Opinion

Now a 2-1 win is a 2-1 win, and I am sure Joe Torre and the Dodgers will gladly take this sure loss and head to Philly with a split.

What perplexes me though is the way managers continue to take 162 games worth of coaching and strategy and throw it out the window once the playoffs roll around.

Now can someone explain the thought process behind having Russell Martin squared to bunt in that situation?

Now it all worked out in the end, but to have a legitimate MLB hitter who had only dropped down two sacrifice bunts all year force the issue makes no sense to me.

I generally have a huge distaste for the month of October.

It’s typically the beginning of Jack Frost’s six month reign over my life. It includes grown adults dressing up as anything from Harry Potter to Michelangelo’s David. Parents turn cute three-month-old babies into flowers, clowns and any array of Disney characters.

By now, my fantasy football team has suffered through five weeks of “come on Larry Johnson."

By now it has become common knowledge even among the most novice Milwaukee Brewer fan that JJ Hardy will be dealt this offseason. Alcides Escobar has been groomed to become the starter, and the job will be his from day one in 2010.

Hardy had an awful 2009, that saw him demoted in August to Triple-A. He spent enough time in the minors that his service time this year won't count towards his free agency eligibility, so whichever team trades for him will have his services for two years and not one.

If you have read any of my columns over the summer, you know I am a die-hard, tried-and-true rabid Atlanta Braves fan. I usually watch around 120 games a year on TV, about three in person, and another 10 or so I catch on radio based on time constraints and such.

Winning the division and going to the postseason is not a treat awarded every team. Many would agree that the Twins enjoyed a respectable 2009 campaign, despite it being a roller coaster of emotion. Fans survived the low moments, and enjoyed the high points.

Mishandling the re-signing of Joe Mauer , however, could de-rail the roller coaster for years to come.

On October 16, 1969, Baltimore has a runner on base with two outs.  The Orioles are trailing by two runs in the top half of the ninth inning.  They are on the brink of an incredible elimination in the World Series.  Mets' starter Jerry Koosman has his sign and delivers the pitch to Baltimore's second-baseman Davey Johnson.  Johnson swings.  He hits a long and towering fly ball to left field.  Left-fielder Cleon Jones is tracking the fly ball.  He continues tracking the ball back, back, back, almost at the warning track.  Jones reads it.  He opens his glove awaiting the catch, dropping drop

NEW YORK—We’re imploring and dreaming of an epic classic, a spectacle that’s enticing enough to discard all the steroid bust that has disappointed us for much of the season. Right now, baseball happens to have a dream series in mind, as many are thinking blue and wishing for pinstripes.

Yes, our eyes are set on a Dodgers-Yankees World Series, and to predict a series, it has the makings for a historic and memorable classic in ages.

The Mets have several holes to fill this winter, and one of the many concerns is the starting rotation.

Oliver Perez, John Maine, and Mike Pelfrey all may have the talent to be solid starters behind Johan Santana, but all three of them need to prove that they can contribute positively to the rotation for the whole season.

Perez missed a significant portion of the last season because of lingering knee trouble, which did require surgery, but prior to that, he had a lot of problems with his control and was placed in the bullpen. 

Joe Torre is a Hall of Fame manager.

Take that to the bank. Play the Lottery with it. Bet the mortgage. Use your wife and kids as collateral, if you like. It’s as sure a thing as the Earth being a spheroid (a trifle flat at the poles), our Sun being ridiculously hot, divorce rates being on the rise, and our President’s approval ratings being on the decrease.