Hello,
This will be my last baseball blog for the 2013 season, unless something happens that is quite dramatic. I know we still have the MVP and Cy Young and other awards to be announced.
On Wednesday, October 30, 2013 the Red Sox were able to close out the Cardinals and win their third World Series in 10 years.
Unfortunately for the Cardinals they were stuck for 7 hours on the runway before they were able to fly to Boston Wednesday night. They arrived in Boston about 11:00 pm on Wednesday night. From what I've read the Cardinals players and others on the plane took the delay in stride. They had an incredibly good attitude about their circumstances. And I agree with David Ortiz who hoped the Cardinals were able to get to Boston safe. They did, which is the most important thing, and the World Series is able to go on.
The scheduled pitching match up was the Cardinals sending the excellent rookie pitcher Michael Wacha vs. the Red Sox crafty veteran John Lackey. This was a rematch of Game 2, the Cardinals and Wacha won the Game 2 battle.
This is from my blog a couple of days ago: As what happened in the Red Sox-Tigers ALCS happened in the World Series. In both series the Tigers and Cardinals won one of the first two games in Boston. The Red Sox went to both Detroit and St. Louis and returned the favor, stealing two of three games. In both series the Red Sox came back to Boston with a 3-2 lead. Will the similarities continue in the World Series? Game 6 of the ALCS Shane Victorino hit a grand slam that gave the Red Sox the AL pennant. Would Boston be able to end the World Series in Game 6 Wednesday night? Would Victorino be able to play again after missing the last couple of games due to his balky back?
Yes, Shane Victorino was able to play again. And as in Game 6 of the ALCS he ended up being the hero. Victorino had a bases loaded double in the 3rd inning, a double that drove in Jacoby Ellsbury, David Ortiz and Jonny Gomes. (Please don't say it's true Boston and Jacoby that you both are considering a split.)
In the 4th inning Stephen Drew hit a solo homer and Mike Napoli singled to drive in Ellsbury again and Victorino came up again with the bases loaded. This time he singled and drove in Ortiz. However after that the Red Sox were able to do any further damage and wouldn't score any more than the 6 runs they had scored at that time. Later the Cardinals scored a meaningless run as Boston won 6-1.
Boston won the World Series 4-2 in games, they are also the first team this postseason to figure out the sensational rookie Michael Wacha. I had been waiting for a game the Red Sox offense would explode and this was the game. They did it against Wacha, who had been so good this postseason. Wacha lasted 3.2 innings, allowing 5 hits, 6 runs and 4 walks. Because of this game his World Series ERA increased from 3.00 to 7.45. Wacha finished 4-1 in the post season, but only 1-1 in the World Series. Although to be fair he was bound to have a bad game. He will have many great seasons going forward, I predict this isn't his last World Series.
John Lackey capped off a season of resurgence by going 1-1 this World Series. He didn't pitch particualary well, but did hold the Cardinals to only one run. Lackey pitched 6.2 innings and gave up 9 hits. His World Series ERA ends up 2.57.
Koji Uehara finished his dream season with a World Series title, two saves and a 0.00 ERA. He also closed out the Cardinals in Game 6.
World Series MVP David Ortiz was 0 for 1 in Game 6, although he was walked 4 times in this game. He finished the World Series with a .688 batting average, finishing an incredible 11 for 16. In this World Series Ortiz hit two homers, had 6 RBIs and was walked 8 times. Even more importantly I do believe he got in the heads of the Cardinals. He finished with a .760 on base percentage, which is the second best OBP in World Series history.
I suggest this World Series proves that he's the number one clutch hitter of his generation and earns him a place in the Hall of Fame.
themusicaddict
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
World Series Game 5: Red Sox Win, On Verge Of World Series Title
Hello,
Game 5 of the World Series was another low scoring ground it out affair featuring two teams with excellent pitching staffs. However Jon Lester and the Red Sox were able to win this particular battle and it looks like they are about to win the war.
As what has happened in the Red Sox-Tigers ALCS is happening in the World Series. In both series the Tigers and Cardinals won one of the first two games in Boston. The Red Sox went to both Detroit and St. Louis and returned the favor, stealing two of three games. In both series the Red Sox came back to Boston with a 3-2 lead. Will the similarities continue in the World Series? In Game 6 of the ALCS Shane Victorino hit a grand slam that gave the Red Sox the AL pennant. Will Boston be able to end the World Series in Game 6 Wednesday night? Will Victorino be able to play again after missing the last couple of games due to his balky back?
According to ESPN.com tickets for Game 6 are breaking records. The Red Sox won the World Series in both 2004 and 2007, but both of those titles were won on the road. Bleacher tickets going for $300 last week are going for $1100 each Tuesday morning. The last time the Red Sox won the World Series at home was on September 11th, 1918. I would love to be there, but I'll be just fine watching the game on my big screen TV. (Thanks to espn.com.)
On Monday Jon Lester threw his hat in the ring for World Series MVP, that is if anyone can knock David Ortiz off that perch. Lester pitched 7.2 innings, allowing 4 hits but only 1 run. He also added 7 strikeouts. He pitched 16 1/3rd scoreless innings before Matt Holliday's 4th inning homer. Lester is 2-0 with a 0.59 ERA in this World Series.
Red Sox pitching was so good Monday that they only used two pitchers in Game 5. Koji Uehara ripped through the final 4 Cardinals hitters to earn his second save of this World Series. In addition he has an 0.00 ERA. I believe that's Uehara's 7th save of this postseason. He's been an amazing closer, even though he was the Red Sox third choice for a closer. With Tuesday an off day, pretty much all Red Sox pitchers should be able Wednesday.
The person that had the big hit on Monday was David Ross, his 7th inning ground rule double drove in Xander Bogaerts. That gave the Red Sox a 2-1 lead. Bogaerts has played very well in the Series, he's hitting .294. On the same play Stephen Drew moved to third base. The next batter, Jacoby Ellsbury, hit a long single to centerfield. He drove in Drew, which gave the Red Sox a 3-1 lead. Ross was thrown out, by a wide margin, by trying to score on Ellsbury's hit.
On Wednesday the Cardinals are going to have to figure out a way to stop the absolutely on fire Ortiz. Has anyone ever hit better in the World Series? I know he doesn't own the record for most hits in one World Series, but he's got to have the best batting average through 5 games ever. Ortiz has always been solid in the postseason but he's taking that to the next level in this series.
Ortiz was 3 for 4 on Monday and is hitting 11 of 15 in this series. He's hitting an otherworldly .733 and his on base percentage is .750.
The pitcher the Cardinals will be putting their hopes on to delay a Red Sox celebration at least one game is a rookie. Although I don't think anyone considers Michael Wacha a rookie still, he's 4-0 and has a 1.00 ERA in this Cardinals postseason. He had a lights out performance in Game 2. His only mistake was a pitch to Ortiz, who else? Wacha had gone 18 2/3rd scoreless innings before Ortiz's 2 run homer in Game 2. Yes, that was a rookie record for a single postseason (as always thanks to espn.com).
In a rematch of Game 2 John Lackey will be pitching for the Red Sox. In Game 2 he pitched 6.1 innings and gave up 5 hits and 3 runs. Lackey isn't the worst choice to go for the Red Sox in Game 6. The crafty veteran doesn't have the stuff he did a few years ago. However he's pitched this season a lot better than the last couple of seasons.
I don't really expect the Red Sox to break out in Game 6 with a lot of runs against Wacha, although I'm surprised the Red Sox haven't scored more runs. The Cardinals are a very, very good team and I wouldn't be surprised if the World Series gets pushed to a Game 7. What kind of a game would a Game 7 on Halloween be like, it's possible we'll find out in a couple of days.
Go Red Sox!
themusicaddict
Game 5 of the World Series was another low scoring ground it out affair featuring two teams with excellent pitching staffs. However Jon Lester and the Red Sox were able to win this particular battle and it looks like they are about to win the war.
As what has happened in the Red Sox-Tigers ALCS is happening in the World Series. In both series the Tigers and Cardinals won one of the first two games in Boston. The Red Sox went to both Detroit and St. Louis and returned the favor, stealing two of three games. In both series the Red Sox came back to Boston with a 3-2 lead. Will the similarities continue in the World Series? In Game 6 of the ALCS Shane Victorino hit a grand slam that gave the Red Sox the AL pennant. Will Boston be able to end the World Series in Game 6 Wednesday night? Will Victorino be able to play again after missing the last couple of games due to his balky back?
According to ESPN.com tickets for Game 6 are breaking records. The Red Sox won the World Series in both 2004 and 2007, but both of those titles were won on the road. Bleacher tickets going for $300 last week are going for $1100 each Tuesday morning. The last time the Red Sox won the World Series at home was on September 11th, 1918. I would love to be there, but I'll be just fine watching the game on my big screen TV. (Thanks to espn.com.)
On Monday Jon Lester threw his hat in the ring for World Series MVP, that is if anyone can knock David Ortiz off that perch. Lester pitched 7.2 innings, allowing 4 hits but only 1 run. He also added 7 strikeouts. He pitched 16 1/3rd scoreless innings before Matt Holliday's 4th inning homer. Lester is 2-0 with a 0.59 ERA in this World Series.
Red Sox pitching was so good Monday that they only used two pitchers in Game 5. Koji Uehara ripped through the final 4 Cardinals hitters to earn his second save of this World Series. In addition he has an 0.00 ERA. I believe that's Uehara's 7th save of this postseason. He's been an amazing closer, even though he was the Red Sox third choice for a closer. With Tuesday an off day, pretty much all Red Sox pitchers should be able Wednesday.
The person that had the big hit on Monday was David Ross, his 7th inning ground rule double drove in Xander Bogaerts. That gave the Red Sox a 2-1 lead. Bogaerts has played very well in the Series, he's hitting .294. On the same play Stephen Drew moved to third base. The next batter, Jacoby Ellsbury, hit a long single to centerfield. He drove in Drew, which gave the Red Sox a 3-1 lead. Ross was thrown out, by a wide margin, by trying to score on Ellsbury's hit.
On Wednesday the Cardinals are going to have to figure out a way to stop the absolutely on fire Ortiz. Has anyone ever hit better in the World Series? I know he doesn't own the record for most hits in one World Series, but he's got to have the best batting average through 5 games ever. Ortiz has always been solid in the postseason but he's taking that to the next level in this series.
Ortiz was 3 for 4 on Monday and is hitting 11 of 15 in this series. He's hitting an otherworldly .733 and his on base percentage is .750.
The pitcher the Cardinals will be putting their hopes on to delay a Red Sox celebration at least one game is a rookie. Although I don't think anyone considers Michael Wacha a rookie still, he's 4-0 and has a 1.00 ERA in this Cardinals postseason. He had a lights out performance in Game 2. His only mistake was a pitch to Ortiz, who else? Wacha had gone 18 2/3rd scoreless innings before Ortiz's 2 run homer in Game 2. Yes, that was a rookie record for a single postseason (as always thanks to espn.com).
In a rematch of Game 2 John Lackey will be pitching for the Red Sox. In Game 2 he pitched 6.1 innings and gave up 5 hits and 3 runs. Lackey isn't the worst choice to go for the Red Sox in Game 6. The crafty veteran doesn't have the stuff he did a few years ago. However he's pitched this season a lot better than the last couple of seasons.
I don't really expect the Red Sox to break out in Game 6 with a lot of runs against Wacha, although I'm surprised the Red Sox haven't scored more runs. The Cardinals are a very, very good team and I wouldn't be surprised if the World Series gets pushed to a Game 7. What kind of a game would a Game 7 on Halloween be like, it's possible we'll find out in a couple of days.
Go Red Sox!
themusicaddict
Monday, October 28, 2013
Beating A Dead Horse: The Jones Family Must Stop Destroying the Cowboys
Hello,
All praise and glory goes to Jerry Jones for another memorable Cowboys season. Jones is desperate to prove that his way is the right way. Season 17 in showing that his way in any way but the right way, all glory and praise must go to Jerry for another train wreck season. Yes, it feels like I've written this blog several times already.
There are many bad things about Jonesruined ran Cowboys, I'd like to highlight just two here. The first is his miserable handling of the salary cap, including his love of overpaying players. Many of those players he tends to stick with too long. When he's finally forced to release them there's usually money and years left on their contract. That comes ends up being dead money. As of now Dallas has about $14 million in dead money in this years cap, most of that is due to his horrible signing of Jay Ratliff. Also right now the Cowboys are projected to be over $31 million in salary cap for 2014. This seems to be an annual issue for Jones. How does Jones resolve this issue? He pushes the money into the next year's cap. Instead of solving that problem, that just delays the the problem. Many times the salary cap issue is worse the next season.
I understand that the NFL will probably never step in and take away ownership of the Cowboys from the Jones family. The Cowboys and Jones simply make so much money and bring too much attention to the NFL. That's sad news for Cowboys fans who have to live with this once great franchise. I do wonder when more Cowboys fans will tire of this mediocrity and stop financially supporting Jones. (Fellow Cowboys fans please stop supporting Jones idiocy by purchasing Cowboys tickets and merchandise. Stop allowing the Jones family from the constant erosion of the Cowboys.)
The second bad thing about Jones management style is his love of injury prone players. Players that missed yesterday's game include Ratliff who was released after battling an injury since last season and refusing to get help from Cowboys trainers. (Yeah Jerry decided to keep him around for another year.) Anthony Spencer and Tyrone Crawford are both out for the season. DeMarcus Ware, DeMarco Murray and and the incredibly soft Miles Austin also missed the game. All 3 may be back next week, the tough Ware is missing the first games in his career. Both Austin and Murray have missed games over the last few seasons, but Jerry continues to stick with them. Also both will miss more games in the future.
However Jerry did have a plan for if (when) Murray got injured again. Dallas drafted Joseph Randle to fill in as needed. Randle exploded for 26 yards on 14 carries on Sunday. Hell of a plan Jerry. Jones is so good at making bad decisions now that it's become a habit.
Dez Bryant has missed a few games due to injury, but his main weakness is the fact that he's a head case. A list of his many bad decisions made off the field can be found elsewhere, so I'm not going to go into them here. But his childish behavior yesterday was more bad form, he had at least two sideline meltdowns. He's matured the last couple of years, but I still think he's got a ways to go. I expect him to have a couple more off the field incidents.
In fact with so much bad karma surrounding the Cowboys I'm waiting for them to implode any day now. Hopefully when that day happens someone will say that to Jones and some common sense will finally hit him.
In the Cowboys latest debacle they lost to the Lions 31-30 and fall to 4-4 on the season. With a 70 year old owner that knows very little about football, although he played football in college, what else did you expect? One of his many bad moves was hiring 73 year old Monte Kiffin, although his USC teams gave up tons of yards and points. Sure Kiffin would be able to bring his Tampa 2 defense that failed at USC and then dominate the NFL. That makes sense right? Such is the horrible decision making of Jerruh Jones, the man who single handedly is destroying his own franchise.
How good was Kiffin's defense on Sunday? Here's a few stats to show why this will be Kiffin's first and last season in Dallas. (Thanks to ESPN Dallas for all the following stats.) His Cowboys gave up a franchise record 623 yards, this with there being some really bad teams in Cowboys history. We can't forget the Cowboys giving up 329 receiving yards to Calvin Johnson. The man assigned to cover Johnson was $50 million dollar man Brandon Carr. He's been a decent player but Jones overpaid him. Dallas is the first team in NFL history to allow four 400 yard passers in one season and there are still 8 games to play. Both Drew Brees and Eli Manning are licking their lips looking to exploit the Cowboys ineffective pass defense.
Dallas is now 4-4 and on their way to their third consecutive 8-8 season. Fortunately for them they play in the worst division in the NFL, the NFC East. Finishing with a .500 record could possibly get the Cowboys into the playoffs. Likely they'd lose at Jerryworld and get destroyed by whoever they play in the first round of the playoffs. As always I hope the Cowboys don't make the playoffs, Jones might count winning the worst division in the NFL as "progress".
The funny thing is although the Giants lost their first 6 games of the season, they have won 2 in a row and are only 2 games out of first place. Yes, that's how bad the NFC East is. Here's the standings as of October 26th, 2013. Dallas 4-4, Philadelphia is 3-5, Washington is 2-5 and the Giants are 2-6. The Eagles are a very bad team, when a NFL team has to call on Matt Barkley that indicates how bad of a team they are. The Eagles are so bad they could only manage 3 points against the terrible Cowboys in Philadelphia.
The Cowboys continue to prove they can only beat bad teams, Detroit is a mediocre team and the Lions beat Dallas. But good news for the Cowboys next week they play the terrible Vikings in Dallas. Although the Cowboys defense is porous, Christian Ponder is probably not going to be able to exploit that defense. I watched the Vikings play last night on Sunday Night Football and boy are they bad.
Dallas will beat Vikings, in fact they'll probably destroy the Vikings. But the next week the Cowboys go on the road to play New Orleans and old defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. Ryan was the sacrificial lamb as Jones couldn't admit he's the problem. Will Brees throw for 500 yards in this game? That loss will drop the Cowboys back to 5-5, which be followed by the Cowboys having a bye. The Cowboys can't lose a bye, can they? The Cowboys will finish the season 7-9 and 8-8, but that's only because they are in the worst division in the NFL. If they were in any other division they would struggle to win 6 games.
themusicaddict
All praise and glory goes to Jerry Jones for another memorable Cowboys season. Jones is desperate to prove that his way is the right way. Season 17 in showing that his way in any way but the right way, all glory and praise must go to Jerry for another train wreck season. Yes, it feels like I've written this blog several times already.
There are many bad things about Jones
I understand that the NFL will probably never step in and take away ownership of the Cowboys from the Jones family. The Cowboys and Jones simply make so much money and bring too much attention to the NFL. That's sad news for Cowboys fans who have to live with this once great franchise. I do wonder when more Cowboys fans will tire of this mediocrity and stop financially supporting Jones. (Fellow Cowboys fans please stop supporting Jones idiocy by purchasing Cowboys tickets and merchandise. Stop allowing the Jones family from the constant erosion of the Cowboys.)
The second bad thing about Jones management style is his love of injury prone players. Players that missed yesterday's game include Ratliff who was released after battling an injury since last season and refusing to get help from Cowboys trainers. (Yeah Jerry decided to keep him around for another year.) Anthony Spencer and Tyrone Crawford are both out for the season. DeMarcus Ware, DeMarco Murray and and the incredibly soft Miles Austin also missed the game. All 3 may be back next week, the tough Ware is missing the first games in his career. Both Austin and Murray have missed games over the last few seasons, but Jerry continues to stick with them. Also both will miss more games in the future.
However Jerry did have a plan for if (when) Murray got injured again. Dallas drafted Joseph Randle to fill in as needed. Randle exploded for 26 yards on 14 carries on Sunday. Hell of a plan Jerry. Jones is so good at making bad decisions now that it's become a habit.
Dez Bryant has missed a few games due to injury, but his main weakness is the fact that he's a head case. A list of his many bad decisions made off the field can be found elsewhere, so I'm not going to go into them here. But his childish behavior yesterday was more bad form, he had at least two sideline meltdowns. He's matured the last couple of years, but I still think he's got a ways to go. I expect him to have a couple more off the field incidents.
In fact with so much bad karma surrounding the Cowboys I'm waiting for them to implode any day now. Hopefully when that day happens someone will say that to Jones and some common sense will finally hit him.
In the Cowboys latest debacle they lost to the Lions 31-30 and fall to 4-4 on the season. With a 70 year old owner that knows very little about football, although he played football in college, what else did you expect? One of his many bad moves was hiring 73 year old Monte Kiffin, although his USC teams gave up tons of yards and points. Sure Kiffin would be able to bring his Tampa 2 defense that failed at USC and then dominate the NFL. That makes sense right? Such is the horrible decision making of Jerruh Jones, the man who single handedly is destroying his own franchise.
How good was Kiffin's defense on Sunday? Here's a few stats to show why this will be Kiffin's first and last season in Dallas. (Thanks to ESPN Dallas for all the following stats.) His Cowboys gave up a franchise record 623 yards, this with there being some really bad teams in Cowboys history. We can't forget the Cowboys giving up 329 receiving yards to Calvin Johnson. The man assigned to cover Johnson was $50 million dollar man Brandon Carr. He's been a decent player but Jones overpaid him. Dallas is the first team in NFL history to allow four 400 yard passers in one season and there are still 8 games to play. Both Drew Brees and Eli Manning are licking their lips looking to exploit the Cowboys ineffective pass defense.
Dallas is now 4-4 and on their way to their third consecutive 8-8 season. Fortunately for them they play in the worst division in the NFL, the NFC East. Finishing with a .500 record could possibly get the Cowboys into the playoffs. Likely they'd lose at Jerryworld and get destroyed by whoever they play in the first round of the playoffs. As always I hope the Cowboys don't make the playoffs, Jones might count winning the worst division in the NFL as "progress".
The funny thing is although the Giants lost their first 6 games of the season, they have won 2 in a row and are only 2 games out of first place. Yes, that's how bad the NFC East is. Here's the standings as of October 26th, 2013. Dallas 4-4, Philadelphia is 3-5, Washington is 2-5 and the Giants are 2-6. The Eagles are a very bad team, when a NFL team has to call on Matt Barkley that indicates how bad of a team they are. The Eagles are so bad they could only manage 3 points against the terrible Cowboys in Philadelphia.
The Cowboys continue to prove they can only beat bad teams, Detroit is a mediocre team and the Lions beat Dallas. But good news for the Cowboys next week they play the terrible Vikings in Dallas. Although the Cowboys defense is porous, Christian Ponder is probably not going to be able to exploit that defense. I watched the Vikings play last night on Sunday Night Football and boy are they bad.
Dallas will beat Vikings, in fact they'll probably destroy the Vikings. But the next week the Cowboys go on the road to play New Orleans and old defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. Ryan was the sacrificial lamb as Jones couldn't admit he's the problem. Will Brees throw for 500 yards in this game? That loss will drop the Cowboys back to 5-5, which be followed by the Cowboys having a bye. The Cowboys can't lose a bye, can they? The Cowboys will finish the season 7-9 and 8-8, but that's only because they are in the worst division in the NFL. If they were in any other division they would struggle to win 6 games.
themusicaddict
2013 World Series Game 4: Red Sox Win On Uehara's Pickoff, Series Now Tied
Hello,
The Red Sox beat the Cardinals 4-2 on Sunday night to tie the series at 2-2.
This is the second night in a row that a World Series game had an unusual ending. Following Game 3 ending on a bizarre obstruction call, Game 4 ended when Red Sox closer Koji Uehara picked off Cardinals pinch runner Kolten Wong in the bottom of the 9th inning.
Clearly this is a series with two very evenly matched teams. The Series is tied after 4 games and there's every indication that it will go to a Game 7. If there's a Game 7 it will be on Halloween, I'm not sure if that's some kind of omen or not. Either team can win at home or on the road, neither team seems to get a big advantage playing at home. I'm so glad the Red Sox won this game, I didn't want the Red Sox down 3-1 with Game 5 in St. Louis.
The hero of this game was obviously Jonny Gomes. Gomes, playing in the place of the injured Shane Victorino, was 0 for 9 at the plate leading to the 6th inning of Game 4. However Gomes hit a three run homer in the 6th inning in his 10th at bat this World Series. That homer gave the Red Sox a 4-1 lead which they wouldn't relinquish. The Cardinals later scored a run in the 7th inning to cut Boston's lead to 4-2.
Most of us Red Sox fans were worried about how Clay Buchholz would perform for the Red Sox Sunday night. He looked pretty good in his short 4 inning stint. He allowed 3 hits and 3 walks but only 1 run. He gave the Red Sox all he could give and that's all anyone can ask of him. Now I hope he rests up and does whatever is needed so that he can come back and play as well in 2014 as he did the first half of this season.
Felix Doubront, John Lackey and Junichi Tazawa all had effective relief outings for the Red Sox. But I hope the Red Sox don't call on Craig Breslow again, it seems when he comes in the game bad things happen for the Sox. In Game 2 he overthrew the third baseman which lead to the Cards scoring the go ahead run and allowed another Cardinal to end up on third base. On Sunday he continued his string of bad play. He only faced two batters, allowing a single to Matt Carpenter and gave up a walk to Carlos Beltran. (Although I have to say walking Beltran isn't the worst thing in the world from this Red Sox fan's perspective.) Breslow got no outs and his World Series ERA is a ghastly 54.00.
In the 9th inning the Cardinals were making one last bid at winning the game. Allen Craig got a pinch hit single and Kolten Wong came on to pinch run for him. There were two outs and the very dangerous Carlos Beltran was at the plate. There that name is again, I'm so tired of Beltran beating my teams. On this night, thank goodness he didn't have the chance. Koji Uehara threw a perfect strike to 1st base and Wong was picked off. Just like that the game was over.
Uehara continues to have a postseason for the ages. He did allow Allen Craig's single, but then he picked off the pinch hitter that replaced him. Uehara earned his first save this series and has a 0.00 ERA in the World Series. He was pitching for the Red Sox during that bizarre Game 3 obstruction call.
The Series is now tied 2-2 with Game 5 Monday night, it's the Series final night in St. Louis. The scheduled pitching matchup is Jon Lester vs. Adam Wainwright. I expect another great performance from Lester and expect a much better effort from Wainwright than his nervous start in Game 1.
It's obvious both teams won't score over 70 runs in this series, although I still expect to see at least one explosive Red Sox performance. Also my second prediction of the Red Sox winning in 6 games is still in play, although there is every indication that this series will go the full 7 games.th
One thing I do worry about is the Red Sox shaky defense, is that something they can fix by Monday night's game?
Last but not least again David Ortiz is showing that he's the most clutch MLB player in my lifetime. I loved his hustle on the infield single he had. He didn't take it for granted that he was going to be out and was safe. On Sunday night he was 3 for 3 and is hitting an amazing .727 in this series. He got on base all 4 times he was up, his on base percentage is .750. If the Red Sox win the World Series, Ortiz has to win the MVP.
Go Red Sox!
themusicaddict
The Red Sox beat the Cardinals 4-2 on Sunday night to tie the series at 2-2.
This is the second night in a row that a World Series game had an unusual ending. Following Game 3 ending on a bizarre obstruction call, Game 4 ended when Red Sox closer Koji Uehara picked off Cardinals pinch runner Kolten Wong in the bottom of the 9th inning.
Clearly this is a series with two very evenly matched teams. The Series is tied after 4 games and there's every indication that it will go to a Game 7. If there's a Game 7 it will be on Halloween, I'm not sure if that's some kind of omen or not. Either team can win at home or on the road, neither team seems to get a big advantage playing at home. I'm so glad the Red Sox won this game, I didn't want the Red Sox down 3-1 with Game 5 in St. Louis.
The hero of this game was obviously Jonny Gomes. Gomes, playing in the place of the injured Shane Victorino, was 0 for 9 at the plate leading to the 6th inning of Game 4. However Gomes hit a three run homer in the 6th inning in his 10th at bat this World Series. That homer gave the Red Sox a 4-1 lead which they wouldn't relinquish. The Cardinals later scored a run in the 7th inning to cut Boston's lead to 4-2.
Most of us Red Sox fans were worried about how Clay Buchholz would perform for the Red Sox Sunday night. He looked pretty good in his short 4 inning stint. He allowed 3 hits and 3 walks but only 1 run. He gave the Red Sox all he could give and that's all anyone can ask of him. Now I hope he rests up and does whatever is needed so that he can come back and play as well in 2014 as he did the first half of this season.
Felix Doubront, John Lackey and Junichi Tazawa all had effective relief outings for the Red Sox. But I hope the Red Sox don't call on Craig Breslow again, it seems when he comes in the game bad things happen for the Sox. In Game 2 he overthrew the third baseman which lead to the Cards scoring the go ahead run and allowed another Cardinal to end up on third base. On Sunday he continued his string of bad play. He only faced two batters, allowing a single to Matt Carpenter and gave up a walk to Carlos Beltran. (Although I have to say walking Beltran isn't the worst thing in the world from this Red Sox fan's perspective.) Breslow got no outs and his World Series ERA is a ghastly 54.00.
In the 9th inning the Cardinals were making one last bid at winning the game. Allen Craig got a pinch hit single and Kolten Wong came on to pinch run for him. There were two outs and the very dangerous Carlos Beltran was at the plate. There that name is again, I'm so tired of Beltran beating my teams. On this night, thank goodness he didn't have the chance. Koji Uehara threw a perfect strike to 1st base and Wong was picked off. Just like that the game was over.
Uehara continues to have a postseason for the ages. He did allow Allen Craig's single, but then he picked off the pinch hitter that replaced him. Uehara earned his first save this series and has a 0.00 ERA in the World Series. He was pitching for the Red Sox during that bizarre Game 3 obstruction call.
The Series is now tied 2-2 with Game 5 Monday night, it's the Series final night in St. Louis. The scheduled pitching matchup is Jon Lester vs. Adam Wainwright. I expect another great performance from Lester and expect a much better effort from Wainwright than his nervous start in Game 1.
It's obvious both teams won't score over 70 runs in this series, although I still expect to see at least one explosive Red Sox performance. Also my second prediction of the Red Sox winning in 6 games is still in play, although there is every indication that this series will go the full 7 games.th
One thing I do worry about is the Red Sox shaky defense, is that something they can fix by Monday night's game?
Last but not least again David Ortiz is showing that he's the most clutch MLB player in my lifetime. I loved his hustle on the infield single he had. He didn't take it for granted that he was going to be out and was safe. On Sunday night he was 3 for 3 and is hitting an amazing .727 in this series. He got on base all 4 times he was up, his on base percentage is .750. If the Red Sox win the World Series, Ortiz has to win the MVP.
Go Red Sox!
themusicaddict
Sunday, October 27, 2013
2013 World Series: Cards Grab 2-1 Lead On Bizarre Obstructed Call
Hello,
On Saturday night the Cardinals won Game 3 in the World Series, they won 5-4 due to the bizarre obstruction call below. St. Louis takes a 2-1 lead in the series. Game 4 is Sunday night as the series remains in St. Louis. Sunday's scheduled pitching matchup is Clay Buchholz vs. Lance Lynn. The Red Sox have no idea how long or how much they'll get out of the not 100% Buchholz. I'm hoping he'll produce a Curt Schilling like performance. I also hope David Ortiz will produce a David Ortiz like performance.
I don't ever remember a game where a team won a game due to an obstruction call, let alone in the World Series. How many obstruction calls are made in a season?
Watching the ump ruling interference, which led to the obstruction call, makes me very irritated. What exactly was Will Middlebrooks supposed to do? Unless something is egregious, a game shouldn't end on an umpire's call. Yes, I see how someone could argue that Middlebrooks intentionally put up his legs to trip the runner. On the other hand I see how someone could make an equally compelling case arguing the opposite side of that argument.
I find it ridiculous that someone is penalized for an inadvertent reflex. Although I see the opposite side of that argument: because a person is accidentally tripped he shouldn't be penalized either. Isn't there a fair middle ground?
In my opinion Middlebrooks play wasn't egregious, it was just gravity and reflexes working on his body. It seems when a player falls down during an active play, they just need to lay still until their part of the play is over. But how is a professional athlete supposed to do that? He's trained all his or her life to make plays and to act on instinct. How do you turn that off after a lifetime of training especially with virtually no notice?
I hope this fires up the Red Sox and their offense gets on track Sunday night. Go Red Sox!
themusicaddict
On Saturday night the Cardinals won Game 3 in the World Series, they won 5-4 due to the bizarre obstruction call below. St. Louis takes a 2-1 lead in the series. Game 4 is Sunday night as the series remains in St. Louis. Sunday's scheduled pitching matchup is Clay Buchholz vs. Lance Lynn. The Red Sox have no idea how long or how much they'll get out of the not 100% Buchholz. I'm hoping he'll produce a Curt Schilling like performance. I also hope David Ortiz will produce a David Ortiz like performance.
I don't ever remember a game where a team won a game due to an obstruction call, let alone in the World Series. How many obstruction calls are made in a season?
Watching the ump ruling interference, which led to the obstruction call, makes me very irritated. What exactly was Will Middlebrooks supposed to do? Unless something is egregious, a game shouldn't end on an umpire's call. Yes, I see how someone could argue that Middlebrooks intentionally put up his legs to trip the runner. On the other hand I see how someone could make an equally compelling case arguing the opposite side of that argument.
I find it ridiculous that someone is penalized for an inadvertent reflex. Although I see the opposite side of that argument: because a person is accidentally tripped he shouldn't be penalized either. Isn't there a fair middle ground?
In my opinion Middlebrooks play wasn't egregious, it was just gravity and reflexes working on his body. It seems when a player falls down during an active play, they just need to lay still until their part of the play is over. But how is a professional athlete supposed to do that? He's trained all his or her life to make plays and to act on instinct. How do you turn that off after a lifetime of training especially with virtually no notice?
I hope this fires up the Red Sox and their offense gets on track Sunday night. Go Red Sox!
themusicaddict
Friday, October 25, 2013
Red Sox-Cardinals Tied After First 2 World Series Games
Hello,
Before this series started I made two predictions. First I predicted both teams would score more than 70 runs total and also that the Red Sox would win the Series in 6 games. Both predictions are in play although the runs prediction looks a bit far fetched now.
My prediction for a high scoring series is still in play, although it looks highly unlikely now. 15 runs have been scored through two games, which is an average of 7.5 runs per game. Extrapolated over 7 games that's only 52.5 runs, obviously that's well under the over 70 I predicted. I still expect to see at least one wild 10-9 sort of game though. While the pitching for both teams is very good, both offenses are also too explosive to be shut out the whole series.
Boston won the first game led by David Ortiz's almost grand slam and then later added a two shot homer. That was a hell of a play by Carlos Beltran catching Ortiz's fly ball that had cleared the home run fence. Mike Napoli had the biggest blow with his 3 run double in the first inning.
Jon Lester had a great first game for the Red Sox, he pitched 7.2 innings allowing only 5 hits and 0 runs. He also had 8 strikeouts.
The thing that opened the door for the Red Sox in Game 1 was both the Cardinals mental and physical errors. St. Louis was clearly very nervous and looked dramatically better in Game 2. Their defense was better and Michael Wacha continued his amazing assassin like shutting down of the opponents hitters. Through his 4 postseason starts this season Wacha is 4-0 and has a 1.00 ERA.
Thursdays loss by the Red Sox broke Boston's 9 game World Series win streak, it was the 4th longest World Series win streak ever. I love ESPN's amazing little nuggets like that, although I do realize they probably get some of those nuggets from somewhere else.
I predict the winner of this World Series is going to come down to which unit wins the most battles. Will it be the high scoring Red Sox offense or the Cardinals solid young pitching staff? The Red Sox offense won the first game with the Cardinals pitching winning the second game. One thing I didn't consider was errors, I didn't realize how much errors would play part in this series. The errors have played a crucial part in both games.
In the second game Ortiz had his second homer of this World Series. He quite simply is the most clutch hitter I've seen in my life. Ortiz is chasing the World Series MVP, assuming the Red Sox win, with his .667 batting average.
The World Series moves to St. Louis for Games 3, 4 and 5. We know that this World Series won't be a sweep like the last Red Sox-Cardinals World Series. St. Louis probably doesn't have to worry about Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore celebrating the Red Sox World Series victory on their home field.
themusicaddict
Before this series started I made two predictions. First I predicted both teams would score more than 70 runs total and also that the Red Sox would win the Series in 6 games. Both predictions are in play although the runs prediction looks a bit far fetched now.
My prediction for a high scoring series is still in play, although it looks highly unlikely now. 15 runs have been scored through two games, which is an average of 7.5 runs per game. Extrapolated over 7 games that's only 52.5 runs, obviously that's well under the over 70 I predicted. I still expect to see at least one wild 10-9 sort of game though. While the pitching for both teams is very good, both offenses are also too explosive to be shut out the whole series.
Boston won the first game led by David Ortiz's almost grand slam and then later added a two shot homer. That was a hell of a play by Carlos Beltran catching Ortiz's fly ball that had cleared the home run fence. Mike Napoli had the biggest blow with his 3 run double in the first inning.
Jon Lester had a great first game for the Red Sox, he pitched 7.2 innings allowing only 5 hits and 0 runs. He also had 8 strikeouts.
The thing that opened the door for the Red Sox in Game 1 was both the Cardinals mental and physical errors. St. Louis was clearly very nervous and looked dramatically better in Game 2. Their defense was better and Michael Wacha continued his amazing assassin like shutting down of the opponents hitters. Through his 4 postseason starts this season Wacha is 4-0 and has a 1.00 ERA.
Thursdays loss by the Red Sox broke Boston's 9 game World Series win streak, it was the 4th longest World Series win streak ever. I love ESPN's amazing little nuggets like that, although I do realize they probably get some of those nuggets from somewhere else.
I predict the winner of this World Series is going to come down to which unit wins the most battles. Will it be the high scoring Red Sox offense or the Cardinals solid young pitching staff? The Red Sox offense won the first game with the Cardinals pitching winning the second game. One thing I didn't consider was errors, I didn't realize how much errors would play part in this series. The errors have played a crucial part in both games.
In the second game Ortiz had his second homer of this World Series. He quite simply is the most clutch hitter I've seen in my life. Ortiz is chasing the World Series MVP, assuming the Red Sox win, with his .667 batting average.
The World Series moves to St. Louis for Games 3, 4 and 5. We know that this World Series won't be a sweep like the last Red Sox-Cardinals World Series. St. Louis probably doesn't have to worry about Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore celebrating the Red Sox World Series victory on their home field.
themusicaddict
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
themusicaddict's World Series Preview: A Lot Of Runs, Red Sox Win In 6 Games
Hello,
Following spring training, an always grueling regular season and the playoffs it's come down to this. On Wednesday the World Series starts, the match up will be the Red Sox vs. the Cardinals. It seems the two teams are very evenly matched and I expect a fairly good series. The only two predictions I'll make are that I predict that it will be a high scoring series. If I was given over/under on 70 total runs I'd take the over cautiously. I'm so glad I don't have to put money where my mouth is. I believe St. Louis has a better pitching staff- they shut down my Dodgers in the NLCS. However I predict their great pitching staff will be challenged by the powerful Red Sox offense. I don't expect either Cardinals pitching or the Red Sox offense to completely dominate. However both units will get victories. St. Louis can score a lot of runs as well, especially since they'll be getting Allen Craig back in limited form.
My second prediction is that the Red Sox will win this Series in 6 games, I just think the Red Sox are too good. After going so long without winning the World Series the Red Sox will win 3 World Series in 9 years.
Other baseball notes: the Giants paid how much to Tim Lincecum? He's accomplished so much in his career but a 2 year- $35 million dollar contract for a pitcher with an over 4.00 ERA last season? That's crazy, I'm guessing this is some kind of appreciation for all of his great performances over the years. He has won 2 Cy Young awards and 2 World Series, is there any other active pitcher that has done that?Either it's appreciation or with Barry Zito's terrible contract finally coming off the books maybe they just felt an incredible need to overpay another pitcher on the down side of his career.
I'm not sure what the Dodgers are doing with Don Mattingly. They fired bench coach Trey Hillman on Tuesday, which obviously seems to be a shot across Mattingly's bow. Mattingly was with the Dodgers before the Guggenheim ownership group took over and it seems they aren't convinced he's the best manager they can get. On the other hand I think Mattingly has done more than enough to hold on to his job. What I'd do if I was the Dodgers is offer Mattingly a one year contract in the $5-6 million range. That way it will be a compliment to Mattingly but also a relatively inexpensive opt out for the Dodgers if things don't turn out like the Guggenheim ownership group desires. They can include incentives into Mattingly's contract that if he meets certain conditions then an automatic multiyear contract extension will kick in. The Dodgers would then set high, but reachable, incentives for Mattingly to meet.
But hand in hand I think the heat needs to be put on Dodgers GM, Ned Colleti , as well. He needs to do a better job at signing players. No more Brandon League or Ted Lilly type contracts. Mattingly can only manage with the players he's given.
themusicaddict
Following spring training, an always grueling regular season and the playoffs it's come down to this. On Wednesday the World Series starts, the match up will be the Red Sox vs. the Cardinals. It seems the two teams are very evenly matched and I expect a fairly good series. The only two predictions I'll make are that I predict that it will be a high scoring series. If I was given over/under on 70 total runs I'd take the over cautiously. I'm so glad I don't have to put money where my mouth is. I believe St. Louis has a better pitching staff- they shut down my Dodgers in the NLCS. However I predict their great pitching staff will be challenged by the powerful Red Sox offense. I don't expect either Cardinals pitching or the Red Sox offense to completely dominate. However both units will get victories. St. Louis can score a lot of runs as well, especially since they'll be getting Allen Craig back in limited form.
My second prediction is that the Red Sox will win this Series in 6 games, I just think the Red Sox are too good. After going so long without winning the World Series the Red Sox will win 3 World Series in 9 years.
Other baseball notes: the Giants paid how much to Tim Lincecum? He's accomplished so much in his career but a 2 year- $35 million dollar contract for a pitcher with an over 4.00 ERA last season? That's crazy, I'm guessing this is some kind of appreciation for all of his great performances over the years. He has won 2 Cy Young awards and 2 World Series, is there any other active pitcher that has done that?Either it's appreciation or with Barry Zito's terrible contract finally coming off the books maybe they just felt an incredible need to overpay another pitcher on the down side of his career.
I'm not sure what the Dodgers are doing with Don Mattingly. They fired bench coach Trey Hillman on Tuesday, which obviously seems to be a shot across Mattingly's bow. Mattingly was with the Dodgers before the Guggenheim ownership group took over and it seems they aren't convinced he's the best manager they can get. On the other hand I think Mattingly has done more than enough to hold on to his job. What I'd do if I was the Dodgers is offer Mattingly a one year contract in the $5-6 million range. That way it will be a compliment to Mattingly but also a relatively inexpensive opt out for the Dodgers if things don't turn out like the Guggenheim ownership group desires. They can include incentives into Mattingly's contract that if he meets certain conditions then an automatic multiyear contract extension will kick in. The Dodgers would then set high, but reachable, incentives for Mattingly to meet.
But hand in hand I think the heat needs to be put on Dodgers GM, Ned Colleti , as well. He needs to do a better job at signing players. No more Brandon League or Ted Lilly type contracts. Mattingly can only manage with the players he's given.
themusicaddict
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)