Five seasons. Two Hall of Fame interviews. One World Series victory (well, for Jeff at least).
And now, 1,597 posts.
Red State Blue State was born out of the fiery email exchanges between Messieurs Krause and Lung during the 2006 World Series -- a World Series that saw Jeff's Redbirds trounce Allen's Tigers (although until his dying breath Mr. Krause will blame the pitching fielding errors over an inept offense for Detroit's shortcoming -- one that would not be their last, obviously).
Over the last five years, we have enjoyed all of the benefits of writing a hit MLBlog. Jeff got to interview Ken Griffey, Sr., Dave Winfield and his boyhood idol, Ozzie Smith. He also went to the 2009 All Star Game and reported on that experience. Hell, last year he even went to the Where the White Women At?
One of the big stories of this year's presidential election has been the Republican party's admitted focus on getting the votes of white people. They've more or less given up on the hispanic and black vote so it's white or nothing at this point.
And the strategy has been successful, at least as far as white men are concerned. The Romney campaign is absolutely destroying Obama among white men. However, among white women it's not going quite so well.
Maybe that means that in the last day of the campaign Obama should make a new pitch to white voters. Here's one possible strategy:
Let's call it a political sacrifice fly. You never know what it might bring home.
-A... The Filibuster
What fool GM do you think is going to overpay for Josh Hamilton?
Jonestein
Fort Worth, TX
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"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex. It takes a touch of genius, and a lot of courage, to move in the opposite direction."
Albert Einstein said that. Jon Daniels DID that.
He and the Rangers made their qualifying offer to Sir Parties-a-Lot and now they can sit back and let madness ensue knowing they'll at least get a nice draft pick if and when some insane club with house money decides to give Josh Hamilton what he wants. (From what I have been reading on Twitter and some other baseball-centric forums, dude is asking for 7 years, $175 million.)
Right? WTF Josh Hamilton? SEVEN YEARS? ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY FIVE MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS?!?
If this doesn't prove Nietzsche's god is dead lesson, I don't know what does. Look, I'm impressed... Is It Tuesday Yet?
While some are worried about Zack Greinke and Joshy Hamilton's free agencies, I'm stuck on the suspense of which Republicrat will crush the liberty-lovin' man into nothing. In fact, the suspense is literally killing me.
Okay, maybe not literally killing me, but it is literally making me cry. Bronco Bamma girl, I feel your pain.
Happy Friday!
Jeff...
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Exiting with a Whimper or a Roar
I have to admit something. I watched more coverage of Hurricane Sandy hitting the East Coast than I did of the World Series. Part of this was superstition as it seemed that every time I turned on the Tigers, they proceeded to screw up. But part of it was also the sense of inevitable dread that emanated from the World Series starting during the third inning of the first game.
But it wasn't just the putridness of the World Series. It was also the simple fact that it's not every day that you get to watch a hurricane. More than that, how often do you get to see Anderson Cooper look like a bedraggled Chihuahua wearing a Karl Lagerfeld wig?
Maybe it would have been different if the Tigers had been at least somewhat competitive. Although it also begs the question, what would MLB have done if the Series would have overlapped with... Mopping (and Muppeting) Up
Well, that escalated quickly. Or maybe it's more appropriate to say that de-escalated quickly. Seriously, for a team that closed out the Yankees with a 8-1 win, how can you go 20 innings without a run? If the 2006 loss to the Cardinals was embarrassing, this one will go down in the annals of humiliation.
However, now that we have that out of the way, the focus automatically shifts to the postseason awards. Of course the big ones that Tigers' fans are waiting on are the Cy Young and MVP awards but there's an even bigger award up for grabs this year.
Now, I don't think it would come as any surprise to readers of this blog that I'm hoping for an Obama win next week. It's unfortunate that the American electorate refuses to understand how much worse things would have been without an Obama presidency, and it's a very real possibility... The 2012 World Series — The One We’ll All Soon Forget
That was bad for our health, man. That was one awful, no good, TERRIBLE World Series... unless you're a Giants fan, of course. No lead changes til boring Game 4. Hitting juggernauts (one wearing three crowns) silenced throughout by the likes of Zito and Vogelsong. Justin Verlander s*%@ing the bed.
We just got a good dose of why football rules 'Merica.
Don't hate me 'cuz I'm right.
Peace,
Jeff
(Image courtesy of B3TA)... The Filibuster
For Allen... Would you vote for Romney if doing so guaranteed the Tigers a World Series win?
Mandy
Niles, MI
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Religion and literature are full of characters who were willing to make a deal with the devil in return for some sort of gift. Adam and Eve received the knowledge of good and evil while Faust sold his soul for earthly knowledge and pleasure. The catch, of course, is that there are always consequences. Adam and Eve lose paradise and the original Faust is carried to hell by the Devil himself.
Baseball isn't immune from this phenomenon, the most popular example coming from the Broadway hit "Damn Yankees." And honestly, it's no surprise that baseball fans (or fans of any other sport, for that matter) would be willing to sell their souls in exchange for their team winning a championship. There's a reason that supporters of sports teams are described via a shortened form...
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Religion and literature are full of characters who were willing to make a deal with the devil in return for some sort of gift. Adam and Eve received the knowledge of good and evil while Faust sold his soul for earthly knowledge and pleasure. The catch, of course, is that there are always consequences. Adam and Eve lose paradise and the original Faust is carried to hell by the Devil himself.
Baseball isn't immune from this phenomenon, the most popular example coming from the Broadway hit "Damn Yankees." And honestly, it's no surprise that baseball fans (or fans of any other sport, for that matter) would be willing to sell their souls in exchange for their team winning a championship. There's a reason that supporters of sports teams are described via a shortened form... Binders, Bayonets, Tigers
First, Romney had his binders full of women:
Then, he added horses and bayonets:
Remind me again how this is still a race?
Admittedly, the Tigers could really use some horses and bayonets at this point if they want to be a little more competitive. But please, just keep all of them, and especially the bayonets, really far away from Jeff right now.
-A...
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Then, he added horses and bayonets:
Remind me again how this is still a race?
Admittedly, the Tigers could really use some horses and bayonets at this point if they want to be a little more competitive. But please, just keep all of them, and especially the bayonets, really far away from Jeff right now.
-A... Fallout, Apathy, Toby
The names were different, yes, but the destruction was equally devastating. Maybe even more.
I'm talking about the EPIC FAIL that was the 2012 NLCS, compared to the one that first stopped by heart 16 years ago. Yes, in 1996 it was Todd Stottlemyre in the role of Lance Lynn, with Andy Benes as Chris Carpenter and Donavon Osborne as Kyle "I Ain't A Big Game Pitcher" Lohse.
It was Ozzie's last year, Tony's first and the first time back to the World Series since 1987 and the uncomfortable early 90's era Redbirds... or so I thought.
Up three games to one in the best of seven series against the Atlanta Braves, the jockstraps came off a team that simply couldn't score any runs; and instead of spending the last days of October in complete ecstasy, the 17-year old me stayed locked away in a dark closet, reading...