Category: MLB (Page 441 of 448)

      2005 World Series Preview: Houston Astros vs. Chicago White Sox

      October 20, 2005 /

      Awesome, awesome, AWESOME. Finally, a Series between two teams that have absolutely everything to lose. Chicago hasn’t been there since 1917 (WWI was called The Great War back then, by the by). Houston never advanced to the NLCS until last year. This isn’t like the Yankees or Braves or Cardinals, or even the Marlins, going to the Show. This is history, kids. I can’t wait.

      The breakdown, piece by piece:

      Starting pitching: Houston, by a nose. What’s that, you say? The Sox have been unhittable of late, plus are extremely well rested to boot? Fine, say what you want, but in this game of Texas Hold ‘em, three of a kind (Clemens, Pettite, Oswalt) beats two pair (Buehrle & Garcia, Contreras & Garland) any day of the week and twice on Sunday. Besides, Oswalt won’t likely pitch again until Game 3, which is next Tuesday, in Houston. Houston may not be as well rested, but they’ll be better rested, if you know what I mean.

      Relief pitching: Houston. Sure, he gave up a 900-foot dinger to Pujols in the bottom of the ninth in Game 5, but he’s still Brad Lidge. Most guys don’t have that luxury, and you can bet that Lidge doesn’t throw that pitch again for another 15 years. Chicago’s bullpen has been tough lately, but they flamed out at inconvenient times all year. This would be a most inconvenient time to flame out, which means they’ll do it at least once. Maybe twice.

      Hitting: Chicago. The great myth about this team is that they can’t hit for power. Nonsense, through and through. Konerko is the biggest bat, sure, but Iguchi, Rowand, Crede, Uribe and Dye can all go yard if need be. I’m sure they’d love to have a pinch hit bat like Frank Thomas at their disposal, the way that Houston has in Jeff Bagwell (how much do you suppose it killed him to not play in Games 5 or 6 of the NLCS?). But they’ll do just fine with what they’ve got.

      Manager: Chicago. Sure, he’s never been to the Show as a manager before, but he’s a fucking lunatic. It’s like when Crash Davis told Nuke LaLoosh to hit the mascot with a pitch. After he did, Crash looked at the hitter, shrugged his shoulders, and said, “I don’t know what he’s going to do next.” The hitter was so freaked out of his skull that he struck out on a pitch a foot and a half off the plate. That’s Ozzie Guillen ball. That’s the Chicago way.

      Defense/Intangibles: Chicago. Houston stacks up a lot like the Sox in terms of teams that play great defense and do the little things. But Chicago is better at the little things. They steal more bases, they get runners over, and they generally seem to cause more trouble for teams. Houston doesn’t have that many speedsters, which means that Biggio may be sticking that elbow out like Roger Dorn in “Major League.”

      My Pick: Chicago in 6. Sure, it may not be the Cubs, but so what. It’s Chicago, and they’re due, dammit.

      Fantasy Baseball, MLB

      NLCS Game 6: Houston 5, St. Louis 1 (Houston wins 4-2)

      October 20, 2005 /

      It would stand to reason that I would be upset about yet another prediction of mine not coming even close to true (though my ALCS prediction of Chicago in five was dead on the money). But the truth is, I’m a Cubs fan, which means I enjoy seeing the Cardinals lose at nearly every opportunity. I secretly hoped the ‘Stros would find a way to overcome, but when Pujols hit that 700-foot home run in Game 5, I saw flashbacks of Games 6 and 7 of the NLCS between the Cubs and Marlins. This is the beginning of the end, I thought. After all, the Cubs had Prior and Woody pitching Games 6 and 7. So the Astros had Oswalt. Big deal. I’ve seen good hitting beat good pitching.

      Not this time. Oswalt was a STUD, going seven innings with 6 K’s and a walk. Word to your Mulder, meanwhile, didn’t make it out of the fifth inning, only walking one but also only striking out two and giving up twice as many hits as Oswalt. Perhaps the saddest part of the evening was the fact that Larry Walker struck out looking in what many think will be his last at bat. That’s not the way to go, son. Hack at it, even if it’s a foot out of the strike zone. As the poet laureates Iron Maiden once said, if you’re gonna die, die with your boots on.

      This is going to be the coolest World Series in eons. Both teams have EVERYTHING to play for. One hasn’t won it in 88 years. The other team has never won it in their entire existence. Man, how do you beat that?

      Fantasy Baseball, MLB

      White Sox going to the Series

      October 16, 2005 /

      I’m sitting here watching the White Sox celebrate their 6-3 win over the Angels in Game 5 of the ALCS and I’m thinking, is this really the same team that nearly blew a 15-game lead in the AL Central?

      Jose Contreras was brilliant tonight, giving the Sox their fourth complete game of the series. In fact, the entire Chicago rotation was unbelievable, sporting a 2.23 ERA against the Angels to go along with those four complete games. That was the strength of the team through the spring and summer months, and while it abandoned them late in the year, Contreras, Freddy Garcia, Jon Garland and Mark Buehrle all came up big when it mattered most.

      But I wonder how Cubs fans will feel about this. How long have people been waiting for a World Series in Chicago? It’s happening this year, but not the way North siders have been hoping it would.

      MLB

      Strike three! Nah, just kidding.

      October 13, 2005 /

      “Customarily, if the ball is in the dirt, you hear: ‘No catch, no catch, no catch’ and I didn’t hear any of that. It was strike three, the third out of the inning and I threw the ball back to the mound.”

      Those are the words of Angels catcher Josh Paul, who thought his pitcher, Kelvim Escobar, struck out AJ Pierzynski with a hard slider to end the ninth inning. The pitch was low, but Paul appeared to catch it before it hit the dirt and home-plate umpire Doug Eddings apparently confirmed that by raising his fist to signal that Pierzynski was out. The Angels, thinking the inning was over, jogged off the field and Paul, assuming he caught the ball and getting no indication otherwise from Eddings, rolled it out toward the mound before heading toward the dugout.

      Not so fast.

      Pierzynski took off toward first and was ruled safe. Angels manager Mike Scioscia argued the call, but after the umps huddled to discuss the play, the call was upheld.

      I’m not sure what to think about this. I guess at the heart of it all, you’ve got an umpire who signaled that the hitter was out. Inning over. Eddings also admitted that he didn’t call “no catch” and thought Paul trapped the ball. But if that’s the case, why didn’t he call “no catch”? Still, while Paul definitely has a gripe about that, in a game of this magnitude, you’d think Paul would tag the batter just to be safe. I’ve seen catchers tag hitters hundreds of times in situations like this, just as a precaution. If Paul plays it safe and tags Pierzynski, there’s no controversy and the game heads into extras. Instead, Joe Crede came up and hit a game-winning double. Series tied 1-1.

      But the bottom line here is, if Eddings thought Paul trapped the ball, why did he signal that the runner was out, and why didn’t he call “no catch”? If I’m the Angels, I’m feeling cheated right about now.

      MLB

      ALCS, Game 1: Rumors of Angels’ demise premature

      October 12, 2005 /

      There’s an episode of “The Simpsons” where Homer, as an adolescent, is an accomplished gymnast. His father, Abe, is simply waiting for him to screw up. Homer performs a floor exercise flawlessly, until he steals a glance at his father, who instantly shouts, “You’re gonna blow it!” Sure enough, Homer trips over his own feet and flops miserably. Later, Abe tells Homer, “That’s what I get for having faith in you.”

      Homer is the White Sox, I’m Grandpa Simpson. I picked the White Sox to win in five, but despite being a Chicago resident for ten awesome years, I’m only kind of rooting for them. It’s not a Cubs/Sox thing – yes, I’m a Cubs fan, but I wish the Sox no ill will – and it’s not that I love the Angels that much more than the White Sox. If anything, it’s the simple fact that Chicago baseball teams will break your heart, and there is no point in getting emotionally involved. I picked the Sox to go to the World Series not because I believe in them, but because in analyzing the stats and the circumstances, the Sox have a considerable advantage. The only problem is that they’re still the White Sox, and they’ll surely find a way to melt down like Chernobyl on the sun. Why? Because that’s what Chicago baseball teams do. For 97 years on the North Side and 88 years on the South Side. That’s the Chicago way.

      In the end, I look at it this way: if they’re going to choke, I would prefer that they choke now, because losing to St. Louis in the World Series would be much, much worse than not getting to the Series at all.

      MLB

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