Alberta Finds His Groove

Nyjer Morgan would be proud, if he were only here at Game 3 of the World Series.  But his team was the previous casualty of the St. Louis Cardinals juggernaut, who are plowing through Titanics like an iceberg in the night. 

"That's the second time he's done that."

Albert Pujols, or "Alberta" as Morgan had referenced him during the NLCS ages ago, cashed in his tickets at the World Series Whallopujolsza for three dingers, two singles, six rbi's and five runs as the Cardinals hammered the Rangers and took Game 3 from them, 16-7.

It was a splendid night for stat mongers who immediately hit the World Series record books to see Pujols tied Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson for homers in a game, now leads total bases in one game (14), and probably two or three other records that we struggle to overlook.  We missed both of Ruth's appearances in '26 and '28, and The Machine is no spectacle like Reggie Jackson was in '77, but on this night he was still suitably impressive. 

"They're doing fine without you, Blue."

Other than that, it was a bomb-fest, as starters for both teams got ran in their fourth innings, followed by a reliever pitching for two and the rest going for an inning each.  There was an inexplicably blown call in the fourth inning when first baseman Mike Napoli tagged the batsman running up the line but the runner was called safe.  While this officiating gaffe opened the gates for four Cardinal runs, there was a sense of destiny in this night, and frankly we found it refreshing to watch the Rangers get bludgeoned at their own game in their own ballpark.

"Get out...and work on that arm..."

During the game a fan threw a baseball onto the field in the general direction of the St. Louis left fielder as he was settling under a fly ball.  The catch was nonetheless completed and the fan and his party were removed from the stands, but not for fan interference, as the ball must be touched by a fan in order to call interference.  Simply throwing an object onto the field is grounds for dismissal but we attribute it to Texas pride and the offensively lame throw made by the fan.  We had never seen that before and hope to never see such a weak toss again from either team or any other fan.


We do hope we get seven games in the World Series this year. 

"If I can just...oh boy..."

Jason Motte Gets His Apples Sauced

Yes we know it's a stupid pun but all the real sports writers are out getting paid, so you get us.

The point is, anyway, that last night's closer could not repeat the glory tonight, just as manager Tony La Russa, the wise old sage playing his brilliance out on a baseball diamond last night, looked like a guy trying to light a match at the beach.  He eventually got the cigar lit, but it dropped into the surf.

That is to say that his 1-0 lead was snuffed out when his bullpen finally let him down, giving up two runs in the top of the ninth inning, his defense got sketchy including a rare moment of fielding ambivalence by Albert Pujols.  Neftali Feliz blew smoke to close out the Cardinals and the series-evening 2-1 score was booked.

Actually, we don't get the brilliance part that a lot of those high-paid sports guys were talking about.  We see that Tony pulls a lot of levers with line-ups and match-ups and positioning and we see that he wins a lot, but for our money, it's a lot of hair-pulling for, well we can't say nothing since La Russa ranks as the third-winningest manager of all-time, it just seems fidgety and compulsive.

We know it's a stretch.

Nick Punto, who was called out for running out of the baseline around third when he finally came back into the stadium, failed to execute a bunt in the bottom of the ninth inning and eventually struck out, helping to foil La Russa's will.  Relievers Arthur Rhodes and Lance Lynn also contributed to the St. Louis vacuum that allowed Texas to score a pair quite handily in a game they struggled to make contact off Cardinal starter Jaime Garcia. 

The Rangers have a knack for one of their guys coming out with a monster game at various times her in the playoffs: Beltre had his three-dinger game, Nelson Cruz destroyed the Tigers, and tonight Elvis Andrus and Ian Kinsler lit the infield up with two dynamic and momentum-killing plays, diving and scooping and flinging or shoveling but in any case demoralizing.

There's always room for pie.

Friday is a travel day and the Cardinals will ponder the home-field advantage they lost while they gear up for warmer weather in Nolan's backyard in what is now a best-of-five series.

Will Jason Motte be apple pie or applesauce in the Lone Star state?
As they are certainly not saying in the St. Louis clubhouse, "Pie or die."

Motor City Runs Out Of Gas In Texas

Well, Tigers fans, the dream is over. Your Justin Verlander could not save you. Mags was not around to help. Papa Verde was burnt. Miggy, Ingy, and VMart were not enough.

Detroit fans are more sick of Nelson Cruz than they are of Brian Wilson and Taco Bell. They prayed for rain. But the Rangers hit too hard and they pitched too good. 

Many fans wonder about odd choices. Why be throwing over to first? Why send that runner tagging up on third on a fly ball? Why not take that pitcher out?  Why not walk that guy and then pitch to that guy?

Down, and now out

But those questions are meaningless really since in the overall picture as the answer to all of the Detroit Tigers' questions were answered by Adrian Beltre, Mike Napoli, and most emphatically by ALCS MVP Nelson Cruz.  Derek Holland and C.J. Wilson had a few responses of their own.  Overall it became deafening, like the hush at Comerica Park.

Would walk a mile for a lucky strike

It was a good year for the Detroit Tigers.  They commanded their division handily and looked scrappy in their brawl with the New York Yankees in the ALDS.  But again, they just didn't have all the tools in their box to finish the job, sadly, much like their stalled vehicle in the 2006 World Series.  They'll have some work to do this off-season, but they'll be back in the mix next year.  They survived the loss of Curtis Granderson better than the team who got Granderson, but they need stronger pitching and bigger bats.  Smarter bats would help -- the Tigers helped their opponents by swinging at pitches outside and away and couldn't lay off the junk sliders.  They were predictable from our Barcaloungers, we don't understand what they saw.  Apparently it was pretty good.

Catch two tigers by a ...

Actually, to a large extent, their pitching and offense would look better if they weren't playing against their own defense.  While the number of men left on base is a staggering total, the number of dropped balls and bad throws is mind-blowing, considering any thought of championship trophies.  The Idiots of 2004 may have been idiots, but theyheld their leads and got 27 outs more than anyone else did, and that's all there is to it.

The Rangers?  They're off to finish a job of their own, returning to the World Series for the second consecutive year to take on another out-of-the-blue National League champion. 

Cruz Control

Nelson Cruz not only tied Game 2 with a home run in the 7th inning against Detroit starter Max Sherzer, but won the game in the bottom of the 11th with a grand slam of Ryan Perry, giving the Texas Rangers a 2-0 ALCS lead.

The Tigers, now without Delmon Young and Magglio Ordonez due to injuries, come back home to Comerica Park to see what they can do about slowing the Arlington juggernaut.

Jim Leyland sent Sherzer back out in the 7th for what looked to be one final batter when the Tigers led 3-2; Brad Penny and David Benoit were warming up in the bullpen.  However, Cruz belted his solo homer and the two teams wrestled with the tie for four more innings.

Texas reliever Scott Feldman picked up after starter Derek Holland in the third inning and the bullpen carried the game, with Mike Adams picking up the win for his work in the 11th.

The Tigers left bases loaded in the 2nd and 9th innings and in total left 13 men on base, and were 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position, the one being Ryan Raburn's 3rd-inning three-run shot.  The Rangers were 3 for 13 RISP, but it was a big 3 for 13. 

Second-guessers were already at work combing over the debris before the game was over, questioning Sherzer's presence in the 7th inning and third base coach Gene Lamont holding up Ramon Santiago in the 9th.  However, Sherzer was pitching a good game and still looked good coming out of the 6th, and Santiago was held at third with two out and Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez due up.  Of course with a base open obviously Cabrera would be walked and Martinez would be the intended out. 

Pitching looks like the name of these games and Texas' ability to slam is the trump card.  Team batting averages for the series are not monstrous, Detroit dragging a .208 and Texas wielding a less-than-daunting .246, and both teams fed by two or three players offensively.  Only three Tigers are batting above .300 -- Raburn (.333), Kelly (.667), and Santiago (.500) -- supported by Cabrera and Peralta averages of .250.  On the Rangers side only two -- Beltre (.444) and Cruz (.571) -- are north of .300, with Napoli having cooled down to .286, follwed by Josh Hamilton at .222.

Even with at the very least two games left, Jim Leyland may be buying himself not a carton, but a case of Marlboros to get through this series. 

Robin Ventura Named Chicago White Sox Manager

We forgot to mention that last week the White Sox announced Robin Ventura would replace Ozzie Guillen as their manager in 2012.  We haven't heard nor just really figured out why.

Nolan Ryan said it was a good hire.  We imagine it's because he knows Ventura can take a beating, and so will the White Sox next year. 

We applaud the move because we like to run this picture whenever we get a legitimate opportunity. 

Rainy Days In Texas Nights

In an attempt to avoid the rain-delays of yesterday's Game 1, tonight's ALCS Game 2 has been postponed until tomorrow.

It's been a heck of a post-season so we welcome the rest.  However just once we would like to see Justin Verlander pitch a full playoff game on his scheduled night.



image:  campus sports connection

Yes, It Really Was That Crazy

They dueled it out for 10 innings, but the Milwaukee Brewers, unquestionably led by Nyjer Morgan, outlasted the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-2 and moved forward to the NLCS. 

We expected a good series, but this was a killer Game 5.  The Diamondbacks had a great season and we fully expect to see them in the playoff hunt next year, however it is the Brewers who seem to be battle-ready this season now.