Saturday, October 04, 2008
Saturday Night Round-Up
Update 10:26
All right. With my post tonight only a few minutes old and the computer still on, I felt compelled to join in the fray as Philly has two on and no outs down three in the 9th.
Victorino just dunked a soft base hit to left to load the bases. Yikes.
1st pitch to Pedro Feliz: the Brewers turn a 5-4-3 . . . Check that: Victorino went into 2nd standing for some reason, and the umps called interference after the fact. After huddling for a couple of minutes, the umps are deciding to send the runners back to 2nd and 3rd, taking a Philadelphia run off the board. Two outs, still 4-1. Strange play.
The Cubs and Dodgers are underway on TNT, soon to be switched over. A dribbler back to the mound off the bat of Ruiz and the Brewers' season remains alive. Game 4 is the early game tomorrow, 1:07 first pitch, with the probables not listed yet on MLB.com.
Two-out double by Derek Lee in the top of the 1st and the Cubs have a chance to score right off the bat.
And a quick check confirmed what I was 99.999% positive of: Pittsburgh did not sell out Three Rivers Stadium for Game 7 of the NLCS in 1991. I don't know what full capacity was for that stadium at that time, but looking at the attendance figures, it looks like games 1 & 2 were sellouts.
Game 1: 57,347
Game 2: 57,533
Game 6: 54,508
Game 7: 46,932
That's a remarkable drop-off, and I don't remember what the explanation was, if one one was ever offered.
Cubs strand two in the 1st.
A couple of notes about that series, which I only vaguely remember; I do remember Brian Hunter's home run in the top of the 1st which got Atlanta off and running to a 4-0 victory in Game 7. There were three 1-0 games in the series, which sounds like something out of 1963. There was also a 3-2 game, so pitching was the order of the day.
Dave O'Brien was the play-by-play radio announcer for the Braves. Currently he does work on the Red Sox radio network, in addition to his work with ESPN. According to Wikipedia, this was his final call in the penultimate game of that series:
"The kick and the 0-2 pitch...here's a bouncer to first, fielded by Hunter, he races to the bag! And the Atlanta Braves have won the National League championship! Strap on your dancing shoes, we're headed for the big ball, Atlanta!"That sounds like a scripted closing line . . . but oh well. I suspect most announcers come up with a general idea of how they're going to punctuate a moment like that before it happens. O'Brien's grown on me. He has always come across as a no-frills, close-to-the-vest type of an announcer. Maybe a little dry, maybe a little bland. However, his radio work is top notch. Brings a reporter's eye to the proceedings, and delivers a succinct, clear delivery of the action. Very solid.
Original Post
The playoffs to this point have the feel of a 1st day of the NCAA basketball tournament in which all the higher seeds wins. Drama has been sucked dry to this point as every series is 2-0 going into the 3rd game. Now the Cubs being down 2-0 is a big story, but there is a lot of work to be done before that series becomes interesting again.The Brewers are currently up on the Phillies 2-0 in the 4th, plating both runs in the opening frame.
In order, here's my take on the likelihood, from least likely to most likely, of each series getting back to a game 5.
1. Cubs-Dodgers. I just think public opinion has now swung too far the other way; I haven't heard one commentator giving the Cubs a chance of getting back to Chicago. If Harden's shoulder is okay, they have a great shot tonight, and Ted Lilly is a steady eddie who should be able to pitch under the pressure of a must-win in Game 4.
2. Rays-White Sox. I think Tampa is going to have trouble getting Game 3, especially if Danks pitches like he did on Tuesday, but I'd be somewhat surprised if Chicago wins both home games.
3. Phillies-Brewers. I can't see Milwaukee winning both games here, unless the Phillies' bats just don't show up at all. They haven't at all halfway through Game 3.
4. Sox-Angels. I'm tired of the Anaheim Angels. Or the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim or whatever marketing positioned moniker you want to lay on them. Enough. I give this team credit for winning the World Series in 2002; it was a great run. A few major pieces of that team are still there (Scioscia, Lackey, Rodriguez, Anderson), and they'll forever deserve credit for getting a ring. But my patience has worn thin with them failing again and again to give the Red Sox a run for their money in the post-season. I will be shocked if this series sees the light of California again.
Update: Brewers now up 4-1 in the 8th, and Miller Park truly looking like a place that hasn't seen post-season baseball come through town in 26 years. Great shots of the crowd by the TBS crew, and it looks like they're enjoying every minute of it. I didn't feel that way about the Tampa crowd, as I believe it's comprised of a lot of johnny-come-latelys. This Milwaukee crowd is different, as I think the crowd would be in Kansas City; I'm hesitant to say Pittsburgh as I remember them not selling out a Game 7 of a National League Championship Series many moons ago.
I'm going to try and make it through the upcoming Cubs-Dodgers game, but my track record has been bad on the late games this week. I've watched very little of the Sox-Angels series, which is probably just as well.
