October 27, 2011 [LINK / comment]
World Series Game 6: rain delay!
The postponement of Game 6 due to rain might have taken away some of the momentum the Texas Rangers had built up after winning Game 4 and Game 5, but it might also have prolonged the high anxiety of the St. Louis Cardinals. (See below.) The game is in the top of the third inning right now, all tied up, 2-2. The Rangers scored one run in the first, just like in the game on Sunday night, but unlike that game, the Cardinals bounced right back with a two-run homer by Lance Berkman. Then the Rangers score one more in the top of the second with a ground rule double by Ian Kinsler. Looks like it's going to be one hell of an exciting game, sports fans! Time to crack open a cold one and relish the drama at the end (?) of a wonderful postseason.
Actually, I'm kind of hoping the Cardinals win tonight, because that would force a Game 7. Believe it or not, the last time the World Series went a full seven games was in 2002, when the Angels beat the Giants. But since the Rangers have never won a World Series, my sympathies are leaning slightly in their favor. In fact, the Houston Astros have never become world champions either, meaning that Texas is one of the very few MLB states who have yet to attain that high honor.
Failure to communicate
In my last blog post, I made note of Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa's postgame comment that there had been a "mixup," declining to say anything further. I only caught the tail end of that, so I mistakenly inferred he was talking about the hit-and-run situation in which Allen Craig was thrown out at second. Actually, the problem was a breakdown in the bullpen telephone system, or maybe just crowd noise, but whatever the cause, when LaRussa called for a relief pitcher, the only guy who had warmed up was left-hander Marc Rzepczynski. LaRussa wanted right-hander Jason Motte to go against the right-handed batter Mike Napoli, and this mixup may have helped Napoli hit that go-ahead double. The whole incident threw the usually-confident Cardinals off stride, and might end up affecting the outcome of the World Series. See Washington Post.