11/23/24
October 22, 2006
Rust belt blues: Cardinal rookie pitcher Anthony Reyes comes up big, Tiger starter Justin Verlander comes up small, and Tiger hitting pretty much takes the night off as St. Louis takes game one of the 2006 World Series 7-2.
I was very bummed out about last nights game. The Tigers did indeed look like they've had an extended amount of time off. Maybe homefield advantage isn't a good thing for these guys. Hopefully they get the bats going tonight. I have to disagree with what roberts said, though. I don't think that the Tigers are an inept team and did not take this game for granted. They just need to shake the rust off.
posted by wingnut4life at 06:35 AM on October 22, 2006
Yeah, inept is not the adjective I'da used, either. Reyes pitched a great game. Rolen, Edmonds, and Pujols are all capable of having big games at the plate, and all have been on this stage before. Good pitching matchup tonite, I won't be surprised if the Gambler or Weaver either one come up big.
posted by mjkredliner at 07:43 AM on October 22, 2006
From Nate Silver's BP Article in SI (first link): Make no mistake, though. Detroiters are, maybe for the first time in a long time, exceptionally proud to be Detroiters. And that's because of the Tigers. They weren't proud when the Red Wings last won the Cup (2002) or when the Pistons won the NBA title a few years ago, or when the Lions... okay, 2 out of 3 ain't bad. As to the game -- The biggest thing for the Cardinals last night (after, of course, getting the W) is that they did not have to go into the bullpen except in the 9th (with maybe their 5th or 6th best reliever at that). Weaver is only good for 5 or 6 innings, so I imagine the bullpen gets some work in tonight.
posted by holden at 08:54 AM on October 22, 2006
You have to give credit to Brandon Inge. He managed to make just about as many different errors in that one play as was humanly possible. Catch/field the ball? Oops. Throw the ball? Oops. Standing around after the play? Oops. Considering he's batting .200/.265/.333 in the playoffs, and he just made a grevious error at 3B, I assume the fans will blame him if they don't win the World Series and want him traded in the offseason. Oh, wait. He plays for Detroit, not New York. My apologies.
posted by grum@work at 09:40 AM on October 22, 2006
It was the best thing that could have happened to the Tigers. They had a whole week of listening to their own press telling them how great they are and they need some comeuppance to remind them of how they got here. In the locker room I picked Tigers in 6 (with Rogers as MVP) and I still don't see a reason to change that.
posted by commander cody at 10:27 AM on October 22, 2006
I for one am glad the Cardinals don't have the so called "home field advantage". The only way the Tigers get more games at home is if the series goes 7 games. Everyone who picked Detroit in 4 might want to make an adjustment after last noght :o)
posted by Steeler_Fan at 10:51 AM on October 22, 2006
This always happens when you get a team on short rest playing a team who's had a long layoff. Short Rest blasts into town on adrenalin, but their fatigue should catch up with them quickly enough. That said, holden brings up a great point: Reyes' biggest contribution was lasting deep into the game. The Cardinals are going to need their bullpen.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 11:22 AM on October 22, 2006
The only thing that happened last night was that a great team, who have been underestimated by everyone THROUGHOUT these playoffs, showed that they are a great team and what post season experience gets you. Reyes pitched a gem, the lineup came through against Verlander (who pitched a pretty good game striking out 8) and the Cards came away with a 1-0 series lead. Fatigue or no fatigue, the Cards have the ability to win this series as do the Tigers. The best part of last night is all those idiots writing for the sports sites now have to re-write their "Cards Swept in Series" stories because the Cards didn't fold. They did what great teams do, they played hard. Here's hoping for a few more great games and what everyone in St. Louis wants, a Cardinals World Series Championship.
posted by StLCardsFan at 11:59 AM on October 22, 2006
the only thing that happened last night was that a great team, who have been underestimated by everyone THROUGHOUT these playoffs, showed that they are a great team and what post season experience gets you. And if they now lose 4 in a row are they a bad team? You're reading too much into one game. the lineup came through against Verlander (who pitched a pretty good game striking out 8) On what planet is giving up 6 earned runs in 5 innings pitching a "pretty good game"?
posted by justgary at 12:12 PM on October 22, 2006
God do i hate the cardinals and game two is tonight. I think the tigers will turn it around, but maybe the cards are peaking now. Well, tigers could be in trouble, but I still have the tigers in 6 so I won't panic just yet.
posted by luther70 at 02:14 PM on October 22, 2006
I still don't get pitching to Pujols with a base open.
posted by yerfatma at 02:52 PM on October 22, 2006
My fiancee and her family are Cards fans, so, I have a little riding on this. Especially since I'm going up there in five days. I'm not entirely sure how you can hate the Cardinals as an organization. That is, unless you're a sore loser or a Cubs fan.
posted by igottheblues at 03:47 PM on October 22, 2006
aman stlcards fan MMMM, all of these post and only one had something nice to say about the Cards? I guess everyone on here are mets fans who are still pissed off about being beat. I can't wait to see what kind of excuses I'll hear if the Cardinals win the whole thing. Face it Tiger fans, you got beat by the pitcher with the fewest wins to ever start a W.S. game. I guess you can also say you got beat because of the middle of the lineup finally decided to show up at the plate
posted by dropzone at 06:28 PM on October 22, 2006
Face it Tiger fans, you got beat by the pitcher with the fewest wins to ever start a W.S. game. I guess you can also say you got beat because of the middle of the lineup finally decided to show up at the plate The Tigers got beat because they were believing their own press. Conventional wisdom going into this series was that it was already their title and why should StL even bother to show up. They forgot that no one was just going to hand it to them just because they have the better team. They still have to want it more and earn it. I still think a spanking was just what they needed, but we'll see.
posted by commander cody at 06:56 PM on October 22, 2006
good point commander cody. The press was saying right up to the end of game six of the NLCS that the mets where going to send stl packing. I think it is kind of good that everyone doesn't think the Cards have a change. The last few years they have made the playoffs, they where favorites and wound up falling flat on their faces. I guess the leason to learn here is not to lift the trophy until you win it.
posted by dropzone at 08:23 PM on October 22, 2006
Tigers played like they had some time off to get rusty. No offense, too many errors. Sounds like an inept team that took this game for granted. Hopefully they'll wise up and play smarter in Game 2.