Saturday, October 22, 2011

World Series Game 3: Cardinals at Rangers

US Presswire photo
Ian Kinsler's stolen base helped set up the Rangers' winning rally in Game 2.
After a day off for travel and ripping Albert Pujols for bailing on the media following Game 2, the World Series reconvenes tonight in the Great Republic of Texas, where the stars tonight will be big and bright. After a couple of very well-played, compelling, tense ballgames, this is shaping up to be quite a Fall Classic.

The Rangers have stolen home-field advantage via their ninth-inning rally Thursday night in St. Louis. Back in their ballpark for the next three games, they'll have another potent bat in the lineup with the DH back in play. Michael Young will take over that position for tonight, with Mike Napoli sliding over to first base and Yorvit Torrealba catching.

The Cardinals, meanwhile, are having Lance Berkman serve as DH, which opens up a lineup spot for Allen Craig, who has already proven himself quite adept at pinch-hitting in the first two games of this series.

Right-hander Kyle Lohse (0-2, 7.45 ERA this postseason) gets the start for St. Louis. He'll go up against lefty Matt Harrison (1-0, 4.42 ERA this postseason)...

107th WORLD SERIES - GAME 3
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS at TEXAS RANGERS
Where: Rangers Ballpark in Arlington
Gametime: 8:05 p.m.
TV: Fox
Radio: WTEM (980 AM), WWXT (92.7 FM), WWXX (94.3 FM), XM 89
Weather: Partly cloudy, 81 degrees, Wind 11 mph in from RF
STARTING LINEUPS
CARDINALS
SS Rafael Furcal
RF Allen Craig
1B Albert Pujols
LF Matt Holliday
DH Lance Berkman
3B David Freese
C Yadier Molina
CF Jon Jay
2B Ryan Theriot
(P Kyle Lohse)

RANGERS
2B Ian Kinsler
SS Elvis Andrus
CF Josh Hamilton
DH Michael Young
3B Adrian Beltre
RF Nelson Cruz
1B Mike Napoli
LF David Murphy
C Yorvit Torrealba
(P Matt Harrison)
at

28 comments:

  1. sjm308October 22, 2011 7:05 PM

    I did not follow the Rangers at all this year. Who was their "regular" firstbaseman? I am guessing Napoli did the bulk of the catching. This looks like a total mismatch with Lohse on the mound so obviously it will be another pitchers duel.

    Still don't have a team to root for, I am hoping for seven games.

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  2. natsfan1aOctober 22, 2011 7:39 PM

    Do it for Torty Craig fellas. Slow and steady wins the race. ;-)

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  3. Eugene in OregonOctober 22, 2011 7:40 PM

    Moreland started just over half the Rangers' games at 1B, then Young and Napoli more-or-less split most of the remaining starts.

    Torrealba actually started more games at catcher than Napoli, but remember that Napoli was on the DL for a while.

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  4. Eugene in OregonOctober 22, 2011 7:55 PM

    mlbtraderumors.com has a link to an interesting article on the Michael Bourn trade from, of all places, Business Week:

    http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/anatomy-of-a-baseball-trade-10202011.html

    Although I doubt it was the Nats, I wonder who the last-minute suitor was.

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  5. FSOctober 22, 2011 9:27 PM

    awesome Cards leading 5-0 in 4th. mainly thanks to 1st base umpire, but Cards did not let up either and Napoli contributed with an error.

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  6. Jim WebsterOctober 22, 2011 9:27 PM

    So the baseball gods continue to punish Bob Short and his woebegotten successors. Let them continue to do so.

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  7. FSOctober 22, 2011 9:44 PM

    I don't know Lohse' numbers but I totally expected him to serve up home runs in this park.

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  8. NatsLadyOctober 22, 2011 10:13 PM

    It ain't over yet. Lotta runs in this park. Go Cards.

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  9. FSOctober 22, 2011 10:40 PM

    this is insane. I am going to bed.

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  10. Jim WebsterOctober 22, 2011 11:11 PM

    Old guys on East Coast appeal for Fat Lady to sing. Getting too late. Go Cards.

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  11. baseballswamiOctober 23, 2011 12:08 AM

    This is ridiculous - like Pujols' price wasn't high enough before tonight - I hear "ka-ching" in his future.

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  12. AnonymousOctober 23, 2011 3:13 AM

    You guys are kidding yourselves if you think this will affect his price one iota. It was already sky-high, because every GM in the game knows he can explode like this on any given night. This performance was built into the rumors of $200 or $300 million contracts, it won't increase them.

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  13. natsfan1aOctober 23, 2011 7:20 AM

    I can't believe I watched the whole thing. I guess that's what happens when folks rip the big guy. Wow.

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  14. sjm308October 23, 2011 7:41 AM

    I left this game around 10pm and missed a bunch of hitting. Funny how a well pitched game keeps my attention but a slugfest just puts me to sleep.

    Agree that this performance did nothing to affect Albert's new contract. It is going to be right up there with ARod and he truly is an amazing hitter. What I really like about him is his charity work and he seems to not be that self-centered for a great athlete.

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  15. Big CatOctober 23, 2011 7:42 AM

    If I'm Rizzo I throw out the first offer to get the bidding started : 5 years at 150 mil. We get Pujols for 5 years and the Nats will win 2 World Series in those 5 years

    Now everyone is gonna get on here and bash me. I don't care. Its only money. Lets go for the moon

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  16. AnonymousOctober 23, 2011 7:57 AM

    Yeah they say the Lerners are billionaires. Lets get in their pockets a little bit.

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  17. Anonymous8October 23, 2011 8:42 AM

    Big Cat, that is a good strategy. Less years and more money. While his production is great, he has dropped off. We can get excited about this game #3 of what he did and keep in mind he was 0-fer in Games #1 and #2.

    I don't want it to feel like we all felt with Michael Jordan where his 2 years in Washington were sort of written off in his career.

    I guess if you had Pujols for 5 years that's a long time in baseball years.

    Its not my money, so why not!

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  18. GonatOctober 23, 2011 8:54 AM

    Quotes from Cardinals hitting coach Mark McGwire. He stresses see the ball, know your situation, work your pitch, see it, hit it and always have a plan.


    "I would have to assume he saw the ball obviously pretty well tonight," McGwire said outside the Cardinals clubhouse. "And what I liked tonight [was] he was working the counts really good. He was working getting pitches to hit. We were talking earlier in the cage before the game and he said his swing felt so good. I said. 'Albert, it just comes down to getting pitches to hit -- patience and getting pitches to hit."

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  19. sjm308October 23, 2011 9:30 AM

    Big Cat: I love spending the Lerners money and your plan actually works for me. Its early but I have not seen any bashing yet.

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  20. NatsJack in FloridaOctober 23, 2011 10:27 AM

    While the Nats don't HAVE to make that big splash signing this off season, they most certainly have to continue to be players..... and if they get lucky... sign a Pujols, Fielder, Reyes, or Wilson if it so works out.

    And I don't mind Pujols for NO MORE than 5 years.

    On another note, the Matt Purke I watched in two separate outings in the Fall Florida Instructional League didn't look like a guy ready for the Arizona Fall League, and by his latest performance, I'm afraid I was right.

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  21. Eugene in OregonOctober 23, 2011 11:54 AM

    Big Cat,

    No bashing from me. But I think the real question is whether Pujols will ever really leave the Cardinals. My expectation is that the Cards make some sort of 'lifetime' offer that keeps him in uniform (and very well compensated) for the next five to seven years, then segues into some sort of management (perhaps even part-ownership) arrangement. I'm sure there are some very creative ways you could structure such a deal. As much as I'd love to see Pujols in a Nats uniform, I expect him to be a Cardinals lifer.

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  22. Anonymous8October 23, 2011 12:11 PM

    http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/albert-pujols-big-world-series-game-3-proves-somebody-will-pay-him-big-money-as-free-agent-this-offseason-102311

    He's saying Pujols for 9 years at $25 million a year which is $225,000,000.

    You are better off going higher per year for less years and adding option years. If you do $30,000,000 a year for 5 years at $150,000,000 then you are getting the rest of his best remaining years. Can't imagine he will be worth even $20,000,000 a year in 6 years in comparable WAR.

    Look no further than 36 year old Alex Rodriguez and also ask what many have asked when Pujols was drafted, was he really 19 then and 31 now?

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  23. Mark'dOctober 23, 2011 1:53 PM

    If I'm spending $30 million a season I get CJ Wilson + Ryan Madson + Coco Crisp for said $30 million. $17 + $8 + $5

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  24. natsfan1aOctober 23, 2011 1:56 PM

    Late on this but... clapclapclapclap :-)

    where the stars tonight will be big and bright

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  25. gonatsgoOctober 23, 2011 3:28 PM

    It just seems that when someone rips Albert(a) -- that just provokes him. What a performance.

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  26. AnonymousOctober 23, 2011 4:23 PM

    "CJ Wilson + Ryan Madson + Coco Crisp for said $30 million."

    CJ Wilson - born 1980 a tad old.
    Crisp - Morgan redux 2.2 WAR really?
    Madson : born 1980 right handed pitcher. Planning on trading Clippard?
    Storen? H-Rod? Mattheus? Stammen? All younger all under team control?

    Seems to me like a complete and total waste of 30 million. Not a GM.

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  27. AnonymousOctober 23, 2011 4:27 PM

    Pujols is the only really big free agent signing that would make sense for this team. Perhaps an Oswalt or Wilson as mentors for the young starters ... but Pujols is definitely a major unique chance at an upgrade much like drafting a Strasburg.

    Sure it makes sense to go after him ... but will he leave St. Louis?


    Otherwise, there best chance may be through the right trades.

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  28. Get Some PlayersOctober 23, 2011 5:39 PM

    Yu Darvish. Sign him.

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