The Giants and Rangers are like a breath of fresh air to me. This series is going to be ridiculously sick, and I personally think it's nice to see two fun, young, exciting, and most importantly, DIFFERENT teams playing in this year's World Series. But it seems I am in the minority. Apparently "baseball fans" are disappointed in what this season has boiled down to. That being two terrific and deserving teams playing some top-notch baseball. Why would we want to see that? I mean who in their right mind wants to see a series full of pitching duels, clutch hitting, and great defense. Sounds awful, apparently. Tonight two of the best pitchers alive are going to toe the rubber and most people won't watch. Not just ordinary people, baseball fans won't watch. I think the problem is that there's no villain, no one to hate, in this series. Each team took out the Goliath of their respective leagues. We were cheering for both of them last week, how do we pick one now. There is no one to cheer against. A fan either wants a team to pull for, or have the chance of relishing a losing performance of a team they loathe. Even if the team you hate wins, it gives you all the more reason to hate them and their fans even more. But not this year. We have two evenly matched, likable teams. What a bummer.
I am respectfully disagreeing with the sentiment of my fellow baseball fans. I think this has the potential to be one of the most extraordinary series that I have witnessed. It will be a refreshing change to see the energy and passion these guys bring to the field. Won't it be a welcome change from the usual powerhouse teams with their ho-hum, "I already have 4 rings" attitudes. It's going to be thrilling. The fresh faces of electric players like Lincecum and Andrus replace the Pettites and Jeters of past years. There are Cy Young winners on the hill as well as MVP caliber players like Josh Hamilton swinging the lumber. You think that guy ever thought he'd be here? I bet you one thing, he's going to take advantage of it, and do his best to put on a show. But not everyone sees it my way I guess. According to a New York Times/CBS poll, 54 percent of the country called the potency of the Rangers lineup and its hitters' ability to change the complexion of a game with one swing "a total killjoy," 42 percent said they would rather watch the Boston Red Sox beat up on a small market team than watch Cliff Lee continue his Koufax-like postseason run, and 84 percent said the only way they would watch a single game of what is sure to be the most exciting baseball of the year would be if 79-year-old Willie Mays suited up to start in center field. When asked how they felt about the depth and complexity of both teams' bullpens adding another fascinating element to the World Series, a majority of those polled were silent for approximately seven seconds before hanging up the phone.
This is a quote I found regarding the same poll. "The worst thing about this World Series is that with the outstanding ability of the Giants and Rangers to hit, run, and field, and with no real asshole to root against, it just feels like a celebration of baseball," Paul Rockwell of Uniontown, PA told reporters. "And that sucks. Do you know why that sucks? Because I'm a horrible, shallow person, and while I like to think of myself as a fan, I only get off on story lines and personalities completely unrelated to the game itself."
This is a shame and I hope by the end of the series people change their tune a little because this will be good baseball. And shouldn't that be the most important thing? What's wrong with a celebration of basball, anyway?
