2004 World Series... Red Sox vs. Red Birds

[DaveC]

well i guess he didn't tag him if you call a glove containing a ball to the knee a foot off the plate...

 

[DaveC]

Fuck yes!!!

Bellhorn can have my children.

 

[popacrobat]

and theres your ball game... like i said, didnt have a good feeling

 

[DaveC]

Buck up!

They still have 9 more pitches to swing and miss at.

 

[popacrobat]

i just dont understand what tavarez was thinking

ahead in the count

you KNOW bellhorn k's a lot... and he just hit a ball pretty good foul. you have two strikes on him. why give him something to pull? pound him outside until the counts either full, he k's, or he gets out or on base. live and die by the outside right there...

that didnt cost them the game though.

woody not being able to pitch at all

pujols rolen edmonds doing NOTHING

calero walking the first two out of three batters he faces

renteria not taking an extra step and fielding that ball cleanly by 'tek

plenty of blame to go around

 

[speedracer]

he was safe as safe gets

Fox didn't show enough replays of that run.

As I saw it, Manny fired the ball to Varitek, who caught it and had the plate blocked. As Marquis slid into him, Varitek flinched slightly to the outside. Marquis hit Varitek in the chest and may or may not have touched Varitek's glove. Marquis's inside foot then touched home plate.

I thought Edmonds got jobbed on his last strikeout too. I couldn't tell where the strike zone was all game.

 

[popacrobat]

fox didnt show enough replays because it was clear he was safe

his foot slid under tek before varitek even had complete control of the baseball.

the strike zone was the worst ive seen all playoffs. no consistency high or low, in or out.

i hate baseball right now.

 

[MrBrau1]

Yesss!!!

 

[speedracer]

Also, is there any way the blown save can be credited to Manny instead of to Foulke?

 

[DaveC]

Manny

 

[DaveC]

Did anyone else catch Tavarez crying in the dugout after the game?

 

[speedracer]

this is why defense is so important...

One word: Moneyball.

 

[Hewson]

That game set baseball back a few decades.
Anyway, the only thing that really matters...1 down, 3 to go.

If you're a gambler and want to live dangerously, bet the under in any game in this series...man this could be a high scoring series, we'll see tonight with Schilling vs. Morris if the scoring can be held down a bit.

 

[pub crawler]

...we'll see tonight with Schilling vs. Morris if the scoring can be held down a bit.

Eh, I doubt the scoring can be held down. We're talking Fenway, after all, which is more like a pinball machine than an actual ballpark (poke the ball somewhere, anywhere and it's likely to bounce off a wall).

 

[gorman]

I found this forum post very interesting, and true too.

To start our story, go to the tape of tonight's game and watch Woody Williams' first two innings of work. Watch him try to establish the low strike. Watch him try to throw around the knees- inside, outside, and center. And watch Montague call a ball every single time.

Watch Williams try to establish the outside strike- that's the left side of the plate, for right-hand hitters. Watch Montague consistently call balls.

For some crazy reason, Williams isn't able to get strikes. He keeps pitching down the middle and the BoSox keep getting contact. Wonder why.

Now, fast forward your tape to the top of the fifth. Jim Edmonds is at the plate. Arroyo throws a low strike. Amazingly, Montague actually calls it a strike.

The Fox cameras happen to be right on Edmonds' face. He starts talking to the ump while he prepares for the next pitch. I can't read lips very well, but he seems to say something like "How was that a strike? You haven't been calling that pitch all night".

Mr. Edmonds strikes out.

Now, fast forward to the eighth inning, Jim at the plate, bases loaded. Two pitches that were obviously inside (both two or three inches further in than Williams' pitches in the first inning). Oour friend Jim is called out looking.

Coinkey-dinkey? I think not. Why is Montague officiating the World Series?

The Cardinals should do a lot better tonight. I'm really not worried about 'em. After all, they've been perfect at home this post season, and I'm sure they can pick up at least 2 wins in Boston.

 

[popacrobat]

they need to win tonight. if they dont i'll be suicidal.

 

[Hewson]

Eh, I doubt the scoring can be held down. We're talking Fenway, after all, which is more like a pinball machine than an actual ballpark (poke the ball somewhere, anywhere and it's likely to bounce off a wall).

The scary thing is the weather last night was pitchers' weather, in the 40's and dropping, and the wind was blowing in from left and across, which should knock fly balls down, and they still put 20 total runs on the board. Of course you had a journetman 3rd starte in Williams going against a never know what you're gonna get knuckleballer in Wakefiled, so that explains some of it, combined with 5 errors.
Tonight won't be as ridiculous, probably along the lines of Sox 8, Cards 4.

 

[DaveC]

Sox 8, Cards 4.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

One word: Moneyball.

how many championships does billy beane have? scratch that... how many times have billy beane teams gotten out of the first round? moneyball can suck my moneyballs.

 

[popacrobat]

ugh, i dont know how many of my sox fan friends have called me to brag that the series is over...

youd think that the alcs taught them its never over till its over?

 

[speedracer]

how many championships does billy beane have? scratch that... how many times have billy beane teams gotten out of the first round? moneyball can suck my moneyballs.

Just sayin' that that's how the Sox are built (although Theo Epstein realized that he needed to shore up the Sox defense and thus traded Nomar for Cabrera and Mientkiewicz).

Especially amusing is the fact that both closers in the Series are former A's (one of the precepts of Moneyball, you will recall, is that closers are easily replaceable).

 

[popacrobat]

rematch of the '01 lds matchups which were some of the greatest pitching performances of recent post season history...

i need my old boy to show me why i idolized him for the past 2 years

 

[speedracer]

ugh, i dont know how many of my sox fan friends have called me to brag that the series is over...

youd think that the alcs taught them its never over till its over?

Over? Did you say over? Nothing is over 'til we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

 

[DaveC]

Animal House

Tonight is critical for the Cards. More or less a must-win.

 

[popacrobat]

nothings a must win until the other team has 3 wins

 

[DaveC]

Well, no, it's not REALLY must-win.

But I mean, Boston wins and they're up 2-0. I have no doubt that St. Louis will win at LEAST one back home, but that still leaves them down against an equally good team.

Plus, if the Cards win tonight it's 1-1 and Boston has no more home field advantage.

 

[Mark Freedman]

If Boston wins, they guarantee a trip back to Boston if they don't win it all in St. Louis. Huge game tonight, as every single series game always is. What makes it a "must" is the fact that ever single win greatly increases the chance of winning it all.

It's just basic math when it comes down to it -- every series game is the most important...up until that time.

Uh, don't ask me to prove this or anything

 

[popacrobat]

i dont think st louis will drop a game at home

 

[DaveC]

I have no doubt St Louis will win at LEAST Game 3 and probably 4 and/or 5 as well. I think Boston will likely win one in St. Louis, and it'll come back to Boston more than likely a 3-2 Boston lead.

Home field advantage is EXTREMELY important though, especially the way the AL/NL rule system works.

By the way, anyone else think this rule switching is really tilted towards NL teams?

 

[speedracer]

There are rumors that this may be Schilling's last start because the doctors are worried about screwing up his ankle by having to keep opening it up to fix the tendon.