The official delay was 30 minutes, which is true, as that was the length of the rain delay until it was officially suspended.
All of that happened after Tampa Bay tied it at 2, once the visiting half of the 6th ended. That only amounted to Evan Longoria getting an AB, and flying out to CF Shane Victorino.
Who knows what exactly would have happened if TB did not tie the game. Surely they would have had to suspend and continue later, as that would have been worse than the ASG that ended up as a tie! Anyway, the tie was the obvious reason to suspend with good reason. Not to forget there were lakes out there! With the conditions in mind, numerouse things could have gone wrong for both clubs, especially Upton's stolen base.
Regardless of the delay and the suspended and two days later resumed game, it made for an exciting finish.
Dioner Navarro singling with one out off of Brad Lidge and then Fernando Perez pinch running for Navarro felt like Dave Roberts in game 4 of the 2004 ALCS. Both bases were stolen successfully, but unfortunately Perez was not able to plate the tying run.
As I stated in my previous entry, I could go either way, rooting for either team. The main reason, actually the reason I wanted Philadelphia to win was because Matt Stairs is with them. He of course is Canadian! And I don't know how much hockey he plays or played, but he still coaches some youth hockey. Also he seems quite down to earth. He was born in Saint John, New Brunswick, but raised in nearby Fredericton, NB.
So hats off to Matt Stairs (and the Phillies I suppose!), the game four hero in Los Angeles, hitting the game winning 2 run home run, on Canadian Thanksgiving no less!
The Curse of Billy Penn has ended, while a certain Curse of the Billy Goat remains! (Mind the Wikipedia links, I am too lazy to look for other sources!)
Showing posts with label dioner navarro. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dioner navarro. Show all posts
Friday, October 31, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
World Series game 3 Tampa Bay Rays at Philadelphia Phillies
Well, turned out to be a good ending to game 3.
As everyone who watched it knows, Eric Bruntlett, LF in for Pat Burrell in the top of the 7th, was HBP, then advanced to third on a wild pitch by Grant Balfour, and a throwing error by Dioner Navarro. This was with Shane Victorino trying to bunt Bruntlett to second. With the count 1-1, no outs, and Bruntlett on third, the obvious move is to intentionally walk Victorino, and the next batter too, as the only runner that counts is at third, allowing the force at any base. Maddon did so. The latter being Greg Dobbs who was pinch hitting for Pedro Feliz.
Maddon then brought Ben Zobrist in for the 5 man infield. Zobrist who has played most of his games at SS, played just behind second. 2-2 count, and Carlos Ruiz just got a piece of it, sending it down the third base line. Longoria over tossed to home, and the Phillies are ahead 2 games to 1.
Having played some baseball, and making some bad errors, you kinda feel bad for him, solely based on that play. Until you realise how much money they rake in. Anyway, I can go either way, so in the end, I hope for a good series, that comes down to something like that in a game 7. Would be nice to see the Rays, a small market club win it. They have plenty of fair weather fans, but that is the case I suppose for many teams. Whereas Matt Stairs, the Canadian and former Expo/Blue Jay is with the Phillies, so would be nice to see him get the World Series. Speaking of former Expos, Cliff Floyd is with the Rays, but that was before I was really following baseball.
One final play of note was the steal and pick off of Jayson Werth. It did not come back to haunt them, but instead of being 1 out and a runner at second, it was 2 out, and no one on base. This was with Chase Utley batting, so there was a shift on for him, and it was Evan Longoria who fielded the throw from Navarro. Longoria being the 3B. Jason Bartlett, the Rays shortstop fielded the throw from pitcher J.P. Howell to pick off Werth.
As everyone who watched it knows, Eric Bruntlett, LF in for Pat Burrell in the top of the 7th, was HBP, then advanced to third on a wild pitch by Grant Balfour, and a throwing error by Dioner Navarro. This was with Shane Victorino trying to bunt Bruntlett to second. With the count 1-1, no outs, and Bruntlett on third, the obvious move is to intentionally walk Victorino, and the next batter too, as the only runner that counts is at third, allowing the force at any base. Maddon did so. The latter being Greg Dobbs who was pinch hitting for Pedro Feliz.
Maddon then brought Ben Zobrist in for the 5 man infield. Zobrist who has played most of his games at SS, played just behind second. 2-2 count, and Carlos Ruiz just got a piece of it, sending it down the third base line. Longoria over tossed to home, and the Phillies are ahead 2 games to 1.
Having played some baseball, and making some bad errors, you kinda feel bad for him, solely based on that play. Until you realise how much money they rake in. Anyway, I can go either way, so in the end, I hope for a good series, that comes down to something like that in a game 7. Would be nice to see the Rays, a small market club win it. They have plenty of fair weather fans, but that is the case I suppose for many teams. Whereas Matt Stairs, the Canadian and former Expo/Blue Jay is with the Phillies, so would be nice to see him get the World Series. Speaking of former Expos, Cliff Floyd is with the Rays, but that was before I was really following baseball.
One final play of note was the steal and pick off of Jayson Werth. It did not come back to haunt them, but instead of being 1 out and a runner at second, it was 2 out, and no one on base. This was with Chase Utley batting, so there was a shift on for him, and it was Evan Longoria who fielded the throw from Navarro. Longoria being the 3B. Jason Bartlett, the Rays shortstop fielded the throw from pitcher J.P. Howell to pick off Werth.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
National League game in the American League
Saturday night I was watching the Rays at the Mariners. The Rays went on to win it on a Dioner Navarro sacrifice fly.
Seattle blew a 5 run lead (Tampa went ahead 7-5), and then tie the game again in the bottom of the eighth. Seattle ran out of position players by the tenth, so getting to the eleventh might have meant that the Seattle pitcher (Miguel Batista) would have to have a plate appearance if it got to him. Hence the title of this blog entry. It did not come to that, as the Rays went down one two three in the bottom of the eleventh, giving Troy Percival his 26th save.
In the bottom of the tenth, the Mariners had the bases loaded with only one out. At that point Joe Maddon had B.J. Upton, the centre fielder, play in the infield, right in front of second. So there were 5 infielders, and two outfielders. The OFers were playing essentially centre and right. Adrian Beltre (batting right) was up, and he managed to hit into a double play after fouling five off (the count was 1-2). It went to third baseman Willy Aybar to catcher Dioner Navarro to first baseman Carlos Pena (5-2-3).
Being that I am rooting for the Jays, I was rooting for the Mariners to win, as to somewhat aid the Jays in making some ground in the AL East. Since that didn't work out it was an entertaining ballgame nonetheless.
The Mariners went 4-6 on this particular homestand. They won a couple against the Twins and were one game shy of the sweep, and managed a win against Baltimore and Tampa Bay. Ichiro was a hit machine in the particular game I blogged about, going 4-6, with 3 RBI.
In the three consecutive wins the Mariners posted, Raul Ibanez was an RBI machine, hitting 14 in those three games (August 3-5). In the last two he had 6 and 5 RBI respectively! In the August 4th game, the Mariners came back from a 6-0 deficit scoring 10 runs in the bottom of the seventh! In that inning Raul Ibanez got all six of his RBI (a club record), hitting a grand slam, then singled to score two.
Seattle blew a 5 run lead (Tampa went ahead 7-5), and then tie the game again in the bottom of the eighth. Seattle ran out of position players by the tenth, so getting to the eleventh might have meant that the Seattle pitcher (Miguel Batista) would have to have a plate appearance if it got to him. Hence the title of this blog entry. It did not come to that, as the Rays went down one two three in the bottom of the eleventh, giving Troy Percival his 26th save.
In the bottom of the tenth, the Mariners had the bases loaded with only one out. At that point Joe Maddon had B.J. Upton, the centre fielder, play in the infield, right in front of second. So there were 5 infielders, and two outfielders. The OFers were playing essentially centre and right. Adrian Beltre (batting right) was up, and he managed to hit into a double play after fouling five off (the count was 1-2). It went to third baseman Willy Aybar to catcher Dioner Navarro to first baseman Carlos Pena (5-2-3).
Being that I am rooting for the Jays, I was rooting for the Mariners to win, as to somewhat aid the Jays in making some ground in the AL East. Since that didn't work out it was an entertaining ballgame nonetheless.
The Mariners went 4-6 on this particular homestand. They won a couple against the Twins and were one game shy of the sweep, and managed a win against Baltimore and Tampa Bay. Ichiro was a hit machine in the particular game I blogged about, going 4-6, with 3 RBI.
In the three consecutive wins the Mariners posted, Raul Ibanez was an RBI machine, hitting 14 in those three games (August 3-5). In the last two he had 6 and 5 RBI respectively! In the August 4th game, the Mariners came back from a 6-0 deficit scoring 10 runs in the bottom of the seventh! In that inning Raul Ibanez got all six of his RBI (a club record), hitting a grand slam, then singled to score two.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Some Kinda All Star Game! Part 2
So indeed, some kinda All-Star Game it was! And our buddy Allan 'Budward' Selig didn't stop to declare it a tie! Otherwise, I'm not sure how 'This Time it Counts' would have worked!
I believe it really started getting interesting in the bottom of the 8th, and onwards as it was tied. The game up to the top of the 5th was actually moving along quite quickly, until the scoring started, and it turned it into the longest MLB All-Star Game by time ever, at 4 hours and 50 minutes. The 1967 game in Anaheim also went 15 innings.
It actually really started getting interesting in the bottom of the 10th. Two Fielding errors, and an intentional walk loaded the bases with no outs. Dan Uggla made the two errors to start the inning, but made sure to get the force out at home for the first out. Michael Young was forced out at home. Cristian Guzmán playing threw from third to Russell Martin for the second out, forcing out Carlos Quentin. It was Guzmán's first time playing third in his MLB career! Normally a shortstop, so same side of the field, but still. Miguel Tejada made the next highlight reel play to get the third out, off of Justin Morneau's ground ball. I am reminded of the first out I believe it was. After forcing out Michael Young, Russell Martin threw to first to try and get the double play, not in time, but Adrian Gonzalez made a game saving play, catching Martin's throw on an in between hop close to the ground.
The next big play came at the bottom of the very next inning, the 11th. With runners on first and second (J. D. Drew and Dioner Navarro respectively), Michael Young singled to center fielder Nate McLouth, who went on to throw Navarro out at the plate for out number two. Cristian Guzmán once again deserves credit for getting the third out. Carlos Quentin grounded out, Guzmán fielded to first.
The NL had a nice chance to win it in the top of the 12th. They had runners on first and second with no outs, and then second and third with one out after a sac bunt by Russell Martin. Tejada was then intentionally walked. Uggla, and Gonzalez both struck out to end the threat.
Aaron Cook deserves quite a bit of credit, pitching three innings, and not allowing a run. His defense put managed to put him into a jam, but then helped him out. Since he is a Rocky, and Clint Hurdle was managing, surely that was why he was out as long as he was, as the announcers pointed out.
In the end Michael Young was the hero, sac flying to right fielder Corey Hart (not wearing his sunglasses) who was just a few milliseconds too slow with his throw, and Justin Morneau plated the game winning run. Earlier in the bottom of the 11th, Nate McLouth throwing out Navarro could have been called either way. Obviously he was out. I'm not sure the unwritten rules exactly, but sometimes situations like that it is up to the umpire to give the benefit of the doubt. Martin was the one who received it, as far as the tag being applied versus touching home, but the throw was definitely in there in time.
So all in all, an entertaining ballgame at Yankee Stadium, the fourth and final All-Star age at that incarnation of Yankee Stadium. Old stars, and new stars alike shone. Although I have moved on to the Toronto Blue Jays, my heart is still in the National League, so I actually found myself rooting for them, including Cristian Guzmán, and Dan Uggla (whose third error should not have been as the ball took a nasty hop/in between hop). With that said, time for the Blue Jays to take hold of the second half, and take home field advantage! I'm sure most would agree four possible contenders in the AL East would be even better than three!
I believe it really started getting interesting in the bottom of the 8th, and onwards as it was tied. The game up to the top of the 5th was actually moving along quite quickly, until the scoring started, and it turned it into the longest MLB All-Star Game by time ever, at 4 hours and 50 minutes. The 1967 game in Anaheim also went 15 innings.
It actually really started getting interesting in the bottom of the 10th. Two Fielding errors, and an intentional walk loaded the bases with no outs. Dan Uggla made the two errors to start the inning, but made sure to get the force out at home for the first out. Michael Young was forced out at home. Cristian Guzmán playing threw from third to Russell Martin for the second out, forcing out Carlos Quentin. It was Guzmán's first time playing third in his MLB career! Normally a shortstop, so same side of the field, but still. Miguel Tejada made the next highlight reel play to get the third out, off of Justin Morneau's ground ball. I am reminded of the first out I believe it was. After forcing out Michael Young, Russell Martin threw to first to try and get the double play, not in time, but Adrian Gonzalez made a game saving play, catching Martin's throw on an in between hop close to the ground.
The next big play came at the bottom of the very next inning, the 11th. With runners on first and second (J. D. Drew and Dioner Navarro respectively), Michael Young singled to center fielder Nate McLouth, who went on to throw Navarro out at the plate for out number two. Cristian Guzmán once again deserves credit for getting the third out. Carlos Quentin grounded out, Guzmán fielded to first.
The NL had a nice chance to win it in the top of the 12th. They had runners on first and second with no outs, and then second and third with one out after a sac bunt by Russell Martin. Tejada was then intentionally walked. Uggla, and Gonzalez both struck out to end the threat.
Aaron Cook deserves quite a bit of credit, pitching three innings, and not allowing a run. His defense put managed to put him into a jam, but then helped him out. Since he is a Rocky, and Clint Hurdle was managing, surely that was why he was out as long as he was, as the announcers pointed out.
In the end Michael Young was the hero, sac flying to right fielder Corey Hart (not wearing his sunglasses) who was just a few milliseconds too slow with his throw, and Justin Morneau plated the game winning run. Earlier in the bottom of the 11th, Nate McLouth throwing out Navarro could have been called either way. Obviously he was out. I'm not sure the unwritten rules exactly, but sometimes situations like that it is up to the umpire to give the benefit of the doubt. Martin was the one who received it, as far as the tag being applied versus touching home, but the throw was definitely in there in time.
So all in all, an entertaining ballgame at Yankee Stadium, the fourth and final All-Star age at that incarnation of Yankee Stadium. Old stars, and new stars alike shone. Although I have moved on to the Toronto Blue Jays, my heart is still in the National League, so I actually found myself rooting for them, including Cristian Guzmán, and Dan Uggla (whose third error should not have been as the ball took a nasty hop/in between hop). With that said, time for the Blue Jays to take hold of the second half, and take home field advantage! I'm sure most would agree four possible contenders in the AL East would be even better than three!
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