My latest I-70 Baseball post is up. I talk a bit about Jeff Suppan. Full disclosure: Suppan went to a rival Catholic high school of mine (Crespi, in Encino CA). Their team nickname is Celts, but we referred to them as Critters. I can honestly say Suppan is one of the few Critters I like. I should really grow up, shouldn’t I?
Day 1 of the playoffs is in the books. Roy Halladay no-hit the Reds, Cliff Lee reminded us how good a pitcher he really is, and the Minnesota Twins found another way to lose to the Yankees. Atlanta/San Francisco kick off tonight, following must-win games for both Tampa Bay and Minnesota. Curious that Philadelphia was the only home team to win yesterday.
The annual United Cardinal Blogger round-table discussions got underway Tuesday. I encourage you to patronize the member blogs and read the discussions. So far we’ve considered trading Chris Carpenter, and rebuilding/going for a World Series title over the next 6 years. Good stuff. Links to each post can be found on the UCB website. I’m scheduled to post on 25 October.
Back to Halladay. Doc is the fifth man to throw two no-hitters in the same season, the first to do it since Nolan Ryan in 1973. He’s the second man ever to throw a no-hitter in the post-season, the only other being Don Larson’s famous perfect game in the 1956 World Series. Near as I can tell, he is the only man to throw a perfect game and a no-hitter in the same season. If I was a Phillies fan, I would be worried they just had their high-water mark for this post-season. Not so much about the Reds – I think Philadelphia’s pitching is much, much better than Cincinnati’s – but about the Giants, who can match up with Philly across the board and, should they advance to the NLCS, will be a daunting foe.
Finally I’m looking for a rooting interest in the playoffs. The Cardinals are out, the Padres just missed, and Boston (my wife’s team) really didn’t have a shot given all their injuries. I guess I could go with the Phillies for historical reasons, but I’m taking suggestions. Leave yours in the comments.
Stan Musial's Stance 