Teams To Root For, Part 3

The third team on my list of teams to root for now that the Mariners are definitely out of the running is...
...the San Diego Padres

They are my original home town team, as I was born there and lived there for the first several years of my life. There are a few reasons for everyone else to root for them, too, though.

They made the World Series in 1998 and said "OWWWWW" as the skankees brutalized and swept them in 4 short, terrifying games. They have yet to make the playoffs since, and here's hoping this year's the year.

The reasons start with PETCO Park. Okay, this is only a good reason if you want teams with a new park to do well. In recent years, teams with new parks have had swells in attendance for the first few years, but unless there was a quality product on the field, numbers dwindled after a few years. In order to keep the fans coming, San Diego needs to do well within the next few years.

Another reason is the improved lineup: gone is radical Rey, in is Khalil Greene, a rookie shortstop sensation. The outfield is full of pop, thanks to the bat of Brian Giles. Although some injuries have hurt them, specifically Klesko, and Payton early on, and more recently David Wells and Jake Peavy, the Padres remain in contention for the NL West.

If you're not already on the Dodgers bandwagon, either because of the early season success, or because (like me) you are a fan of Paul DePodesta, then the Padres are a great underdog pick to win the NL West. Many pundits predicted that the Diamondbacks or Giants would win. Many also picked the Rockies to be the "underdog" winner, but without a plan or any real talent beyond Todd Helton (currently injured) and the Coors Effect TM, the Rockies probably won't win any time soon.

So, when you're watching NL West teams, cheer for Barry, but realize the Giants wont go anywhere without somebody else of identifiable value outside of Schmidt (at least until his arm falls off -- the guy is injured, has surgery on his elbow, comes back and within a few starts is throwing 140+ pitches!). The division will probably come down to a race between the Padres and Dodgers, so if you have no current allegiences, maybe you should jump on the Padres wagon before we run out of space.

Teams To Root For, Part 2

The second team on my list of teams to root for now that the Mariners are definitely out of the running is...
...the Boston Red Sox

After a tumultuous offseason, where the Alex Rodriguez non-signing over shadowed the more important signings of Curt Schilling and Keith Foulke, the Red Sox are in a great position this year. Their offense was incredible last year, and their fault was lack of pitching depth. They clearly addressed that this offseason, so ARod or no ARod (not like it would have hurt to have the second best player on the planet) the Red Sox are in good shape.

Now, unless you're a fan of the skankees, you should be at least mildly rooting for the Red Sox already. Rooting for the Red Sox is an intrinsic part in hating the skankees (something with which I've grown quite proficient). Even fans of the skankees can rejoice in some success for the beantown crew because there will finally be some stiff competition come October, which would hopefully strengthen the rivalry. At that point, of course, you'd better be rooting for one team or the other. Make no mistake, I'd rather not see the skankees sniff the post season, but if you're a skankee fan, you want them to make it, and who better to beat than the Red Sox, right? So we're all rooting for the Red Sox to make the playoffs, really.

I'll be rooting against the skankees all year, and all my life. Part of that is rooting for success for the likes of Toronto, Baltimore, and of course, Boston. I'm not saying I'm a Boston fan, but I'll be rooting for them as part of my fervent hatred for the pinstriped pinocchios.

The Red Sox have weathered most of the storm, hoping to have a full roster in the next few weeks. Nomar's return is on the horizon, and although some other players have been banged up off and on, having your starting shortstop back is always a good thing.

They're on top of the division now, playing well through the injuries and getting some solid help from their pitching. The skankees are never out of it, though, and we all know georgie porgie will swing a deal or two later in the summer, to try get the skankees in a better position to win (in the short term anyway).

This is one of baseball's best rivalries. Make sure you're on the right side of the fence come October.

Teams To Root For, Part 1

The first team on my list of teams to root for now that the Mariners are definitely out of the running is...
...the Cincinnati Reds

Besides the obvious choice for my BOY, George Kenneth Griffey, Jr. (I still have posters of him in the M's uni, titled "In Junior We Trust") there is the saber-mensch (I'm hoping I coined this), Adam Dunn. These guys were underdogs to the Pirates and Brewers on many prediction sheets at the beginning of the year (not to mention the Cubs, Astros and Cardinals). As of this writing, they are tied with the Cubs for first place in the best division in baseball.

If you don't believe me, the Pirates are in last, 4.5 games back, only 2 games under .500. To compare, 4 of 5 other divisions have a last place team more than 10 GB, at least 13 games under .500 (the exception is the Rockies, 6.5 GB and 9 games under 500). Teams in the NL Central against teams in other division are 70-50 so far. I digress.

So, the Reds are a great team to root for if you don't have any specific allegience, and especially for me because I love Griffey and Dunn, and I like to see underdogs do well, especially in such a hotly contested division. So far, they are the best team in the NL, and if you're interested, they're on TV tomorrow afternoon/night (Monday 5/24) on ESPN, I think.

Look for the next edition of teams to root for coming out of the AL, hopefully in a day or two.

Great Night @ DBAP

Thought I would write a little something about my experience at Durham Bulls Athletic Park tonight. The Bulls were playing the Pawtucket Red Sox. The only starter whose name I recognized from Pawtucket was Shoppach, who was the DH tonight (usually a catcher, I think?). Byung-Hyun was on the roster in the free program, but he didn't make any appearances tonight. I've been to several Bulls games so far this year, and this was my first opportunity to see the Crime Dog in action. McGriff played his heart out, but the most notable thing he did was make the last out in the 1st, 3rd, and 5th innings. Not his best night, to say the least. He often looked confused and only had good contact with the ball once, which was his last at bat, the first out in the 8th.

The real reason that I wanted to go see the Bulls was one BJ Upton. I had actually seen him play once before, last year in AA, when he played against the Mudcats. It was a fluke occurence -- I basically got lucky. I didn't know which team the Mudcats were going to play when my buddy asked me if I wanted to go. I gladly agreed, and was in for a nice night. I think he went 1 for 4 that night with a double. No spectacular fielding, or anything, either.

Tonight was a little different. Since last time I was surprised to see him, and I hadn't heard nearly as much about him, I didn't go out of my way to note what happened or anything of that sort. Tonight I took notes every time he got close to the ball, in addition to keeping score, hoping something fun would come about.

The Bulls had him batting second in the order. The first pitch he saw, in the bottom of the 1st, he showed bunt. Luckily (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), it was a ball, and he had to pull back. With the defense tipped, he was swinging away. He worked the count full, only to eventually be hit by pitch. It would have been great to see him try to bunt for a hit (bases were empty), but seeing him get on base was enough...

...because, the next batter, Matt Diaz, advanced him to 3rd on a single. This play was exciting, as Upton was hauling tail the whole way, and made it safely on a head first dive into third. Enter McGriff. If you remember, I mentioned before that he made the last out in the 1st. I suppose that isn't entirely true. See, Crime Puppy struck out, as Diaz took off from first. I was shocked, and upset to see Diaz, not overly fast, but quick, trying to steal, with Upton on third. It was a classic trick play -- Diaz stopped half way, with the throw from Casanova (Red Sox catcher tonight) coming out to second base. Getting in a run down, Diaz tried to delay the defense long enough for Upton to score. It worked, mostly, but the defense was sharp, namely Schrager (SS), who fielded the throw from Casanova, but quickly saw the play unfold and managed to get Upton at home. So technically, Upton made the 3rd out of the 1st inning. The play was exciting right from the get-go.

In the third, I noticed Upton's leg kick. It reminds me of ARod's kick, as he brings his knee up around thigh level (or so it seemed) in anticipation of each pitch. Nothing special about it, I guess, but an interesting note.

By the end of the 7th inning, Pawtucket had 11 hits and 2 runs, and Durham had 6 hits and 3 runs. For the most part, Castillo (starter for the Red Sox) had the Bulls well in hand most of the night, save for two consecutive doubles and a HR in a shaky bottom of the 3rd inning (think he had 5 or 6 K's in 6 or 7 IP). I was surprised that Pawtucket hadn't scored more (and even made a note to the effect that I couldn't believe Durham was winning the game), leaving 8 runners on base to that point (by my count). You guys can double check the math on that -- that is just what I have from my scoresheet. Anyway, I digress...

In the top of the 8th, our favorite Pawtucket shortstop, Schrager, who had hosed Upton at home in the 1st, hit a HR with 2 outs, to tie the game. I was getting excited -- a tie game, we were well into the Durham Bull-pen, and anything could happen at this point. That was the only run Pawtucket would score in the 8th.

Bottom of the 8th, leading off, your very own BJ Upton. On a full count, BJ hit a towering drive over the "blue monster" (as the DBAP announcer calls it), to put the Bulls ahead for good. Bill Evers, Bulls manager, brought in Al Reyes to close out the game, and the Bulls won, 4 to 3. I know all the caveats of small sample sizes, but it sure was great to see Upton do well. It was a great time, complete with post-game fireworks, all for $3.50. Can't beat that dollar value, anywhere, anyhow.

Seattle Mariners

So, as it stands, the MLB season is almost 1/4th of the way done, and the Mariners are over 11 games out of first place in the AL West. The offseason was highlighted by the loss of Mike Cameron and the acquisition of Raul Ibanez. With this switch, the outfield defense was decreased, and it has since been decreased further as manager Bob Melvin chooses to play Randy Winn in center despite Ichiro!'s overall advantage, including arm strength and speed. In addition, the only decent pitcher has been Freddy Garcia, who has gotten very little run support (more on this in a second). The bullpen has been scattered and inconsistent, with Rafael Soriano transitioning back and forth, to and from the disabled list and AAA Tacoma. Eddie Guardado has publicly said that he'd rather have signed elsewhere, and there aren't any other pitchers with ERAs under 3.00 or WHIPs below 1.15, other than Guardado and Garcia.

The offense has been abysmal. They are last in the majors in HR's, third to last in runs (in a division with the two top run scoring teams, Anaheim and Texas), third to last in SLG, third to last in OPS, and fifth to last in total bases. To say the least, they aren't hitting well.

The GM doesn't have a plan for the team, or at least isn't using one. The manager doesn't seem to understand fundamental principles of offense:
"A lot of times a home run is actually a rally killer in that situation," Mariners manager Bob Melvin said.

So, what is left for Mariners fans? Not too much. I'd like to consider myself one of the more faithful Mariners fans out there, witness the large logo on the main wall of my bedroom. Save for the lifers, who grew up and/or live in Seattle, I can probably match most college student age fans in terms of knowledge and committment.

But I'm giving up on this year. You heard me. Giving up. I can't see them doing anything to improve, let alone winning enough to contend for the playoffs. Lets say they need to win 85 games total to make the playoffs, which is a conservative estimate to begin with. To win 85 games, they would have to go 85-77, or 72-53 the rest of the way. That is a winning percentage of 0.576 (equivalent to a 93 win team over the course of a season), .225 higher than their current winning percentage. This wouldn't be unheard of, as the team as won 93 games the past few years, but that was a much different team -- different (younger) starting roster, different GM, and a different coach (mostly). So, barring the acquisition of Carlos Beltran, the reemergence of Soriano as a solid long reliever (or better yet, a 3rd or 4th starter!), and a strong acquisition for the rotation, the Mariners are pretty much out of it for this year.

So, I guess it is okay to give up this year, right? We can always hope that next year is going to be better. Well, without a really plan from Bavasi, and without Melvin understanding the fundamental elements at play on the field, the Mariners will fail to contend. Let's all hope that somebody gets through to these guys at some point soon.

So if I'm not rooting for the Mariners this year, who will I root for? Stay tuned...

Calling For Writers

The Outhouse (part deux) is looking for writers. We would like to have college students who are interested in writing about sports, politics, or college social life. If you are interested, submit a writing sample to Ben at ledzeppben@yahoo.com
Thanks!

Welcome to the second coming of The Outhouse

Welcome! To those of you who remember theouthouse.org, here is its reincarnation, in the form of a blog. Although the editing and polished design are absent, hopefully the insightful, interesting and opinionated writing will flourish again!

From the original site, here is a description of what The Outhouse is about:
Introducing the world's newest online magazine, full of colorful and knowledgable commentary on any and all topics of interest to today's college students. Our subject matter includes sports, political news commentary, and the latest technology and entertainment news and events. Our staff is diverse and intelligent, comprised of students from across the nation. We have representatives from Duke University, The University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, The University of Chicago, Wake Forest University, North Carolina State University, The University of Texas, and Harvard University. The magazine reaches upwards of 25 universities nationwide.

The original site featured a slate of authors, all college students, from universities across the nation. Our staff participation dwindled to the point where it didn't make sense to lie to ourselves any further -- The Outhouse, as we knew it, was dead.

That lead to this site -- a rekindling of the desire within many educated, vocal college students to express their thoughts and exchange ideas in a completely free manner. If you were part of the original version of The Outhouse, please join the new iteration and continue the level of writing we came to enjoy and expect. If you're new to The Outhouse and you'd like to write, submit a writing sample to Ben at ledzeppben@yahoo.com with your name, and if you're a student, what school you attend. Thanks!