6:45 - The story has been repeated over and over. Improbable September comeback. Improbable post season wins, etc, etc. This diary will be heavily biased in favor of the Cardinals, just as a head's up. A. I can't believe I'm here, watching the World Series with my favor team in the world about to play. B. My initial reactions to playing Texas in the Series were definitely very middle of the road. I didn't think we'd kill them and I didn't think they'd kill us. I guess we'll see...
6:49 - It's going to be cold and wet in St. Louis for the first two games of the series so that should be interesting from a hitter's standpoint. Probably won't really change anything one way or another though because the conditions aren't too drastic.
6:51 The Puma has quite the playoff beard going. Very think, slightly gray. He could use some Just for Men fo sho.
6:52 How many people during the off-season thought to themselves: "Nick Punto will be in a starting line up for Game 1 of the World Series this upcoming year." My guess, a few delusional Twins fans who thought he would be resigning with them and were under the impression that signing Joe Mauer to an extensive and lucrative deal was a good idea.
6:54 - This is how far baseball has fallen on the national sports' landscape. Some American Idol schmuck to sign the national anthem for the first game. Sad, sad, sad. Football, congrats, this is all your fault.
6:56 - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver return. No wonder the ratings for the playoff/World Series telecasts have been at all time lows in recent years...
6:59 - Flipped over to ESPN to see how Baseball Tonight was going to end. Curt Schilling has no faith in us. What a doucher.
7:03 - All those tired of the Geico Geiko say, "Ay!" Ayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.
7:05 - I think it's safe to say the person who scares me the most in this lineup is Ian Kinsler. I'm not sure why but his amount of power out of the lead off spot terrifies me.
7:06 - First pitch.... Ball 1. Ok we're toast... Plus an error by Freese who I vehemently defended as a solid fielder. My dad is going to taunt me the rest of my life for that play.
7:08 - Kinsler absolutely GUNNED by Molina. Man's got a cannon. He's had the most underrated season of anyone in either league in my "unbaised" opinion.
7:10 - Apparently Pujols wants Carpenter's arm stompped on as he throws a ball even Rex Grossman would have turned his nose up at... Somehow Carp still makes the play even as he was hiding his right hand.
7:11 - Hamilton grounds out to short. Three up, three down... Sorta. The crowd seems pretty pumped by the plays in the field from the Cardinals' battery. Let's hope this continues.
7:15 - C.J. Wilson's first pitch went right at Furcal's foot. Good sign?... Apparently not. Joe Buck just referenced Austin Powers... God help us... Or help C.J. Wilson who just walked the lead off hitter. Usually not a good idea, slick.
7:19 - I guess it doesn't matter if you walk the lead off batter if the next guy grounds into a double play. Thanks Jon Jay, thanks a lot. You better not do that again.... Albert hits a rocket to third base that gets called a catch... Even though it was no where near a catch. Both teams get quick first innings in uncommon ways.
7:22 - I kind of liked the Aaron Rodgers championship belt... But when it makes it's way into an insurance commercial, it definitely loses any appeal it previously had.
7:23 - M. Young is a Ranger lifer. Much respect staying on the same team that long. No respect if he gets on here... Man he moves quick for an older gentleman. Got down the line fast.
7:25 - Another ball goes off David Freese's glove. I'm going to get an earful from pop Mowery.
7:28 - Carp walks Cruz on a full count. Foolish, in my opinion. The guy can only hit balls up in the zone. Pound the ball low and he won't hurt you, plain and simple... Carp doesn't get a call on Napoli on an 0-2 pitch. He's probably pissed about it and will walk him out of anger... Or strike him out and glare at the ump... Or make Napoli ground into an inning ending double play. That was a HUGE out. Bottom of the order up the next inning.
7:36 - Holliday and Berkman, the "big guns," unimpressive in their first at-bats. Two grounders. They need to work the counts with C.J. He doesn't look accurate tonight... As I type that, Wilson walks Freese on 5 pitches. He just doesn't look like he can throw his off-speed stuff for strikes tonight. Small sample size but the Cards should keep it in mind.
7:42 - Yadi meekly grounds to shortstop. They need to start capitalizing on walks. Period.
7:47 - Wilson looks like an athlete and therefore, not ttal lost at the plate like a lot of AL pitchers... Though he does miss by a lot when he swings... As I say that he hits a ball to centerfield. Whoops. 2 outs... My uneducated key to the series. Keep men off base with Kinsler at bat. He flies out to right and we're going to the bottom of the third. 0-0.
7:52 - Of course, Nick Punto gets the first hit of the Series for the Cardinals. That's probably our season in a nutshell.
Geez, sometimes our fundementals suck... And Furcal and Jay have consecutive awful at bats. So much for a lead off single increasing your chances of scoring.
8:02 - If Molina's "ouchie" effects his performance, we're toast. He's too valuable.
8:03 - Carp strikes out Andrus. Strike three looked like it had good movement. I hope this continues.... Wow. NAAAASTY third strike to Hamilton. Then McCarver compares Carp to Maddux. Why do these guys have the jobs they have? Carp takes out Young on a grounder to short. Going to the bottom of the 4th scoreless.
8:10 - Wilson bounces one at Albert's front ankle. He honestly looks like he has no control over his pitches. Batters should take until a full count, seriously... Glad Holliday doesn't heed my advice because on the next pitch he laces a double down the right field line with an away fastball. Guess that's why I'm not a manager.
8:12 - Now the graying Puma approaches the plate... And because he wants a World Series ring, Puma grounds a ball down the right field line for a two-run single. BEAUTIFUL. I LOVE THE PUMAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!
8:16 - The Ice Man with a little warning track power but all is not lost on the play as Berkman tags on a heads up play. Man in scoring position with Yadi up is always a wonderful scenario. Let's see how this one goes... Groundout to short on the first pitch. Hmph.
8:20 - After an intentional walk to the always dangerous Nick Punto, Carpenter strikes out on three straight breaking balls, missing badly on all of them. He looked like Squints from the Sandlot trying to hit Tony Almonte. Now that I think of it, I'd pay to see that happen. 2-0 heading to the top of the 5th.
8:26 - Carpenter starts the inning with a single by Beltre (another guy I'm terrified of) but then strikes out the second coming of Babe Ruth in Nelson Cruz. A decent split of results considering this lineup... Sadly, Carpenter makes a mistake to Mike Napoli and he launches a two-run homer to right field. First really bad mistake by Carpenter thus far and Napoli makes him pay dearly. Momentum now non-existent.
8:30 - Fox's gimmick for this World Series is an infrared camera to pick up heat and fricition. Utterly pointless and now I'll have to listen to Joe Buck drone on and on and on about it. SHUT UP JOE BUCK!.. Wilson grounds out and we go to the bottom of the 5th tied at 2.
8:36 - Furcal works the count full in a "major league at bat," and draws a walk on a close pitch. Furcal doing his job as a lead off hitter so far with two walks. Jon Jay needs to do something productive with this at bat... And he does with a nice bunt down the 1st base line. Say what you want about Jon Jay, but he is probably the best bunter on this team (which isn't saying much but hey, gotta make that lemonade).
8:39 - In a "surprise" move, the Rangers walk Pujols with first base open. Not only is this smart because Pujols is a machine, but it's also smart because the Cardinals have shattered every exisiting GIDP record on record. I wonder if the Rangers knew that... Lo and behold Holliday hits a hard grounder to third and the Rangers turn two. Gee, didn't see that coming.
8:45 - Kinsler blops one into right field. I think I'm going to be sick... As Andrus lays down a sacrifice, this looks exactly like the Cardinals last half inning. But it doesn't appear we'll intentionally walk Hamilton. Because he's not a Machine.
8:47 - Kinsler tags up on a deep fly ball to center field by Hamilton. Young up to bat... Pujols makes an MVP type play sliding to his left down the 1st base line and throwing to Carpenter for the out, saving a run. Pujols still hasn't really gotten his due as a defensive player. Sure, he had a three error game this season, but some of the plays he makes can't be made by many major league 1st basemen. Even the top ones.
8:54 - This ump is suddenly giving Wilson the outside corner low. This perturbs me... Freese keeps feasting on pitchers insisting on pitching him away. Double to the right field gap. I've watched baseball for 15 years and I can't remember anyone as consistent as David in his opposite field power. It's like how I'm surprised at how good The Prestige is every time I watch it. I know it's a solid movie and I know how it ends, but I'm still surprised at how good it is when it ends, just like I'm surprised Freese can hit the ball so hard to the opposite field.... Finally, Wilson's lack of control is exposed. Wild pitch that Freese advances to third on.
9:00 - Yadi inexplicably swings at a high fast ball. I don't think I've ever seen Yadi swing at a pitch that bad. It's so out of place. Like Seattle at a sports city champions party.
9:02 - Has Napoli sent Wilson the "you've got to be kidding me with these pitches!" look yet?... Carpenter is getting pulled back to the dugout after 6 solid innings (really just one bad pitch). Allen Craig now steps to the plate with runners on first and third, two outs, and pivotal at bat in this game about to be decided by Alexi Ogando.
9:08 - Allen Craig sends one down the line that Nelson "Herman" Cruz can't come up with. WHAT A CLUTCH AT BAT BY CRAIG! 3-2 Birds with runners at the corners, two outs. HE DID IT FOR TORTY!
9:11 - Furcal sends 1 deep to the gap and Nelson Cruz makes the catch looking slightly more difficult than it had to. That ball almost got down. Heading into the seventh, 3-2 Cardinals. The bullpens will have at it now.
9:15 - Fernando Salas in for the Cardinals. One of two Mexicans on the team this year (along with Jaime Garcia). That was the most interesting introductory fact I could think of off the top of my head.
9:19 - Salas gets a ground ball, then gives up a single with Napoli waiting on deck. Uh oh. Now he goes 4-0 to Napoli. In other words, he walked him. Runners on first and second with one out and Scrabble heading in from the bullpen. I won't even attempt to spell his real last name.
9:25 - Can someone please tell me what the massive bump on the right side of Ogando's face is? It is HUUUUUGE.
9:25.5 - Scrabble with a big strike out of the pinch-hitter Gentry. Caught him looking on a high strike... Basically the only two people on the Rangers' roster I have limited knowledge on are batting consecutively. Gentry and German. Then again, I'd be surprised if any Texas fan could name more than one person from our bench. Outside of the NL Central, they are complete unknowns.
9:28 - Scrabble strikes out German on three pitches to pump up the Busch Stadium faithful. Then a member of our Armed Forces sings God Bless America. Good stuff on all accounts.
9:34 - Jon Jay grounds out again. Not a good start to the World Series offensively for our 2-spot. That needs to improve if we want to win this thing.
9:38 - Pujols faces off against some guy named Feldman. This should be interesting... El Hombre flies out to center field on a pitch he probably could have crushed but missed considerably. Unfortunate.
9:42 - Holliday hits a ball quite hard but Kinsler makes a decent play to rob him of a single. Good work by the Rangers bullpen with the 2-3-4 men in the Cardinals lineup. Dang.
9:47 - Octavio Dotel comes in to the game and makes Kinsler look silly on a check swing for the first out of the game... He then throws three perfect pitches to Elvis Andrus in consecutive fashion. Then, of course, LaRussa pulls him to get the lefty vs. lefty match up a la Arthur Rhodes (making his first WS appearance after 900 big league appearances) and Josh Hamilton. Typical Tony ball.
9:53 - Arthur gets his man with a fly out to center. Hamilton just doesn't look right. I think the groin strain is hurting his swing more than one would think. He's bailing on some pitches. This could play quite heavily to the Cardinals' advantage. Then again, I could be hallucinating and Hamilton might crush 3 homers tomorrow...
9:55 - Someone explain to me why there is a random black guy with an Afro and 70s clothing on in the Pepsi Zero commercial with all the baseball legends? I feel as though he is a bit out of place. PS I just got the Fox telecast trivia question correct. No big deal.
9:58 - The Gray Bearded Puma (an endangered species now) grounds one up the middle that Kinsler dives and stops... But he can't throw out the slightly sluggish Puma out. Infield single... On the first pitch Dirty Dan lays down a successful bunt to advance Puma. Time for Yadi to be clutch.
10:01 - No clutch Yadi. Slow grounder to short that advances the runner. Sadly, there are two outs and the miniscule Nick Punto will need to get a hit for the insurance run to occur.
10:04 - Punto strikes out looking at a nasty curve ball on a full count. No insurance run. Jason Motte the "non-closer" is coming in to face the heart of the Rangers order.
10:08 - This is the first time I have felt nervous all game... Getting the first out makes me feel only slightly better.
10:09 - Here we go. First controversial call. Did the ball hit Beltre's foot or not? According to Fox's infrared camera, the ball nicked his right foot. But it doesn't matter. The call is an out.
10:10 - Cruz vs. Motte... Just don't throw the ball near the inside of the plate Jason.
10:12 - Motte just misses on a 2-2 count. Brutal
10:13 - Holliday doesn't let this fly ball bounce off his nuts and the CARDINALS HAVE TAKEN GAME ONE OF THE 2011 WORLD SERIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT WOOOT! (Just like Bubb Rubb would say)
10:14 - That is how you pitch Nelson Cruz. Low and away. His power pretty much disappears. Allen Craig with the big game-changing at bat. And the Cardinals, who Pedro Gomez picked to get swept, have taken the first game.
10:18 - The slug fest will eventually come, but the staffs respective aces both pitched well enough to give their teams chances to win. While they weren't dominate, they dodged troublesome spots with timely pitching and took their teams further than expected by many a baseball pundit.
Are you going to do this for all the games? Very dedicated.
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