Wohoo!!!!

[A Black Falcon]

Yeah! Red Sox make the playoffs for the first time since '99!!

:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)


:love:

[A Black Falcon]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/gammons/story?id=1624162
http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/re...k_of_rays/


:D

I watched most of the postgame show on NESN (they don't just get the channel in New England, I guess, since sometimes people call in from other parts of the country to the postgame show...) and yes, it was quite a celebration... maybe a bit much for a wild card win and not a division win. But still... its been 4 years, so I thought it was great... :)

Oh yeah, and how about the postseason? Red Sox - A's, Yankees-Twins, and in the NL the Braves, Giants, Marlins, and probably Cubs... hmm, I don't know. I bet the Yankees will beat Minnesota, though.

[EdenMaster]

Yay?

[Darunia]

I saw them lose live at Fenway about a month ago to the Yankees. Whould'a 'tunk that they'd come back so well.

[A Black Falcon]

Unless you're a Mariners fan... :)

[Great Rumbler]

Go, Rangers!! *realizes the Rangers have NO chance of getting in the playoffs* *cries*

[A Black Falcon]

The Rangers stink, can't pitch worth anything, finished last, and were eliminated weeks ago. :)

[Great Rumbler]

They might not be able to pitch but they have some of best hitters in the league and their rookies are doing pretty good too. If only they had a young Nolan Ryan right about now!!

[The Former DMiller]

Cubs win today!!! The Astros lost earlier in the day and the Cubs swept their double header. They are division champs for the first time since 1989, and in the playoffs for the first time since their wild card birth in '98. I smell a Cubs/Red Sox World Series! :D

[Fittisize]

Let's go Expos, '04. Gosh, I am so glad t be saying that.

...Please sign again, Guerrero. :(

[A Black Falcon]

Yes, with 'pitching' they would be able to compete. However, their payroll is already sky-high and I bet they'll cut it, not spend a lot on pitchers... I predict the saga of the pitching of Arlington (I can see why they weren't called the Arlington Rangers, since everyone would think they are in Virginia... :) ) to continue for some time. :)

[Laser Link]

(they don't just get the channel (NESN) in New England, I guess, since sometimes people call in from other parts of the country to the postgame show...)

I think Directv has NESN. I think I saw it when I was viewing their channel listing a few days ago. So that's probably how these other people are calling in.

I'm happy for the Cubbies, but the only team I even partially kinda care about that had a chance to make the playoffs was Seattle. :(

But hey, the Chargers will get their sorry butts kicked by the incredibly pathetic Raider tomorrow, completing their early season AFC West "un-sweep"*, and next year the Padres might** be good. And if not, we still have Petco Park! Free dogfood to the first 20,000 fans through the gate!!!

*<small>Term created by me to attempt to describe such an amazing feat. The many thousands of words in the English language just weren't enough.</small>
**<small>Very, very unlikely</small>

[Fittisize]

Well, at least you can rely on the Padres to return year in and year out.

With the Expos, you're always getting your hopes down because they say they're gonna be gone next year. But they still always come back. But I think after next season it's gonna be it. :(

[A Black Falcon]

I'd root for the Cubs to get to the series, but they're playing the Giants in round one and the Giants are my second favorite team... so I have to root for the Giants.

As for the Mariners, they're my favorite AL West team (I hate the A's and don't care about the other two), but if they are in the way of the Red Sox...

Oh yeah, and it probably is sattelite networks that would have NESN... that would make sense. They might have all like 25 Fox Sports Net varieties (since most teams are on either Fox or Fox Sports Net...) too... :)

And YES but we do not talk about that channel. :D

And LL... it would be a sweep! Er, a 'swept'... :)

And finally, it is good to see the Expos have one more season in Montreal... I like that team and its really, really terrible what Major League Baseball has done to them. Awful... though I think they'd best move them and be done with it. No one in Montreal wants the team, its clear... I know most teams use new stadiums as bargaining chips that don't help, but the Expos truly need one. They have such an amazingly bad stadium that they really have no choice...

Of course, if MLB breaks up this Expos team, I'll feel differently, since at that point it won't matter (about moving them to save their remote chances at keeping their .500 club mostly intact)

[The Former DMiller]

Originally posted by A Black Falcon
I'd root for the Cubs to get to the series, but they're playing the Giants in round one and the Giants are my second favorite team... so I have to root for the Giants.

The Cubs are playing the Braves in the first round, not the Giants.

[The Former DMiller]

Originally posted by Fittisize
Well, at least you can rely on the Padres to return year in and year out.

With the Expos, you're always getting your hopes down because they say they're gonna be gone next year. But they still always come back. But I think after next season it's gonna be it. :(

There's actually a group that has gotten together and is thinking of purchasing the Expos and bringing them to Las Vegas. I know you'd probably want them to stay in Montreal, but that's probably not going to happen. Anyway, the group is headed up by Steve Stone, who is one of the announcers during Cubs broadcasts. He has a brilliant baseball mind so your Spos would be in good shape to have him running things. I'd just be mad that Cubs fans would lose his analysis during games.

[Fittisize]

Actually, there was a 'save the Expos' site to keep them in Montreal. But they only had about a million or two in contributions to keep them in Montreal. 398 million short.

And like I said, I'd rather the Expos go to Portland like I heard before so I could go see them play. But hey, I really don't mind what town, as long as they are respected. And if they keep the name 'Expos'. :D

[A Black Falcon]

So I'd root for the Cubs against the Braves, but not against the Giants...

And I think the Expos should go to Washington DC and become the Capitols, v.3... :)

[Fittisize]

Well, the fantasy league is over.

Too bad I didn't win, I lost in the finals. Eh, second place ain't too bad.

[Laser Link]

Yeah, that's a good point about the Pads. At least they will stay in San Diego for a while with their new stadium. No matter how bad the name is. But the Chargers, on the other hand, keep threatening to move to LA. And the NFL really wants a team in LA. I know you are thinking "LA is just 100 miles north of SD, it's not that big of a deal", but this would be like the Red Sox moving to New Jersey. It's just wrong. And yeah, the Chargers started in LA and actually were good there, but they only stayed there a year and won the AFL championship while in SD. Although if a move to LA included changing the uniform to those powder blue jerseys, I might have to reconsider. Just kidding.

[A Black Falcon]

The Brewers are the luckiest team in the Majors because despite abysmal attendance and a truly awful team they are competely safe from contraction as long as Bud Selig is commissioner...

[Laser Link]

Yup. It's so cheap. I don't like Selig at all.

[A Black Falcon]

Does anyone?

Oh yeah, and the Giants, Twins, and Cubs all won. :D

[The Former DMiller]

Brewer attendance is good when they're playing the Cubs. :) Milwaukee's GM actually called the Cubs GM after the Cubs clinched the division thanks to Milwaukee beating Houston and said the Brewers were doing the Cubs a favor because of the sellouts the Cubs generated at Miller Park. It's so cool how many Cubs fans travel to road games. They estimated that 10,000 Cubs fans were at the Atlanta game yesterday. Chicago to Atlanta flights for Tuesday were empty until the Cubs clinched the division. Then you couldn't buy a seat anywhere.

Anyway, I still can't believe the Twins won. I was hoping the Red Sox would beat the Yankees in the ALCS, but if the Yankees lose in the Division Series that's even better.

[alien space marine]

There is a Junior league team aslo called the Redsox and they battle in my new town with the Ottawa Lynx.


I remeber I also saw a pro game with the red sox vs the montreal expos.


I hope the Red sox win this year.

[A Black Falcon]

Last season when the Red Sox were in Montreal one of the games had the highest attendance in Olympic Stadium that year except for the first game of the season...

Oh yeah, and some teams draw fans wherever they go... the Yankees do, the Red Sox do, the Cubs clearly do, and some others...

Oh, and how about the scores yesterday? 2-0, 4-2, 3-1... low scoring!

And while I'd love to have the Yankees in the ALCS (and beat them this time, unlike 1999... :( ), its better to see them go out early. Better, more humiliating, more chances of Steinbrenner of going nuts and trashing the team and coaching staff... :)

[The Former DMiller]

Steinbrenner said before the games started on Tuesday that he was furious that the Yankees weren't being broadcast in primetime. He said the Yankees are a much better draw than any other team in the majors. Well, the first Cubs/Braves game ended up being Fox's highest rated game 1 division series broadcast ever. Take that George.

[A Black Falcon]

Red Sox lost last night (yes, I stayed up until 2:45am watching it... :) ), as did the Giants and Cubs... and now today the Sox are losing again... I bet they get swept. Stupid bullpen... when you blow game 1 like that you don't deserve to win...

[The Former DMiller]

Yeah, I stayed up to watch the first Sox/As game too. It was a great game, but too bad the Sox lost. They are in serious trouble now being down 0-2. The Yankees and Twins are in a close game right now. Hopefully the Twins pull it out.

I'm not too worried about the Cubs losing game 2. They only needed to win one game in Atlanta really. A second game would've just been a bonus. The Cubs still have Prior and Wood pitching, and Clement has been hot at home this year so he'll be tough to beat. I truly expect Prior to win everytime he goes out on the mound. Cubs fans have so much confidence in him right now and he usually delivers.

Speaking of Prior, did anyone hear the comment made by Cardinals' pitcher Steve Kline? He was reponding to a Prior comment made before the last Cards/Astros series saying he didn't care that the Cubs needed the Astros to lose, he wanted the Astros to "beat their brains in." Kline responded on Tuesday saying that he hopes Prior "takes a liner off his face so we never have to hear from him again." I know the Cubs/Cards rivalry is heated, but that's taking it way too far if you ask me.

[A Black Falcon]

They are doomed.

Oh, Twins lost 4-1, gave up 3 runs in the 7th. :(

Hmm... the A's will win but the other three are all tied 1-1. I don't know who will win any of them, really...

Oh, and DMiller... that's surprising. Its generally mostly the fans, not the players, who make the rivalries... the players seem to care a lot less usually... or at least they act that way. :)

[Laser Link]

Don't give up yet ABF. If the Padres can come back from being down 0-2 in a 5 game series, anybody can!

[The Former DMiller]

Originally posted by Laser Link
Don't give up yet ABF. If the Padres can come back from being down 0-2 in a 5 game series, anybody can!

BOO!!!!

[A Black Falcon]

True, Oakland did lose in '01 after going up 2-0, and the Red Sox came back from a 0-2 deficit against Cleveland in '99, but still... its a big hole, and with this bullpen I can't trust them to hold any leads...

[alien space marine]

Does every Red Sox have red socks?

[A Black Falcon]

I don't know... probably not...

Giants are down 1-2... that is bad. They've got to do better...

[Laser Link]

Sorry Derek. I wouldn't have even brought it up but I was trying to encourage ABF. And I didn't even mention the Cubs. Anyway, hooray for Prior who gets the job done!

[The Former DMiller]

Hehe. I know you didn't mean to diss the Cubs. I don't even remember '84 because I was only 3 years old. Anyway, hopefully the Cubbies clinch today. Matt Clement has been hot the last month so maybe he can shut down the Braves and we don't have to go back to Atlanta.

[A Black Falcon]

Not fair... the Marlins just eliminated the Giants! They shouldn't have been able to do that... :(

[The Former DMiller]

I don't think anyone would've picked the Marlins at the beginning of the playoffs. I'm shocked that they pulled it off. I guess the Cubs will be playing the Marlins next round. :D

[A Black Falcon]

You're confident... :)

I don't like the Marlins. They shouldn't be beating the Giants...

[Fittisize]

The Cubs can't beat John Smoltz, just like the Twins couldn't beat Riviera today and yesterday (but they will next game, I'm sure of it...Twins are my second fav. team, and I hate the Yankees). The Braves are just a better team than the Cubs, and I'm sure of it that they will pull through and win the series (this playoff series, that is).

Eck, I STILL think the Mariners should have been in there instead of the Red Sox.

[A Black Falcon]

Happily, though, they were several games back. :)

Hmm... Cubs-Braves game 5, in Atlanta. I don't know... either one could win. They split in both cities so far... and as for Twins-Yankees, they really need to win at home. Game 5 in Yankee Stadium will be tough... they needed to sweep at home, I think.

[The Former DMiller]

Smoltz is hurting. He blew a save in Game 2, and Sosa was a few feet from hitting the tying homerun off of him in Game 4. The Cubs hit him today in case you didn't notice. They just didn't hit him enough.

With Kerry Wood pitching again the Cubs have a very good chance to pull this one out. Atlanta doesn't really have much of a home field advantage so that won't factor in much.

[Laser Link]

Myt money is on Kerry Wood. He can be dominating, and I think he will be. I think the Cubs have outplayed the Braves, but they just aren't getting runs when they have guys in scoring position.

[Fittisize]

I saw Smoltz hurting, DMiller, but he was still throwing better pitches than all the other ones that day. But you noticed how he took every throw pitch by pitch, like a closer is supposed to do.

Fight the pain!!

[The Former DMiller]

Yes, but this isn't the same Smoltz that was dominating before he was out for a month. Kenny Lofton struck out on a fastball that didn't move at all. Smoltz didn't have good stuff tonight and I think he was lucky to make it out with a save.

Anyway, it won't matter if Kerry Wood dominates again because the game won't even get to Smoltz. We'll see how Hampton does on 3 days rest, but I just don't see the Braves pulling it out. Of course, I'm biased, but that's what baseball is all about. :)

[Fittisize]

Ha ha, yeah everyone can be biased when it comes to baseball. Or in any sport, for that matter. Like (non-Gretzky fans) people saying that (and this was before my time and when I was really young) that Gretzky won't perform well in the playoffs because of all the added pressure on him!

BAHAHAHAHAHA (it's not very funny, but biased all the same)

And I'm not biased towards Cubs or Braves, 'cause I don't really either team. I'm just giving what I really think.

But ya never know, anything can happen in pro sports.

[A Black Falcon]

YES! Red Sox win! Strange game... the A's made four errors and two major baserunning mistakes, giving the Sox a chance they shouldn't have had... :) But still it took 11 innings. But they did it! Game 4 tomorrow! :) :) :)

I am pretty nervous about Burkett vs Hudson, though...

[Fittisize]

I'm surprised the Sox bullpen didn't play like little leaguers like they usually do.

Oh well, there's always next game for that.

(That LAST thing I'd want is a Cubs/Sox series, mainly because they both haven't won in like, a hundred years and it should stay that way. :))

[The Former DMiller]

Cubs and Red Sox win! Kerry Wood dominated of course giving up only 1 run in 8 innings. I know the Cubs' pitching staff is good, but I'm shocked at how much they dominated the best offense in the NL. They held Atlanta to just over a .200 batting average. Fans were celebrating around Wrigley and in Atlanta after the game. It was great to see all the player interviews. Reliever Mike Remlinger had a beer in one hand and a cigar in the other during his interview.