Baseball Sadness

Last week saw the conclusion of Major League Baseball's World Series, the Fall Classic. This year, even though my beloved Yankees didn't even make it to the playoffs, I thoroughly enjoyed watching both the American and National League Championship Series, as well as the World Series itself. And in the baseball world, the World Series concluded in a dramatic and convoluted fashion - which is fitting, considering the political environment we find ourselves in.


I found it so ironic that the officiating during the World Series was about on par with the officiating that I see day in and day out for two months during the summer - absolutely terrible. We expect perfection from umpires, who are only human in the end, and hate it when they blow calls. There is no other game that has such subjective officiating, especially in terms of calling strikes or balls, and that in and of itself makes the game that much more dramatic. The strike zones of the officials in Philadelphia were ridiculous - the Rays' pitchers totally were hosed by the calls that the umpires made and that wasn't cool. It should have been a much tighter series than it was, but all being said, with the exception of the blowout of Game 4, each game was only decided by one or two runs - which speaks to the level of quality baseball being played by both teams.

I wish the Rays had found a way, but that Cole Hamels was lights out. And I love it when I see a well-pitched game. I wish Cole Hamels had pitched a complete game in the Series, much like Josh Beckett did when he was on the Marlins against the Yankees five years ago (seriously - five years - ugh, I'm so old).

It does make me sad that baseball is over - though it truly was over for me at the beginning of August. The end of baseball is always the harbinger of my Seasonal Affectiveness Disorder kicking in for the cold months, dark nights, and limited light of the day. At least spring training is not too far away. :)