On March 7, Josh and I made our postseason predictions through the league championship games. Why we didn’t pick a World Series winner, I don’t know.
I chose the Yankees and Mariners in the AL and the Braves and Pirates in the NL. Josh picked Tampa Bay and the Angels, the Cubs and the Rockies.
When your favorite team is playing in the postseason, emotions change with every pitch. I remember well the sleep-deprivation I “suffered” during the Royals runs in 2014 and 2015. It was a blast, and that was just from a fan’s perspective.
On Sunday, even after an 0 – 4 start, the Cyclones had a chance to qualify for the postseason. We had to win and the Yogis had to win and run differential mattered and I’m fairly certain the number of people wearing high socks also factored into the equation.
And then the rains came.
For the second time, the Cyclones and Rangers were rained out. The season standings were declared official so the playoffs could begin on October 13 with Championship Weekend and the Kids Home Run Derby on October 20.
“Anyway, a good friend of mine used to say, ‘This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball. You hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains.’ Think about that for a while.”
In Bull Durham, Nuke LaLoosh first said these words of profound baseball wisdom.
From my experience this season, it could be said this way, “Sometimes you hit, sometimes you get hit, sometimes you strain a calf muscle.”
This Sunday, October 13, at high noon, for the third and final time, the Cyclones will attempt to play the Rangers. It’s the Consolation Game before the first round of the playoffs where Mark’s High Rollers will play the Yogis. When I first read the email, I thought it said “concession” instead of “consolation” and started hoping for free Dr Pepper.
It will be my last game this season, which means I better prepare a seat by the window so I can wait until spring.**
As for the MLB playoffs, with the Royals out of the picture, I’m cheering for extra innings, series that come down to the final game, and anyone but the Yankees to win.
** “People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.” —Rogers Hornsby
