2013 World Series: St. Louis Cardinals vs. Boston Red Sox

poll will end before first pitch

Red Sox

Saw someone point out this morning that this is only the second Series between two teams with identical records ('49 and '58). As Morbius pointed out, also the two league leaders in run differential, and, extending that, the two best teams in baseball as measured by Baseball Reference's "Simple Rating System" (which makes some adjustments to run differential).

Two teams that have won too often recently. So I'm trying to figure out which team sounds better completing this statement: "I can't believe that the ___________ have now won three World Series in the past ____ years." That'll be the team that wins.

^^^ based on that, it's clearly Boston, because it was always about the curse and not winning the WS for 250 years, so nobody is ready to cope with a three titles in nine years mini-dynasty.

http://heatherandmatt.aregettinmarried.com/files/2012/11/aleqm5hbjeopeltjk3iuxksy1rvhy-f0bqjpeg-9b2c68cbea584409.jpeg

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o304/land_of_ashes/threat.jpg

rooting for cards

Hey, I know it's unfortunate that two really boring teams filled out the World Series. And it's regrettable there's no WS Pittsburgh Cinderella story or lol Puig can't miss tune-in heroics.

Erin Andrews stated it best in her succinct analysis of the essentialism of postseason baseball, and I think it's a salient point all of ILB can agree with:

#BostonStrong

Some NYT columnist (i think Araton) made link today btwn 2001 Yanks and '13 Bosox bcz of the Marathon bombing; i was unsurprised but still wanted to shit on him.

anyway, only upside at end of this Series will be "At least ____ lost"

schadenfreude!

Scott Miller, CBSSports.com:
“Tough not to wonder how Albert Pujols will be spending the next 10 or so days at home in St. Louis. Navigating his way through a sea of Cardinals red in the aisles when he stops for bread and milk at his local Schnucks grocery store? Threading his way through the 24-hour, wall-to-wall World Series coverage with every click of the television remote? Reading Michael Wacha's life story? Hard to believe there was a time two years ago when we wondered what October would be like for the Cardinals if they dared allow Pujols to escape. Not only did life go on, but the quality of it never wavered. We also now know what October is like for Pujols, post-Cardinals: He has a lot of free time on his hands. So do his Angels . . . But for one more win against the Giants last October, the Redbirds would be 2 for 2 in World Series appearances post-Pujols. As it is, they're 2 for 2 in NL Championship Series appearances and now have a chance to win a second World Series in three seasons.”

Now that Musial's gone, I assume Gibson is the current Cardinal Emeritus who'll throw out the first pitch. If not, maybe they can get the Mad Hungarian in there.

McCarver! Oh, wait...

Cardinals' forgotten man Shelby Miller trying stay ready

I guess matheny hasn't committed to games 2 & 3 starters though I see wacha and kelly listed. Kelly has been average in the post-season. whip is up, era is up. a rested Miller sure seems like a third plus starter you could drop in there.

I might almost be willing to root for St Loo, teeth clenched, if the fans dropped the "class" act and adopted my chant:

Dickdickdicktorino
dick dick dick

dick dick dick!
dick dick dick!
Dicktorino!
Dicktorino!

It is catchy, gotta admit

I guess I'm rooting for the Sawx in this one.

i'll probably root for the road team in each game

I hope they're all blowouts and someone gets swept. Then Fox fires Buck.

This is the series, then. If they win, this is when people learn to hate the Cardinals as a reflex.

http://www.baseballnation.com/2013/10/21/4861024/cardinals-world-series-yankees

I hope they're all blowouts and someone gets swept. Then Fox fires Buck.

YES. Something we can agree on -- I think that's our quota for the year.

i'll probably root for the road team in each game

great idea

i'll probably root for the road team in each game

Yeah -- a seven-game series of agonized crowd shots.

Cards DH?

@Buster_ESPN: Chris Carpenter had hit once in Fenway before today, he asked to take BP and put five over the Green Monster.

What a strange season for carpenter. I don't know how pitchers that are out for the season stay active and cheery in the dugout. if I was out for the season I'd feel like Dustin Hoffman in the pool in the Graduate. Or Cameron in the pool in Ferris Beuler. Or my uncle in the pool after another bad day at work.

Good news for the cardinals is that it looks like Allen Craig will be available to DH

cheering for the Cards and also like their odds better.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

http://cardinals.mlb.com reload reload reload <3

Sam Miller of BP:

Victorino has developed quite a reputation for getting hit by pitches this year. He led the American League in HBPs this year. He has been hit six times in the postseason. That’s convincing. Funny thing, though:
•He was hit 18 times this year.
•He was hit 19 times in the previous three seasons combined.

He has been hit six times this October, which matches his season totals in 2012, 2011, and 2009. This is either a skill that is almost totally under his control, or one of the all-time great cases of October sample shenanigans. All six of his October HBPs have been in important situations: four times with the game tied, twice with the Red Sox trailing by a run. If it’s a skill, he wields it effectively.

smh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ev3Y4wrDy_Q

There's an important principle to remember here: Before the first game of the World Series, when the teams are tied 0-0, there is no way that the series could possibly be closer at that point. But when a team wins the first game and is up to 0-1, the series couldn't possibly be closer after one game. Tense!

Do the math.

/yes i'm making fun of stark again, i hate him

victorino should be fined for all the hanging over the plate he does. its grotesque.

but he is a gritty intense scrappy hustler (who hangs over the plate)

http://cdn1.sbnation.com/imported_assets/1868183/victorino.gif

wow, so i guess they are playing up the boston marathon bombing as the red sox media theme

i guess "victorino is an asshole" didn't play well with the focus groups

god, even by baseball interview music goes, that song was fucking TERRIBLE

even by baseball interview music standards, i mean

wow, shane robinson starting in CF. RIP jon jay

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

welp, 17-8, we are so bad and hated again

instead of watching the pregame i just watched 'homer at the bat'

i really hate how the tv networks reset stats for the postseason

xpost you missed some heroes. everyone on the field is a hero

i don't think tim mccarver understands what the word Dynamic means

wow craig has a weird stance

Ok kids, your homework assignment tonight is to calculate Shane Robinson's batting average:
http://i.imgur.com/cIj86bf.png

why is pedroia's uniform already dirty? fuckin gross

oh come the fuck on

lmao

damn. thanks for that story, zachlyon. i lived in dc for several years and baltimore was my exotic retreat.

hah i used to be a p hardcore baseball fan but over the last ~5 years i lost interest mostly

oh we could tell

i still have a deep appreciation and understanding of the game that you could only dream of

things are getting heated around here...

lag∞n when were you last at a sox game

few years i guess

how about a lake monsters/fisher cats game

i wish

damn. thanks for that story, zachlyon. i lived in dc for several years and baltimore was my exotic retreat.

― never have i been a blue calm sea (collardio gelatinous), Friday, November 1, 2013 11:00 PM (33 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I'M READY TO ARGUE AGAIN

DC SCUUUUUUUUUUUUM

jk

haha

Ha that little Jewish kid at the Yankees game was really you, wasn't he. Xp

i still have a deep appreciation and understanding of the game that you could only dream of

literally so, cuz when i get hammered i go to sleep.

FWIW, I saw a bunch of Red Sox vs Jays games c.2000-2003 (I made it a point to see Pedro pitch whenever I got a chance) and Red Sox fans were definitely the worst in terms of showing up en masse, taking over the park and generally acting like dicks. Although TBH I was more embarrassed for Jays fans who would sit on their hands and allow this this to happen. I'm not saying you should get in fights with the visiting team's fans but show some pride and stick up for your team. That's never been Toronto's style, unfortunately (unless it's a Leafs game).

And I said above, what Matheny is dealing with here isn't just recent performance, it's recent performance against the same pitcher.

― never have i been a blue calm sea (collardio gelatinous)

v. likely true. Every team has looked over the heat maps and pitch-by-pitch breakdowns for every opposing hitter, so if the scouting report says you need to throw Ortiz breaking balls on the inner half of the plate (so he'll hit GB's into the shift). If you've got a pitcher who's been occasionally missing his spots and leaving breaking balls over the plate, or generally doesn't fare well pitching inside to LHB's, then it could make sense to IBB Ortiz and pitch to a guy who's weaknesses line up with the pitcher's strengths.

If it's the third inning then maybe you issue the IBB and focus on the guys your pitcher can get out, but if it's the sixth or seventh then you need to play matchups and of course Matheny never figured that out.

so *suppose* the scouting report says you need to throw Ortiz breaking balls on the inner half of the plate

IOW, it's more like "our scouts and stat guys went over all the data and our shit just isn't working with this hitter, so we give up" rather than "he's MAGICAL, let's walk him".

enjoyable turn itt, may the orioles remain pathetic forever.

i like the bloo jays

blue jays are cool i like their old hats

also i like the name 'skydome'

toronto is p euro in a weird way

their old hats are the new hats! they went back to something very similar to their old logo this past year.

oh good!

NoTimeBeforeTime
Posted: November 2, 2013 at 1:01:05 PM

(I made it a point to see Pedro pitch whenever I got a chance)

wise man

I grew up in Boston and still have much fondness for it and the sox, but fwiw, I visited this summer and went to a sox game for the first time in at least a decade and almost got into a fist fight with someone within minutes of entering fenway.

this is merely the cerimonial fist fighting of the returning fan

I guess so, huh?

It was a really crazy situation. I was walking with my brother to our seats carrying a fully loaded italian sausage and a beer when an older dude suddenly tumbled down the stairs and lay unconscious in front of us, possibly from a stroke or something. We were moving to get around him and find an usher to help him out and a crowd started forming. My brother, in a clumsy and poorly thought out move, decided to vault out of the path and up into some empty seats to get out of the way quickly, but in jumping up, caught my sausage and beer with his flailing foot, spilling them everywhere and getting a bit of beer on a guy sitting nearby. The guy started cursing out my brother, and in the heat of the situation (also pissed that I just lost $20 worth of food and drink), I started cursing back. The whole thing quickly escalated until my brother dragged me away back to our seats.

The thing is, none of this kind of stuff ever happens to me. I don't go around picking fights with people. I definitely think Fenway played a strong role here, not unlike the Overlook hotel.

i blame bob marley/shane victorino

hearing that Bob Marley song over and over again definitely didn't help my state of mind, plus the sox lost to the rays

lol so apparently jake peavey bought a duck boat

enjoyable turn itt, may the orioles remain pathetic forever.

― call all destroyer, Saturday, November 2, 2013 11:21 AM (7 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

http://cache.blippitt.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Orioles-Beat-Red-Sox-2011.gif

STILL BETTER THAN 2012

yep, they got to lose in the lds. cool highlight of the last 15 years of yr team.

ikr!!

lol u think it's about the rays

oh oops i got my years mixed up, failed to remember that the orioles were so elated to play spoiler

now that i think of it 2011 was so pathetic for boston it completely negates every future WS win for the sox, so i'm good

this has been therapeutic, thread

especially since the regular season is all that matters /morbs

cubs fan here --

what's it like to be a fan of a baseball team that has had consistent success?

thanks

saddest thing was watching MLBN's "top 9 players who never played in a world series" and like 7 of them were cubs

why is there no baseball

couple weds during red sox rolling rally

this is my pal steph and her new husband! she's pretty much the nicest person i know.

we believe you, but that's a shame then :)

that's pretty cool, cad.

i met up with a couple of friends on the esplanade and we watched the boats go by. strangest thing that happened to me at the rally was a guy who upon spotting me walking in my crutches & stormtrooper-style brace (i broke my leg in late august), roared out "yeah, BOSTON STRONG!! that's what i'm talkin about!", then asked if he & the rest of his mildly drunk crew could take a group photo with me in the middle, to be posted on his blog ("i'm trying to capture the spirit of the day", he said). i consented, and chuckled as arms were draped over my shoulders.

lol that is very strange

buddy im gonna go ahead and take a quick video just look over here and tell the camera youre working super hard on the long road to recovery from the marathon bombing

i know eh? the quintessence of what kundera calls 'kitsch' -the sentimentality of the crowd and all that. except he despises it, while i have a soft spot for it.

NYC marathon went off without incident today; wait til 2015, I guess

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hcbyPPlSpaA/UnSZe40KuEI/AAAAAAAAERo/_Op-BnnyROE/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-11-02+at+2.18.12+AM.png

World Series Probability Added