{"id":5158,"date":"2011-10-16T10:45:58","date_gmt":"2011-10-16T15:45:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/?p=5158"},"modified":"2011-10-16T13:25:30","modified_gmt":"2011-10-16T18:25:30","slug":"why-the-playoffs-can-make-even-the-worst-months-bearable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/archives\/5158","title":{"rendered":"Why the Playoffs Can Make Even the Worst Months Bearable"},"content":{"rendered":"

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After each Ranger game this October, the sports fans of my dental school class usually have something to say to me about the previous night\/day\u2019s game.\u00a0 From bullpen usage to pinch hitters, they typically want to hear what I have to say about the decisions being made on and off the field that affect the Rangers and their bid to follow the Mavs as world champs.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know what or who the Mavs are, but apparently they won something called the NBA Finals last summer just as baseball season was about to break for All-Star festivities.\u00a0\u00a0 If you\u2019ve been reading my stuff on this site for long, you know that October is the worst month at the Baylor College of Dentistry each month.\u00a0 It is referred to as Black October because it is full of midterm exams, progress exams, presentations, etc.\u00a0 Nevertheless, for me at least, whatever is happening at school must take a backseat to whatever is happening in baseball.\u00a0 Two nights ago I had to move my bedroom TV into the living room so I could watch both LCS games and simultaneously study for my pediatrics exam, which I had at 7:40 the following morning.\u00a0 I surely did quite poorly on the exam, but I also was able to watch two pretty fantastic games.\u00a0 Perspectives, right?<\/p>\n

The baseball fans of my class as well as several faculty members and their baseball-related questions make my experience at dental school much more enjoyable, and, despite the fact that BCD tries so hard to make October suck, this month is still the best month of the year.\u00a0 2011 is uniquely terrific because such a high percentage of the game\u2019s truly elite hitters and pitchers were\/are on playoff teams.\u00a0 Evan Longoria<\/a><\/strong>, David Price<\/a><\/strong>, CC, Doc, Cliff Lee<\/a><\/strong>, Cole Hamels<\/a><\/strong>, Chase Utley<\/a><\/strong>, Robinson Cano<\/a><\/strong>, Tex, Grandelay, Justin Upton<\/a><\/strong>, James Shields<\/a><\/strong>, and those are just some of the guys who have already been eliminated.\u00a0 The remaining players and teams are so evenly matched and the games have been so competitive that the baseball world has been collectively drooling since the last week of September.<\/p>\n

As we watch the NFL and NBA unions collectively fail their fans and their sports altogether, we baseball fans are reminded this time of year how lucky we are that we have the game that we do.\u00a0 Honestly, how is the NFL players\u2019 union going to allow for HGH testing?\u00a0 That league is in very serious danger.\u00a0 What NFL player isn\u2019t on H?\u00a0 The kickers?\u00a0 Maybe.\u00a0 And the NBA has already cancelled games because of labor disputes.\u00a0 This might be baseball\u2019s chance to take back what it is rightly due, the hearts of sports fans nationwide.<\/p>\n

What we baseball nuts can do for the sport during this month is realize that no matter what is going on in our lives, we must continue to make time for the game.\u00a0 The people we surround ourselves with on a daily basis must constantly be reminded how awesome the game is and how lucky we are to have a month long holiday where we are encouraged to celebrate it.\u00a0 So as the World Series approaches and with both LCS\u2019s very evenly matched and close, remember how lucky we are to have a game to follow that provides us thousands of games a year at the highest level to follow and love.\u00a0 This is the culmination of another terrific year.\u00a0 Thanks for reading The Sombrero and sticking with us as Arlo worked through whatever malware bullshit was going on here a couple of weeks ago.\u00a0 Happy October baseball fans!<\/p>\n

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After each Ranger game this October, the sports fans of my dental school class usually have something to say to me about the previous night\/day\u2019s game.\u00a0 From bullpen usage to pinch hitters, they typically want to hear what I have to say about the decisions being made on and off the field that affect the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15,1300,6,11,13,10,14],"tags":[1083,135,579,1507,616,173,146,58,499,278,52],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5158"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5158"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5158\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5168,"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5158\/revisions\/5168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}