The Start of Football Season

As all sports fans are aware, football season starts right after the conclusion of the World Series. Bring on the football, but first let's discuss the Series.

Okay, we all know that the Designated Hitter is gay. That makes all American League teams and their fans gay by default. However, I kinda like the A's, so I'm only partially gay. The main reason that I like the A's is, well, because I like folks such as Billy Beane that overcome obstacles and persevere. HERE's an article that I penned discussing the things that are important to remember regarding payroll.

So, Detroit and St. Louis were pretty evenly matched for payroll. Detroit was heavily favored because my Cards kinda limped into the Playoffs and the Series. Boy, were the odds makers wrong. Detroit couldn't have choked more if they were Greg Norman playing at Augusta with Nick Faldo on his ass.

And on to the MVP. David Eckstein? You have to be kidding me. This guy is flat out BAD at baseball. I am sure that you will hear crazy stories from La Russa, Jim Rome, and every sports writer about how this is the toughest guy to ever wear a uniform, but he isn't. Let's look at the numbers for just the Series and see if we can figure out how this guy won the MVP.

Here's what he did in the Playoffs up until Game Four of the Series. .185/.290/.259, 1 XBH. For you uneducated in the realm of statistics in baseball, that represents Batting Average / On Base Percentage / Slugging with ONE extra base hit and his numbers tell you that he sucks to monumental proportions. Not only does he blow at the plate, he is at best a mediocre fielder. His throws to first from shortstop routinely have to be cut off by the pitcher. Read THIS from Ken Tremendous. I laughed my ass off. People in the know HATE Eckstein.

Okay, who is the R E A L MVP? Good question. The answer? Just damn near anyone else. I say Scott Rolen first, with Jim Edmonds in second, Yadier Molina third, everyone else fourth, Eckstein fifth ahead of only Encarnacion (who produced a new level of suck for the Series). Just look at the Box Scores and tell me how Eckstein wins MVP?

Now, about the ratings. Yes, this was the lowest ranked Series ever for viewing public, but remember, the only sporting event that outranks this series is the Super Bowl. This year's Series pulled in a 10.1 average share which means something or another. The NBA Championship only pulled an 8, World Cup Championship a 7.4, and the hockey championship a lowly 2.1.

I have produced one of my patented graphics to prove my point, but this most expensive Blogger software will not allow me to upload right now. Keep coming back and it will appear soon, baby. Dammit, straight to Hell.

UPDATE: Blogger will not let me upload my graphics, so we will post the stats here. I know these are just BA stats, but they tell the whole damn story. Rolen played all games better than Eckstein. ALL GAMES BETTER.

Game 1
Eckstein .000
Rolen .500

Game 2
Eckstein .000
Rolen .500

Game 3
Eckstein .154
Rolen .417

Game 4
Eckstein .333 (He actually reached on two errors, but they were scored as hits anyway.)
Rolen .438

Game 5
Eckstein .364 (Again, reached on an error, but actually got an RBI and hit scored.)
Rolen .421