A Crap Shoot

"A Crap Shoot." That is how A's General Manager Billy Beane describes the playoffs. "Getting in is the key. After that, anyone can win."

Well, this postseason proved just that, as the 83 win St. Louis Cardinals, underdogs in every single series they played in this October, won the World Series.

If you had bet listening to the "experts" this postseason, you would be out a lotta money. They picked:

Yankees over Tigers
Twins over A's
Padres over Cardinals
Mets over Dodgers

Then, when they had got one series right (and only barely, half of these "experts" picked the Dodgers, they chose the following for the Championship Series.

A's over Tigers in a long series (Tigers swept)
Mets over Cardinals in a short series (Cards won in 7)

So, with this sparkling record so far in this postseason, the "experts" were unanimous in their statement that the Tigers would win the World Series in a sweep. One writer even exclaimed that the Tigers "would win in 3." Basically, the experts decided the Cardinals shouldn't even show up.

Without looking at the teams, logic, or anything baseball related, I placed my one bet of the postseason on the Cardinals to win the World Series based solely on the fact that the "experts" were so sure that the Tigers could order their champagne and plan their parade before the series even started. Victory is so sweet.

I was going to cheer for the Cardinals anyways. I was still very bitter over the A's getting swept out of the ALCS by an inferior Tigers team, and I love Tony LaRussa. He is an amazing manager. Being able to place a friendly wager on them was just kind of a fun aside. But the logic I used in deciding who would win is what gets me.

We in America place a lot of stock in these "experts," as ESPN likes to call them. They know everything there is to know about baseball. But, basically, they are all sheep and idiots. Not one of them does any actual analysis, they just follow the herd of New York reporters who pick the hot teams and the New York based teams to win all the time. I had yet to find someone working for ESPN, spouting off their "knowledge" as if they are never wrong, who is ever actually smart about this, or gets a majority of things right. Its ridiculous. They get paid six figures a year to be wrong and listen to popular opinion and then spout it off as their own expert analysis. It's sad.

That is why this win by the Cardinals is so sweet. No one expected it. And of all the teams to make the postseason, no one got less respect from the experts than the Cardinals.

I also believe this proves once again the genius of Billy Beane. He has said for years that the postseason is a crap shoot, that any team could win. And everyone always laughed at him. When the A's were knocked out of 5 straight ALDS series, they figured he was just covering his ass trying to explain his team's failures. But maybe he was right. Any team can win the World Series if given the opportunity. They just need the right breaks. The A's won their first series because of a few defensive blunders by the Twins, and then lost the next series when their bats went cold all at once. This is more luck than anything.

I know one thing for certain, I'm never going to listen to an expert analysis on ESPN again. I'm right on every sport they try to predict any outcomes on far more often than they are. I'll just make my own choices and laugh when ESPN looks like idiots.

Tonight I can go to bed happy. I only wish I could have been there to celebrate with the fans of St. Louis. The Cardinals winning the World Series this season is the second best outcome to the A's winning it all. Thank you 2006 World Champion St. Louis Cardinals for proving everyone wrong time and time again. Congratulations.