2011 World Series: Rangers vs Cardinals

Sorry, I can't figure out who I want to win.

should be a poll

Yeah, we are back!

btw, Rangers in six

Cards in whatever.

Cards in whatever.

yeah, this

don't care about the rangers but actively dislike the cardinals, guessing rangers in six

BP did a team article as a preview (free) and picks TEX in 6.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=15327

for me the Rangers will never wash off the stink of W.
i hope they lose.

I feel you TT, but I can't get with the Cards winning with perhaps the worst team in the postseason AGAIN, 5 years after they did so. We were debating what October "proves" a couple weeks ago and I don't think anybody posted this Posnanski column:

http://joeposnanski.si.com/2011/10/08/theres-only-one-october/

whoops forgot:

Gm 1 TEX @ STL Wed Oct. 19 8:05 PM FOX
Gm 2 TEX @ STL Thu Oct. 20 8:05 PM FOX
Gm 3 STL @ TEX Sat Oct. 22 8:05 PM FOX
Gm 4 STL @ TEX Sun Oct. 23 8:05 PM FOX
Gm 5* STL @ TEX Mon Oct. 24 8:05 PM FOX
Gm 6* TEX @ STL Wed Oct. 26 8:05 PM FOX
Gm 7* TEX @ STL Thu Oct. 27 8:05 PM FOX

NLCS poll picked MIL 9-2, so who cares what we think?

We can't get anything right.

yup (to Morbs) - it's been the playoffs/day-before-the-playoffs of the underdog. don't see why it should stop now.

if the Cards win at all (again) we can all expect statues of Tony Larussa to start popping up all over the continent almost immediately.
fans will be forced at gunpoint to sing "God Bless The TLR" between every inning. for halloween for the foreseeable future the only costume available will be Tony Larussa.

rangers in 5

if it means he jumps to the Red Sox... well, that wd be even worse

xp

Grant Bisbee's anagrams for Ryan Theriot:

Anagrams for Ryan Theriot:

Antihero Try
Rayon Hitter
Rotten, Hairy
Horny Attire

However, the less anagrammable Nick Punto is starting tonight.

Breezy. Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of rain. Low in the lower 40s. Northwest wind 15 to 20 mph with gusts to around 30 mph.

its nasty outside for sure. a little schadenfreude for all the assholes who got tickets at work and passed me over. I may get game 6 or 7 though.

Nick Punto: Cup In Knot

Rangers in 6!

Rooting against a team that has never won a World Series is kinda a dick move (unless you're a fan of the opposing team, obv), but I think my conscience can handle it. Besides, Midwest > Southwest.

I've written and erased three posts where I say I actually want Texas to win -- I can't bring myself to actually click the "submit post" button on that.

I don't know if I agree with that Posnaski piece. Postseason is about matchups, too, and a best-of-seven series should give the team that matches up better plenty of opportunity to win. A best-of-five series is a little quicker, but we've had that for the first round for over forty years.

@mtmeyers
N. Cruz is a good player who just had week of his life, but has a career OPS+ of 115. Let's stop pretending he's Dave Winfield

Autumn showed up just in time for the WS. Monday's high was mid-80s I believe.

Some great camera work early on here.

Took Buck only two outs to make an football reference.

lol @ freese

Listening to the radio bcz my new antenna can only get pixilated ABC. Fuckin' "digital conversion."

will this be the only game that has good pitching?

it's written in the stars, a million miles away

It could be the only one that might be 3 hrs or less.

How 'bout that futuristic infrared technology

that freese edmonds trade gets worse and worse

that's a good piece of ______ing

whoa crazy video of Pujols sticking it back to Nyjer Morgan: http://bit.ly/qV1gbC

tim mccarver: "it's a five-letter word: s-t-r-i-k"

1 down

thermal cam is dumber then tbs announcers

McCarver just turned 70 -- time for his neurologist to talk to him about retiring.

Way to go, blue.

ok, splain: bad strike zone?

oh OK

http://mlb.sbnation.com/2011/10/19/2501986/world-series-game-1-beltre-foot-video/in/2265013

a 3-2 game, probably the lowest scoring game in this series.

you can't predict baseball

ppl are killing wash too much for the ogando vs allen craig outcome. i thought that was just a relatively bad pitch by ogando. throw him another pitch up and he prob strikes out

Are ppl offering superior strategies? What are they?

i guess make nick punto beat you, for one

OH, right -- forgot about that.

well rating are a little down this year, so far:

The Cardinals' 3-2 win Wednesday night on Fox earned an 8.7 rating and 14 share. That was down 2 percent from the 8.9/15 for Game 1 in 2010 between the Rangers and the Giants, with San Francisco a bigger market than St. Louis.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/10/20/sports/s162139D03.DTL#ixzz1bNBRFQwW

Rangers in 4

^most frontrunnerism to date

Tonight I moved the antenna over to the window, and the only network fare I can get is Charlie's Angels in b&w with no sound.

ESPN Radio has their usual Sunday TV crew on if you'd like to avoid Stupid BuckCarver Tricks.

beautiful dp

a 3-2 game, probably the lowest scoring game in this series.

― Bee OK, Thursday, October 20, 2011 2:25 AM

hmmmmmmmmm

http://gif.mocksession.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/50-MILLION-ELVIS-FANS.gif

the over/under for this game was 8.. unders lookin real good.

even if it was for hits.

why does TLR have batting gloves on? did he roster himself?

it's his personal 80th birthday tribute to Mickey Mantle.

(I don't think MM ever wore em)

bingo bango bongo
I just wanna hit Ogando
oh-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho

sup torty

ogandowned

Steven Goldman: Trade Craig while he's hot.

^^^true!

i have no idea where this pitching came from. good game.

also true:

Sam Tydings: If your best RHH options off the bench are Yorvit and Esteban German...that's not optimal

oh man, so close

needed to be played in a dome

bunting stinks here

yeah he got in there

idk i think there's totally an argument for bunting elvis andrus here to put kinsler in SF position

Incredible throw.

andrus shouldn't be batting second, but if he is, he should be bunting here

tie game, don't think he should have replaced his closer

I meant that w/ Kinsler on first, they shdnt bunt

(radio online is apparently 90 secs behind)

Rangers played this inning right

sitting NLCS mvp also not paying off

that extra base made all the difference for the lead

OK, how is Wash gonna blow this now?

he shouldn't have taken motte out but if the cardinals win i think the lesson here is that you can't score one run and beat the rangers

er, if the rangers win

or if the cardinals win, i guess

i think the lesson here is that you can't score one run and beat the rangers

unless they are playing last years Giants

well that's not really true, the Giants did score a bunch of runs

Hershiser not fond of Punto's bunting skills there, bailing out Feliz

go rangers!

i really, really like the rangers

i dunno how you bunt a 100 mph fastball

that was a major win for these Rangers. coming back to score two in the ninth was impressive.

cad & J0rdan to marry into the Bush clan

ok billarussa

Colin Wyers: So this series is pretty much devoted to two managers not knowing enough about Nick Punto's abilities as a hitter.

cad & J0rdan to marry into the Bush clan

― incredibly middlebrow (Dr Morbius), Thursday, October 20, 2011 11:14 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

yeah seriously the alternative is at least as disgusting

yeah, I don't disagree, j/k. Plus I know as NFL fans you are used to rooting for teams closely identified with cretins.

Re punto - espn broadcasters said Wilson walked him on his own and washington was pissed.

Solid baseball being played in this series...

i'm glad that TLR's dumb bellpen managing finally cost him a game, and yes that's 100% sour grapes

it didn't really cost them the game -- motte was going to give up at least one run

they lost the game cuz their top seven hitters went 3-25

that too

lets just say that was not a fun game to watch, maybe the only time when Joe Buck's excitement level seemed appropriate

Big props to Andrus for taking second on that play, ahead of another bullseye throw by Molina. That was dynamite.

Gotta play to win on the road..

jonmorosi Jon Morosi
You know, it would have been really nice of Albert Pujols to stick around and discuss that play with the media. He didn't. #STLCards

AmyKNelson Amy K. Nelson
David Freese, last guy left in clubhouse, answering questions for his four teammates who chose not to.

JeffPassan Jeff Passan
Pujols, Molina, Holliday, Berkman disappeared tonight on field and in clubhouse. All left before talking.

AmyKNelson Amy K. Nelson
looks like pujols, berkman, Molina and Holliday all left without speaking to media tonight. meanwhile, motte is STILL answering ?s...

Fuck these guys. I am trading them off of my team in MLB 2K11 as soon as I get home.

FOR DAVID ECKSTEIN

Holy...

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Weak-Albert-Pujols-leaves-without-a-word-after

hell hath no fury like a sports writer spurned

I'm sure the quotes wd've been groundbreaking

"We won one, now they've won one. We're all tied up. It's anybody's Series."

you forgot "They're a great team. But, we're a great team too"

More comedy:

jonmorosi Jon Morosi
How will #STLCards respond to Game 2 loss? Hard to say. Albert Pujols dodged the media afterward. My column: http://on-msn.com/pG4JwI @MLBONFOX

JeffPassan Jeff Passan
Leadership is a difficult thing to quantify. I do know this: Albert Pujols failed miserably at it after Game 2. Column: http://yhoo.it/oQ1EDa

way to fail miserably at leading after the game, albert

You didn't tell a Yahoo! writer that you or your team will be ready for game three. What to think now? We have a whole day off to wonder about it.

We are all beat writers.

They are the 99%.

well you have to pull for this guy here:
http://deadspin.com/5851837/the-man-who-bet-the-cardinals-at-9991-when-they-were-out-of-the-race-is-looking-smart-and-rich-right-now

Steven Goldman defends yanking Motte:

Motte came to the majors in September of 2008. He has all the stuff in the world. The incumbent closer in that time was Ryan Franklin, who wasn’t exactly Mariano Rivera even before he pitched his way out of the majors back in June. Any manager with a pulse would think about letting Motte close given those conditions, and yet Motte has exactly 12 regular-season saves. Either we have to accept that LaRussa is a complete idiot and is blind to Motte’s capabilities, or we have to at least allow for the possibility that LaRussa has reasons for believing that Motte should not be his day-in day-out closer.

If after the game you caught the postgame show on the MLB network, you saw Mitch Williams arguing that LaRussa had now irreparably shattered Motte’s confidence for the rest of the postseason. Williams has certainly been in the position to know, but even if he is correct as to the condition of Motte’s psyche, what would he have had LaRussa do if he believed that keeping Motte in the game would lead to a loss? Chalk up a World Series game to experience because it might hurt someone’s feelings? If Motte stayed in to fall apart as he did against the Mets, or even simply allowed the tying and the winning runs to score via his own inability to execute, would that not damage his confidence as well?

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=15344

i dont understand the argument here. if Motte was good enough to close Game 2, he would have more saves by now? the point is with 2nd and 3rd w/ no outs and a 1 run lead what you DESPERATELY need is two strikeouts. any ball in play is likely to score the runner. I don't buy the confidence thing, I'd think if you're a reliever playing for TLR you kinda know you're gonna get yanked around.

motte should've stayed in, but the game still would've been tied at best, so i don't get all the hand-wringing over the move. at that point they had already lost the lead, and w/ no outs and runners on second and third, there was prob something like a 65% chance that both runs were going to score regardless.

at that point they had already lost the lead

i meant to say that at that point they most likely would've lost the lead regardless

i hate days off

Berkman DHing, Craig hits 2d in RF, Theriot at 2b

Josh Hamilton has now gone 65 at-bats without a home run. He's only had one other homerless streak of 50 at-bats in his career (in 2010).

yay, ILX's dell pointed me to a WS feed!

welcome to 2009!!

wha???!
where?

well that was fast

CRAIGNESS

freaky

It's ESPNAmerica I'm watching (Sutcliffe alas)

sutcliffe & thorn were really good for game 7 of the nlcs. way better than tbs' crew.

also, eff yer little websavvy '2009' generation

boo - don't think i can stream in Canukistan :(

Kevin_Goldstein
Lohse has all but stopped throwing his slider. Something to watch...

TT, it's chanfeed.com

oooOOOOOOOoohhhh! thanks!

obv 1-0 is gonna stand up after 5 and 3 total runs in first 2 games...

I didn't realize Napoli had played so much 1B the last 2 years.

Cohen/Sutcliffe's appreciation for catcher "pitch framing" -- very moist-eyed in Sut's case -- amp up my longing for robot umps.

lohse is balking on that move to first

BRING ON THE ROBOTS

wow that was a terrible call

1st base ump having a bad 20 minutes

lol berkman is slow, i could have run backwards and scored from first on that

that was a huge call, looks like i might finally get my high scoring game tonight.

wow

'06 flashback

dejected ryan/bush sighting!

i guess playing him at first tonight was a mistake

Interesting inning here.

harrison running in front of napoli as he was about to throw probably caused the errant throw

Cohen making same point on 1B defense, wd like to have heard it pregame tho.

TEX fielding like Brewers now.

wow great play!

that was a long time btwn 2nd outs.

was he safe?

it kind of look like he was safe there

oh hey by the way guys I worked on that Stand Up To Cancer Ad

xp the play at home? no he was clearly out, torrealba blocked the plate well

http://twitpic.com/74d9hg

i thought he got his foot in under the tag, whatever the Cards scored four runs that inning

No 'shutdown' inning

nice work Jimmy!

Cruz has been amazing this post season

uhhhh

fucking cruz

btw I did read an Olney pregame tweet that by the way the flags were flapping, players were saying there'd be a 'jetstream' to right center.

have no idea how to look something like this up, but i feel like losche has been doing this all year - pitching well, getting a comfortable lead, then blowing it all in one inning and getting pulled in the early 5th inning by TLR

still no outs, here we go (to steal from Bud-light)

http://cdn.jockpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/lohse-larussa.jpg

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/gamelog/_/id/4789/kyle-lohse

dunno, only 7 games where he went 5 innings or less, but all from June 10 thru August.

Sutcliffe saying no way Lohse wd start a Game 7

oh my christ

Pretty bad day for Napoli.

great throw

you don't send napoli there jesus

beast of a throw!

i thought i wanted the Rangers to win but when they keep showing the Bush's i keep changing my mind. so i was cheering when they threw him out at home.

^^ lol I tweeted that too

Kevin_Goldstein
So score should be 11-8 now? #confused
RT @gbib21: @Kevin_Goldstein
Napoli would've beaten throw if not still upset over Kulpas call

god mccarver is annoying

yeah, this could end 13-11

EPIC FOOTBALL COMING UP IN SIX WEEKS, GUYS. SIT TIGHT.

lol

really I dont listen to those fux when there are other options

whoa dang

which I could watch this on tv, but i just moved into a new place and no tv until next week, and my internet connection is slow and sketchy because i'm ganking it off some unsecured wi-fi across the street

WISH

drinking herbsaint over here, sorry

with glasses and beard, cards 1b coach dave mckay looks uncannily like david paymer.

u gotta get in front of that freese!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8Ow1nlafOg

trivia: Cards 3b coach Jose Oquendo was the first MLB player younger than me.

so is Hamilton hernia an open secret to all?

He has told reporters that he thinks he has one.

must be killing TLR that he can't bring in a new reliever for each batter

that just said that these last two inning was 1:22 with five pitchers used

13 runs and 15 hits

REVENGE OF OGANDO

it feels like Ogando and Craig have faced each other more than Clemens and Ripken did

aiiieee

WOW, what a shot Albert

woops

Can three Cardinals relievers respond with a shutdown inning?

hooooly lord in heaven

Gary Cohen call of Pujols bomb: "He WILL meet with the press tonight!"

I'm digging the Elvis Andrus beard tribute to Mos Def.

that was a shoulder-high fastball! what in gods name how do you do that

think it just landed

they just said 432 feet

I'm digging Kinsler whenever he takes his cap off *ws*

reminiscent of that shot he hit in houston in '05 to keep the astros from clinching

you mean the HR he killed brad lidge with?

the very same

Wash shd bring in Charlie Hough

Ogando retired 1 of 7

lol berkman

Dying

wha happen

Comical slide into third w/ no throw.

i hate Joe Bucks sighs and he wonders why so many hate listening to him

then he says "what a game, action all over the place"

so why act so board about 30 seconds ago.

what the fuck is this dudes pitching motion

a man among boys

where's shasta at anyway? need that albert's real age update ;)

can i have him on my team?

pujols is a v good hitter fyi

It's now up to the Rangers to make this game match the '93 Jays-Philths 15-14 "gem."

What's increased more the last 4 innings, the Cards' Series victory pct or Albert's payday?

lol if this dude wasn't wearing a military uniform that rendition of "god bless america" would have probably been a little too cute for this texas crowd

srsly, that '93 WS monster might be the worst-played game I've ever watched.

lolling:

"Note first the intended location. Now note the actual location. Ogando was trying to throw Pujols a fastball down and away, but instead he threw him a fastball up and in, and Pujols obliterated the mistake. Albert Pujols can't stand mistakes. Albert Pujols is a perfectionist, not just with himself but also with others, and whenever Albert Pujols sees anybody make a mistake, he takes it upon himself to teach a lesson."

Heyman? Bill Simmons?

I guess theyre gonna lock up this wiffleball tosser w/ Kulpa

Kevin_Goldstein
Pujols refusing to talk to the media tonight would be super awesome.

i'm glad they kicked out that kid

well, the Chanfeed just went down, I need a new one for tomw night

man, someone's overpaying for his declining years.

three

Babe Ruth, Reggie Jackson and Albert Pujols.

As .299 hitters go, he shows promise.

(You catch the third WS home run off Pujols' bat and you throw it back. There is no word for such colossal stupidity.)

lol someone threw it back? wow

it's Texas

good point

Maybe it bounced back off the facing or something, but there was a shot of the ball rolling on the grass.

Babe Ruth X 2

many xpost ago

"Albert Pujols 14 total bases is a World Series record."

five hits with three home runs. is he going to see another pitch?

237 is my favorite number

Was not very popular at the bar cheering for all of Prince Albert's HRs

LaRussa on pitching changes in the American League versus National League: "There's an assumption that somehow pitching (changes) in the National League are tougher. It's not; it's easier. ... The reason it's tougher in the American League is every decision that you make about the pitcher is based on your evaluation of who should pitch, how long the in there should pitch and who you should bring in. There are times, a lot of times, it's a really close call. You're splitting hairs. In the National League just enough times to make a difference ... a spot comes up and you've got to (pinch) hit, and you don't have to make that decision. You never have that decision taken away from you in the American League."

Amen.

five hits with three home runs. is he going to see another pitch?

it's Ron Washington

James had an Abstract piece once that tried to show there was much more strategizing in the AL--if strategy implies clear variance in how different managers handle the same situation--when it came to pitching changes. In the AL, there was a range of strategy; in the NL, managers were very predictable in their moves.

Verducci: "Lincoln at Gettysburg. Hendrix at Woodstock. Pujols at Arlington."

I can't even think of a word that rhymes.

http://mlb.sbnation.com/2011/10/22/2507672/this-is-ron-washington-gif/in/2271123

JoePo rants on POSTSEASON records:

http://joeposnanski.blogspot.com/2011/10/postseason-record.html

that quote of mine was from SB nation live blog

Pujols is hitting like Nelson Cruz, wtf!

Also... I had no idea that Darren Oliver was still alive!

yup. and still quiet serviceable.

Albert Pujols went 5-for-6 last night with 3 homers and 6 RBI. Not bad for a guy who some thought was washed up.

It was a great game, no doubt, but because the Cardinals already had a big lead when he did much of his heavy hitting, it wasn't worth all that much in terms of WPA.

His value of .211 for the game is quite low. Here are all the 3-HR regular season games from 2011:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/blog/archives/15972

i'd assume in terms of absolute value it would have to be one of the 5 best postseason games by anyone?

Andy: please tell me you posted that link for laughs. I mean, the game was 8-6 at one point...I'm not sure what Pujols is supposed to do--go for singles because home runs at that point are superfluous? (I guess I'd better check to see if you're the same Andy as Baseball Reference's Andy. If so, I usually like the blog fine and have linked to it a few times here.)

Of course Pujols is supposed to hit the ball as hard as he possibly can, but it doesn't change the fact that hitting a home run with his team leading 15-7 in the ninth hardly did anything to improve his team's chances of winning the game (which is what WPA measures). It doesn't mean his third HR wasn't awesome.

I just think it's bizarre (to put it as benignly as I can) to even think in those terms. "Last night Albert Pujols did something that only Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson ever did, and other things that no one's ever done--we should point out, though, that his Win Probability Added was very poor." (I also see irony in the fact that hardcore sabermetrics will value a stat that measures something Pujols has absolutely no control over--his team piling up the score--but reverse that argument when it comes to MVP voting.)

*wet fart*

You'll have to translate that into human-like language for me.

I just think it's bizarre (to put it as benignly as I can) to even think in those terms. "Last night Albert Pujols did something that only Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson ever did, and other things that no one's ever done--we should point out, though, that his Win Probability Added was very poor." (I also see irony in the fact that hardcore sabermetrics will value a stat that measures something Pujols has absolutely no control over--his team piling up the score--but reverse that argument when it comes to MVP voting.)

― clemenza, Sunday, October 23, 2011 3:59 PM (38 minutes ago)

ha yeah i agree, and the irony of you railing against it isn't lost on me either! it seems like a bullshit clutch stat

i'm not familiar with the stat - it's a single-game only stat? for what it is, it's probably useful: this one time this one guy hit really well when his team needed him to

well, it's a single game stat in the same way that any baseball stat is a single game stat. but just like home runs or walks, WPA gets added up as the season goes on

it's pretty easy to understand the value of the stat & also it's pretty easy to understand the point of the blog post (tho it is a bit of a cunty blog post) but w/e

I don't know, I think it serves it's purpose as a stat that combines what a hitter did with the situation in which he did it. But WPA != "value" as we'd normally define it, and that's fine, it is what it is. Obviously there's a lot of luck involved with the situation that happens to present itself when someone comes to bat.

(Different Andy here.)

It's kind of like when a team wins 10-0 one day and loses 2-1 the next, and people say something like "they should have saved some of those runs for the second game", nobody means that they literally should have stopped trying to score once the it was 4-0 or whatever in the first game, but it's true that most of the runs in the 10-0 game were gravy. Obviously in the long run you're better off winning a lot of 10-0 games.

xpost

I've been following the thread, and after a few comments, most of which amount to the same thing I'm saying--"And your point is?"--Andy, the original poster, comes back with this: "Of course Pujols' performance was amazing, as I said, but from a purely stats-perspective, it WOULD have been better if he had struck out earlier in the game. As David says in #2, it's a shortcoming of the stats in this case." I'm not quite sure what that means--better if Pujols trades his groundout for a strikeout, or if he trades one of his singles for a strikeout?--but, conceding that I'm sure the stat has its uses, this is one instance where, to my mind, it's almost laughably irrelevant. It's like pointing out that Salma Hayek can't play backgammon very well.

I think it's possible to be awestruck by the performance and grant that the Cards still would have won if he hadn't hit #2 and #3.

because the Cardinals already had a big lead when he did much of his heavy hitting, it wasn't worth all that much in terms of WPA.

I don't have a problem with the way this is written, since he also said "it was a great game" by A.P. Just the facts, ma'am...

Napoli catching, Moreland at first

http://mlb.sbnation.com/2011/10/23/2508770/game-4-rangers-lineup

Sorry to hammer away at this, but let me turn that on its head: to say you were awestruck by Pujols' performance is not to imply you're under the belief that the victory hinged on home runs #2 and #3. We need statistical proof of something that anybody who watched the game already knows? Enjoy the moment, Andy.

clemenza, everything w/ you has to be so either/or

like, it's entire possible, and in fact every easy, to enjoy albert pujols hitting mammoth home runs in the world series while still recognizing that the latter two were garbage time homers that didn't change the outcome of the game!

How 'bout we eliminate the phrase "garbage time"--if your point is that "the latter two were homers that didn't change the outcome of the game," my response would be "Tell me something else I don't know (and didn't need complicated math to make me realize I knew it)." And you might wander over to the thread, where you'll find about two dozen similarly benighted fans also stuck in that either/or wasteland.

we have stats that confirm for us a lot of things that we already know!

Anyway...Washington just gave his starting pitcher a Paul Sorvino slap from Goodfellas.

One last kick at the can, and I promise I won't say another word. Somebody just posted this, summing up my feelings exactly (I alluded to something similar earlier):

"It is interesting, actually, to see someone who professes to appreciate the game from a sabermetric point of view to cling so desperately to an entirely context-dependent statistic to form an argument. Every other time we read one of these sabermetric articles they tell us that context-driven statistics are deeply flawed as a way of measuring players. They tell us that we shouldn't assume the 20-game winning pitcher is the best, because that's driven in large part by how good his team is; they tell us that Ryan Howard shouldn't have won that MVP because the eight billion RBI he had were driven largely by how many of his teammates reached base ahead of him; they tell us that we shouldn't assume that the guy with the fewest errors is the best fielder because he might have the range of a tree stump and thus never has the chance to commit errors on the balls that are flying by them. But now when we ask ourselves who had the best night for a hitter in World Series history, the guy that Baseball Reference is paying (is he getting paid?) to write its blog tells us that the only way to determine who had the best hitting night in World Series history is determined not by what the hitter actually did, but by what the game situation was when he did it."

his homers didn't change the outcome of the game ultimately, but they still had the potential to change the outcome of the game when he hit them.

right, but they didn't

clemenza that post you excerpted is remarkably dumb

We can all agree that this clown on the mound needs to shave his upper lip, right?

Not another word, unless Jordan makes one of his typically I-won't-explain-I'll-just-assert posts. Maybe you'll spell out exactly what the guy has wrong?

so the hp ump was at 1st yesterday, right? he is terrible

Jon Paul Morose has just reminded his followers that the Cardinals' catcher is not a fast runner.

Wonder how many of those over-.500-slugging teams in their home park are from Colorado. At least half, I'd guess.

How 'bout we eliminate the phrase "garbage time"

then how wd Yankeefans talk about A-Rod?

they tell us that Ryan Howard shouldn't have won that MVP because the eight billion RBI he had were driven largely by how many of his teammates reached base ahead of him

bcz that's the truth. This guy should eat it.

first of all, i took the BR post less as an argument about the quality of pujols' night than an attempt to put the importance of his homers in context. the point being made was "pujols night was great, but it didn't actually have that much impact on the game", and you yourself agree, as you noted when you said "tell me something i don't already know". the post, to me, used pujols three homer night as a chance to make ppl aware of which three homer games (from the post season or this season) were worth the most, according to WPA. if you don't like the stat then fine, but i'm not sure how putting his ABs into a context is some affront to his accomplishments. pujols had by far the most WPA of the game last night, but again, that wasn't the point of the post.

secondly, re the idea of "context-driven stats", it's not necessarily that context driven stats are bad, but that RBI and wins are really bad attempts at measuring a player's worth in context. now, the reason that you see ppl rated by WAR and wRC+ and xFIP and the like is bcuz of the belief that non-context driven stats are more indicative of a player's true value, but that doesn't mean that there isn't an interest in measuring how every player affects every game. RBI and pitcher wins do not tell you that, though.

shouldn't Hamilton be hitting 7th if he plays at all?

You're assuming the guy disagrees with you, Morbius; the point of his post is the irony in all of a sudden using context when it suits your purposes.

i'm not sure how putting his ABs into a context is some affront to his accomplishments

But it is the foundation of his argument that (right from the thread) "It was NOT the greatest World Series performance in history. Not even close. That said, it was awesome and amazing." So, yes, Andy concedes the obvious. But he uses context to argue something that, absent context, seems kind of silly: the idea that 5 hits, three homers (one of them prodigious), and 6 RBI was not the greatest World Series performance ever by a hitter.

and/or DHing?

Maybe you'll spell out exactly what the guy has wrong?

― clemenza, Monday, October 24, 2011 2:38 AM (17 minutes ago)

It's this:

the only way to determine who had the best hitting night in World Series history is determined not by what the hitter actually did, but by what the game situation was when he did it

It's not the only way, in fact it's not even *a* way to determine who had the best night in WS history, because WPA doesn't measure "value".

context matters more in a SINGLE GAME, what's hard to grasp about that? Or even in 7 games.

That's why Buddy Biancalana is a Series legend.

But he uses context to argue something that, absent context, seems kind of silly: the idea that 5 hits, three homers (one of them prodigious), and 6 RBI was not the greatest World Series performance ever by a hitter.

― clemenza, Sunday, October 23, 2011 9:01 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark

okay, except he never says any of this

he doesn't even compare pujols' performance last night to anything from any past world series

btw this graphic indicates that Pujols contributed the most to the win... except maybe for the goatism of Kinsler, Ogando, and Harrison.

http://mlb.sbnation.com/2011/10/23/2507862/game-3-in-graphic-detail

in fact it's not even *a* way to determine who had the best night in WS history, because WPA doesn't measure "value"

The mistake is Andy's, then, not the poster's--because, as you can see from the quote I pulled above, using WPA to determine who had the best night in WS history is exactly what Andy does: "It was NOT the greatest World Series performance in history. Not even close." That doesn't seem very ambiguous.

right, and that's the other thing that's wrong with that post clemenza excerpted. WPA also takes into account the performances of every one of your opponents, which RBI and wins and whatever else don't tell us about.

i have no idea which Andy you're talking about now

Same Andy who writes the blog--if you scroll down to comment #28, you can find the quote.

Did McCarver just call Zooey D a subtle actress?

is there a name for the grassy knoll beyond CF?

like, it's entire possible, and in fact every easy, to enjoy albert pujols hitting mammoth home runs in the world series while still recognizing that the latter two were garbage time homers that didn't change the outcome of the game!

― J0rdan S., Sunday, October 23, 2011 7:31 PM (1 hour ago)

yeah this is otm, and this is apparently what the stat is meant to reflect. i think everyone can agree on this, and probably most of us would also agree that there are much better metrics available to assess actual situation-independent value. i mean we're talking about one game - hard to find a smaller sample size than that

Same Andy who writes the blog--if you scroll down to comment #28, you can find the quote.

― clemenza, Sunday, October 23, 2011 9:14 PM (47 seconds ago) Bookmark

yeah i see it now. well it becomes a pretty semantic argument. he probably should be using a word like "important" instead of "great" or w/e.

btw I missed the 1st inning. How in hell did Hamilton hit a double to deep right in his condition?

apparently they threw him something other than a fastball

Maybe comment #37 can close the book on this: "Albert Pujols had the worst game ever by a player who had the best game in World Series history." Go, Rangers.

So we're back to a pitching series, eh

liked the shot of Torre yawning

can anyone tell me if that home run was important?

sure can't tell who's winning by looking at Nolie & Prez Fuckface

Holland pitches with the power of a 14-Year-Old's Mustache

you just kinda knew she was gonna go for the high note there huh :/

wish wash had given holland the game ball there

mmm, didnt wanna do a 2002 Dusty Baker

exactly

"feliz is spanish for happy"

can anyone tell me if that home run was important?

You make me like Johnny Mac, Thermo.

:)

best two out of three, guess you can't ask for anything more

best 15 out of 28?

erm... 29. fuck.

that was a piss poor inning for the Rangers

PUNTO POWER

http://30fps.mocksession.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/2011-October-24-20-42-36.jpg

YES

MAKE IT STOP MAKE IT STOP MAKE IT STOP

WE HAVE A BASEBALL GAME HERE, FOLKS.

Buster_ESPN Buster Olney
Derek Holland gets it: He's having fun, and doesn't mind letting people know he's having fun working in his dream job.

i love that XX song

well Moreland just made up for his error

i thought Tony Larussa lifted his pitcher but we are in the American League tonight...

La Genius

i liking this Texas crowd, they are into it. i thought Texas didn't care about anything but football so it's good to see.

time to bust this open

the Cards are going to get burned leaving all these running on and not cashing in

Nick Punto is human.

from his knees

Yeah, he reached for that one. Good hitting.

go grab my beltre

the Cards are going to get burned leaving all these running on and not cashing in

― Bee OK, Tuesday, October 25, 2011 4:06 AM (8 minutes ago) Bookmark

Well, that didn't take long.

if napoli crushes one this stadium is going to collapse

oh man

i like Napoli, have no idea why the Angles would get rid of him

that pitch was on a fucking platter

c'mon pitch to Albert once this game texas

well there was that one game where he hit three homers

burn

why on earth would craig be running

that must've been a hit and run

it seems like the Cards are trying to lose this game, if he steals that than they walk Pujols

and ogando threw an unintentional 95 mph pitch out

hit and run with Pujols batting? why???

yeah it must have been a hit and run but that was a stupid play

SI_JonHeyman Jon Heyman
good move to walk pujols with 1-1 count and nobody on base. craig trying to steal made no sense. wash outwitting TLR

joe_sheehan Joe Sheehan
Intentionally walking the winning run with the bases empty and a 1-1 count. Ron Washington is just trolling me now.

hit and run with Pujols batting? why???

― NoTimeBeforeTime, Monday, October 24, 2011 10:28 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark

welcome to the wild world of tony la russa!

but there's no way that was a straight steal

pujols is such a vision while running

oh, he would have been safe

wow, good fucking game

ogando's gonna walk freese isn't he

does ron washington think that intentional walks enter him into some sort of lottery?

lol

all they need is a base hit, c'mon

Pujols was lucky to not get caught in a rundown there. Either that or it was a brilliant bit of baserunning to draw a throw home and let the runner advance to second.

pujols is incredibly aggressive, i'm pretty sure he was thinking about scoring

he did it all himself, didn't even look at his third base coach

He was getting waved in all the way but slowed down and missed his chance because he kept looking behind him instead of at the third base coach. I think he messed up and got a bit lucky when the runner advanced.

RISPUKE

he was drawing a throw. he always does that.

he would have been out by 30 feet

that chick really went in on "god bless america"

that inning was a IW, single, walk, IW and no one scored

yeah, Albert would have been out under normal circumstances but that ball was up the third base line. wish he would have gone but it would have been the wrong play.

third first base line

so they have been talking on TV, so i guess Tony La Russa didn't put on a hit and run in the last inning

you pinch hit to bunt

you let nick punto swing

kill me

sorry doggie, ur rolling w/ larussa

great stretch at first there, he was out by 1.5 strides instead of 2

hey, at least he caught it

we are going extras tonight

walk him

if beltre bunts here...

at least beltre's not bunting

wrong team

well, i figured to set up the double play but that will work

you have to walk cruz here right

yeah, right play

totally saw that wild intentional walk pitch coming

what's next

napoli is up in every big sitch huh

waiting to lose all night long

you just knew that was going to happen

just LOLLLLLLZ

I thought you said it was going to be extra innings.
xpost

lol holland is so awkward

wait, ron washington pinch ran for a guy on third??????

if he did major lol

You could feel that coming after they blew the chance at the DP with Murphy's grounder.

Washington still insists on batting Napoli eighth but somehow falls ass backwards into getting him to bat with runners on in key situations.

I thought you said it was going to be extra innings.

i thought so but the Cards couldn't hold them, not very surprised.

i can care less who actually wins so this is fun

"Napoli 10th in the majors this year in OPS vs. lefties"

wait, ron washington pinch ran for a guy on third??????

after letting him (a lefty) bat against a lefty pitcher

i had kind of a bad day today, but at least i wasn't asked to ibb someone just to kill time for a colleague to get ready

still can't believe whats happening, the Cards are the ones who have every right to win this game

tlr just fucking with us at this point

Love the "bring in a reliever just to IBB someone" trick. And I was wondering why Motte wasn't in the game ...

6 IBB's in this game is a WS record.

has he always been this mental?

carp deserved it, the other 9 not so much

if you look at the positive in that mess, they only got two runs

negative you only have three outs

c'mon Cards make my night, score some runs and make this interesting v

lolan ryan

oh boy

Pitch to Albert Pitch to Albert Pitch to Albert!

ruh-roooohhhhhhh

vassily, give me a fastball

one fastball only pls

feliz means happy

holy hell

Should have been doing this all night tbqh. Why run at this point?

three balls that were not strikes

Is it because Pujols led MLB in GIDPs?

the Cards gave away this game, probably won't recover

gtfo

wow

this has been really strange.

larussa managed this game pretty horribly

down two runs? sure, run yourself out of having the tying run at the plate

smdh tlr

Seriously, WTF was that hit and run?

still life, make this interesting

you want to be aggressive when a pitcher is beaning people

*immediately throws three straight balls*

just missed it

no hit and run = bases loaded 0 outs?

no happy plane ride

lol

that was a great game, might have been the best in this World Series

Feliz's (lack of) control is painful to watch.

the rangers walked nine batters

no hit and run = bases loaded 0 outs?

yeah, tlr made some really questionable plays during this game

definitely got stupid trying to force things.

but 95% of it falls on the RISP shitfest.

the rangers walked nine batters

― mookieproof, Monday, October 24, 2011 11:42 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

walkers, texas rangers

lol

I would not be surprised in the slightest if cards win next two. kind of their MO.

In 40 years when LaRussa is in the HOF and teh kids don't understand why some people said that he sometimes used to overmanage and fuck up spectacularly, we'll show them this game.

1st hit and run with craig was Albert's call. TLR over-ruled but Craig missed it.
2nd was TLR but AP swung at ball 4. Doubt AP swings if not protecting the runner.
The pinch hit to bunt, and lefty Scrabble vs Napoli was inexplicably stupid.

I am going to sit in the freezing rain for game 6. they better fucking win.

this is my nw fav .gif

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/762200/wash_chew.gif

perfect for for when morbs trolls politix threds

Back on the bottle!

lefty Scrabble vs Napoli

Even though he'd already used Oliver?

Oh never mind...you're saying he could have replaced Rzepczynski.

I don't troll, JtM, I am the soothsayer.

1st hit and run with craig was Albert's call. TLR over-ruled but Craig missed it.

Hence McCarver was right when he invoked Dick Groat! One in a row.

This is whatcha get when the 3rd- and 10th-best teams in MLB square off...

According to La Russa, he called the bullpen with orders to warm up Jason Motte and Rzepczynski. La Russa might as well have made a long-distance call to China, because the message got garbled and didn't make it through. La Russa attributed the problem to the loud stadium noise.
"They heard ‘Rzepczynski' and they didn't hear ‘Motte,' and when I looked up there, Motte wasn't going," La Russa said. "(Later) I called back and said ‘Motte,' and they heard ‘Lynn.' So I went out there, wrong guy. (Lynn) is not going to pitch today. ... That's why - it must be loud. I give the fans credit."
Rzep heated up, but Motte sat.
That left Rzepczynski to face Napoli.

D:

I don't know if I should bother trying to take TLR's comments seriously but he's dishing out some really weak sauce there. He's been managing for 200 years and has never made a call to the bullpen in a noisy stadium? How do you screw up a phone call during Game 5 of the WS?

And why would they want to "open the game up" in the 9th when they already had the leadoff man on and the best hitter in baseball at the plate? How much more "open" can things get?

DKnobler DKnobler
And Cardinals claim Pujols put hit and run on in 7th, then didn't swing

funny, I think the NYT ran a feature on unchanging dugout phone technology on Sunday....

should probably switch to text messaging IMO

D_Train35 Dontrelle Willis
Tony said it was loud for bullpen huh? Man i would texted him or something smh.

http://i.imgur.com/vkVue.gif

loool

Isringhausen said it happened 5-6 times at Citi this year.

That TLF gif cuts off before the best part -- his scowl at the end:

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/762420/larussa.gif

Relive the best moments of the game with Jonah Keri:

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/7545/the-top-21-moments-of-a-crazy-game-5

from fangraphs;

TLR and Washington aren’t making poor decisions, but rather managing for the wrong teams. Consider: Wash walks Albert with the bases empty because, apparently, Pujols is just that dangerous, while TLR sends runners with Pujols on because, apparently, Pujols isn’t dangerous enough. Accordingly, if the managers switched teams, the Rangers would NOT walk Albert with the bases empty, and the Cards would NOT send runners with Albert up. Problem solved.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9Dnj-5KGe4

http://i.imgur.com/7CVc8.jpg

yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

http://www.fangraphs.com/not/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/larussa-game5-worldseries.gif

i love it

#worldseries

was that right after the failed Rzepczynski double-play ball?

if I recall correctly yeah, but I don't think they showed it until after Napoli's double. its way better with sound

yes, this story on bullpen phones ran Sunday, w/ LOL photo:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/sports/baseball/world-series-dugout-phones-last-bastion-of-the-landline.html

The phones have remained largely unchanged for decades, and baseball seems ambivalent about launching any other projects to advance the technology. The few issues that arise each year have not prompted baseball officials to review the matter. According Peter Woodfork, a senior vice president for operations with Major League Baseball, the only regulation is that the phones remain a single line that connects the dugout to the bullpen, with no outside calling capability.

“We’re not against them,” Woodfork said of new phones. “What we want to avoid is a situation where the communication allows one team an advantage. I think as long as it’s one line, if someone had a different device, we’d look into it.”

And as some players noted, the introduction of mobile phones could bring a new set of issues, like the dreaded “Can you hear me now?” problem.

“With a cellphone, you never know when you might lose your signal,” Lynn said. “I think for now the hard lines are just a little easier to work with.” Especially when Tony La Russa is your manager.

sigh

just disturbed some coworkers with my insane laughter at "yes, this is dog"

http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ltieymcAja1qaaekio1_500.png

i swear he looks younger now

hahaha holy shit

sorta looks like a zombie in a Val Lewton film there

it's sort of like he belongs here

not that it matters, but the timing of the nytime article makes the whole thing look like bullshit from TLR. Suspect the bullpen coach fucked up royally.

http://i.imgur.com/7CVc8.jpg

― frogbs, Tuesday, October 25, 2011 12:46 PM (10 hours ago)

dying

http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ltieymcAja1qaaekio1_500.png

i swear he looks younger now

― mookieproof, Tuesday, October 25, 2011 6:56 PM (4 hours ago)

WHAT THE FUCK

cocaine is a helluva drug

Couldn't stop laughing at "this is dog" yesterday ... I clicked on the thread again today and I STILL can't stop laughing at it.

From James yesterday--interesting, but surely a little bit hyperbolic:

Not saying they will win the World Series, but...I think the Rangers are one of the best teams I’ve ever seen. Offensively, they’ve got six Grade A weapons--Napoli, Kinsler, Beltre, Hamilton, Cruz, Young--and a very large number of guys you don’t particularly want to pitch to either, like Andrus and Murphy and Moreland. They manufacture runs better than any other major league team. They have the best DP combination in the majors. Their backup catcher (Yorvit) is better than a lot of #1 catchers. They’ve got outfielders that don’t play that are good players, like Gentry and Borbon. Their defense is extremely good; their bullpen is phenomenal. Their starting pitching is underrated; even their back-of-the-rotation guys are really good pitchers.

If he loves them do much why doesn't he marry them

His dad can beat up your dad.

How does he know I don't want to pitch to Mitch Moreland?

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2011/1025/mlb_g_larussa_cr_200.jpg

Manager Tony La Russa, totally baked, stood before reporters Tuesday in St. Louis and answered questions about his Game 5 bullpen fiasco.

According to weather.com, rain is expected to pick up Wednesday afternoon, as there is a 60 percent of showers from 3 pm local time until 6 pm, when the chances drop to 50 percent. First pitch between the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. local time, at which time there is a 50 percent chance of rain. By 9 p.m., the chances drop to 30 percent.

If conditions appear unfavorable, there is a chance Major League Baseball could decide to cancel the game as early as Wednesday afternoon. InsideSTL.com reports a decision could be made by 2 p.m. ET.

The silver lining is that the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the rain tonight is expected to be light, meaning the teams might be able to play through the conditions.

That's a silver lining?

Not for me, playing Thu/Fri* helps my schedule

you win -- postponed tonight

wau

did Beelzebud tweet this to you or have I been played like LaRussa on the phone?

lies

hah -- i guess i saw something prepared early just in case

dewey defeats truman

wait now he right

cue analysis how break slows "momentum" rmde

@Reuters: FLASH: Wednesday's game six of World Series postponed due to inclement weather -MLB

wow, oh well waiting one more day is no big deal

maybe tlr will go back to carp in game seven, since he worked so well on three days' rest last time

I know, that's what I fear. OTOH Lohse is usually great for first 5 innings.

I do like putting Berkmania back into cleanup.

BNightengale Bob Nightengale
#MLB #WorldSeries LaRussa says he walked out on Moneyballl but now plans to see tonigjht

u mad doggie?

Just got a MLB email blast announcing that weather has postponed Game 6. Damn, they are good.

Was there any rain?

http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ltqgwl6Abn1qzikspo1_500.jpg

lil ron washington is the funniest fucking thing ever

Cards have to be favored tnite cuz you can see the bullpen from the dugout @ Busch

http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ltqgwl6Abn1qzikspo1_500.jpg

― polyphonic, Thursday, October 27, 2011 12:48 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
lil ron washington is the funniest fucking thing ever

― J0rdan S., Thursday, October 27, 2011 1:24 PM (2 hours ago)

someone explain this to me

local kid was ron washington for halloween last year

someone explain this to me
photoshop of kid wearing wash costume beside wash

reporting live from way the fuck up the 3rd base foul pole ^_^

Joe?! LOL.

nice job bnw! baller!

Uh oh.

moral victory

only 23 pitches for that mess, not bad all things considered.

first pitch swingin

FAT ELVIS

which of these teams remind you of your Phillies, Shasta?

Neither tbqh

wow i'm trying to listen in to this with the TV in the other room, can't tell what the hell is happening by the sound of Joe Buck's voice

ahhh Berkman went deep, go Puma

a double play on a bunt, love it

tiegame

Freese fails to freeze momentum

another slugfest?

Garcia has thrown 50 pitches through two (and has been all over the place) ... do they pinch hit for him in the bottom of the 2nd? I think so.

finally got fed up w/fox and went to espn radio for the commentary - if i had known it was Shulman (who used to announce a ton of canadian sports on tsn) i would've done so a lot earlier! So much better so far

xp def. pinch hitting for garcia

Tonight, we all are TLR.

finally got fed up w/fox and went to espn radio for the commentary - if i had known it was Shulman (who used to announce a ton of canadian sports on tsn) i would've done so a lot earlier! So much better so far

xp def. pinch hitting for garcia

except TLR

schulman orel and bobby v are so good.. or at the very least sound like vin f'n scully and john miller together compared to buck and mccarver.

in tribute to not having to hear McCarver, I used his nickname for the Bard -- "Willie Shakes" -- in my review of Anonymous.

What's compounding the issue of comparatively bad teams getting into the World Series for me is that the Cards get home field advantage when they get there

how does that happen in this game?

i got it, u take it

if you're both yelling it, it's CF's ball, shouldn't happen

of course its cash in

wild cards are staying, fF. Selig has made noises about "reforming" the All-Star Game, so I hope that means the homefield crap is ditched.

oh what the hell

Dirtnapoli

owwwwww

at least holiday didnt take the ball off his groin like against the dodgers last time they were in the post season..

also napoli is beasting:

WS RBIs
Bobby Richardson 12 1960 WS
Mickey Mantle 11 1960 WS
Sandy Alomar 10 1997 WS
Yogi Berra 10 1956 WS
Ted Kluszewski 10 1959 WS
Mike Napoli 10 2011 WS

Please don't show that again.

http://destructo.org/journal/wp-includes/images/smilies/emot-barf.gifnapoli's anklehttp://destructo.org/journal/wp-includes/images/smilies/emot-barf.gif

well tonight might be it, you can't make two errors in one inning and win

but if they only give up one run than its OK

sure you can

xp

Cards got lucky

THAT'S YOUR RUN, MATT HOLLIDAY.

oh, it's Bee OK, hence the every minute = doomsday.

Hysterics B. Oakey

NAME THE LAST WORLD SERIES TEAM TO COMMIT TWO ERRORS IN ONE INNING AND WIN, MORBS.

Because clearly the Rangers want it more right now.

oh, it's Bee OK, hence the every minute = doomsday.

lol that's so true

Hey, look, an error by the other team.

999 times out of 1000, the underrated Michael Young makes that play.

Bobby V: "Michael Young's a very good offensive player."

Is there any way to get the ESPN feed online? I don't have an affiliate within earshot here.

http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?s=espn

freese is giving it to you there, come on

d'oh! Thanks, francis.

so things have evened up for errors and runs this inning

Holliday slide rough but legal

comparatively bad teams getting into the World Series

Cards can prove themselves a little here if the bullpen comes through?

wtf

boink on the head

i feel like i'm watching spring training

Kevin_Goldstein
At what point do we just stop thinking and say the Cards don't deserve to win for giving Nick Punto this many PAs?

Goldstein otm

Cards can prove themselves a little here if the bullpen comes through?
Cards can prove themselves by catching a ball at this point

WHAT IS THIS SHIT

texas building a picket fence on the scoreboard

Pinch hitting for Lewis and bringing in Holland would have been a great move.

ron washington doesnt do 'great moves'

http://gif.mocksession.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/NAPOLI-ANKLE.gif

its like hes on rollerskates

"DON'T LEAVE ALBERT" where?

bullshit strike 3

yeap, he is right to complain

Amateur hour continues.

MVP MVP

what a strange game

what is that five errors?

this fucking game

or is it six?

thirteen

we have action, this is fun

i see it's five but does feel like a bunch more. 13 doesn't seem that far off.

ogandopaws

Kevin_Goldstein
If you are watching baseball for the first time, I swear these are the two teams out of 30 playing for the championship.

YES

whaaaaaaaaaaaaa

washington still heavily relying on ogando to get outs is serious o_O

wow this game

that is just terrible

how can that happen?

<3 u adrian

Beltre blocked him off there -- alt angle?

still unsure if he was safe or out

walking Punto beyond the pale

let's call it a tie and go home

agree, neither team deserves to win at least this game

He looked out -- Beltre blocked him with his foot and tagged him on the back before he could reach the bag with the other hand.

Jay could not wait to swing.

Hershiser wants to know where Craig was

Why didn't Craig pinch hit there? Nobody left to play CF?

resurrect Walter Matthau to coach these lovable losers

I don't think I saw an angle where you could see the tag and the left hand at the same time.

Craig apparently in for Holliday.

well Texas always seems to have the answer

<3 u adrian

― call all destroyer, Thursday, October 27, 2011 10:31 PM (11 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

goodnite Cards

and there's nelson

rangers offense is ridic

hahahaha

nice response TX

bnw, did you catch that?

When you go 1-150 with RISP and have Lance Lynn on the mound in the late innings of the most important game of the year then you deserve to lose the World Series.

"lance lynn"

I guess Tony brought Lynn in on purpose tonight

Carpenter has quite the neck beard.

was octavio dotel always this large?

Was Jay playing Kinsler a foot from the wall?

Holland was nails! He even got his bunt down.

http://i.imgur.com/Yg9kq.jpg

christ on a stick i hate when they talk about free agency while the series is potentially winding down

can someone explain allen craig to me?

Why didn't Craig pinch hit in the 6th again?

ok maybe get holland out of there

bcz he had to go in for the injured Holliday, so they couldnt replace Jay too

xp

all right

OMG Jay gets a hit

damn, so close

i've been drinking vodka and am gonna be in trouble if this goes extras

lol i am with you except replace vodka w/bourbon

we'll have to meet up for the next Sox-Mets WS, then

:D

a "not easy inning" that starts w/ryan theriot

wow, the last time that albert pujols is gonna be on second base as a cardinal

god, pujols just farted as he rounded first base for the last time as a cardinal

unbelievable... pujols just made plans to meet elvis andrus for dinner in the domincan during the off season for the last time as a cardinal

it's hard to believe... ian kinsler and albert pujols made no small talk for the last time as a cardinal

and all of cardinal nation just farted with him for the last time

damn, pujols just said "craig... mang" in his head while standing on second base for the last time as a cardinal

damn, neftali feliz just pulled the string on allen craig while albert pujols stood on second base for the last time as a cardinal

feliz has the worst beard

feliz is totally in alfonseca territory here

oh no

holy shit

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!