All things sporting [3]

I don't know how much interest there is for baseball on this forum, but New York Yankees darling Derek Jeter did something utterly ridiculous in his last home game.

Jeter had been lavished with praise and parting gifts all season. There was talk on all the various sports shows about how great Jeter was and how much he would be missed, etc. etc.

Anyway, the Yankees were up 5-2 in the 9th to the division-winning Orioles. With closer David Robertson on the mound, it looked like Derek Jeter had had his last at bat. But Robertson blew the lead, giving up the tying runs to the O's (courtesy of home runs by Adam Jones and Steve Pearce).

So, in the bottom of the 9th, Yankee rookie Jose Pirela singled and was pinch-run for with Antoan Richardson. Brett Gardner bunted Richardson over, which brought Jeter up to the plate. Jeter promptly singled in the winning run and Jeter got his first and last Gatorade shower ever.

You can't write stuff like that. It's just completely surreal.

I've only gotten into baseball in the last few years, mainly because I know a lot of people at work and in my family who are into it (and, I have to admit, because the Orioles finally snapped their losing-season streak).  But I was raised with stories of Derek Jeter getting a home run because some fan interfered with the game, even when no one in the house was a baseball fan.

I was watching the game when we went out to dinner earlier, but only saw the first three innings or so.  Jeter is certainly a great player and I have to respect him, and while I wish the O's had won, I can't resent a guy closing out his home career with a win like that.  Good on him.

NB the O's like Derek Jeter so much, we gave him crabs.

I wonder if he ate them all yet

In other sporting news the NY Football Giants destroyed the Washington Redskins 45-14 in a game that most pundits picked them to lose

I'll cheer for any team who beats the Redskins.

{{{Dallas fan here.  Plus I don't like their attempted annexation of Baltimore during our football interregnum.}}}

Well, maybe no the Steelers...

I don't know how much interest there is for baseball on this forum- Raddy

Only Americans could elevate rounders, a game developed for primary school girls to play in the playground, into a national obsession. American ideas of sport never cease to entertain

As opposed to soccer, a game developed for spoiled rich kids to play at secondary school?

Oh, right. Girls.

Pettytyrant101 wrote:I don't know how much interest there is for baseball on this forum- Raddy

Only Americans could elevate rounders, a game developed for primary school girls to play in the playground, into a national obsession. American ideas of sport never cease to entertain

Everything has to start somewhere

Admit it, American sport is funny- you have a World Series no one else in the world is allowed to compete in- thats SO American.

We've discussed the reason for the name of the World Series before.

And while it's certainly hubristic, it's not totally absurd, considering that America is the world's leading baseball nation.  Even other major baseball countries, such as Japan, regularly lose talent to the American majors, because it's a higher and more prestigious level of the game.  It's sort of like how the highest international club level competitions in soccer were only open to European and South American teams until very recently, and even now those continents are privileged, because they're the centers of the game.

Eldorion wrote:

Awwwww.

omg im crying

It's a great video, isn't it? I love the one cheerleader getting really excited as as the pile-up begins.

So, uh ... does that count as a throwing error?

Very exciting turn around by Tampa against the Steelers today. A solid win by Green Bay too.

Orioles doing pretty well in game one of the ALDS so far.

I made that comment just before the eighth inning, and then ... holy shit!

I only hope we can keep up this performance...

Also, the orange carrot is now my official Orioles postseason emoticon.

Unfortunately the game today was at noon, but I was in the back for a big chunk of work today, so I got to listen to about half the game. It was a nail-biter, but the O's came back in the eighth inning to win it and make the series 2-0 so far!

Watching the ALCS now.

My god I cannot believe this game isn't over yet.

Please don't go into extra innings.  I want to sleep. ;_;

Jesus this is both incredibly tense and ridiculously dull