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Wednesday, Nov 25, 2009
The hard-charging Indians have them some great chemistry now. Opposing teams have commented about how loose they seem for a young team in a pennant race, how they're not panicking or getting too keyed up, or, in the words of starter Kevin Millwood, who played on six division winners in Atlanta, "trying to squeeze blood out of the bat."
Manager Eric Wedge, with his one inning at a time philosophy, is getting a lot of credit for that. But wait, wasn't Wedge the manager in July, when the Indians went 13-16 and -- if not for the White Sox playing sub-.500 ball in the month and a half since -- dropped out of the Central Division race?
So which team has the chemistry, after all? Is the White Sox's chemistry just on hiatus, and can they get it back in time to hold off the Indians? Is it the Indians who have the better chemistry, enough of it to complete the historic comeback?
As always, we won't know how to assign the chemistry until the results are in.
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Championship time [PERMALINK]
You following this championship series?
What do you mean what championship series? I'm talking about the WNBA Finals. The Sacramento Monarchs lead the Connecticut Sun two games to one in the best-of-five, with Game 4 Tuesday night at Arco Arena.
All three games have been close, and the Monarchs -- my favorite team, I'll tell you in the interest of full disclosure, because they are the WNBA version of my favorite NBA team, the Kings -- really should have won in a sweep, but they kicked away a lead late in Game 2 in Connecticut and then stunk out the joint in overtime.
Good thing for the Sun that the WNBA Finals have been expanded from best of three, which was insultingly short, to best of five, which is still too short, but better.
I've been following the series, though I haven't watched every minute, there only being so many of those in a day.
If you haven't been watching, or if you're rolling your eyes that we're now on the sixth paragraph of an item about the who-cares WNBA Finals, you'd better not be one of those people who writes me during the NBA season to say you don't watch anymore because fundamentals and teamwork are a thing of the past.
WNBA teams are wonders of teamwork and fundamentals. They play the kind of basketball that, supposedly, used to be played in the good old days of the NBA. Sure, it's slower than the NBA and far more earthbound -- kind of like in Bob Cousy's time -- but you don't see a lot of me-first attitude or "thuggish" behavior, to use a popular term. Just pure hoops.
I know you NBA critics are glued to your sets.
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Math is hard [PERMALINK]
A graphic teasing the halftime show during ESPN's Sunday night football game had the Los Angeles Angels leading the Oakland A's by three games in the American League West.
A few minutes later, on the halftime show itself, following highlights of the A's win over the Boston Red Sox, a graphic said the A's trailed the Angels by a game and a half.
At the time both graphics appeared, the Angels' lead over the A's was two games.
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The accidental media critic [PERMALINK]
Indians pitcher C.C. Sabathia on his team's wild-card race against the New York Yankees: "There's no pressure on us. Nobody expected us to be here, except us. All they talk about on 'SportsCenter' is the Yankees, that they're not in the lead."
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Overnight ratings [PERMALINK]
Introducing a new Monday feature: Overnight ratings. It's an impressionistic review of my Friday NFL predictions, not what I got right and wrong, but what I got really right and really wrong, expressed as "Told you so" and "Did I say that?"
I suspect elbow room will be at a premium in the latter category.
Told you so: Titans! Chiefs.
Did I say that?: Bears and Lions ("I think the Bears will win a low-scoring struggle"), Bengals and Vikings ("I think Culpepper bounces back this week -- and the Vikes still lose a good one"), Chargers.
Special wishy-washy category: "Carolina was surprised by an inspired Saints team last week, and they're probably a good bet to get all inspired themselves and surprise their old February foes, which is why I'm taking the Pats."
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