East Coast Bias--Favors West Coast bad boys

The spin is west coast guys/teams are cheated out of "coverage" (they really mean "favorable" coverage) simply because they're not on the east coast. What happens when west coast guys come to the eastern time zone and screw up? NOTHING. The "press" uses kid gloves out--you'd have to look closely to even find out a west coast so-called "closer" blew a game. Conversely, if a Yankee "closer" blew a game, he gets SCREAMING headlines, big pictures left up for weeks on ESPN platforms, head hung in shame. The evidence is in: the west coast teams/players get soft glove treatment from ALL media when a reportedly favorite player screws up:

• Padres News It's October in August: Padres lose

August 22
San Diego Union-Tribune: "It takes a big man to take the importance away from a game in which the Padres overcame a sizable deficit, only to lose 7-6 to the New York Mets on four ninth-inning hits off Trevor Hoffman, and Chris Young is a very big man at 6 feet 10."

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• Mets Have Last Word in Seesaw Game

August 22
New York Times (registration required): "The Mets (71-53) certainly liked what they saw as they sized themselves up against one of the best teams in the National League. They scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to come back and win a wild game, 7-6."

• Magic Mets Pull It Hoff

August 22
New York Post: "The Sandman became the Mudman, but it was Trevor Hoffman who really ended up all wet last night. 'It�s an ugly way to win,' Billy Wagner said after watching the Mets rally for two runs against Hoffman in the ninth to beat the Padres 7-6 at Shea Stadium."

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• Castillo, Mets show 9th life

August 22
New York Daily News: "But run-scoring singles in the ninth inning by Anderson and Luis Castillo off all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman lifted the resilient Mets to a 7-6 victory to open a key six-game home stand last night at Shea."

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• Castillo lifts Mets in 9th

August 22
Newsday: "Despite more bullpen struggles at home, the Mets rallied against one of the game's best closers and beat the Padres, 7-6, on a cool and misty night at Shea."

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• Castillo's hit lifts Mets in 9th

August 22
Newark Star-Ledger (registration required): "Beltran drove in five runs with a homer, a double and a clutch single that tied the score in the bottom of the eighth. Then, with the Mets trailing by a run, he watched from the dugout steps as pinch-hitter Marlon Anderson and Luis Castillo picked up RBI singles as the Mets came from behind to shock Trevor Hoffman and the San Diego Padres, 7-6 on a damp and, until the final inning, dreary night at Shea Stadium."

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• Mets rally for two in the 9th

August 22
Bergen Record: "Somehow, after multiple bullpen implosions including meltdowns by two of the game's best closers, the Mets had just finished off a wild 7-6 victory over the Padres."

• Mets win wild one behind Beltran

August 22
Journal News: "Carlos Beltran and the Mets' sizzling offense picked up John Maine and the porous bullpen to beat the San Diego Padres 7-6 last night in a game that began April cold but ended with an October nip."

• All this after a blown save and loss by Trevor Hoffman v the Mets on August 21st in New York,

headlines and opening paragraphs from ProSportsDaily.com/mlb 8/22/07

• The coup de gras, the NY Post's Mike Vaccaro---shows he's nothing more than a boys' club member, pushing false superlatives, the easy save stat--compiled with no runners on base, no multi-inning jobs, and no grueling post seasons to speak of:

August 22, 2007 -- "THE game ended in a joyful blur, the Mets touching the untouchable closer for one hit after another, with the remaining few thousand brave souls left at Shea Stadium throwing their voices out against the cold, raw night.

• These are the kinds of games that get you thinking October thoughts in August, especially when the ballpark is harboring October jet streams. The Mets tried to hand a baseball game to the Padres, then tried handing it to them again, then, for kicks, decided to stage a feel-good rally against Trevor Hoffman, who has closed more games than any man ever born."

Mr. Vaccaro, only in the National League. We have one in the American league, but mentioning anything about him won't gain you points in the boys' club. No headline about Hoffman blowing it like there would've been with the actual best closer of all time. "Shea Faithful Warming Up to Boomin' Beltran."