MLB Playoffs, who ya got

Yes you could be lights out in the AL, I agree.   However, you start switching guys on a young pitcher (s), its tough.  The Giants took advantage of the weaknesses, that is where experience comes in.

Not a Royals fan, not a Giants fan, but I always want the NL to win.  

Have a blast.  Stay sane!

 

To me the keys to last nights game were Petit and the Giant's getting Vargas out in the 4th and exposing what seems to be  a weakness in long relief for the Royals.  In my view, getting to Shields by the 4th-5th is even more key tonight because Finnigan and Collins have to be done and the lack of depth to get KC to the 7th seems pretty apparent.

 I love this series.  Being able to appreciate how good Gordon, Cain, Hosmer and Perez really are is special.  KC's pen from 7-9 is stunning. The difference in how Bochy uses innings 6-9 for match ups out of is pen against the pure power of  Davis, Herrera and Holland is another subpart which takes on added importance in the NL park without the DH.

The Hosmer-Lopez 11pitch AB on Friday night was what baseball is really about.

PO, we were there last night.

  AT&T is so much fun. Great ball park made even more fun with "When the lights to out in the City" led by Journey's lead singer and sung by 43,000 having fun.

I guess I need to decide soon who I'm  rooting for.  Giants--because I'm an NL guy?  Royals--because of my Missouri roots?  It's hard to root against either of these teams.  No bad guys.  A lot of great baseball play.

Son pitched in the TL against these guys. Its fun to see how they have grown.
Cant help but love  Hunter Pence.

Agreed on Petit,  Infield.  He's the MVP of the postseason for the Giants so far, in my book.

 

Great game last night if you're a SFG fan.  I really thought they were in trouble after things went sideways in the third -- goes to show how important fielding is for pitchers, and how one small lapse can screw up a guy's head.  But in a way the Giants were lucky  it was only the third, not later, and they had time to claw their way even before busting it open.

 

I really liked Pence's comments after the game indicating that the Giants understand that they don't win game 5 automatically just because MadBum is on the bump. They have to earn it. 

 

Heresy I know, but I am enjoying Harold Reynold's enthusiasm, especially for the National League game as it's being played at AT&T.  And he's right.  The NL game is so much more interesting.

 

Bochy is the one going to the HOF,  not me, but I thought he was wrong to play Perez instead of Morse in left last night.  But things worked out okay. I still think he should have gotten Susac an AB.  He could be key later on and needs to keep his feet wet.  

 

I can't imagine why anyone would have an issue with the LLWS US champs being there, or Mo'ne Davis throwing the first pitch.  I heard they set her up in front of the mound like they do with all celebs, and she just climbed up to the slab on her own.  Throwing a strike from there with all those people watching was clutch.

The pregame was a MLB celebration and tribute to Jackie Robinson and inner city kids and leagues. The All Star team from Chicago and  players from the JR league were with Frank Robinson and so was a member of Robinson's family. 

I thought it was cool she started at about 46feet, moved onto the rubber and threw a strike with velocity.

What is baseball if we are not celebrating those who play it when they are 12-13, especially in inner city. Awfully fun night!

I agree JCG that Bochy was open to question, but his players quieted the doubt. Affeldt has a great interview on MLB on how Bochy is so good with the pen and match ups.  I was pretty anxious that Bochy was trying to let Vogelsang get out of the inning because he led off in the bottom.  The anxiety didn't go down any when Machi was the choice out of the pen for one hitter. Bochy really knows what his guys can do and situations where they excel, including PH Matt Duffy to get the rally started and Vargas toward an early exit.

In the next two years all the boys will blow by her physically. She won't play high school baseball where she goes to school. It's a private that recruits. I wonder how many people realize she got rocked in her second LLWS start and went 1 for the series at the plate.

 

If you're going to the game you better wear those rose colored glasses.

Hey RJM,

 

You need to take some happy pills! That young lady is an inspiration to many. As far as getting rocked, every pitcher has a day when they give up some hits. Do you have any idea how hard it is o get to the LL WS?

 

Got my rose colored glasses ready! 

 

Life is short, be happy! Go Giants!

Hey infielddad, 

 

I'm going to today's game. Hope to here "Lights" in the 8th, it's means we're winning. I can hear the fans singing it from my deck. Last night was extra loud, thanks for kicking it up a notch! Go Giants! 

AT&T is one of the best parks in the country, but even a better organization!

I'm not one of those Royals fans that has been calling for Yost's head, but tonight, he's killing me! Play the numbers, man. Why wouldn't you start Aoki and Butler over Dyson and Hos with Bumgarner pitching. Aoki is a good fielder and Butler is actually an excellent F3. What little you gain in defense can't help you if you can't score. At the very least, once you get a double with one away and the pitcher on deck, why isn't Butler pinch hitting for Dyson, who couldn't hit Bum with a tennis racket. Killing me!

What a performance by Bumgarner. Regardless of who you're rooting for, that guy is dialed in. Gotta admire it.

Agree bballman - that was an unbelievable performance by MadBum.  Elite is the word I'm looking for

 

roothog6 - agree with you.  Dyson shouldn't be starting....he rarely started all year...why in the World Series?  They need offense when you are 2-2 in the World Series AND facing MadBum...that is a freaking no brainer!  Putting Dyson in CF is giving you a marginally better defense but it is killing your offense.  I would have put Cain in CF, and Aoki in RF at the very least, and considered other options as well. 

 

I really wanted the Royals to win, despite the double-A San Francisco roots in my hometown.  At this point, I'm now hoping for a game 7, and some drama, any drama..

 

A discussion broke out last night in the family room about who is more unorthodox between Pablo Sandoval and Hunter Pence.  My youngest son asked me - how fast I thought "Panda" is.   I answered....."He is a lot faster than you think and a lot quicker than you think".  To which my oldest son googled his profile...he ran a 6.7 60 yard dash in 2012.   I didn't know 240 lbs Pandas could fly?  I'm not sure who is more unorthodox, but they are both extremely talented & smart baseball players.   My back hurts everytime I watch Hunter Pence take a warm up swing - seriously what the heck is that thing that he does?   You stick Buster Posey n the middle of that lineup and you are going to get some runs. 

 

By the way, a tip of the cap to the Giants for bringing Joe Panik up and plugging that hole at 2nd base when Scutaro got hurt.  They tried Brandon Hicks and Dan Uggla with no success.  Panik has done a great job whether he is a rookie or not.

Incredible atmosphere last night at AT&T. Mad Bum was flawless, he's a special talent & very humble. The first thing he mentioned in his post game interview was the defense. Class act.

Lets not forget Boch's move to put Perez in and he makes a catch that I doubt Isikawa gets to. Then he hits a double off the wall in the deepest part of the yard. All this just after hearing his best friend Taveras had died.

All game 5 RBI's came from the 7&8 hitters.

No matter what happens, this team has the heart of a champion. 

Go Giants!

As my oldest put it, Mad was just plain dirty last night!  He was awesome....kids mad props from me for those cuts he takes at the plate too!   But, I think my new favorite hitter is Pence....gettin the job done on those nasty curves, now THAT is tracking the ball with your eyes

Great game. Great stories.

 

As fun as the weekend was, it's going to be time to gnaw the cuticles again on Tuesday.  If I was a KC fan I'd be feeling pretty good coming home to face Peavy and Hudson*. Neither had impressive starts last time out.   Worst case scenario you end up in bullpen games, and the Royals do pretty well in those.

 

Should be fun!  And will probably be Torture™.

 

*or does Bochy throw KC a curveball and start Petit if there's a game 7?

My name is RJM and I approve this message.   (keeping in line with the season and being swamped with ads) This was a really good game.

 MadBums agent is also DK's, so that was really special, but DK also was a teammate at one time to Oscar Taveras.

Lots of different emotions.

It was a great game.

I adore Hunter Pence, he is so much fun to watch.

 

I had a date night with my wife Saturday night.  We had concert tickets for Luke Bryan with Lee Brice & Cole Swindell at the Hollywood Bowl in LA.  Yes, we like country music in Southern California too...BTW, it was a great concert.  Anyway, she and I were pre-gaming (term the kids use for "having a few drinks") at a bar & watching the game.  We left the bar to attend the concert and the Royals were up 4-1 and appeared to be on cruise control?  I was surprised when I woke up the next day to see that the Giants came back and won that game.  And of course, last night Mad-Bum was his usual post-season dominant self.

It's no secret that I'm a Dodgers fan and I love to root for any team playing the Orange and Black from Nor-Cal.  But in all honesty, it's difficult to Not be a fan of Bochy, Posey, Bumgarner, Pence, Panda, Crawford (UCLA), etc....And I really like Peavy and Hudson as well, but I wouldn't be a True Dodgers Fan if I didn't stay with the young kids from Kansas City....Take the Crown!

BSBL247, Hmmm.....  I'm so not sure that you do really bleed Dodger blue as your comments about Bochy, Posey, et al are much too classy for a True Dodgers Fan.    Oh, wait.... there is a sure way to tell.    Did you get to the Bowl (what a great venue)  2 songs into the concert and leave 2 songs before the end?

 

HaHa....that's good, JCG.  We did leave in the middle of his encore song, does that count?

Glad that you took those happy pills! Welcome back. 

KC can keep their crown....Giants will take the ring!

Hey Craig, if if you squint hard enough, that blue may look familiar!

 

Here's great article regarding Giants and postseason travel. Don't pass this on!

 

http://www.mercurynews.com/gia...-heading-kansas-city

I'm see a game 7 on the horizon.  San Fran Peavy turned into Red Sox Peavy at the stroke of midnight last night..  The glass cleat doesn't fit, and his ERA turns into a pumpkin .

 

I think something that ahs been lost during the Bumgarner love-fest is how important Shields's performance Sunday was. Keeping that game 2-0 until the end was much needed by the Royals. Had the Giants been able to open up a big lead, they surely would have pulled Bumgarner earlier with a low pitch count in order to hold onto the possibility that he could come back in a game 7 on two day's rest. As it is, with 120 pitches Sunday, he would at most, I believe, be available to pitch against a lefthander or two in late innings.

He is a beast.. he will be available out of the pen.

Sure he will be. A game seven is all hands on deck. However, I think his role may be more diminished than what could have been possible if he had gotten out of the game on 60-70 pitches. If the Giant starter in a game 7 were to get in trouble early, I couldn't see him effectively going four or five innings in relief.

I can't imagine him being pulled at 60-70 pitches unless it was a double-digit blowout. The Giant's  'pen was stretched thin already and with Petit having done 3 innings the day before long relief duty would have been up to Lincecum, who's not experienced in that role. Boch needed Bum to give his pen a rest.  Plus I think Bochy has a lot of respect for his players and their place in the game. Otherwise Bum would have come out after 8.

 

On another WS topic.  What did you all think of Belt's Bunt Base hit?  My kid said he thought opponents would think it was bush, and that he remembered a pitcher complaining that a similar play in the regular season was done just to boost the hitter's stats. 

 

I think he's mistaken. First it's the WS and you do what you need to do to win. But second, I think it's the natural and proper response to the shift, and a guy like Belt who has the speed and can get that bunt down has to do that as often as needed to force the defense to play more traditionally.  If anything, it's using a rover in the OF that is bush. 

You dont pull the best post season pitcher in a possible shut out.
Belts bunt was ok. You got to get players on base.

Game 7 will be like Christmas Eve for baseball fans everywhere.  This is going to be very interesting.  Enjoy.

Game 7.

 

Kansas City Royals 4-3

Hosmer hits walk off home run for the win.  

Now that was what you call aggressive hitting.
Only stats needed to measure that...runs scored!

A Game 7 first time in 12 years in the best World Series hardly anyone watched. 

Last night reminded me of something I've always told my players. Most games (even blow outs) have specific moments you can point to that completely change the game. In the second, everything changed when Belt missed that tag. He misplayed it and Peavey misplayed it. If they make that play, it's two away and the infield isn't plying halfway in, allowing Aoki to shoot one through the 5.5 hole. Could have been an entirely different game. Another example was in game four. Tie game, bases loaded with one out in the sixth. Finnegan on the mound. Infield in. Pence hits a sharp grounder to Escobar. He goes home for the force. I believe he could have turned two on that easily enough. If he does, we're going to the 7th tied 4-4 and the Royal's prospects are probably looking good. Instead, Finnegan gives up a few hits and, in the blink of an eye, it's a blow out.

To my eyes, Belt didn't misplay anything. Peavy made a mess of the play. Peavy does not cover first and instead he stops and points and yells to Belt that the play is at home. Belt looks up and realizes Peavy is wrong and then needs to react with a fast runner and no pitcher covering first. Two mental mistakes, not one but both are with Peavy, not Belt.

Certainly the potential for a different inning and game but a veteran like Peavy cannot make two mental mistakes and then lose focus after that.

With regard to Pence, have you seen how hard he is to double up? Assuming KC goes for the double play, and fails, they go down one run, get one out and have runners at first and 3rd with Belt coming to bat. Escobar has failed to make some plays this series, but I don't believe that was one of them.

I agree root.  Momentum is everything in baseball.

 

Here's a scorekeeping issue I have with the above play.  Initially, this play was scored as a hit.  They later changed it to a FC.  Harold Reynolds agreed with that change.  Personally, I score it as a hit.  There was no play on another runner.  In my mind it was a mental misplay by Belt.  How is that a FC??  Maybe I'm missing something in the scoring rules, but I don't see FC.

I'm not an umpire so I really don't know but if Belt had thrown it home since runner initially took off for home, would that make it a FC?  Now, just because he didn't throw it home, does that now make it a hit instead of FC?  In my mind, he "thought" to throw it home so it is a FC, imo.

 

I put the blame on Peavy also, not Belt. In hindsight, had Belt thrown it straight home, the catcher might have had time to throw to first. The catcher could see the second baseman covering the bag but Belt could not because the bag was behind him. I could not tell if the second baseman was yelling to Belt or not.

Why on God's green earth did Belt listen to the pitcher on that play?  IMHO Belt should have been listening for his catcher.  Also, why wasn't Peavy hustling over there to cover the bag?  The ball was hit to the right side of the infield.   It is automatic that the pitcher cover the bag.  I agree that was the play that could have stopped the bleeding.

 

It is a routine play that would have normally resulted in an out.  It is either a FC or an error.  I think they ruled it correctly.

Also, why wasn't Peavy hustling over there to cover the bag?

 

That's the question. And the answer is brain fart.  Seems to happen at every level.  And it's just odd that a ball hit into that area of the field has resulted in a mental error, an inning going sideways, an pitcher losing control of a game twice in this series for the Giants.

OK, here's two reasons why this should NOT be a FC.  

 

Definition of Fielders Choice in the MLB rule book:

 

 

FIELDER'S CHOICE is the act of a fielder who handles a fair grounder and, instead of throwing to first base to put out the batter-runner, throws to another base in an attempt to put out a preceding runner. The term is also used by scorers (a) to account for the advance of the batter-runner who takes one or more extra bases when the fielder who handles his safe hit attempts to put out a preceding runner; (b) to account for the advance of a runner (other than by stolen base or error) while a fielder is attempting to put out another runner; and (c) to account for the advance of a runner made solely because of the defensive team’s indifference (undefended steal).

 

 

And here is rule 10.05(b) from the MLB rule book - Note the bolded comment on the rule:

 

 

(b) The official scorer shall not credit a base hit when a:
(1) runner is forced out by a batted ball, or would have been forced out except for a fielding error;
(2) batter apparently hits safely and a runner who is forced to advance by reason of the batter becoming a runner fails to touch the first base to which such runner is advancing and is called out on appeal. The official scorer shall charge the batter with a time at bat but no hit;
(3) pitcher, the catcher or any infielder handles a batted ball and puts out a preceding runner who is attempting to advance one base or to return to his original base, or would have put out such runner with ordinary effort except for a fielding error. The official scorer shall charge the batter with a time at bat but no hit;
(4) fielder fails in an attempt to put out a preceding runner and, in the scorer's judgment, the batter-runner could have been put out at first base; or
Rule 10.05(b) Comment: Rule 10.05(b) shall not apply if the fielder merely looks toward or feints toward another base before attempting to make the putout at first base.
(5) runner is called out for interference with a fielder attempting to field a batted ball, unless in the scorer's judgment the batter-runner would have been safe had the interference not occurred.

 

 

This should not have been a FC, but a hit.  Maybe some of you still disagree, but it looks pretty clear to me.

"IMHO Belt should have been listening for his catcher."

I don't know if Buster made a call. If he did, it is not clear if Belt could hear it with the crowd noise and Peavy yelling home.  With the hitters speed, there really was no margin for error. Belt clearly looked indecisive so I can understand how others think he made a mistake and a poor play. Little doubt that was a momentum play in this game.

My view is with his head down to field the ball, Belt has to rely on others and Peavy didn't get it done...twice.

One not talked about yet, but one equally important from my view in taking any life out of the Giants was the Posey AB with the bases loaded in the top of the 3rd.  Goes after a first pitch out of the zone high and grounds into a double play.  That seemed to pump up Ventura(who pitched a beauty) and completely flatten the Giants.