quick
10-20-2011, 10:24 AM
Cards 3, Rangers 2.
Jeff Passan at Yahoo sports is going on about LaRussa's genius in game 1, but this game seemed pretty simple: Both teams had 6 hits, but C.J. Wilson walked 6 men and the entire Cardinal staff walked 2. At a minimum, these men on base made Wilson's pitches more stressful and made the defense adjust.
CJ Wilson hit Pujols in the inning where Pujols scored; if he is not hit Pujols likely does not score and the game ends 2-2 and goes to extra innings; and a WP by Wilson let Freese advance from 2d to 3d and later score. The WP may have not made a difference, but it made it easier to score and made both Wilson and his catcher worry about another WP allowing Freese to score without a hit. Maybe with a man on third, Wilson abandons his low breaking stuff making it easier on the hitter.
In short, if the Rangers don't hit batters, walk batters, and allow runners to advance on bad defensive plays, LaRussa doesn't look like Wile E. Coyote, Super Genius.
To get back to our ongoing discussion about clutch play, the Cardinals played the game to their usual level and the Rangers made mistakes--they weren't "clutch", which seems to mean playing below their statistically regular level.
Maybe game 2 will go better for the Rangers....
Jeff Passan at Yahoo sports is going on about LaRussa's genius in game 1, but this game seemed pretty simple: Both teams had 6 hits, but C.J. Wilson walked 6 men and the entire Cardinal staff walked 2. At a minimum, these men on base made Wilson's pitches more stressful and made the defense adjust.
CJ Wilson hit Pujols in the inning where Pujols scored; if he is not hit Pujols likely does not score and the game ends 2-2 and goes to extra innings; and a WP by Wilson let Freese advance from 2d to 3d and later score. The WP may have not made a difference, but it made it easier to score and made both Wilson and his catcher worry about another WP allowing Freese to score without a hit. Maybe with a man on third, Wilson abandons his low breaking stuff making it easier on the hitter.
In short, if the Rangers don't hit batters, walk batters, and allow runners to advance on bad defensive plays, LaRussa doesn't look like Wile E. Coyote, Super Genius.
To get back to our ongoing discussion about clutch play, the Cardinals played the game to their usual level and the Rangers made mistakes--they weren't "clutch", which seems to mean playing below their statistically regular level.
Maybe game 2 will go better for the Rangers....