kaufman@uiucdcs.CS.UIUC.EDU (10/17/85)
[Show Me the way to go home ...] Now that both LCS's have come to an end, we can comment on what we have seen over the past 8 days. Here are one observer's views: If you had asked me Monday, I would have said that the playoffs involved the four most evenly-matched teams to have shared center stage since the inception of the LCS in 1969, each club featuring a couple of top-notch starters, and that any permutation would result in a long World Series. But tonight, I'm not too sure. The Cards are riding an awesome surge of momentum. Granted, Kansas City won their last three games, but they plodded to victory, unlike St. Louis who took their last three in dramatic fashion. The Cardinals will be able to have their staff in well-rested order, and will undoubtably have Tudor ready for the opener. The Royals' rotation is a shambles, and if Saberhagen starts game 2, it will be on three days rest. I was also impressed with St. Louis' defense. Of course the Wizard requires no mention, but the outfielders were superb in cutting off the alleys. While Royals Stadium is especially prone to having inside-the-park homers, any that are hit will probably come off the bats of Cardinal rabbits. In short, I like the Cards in 5 or 6. I was surprised at Whitey Herzog's decision to start Andujar in game 6. At the time, I hadn't heard about the soreness in Cox's arm. Still, he perhaps thought that showing confidence in Andujar might aid his performance in the Series. We shall see. On the other hand, my 20-20 hindsight says that Lasorda should have had Jack Clark walked, if nothing else, because he is an ex-Giant, and the Giants have a history of giving the Dodgers fits in such situations. Where will Al Oliver be next year? It doesn't seem too likely that he and Toronto will want each other next year. Maybe he'll wind up in KC, just so Quisenberry won't have to face him. Is Oliver at first - Balboni in right such an unreasonable thought? Has anyone heard of the movie: The Creeping Terror? Do you think that's what got Vince Coleman? :-) Does anybody else feel that NBC may have lost a couple points of integrity by assigning Vin Scully to the Dodger series and Tony Kubek to the Blue Jay series? Sure they're pretty impartial, but still ... Well, in Game 7, the Toronto fans showed they could play in the same league as Yankee fans. Was it 10 cent Labatts night? :-) Nowadays, the only way to have halfway docile fans might be to have a Reds-Royals World Series every year. Finally a poll: Did Lloyd Moseby catch the ball? I even found the replays inconclusive. Send replies to: Ken Kaufman (uiucdcs!kaufman)
gates@bdmrrr.UUCP (Al Gates) (10/22/85)
> Where will Al Oliver be next year? It doesn't seem too likely that he and > Toronto will want each other next year. Maybe he'll wind up in KC, just so > Quisenberry won't have to face him. Is Oliver at first - Balboni in right > such an unreasonable thought? Balboni in right field? He can barely play first base? Can you see that guy running down fly balls in Kansas City? I think I'd rather have Dave Kingman there! > Does anybody else feel that NBC may have lost a couple points of integrity > by assigning Vin Scully to the Dodger series and Tony Kubek to the Blue Jay > series? Sure they're pretty impartial, but still ... No I don't. I think they gained points. I was more interested in the ALCS than the NLCS and Tony Kubek is one of my favorite broadcasters. I really dislike Vin Scully as a broadcaster. I was happy that I could watch the ALCS with Tony Kubek and Bob Costas. They make a good team. As far as being impartial, I was rooting for the Jays, so any partial comments would not have offended me. > Well, in Game 7, the Toronto fans showed they could play in the same league > as Yankee fans. Was it 10 cent Labatts night? Boy you're not kidding! That place was a zoo! It was worse than a hockey game! > Finally a poll: Did Lloyd Moseby catch the ball? I even found the replays > inconclusive. I don't think he did. I think it skipped into his glove at the last possible second. It was so close a call that I would say that no matter which way the umpire's called it, they were right. -- Al Gates BDM Corporation ^ ^ ^ ^ {seismo,rlgvax}!bdmrrr!gates 7915 Jones Branch Drive McLean, Virginia 22102
credmond@watmath.UUCP (Chris Redmond) (10/24/85)
> >I don't think he did. I think it skipped into his glove at the last possible >second. It was so close a call that I would say that no matter which way the >umpire's called it, they were right. > That's exactly the point, and one reason baseball is such a beautiful, old-fashioned, human game: you can trust authority to be honest, and it's human, not mechanical, authority! If machines are ever used to judge catches, balls-and-strikes, or out-and-safe, we'll lose much of the game's appeal. Somebody wrote an article a few years ago about recent presidents of the United States, saying that the last president one can imagine as an umpire was Harry Truman. He (the author) suggested that as a pretty good symbol of what's been wrong with society over the past thirty years, and I think he may have had a point.