I told you it would be weird

Weirdness at the World Series. Hi guys, Jax here, just chilling out in the garage. The Tennessee Titans are 7-0 and everybody's talking about the World Series. (Photo from AFP.)

I think MLB Commish Bud Selig made a deal with Mother Nature to get the rain to come down to stir interest in this World Series, which has had record low TV ratings.

Actually, it is unlikely that Selig has Nature on speed dial--he has trouble communicating here on Earth. Before the game, Selig said there was no way the game would be cut short because of rain. If there were a rain delay, it would be delayed for as long as it took. Well, it would have been the longest rain delay in history--2 days plus.

Tied at 2-2, with rain pouring down in the middle of the sixth inning, the game was suspended until Tuesday night in Philly. Then I hear on the radio Tuesday the game will not be played tonight because of rain and 40 mph gusts, delaying it to Wednesday at 8 p.m. EST.

A Philadelphia resident wrote an email to the Dan Patrick radio show today. Paraphrasing:

There are many lovely autumn afternoons that turn in to stormy evenings here in Philadelphia. If the game were played in the afternoon, as they were in the past so children and adults would not have to stay up late, this wouldn't have happened. Major League Baseball was just responding to its pimp, FOX, which insists on games being played later in the day to maximize TV viewers. That means more ad revenue. Nevermind that both teams are from the East Coast--us fans get the shaft.

Dan Patrick's response: The game never should have started with the ominous weather forecast. Why not delay the game preemptively? What were they thinking? And why did Selig say before the game they would play until it was done? If the score had not been tied, and it was called with a 2-1 score in the Phillies' favor, the rules say 5 innings is a full game.

What do I think? I'm a dog, OK. I just learned to pee on the right bush this week.

I was looking forward to a nice little game that would have completed innings 6 through 9 tonight here at 5 p.m. PST. And by the way, it's about 78 degrees and sunny here. I guess I will have to wait until Thursday. Go Rays. If the Rays go on to win it, get ready for riots in Philly.

Jax

Thoughts on the Trop

Hey gang, Jax in FX--

World Series Game 1 wasn't exactly what I hoped for with a Phillies win, but there were some things I appreciated.

1. The angles. One good part of Tropicana Field is that the camera that shows the mound and home plate is shot from so high in center field that it has a downward angle--blocking all the jerks on their cell phones behind home plate. Not only that, but the scoreboard banner that Fox uses on top blots out the entire front row of seats, leaving just baseball and a single ad banner to the left of home plate. It's great. Nobody's waving their arms franticaly or delivering $10 hot dogs, it's just baseball. It kinda reminds me of the Houston Astrodome with the turf and everything.

2. Pass the mic. Also, I liked how they had a mic on Rays Manager Joe Maddon during that balk. He yelled "That was a balk, that was bullshit," and a few million people heard him.

3. I think Tim McCarver is a jackass.

4. Fox Trax. It's that strike zone graphic they show to review pitches that looks like the K-Zone on ESPN but more ghetto. Anyway, I liked how the graphic showed balls that were called strikes and strikes that were called balls. Eat that, QuesTec.

5. Curt Schilling got it right on his blog. Phillies 1, Rays 0.

Get ready for teal

Hey everybody, Jax here, just chillin' here in the garage.

Old school baseball fans really wanted a Dodgers-Red Sox World Series. To them I say: Eat it.

Fall baseball doesn't have to be about Fenway Park and those dolts in Chavez Ravine. Bring on The Bank and The Trop. I'm rooting for the Rays, teal uniforms and crazy ceiling in the Trop and all. They have the heart to do this, and I think the Phillies' layoff will hurt them.

They say this will be the least watched World Series in history. I don't give a damn.

Game 1 starts tonight!

Carlos Pena has a blog

Rays first baseman Carlos Pena (at right with Manager Joe Maddon, mlb.com) has been keeping a blog, and he said it wasn't the first time he had made a big statement at Fenway Park -- he played there all the time in his imagination.

This is so cool. When I lived in Haverhill growing up in Boston, we used to live at kind of a corner, so it looked like a baseball stadium. We would pick one of the corners to be home plate. And then we would hit up against the house that was right in front of us, with plastic balls, obviously, because we would have broken all the windows otherwise.

My brothers and I used to play, and we used to hit so many home runs over the Green Monster in our minds. "Ah, home run over the Green Monster, yeah!" And I was doing that when I was 13, after I got to this country from the Dominican Republic for the first time.

And all this was a dream, that's all it was. And the next thing you know, I'm still doing it at 30 years old, and actually doing it -- really doing it. Tonight's home run, last night's home run, those were like a dream -- something I'd done before in my mind.

The Rays play the Phillies at the Trop on Wednesday at 5 p.m. PST.

Schadenfreude

Schadenfreude SHa-den-FROID. noun. definition: pleasure derived from another person's misfortune.

I had a big case of Schadenfreude last night when the Dodgers went down in flames at Dodger Stadium to the Phillies. It was even better than if they hadn't made the playoffs. As a Giants fan, it was the greatest. That's Manny at right, of course, having Manny problems in Game 3 (credit: Washington Post).

Callers on Damon Bruce's excellent Sportsphone 680 show last night were going bananas about the Dodgers losing. Also, former Giant Pedro "Pete Happy" Feliz is headed to the World Series wearing a Phillies uniform. This, a guy who made an art of the K during his time as a Giant, swinging at balls in the dirt daily. Life is not fair, especially for former Phillie Aaron "I broke my nose for that team" Rowand. Life is not fair.

Now we have Charlie Manuel's gol-dang Phillies versus what looks to be a firing-on-all-cylinders Rays in the World Series. The Bank and the Trop are the venues. What a way to finish a weird 2008. I can't wait until an "instant" replay home run decides the whole thing.

The unlikely World Series

Go Rays, go Phillies.

How much fun is it see the BoSox go down? I'll jump on that Rays bandwagon. Worst to first. Live it up! Go Rays!

Check out the Rays Index for latest info.

Scotty Kazmir (right, mlb.com) pitches next.

In da house

Stephen and I had to paint a fence yesterday, so we listened to the end of the Phillies-Dodgers game on the radio and a lot of the Rays-Red Sox game before we switched to TV. I just lounged outside my dog house while he painted my fence. We were bonding. (see photo)

The Red Sox game was called by Jon Miller and Joe Morgan, and I really don't like Joe Morgan's style because he repeats things like eight times because he has nothing else to say. Just as a "for instance" (that's Palin talk, we're all getting accents, eh) Joe Morgan said that Red Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka often has bad command of his pitches until he gets in a jam and pitches out of it.

"So, Dice-K will throw pitches that aren't even close, then he'll pitch out of it."
"Dice-K is out of the strike zone, again, but then when he needs to throw strikes, he can."
"That's the thing about Dice-K, he just throws strikes when he has to."
"Dice-K really can't command his pitches, but somehow he strikes out batters."
"There goes Dice-K again, digging himself a hole then throwing strikes."
"I really don't like these Japanese guys coming over here and taking American jobs on the mound."

OK, so he didn't really say that last one, but you get the idea. Isn't there anything else going on in the game? Is there no other storyline?




That's Joe Morgan, left, and Daisuke Matsuzaka, right.
At least Jon Miller is telling me about the crazy dimensions of Tropicana Field, describing the length to the outfield walls and the short height of the fences.

And don't even get me started on Fox's Tim McCarver.

Woof

Jax

The Angels were robbed

Here's that play from the ALDS the other day. Because it was a controversial call involving a catcher, I'm just surprised A.J. Pierzynski wasn't there.

Core scores

This has nothing to do with baseball, but I thought everyone should know about the Core Score. Surfing Magazine came up with this list a few months ago, and they have added to the list each month. It's just a general rating for your life about how "core" you are. It's centered on surfing, but you get the idea. Blogging, incidently, is really bad for your core score.

Increase Your Core Score
beards
flannels
not having a cell phone
budweiser cans
no-look paddle outs
stitches
surfing alone
sleeping in your car
black coffee
sneaking in (anywhere)
running (but not for exercise)
not coming home
overtime
public radio
sailing alone
immigration
road sodas
gutters
hands-free barrels
train-hopping
on the rocks
last call
change
the pill
driving to Cabo
cheating
peeing outdoors


Decrease Your Core Score
walking your girlfriend's dog
faux-hawks
changing in a towel robe
salads
fur-lined boots
slacks
blogging
tanning
puka shell necklaces
Valentine's Day
drop knee
t-shirts with phrases
excessive sunscreen
getting sick
sleeping pills
beach chairs
gift baskets
Oprah
unusual hats
the surfing rulebook
tofu
worrying about gas prices
frozen yogurt
soundtracks
reality television
convertibles
plagiarism

Where do you stand?

Jax

Ray day

This story is way better than whatever I would have written today, so just read that instead. Go Rays!!!!

yawn,

Jax

Lay day

No baseball today, Tuesday. It's kind of a weird feeling. Everybody's looking for a Dodgers-Red Sox World Series. To see Manny "Man Ram" Ramirez back to face his former team at Fenway, Joe Torre back without a Yankees uniform on to beat the Red Sox. It would be hard not to root for L.A. ... What's a Giants fan to do? Except F around with his blog colors ...

I had fun yesterday when Victor the painter came by. He always lets me lick his face. I guess I got inspired by his painting prowess.

Stay cool,

Jax

Close finish

Hi folks, Jax here, just chillin' today.

Watching the Angels slug it out in 12 innings Sunday night was worth it, and I'm glad they came through to silence Fenway Park. Turning Jared Weaver into a closer was a stroke of genius, Mike Scioscia (right-credit mlb.com). Occasionally, Angels Manager Scioscia takes off his cap in the dugout and you can see he's losing his hair. I would too if I had the best players in baseball and they're getting waxed by the Red Sox (with an injured ace).

Which brings us to our loyalties. So, the Giants are done for the year, and some fans here want to root for the National League West team still in it. OK, that means the Dodgers, which doesn't, um, exactly sit well with Giants fans who are used to chanting "Beat L.A." at the mere sight of a Dodgers cap in the ballpark.

KNBR-AM 680 host extraordinaire Gary Radnich went so far as to say he was rooting for the Dodgers(!) in their series against the Cubs, in part to show that the NL West was stronger than everyone had thought. Radnich's phone lines lit up like a slot machine at Harrah's. "How could you?" they asked ...

If it's a Dodgers/Red Sox World Series, that would be a helluva series and it would be funny since so many "experts" wrote off the NL West for months. That doesn't mean I'm worshipping Vin Scully and wearing Dodger Blue or anything.

We have Game 4 of Angels vs. Red Sox tonight, and White Sox vs. Rays has already started in Chicago. The Phillies and Dodgers play Thursday for the National League Pennant. Go Phillies.

Speaking of Phillies, Stephen and I were cleaning up the yard Sunday when I showed him where I've been crapping for the last few weeks, over on the far end of our property. There were 20 or so presents for him there, and he saw them and patted me on the neck. You're ... welcome? I think he was just happy they were all in one place so he could dispose of them. Or something. I don't get it.

All I know is that I'm never going potty in the fenced-in area by my doghouse. That's just gross.

Live it up,

Jax

Shutouts

Woof! Wassup.

Some of my predictions turned out OK: I had the White Sox winning that tiebreaker then getting in a hole against the Rays, and lo and behold, it happened.

It's Saturday morning, and all the series are at 2-0. The Rays and Red Sox look destined to meet, and the Dodgers and Phillies will play for the National League pennant. But Anything Can Happen In Baseball. Lest we forget.

Speaking of forget, every night around 9 I always smell something outside. I'll be watching SportsCenter with the family in front of the couch, maybe chewing on a bone, and I sense a deer outside. I've seen a doe and some baby deer, so I know they're out there. So I get up and wait by the front door and give a big "woof" so they know to let me out. Then I just bolt out there and raise hell, barking like crazy. I think that scares them off.

It's been a pretty lazy week for me. Just lounging around on the tiled bathroom floor. It's nice and cool in there.

Baggarly's break

For those of you who haven't read Andrew Baggarly, he's the Giants beat writer for the San Jose Mercury News. He keeps a blog called Extra Baggs, and this post is pretty cool. It's about his last day covering the Giants this season, thoughts on the Cy Young, Omar Vizquel, and what goes on in the Giants clubhouse. Enjoy.

My apartment

I thought you guys might want to see more photos of where I blog from. It's a carpeted garage with a fenced-in outdoor area. I keep my laptop in the doghouse. It's pretty sweet.

Sox appeal

I'm tired of watching the Red Sox win games, and I know I'm not alone. But I did like after the Red Sox beat the Angels last night 4-1 that Jason Bay (at right) actually said something self deprecating on national television. A lot of players don't do that.

Bay was asked what it was like to strike out twice to Angels pitcher John Lackey before launching one into the seats. Bay replied, "I strike out a lot, it's a big part of my game." Then he grinned and went back to the script about being lucky enough to hit a home run ... Maybe it's because he's from Canada.

For the Brewers fans tonight, let's hope C.C. Sabathia can come up with the goods and shut down the Phillies like Hamels did to them Wednesday night.

My cousin, Lex

This is some water rescue stuff that my cousin, Lex, is doing in Livermore. Lex and I came from the same farm in Washington state. While I'm blogging, Lex is doing useful things like learning to rescue people in the water and towing boats and stuff with his teeth. Sucker. This is like 9 minutes long so you can watch the first 30 seconds and you get the idea ... Looks refreshing.

Neuterrific news

Henry, no one's going to neuter you for being aggressive, don't worry. And congrats on the Brewers making the playoffs.

Nobody's going to bother me for a few hours in the garage, so let's break down the playoffs which begin Wednesday. All games on TBS, times are PST. These are 5-game series.

1. Brewers vs. Phillies, 12 p.m. Wednesday
Yes, C.C. Sabathia should win the MVP for his clutch pitching on not-enough rest and complete-game mastery. Unfortunately, they'll be facing the Phillies in the first game at Citizens Bank Park and that team is looking way past this series and into the World Series. I fear that the Brewers are way too happy just to get in the playoffs to make it any further, and their bullpen is marginal at best. The playoffs are all about relief pitching. Also Ryan Howard has been on fire at the plate in the second half of the season, so watch out Brew Crew.

2. Cubs vs. Dodgers, 3:30 p.m. Wednesday
This is going to be the series to watch. The Cubs have a lot to prove in the first game at Wrigley, and they are trying to break a 100-year curse and win the World Series. Billy goats, black cats and Steve Bartman be damned. I just wonder if the pressure will get to them--also, if you see those flags in center field blowing straight out to Lake Michigan, watch the hell out for Manny Ramirez and any other Dodgers poking line drives off the wall or on to Waveland and Sheffield avenues. Ramirez is a nutjob, but boy, can he hit. He has to be the most exciting hitter in baseball right now, and he's shown that he wants to make a statement in the playoffs. There is talk of changing the HOLLYWOOD sign to MANNYWOOD in L.A., but that's probably just a rumor. If there were an award for best trade of the year, I would nominate Dodgers GM Ned Colletti. Since I'm a dog who just learned to type and not a member of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, I'm probably not eligible to vote. Also, keep an eye on Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano. The guy is an animal.

3. Angels vs. Red Sox 7 p.m. Wednesday
I pretty much hate both these teams at this point, but I have to give it to the Angels. Top to bottom they are the best lineup in baseball. Since they clinched their postseason slot like three weeks ago, I wonder how fresh they will be. The Sox have hitters, Josh Beckett is coming off an oblique injury, so he's iffy. I like how he gets pissed and just manhandles hitters though, gotta say. He's got the fire in him.

4. Twins or White Sox vs. Rays, 12 p.m. Thursday
This is some weird stuff, with the White Sox forcing a tiebreaker on Tuesday night. By the time your read this, the White Sox may have sewn it up, or I'm wrong. I predict either team is going to get bent over by the Rays, so who cares.

Any questions? It's really hot in this garage (photo at right). Sometimes I wish I could just take off my fur for a day and be comfortable. Why did I have to be born a wookie?

Jax

Tim Lincecum for Prez

Even you non-Giants fans out there have probably heard of Tim Lincecum by now, after the Giants' final game of the season on Sunday and his last push for the Cy Young award.

Lincecum (18-5) should win it. I could rattle off stats (finished the season with a 2.62 ERA, MLB leading 265 strikeouts, etc.) but it should be stated that he just dominates hitters. Twelve strikeouts Sunday? Holy %*#!

In other Giants news, who knew our favorite overweight catcher Big Money Bengie Molina had a blog?

It describes the weirdness of his hit off the top of the right field wall Friday night in San Francisco against the Dodgers. The hit was eventually ruled a home run after a 12-minute "instant" replay call. I'm beginning to think this new replay rule, well, sucks.

At least it was ruled a homer, since it hit off the green roofing and LEFT A 3-INCH GREEN MARK ON THE BALL. Did we need TV cameras and slow motion to tell us that? High-Def? Umm, no.

Also, because Bengie Molina originally thought he just got a single and was replaced by pinch runner Manny Burriss at first base, Molina became the first player in major league history to hit a home run that counted--and then have someone else round the bases for him.

When Burriss got back to the dugout, Molina laughed and said to him, "Nice swing."

Around my house this weekend, my new friend and neighbor Snowflake (the yellow lab) took me to meet his next door neighbor, a black lab whose name I forget. They also have 2 horses. It was dusk, and I got a little lost on the hillside, and then the owner of the black lab grabbed me by the collar and called the phone numbers on my dog tag because she thought I was lost. I was just cruising around...

Then Stephen came to pick me up, wearing sandals on the mountain trail. They all talked and introduced each other. I just wanted everybody to know each other, that's why I wondered off. Yeah, that's it. Also, horse food tastes fucking delicious. And those never-ending troughs of water--MMMMmmm. I just want to jump in. And then shake.

(Yawn),

Jax

Yankees, shmankees

Yes, Yankee Stadium 1 is closed. Yes, Yankee Stadium 2 will have more seats behind home plate for $2,000. A lot of history was made in the stadium, a lot of money will be made in the new one. I think if they really cared about its history they would have renovated it again and not started from scratch.

I caught parts of the last Yankee game Sunday and the Red Sox/Blue Jays game. I think the Brew Crew might not be sunk yet. They are 10 games out of the NL Central but only 1.5 games back in the wildcard to the Mets. Win all six games left against the Pirates and the Cubs in the last series and you're in. And pray for the Phillies and Mets to stumble.

As for the Giants, they were mathematically eliminated last week. It's all about next season.

Also, at right is a photo of me and the garage that I'm blogging from. More photos to come. I just need to figure out how to post them with the posts.

I didn't sleep really well last night, I kept snoring and Brooke told Stephen to poke me. I wouldn't roll over on the hardwood floor. Why don't they just get earplugs or something?