04/23/24
October 21, 2004
Better late than never.: Cards/Stros. Game 7. Edmonds has already made a great catch.
posted by Ufez Jones to baseball at 08:14 PM - 34 comments
Wow. I just have to post to keep the NLCS thread from looking so bad. This is a good pitchers' duel we have going here.
posted by kokaku at 09:36 PM on October 21, 2004
I just got home in time to see the last out of the Cards 6th. What'd I miss?
posted by chicobangs at 09:47 PM on October 21, 2004
I'm just glad that the Rocket is out. I can root for Houston again. What're the odds this thread'll hit 300 comments?
posted by Ufez Jones at 09:54 PM on October 21, 2004
Depends on how Oswalt does.
posted by chicobangs at 09:58 PM on October 21, 2004
They stalled , but I don't know if he's warm. He looks like
posted by chicobangs at 09:58 PM on October 21, 2004
Sorry. He looks like he just woke up.
posted by chicobangs at 09:59 PM on October 21, 2004
(Just doing my part.)
posted by chicobangs at 09:59 PM on October 21, 2004
Did Cardinals fans sing God Bless America by themselves, with no celebrity accompaniment? Sounded like that on audio only.
posted by rcade at 10:01 PM on October 21, 2004
Yup. Just the organ. It was kind of classy, especially after three days of that guy in NY with the huge ears. He was good, don't get me wrong, but that was much nicer tonight. Also, Oswalt looked pretty alright. I take those last 5 posts back.
posted by chicobangs at 10:03 PM on October 21, 2004
This is probably the first time Oswalt has ever come in as a reliever. Granted, he probably was told he would, but it's got to be a different feel. And damn if I don't love Cardinal fans. They're some of the more hardcore that I've seen. I saw 'em at the Ballpark in Arlington at a Sunday afternoon game earlier this year, and they made up ~60% of the crowd. Granted, that was like 6k people, but still... And damn if they didn't just get a double.
posted by Ufez Jones at 10:13 PM on October 21, 2004
...And a perfect sac bunt. Agreed on Cards fans. They rock. Knowledgable, appreciative, and loud. You couldn't ask for more.
posted by chicobangs at 10:14 PM on October 21, 2004
5-2, and 2 on, 1 out. Right on. Pre-6th inning question: How did Clemens look? (You know what I'd love to hear, and the fact that he's not still in the game means I trust he sucked at least a little.)
posted by chicobangs at 10:17 PM on October 21, 2004
With Larussa running the club this is pretty much over. All depends on the pitching. Their defense has been spotless. With three extra runs to work with looks like Cards to me. On another note I wish the Foxtards would quit saying "suicide" squeeze. Yes it was a squeeze, No it wasn't a suicide squeeze. The bases weren't loaded.
posted by oicnub4 at 10:22 PM on October 21, 2004
The strike zone for the last batter is HUGE. The umps wanna go home.
posted by chicobangs at 10:23 PM on October 21, 2004
Had trouble getting K's. Longest until his first K since 2001, I think they said. But pitched effectively until the sixth, when the Cards ran 3 runs in two at bats. First run was scored on an error. Still, he looked like an asshole. And I've never seen so many people keeping score as at that game. They are quite knowledgable. Game. Over.
posted by Ufez Jones at 10:23 PM on October 21, 2004
It's over. That's good. The Cards deserve it. And Clemens deserves to disappear from the baseball landscape like he was kidnapped. I might even watch this WS, even. :D
posted by chicobangs at 10:24 PM on October 21, 2004
Red Sox. Red Birds. And we won't have to hear about Kerry/Bush comparisons. It's all good. Go Sox!
posted by kokaku at 10:26 PM on October 21, 2004
Good series though. Congrats to Phil Garner for doing what he did with that ragtag Astros team. That was one hell of a turnaround. And his designation was given a cool welcome 'round these parts.
posted by Ufez Jones at 10:27 PM on October 21, 2004
Goddamn man, let's hear it for 38 year old Larry "Fucking" Walker. Dude just keeps swinging a bat and good things keep happening for him. Are the Cards the only team in baseball that doesn't have the city name on their road jersey?
posted by NoMich at 10:32 PM on October 21, 2004
This is awesome. Go get em, Cards.
posted by mbd1 at 10:36 PM on October 21, 2004
Are the Cards the only team in baseball that doesn't have the city name on their road jersey? milwaukee, philly, anaheim and baltimore
posted by goddam at 10:50 PM on October 21, 2004
go cards!
posted by goddam at 10:51 PM on October 21, 2004
So the Cards are coming to town? I'm trembling like a french soldier...
posted by DirkDiggler at 11:07 PM on October 21, 2004
Congrats to Phil Garner for doing what he did with that ragtag Astros team. It was pre-ordained. History repeats itself. Jimy "One M" Williams gets canned after leading a team everyone figured to contend to a mid-season .500 (or worse) record, and his replacement leads the slumping team back to a winning record and a League Championship Series appearance that same season. In 1989, it was Cito Gaston replacing Jimy as the Blue Jays manager. The Jays were 12-24 when Jimy got axed, and Cito leads them to finish 89-73 and make the playoffs and the LCS. In 2004, it was Phil Garner replacing Jimy as the Astros manager. The Astros were 44-44 when Jimy got axed, and Phil leads them to finish 92-70 and make the playoffs and the LCS. (Jimy getting canned in Boston and replaced by Joe Kerrigan doesn't count because Boston had a winning record at the time of his firing (65-53))
posted by grum@work at 12:21 AM on October 22, 2004
Hey, we're only 310 comments short of the AL Game 7 thread! Uh, so what did Miguel Cairo have for breakfast yesterday?
posted by chicobangs at 12:36 AM on October 22, 2004
Damn, the Cardinals are good. Not that Houston would have been any easier... Plus, Boston v St. Louis just sounds like a classic pre-1950's game, doesn't it?
posted by Joey Michaels at 04:46 AM on October 22, 2004
Yeah, Boston-St. Louis will be the first series in a while which doesn't have a single team which isn't relocated, expanded, or evil, right?
posted by tieguy at 06:17 AM on October 22, 2004
Thanks for the additional teams, Goddamn. Since I get Os games down here, you would think I'd know that one. Huh. I try not to ingest aluminum.
posted by NoMich at 06:53 AM on October 22, 2004
Boston will be evil as soon as they win a World Series. The obscenity of their payroll is only overlooked because of the even-more gluttonous Yankees. Speaking as a Rangers fan, I can only pretend the Sox are a lovable underdog for so long before reality has to be acknowledged. (The Rangers, however, remain sympathetic in spite of their payroll because of the manifest incompetence in how their money is spent.)
posted by rcade at 07:24 AM on October 22, 2004
I love me some Pujols, but Tony Womack has taken my respect for him to a new level. That guy is a trooper.
posted by mannocchio at 07:34 AM on October 22, 2004
rcade: You're probably right, but the numbers are still pretty spectacularly out of whack. The gap between the Yankees and Sox ($57M!) is bigger than the gap between the Sox and the #13 in payroll Diamonbacks. That gap is bigger than the payroll of 14 entire teams. And it seems likely that gap will get bigger, not worse, next year, since the Yanks will likely eat Brown's $15M and pick up yet another pitcher. The Sox could even reduce their salary load, if they win. If they lose there will only be more pressure to keep Pedro and 'Tek, of course, but not like the Yankees will be under pressure.
posted by tieguy at 12:07 PM on October 22, 2004
Yes it was a squeeze, No it wasn't a suicide squeeze. The bases weren't loaded. Careful who you call "Foxtard". What does the number of runners on base have to do with it? A suicide squeeze is when the runner takes off when or before the pitch is thrown and run all the way home regardless of what the batter does. A safety squeeze is when they come just far enough down the line that they can get back to 3rd safely if the batter misses.
posted by yerfatma at 12:17 PM on October 22, 2004
I stand corrected, hmm. Terms must have changed since I played the game in the early '80s or I learned them wrong in the first place. My understanding of squeeze plays were as follows: Safety squeeze - batter bunts, runner gets large lead and breaks for home with throw to first. Squeeze - Runner breaks for home on pitch batter bunts. Suicide squeeze - Bases loaded, all runners break on the pitch and the batter bunts. Of course I learned all of this from my coaches (they seemed pretty good) and from reading various reference material of the day. I study/follow the game(baseball) quite a bit (1976-present) and have just recently joined spofi. My apologies (in this instance) for the " Foxtard " comment.
posted by oicnub4 at 09:33 AM on October 29, 2004
...hasn't stopped houston from scoring two already though.