<$BlogRSDURL$>
Proceeds from the ads below will be donated to the Bob Wuesthoff scholarship fund.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Two Games

No Wire Hangers! Cubs 2, Dodgers 1 (10 Innings)

When the pitching has to be perfect, there's no hope for the team. We can't all be the 2003 Dodgers, and the basic fact about the offense was that the only run came in on Blake DeWitt's bases-loaded walk. Derek Lowe posted his best game of the season, but Takashi Saito clearly had nothing, and gave up the tying run; it was left to Chan Ho Park to give up the then-inevitable walkoff run in the 10th.

For what it's worth, you might want to read this Gonfalon Cubs post recalling that the Cubs had a hot start last year, too, and came close to collapsing as well.

ESPN BoxRecap

No Pitching, No Win: Tigers 6, Angels 2

It's hard to get too upset at Hokie Joe Saunders for one bad outing; he's done so well for the most part that it's just a shock when he loses. Platitudes about hitting into bad luck are something I like to avoid, but it did seem that Maicer Izturis was having that kind of buzzard luck; he ended some of that with a two-run homer.

ESPN BoxRecap

Labels: , , , ,


Comments:
Agreed on Izturis. This is a kid who has been hitting into a lot of line drive outs of late. When you consider that he only has 9 strikeouts in 138 plate appearances, and more walks than strikeouts, I think that translates to: "good player, bad luck".

Meanwhile, Reggie gets on base twice on the walk in last night's game. Wonder if management will notice that, apart from the absence of hits.

I so long for the day when Figgins is healthy and Scioscia realizes Willits is a top-of-the-order everyday player. Not too many teams could field a one-two like Figgins-Willits (or vice-versa). But streaky is like an ethic on this club. We embrace the suck.
 
These sorts of things are exactly why I take the sportswriter's maxim seriously: the Angels are not part of "we" except to the extent that I send them a check for our season tickets. If I felt part of them to declare myself in some way one with them, it also means complicity in their obdurate foolishness, and I'll have none of that.
 
Mmm, I can't follow you there Rob. If you think affiliation with a fan community is corny, or leaves you open to some sort of ethical compromise, I think identification with that tippling klatch of dust jackets and pseudo-professionals ('the sportswriter!') is way cornier. The day you cease to be a sports blogger and become a sportswriter is likely the day I stop reading you. That's a place to plant your flag: apart from the profession.

Studied ambivalence is one thing, disengagement another. All families have disagreements and I critique 'the management' at will, but I'm not going to grant myself plastic sanctuary from my spouse, friends or allies so that I'm insulated from their injuries or mistakes. Identification is risk; so much the better. Embarrassment is my privilege. As the poet Rene Char said: "Brighten the imagination of those who blush; these are steadfast partisans."
 
Well spoke!
 

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.



Newer›  ‹Older
This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?
Google

WWW 6-4-2