The Rangers draw first blood, but after that it has been all-St Louis. Allen Craig homers yet again. He is replacing Matt Holliday who is injured and will not be playing.
2 walk off runs with the bases loaded in the bottom 5th. Who would have thought this would happen in a pivotal game 7 with the winner take all? Texas needs to start throwing strikes. Down by 3 runs in the top 7th, its time to pile it on, if not the homecrowd will explode.
St Louis scores in the bottom of the 7th. 6-2!
Scoreless top 8th for Texas. 3 outs left for them to make a difference and have a comeback...in the 9th. Nelson Cruz, Mike Napoli and David Murphy are up to bat. Bottom of the order.
Texas is down to their final out- 11:21pm EST
One minute later, after 2 pitches, David Murphy flies out to left field........and the ST LOUIS CARDINALS ARE YOUR 2011 WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS. 14/15 weeks till pitchers and catchers report for spring training, to console myself for the Yankees.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
World Series update
Game 1: St Louis wins narrowly.
Game 2: Texas takes it.
Game 3: Slug fest, Albert Pujols hits 3 homeruns, putting him along the likes of Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson in a World Series game. St Louis wins.
Game 4: Texas wins. Mike Napoli hits a 3 run homer as the dagger.
Game 5...........
Miscommuincation in the St Louis bullpen, blame it on the noise says Tony LaRussa. Only one reliever warms up after the first call, then LaRussa calls and the bullpen coach summons the wrong player. The reliever who is not supposed to face Napoli ends up staying to face him, then LaRussa takes him out.... with the wrong reliever showing up and of course, the manager is confused and makes him do an intentional walk, giving the ORIGINAL guy who is supposed to warm up barely enough time to get loose and comes in.
Mike Napoli strikes again with the double. In a crazy postseason with rally squirrels and a tortoise on twitter (Allen Craig's pet), it certainly can't get any wilder than this. What's next?
Game 2: Texas takes it.
Game 3: Slug fest, Albert Pujols hits 3 homeruns, putting him along the likes of Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson in a World Series game. St Louis wins.
Game 4: Texas wins. Mike Napoli hits a 3 run homer as the dagger.
Game 5...........
Miscommuincation in the St Louis bullpen, blame it on the noise says Tony LaRussa. Only one reliever warms up after the first call, then LaRussa calls and the bullpen coach summons the wrong player. The reliever who is not supposed to face Napoli ends up staying to face him, then LaRussa takes him out.... with the wrong reliever showing up and of course, the manager is confused and makes him do an intentional walk, giving the ORIGINAL guy who is supposed to warm up barely enough time to get loose and comes in.
Mike Napoli strikes again with the double. In a crazy postseason with rally squirrels and a tortoise on twitter (Allen Craig's pet), it certainly can't get any wilder than this. What's next?
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
The stage is set...
Two teams left standing. One dream, one vision, one goal. This is what thirty teams dream about, but in the end, only one will come away with the ultimate prize. The World Series trophy.
Dreams will be realized right now for some who have never been there, playing in baseball's grandest stage, at the finest hour. Players will shine, new stars will be born, like in the AL/NLCS. Some never envisoned and reporters/pitchers/managers scrambling to figure out who is this kid that is killing our team with a bat that can't be stopped.
In August, and September, I had never heard of David Freese. This guy skyrocketed with an astounding .545 hitting percentage in the NLCS and became an instant household name on national tv. Nelson Cruz was unheard of till last year I believe. But who the heck is David Freese? A St Louis native who is the starting third baseman, who is overshadowed by Albert Pujols, Lance Berkman, Matt Holliday and Chris Carpenter. Never saw him coming.
Lets see if the Rangers can contain him.
Texas is extremely explosive. Their lineup is deep and dangerous. Mike Napoli, Adrian Beltre, Ian Kinsler, Michael Young, Nelson Cruz, Josh Hamilton.
Josh Hamilton had a decent ALCS so far. Its his second straight year in the World Series, something he probably had never envisioned years ago when he was caught up in drugs and alcohol.
I'm rooting for the man. After reading his book entitled Beyond Belief, Hamilton is a success story. He deserves the title more than anything, and this would put him on top of the world.
If I call the shots, my prediction would be Rangers in 7. The Dallas Mavericks won the nba title in June. Make it a second title in the same year for the boys in nearby Arlington.
Dreams will be realized right now for some who have never been there, playing in baseball's grandest stage, at the finest hour. Players will shine, new stars will be born, like in the AL/NLCS. Some never envisoned and reporters/pitchers/managers scrambling to figure out who is this kid that is killing our team with a bat that can't be stopped.
In August, and September, I had never heard of David Freese. This guy skyrocketed with an astounding .545 hitting percentage in the NLCS and became an instant household name on national tv. Nelson Cruz was unheard of till last year I believe. But who the heck is David Freese? A St Louis native who is the starting third baseman, who is overshadowed by Albert Pujols, Lance Berkman, Matt Holliday and Chris Carpenter. Never saw him coming.
Lets see if the Rangers can contain him.
Texas is extremely explosive. Their lineup is deep and dangerous. Mike Napoli, Adrian Beltre, Ian Kinsler, Michael Young, Nelson Cruz, Josh Hamilton.
Josh Hamilton had a decent ALCS so far. Its his second straight year in the World Series, something he probably had never envisioned years ago when he was caught up in drugs and alcohol.
I'm rooting for the man. After reading his book entitled Beyond Belief, Hamilton is a success story. He deserves the title more than anything, and this would put him on top of the world.
If I call the shots, my prediction would be Rangers in 7. The Dallas Mavericks won the nba title in June. Make it a second title in the same year for the boys in nearby Arlington.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
The Yankees season has been over six days ago. I am still bitter about it.
What I find funny during the post season in baseball is that there would (always) be some form of hit or sensation. It might come in the form of a chant, an action (the Milwaukee Brewers "monsters"), a rally monkey (Anaheim Angels, 2002) and of course, a rally squirrel courtesy of the St Louis Cardinals, in addition to a tortoise owned by utility man Allen Craig.
If you have been following the post season, you would have seen the famous video clip when Roy Oswalt from the Phillies was throwing a pitch to the Cardinals in game four, a squirrel ran by right infront of him, and the umpire called it a ball. Oswalt protested in vain, to re-do the pitch but it failed.
Well ohh well. The Brewers and Cardinals are tied up at one game apiece and there will be a game five for sure. Same goes for the Rangers and Tigers series, with banged up Detroit winning in game 3 to cut the defict to 1-2, instead of going down 0-3.
I'm sure nobody saw it coming last week in game five of the epic win St Louis pulled off in Philadelphia. Strangely enough I did tell a friend after the Yankees ended their season how amazing and nice it would be to have the Phillies going home for the winter in game five like the Yankees. The team that won the most number of games this season in the Majors and with the second highest payroll. (Yankees top the list this season, no surprise, followed by the Phillies and Red Sox). Roy Halladay vs Chris Carpenter. Two former star pitchers for the Toronto Blue Jays who will be duking it out in a winner take all game.
Halladay made one mistake in an otherwise superb effort, but Carpenter gave up only three hits and threw a complete game shutout. Cardinals won and advanced, leaving the fans in Citizens Bank Park shocked and too stunned to boo as they filed for the exits after the last out, where Ryan Howard injured his achillies and could not even jog to first base.
Hey, at least we lasted five more games than the Red Sox.
Coincidentally, both the Yankees and Phillies ended their past two post seasons in game 6, and with the same player for each team recording the final out- ARod striking out last year in Texas and this year vs Detroit, Ryan Howard striking out in San Francisco's AT and T park, and this year hitting a routine groundball to first/shortstop thanks to the powerful pitching arm of Chris Carpenter. The sad thing is, he would not be seen on a field till June next year I believe.
Since my Yankees are out, the team I'd like to see win the World Series this year would be the Texas Rangers. Josh Hamilton deserves that ring so badly. Former drug abuser and alcoholic, the dude has came so far to be where he's at right now. Sheer determination and perserverance. He's my role model, a guy who battled real hard. I keep telling myself to stop quitting and keep on going but end up coming apart and screwing myself up even further. Somehow, someday I need to wake up. Hamilton is the perfect example of a winner.
What I find funny during the post season in baseball is that there would (always) be some form of hit or sensation. It might come in the form of a chant, an action (the Milwaukee Brewers "monsters"), a rally monkey (Anaheim Angels, 2002) and of course, a rally squirrel courtesy of the St Louis Cardinals, in addition to a tortoise owned by utility man Allen Craig.
If you have been following the post season, you would have seen the famous video clip when Roy Oswalt from the Phillies was throwing a pitch to the Cardinals in game four, a squirrel ran by right infront of him, and the umpire called it a ball. Oswalt protested in vain, to re-do the pitch but it failed.
Well ohh well. The Brewers and Cardinals are tied up at one game apiece and there will be a game five for sure. Same goes for the Rangers and Tigers series, with banged up Detroit winning in game 3 to cut the defict to 1-2, instead of going down 0-3.
I'm sure nobody saw it coming last week in game five of the epic win St Louis pulled off in Philadelphia. Strangely enough I did tell a friend after the Yankees ended their season how amazing and nice it would be to have the Phillies going home for the winter in game five like the Yankees. The team that won the most number of games this season in the Majors and with the second highest payroll. (Yankees top the list this season, no surprise, followed by the Phillies and Red Sox). Roy Halladay vs Chris Carpenter. Two former star pitchers for the Toronto Blue Jays who will be duking it out in a winner take all game.
Halladay made one mistake in an otherwise superb effort, but Carpenter gave up only three hits and threw a complete game shutout. Cardinals won and advanced, leaving the fans in Citizens Bank Park shocked and too stunned to boo as they filed for the exits after the last out, where Ryan Howard injured his achillies and could not even jog to first base.
Hey, at least we lasted five more games than the Red Sox.
Coincidentally, both the Yankees and Phillies ended their past two post seasons in game 6, and with the same player for each team recording the final out- ARod striking out last year in Texas and this year vs Detroit, Ryan Howard striking out in San Francisco's AT and T park, and this year hitting a routine groundball to first/shortstop thanks to the powerful pitching arm of Chris Carpenter. The sad thing is, he would not be seen on a field till June next year I believe.
Since my Yankees are out, the team I'd like to see win the World Series this year would be the Texas Rangers. Josh Hamilton deserves that ring so badly. Former drug abuser and alcoholic, the dude has came so far to be where he's at right now. Sheer determination and perserverance. He's my role model, a guy who battled real hard. I keep telling myself to stop quitting and keep on going but end up coming apart and screwing myself up even further. Somehow, someday I need to wake up. Hamilton is the perfect example of a winner.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
2 outs left to tie up the game/win game 5. Down by a run!
FUCK NO. Its 1 out. Cano lined out to center field. The Yankees season is left in the hands of AROD.
Strike.
If we lose this game, it would be because of the Yankees inability to score with the bases loaded. TWICE.
Strike. The Yankees are a strike away from going home. I am on the edge.
And there it goes. ARod srikes out. Detroit moves on to face Texas in the ALCS. What a bitter feeling.
FUCK NO. Its 1 out. Cano lined out to center field. The Yankees season is left in the hands of AROD.
Strike.
If we lose this game, it would be because of the Yankees inability to score with the bases loaded. TWICE.
Strike. The Yankees are a strike away from going home. I am on the edge.
And there it goes. ARod srikes out. Detroit moves on to face Texas in the ALCS. What a bitter feeling.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Update: Top 8th inning- bases loaded, nobody out for the Yankees!
Ex Yankee pitcher, Phil Coke loads the bases after giving up a single to Nick Swisher.
So far so good, Yankees are up 4-1. Hopefully they add on a few runs to bolster the lead. (10:59PM EST)
Update 2: (11:04 EST) pitching change- Alburqueque did a bog (sp?) and ARod scored.
Then he gave up a single to Jesus Montero, 6-1 Yankees!
Still nobody out! Whooooooooohooooooooo!
Update 3: Russell Martin walks, bases are loaded yet again. Jim Leyland makes a pitching change. (11:07EST)
Update 4: Brett Gardner singles, scoring yet another runner. Not A SINGLE OUT AND THE BASES ARE LOADED STILL. 7-1 Yankees. Derek Jeter is up batting (again this inning). Finally the Tigers get an out. Jeter is down on strikes.
Lets go Yankees!!!
Another wild pitch scores (Gardner- I think) or is it Jesus Montero? 8-1 Yankees. Schlereth strikes out Curtis Granderson on a full count. 2 outs.
Robinson Cano is up next. He singles and drives in 2 runs! 10-1 in Yankees. Pitching change! (11:20 EST)
Update 5: ARod singles, finally breaking an 0 for 12 slump until having 2 hits in this inning! The Tigers bullpen has their inexperience exposed. (11:25PM EST)
Update 6:
Finally Mark Teixeira flies out to right field to end the inning. Anyone who is a Tigers fan can finally heave a sigh of relief. The nightmare inning is over, as the crowd applauds. Spectators are headed for the exits. As the announcer said, the Yankees will be going back to New York, after this game. They decided to take the Tigers with them.
Phil Hughes pitches in the bottom of the 8th inning and its a 1-2-3 inning, no men left on base, down on strikes and ground balls.
Jesus Montero gets 2 at bats this game and singles yet again in the top 9th. That kid is going to be good. Unfortunately the next batter grounds into a double play and the inning is over. 3 outs left for the Tigers. I doubt they will win. Pack your bags and head back east! (11:39PM EST)
Ex Yankee pitcher, Phil Coke loads the bases after giving up a single to Nick Swisher.
So far so good, Yankees are up 4-1. Hopefully they add on a few runs to bolster the lead. (10:59PM EST)
Update 2: (11:04 EST) pitching change- Alburqueque did a bog (sp?) and ARod scored.
Then he gave up a single to Jesus Montero, 6-1 Yankees!
Still nobody out! Whooooooooohooooooooo!
Update 3: Russell Martin walks, bases are loaded yet again. Jim Leyland makes a pitching change. (11:07EST)
Update 4: Brett Gardner singles, scoring yet another runner. Not A SINGLE OUT AND THE BASES ARE LOADED STILL. 7-1 Yankees. Derek Jeter is up batting (again this inning). Finally the Tigers get an out. Jeter is down on strikes.
Lets go Yankees!!!
Another wild pitch scores (Gardner- I think) or is it Jesus Montero? 8-1 Yankees. Schlereth strikes out Curtis Granderson on a full count. 2 outs.
Robinson Cano is up next. He singles and drives in 2 runs! 10-1 in Yankees. Pitching change! (11:20 EST)
Update 5: ARod singles, finally breaking an 0 for 12 slump until having 2 hits in this inning! The Tigers bullpen has their inexperience exposed. (11:25PM EST)
Update 6:
Finally Mark Teixeira flies out to right field to end the inning. Anyone who is a Tigers fan can finally heave a sigh of relief. The nightmare inning is over, as the crowd applauds. Spectators are headed for the exits. As the announcer said, the Yankees will be going back to New York, after this game. They decided to take the Tigers with them.
Phil Hughes pitches in the bottom of the 8th inning and its a 1-2-3 inning, no men left on base, down on strikes and ground balls.
Jesus Montero gets 2 at bats this game and singles yet again in the top 9th. That kid is going to be good. Unfortunately the next batter grounds into a double play and the inning is over. 3 outs left for the Tigers. I doubt they will win. Pack your bags and head back east! (11:39PM EST)
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Yankees take game one!
After a 23 hour rain delay, game one of the Yankees/Detroit ALDS resumed. When the game was suspended Friday night, the score was tied 1-1 in the middle of the second inning. It disrupted both teams pitching lineup, with the Jim Leyland and Joe Giradi being forced to use their starters for the second game- ex-Seattle Mariner Doug Fister and Super Rookie Ivan Nova.
There was no national anthem and ceremonial pitch whatsoever when the game resumed. Jorge Posada led off the inning with a single and Russell Martin followed up by hitting a double to left center field, setting up Posada into scoring position. However, the Tigers defense was too good, as Brett Gardner grounded to third on a fielders choice but reached base, and Posada was thrown out at home plate, preventing the runner from scoring. Fister struck out Derek Jeter and MVP candidate Curtis Granderson, stranding two men on base. Rough start to the continuation of game one.
Ivan Nova, who was tabbed as nothing but a fifth starter has worked his way up with his strong pitching to the second starter on the team behind CC Sabathia, and he sure proved his worth yet again. He worked six scoreless innings, including two straight innings having no men on base and shutting down the order on strikes, ground outs and fly outs. The Yankees drew first blood of the day in the bottom of the fifth inning, breaking open the tie with Robinson Cano hitting a double to deep left field, scoring Curtis Granderson. The fans backed off carefully to avoid interfering with the ball- smart move. I'm sure they knew what happened to Steve Bartman when he tried to catch the ball in Wrigley Field back in 2003, and instantly became Chicago's most hated for the rest of his life. Until now, who can forget what he did?
One inning later, the game was blown open, Bronx Bombers had their bats heated up and chased Doug Fister. This is how it went: Mark Teixeira doubled, then Nick Swisher struck out, Fister walked Posada, Martin grounded out to shortstop, Brett Gardner singled, scoring Posada and Teixeira, Derek Jeter singled, then successfully stole second base, Granderson walked, loading the bases and Jim Leyland made a pitching change to bring on a reliever to face Robinson Cano who was up next to bat. At this point in time, the Yankees were up 4-1, with two men out.
All hell broke loose and Tiger nation was screaming fits when Cano had the ball going, going, gone into the seats in right field. Grand slam! Damage was done. However, Cano was not yet finished for the night- he hit a double to center field, driving in Derek Jeter. RBI total for the night: 6. What a monster. Detroit showed some sign of life when they scored two runs in the top of the 9th inning, but it was too late. Mariano Rivera pitched the final out, only needing three pitches to strike out the final man, after Luis Avila had trouble getting the last out, Ivan Nova had previously loaded the bases with one man out before Joe Giradi decided it was the end of the night, a splendid job done for a player in his first career postseason start. There will be many more starts and gems from Nova. This is only the beginning. He tipped his cap as he headed back to the dugout, to the adoring crowd.
There was no national anthem and ceremonial pitch whatsoever when the game resumed. Jorge Posada led off the inning with a single and Russell Martin followed up by hitting a double to left center field, setting up Posada into scoring position. However, the Tigers defense was too good, as Brett Gardner grounded to third on a fielders choice but reached base, and Posada was thrown out at home plate, preventing the runner from scoring. Fister struck out Derek Jeter and MVP candidate Curtis Granderson, stranding two men on base. Rough start to the continuation of game one.
Ivan Nova, who was tabbed as nothing but a fifth starter has worked his way up with his strong pitching to the second starter on the team behind CC Sabathia, and he sure proved his worth yet again. He worked six scoreless innings, including two straight innings having no men on base and shutting down the order on strikes, ground outs and fly outs. The Yankees drew first blood of the day in the bottom of the fifth inning, breaking open the tie with Robinson Cano hitting a double to deep left field, scoring Curtis Granderson. The fans backed off carefully to avoid interfering with the ball- smart move. I'm sure they knew what happened to Steve Bartman when he tried to catch the ball in Wrigley Field back in 2003, and instantly became Chicago's most hated for the rest of his life. Until now, who can forget what he did?
One inning later, the game was blown open, Bronx Bombers had their bats heated up and chased Doug Fister. This is how it went: Mark Teixeira doubled, then Nick Swisher struck out, Fister walked Posada, Martin grounded out to shortstop, Brett Gardner singled, scoring Posada and Teixeira, Derek Jeter singled, then successfully stole second base, Granderson walked, loading the bases and Jim Leyland made a pitching change to bring on a reliever to face Robinson Cano who was up next to bat. At this point in time, the Yankees were up 4-1, with two men out.
All hell broke loose and Tiger nation was screaming fits when Cano had the ball going, going, gone into the seats in right field. Grand slam! Damage was done. However, Cano was not yet finished for the night- he hit a double to center field, driving in Derek Jeter. RBI total for the night: 6. What a monster. Detroit showed some sign of life when they scored two runs in the top of the 9th inning, but it was too late. Mariano Rivera pitched the final out, only needing three pitches to strike out the final man, after Luis Avila had trouble getting the last out, Ivan Nova had previously loaded the bases with one man out before Joe Giradi decided it was the end of the night, a splendid job done for a player in his first career postseason start. There will be many more starts and gems from Nova. This is only the beginning. He tipped his cap as he headed back to the dugout, to the adoring crowd.
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