Playoffs have own twisted logic
There are those who foresee
Yoenis Céspedes and Josh Donaldson on a collision course, bound for a Mets-Blue Jays World Series and a brutal expose on the Oakland A’s operation. Perhaps it’s just that easy — but most likely not.
Hunter Pence remains the king of strange postseason developments this century, dating to the 2012 NLCS at AT&T Park. In a bizarre bit of broken-bat dynamics, Pence hit a three-run double that actually struck his bat three times before taking its eventual flight. This October is starting to take on that look.
How about a catcher making a routine throw back to the mound and having it carom wildly off the hitter’s bat (Toronto’s Russell Martin and Texas’ Shin-Shoo Choo) in Rangers-Blue Jays Game 5? The Dodgers employed such a radical shift on the Mets’ Lucas Duda Thursday night,
Daniel Murphy went from first to an unoccupied third base on a walk. A crazily-spinning ball took such a radical hop on Carlos Correa, the Houston Astros’ marvelous shortstop, he couldn’t even put a glove on it. Not to mention the endless debates over emotionally-charged bat flips and the ethics of sliding hard into second base.
Look for the madness to continue over the League Championship Series, the type of setting that elevates Brian
Doyle over Reggie Jackson
and Francisco Cabrera over Greg Maddux. When Barry Zito managed a single off Justin Verlander in Game 1 of the 2012 World Series, then wound up the winning pitcher, it was clear that October chooses its heroes quite at random.
Short takes
A real shame: Addison
Russell’s hamstring injury will keep him out of the Cubs’ lineup through the NLCS. The A’s lost a real gem when they surrendered Russell, and the Cubs’ fortunes changed dramatically when he replaced
Starlin Castro at shortstop in early August ... Billy Beane has to realize that stars, not prospects or journeymen, carry teams into the postseason. He built some great clubs on that very foundation. Now, with so little to trade (assuming he keeps Sonny
Gray), Beane needs to make a splash or two on the freeagent market ... With so much at stake, common sense tends to prevail in the playoffs. We’ve seen a lot of first-pitch hitting and managers actually watching the games, instead of relying on pitch counts to make a decision. The Cubs’
Joe Maddon had a great comment leading into the wildcard playoff game, saying Jake
Arrieta’s pitch limit would be “infinity.” ... Johnny Cueto is back in business. Oddly ineffective down the stretch for Kansas City, he seemed to fall a notch or two behind David
Price, Zack Greinke and the other top free-agent pitchers. Then came his Game 5 masterpiece against Houston, retiring 19 consecutive batters and fashioning stylish gyrations that recalled Cuban great Luis
Tiant. Surely the Giants, among other teams, took notice ... How badly should a wealthy franchise want to win? The Dodgers, unwilling to give up their top prospects, figured they could get by with
Mat Latos and Alex Wood as their rotation acquisitions at the trading deadline. What a disaster (although there’s no way they should have traded shortstop Corey Seager under any circumstances). If they can’t re-sign Greinke, look for them to bid strongly for Price, Cueto and the rest ... The losers’ clubhouse can be a spectacle of utter gloom and desolation after a postseason defeat. It might be a half hour before certain players appear to address the media. Correa had been downright heroic in that Game 4, homering twice through the pain of an elbow contusion, but his misplay was a crucial development in the Royals’ five-run eighth inning. Correa, just barely 21, made himself instantly available, answering endless questions in English and Spanish. Special player, special man. Great to hear that Kate
Scott, such an exceptional radio and television presence in the Bay Area market, has been hired by the Pac-12 Networks for anchoring, reporting, hosting and — most importantly for her — play-byplay for women’s basketball, volleyball, soccer and softball. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, and jobs are hard to come by,” said Scott, whose first assignment will be Oregon State-USC volleyball next Friday night. “I’m really excited.” ... Former Giants great Felipe Alou once told
Arnold Hano he did more for Latino ballplayers in the 1960s than any journalist. Now a vibrant 93, Hano was a prolific feature writer in the heyday of Sport Magazine and later expanded his focus to issues of social justice. Filmmaker Jon
Leonoudakis has brought his story to life in a compelling documentary, “Hano! A Century in the Bleachers,” screening on consecutive nights at five Bay Area libraries, beginning Tuesday, 6 p.m. at the San Francisco Main Library (Hano will be present) at 100 Larkin. The website: www. hanodoc.com ... San Jose State has the Bay Area to itself on Saturday, a good time to check out sensational Tyler Ervin, the Spartans’ running back whose 874 yards rank second nationally to LSU’s Leonard
Fournette (1,022). The 7:30 p.m. game pits SJSU (2-1 in the Mountain West Conference) against San Diego State (2-0) ... So you heard the ALCS would be televised by Fox and everything would be cool, right? Not quite. Friday’s Game 1 was on the main channel, but the rest will be on FS1, and good luck if you’re traveling and trying to find that station in a hotel. Other fans will be shut out by local cable companies with limited scope. Fox pulled a fast one, and the public suffers once again. I dare you to sit through five minutes with FS1’s regular studio hosts in any setting. Wow, are they terrible.