Hey PoorLittleRichGirls and you guys looking for PoorLittleRichGirls. How’s everyone doing? You will be hearing from me from time to time on this website and I hope you enjoy what you hear. I know a little about sports and music and a lot about baseball so I will be sticking to my strengths. For tips on eye makeup or shoe sales I’ll refer you to the girls. But, if you want to know about the Cubs, the infield fly rule, or why the baseball managers (40 to 65 year old fat guys) wear the same uniforms as the players (buff 20-somethings) I’m your guy.
I have been fortunate enough to make a living doing what I love. I have played Major League Baseball (9 years with the San Francisco Giants and Toronto Blue Jays), coached (5 years with the Giants), managed (4 years with the Arizona Diamondbacks including the 2001 World Champions), and broadcast (including 3 World Series, numerous playoff series, and 2 All-Star games). I am currently the color analyst (along with play-by-play partner Len Kasper. I’m the guy on the right) for your Chicago Cubs on WGN -TV and Comcast Sportsnet.
With the Cubs in the playoffs and the Sox still in the running, it should be a wild fall (wardrobe check- you won’t see shorts and tank tops at a World Series game in late October. Think scarves and North Face.) Hope to see you at a game sometime. Go Cubs!Since it looks more and more like both our hometown baseball teams wil make the playoffs this year I thought it might be helpful to explain how they work.
First, the basics. There are two leagues, American and National. Within each league there are three divisions, East, Central, and West. Each division will ultimately have a champion. Those six teams automatically qualify for the playoffs. Besides the six division champs there is also a wild card team from each league. The wild card team is the second place team with the best record of all second place teams in each league. That adds up to four teams in each league who will qualify for the playoffs.
The first round of the playoffs is called the division series. The team with the best record in each league plays the wild card team. The other two division champs play each other.
The format for the division series is best of five. Win three games and you advance to the next round.
The next round is the League Championship Series, one for the American League and one for the National League. The format for this round is best of seven games. Win four games and you advance.
Now we’re down to two teams and they play in the World Series. The format for the World Series is also best of seven games. Win four games and you will be crowned 2008 World Champions.
The best team doesnt always win the World Series. Sometimes its the team thats playing best at that particular time. A wild card team has played in the World Series the last six years and has won the World Series three of those years.
If the playoffs started today, the match ups from the American League would be the Anaheim Angels vs. Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays Vs. either the White Sox or the Minnesota Twins.
In the National League it’ll be the Los Angeles Dodgers vs. the Cubs and the Philadelphia Phillies vs. Milwaukee Brewers as the wild card team.
There is a real possibility that the White Sox and the Cubs could meet in the World Series this year. Wouldnt that be a hoot! Start making your party plans now, or make plans to leave town until the craziness ends.
Hint: If you want to impress your boyfriend with your baseball knowledge, tell him you dont think the division series is a fair test of a team. Since it is only a five game series, teams can use their best pitchers only and the depth of your roster is not important. Why is the first round only five games while the next two rounds are seven games? No particular reason, it just is.
