Slog - Comments on Post-Season Blues and Choices http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/postseason_blues_and_choices Luckily, I was in Spain out of touch when the Cubs were treated like swine at Swift's packinghouse by Arizona. Upon my return from the land of amazing architecture, great art, cheap beer (even with the ruinous exchange rate, thank you very much George Fucking Bush) and the best ham ever, I faced what is an annual event for most baseball fans, especially fans of the Cubs and Mariners: now that my team is gone, who do I root for? Not paying attention to what Ring Lardner dubbed the World's Serious is not an option. If you don't watch baseball,... Copyright 2008 Sat, 13 Oct 2007 07:07:44 -0800 Sat, 13 Oct 2007 17:36:02 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by Lloyd Clydesdale I've enjoyed all the match-ups in the postseason so far. I like the job that TBN is doing with the series as well.

Both Colorado and Arizona have exciting young teams. I don't care about how their crowds get to the games. What bothers me about complaints that both of the NL teams are boring, that no one knows who any of their players are, and that ratings are going to suck is that ESPFuckingN insists on "Marquee-ness" for the games they televise nationally. It's their and MLB's own damn fault that they don't expose viewers to more of a variety of teams...especially teams like Colorado and Arizona that have played all 162 games in such a manner that they have unduly found themselves in the NLCS.

]]> Lloyd Clydesdale http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/postseason_blues_and_choices#c824799 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/postseason_blues_and_choices#c824799 Sports Sat, 13 Oct 2007 09:53:59 -0800 Comment by N in Seattle Ah yes, the ex-Cub factor...

I'd always heard of it as a comparative issue -- whichever team had more ex-Cubs on the roster would lose -- rather than an absolute count.

In 1998, the playoff team with the most ex-Cubs was the Cubs. Glenallen Hill, Mike Morgan, and Terry Mulholland had all played for the Cubbies, gone somewhere else, and returned to the North Side. The Braves, with Greg Maddux as their only ex-Cub, swept the series.

]]> N in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/postseason_blues_and_choices#c824840 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/postseason_blues_and_choices#c824840 Sports Sat, 13 Oct 2007 10:51:07 -0800 Comment by Mahtli69 @1 - TBS is doing a good job, except they should be broadcasting in HD. It's 2007 for chrissakes!

]]> Mahtli69 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/postseason_blues_and_choices#c824880 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/postseason_blues_and_choices#c824880 Sports Sat, 13 Oct 2007 11:54:20 -0800 Comment by Matt from Denver I'm going out on a limb and will bet that sports fan has never been to Denver. And Colorado has a Dem governor, Dem majorities in both houses in the legislature, and more Dems in Congress than repubs, so blow that "red state" nonsense out your ass. Go Rockies!

]]> Matt from Denver http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/postseason_blues_and_choices#c824903 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/postseason_blues_and_choices#c824903 Sports Sat, 13 Oct 2007 13:00:47 -0800 Comment by Matt from Denver Oops, make that Chicago Fan, not sports fan. Don't want to be accused of disrespect...

]]> Matt from Denver http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/postseason_blues_and_choices#c824904 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/postseason_blues_and_choices#c824904 Sports Sat, 13 Oct 2007 13:01:37 -0800 Comment by Joe M One of the great ex-cub factor moments in World Series history was the 1993 series winning homer by ex-cub Joe Carter off of ex-cub relief pitcher Mitch Williams. Both were ex-cubs, but Williams was a cub longer.

There was also that Bill Buckner moment in 1986 agains the Mets. So consider this corollary: In addition to the pure number of ex-cubs determining a team's fate, it seems that the ex-cubs themselves often play a principal role in helping that team lose.

]]> Joe M http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/postseason_blues_and_choices#c824956 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/postseason_blues_and_choices#c824956 Sports Sat, 13 Oct 2007 16:17:30 -0800 Comment by Ryno I find the fact that there are still Cubs fans about as quaint as the Geneva Conventions.

]]> Ryno http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/postseason_blues_and_choices#c824970 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/postseason_blues_and_choices#c824970 Sports Sat, 13 Oct 2007 17:36:02 -0800