Hitting Lots of People

Earlier this year, I was at a University of Texas game when something jarring-at least to my mind-happened. In the fourth inning of a close game against Stanford, coach Augie Garrido had Kyle Russell-the player who led the nation in home runs in 2007-lay down a sacrifice bunt.

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Acceptance of things you cannot change is one of the key components of mental health. (Acceptance of things you can change might not be, however.) In order for you to maintain your sense of mental equilibrium as the baseball season progresses, you might want to take a look at the checklist below and come to an understanding with your mind that the information you are feeding it is real. Reassure your mind that you are not trying to trick it or make it learn new things. You are not purposely trying to make it think outside of some sort of box. You must gently reassure your brain that the baseball input you are giving it is genuine but not necessarily familiar. Reinforce your reassurances with the promise of a gift. Tell it you'll avoid activities that could result in concussions. It will like that.

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In these early-season times, let us venture beyond the frontier of normalcy to a place I like to call the Outlier Outpost. From the slits cut in the walls of the outpost, we can see the strange and abnormal numbers that don't conform to what everyone else is doing or to what we've come to expect. Let's take a look at what's out there (please note that all stats are through Wednesday).

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When looking at BP's Postseason Odds report, it is important to remember that it is not written in stone. Just last year, several teams undid sure things going in either direction. Take this year's surest thing, the Arizona Diamondbacks, for instance. At one point well into the 2007 season, they were showing an 11 percent chance of making the playoffs. They destroyed those odds, as you'll recall. This year, they're running at a percentage that is nearly reciprocal to that. Here are the four clubs that are currently showing a better than 50 percent chance of getting into the Final Eight:

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Dark Ages Park

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A friend of mine, who now owes me $500 for not mentioning his name in this context because he is a respectable member of society these days, went through a period of accelerated alcohol intake a number of years ago. For him, any event was a reason to party. He and some buddies went to Shea Stadium and ended up spending the entire game in the Diamond Club, soaking up cocktails. When the ninth inning ended in a tie, allowing them to keep the booze bag strapped on, he coined the immortal phrase, "Extra innings means extra drinks." I'm pretty sure it hasn't made it to Bartlett's Familiar Quotations or even Paul Dickson's Baseball's Greatest Quotations, but it should have. It's probably best for society that it hasn't, though.

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Are you the sort that asks a woman to marry him on the first date? Do you buy the first car you look at on the sales lot? Have you ever stood up in a movie theater after the opening credits of a movie and yelled, "We are witnessing the greatest film ever made!...?" If so, then the Knee-Jerk All Stars are for you.

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Lean Times by the Bay

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Don't Get Too Used to Your Opening Day Lineup

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"L'enfer, c'est les autres" ("Hell is other people.")
--Garcin in No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre
"I live alone. I train alone. I win the title alone."
--Clubber Lang in Rocky III by Sylvester Stallone

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Remember this adage: a person who is in the midst of a contest always has a reason to live. So, regardless of what the state of the economy does to your fragile psyche in the coming six months, if you enter the 2008 Prospectus Matchups Contest, you will have the impulse to carry on. For one thing, there will be a grand prize for the winner--a Baseball Prospectus polo shirt. For another, there is the pure thrill of competition, to know that you are matching wits with the smartest baseball fans in the world.

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