one thing we HAVE to do better tomorrow is get base runners HOME, they were awful at that tonight. and i have mentioned that i HATE russ springer?...
yeah i don't think they should've bunted. they're probably not that good at it. expecting some sort of forward contact against a guy with a 90-92 mph fastball isn't too much to ask.
Although we lost, I'm not worried. However, if we drop the next 3, then I would start being concerned.
I agree that we didn't lose because of the umps, but that pitch was a HUGE momentum shifter. There's a big difference for both the pitcher and the batter between a 3-1 count and a 2-2 count with two on and nobody out.
All I could think of when Bagwell was up was the scene from the Natural where Roy Hobbs hammers it deep. I was hoping Bags would do the same...... But Bags was not the failure, Morgan wears the goat horns tonight...he was AWFUL.. DD
For those saying that Ensberg/Lamb should have bunted, in almost 900 ABs this year, they have extactly 0 sacrafice bunts between them. Personally, my gut tells me Ensberg is going to have a huge game or two before the series is over. Hes slumbing ..happens to the best of hitters.
I don't think it's as simple as that. You can't ask Ensberg or Lamb to bunt in that situation, cause well, they can't bunt. Plus Ensberg has been your top RBI machine (despite his playoff struggles). You have to let your top run producer try and make contact in that situation. Now Lamb, yes Burke could have replaced him and tried the squeeze. But as has been said, if Garner did that, Ozzie could have gone to Jenks sooner. My regret was that Bagwell didn't come to the plate before those two, cause he would have made contact on those pitches. Anyways, I'm not near as scared of the Sox as I was the Cards and even Braves. With our resilience and Andy on the mound tomorrow and Oswalt behind him, I still feel confident and calm in the good guys.
I said this during the NLCS and I'll mention it again. Ensberg hasn't been his normal self since his wrist injury late in the season. And while that wrist may be better, he could be overcompensating. Now I don't know if that is 100% the cause of his problems late, but I'm sure that has something to do with it.
Why can't they bunt? Isn't that a fundemental part of playing baseball? Garner is known for small ball.. if he would have stuck with it.. it would have been a tighter game. Hell.. just make contact at least. Sorry for my rant... I am just frustrated because I live in Chicago and I won't be able to take it with all my coworkers ragging on my on Monday.
White Sox offense doesn't scare me. We have Pettite and Oswalt next along with Backe at home. I just hope Clemens is good to make his next start, but I feel Wandy or Astacio can give us a pretty good game if need be. Anyway, these are the types of games that Astros can win and I am still pretty confident we can take the series. Tomorrow's game will be very crucial. It'll definitely allow the team to play more loose if they come out of Chicago at 1-1. I STILL BELIEVE!!! GO STROS!!!
