So, because I'm free to root for individual player without guilt, I thought it'd be fun if I presented a head-shot-to-head-shot matchup of the two rosters. I know, I know, you can't swing a virtual baseball bat in the Internets without knocking over handfuls of essays on head-to-head matchups. I'm sure all those gifted writers did due diligence with research and analysis. And that's great. But none of those essays present information that's truly meaningful to me... my entertainment.
So while the other writers look at batting average, ERA, win probability added, value over replacement player, or whatever, I'll look at what's really important: attractiveness, entertainment value, and rooting-interest over average guy. In other words, this is complete based on who do I think is coolest.
And, no matter who wins, I would love it if it went to seven games.
(Forgive the table formatting. My HTML editor is weak, at best. And I don't have the patience to make it perfect. And, if you're used to working in HTML, you get it...)
| Rangers | Giants | Description |
|---|---|---|
   |    | Cliff Lee: I've admitted in the past that I'm not necessarily a fan of Cliff Lee as a person. But have you seen him pitch lately? Yeah, the way he owned batters throughout the playoffs was breathtaking. I'm willing to set aside my personal differences to root for a great pitcher. Tim Lincecum: I've always like Timmy. They call him the Freak, because of his unique pitching mechanics, and, well, look at him. Plus he's freaky good at pitching.Yes, I want him to cut his hair (at least trim off the split ends), but I do like to watch him pitch. C.J. Wilson: Another pitcher I've liked for awhile, C.J. made a great transition from relief pitcher to starter. But, I like him best because he's all the awesome. He Twitters (@str8edgeracer), and he's funny. Also, well, just watch this, and you'll agree. Matt Cain: I gotta be honest, I don't know much about him, but I read that he hasn't given up an earned run in all of the playoffs, and that's pretty cool. But, you know, he's kind of funny looking. Colby Lewis: He's got a great story. Apparently, in the last few years, he's pitched for approximately eleventyteen different teams, including Japan. And then he pitches out of his mind in the playoffs and drives me crazy -- in a hot-pitching kind of way. Jonathan Sanchez: Ok, that whole little incident in the NLCS with Chase Utley with the plunking and the harmless soft tossing of the ball and the swearing and the benches-clearing-br...um...milling-about just turned me off. If the guy can't keep his head, it makes for not-so-fun pitching. My Entertainment Advantage: Rangers |
| Rangers | Giants | Description |
|---|---|---|
 |  | Neftali Feliz: What is he? Thirteen? I don't know. Doesn't matter, because what I do know is that he's fantastic. I love, love, love that a rookie pitcher can be such a good closer. Brian Wilson: (Ok, yeah, I photoshopped the beard -- his head shot had him clean-shaven. But, hey, my version looks about as good as his.) So, Wilson's success may or may not be attributed to that ridiculous beard. Yeah, he makes things interesting when he pitches, but he gets the job done. My Entertainment Advantage: Rangers |
| Rangers | Giants | Description |
|---|---|---|
 |  | Bengie Molina: Fun fact: no matter who wins the World Series, Bengie gets a ring. Since he was traded from the Giants to the Rangers mid-season, and the Giants have decided that any players who contribute qualify. Not bad. Oh, and he did a great job with the Rangers after the trade. Buster Posey: Another kid who looks like he played on my son's 14-year-old youth team, he earned the confidence of the team enough to trade away Molina. And he didn't disappoint. He's had a great rookie year; he's even getting ROY consideration, even though he only played half the season. Oh, and he has a very cool name. My Entertainment Advantage: Giants |
| Rangers | Giants | Description |
|---|---|---|
 |  | Gotta admit here, I don't know very much about either one of these... Mitch Moreland: The better-looking one. Aubrey Huff: The one I've heard of before. My Entertainment Advantage: Draw |
| Rangers | Giants | Description |
|---|---|---|
 |  | Ian Kinsler: I've had a crush on Ian Kinsler for a while because he is cu-ute. Oh, and he's really good at playing second base and hitting baseballs. Freddy Sanchez: Another one I don't know much about. My Entertainment Advantage: Rangers |
| Rangers | Giants | Description |
|---|---|---|
 |  | Michael Young: Is pretty good at baseball. Pablo Sandival: Is adorable.They call him "Kung Fu Panda" because, well...look at him. Sure, he's a big dude -- ok, he's a really big dude -- and he jiggles when he runs, but he's always smiling. And he's got more range than you'd think a big dude would have. My Entertainment Advantage: Giants |
| Rangers | Giants | Description |
|---|---|---|
 |  | Elvis Andrus: He's another one who always has a smile on his face. He plays with so much confidence and joy, it's fun to watch him. Juan Uribe: Honestly, when I started watching the playoffs, when he stepped into the box for the first time, I thought "wow, he still plays?". He splits time at short with Edgar Renteria, another guy who I thought "wow, he still plays?" about. My Entertainment Advantage: Rangers |
| Rangers | Giants | Description |
|---|---|---|
 |  | David Murphy: Sorry. Don't know much about him. He looks young. Pat Burrell: I know he's been around a long time. He's older than he looks. Actually, not really. My Entertainment Advantage: Push |
| Rangers | Giants | Description |
|---|---|---|
 |  | Josh Hamilton: He is very, very good at baseball. In fact, he's likely to win the AL MVP, and he deserves it. Andres Torres: He has a long face. My Entertainment Advantage: Rangers |
| Rangers | Giants | Description |
|---|---|---|
 |  | Nelson Cruz: I love Nelly. He's good. They had him in left field one game, and he made a really nice play. I respectfully requested him to be my everyday left fielder. I'm still awaiting his reply. Cody Ross: He hit a lot of homeruns during the playoffs. But I hated the eye-black. My Entertainment Advantage: Rangers |
| Rangers | Giants | Description |
|---|---|---|
 |  | Rangers: They have the rallying cries -- the Claw, an air-high-five when they do something good; and the Antlers, like a deer when they do something good using their speed. I always love a good rallying cry; the fact that they have two doubles the fun. Giants: They have the characters -- the Freak, the Panda, the Kid, the Beard, the Eye-black. They also have the orange rally towels, which looks really cool when the whole crowd is waving them. My Entertainment Advantage: Rangers |
2 comments:
Filed under "did you know?"... The Twins were hot after Colby Lewis last winter. Reports are that he had a dozen or more teams interested but that only three teams were offering 2+ year contracts... the Rangers, Twins and Athletics.
Might have been nice to reel that one in.
Thank you for posting CJ's video. The only way I could like him more is if he played for the Twins.
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