Nov 06

What’s in your baseball library?

Prompted by Bob Hendley’s comment below.

What should be?

I’ve bought three baseball books in the past month:

If you need an overview of baseball history for your reference shelves, I just got this one (used). It’s current through 2004 and it’s pretty good.

If you want a good history of the Dodgers – Giants rivalry through 2003 (so not including the Giants’ three WS championships in the 2000s), this is a good one.

And finally, I added a minor classic: I picked up a used copy of David Halberstam’s Summer of ’49.

My entire baseball collection is cataloged at Library Thing.

What do you have and what do you want to get?

Oct 30

World Series Game Six

One way or another, the Series will end at Fenway Park for the first time since 1918. Either the Sox win tonight in six or the Cardinals win tonight to force a Game Seven. But it too will be played at Fenway, and as a fan I’d like to see it. Game Seven is evocative of so many previous ones — Mazeroski’s home run in 1960, McCovey’s line drive caught by Bobby Richardson in 1962, Koufax’s win in 1965 on Lou Johnson’s home run in the fourth inning, Lolich outdueling Gibson in 1968, Jack Morris’s ten-inning 1-0 win in 1991, and Luis Gonzalez’s dunker off Mariano Rivera in 2001.

So I’m rooting for the Cardinals tonight. It’s hard, but I’m gonna do it. They send out rookie star Michael Wacha, and the Sox counter with John Lackey. Ortiz goes back to DH for the Red Sox and Napoli plays first base. For the Cardinals Allen Craig is the DH while Mike Adams plays first base.

St. Louis at Boston 2:00pm HST, 5:00pm Pacific, 8:00pm Eastern on Fox.

Oct 28

World Series Game Five

“On paper, this projects as a low-scoring game. The Cards are batting just .235 as a team this series. The Red Sox are even worse at .189.”

Boston at St. Louis, 1:30PM HST, 4:30PM Pacific, 7:30PM Eastern on Fox.

The Sox’ pitcher is Jon Lester; the Cardinals’ pitcher is Adam Wainwright.

In two World Series starts, Lester has yet to allow a run, including pitching 7 2/3 shutout innings against the Cards in Game 1.

[snip]

Wainwright . . . struggled in the opener, allowing five runs (three earned) in five innings.

Oct 27

Ouch!

Young Mr. Wong had a wonderful career at the University of Hawai’i, and if he learns to hit in the big leagues he’ll have a long career there, I’m sure. But this was not the best memory he’ll take away from the 2013 World Series. The worst of it is that his run was meaningless; the Cards needed two to tie the game, so there was no need for him to be stretching his lead.

So now we go to Game Five tomorrow in St. Louis, all tied up at two games apiece.

Oct 27

World Series Game Four

Shake it off, Boston. If you want to win this Series you have to get over that ninth-inning calamity. Hey, if David Ross had been catching he might not have thrown the ball into left field in the first place, which would have ended the play right there.

The Red Sox and the Cardinals are back at it at 2:00pm HST, 5:00pm PT, 8:00pm ET on Fox.

Clay Buchholz apparently has a tired arm, but he gets the start for the Sox regardless. The Cards send Lance Lynn to the mound on 11 days rest.

Oct 26

Wotta ending, huh?

The Cardinals’ Allen Craig was awarded home plate after an obstruction call at third base kept him from advancing cleanly on a wild throw from Saltalamacchia and the Cards won Game Two 5 – 4 to take a two games to one lead in the World Series.

That last play is going to be remembered in World Series lore for quite a while.

Oct 26

World Series Game Three

The Series moves to St. Louis and Game Three between the Red Sox and the Cardinals begins at 1:30pm HST, 4:30pm PT, 7:30pm ET. I was hoping against hope for a day game at least during the weekend, but no. MLB doesn’t want to go up against college football on Saturday or the NFL on Sunday, I guess.

The Sox send out 32 year old Jake Peavy, who’s won an NL Cy Young award and two ERA titles but hasn’t been very successful in previous postseason appearances. The Cardinals counter with 25 year old Joe Kelly, who hasn’t thrown a pitch in live action since October 16 and is in only his second major league season.

Because the game is in a National League city there’s no designated hitter. That means Big Papi David Ortiz plays first base for the Red Sox and Mike Napoli sits down. That might or might not make a difference defensively, and it certainly will reduce the Bostons’ offensive potential.

Oct 23

World Series Game One

St. Louis at Boston, 1:30pm HST, 4:30pm PST, 7:30pm EST on Fox.

David Pinto has a good analysis of the two teams, as does Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com.

One more thing to think about: this World Series is the last hurrah for Tim McCarver of Fox; he’s announced his retirement at the end of the season.

Oct 13

ALCS, Game Two

Detroit at Boston. Scherzer v. Buchholz. Detroit leads the series one game to none.

Down 5 – 1, Middlebrooks of the Red Sox doubled to lead off the eighth inning off Jose Veras. After a pitching change, Drew Smyly walked Ellsbury. Al Albuquerque came on to strike out Victorino, but then he gave up a single to Pedroia to load the bases. In came Joaquin Benoit to pitch, up came David Ortiz to hit, and here’s what he did:

To top off those heroics, in the Red Sox ninth Porcello came in to pitch. Johnny Gomes hit an infield single and advanced to second on a throwing error by Iglesias. He moved to third on a wild pitch, and Saltalamacchia singled to left to drive him in with the winning run.

And I missed all of that, having switched to news at 5:00pm right after the 6th inning when Victorino scored the first Red Sox run. Drat and blast!