And That Happened

Rockies 6, Giants 4: Walkoff grand slam in the 14th for Ryan Spilborghs after the Rockies started their half of the inning down 4-1. Colorado is starting to smell like a team of destiny. At any rate, they’ve won seven of eight and are now four games ahead of the Giants for the NL wild card.

Phillies 6, Mets 2: If I can’t give John Smoltz full credit for pitching against the Padres on Sunday, I sure as heck can’t give Cliff Lee full credit for pitching against, well, whatever it was the team in the orange, blue and white was forced to throw out there yesterday. I never thought I’d say this, but not having Jeff Francoeur in the lineup really hurt. Of course, Cliff Lee continues to be basically ridiculous (7 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 5K), so the Mets probably could have thrown out the 1986 lineup and they wouldn’t have done much. Ryan Howard drove in five, which led to this game story note: “The home run also pushed Howard past 100 RBIs, giving him four straight seasons with at least 30 homers and 100 RBIs. The only other Phillies player to accomplish that was Hall of Famer Chuck Klein from 1929-32.” I would have bet my children that Schmidt had done it, but between his relatively pedestrian 1978 season, the strike in 1981, and some low OBP guys hitting in front of him, and the opportunities just never presented themselves.

Red Sox 12, White Sox 8: We may have a winner for the most misleading line score of the year in the form of Jose Contreras’ one earned run in 2.2 innings pitched. Here’s Contreras’ third inning: Single, out, out (ok so far), walk, HBP, error by Contreras himself, walk, wild pitch, home run. None of the six runs that scored that inning were “earned” because of the error. Except it was Jose Contreras’ error, and it was surrounded with about the worst possible pitching imaginable. He more than earned those runs. He went out, tracked them down with dogs, hunted them to the ends of the Earth, killed them, and drove home with them strapped to the fender of his car with little tags on their ears. As for the Red Sox, a win is a win, but Clay Buchholz is as inefficient as a Caloric dishwasher. He averages something like 97 pitches but only a shade more than five innings a start. This one was a Buchholz special (4.2 IP, 6 H, 7 ER, 3 BB, 3K, 92 pitches). All in all it was a 3:42 game, and thanks to Contreras and Buchholz, it may very well have been the ugliest game of the season.

Brewers 7, Nationals 1: A weird 4:30 start time. What’s the story, here? It’s a getaway day so I see why you don’t go with the night game, but why not then make it an old-timey businessman’s special and start the thing a 1PM? I guess they figure they can get people leaving work a bit early, but I’ve always found it easier to just never come back after lunch than it is to slip out the door at 4PM. Then again, I’ve worked at many, many places in my life so perhaps my example isn’t the best one to emulate.

Rays 12, Blue Jays 7: Roy Halladay’s worst start of the year (6 IP, 12 H, 8 R) shoots his ERA over 3.00 for the first time since early May. As for the Rays, they keep a close watch on this heart of mine. They keep their eyes wide open all the time. They keep the ends out for the tie that bind. Because they’re mine, they’ve won seven of nine.

OK, I’m really sorry about that one. That was bad even for me.

Twins 2, Orioles 1: Scott Baker allows one run on four hits in seven and beats Chris Tillman. The two Minnesota runs came off of a wild pitch (following a triple) and a sacrifice fly. Kind of a passive aggressive game.

Indians 10, Royals 6: Luis Valbuena hit a three-run shot off of Joakim Soria — who was apparently called in to get the nearly unheard of two-inning save — in the eighth. Big game for Travis Hafner (3-4, 2B, HR, 4 RBI).

Tigers 10, Angels 7: Miguel Cabrera homered and drove in five. Justin Verlander had a 10-run lead in the sixth inning when he started to get hit. Leyland: “He lost his tunnel vision. You got a 10-run lead, you got to go out there and pitch like it’s a 1-0 lead . . . You can’t worry about what the score was.” So much for “pitching to the score.” Umpire Tim Welke left the game in the bottom of the fourth after getting hit in the chest by a foul tip from Vladimir Guerrero. I didn’t see it, but given that it’s Vlad we’re talking about, the ball was probably on Welke’s chest protector already when he swung.

Mariners 3, Athletics 1: Griffey hit a homer with his mom in the stands. “She doesn’t get to see too many games live. She’s going to take credit for that one.” Actually, she could technically take credit for all 625 of your home runs, young man. Not that she’ll ever get any thanks. And to think she carried you around in her body for nine months . . . but don’t mind me, I’m just your mother . . . a call would be nice sometime too, and let me tell you what I think about those boys you’ve been gallivanting around town with . . .


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mike in brooklyn
14 years ago

The ‘86 Mets would have destroyed the Phillies.  Doc would have shut them out; Ray Knight would have slid in hard and broken up a double play, to which Jimmy Rollins owuld have objected before getting his clock cleaned by the former Gold Gloves boxer; a bench-clearing brawl would have led to Chase Utley wetting his pants as Daryl chased him in to the outfield.  After the game, the Orosco, Keith, and Darling would have spent the night prtying at one of the swankier Philly nightclubs (assuming there is such a thing) all while Kevin Mitchell skinned Shane Victorino’s pet Hawaiian monk seal alive.

And Gary Carter would’ve visited the Liberty Bell.

And I would be young, slim, with a head full of glorious non-gray hair.  And, what the hell, dating Molly Ringwald.

Dennis Koziel
14 years ago

What a great show of guts on the mound with Zito and Marquis going at each other last night.  Unfortunately, neither figured in the decision.  The day before, there was another great battle between Ubaldo and Lincecum.  Now the Dodgers are in for three.  Stay tuned, sports fans.

Greg Simons
14 years ago

Very entertaining overall, mike, though the monk seal part was a bit disturbing.

However, if you’re going to dream, is Molly Ringwald really at the top of your list?  I mean, I like redheads, too – I dated several and am happily married to one – but I think one of the SI swimsuit models of the time would be my choice.  Elle McPherson, Kathy Ireland, Paulina Porizkova, any one of them would be fine.  But, hey, to each his own.  wink

mike in brooklyn
14 years ago

OK, greg.  molly’s out.  traci lords is in

Greg Simons
14 years ago

Wow, from dipping your toes in the kiddie pool to diving off the deep end there!  Make sure you wait until she’s 18.  (May 7 – I looked it up.)

Brian
14 years ago

@lar: It’s Johnny Cash.  “I Walk the Line.”  And it was bad, even for Craig.  The rhythm of that last line doesn’t match the original at all.

Bob Timmermann
14 years ago

I think 4 pm was the starting time for the “old-timey” businessman’s specials. The stock market used to close at 3 or 3:30 and then people would help up to the Polo Grounds for games that started around 4.

Unless Chief Meyers lied to Lawrence Ritter.

lar
14 years ago

@Brian – of course! Now that you say it, I can sing the whole thing (and you’re right, the cadence is definitely off at the end there). I think my fault lied in the fact that, while I know the song, I don’t know many of the words, so the only signal I would’ve had was the “They keep their eyes wide open all the time”-line, and it wasn’t enough to jar my memory.

I stand by my assertion that a Jeri Ryan reference would’ve been much more appropriate…

The Rabbit
14 years ago

Re The Rays   First, you’re right…It’s bad.  It earned a groan….but it did get me thinking (which is usually dangerous).  If Maddon’s gimmick was somehow effective, can we see other managers following suit?  I’m trying not to visualize teams dressed as the Fat Elvis.
Re: Those that comment at NBC site   The scariest parts are: (1) They are permitted to reproduce, and (2) they are permitted to vote.  That gene pool is past the need for chlorine. You need to completely shock that pool.

MooseinOhio
14 years ago

lars – It’s hard to ever go wrong with a Jeri Ryan reference. 

What’s interesting is that it was her divorce case that may have opened up the door for President Obama as Jeri’s ex-husband was the front runner for the Senate seat filled by our now president.  Apparently Jack Ryan didn’t get the memo about having the sex scandal occur after you get the Senate seat.

APBA Guy
14 years ago

As my girlfriend reminded me, Jeri Ryan is a Northwestern alum, and showed her exceptional intelligence by looking fabulous in a skin tight Borg suit.

Craig, on behalf of the half dozen or so remaining A’s fans, I want to thank you for not using your comments about Clay Buchholz on any of the A’s pitchers. Since those comments:

” xxxx is as inefficient as a Caloric dishwasher. He averages something like 97 pitches but only a shade more than five innings a start. This one was a xxxx special (4.2 IP, 6 H, 7 ER, 3 BB, 3K, 92 pitches” might very well apply to Vin Mazzaro last night:

5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, 2 HR, 99 IP

The 3 ER was due mainly to Ichiro being out of the lineup, but the point is we see that line score every night. It’s part of having a very young pitcher on the mound.

Believe me, we’d be thrilled if we also had Buchholz’s results in his previous 3 starts for any of our pitchers.  We had glimpses of that from Anderson and Braden earlier in the year. Not so much now.

Jake
14 years ago

a Caloric Theory reference? 

alas, I do not understand.  Maybe this is why I got a C- in Thermodynamics.

when you break out the Phlogiston Theory to explain someone hitting 6 HR in three days, I’ll certainly understand that, though!

Craig Calcaterra
14 years ago

Jake—no, just a Caloric (brand) dishwasher reference. I don’t think they’re made anymore. Had one in my old house, though. It was the worst dishwasher ever. We kept holding out on replacing it, though, because we were certain it would die within a year of buying the house and would thereby be covered by the home warranty. It didn’t, and then we lost track of the year.

Eventually I just decided to find out who was tougher, it or me. When I sold the house six years later that damn dishwasher was still there, still spilling water on the floor, still rattling the rafters with noise, and still taking about two hours to run through a cycle.

Greg Simons
14 years ago

“I’ve always found it easier to just never come back after lunch”…“I’ve worked at many, many places in my life.”

I guess when you say never come back, you really mean NEVER come back.

How many law firms are there in Columbus?

MooseinOhio
14 years ago

Buchholz has had to pitch against several aces in the past month and held his own in several of them even though he got the loss.  Yesterday was certainly a less than stellar display but his previous start was a win against Halladay and he pitched 6 innings (6 hits/1 ER) and before that was a 7 inning (5 hits/2runs/1ER) in a loss to Verlander.  I’ll take those three starts over the last three starts Smoltz made for the Sox.

lar
14 years ago

I have to admit, I don’t know what that reference is about, but I suspect it has little to do with Jeri Ryan. And, really, when you’re talking about seven of nine, shouldn’t Jeri Ryan be the go-to reference?

Oh, and about the 4:30 start time in DC. Apparently, its to keep the stadium crowd from killing downtown traffic. Tom Haudricourt said that he couldn’t imagine those 7 extra cars would make much of a difference though. *rimshot*

Rob²
14 years ago

Let me also add that Lester was similarly inefficient in his few couple of seasons.  It always seemed like he barely made it through five every time he took the mound.

Clay’s gonna be alright, just let the kid pitch.