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.

Champagne Thursday

Today is Champagne Thursday, and I’m stoked.  My boyfriend and I started a Thursday tradition of having champagne from the movie “Failure to Launch” and like the movie, Thursday sometimes comes twice.  This week, champagne might come twice, or it’s all today.  There is two game fives scheduled, with the first getting started shortly, and two game fours.

The San Francisco Giants.  Oh man, can you believe it?  After being dominated by the Reds in the first two games in San Francisco, the Giants went into Cincinnati and have won the last two games to force a game five.  It’s like the 2010 season all over again.  The Giants were able to knock out teams that everybody picked to go all the way before winning it all themselves.  The Giants have their ace, Matt Cain, Mr. Perfect on the mound for them this morning in a win or go home game.  The last two games have been win or go home for the Giants, but this is it for the Reds.  After winning the first two games with shutout pitching, the Reds have allowed the Giants to get back into this series and tie it up.  Momentum swings are huge and the Giants just might be able to pull off the upset.  *OMG Buster Posey just hit a grand slam to put the Giants up 6-0 in the 5th inning.  WOW!

Across the bay from the Giants we have the Oakland Athletics, home of the walk off pie, the Bernie and comeback wins.  I’m still in shock about last night.  I was annoyed to see people leaving in the 8th inning when they were down 3-1 and even had a guy next to me leave before that saying he’d see me in April.  The A’s are never done until that 27th out is recorded.  You can’t count them out, even if you have a lead.  Look at what they did against Texas in the final game of the season.  I can not wait for tonight.  My throat is killing me, and tired as hell, but there’s no way I’m missing this.  I didn’t want to turn off the TV last night with the highlights.  I’ve never seen anything like that in my life and I have no words to describe how I’m feeling.  Tonight, is huge.  Justin Verlander is on the mound for the Tigers, and that guy is an amazing pitcher.  Verlander got the win in game one of the series 3-1 with the only run coming off a lead off home run by Coco Crisp to start the game.  However, for as good as Verlander is, he can also struggle, case in point, the All Star Game.  He looked like he was throwing batting practice in the mid-summer classic and I’m hoping that Verlander is the one that shows up tonight.  I know it’s highly, highly unlikely, but I can dream!  I think the A’s might have the edge in the game, just because of what happened last night, and being at home.  The fans have been amazing and it’s nice to finally see people coming out to the games to support the green and gold.

The Yankees last night came back to beat the Orioles.  Correction, Raul Ibanez came back to beat the Orioles last night.  While we all know I’m not a Yankees fan at all, you have to give credit where credit is due, and credit is due there.  He set three, that’s right THREE, records last night with his two home runs.  It was amazing to see the highlights afterwards.  Those two home runs lifted the Yankees to a 2-1 series lead over the Orioles and tonight is a must win for the O’s if they want to keep playing.  But if we’ve learned anything from these playoffs so far, it’s that you’re not out until you’re out.  The O’s bounced back in game two for the W, so I expect them to come out strong today.  Joe Saunders is pitching for the Orioles, and he’s much better than his numbers show.  Saunders spent part of the season with the Arizona Diamondbacks, who despite getting off to a good start, struggled as the season progressed.  I’m hoping there is a game five in this series because I’m not done watching these two teams go at it.

The World Champion St. Louis Cardinals are doing it again.  After the wild, wild card game last week, the Cards seem to be feeding off of that victory and playing fabulously.  The Washington Nationals, the owners of the best record in all of baseball, got blanked last night by the Cardinals while allowing eight runs.  I’m shocked.  I thought that the Nats would come in and dominate the Cards or the Braves, but they’ve struggled.  It’s hard to watch.  If the Nationals lose tonight, I don’t think anybody can stop the Cardinals.  Manager Mike Mathney came into this season with some large shoes to fill with Tony LaRussa retiring after the 2011 season.  I had my doubts if he would be able to get them to the post season, but I’m happy to see myself proven wrong.  Even with the Cardinals losing Albert Pujols they haven’t missed a beat so far in the NLDS.  However, when all is said and done, I really would like to see the Nationals come back and win this series.  It’s great to have baseball back in our nations capital, and I think it would be amazing for them to advance.

No matter how today goes, it’s been an amazing season and I’m so lucky to have seen so many great things.  There’s going to be two teams moving on today and two going home for sure with the chance for more.  How insane would it be for all the games to be clinching games?

Look for me at the Tigers vs. A’s game tonight- I’ll be a couple of rows back from the A’s dugout.  Go A’s!!

September Baseball

After Christmas and April 25th (my birthday is a holiday in my opinion), September is my favorite time of the year. There is so much going on and excitement is never far. It seems that every weekend this month has had at least 2 huge playoff push games, and this weekend is no exception. Tonight is the start of four huge match-ups, as well as other big series.

With the addition of the second wild card this year, very few teams are actually out of the race just yet, which is adding extra excitement to the end of the season. A huge match up that I’m so bummed to be missing- the Baltimore Orioles at Oakland Athletics. I am a huge A’s fan, and love going to games, especially big games like this series is going to be. However, I am off to Houston in the morning to check out the newest member of the American League West in 2013, the Astros. The game in Oakland is going to be a huge playoff game changer for a couple of reasons. Currently, the A’s are three back in the AL West, and lead the AL wild card by one game over the Orioles. The Orioles, are tied with the New York Yankees, and have been playing far better than anybody could have thought. We’re all shocked at how good the Orioles have been playing this year, but honestly, they have a lot of the same guys from last year, but this year, their pitching hasn’t been in the toilet like in years past. Offense is good, but you need pitching to win games. Either way, this series is going to be a big one, and I will be glued to MLB Network Saturday night in my hotel room watching highlights after the game.

Since I’m on the topic of the Houston Astros, I’m actually really excited to see them this weekend. This year has clearly been a horrible year for them, no doubt about it, but they’ve had a lot to deal with. News came before the season started that they not only had new ownership, but that this would be their final year in the National League, after 50 years. The Astros are playing the Philadelphia Phillies this weekend, and a couple of weeks ago I would have written this game off as a battle of two teams in the toilet, but the Phillies are trying to mount a comeback. The Phillies have won eight of their last ten, and are 4 games out of the final wild card spot, which is still going to be extremely difficult to get, but not impossible. On the flip side, we have the Astros, currently owners of the worst record in baseball, with no shot in hell of making it to the postseason. The only bright spot in the Astros season, is not even that bright. Roger Clemens, former Astros pitcher (and several other teams), has been pitching in the Independence League for the last month almost, and is in talks of rejoining his former team this season. Astros ownership claims this is not a publicity stunt, but honestly, what the heck would you call it? If they were in the hunt, I could understand bringing in a former lights-out pitcher to help you out, but sitting in last place, with little fan attendance, screams publicity stunt. Plus, Clemens has stated that if he does come back, he wants to pitch against a team that’s a contender to try to prevent them from going to the playoffs. I should also mention that Clemens has been out of baseball for 5 years, and if he comes back to play in Houston against a contender, he’s going to be making most likely, only one start. Something to also keep in mind is the Hall of Fame, which you have to be retired for five years before you can appear on the ballot. If Clemens does come back this year, he’ll have to wait another five years to be eligible.

Another big series this weekend, Clemens old team, the New York Yankees are taking on the Tampa Bay Rays. The Yankees have been having a rough September to say the least, and if it continues, there is a chance that the Yankees will be watching the post season from their couches. Currently tied with the Orioles, the Yankees need to stop the bleeding and find ways to win games. Many teams when they get down in games, or have been losing a lot, try to do too much, which makes things worse. I think the injury to Mark Teixeira has been huge for the Yankees, but it shouldn’t be. They are stocked with too many great players on that team to be losing this much because one guy is down. The Rays always seem to play well against the Yankees, and I personally am looking forward to this series. Right now, Tampa is four games out in the division, and the wild card, but all that can change this weekend. This series and the one in Oakland are going to be big game changers for the AL East and AL wild card because it is the top four teams in the wild card all duking it out. I expect that this series is going to have a playoff vibe to it- win or go home, because with the season starting to wrap up, you need to win now if you want to keep playing.

The drama in the American League is pretty intense compared to the Nation League right now, but there is still plenty of it to go around over there as well. A big series going on is the Washington Nationals at the Atlanta Braves. The Nationals, owners of the best record in baseball, are leading the Braves by 8.5 games in the NL East, but the Braves are currently the leaders of the NL wild card by five games over the St. Louis Cardinals. The Braves, who I will be seeing at the end of the month, are always a great team. They busted out that comeback against the Nationals earlier this year in their game in D.C. on July 20th, when the Braves came back from being down by nine runs to win the game in extras (Are You Kidding Me?!). While both of these teams are almost guaranteed playoff spots, this series should be fun to watch as a possible post season preview.

Speaking of the NL wild card and St. Louis Cardinals, they’re taking on they Los Angeles Dodgers this weekend. This series is only big for one reason, the final wild card position. Unless the Braves pull a Red Sox via 2011 season, they’re going to the playoffs, meaning that there is only one wild card spot left. The Dodgers are currently two games behind the Cardinals for that last spot, and both are a little too far out of their own divisions to try to take the top spot. If I had to pick between those two teams, I’d say the Cards are going to the playoffs on that wild card. They are a scrappy team and find ways to win- look at what they did last year. Even under new management, Mike Mathney, they are still playing like the Cardinals of old. The Dodgers, while a good team, are proving to be a good team on paper, not the field. Right now, the Dodgers have too much going on and too many new players coming in all the time to be effective.

The only day game, which is strange for a Friday, is out in Chicago. Right now, the Chicago Cubs are beating the Pittsburgh Pirates. I’d like to say I’m shocked, but the Pirates lately have been playing like the way we all expect the Pirates to play. It’s disappointing since they were playing such good baseball earlier this season and now it’s just painful. At this point, they are going to need a miracle to make the playoffs, as they are slipping fast, losing six in a row en route to seven.

If the 2011 Boston Red Sox team taught us anything, it’s that anything can happen in September, and you can go from a playoff team to sitting at home very quickly.

Catchers

I’ve always thought why would anybody want to be a catcher.  Having to squat for hours with all the gear on and having players slam into you just seemed like picking the short straw.  You see catchers careers not last as long as other position player due to the wear and tear the position takes on your body, and I’ve always wondered why.

I’m watching the A’s game right now, and in the 1st inning, Carlos Santana (not to be confused with the musician which is funny since the pitcher for the Royals the other night was Will Smith) had a massive follow through on his swing that slammed into A’s catcher, Derek Norris.  The swing knocked his mask sideways and you could hear the smack of the bat hitting the helmet.  You have that moment instantly where you just fearful for the worst.  It almost seems like that would be worse than getting hit by a runner coming in trying to score.  With the runner coming in, you’re prepared for the hit, and your whole body is getting hit where as if you get hit by the follow through you don’t see it coming and it’s a direct blow to your head.  Mike Mathney, now the St. Louis Cardinals manager, was an AMAZING catcher (four gold gloves in his career) and his playing career was cut short due to ongoing symptoms of post concussion syndrome.  As a fan, it’s always disappointing to see a player as good as Mathney was have to retire because of injuries.

Everything aside, I have so much respect for the catchers.  They are one of the most important aspects of the game.  They have to know all the pitchers on the team, and these days there is always new pitchers being called up that knowing what every pitcher throws, and how they fare against hitters is key.  Pitchers get all the glory for throwing perfect games, but I think that the catcher deserves a bunch of credit too.  The catcher is the one putting down the signs and knowing what the pitcher needs to throw to improve the chance of an out.

The Molina Brothers are something special.  For all three brothers to be catchers is amazing (I’ve always wanted to know: who was throwing to them?).