Post by Fish Troll on Jun 24, 2008 2:33:51 GMT -5
Oct. 13, 2008 — The World Series began at Dolphin Stadium today with the governor of Florida getting lost driving to his first major league game, Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon needing two pieces of identification to get on the field and a moment of silence for revered statistics guru Bill James.
James, whose bedrock beliefs involve defense and home runs, reportedly suffered a nervous breakdown watching the Marlins commit 22 errors and the Rays go homer-less in winning their respective league championship series.
"This is the Mighty Ducks meeting The Bad News Bears," were James' last words before lapsing into a comatose state.
Whatever you call it — The I-75 Series, the Citrus Series, the Armageddon Is Coming Series — the matchup wasn't even a consideration until the teams met June 24 near the season's midpoint.
Tampa Bay already was the surprise of the American League then, owning the wild-card playoff spot. The Marlins were the surprise of the National League and a game behind Philadelphia in the division. But even then, no one was believing too hard.
"500-1," Richard Gardner, Bodog sportsbook manager, put the odds on a Marlins-Rays series June 23.
Pat Riley turning bald had slightly better odds.
The teams had mystified baseball by winning to that point. They kept mystifying and winning after it, too. And so a nervous-looking Commissioner Bud Selig was checking the South Florida sky before Game 1.
"See any pigs flying?" he said.
Selig had threatened to block the World Series from Florida unless each team immediately broke ground on their proposed new stadiums. When told nearly $1 billion in public money would go to baseball stadiums in Florida, Miami car dealer Norman Braman demanded a public referendum to oust Selig, a Milwaukee car dealer.
"I'll get public money to buy him a '67 Buick to drive out of town," Braman said.
The Marlins, to their credit, did try to improve their glaring first-half problems of starting pitching and defense. First, they swapped out their entire starting rotation for minor-leaguers and the surgically repaired Josh Johnson. That had never been done by a contender and improved the team.
Also, when they lost one June game to Oakland after left fielder Luis Gonzalez dropped a fly ball and another when catcher Mike Rabelo forgot to tag a runner, manager Fredi Gonzalez made some defensive changes.
He demanded his infielders begin shouting the number of outs before every pitch and if a play was a "force" or a "tag." He also began throwing postgame parties at Chuck E. Cheese's.
"If they're going to play like Little Leaguers …," Gonzalez said.
The Rays finished last in the A.L. East in nine of their previous 10 seasons and have as much trouble hitting as the Marlins do fielding. In fact, the teams seem to have only two things in common:
1. Florida.
2. A dislike for Yankees manager Joe Girardi.
The Marlins fired Girardi. The Rays blamed him for sparking a spring-training brawl that heated emotions all year.
"Let him buy a ticket to get in the World Series," a Marlins official said when asked about Girardi. "No, really, he can buy a ticket. Thousands are still available."
The teams are scouring old boxes and locked closets in hopes of finding the Citrus Series Trophy. It was introduced in hopes of injecting some fun into what many labeled a non-rivalry when they began meeting in interleague play.
Somewhere, the trophy got lost. No one noticed for years.
"The last anyone saw it was on Craigslist," one Marlins official said. "But the bid was $12.46 and it got pulled off."
For a while, at least, there's baseball fever in Florida. Catch it. Well, catch it if you can, if you're a Marlin. And catch it while it lasts, if you're a Ray.
James, whose bedrock beliefs involve defense and home runs, reportedly suffered a nervous breakdown watching the Marlins commit 22 errors and the Rays go homer-less in winning their respective league championship series.
"This is the Mighty Ducks meeting The Bad News Bears," were James' last words before lapsing into a comatose state.
Whatever you call it — The I-75 Series, the Citrus Series, the Armageddon Is Coming Series — the matchup wasn't even a consideration until the teams met June 24 near the season's midpoint.
Tampa Bay already was the surprise of the American League then, owning the wild-card playoff spot. The Marlins were the surprise of the National League and a game behind Philadelphia in the division. But even then, no one was believing too hard.
"500-1," Richard Gardner, Bodog sportsbook manager, put the odds on a Marlins-Rays series June 23.
Pat Riley turning bald had slightly better odds.
The teams had mystified baseball by winning to that point. They kept mystifying and winning after it, too. And so a nervous-looking Commissioner Bud Selig was checking the South Florida sky before Game 1.
"See any pigs flying?" he said.
Selig had threatened to block the World Series from Florida unless each team immediately broke ground on their proposed new stadiums. When told nearly $1 billion in public money would go to baseball stadiums in Florida, Miami car dealer Norman Braman demanded a public referendum to oust Selig, a Milwaukee car dealer.
"I'll get public money to buy him a '67 Buick to drive out of town," Braman said.
The Marlins, to their credit, did try to improve their glaring first-half problems of starting pitching and defense. First, they swapped out their entire starting rotation for minor-leaguers and the surgically repaired Josh Johnson. That had never been done by a contender and improved the team.
Also, when they lost one June game to Oakland after left fielder Luis Gonzalez dropped a fly ball and another when catcher Mike Rabelo forgot to tag a runner, manager Fredi Gonzalez made some defensive changes.
He demanded his infielders begin shouting the number of outs before every pitch and if a play was a "force" or a "tag." He also began throwing postgame parties at Chuck E. Cheese's.
"If they're going to play like Little Leaguers …," Gonzalez said.
The Rays finished last in the A.L. East in nine of their previous 10 seasons and have as much trouble hitting as the Marlins do fielding. In fact, the teams seem to have only two things in common:
1. Florida.
2. A dislike for Yankees manager Joe Girardi.
The Marlins fired Girardi. The Rays blamed him for sparking a spring-training brawl that heated emotions all year.
"Let him buy a ticket to get in the World Series," a Marlins official said when asked about Girardi. "No, really, he can buy a ticket. Thousands are still available."
The teams are scouring old boxes and locked closets in hopes of finding the Citrus Series Trophy. It was introduced in hopes of injecting some fun into what many labeled a non-rivalry when they began meeting in interleague play.
Somewhere, the trophy got lost. No one noticed for years.
"The last anyone saw it was on Craigslist," one Marlins official said. "But the bid was $12.46 and it got pulled off."
For a while, at least, there's baseball fever in Florida. Catch it. Well, catch it if you can, if you're a Marlin. And catch it while it lasts, if you're a Ray.
www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/sfl-hyde24sbjun24,0,6783579.column
by Dave Hyde
Here a picture of him in case you see him in public:
