Baseball 2014

And I shall be going....nowhere. Except the couch in front of the LG. It's OK, though. Was there for the clincher in '06...

 

Tip of the cap to the Giants in game one. They beat us in every phase, including managing. Despite our proclivity for refusing to go stubbornly into the night, if we don't win tonight, I don't see us recovering from going down 2-0 at home heading to SF.
Oh, and it probably wouldn't have made any difference in the outcome, but that WAS a balk.

 

that was a good game last night b/w the red birds and giants. hard to be disappointed with anything the giants did other than give up four bombs, which congrats to the cards for taking their chances on pitching mistakes. Hudson v. Lackey tomorrow should provide another nail biter.

 

I know one thing. If I were Bruce Bochy, I'd be emphasizing offspeed stuff to my pitching staff, because suddenly, out of nowhere, we've become the new murderer's row, at least temporarily. Fastballs? Bring it. We'll eat your lunch. It has been exciting, there's no denying that. I hope the quality of play continues to improve. I see seven games. Yadi being out is big, though. It could prove to be the difference.

 

The NLCS has been as good as it gets. Too bad it's on a network on less TVs than ESPN 8..'The Ocho". 2 O'Clock PST on a channel you have to search to find is penny wise pound foolish. The ratings outside of the Bay Area and St. Louis are the same as Cupcake Wars on the Food Network.

The games themselves have been on a knife's edge, and it could still go either way.

The Royals have been on the most surreal role since the Rockies 7 or 8 years ago. Colorado won something like 20 or 21 of 22 games to sneak into the playoffs then swept their way to the WS. However, they sat around for a week and were swept themselves. KC can do no wrong, but if they finish off the O's today and the other series goes long they're in trouble.

 

My boy and I endured 10 innings of nailbiting at AT&T Park yesterday. Crazy win for the Giants (and Steve Perry was hanging over the rails right above us). The Cards can hit and the Giants cannot at the moment. Smoke, mirrors, pitching and defense can only get you so far (aside from a title in '12), but if the orange and black don't start hitting for extra bases, this series is going back to St. Louis. And, I want some of what John Jay is having - that dude is on fire. I like Vogelsong's start today though - 1.19 ERA in 5 post season starts. So if the Giants continue to not hit, at least they may not give up much.

 

Congrats to the Royals and their long suffering fans. It'll be interesting to see if they can sustain such torrid momentum. My money says no, but this has been the most unpredictable post season in a VERY long time. And entertaining. And I think that whoever wins the current tilt at San Fran will end up winning the NLCS. It's pretty even, but with Yadi out, I think the Giants have just enough of an edge in speed to prevail. But I hope I'm wrong. Got my eye on three weekend World Series dates in the NL ballpark, and time off to get there!

 

I think he was taking the midnight train going anywhere.

 

Congratulations to the Giants and their fans. They were the better team. By far. And my Cardinals were very un Cardinal-like. Great defense has been a staple of most of the great St. Louis teams that I've watched over the decades. It was one of this team's Achilles' heels. Looked like a Little League team out there in game four. Still, a very successful season from a squad that I really thought had no chance at post season play.

 

2 teams heading to the WS that had less than 90 wins in the regular season. Other than in the NHL with a hot goalie, postseason baseball is a total crapshoot unlike any sport. Good news for KC that the NL finished in SF so there isn't going to be a huge difference in time off. For a neutral this should be a very intriguing.

 

A tip of the cap to the Cards - I truly didn't expect this outcome. But the Giants just kept grinding and took the most of the opportunities gifted by, as Jump stated, uncharacteristic St. Louis baseball.

When Ishikawa hit that bomb, it must've sounded like feral cats mating in my living room to the neighbors; my son and I were screaming and wailing (with all of the windows and doors open)!

Baseball is a crazy game, and the Royals will be an insanely tough opponent, but we're just soaking it in around the bay right now...and I'll definitely attend a game (and not just because I want to sing along with Steve Perry again).

 

That O's series was the most painful to watch in my lifetime. Worse than '79. Worse than '86 and that little shit Jeffrey Maier. It was like being stabbed to death with toothpicks....slow & agonizing. Sometime during game 2 it set in that we just weren't going to beat those guys. The injuries definitely caught up to us. Credit to them though even if some of their antics left a bad taste.

Pulling for the Giants & Brandon Belt (from my hometown) to take down the Toothpick Brigade.

 

And so it begins tonight - Bum v. Shields. I like the idea of the Giants being able to use a DH, especially if it's a healthy Morse, but you know the thought of letting Bum hit for himself has to have entered Bochy's mind at some point.

 

I'm man enough to admit it; I stole Matt's 'Toothpick Brigade' and got more than a few knowing laughs. In order in insure Nev's boys get a 3rd title in 5 years I should pick the Royals, so I apologize to my NoCal brethren in advance as I have the Giants winning in 6.

 

Well, that was nice. 3 more, baby, 3 more wins. Too bad Bumgarner finally gave up a run in the WS (his 6 post-season wins are now a Giants' record).

 

Don't really care who wins, just want the '85 WS clips on SportsCenter and elsewhere to just GO AWAY!