Exciting time for baseball

[derFunkenstein]

Wowza! It's the Steers and Beers world series. I guess it would have been either way, but the name kinda makes me giggle.

[FireGryphon]

This is going to be an exciting series from the sports point of view, but from a marketing point of view it could be a nightmare, with such relatively small markets involved.

[derFunkenstein]

The only way it'll be good from a "sports point of view" is if the Rangers win, because there's some sort of crazy mentality that everyone should have their turn being the "winner".

[IAmGhostDog]

I think/hope it will be an excellent series.
Props go to the Cards.
10 1/2 games out in late August.
What a run.
And LaRussa's masterful use of the bull pen in the play offs.
Let the games begin.

[derFunkenstein]

That was the most ridiculous game I have ever seen. A classic. Not a classic like games 6-7 of the 91 WS, but a different kind of back-and-forth brawl. With some bad defense sprinkled in.

[Hawkwing74]

Most fun baseball game to watch for me in my lifetime. I'm not a huge fan but that game is now my all time favorite. My all time least favorite is the Cubs Bartman meltdown.

[IAmGhostDog]

Congratz to Cards.
They certainly did earn it.
What a run they had.

Game 7 was almost anticlimactic after game six.

Saw some good baseball.
Game 5 Phillie's/Cards (Carpenter's masterpiece.)
Game 2 Texas/Cards (Texas wins 2-1 after scoring 2 in top of 9th)
Game 6 Texas/Cards (Cards down by 2 twice. Walk off homer in 11th)

[derFunkenstein]

wow, what a fun night! I can scarcely believe it.

[riviera74]

Yes, congratulations to the Cardinals...... for exploiting that tank job by the Rangers in Game 6 (or was it a choke job ?). Rangers should have ended it all in Game 6, period. End of Story. The Rangers LOST the World Series rather than the Cardinals won it.

Here is a question: why are the Rangers playing like the Mavericks back in 2006 rather than 2011?

[derFunkenstein]

Heh, cryabouddit, I guess. I was completely prepared to write off this WS as the better team beating the late-riser (remember, I picked Philly/NYY) but in this case the early bird did not get the worm. Freese was a beast all month long, don't forget. He now holds the all-time record for most total bases in a single postseason. Who hit the triple in the 9th and the HR in the 11th?

Time and time again, STL fought back from the brink of elimination. Against the Phillies and against the Rangers twice. And not to mention big late-season sweeps of Atlanta and Milwaukee to put them into the playoffs to begin with.

In other, more important news, TLR has officially retired. Go out on top, I suppose.

[Lucky Jack Aubrey]

For me, the main reasons the Rangers couldn't win the Series are:

-- lack of a true pitching ace to lead the staff
-- a very young closer who still needs to mature
-- Ron Washington's seemingly desperate attempts to manage NL style, rather than playing to the Rangers' strengths (big topic on the local sports talk shows this morning).

That said, I've got to give due credit to Saint Louis. When the series began, I believed that the Rangers were the better team, and that belief seemed to be confirmed after the Rangers took Game 2 in Saint Louis. However, the shellacking in Game 3 began to change my opinion, and when Texas finally dropped Game 6, I felt certain that Saint Louis would close the deal. The Cardinals took advantage of the opportunities that the Rangers gave them and came up with timely hits when they had to have them, and that's what a champion does.

Texas is still young, has a loaded farm system, and solid leadership under Nolan Ryan and Jon Daniels. I have to believe that they'll get another shot.

[derFunkenstein]

-- a very young closer who still needs to mature

So true. Neftali Feliz was completely gun-shy in game 6. He's a monster and he's going to continue to be as he gains experience, but he's only 23. He was just told to go finish off the World Series and he couldn't do it. 90-year-old Darren Oliver couldn't, either, but Feliz is a better pitcher than he showed.

[SecretSquirrel]

-- Ron Washington's seemingly desperate attempts to manage NL style, rather than playing to the Rangers' strengths (big topic on the local sports talk shows this morning).

The lack of solid pitching lost the series for us, no doubt. We have good pitching in that sometimes its lights out fantastic and sometimes it walks a the bases loaded then hits a guy in the world series. It averages out "good". The problem is, you can have an off night in the World Series and you certainly can't have two.

Back to the quote above, the one thing that had me about to throw something at the TV was the handling of the pitchers at bats by Texas. You have one out and a man on first. The opposing team is so sure you are going to bunt that 1st and 3rd are set up half way to home plate. Why, oh why, would you bunt. Under no circumstances are you going to get anything but a double play to end the inning. Let the pitcher swing. So he is going to whiff, fine. One out is way better than two.

--SS