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| 2011 World Series will be one of the stories you'd want to tell your grandkids | Credit: ibtimes.com |
Add the fact that the popular teams (Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies) were already eliminated before the league championship series, this year’s World Series seemed to be headed for a disaster. But guess what, baseball was not as bad as it appeared to be.
2011 will surely go down as one of the most exciting years in America’s major sporting events. The year began with an amazing conclusion of the NFL Super Bowl. The teams with the most number of American Football championships (pre-Super Bowl and Super Bowl era) faced each other in the largest stadium in the United States – the Cowboy Stadium. The Green Bay Packers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in a thrilling finish where Ben Roethlisberger almost put on a game-winning drive. It was an epic battle because it featured Green Bay’s amazing ascension to the top by winning six straight win-or-go-home games.
NBA topped the NFL postseason with an amazing playoffs that featured the young teams (Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder and Chicago Bulls) prevailing against their seasoned opponents. However, the biggest story was the Finals matchup that featured the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat. The former was written off by most analysts because there was less star power in the team aside from Dirk Nowitzki. However, Miami was touted to be the favorites as early as the preseason because of their all-star triumvirate. But just like in the movies, the underdogs/fan favorites defeated the big villains. Dirk earned his first ever championship ring.
While the NBA Finals was ongoing, NHL’s Stanley Cup was also intense. Two championship-hungry teams – the Boston Bruins and the Vancouver Canucks – captivated some mainstream sports fans to consider watching the least popular major sport. The games may have mostly been lopsided but the fact that it reached the full seven games made it interesting. Boston won and they ended their 39-year drought.
Baseball, how are you gonna effin’ top those sports? If you ask me if MLB was going to have the best sport season in 2011 last July, I would most likely reply that it won’t be likely. All the previous postseasons in the year were intense-filled. How is an old-fashioned sport that blocks Youtube videos going to have any chance?
The answer was simple. MLB Season 2011 was intriguing from the get-go. Boston began the year with huge acquisitions. Cliff Lee decided to join the Phillies. By the first month, the Red Sox horrible start became huge news. Then, they captivated the fans by having an amazing run that saw them instantly grabbing the AL East lead. The Red Sox-Yankees duel even reached the noteworthy Home Run Derby. In the National League, the perennial cellar dwellers – the Pittsburgh Pirates – grabbed the NL Central lead for some time. That was the first time they reached it this late since 1997. Then, the Milwaukee Brewers grabbed it and became America’s hottest bandwagon team.
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| Verlander should win the MVP | Credit: AP |
The postseason this year was also magnificent. The Division Series all reached the full five games except for Texas-Tampa Bay which the former won in four games. The most exciting fact was that the favorites – Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees – saw their hopes vanish as they lost to their lower-seeded foes. It is ironic how their no-bearing final regular season game (which both reached extra innings) came to bite them in some way. Had the Phillies let the Braves win, they could have forced the playoff game which would have burned more energy on the St. Louis Cardinals (or the Phillies would have faced the arguably-weakest NL playoff team – the Arizona Diamondbacks – had Atlanta advanced).
The League Championship Series were interesting as St. Louis destroyed Milwaukee at their home, and Texas finished the injured Detroit Tigers. Notable highlights were Nelson Cruz’s walk-off grand slam homerun to win a playoff game (first ever) and the final game massacres in both series.
World Series
Most people do not care for either the Texas Rangers or the St. Louis Cardinals. Yes, the Cards have an amazing winning tradition (10 World titles prior to this year’s World Series). However, a lot get pissed at Tony La Russa’s blank stares. He sucks the life out of baseball. Texas, on the other hand, was never a good baseball city. The first time they reached the World Series was… wait for it… last year. In short, nobody should care, right?
But, the NBA lockout gave baseball the much-needed attention it deserved for the past years. With the amazing year it already had, the World Series competitors showcased everything baseball had to offer to its fans.
These are the random happenings in this year’s World Series:
We witnessed an amazing pitching substitution strategy by Tony La Russa. (Game 1)
We had a classic one inning comeback by the Texas Rangers. (Game 2)
We got to see numerous errors committed. (Multiple Games)
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| Tough times for Bush and Ryan | Credit: sportsbiznews |
We witnessed an amazing hitting showcase by Albert Pujols and company. Pujols recorded three home runs in one game. (Game 3)
Mike Napoli showed consistency on slugging by delivering RBI’s at almost every game.
David Freese – a nobody early this year – broke the record for most RBI’s in postseason history.
Derek Holland made us appreciate how great pitching was in Game 4.
We witnessed how Tony La Russa’s amazing pitching substitution strategy can backfire with a funny mishap in Game 5 where he used a pitcher to intentionally walk a batter.
We were able to notice Ron Washington’s questionable decisions (he also had a lot of them in last year’s World Series). My favorite was his stubborn decision to play… wait for it…
Alexi Ogando. The guy may have been a very good pitcher prior to this World Series, but he could not handle the mental game against the Cardinals (that or he rooted for St. Louis when he was a kid). He was horrendous in each game except in Game 4 (he did not play) and Game 7 (because he just threw one pitch the whole game). He was walking batters even if the bases are loaded. I do not want to hate, but he was consistently awful that commentators and analysts were mentioning how bad he was come Game 6. Washington should have just let him sit and pitch next year (hey, he has a bright career ahead), instead of letting poor Ogando have demoralizing scars in a World Series he is not prepared to pitch on.
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| It was tough to say goodbye to Albert as a Cardinal | Credit: Sports Illustrated |
We got to appreciate Texas’ aggressive base running. My most favorite was the sequence in the ninth inning of Game 2. With Kinsler on base, he stole second base. Elvis Andrus hit the ball successfully. The Cards tried to prevent the runner in scoring position – Kinsler – to score. This prompted Andrus to grab the opportunity and run to second base. When Hamilton hit the deep sacrifice fly, Texas was not satisfied by just having Kinsler score, they advanced Andrus to third. This set up for another sacrifice fly. Two runs scored and they grabbed the lead.
This Fall Classic featured Neftali Feliz’ streak of saves which ironically ended in the most pivotal time…
Game 6
This would have to be one of the best – if not the best – World Series game I have witnessed in my whole life. It would have been extra special had the Cardinals lost (yeah, I do not like them) but I will take the experience of watching this any time. After all, I am not a Rangers fan either.
All for the love of the game.
I started watching this game in the 6th inning. You can actually get the story of this game from various websites so I will just add a twist in my storytelling by making a retro diary of the experience (no timestamp since baseball is ‘timeless,’ right?):
Bottom 6th: TV just showed that Colby Lewis was replaced after 90+ pitches. This was because the bases are loaded and Texas had a one-run lead. There was just one out so the Cards should drive a deep fly ball in this situation. I wondered who the pitcher on the mound was.
And it was…
Wait for it…
Alexi Ogando! Son of a bitch! Ron Washington replaced his good starter with the worst pitcher from his bullpen. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Dammit, Ron, that is the fifth time you played that pitcher. Have you forgotten that he has consistently given up a run in each game he pitched in? Ogando could have had a worse ERA if the person who replaced him did not bail his ERA out.
What the eff?! He walked the batter. St. Louis scores without even hitting a safe ball. Oh wait… I should not be surprised. Ogando has been like that for most of the time.
I grew up watching elite pitchers (that’s why I am a Braves fan). One of the worst sights in baseball is when the pitcher walks a batter during a bases loaded situation.
YES!!! Napoli bails out Ogando for one out. I wonder what his thought process was then…
Fake Ogando Thought: Dammit, Mike! Why did you pick off the baserunner in third base? I want my St. Louis Cardinals to win this game. That and it’s still OK for me to give up runs because my ERA won’t be affected anyway. These are charged to Colby anyway. Oh well, I will just walk this next batter.
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| Don't worry, Ogando. You'll be at Holland's caliber next year | Credit: UPI.com |
Whew! This was what Alexi Ogando did during the time he pitched: two walks. There was an out but he did not earn it since his catcher was the one who picked off the runner.
Inning ended thanks to Holland’s amazing pitching. He is the man. (Ohbytheway, he was in Ogando’s shoes last year, right? See, how a year changes everything. Alexi Ogando will be Texas’ premiere starting pitcher next year.)
Top 7th:
Going… going… GONE!!! Texas with the lead again. Whew!
GONE!!! Oh yeah! It’s not that bad after all.
Great! Washington is going to use Holland in the next inning. This is good news. I would rather use him in a pivotal Game 6 than in a hypothetical Game 7. Derek Holland bunts but Murphy was thrown out in second base.
BAM! Three-run lead. Not only does Derek Holland deliver in pitching, he even scored a run. Thanks to Alexi Ogando, Holland is on pace at winning his second World Series game and the series MVP (yeah, I forgot about how awesome Napoli was).
Bottom 7th: Derek Holland killed the batters. Inning over. Six more outs and the Rangers are the champions.
Top 8th: 1-2-3 inning. It’s alright. Texas is safely up by three runs.
Bottom 8th: We were headed to a 1-2-3 inning until Allen Craig hit a homer. Holland is back to being a human. Adams replaced him eventually and the inning was over. Rangers up by two with three outs remaining. Neftali Feliz has been perfect this postseason so far. How can you go wrong?
Top 9th: No Ranger score. Why aren’t they going for the kill? Oh well, let’s give credit to La Russa’s style of overutilizing his bullpen.
Bottom 9th: Here we go. Two run lead. One of the consistent closers. Nolan Ryan can heave a sigh of relief, now. Wait… he still looks serious. What the eff.
Wow! Nolan Ryan is smiling now. He is talking joyously to George W. Bush. La Russa wins the Longer Scowl battle between the two.
Yes! I raised my fist. (I obviously don’t want St. Louis to win the World Series the same way I don’t want New York Yankees and Philly to win it.)
Halfway through, I stopped myself. I said to myself that it’s not yet over. Nolan Ryan is not jumping up and down.
Freese hits a deep fly ball. This is it… catch it… catch it… Nelson Cruz did not catch it. The ball dropped to the ground and pandemonium ensued. I hear Joe Buck say “Pujols scores. Berkman will score. We have a tied ball game.” Gasp. Of course, they will score. With two outs, they were running without hesitation.
Blown save by Feliz. This is like the moment when Mariano Rivera blew it against the D-Backs in 2001. The only thing that Feliz could do was to bite his glove. However, the biggest blunder in here was the positioning of the fielders. I know they do not want the hitters to hit in the gap between the bases and the fielders, but that was actually the lesser evil. That would have just led to one run. Texas’ fielder tactic made it tough for Cruz to be in a good position to catch the ball.
Top 10th: With Hamilton on base, Hamilton hits a long bomb. This was how I reacted:
Going… going… GONE! GONE!! GONE!!! GOOOOONNNNE!!! GONE! GONE! (Damn you, St. Louis)
Two-run lead again. I love this game.
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| 2009 Montage Song: Use Somebody. 2010: Animal. 2011: Firework. Wait... what? | Credit: Sports Illustrated |
Bottom 10th: St. Louis answered back with two hits. (Bloody Hell) Lohse was brought to bunt. Rangers talk to each other to strategize on how to handle such situations. They are from American League so they are not used to this tactic. Lohse performs an amazing bunt. Andrus goes Jeter-esque by throwing Lohse out at first. Two runners in scoring position. One out.
Theriot grounds out but Descalso scored. One run lead. Two outs. Here we go again.
Pujols at the plate. Crowd was roaring. Last at-bat by this future Hall of Famer? How many times are we going to feel this moment? Of course, Pujols was intentionally walked. It’s a no-brainer. I’d rather have him on the bases than on the plate.
Lance Berkman at the home plate. He is one of the Cardinals’ feel-good stories this year. He is old but he is off to an amazing year. Feldman collects two strikes from Berkman. For the second time, Texas is one strike away from the World Series. I am ready to tweet “Congratulations to the Texas Rangers for winning this year’s World Series.” Then, this happened…
Lance Berkman hits the ball. Crowd roars. St. Louis ties the game again. Crowd is in full ecstasy. The Cardinals are a resilient bunch. They just won’t die. The Rangers did everything they could to win the game. They scored runs when needed. But some things are not meant to be. St. Louis had luck and the guts to come through in the clutch.
Top 11th: I took a bath because I need to drive to work. This is how long the game was. I usually have one hour for preparation AFTER a game. Rangers failed to score a run this time around.
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| Freese hits the Game 6 walk-off home run | Credit: ramsherd.com |
Game 6 sealed it for baseball. This sport trumped all the other sports this year. You cannot top that amazing comeback. Never in a timed sport. I don’t care if you call baseball boring for most of the time. When it comes to clutch moments, baseball has the best potential out of all sports. No lead is safe as long as you still have an out to burn.
Game 7 was the icing of the cake to this wonderful series. The crowd noise and the Cardinals’ emergence made the game a great watch. I may not like St. Louis but I have come to an acceptance that they deserved to win it all. After all, they came back from a very improbable deficit to win the Wild Card. They defeated the best team in regular season (Philadelphia). St. Louis destroyed the hottest bandwagon team (Milwaukee). And, they fought with everything they got against a powerhouse hitting team that has been the most consistent team in the past two years (Texas). Winning the wildest modern World Series was just appropriate for this resilient St. Louis team. Congratulations, St. Louis Cardinals.
Week 8 NFL Picks
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| No easy W for me in Pigskin Pick 'Em as the Green Bay Packers are not playing this week | Credit: Sports Illustrated |
Anyway, here is to hoping I get back to my 10-3 weeks or over 85th percentile.
TENNESSEE TITANS over Indianapolis Colts. The Colts will bounce back but the Titans will also unleash hell after the beating they got from Texas. That, and they are the home team.
New Orleans Saints over ST. LOUIS RAMS. Rams suck. Period.
NEW YORK GIANTS over Miami Dolphins. I am not picking a Suck-for-Luck team (just like in my past two picks) until they win a game.
CAROLINA PANTHERS over Minnesota Vikings. Newton was picked first before Christian Ponder. There is a reason behind that.
BALTIMORE RAVENS over Arizona Cardinals. We have angry birds beating lousy birds here.
HOUSTON TEXANS over Jacksonville Jaguars. Wow! This is the first time I have been picking a lot of the home teams in the early games.
BUFFALO BILLS over Washington Redskins. Redskins are too injured. Their best wide receiver is Jabar Gaffney and they lost their starting running back. Ohbytheway, I picked Gaffney in my fantasy team.
Detroit Lions over DENVER BRONCOS. Sorry, Tebow. I am a fan but I do not know how you are going to fare against the charging Ndamukhong Suh.
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS over Cincinnati Bengals. Upset Special! Dalton is just a rookie so I have a feeling he will crumble in front of the loud Seattle crowd.
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS over Cleveland Browns. 49ers are Top 5 caliber right now. Their only loss (overtime against Cowboys) was Romo’s miracle game. I might even pick the 49ers over Steelers right now.
New England Patriots over PITTSBURGH STEELERS. Because I am a homer.
Dallas Cowboys over PHILADELPHIA EAGLES. This is a tough one. Philly is outstanding after the bye week (11-0) but the bye rules this year changed. If you look at Dallas’ offense, it is actually great. Romo has two strong options for his wide receivers against Philly’s star-studded cornerbacks. Witten should also expose the Eagles’ weakness against the tight ends. Andohbytheway, Dallas has DeMarco Murray.
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS over San Diego Chargers. Dammit, Nate Ravitz and Stephania Bell. They convinced me at the last minute to take this Upset Special # 2.5 (Dallas over Philly counts as 0.5). Monday Night Football at Arrowhead + the fact that San Diego almost lost their home game against the Chiefs.
Last Week: 6-7
Season Record: 67-36
Percentile: 81.4
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