I didn’t plan on live blogging tonight, but I’m up, I’m here and figured why not. Of course, 11 minutes into the pre-game on Fox, I want to smash my television to pieces. I’m not sure what bothers me more, the self-back patting that Fox is doing about spotting the stuff on Rogers’ hand, or Donald Fehr, Bud Selig and Kevin Kennedy basically servicing Kenny Rogers and the umpires.
It’s all over. Nothing we can do to change things, let’s move on…but let’s not sugar coat what he did. He cheated, he got caught (so to speak) and LaRussa decided to do nothing…pretty clear cut.
I’ve been reading about how ‘horrible’ everyone thinks McCarver and Buck are working this World Series, so in tonight’s blog I’m actually going to try and pay attention to see if they really say as many stupid things as we think they do. Of course, I’m watching the game with someone who keeps switching over to Keith Olbermann…so I might miss some ‘good’ stuff.
8:20 – I missed the Tigers intros…did the Cardinals fans boo the Tigers the way the Tigers fans booed the Cardinals?
8:21 – I love Jim Edmonds. There, I said it. I know he’s surly and I know he dives for balls he could just catch like any normal outfielder…but I’ve had a girly-crush on him since about 2001. Doesn’t mean I always want him to win…but I figured I should throw it out there for the sake of disclosure.
8:23 – Trace Adkins is singing the National Anthem. I like Trace Adkins. Big, burly,country guy who sings songs about kids. What’s not to like? (Here come all the anti-country music folks.) I think he’s doing a great job. Nice and steady.
8:27 – I blame myself. I’m the one who introduced him to Keith Olbermann’s show. Well, there’s only a half an hour left. (I heart K.O. – I’d just rather heart him after the World Series.)
8:36 – Game just starts…Tim McCarver says "another left for the Cardinals" and we can’t figure out if he was talking about Carpenter (who isn’t) or Robertson (who is, but isn’t ‘for the Cardinals’). Pretty bad that McCarver has me confused as the game starts.
8:37 – Carpenter gets two quick outs, including a strike out. Very nice.
8:39 – 1-2-3 first inning. St Louis fans sound very happy.
8:42 – Here’s Nate. I don’t mind saying that I’ll have a tough time rooting against him. Is it possible to want him to pitch well, just not well enough to win?
8:44 – Nate has a quick two outs as well.
8:45 – "Without the DH, the Detroit defense is hurt a little", says Joe Buck. No kidding, Joe? Really? You mean having a pitcher hit in the spot of a guy who gets paid to hit will HURT the team? Who’d have thought it?
8:46 – Nate gets Pujols to end the first inning. 0-0. Hey it’s a pitching duel!
8:49 – Watching Keith Olbermann talking about Anna Nicole Smith and Kevin Federline. Ugh.
8:50 – Probably missing a grand slam at this point because I’m being force fed Keith Olbermann…help me.
8:52 – Commercial on Fox. Did Carpenter pitch another good inning? Way to go, Chris.
8:54 – A four pitch second inning? Whoa. Carpenter is serious tonight, eh?
8:55 – "How ’bout more on this left-hander named Robertson?", asks Joe Buck. As opposed to the left-hander named Koufax?
8:59 – Keith Olbermann is talking about Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. I think that is a sign of the apocalypse.
9:00 – Jim Edmonds walks and Yadi has a 2-1 count.
9:01 – 3-1 count. McCarver thought Yadi should have swung at a ball thrown at his shins. Yadi then tosses the bat and starts to take first on strike 2. Never a good move if you want to stay in the umpire’s good graces.
9:03 – Cardinals fans are going to get tired of cheering Molina’s fouls. He’ll hit a homerun and they’ll be too pooped to cheer.
9:04 – Well, at least Nate threw a lot of pitches. No score at the end of two.
9:05 – Kinky Friedman is on "Scarborough Country". I have to admit, I can watch me some Kinky during commercial breaks.
9:07 – Kinky makes me wish I lived in Texas so I could vote for him.
9:08 – Are we watching the Little League World Series? Do I need to see Brandon Inge talk about himself? (Who had that soul patch first? Inge or Spiezio?) Inge gets the first hit of the night with one out and Nate up.
9:09 – I love Nate’s glasses. Charlie Sheen/Wild Thingish.
9:10 – "These are the small things that National League pitchers are asked to do", Joe Buck says, in reference to Nate squaring off to bunt. Yeah, those National League pitchers, they’re doing God’s work, Joe.
9:11 – Nate DOES bunt and sacrifices Inge to second and a wild pitch gets him to third (and gives Joe Buck an opportunity to say "atypical").
9:12 – This one hits the dirt. Maybe Carpenter was shaken up by Inge’s soul patch?
9:13 – Granderson, apparently, didn’t want the Tigers to score. He grounds out to go into the bottom of the third.
9:14 – Good God, Dick Cheney is on Hannity & Colmes. Why was I born into a politically active family? (Mind you, I love the politically active family I’m in…and when there is no baseball on, I’m right in there with them…)
9:15 – The best compliment Cheney could give Barack Obama is that he’s a good looking man. I think my ears are bleeding.
9:17 – Oh look…a baseball game! Nate already has two outs.
9:18 – Make that three.
9:23 – Nice strikeout there, Chris.
9:24 – Two outs. I just went to The Slowskys website (I’m a marketers dream). Funny stuff. Even if Comcast does **** me off more often than not.
9:25 – Magglio makes the final out. Middle of 4, no score.
9:28 – Still in commercials. Egads.
9:29 – Very nice hit by Preston Wilson. How about capitalizing fellas?
9:30 – Albert has a 3-0 count…let’s go Big Al.
9:30b – The 3-0 pitch was a strike. Does this surprise ANYONE?
9:31 – Guess it doesn’t matter since he just hit a ground rule double!
9:32 – Scott Rolen is up with no outs and men on second and third. He has a 2-0 count. If he gets any RBI in this at-bat will we have to hear about the tiff between him and Tony LaRussa again?
9:32 – Hey, there’s Tony now. Why does he take his sunglasses off for the interviews, yet keep them on during the game? Why does it annoy me so?
9:33 – And here is where I get torn. Nate just walked the bases loaded with no one out. How do I reconcile wanting him to lose with NOT wanting him to pitch poorly?
9:35 – How about a double-play that scores a run? I could live with that.
9:35 – Ronnie Belliard is not cooperating with my plan. He has a 1-2 count.
9:36 – Okay, Ronnie…a force out at home was NOT what I was looking for. Oh well, my boyfriend Jim Edmonds is just going to have to hit a homerun.
9:39 – Okay, it isn’t a homerun…but a double that knocked in two runs!!! I’ll take it.
9:40 – Walking Yadi to pitch to So. This could be interesting.
9:41 – Sean Casey was poorly positioned at first for a left-handed hitter. Guess he’s rusty, eh?
9:42 – Ball one to So Taguchi. Whatever Leyland said to Nate when he went out there hasn’t seemed to sink in.
9:43 – So Taguchi and Chris Carpenter pop up and Nate minimizes the damage. Nice work.
9:44 – After Taguchi’s out they showed second base. Jim Edmonds gave Placido Polanco a shoulder rub. THIS is why we watch baseball, folks! 🙂 2-0 after 4.
9:46 – Joe Buck just said that Jim Leyland had the magic words that helped Nate out of that inning. Um, Leyland went out BEFORE Nate gave up the runs. Is Joe even watching this game or is he just following along on Game Day?
9:47 – And now McCarver is in on the praising of ‘the talk’. You know I have ears and they are bleeding.
9:48 – Oh goody…Chris Myers is in the stands with the fans. Lucky fans, eh?
9:48 – Strikeout, ground ball…two outs.
9:52 – Single and a strikeout. Carpenter is throwing a two-hit shutout.
9:56 – "We had a chance to visit with Jim Leyland…", Joe buck says this like it’s a surprise. "Hey, you’ll never guess who we met up with at the park! JIM LEYLAND!!"
9:57 – Eckstein gets a nice hit down the middle while Joe Buck **** up to Jim Leyland in regard to his ‘magic words’. According to Leyland, his magic words were "those two are probably going to score…minimize the damage". Thanks, Skip.
9:58 – I hear the crowd moan…but I’m still watching the recorded Leyland interview.
9:59 – Fox just showed a guy in the crowd wearing a fake Spiezio soul patch AND one of those red and blue rubber masks. Overkill anyone? (I used a pic of the Arizona Cardinals mask because it’s a little cooler than the St Louis one. As cool as a rubber mask can be, I guess.)
10:00 – Preston Wilson strikes out. Take that, Mookie! Sorry, I was having a flashback to 1986.
10:02 – Pujols he is out as well…and we get our first 2004 World Series mention of the evening! Joe Buck pointing out how much better the Cardinals are hitting in THIS series than they did in 2004. Well, Joe, St Louis says ‘duh’.
10:03 – I keep confusing my Cardinal Scotts and expect to see Rolen with a bright red soul patch.
10:05 – Rolen gets a hit to bring up Raven’s dad (aka Ronnie Belliard).
10:06 – Ronnie is rocking the braids again. Too bad, I liked the ‘fro!
10:07 – Nate got Belliard to strike out. I love this, Joe Buck says that Nate has kept his team in the game. Okay, I guess I could go along with that, except for, you know, the two runs he gave up just a freaking inning ago.
10:11 – While Joe Buck does another Chevy commercial it occurs to me that I don’t feel the excitement of the World Series. I feel like I’m watching a regular-season series during inter-league play – in 40 degree weather.
10:12 – Chris Carpenter has two outs and five strikeouts on the night.
10:13 – Middle of the 6th…2-0 St Louis. Nice inning, guys.
10:17 – Nate is out of the game, here comes Ledezma. (Nice work, Nate. Really. Two runs on five hits isn’t all that bad, I concede that to Buck and McCarver. Where the heck is the rest of his team?)
10:18 – Ledezma strikes out Edmonds and Fox shows us Carlos Delgado getting the Roberto Clemente award (and letting us hear the St Louis PA announcer stumble over the pronunciation of "Clemente"). Congrats Carlos!
10:20 – Even when McCarver says something I agree with (Clemente was probably the greatest defensive right-fielder in the game) it annoys me.
10:20b – Yadi!!!!!! Hits a double with one out. Guess this lefty isn’t as good as the first one, eh boys?
10:21 – "Do you want to pitch to Eckstein or Taguchi" asks Tim McCarver. Joe Buck DOES point out that the pitcher hits between Taguchi and Eckstein. All you had to do was pick up a scorecard, Tim. Really.
10:22 – And here comes Joel Zumaya. And now that annoying Chevy commercial with that annoying "This is Our Country" song. Shame, MLB. Just freaking shame.
10:25 – "If you haven’t seen Joel Zumaya", starts Buck. Now, I know you think I’m looking for things to complain about, and I know he’s a rookie, but who does Buck think is watching this World Series? Basically, Tigers fans (who I’m pretty sure have seen Zumaya), Cardinals fans, generally regarded as some of the nicest and most baseball-savvy fans in MLB and diehards who follow baseball regardless of who is playing. I’m pretty sure we know of this Joel Zumaya who just struck out So Taguchi.
10:28 – Why do i find it funny that Carpenter swung at the first pitch? I guess he is just excited to get back to pitching. End of 6, 2-0 Cardinals.
10:32 – SWEET catch by Pujols!!! Polanco hit it right to him! And here comes Menudo!
10:33 – Not words you want to hear, "There may be something wrong with Carpenter". Great. Just freaking great.
10:34 – Buck says Carpenter has had trouble with cramping that is attributed to ‘hot, muggy weather’, which it is NOT in St Louis. Last time I checked, folks cramp up in the cold too dude.
10:36 – The obligatory "that catch was SO Taguchi!!!". Two outs, even with a thumb cramp.
10:37 – Thumb cramps and all, Carpenter gets out of the inning to lead into "God Bless America". I like that song. A lot. But I don’t get why it has to be sung during the seventh inning stretch since they already sing the National Anthem at the games. Jo Dee Messina is singing it and does a very nice job. Jo Dee is from Massachusetts and is possibly related to my mother’s family. And that’s all I know about her.
10:46 – I link to the Slowskys and STILL Comcast forsakes me. One on and no outs for Zumaya…but WAIT, here comes Jim Leylant to impart his wisdom on young Joel.
10:47 – And Zumaya walks Preston Wilson as well. Thanks, again, Skip. Your words are inspiring.
10:48 – 2-0 to Pujols. Now it’s Ivan’s turn to inspire Joel.
10:49 – Apparently Pudge told Zumaya to forget about playing defense. On a horrible throw to third, two runners scored. 4-0 Cardinals with no outs and a man on second.
10:54 – Jim Leyland decides to save Zumaya from an off-season of therapy and brings in Jason Grilli with one out and Pujols on third.
10:55 – Belliard is 0-4 tonight. Maybe he should take out the braids?
10:56 – Intentional walk to Jim Edmonds, bringing up Yadi. This could be fun.
10:59 – Grilli gets out of the inning and Fox plays "I Just Don’t Know What to do with Myself". Huh?
11:02 – Chris Carpenter is back with 70 pitches under his belt and a crampy right thumb. He is Joe Buck’s hero tonight.
11:03 – Hey he just struck out Pudge, bringing Sean Casey up. (If I’ve mentioned Casey in this blog and spelled his name differently, my apologies. I know too many Shauns, Shawns and Seans.)
11:04 – I’m just going to ignore McCarver’s remarks about adding "most cramped pitches" as a stat.
11:05 – Casey gets another hit. Boy is two for three. Thank you, Sean Casey, for showing up for the game and bringing Nate Robertson with you.
11:07 – Brandon Inge = Rally Killer. Double play to go into the bottom of the 8th and I have to listen to John Cougar again. I wonder if Casey will give Inge an atomic wedgie in the dugout? Still 4-0 Cardinals.
11:10 – The "We are Marshall" commercial makes me tear up every time they show it. I can’t imagine watching that film.
11:10b – We have a Neifi Perez sighting! I’m sure Tigers fans are thrilled.
11:11 – Taguchi is up with an 0-2 count and Carpenter on deck with no one up in the bullpen. This is actually a fun game to watch!
11:12 – Fox just showed Inge in the dugout and looking quickly I thought they were showing the stands and a guy with a natural Spiezio soul patch.
11:13 – Tauguchi walks and I get to find out that Carpenter’s favorite music artist is Dave Matthews and he has my fear of flying. What would we do without Fox to tell us these things?
11:14 – The last time there was a 1-5-3 double-play was in the 1920s. McCarver acts as if Zumaya should have know this. Fox shows the replay yet again. I think we should take Zumaya into the parking lot and hang him by the street lights, don’t you? (Jeez, give the kid a freaking break!)
11:15 – I totally missed what Carpenter did, but since Taguchi is on second, I’m guessing it was a sacrifice. 🙂
11:16 – "Scrappy" David Eckstein is up. Poor kid. They’ll use that in his obituary, you know. Even if he’s 129 when he dies (heck ESPECIALLY if he’s 129 when he dies!).
11:17 – Scrappy Doo gets a hit! First and third with one out and Mookie’s pride and joy up.
11:17b – "If [Wilson] strikes out, Pujols will be the hitter", says McCarver. "Thank you, Mr. Obvious", says everyone who has been watching the game.
11:20 – You know what? Wilson walked and Pujols is STILL the hitter. Go figure. Bases loaded with one out.
11:21 – They just played "Yakety Sax" at the park. I have no words.
11:25 – Zach Miner is in to pitch to Albert. 1-2 count with the bases loaded and one out.
11:26 – OW!!!! Poor little Pudge! Man, so much for the ‘protective cup’, eh? I think using phrases like "they come up on balls…" is a little inappropriate right now, Tim.
11:27 – Okay, I admit it. I rewound the dvr to see Pudge get hit again.
11:28 – Ivan is sacking up (so to speak) and staying in the game. Good man.
11:29 – Wild pitch, Taguchi scores. 5-0 with Pujols still up. Instead of walking him, Zach Miner decides to hit Pujols. Whatever works, I guess. Here comes Scott Rolen.
11:30 – Neifi starts the double-play. End of the eighth. I hope LaRussa lets Carpenter come out for the ninth. He certainly deserves to.
11:34 – Which, of course, means he doesn’t. Braden Looper is in. There’s a good baseball name for you.
11:37 – Mrs. Looper’s boy has two outs and a 1-2 count on Craig Monroe. Put away the damn rags, Cardinals fans, and just cheer your freaking team.
11:38 – Game over, baby! Cards up 2-1 in quite the fine fashion. Great job, fellas.
11:40 – Oddly enough, Buck and McCarver don’t sound as excited as one would think over this win. Oh well…I’m excited enough for the both of them!
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