Wednesday, October 20, 2004
SCHILLING'S SOX ARE BLOOD RED
Originally the plan was to have Schilling wear a high-topped cleet with a 3 inch extension to keep his ankle where it should be. They did a procedure and the stitches in his ankle were aggravated by the high top so he went without him. By the 7th, his socks were half-covered in blood. He literally bled for this team. He did not care about any career repercussions. He just wanted to pitch and win. He is quite possibly the best pickup the Boston Red Sox have made since signing a young lefthanded pitcher from the minor league Baltimore Orioles 90 years ago. Schilling gave the Sox 7 hard fought innings in a performance reminiscent of Pedro Martinez's releif outing in Game 5 of the 1999 ALDS. Both injured aces gave it their all for their team's survival. Schilling's 7 innings gave the bullpen a break. Arroyo worked an inning as did Foulke.
TWO KEY PLAYS RESULT FROM UMPIRE DECISIONS
The struggling Mark Bellhorn was 3 for 20 coming into tonight's game and had been so ineffective at the plate that he was demoted from 2nd in the batting order to 9th. He grounded into a bases loaded double play in the 2nd. He atoned for this and the other 18 failed at-bats he had to that point with a 3 run homerun to left field. Jim Joyce originally called the ball in play even though the trajectory had changed in a way that it would not if it had struck the wall. Furthermore, Matsui did not originally play the ball as if it were in play. Bellhorn stopped at second and only 2 runs scored. The umpires then got together and came to a consensus that the ball left the ballpark and was thus a homerun.
The other controversial play was an 8th inning grounder hit by Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod, in an utterly classless attempt to reach base, swatted the ball out of Bronson Arroyo's hands as Arroyo attempted to tag him. The ball then slowly rolled up thr right field line which allowed Derek Jeter, who was on first at the beginning of the play, to touch home and Rodriguez to get into scoring position. Francona came out calmly and asked home plate umpire Joe West why interference was not called. The replays made it obvious that Rodriguez purposely knocked the ball out of Arroyo's arms. According to the rulebook, the ball is dead and all runners must return to the base they last occupied. The umpires once again met and came out of their conference with the correct call.
A-Rod will hopefully get justice sometime next season when the Sox play the Y*nkees again. Tomorrow's game is not the right setting to do any beanball bullshit. I used to think Rodriguez had some class. When he attempted to charge Arroyo, I lost alot of respect for him. When he tried leaning into a pitch earlier in the series, I lost a little bit more. Whenever he whines and moans about something not going his way (he makes $20M, remember) I lose all respect for him. When he pulled this stunt tonight, I gained hatred for him. As much as I don't like Jeter, he plays baseball respectively.
OTHER KEY FACTORS TO THE WIN:
1. Making Lieber work early. He lasted a long time in Game 2 and we got his pitch count up very early.
2. Schilling didn't have too many jams but when he did, he was able to induce pop outs and groundouts
3. In the 7th, Millar hustled to record an unassisted groundout instead of tossing it to Schilling which would have been a more routine play. Millar waved off Schilling very early knowing that Schilling could not run that well
NEW YORK FANS PISSED AT UMPIRES
It looked like an English soccer game. A solid barrier of police in between the field and the fans. Y*nkee fans, upset at what they perceived to be incorrect calls, began throwing debris and baseballs onto the field. The situation resulted in delays and the umpires' solution was to call on the NYPD, in riot gear, to line the field for half an inning. I don't think the umps were expecting a riot. The riot police was a deterrent and it worked.
FOX SUCKS
Watching the game I kept track of the silly, stupid, and wrong things that Joe Buck and Tim McCarver spewed from their Y*nkee loving mouths. Here it goes:
McCarver said at one point "Finally the Yankees get a break." As if the Y*nkees had never gotten a break. Jesus Christ!
Joe Buck decided to act like an intelectual and allude to the famous psychological experiment known as Pavlov's Dogs. Unfortunately Buck stated that the dogs salivated at the sight of a small light being lit not the bell Pavlov used to induce salivation. I know I'm nit-picking but if you're gonna try to sound smart, you have to back it up by being smart.
McCarver, alluding to last night's game said: "How do you have three passed balls in an inning and not allow a run?" What McCarver forgot was that one of those passed balls was after a strikeout which allowed Matsui to reach base.
After Schilling was pulled, Buck said: "It would be one thing if it were Rivera coming out of that pen." For some reason they still think Mariano Rivera is God. He is the best closer ever and at one point he was godlike, but he is not what he once was ESPECIALLY against the Red Sox. I'm not saying we own him, but we have a few thousand shares of stock in Rivera.
McCarver alluded to the 1999 ALCS and the unpleasantness that ocurred in Fenway. When showing the phantom tag on Offerman, McCarver said that Offerman was called out for running out of the basepath and that Boston fans just didn't understand that concept. The rulebook states that the basepath is 6 feet wide. An imaginary straight line exists connecting bases and a runner can go 3 feet on either side of that line. Offerman was not out of the line or at the very least it was debateable. McCarver's Y*nkee love was amde glaringly apparent in his foolish analysis of a blatantly bad call.
McCarver and Buck never critised Y*nkee fans for their behavior. They never criticised A-Rod for a truly classless play. In fact, they complemented him! They said that he was going to be called out so it didn't matter what he did. Two things they ignored was the fact that even if he is tagged out by Arroyo, he advances Jeter to second base. He doesn't do this on an interferance call. Another thing McCarver and Buck failed to mention is that there are things you just don't do in baseball. You don't force fumbles in baseball.
McCarver generalized the entire Boston sports media and Red Sox fan base as anti-Bellhorn. I know there are a number of Bellhorn critics out there and people love Pokey, but there are alot of intelligent fans here that realise Bellhorn contributes to this teams offense.
And what the hell is the deal with that Scooter thing? Good God!
LOOKING TO TOMORROW
The Red Sox made history by being the first MLB team to come from a 3-0 deficit and force a 7th and deciding game. But that history means absolutely nothing if they don't win tomorrow. The pitching matchup is ? vs. ?. Both managers refused to announce their starters. They have limited options, however. Francona could go with Lowe or Wakefield. Torre could go with Hernandez, Brown, or possibly Loiaza. The determining factor to tommorrow's game will be what team can muster the best collective pitching performance from several pitchers.
Originally the plan was to have Schilling wear a high-topped cleet with a 3 inch extension to keep his ankle where it should be. They did a procedure and the stitches in his ankle were aggravated by the high top so he went without him. By the 7th, his socks were half-covered in blood. He literally bled for this team. He did not care about any career repercussions. He just wanted to pitch and win. He is quite possibly the best pickup the Boston Red Sox have made since signing a young lefthanded pitcher from the minor league Baltimore Orioles 90 years ago. Schilling gave the Sox 7 hard fought innings in a performance reminiscent of Pedro Martinez's releif outing in Game 5 of the 1999 ALDS. Both injured aces gave it their all for their team's survival. Schilling's 7 innings gave the bullpen a break. Arroyo worked an inning as did Foulke.
TWO KEY PLAYS RESULT FROM UMPIRE DECISIONS
The struggling Mark Bellhorn was 3 for 20 coming into tonight's game and had been so ineffective at the plate that he was demoted from 2nd in the batting order to 9th. He grounded into a bases loaded double play in the 2nd. He atoned for this and the other 18 failed at-bats he had to that point with a 3 run homerun to left field. Jim Joyce originally called the ball in play even though the trajectory had changed in a way that it would not if it had struck the wall. Furthermore, Matsui did not originally play the ball as if it were in play. Bellhorn stopped at second and only 2 runs scored. The umpires then got together and came to a consensus that the ball left the ballpark and was thus a homerun.
The other controversial play was an 8th inning grounder hit by Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod, in an utterly classless attempt to reach base, swatted the ball out of Bronson Arroyo's hands as Arroyo attempted to tag him. The ball then slowly rolled up thr right field line which allowed Derek Jeter, who was on first at the beginning of the play, to touch home and Rodriguez to get into scoring position. Francona came out calmly and asked home plate umpire Joe West why interference was not called. The replays made it obvious that Rodriguez purposely knocked the ball out of Arroyo's arms. According to the rulebook, the ball is dead and all runners must return to the base they last occupied. The umpires once again met and came out of their conference with the correct call.
A-Rod will hopefully get justice sometime next season when the Sox play the Y*nkees again. Tomorrow's game is not the right setting to do any beanball bullshit. I used to think Rodriguez had some class. When he attempted to charge Arroyo, I lost alot of respect for him. When he tried leaning into a pitch earlier in the series, I lost a little bit more. Whenever he whines and moans about something not going his way (he makes $20M, remember) I lose all respect for him. When he pulled this stunt tonight, I gained hatred for him. As much as I don't like Jeter, he plays baseball respectively.
OTHER KEY FACTORS TO THE WIN:
1. Making Lieber work early. He lasted a long time in Game 2 and we got his pitch count up very early.
2. Schilling didn't have too many jams but when he did, he was able to induce pop outs and groundouts
3. In the 7th, Millar hustled to record an unassisted groundout instead of tossing it to Schilling which would have been a more routine play. Millar waved off Schilling very early knowing that Schilling could not run that well
NEW YORK FANS PISSED AT UMPIRES
It looked like an English soccer game. A solid barrier of police in between the field and the fans. Y*nkee fans, upset at what they perceived to be incorrect calls, began throwing debris and baseballs onto the field. The situation resulted in delays and the umpires' solution was to call on the NYPD, in riot gear, to line the field for half an inning. I don't think the umps were expecting a riot. The riot police was a deterrent and it worked.
FOX SUCKS
Watching the game I kept track of the silly, stupid, and wrong things that Joe Buck and Tim McCarver spewed from their Y*nkee loving mouths. Here it goes:
McCarver said at one point "Finally the Yankees get a break." As if the Y*nkees had never gotten a break. Jesus Christ!
Joe Buck decided to act like an intelectual and allude to the famous psychological experiment known as Pavlov's Dogs. Unfortunately Buck stated that the dogs salivated at the sight of a small light being lit not the bell Pavlov used to induce salivation. I know I'm nit-picking but if you're gonna try to sound smart, you have to back it up by being smart.
McCarver, alluding to last night's game said: "How do you have three passed balls in an inning and not allow a run?" What McCarver forgot was that one of those passed balls was after a strikeout which allowed Matsui to reach base.
After Schilling was pulled, Buck said: "It would be one thing if it were Rivera coming out of that pen." For some reason they still think Mariano Rivera is God. He is the best closer ever and at one point he was godlike, but he is not what he once was ESPECIALLY against the Red Sox. I'm not saying we own him, but we have a few thousand shares of stock in Rivera.
McCarver alluded to the 1999 ALCS and the unpleasantness that ocurred in Fenway. When showing the phantom tag on Offerman, McCarver said that Offerman was called out for running out of the basepath and that Boston fans just didn't understand that concept. The rulebook states that the basepath is 6 feet wide. An imaginary straight line exists connecting bases and a runner can go 3 feet on either side of that line. Offerman was not out of the line or at the very least it was debateable. McCarver's Y*nkee love was amde glaringly apparent in his foolish analysis of a blatantly bad call.
McCarver and Buck never critised Y*nkee fans for their behavior. They never criticised A-Rod for a truly classless play. In fact, they complemented him! They said that he was going to be called out so it didn't matter what he did. Two things they ignored was the fact that even if he is tagged out by Arroyo, he advances Jeter to second base. He doesn't do this on an interferance call. Another thing McCarver and Buck failed to mention is that there are things you just don't do in baseball. You don't force fumbles in baseball.
McCarver generalized the entire Boston sports media and Red Sox fan base as anti-Bellhorn. I know there are a number of Bellhorn critics out there and people love Pokey, but there are alot of intelligent fans here that realise Bellhorn contributes to this teams offense.
And what the hell is the deal with that Scooter thing? Good God!
LOOKING TO TOMORROW
The Red Sox made history by being the first MLB team to come from a 3-0 deficit and force a 7th and deciding game. But that history means absolutely nothing if they don't win tomorrow. The pitching matchup is ? vs. ?. Both managers refused to announce their starters. They have limited options, however. Francona could go with Lowe or Wakefield. Torre could go with Hernandez, Brown, or possibly Loiaza. The determining factor to tommorrow's game will be what team can muster the best collective pitching performance from several pitchers.
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