Damn straight!
There’s not much finer than seeing the Twins’ offense living as large as its starting pitcher, and when that starting pitcher is Big Sid, brothers and sisters, that is very large indeed. Large and in charge, and very, very greasy. The guy allowed eleven base runners in five-and-a-third innings yet surrendered only two runs. That’s pitching! That is sheer craftiness! The appreciative home crowd rewarded Siddhartha with a well-deserved standing ovation when he left the mound.
Almost as entertaining as the performance of the Twins tonight was watching the beer league baserunning and defense of the Devil Rays. That would be a mighty tough team to root for, would it not? But, you know, also sort of fun in a sadomasochistic sort of way.
Seriously, though, has there ever been a reason to cheer for Tampa Bay (all right, maybe Aubrey Huff, maybe Rocco Baldelli –nah)? The franchise has been around, what? Ten years? The career victories leader is Victor Zambrano with 35. The team has never had a guy win 20 games. They’ve never even had a guy win 15 games (Rolano Arrojo won 14 in 1998). The Rays managed to win 70 games one year; they finished in fifth place in the East in eight of their first nine seasons –that 70-win season under Lou Pinella bumped them up to fourth in 2004. They play in a warehouse that makes the Dome look like Ebbets Field, and some of the larger Old Country Buffets in Tampa draw better crowds.
Still –what the hell?– this train wreck of a baseball team managed to beat Johan Santana one night and lose to Sidney Ponson the next.
Baseball’s a beautiful game.
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