Did Lidge’s save give ANYONE confidence?

So Charlie Manuel brought in Brad Lidge in a one run playoff game in the 9th inning at Coors Field.

He’s a braver man than me.

And a quick glance at his line score makes you say “Hey! Maybe he turned a corner! Maybe the Phillies can rely on Lidge.”

COME ON!

Did you SEE that inning?

More than half of his pitches were balls… he put two men on and was behind everyone. Yes he got the save, but are you REALLY going to trust him with a one run lead again.

Yeah, I’ve been harsh on Lidge. A 7.21 ERA with 11 blown saves can open a guy to criticism.

Charlie, do Phillies fans a favor… find a new closer NOW!

article_url = location.href;article_title = document.title;

Hey Red Sox fans… let’s not get carried away

Don’t get me wrong… yesterday sucked.

It didn’t just suck. It SUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKED!

One strike from winning the game, putting Lester on the hill… and a Game 4 win would send the game back to Anaheim (sorry Angels, that’s where you play) with the pressure on THEIR shoulders.

And instead we get a monumental collapse.

But some Sox fans are getting carried away.

Bob Ryan said this was the worst Red Sox post season loss since 1986.

Really?

It’s not even the worst Red Sox post season loss in the last 12 months!!!

Game 7 of last year’s ALCS was MUCH worse!

Come on… the Red Sox had the tying runs on base with nobody out in the 8th… heart of the line up coming up… just a few days removed from the mind boggling Game 5 come back… a trip to the World Series on the line… and they got a goose egg.

I’ll think of J. D. Drew striking out against David Price a hell of a lot more than the Angels rallying against Papelbon.

Last year was a chance to make it back to back pennants… have a great shot to repeat as World Champs and maybe have the word dynasty mentioned.

Instead we got a World Series opening in the Trop!

This year? Holding off a Division Series sweep.

Not as much on the line.
And how quickly we forgot the devastation that was 2003!

Lest we forget the Sox had a 5-2 lead in the 8th inning… 1 out and nobody on.

The Yankee dragon was about to be slain by a gritty and lovable bunch.

Plus we all knew that the Yankees for what ever reason couldn’t hit Embree, Timlin nor Williamson… and if Pedro let up a hit, Grady would have those three guys to record 5 outs.

And then the most agonizing inning since the 10th of Game 6 in 1986 happened.

We replayed that inning, batter by batter until Posada’s little bloop tied the game… and a few innings later when Aaron Boone ended it.

In some ways that was WORSE than Game 6 in 1986.

We had felt we couldn’t be burnt again after that… and then let us feel hope as the outs piled up.

And when the ball rolled through Buckner’s legs, not only was the game already tied, but there was a Game 7 on the horizon.

When Boone’s homer landed… that was it. End of season. End of hope. Many of us wondered if we should just stop rooting for the team.

It was time to buy a copy of Noose Making For Dummies.

A little less devastating than trying to prevent a Division Series sweep.

So folks, it hurt yesterday. But it doesn’t carry the weight of “Will we ever see a World Series title in our life times?”

It doesn’t have the “will we EVER beat the Yankees” question hanging over it.

Nor does it have the “I wanted to see a Dynasty!” possibility.

It was quite simply “I hope we don’t get swept by a better team in the Division Series” situation.

Let’s not go nuts folks.

(We wouldn’t want Red Sox fans to be irrational!!!)

article_url = location.href;article_title = document.title;

Whither Instant Replay

This has not been a glowing post season for big league umps.

Brandon Inge was hit by a pitch in extra innings of the One Game Tigers/Twins playoff that would have put Detroit ahead.

Some strange calls at first went against the Red Sox in a key inning in Anaheim.

Later a play at third was blown in the Red Sox favor.

In Minnesota, Joe Mauer dumped a double in extra innings that was fair by a foot… but called foul.

In the 9th inning of a tied game in Denver, a ball clearly bounced and hit Chase Utley in the batters box and it should have been called a foul ball.

At least in Denver there was an excuse… the umps eyes were covered.

But doesn’t that just bring back the specter of instant replay?

Most of these bad calls were exposed in under a minute on TV.

Sometimes the correct call is shown over and over again before the manager is done even arguing on the field.

Wouldn’t it be better for baseball to get the calls RIGHT?

Maybe the Twins would have scored twice in the bottom of the 12. But the win wouldn’t have the ugly stench of the Tigers being cheated out of a run.

And yeah, had Joe Nathan retired the Yankees in order, there wouldn’t even be the need for extra innings in the Bronx. But the Twins had enough going against them… they didn’t need the UMPS working against them.

I’m becoming a broken record as I stated my belief in instant replay in general and also using the 1987 Twins/Cardinals World Series as a reason to use it… but if we have the capability to get the calls right WHY THE HELL DON’T WE????

article_url = location.href;article_title = document.title;