BATgirl Returns
In 2004 she prevailed by every measure. She accurately called the Twins to take the AL Central, the Yankees the AL East, and the Dodgers the NL West, and both the Red Sox and Astros to reach the playoffs as wild cards. No one else did as well. But what really separates her from the pack is this: she actually picked the wild-card Red Sox to become not merely the American League pennant winners but world champions. Only one other vote was cast for the Bosox to shatter the Curse of the Bambino, that of her Sun-Times colleague Doug Padilla.
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To retain a sense of perspective, allow me to point out that neither Ginnetti nor anyone else had a clue about the Saint Louis Cardinals, who only won 105 games and the NL pennant. A pity. Any sportswriter who’d done justice by the Redbirds (a team I am not indifferent to) would have been exempted automatically from consideration for the Whiffle BAT, which can be construed as a consolation prize for trying hard but is more accurately the mark of Cain. At any rate, this year’s Whiffle BAT goes to last year’s Golden BAT laureate, Jay Mariotti of the Sun-Times. Others named fewer playoff teams, but Mariotti earned the trophy for picking the Red Sox to win the American League pennant and the Yankees the World Series. Mariotti might want a word with his copy editors.
Over the years many BAT laureates have candidly shared their championship techniques with me, and it can be said that picking winners often involves about 30 seconds of focus in a barroom setting. It’s the rare set of predictions that hasn’t been pharmaceutically enhanced.
Pioneer’s New Frontier
Ambrosia says it’ll be at least two months before his new ideas show up in his papers.
“Absolutely not,” says Ambrosia.
