The Marlins Win, The Marlins Win !!!!

[Beejayjay]

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy !!!

The Florida Marlins have beaten the 'hated' New York Yankees to win the Baseballl World Series !!!

Go FISH !!!!!!

Commiserations to Yankees fans, but rank outsiders beating the big dogs, you gotta love that !!

 

[KayleeUK]

Dh was following this whilst we were away! So when I woke up at 3.30am this morning he was watching it, no wonder he is still asleep now!

 

[Goofyish]

I managed to watch the game until the middle of the 5th innings before tiredness got the better of me

It was a close game.

 

[Olaf]

We did the happy camper dance around here! About time somebody beat them.

 

[Beejayjay]

Well Olaf, as a Cardinals fan, all my post-season interest was in the Marlins. They are a large part of why I got into baseball at all - watching them win the 97 Series was the thing that sparked my interest in the game. So you could say they are kind of my second team. (Albert Pujols and Matt Morris are my favourite players, hence my supporting the St Louis Red birds...)

Of course, the majority of baseball fans will be pleased, like you and I, that the Yanks got beat, especially by a wild card team !

I also play fantasy baseball, and have Josh Beckett on my main team - I cant wait to see how his performances in the post-season boosts his confidence. I knew he had the ability, now he's got the maturity and the confidence to finally become the pitcher people knew he had the talent to be. The kid's gonna be pushing Matt Morris for the spot as my favourite pitcher now...

 

[Olaf]

Another Brit baseball fan! Beejayjay, you and Tim ought to get together.

It was sweet, wasn't it?!!!!

We need a smilie with a baseball cap on.

 

[Beejayjay]

Yes Stephanie,

Not too many Brits get baseball - I'm a totall fan !! Il ove all the strategy that is involved - pitchng match-ups, using pinch-hitters etc - the stats, records, it's so much more interesting than the other US Sports, and even soccer !

As I mentioned, I started watching with the 97' World Series, now I'm almost obsessed with it. I play fantasy leagues every year, I even run two for some of my US based friends I've met doing other league, and I check the MLB.com and other sports websites every day for the latest player news, moves etc.

I have to say I'm glad the post-season is over on one level - it really plays havoc with your sleep patterns ! But it's been an amazing post-season, so many close games and series that have gone down to the wire.

In reality, the minute the season ends I'm looking forward to the new season starting in April.... and lots of late nights watching game casts on the internet...

Tim, are you a big fan ? Who do you follow ?

I am hoping one year to do a bit of a baseabll tour of the US - take a month say, go visit some of the guys I do the fantasy leagues with, and then visit maybe a half dozen basball stadiums around the country, ie Fenway Park, Yankee Stadium, Wrigley Field. It might have to wait till my lady and I are kid free, but it will be worth the wait !

 

[Olaf]

Beejay, I didn't see that you'd replied to this. Sorry. I'm impressed with your knowledge of American baseball. Not sure if I want to know what "fantasy baseball" is?

Yes, Tim's a big baseball fan. I'm surprised he hasn't chimed in. Yahoo Tim!

 

[Beejayjay]

It's OK Olaf, we all have more important things to do than posting here... what am I saying ???

My reasonably indepth knowlege of baseball is fired largely by my desire to compete well at the fantasy game - been doing it 3 years now and I've gone from being dead last of 14 teams in the first year, to finishing 3rd in the league this year, and that against all Americans or Canucks who get games on TV everyday during the season - we get maybe 2 a week here in the UK. Unless you know the players, you dont stand a chance. I spend hours researching stats online...

The game works like this - you go thru a draft, picking up to 25 players to have on your roster, batters, pitchers and relievers. You get to play a bat at each position everyday, with often a utility bat to add to your line-up.

With the pitchers you get a limit on the number of games you are allowed, so it's a matter of trying to use your starts judiciously so you get good match-ups and so a better chance to win. You cant just start your pitchers for every game they play, or you'll be out of starts before the All Star !.

All batting position get a 162 game limit, so you dont have to worry about using too many starts, as 162 games is a full season's compliment anyway.

There are different formats for scoring. The one we use is straight cumulative points for the performance of your players. The most commonly used ( it seems) is a head to head - you compete for a week against another team, the one with the most points at the end of the week wins the match.

It's a huge deal on the internet, there are hundreds of sites which give stats, numbers, performance forecasts, just for fantasy sports ! All the big sports sites run games, MLB. com, ESPN. com, SI.com - even the likes of Yahoo have a fantasy sports portfolio. And it's in all the major sports - we are doing gridiron now the baseball has finished for the year.

I much prefer baseball of them all, it has everyday involvement, setting line-ups, deciding who to pitch, etc - I'm a bit of a detail freak, so it appeals...

 

[Goofyish]

I also got into baseball after the 1997 World Series (watched it in Orlando ).

I'm an Indians fan - don't ask me why

 

[steve_rob]

Blimey, so I'm not the only one! I got so hooked on baseball that I actually subcribed to NASN this year so I could watch more games - though I was disappointed that they showed all of the World Series games on tape delay after having shown virtually all of the playoff games live.

And I was glad the Marlins won too, the Yankees are too much like Man Utd. - they seem to win everything and they're so arrogant about it.

Blue Jays fan myself, mainly because they were the first team I got to see live. Hopefully will get to see some games when we're in California next year (probably either the Padres or Giants) but I've got to wait until the fixtures for next year are announced first. Anyone know when that's meant to happen?

 

[Olaf]

You guys are funny!

I'm off to cut out more black bats.

 

[Beejayjay]

Steve,

The schedule for the new season isn't usually announced till some time early in the new year, late Jan, early Feb I believe.

I'd love to subscribe to NASN too Steve, but I object to paying £ 10 a month for just one channel - add in that the other half would kill me if I watched ball every day for 6+ months...

You're spot on about the Skankees too pal - just like Man Utd ! If they have a weakness, they just go out and buy a guy, just like Man Utd...

Lets see how many of the big free agents go there this year - gotta be at least one. Guerrero, Colon, Javier Vazquez ? I even hear they are considering moving Soriano in a deal for Carlos Beltran.

And since Jeter seems to be out of favour with Bossman Steinbrenner, who knows, maybe a deal for ARod going to NY for Jeter and some pitching could be a possibility...

I kinda have a sift spot for the Tribe too Tim, one of my favourite players, Jim Thome was, as you know, an Indian for many a moon till this year. I have him on my main fantasy team as my 1B - Man that guy can mash the ball ! If only he didn't K so much, it cuts his fantasy scoring big time !

I'm already counting down the days till Opening day....

 

[Beejayjay]

WOW !!

I just read on MLB. com, that the Red Sox have put Manny Ramirez on irrevocable waivers !!!

It means any team that can/wants to take on his contract has until 2pm ET Friday to claim him, and if any team does the Red Sox cant grab him back off the wiire ! Thats one out of the blue !

He's got $104 million due in the next 5 years, so there aren't likely to be many, if any, teams willing to take that cost on (the Skankees?), However, it looks like the Red Sox are sending out a signal that he is available for trade...

That's what you get for not playing in a series against the Red Sox nemesis, the Yankees, cos you're supposedly sick, then being seen in a hotel bar with a Yankee the night of the second game...

 

[steve_rob]

Interesting... I NEVER thought the Red Sox would offload Ramirez, though looking at the cost of taking him on I can't see any teams snapping him up that easy. Maybe that's the point, they don't think anyone WILL come in for him - it's just to like show him who's boss.

Beejayjay, so you think Jeter has fallen out of favour at NYY? Strange, because he's about the only Yankee player I have a grudging respect for. Put him in another team and I might start to actually like him!!!

The only reason I get NASN is because my other half LOVES baseball as well (she was the one who got me into it in fact). If that wasn't the case, I'd be back to taping the late night games from Channel 5 again to watch the next day like I used to.

 

[Beejayjay]

Hi Steve,

Wow, a baseball loving lady, what a rarity in the UK. Man, that sure helps when trying to explain why you're up at 4 am waiting to see if the Cardinals closer can shut down the Cubbies' bats in a NL Central grudge match...

I'll have to work on my lass. When we talk about ball - she tries to be interested bless her - and I slip into talk of Sliders, Splitters, Change-ups OBP's, RBI's, ERA's, etc, I can almost see her eyes glaze over...

Manny went unclaimed so he's still a BoSox - yeah, that contract scared all comers away. But I think it's fairly likely they'll move him in a trade to free up salary. Nomar, Pedro, Derek lowe and Jason Varitek are all free agents after next season, so they need salary availabe to ensure they keep at least 2 of those guys, particularly Nomar.

Manny is also a bit of a pain in the backside to deal with too by many accounts, but this is all about money, not really about character or ability. What team wouldnt want his production in it's line-up even if he is a bit arrogant ?

The Jeter thing was brewing before the regular season even started. Yanks owner Steinbrenner gave an interview in which he said Jeter was spending too much time out night clubbing and was not taking his playing responsibilites seriously. It must have been a bit galling to Steiny when Joe Torrre then made Jeter club captain - I'm sure it was no coincidence. I'm with you, Jeter is one of the few Yankees I have time for.

After ARod made his oh so obvious comments about being open to a trade if it would help out Texas - for that read I wanna play on a team that might actaully get me into the World series - the possibility of ARod becoming a Yankee was mentioned more than a few times in the baeball press stateside. (Maybe ARod should have accepted a little less than his $252 million and picked a team that could get him there huh ? Maybe take only $200 million and go to the Yanks ? What a greedy SOB).

The Rangers have plenty of existing and up & coming power in their line-up to compensate for the loss of ARod - Blalock, Young and Teixeira will all be 30 HR hitters IMO - and Jeter is hardly a shabby replacement for the man himself. Plus the Yanks can offer some decent pitching - well better than the likes of Valdes, Mounce and co !

I'm desperately hoping my Cardinals will be able to get some pitching too - Matt Morris and Woody Williams can't carry the rotation alone, and that bullpen reeks. They have zero cash to add salary, but I'm hoping against hope they'll find a way to pick up a killer, maybe Javier Vazquez from Montreal in some kind of creative trade. Man that would be sweet..... (Nothing at all to do with my having him on my fantasy team as well... )

 

[Mrs Dazzle]

Well, more devoted baseball fans over here - and we were dead chuffed to be able to watch it all live over there We moved down south to Marco Island, about 1.5 hours from Miami, just in time and we did enquire about tickets, but the only ones left were dodgy touts at $500 a go. Not quite that devoted.

Did have to tell DD not to wear her NYY baseball cap (sorry, both me and DD are Yankees fans, but I managed to cheer on the Marlins anyway, well - we were in Florida after all ).

 

[JohnMouse]

I got to listen on the net to Five Live's commentary from the World Series games on Up All Night....they had Simon Brotherton(sp) there....very interesting....