I can't believe the Rangers lost that game. Unreal. I was watching highlights of the play at the plate in the first inning. One of the clips was from KRLD in Texas. "The call was badly missed. We've just seen a replay, it should be 4-0 rangers, and the inning is over. An absolutely horrendous call by Jerry Davis. There's no question about it." then immediately after the other announcer chimes in: "We've seen several replays now and there is a replay that would indicate that Cruz was actually out."
Not taking anything away from the Giant win tonight but the Phillie's offense is miserable. We can't count of a bunch of Giant errors to steal a game so they had better start hitting. Honestly the big advantage the Phils have over the Giants are the bats but that was pathetic. I think the Phils big three are better than the Giants starters but not by much, the offense on the other hand is much better. It's so frustrating when the Phillie's hit like this, they will probably follow it up with eleven runs and then score one for Cole Hammels if they follow pattern. I'm not concerned about losing the series yet but that is four games in a row of weak hitting.
I would like to think the reason the Phillies offense looked so miserable is that the Giants actually have the best pitching in baseball. The Giants and Phillies split their regular season games at 3 wins apiece. It should be a good series. Then the Rangers can pound the shit out of the National League in the world series. I am not a Rangers fan, but it would be fun to see Ron Washington send a fuck you to the Oakland A's for not hiring him when they had the chance. Nah, I am not bitter.
As a Giants fan you haven't seen bad hitting until you watch the Giants. Which is what makes what the Giants pitchers are doing even more impressive.
The San Francisco Giants and the Texas Rangers both lead their respective Eastern opponants two games to one. I would think the television executives are starting to get a bit worried about their ratings for the World Series. I would love to see this matchup. The power lineup of Texas against the pitching of San Francisco. It may not please the east coast, but it would make for a very exciting series.
Is Girardi trying to get fired?? I've never seen someone so grossly mismanage a pitching staff the way he has this season. I'm convinced that it's in his contract somewhere that he needs to use 7 different pitchers a game.
Wouldn't you rather see the power line-up of Texas versus the Phillies pitching? The Phillies big three are better than the Giants big three, so I would think you would rather that if wanted to see an epic pitching versus hitting dual. It also probably would not be exciting watching the Giants and Rangers series, watching the Giants play is like watching paint dry. They are ALL pitching. I think their best offensive player was Aubrey Huff, with about 28 HR's and 86 RBI's. The Phillies offense has been horrendous the entire post season. They have had one good inning and lot's of help from errors and walks. It would be nice to see the bat's actually wake up a little bit. The Giants are just dull, it's a special kind of baseball fan who enjoys no hitters and shutouts I guess, but it's nice to see some offense. I prefer long balls myself. As a Phillie's fan I really wanted the Yankees to win so we could have a shot at redeeming ourselves, now I just hope we get out of this horrendous offensive slump and beat the Giants. Josh Hamilton might be the most exciting player of the post season.
Now, I'm no expert, and don't have any stats to go off, but I'm going to go ahead and say that that point is highly debatable.
You can say it, but it would be a foolish debate. Without going nut's on statistics it really isn't even close. You could say they have been comparable this series or maybe this year but not as an entirety. Despite Lincecum winning back to back Cy Youngs I still think that Halladay is a better pitcher but for arguments sake let's say they are a wash. Matt Cain was 13-11 this year with a 3.14 ERA. The previous two years he was 14-8 and 8-14. I know he didn't get much run support but neither did Hammels in either of the past two years. Sanchez was 14-10 this year with a respectable 3.09 ERA and had losing records the past two years with ERA's over 4.24. To say that either of those two are better than Roy Oswalt is a travesty. Oswalt probably has been getting the worst run support in baseball for the past three years and still has had a winning record every year he has played. He averages 15 wins a season when Sanchez and Cain have never had 15 wins in a season ever. Sanchez's overall record is a losing one. Oswalt was 13-13 this year with a 2.76 ERA, he's been 7-1 with an ERA under two since the trade. There is really no comparison with him, Lincecum yes the other two no. Which bring's us to Cole Hammels. Obviously Lincecum is better than Cole, but I'm not sure about Cain and Sanchez flat out is not. Hammels was 12-11 this year with a 3.06 ERA and a victim of the Phillies streaky offense. He also has never won 15 games, his most was 14. However he does have that one thing that I don't see Matt Cain and Sanchez achieving ever, and that is a world series M.V.P., I think that gives him a little credit. Overall I really don't see how you can debate that. Are they pitching at an equally high level now in this series? Sure, but they are not better pitchers not even close.
I don't even like baseball let alone watch it until it gets to this point in the season but, what the fuck was with the no call on the fan interference on that first one? The guy clearly could have caught that ball had the fans not been literally pushing his glove down. And even though I don't watch much, I watch enough to know I hate the fucking Yankees. They are up by 5 now in the top of the forth. DAMMIT.
I didn't see it, but I was listening to the Texas feed when that happened. WHAT THE HELL DO YOU HAVE REPLAY FOR IF YOU DON'T USE IT ON PLAYS LIKE THAT!? It makes no sense.
It was quite obvious to everyone including the announcers that it should have been called. I never understand when something is so fucking blatant yet professional officials that have been doing that shit for years miss a call. It should have been called and the 2 or 3 fans involved in it should have been escorted out of the stadium. I was amused that when it happened to the Yankees a little while later, they didn't bother pulling their whiney but but we are the Yankees!!! bullshit, instead they just let it go.
It wasn't called because the ball was in the stands when they touched his glove. Once it is over the wall, even though it was still in the air, the fans have as much right to it as the player does. And there is no way he caught that ball unless he could jump 2 feet higher. The announcers said they had no problem with it not being called.
If they had simply caught the ball before he did, it wouldn't be fan interference. In this instance however, there was a clear interference with the player himself, as his glove was interfered with, and one or more of the fans leaned over the fence.
It says right in the rules you posted, he goes over the fence at his own risk. The ball was over the fence when he was touched.
Yeah, but the umps didn't have the luxury of seeing it that clearly when they made the call like the announcers did. That's why they have replay available to them. They should have used the replay, and the call would have stood. Just because they got lucky and made the right call does not mean it did not warrant replay when it happened.
But he was touched in the field of play, and a spectator clearly came over the fence and interfered with the player.
The guy that came over the wall and shoved his glove down (in the navy blue on the left), only made contact after the ball had already landed over the wall. The only other contact was with the guy in the Yankees jersey on the right. Admittedly I'm biased, but if you can definitively say that that guy was reaching over the fence, more power to you. Granted it was a moot point thanks largely to fucking Girardi's late-inning bullpen roulette strategy. But considering I'm a big supporter of expanding instant replay, I would have had no problem with them reviewing this, since they're already able to. I just don't think you would've found anything conclusive (at least from the TBS cameras) that could've reversed the call.
Last night's NLCS game was easily the most emotionally draining loss I've experienced since last year's WS Game 4. If it had been the elimination game, it might've actually been better. Instead we get to wait for the seemingly inevitable elimination. Well, Halladay-Oswalt-Hamels had been getting all the press at the start of the postseason. Any tiny chance the Phillies have of ripping off three straight wins rests on their shoulders, because the offense is anything but impressive.
I am so distraught over last night's NLCS game I can barely even post about it. You always hear that tired expression that "the other team wants it more" well it looks that way in this case. Roy Halladay is playing his guts out, the other players seem to be lacking that spark. Charlie Emmanuel baffled me last night, it's hard to be a arm chair QB on a baseball manger because so much is just personal judgment but last night made me wonder. 1. Why was Chad Durbin left in?? It's the sixth inning you have four pitchers in the bullpen, he is clearly getting lit the fuck up WHY IS HE STILL IN?? After he gives up two to tie, you let him try and gut it out? With no outs? 2. Man on second (with decent speed) a left handed batter comes up who is not only incredibly fast but an excellent bunter. You have no outs, everybody knows that you bunt and move the runner to third!!! If it was Utley at bat you swing away but it was Jimmy Rollins! He has been dreadful in the post season before he hit that miracle double he had gone 0-5 with five strikeouts. Have him bunt towards second he's fast enough that he could also force an error at first on the throw and move the runner. Instead he swings and pops up to........THIRD BASE! Well done Jimmy! 3. Buster Posey has four hits all of them are to right field. Again I'm not a manager or a catcher but I will give you this free advice (don't throw it outside or on the outside corner, he clearly is not having any problems hitting that pitch) Nah, we will give it another shot and see how it goes. As a fan this is worst than watching the series last year against the Yankees. We are a superior team on offense and we continue to do nothing, no spark. Last night even when the Phillies were ahead it never felt like it was going to be a win. Wilson just blew guys away making them swing at sliders that were in the dirt, meanwhile Phillie pitchers continue to throw balls that bounce three feet in front of the plate so they can guarantee themselves being behind in the pitch count. If the Phillies lose (and it's looking that way) they should be ashamed. Getting blasted by Cody Ross (a seven hitter?) and basically being non existent at the plate (I don't think one hitter is batting over 250 this series) they honestly can't say they gave it their best effort. As for the Giants they are smoking hot. This kind of momentum is very, very tough to beat. When players are playing this confidently it is a tough thing to unravel, they will give the American League a real run for the money if they keep it up.