The St. Louis Cardinals took game 1 of the National League Championship Series from the L A Dodgers last night by a score of 3-2. It took 13 innings to do it. Carlos Beltran once again piled on to his already impressive list of postseason statistics by driving in all of the Cardinals runs. A third inning double off the wall against Dodgers starter Zach Greinke to drive in two and to top it off a 13th inning walk off RBI. Beltran has personally driven in 9 of the 24 runs that St. Louis has scored this postseason.
Beltran has come a long way since his Mets days and that infamous strikeout in the 2006 NLCS against St. Louis. This thread goes back that far and I haven't re-read some of those posts of my reactions in a long time. This thread indeed has a long arc. The Mets eventually traded an injury riddled Beltran to the contending San Francisco Giants for top pitching prospect Zack Wheeler. Beltran wasn't a Giant for long. After the departure of free agent star Albert Pujols to the west coast, the Cardinals brought in Beltran as a more budget friendly free agent alternative to help replace some of Pujols lost production. By that time many (including myself) knew he could still hit (one of the sweetest swings in baseball) but his oft-injured and surgically repaired knees were in question. Could he still play the outfield?
Beltran reinvented himself in St. Louis and now has established himself as a solid right fielder. He regretfully made the move to right while still a Met. He was stubborn and still wanted to play center. In his prime when his legs were fresh he was one of the best centerfielders in the game. Gold Glove quality. He could do it all. A five tool player. When he gunned down the Dodgers Mark Ellis at the plate last night on the fly it brought back many memories. Since leaving New York he has put up record setting post season numbers for his career. As Albert Pujols becomes a distant memory in St. Louis, the Cardinals front office has come up aces for bringing him in. And the more hits he continues to pile on in the clutch, the futher he distances himself from some bitter memories of 2006.
Anibal Sanchez stepped it up last night in game 1 of the ALCS. He got hit hard against Oakland and bounced back big time. There's been some great pitching in the playoffs all around this postseason. The Tigers have as good a starting rotation as there is in baseball. Sanchez gets taken for granted in a rotation that features Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer and he could indeed be the ace on a lot of other teams in baseball. His era this season tells the bigger story than his won lost record.
Clayton Kershaw pitched another postseason gem in game 2 of the NLCS against St. Louis yesterday and the Dodgers lost again. Greinke gave them another great effort in game 1 with the same result. Both well pitched games. St. Louis has the momentum going now and the Dodgers better start hitting or they'll soon be staring up from an 0-3 hole.
Well last year in April I predicted the tigers would get into the world series they did but lost. This past April I predicted they would get into the world series and they are getting close again. Yes that was some game last night. Two thoughts from a over 40 year baseball participant and fan of the game. One, I was worried that after he lost the no hitter he might? lose it , but he didn't. The second thing, all my life I always in baseball been a play it safe guy. He gave up the no hitter, he went 2-0 on the next hitter. if I was the Boston manager I would have said , take one more pitch. let's see if he is a bit shaken up.nope he swings on the 2-0 pitch, flys out to right center and that was pretty much it.I never could stand when a free swinger gets pitchers out of trouble in those situations, let the pitcher at least get one pitch over the plate.Life and sports is so much about momentum and addiction.
Well, another magnificent effort tonight by Max Scherzer against Boston in game 2 just went up in smoke as Big Papi Ortiz just took Benoit deep with the bases loaded in the 8th to tie the game. It's now 5-5. Scherzer threw a wet towel over the Red Sox offense all night and then Leyland went to his bullpen..
The Red Sox win it in the 9th 6-5. The ALCS is now tied at 1-1.
A couple of thoughts on this one tonight..
What was up with Red Sox manager John Farrell leaving his starter Clay Buchholz in there to get lit up with nobody throwing in his bullpen in the 6th? The Boston bullpen was shown on television sitting on their asses while their team was losing this ballgame.
Why was the righty Benoit allowed to pitch to lefty hitter Ortiz in that situation with the bases loaded? Didn't the Tigers put lefthanded reliever Phil Coke on their postseason roster for just these type of situations? I'm sure both Leyland and Farrell were asked these questions ad nauseum in the clubhouses after the game. If you've got Phil Coke available on the roster and he's had success against Ortiz in the past why not bring him in in that spot?
I am loving NFL this season. Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos. For very different reasons. I am happy for both Andy Reid and Peyton Manning. Great accomplishments this season!
The Red Sox win it in the 9th 6-5. The ALCS is now tied at 1-1.
A couple of thoughts on this one tonight..
What was up with Red Sox manager John Farrell leaving his starter Clay Buchholz in there to get lit up with nobody throwing in his bullpen in the 6th? The Boston bullpen was shown on television sitting on their asses while their team was losing this ballgame.
Why was the righty Benoit allowed to pitch to lefty hitter Ortiz in that situation with the bases loaded? Didn't the Tigers put lefthanded reliever Phil Coke on their postseason roster for just these type of situations? I'm sure both Leyland and Farrell were asked these questions ad nauseum in the clubhouses after the game. If you've got Phil Coke available on the roster and he's had success against Ortiz in the past why not bring him in in that spot?
Coke has been ineffective of late out of the pen and has not pitched in about 3 weeks, which begs the question:
"Why have him on the roster for this series if you ain't gonna use him?"
I blame Leyland for this loss. I understand Scherzer was out of steam after 7 innings. Leyland over-managed the 8th. Exactly why is Porcello coming in out of the pen when he has shown he is ineffective as a relief pitcher?
FOX Sports is reporting today that Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland will announce at a press conference that he is stepping down. Leyland took a lot of heat and the frustration of not being able to win it all in Detroit has taken it's toll. At 68 he's decided to get away from the dugout for awhile. I wouldn't be surprised to see him managing again at some point someplace else, but for now it appears this chapter in his long managerial career appears to be over. Jim Leyland is a good man and I wish him luck. Now the question will be who will the Tigers turn to to succeed Jim Leyland as their next manager?
The Tigers could not have asked any more from their starting pitching this postseason. They were brilliant. Verlander, Scherzer, and at times Sanchez were superb. But their shaky bullpen, and their vaunted regular season offense let them down once again at crunch time. And what of slugger Prince Fielder? Fielder's bat withered and died on the vine this fall. He especially was depended on to step it up in the lineup since their star MVP Miguel Cabrera was coming into postseason play with nagging injuries. The Tigers fans loudly voiced their displeasure with Prince and who can blame them?
It's going to be a long offseason for Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski. He's got to fix his bullpen. Their bullpen killed them last year and also put the nail in their coffin this fall. It's the one glaring hole on that ballclub that Dombrowski has not been able to fill. He needs to make a move for a bona fide closer. And he'll have to weed through the rest of the bullpen to decide who stays and who goes while adding some pieces this winter to shake things up. He can't bring this group back as presently constituted or he'll catch hell. He'll also have to work at extending Max Scherzer's contract which expires at the end of the 2014 season. Scherzer is going to be the 2013 AL Cy Young Award winner. Retaining Scherzer is going to cost Detroit a ton more money on top of an already huge budget. They have to get that done sooner rather than later. The longer negotiations drag on with star players in the last year of their contracts the bigger distractions they become on the field.
The 2013 World Series will feature the St. Louis Cardinals vs. the Boston Red Sox. Both have been in the WS multiple times in the last decade. This is the first year in a while I'll have no real rooting interest in either of the teams, but as a baseball fan I'll watch as I always do. As a Mets fan I have (to put it mildly) a dislike for the Cardinals going back to the 80's when Whitey "The White Rat" Herzog managed the team. It was a bitter rivalry in those days. Rivalries in the game are as old as baseball itself and this one is no exception. I was hoping the Tigers would finally make it because they and their fans have been waiting since 1984 to raise a Championship trophy. That was two years before the Mets won their last World Series in 1986. It's a long time ago now.
Leyland made it clear in today's news conference that he had advised Dave Dombrowski about his retirement in early September. He will be remaining with the Tigers organization in some capacity for the foreseeable future. Key injuries didn't help the Tigers in the post season. Not only was Miggy hurting, but fire-balling reliever Bruce Rondon was out hurt. The Tigers also have to decide what to do with Jhonny Peralta. It is clear his days as shortstop are over as that job belongs now to Iglaisis. I'd like to see the Tigers move 3rd base coach Tom Brookens into the manager slot and retain the rest of the staff.
Leyland at times may be grumpy, self-admittedly so, but he is a class act.
Leyland is a very likable guy, although his gruff exterior and body language seems to suggest otherwise. Most of the writers love talking with him and if it's kept respectable and on the level he'll answer any and all questions. One time I can remember him getting seriously pissed at a media personality was when Yankees television broadcaster Michael Kay made some off the cuff remarks about the city of Detroit that Leyland did not take kindly to. Kay mentioned a few weeks ago on his ESPN Radio show that he was sure Leyland would never speak to him again in interviews or otherwise after that. He actually feared approaching him. Kay eventually apologized, and Leyland spoke with him again as though it never happened.
Leyland was a character the type we don't see anymore managing around baseball. The Earl Weavers, Dick Williams, and Billy Martins are all gone. He was the oldest manager in the game at the time of his retirement at age 68, and believe it or not the title of "oldest" manager in baseball now passes to the Mets Terry Collins who is 64. I'm sure it's a title Terry would very much like to live without but there you go.
Well, I've grown silent talking about the postseason because this represents the worst possible matchup for me. I have no fondness for the Cardinals at all, but I must now pull for them given their opponent!
Poor Don Mattingly can never get into a WS it seems, whether as player, coach or manager. He's now become the pre-1996 Joe Torre of our time.
Meantime, this makes me happy to see come out of the vaults at long last. The full ABC version of this game has been available for years but Scooter's call is so much better.
First of all, welcome back to the thread Eric. I've missed your contributions here and I'm sure Gary and Donna (and others) have as well. Those videos bring back memories. I'm still looking forward to the 2013 World Series even without a team rooting interest. It's still baseball, and it'll be a long winter waiting for spring training once again after this World Series is over. I'll be rooting for Beltran to do well in the series.
Who knows if Don Mattingly is going to stick around with the Dodgers long enough to win a Championship. He's caught a lot of crap out there and still he got that team out of a mid season funk and deep into the playoffs. If that surreal press conference the other day was any indication, it appears the Dodgers are not happy with Mattingly and Mattingly is not at all happy with the way he's been treated in L.A. He'd be a perfect fit in Washington with Davey Johnson now retired and perhaps that will be an option for him down the road. If he does eventually stay in Dodgerland, he'll still have a very good ballclub to work with next spring.
Since you're sharing some fall baseball memories, I'd like to add this one.
Game 4 of the 1986 World Series. New York Mets vs. Boston Red Sox. Fenway Park, Boston.
R.I.P. Gary Carter. It's still hard to believe he's gone. What thrills he gave Mets fans in his years in New York.
Belated Happy Birthday to you, Anz! And best to Gary and Donna and all others as well.
Ortiz being the hero again has been the thing hardest for me to take as a Yankee fan because to me, Ortiz has gotten a free ride from the media and the fans for too long and become the only guy to appear on a steroids user list and not suffer any backlash. When sportswriters start talking about Ortiz as a HOF candidate, they reveal themselves to be hypocrites regarding their indignation over every player they wouldn't vote for this past year (I'm not counting active players who have been suspended for violating new policies, I'm talking about the players of the 90s and early 00s)
Sad news about the passing of New York sportscasting legend Bill Mazer at age 92. We've talked about him before here and a lot of people have been calling in on WFAN yesterday and today remembering him. I was too young to remember his original talk show on WNBC radio in the mid 60's but I certainly remember "Sports Extra" on Channel 5 with Bill and Lee Leonard from the 70's. His early roots were in Michigan and Buffalo NY but he became a true New Yorker. He may not have been the first ever radio sports talk host (I believe the great Marty Glickman was one of the first) but he was a pioneer in many ways. Great knowledge of all sports history both past and present, and his stories, trivia, and interviews were always must listening. Of course he had his own show in the early days of WFAN that he hosted from Mickey Mantle's old restaurant near Central Park in NY. I read in one of the various articles on his passing that he filled in for Hugh Downs on the game show Concentration for a while, something I was not aware of. With your knowledge in the game show arena perhaps you could shed some more light on that. According to Bob Raissman's article, Bill was still involved in doing some local radio on a small station in Westchester until not that long ago. Raissman would poke fun at Mazer in his newspaper articles from time to time, but Bill was an old veteran of the business who would have none of it and served it right back in his own humorous way. He'll be missed.
Where do I start with Game 1 of the 2013 World Series?
"The Cardinal Way" as it's often called throughout baseball went astray last night in an early Red Sox blowout of St. Louis at Fenway Park in Boston. Sloppy game from the Cardinals all around from a team which has always been known for playing smart baseball. And normally steady Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright got lit up early and often by the Red Sox beard brigade. No sympathies from me for Wainwright as he was the guy that turned out the lights on the Mets World Series hopes in the 2006 National League Championship Series. Carlos Beltran bailed Wainwright out from further damage with a great outfield catch by racing over and bringing a ball back over the wall into fair territory on what would have been yet another grand slam by Boston's Big Papi. But Beltran bruised his ribs against the wall making the catch and may be lost to St. Louis for at least a game in this World Series. Maybe more.
This injury depending on how serious may turn out to be key in this series because Beltran is a main focus in that Cardinal lineup and if it affects his hitting going forward it could be a huge blow. Boston came out hungry in front of a packed house at Fenway while St. Louis showed up flat as a junkyard tire and looking as though they had one day off too many preparing for this series. Jon Lester pitched a gem of a ballgame for Boston sealing the deal. It's on to Game 2.
