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KingPK

One & Only MLB playoff discussion thread

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Why would I want to catch "a piece of history" if I knew a member of my team could catch it and make history? If you're sitting in the first row, you have to know that anything you can catch, a player can probably catch, too.

 

I make a play for the ball if the opposing team is in the field, but definitely not when my team is in the field.

At the risk of getting pedantic, let me try this again.

 

It's instinctive.

 

The ball is hit to you. You look at ball. You cannot look at ball and at outfielder at same time. Chances are, you are not a professional ball player, so you are probably thinking that it's going foul. You conclude the ball is coming to you, so you physically commit and try to catch ball. Ball turns and your hand goes with it - once again, your eyes are on the ball, not the outfielder.

 

I realize that it's considerably easier to shirk the responsibility of losing the game onto one person, but you could always challenge yourself and just realize that the team lost the game and that they still have one more chance to win the series.

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Guest cpac

All right, ONCE MORE...if Alou catches the ball, here's what happens:

 

- Castillo is out, giving the Marlins a runner on second with two outs.

 

- Rodriguez singles home the first run. Runner on first, two out.

 

- Gonzalez muffs the ground ball, putting runners at first and second with two outs.

 

- Lee doubles, scoring Rodriguez. 3-2 Cubs, runners at 2nd and 3rd, 2 out.

 

- Farnsworth walks Lowell. Bases loaded.

 

- Conine flies out. Cubs lead 3-2 going to the bottom of the 8th.

 

 

Sorry to tell you. BUT YOU ARE WRONG!!!!!!! If Alou catches the ball, the whole rest of the game would have been played differently. Hell if castillo steps out of the batters box after the missed out the whole entire game would be played differently. You cant say everything is still going to happen the same way. It would have happened at different times, with different strategies and different results.

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Guest Choken One

exactly...whose to say that rod would not been walked and the Lee hits a 3 run shot...

 

The fucking fact is...the Cubs still had the game in their hands after the Fan Play but they couldn't hold their end of the bargain and sadly like little babies they point at the fan...refusing tp say "hey we fucked up"...because we know their precious fragile egos couldn't handle that...

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Solution to the Cubs curse:

 

Rename Wrigley Field or build a new stadium

 

Solution to the Red Sox curse:

 

Sign someone named Babe Ruth. Im sure theres someone who's name is Babe Ruth, and it really doesn't matter how good/bad they are at baseball.

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Guest Choken One
Solution to the Cubs curse:

 

Rename Wrigley Field or build a new stadium

 

Solution to the Red Sox curse:

 

Sign someone named Babe Ruth. Im sure theres someone who's name is Babe Ruth, and it really doesn't matter how good/bad they are at baseball.

I'd Mark if they brought in some cuban refugee named Babelias Ruthious...

 

Hey, if you gonna do the damn curse reversal...do it with Affirminitive Action.

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All right, ONCE MORE...if Alou catches the ball, here's what happens:

 

- Castillo is out, giving the Marlins a runner on second with two outs.

 

- Rodriguez singles home the first run. Runner on first, two out.

 

- Gonzalez muffs the ground ball, putting runners at first and second with two outs.

 

- Lee doubles, scoring Rodriguez. 3-2 Cubs, runners at 2nd and 3rd, 2 out.

 

- Farnsworth walks Lowell. Bases loaded.

 

- Conine flies out. Cubs lead 3-2 going to the bottom of the 8th.

 

 

Sorry to tell you. BUT YOU ARE WRONG!!!!!!! If Alou catches the ball, the whole rest of the game would have been played differently. Hell if castillo steps out of the batters box after the missed out the whole entire game would be played differently. You cant say everything is still going to happen the same way. It would have happened at different times, with different strategies and different results.

Biggest problem with your scenario, you are assuming everything happens the same, who's to say Conine doesn't try to hit for contact and slap a single into the outfield scoring two runs knowing that there is two outs.

 

Hey its shitty, it wasn't Game 7, Wood's a gamer. Just wait until tomorrow night to start bitching.

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I've only read one page thus far, but it looks like people are split about the fan getting in the way. Personally I don't blame the guy; it wasn't his fault, Prior could of still gotten the batter out, but that's the way things go. Things ended up playing in favor of the Marlins.

 

This could turn into another Red Sox/Mets World Series game. Even though the ball went between Buckner's legs, the Sox still had a chance to win game 7. Cubs still have a shot. Remember, the better team is supposed to win.

 

If I'm a Cubs fan I wouldn't be going into game 7 on a high because Wood is pitching. If the Marlins can keep it close like tonight, they'll have a shot. Redman has been very solid so far.

 

MLB has had one helluva playoff season.

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Guest Smues

"It was exactly 95 years ago on this date, Oct. 14, that the Cubs won the 1945 World Series. They've got one more game to try to get there."

 

Does Mlb.com even look at stuff before they post it?

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Guest Evolution
MLB has had one helluva playoff season.

Unfortunately, it's going to end in the worst possible way imaginable.

 

Yes, no one could've said at the beginning of the postseason that the World Series would be between the Yankees and the Marlins.

 

...

 

But who WANTED that anyway?

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Guest Choken One

If the cubs and Sox werent involved we'd be loving the underdog marlins...only the cubs could make that team a band of villians.

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Guest Choken One

If the cubs and Sox werent involved we'd be loving the underdog marlins...only the cubs could make that team a band of villians.

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All the Cubs' fans on this board blaming the fan for last night's loss: SHUT THE FUCK UP. You're making us all look bad. Yes, that guy IS an idiot for interfering with the catch. And if any of you try to say that you wouldn't have been trying to catch the ball too, well, you're a damn liar. Personally, I don't know what I would have done. But I know that I can't say for sure that I wouldn't have tried to catch it.

 

That said, the fan's non-play didn't lose that game for the Cubs.

 

- Prior walked Castillo on the next pitch. He still had a chance to get him out, but he walked him. It's not the fan's fault that Prior walked Castillo.

 

- Prior next had Pudge caught in an 0-2 count and then left a nice, fat pitch over the plate for him to drill into left field. It isn't the fan's fault that Pudge got a hit.

 

- Gonzalez drops an EASY ground ball. Don't know that it would have been a double-play, but it cost them at least one out. The fan didn't cause Gonzo to boot the grounder.

 

- Prior grooved another fat pitch to Derrek Lee, which he smashed to tie the game. The fan didn't cause this base hit, either.

 

- You know the rest.

 

Now, before any of you start screaming "But none of that happens if the fan doesn't interfere!", realize this: even if the fan doesn't interfere, there is still no guarantee that Alou catches the ball. Yes, he was right there and appeared to be in good position to do so. But it's still a very difficult play, and if he had had a clear shot at it and still missed it, we wouldn't even be talking about this play. Instead, we'd be all over Gonzalez instead (who deserves a lot more of the blame than that fan).

 

So let's all calm down, NOT murder the fan, put our Cubs' caps back on, and cheer like mad for Woody tonight. The season didn't end last night, so stop acting like it did.

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So let's all calm down, NOT murder the fan, put our Cubs' caps back on, and cheer like mad for Woody tonight.  The season didn't end last night, so stop acting like it did.

http://espn.go.com/page2/s/simmons/020528.html

 

Level VIII: Dead Man Walking

Definition: Applies to any playoff series when your team remains "alive," but they just suffered a loss so catastrophic and so harrowing that there's no possible way they can bounce back ... especially disheartening because you wave the white flag mentally, but there's a tiny part of you still holding out hope for a miraculous momentum change ... so you've given up, but you're still getting hurt, if that makes sense ... just for the record, I thought this would apply to the Nets after their Game 3 collapse (I couldn't have been more wrong).

 

Decent Example: Remember Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals in '93 (Knicks-Bulls), when Charles Smith had all those chances to make the winning layup and kept getting stuffed, so the Knicks lost home-court advantage and had to travel to Chicago for Game 6? They didn't have a chance in hell. Bring this game up to a Knicks fan and they invariably start dropping F-bombs.

 

Personal Memory: Two quintessential examples, both from the '86 baseball playoffs.

 

Games 6 and 7 of the ALCS (Red Sox-Angels), following the dramatic Game 5 when the Angels (three outs from the World Series) blew a 5-2 lead in the ninth inning (capped off by Dave Henderson's go-ahead homer with two strikes and two outs in the ninth, as policeman surrounded the field and the Angels bench was ready to run onto the field). If that wasn't bad enough, the Angels tied the game in the bottom of the ninth, had two chances with the bases loaded to score the winning run, then blew the game in the 11th. Then they flew cross-country to Boston to play Games 6 and 7, which they promptly lost by a combined score of 132-2. Talk about Dead Man Walking.

 

Game 7 of the '86 World Series, when we knew the Red Sox could never recover from the 10th inning of That Game -- WE %$$#%@% KNEW IT! -- yet they pulled the Michael Corleone "Just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in!" routine by staking Bruce Hurst to a 3-0 lead in the early innings. I hate this game. Just thinking about it makes me angry -- how the %$%# did they rope me in again after Game 6? Let's just move on before I start slamming my head against the desk ...

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http://espn.go.com/page2/s/simmons/020528.html

 

Level VIII: Dead Man Walking

Dude, I'm trying to be optimistic. I have NO idea what's going to happen tonight. All I can do is hope for the best, and for the Cubs to put it behind them and move on.

 

I am, however, VERY nervous about this Game 7. Don't think for a second that I'm absolutely confident the Cubs are gonna pull it out.

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I'm more confident about it than I would be if anyone besides Kerry Wood was on the mound.

 

EDIT: I mean in ALL of baseball, not just the Cubs.

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I'm more confident about it than I would be if anyone besides Kerry Wood was on the mound.

Exactly. It's not like Shawn freakin' Estes is pitching. The only other guy I'd want on the hill besides Wood in the game tonight is Mark Prior.

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Guest Choken One

and Prior did his job...unlike a Certain Shortshop but I believe Baker's decision to load the bases is one of the biggest things that caused this but of course he never believes he did something wrong and completely blamed the fan and only slightly faulted gonzo "That was an Uncharateristic play by Gonzo" when he pretty much threatened the life of the fan.

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Guest Smell the ratings!!!

honestly I saw no problem with loading the bases. They were going for the double play, and it's not like it matters if they go down 4-3 or 8-3.

 

the great thing is that all year Dusty's been rocking the "There is no curse, you can do it" routine, and it looked like the team is finally with him, and what does he say after the game? "Uh, well, the fan, uh, he, uh, it's his fault." pfffffft.

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Guest BobbyWhioux
http://espn.go.com/page2/s/simmons/020528.html

 

Level VIII: Dead Man Walking

Definition: Applies to any playoff series when your team remains "alive," but they just suffered a loss so catastrophic and so harrowing that there's no possible way they can bounce back ...

Deep down, last year, I "knew" it was gonna happen, too.

 

When the bullpen imploded in game 6 and the Angels came back and won.

 

And you hoped and you prayed that Livan Hernandez would remember how to pitch and have one more magic postseason start in him. But deep down, you knew he was gonna get hammered just like in game 3. And sho' 'nuff, he did.

 

Sometimes it seems like the worst thing you can do is take a 3-2 lead into game 6...

 

At least the Cubs have Kerry Wood going in game 7, instead of Shawn Estes. Or Livan Hernandez. Maybe something can bounce their way early and swing momentum back their way.

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Guest Choken One

I have a strange sick feeling it's gonna be all up to Alfonseca to win the series here...

 

Just a hunch.

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Guest Choken One

If Baseball gods are "FEELING" it...Marlins will go up 3-0 and lead until the 9th where Lofton gets Hit, next guy strikes out...Sammy gets Walked...Alou hits a long into the stands...Tied Game.

 

Then it goes to like 16 innings and each team expire all pitching options...leaving the cubs with the improbable Pitching debut of Hee Seop Choi.

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Everyone talks about how Wood's got the weight of the world on his shoulders tonight and I agree, but what about Redman? He's under a lot of pressure too, because if he doesn't turn out a good performance, it could mean that his team doesn't move onto the WS. I'm confident in Wood, because he's pitched in some very big games before and done well, but his defense and offense needs to back him up. Note that the games they lost also involved the Cubs making errors. You look back to the Atlanta series where they didn't make one error, and you see the results of that. The key is to play some solid defensive baseball, because if Wood's on, the offense can come through, then it's pretty much up to the defense to hold up their end of the deal.

 

As for the game, loading the bases wasn't stupid because even though it cost them, it wasn't like it made a difference anyway. They still lost the game by five runs, not one.

 

The Cubs just need to go out there and do what they've done so far in the postseason and they can pull it out. Thinking about last night is foolish as hard as it is not to think about. If you lose tonight, then last night will haunt them forever, but those memories will be overshadowed if they win it here tonight. Everyone looks at the stats and say this is all Marlins. Well, if we're looking at stats, don't forget that Wood hasn't lost to the Marlins in his career, and I can't remember the last time that Prior and Wood lost back-to-back starts.

 

The stats leading up to the game are ultimately meaningless, though. What matters is what's done on the field tonight and hopefully, twelve hours from now, we will have something to celebrate. Here's hoping to ya.

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MLB has had one helluva playoff season.

Unfortunately, it's going to end in the worst possible way imaginable.

 

Yes, no one could've said at the beginning of the postseason that the World Series would be between the Yankees and the Marlins.

 

...

 

But who WANTED that anyway?

NOT ME!

 

And I can safely assume that neither does Fox.

 

Then again, I'm almost not looking forward to the game tonight, since we could see the Cubs further self-destruct, and we send the wild card team to the World Series to get beaten by New York. So, instead of the curse being broken for either Chicago or Boston, we see George Steinbrenner crowing about how superior his team is (again). Then, the ratings tank, and we'll probably have Bud Selig talking about folding teams and whatnot to "save the game".

 

But what can you do? The commissioner of baseball is just a hired hand for the owners. He has no real power. The last time a commissioner showed too much independence, the owners had him removed.

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Then again, I'm almost not looking forward to the game tonight, since we could see the Cubs further self-destruct, and we send the wild card team to the World Series to get beaten by New York. So, instead of the curse being broken for either Chicago or Boston, we see George Steinbrenner crowing about how superior his team is (again). Then, the ratings tank, and we'll probably have Bud Selig talking about folding teams and whatnot to "save the game".

Yet another who looks past the Marlins...:rolleyes:

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Guest Choken One
Everyone talks about how Wood's got the weight of the world on his shoulders tonight and I agree, but what about Redman? He's under a lot of pressure too, because if he doesn't turn out a good performance, it could mean that his team doesn't move onto the WS. I'm confident in Wood, because he's pitched in some very big games before and done well, but his defense and offense needs to back him up. Note that the games they lost also involved the Cubs making errors. You look back to the Atlanta series where they didn't make one error, and you see the results of that. The key is to play some solid defensive baseball, because if Wood's on, the offense can come through, then it's pretty much up to the defense to hold up their end of the deal.

 

As for the game, loading the bases wasn't stupid because even though it cost them, it wasn't like it made a difference anyway. They still lost the game by five runs, not one.

 

The Cubs just need to go out there and do what they've done so far in the postseason and they can pull it out. Thinking about last night is foolish as hard as it is not to think about. If you lose tonight, then last night will haunt them forever, but those memories will be overshadowed if they win it here tonight. Everyone looks at the stats and say this is all Marlins. Well, if we're looking at stats, don't forget that Wood hasn't lost to the Marlins in his career, and I can't remember the last time that Prior and Wood lost back-to-back starts.

 

The stats leading up to the game are ultimately meaningless, though. What matters is what's done on the field tonight and hopefully, twelve hours from now, we will have something to celebrate. Here's hoping to ya.

Redman has a bunch of Band Wagoners who will forget this in a week...

 

 

Wood however has Chicago on him.

 

Florida isn't supposed to be there anyways...Everyone in American seemingly wants Chicago, so there's NATIONAL pressure...

 

Redman is going into this with no real pressure compared to wood...

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