I am still amazed how little effort he appeared to have getting back. Like i mentioned before, i questioned using Holland in that game because he could have gone tonight, but i suppose they could still use him out of the bullpen tonight. Ogando has been terrible. Side note: the only thing keeping me from not completely hating the cards winning that game is that I am still a berkman fan and am glad he's doing well.
I don't want to hear any rainout whining. The Rangers had 2 one strike away opportunities last night and absolutely pissed them away. If they lose this Series, it's not going to be because of a rainout. Loved that game last night. Just amazing. Only baseball delivers moments like that...with the anticipation of each pitch drawing out the anxiety...the time to think about the context of the game in history while you're still in the midst of it.
Sorry, I still don't get why you pitch to Berkman. Was the dude behind him *that* good? Seems stupid to pitch around Pujols, and then pitch *to* a guy who is hitting better than Pujols has been the past few weeks.
Berkman's hit only tied the game. Craig's hit would have WON the game had they put Berkman on and then put two runners in scoring position. Craig has been hitting the ball well... not as good as Berkman, but its not like he's Brad Ausmus behind him. The question is, if Feliz was good enough to pitch to Theriot-Pujols-Berkman with a two run lead, why was he not good enough to pitch to Descalso-Jay-Pitcher with a two run lead?
there were more than a few things that had me questioning washington last night. a lot of them about defensive positioning.
But you really think Pujols would've been that much of a danger to make it home on a single from Craig? If you told me I could end the game against Craig, or risk having Lance push it into more innings (with the momentum the way it was going, and the bottom of my order coming up, etc), I take my chances against Craig.
Initially I thought exactly the same thing. In fact I even told my wife as they were walking Pujols, that they would probably walk Berkman too. The only reason I see not to do it, is you put the winning run on base and Allen Craig at the plate who has been pretty good in these situations during the series. It is one of those hindsight is 20/20 things. If they walk Berkman and Craig doubles home 3 runs the game is over and we're asking why did they walk Berkman. Immediately after it happened I saw several Facebook posts asking why they walked Pujols. That to tbh, was a no brainer, but shows whatever move they make that doesn't work out is going to be questioned. It's the nature of the game.
My first thought was, Lance is going to tie this game, no doubt. Admittedly, I don't know crap about Craig, but seriously, you're one out away from winning the world series. Put your nuts on the dresser. If Allen friggin' Craig beats you, you deserved to lose. Berkman, on the other hand, is too dangerous in that situation IMO.
Yes, Pujols would have scored from 2nd on any base hit... especially where the defense was playing. You don't intentionally put the winning run into scoring position. As it is, the game stayed tied and the Rangers still had a chance to win it. If Craig gets a bloop hit, and wins the game, there's just cause to fire Washington after game 6 and have Nolan manage game 7. Washington's bigger blunder was his pitching decision that inning. Why not save Oliver to at least turn Berkman around. Go with Feliz or Feldman to start the inning. Just a total idiot decision... that seemed like he was thinking about game 7 when game 6 was right there for the taking.
Did anyone see the stat floating around about last 8 home teams have won Game 7 when being played at home? Good luck, Rangers. lol
http://mlb.sbnation.com/2011/10/28/2520194/world-series-game-6-rangers-manager-ron-washington Then there's the moment that everyone was talking about. Top of the fifth inning. Right-hander Fernando Salas is pitching for the Cardinals, and he's already given up a run, pushing the Rangers to a 4-3 lead. There were two outs, with a runner on third base and Mike Napoli up next. That's when Tony La Russa did something really foolish, which (fortunately for him) was quickly forgotten: La Russa ordered Salas to walk Napoli. This was foolish because La Russa had the platoon advantage (Salas vs. Napoli) and lost it when Washington tabbed David Murphy to pinch-hit for Craig Gentry. La Russa didn't have a counter, and Salas accidentally walked Murphy. At that point, Washington had a number of options. His pitcher, Colby Lewis, was due next. But Washington still had left-handed-hitting Endy Chavez on his bench. He still had left-handed-hitting Mitch Moreland on his bench. He still had switch-hitting Esteban German on his bench. I'm not sure, but I think I might have seen Oddibe McDowell and Pete O'Brien hanging around, too. Washington had a different idea. He let Colby Lewis bat for himself. Twitter did not approve ... Joe Sheehan: You have a completely fresh bullpen and a chance to break the game open. Tell me more about his "gut," folks. He's blowing this Dave Cameron: That was one of the worst managerial decisions in World Series history. Curt Schilling: What in the hell is happening... Can't decide the worse move, Lewis hitting or Holland warming???? Old Hoss Radbourn: The Cardinals nicely dodged R. Washington's Dumb Grenade. Jim Margalus: That's the best way to explain it. // RT @AnswerDave: Why would you pinch hit for a HITTER in that inning but not a pitcher?
I doubt the defense would've been playing the way they were if Berkman had been walked. But then again, apparently Washington is slow in the brain area, so who knows.
This is part of my problem. He had the OF'ers up against the wall, nearly in a situation where a SINGLE would have won the game. That was inexplicable to me.
Only a casual Baseball fan but damn that was amazing last night. Have to say, living up here in Dallas, the only thing more annoying than Mavs fans are all these new found Rangers fans that have sprung up like weeds over the last 2 years..... Hope Berkman gets his ring tonight!
I know but Holland could have started and pitched more innings. Now he is just relegated to a reliever rather than a starter. As for the walking Pujols to get to Berkman, I also thought that they should have just pitched to Pujols since Berkman was so hot that night. I'm wondering how Napoli is going to be. That ankle is going to have to be real stiff. I thought he broke it initially, can't believe he kept playing
Holland did his job. Came into a tie game with men on and got out of a jam, got a 3 run lead, and pitched 2 more innings (getting out Pujols and Berkman) giving up 1 run to get them to the 9th. Not sure if the Rangers have anybody else in the bullpen capable of doing that last night. The one run he gave up? HR to Craig. Guess he was seeing the ball well last night as well. Maybe they should have allowed Pujols to beat them... ah well, there's always tonight for that.
There were tweets from sources... will try and find them momentarily. Of course MLB isn't going to spell it out that way in their own website's report. A similar case was the ridiculous Hurricane Ike aftermath, in which Arlington was available to host the Astros/Cubs. However, Selig and his "team" decided against it, citing imminent rain and destruction. (The forecast was a 30% chance for a stray thunderstorm, and no rain fell the entire day. Sunny and beautiful - I lived there at the time.) So, conveniently, the games ended up in Milwaukee... to the benefit of one of MLB's storied franchises. It was misting during the game, at its worst. They wouldn't have had to start and stop. There's a reason a guy with multiple major arm surgeries doesn't start much on three days rest. The results usually aren't pretty.
JimBowdenESPNxm JIM BOWDEN The TV Ratings of 13.8 in Game 6 is phenomenal considering those numbers don't include fans that are watching the game on their computers
Eh, to move the winning run (Pujols) into scoring position and to put yourself in position where a walk ties the game... I can see why Washington didn't. That would be one hell of a ballsy move.
