Two Outs. Two Strikes. Hoffman On The Hill. Game Over, Right? Right...?
I like Trevor Hoffman. He seems like a decent enough fellow. Probably calls his momma every now and then, and doesn't actively look to kick puppies or throw rocks at kids. Plus, he's the second-best closer in major league history, and if I'm not mistaken, he started the whole relievers-marching-in-to-theme-music-like-pro-wrestlers craze when he entered a game to the strains of "Hell's Bells."
That said, there's a part of me that hopes that during this year's World Series, he's standing on the mound during a Game 7 in Chicago or Detroit, up one run but with the bases full behind him, and he thinks, "Damn...this probably would have been easier if it was happening in San Diego."
Background: last night was the All-Star Game, which the National League (home of my Atlanta Braves) has not won since 1996. Fine, the AL's lumber tends to overwhelm the NL's pitching year after year. But a few years back, Major League Baseball made the asinine decision to allow these allegedly "exhibition" games to count--they would determine home-field advantage in the World Series. It's an inherently flawed idea, though the previous one--alternating home-field based on the year--wasn't that much better.
Still, what you end up with is something like last night, where the Nats were one freakin' strike away from a win, and Hoffman--Mister Second-Greatest Closer In The History of the Game, remember--gave up three two-out hits, capped by a two-run triple to Michael Young, the most anonymous batting leader in the history of the majors. Urk.
It's yet another reason why I (and probably most major league GMs) get queasy at the thought of closers. They're not as bad as field goal kickers--at least a closer is continuing the established pattern of the game, not coming in to dink (or miss) three points with his foot after 59 minutes of a running and passing game. But still--every closer eventually fails, and like your car breaking down, it tends to be at the worst possible time. Even Mariano Rivera--pretty much hands down the best big-game closer ever--has a couple notable collapses (the 2001 World Series, where he blew Game 7; the 2004 playoffs, where he was the last straw to break when the Yankees gave up a 3-games-to-none lead to lose the series to the Red Sox). I still get nightmares over Mark Wohlers' hanging slider to Jim Leyritz in the 1996 World Series, where the Braves coughed up a 2-0 game lead and a 6-0 lead in Game 4. Leyritz hit the ball halfway to Alpharetta, and the Braves haven't won a single World Series game since.
So, for all the woes the Braves' bullpen is having--more blown saves this year than anybody in the game--I take some small schadenfreude-esque comfort in knowing that we're not alone...and for some poor fans out there, it's going to get worse this season. Much worse.
That said, there's a part of me that hopes that during this year's World Series, he's standing on the mound during a Game 7 in Chicago or Detroit, up one run but with the bases full behind him, and he thinks, "Damn...this probably would have been easier if it was happening in San Diego."
Background: last night was the All-Star Game, which the National League (home of my Atlanta Braves) has not won since 1996. Fine, the AL's lumber tends to overwhelm the NL's pitching year after year. But a few years back, Major League Baseball made the asinine decision to allow these allegedly "exhibition" games to count--they would determine home-field advantage in the World Series. It's an inherently flawed idea, though the previous one--alternating home-field based on the year--wasn't that much better.
Still, what you end up with is something like last night, where the Nats were one freakin' strike away from a win, and Hoffman--Mister Second-Greatest Closer In The History of the Game, remember--gave up three two-out hits, capped by a two-run triple to Michael Young, the most anonymous batting leader in the history of the majors. Urk.
It's yet another reason why I (and probably most major league GMs) get queasy at the thought of closers. They're not as bad as field goal kickers--at least a closer is continuing the established pattern of the game, not coming in to dink (or miss) three points with his foot after 59 minutes of a running and passing game. But still--every closer eventually fails, and like your car breaking down, it tends to be at the worst possible time. Even Mariano Rivera--pretty much hands down the best big-game closer ever--has a couple notable collapses (the 2001 World Series, where he blew Game 7; the 2004 playoffs, where he was the last straw to break when the Yankees gave up a 3-games-to-none lead to lose the series to the Red Sox). I still get nightmares over Mark Wohlers' hanging slider to Jim Leyritz in the 1996 World Series, where the Braves coughed up a 2-0 game lead and a 6-0 lead in Game 4. Leyritz hit the ball halfway to Alpharetta, and the Braves haven't won a single World Series game since.
So, for all the woes the Braves' bullpen is having--more blown saves this year than anybody in the game--I take some small schadenfreude-esque comfort in knowing that we're not alone...and for some poor fans out there, it's going to get worse this season. Much worse.
