Torii Hunter gets a bubbly bath from teammates Howie Kendrick and Chone Figgins.
Sweep, sweep, sweep: Three of the four baseball division series were three-and-out for the luckless losers -- and to think, the Cubs weren't even involved this year!
Before we salute the achievements of the Dodgers, Angels and Yankees, another personal pet peeve (yes, just like the throwback uniforms ... did everyone enjoy the Broncos' Milk Duds look Sunday?) -- It's one of the great mysteries of professional sports, one that defies logic but is perpetuated every October: Why do baseball teams feel the need to spray champagne after winning a first-round playoff series?
Imagine Michael Jordan's Bulls team uncorking the bubbly after dispatching the Washington Wizards in three straight lopsided games. Imagine Lovie Smith's 2006 Bears having a champagne celebration after their overtime victory against the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC semifinals. The very idea seems ludicrous: You still haven't won anything yet, so what exactly is the justification for a big celebration?
Curious about the origins of this practice, I came across a recent blog item from Newsday's Neil Best. As Best noted after the Yankees clinched the AL East title, ''I hate to be a party pooper here, but the increasingly ritualized
practice of baseball teams spraying and/or consuming bubbly after every
postseason achievement has gotten as stale as the carpeting in the
Yankees' plush new clubhouse after Sunday's deluge. ... Either limit the champagne showers to the really big stuff -- i.e. a
pennant or World Series -- or do what the NFL does and ban alcohol from
the locker room altogether.'' According to Best's research, the concept of spraying champagne to celebrate a
sports victory began in 1967 with Dan Gurney after he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans. I don't know how it became a tradition in major-league baseball, but does anyone else wish that teams would wait till they actually, you know, win a championship before celebrating?
As for what we've seen on the field, Cubs fans surely savored watching the Cardinals' collapse. Columnists in St. Louis were quick to draw comparisons between Tony La Russa's choke artists and the Cubs' collapses of 2007 and '08. And how ironic that Mark De Rosa, widely regarded as the kind of "winner" you want on your team, now has lost 10 straight postseason games (three consecutive sweeps with the Cardinals and Cubs, plus a Game 5 loss with the Atlanta Braves in 2003). But before blaming De Rosa, look at his batting averages in those postseasons: .429 in 2003, .333 in '07 and '08 and .385 for the Cardinals this month. De Rosa showed up; his teammates didn't.
It has been a particularly tough postseason for All-Star closers: Jonathan Papelbon of the Red Sox, Joe Nathan of the Twins and Ryan Franklin of the Cardinals all failed to nail down victories. Papelbon's meltdown Sunday marked the first time he had been scored on in 26 postseason innings. Nathan was victimized by A-Rod's game-tying blast in Game 2 and couldn't stop the Twins' bleeding in Game 3 Sunday. Minnesota now has lost nine straight postseason games dating to 2004 (again, shades of the Cubs!) and, beginning next season, no longer will have the "Dome-field advantage."
How much of the playoffs are you even watching, given no Chicago teams and the lack of extended drama except for the Phillies-Rockies series (and you had to stay up till the wee hours to watch Game 3 of that series Sunday)? And which teams do you think we'll be watching in the World Series (which, by the way, could drag on till Nov. 5)?
It is so wrong to turn over a 162-game season with a 5-game series. I agree that November 5 is far too late for the season to end, but the silly schedule with too many off days is the cause. Baseball is a play-every-day game with tough travel and a need for five starters. So we contest the championship with three starters in many cases. This round ends Tuesday and there are then two off days, just so the schedule can be prepared in advance. The next round should be scheduled when this round is over, one day off between rounds, and NO DAYS OFF during any series. That will benefit the best teams, the teams that have won consistently all season long.
Without the Cubs or White Sox in the playoffs, I honestly haven't been paying attention. And as much as I want to stick it to Seedy's Cardinals choke job similar to the Cubs last year, I don't really care too much about it to rub it in. All the teams that have swept have come to no surprise to me though. All of them are capable of winning it all on any given series. There will be no cinderella stories in baseball this year unless the Rockies somehow pull off a serious comeback against the Phillies, but I don't see it. However, if I had to choose a World Series matchup, I may as well go the "conspiracy theory" route with the Dodgers (Joe Torre) vs. Yankees, a classic east vs west ratings bonanza along with the Joe Torre vs. his old team drama factor.
You still haven't won anything yet, so what exactly is the justification for a big celebration?
It’s definitely overkill. For me, only two good reasons for these meaningless celebrations:
· A huge drunken brawl can break out.
· Watching the announcers try to get an interview while champagne is being sprayed in their face. Hilarious.
I don't know how it became a tradition in major-league baseball, but does anyone else wish that teams would wait till they actually, you know, win a championship before celebrating?
Well, doesn’t have to be a championship to be a huge accomplishment. If the Cubs win the National League pennant and make it to a World Series that in itself is something to celebrate.
How much of the playoffs are you even watching, given no Chicago teams and the lack of extended drama except for the Phillies-Rockies series (and you had to stay up till the wee hours to watch Game 3 of that series Sunday)?
I pretty much only watch now to hopefully see a Yankee implosion. Other then that, I have very little interest.
And which teams do you think we'll be watching in the World Series (which, by the way, could drag on till Nov. 5)?
If I was a betting man, I’d say it will be a Yankee – Dodgers Series. Yankees in 6.
I don't mind the throw-back jerseys/uniforms mostly because I will never buy any of them. The Broncos' throwback uniforms reminded me of the ones used in the movie, "Any Given Sunday."
What I did enjoy seeing on Sunday was Kyle Orton lighting up the Patriots for 330 yds. and 2 TDs, a 98-yd-drive to tie the game and an overtime drive to put the Broncos in position to win it.
I also liked seeing Cedric Benson shred the Ravens for 120 rushing yards. Always liked Ced, but he definitely wore out his welcome with the Bears.
Re Baseball.
Hats off to the Dodgers. They kicked my beloved Cardinals' asses. Oh well. I'm proud of the Cardinals, who were picked to finish fourth in the NL Central. I will miss LaRussa and Duncan should they move to Cincinnati to rejoin the Cardinals former GM, Walt Jockety.
didn't watch one pitch...all year
Phewwwww, for a minute there, I thought you were gonna talk about
baseball in general. Good thing I read your whole article this time.
I do not care about baseball after September, being a Cubs fan and all. I do wonder about the champagne...though. I think it's because
so few teams get to the playoffs.....unlike hockey. I have always
wondered why they don't have more playoff teams in baseball.
I cannot remember the last time NO Chicago teams were in the playoffs? Could you check that Stu?
I have watched some. I watch teams I like and players I respect. I like the Yankees because they spend money and therefore deserve some watching. And I like guys like Torri Hunter and root for them regardless. How can you be mad at Derosa or anyone who played here. Most people who leave Chicago are shown the door.
I am also like Seedy and follow and root for guys from Chicago when they are not playing against us. As I mentioned BEFORE the season started I am personally watching Orton because I wanted to know was it HIM or our line.
Stu responds: Well, the last time that neither Chicago baseball team made the playoffs was 2006 (the Sox failing to follow up their World Series win with a postseason berth). But that was the Bears' Super Bowl year and the Bulls also made the playoffs. The last time that none of our major Chicago teams reached the postseason was 2004.
" However, if I had to choose a World Series matchup, I may as well go the "conspiracy theory" route with the Dodgers (Joe Torre) vs. Yankees, a classic east vs west ratings bonanza along with the Joe Torre vs. his old team drama factor."
That's about the only series match-up that could get me to watch even a single inning. And they'll be playing those games a couple of weeks before I'll be eating turkey at my sister's house. I just can't get into baseball when I'm checking out the morning weather forecast to see if it's going to snow.
The endless baseball season has become a joke, and the dismal ratings for the playoffs bear out my theory that they've overstayed their welcome. This is the time of year for the NFL, and NCAA football, hockey, and basketball. And by intruding this far into the seasons of these other sports, MLB is begging to be ignored.
If NY represents the American League and either Colorado or Philly play for the NL, I hope it snows every single day in their respective cities, throughout the entire series. Perhaps then they'll get a clue.
And this has nothing to do with the fact that the Sox aren't playing. I've never been a fan of these extended playoffs. They need to pare the season down to no more than 140 games, and get out of Dodge by the end of September.
Rick Beato says "It is so wrong to turn over a 162-game season with a 5-game series." I couldn't agree with you more! Anything can happen in any series, but especially so in a five-game affair. Even the two-games-home-and-three-away comes off as weird and somehow unfair. Nope, I don't like it either. It would be better to shorten the season or bring back a few traditional doubleheaders. That series should be seven games also just like it is in the NHL.
I agree with Villy's 140 game suggestion and Beato and Gig's 7 game playoff suggestion. Baseball should be over in September when school has started back for most. When Summer ends, its should end. I do like their playoff series structure though. Win two rounds and its off the World Series. That makes it exciting and gets right to the point.
I agree with a lot of the above; 1) Keep the 162 game schedule but have each team play 6 regular season doubleheaders. They can be day/nights so Dud Selig would support it. This will cut out a week from the season. 2) The first round should be best of 7 games. 3) Do not add any Wild Cards. 4)Schedule a few day games, especially in the Championship Series and World Series in cold weather cities. 5)Think of the fans rather than the TV money for a change. 6) Don't build new stadiums without a dome in cities like Minnesota. 7)Get rid of the stupid rule that the All Star game winner gets the home field advantage.8)Somebody figure out a way for the Cubs to be in a Series before I'm dead. 9)Get rid of the extra umps down the lines who can't see 10 feet in front of them. Instant replay for all playoff games. And finally I'm a conspiracy theorist. The Yanks and Dodgers are a good TV ratings match up.