RBI Craig 6-1 Astros. 2 men on. 2 outs. bottom of the 8th. Top of the ninth coming up.....Let's go 'Stros!!! Finish this one off!! Then we are tied in first!!!!
Glad to see my confidence is rubbing off... LOL. Actually, the announcers just gave out a stat listing the W-L record of the Astros in games in which Lidge-Dotel-Wagner have been in. Keep in mind these games are primarily save situations, save for the occasional extra-inning game. The record?... 24-10. Now, that basically translates out to having a 20-game winner with a very low ERA coming in to pitch the game. Since we all are (even me) more enamored with a starting pitcher's W-L and ERA than we are with a bullpen's, lets just keep that frame of reference in mind when Jimy decides to bring these guys into the game. (What was that nickname for them I asked for earlier in the year... Cerberus?) ESPECIALLY when its Redding-Villone-or Robertson on the mound. Good game all-around tonight... Sean Casey deserves playoff money from us for what he did (and he was really busting his ass all night... diving into the stands with 2 outs in th 9th). Ensberg was also huge... and he'll start again tommorow with Franklin on the mound. I don't know about Saturday, but expect Blum to get the start against Sheets on Sunday... he's hit him well, and he's hitting well overall recently (just a heads up to whoever said Ensberg should be starting from here on out... prepare to be dissapointed). If we win out, I could care less what the Cubs do... cause they would have to pitch S. Estes or J. Cruz next monday to face Oswalt. They could bring back Zambrano on three-days rest, but he's been rocked his last two starts... and short rest wouldn't be helping him there. I'll take my chances.
Houston Astros Morgan Ensberg is congratulated by teammate Jeff Bagwell after hitting his second home run of the game against the Milwaukee Brewers, in the seventh inning in Minute Maid Park in Houston, September 25, 2003.
I've turned the other cheek for ESPN, since I know the general public wants the Cubs in the playoffs... but their bias is starting to tick me off. Check out the blurb on the front page of ESPN.com "Florida eliminated the Phillies from NL Wild-card contention, but Houston remains alive for one more day." What??? Why even mention the dumb wild-card race when we're tied for first place now... and obviously, there's not one mention of the Cubs losing (of course, if we lost tonight, it'd be up there before the final pitch was thrown). I know this will change later in the night... but the initial bias is sickening. At least they're giving the Marlins their due... what a team THEY are.
While Ensberg has yet to get a hit off of Sheets, Blum is only hitting .235 against him. Blum is also 3 for his last 27, including an 0 for 8 against SF. I would not call that "hitting well overall recently".
Well NOBODY hit well against SF. Blum had a good game with the bat in the last Astros game against the Brewers and Sheets (they lost that final game of a four-game set in Milwaukee). He also hit pretty well in St. Louis in game 1... that 3 for 27 is a combination of all the Astros poor hitting, starting with that 13-inning affair last Saturday in STL. If Ensberg shows up big tommorow night again, then Jimy will start him Saturday vs. Obermuller (sp?), but Blum normally gets the start against power RH pitchers.
It's been revised to............... Red Sox: In. Marlins: Closer. Cubs and Astros: Tied. Boston nabbed the AL wild-card spot by routing Baltimore. Florida eliminated the Phillies on the NL side. A Houston win and a Chicago loss has the NL Central deadlocked.
Thought this was interesting on how to resolve three-way ties at the end of the season in determining who gets in to the playoffs: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2001680000_horn31.html So if both the 'Stros and the Cubs win out, and Florida somehow loses the rest of their games, we all finish tied, and we are then guaranteed TWO chances to play our way in. Weee.
If we do end up tied with the Cubs, does anyone know why MLB doesn't use head-to-head record as the tiebreaker like they do in the NBA?
That NBA rule is flawed. If they are 1-1 against each other, it goes to like best record vs. division or other certain opponents. I forget which. MLB rules just make more sense. I can't give you a specific reason why though.
Because the NBA is boring. Baseball has always settled division races this way... especially since baseball is not a sport where playing an extra game is an especially gruelling tactic and it really doesn't put that team at a competitive disadvantage, like in football. (besides possibly burning one of their best pitchers.) Also, more than half the teams in the NBA get into the playoffs... a playoffs where the division winners are essentially meaningless. While baseball's version has been watered down due to the wild card, winning the division still MEANS SOMETHING... its a symbol that at the end of a long and grueling 162 game season, you were the best in your field. Why would you want that to be determined by some dumb little tiebreaker?
