Tiramisu Teams

The Mets kicked the everloving shit out of the Cards last night to even up the NLCS series at 2-2. I'm so proud of them. Delgado and Beltran are stepping up big with their bats, the bullpen is doing their job, and who'da thunk that Oliver Perez would be able to turn in the winning pitching performance that he did after a 3-13 regular season? That's what October baseball is all about -- stepping up and not giving up. It really looked crappy for the Mets when their starting pitching rotation got dealt what should've been a 1-2 KO. But they've been able to hold their shit together and give us some good, even great, games anyhow. And now tonight the old man takes the mound again. With only three days rest, 40 year old Cy Young winner Tom Glavine will try and bring the Mets up to 3-2 in this series. He's definitely got experience. And he's definitely a fighter.

Detroit has now been dubbed the "team of destiny" for this year. Whatever. I can't say anything bad about Detroit, because they're a bunch of young kids and, frankly, I like watching them. Also, the town I live in currently hosts the AA farm club for Detroit. So a few short years ago, I was watching a lot of the guys on their current roster as they played at our ballpark. Interestingly, the team sucked. You'd think with all those now-blossomed stars, they would've been good. They weren't. They sucked. Finished last. Shit happens.

Anyhow, the whole destiny thing can bite me. Maybe the Mets will go to the Series, and maybe not. But they aren't playing like a conglomeration of entitled pricks, and they aren't treating this playoff trip as everyday business. So I'm proud of them no matter what. But I still hope they kick the holy hell out of St. Louis and then prove there's no such thing as fate and it's all about free will.

That said, their post-season pitching woes did make me think of a fun little change that could make for some interesting post-season shake-ups. Remember playing pick-up games as a kid? And you know how teams can expand their roster for the post-season? Try this on for an idea: Every year, the teams that make the playoffs are allowed to expand their roster by an extra two players -- and they can pick players from any team that doesn't make the playoffs.

It'd be good for the "business" side of baseball (which usually repulses me, what with their interleague bullshit) because a couple of big name players from clubs who had lackluster years could stay in the spotlight by hooking up with another team. It'd give writers and announcers weeks of copy and chit-chat speculating about who each team will go after. And I'm sure the union would find a way to make hay out of it all, too. (As long as everyone can engage in blatant profiteering, it's all good.)

And it'd be good for the "game" part of baseball. Pick-ups are fun, man! No one can cry about getting a ringer, cause everyone has the chance to pick-off a big gun to use as their own personal mercenary. (And it would give everyone the chance to ignore Barry Bonds!)

So that's my brainstorming done, and I'm sure we're all glad for that. Good luck tonight, Tommy.