|
|
Post by fauxmaha on Oct 28, 2015 9:42:06 GMT -5
Well, that was a ballgame! Holy crap!
Volquez pitching in the immediate aftermath of his father dying. (There are contradictory reports on whether or not he knew the news.) Harvey, after giving up am unlikely run on the very first pitch, delivered a championship performance. Hosmer goes from goat (before the Royals came back to win, Fox was already making the comparison to Bill Buckner) to hero. Chris Young ends up the winning pitcher.
This is set up to be the best series in a long time.
Tonight will be interesting. deGrom v Cueto. You have to like the Mets here, particularly since utility player Drew Butera is the only Royal to have ever faced deGrom. By comparison, Cueto was traded over from the NL, so lots of Mets have lots of at bats against him. On the other hand, if Cueto brings the stuff he had in game five against Houston, the Mets are in big trouble.
|
|
|
|
Post by Marshall on Oct 28, 2015 9:59:33 GMT -5
Should be a good series. I'll have to try to catch a game.
|
|
|
|
Post by lar on Oct 28, 2015 11:47:02 GMT -5
Great game last night.
The reporting on the inside the park home run was somewhat disappointing, though. Even late in the game and after watching the replay who knows how many times, Joe Buck continued to insist that the ball caromed off the arm of Cespedes. This morning Newsweek reported, "The ball carried nearly to the warning track, where Mets center fielder Yoenis Cespedes made a futile jab at it. It rolled to the wall and Escobar was nearly around third by the time the throw got to the cutoff man."
I just watched another replay and it's clear that Cespedes made a very strange back-hand stab at the ball and completely missed it. The ball hit the side of his left calf and bounded along the wall towards left field.
I get it with Buck. But Harold Reynolds is a former major league player who should have done a better job of watching what was going on. When the play happened in real time it was a little confusing. But wouldn't you think that after countless replays Reynolds would get it right?
I have no doubt that some time today one of my left-leaning friends will point out that after all the game was on Fox and that inaccurate reporting ought be expected. LOL
|
|
|
|
Post by billhammond on Oct 28, 2015 11:49:52 GMT -5
Well, Lar, after all the game was on Fox and inaccurate reporting ought to be expected.
|
|
|
|
Post by fauxmaha on Oct 28, 2015 12:01:07 GMT -5
The reporting on the inside the park home run was somewhat disappointing, though. That was a goofy play all around. I can't for the life of me figure out why Harvey threw a fastball on the first pitch. He should have known better. Escobar decided last week that he was swinging on that pitch. Should have been a curveball in the dirt. Then the two outfielders muffed it. It looked to me like either one could have made a play, but they miscommunicated. World Series nerves I guess. Its a borderline call, but I probably would have scored that an error. |
|
|
|
Post by lar on Oct 28, 2015 12:16:35 GMT -5
It had to be a hit because you can't assume that the catch would have been made. Had the ball bounced off the glove of one of the outfielders it might have been an error but that's not even certain. It was a very tough play.
While you may be right about Harvey, that's why they actually play the series. Arguing about what should or should not have been is part of enjoying the game. Hell, if us SoundHolers couldn't argue about dumbass stuff politicians do and say we'd be stuff with talking about guitars.
|
|
|
|
Post by lar on Oct 28, 2015 12:18:30 GMT -5
Well, Lar, after all the game was on Fox and inaccurate reporting ought to be expected. Thanks Bill. I knew I could count on you.  |
|
|
|
Post by fauxmaha on Oct 28, 2015 22:08:13 GMT -5
Royals got good Cueto tonight. Complete game two hitter.
deGrom who?
|
|
|
|
Post by epaul on Oct 28, 2015 22:08:54 GMT -5
Well, the Royals are off to an early lead in the series.
But, as we all know, early leads don't mean much. Look, the Mets had an early lead on the Cubs and the Royals had an early lead on the Blue Jays, but where are they now? Early leads, pfft.
|
|
|
|
Post by lar on Oct 28, 2015 22:11:41 GMT -5
Game 2 is in the record books. Mets 1 Royals 7. Tough pitching from both starters with the edge to Cueto who threw a complete game 2 hitter.
The Royals line-up turned in one of the best team performances I've ever seen. Those guys are nearly impossible to strike out.
I'm very impressed with the Royals.
|
|
|
|
Post by coachdoc on Oct 28, 2015 22:27:52 GMT -5
Both superb young teams, but I gotta stick with the Royals. They've experienced what it takes. Mets early favorites for next year.
|
|
|
|
Post by fauxmaha on Oct 31, 2015 22:55:29 GMT -5
Amazing games the last two nights. Thor is a beast, but Davis is a surgeon.
|
|
|
|
Post by coachdoc on Nov 1, 2015 4:05:23 GMT -5
It's amazin' how after a seaon of great play, the best 2 teams make it to the WS,and then miscues decide the winner.
|
|
|
|
Post by lar on Nov 1, 2015 8:26:41 GMT -5
It's amazin' how after a seaon of great play, the best 2 teams make it to the WS,and then miscues decide the winner. Oh, for a minute there I thought you were talking about the broadcast team; team 1 in the booth and team 2 out in the cheap seats. I was a big fan of Jack Buck and I've always liked Joe. But, honestly, his performance during this series really disappoints me. I sometimes wonder if Harold Reynolds is the only guy in the booth who has any idea of what he's talking about. And even Harold has said a couple of things that make no sense. I feel bad about Murphy's error last night. And even worse that it's now being compared to Bill Buckner's. Maybe it's just wishful thinking but on the replay it seemed clear to me that when the ball bounced in the dirt and came up again the trajectory was much flatter than one would have expected. I don't think most, if any, second basemen would have made that play. I haven't been at all impressed with Cespedes. It's refreshing to see a team like the Royals make the World Series. Holding a 3-1 lead is even better. Timely hitting, manufacturing runs, capitalizing on the other team's mistakes, solid defense, mostly solid pitching. For an old-time baseball fan like me the Royals are everything that makes the game interesting. It's interesting that Ned Yost, who was run out of Milwaukee as the worst manager ever, has shown that if he's given the talent he can manage a ball club with the rest of them. |
|
|
|
Post by fauxmaha on Nov 1, 2015 8:43:35 GMT -5
Yep.
The error was a shame, buy that's how the Mets decided to build their team. I remember when a team would have a lights out, 165lb second baseman who was lucky if he hit his weight, but who also reliably shut off a third of the infield. The Mets decided to sell out to the big bat, and that has left them with defensive weaknesses all over the field.
I don't think you can blame Murphy. He should be a DH in the AL somewhere.
|
|
|
|
Post by mnhermit on Nov 1, 2015 9:20:58 GMT -5
It's November, isn't baseball over yet?
|
|
|
|
Post by Marshall on Nov 1, 2015 10:39:04 GMT -5
Yep. The error was a shame, buy that's how the Mets decided to build their team. I remember when a team would have a lights out, 165lb second baseman who was lucky if he hit his weight, but who also reliably shut off a third of the infield. The Mets decided to sell out to the big bat, and that has left them with defensive weaknesses all over the field. I don't think you can blame Murphy. He should be a DH in the AL somewhere. Interesting. I didn't see the game. Murphy was the hero in the Cubs series. He hit 6 homers in 6 successive games (or was it 5?). Couldn't get the bastard out. There are trade-offs at every position. We moved Castro to 2nd because we still wanted his bat, but couldn't afford his glove at short. And Schwarber was a catcher in college last year and in double AA ball in the spring. He's nowhere near being a major league outfielder, let along a WS outfielder. But he has a HUGE bat. Personally I HATE the designated hitter in the American League. What a travesty of sports. If you're gonna bat, you play the field, DAMN IT ! |
|
|
|
Post by coachdoc on Nov 1, 2015 10:56:59 GMT -5
Philosophically I agree with you Marshall. But the DH is a small price to pay for Papi.
|
|
|
|
Post by fauxmaha on Nov 1, 2015 11:41:22 GMT -5
Yep. The error was a shame, buy that's how the Mets decided to build their team. I remember when a team would have a lights out, 165lb second baseman who was lucky if he hit his weight, but who also reliably shut off a third of the infield. The Mets decided to sell out to the big bat, and that has left them with defensive weaknesses all over the field. I don't think you can blame Murphy. He should be a DH in the AL somewhere. Interesting. I didn't see the game. Murphy was the hero in the Cubs series. He hit 6 homers in 6 successive games (or was it 5?). Couldn't get the bastard out. There are trade-offs at every position. We moved Castro to 2nd because we still wanted his bat, but couldn't afford his glove at short. And Schwarber was a catcher in college last year and in double AA ball in the spring. He's nowhere near being a major league outfielder, let along a WS outfielder. But he has a HUGE bat. Personally I HATE the designated hitter in the American League. What a travesty of sports. If you're gonna bat, you play the field, DAMN IT !I go back and forth on the DH, but it is what it is. The strength of the Royals is the way they will put constant pressure on your defense. Those compromises you make for the sake of offense will be exposed. Better hope your big bats come through with enough production, because the Royals will turn your defensive vulnerability into runs. And the Royals has their own share of defensive hicups last night. Great series. According to the media accounts in reading this morning, the noble and determined Mets are down 3-1 to some other team. |
|
|
|
Post by lar on Nov 1, 2015 12:13:26 GMT -5
I'm not fond of the designated hitter either. I thought it was a bad experiment when the American League started it and I still do. While it has lengthened a few careers I've never been convinced that that it was a good thing for baseball.
To me, Ryne Sandberg and Joe Morgan defined what a second baseman should be. Smart, great fielders (both had lifetime fielding percentages above .980 and both won multiple gold glove awards), both hit at or near .300 for most of their careers, both could steal a base and hit for power. These guys were complete ball players who gave it their all on every pitch.
The Mets are a great team but they seem to live and die by the long ball. As someone once said that something to the effect of; when you are down 4 runs in the bottom of the ninth, there's no such thing as a 5-run homer. Goo point.
One comment about Billy Buck. Everyone remembers his critical error. What I don't think many people remember is that Billy suffered what should have been a career ending ankle injury. It cost him both speed and mobility. Despite that he played on that bad ankle for the bulk of his career. He could barely run. Yet he played the game at at the highest level. He finished his career with a .991 fielding average. Buckner's legacy is much greater than one error.
|
|
