This may come a shock to some, but I've never been a fan of the Boston Red Sox. Seeing David Ortiz hit home runs has never made me jump for joy, watching Josh Beckett, Clay Buchholz and Jonathan Papelbon get wins and saves doesn't thrill me, and even though he's a Jew like me, Kevin Youkilis never gave me any reason to have pride in Jewish baseball players (now, players like Ian Kinsler and Ryan Braun have made me proud to be a Hebrew). So it should be no surprise that their longlasting rivalry with the Yankees has always made me excited to watch: what matchup of opponents could be more exciting, aside from the basketball meetings between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics (funny, another team from Boston involved in a heated rivalry)? What two other teams have such a long, intense history in which, no matter who wins what, they continuously try to one-up each other, always trying to stay in step or one step ahead of each other by any means necessary? What other rivalry has had so many layers, so many stories, and still not become one-sided? Unfortunately, that last part can't be said for even this rivalry in recent years. Since their last World Series appearance in 2007, the BoSox have dropped in the standings each year, most noticeably this season. It doesn't help that the Tampa Bay Rays have suddenly become one of the best teams in baseball and the biggest challenger to both the Sox and Yanks in the AL East, but aside from all the injuries that have made 2010 so heartwrenching for the Red Sox, they simply aren't the intimidating contenders they were just a couple of years ago. Could it be that the Yankees have more confidence from their most recent Series win and are therefore playing better because of it? Maybe the Yanks had less significant injuries and less players on the DL? Whatever the case, it became evident early on this year that the two teams that were really fighting for dominance in the AL East were the Yanks and the Rays. The best thing I can think to say about Boston is that they've won enough games to only be 7.5 games out of 1st and 5.5 games out of the wild card. What does that tell you about their season? With the way the Yanks have been playing this year and last, it's safe to say that the rivalry is pretty much dead now. Of course, it'll be revived once the Sox get back into form, but with a different star landing on the disabled list seemingly every other week, it could be a while before Boston can hold their own amongst the big boys.
I've digressed from the point I wanted to make. This rivalry is the best in any sport, and yet, for the past couple of seasons, the scales have tipped heavily in New York's favor. Some might claim that I'm only saying this because of my loyalties, but even a neutral observer can tell that the Red Sox's performance from its players has seriously dropped as of late. There have been some highlights for the Boston crew: the acquisition of Adrian Beltre and of Marco Scutaro has boosted them immensely, but as stated earlier, it's been all the injuries and important players out that has really put a damper on their season. While not impossible, it seems unlikely that the Sox will be able to pull ahead in the standings and make the playoffs this year, unless either the Yanks or the Rays suddenly lose all dominance, every player on both teams' rosters gets sick and dies, the world stops spinning, the apocalypse happens, et cetera. So, sorry, Boston fans...on the other hand, I'm not sorry at all.
Something I used to not really be able to grasp was why home-field advantage is such a big deal in sports. Now that I'm older, I understand: the home team knows their field better than any other team or field they visit, so it stands to reason that they should play better because of it, right? Well, not necessarily. All the time, I hear a lot of talk about how some parks (such as Colorado's Coors Park, Texas's Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, and Arizona's Chase Field, the top 3 ballparks on the list of hitter-friendlies) are such that even the weakest player can put up spectacular numbers. If that's the case, then home-field advantage becomes a non-factor; sure, the home team knows the park and where to hit it, but it seems like the opposing team stands just as good of a chance to knock in a good amount of runs. So why does this supposed "advantage" matter so much in some matchups? Every day, many teams win in a park that isn't theirs, it's not very difficult to do. And yet, in the playoffs, it seems crucial to have this apparent upper hand. Why? If the team you're facing is good, they'll beat you either in your town or theirs, it just depends where you want to lose. Do you only watch the All-Star Game each year just to see which league will win and therefore get home-field advantage through the playoffs? If you're like me, you probably watch the game, oh, I don't know, to see the game's top players all together on one field, facing off to prove who's the best? The prize is ancillary in my eyes. Like I said, if a team is that good, they'll win in any park against an inferior team. Everyone should understand this, regardless of what team you root for: I heard a good friend, who's a Braves fan, say after the ASG, "Well, the question this season is simply, 'Where are the Yankees going to win the World Series this year if they don't have home-field?'" The outcome of the game rarely depends on much more than, believe it or not, effective defense and/or offense by one or both teams, not whether or not the grass is real or just astro-turf. Sure, if a player isn't accustomed to one of the two and slides because he wasn't aware of the force and blah blah blah physics, then it can maybe influence the game to some degree, but it's only if he gets injured severely that it really makes a difference. Good players can do well anywhere.
With that in mind, I want to talk about Miguel Cabrera, someone I barely knew about before this season. From his quiet rookie season (quiet meaning putting up 12 homers and 62 RBIs in just a little over half a season...oh, and a homer in the World Series that helped his then-home team Marlins beat my New York boys and win it all) to his first All-Star appearance since being traded into the American League, he's the best player that's most likely managed to stay below most of your radars. That is, until this year, when he just refuses to go unnoticed any longer. As of this post, he's hit 25 home runs, 89 RBIs, and has an average of almost .350. Aside from Toronto's Jose Bautista, who leads the game with 30 dingers, he's tied with Paul Konerko of the White Sox for the second most long shots, and is leading in RBIs and batting average. If he can manage to pull ahead of both players, we could see the first batting Triple Crown winner in baseball since 1967, when Carl Yastrzemski of the Red Sox managed to accomplish the feat. The fact that no other batter has achieved this in 43 years, especially when you consider how many amazing batting moments there have been just in my lifetime, should give you some insight into Cabrera's turnaround season. If it weren't for the fact that they were also dealing with some debilitating injuries, Miguel could be commanding Detroit into the playoffs (they're currently 6 games out of the White Sox and 5.5 games behind the Twins, so while not impossible, with Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Guillen out for a good while this late in the season, it'll be difficult to get back in the thick of things before October rolls around). Cabrera's amazing capabilities absolutely deserve a Triple Crown win, and it'll be a shame if he falls short because some schmuck in Canada got lucky a few times more than Miguel (even though he's hit 30 this season, Bautista's 89 career home runs and 286 RBIs pale in comparison to Cabrera's career stats of 235 and 844, respectively). It's ridiculous to think that Jose will step back and allow Cabrera to pass him by, but it just makes the race (not that Bautista has a shot at the Triple Crown; rather, his lead in homers could just make it out of reach for Cabrera) more complicated, and therefore more exciting. I know I'll be rooting for the Tigers slugger over the former Tampa Bay Ray, for obvious reasons.
In my next post, I'll focus solely on the big name trades made in this year's trade deadline, and how some of them already seem to be benefitting the team sending the good players instead of those receiving them.
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