Oct 16, 2009

Game 2 nostalgia

Today reminded me of Octobers from my youth. I'd scramble off the bus, pop open my notebook and do my homework while watching playoff baseball.

(The Giants Jeffrey Leonard, No. 00, with the hands-down home run trot, winning the 1987 NLCS MVP despite losing to the Cardinals particularly sticks out for some reason.)

Anyway, it was odd but definitely interesting to have an afternoon playoff game. I watched the first couple innings at work, listened to a couple on the ride home and then watched the last few with Christine at home.

The good feelings evaporated over our dinner (leftover Chinese food). After Pedro Martinez was vintage Pedro - two hits, no walks and three strikeouts in seven shutout innings - things fell apart with the Phillies holding a 1-0 lead over the Dodgers.

Chan Ho Park, who surprised me with a shutdown inning in Thursday night's win, came in and gave up a leadoff single (should have been an error on Pedro Feliz). They got nobody out on the following sacrifice bunt. Then, on a surefire double play, Chase Utley threw the ball about 10 feet from Ryan Howard, allowing the tying run to score.

With Jim Thome pinch-hitting, Scott Eyre came in. After the announcers lamented that Thome was 0-7 in his career against Eyre, he singled.

Ryan Madson came in - walked a batter, struck out a batter.

J.A. Happ came in and walked in a run.

Chad Durbin got a pop out to end the inning.

Is this any way to run a pitching staff?

So after two games, the Phillies won a shaky Cole Hamels start, 8-6, on Thursday but wasted a dominant Pedro start, 2-1, on Friday. I have a feeling this series is going to be longer and wilder than I originally thought.

I can't imagine how Christine is going to hold up; she seems to think they're done. But I know if they win Sunday, she'll say the Phillies won't go back to Dodger Stadium this year.

AL notes: The stupid Yankees lead the stupid Angels 4-1 in the 8th inning of Game 1. ... Tim Wakefield's surgery is scheduled for Wednesday. ... The Red Sox want Takashi Saito back, but not at $6 million. ... No more extended God Bless America at Yankee Stadium as Ronan Tynan proved to be not the embodiment of America.
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1 comment:

Matty said...

Why did Manuel pull Martinez after completing 7 shutout innings? He allowed only 2, count em, 2 hits during that span with no walks. On 87 pitches.

During his post game press conference, Manuel said that it was hot out and Martinez hadn't thrown in 17 days. WHAT???????? In the last two games that Martinez pitched, Manuel allowed him to throw a combined 150+ innings.

Here you have Martinez throwing a gem. The Dodgers are completely baffled against him. You know as a certainty that today, right now, in THIS GAME, your starting pitcher is getting the job done. You also know that your bullpen is consistently demonstrating that they are suspect at best.

So what does our genius of a manager do? He pulls the guy that he KNOWS is getting the job done, today, right now, in THIS GAME, and brings in the guys that he knows from prior and recent experience aren't. And what happens? Exactly what the rest of us knew was going to happen. In that one inning, Manuel had to go through 5, count em, 5 relief pitchers. And along the way those 5 pitchers gave up more hits and runs than Martinez did in the previous 7 innings.

And no, I don't want to hear about Feliz or Utley. You just don't pull your starting pitcher when he's shutting out the other team on only 2 hits. You just don't.

Instead of heading back home with a 2-0 series lead, it's all even and now it's a 5 game series.

They say that on average over the course of an entire season, that the manager wins or loses 5-10 games himself because of his managerial decisions during the game.

Manuel lost this one!

October 17, 2009 at 10:39 AM

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