Hot Damn! What a Way to End It.
September 28th, 2011 by slangon
Turns out this last day of the season is so chock full of craziness, I almost don’t care that Mets are going out on a sour note and will end up with a losing record for the third year in a row.
In case you missed it, one of the guys on this card went 3 for 6 last night to shimmy his average up to .3358209, which is rounded up to .336.
Meanwhile, one of the guys on this card went 1 for 2 to put his average at .33452594, which will be rounded up to .335.
Just a hair over 1/1000th of a point is separating those two heading into the final game of the season. Do you think Topps has 2 versions of the 2012 N.L. Batting Leaders card ready to go just in case?
Aside from all that drama, there’s also the suddenly (or at least it seems to me to be sudden. I could swear 2 weeks ago it seemed the Wild Cards were locked up) exciting Wild Card races in both leagues. Again, in case you missed it, heading into the final game of the season, the Tampa Bay Rays have surged their way into a tie for the Wild Card with the Red Sox. Two weeks ago, Boston held a semi-comfortable 4 game lead over the Rays.
I feel oddly compelled to pick someone to root for in this race, but I find it hard to choose. I kind of sort of like both teams. I have a very good friend who is a die-hard Sox fan and over the years our mutual hatred for the Yankees has put a little soft spot in my heart for Boston. I also like a couple of the guys on that team, such as Big Papi, Adrian Gonzalez and Dustin Pedroia. Plus I very much enjoy the city of Boston.
On the other hand, some of my wifes family lives down in Florida, so I always root for the Rays, if for no other reason than to be polite to my in-laws. Much like Boston, there’s a handful of guys on the team that I like, such as Longoria, Price and Shields. Plus I suddenly find myself rooting for Johnny Damon ever since Kevin from Mojo Beardy pointed out that he just tied Lou Gehrig on the all-time hits list.
Oh, what to do, what to do? Even though Boston is not playing the type of baseball that makes me think they’ll make any sort of run in the postseason, I’m going to go with them just for the simple fact that the possibility of watching the Yankees get erased from the playoffs by the Red Sox is just too good to pass up. Sorry, Tampa Bay.
While the Red Sox were busy pissing away their 4 game lead, the Atlanta Braves were equally busy pissing away a 4.5 game lead over the Cardinals and are now tied with them heading into the final game.
As with the Boston/Tampa Bay race, I’m having trouble trying to pick someone to root for in this one. Unlike the BOston/Tampa Bay race though, it’s not because I kind of like both teams. This time it’s because I kind of hate both teams. Well, maybe hate is a strong word. That’s more reserved for the Phillies. Maybe “reallllly dislike” is a more apt phrase. Either way, I can’t really decide who I want to win the N.L. Wild Card just because, as a Mets fan, I have really bad memories of both teams.
I guess best case scenario in my mind is that either both teams lose today or both teams win today so they’re forced to play a one game playoff, then that one game play off is tied and goes 37 innings. Then, come Friday when the playoffs start, whichever team ended up winning is so exhausted, they bite it in the first round and get eliminated. The only exception to that would be if the Cardinals actually end up winning I hope they knock the Phillies out in the first round. I guess that means I’m rooting for the Cardinals. But then if the Cardinals do knock the Phillies out, I would root for the Cardinals to get knocked out in the second round, so maybe that means I don’t really care as long as someone beats the Phillies.
So there you go. To recap, I hope Jose Reyes gets a boat load of hits today in what could be his last game as a Met. I hope Ryan Braun takes an 0-fer. I sort of kind of hope the Red Sox win and the Rays lose. And I really don’t give a damn who wins the National League Wild Card.
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