It has been suggested in some quarters that I am inadvertently jinxing a baseball team. I regard superstition with contempt.
But in the interest of blog harmony, here is a 100% neutral open thread about the current baseball event. May the best team win.
Mary G
The jinx is older than you are, BC.
debbie
I haven’t followed baseball in many years, but if it can’t be the Yankees — Go, Cleveland!
redshirt
Just jinxed them by mentioning the jinx.
Thanks, Betty Cracker.
EmanG
Cubbies!!!
SiubhanDuinne
GO CUBBIES!!
2-0, WOOT!
artem1s
It’s baseball. there is always a jinx!
BruceFromOhio
Oh, bullshit, BC, you got your fingers crossed behind your back when you posted that.
I see CHI bats have awakened, and grins abound in the Cubs dugout.
I hope that Gaia-damnable rain holds off long enough to finish this.
PLAY BALL
Cacti
There’s no such thing as jinxes, curses, or whatever damnable excuse gets made.
There’s winning and losing.
Elmo
My boss is from Cleveland, and he’s been good to me. The bargaining unit that is the biggest pain in my ass is in Chicago.
GO TRIBE!
JPL
OT.. This Luckovich political cartoon made me laugh.. link
Laughter is the best medicine. or so I’ve been told.
Schlemazel
There must be jinx, how else could anyone ever explain a .340 hitter going 0-5 or a .233 hitter going 3-4? The only possible explanation is supernatural forces blessing or cursing based on proper ritual.
Honus
Fuck the cubs. We’re supposed to feel good for obvious assholes like Maddox and Arrieta because the Cubs have sucked for 70 years? I don’t think so.
redshirt
@Schlemazel: I love the idea that because I wore my lucky hat or sat in my lucky seat or ate my lucky meal, I changed the outcome of an event to which logically I have no effect on whatsoever.
Is there a word to describe this type of superstition, as opposed to the type which is like don’t walk under ladders, don’t break mirrors, when you spill salt throw some over your shoulder, etc?
Amir Khalid
Like you, Betty Cracker, I am completely neutral on the World Series. I just wonder how America’s national championship for pro baseball teams came to be called the World Series. Is there not an international tournament for the top baseball teams from Japan, South Korea, the Caribbean, Canada, and the US?
?BillinGlendaleCA
I guess I have to root for the Cubs, they did spring train here in LA(Catalina Island) and the original Wrigley Field was here in South LA(the California Angles, a minor league team played there).
MomSense
My mom is rooting for Cleveland but I’d kind of like to see the Cubs win. I’ll be happy for whichever team wins.
Oldest kid moves far away in a week. He is so great and it’s really nice to see how mature he is and what a good partner he is with his girlfriend. So it’s bittersweet thinking about him leaving. Happy he’s living well but I’ll miss him. Spending as much time as we have playing music. On a whim we’ve decided to perform at an open mic this weekend.
raven
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Home of Home Run Derby!
Cacti
@redshirt:
The superstitions of players can actually affect their performance in the sense that if they don’t go through their pre-game ritual, wear their enchanted jock strap, etc. it can put them off mentally.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Amir Khalid: We have the US and Canada, there are other countries?
debbie
@JPL:
Definitely Ick.
debbie
@MomSense:
Nice. You’ve clearly done a great job raising him.
raven
@Honus: You say that like someone gives a rats fucking ass what you “feel”. Douche
p.a.
Agreed to go tautog fishing tomorrow before I checked the weather report. Oy. ‘Down cellar’ to get the wool and polarfleece.
Cacti
@Amir Khalid:
Sadly, no.
I’d love it if professional baseball did something like the UEFA champions league. But the baseball season is awfully long as is, so I don’t think they ever will.
Old Dan and Little Anne
My wife saw a bumper sticker today, ‘Hang Hillary and her sheeple.’ Classy. Go Tribe.!
raven
@p.a.: Ya’ll got goofy names for fish. Fluke indeed.
jl
@Cacti:
Can’t Canada be in the world series if the Blue Jays are good enough?
I did a youtube search to see about other varieties of Canadian baseball, and apparently the Canada and Mexico teams put on good brawls.
COMPLETE World Baseball Classic Brawl – CANADA VS MEXICO Mar 9 2013 Best Brawl!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAtGT-fFvr0
Amir Khalid
@Cacti:
And baseball doesn’t have an equivalent of FIFA either, does it?
BruceFromOhio
It would not surprise me to see Bauer pulled before 100 pitches.
ETA: Shit, hit submit and it happens. Deja vu all over again.
raven
@Amir Khalid:
Tilda Swinton's Bald Cap
p.a.
@raven: It’s American!
R-Jud
@BruceFromOhio:
Prescient.
raven
@p.a.: I took a picture of the Narragansett statue once.
Cacti
@Amir Khalid:
No.
The International Baseball Federation is now defunct.
Schlemazel
@redshirt:
That is an interesting question, I’d be interested in looking into that.
Back in 2000 my favorite college team won the national championship & the next year fans that were at the banner raising were given a cheap metal copy of the ring. I put mine in a drawer and didn’t really think about it. 6 years ago the team was having a rough go but they made they made it into their league championship game against a team with a bit more talent. I was in my drawer & noticed the ring & thought “why not?” and put it on for the game. They won. They then won the next 3 for the national championship, it was not expected. I took to wearing the ring to every game, they won another national championship & won 62 games before having to settle for a tie. They won the championship that year too. Now I know the ring had nothing to do with it but I find I can’t go to a game without the thing now because there has to be some reason ;)
JPL
@Tilda Swinton’s Bald Cap: ding.. wow
p.a.
@raven: The carver has done at least one in every state, and 2 in Canada (not yet a state).
What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?
I sooo want to root for the Cubs, but I have strong family ties in Cleveland and they are diehard baseball fans so, Go Tribe! Even if it is a little un-PC.
SiubhanDuinne
@Cacti:
Oh yeah? I watched Steve Avery lead his teammates in turning their caps into “rally caps” during the NLCS 1992, and damned if the Braves didn’t win the pennant later that week! Superstition is real! And it works!
SiubhanDuinne
@p.a.:
Hey!!
BruceFromOhio
@R-Jud: Commentary on local sportsball yakkity-yak has sliced and diced the pitching strategy. Francona has stated he won’t over-spool his pitching staff, and the bullpen has plenty of depth. By that strategy, starters can get pulled early, too. CHI bats tormented the LAD pitching staff with alternating hot and cold, and now Bauer was getting too erratic. Get him out before CLE gets in a hole they can’t get out of, and he can rest up for game six … if needed.
Pogonip
@Elmo: You DID send in your payment in small unmarked bills, didn’t you?
raven
@p.a.: Well I took a picture of the one in Rhode Island when my fluke trip got cancelled.
BruceFromOhio
@SiubhanDuinne:
It is! People believe the stupidest Gaia-damned things.
No, it does not. It does, however, make people look foolish.
Pogonip
@?BillinGlendaleCA: My aunts make these incomprehensible references to mythical places called “Thailand” and “South Korea.” Probably saw them on Game of Thrones.
R-Jud
@BruceFromOhio:
As evidenced by that strikeout McAllister chucked right after he took the mound (and the 95-mph pitches he’s slinging right now). Sensible.
Hope it’s Cubs in five, though. Not least because all these games air at midnight or 1 a.m. where I live. :-)
Bill E Pilgrim
@SiubhanDuinne: Canada is eh state of mind.
FlipYrWhig
@R-Jud: DROOOOONES!
SiubhanDuinne
@BruceFromOhio:
How the Grinch Stole Baseball. Jeez, man, loosen up a little, okay? It’s a fucking game. And people like to have fun with it.
Mary G
@Amir Khalid: When they started the World Series, it didn’t even cover all of America, only the East Coast to St. Louis, I think.
Mike J
I seem to recall a few years ago Cleveland said they were going to downplay Chief Wahoo logo and just use a red C in its place. What ever happened to that?
R-Jud
Christ, ten pitches? Rizzo’s last at-bat lasted almost as long as this presidential campaign.
BruceFromOhio
@R-Jud: Whoo! That’s gonna mess with your sleep cycle! DVR, mate, and then avoid the ‘nets. Reclaim your REMs before you go off your trolley.
R-Jud
Cubs score!
Bill E Pilgrim
@Amir Khalid: There’s a long-standing rumor that it was named after the newspaper named “The World” which supposedly sponsored it, but Snopes says nopes, pretty convincingly.
The whole history, if you’re so inclined, is here.
Pogonip
@Mike J: They took a look at their books and realized how much money they make off Chief Wahoo. T-shirts, beer steins, key chains, bumper stickers…
wmd
Red Sox win was the opening of one of the seven seals. Cubs win in the World Series would mean the final seal is opened – the apocalypse would be upon us. What this means for the election is left as an exercise for the commentariat.
Punchy
@Honus: You’re calling Maddox an asshole, asshole? Is this a joke? Go fuck yourself. Go Cubs!
BruceFromOhio
@Pogonip: Shit, after this year, they could swap it out for Larry Dolan’s left testicle and still make $
Honus
@raven: oh yeah. Sorry I hurt you fucking fee fees mr VPI fan.
SiubhanDuinne
@Amir Khalid:
I have heard (but, in fairness, I have also seen refuted) that the World Series is so named because the original sponsor was a daily newspaper, the New York World. IOW, never had anything to do with vying for a championship among all baseball teams on the planet.
But, as I say, I’ve also heard that that story is a myth.
Gemina13
I’m having a goat burrito from a great little Mexican place tonight. Go Cubs!
redshirt
@Schlemazel: Clearly the ring is magic.
raven
@Honus: ~What a fucking dork.
Omnes Omnibus
@BruceFromOhio: Would you like to buy my tiger-repelling rock?
redshirt
@SiubhanDuinne: It is a World championship in essence though. No Japanese or Cuban team could seriously beat the best MLB team. And all the best players in the world come to the MLB to play.
BruceFromOhio
Looking up UK English colloquialisms while the opponent is at bat CAUSED THE OPPONENT TO SCORE. Clearly there is a cause & effect power at work here, and I better not do that again.
Schlemazel
@redshirt: there just is not other possible explanation! :D
SiubhanDuinne
@redshirt:
True all dat.
Jim Parene
I’m not a baseball fan, I root for The Mets. ;-)
BruceFromOhio
@Omnes Omnibus: Only if it prevents me from looking up UK English colloquialisms while the opponent is at bat, otherwise THE OPPONENT WILL SCORE.
Collapse, utter collapse of CLE defense. FedEx me the fucking rock, stat!
ETA: The looking up of UK English colloquialisms while the opponent is at bat is going to cause back-to-back shutouts by both teams for the first time in history, I can just FEEL IT.
Have you posted the rock yet? I’m dying here.
R-Jud
@BruceFromOhio: It’s clearly ME causing the scoring, not you. I’m a Chicago expat awake in the small hours, I’m wearing my lucky bucket hat, and I found some Goose Island on sale at my local Sainsbury’s.
Further evidence: last night I went to bed at a reasonable hour and missed the game. The Cubs lost. QED.
Bill E Pilgrim
Obligatory Neutral Planet reference because of the title.
Honus
@Punchy: yes unequivocally maddox is an asshole.
Amir Khalid
@redshirt:
There are assumptions in your comment that need to be tested, methinks.
BruceFromOhio
@R-Jud: Oh, sure. Like that’s supposed to make me feel better. Watch this …
Bollocks! Bobs your uncle! How’s your dad??
ETA:… and they retire the side after allowing only 3 more runs, so maybe it’s the hat and the Goose after all. *grumbles*
Honus
@raven: fuck you raven. It was about what you feel. I don’t give a fuck about the Cubs. Or VPI. Or your fucking bulldogs.
Jim Parene
@p.a.: ‘Tog fishing was always my favorite time of their, on North Shore of L.I. Great eating. Catching Blackfish is definitly a skill. In NY, I could put you on fish from the T.Neck Bridge to the canyons east of Montauk. Here in Fla., I’m the rookie, learning how fish it Gulf Style. Snapper, Grouper, Spanish Macs., etc. Good times and good eating!
p.a.
I still say managers should dress like Connie Mack.
R-Jud
@BruceFromOhio: Oi. Wind your neck in.
SiubhanDuinne
@wmd:
I keep telling y’all and telling y’all: you gotta read W. P. Kinsella’s short story “The Last Pennant Before Armageddon,” which can be found in his s.s. collection The Thrill of the Grass.
Honus
@raven: I agree. You are dork.
MomSense
@debbie:
Thank you for saying that but honestly I think I just try to stay out of the way.
raven
Who is this motherfucker? I’ve never seen it here.
SiubhanDuinne
@BruceFromOhio:
Old Uncle Tom Cobbleigh and all.
p.a.
@Honus: @raven:
Couldn’t you two just email each other?
BruceFromOhio
@R-Jud: *laughs* well said. Matters not, this contest is gonna rain out right around the seventh-inning stretch.
redshirt
@raven: FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!
redshirt
@Amir Khalid: Assumptions, yes, but I feel confident in their accuracy.
PaulWartenberg2016
GO RAYS
R-Jud
@BruceFromOhio: As long as Arietta continues allowing no hits, I am good with that.
ETA: And your guys bring out their fourth pitcher. Swappin’ ’em like Trump swaps campaign managers.
raven
@redshirt: Who IS this motherfucker? Is he with you?
BruceFromOhio
… and the bitter, acrid juice of a dumpster fire spot is rinsed clean by an advert for the upcoming Lady Gaga tour, restoring balance to this tortured existence …
p.a.
@raven: Think it’s DougJ! He’s never really liked you.
raven
@p.a.: Huh, never hoid of da bum.
MomSense
@raven:
Fuck Honus and LBJ too.
Punchy
@Honus: Got a link to something assholeish? Otherwise you’re just throwing troll bombs.
Gravenstone
@Honus: Who the fuck is Maddox? The manager is Joe Maddon. The pitcher was Greg Maddux. Fucking inbred buffoon, you are.
Gin & Tonic
@p.a.:
Ha! It’s going to be in the upper 20’s in the morning. Enjoy.
raven
@Gravenstone: If there is something dumber than calling Virginia Tech “VAH TECH” it’s calling them VPI. This is one stupid fuck.
BruceFromOhio
@R-Jud: Aye, they’re making a bodge job of it. CLE is getting the LAD treatment, till the rain puts out the fires these CHI bats have set. Oy!
raven
@Gin & Tonic: I’d go if I could.
Betty Cracker
@SiubhanDuinne: When my mom was sick a few years back, I spent hours reading Kinsella stories to her, including “The Iowa Baseball Confederacy.” She is the reason I root for the Cubs.
raven
Well shit, this game is going for at least another hour. The 7pm start didn’t help much, what a slow ass sport,
Betty Cracker
@raven: It really is.
raven
@Betty Cracker: Time for the DVR!!!
EriktheRed
The CUBS are currently in the process of reminding the Indians (and their fans) that they don’t have the best record in baseball this year for nothin’.
Anoniminous
@raven:
Time to break out a classic.
raven
@Anoniminous: Nice
BruceFromOhio
@EriktheRed: I demand you post that comment again, as it CLEARLY has enabled CLE to get on base.
raven
Ugh, here come the relievers.
maybe not
Jay C
OMG Indians score on a WP!
redshirt
@raven: No idea. I just like fights – that I’m not involved with.
BruceFromOhio
@raven: A few more in the dirt like that, and probably, yeah.
ETA: …and here it comes…
BruceFromOhio
@redshirt: “Let’s you and him fight!”
.. though it could be Popeye, or … Satan.
EriktheRed
@BruceFromOhio: I accept the challenge:
The CUBS are currently in the process of reminding the Indians (and their fans) that they don’t have the best record in baseball this year for nothin’.
(They’re still up by 4, after all)
Punchy
Cubs leave more stranded than OHare.
BruceFromOhio
@EriktheRed: *laughs* nicely done, sir, nicely done. This one’s done, stick a fork in it. This series is going to 7.
@Anoniminous: That was fun, and then it rolled into Robin Williams ripping on golf that was also fun. “We’ll make ’em do it 18 times!”
Old Dan and Little Anne
@Betty Cracker: Baseball is my first love. I read that book about 15 years ago and didn’t much care for it. Maybe I should read it again.
SFAW
@Jim Parene:
Careful.
Steeplejack (tablet)
Okay, the rain has held off; let’s get this game in the books. Bottom of the ninth coming up.
BruceFromOhio
@SiubhanDuinne: Fun, had. Next time, it’s Omnes tiger rock and R-Juds bucket hat while ErikTheRed taunts Indians fans, and CHI shall reign before the rain. BelieveLand!
EriktheRed
See?
SEE????
BruceFromOhio
Can’t see anything in here.
MCA1
@Gravenstone: Damn. You beat me to it. I mean, Honus, if you’re gonna be a hater, at least try to get the fucking names of the people you’re supposed to be hating on right.
Besides, the “obviousness” of the assholishness you decry is lost on everyone but you. There’s pretty much zero to go on to call Joe Maddon or Jake Arrieta anything in that zip code (or Greg Maddux, for that matter). In fact, it’s obvious to pretty much the entire world, other than d-bags and Cards fans, that Maddon, in particular, would be like a top 10 invite for Thanksgiving dinner.
Tehanu
I’m rooting for the Cubs (born on the North Side, I was) but I like Cleveland too. Anyhow, the WS sucks when any team — even one I hate — gets swept; I want to see real competition. If the Indians win 2 or even 3 games, that works — as long as that’s all. So far, so good!