A full afternoon of playoff baseball is in the books and I’ve got some thoughts.  Except for an unexpected nap (you know one of those naps where you wake up shocked it was only 15 minutes when you swear you had a dream that lasted several hours?) during the mid innings of the Phillies/Brewers game, I watched or listened to almost all of it.  Here’s my breakdown of each game but first some broadcasting thoughts:

•  Why am I not surprised to hear Michael Kay, the voice of the New York Yankees, broadcasting playoff games for ESPN Radio.  I don’t think ESPN can bear the thought of not having any Yankee connections during the post season.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see every Sports Center and Baseball Tonight peppered with people from the organization.
• So on ESPN, we get guys like John Kruk, Chris Singleton, Orestes Destrada, Eric Young and others breaking down baseball but TBS hauls in Dennis Eckersley, Cal Ripken Jr and John Smoltz?  So the channel I watch that covers nothing but sports gets out maneuvered by the station I only watch Seinfeld repeats on?  I find that interesting.  Plus during the games, we get excellent color commentary from Tony Gwynn, Ron Darling and Buck Martinez while the best the World Series can do is Tim McCarver?  Well played TBS, well played.

Phillies vs. Brewers

• Great pitching performance by Cole Hamels.  Hamels is really an interesting guy.  Southern California guy who doesn’t seem to outwardly exude much emotion, talks about holistic healing for his body, almost Barry Zito circa 2001 like.  The strange thing is he has thrived in Philly.  You know if he struggled in Philly, they’d jump all over his attitude but he keeps everyone quiet with his performance.  He’s a more talented, more mentally tough Barry Zito.
• There isn’t a whole lot to like about the Brewers lineup other than Fielder, Braun and maybe Hart.  
• Brett Myers takes the mound tomorrow.  Call me crazy for rooting against this guy.  He’s the same guy who a couple of years ago literally punched his girlfriend while out one night in Boston.
• I’d expect CC Sabathia to pitch the Brewers back into this series, I mean what else could possibly happen when he’s on the mound?

Cubs vs. Dodgers

• Really an odd game to watch
• The Cubs were in control but then Dempster starts walking everybody and James Loney drills a grand slam into the centerfield bleachers.  After that, everyone got anxious and the 100 years failure reared its head in Wrigley.
• Carlos Zambrano pitches the biggest game of his career and after giving up 36 ER in 8 starts since August, excluding his no-hitter, it hard not to feel for Cubs fans.
• Anytime you lose at home in the first game of a 5 game series AND are forced to use your bullpen for nearly 5 innings, things aren’t looking good.
• Alfonso Soriano may be one of the most overrated players in baseball.

Red Sox vs. Angels

• I’m not sure what happened, but I find myself naturally inclined to root for this Red Sox team.  I don’t have anything against the Angels, I just don’t like the idea of them advancing.
• Jon Lester is a great story.  Now if he would only wear his hat straight, I might be able to really pull for him.
• Vlad Guerrero was gunned down at 3B on a flare over 1B by about 99 feet.  He looked like he was running in quicksand.  Good lord, Vlad used to be one of the most freakishly athletic players in the league and once stole 40 bases in a season.  Now he looks like Lou Pinella could dust him in a race around the bases and he’s just 32.  After watching him run, I wouldn’t be surprised if he and Miguel Tejada shared the same birth certificate making machine.
• The other interesting thing about Vlad, who I believe is a Hall of Fame type player, is I literally know nothing about him.  I can’t remember ever seeing a sit down interview with him or a full length magazine profile.  Yet he’s one of the best players of the past 15 years in baseball.

Back with another recap tomorrow.