FYI Baseball Fans

If you're looking for this year's edition of World Series Survivor, it has its own home now, at worldseriessurvivor.blogspot.com. There's also a link over on the right-hand side.

Welcome the the Post-Baseball Blog

Well, World Series Survivor did not end up particularly successful for me. The Red Sox and Rockies, both of whom had already been eliminated, were the actual WS representatives. My last hope, the Cleveland Indians, choked their way out of a place in history. It's been almost 60 years since they've won a World Series, and the closest they've been since then is 1995, the post-strike year, when the Braves beat them soundly for their only WS in their amazing 14-year run.

That won't stop me from doing it next year, though. But I don't think it will be on this blog. I've had difficulty deciding what I want this blog to be, and I've tried several things. Ultimately, it should be about my writing, but there hasn't been much to write about there recently. I don't want the blog to be a daily update ("Hey, I wrote 125 words in my re-write last night!"), but it should be about my writing in some way.

Give me a week or so to figure it out.

Oh Boy, Here We Go Again

Well, last night saw the elimination of the last pre-World Series National League representative, the Arizona Diamondbacks, and the end of a less-than-stellar debut of Playoff Baseball on TBS. They covered three sweeps in the National League and one game over minimum in the American League. They were treated to 17 out of a possible 27 games. No-one put up a fight. But, that's the way the ball bounces. And now the National League representative to the World Series is the Colorado Rockies, a team that never should have been tied for the Wild Card, got a bogus call to win the one-game playoff, and who I eliminated from winning the whole shebang back on April 30.

Ohhh, they better not win. I'll be so pissed.

Oh, by the way, I'm pretty sure I'll be eliminating the Diamondbacks next week.

Err, Yes...

I feel confident in stating that the Los Angeles Angles of Anaheim in California, a subsidiary of Major League Baseball and the Church of Scientolgy will not win the World Series this year. Would that I were so confident before they were actually swept out of the playoffs. But, we live and we learn, and I still have one more elimination to make before the end of the year...

The Chicago Cubs were the first team to be swept out of the Division Series this year, on October 6. They were the 22nd team officially eliminated, but I had the long-term vision to eliminate them back on June 4th, my 10th elimination.

The Philadelphia Phillies were swept out of the playoffs the very same day, the 23rd team eliminated. I waited until August 28th to eliminate them, using my 20th elimination on them.



The 24th elimination came the next day in the American League, in California as the Angels themselves were swept. Again, this is another situation where I haven't quite gotten around to eliminating them, but I will.

The 25th team eliminated, and one of the most satisfying (sorry, Brian) came the next day when the Yankees were bounced once again. I don't know if they're going to let Joe Torre go or not, but I think you will see a very different Yankees team next year. I eliminated them on September 17th, using my 23rd elimination.

Postseason Elimination Time

Yeah, I'm late to the party on this one. But they were doing so well, and had some of the best pitching in baseball, which is supposed to beat great hitting. Well, so much for that. But the San Diego Padres are eliminated on my list now, and I have a good idea who I'll eliminate next week, too.

Last of the Red Hot Regular Season Eliminations

The Atlanta Braves were eliminated on September 27, the 18th team eliminated. I was close, they were my 19th team eliminated, on August 28


The Milwaukee Brewers were eliminated on September 28, the 19th team eliminated. They were my 18th team, whom I eliminated on August 21.


The New York Mets completed their ruin on what was supposed to be the final day of the season, September 30. They were the 20th team eliminated in actuality, but they were my 25th team to go, um, yesterday.

The San Diego Padres were the 21st team eliminated, in a one-game playoff with the Colorado Rockies, obviously my biggest mistake this year. I haven't gotten around to eliminating them yet, but I plan to do so soon.

A Too-Late Elimination

This is a first in World Series Survivor. A team has actually eliminated themselves before I could do it for them. The Mets completed a historical collapse this past weekend, banishing them from the playoffs. This performance, combined with the 2006 playoffs has branded the team as the THE Biggest Chokers of the 21st century, a title that can only be relinquished with the winning of a World Series, which obviously won't happen this year. Maybe next year, guys. But probably not.

Droppin' Like Flies 2

Last night, a 17th team was eliminated from the playoffs, the Detroit Tigers. I eliminated them only 17 days ago, as my 22nd team.

The teams in the American League are set now: The Boston Red Sox, the Cleveland Indians, the LA Angels and the New York Yankees. I've already expressed my opinion that neither the Red Sox or the Yankees will win this year. We'll see if either of the other teams can pull it out.

Droppin' Like Flies

The Los Angeles Dodgers were eliminated early in the morning on Wednesday, at least on the East Coast. They were the 15th official elimination, and they were my 21st elimination on September 5th.

I eliminated the Seattle Mariners way back on April 23rd. Some say I simply underestimated the team's capabilities of hitting and pitching. I call it tremendous foresight. They were my 4th team eliminated, but ended up being the 16th team eliminated overall.

The Solitary Weekend Elimination

I eliminated the St. Louis Cardinals on August 6, as the 16th team eliminated. But they waited until Saturday, September 22 to get eliminated in reality, the 14th team to get eliminated.

Oh, It's Been a Long Year

And an emotional one at that. My trepidation and fear of the past has led me to keep the Yankees and Red Sox in the hunt. But now it is time. It is time to cast off the demons of the past and to let them fly away to infect someone else with their maudlin effects. I'm saying it here and I'm saying it now. Neither the Red Sox nor the Yankees will win the World Series this year.

Ahhh.....

Now if only it will come to pass...

Another Elimination

For those of you hoping to read more about my current writing, please be patient and stay tuned. We are in the heat of the pennant races and I have a lot to report on there. Plus, I will be doing a lot with the AMIA Conference here in Rochester next week. In the meantime...

The Cincinnati Reds were the 7th team I eliminated, on May 14. They ended up doing better than expected with a mid-summer surge, but still were in the first half of teams to be eliminated, #13.

The Long Elimination Weekend

Saturday, September 15

The Texas Rangers were my 6th team eliminated, but actually came in 5th at the elimination races. I eliminated them on May 7.

I waited until July 24 to eliminate my 14th team, the Florida Marlins. They, however, tanked mid-season and were the 6th team eliminated.


Sunday, September 16

The Washington Nationals were my 3rd team eliminated, and I was sad to see them go at the time, April 16. But they picked it up a bit and were the 7th team actually eliminated.

San Francisco was another of those teams with a summer swoon. I held off until July 3 to eliminate them, but they ended up being the 8th team eliminated. They were my #12.

Monday, September 17

A busy Monday started off with the elimination of last year's AL Central division winners, the Minnesota Twins. I held hope for them and used my 17th pick on them just last month, August 13. But they ended up being the 9th team eliminated overall.

I also held hope for the Oakland A's, by not eliminating them until July 31, with my 15th pick. But they were right behind the Twins as the 10th team eliminated.


In the National League, two Central Division teams were eliminated from the Wild Card, but held on in the weak divisional race. The Houston Astros were my 9th pick on May 29 and were the 11th team eliminated.

The Pittsburgh Pirates were eliminated the previous week by me (May 21, with my 8th pick) and were the 12th team eliminated overall.


There is only one more elimination that is likely this week, but there may be a few more by Monday as the playoff picture clears up.

The Riskiest Day of the Year

Whoo.

Big Breath.

I knew this day was coming, but it's still not easy. This is the day I officially count the Yankees out. I've had this feeling in my gut all year long, but it's been such a poor proposition in the past that I've held out as long as I could.

I've looked at pitching stats, hitting stats, for the last 7 and 30 days. I've looked at the competition, and I have to say, I think now is the time to make the move. I almost eliminated another team this week, had been planning to for a while, but they have picked up their play recently. Their pitching has been great this last week, and they might be heading for a surprising postseason. But the Yankees are the subject. There has been steady improvement and momentum building all year, up to and including this weekend's series victory over division-leading Boston.

But the problem is not with the Yankees themselves. It is with their competition. There are 3 division leaders in the AL right now that can beat them in a 7-game series. And they will have to get past two of them, on the road, in order to get to the World Series. I just don't see that happening.

Ahhhhh.... That's a weight off my shoulders. Now I can relax for a little while. Then I'll get started on my big elimination post for tomorrow.

More Real Life Eliminations

The Kansas City Royals and Baltimore Orioles were eliminated virtually at the same time last night when the Yankees defeated the Blue Jays. I eliminated the Royals way back on April 9, just before I saw them beat the Blue Jays. They were team #2.

I waited until June 18 to eliminate the Orioles. They were team #11.


It is possible, though unlikely, that we will have 3 more eliminations before Friday. But it is also possible that there could be another 10 in between now and Monday!

And Then There Were Seven

Ah, I love the classic "D" for Detroit. I get warm fuzzies just sitting back and thinking about watching Magnum, PI. And Magnum probably had a lot of fun in the postseason last year, watching the Tigers get as far as they did. But that's not going to happen this year. In fact, they're not even going to make the playoffs. The arms are just not there like they were last year, and now comes word that they are going to shut down Jeremy Bonderman. I'm sorry, Thomas, but the Tigers are victim #22.

World Series Survivor Update!

For over 5 months I have been soothsaying the doomed fates of Major League ballclubs. 21 teams have fallen under my biting knife. But it was not until this weekend that these teams started to be mathematically eliminated from postseason play, making it altogether impossible for them to win the World Series. As the dominoes continue to fall, I will update you on their demise and tell you exactly in what order I myself eliminated them. It should be interesting. (If to no one else but me.)

9/8 - The Tampa Bay Devil Rays. They were the first team mathematically eliminated, and they were the first on my chopping block. I eliminated them on Opening Day, April 2.

9/9 - The Chicago White Sox. This team has fallen fast. They were the second team to be mathematically eliminated, but they were the 13th victim on my hit list. They made it nearly halfway through. I eliminated them two months earlier on July 9.

There won't be any new teams to add to the list today, but there could be deluge of teams to add in the next week, never mind the next two weeks.

Insert Clever Title Here

It's that time again, to eliminate another team from postseason contention, which would preclude them altogether from winning the World Series. The Dodgers have hung in there all year. They have an intriguing team, with good young pitching and a potent lineup. But they have an uphill climb within their own division this year. They're already in third place, behind two clubs battling it out for the division title, the other the likely Wild Card candidate. Even if they do make it out of their division, they're going to either face better pitching (New York) or better hitting (Philadelphia, Chicago) which they will not be able to keep up with. Another team to look for next year, not this one.

The Kindest Cut

I've been behind for a while now. I've needed to catch up by eliminating two teams in a single week. I've thought about doing a bonus World Series Survivor post one week, and then I keep putting it off. Now, I know that I just need to bite the bullet and do it. So, here we are. The Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies are the two top-hitting teams in the National League. Unfortunately, their pitching has just not held up to the challenge. Beyond John Smoltz, the Braves are very thin. Whereas the Phillies have just about no one in the first place.



They are both fun teams to watch, with exciting young players on their roster that deserve their time in the October prime. It just won't come this year.