The fiasco with the bullpen was bad enough, but Tony La Russa really blew it in the ninth inning. Tom Verducci explains:

In the seventh inning, either Pujols called his own hit-and-run play and didn’t swing, or Craig saw a sign that wasn’t there, or the moon was in the phase of Aquarius, but somehow the Cardinals gave up a runner at first (Craig was thrown out), which immediately allowed Washington to intentionally walk Pujols. It gets worse. In the ninth, trailing 4-2, Craig was on first base with no outs while Rangers closer Neftali Feliz had a full count on Pujols, who represented the tying run. La Russa ordered Craig to run on the pitch. Pujols, after two foul balls, chased ball four — a 99 mph fastball off the plate — swung through it and Craig was thrown out for double play.

Here is La Russa’s explanation in full:

“Yeah, I trusted Albert could put the ball in play. In fact, the two swings that he fouled the ball off with the second baseman going over, the hole was there and all of a sudden it was first and third and nobody out and the last pitch, the guy has a very live arm and it sailed on him and he missed. I liked sending him and having a chance to open that inning up, and it didn’t work.”

Think about what La Russa is saying here. Pujols represents the tying run, and yet La Russa is talking about him as if he is Nick Punto. He is thinking about Pujols — who two days earlier joined Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson as the only men ever to hit three homers in a game — hitting a groundball through the right side of the infield with Kinsler covering second base. A groundball to second base with Pujols finally getting a chance to swing the bat as the potential tying run! Do you know how many opposite field singles Pujols had this year in 651 plate appearances? Eleven. Less than two percent of his plate appearances. And that counts all opposite field singles of any kind, including line drives, not just seeing-eye ground balls through the vacated second base hole.

Do you know how many times Pujols hit a homer this year? Thirty-seven — or more than three times more often than he hit opposite field singles.

Really, my head hurts trying to figure out what La Russa did to this game but mostly how he tried to explain it away. It was like being stuck in a gigantic corn maze. Blindfolded. At midnight. After getting spun around 38 times. Every explanation led to another turn that led to another dead end or false exit. The bottom line is he lost the game having a matchup he didn’t want — a left-hander pitching to red-hot Napoli — and he lost his last opportunity by getting a runner thrown out who, while down two runs, didn’t mean anything. I’ve never seen a game even close to this one and I hope never again to have to try to explain one like it.

Watching the game, I was stunned to see Pujols swinging at that last pitch, trying to protect the runner. One swing and the game would have been tied. This is a classic case of a manager over-thinking a situation. Earl Weaver would have sat back and let his horse take his swings.

Albert Pujols clubbed three home runs as the Cardinals pounded the Rangers 16-7 to take a 2-1 lead in the World Series. He also had 5 hits and 6 RBIs. The Cardinals chased Rangers starter Matt Harrison in the fourth inning and then continued their assault on a Texas bullpen that had been brilliant in the post-season.

The series had been characterized by low-scoring games, but everything changed when the teams arrived in the warm Texas climate. Both pitching staffs had a rough night, but Texas suffered a total collapse by giving up 15 runs.

It had looked like Texas may have stolen momentum in the series with their dramatic ninth-inning win in game two, but the Cardinals shook it off and unleashed Pujols and the rest of the offense. Pujols had received heavy criticism for not talking to the media after committing a key error in the ninth inning of game 2, but he shrugged that off as well.

The St. Louis Cardinals won game one of the World Series 3-2 over the Texas Rangers. Tony La Russa seemed to have the magic touch as each of his moves worked perfectly in a tight game. In the sixth inning, La Russa sent out pinch hitter Allen Craig to hit for starter Chris Carpenter, and Craig got the game-winning RBI single.

From there, the Cards’ bullpen took over, and now they have game one.

Did you realize that we haven’t had a game 7 in the World Series since 2002? These teams seem to be pretty evenly matched, so Tom Verducci discusses how we might finally get to seven:

Is this the World Series we’ve been waiting for? Is the longest wait for the best day in sports about to end?

The ingredients are in place for a World Series that is nine years in the making: one so evenly matched and tightly contested that it takes every possible game to decide it. Baseball has not seen a World Series Game 7 since 2002, when the Angels defeated the Giants. It was so long ago that steroids were in full swing, the last year without testing. Since the best-of-seven format permanently replaced the best-of-nine format in 1922, this is the longest drought without a Game 7 in World Series history.

Why not now? The tone was set by the Night of 162, in which the last two playoff sports were decided on the last day of the regular season with three games that ended in the last at-bat. Such drama was then followed by a record-tying three Sudden Death games in the Division Series — all of which were one-run games that went down to the last at-bat.

He goes on to explain how the team that wins Game 1 is 19-4 in for the title since 1987, so Game 1 is very important. On the other hand, neither team has a dominant pitching staff, so Verducci thinks this year might be different.

As for game one, the Cards are favored with Chris Carpenter facing C.J. Wilson. The Cardinals are also loaded with right-handed bats, and the Rangers will start three lefties.

I have no idea who will win this thing, but it’s been a fun season, so maybe we’ll get a great series.

The Texas Rangers are returning to the World Series after a 15-5 thumping of the Detroit Tigers to win the ALCS by four games to two. Nelson Cruz was a beast in the series, pounding out six home runs and 13 RBIs against Tiger pitching. Cruz hit 29 home runs in the regular season in 475 at bats.

The Rangers will now play the winner of the NLCS between the Cardinals and the Brewers. The Cards are leading the series 3-2 with Game 6 coming tonight in Milwaukee. The Rangers have never won a World Series.

Meanwhile, the Tigers had a great season but had no answer for the Rangers lineup. Justin Verlander wasn’t dominant in the post-season, but at least he did his job.

Not much has changed at the top of this list, but the Rangers are making a statement. Meanwhile, the Mets, Cardinals and Twins have been playing such mediocre baseball that a few upstarts have knocked them off this list. Here are the pre-All Star game power rankings:

1. New York Yankees (55-31)—It’s on. The Rangers out-bid the Yanks for Cliff Lee, but lookie here—the Bombers have won 7 in a row. They don’t need no stinkin’ Cliff Lee.

2. Texas Rangers (50-36)—Yesterday, Nolan Ryan and company vaulted their team from playoff contender to World Series contender by obtaining Mr. Lee. The middle of their lineup with Vlad, Hamilton and Nelson Cruz just might be the most potent heart of the order in baseball.

3. Tampa Bay Rays (52-34)—Sorry, Boston. Sorry, New York. These pesky Rays are not going away.

4. Atlanta Braves (51-35)—This pains me as a Mets fan, but the Braves made a series-opening statement last night at Citi Field. They are for real and they are trying to pull away from the Mets and Phils.

5. San Diego Padres (50-36)—You think the Mets wish they still had Heath Bell?

6. Boston Red Sox (50-36)—They aren’t giving in either. The next two and a half months are going to be very exciting in the AL East.

7. Cincinnati Reds (45-35)—That team dressed in red leading the NL Central is not the Cardinals. By the way, if Joey Votto didn’t win that online voting, it would have been one of the worst all-star snubs in baseball history.

8. Detroit Tigers (47-37)—Don’t look now, the Tigers have won four in a row and the White Sox six in a row, and they are 1-2 in the AL Central while the Twins are suddenly floundering.

9. Los Angeles Dodgers (48-38)—Will the NL West be like a stock market correction and have the Dodgers and Rockies take over the Padres’ lofty spot? The Dodgers are winning again and making their move.

10. Colorado Rockies (48-38)—Always a late bloomer, the Rockies are also making a move, and their stud ace Ubaldo Jimenez is a positively sick 15-1 at the all-star break.

I just caught this list on a recent episode of “Countdown with Keith Olbermann.” I can’t seem to find a video version of the list, so a heads up would be appreciated. But here is the written version on Olbermann’s own blog.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

The Phillies gave up quite the package to acquire starter Cliff Lee from the Indians at the trade deadline, but that doesn’t matter much now because he was definitely worth it.

Lee shut down the Yankees in Game 1 of the World Series, taking a shutout into the ninth inning of a 6-1 Phillies’ win. If it weren’t for Jimmy Rollins throwing the ball away in the ninth to give New York a run, Lee would have earned a shutout, although he’ll certainly take a 10-strike out, zero-walk performance.

Chase Utley gave Lee and Philadelphia all the offense they needed, as he hit two solo shots off New York ace CC Sabathia. With his first home run of the game, Utley reached base in his 26th-straight postseason game, which broke Boog Powell’s record from 1966-71. He was also the first player to hit two dingers in Game 1 of a World Series since Troy Glaus accomplished the feat in 2002 against the Giants.

If the trends from previous World Series hold up, the Yankees are in trouble. In the last six years, the team that has won Game 1 have all gone on to win the series, just as the Phillies did last year when they beat the Rays 3-2 in the 2008 opener.

Philadelphia played like a team that had been to the World Series the year before, while New York seemed a little uptight. Not to take anything away from Lee, but it’s a little absurd for a Yankees lineup so filled with talent to only produce one run – especially given the park they play in. It was impressive how calm and collected Philadelphia’s players were, it almost seemed like they were playing in a spring training game.

Now all the pressure is on the Yankees to win Game 2, because they can’t fall behind 0-2 and then hit the road for three. The Phillies essentially accomplished their goal of winning one game in New York, but if they take Game 2 they’ll certainly be in the driver’s seat when they head back home.

As far as the Yankees and Cardinals are concerned, they are on a collision course for the World Series, as they are putting large amounts of distance between themselves and their closest competitors.

Through his blog (38pitches.com) last week, Curt Schilling ended months of speculation on whether or not he would pitch this season by announcing his retirement from baseball. And the moment he hit the send button on his computer screen, the debate began if he is a worthy Hall of Fame candidate.

If you consider him a lock for enshrinement to Cooperstown than you must re-evaluate Jack Morris’ career because they’re one in the same. Neither guy was a marquee name. For Schilling, he had to contend with Pedro Martinez and Randy Johnson, while Morris competed with Doc Gooden and Roger Clemens for the title of baseball’s best pitcher. They had similar starts to their careers as long men in the bullpen, but once they established themselves in the starting rotation, Schilling and Morris became big game pitchers at the most important time of the year…October.

Their regular season numbers don’t overwhelm you, as Schilling had only 216 career wins and Morris recorded 254 wins in his 17-year career, with both eluding the coveted 300 wins mark for automatic entrance into the Hall. And neither one won a Cy Young Award in their career. But, what really puts them into the conversation is their memorable playoff performances.

Two words come to mind when you say Schilling and postseason…bloody sock. He stapled his ankle tendon to the bone and led the Boston Red Sox to their first championship in 86 years. He was the ace or co-ace on four World Series teams (the 1993 Philadelphia Phillies, the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks, and the 2004 and 2007 Boston Red Sox), and was named the 2001 co-MVP in one of the best seven-game World Series ever played. In 19 postseason appearances, Schilling had an 11-2 record with a 2.33 ERA. His detractors will tell you that Schilling never met a microphone that he didn’t like, and who could forget him playing for the camera by covering his head with a towel instead of watching Phillies closer Mitch Williams save game five in the 1993 World Series?

Morris was a true throwback, a pitcher that finished what he started. He had 175 career complete games in an era that was transitioning from dominant starting pitching to a bullpen–based staff. And just like Schilling, he is remembered for one amazing postseason outing. Morris recorded a 10-inning complete Game 7 shutout victory over the Atlanta Braves to capture the 1991 World Series for the Minnesota Twins. His World Series record was 4-2 with a 2.96 ERA, as he led four teams (the 1984 Detroit Tigers, the 1991 Minnesota Twins, and the 1992 and 1993 Toronto Blue Jays) to World Series titles, including three in a row from 1991-1993.

Schilling and Morris raised their level of play when their teams’ back was against the wall. They pitched to the moment and came up big time after time. Other pitchers (Mike Mussina or Bert Blyleven) might have better career numbers, but they will have to pay admission to get into Cooperstown. The debate about whether or not Schilling and Morris are Hall of Famers has begun…let’s discuss.