Rays Implode In 9th, Phillies Win 5-4
by Nico on Oct 25, 2008 11:02 PM PDT
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PrintA game that featured three Philly solo HRs early to give Philadelphia a 4-1 lead, and a B.J. Upton speed run (infield hit, steal, steal, throwing error) to tie it 4-4, came down to an ugly bottom of the 9th: Hit by pitch, wild pitch, wild throw, and then an infield dribbler that might have gone foul but on which Evan Longoria made a desperation heave to the plate - leaving Rays fans to do the heaving into the morning.
A great game in what has been a tight World Series. Tonight the Rays scored all four runs without the benefit of an RBI hit and the Phillies got just their second hit with a RISP in 32 at bats - and both are infield hits.
My only beef with strategy tonight is that in that bottom of the 9th, the Rays were going to have to pitch either to Dobbs or Stairs, and Maddon chose to walk the bases loaded, putting a sometimes wild pitcher in Balfour in a "no margin for error" situation. I say pitch to Dobbs where at least a walk won't beat you. But clearly, that was not the biggest problem the Rays faced in the bottom of the 9th. Just an all out implosion at the wrong time. Game 4 tomorrow, Sonnanstine against our formerly-own Blanton.
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you will admit, now, it should have been Price...
right?
Foolsh, the most insane regular poster on AN since oaktoon left - salb
oh...
I just read your second paragraph. I guess not.
Foolsh, the most insane regular poster on AN since oaktoon left - salb
by FoolshGame22 on Oct 25, 2008 11:06 PM PDT up reply actions
okay...
3rd paragaph.
Foolsh, the most insane regular poster on AN since oaktoon left - salb
by FoolshGame22 on Oct 25, 2008 11:08 PM PDT up reply actions
If Price wasn't available he wasn't available
I can’t know if or why he is or isn’t available, but if his arm needs two days off after Thursday’s game, so be it. Remember he’s been a starter, so it makes sense he might not bounce back as quickly after a longer relief stint.
I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal
Yeah, he threw about 50 pitches the other night
Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.
Is that followed by Game %?
I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal
Something about this seems shifty to me
Last of the Ninth - Photography Site / jamesvenes.com - Blog
Eh, shift happens
Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.
I think it was actually a rather profound statement on the modern post-season
"There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want" -Bill Watterson
I find all that shifting aesthetically problematic.
And the constant announcer admonishments to bunt down the 3rd base line (when the guy at the plate has usually hit like a billion home runs during the regular season) do not help matters.
Also, usually I try to reserve anguished screaming for existential crises and/or Sunday pundit roundtables, but I predict I will be unable to contain myself the next time any of the following occurs:
1. McCarver, awe in his voice, dubs the Phillies 86-0 record when leading after 8 innings “unbelievable”. The A’s were 64-3 when leading after 8. Unbelievable! The Rays were 84-2. Unbelievable! It’s all just so unbelievable!
2. FOX’s booth cam captures Joe Buck reclining in what appears to be a Staples office chair, exuding preternatural self-satisfaction.
3. Either of them uses the words “glide” or “beautiful” to describe BJ Upton’s defense. Someone get these two some new descriptors, please.
Reminds me of my late mother's own 4-0 record
My mother was a diehard Republican who wouldn’t even spit on a Democrat who was on fire. In 1996, she saw on television a comment that “Republicans always won the presidential election in every election year that coincided with the Yankees winning the World Series.”
Move over Tim McCarver! Unbelievable! Every year? That is a lock!!
I could not believe she was exulting about the Yankees mowing down opponents through the playoffs. Of course, I didn’t know about the infallible link. She loathed Clinton so much (due to a huge steady dose of Rush Limbaugh) that if she ever had the chance to stand behind Clinton with a loaded rifle in her hands, she would have attempted to bash him to death with the rifle butt instead of wasting a good bullet.
She was celebrating celebrating celebrating the Yankee victory in 1996. I was puzzled that a long-time forty-year Dodger fan even thought about the Yankees.
Then the magic link was revealed.
Well, we all know Bob Dole lost to Clinton, and the famous “Yankee Connection” did not work. My mother was absolutely mystified. As in “Unbelievable”.
Officially awaiting the 2009 season.
by One won lost won on Oct 26, 2008 1:01 PM PDT up reply actions
Bob Dole was the political equivalent to
Sydney Ponson and Carl Pavano. Perhaps if your mother had seen it that way, she would have been less surprised by the various results.
I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal
That really was a strange ending
On the other hand, you can sort of see the logic in walking the bases loaded in that the ball Ruiz hit was a sure run if there wasn’t a force at the plate.
It’s all a matter of weighting the risks, since each play has advantages and disadvantages. On balance, I think you leave second base open and take a chance on an infield squibber.
Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.
The bigger problem I have with the walk...
It basically guaranteed that they’d either lose or be pitching to Rollins with the bases loaded and one out. Why you’d want to put yourself in that position (especially when Rollins had such a good night) is totally beyond me.
"There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want" -Bill Watterson
It would be two out for Rollins if it got that far
One out for Stairs.
I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal
Err right.
Forgot Ruiz was 8th.
The point remains, though. Why give Rollins the chance?
"There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want" -Bill Watterson
And why Stairs, with no base open,
over Dobbs, with at least a base open if you get behind in the count? The problem with loading the bases is that when you get 2-2 to Ruiz, already you don’t dare throw a slider. First and third? Why not?
I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal
Schadenfreude Sunday
Remembering watching the Rays lose last night gave me a warm feeling this morning.
Ryan Sweeney: I probably irrationally embraced him before you did.
not certain that this is real Schadenfreude
after all, either one team or another had to lose. An athletic competition that is tied going into the last inning doesn’t IMO fit the typical profile of wayward ineptitude or loss piled upon loss.
The 0-7 Washington Huskies…there might be an eligible team worthy of Schadenfreude.
Officially awaiting the 2009 season.
by One won lost won on Oct 26, 2008 1:14 PM PDT up reply actions
The Washington-Washington State game might well be a matchup of the two very worst BCS conference teams
One of them has to win…
Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.
Doppel-Schadenfreude!!
Neither team can get out of its own way!!
I predict a 3-3 tie goes to overtime, which ends in a 6-3 victory for ….State!
Year before I got to high school, my HS beat Jeff Tedford’s future HS, Warren HS, 2-0, in a battle of the incompetents!!
Officially awaiting the 2009 season.
by One won lost won on Oct 26, 2008 6:44 PM PDT up reply actions
I'm putting my money on a 3-2 victory
Just because it would make me really really happy.
"There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want" -Bill Watterson
A split hat, like the despised Giants/A's hat
A Cougar/Huskie hat. That would be fitting.
Both teams lose November 1, 56-0 and 58-0…incredible!
Officially awaiting the 2009 season.
by One won lost won on Nov 1, 2008 11:30 PM PDT up reply actions
Somebody put arsenic in the cupcakes.
Carlos and Victor Zambrano have exactly the same number of career postseason wins. Who would have thought?
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