I have been listening to a lot of different types of music recently thanks to Pandora’s mega-shuffle feature (where you can shuffle songs from every station you have ever created).  In light of my recent musical diversity, I thought it would be a good idea to post a song every once in a while.

Today’s song… Apache by Incredible Bongo Band

The hook has been sampled many times – most famously by hip-hop creators The Sugar Hill Gang. I hadn’t heard any version of this song in years so I was especially surprised when it came up.  It’s a fantastic instrumental with an infectious bongo rhythm that I will be sure to keep in the rotation for the immediate future.  Great work Pandora.

First the Yankees and Raul Ibañez putting on a postseason performance for the ages – a Kirk Gibson like performance. He came in cold in the 9th to pinch-hit for Alex Rodriguez (the $29 million, #3 hitter) and belted a game-tying solo HR.  Then, 3 innings later, he outdid himself with a walk-off no doubter to secure a 2-1 series lead for the Yanks.  The Bronx was alive last night and it was  joy to watch.  Surprisingly, I even enjoyed Sterling’s call.

Along with A-Rod being out of the game at the time of all the heroics, Derek Jeter was no longer in the game either.  He left due to a bone bruise on his foot in the 9th.  More credit to the Yankees for coming through with their 2 most iconic players on the roster on the bench.  40 year-old Raul Ibañez is reminding me of another “older” Yankee postseason hero. The last time the Yankees won the World Series, Hideki Matsui (age 35) won World Series MVP. The Bombers have had their share of postseason memories and Wednesday’s is the latest highlight to add to that long reel.

Later in the evening, the walk-off magic continued in Oakland.  Trailing by 2 runs in the bottom of the 9th, the A’s tied the game with a Seth Smith 2-run double and won it on a Coco Crisp walk-off single.  It has been a special season for the A’s and it was fitting that they extended it in dramatic fashion.  Completing the series comeback and advancing to the ALCS will be no easy task with Justin Verlander on the hill for the Tigers in Game 5.  But crazier things have happened in sports and I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see the A’s popping champagne with their fans on Thursday night.  I also wouldn’t be surprised if it happened in dramatic walk-off fashion.  It’s how they have done it all season, so why deviate from the formula in the postseason.

What a postseason it’s been so far and as I’m writing this Jayson Werth just hit a walk-off HR to force a Game 5 against the Cardinals.  Already 3 of the 4 series have gone 5 games and if the Orioles beat the Yankees tonight, all 4 will go the distance.  Every game has been entertaining, even the blowouts.  The close ones have been extra tight, littered with 10-pitch at bats and manager decisions to second guess.  The stakes are high and the players are answering the call.  Can’t ask for much more than that as a fan.  Maybe the league knew it was doing with this Wild Card and 2-3 format after all.

Would you spend years saving up enough money to buy a brand new, 80-inch LCD-3D TV and then decide to watch the Super Bowl on your old 42-inch plasma instead?  Neither would I, but that’s exactly what the Washington Nationals have decided to do with their ace Stephen Strasburg.  Well, not exactly but investing in the best possible talent out there and then deciding to put him on the bench when the stakes are highest is just as asinine as the television scenario.

The Nationals had their best season since moving to Washington and made the playoffs for the 1st time since 1982 (when they were the Montreal Expos).  Yet, after today’s loss to the defending World Champion Cardinals, the Nats will be faced with a must-win game Game 4 on Thursday.  In elimination games, teams usually turn to their best pitcher.  Strasburg is well-rested and hasn’t pitched since September 7, but since GM Mike Rizzo shut down Strasburg a month ago, Ross Detwiler will start Game 4 tomorrow instead.

I understand that the team did not want to overuse Strasburg in his first full season back after having Tommy John surgery.  I also understand investing in the future, but the future is now in D.C. and there is absolutely no excuse for not having Strasburg available for the playoffs.  If they knew that he was going to be on an innings limit this season (which they did), then they should have delayed the start of his season.  Another viable option would have been to shut him down in August, keep him on a throwing program and allow him to use those last innings of the limit in the postseason.

I also find it very hard to believe that Strasburg pitching 2-3 postseason games would cause any damage to him in the future.  He is at just as much risk for an injury now as he is any other time he takes the mound.  His absence also leaves a big, inescapable “what-if” hanging over the entire series.  The fans know it and the players know it – an unknown Nats player said after Game 2 that the Nationals would be up 2-0 in the series if Strasburg was on the roster.  Why put yourself in this situation and make such distractions a possibility?

Shutting Strasburg down has severely diminished the Nats’ chances of accomplishing the goals they laid out at the beginning of the season.  The joy from the 1st postseason game in Washington D.C. since 1933 has quickly become panic with the realization that the Nats could be eliminated on Thursday with their ace in their back pocket.  Give credit to the Nationals for a great regular season and for putting together a roster of good, young, home-grown talent.  They definitely deserve to be in the postseason – it’ just sad that they are not using all of that roster to ensure they advance beyond the NLDS.  How long before you take the new, expensive toy out of the box and begin to reap the benefits of your purchase?

The 1st ever Wild Card one-game playoffs are in the books and it’s safe to say that the inaugural NL Wild Card game will be one that is remembered for a long time, especially in Atlanta. Baseball has a little bit of a problem on its hands in my opinion. In an effort to create the excitement of do-or-die elimination games every season, I’m afraid that the league has severely diminished its 162-game season.

Here’s what I like about the new Wild Card format:  It rewards division winners by giving them a couple extra days off while the Wild Card teams play a one-game playoff. It also forces the Wild Card teams to use their best starter in their do-or-die game, leaving the 2nd best starter to go up against the Division winners in Game 1 of the Division Series. After a 162-game season, this makes sense to reward the teams who excelled the most over those long 5 months.

However, the same thing that I like about the new Wild Card format is also the thing that I don’t like. Under this new format, four teams’ 162-game, 5 month-long seasons come down to one game. Why play 162 games just to settle the final playoff spot with 1 game? These Wild Card teams, which are one of the top 5 teams in their league, are at a severe disadvantage and it undermines the integrity of the league to play such a long season and then eliminate 2 teams after 1 game (or .6% of the season).

In time, I’ll get used to it and the new Wild Card format is fantastic for the fans. As a fan, I appreciate drama that comes with win or go home situations. However, I did have a bad taste in my mouth after watching the Wild Card games yesterday. That also might have something to do with the controversial call that played a huge part in the outcome of the Cardinals/Braves game. The operative word in the rule applied to this play is “infield,” and to me that play clearly took place in the outfield. The infield fly rule is in place to prevent fielders from intentionally dropping pop ups in order to set up double plays. I understand that the rule can be applied to outfielders but in this specific case short stop Pete Kozma had no intention of dropping a pop up to set up a double play. He made an error while trying to field a shallow fly ball and the miscommunication caused the ball to fall. The Braves should have had bases loaded and the error should have been charged to Kozma.

If the rule is a judgment call made by an umpire, than the umpire should have used his judgment to realize that Kozma was trying to catch this ball and was not “under control” as fielders usually are when the call is made. Secondly, this play took place in the outfield. I doubt the writers of the infield fly rule intended for it be called clearly in the outfield.  

If an outfielder is able to make a play on a fly ball/pop-up, which Holliday was in position to do in this case, then the infield fly rule should not be called. Let’s say the ball was hit to shallow left center field (same depth as the play in the question) and it’s the left-fielder and center-fielder who have a miscommunication over a ball that one or both could have easily caught. Is the infield fly rule applied here? We’ve seen that before and the infield fly rule is never applied in this situation, even though the rule book states that the infield fly rule applies to infielders and outfielders (presumably in shallow outfield). The fact that an infielder traveled into the outfield to try and make a play does not grant him the security of the infield fly rule. Finally, even if the umpire’s controversial call was correct based on the rules as written, then I believe we should change the rules. In my opinion, what happened in the 8th inning last night was in no way the infield fly rule.

I feel the Braves got rooked on this particular play and it’s unfortunate that the call can not be protested, which manager Fredi Gonzalez tried to do. Atlanta still trailed by 3 runs and there was no guaranteeing they would come back, but this poor call certainly hindered their chances. Furthermore, it created the worst situation for fans: “the what could have been had the call been made correctly” feeling. However, that does not excuse the fans classless act of littering the field with debris.

The Braves did not hit well with runners in scoring position and they uncharacteristically committed 3 errors after committing the fewest errors in the NL during the regular season. Just goes to show you the craziness and randomness (both by the umpires and the player’s execution) that can ensue in a one-game playoff. Ultimately, the Braves did not perform like they needed to throughout the game and although they were 6 games better than the Cardinals over the 162-game season, they were worse than them last night – and with the MLB’s new Wild Card format, that is all that matters.

Every little boy dreams of playing major league baseball.  Very few get to live out that dream.  3 pitches is all Adam Greenberg saw in what will be his only official MLB at bat on Tuesday.  They were all knuckleballs thrown by a Cy Young candidate in the final start of a storybook season and they were all strikes.  That doesn’t sound like how the fantasy usually goes for little leaguers but those 30 seconds were everything Greenberg could have dreamed of and more.

Greenberg grew up in Guilford, Connecticut and was a high school sports standout.  He was a 4-year letterman in baseball, basketball and soccer and was even named Connecticut male athlete of the year in 1998-1999.  He went on to play collegiate baseball at the University of North Carolina and won ACC Rookie of the Year.  As a junior, he hit .337 with 17 HR, stole 35 bases and scored 80 runs en route to being named to the All-Conference team.  His impressive college numbers caught the attention of the Chicago Cubs, who drafted him in the 9th round of the 2002 MLB draft.

Greenberg’s baseball future was bright and and after 3 seasons in the minor leagues, he got the call to the majors on July 7, 2005.  In the 9th inning of a nationally televised Sunday Night Baseball game, Greenberg walked up to the plate to make his major league debut.  Batting left-handed, he stood in the box eager to see his first major league fastball.  Marlins left-handed pitcher Valerio de los Santos wound up and threw a 92 mph fastball that hit Greenberg square in the back of the head.  Greenberg was able to turn his head just enough so that the ball avoided his face, but it struck him directly on the back of the helmet and he fell to the ground.  He suffered a minor concussion and was immediately removed from the game.  It was not an easy replay to watch.  De los Santos later said “The first thing going through your mind is, ‘This guy’s dead,'”

After a few weeks of rehab, Greenberg tried to return to the minor leagues and of course hoped to eventually return to the majors.  He continued to suffer severe headaches and realized that the effects of getting hit by a pitch in the head had not yet faded.  After bouncing around the minors for a couple of years in a couple of different organizations, Greenberg played in an Independent League until 2011 – excelling and even leading the Independent League team in triples, walks and stolen bases.  He also faced de los Santos again in that Independent League – coming full circle in his career.

Greenberg’s story was far from over though. Matt Liston, a filmmaker in California and a Cubs fan, remembered Greenberg and his place in baseball history as 1 of 2 major leaguers to get hit by a pitch in their only plate appearance without playing in the field.  Liston started a campaign to get Greenberg one major league at bat.  (Getting hit by a pitch, like Greenberg did, counts only as a plate appearance and not an at bat).  It quickly gained steam and the Marlins signed Greenberg to a one-day contract.

Tuesday, he got his at-bat against the Mets right-hander R.A. Dickey.  Dickey was the perfect supporting cast member to be a part of this uplifting story.  His narrative is an unprecedented one of patience and perseverance that rivals Greenberg’s.  He also happens to be one of the nicest, smartest and well-spoken players in the league – like Greenberg.  Dickey treated him like a big leaguer because Greenberg earned that respect.  Unfortunately for Greenberg, not many big leaguers have been able to hit that knuckle ball this year as evidenced by the fact that Dickey leads the NL in strikeouts.

The outcome of his at bat doesn’t matter all that much.  His will to continue playing baseball and determination to achieve his goal of getting back to the big leagues inspired millions.  After striking out to a standing ovation, he sat down in the dugout next to Marlins hitting coach Eduardo Perez.  Perez, who has been around the game for his entire life, told him that he had never experienced anything like what he just witnessed.  It was a special moment that made a meaningless October game the talk of the sports world.

Greenberg will donate his paycheck of $2,623 to an organization that researches brain trauma in athletes.  He will have a Topps baseball card and finish his MLB career with .500 on base percentage.  He fulfilled his dream and overcame extreme adversity that stemmed from nothing else but sheer bad luck.  His story will continue to inspire and when any kid asks him what it’s like to play in the majors, he will be able to give a first-hand account.  You can bet it will be the first time that those kids hear a story about a ballplayer who was such an inspiration that he received a standing ovation after striking out on 3 pitches.