Two Notes on Baseball

1. An Open Letter to Gutsy:

Gutsy,

You have often admitted on this blog that you are not as much of a baseball fan; indeed, this morning, you commented that you "don't really know baseball that well". As a diehard fan of the sport, and the National League Fellow of the Buck O'Neil Institute for Baseball Excellence, I humbly encourage you to tune in to this year's playoffs. The baseball postseason is arguably the most compelling of any of the major sports - as its series-based formats enables rivalries to develop quickly, and as there are so few teams in the playoffs that the competition level is extremely high in every round. If tonight's incredible Twins-Tigers game is any indication, we're about to have an incredible month of baseball. I hope that you'll join me in supporting our National Pastime and fighting the terrorists, and that you'll enjoy it even half as much as I will.

All the best,
Hitman

2. Playoff Scheduling:

The Twins' reward for winning tonight is an overnight trip to the Bronx for a date with the Yankees...tomorrow night. Just over 24 hours will separate the first pitch times for tonight's game and Game 1 of the ALDS.

I understand that the rules say that the Yankees, as the best team in the AL, got to choose which of the two ALDS schedules to play. They opted for a 5-game series over 8 days, rather than 7 days - and while the 7-day schedule begins Thursday, the 8-day begins Wednesday. But while I get the rule and its motivation, I find it inexcusable to force the Twins into this schedule. True, they're the last team in and shouldn't get deference just because of their need for a 163rd game. But playoff baseball is often so competitive and close, that it's unfair to give a team such an obvious advantage - no matter how small it may be. There ought to be some kind of exception to the schedule-selection rule for situations like this one.