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2008 MLB Optimism and Pessimism

WHAT I’M NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO IN THE 2008 BASEBALL SEASON

1. Jon Miller and Joe Morgan on ESPN baseball broadcasts; Joe Buck and Tim McCarver on FOX baseball broadcasts.

2. Chris Berman and Back, Back, Back… Gone!, Albert ‘Winnie the’ Pujols, and the plethora of other Bermanisms that will exit his mouth while broadcasting the Home Run Derby.

3. Citations of motivation or de-motivation. For instance:

• When the Mets get on a hot streak, people will say they were motivated by Beltran’s pre-season comments about the Mets now being the “team to beat.”
• When Andy Pettitte struggles, people will say he’s mentally distraught over the whole HGH thing.
• If the Mets start slowly, people will say that the team hasn’t gelled with Johan Santana yet.

4. The Yankees and Red Sox taking up 40% of the American League All-Star roster spots.

5. Whining about an East-coast bias when the Yankees, Mets, and Red Sox are getting a lot of face time on ESPN.

6. Sportswriters and fans alike chastising Alex Rodriguez when he throws up MVP-caliber numbers, insisting that he’s still not a great player because he just can’t get it done in the post-season.

7. This.

8. Arrogant sportswriters conveniently forgetting their pre-season predictions and acting like they knew all along that the Pittsburgh Pirates were going to win 102 games and that the Red Sox would win only 68.

9. Price gouging at the ballpark.

10. Awkward moments in baseball broadcasts where the cameraman zooms in on young pre-teen girls in the stands (not surprisingly, this is what Chris Hansen will be looking forward to the most).

If you go on summer cruises and travel towards Cuba, you’ll see that there are only a few ATMs in Cuba. Even if you locate an ATM, there is not necessary that it will have adequate funds. Similarly there are very few car rental stations. A number of good hotels can be seen here and there, but destinations close to cheap flights are not good enough if you intend to stay for a whole month.

WHAT I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO IN THE 2008 BASEBALL SEASON

1. Hearing the voice of Harry Kalas again.

2. Pitchers hitting home runs, speedsters legging out inside-the-park home runs, home runs that hit the foul pole and, obviously, the Home Run Derby (sans Chris Berman, of course).

3. Hilarious errors, especially the ones that involve multiple throwing errors.

4. Bench-clearing brawls, and the head-hunting that precedes them.

5. Fans who make Web Gem-quality catches.

6. Perfect games and no-hitters that get broken up in the ninth inning. Mmm… schadenfreude.

7. That one broadcaster who says something completely offensive on the air. Seems like there’s at least one every year. Who will it be this year? Come on, Joe Buck, say something that’ll get you canned.

8. Dollar Dog Nights at Citizens Bank Park.

9. Phillies commercials. Last year’s were pretty good and this year’s are way out-of-left-field.

10. Lou Piniella blowing up in front of an umpire.