Dealing with love-hate relationship
COMMENTARY / JEFF MILLER
[email protected]
Why I hate baseball: Games like Sunday's, when, after nearly two hours and 185 pitches, it was still the fourth inning.
Why I love baseball: Endings like Sunday's, when Juan Pierre's game-winning bloop single took less than three seconds to land safely.
Why I hate baseball: Postgame quotes like this one from Pierre: ``We're just taking it one game at a time.''
Why I love baseball: Postgame quotes like this one from Jack McKeon: ``When our guys saw [losing pitcher] Mike Williams come in, it lifted them up. It was like, `This guy won't last. We'll get him real quick.
Why I hate baseball: Pitching coach visits to the mound. Philadelphia's Joe Kerrigan spent more time on the field in this series than the umpires.
Why I love baseball: Kerrigan's final visit Sunday immediately led to a walk and Pierre's game-winner.
Why I hate baseball: The Marlins put five barely dressed women on top of the dugout during the seventh-inning stretch.
Why I love baseball: The Marlins instructed those women to dance.
Why I hate baseball: The Marlins can blow an early 2-0 lead in the span of three batters.
Why I love baseball: The Marlins then can turn a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 lead in the span of one Mike Lowell swing.
Why I hate baseball: Pierre bunts too much.
Why I love baseball: Pierre started the bottom of the eighth by bunting for a hit even though the Phillies fully expected him to try.
Why I hate baseball: Kevin Millwood can throw a no-hitter one game, then pitch so poorly Sunday his name should be legally changed to Mill-wouldn't or Mill-couldn't.
Why I love baseball: The Phillies still made it a game by exploiting Carl Pavano, whose failed hunt for the strike zone featured everything but the deployment of police dogs.
Why I hate baseball: The Marlins have a hot tub in their ballpark. Fans in Speedos, indecent.
Why I love baseball: The Marlins don't have a hot tub in their press box. Sportswriters in Speedos, inhumane.
Why I hate baseball: Reliever Michael Tejera can throw over to first base once, twice, three times without throwing a pitch.
Why I love baseball: Tejera then can catch Jimmy Rollins breaking for second to end the seventh inning.
Why I hate baseball: Scenes like the one in the fourth, when fans were subjected to watching Millwood attempt to run the bases.
Why I love baseball: The scene an inning later, when fans were treated to watching Turk Wendell leap-frog to avoid a ball rolling foul.
Why I hate baseball: Advertisements on nearly every inch of Pro Player Stadium.
Why I love baseball: The entire left-field wall is a giant plea to start gambling.
Why I hate baseball: The eighth inning arrives and I have to risk ligament damage by typing the words ``Ugueth Urbina.''
Why I love baseball: The eighth inning arrives and -- not being a broadcaster -- I don't have to risk something worse by saying the words ``Ugueth Urbina.'
Why I hate baseball: McKeon smokes smelly cigars before the games.
Why I love baseball: McKeon smokes smelly cigars during his daily jog. (This is a fact.)
Why I hate baseball: There's a chance Larry Bowa's head could explode in frustration.
Why I love baseball: There's always a chance that Bowa-head-exploding thing could happen here.
Why I hate baseball: The tradition-trashing invention called the wild card.
Why I love baseball: The Marlins still matter because they're within two games of the wild card.
Why I hate baseball: The game is such a business now it's amazing the players don't wear wingtips.
Why I love baseball: ''These guys are excited. I'm excited. Everyone's excited.'' And those are the words of the Marlins' 72-year-old manager.
Why I hate baseball: Agonizingly long afternoons like Sunday.
Why I love baseball: Agonizingly long afternoons like Sunday.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/columnists/jeff_miller/6400136.htm
COMMENTARY / JEFF MILLER
[email protected]
Why I hate baseball: Games like Sunday's, when, after nearly two hours and 185 pitches, it was still the fourth inning.
Why I love baseball: Endings like Sunday's, when Juan Pierre's game-winning bloop single took less than three seconds to land safely.
Why I hate baseball: Postgame quotes like this one from Pierre: ``We're just taking it one game at a time.''
Why I love baseball: Postgame quotes like this one from Jack McKeon: ``When our guys saw [losing pitcher] Mike Williams come in, it lifted them up. It was like, `This guy won't last. We'll get him real quick.
Why I hate baseball: Pitching coach visits to the mound. Philadelphia's Joe Kerrigan spent more time on the field in this series than the umpires.
Why I love baseball: Kerrigan's final visit Sunday immediately led to a walk and Pierre's game-winner.
Why I hate baseball: The Marlins put five barely dressed women on top of the dugout during the seventh-inning stretch.
Why I love baseball: The Marlins instructed those women to dance.
Why I hate baseball: The Marlins can blow an early 2-0 lead in the span of three batters.
Why I love baseball: The Marlins then can turn a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 lead in the span of one Mike Lowell swing.
Why I hate baseball: Pierre bunts too much.
Why I love baseball: Pierre started the bottom of the eighth by bunting for a hit even though the Phillies fully expected him to try.
Why I hate baseball: Kevin Millwood can throw a no-hitter one game, then pitch so poorly Sunday his name should be legally changed to Mill-wouldn't or Mill-couldn't.
Why I love baseball: The Phillies still made it a game by exploiting Carl Pavano, whose failed hunt for the strike zone featured everything but the deployment of police dogs.
Why I hate baseball: The Marlins have a hot tub in their ballpark. Fans in Speedos, indecent.
Why I love baseball: The Marlins don't have a hot tub in their press box. Sportswriters in Speedos, inhumane.
Why I hate baseball: Reliever Michael Tejera can throw over to first base once, twice, three times without throwing a pitch.
Why I love baseball: Tejera then can catch Jimmy Rollins breaking for second to end the seventh inning.
Why I hate baseball: Scenes like the one in the fourth, when fans were subjected to watching Millwood attempt to run the bases.
Why I love baseball: The scene an inning later, when fans were treated to watching Turk Wendell leap-frog to avoid a ball rolling foul.
Why I hate baseball: Advertisements on nearly every inch of Pro Player Stadium.
Why I love baseball: The entire left-field wall is a giant plea to start gambling.
Why I hate baseball: The eighth inning arrives and I have to risk ligament damage by typing the words ``Ugueth Urbina.''
Why I love baseball: The eighth inning arrives and -- not being a broadcaster -- I don't have to risk something worse by saying the words ``Ugueth Urbina.'
Why I hate baseball: McKeon smokes smelly cigars before the games.
Why I love baseball: McKeon smokes smelly cigars during his daily jog. (This is a fact.)
Why I hate baseball: There's a chance Larry Bowa's head could explode in frustration.
Why I love baseball: There's always a chance that Bowa-head-exploding thing could happen here.
Why I hate baseball: The tradition-trashing invention called the wild card.
Why I love baseball: The Marlins still matter because they're within two games of the wild card.
Why I hate baseball: The game is such a business now it's amazing the players don't wear wingtips.
Why I love baseball: ''These guys are excited. I'm excited. Everyone's excited.'' And those are the words of the Marlins' 72-year-old manager.
Why I hate baseball: Agonizingly long afternoons like Sunday.
Why I love baseball: Agonizingly long afternoons like Sunday.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/columnists/jeff_miller/6400136.htm
