Allsports

So the Baseball sports news and sports on the web is over for the next little while and Texas ended up coughing up another hair ball in the World Series. There were a few things that played against the Rangers in the Fall Classic but the bottom line is, when you have your heel  on the opponents throat,  you have to finish them off and Texas just could not get the job done. Maybe allsports jinxed them by predicting they would win. Lord knows I was brutal in the prediction department this year with the worst record I have ever had but that’s why the games are played. You could also say that the Cardinals were destined to win the Championship with the way they finished the season and the way they performed right through the playoffs. Allsports thought they may have it together when they put the Phillies out. I think I stated in that first playoff post that the Cardinals would need some divine intervention to get past Philadelphia. They did and seemed to have something looking out for them all the way through the playoffs. The Rangers sure would not argue, having the Cardinals down to their final strike on two occasions in game six and letting them up off the carpet.

World Series Trophy

So what happened to the Rangers that put them behind the eight ball. In hindsight here are some of the things that worked against them.

A subdued Ron Washington

Texas would never say it affected them but the rain out of game six was beneficial to the Cardinals. The Rangers were on a high after winning two straight at home for the series lead, then they had to relax for an extra day when I am sure they were chomping at the bit to get back at it. The extra day of rest also let the Cardinals get their stud pitcher, Chris Carpenter back into the series for game seven, which as we all saw turned out to be a huge advantage.Carpenter never should have been a factor because the Rangers should have closed the deal in game six when they had the chance. That is why Baseball is different from other sports, there is no clock running and you have to get that final strike. Game six was a classic example of the Yogi Berra quote, ” The game isn’t over until it’s over”

Chris Carpenter

The National League won the all star game and that entitled the National League Champion to have home field advantage for the Wold Series. Much was made of this when many were saying that the wild card team should never have the home field advantage in any playoff series. Due to what happened this year, look for Major League Baseball to revise this rule. I get what they were doing in trying to add more substance to the all star game but this year it bit them in the ass. Ron Washington was out managed by Tony LaRussa in the series and it became much more glaring in the National League park where there is no Designated Hitter. Washington was more of a cheerleader to his guys this year and just let them play baseball. Throw in the DH and have at it. His players loved him for it and played hard for him. But you have to be much more cerebral without the DH, knowing where your pitcher is batting and reading when he is out of gas. LaRussa was masterful at it, with a lot of help from his catcher Yadier Molina. Ron Washington was not and his bullpen ran out of gas. I would hazard a guess to say that LaRussa got into Washington’s head and made him become timid. The Rangers were just not that aggressive and that type of baseball was what got them to where they were. Look no further than game seven when Washington gave up an out to move a runner instead of letting the player swing the bat.

David Freese-World Series MVP

But allsports thinks the biggest brain cramp that the Rangers had was leaving the plastic up that covered the lockers in anticipation of winning the series in game six. I know the clubhouse staff were likely getting tired of taking it down and putting it back up but you can’t leave it up when there is still a game to be played. The sports gods would frown upon that and it is just bad karma. It was like last spring when the Vancouver Canucks were starting to plan their Stanley Cup Parade before the cup was won. We all know what happened to that parade. It is something you just don’t do in sports, win first, plan later. the plastic stayed up and the final strike never game.

After the final out

It will be a very long winter for the Texas Rangers. I felt sorry for Nolan Ryan as he sat there watching the games. You could see the look of utter frustration on his face when his pitchers could not get the job done. I am sure Nolan was wishing he could have taken the ball himself and pitched the final out for Texas.

Cards Celebrate Championship

David Freese, who grew up about 30 miles from Busch Stadium, was awarded the MVP for the World Series. The kid had a pretty good playoffs because he also won the MVP for the NLCS which I think is a first and set a new mark for RBI’s in the MLB playoffs.

Cardinals win World Series

Since winning the World Series last Friday, Tony LaRussa has decided to hang up the cleats after 33 years of managing. He announced his retirement earlier this week.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

Allsports

The baseball sports news and sports on the web for this years World Series is starting to get interesting. With two straight wins Texas finds themselves with a one game lead heading back to the Midwest for the series finale in St. Louis.

World Series Trophy

The Texas Rangers had to regroup after the Cardinals and Albert Pujols had hammered them 16-7 in the opener of the series shift to Texas. Their normally reliable bullpen had been lite up by St. Louis on the night and appeared to be in tatters. Texas needed a strong pitching effort in game four and that’s exactly what they got.

Derek Holland

Enter Derek Holland, the Rangers 25 year old left handed pitcher. Holland gave the Rangers just what they needed, pitching 8 and 1/3 innings, walking two and striking out seven in the 4-0 shutout win. Hollands effort may have turned the series around for Texas because the strong performance allowed the battered bullpen a night off to rest. Mike Napoli provided all of the offense Holland would need with a 3 run homer.

C.J. Wilson

Game five did not start well for Texas starter C.J. Wilson as he walked the first two batters he faced in the 2nd inning and 2 errors by left fielder David Murphy and 1st baseman Mitch Moreland, compounded the problem. When Wilson finally got out of the inning the Cardinals had scored two runs for the early lead. Moreland got one back in the bottom of the third with a solo home run. Wilson flirted with disaster for most of his 100 pitch, five innings of work but did keep wiggling off the hook to avoid getting hurt. Then with the score tied 2-2 in the eighth Napoli came through for the Rangers again, hitting a double off Marc Rzepczynski that plated two more runs for a 4-2 Texas lead. Rangers fireball closer Neftali Feliz mowed down the Cardinals in the ninth for the save. Not only did the Rangers take a 3-2 series lead heading back to St. Louis for the game tonight but in doing so they beat the Cardinals Ace, Chris Carpenter, so they likely won’t have to worry about him for the rest of the series.

Mike Napoli

So now the series will conclude back in St. Louis at Busch Stadium. Game six has Rangers right-hander Colby Lewis against Cardinals lefty Jaime Garcia. Allsports thinks the advantage tonight is with the Rangers. Colby Lewis has been the Rangers most reliable starter over the last two postseasons and Garcia may pitch well but if he starts to feel the pressure, could become fidgety on the mound  and then LaRussa will have a big decision to make.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

World Series Trophy

Allsports here with a brief update on the Baseball sports news and sports on the web. So everyone was talking about the Texas Rangers coming home and putting up some big offensive numbers in the World Series. Problem was Albert Pujols and his Cardinal teammates were not listening and they decided to be the ones swinging the bats. Pujols bat woke up in a big way as he banged out five hits, including the fourth three-home run game in World Series history, driving in six runs. He joins Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson on that elite list. It was arguably the greatest single offensive game by a single player in World Series history.

Albert Pujols

Both starters, Kyle Lohse for St. Louis and Matt Harrison of the Rangers had very poor starts and were both gone by the fourth inning. Neither bullpen was too hot either and the normally stingy Texas relievers showed quite a few cracks in the armor. Both pitching staffs were beaten up badly but the Rangers took more of a kicking in the 16-7 loss. It will be interesting how the teams will patch the arms together to get through game four tonight. Texas better hope that Derek Holland can get the job done tonight and stop the bleeding, another loss and it will be tough for the Rangers to come back. Texas third baseman Adrian Beltre also had a great night at the plate going 4 for 5 but was overshadowed by Pujols heroics.

Stay tuned we could see a lot more offense in the game tonight.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

Allsports

Allsports here with an update on baseball for the sports news and sports on the web. So unless you are on a desert island somewhere and have no way of getting the news and sports, you will likely be aware that the 2011 World Series starts tonight in St. Louis. The visitors will be the Texas Rangers, the American League Champions for the second straight year.

The St. Louis Cardinals will get the home field advantage this year due to the fact that the National League won the all star game  and the league that wins it gets the extra home game in the world series if it is needed. So now that we know the combatants, lets see how they got here.

American League Logo

The Texas Rangers played the Detroit Tigers for the American League Pennant and the Rangers shot down the Tigers before they were mauled. Allsports thought the Tigers would take this one in seven games as I said in my previous baseball post Due mainly to what was thought to be the Tigers superior starting pitching. Well Oops again in the prediction department as the starters in the series were not a major factor in the outcome of most  games. The Tigers were a little banged up too and not quite as healthy as they would have liked. I am sure the Rangers  were a little banged up as well, but not quite as bad as the Tigers. When you get to this point in the season and  are completely healthy, it means one thing, you just have not been playing every day.

Nelson Cruz, ALCS MVP

Allsports thought the two main reasons why the Rangers won the series in six games were Nelson Cruz who was a one man wrecking machine that banged out six home runs and 13 RBI’s in the series, new major league records and the Texas bullpen that had a miniscule ERA. Allsports thought the Texas relievers were pretty good I just underestimated how good they were. Cruz and his feats got him the honor of the MVP for the ALCS.

National League Logo

In the National League allsports did pick it right but the Cards did it in six games and I had said seven. The Cardinals hit better than the Milwaukee Brewers and their bullpen was superior to the Brewers. Neither teams starting pitching was that solid so again most of the games were decided by the relievers. The Brewers were just too sloppy on defense and when they gave the Cardinals that extra out they took advantage of it.  The Cardinals have been on quite a roll since the last month of the regular season and they have managed to carry it right through to the fall classic.

Allsports

Allsports here for an update in the Baseball sports news and sports on the web. So allsports really kind of crapped the bed with his predictions in the opening round of the MLB playoffs. The only team that allsports predicted to get through to the second round was the Detroit Tigers. Well at least the hated New York Yankees got sent home.

So if you are keep score at home and you check my previous post you will see that allsports got one of the four series right, which is not very good in the old crystal ball department. But that is why you have to play the games as anything can happen in the wonderful world of sports.

So now lets move on to the League Championship series in the American League and National League. Allsports is a bugger for abuse and will take another kick at the can with his predictions. The boys of summer are not getting much time to lick their wounds as the American League championship starts tonight at 8:05 PM and the National League gets back at it tomorrow at 4:05 PM.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

Allsports

Hello everyone, allsports here with some baseball sports news and sports on the web. So was that one wild finish to the Major League Baseball season or what. Not only did the Boston Red Sox have a melt down but the Atlanta Braves did them one better, well one and a half better or worse to be exact. It was likely the first time in MLB history that two teams, one in each league, had such a collapse in the month of September. Boston held a nine game lead on the Tampa Bay Rays at the end of August but a 7-20 record in the home stretch allowed Tampa to overtake them on the last day of the season. In the National League, Atlanta fared even worse. They saw a 10.5 game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals evaporate and found themselves on the outside looking in once the regular season dust had settled. Crazy stuff when not one but two teams give up that many game leads to come out on the short end of the playoff picture. The races were great for the game of baseball  and should add some weight as far as adding another wild card team into the playoff mix. Mind you there would not have been near as much drama had there been two wild card spots open in each league. So maybe they just leave things the way they are. If its not broke, don’t fix it kind of thing.

MLB

So now that the opponents have been finalized, allsports will take the opportunity to opinion-ate as to who he thinks will win and why.

American League Logo

First the American League. Tampa Bay takes on the Texas Rangers who surprised a lot of people, including allsports by getting to the World Series last year. Can Texas pull it off again this year, not sure. Tampa has great young pitching but the Rangers have a little more pop on offense. One thing the Rangers don’t have this year and that’s Cliff Lee, who was unbeatable in the American League Playoffs last year. So the experts have always said that good pitching will beat good hitting so if this series is true to form the Rays will win it, besides no Cliff Lee for Texas this year. That might be too much to overcome.

Justin Verlander

In the other series the Detroit Tigers will go into the Bronx Zoo and tangle with the Yankees. The Yankees have a potent offensive lineup and can score runs. Detroit  does not have the offensive numbers that New York has but they have something the Yankees wish they had and that is Justin Verlander. Verlander had a great year and carried his Tigers teammates to the central league title. The Yankees could see Verlander twice in the series and allsports hopes that is the difference so the Tigers can move on.

National League Logo

In the National League the St. Louis Cardinals will face the Philadelphia Phillies who finished with the best record in Baseball at 102-60. The Cardinals have been playing playoff type baseball for about a month now and caught the Atlanta Braves for the wild card spot. The Cards will need it all and then some to take out the Phillies. The Phillies have about the best starting rotation that allsports has seen and likely one of the best ever, not to mention a very strong offense that can hit. Roy Halladay who finished 19-6 will start game one and will likely be followed by Cliff Lee in game two. Thats quite the 1-2 punch. Well never say never but allsports thinks there will have to be some divine intervention for the Cardinals to win this series.

World Series Trophy

In the other series the Arizona Diamond Backs travel to Milwaukee to take on the Brewers. Allsports does not know much about either of these teams. The Brewers won their division for the second year in a row to get into the playoffs again while the D-Backs did a complete reversal, winning the West when they were last a year ago. Kirk Gibson manages the D- Backs and Johnny Mack came over from the Toronto Blue Jays to get a shot at a ring. Allsports hopes he gets it and I always liked Gibson when he played the game, so for those reasons I am picking the Diamond Backs.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

MLB

Justin Verlander came very close to perfection against the Toronto Blue Jays on the weekend. He pitched a “No Hitter” for the Detroit Tigers against the  Blue Jays.

Justin Verlander

Verlander was as close to perfect as you can get having a 3-2 pitch called a ball to walk one runner, spoiling a perfect game. Verlander was untouchable all day with velocity and pin point control. He was still throwing 100 mph into the ninth inning.

For more on this go to Web Market Industries

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

The Commissioner's Trophy (What they play for)

Allsports was hoping to have written and posted this article for sports news and sports on the web a little earlier in the week. Like just after the San Francisco Giants became the holders of the Commissioner’s Trophy as the 2010 World Series Champions, but that didn’t happen. Since allsports in not a full time sports news scribe it was a little difficult to find the time to get the article written. The regular PAYING job got in the way so allsports is a little tardy with the sports news and sports on the web and for that I apologize.

Giants Logo

The bottom line is that the San Francisco Giants are your 2010 World Series Champions and were labeled the underdogs  by everyone including yours truly. I should have seen the writing on the wall when they got past the Philadelphia Phillies, who allsports had picked to win it all based on their great starting pitching. The alarm bells should have gone off then when they matched the Phillies pitch for pitch and then some. Also contributing some timely hits to win that series 4-2. But no that was not the case, allsports thought that the offense the Texas Rangers generated in man handling the New York Yankees would carry them through and having Cliff Lee available for three starts if needed would help the cause. Not so the Yankees pitching that the Rangers faced was like batting practice compared to what the Giants threw at them. There did not appear to be a week link in the whole staff and Bruce Bochy played them like a virtuoso.

Rangers Logo

So what went wrong for the Texas Rangers? Well as stated in the previous paragraph, the Giants pitched pretty well mistake free, using both sides of the plate and changing speeds so well that even if there was the odd mistake made, the Rangers hitters were unprepared to jump on the pitch. The series was the epitome of the old baseball phrase that “good pitching always beats good hitting”

Ron Washington

The Rangers also got away from what got them into the playoffs and to the championship in the first place. That is playing aggressive baseball, stealing bases and manufacturing runs. Forcing errors from the other team and playing a little bit of small ball to keep the opposition off balance. Under Ron Washington the Rangers had learned how to do that, to play almost a National League style without relying on the long ball but in the World Series they did not show it, whether they got away from the game plan or the Giants pitching did not allow them to do so.

Bruce_Bochy

In the end allsports thinks Ron Washington was out managed by Bruce Bochy, mind you the Giants as a team made very few if any mistakes and were able to get that timely hit when they needed it. The Texas bullpen crashed and burned in the series but did that have something to do with the way Washington handled them or was it strictly a matter of not making the pitches? Or were they worn out by the time the World Series came around?

Tim_Lincecum

What allsports does think though is the San Francisco Giants have a bright future if they can keep their young core players together. Good young pitchers with Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner showed poise beyond their years on the biggest of baseball’s stages. Special mention should also be made for Buster Posey, their prized rookie catcher who batted cleanup as well as handling the pitching staff like a seasoned veteran.

Buster Posey

On an interesting side note Bengie Molina was with the San Francisco Giants and tutored Buster Posey on the craft of being a big league catcher, then when the Giants realized Posey was ready for prime time they traded Molina to the Rangers at the deadline. So Molina will get his World Series ring but he will get it from the Giants and not the Rangers. Talk about a no loose situation.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

The Commissioner's Trophy (What they play for)

Allsports has to wonder based on the sports news and sports on the web for Baseball, whether he gave the Texas Rangers the kiss of death by picking them to beat the San Francisco Giants in the World Series. The Rangers have appeared to be anything but the juggernaut that charged through the opposition for the American League pennant. The bats that were so opportunistic to get here have gone cold and their reliable bullpen has imploded. Ron Washington who managed   so well in the American League playoffs, seems out of his league trying to cope with the National League rules, dealing with the bullpen which is so much more critical with the pitch hitting developments that evolve in the National League. He seems to have gotten away from the judgments that got him here and has had everyone scratching their heads as to what he is thinking. The bottom line is he has been out managed by  Bruce Bochy

Bruce_Bochy

To be fare though, the Rangers bullpen has crapped the bed with every opportunity they have been given and has not executed, while Bochy is looking like a genius with every move he makes. The Giants have played mistake free with great pitching and timely hitting. The Rangers just can’t seem to win in the “City by the Bay“. They have lost something like eleven straight times there going back a decade or more. Obviously that will have to change if the Rangers are fortunate enough to get the series back to San Francisco.

Ron Washington

The Texas Rangers are out of mulligans. For them to get back into the series they will have to play mistake free the rest of the way and match the Giants intensity or it will be a short series. They have to execute, something they have not done in the series to date. We will see if the real Rangers team shows up tonight in their home park.

Here is the way allsports has viewed the first two games.

Giants Logo

The pitching duel in game one between Cliff Lee and Tim Lincecum did not unfold as predicted. Allsports does not know whether Lee had to much rest between starts (he had  nine days off between starting game 3 against the Yankees and game 1 of the World Series). For what ever reason the pitcher with ultimate control could not get his curve ball over for strikes. Without that pitch he became predictable and you can’t be that against major league hitters. If they have an idea on what is coming, they will hit it. Lincecum was not much better and was actually hit by two line drive base hits before leaving. The bullpens took over and the Giants pen was better than the Rangers pen. There were a total of 25 hits in the game, 14 by the Giants and 11 by the Rangers

Rangers Logo

Game two saw the Giants, Matt Cain up against CJ Wilson of the Rangers. Both pitchers performed well but Wilson blinked first, he pitched 6 innings and left trailing 2-0 but only allowed 3 hits. Wilson pitched to one batter in the 7th before he had to come out of the game with a blister problem on his pitching hand. Oliver came on for Wilson and closed out the inning. Cain took a 4 hit shutout into the 7th before he left the game. Oliver started the eighth for the Rangers and was replaced by O’Day after giving up a hit. O’Day stuck out out 2 but allowed the run to score. Washington decided to replace O’Day with Holland, why allsports does not know? When Holland game on the wheels fell off the tracks for the Rangers. Holland could not throw a strike and walked 3 straight batters and allowed 3 runs without a hit. Lowe came on and walked in another run, then allowed a hit for another. Kirkman came on for Lowe and gave up 2 hits and another run before finally stopping the bleeding with the final out on the inning. When the dust had settled the Giants had batted around and scored 7 runs and took the game 9-0. It was likely one of the worst pitched innings in MLB playoff history. Cain on the other hand has now pitched 21 2/3 scoreless innings in the playoffs. The second highest total in Major League playoff history.

So now all of the Rangers fortunes rest on the shoulders of Colby Lewis, he has to gets the train back on the tracks. There will be a lot of pressure on him to do just that because the Rangers have run out of wiggle room and cannot afford another loss.

“No Gut No Glory”

Walt Webb

The Commissioner's Trophy

So if you’re following the baseball sports news or sports on the web you likely already know which teams got through to play in the 2010 World Series. The San Francisco Giants ended up taking out the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 in game six, winning the series 4-2. Texas defeated the New York Yankees by the same 4-2 series score the previous night.

Giants Logo

The Giants threw everything they had at the Phillies and even had Lincecum come in a pitch an inning. In the end the Phillies bats let them down. They could not get that timely hit while the Giants seemed to get that hit when they needed it. Cody Ross was the NLCS MVP and for good reason. Ross batted .350 in the series and always seemed to get that timely hit. What allsports could not understand was why the Phillies kept pitching him inside. They would give him some heat inside and he would stroke it into left field or over the fence in left. Makes me think about the definition of insanity, keep doing the same thing and hope you get a different outcome. Well the outcome was the same and the Phillies will be watching the series from home.

Rangers Logo

Texas thoroughly outplayed the Yankees in every facet of the game. They had better pitching and hitting. When you look at the statistics from the series you have to wonder how the Yankees managed to win two games. Not only did Cliff Lee stymie the Yankees in his start but Colby Lewis and C.J. Wilson were pretty effective also. Texas could not have asked for a better outcome against the Yankees. With Cliff Lee only having to pitch one game in the series, he will start the World Series for the Rangers. If  the Rangers bats can stay hot, the first World Series Championship will be coming to the Lone Star State.

Cliff Lee with Seattle before trade to Texas

This should be a great series between two teams that the experts did not think would be here. If you had of bet in Vegas on them meeting in the World Series before the playoffs began the odds would have been great. Allsports did not see this series coming either and will have to eat some crow because I thought the Phillies pitching would carry them through.

Tim_Lincecum

A World Series like this is good for the game. Having two teams that are here for the first time sparks some interest instead of having the usual suspects in it again. Cliff Lee will face Tim Lincecum in game one.  Both are the aces of their pitching staffs and it should make for some stingy defense on both sides. The way Lee has pitched I may give him a slight edge but both pitching staffs have performed great in the playoffs and that is why they are here. Texas has not faced a pitching staff like the Giants have but the Rangers pitchers have proven that they have their A game going too.

Allsports thinks that the Rangers have slightly more pop in their hitting lineup and it could prove to be the difference. That and the fact that Cliff Lee can pitch three games in a seven game series. The National League gets the extra home game based on winning the All Star game, so that could help the Giants. Vladimir Guerrero may not see much in the way of playing time in San Francisco  because there is no DH in the National League parks. All in all this series should have everything in it, great pitching and some timely hitting. Allsports thinks it will go 6-7 games and everything else being equal the Texas hitters will come through. The Rangers are playing well as a team so I am picking them to win their first World Series, but what do I know, I thought the Phillies were going to win it all.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb