October BAseball is the Best

[modmark46]

Wow! Freese for StL mayor? Hits the GW HR in the 11th, after hitting the game tying triple in the 9th! Unbelievable. Cards just did something never done in a WS game. Scored in the 8th, 9th, 10th and for the icing on the cake, the 11th inning as well. The 9th and 10th they did it with two outs and two strikes. Rangers have to be in shock. Game totals = 28 hits, 19 runs, 5 errors.

[drfreeze49]

yea Dr, Freeze wtg...ut oh sorry wrong Freeze :oops:

[Moriarity]

I had a Blatz vision, was that Carlos Marmol on the mound?

[thetallguy747]

I'm exhausted. What a game. :D

Kevin A

[Moriarity]

Baseball at its best. Celebration and heads between their tails. A great game is just that in every generation. Once went to a rainout makeup game between the Giants & Cubs at Wrigley. Marichal was awesome, but thanks to my brother for taking me, otherwise I'd have never seen it. Great games only come along so often, but let's face it, a classic game is just that. I believe this community appreciates baseball fans from any culture. BTW, I miss Bobby.

Mort

[rburgh]

Second best WS 10-9 game ever. (Maz HR game was also 10-9.)

[guardian154]

[quote:2c1fcad812="modmark47"]Down by one, two outs, and they intentionally walk Pujols. Smart move, but that does bring up a hot hitting Berkman. Does Lance become a new StL legend with a game tying/winning hit, or merely the last out of the '11 season?[/quote:2c1fcad812]

We all know what happened here, but with Albert going 0-fer like 18 and cold since the 3rd game, maybe they should have pitched to him instead of Berkman?

[PotKettleBlack]

From Jayson Stark:
1- first World Series game in history in which a team got down to its final strike, its final breath, twice -- once in the ninth inning, once in the 10th inning -- and somehow won.

2- first World Series game ever played in which any team trailed five times -- and still came back to win.

3- first World Series game ever in which a team found itself losing in the ninth inning and extra innings -- yet still found a way to win.

4- first World Series game in history in which two players hit go-ahead home runs in extra innings.

5- first team in the 1,330-game history of postseason baseball to score in the eighth, ninth, 10th and 11th innings of any game.

---
Also:
This was just the third time that a team one out from elimination in the World Series came back to win the game, according to STATS LLC. Last time was the Buckner play (ah, sweet memories)

and:
Freese had the game-tying triple in the 9th before hitting the walk-off homer in the 11th. He's the first player in World Series history to have a pair of tying or go-ahead hits in the 9th inning or later of the same game. Only seven others have two such hits in their careers, and only three (Joe Morgan, Roger Peckinpaugh, Tris Speaker) did those within the same series (but in different games).

and:
[code:1:b15201d7b1]Allowed Walk-Off HR in World Series vs Only Batter Faced
Batter
Mark Lowe 2011 Rangers David Freese
Mike Remlinger 1999 Braves Chad Curtis
Charlie Leibrandt 1991 Braves Kirby Puckett
Barney Schultz 1964 Cardinals Mickey Mantle[/code:1:b15201d7b1] (Ah, Chad Curtis, sweet memories)

and last, for me, most remarkably:
[code:1:b15201d7b1]Game-tying RBI in 9th inning or later - 1 out from World Series Elimination
Lance Berkman 2011 Cardinals
David Freese 2011 Cardinals
Otis Nixon 1992 Braves
Josh DeVore 1911 Giants[/code:1:b15201d7b1]
Cards did, twice in one game, what had only been twice in all of WS history. Crazy!

[PotKettleBlack]

[quote:08a7d1e04c="guardian154"][quote:08a7d1e04c="modmark47"]Down by one, two outs, and they intentionally walk Pujols. Smart move, but that does bring up a hot hitting Berkman. Does Lance become a new StL legend with a game tying/winning hit, or merely the last out of the '11 season?[/quote:08a7d1e04c]

We all know what happened here, but with Albert going 0-fer like 18 and cold since the 3rd game, maybe they should have pitched to him instead of Berkman?[/quote:08a7d1e04c]

I dunno. It's a 50/50 situation for a manager. You pitch to Pujols and he burns you, crucified. You walk him, get beat by Berkman, crucified. You get Pujols out (likely) you are brilliant. You walk Pujols and get Berkman out, brilliant.

One thing I like (as a tactician... /hate as a Cards fan) is that the Walking of the Albert seems to have messed with his timing resulting in what seems like an 0-fer-last-thousand PA's where Texas pitches to him.

The thing I don't like (same deal as above, as a tactician) is that I think it's hard to go, as a pitcher, from competitive pitches to the #2 hitter, lollypops three feet out of the K-zone to Pujols, then back to competitive pitches to the cleanup. Feels like that'd be hard, mentality wise.

Also, feels like telling your pitcher "I don't think anything good can come of you pitching to this guy" is psychological bad mojo. Don't put doubts in people's heads. Ever. Not in big spots. Honestly, if I were Pujols, I'd say something about it, just from a gamesmanship position. Trot to first, tell the pitcher he's a belly itcher, whatever.

Last thought on the RP IBB. Have your departing pitcher issue the IBB, then bring in someone fresh from the BP. Of course, doesn't work that well if Freese goes yard off your BP guy, but still, something to think about.

[Valen]

No question I agree if you are making a pitcher switch and an intentional walk have the departing pitcher issue the walk. Even a tired guy should be able to toss 4 wide ones. More importantly I want my new guy entering the game in a get people out take no prisoners frame of mind. So much of pitching is muscle memory and I am concerned about my incoming guy having his most recent pitching memory be 4 balls.