Movin’ On Up

Thursday we saw two game fives, and two game fours that lead to game fives yesterday.  One team made history and one did not.

Thursday the San Francisco Giants made history with their 6-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds.  Never before in National League history had a team come back from being down 0-2 in a series to win.  Giants did just that.  With ace Matt Cain on the mound for the Giants, they were in a position to shock the Reds and put themselves into the baseball history books.  Deadlocked at zero going into the 5th inning, the Giants bats came alive, highlighted by the grand slam off the bat of Buster Posey.  The Reds did their best to come back, including a run in the 9th inning, but in the end, came up short.  So while the Reds are out, they should be proud of what they did this season.  They went from being near the bottom of their division to fighting with the Nationals for the best record in all of baseball.  They played amazing baseball this season and I’m very proud of what they did.  I can’t wait to see what they go next season.  Congratulations to the team across the bay, the Giants.

This side of the bay, things didn’t go as well.  Going into Tuesday’s games, the Giants and the Oakland A’s (my beloved A’s) were both down 0-2, and both teams battled back to play in game fives.  Sadly, the A’s weren’t able to do what the Giants did, and the Detroit Tigers are moving on to the ALCS.  After game four, I thought, as did many A’s fan, the A’s were going to win.  The magic in winning in game three bled into game four and we all thought it would continue to bleed into game five.  Justin Verlander, however, pitched like, well, Justin Verlander.  The issue I had was the strike zone.  I had pretty good seats last night and you could see pitch locations extremely well.  Verlander had a rather large strike zone and Parker did not.  Pitches that were being called balls when the Tigers were batting, were strikes when the A’s were batting.  I get that Verlander is going to get some of the close calls, but every call is hard to watch.  This was a huge playoff game, the umpire needed to be a little better with his ball/strike calls.  And yes, I do realize that I sound like I’m whining about things not going my way.  All that said, the A’s struggled in the batter’s box all series long.  It’s hard to score runs when you’re not hitting, but it’s not helpful when you’re allowing runs to score.  The A’s on Thursday played sloppy in the field.  Derek Norris, I can’t even begin to understand what happened.  There was three stolen bases with throws that were nowhere near getting the runner out.  Then being the plate, he seemed lost and like he had never caught before.  He wasn’t blocking balls in the dirt properly, and at times had no clue where the ball was, when it was at his feet.  It was painful to watch.  Going into the top half of the 7th inning, the A’s still had a shot at winning.  Then everything went downhill.  The Tigers put four runs on the board and suddenly the A’s found themselves on the wrong side of a 6-0 score.  Congratulations to the Detroit Tigers.

However, the best thing happened when the game ended.  While the Tigers celebrated on the field, the A’s fan showed their love.  The stadium erupted into chants of “Let’s Go Oakland” and it was amazing.  The players came out of the dugout and embraced each other and tipped their caps to the fans.  I was moved, and still am.  Yesterday was a hard day for me.  The realization that the season, this amazing and magically season, was over.  I still can’t believe it.

In New York yesterday the other storybook story in baseball met the same fate at the A’s.  The New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 3-1 with C.C. Sabathia going the distance for his first post season complete game.  The O’s forced a game five after winning in 13 innings on Thursday night, but last night their magic fell short.  Much like the A’s, the O’s bats struggled with only one regular, Nate McLouth, hit over .215 in the series.  In the final three games of the series, the Orioles were 3 for 22 with runners in scoring position.  Another big development in game five was who wasn’t in the line up- Alex Rodriguez.  A-Rod had been struggling all series and in game three was pitch hit for by Raul Ibanez, which ended up being a rather good thing considering the outcome of his at bats.  The Orioles should be extremely proud of themselves.  After fourteen consecutive losing seasons, the Orioles not only put together a winning season, they went to the playoffs after battling with the Yankees for first place in their division.  That is something to be proud of, no matter how the season ended.  Congratulations to the New York Yankees.

With so many surprises this season, last night held yet another surprise, and it was a big one.  Owners of the best record in baseball, the Washington Nationals pulled of a win on Thursday to force a game five against the wild card winners, and reigning World Champs, the St. Louis Cardinals.  I can’t believe what I saw.  After adding an insurance run in the 8th inning, it seemed that the Nats were moving on to the next round, but if the A’s taught me anything this season, it’s that the game isn’t over until the final out if made.  Carlos Beltran lead off the inning with a double before Storen would get two quick outs.  However, things took a turn for the worst when Storen couldn’t find the strike zone.  Before you knew it, the Cards had the bases loaded before a shot up the middle hit off the glove of Ian Desmond, plating two runs to tie the game.  The next batter, hit a ball to right field scoring two more runs to put the Cardinals up by two.  I couldn’t believe it.  The Nationals lost the game and the series.  After having the best record in baseball, including a 21 game winner in Gio Gonzalez, and making the post season for the first time in Nationals history and first time in D.C. since 1937, their season is over.  The Cardinals are moving on to the NLCS to take on the Giants and are looking to be the first team since the Yankees in 2000 to win back to back World Series.  Congratulations to the Cardinals, and first time manager Mike Mathney.

Playoff Wednesday

If you’re a baseball fan, today is a very good day.  With the Giants and A’s both avoiding sweeps last night, there is now four games scheduled for today.

The first game today is at 1pm ET with the St. Louis Cardinals at the Washington Nationals.  The series is tied at one game a piece, with the Cards bats coming to life on Monday in game two of the series.  I picked the Nationals to make it to the World Series based on how good they have been all season, but these first two games have me worried.  Sure, the Nationals won game one, but Gio Gonzalez was more than a little shaky with seven walks in five innings, including five in one inning to walk in a run.  Since I’m on the topic of starting pitchers with the Nationals, do you think they’re missing Stephen Strasburg yet?  With all of the controversy in shutting him down for the season, the playoffs were the top question.  It was bad enough that they shut him down for the season, but now to be in the playoffs without one of your Aces is risky.  Especially against the defending World Champions.  Holy cow!  I just checked the score of the game- the Cards just won 8-0.  WOW!

Game two today is the San Francisco Giants at the Cincinnati Reds in game four.  The sweep is off the table for the Reds, but they still just need one win in order to advance to the NLDS.  The Giants on the brink of elimination battled the Reds into extra innings before pulling off the win.  The Reds starter, Homer Bailey, was looking like a playoff pitcher, unfortunately the fielding behind him was less than stellar.  The Giants scored their first run of the game without getting a single hit, and scored the winning run on an error by Scott Rolen.  Today, Barry Zito is on the mound for the Giants, and he brings lots of post season experience from his time with the Oakland Athletics, and is looking to tie the series up at two game a piece.  The Reds, however, have Mike Leake going for them.  Leake wasn’t even on the NLDS roster for the Reds, but with Johnny Cueto official hurt and unable to pitch, the Reds got permission from MLB to add Leake to the roster.  That’s a blow to the Reds, especially if and when they do beat the Giants to move on.  I’m looking forward to seeing how this game goes for sure.

The third game today is the Baltimore Orioles at the New York Yankees.  These two teams have been battling it out with each other for first place in the American League East for all of September.  The first two games of the series was exciting to watch, and I loved seeing Oriole Park at Camden Yards packed.  The O’s have struggled the last several years, and the fan attendance has dropped, so it’s nice to see the fans coming out to support their team.  With the series moving to New York for the final three games, the pressure is on.  It’s hard to win on the road, but going into New York and Yankees Stadium is a lot of added pressure.  The O’s have played well in New York though, so it’s going to be interesting to see how things go.  I think this series is going five games, with all of them being close.  While the Yankees have the experience of winning in the post season, they have struggled in recent years.  Plus the Orioles are on FIRE this season.  I love watching these two teams go at it and can’t wait to see how things turn out.

The final game tonight is the Detroit Tigers at the Oakland Athletics and yours truly will be there in person to root on the A’s.  The catch made by Coco Crisp last night was stellar to say the least.  Does it make up for the one he missed in Detroit? No, but it almost did.  Brett Anderson, what can you say about that performance other than AMAZING!!!!  I love Anderson and wish that he would have been healthy all season, but I’m so glad he was able to pitch last night and throw up zeros like that.  If the A’s can get another pitching performance like that out of AJ Griffin tonight, which he’s fully capable of, the A’s have a high chance of winning.  The only thing in their way is Max Scherzer, mister strikeout.  I love Max.  He’s a super nice guy, and a skilled pitcher that’s finally getting some credit.  The A’s have set a new franchise record for strikeouts this year so they need to be careful tonight, otherwise they will be in serious trouble.  In his last start against the A’s, Scherzer had to leave the game in the 3rd inning and missed his next scheduled start, so the A’s have that on their side.  I hope the A’s can win, and not just because I’m an A’s fan, but because the season they had, for it to end now would be so sad.  No matter what, I’m stoked and having a blast.  Let’s Go Oak-Land!!

Clinched

Today was a big day in the Nation League and the post season.  Earlier today the Cincinnati Reds clinched the first playoff spot of the season with their win, and sweep of the Chicago Cubs.  Also joining the clinching party today was the Washington Nationals with their win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Cincinnati, clinched a playoff berth, and have a magic number of two over the St. Louis Cardinals to win the National League Central.  With their win today, the Reds are 91-59 for the best record for the Reds since 1999, and are just half a game behind the Washington Nationals for the best record in the National League.  I’m pretty excited to see what the Reds can do with the rest of the season and the playoffs.  They are a very good ball club that doesn’t get that much attention, but they seem to thrive in that.  A couple of years ago, they surprise everybody when they won the NL Central, and this year they’re trying to prove it wasn’t a fluke.

The Nationals also clinched a playoff berth today.  This is pretty huge because a Washington D.C. team hasn’t been to the playoffs since 1933, 79 years ago when the Senators were in the World Series.  As far as biggest surprises in baseball this year, the Baltimore Orioles, Oakland Athletics and Washington Nationals are it.  Since moving to Washington D.C. from Montreal, this season is their best yet, and it’s been exciting to watch.  Even with all of the media craziness around Stephen Strasburg, will they pull him or not, they’re proving they know what they’re doing.  Another key thing for the Nats this season, wasn’t even during the season.  December 23, the Oakland A’s traded Gio Gonzalez and Robert Gilliam to the Washington Nationals in exchange for Brad Peacock, Tom Milone, Derek Norris and A.J. Cole.    Gio Gonzalez has been far better than I think anybody could have hoped for.  Gonzalez is currently leading all pitchers with 19 wins, with a chance at 20 by the end of the season.  Even with Strasburg officially shut down for the year, the Nats are still winning.  Another big surprise for the Nats this season has been the kid, Bryce Harper.  Harper, who should be the NL Rookie of the Year without any doubt, has been a huge piece in the Nationals success this year.  Some to look forward to: the Washington Nationals are the only team in the Nation League that doesn’t have a World Series title.  No pressure or anything though!

Both of these teams are going to be a ball to watch in the post season, and it will be interesting to see where each of their records end up.  The regular season needs to hurry up and end already.  All this post season talk has me so excited!