I'd say this is a 38 second summary of the Tigers game this afternoon:
Showing posts with label MLB Playoffs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MLB Playoffs. Show all posts
Friday, October 03, 2014
Thursday, October 31, 2013
RE: World Series - Lions - UM/MSU Game
World Series: I wasn't rooting for the Sox, but it doesn't bother me too much either that they won. They're generally pretty likeable, though Victorino really bugs me for some reason, and they deserved it. I also don't know that the Tigers would have been able to pull it off with the bullpen injuries and Cabrera's injury and seeming them lose the series to the Cardinals might have been worse that the loss to the Sox.
Lions: I heard on the radio that when the Lions got the ball at the end of the game they only had a 1% chance of winning, yet I wasn't surprised at all when they managed it. I said earlier in the season to my Dad that there was no outcome to a Lions game that could shock me. They're so talented and so inconsistent that anything is possible.
The Game: On paper MSU should win this one. The offense has improved from utterly pathetic to just very poor and the defense is legitimately good. However, they have a tendency to give up the big play, and Gardner is good at that, but you'd also think there's a good chance he throws a pick six. Whatever the outcome, I'm pretty sure the loser is going to feel like they should have come out on top.
Lions: I heard on the radio that when the Lions got the ball at the end of the game they only had a 1% chance of winning, yet I wasn't surprised at all when they managed it. I said earlier in the season to my Dad that there was no outcome to a Lions game that could shock me. They're so talented and so inconsistent that anything is possible.
The Game: On paper MSU should win this one. The offense has improved from utterly pathetic to just very poor and the defense is legitimately good. However, they have a tendency to give up the big play, and Gardner is good at that, but you'd also think there's a good chance he throws a pick six. Whatever the outcome, I'm pretty sure the loser is going to feel like they should have come out on top.
?
Would anyone else feel a lot better if they knew David Ortiz had passed a drug test in the past week? Besides Colin Cowherd I haven't heard anyone mention this, but it seems worth considering. Sports writers like to point out how foolish "we" all were to take McGwire, Sosa, and Bonds at face value just because it was a great story in the moment. Now a 37-year-old hitter, who has been good, even great, but definitely seemed to be declining, starts performing Ruthian feats and no one is suspicious? I want it all to be true, but I've got this nagging feeling that it might not be.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
World Series - Lions - UM/MSU Game
It's gotten a little easier to watch the World Series after the Tigers blew it. But, I'll stick with my personal thought: Watching Boston in the WS is like seeing your ex-girlfriend with the guy you hate the most. By the way, when Boston wins this WS, does it make the Tiger choke job hurt more? Just think, that could have been us winning the title this year!
Lions, what an unbelievable win. The HUGE Show Monday question: Where does Sunday's victory rank in Lions history? That's a great question. Some would say "no where, because it didn't mean anything." And that's just it, the Lions don't play any meaningful games, and if they do, they lose. The only meaningful games they've had are playoff games and Lambeau Field and they lose. So, if you are a franchise that doesn't win many games, let alone a come-from-behind win with 1:02 remaining, no timeouts, and needing a touchdown, then Sunday's win has to be ranked pretty high. And, it DID mean something: the difference between being 5-3 and 4-4. 5-3 is playoff bound. 4-4...forces you to go 5-3 in the second half of the season for a shot at the playoffs with a 9-7 record.
So, the fact they played a meaningful game and won in dramatic fashion has to be one of their all-time greatest wins.
Saturday's game at East Lansing: As a UM fan, I'm nervous. Very nervous. Game is at MSU. Advantage: MSU. MSU has by far the better defense. Advantage: MSU. MSU has gotten better lately. UM has the better overall offense, but MSU appears to have the better running game. Advantage: MSU. MSU is favored by 6.5 points. I'd like to have seen this game played in September and November. It would probably be two different results. All I know is the game will come down to turnovers...and Devin Gardner is a TO machine.
Lions, what an unbelievable win. The HUGE Show Monday question: Where does Sunday's victory rank in Lions history? That's a great question. Some would say "no where, because it didn't mean anything." And that's just it, the Lions don't play any meaningful games, and if they do, they lose. The only meaningful games they've had are playoff games and Lambeau Field and they lose. So, if you are a franchise that doesn't win many games, let alone a come-from-behind win with 1:02 remaining, no timeouts, and needing a touchdown, then Sunday's win has to be ranked pretty high. And, it DID mean something: the difference between being 5-3 and 4-4. 5-3 is playoff bound. 4-4...forces you to go 5-3 in the second half of the season for a shot at the playoffs with a 9-7 record.
So, the fact they played a meaningful game and won in dramatic fashion has to be one of their all-time greatest wins.
Saturday's game at East Lansing: As a UM fan, I'm nervous. Very nervous. Game is at MSU. Advantage: MSU. MSU has by far the better defense. Advantage: MSU. MSU has gotten better lately. UM has the better overall offense, but MSU appears to have the better running game. Advantage: MSU. MSU is favored by 6.5 points. I'd like to have seen this game played in September and November. It would probably be two different results. All I know is the game will come down to turnovers...and Devin Gardner is a TO machine.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
I Know How This Movie Ends...
...and it doesn't end well.
I'm pretty sure we've all seen this movie before:
2006 - Great year, great team, and got HOT going into the playoffs. World Series comes and they get embarrassed
2009 - Great year, choke the final 10 days, fail to make playoffs in Game 163 at Minnesota
2011 - Great year, unbelievable team, slammed by Texas in ALCS
2012 - Underachieving year until September 15 when they finally pull ahead to win Division. Get HOTT in the playoffs. World Series comes and they get embarrassed.
2013 - Basically in 1st place all year, yet never pulled away and then nearly gave it away in the final two weeks. (Were in sole possession of 1st place since July 3.) September 15 comes and they forget how to hit. Advance to ALCS and still can't hit.
I know how this movie ends.
By the way, will anyone EVER see playoff pitching like we've seen in the last four Tiger games, let alone the ALCS, again? Verlander...One ER in the last 23 IP and the Tigers are 1-2.
Is the glass half-full or half-empty? The Tigers were down 1-2 with game #4 at Detroit in a 5 game series with a hot Oakland. Tigers are down 1-2 with game #4 at Detroit in a 7 game series with a Boston team that can't hit.
I'm pretty sure we've all seen this movie before:
2006 - Great year, great team, and got HOT going into the playoffs. World Series comes and they get embarrassed
2009 - Great year, choke the final 10 days, fail to make playoffs in Game 163 at Minnesota
2011 - Great year, unbelievable team, slammed by Texas in ALCS
2012 - Underachieving year until September 15 when they finally pull ahead to win Division. Get HOTT in the playoffs. World Series comes and they get embarrassed.
2013 - Basically in 1st place all year, yet never pulled away and then nearly gave it away in the final two weeks. (Were in sole possession of 1st place since July 3.) September 15 comes and they forget how to hit. Advance to ALCS and still can't hit.
I know how this movie ends.
By the way, will anyone EVER see playoff pitching like we've seen in the last four Tiger games, let alone the ALCS, again? Verlander...One ER in the last 23 IP and the Tigers are 1-2.
Is the glass half-full or half-empty? The Tigers were down 1-2 with game #4 at Detroit in a 5 game series with a hot Oakland. Tigers are down 1-2 with game #4 at Detroit in a 7 game series with a Boston team that can't hit.
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
!
Anyone have Dave Dombrowski's number? I'd be willing to be fat and strike out on three pitches for much less than what Prince Fielder makes.
Sunday, October 13, 2013
?
What's the etiquette for a baseball announcer dealing with a no-hitter? I assume he shouldn't actually say "no-hitter" but can he mention pitcher X has not allowed a hit? Or do you just let the box score do the job for you?
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Who was that?
Check out the guy in the front row at the the 00:46-00:47 mark on the timeline. Matt freakin' Prieskorn.
You only see him for literally a split second. He is sitting down with a Tiger hat on with a greenish fleece. You can't see the hat because he's looking up. When Avila makes the actual catch, Matt is off-screen to the right on the video. And no, those weren't his seats. He got booted from some other seats and on escape, found an open seat in the front row. Less than 2 minutes later, this play happens. Unbelievable timing.
Where was I? My dad and I were in the same section, five rows behind. We were technically in the 6th row behind the Yankee dugout. All we had were Standing Room Only tickets. We didn't get inside the stadium until about 30 minutes before first pitch, which is way to late if you want a decent SRO spot. (Side note, I went to the Verlander v Sox game on Sunday night when they tied the division for 1st place on Sept. 2. We had SRO "seats." We got to the stadium about one hour before first pitch and stood in the lower bowl behind the homeplate section. So, for $17.50, I had a darn good "seat" even though I stood for 4 hours.)
I told my dad since we probably won't find a good section to stand, let's go behind the dugout and pick an open row that gives us room to move left or right when the real ticket owners show up. I just wanted my dad to experience one pitch of JV. At about 15 minutes before 1st pitch, I suggested we move back one row because "ours" was filling up and that we might as well sit down because it looks like we'll be standing the rest of the night 500 feet away from the plate.
Less than two minutes later, a college-age looking girl in front of my dad said, "We have those seats, they won't be coming tonight, enjoy the game." She was referring to the exact same seats we were sitting in. What are the odds? My dad may never see JV pitch again or another ALCS game, but he'll probably never forget that night.
You only see him for literally a split second. He is sitting down with a Tiger hat on with a greenish fleece. You can't see the hat because he's looking up. When Avila makes the actual catch, Matt is off-screen to the right on the video. And no, those weren't his seats. He got booted from some other seats and on escape, found an open seat in the front row. Less than 2 minutes later, this play happens. Unbelievable timing.
Where was I? My dad and I were in the same section, five rows behind. We were technically in the 6th row behind the Yankee dugout. All we had were Standing Room Only tickets. We didn't get inside the stadium until about 30 minutes before first pitch, which is way to late if you want a decent SRO spot. (Side note, I went to the Verlander v Sox game on Sunday night when they tied the division for 1st place on Sept. 2. We had SRO "seats." We got to the stadium about one hour before first pitch and stood in the lower bowl behind the homeplate section. So, for $17.50, I had a darn good "seat" even though I stood for 4 hours.)
I told my dad since we probably won't find a good section to stand, let's go behind the dugout and pick an open row that gives us room to move left or right when the real ticket owners show up. I just wanted my dad to experience one pitch of JV. At about 15 minutes before 1st pitch, I suggested we move back one row because "ours" was filling up and that we might as well sit down because it looks like we'll be standing the rest of the night 500 feet away from the plate.
Less than two minutes later, a college-age looking girl in front of my dad said, "We have those seats, they won't be coming tonight, enjoy the game." She was referring to the exact same seats we were sitting in. What are the odds? My dad may never see JV pitch again or another ALCS game, but he'll probably never forget that night.
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