It barely seems like yesterday that we were all counting down the days until the season started. Now we’ve only got a week left, but what a week in prospect! There’s still so much to play for along with the shear joy of watching a ballgame, which should never be taken for granted.
Who’s joining the Red Sox? – Boston became the first team to clinch their post-season spot last night following their victory over the Devil Rays and the Tigers’ loss. The Media are stressing over whether the Red Sox will head into October as the AL East winners or as the AL wild card, but I doubt the team itself will care one bit. Recent history has showed that how you get to the play-offs makes virtually no difference; you just need to get there and then anything can happen. Boston are set to rest several key players over the final week and while the Yankees may take pleasure from stealing the AL East crown, it makes no sense for them to put too much energy into it as they virtually have the wild card sewn up anyway. The real battles are taking place in the Senior circuit, where no division winner is certain and several teams will either see all their efforts rewarded, or counting for nothing.
Rockies are rolling – One of those National League teams treading a fine line between agony and ecstasy are the Colorado Rockies. They faced the Dodgers in a crucial four-game series this week and promptly swept their wild card rivals. The Rockies have now won seven in a row and have battled their way to within 2.5 games of the wild card despite suffering a number of injuries to key players such as Cook, Hirsh and Willy Taveras who is out for the rest of the season. Whether they can keep this remarkable surge going may depend on Matt Holliday. The left fielder has put his name into the NL MVP running with another excellent season, hitting eleven homers in his last thirteen games while boosting his RBI total to an NL-leading 131. However, Holliday was held out of yesterday’s game against the Padres with an oblique strain and if a couple of days’ rest doesn’t cure the problem then the Rockies are likely to just fall short. We shall find out soon enough.
Thome joins the club – One of the great things about MLB is that even the teams out of contention can provide memorable moments. We entered the season with five players in with a chance of reaching 500 career home runs over the course of the year. Frank Thomas crossed the mark at the end of June and A-Rod did it in August, while it became clear after the All Star break that Manny Ramirez and Gary Sheffield would have to wait until 2008. So, the spotlight fell on Jim Thome. Last Sunday, Thome came to the plate against the Angels in the bottom of the ninth on 499 career home runs. It was Jim Thome bobblehead day at the Cell, the White Sox had pulled to within a run having trailed 7-1 and Darin Erstad was standing on first base. You know how the story ends. Thome reached 500 by launching a walk-off homer, prompting scenes of unbridled joy for a group (players and fans combined) who have had little to celebrate in 2007.
Mollina’s night – Yadier Molina followed Thome’s lead on Wednesday. It was Molina night in St Louis, with Cards fans clutching their little Yadier bobbleheads. Having failed to complete the game on Tuesday due to illness, there was some doubt as to whether Molina would even take the field on his big night. He wasn’t going to let a touch of sickness ruin things though and when he walked to the plate in the tenth inning, score tied at 1-1 with a man on second, the script had already been written. Molina laced a single to bring in the walk-off winning run.
Maybe next year? – Elsewhere in the National League Central, teams are already putting their plans in place for next year. As mentioned a couple of weeks ago, the Pirates recently appointed a new CEO in Frank Coonelly and his first task of finding a replacement for Dave Littlefield looks set to be completed in the next few days. The rumours are that Neal Huntington, currently part of the Indians’ Front Office, will be appointed as the Pirates’ new GM early this week. Meanwhile, the Astros announced the appointment of Ed Wade as their new GM on Thursday and the team immediately tried their best to impress him by smashing the Cardinals for eighteen runs. Rookie J.R. Towles batted in eight of those runs, setting a new Astros record in the process. The NL Central is an interesting division as, while it’s very competitive, the level of that competition is relatively low compared to some other divisions. So there are opportunities for both the Astros and the Pirates to change their fortunes in the same way that the Cubs have done this season. Admittedly it helps when you spend over $200 million in the off-season!
Cubs for sale – The Cubs themselves will be undergoing a major change during the off-season as the Tribune Company puts the team up for sale. Various potential investment groups are currently jockeying for position with the figure of $1 billion being touted in a deal that will also include a 25 per cent stake in a sports network. The most interesting part of this potential sale is the impact that a World Series win might have. Would the Cubs’ value actually decrease if they finally shake their “loveable losers†tag?
Parting is such sweet sorrow – Barry Bonds and the Giants announced on Friday that they will be parting company after fifteen years. The split should benefit both parties. The Giants’ “win now with Barry†project has not worked and a new direction is needed. Their four division rivals have all blossomed through developing young talent, while the Giants have discarded high draft picks for over-the-hill free agents. It may take a couple of years for San Francisco to turn things around and that’s why it makes sense to cut Bonds loose. He still carries a valuable bat and he will no doubt get a lucrative one-year deal, but it makes little sense for the Giants to make that investment when it won’t bring team success. If Bonds’ motivation to return in 2008 is to win a World Series, then he has to find a team who can win it all next year. Just in case you were expecting a quiet off-season: think again!
How much are Barry’s balls worth? – Just under a million dollars apparently ($939,217 to be exact). Yes, Barry’s historic balls went under the hammer last week and one was understandably more valuable than the other. While the home run number 755 ball went for $186,750 to a guy called Ben Padnos, Marc Ecko paid $752,467 for the record-breaking 756 ball and promptly handed its destiny over to the world. YOU can cast your vote to either send the ball to Cooperstown as it is, send it to Cooperstown with an asterisk on it, or simply have it blown to pieces (voting ends next Tuesday). Bonds has branded Ecko an “idiotâ€, but then again I’m sure Ecko’s businesses have never received so much attention and publicity. Padnos has been a bit more blatant about his business plan: 1) buy the ball, 2) set up a website where people can vote on the ball’s future, 3) sit back while media outlets throughout the world publicise your website, 4) start counting all the money you’re making from the businesses paying to advertise on the site.
I voted on Ecko’s website to send the ball to Cooperstown untouched. There may be plenty of controversy around Bonds, but every individual has the right to make up their own mind and I wouldn’t want to deny someone the chance to see the ball in Cooperstown if they want to. Let’s be honest though: it’s going to be marmalized!
