Well, this is going to be about sports. And if you didn’t know that this was going to be about sports then A) you probably can’t understand a theme and B) you don’t know me. I guess it is entirely possible that you don’t know me, but my writing will bring insight into that. I’ll start off by saying that I do have favorite sports teams, as any actual fan of sports does. They would be (in a relatively important order): the New York Yankees, the Minnesota Vikings, the Buffalo Sabres, the St. Bonaventure Bonnies, the New York Knicks, and the RIT Tigers. They each have a special place in my heart, and never expect any of them to change. I will follow that up with the fact that I will try to talk about them as little as possible, and if I do, it will probably be in a bashing fashion. I have a very wide interest in sports, and it effects just about every waking moment of my life. I understand that that may seem naïve, or pointless, but hey there is something that gets you out of bed in the morning.
I guess I can begin my first rant at this point. Being that it is the month of October that means one thing, no not pumpkin spice lattes and the coming of the Uggs, but playoff baseball. It has been a pretty entertaining post-season so far, witnessing a game 163 and Buctober was cool for a wee bit. However, my rant will be aimed at the Cleveland Indians and Oakland Athletics. The Indians were able to become the lead pony in the hectic AL Wild Card scene down the stretch, earning a home game against the Tampa Bay Rays for the wild card game. The A’s looked awfully good in September and were able to win the AL West, meaning a divisional series against the Detroit Tigers.
Now I realize in both of the games I am about to talk about that the teams scored a combined zero runs, and well you can’t win that way last time I checked. However, in the Indians game they decided to throw Danny Salazar, a rookie with ten starts in the big leagues. The Indians went on to lose 4-0, but my question is did starting Salazar really give them the best chance of winning that game? I know it was his turn in the rotation, but Justin Masterson pitched in relief. Your ace was pretty well rested from not starting for most of September, so what were you saving him for your hopeful Game 1 of the ALDS? Toss zeroes with your ace.
Now, please keep in mind that I was actually rooting for these teams in each of these games. The A’s came down to the winner-take-all Game 5 of the ALDS with the Tigers. Bob Melvin decided to throw his rookie Sonny Gray, who had made waves after his sparkler in Game 2. Evidently, he decided that Gray made more sense than the revitalized, ever-so-slim Bartolo Colon. Going up against Justin Verlander, and knowing that you aren’t an offensive team means you need zeroes! How can you have faith in a 23 year old that only made twelve appearances all year? Start the more proven guy.
Maybe I’m wrong, but sometimes I wonder if I could do your job.
Sports Sarcasm 