Category: Postseason

 

Say what you want but the NLCS definitely gave the fans the most bang for their buck both in terms of excitement as well as story lines. Carlos Beltran, the postseason Cardinal-killer, was perfectly set up to be the hero last night. And he struck out on three pitches.

 

And what about Oliver Perez? Perez was dubbed the Game 7 starter despite a 3-13 regular season record. I may be mistaken but I think that is the worst record for a postseason game starter. How does he respond? He allows one run in 6 innings with only 2 walks (Perez has had issues with control during the regular season).

 

Finally, Yadier Molina who hit .216 and slugged only a half dozen dingers all year was deigned by the baseball gods to be the NLCS hero. It doesn’t get any better than this.

 

 

 

 

So we got a Cardinals-Tigers series. Both teams are not without their similarities. The Cardinals, seen by many baseball pundits at the beginning of the postseason as the worst team in the playoffs. The Tigers on the other hand, were the hottest team for most of the year then tanked for the last 60 games.

Detroit breezed through the ALDS and ALCS but St Louis had to work to get to where they are now. Whether the Cards can use their momentum to their favor remains to be seen.

One thing I’ve learned from listening to the pundits out there is not to make rash predictions or observations based on one game. We saw that happen with Detroit in Game 1 against the Yankees in the ALDS. The media had pretty much handed the Yankees the series after the first inning. Anything can happen in a five game series, let alone a seven game series, and that’s why we love this game.

That said, I will say this. The Cards will have their work cut out for them against the Bengals. Unless we see some serious heroics from Albert, they over matched both in the pitching and hitting departments.

Bob Gibson, where are you?

Followup: Just heard on MLB radio that Oliver Perez had worst W-L record AND the worst ERA for a postseason starter. Just goes to show when it comes to the postseason, you don’t follow the numbers.

Funny, when Albert Pujols has better luck against Tom Glavine, his words are more glowing.

“We beat their best guy, and he was tough,” Pujols said. “He got me the last time, but I got a perfect pitch and drove it. We made adjustments. We were more patient out there. I’m seeing the ball well, swinging the bat well.

“With a guy like Tom Glavine, you hopefully can wait for a mistake.”

Kinda like congratulating your opponent on a game well-played… when you’re the victor.

Regardless, Albert’s homer should quiet the media who think he’s lost his touch because he hadn’t had a hit in what, 2 or 3 games.

Now they focus on total downfall of Tom Glavine and how he totally fell apart in Game 5. Note the sarcasm.

Ok, before everyone starts comparing Albert Pujols temperment to Barry Bonds’ (and believe it or not, I HAVE heard a few comparisons… arrrrghh), let’s take a reality check.

Permit me this scenario:

The Cardinals lose Game 1 of the NLCS. Pujols goes 0 for 3 and makes a rather uncharacteristically blundering baserunning at first.

Chances are, he’s not in a particularly cheerful mood.

Being one of the superstars on the team, he gets mobbed by the press. He gets asked a variation of the same question by reporter after reporter.

Do you think Glavine had great stuff? Or if it was a Newsday reporter, Glavine pitched a great game. What was it like to go down like that?

Pujols probably answered the “right way” nine times but the tenth time, he just blurted out how he felt. Which Pujols comment do you think made all the news?

When you attain the level of play that Pujols has, it doesn’t take much to take you down… at least in the media. Stupid Tim McCarver said during Albert’s second at-bat in Game 2, “Pujols hasn’t had a hit in the series.” So, in other words Tim, he just went one game without a hit.

Lisa Kennelly of the (NJ) Star Ledger went even further. After Pujols’ Game 1 perfomance, her article was entitled Pujols a shadow of the feared MVP. A little harsh for an 0 for 3 game.

Update: LaRussa is sticking up for Pujols and Pujols isn’t backing down from his comments.

The Division Series are over and now things will really get really intense.

Joe Torre’s Troubles

Rumors are flying about Torre’s demise at the Big Apple despite all the good things everybody is saying about him there. I’ve even seen wild rumors about Torre at Wrigley.

But let’s not be hasty. Rumors are rumors and this is not the 70’s and Torre is not Billy Martin. If Big George knows what’s good for his team, he’ll keep Joe Torre.

Mets/Cardinals
Try as I might, I could not always root against the Mets this year. Any other year, the Mets don’t rank up there as one of my favorite teams. Historically, they’re one of those teams I don’t particularly care for. That was then. This is now.

Throughout the year when firing up MLB’s Mosaic and deciding which game to watch, I tended to gravitate to Mets’ games. Talk about an exciting team! They never seemed to be out of it. Between David Wright who had an explosive bat (and possibly suspect defense), Jose Reyes who knew how to get things going and Carlos Delgado who is one of the most underrated slugger of our time.

Add to that, one of my favorite pitchers of our era, Tom Glavine. A sure HOFer, “Gretzky” answered the call Thursday by pitching six scoreless innings.

In honor of Glavine (and to pay homage to LA’s Greg Maddux who did every he could to get the Dodgers as far they got), check out this blast from the past. One of my favorite commercials when both were Atlanta Braves. It’s sure to bring a chuckle.

I’ll be damned if I can find a local Cardinals fan who is optimistic about the coming series against the Mets. I guess it doesn’t help that the Redbirds shot their wad with Carpenter in Game 5 against the Pads.

That said, they found a way to win without Pujols (though he did score a run after walking).

NLCS Rotation Analysis

A’s/Tigers

Both teams have tremendous momentum for their special reasons. I’m looking for a pitching heavy series. Nate Robertson has something to prove in Game 1. His Game 1 performance against the Yankees was less than stellar.

On the other hand, the A’s go with Barry Zito who pitched 8 strong frames in Game 1 of the ALDS.

From a A’s perspective, here’s a ALCS preview from the Athletics Nation.

MLB.com’s ALCS Rotation Analysis

Jeremy Bonderman

After much talk by the media and baseball analysts about the Yankees and “Murderer’s Row and Cano” and the Tigers getting swept by the Royals at the end of the season, we remember that this is the game of baseball. And while the game of baseball follows certain rules, we can’t forget that anything can happen.

And when it does, it makes fools of said baseball analysts.

The lesson to be learned here is just as you don’t call an election race before it’s over neither should you call a playoff series after one game.

And before I forget, let’s throw out this little playoff stat. 1 for 11, 0 rbis, 0 runs and 4 strikeouts. I’ll give you one guess who that is.

That’s right. Alex Rodriguez. They say players get paid the big bucks so they can perform in the crunch situations. Like playoffs. We’ll see how forgiving the Yankee fans are. To give A-Rod credit, he did do some self-reflecting.

“At some point you’ve got to look in the mirror and say, ‘I sucked.’, Rodriguez said.

The Tiger Tales blog was convinced of a Detroit win over NY but never in their “wildest dreams did I think that they would win so convincingly“.

They now take on Oakland in the ALCS.

1 for 5, HR, 1 run, 2 rbi

Kotsay’s inside the park homer put the A’s ahead for good in Game 2.

If Hunter had caught that he of course, would be a hero but I guess the question is where was his backup on that play?

Oakland’s win and Kotsay’s inside jobber overshadowed the decent start that Boof Bonser had. Once again, a rookie was thrust in the limelight (see John Maine) and did okay. Boof allowed only 2 runs in 6 innings with no walks.

This puts the Twins in the hot seat. The only thing going for them is history. Twice in the last 5 years, the A’s have lost Divisional Series after a 2-0 lead. Eric Byrnes, anyone?

4 for 5, HR, 2 runs, 2 rbis

First, let’s get this out of the way. Do you think Nomar wants to take back that last swinging strike to end the game? He looked like a little leaguer on that one. Or at least Rob Deer.

No doubt on Carlos Delgado for this one. Delgado held the record for most games played (1711) without a postseason appearance until yesterday. Boy, did he make the most of his first one.

John Maine held his own in the game. He was helped by Delgado’s blast and LoDuca’s double play at the plate. Randolph had a quick trigger and he was out by the fifth but that is the nature of the postseason. Nonetheless, one run in 4 1/3 with 5 Ks is something to be proud of.

Tom Glavine is set to pitch the 2nd game for the Mets. LA will bring Hong-Chih Kuo.

3 for 4, 2 HR, 2 runs, 2 rbis

How smart now do you think the A’s were when they picked up Big Hurt?

Never mind his regular season performance which surpassed everyone’s expectations. He now takes his smattering of post-season experience and puts it to work this year.

Comeback Player of the Year? No doubt.