball fans. Maybe he would become huge star? It's hard to say would become of Michael Brantley if he did it. Perhaps in 20 years, it would make sense that he broke the record? Only time will tell.

Matt Cain's Perfect Game

Well whattaya know?  The day I start a blog devoted to baseball, Matt Cain of the Giants throws a perfect game.  Coincidence?  I think not.

I'm actually watching the replay of the game right now on MLB.tv, because I've never watched a no-hitter or perfect game before.  It's just funny watching these early innings, the announcers just sort of talking about the game, talking about the games each team will have into the weekend, not knowing what they are watching, which is history.

Twenty-two.  That's how many perfect games have been thrown in major league baseball history.  20 in the modern era, and the modern era is what matters to me.  To me, everything that happened in baseball history before the year 1900 is irrelevant to me.  Just knowing how much the game was in a state of flux before 1900, to me, makes all the crazy weird stats that happened before then should be noted as such. The fact that it was a time when, at one point, you could run to first no matter which direction the ball was hit, because there was no such thing as a foul ball.  Anyway, that number of perfect games, I think it gets a little lost on people, since there have been a number of perfect games that have been thrown in the past couple years.  Five have been thrown in the past three calendar years.  But when you think of the number of baseball games that have been thrown in the history of the game,  120 years or whatever, just throwing out a number, multiple games played every day for six months, every team playing every day, and just how many chances there have been to have a perfect game.  To think that this is only the 22nd time that it has happened is just incredible.

The reason I think this gets lost on some people, I've witnessed it.  I remember when Armando Galarraga was one out away from having his Perfecto, and it was taken away on a bad call, one of my facebook friends took to facebook to say that it wasn't a big deal that he didn't get his perfect game.  It was a big deal, and Matt Cain's perfect game is a big deal, too.

Matt Cain, to me, has always been one of my favorite pitchers in the game.  I like probably like Lincecum better, because of his awesome delivery motion, but Cain has always impressed me with his control and his command of his pitches.  When I read this morning when I woke up that Matt Cain had pitched a perfect game, I was surprised to see someone had thrown another one, I wasn't too shocked that it was him. I mean, not as surprised to wake up to find out Phillip Freaking Humber had thrown one. The sad thing about watching this game is that it's the 3rd inning, and it's 7-0, and the bases are loaded.  I'm sure there were a lot of fans that didn't bother to watch the rest of the game because they figured it's a blowout, and they don't need to watch.  Also, people like me would be scrolling through the active games on MLB.tv and saw it was a blowout and didn't even bother to turn it on in the first place.  So I wonder how many people missed this and are kicking themselves this morning?  I think we all need a no-hitter alert system.  Anyone know of a good one?  This has to exist, right?

Anyway, I'm going to continue to watch the game, and enjoy it more and more as it gets to the later innings, because I know what happens.  Also, thankfully, this game is being called by Duane Kuiper and Jon Miller, who is probably my favorite baseball broadcaster of all time (no offense to Vin Scully and Ernie Harwell and their fans.  I just really like Jon Miller, okay?)

(As I'm watching this game, I just watched Jordan Schaffer hit a ball down the first base line that was called foul, and it was really, really close.  As it happened, the play was called as "huh, close play."  But knowing how this game ends, I'm like "WOW THAT WAS CLOSE HOLY CRAP.")

Introduction to Safety Squeeze

Well, here it is, a new blog, from the dude that brought you www.bloggerated.com.  Yes, I've wanted to create a blog dedicated to sports for a while, but I was sort of in the camp of, "there's already a million different blogs about sports, why should I even bother jumping in to that?" but now, I've given in, after thinking about it far too much.

Now, if this gets updated as much as Bloggerated gets updated, this will be pretty useless.  I've tried to build something over there, and quite frankly, it's not working.  I'll keep doing it because I enjoy the attention it brings, but here is where I can write about what I really love, and that's baseball.

What you'll find on this site is nothing but baseball talk.  I don't have interest in being funny, or being to witty. I guess if that happens, it happens, but mostly, I just want to put my thoughts about the goings on past and present in this wonderful game that I love so much.

Baseball, for me, was my first sports love.  I've fallen in and out of love with the game over the years, with other sports and activities taking my attention away from it, but it always comes back.  Recently, I had one of those moments where i fell out of love with the game.  It happened at the end of the 2011 season.  It should be noted that I am a pretty huge Braves fan, but I don't want that to deter any Mets fans or Phillies fans from reading this blog.  I tend see things as they really are, but I can also be a pretty big homer sometimes.

With all that said, I mentioned above that I had fallen out of love with the game of baseball for a while there.  Acutally, I can say that most of the 2011 season, I was less than enthusiasic about baseball.  I was in serious hockey mode, then serious football mode, as my beloved 49ers got pretty good last year.  Living in Nashville, we have a hockey team here, the Predators, that I my number one love as far as sports teams go. At the end of last season, my Braves lost on the last day of the season and were knocked out of the playoffs.  This burned me so hard, I barely watched any of the post season.  I didn't care.  My baseball soul was crushed.

This season started and I barely noticed.  The NHL playoffs were getting started and that was all I cared about.  But once the Preds were eliminated, and I hate to say that was the catalyst to me finding the game of baseball again, but it's true, I started watching the wonderful Ken Burns baseball documentary.

Watching that, it reminded me just why I love the game.  Ball players, playing ball.  It gets no better than that.

So I stared watching a lot of baseball, borderline obsession, just like it was 2005 again.  That's when I watched the most baseball.  And I'm back, as a huge fan once again.

So I have all these thoughts about baseball rattling around my head, why don't I have a place to write them down, eh?  So here it is, the Safety Squeeze,  I care not about stories like "the Barves" or other meme-type stories around baseball.  I care about Stephen Strasburg.  I care about Martin Prado.  I care about the Red Sox in last place, the latest into the season they've been in last in the East since 1997.

I'm not a good writer.  I'm not a huge wealth of stats, though I am sort of a stat head.  I'm not a fantasy baseball guy, so I don't care about fantasy baseball.  I just care about baseball, as a game.  Here is where I'll write about things in baseball I think about.