OK, I'm back. What did I miss?
By way of explanation for my absence, it's been a very tough week. The courageous Mrs. Coach had three operations on her left eye. Monday, it was scleral buckle surgery to reattach her retina. Tuesday morning, even a layman like me could tell it hadn't gone perfectly. They had to inject (yes, a needle in the eye; yes, she was awake) a gas bubble to reposition everything, then do it again to relieve the pressure because they had put in too much. On Wednesday, still not satisfied, the doctors decided on a laser procedure, which fortunately, seems to be working, though it may be weeks or even months before we know how effectively.
Meanwhile, I've been crippled by back pain, which often flares up in times of stress. We spent a lot of time in bed this week -- it wasn't as much fun as it sounds -- while our kids and our friends looked after us. I was able to watch quite a bit of baseball, but couldn't sit up to write about it. Robert has done a magnificent job with the playoff previews, and I hope to be an active participant in those threads today. First, I have a few questions about what's happened so far, and what might happen today, if anyone has answers.
Why didn't Grady Little pinch-run for David Ortiz?
Why isn't anyone talking about this? In the eighth inning of the first game, with a one-run lead, Ortiz drew a leadoff walk. That insurance run was huge, even bigger than David's waistline. All the other things Grady (a.k.a. "dead manager walking") is being second-guessed for, like lifting his closer with two outs, or issuing an extra-inning intentional walk to T-Long, never would have happened if he'd sent out Adrian Brown (who in another moment of insanity, wound up pinch-hitting for Trot Nixon later in the inning) to run for Ortiz. In case you've forgotten, Bill Mueller subsequently doubled, and big David chugged around third but had to stay put, when almost any other human would have scored. That fifth run, if it wasn't left stranded, would have made all the other stuff irrelevant, and a few million people would have got a lot more sleep. Oh, and it most certainly was not a squeeze bunt. There were two outs, and the bases were loaded. It was a great call, whoever made it, but every announcer who called it a squeeze should go to remedial baseball school.
What is Steve Lyons smoking?
Psycho's concentration is worse than Jose Cruz. Jr.'s. He was practically ejaculating up in the booth over Kerry Wood's "fantastic instincts" and his "great jump" on the fly ball after his double. The only thing Lyons overlooked was the fact that there were two outs and even a nine-year-old house league player would have been running on the crack of the bat. What bugged me even more than the huge gaffe (can you imagine what we'd do to poor John Cerutti if he blundered like that in a regular-season game against the Tigers?) was the way he just scratched around like a cat in a litter box afterward. Be a man, Steve-O, and call a brain cramp on yourself. Better still, pay attention.
Does Felipe Alou have a clue?
We'll never know what would have happened if the wonderful old gentleman had tabbed Kirk Rueter to pitch the second game at home, where he is much more effective, or if Sir Sidney could have shut down Pudge & Co. in Miami. But it seemed to me beforehand that the Giants had a much better chance of winning at least one of those games by flipping the rotation around. Today, rumour has it that Felipe is going for the hat trick, by asking Jason Schmidt to return on three days' rest. As Jayson Stark points out in his excellent column on yesterday's classic game, Alou should hold his horse.
He doesn't even want to know that of the 30 pitchers who have started postseason games since 1999 on three days' rest, only four have won (4-16, 6.39 ERA).
Schmidt wears enormous ice bags on his shoulder and elbow after every start. He has never pitched on three days' rest in his career. And Felipe, you'll need him in game five. Extra batting practice for the guys (other than Fonzie) who are 2-for-27 with runners in scoring position would be a better plan.
Are the Braves dead?
Gosh, I hope so. The mock-tomahawk from the Wrigley faithful was great fun to watch, as were the four errors. Matt Clement should be pitching with nothing to lose, and Russ Ortiz, for whom the strike zone was an elusive target in the opener, will probably be rushed into service on short rest, bucking the odds cited above. Even if they force a deciding game, it would be a fully-rested Kerry Wood facing Mike Hampton a day early.
Could today be the end for the Rocket?
Possibly. This is the most eagerly anticipated game of the day for me. It will be a test of his legendary powers of concentration, as Clemens has to battle all those lefty hitters in the noisiest park in baseball, and if the Twins win this afternoon, it could be all over for the 2003 Yankees in Roger's final season.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20031004110345999