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October 24, 2004

Game Two

I really hate all the opening ceremonies BS they pack into the start of each game. Let's just get on the field and play the game. It's bad enough they don't start until after eight on the East Coast, guaranteeing that kids won't be able to see the games. Then we pack in a bunch of silliness before we get down to playing the games. Unsatisfactory, and it helps to explain why baseball's popularity isn't near what it was. When your marquee event wraps up each night after midnight, how many new viewers do you expect to draw?

On the plus side, I do like most of the music choices for all of the leadup hoopla. On the minus side, I love 80s music, which means they're probably still not drawing new fans.

As the barrage of ads pounds down on us, I see Fox is running a second season of the Swan. I'm not sure how to feel about that. I suppose I'm part of the problem, to a tiny extent, since I certainly do like looking at attractive women; while I didn't marry my wife for her looks, the fact she's a babe (schwing!) didn't hurt. But the notion of women undergoing plastic surgery makes me more than a little queasy, especially as the theme for a television show.

Top first: Renteria isn't bunting here, which is probably a wise plan. If bunts are going to hurt Schilling, they're better used later in the game, when Schilling is already on the ropes. Schilling doesn't seem to have his best stuff, though, as he's having trouble putting Renteria away. Another good reason not to bunt. This is a great at-bat from Renteria; even if he doesn't reach, at-bats like this will get the Cards into Boston's middle relief early. Some good defense from the Sox early finally puts Renteria away, as Millar scoops Cabrera's low throw. Twelve pitches for Renteria, though. Walker goes fairly easily, only three pitches, but even a 1-2-3 inning will have been a little wearing on Schilling, thanks to Renteria. Pujols earns his first hit of the Series with a beautiful stroke to left center, an easy double. This kid is awesome. Schilling finally starts a batter with an inside pitch working Rolen. Looks like a tight strike zone tonight early. Rolen tries to get revenge for Tony Womack, but Mueller is too quick for him, and tonight's first looks very much like last night's, at least for the Cards.

Bottom first: Scott Rolen sees Bill Mueller's good play at third and raises him with a gorgeous pick and throw to get Damon at first. A very good start for the Cards, as the Sox don't do well when Damon doesn't reach. Cabrera isn't thinking clearly, as he swings at the first strike he sees to ground to short. Morris is working on short rest, so the Sox ought to be trying to work his pitch count. Damon did so, Cabrera did not, and Ramirez is quickly 0-2 as well. Manny comes back to draw the walk, ensuring Ortiz will bat in the first. Ortiz works the second walk of the inning, bringing up Varitek. Tek has got to be tired, but he's done well in the postseason thus far. If he could notch the first hit off Morris tonight, Morris has set him up well for it. If not, if he can at least work the count, he should help starting to wear Morris down. Wow. For a minute, I thought the Sox had their second first inning three-run homer in two games, but they'll have to settle for a two-run triple. Of course, in St. Louis that would have left the yard, but what can you do? Credit Varitek for running hard all the way to earn the triple. Walks kill you in baseball, and Morris is well on his way to commiting suicide as he walks Millar as well. Dave Duncan can't be happy with the number of trips he's had to make to the mound in this World Series thus far. Nixon once again does the Cardinals a favor, swinging at the first pitch to ground out and end the inning.

Top second: The first inning took 24 pitches from Schilling and 32 from Morris. Looks like another long night for the bullpens. The Red Sox defense speaks up early tonight, giving away yet another out when Varitek and Mueller collide going after an easy pop fly. A bad deal for Mueller to get the error, since Varitek should have backed off. Edmonds does ground out, but that was a few more pitches on Schillings arm and ankle. Every one matters, especially as Schilling may not be available for Game Six. Both Cards this inning have swung at the first pitch, a bad strategy in my opinion. Sanders steps out during Schilling's windup, an invitation for a shot at his melon later in the game. Instead Sanders walks, giving the Cardinals an opportunity to make up the two runs quickly. I could live with the annoying 'human interest' stories more if they didn't cut away from the action to show them. Bad baserunning by Sanders on Womack's shot to right center, but the Cards have two on and one out. Now Schilling seems to be having trouble with the strike zone, going 2-0 on Matheny. Another high-scoring affair looks pretty likely right now. Instead Matheny smokes one down the line, but Mueller is there and tags Sanders to end the inning. Big break for the Red Sox.

Bottom second: Mueller's good luck continues, as he sneaks a seeing-eye single through the right side. For once, Bellhorn fails to strike out and the Cardinals turn the double play. I'd say Francona was right not to start Mueller, but it hurts them this time. Now this could be a very easy inning for Morris. Very easy, as Damon goes down swinging.

Top third: Schilling gets an easy pop and an easy grounder to start the inning, just what he needs. Of course, I didn't see the grounder, since we're too damn busy showing replays to show the game. Again, the Cardinals are swinging early against Schilling. I don't know if that's a good idea or not; right now, it's definitely not, since they're making outs. Schilling finally strikes someone out for his first perfect inning.

Bottom third: Man, Morris' pitches really move. If he weren't pitching on short rest, I think the Sox would be in trouble. Hell, they're not in particularly good shape now, although 2-0 beats 0-2. Oy. I'm pretty sure Cabrera just grounded out on ball four. Manny goes down swinging, and suddenly Morris is looking really good. That's bad news for the Sox, since I don't know how long Curt can last on that ankle. Another easy inning for Morris, as Ortiz grounds to first. Quite a turnaround after the early going.

Top fourth: Pujols appears to have found his stroke, lashing another double and giving the Cards their first leadoff baserunner. If this wasn't the middle of their order, I'd be looking for a bunt here. Great baseball on Rolen's gork, as Nixon makes a beautiful catch but Pujols is heads-up enough to tag up and get to third for Edmonds. Schilling counters with his second strikeout of the night. St. Louis will need a hit to get the run home. Big at-bat here. Sanders hits a rocket foul on the first pitch. Mueller finally lets Schilling down, failing to handle Sanders' hot shot to third. That's six errors in two games for the Red Sox. They aren't winning anything if they don't relearn how to field. Fortunately, Schilling induces a lazy man's grounder to second base to get out with no further damage.

Bottom fourth: A phone call distracts me from the action, but let's hear it for Mark Bellhorn finally finding his stroke. Now the Sox need 2-3 scoreless innings from Schilling and they're in very good shape.

Top fifth: Matheny smokes a single through the left side to start the inning. Not a great start to the inning, and it looks like Schilling is tiring. The Sox may be lucky to get five innings out of him tonight. On the other hand, he strikes out Anderson, so he's obviously got a little left. But here comes St. Louis' heavy hitters. Schilling has pitched remarkably well, but he's been lucky, too; how often does Renteria get doubled up?

Bottom fifth: Schilling is at 73 pitches, so he may yet give the Sox the seven innings they desperately need. The sixth will determine it, as he'll face the big bats there. And apparently he came up a little lame coming off the mound to end the fifth, so they may be lucky to get six innings. Morris can't last much longer, as he's 3-0 on free swinging Cabrera. Cal Eldred getting ready as Morris walks Cabrera to start the fifth. We may not see much of either starter. Manny gets yet another chance to break out of his semi-slump here. Morris loses the handle inside as the Cards once again work the Red Sox inside. It works, as Manny hits a can of corn to right on the next pitch. That does it for Morris, who probably gave the Cardinals about as much as they could expect on short rest. Let's hear it for Tom Hanks' comments on the Sox; smart man, knowing what to say while standing in the Monster seats (lucky bastich). I'm surprised LaRussa didn't bring in a lefty to throw to Ortiz, given LaRussa's predeliction for lefties. One other reason I'd like to see the Sox win: LaRussa helped start the obnoxious trend of one-out relievers that extends the game to no good purpose. Ortiz crushes another one, but it was clearly foul. David hasn't learned yet to hit the pole the way Bellhorn does, so there's no doubt. The umpires huddle to make sure they got it right, but I'm pretty sure they did. Eldred knows where not to throw to David now. Ortiz instead hits a soft liner to right, and Eldred is almost out of trouble. Just how many batters is St. Louis planning to hit in this Series? They're lucky the Sox really can't afford to retaliate right now, but expect them to remember these HBPs later. Eldred might be wiser to walk Millar to face Nixon, the way Trot is hitting right now. On the other hand, Nixon is so dangerous, that would probably be an unwise plan no matter how cold Nixon's bat is right now. A full count means the Sox runners will be moving, but can Millar take advantage? Nope, he watches strike three, and the Red Sox have again failed to put St. Louis away.

Top sixth: A critical inning for Schilling and the Red Sox. If the Sox get through this without giving up a run, they can look to bring in Timlin if they must for the seventh. Good start for Curt, striking out Walker. Pujols has given him fits tonight, however. And Schilling knows it, as he's nibbling. Of course, that means he then ends up grooving one, if he's not careful. He's getting plenty of help from Dale Scott, however, as he's getting some iffy strikes. Pujols flies out on a pitch he probably wouldn't have swung at if not for the prior strike calls. Even if the Red Sox win the Series, it's safe to say that Bill Mueller won't be putting this game on his personal highlight reel after his third error of the night. The Red Sox have given St. Louis seven extra outs over the first two games, making it nothing short of miraculous that they're in position to win them both. Now Schilling has a little trouble with Edmonds, falling behind 2-0, then 3-0. Don't want to bring up Sanders as the tying run. Schilling has to be wondering what he has to do here, as Boston commits its fourth error of the night when Bellhorn can't handle an incredibly easy grounder. As McCarver notes, you can't keep doing this and hope to succeed. Mueller finally manages to catch a ball and beats Rolen to the bag to end the inning, but the Red Sox have problems, as they've gotten 7 1/3 innings out of Schilling, more than they might have hoped for, but they're only through six innings.

Bottom sixth: Nixon breaks through with a leadoff single, giving Bill Mueller a chance to atone for his errors. Right now, he has more errors than hits, bad under any circumstances, but even worse when you're two-for-two. Mueller gives the ball a ride, but it's just a loud out. Bellhorn pops out. Damon sneaks a single through the left side, and Cabrera fouls off a series of pitches before crushing one off the Wall. Too bad Cabrera failed to reach second, though. Once again, Manny is asked to help the Sox put St. Louis away. He doesn't put them away, but his power and the wind combine for a bloop single to center to keep the pressure on St. Louis. Eldred is done, and King will pitch to Ortiz. Ortiz looks bad, but it's unfair to expect him to keep carrying the Sox all by himself.

Top seventh: Schilling is done, possibly for the year. Boston's bullpen has been a strength most of the year, but can they get the last nine outs? Embree starts with a strikeout of Womack. It's the bottom of St. Louis' order, so there's no excuse for Embree not to go after them. Instead, he's behind Matheny 3-1. The Red Sox pitching coach needs to figure out how to get guys to throw strikes, or they need a new pitching coach. Matheny does Embree a favor, swinging at ball four. Embree strikes out the side on another iffy strike.

I think I'm as patriotic as most, but I have no interest in hearing "God Bless America" every game.

Bottom seventh: Varitek puts a charge in one, but it's just another loud out for the Sox. For the record, just because you make a basket catch, it doesn't mean you're Willie Mays all over again. Millar walks on four pitches, but Nixon once again offers a can of corn to center. Mueller has another chance to redeem himself now. He walks on what looked like strike three to me. Pokey Reese comes in for only his second at-bat of the postseason. No luck there as he pops up after a decent at-bat. Going to the eighth.

Top eighth: Timlin in to relieve Embree. They should have stuck with Embree, as Timlin walks the leadoff batter to give the Cardinals hope. The Sox are almost certainly going to need Foulke this inning now. Walker offers a swinging bunt, and the big bats are back. A moment of fear as Pujols singles to left, but Ramirez fields the ball cleanly, and the Cardinals have runners at the corners. Once again, Timlin is nibbling, and he's behind Rolen 2-0. Gets it back to 3-2, but having trouble putting Rolen away. Rolen drives one to center to bring Renteria home, but St. Louis is down to four outs behind four runs. Timlin is done, as the leadoff walk scores yet again. You would think the Sox would have figured that out by now, but they seem to have trouble grasping that concept. Foulke will try and close it out.

Top eighth (continued): Foulke continues his outstanding work, striking out Edmonds swinging. The Sox need three more outs.

Bottom eighth: Damon is apparently ready to go home, as he swings at the first pitch and gives up an easy 6-3 groundout. Cabrera works the count well, but pops out. Once again, we're waiting on Manny to break out with some power. Still no joy; Manny just doesn't seem to have his head in the game, as he hits a weak grounder on a 3-1 count.

Top ninth: Foulke looks to give the Sox a tough 2-0 lead in the Series against the tail end of the Cardinals' order. Ouch. Kapler comes in as a defensive replacement in left field, a sharp rebuke to Manny's performance last night. Nice at-bat by Sanders, hanging in against Foulke, but the first base ump rings him up. No replay, so I couldn't tell if it was a good call or not. Womack hits the ball on the nose, but straight at Nixon. It's up to Matheny to extend the game. I'm surprised LaRussa doesn't pinch hit here, if only to give someone else a little work. Cabrera neatly gloves Matheny's grounder, and the Sox take a 2-0 Series lead. We go to St. Louis with Boston having done what they needed to do.