For some time now, Lance Berkman has been in the category of athletes who genuinely believe they were as good as one of their more buzzed-about teammates. This fraternity of chip-on-shoulder athletes include:
Ron Harper, about Michael Jordan (false)
Morris Peterson, about LeBron James (delusional)
Terrell Owens, about Jerry Rice (not at anything)
Tom Brady, about Drew Bledsoe (absolutely)
Paul Kariya, about Teemu Selanne (DEBATABLE)
Lance is a two-time member of this club, first as an Astro with Jeff Bagwell and currently as a Cardinal with Albert Pujols. Comparing Bagwell and Pujols' numbers with Berkman, it seems insane for him to think he's as good, if not better. What's interesting, though, is that guys in this fraternity don't care about stats and accolades. They just know, deep down inside, they are better than anyone else in their respective sport, and there's nothing you can say to them to convince them feel otherwise. It may sound crazy, but it's also a fantastic way to approach your craft.
On Thursday night, Lance finally got the chance to show the world what he's known all along: Lance Berkman is the greatest baseball player of all time.
Wednesday night marked the first installment of this year’s Fall Classic. The 2011 World Series features a counted-out bunch of pro’s pros squaring off against the league’s most explosive and exciting lineup. Chris Carpenter’s masterful work on the mound led the St. Louis Cardinals to a 3-2 win over the Texas Rangers while capturing the hearts and minds of, well, more people than the ones who watched Criminal Minds.
Cards on the table: The prospect of cheering for a team formerly owned by George W. Bush or a team that beat the team I actually cheer for is too daunting to contemplate. And watching four-hour baseball games full of situational pitching changes and Texas storm outbreaks without a rooting interest is even more depressing. So I came up with a few things worth tracking that might relieve the sting of what could be a kind of dire Fall Classic.
Jamey Newberg of The Newberg Report tells us how the Rangers have pushed to the brink of their second straight World Series and how Nelson Cruz became the new Mr. October. Jon Morosi of FOXSports.com takes us through the Tigers' Game 4 loss, the intentional walk that never should have happened (no, not that one, the other one), and what Justin Verlander needs to do today to keep Detroit's hopes alive.
Grantland's favorite Canadians, Jonah Keri and Chris Jones, return to The Triangle to discuss the Boston Red Sox. More specifically, Keri and Jones discuss the Boston Globe's bombshell story on the club. Over e-mail, they debated anonymous sources, journalism, and Boston baseball. Take it away, Canadians …
Jonah Keri
Mr. Jones,
So it seems we have something shiny and new to debate in the world of sports and sports journalism. Specifically this Globe article by investigative reporter Bob Hohler on the collapse of the 2011 Red Sox. A couple of choice snippets:
"Instead, Boston’s three elite starters went soft, their pitching as anemic as their work ethic. The indifference of Beckett, Lester, and Lackey in a time of crisis can be seen in what team sources say became their habit of drinking beer, eating fast-food fried chicken, and playing video games in the clubhouse during games while their teammates tried to salvage a once-promising season."
And …
“Team sources also expressed concern that Francona's performance may have been affected by his use of pain medication, which he also vehemently denied. Francona said he has taken pain medicine for many years, particularly after multiple knee surgeries. He said he used painkillers after knee surgery last October and used them during the season to relieve the discomfort of doctors draining blood from his knee at least five times.”
You’ll note the mention of "team sources" in that second passage. We’ll get to the post hoc explanation for the Red Sox downfall in a minute. But it’s the sourcing of this story above all else that’s punching me in the face.
Rajai Davis had 34 stolen bases this year. I had no clue.
Josh Tomlin of the Indians had a 1.08 WHIP this year, 11th best in the majors. I had to look that one up.
I have never been a fantasy sports lover and those two statistics are two of the reasons why. I don't want to be in a position where I HAVE to know those things. It's just not for me. My favorite fantasy game is much more simple — a great way to follow baseball without all the heavy lifting. It's called The Langfords. You have never heard of it because only four people know about it.
The hosannas rained down on Jon Daniels. The Texas Rangers already had nearly all the ingredients a winning ballclub could want. A potent lineup filled with power up and down the order. Superb defense. The league's best set of baserunners. A young, deep, talented rotation that barely missed a beat despite the loss of Cliff Lee.
The one trait the Rangers lacked was a dominant bullpen. So when Daniels went into the July trade deadline and snagged Mike Adams and Koji Uehara, then nabbed Mike Gonzalez at the end of August, the baseball world agreed: The Rangers now had no significant weaknesses. Despite their lack of Yankees or Red Sox sheen, they were declared by many as the stealth team to beat in baseball.
Forty-one seconds. That's how long it took the Tigers to make Yankee Stadium's short porch their own, grab a 2-0 lead, take control of a series many didn't expect them to win, and ultimately defend the AL Central's honor after years of playoff failures.
The two players who made it happen embodied the twin pillars of the Tigers brain trust. The no. 2 hitter, Don Kelly, is the type of super-utility guy that Jim Leyland loves. A natural tinkerer, Leyland trotted out five different lineups in the series, with Kelly being the third no. 2 hitter and third third baseman. Asked before the game why he wanted to use Kelly in such a big spot, Leyland said he liked Kelly's pull power, particularly with Yankee Stadium's very inviting right-field wall beckoning. Ivan Nova got ahead of Kelly 0-1, threw him a curveball that broke to the knees. Kelly waited on the pitch, reached down, and whacked it deep into the seats to stake the Tigers to a 1-0 lead.
With playoff baseball officially underway, the time has come for Yankee fans everywhere to accuse their players of choking in the clutch. Let's call it the A-Rod Phenomenon, since he was the poster boy for our ire prior to his breakout performance in 2009. This year, I'd like to be at the vanguard of the movement. With that in mind, here are three Yankees with shady pasts and a lot to prove in the 2011 postseason campaign.
It could end with one of the worst collapses in baseball history. Or a World Series parade. But however the rest of their season plays out, one thing seems achingly clear: the Red Sox are headed for a hell of an offseason.
I mean, there's no way Theo Epstein and company can eyeball a season in which 33 out of 45 ESPN prognosticators picked the Sox to win it all (yup, I was one of 'em), look at the standings, see their nine-game wild card lead whittled to just two in a span of 16 days, and not want to make dramatic changes, right?
Intelligent teams try not to overreact to random hot streaks or cold spells. But the circumstances that have led to a Green Monster-size lump in Boston fans' throats are hardly random.
