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Monday, October 15, 2012

It never happened before...

                                Wow, what a week. I never thought the whole Wild Card series this year would be so competitive. As you may know, this is the first time in the history of the Division series that all four series went the full five games. The A's took the Tigers to game five, thanks to Detroit's Jose Valverde doing his Calvin Schiraldi impression in game four.  Luckily for the Tigers, Verlander did his Verlander impression in game five, and that was the end of that. I was convinced that the Reds would meet the Tigers in the World Series, but alas, Cincinnati blew a 2-0 games lead against San Fransisco, which means that at least one out of the last three World Champions will be in the Series this year.


                Game five in the Bronx was fairly anti-climactic; Though the O's gave the Yanks a run for their money in the first four games, 290 lb C.C. Sabathia pretty much shut them down in the final game.  For my money, though, the most heartbreaking game five of all the division series was the Nationals/Cardinals.  Up by 6 runs early on, it looked like Washington was getting closer to their first pennant since the Washington Senators did it in 1933.  But then, Davey Johnson decided to do his Grady Little impersonation by leaving Gio Gonzalez in the game a little too long.  To be fair though, the bullpen couldn't hold the lead anyway...So as I sat there in Cherry Tavern in the East Village of New York ( of course with my Expos shirt on), watching the same franchise choke away the lead (while hanging out with some Montreal folk, to boot), I though to myself..."Not the Wild Card Cardinals...AGAIN...


        As of this writing, we are in the Championship series; Detroit won game one over the Yankees 6-4, despite blowing a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the ninth , as Valverde (of course) let up 2 run homers to Ichiro, and Raul Ibanez (of course). And everyone will remember where they were the inning(12th) when Jeter fractured his ankle, and was out for the rest of the postseason.  I was in the other room, but thanks to 7,029 replays of the injury, I'm all too familiar with it.  Tigers won game 2, thanks to a truly terrible call involving Omar Infante straying a little too far off of 2nd, and Nick Swisher gunning him down;But was called safe, as the Tigers took advantage off the situation and won game two.  Verlander goes game three in Detroit up 2-0, so it might be the end for New York, but you never know.


             First game of the NLCS saw the Cardinals jump all over Madison Bumgarner, plating six runs and knocking him out in the fourth inning.  Lincecum came on in relief, and the Giants came back, but it wasn't enough; the Cardinals took game one 6-4.  Not sure using Lincecum in relief is the best idea, but he doesn't seem to mind, so why should we. Game two is tonight, but if  St. Louis continues it's hot hitting, and Detroit just, you know, continues;We're gonna have a Tigers /Cardinals World Series, just like 2006...and 1968...and 1934...and we know how THOSE turned out...well, I do at least...

1 comment:

  1. Still really surprised that Davey Johnson didn't seem to have the pulse on his pitchers in Game 5. I figured the Nationals relative inexperience would be balanced by Johnson's tremendous experience as a player and manager. He used a starter to pitch the 7th and hung Storen out to dry. Its going to be a coulda-shoulda-woulda type offseason for the Le Nats.

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