MARCO'S BASEBALL BLOG-O-ROONIE: 2016 WRAP-UP

MARCO'S BASEBALL BLOG-O-ROONIE: 2016 WRAP-UP

I know you've read enough about that great 2016 World Series so I'll put in my two cents and get it over with:

1/The Cubs are not the greatest team that ever lived. They beat a very game Cleveland squad that had just lost two fifths of their starting staff. The got shut out twice by those same Clevelanders and were lucky to pull out the seventh game.

2/Yes, it's a big deal that the Cubs finally won it all. And about time. No, it's not “the greatest story in sports history” as some sportswriter on nitrous oxide maintained.

3/Game 7 was not the greatest game 7 ever played. But it's definitely in the conversation:

The Cubs showed guts and the resolute heart of a champion coming up off the mat after that Raje Davis home run dagger they got.

The Indians made that game a classic because of the guts and heart they showed coming back from a 5-0 deficit to eventually tie it up.

It was the unexpected nature of that Raje Davis homer that made the game a memorable classic. It was off superman, Aroldis Chapman, who was asked to pitch tired and gave it his best shot. Kudos to him for giving it up for the team. He came back and got them out in the ninth without his best stuff. And kudos to the Indians pitchers Kluber and everybody else who had to pitch on short rest to give their team a chance.

The two best game 7s of all time? I vote for:

#2/ Twins over Braves 1991...the all time pitcher's duel classic had incredible drama all the way as two Hall of Famers (or should be, Jack Morris!)competed their butts off. Smoltz went out on his shield after a noble performance. Jack Morris...refused to lose!

#1/ Pirates over Yankees 1960...the Yankees scored 55 runs to the Pirates 27 in the series and won their three games by scores of 16-3,10-0 and 12-0. The Pirates won 2 one-run games and had a team ERA of over 7. So it seemed like the Pirates were getting killed.

Game 7 at Pittsburgh: The Pirates led 4-0 after two. The Yanks went up 5-4 after Berra's homer in the sixth. They increased the lead to 7-4 in the eighth, but in the bottom of the eighth things got strange.

With one on Bill Virdon hit a double play grounder to Tony Kubek at short. The ball took a very bad hop and came up and hit Kubek in the Adam's apple. That ball almost killed him. He couldn't talk for a week afterwards and had to come out of the game. Another single and a sacrifice produced one run. Then Clemente hit a chopper to first and beat it out, scoring another run to leave the Pirates only a run behind. Then came the Raje Davis moment when unheralded pinch hitting back up catcher Hal Smith hit a 3-run homer over the very deep left field wall at Forbes Field. The fans went nuts and now the Buccos led 9-7.

But the mighty Yankees had the right stuff. In the top of the ninth Mantle and Berra each drove in a big run to tie the score.

You know what happened in the bottom of the ninth. Bill Mazeroski hit a Series-winning walk off...the only homer ever to end a seventh game.

So there you have a Game 7 with 5 lead changes (or ties) ending with the ultimate moment. It featured 5 Hall of Famers (Maz, Clemente, Mantle, Berra and Whitey Ford who didn't pitch in the game). It didn't have a dramatic rain delay but it had a little noted weirdness: nobody on either team struck out.

I watched this game in a bar outside Pittsburgh that my Dad talked my way into so I could see the last few innings. I was eleven and I'll never forget it.

The greatest World Series game of all time was the sixth game of the 1975 series between the Reds and the Red Sox.

If it had been Game 7 there would be no contest, because this was also the greatest game ever played period. At least in the modern era. Why?

Because the two teams played so well. The game had great play after great play...hitting and fielding...much cleaner than these other games mentioned above. It had the dramatic pinch hit 3 run homer by Carbo and it had that epic walk off ending in extra innings. It had Rose coming to bat late and saying to the Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk...”this is the greatest game I've ever played in! Isn't this a great game?” I always loved that.

This year's awards:

I thought the Managers of the Year Francona and Roberts were the best choices. They both had their teams playing over their heads. Especially Francona.

Rookies of the Year: Corey Seager....Yep. Michael Fulmer the Tiger pitcher...I guess so but not much competition this year.

Cy Young: I would have given it to Zach Britton...if a closer should ever be considered for the Cy Young, and plenty have...he should have been. In the NL I had Scherzer too.

MVPs: NL Bryant...well I guess so....He's one of the Adorables, after all. Nolan Arenado (41 dingers, 139 rbi's)deserved some support. I had it for Daniel Murphy.

AL Trout definitely had a case but Altuve was a one-man team for Houston and was a leader in batting average AND steals AND had 99 RBIs as a second baseman. I claim Ortiz was number two, even as a DH, because of his OPS (1.021 led baseball) and his leadership.

That's all I got for now...next up is an article about hitting savants I call MANCHILD IN THE PROMISED LAND...that's coming up in a week or so. Forgive the Teaser.

Best to you all and Happy Thanksgiving.

Marco

MARCO'S BASEBALL BLOG-O-ROONIE 2016: ACES UP FOR GAME 7

MARCO'S BASEBALL BLOG-O-ROONIE 2016: ACES UP FOR GAME 7

THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW DEPARTMENT:

The highest card in the playing deck is the “ace.” The fighter pilot who shot down at least five enemy planes was the “ace.” The number one pitcher on a team is known as the “ace”.

All of these definitions lead back to Asa Brainerd...pitcher for the Cincinnati Red Stockings from 1868-1870. Asa became famous because he won at least 65 straight games for the Stockings....the best team in baseball in those early days of the professional sport. In the 1870's other teams started referring to their best pitcher as “our Asa” and to rival hurlers as “their Asa”. This became shortened to “ace” and the term has been used ever since to denote that special starter on a baseball team.

Tonight is Game 7 of the World Series. Yeah, I know. Kind of sends shivers up your spine. No matter who you root for, it's always fun when it comes down to that ultimate game. The infamous “no tomorrow” game.

I predicted that the Cubs would come back from that 3 games to 1 hole they dug for themselves by not being able to hit the breaking balls that the Indians pitchers were so carefully placing out of the strike zone. Trouble is, the Indians couldn't pitch Kluber, Miller or Cody Allen every inning. The Cubs got to look at Bauer and Tomlin for the second time in three days and they learned. Boom Boom Boom.

Lesser lights of the Indian's bullpen....Boom Boom Boom.

So now you gotta give the Cubs the momentum going into this last game. They also have the league ERA leader going in Stork Hendricks. He's a cool customer and an Ace. He better be good because Joe Maddon pitched Chapman 3 innings on Sunday and another inning and a third on Tuesday night. He's thrown well over 60 pitches in three days and that's double his usual work load. He's a big strong cat but he gets wild when he's tired. So Hendricks better go seven because Maddon doesn't have any faith in the rest of his bullpen. They might as well not be on the roster. Rondon? The invisible man.

The Cubs had a 5 run lead on the way to a 9-3 victory last night. Since when do you bring your closer into a game that you have a 5 run lead in? In the 7^th inning? That means Maddon has no faith at all in his other pitchers. Did he lean too hard on Chapman going into the last contest? We'll see.

He might get cute and bring in Lester to pitch to some people but I hope there's nobody on base because Lester can't hold runners. Hell, he can't even throw to first base! HE'S GOT YOUR BASIC PSYCHOLOGICAL BLOCK. Like Steve Sax who couldn't throw to first on a routine ground ball. Or Dale Murphy, a two time MVP who had to move from catcher to the outfield because he couldn't throw the ball back to the pitcher without double clutching over and over.

But the Cubs hitters are finally feeling good about themselves. They fattened up their averages on the weak sisters of the Indians rotation. Schwarber is Dhing in the second spot in the lineup and he makes that lineup much scarier. Also, they've finally been hitting breaking balls.

But now Francona has Kluber on 3 days rest....not bad for a stud Ace like him. He also has a completely well rested Wade Miller ready to go 3 or more innings and closer Cody Allen rested as well. The 6^th game blow out allowed him to hold them back.

I think the Cubs just got out-managed in the pitching department.

Kluber may not be sharp enough to fool them again with those breaking pitches. Or he may go Bumgarner on their ass. We'll see.

Kipnis has kind of been taking the lead in the Indians hitting lately while Lindor has faded. I think Rajai Davis will be back in center after the debacle that was Tyler Naquin last night, don't you? A play that ugly could have permanent psychic ramifications to the team. (I'm talking about the first inning pop-up by Addison Russell that fell untouched by human hands in right center. Cost 2 runs and the ballgame, essentially. Naquin can pinch run.

I am definitely jacked up for this game. It might be a classic...you just never know in baseball. One of these teams will at last be destiny's darling. The other one will lapse back into their multiple decade-long funk. The Baseball Gods must decide. The Cubs should go sacrifice a goat or something.

I say it's the Indians 5-4.

Over and out ball fans!