Wednesday 9/25/24
I'm not proud that I've been scoreboard watching with all of the other teams in front of the Red Sox for the last Wild Card spot and thinking, "Well, they're not mathematically eliminated yet. If they win all of their games and everyone else loses all of their games..."
A very unreasonable way for me to act. Like I said, I'm not proud of this.
I didn't see any of the Sox-Jays game last night, but I did the night before, and it was obvious the Jays didn't want to be there and were mailing it in. A couple of times a Jays' outfielder had a play to make and instead he picked up the ball and was, like, whatever, man, I'm not overextending myself out here tonight, and didn't even try. It was such a clear display of quitting.
I don't understand things like this. Being a professional means doing your best when there's no other point other than because you're a professional. You know what I mean by no other point. There are technically always other points. Integrity, pride, setting a good example, because it's the right thing to do, etc. But a professional always has to be professional no matter what is what I'm saying.
I'd like to see the Mets make the postseason and not the Braves. I just don't want to see the Braves, I guess. They're boring to me and I don't like Chris Sale (No! You don't say, Fleming?), though I'm also confident he'd give it up in the postseason. The Mets are a nice story. Their fans would be well up for it and you'd have a buzzing atmosphere at the park.
In the NFL it'd be nice to see the Bills win it all. I think it'd mean more to that fan base than maybe any other, too. Josh Allen should win one title, right?
I think Jeremy Swayman is messing up his career. He overvalued himself--this guy has never been a number one goalie--and now he's holding out. You don't need a good goalie anymore. Goalies are now largely the same. They're big guys, they get on their knees, the puck hits them. It's a positional position, not an individual talent position. There aren't individual styles, there isn't much separation from goalie to goalie. Sure, some are better than others, but look at the goalies on a bunch of recent Cup winning teams. They're nothing special. One goalie is largely as good as any other.
By holding out, Swayman is making this a lost year for himself and I think he's too young and too unproven to do that. Unproven as "the guy." Did you know that last year Ullmark actually had more Vezina votes than Swayman? It's true. The Bruins will probably be fine in net with whomever they use. If their goalies have strong numbers, they won't need Swayman at all by the time he'd likely return in December (he has to be back by then or he forfeits a year of service time).
If he's needed, I don't see how he could simply get plugged in back there and be up to speed. More likely he'd struggle and be chasing it for the rest of the year. I think he's getting some bad advice. And I think he's stubborn and sort of a baby. He's sensitive. His feelings get hurt. This isn't a balls as big as grapefruit type of player in my view. I'd like to see the Bruins move on, because I'm not sure the relationship could be salvaged long term and, like I said, one goalie is usually as good as another goalie so let's get it rolling with someone else. Watch Ullmark have a nice year for himself in Ottawa. That wouldn't surprise me if they can defend in front of him.
Unfortunate about the Athletics. How do you let that team leave? So much history for the franchise in Oakland, and now they move to soulless Las Vegas? Do people live in Las Vegas? Yeah, I know they do, but still. It's more a place that people pass through than people live in. Could you ever be beloved as a Las Vegas franchise?
I saw some weak ass letter from the Athletics' owner and he cited all of these teams and players from the past, but left out the Bash Brothers and Eckersley, though he referenced Billy Martin. Okay, steroids with Canseco and McGwire, but you don't mention Eckersley? Doesn't he live out there now, too? Billy Martin and Billy Ball? That's weird.
I'll tell you something about those late 1980s and early 1990s A's teams: They were big-time exciting and cool. They weren't racking up the championships like the Oilers in hockey, but they were that kind of cool. Larger than life. Or the sport, anyway. You were frightened of those teams. They were intimidating and had all of the swagger and that through the roof cool quotient. Should have won more titles than they did. The Kirk Gibson home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series is the single most unlikely thing I've ever seen happen in sports. If we're talking one play. That was the most unbelievable--in the sense that you struggled to believe it occurred--play I've witnessed. I still can't believe he hit that home run.
I watched the first game of the Connecticut Sun v. Indiana Fever series the other day. I don't like the set-up. It's a best of three. First two games at the higher seed, deciding game--if it goes that far--at the lower seed. The lower seed should never have the final game of a series that goes the maximum number of games. That's just wrong.
I've followed Caitlin Clark this season statistically pretty rigorously, and what I don't understand is where her shot has gone. She's become a liability as a shooter. She was fourth in MVP voting, but that wasn't because of her shooting. Really good player, but a lot of her value is in her passing now. What happened to the shot?
I've seen enough of her this season to know she misses wide open looks. She missed a mess of them on Sunday. Why? These are open shots that she made in college earlier in the year and now you see her going 2 for 13 on threes with plenty of open looks. Is this discussed? I don't see it being discussed if it is. Earlier in the season people talked about her turnovers, but the shooting has been poor--I mean, it's abysmal often enough--for the duration by and large. She shot her team out of that game on Sunday. The final score wasn't close, but Indiana led not too long before the half, and Clark kept clanging those threes. I suspect she'll figure it out. I like her moxie and her compete level and her attitude. She's not soft.
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