First Impression: Five Things We Learned From Day One of The 2010 MLB Postseason
If Wednesday was any indication of how the rest of the MLB postseason is going to be, man, we are going to be a part of something special.
We witnessed something that had only happened once in postseason history before today, and that certain something, we could quite possibly not see happen again in our lifetime.
We saw a few more reasons for the expansion of the use of a certain video tool that can help the umpires get their calls right.
We saw..."DJ Kitty," the Tampa Bay Rays ill-advised knockoff of the Los Angeles Angels' "Rally Monkey."
Here are the five things we (well, me...I..., whatever) learned from the first day of the 2010 MLB postseason.
1. The Texas Rangers Aren't Happy Enough "Just Being Here"
1 of 5
A lot of people thought the Rangers making the playoffs was going to be the highlight of 2010 for them. Much like the Twins against the Yankees, not many people gave them a shot against the AL East powerhouse Tampa Bay Rays.
Well, they definitely have a shot. They proved that Wednesday afternoon. And now, they have more than that. They have a 1-0 lead in the series.
Cliff Lee had an outstanding performance on the mound, throwing seven innings of one-run ball and striking out 10 batters.
Two midseason acquisitions, Jeff Francoeur and Bengie Molina, were keys for the Rangers offense on Wednesday afternoon. Frenchy drove in the first run of the postseason with an RBI double in the second, and Bengie hit an RBI single and a home run, his first since July 15th. What a time for the Rangers' backstop to break out of a dry spell, huh?
Lesson learned. Never underestimate a team with Cliff Lee in their rotation, and laugh mercilessly at the team that tries to pump up their fans with a video of a cat mixing beats in a plaid hat. I'm reminded of a sushi chef by seeing the form of the hat on the poor cat's head. Judging from the plaid, a very upscale sushi chef.
2. Instant Replay. Now, Please.
2 of 5
If Bud Selig has any power to implement some extension of instant replay in the middle of the postseason, I would beg of him to do so.
There were blown calls in all three games on Wednesday. Rays slugger Carlos Pena was hit on the right hand with a pitch and it was called a foul ball, Yankees outfielder Greg Golson caught a ball that was ruled a trap, and although it didn't wind up mattering in the grand scheme of things, it appeared that Brandon Phillips' bat made contact with the ball in fair territory before catcher Carlos Ruiz threw him out at first to complete the no-hitter (sorry, that's a spoiler for a slide later on). And even if the ball did not make contact with Phillips' bat a second time, the bat was in such a position in fair territory that it gave Ruiz some difficulty. The play easily could have been called interference with Phillips being called out.
I've long been a big proponent of expanded instant replay in baseball. That MLB is the only major sports league that hasn't taken advantage of the technology available, while all the other leagues have, and have made the game better by doing so.
The umpires clearly can't keep up with the speed of the game at this point, and it's no longer an unnecessary luxury, it is a necessary necessity (yes, I know, but I just wanted to say it).
The only remaining excuse for opponents of instant replay is that it takes away the "human element" of the game. Well, let's see how much you care about the human element of baseball when it costs your team a postseason game.
3. Roy Halladay Is The Best Pitcher In Baseball
3 of 5
"Nerves" before his first postseason start? Ha. Roy Halladay laughs at your inclination that he has any rational human feelings.
That's right, in his first ever postseason start, Halladay threw the second no-hitter in postseason history.
Roy Halladay was the favorite for the NL Cy Young before this game. Luckily for the other candidates, the baseball writers submitted their votes for the awards on Monday, so their opinions aren't swayed by any postseason success or disaster. If the writers voted after the playoffs, Halladay might have been a unanimous vote.
The debate was alive about who was "truely" the best pitcher in baseball. Halladay was in the discussion, but was frequently ousted because he had never proven himself in the postseason. Well, he just did. He was actually better than in the regular season, which seemed impossible until several hours ago. Twitter was flooded with reporters and fans saying it was the best pitching performance they had ever witnessed. If he's not the best pitcher in the game right now, I don't know who is.
.png?w=256)
4. The Yankees Don't Need The Red Sox to Play Four-Hour Games
4 of 5
The common baseball game lasts anywhere from two hours and 45 minutes to three hours.
The Yankees-Twins game on Wednesday night lasted nearly four, and it didn't get to extra innings.
Umpire Joe West criticized the Yankees and Boston Red Sox early in the season for playing games that quite often eclipsed four hours. This opened a pretty large can of worms for the entire MLB. How much responsibility do the teams have to complete the game in a timely manner? Yes, this is a business, but should Joe Girardi abstain from making a pitching change in the eighth inning if it's 11:45 at night because everyone's going to shut off their televisions at midnight? That's not his problem.
First off, baseball shouldn't be catering to the people that turn off a playoff game in the eighth inning because it's getting too late. If it's that big of a deal, start the games an hour earlier. That said, this rant is coming from a 21-year-old college student who never has to get up before noon, so I can see how some people in the real world would be a little peeved at watching a baseball game into the early morning hours, knowing they have to get up and make a living in five or six hours.
This debate will probably be reignited again, and this game could be a major part of why. It's a Wednesday night, and the game didn't end until almost 12:30 in the morning in New York City. You can bet there's more than a few people upset with that, and luckily I'm not one of them.
5. Never Count The Champs Out
5 of 5
Twins' ace Francisco Liriano was cruising with a 3-0 lead going into the top of the sixth inning.
Almost instantaneously, Liriano was sitting on the bench, head down in disbelief, as he had given up four runs in the top of the sixth to give the lead to the Yankees, 4-3.
No matter who the pitcher, what ballpark, what the score is, or what inning the game is in, you can not count this Yankees lineup out. They looked completely flat for the first five innings of the game Wednesday, and it looked like all that separated Minnesota from a 1-0 series lead was 12 inevitable outs.
Oh, and they also have Mariano Rivera. As I was watching him destroy bats like they were made of cheap PVC pipe in the ninth inning, I thought to myself how awful of a game baseball would be if every pitcher could throw a cutter like Rivera. The pitchers would have such an advantage that a team scoring five runs in a game would be an utter miracle every time it happened. Luckily, there is only Rivera. So we can all just sit and marvel at him. Well, at least Yankees fans can. The rest of us can just sit and hope another one comes around one day and lands on our favorite team.
.png?w=480)
