 |
US Presswire photo Does Pablo Sandoval have more heroics in store tonight? |
The pertinent question is this: Did the Giants' lopsided Game 1 win over the Tigers fundamentally change the complexion of the series? On one hand, you have to say the answer is yes. Not only did San Francisco take out Justin Verlander in stunning fashion, but history tells us the last 11 home teams that won Game 1 went on to win the World Series.
On the other hand, a big performance tonight from Doug Fister & Co. would get Detroit back on track and even the series up heading back east to Comerica Park. He gets overshadowed by Verlander and others on the Tigers roster, but over his last 17 starts (postseason included) Fister is 8-4 with a 2.52 ERA. That's pretty good.
Just like last night, I'll be hanging out here all night providing my own thoughts and interacting with everyone in the comments section. Please join us as you watch the game...
THE 108TH WORLD SERIES - GAME 2
DETROIT TIGERS at SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
Where: AT&T Park
Gametime: 8:07 p.m. EDT
TV: Fox
Radio: WTEM (980 AM), XM 178
Weather: Sunny, 62 degrees, Wind 11 mph out to RF
TIGERS
CF Austin Jackson
2B Omar Infante
3B Miguel Cabrera
1B Prince Fielder
LF Delmon Young
SS Jhonny Peralta
RF Avisail Garcia
C Gerald Laird
RHP Doug Fister
GIANTS
CF Angel Pagan
2B Marco Scutaro
3B Pablo Sandoval
C Buster Posey
RF Hunter Pence
1B Brandon Belt
LF Gregor Blanco
SS Brandon Crawford
LHP Madison Bumgarner
UMPIRES
HP Dan Iassogna
1B Fieldin Culbreth
2B Brian O'Nora
3B Brian Gorman
LF Joe West
RF Gerry Davis (cc)
125 comments:
Go Giants!!!
Mark, glad to have your comments here among us peons.
This will be interesting. Bochy has been pushing many of the right buttons but all signs point to Bochy should have benched Bumgarner in favor of Timmy, but Bumgarner is a lefty and the Tigers do better against RHPs.
I'm picking the Tigers 5-4 tonight.
And they're underway. You've got to think this first inning or two is going to be really big for Madison Bumgarner. If he can navigate his way through a couple of scoreless frames, his confidence will soar.
I wonder if Big Time Timmy Jim will make an appearance tonight?
Good stuff from both starters in the first inning, with Bumgarner and Fister each making quick work of the top of the respective lineups.
Here's a great stat from ESPN about Dan Iassogna, tonight's plate umpire: 22.4 percent of plate appearances this season with him calling balls and strikes ended in a strikeout. That was the highest percentage among all MLB umps. Something to keep in mind tonight.
Why would you go home with no outs?????
Gonat: BECAUSE THEY ARE DESPARATE!
Of course Scutaro with the throw home!
MicheleS said...
Gonat: BECAUSE THEY ARE DESPARATE!
October 25, 2012 8:26 PM
_________________________________
Desparate in a Game 2? That was just dumb baseball. Tiger fans should be livid!
Anyone else think Fielder needs to lose a pound or two or three? I think Santa Claus could have run faster than he did. Started thinking about a bowlful of jelly as they showed the slo-mo.
I know he nearly beat that throw to the plate, but Prince Fielder never should have been sent by Gene Lamont there. Not with nobody out in the second inning of a scoreless game. The Tigers could've had runners on second and third with nobody out. Instead they were left with a man on second, one out and wound up not scoring at all.
Big-time squandered opportunity there.
Nattering, yah, he's a load and Fielder may still be faster than LaRoche .
MicheleS, what was he thinking? Where was he going to be going?
Gonat.. when they are TRYING to do everything to win this GAME, yup desparate, and yes DUMB.
Nattering: Bowl full of Jelly, that's a TRUCK load of jelly
Gonat.. ahh memories of Nook Logan and sigh.. I miss Charlie and Dave.
So let me get this straight. The Giants successfully threw Prince out at the plate, and TimMcC and AJ are arguing about Posey's positioning. Much as it pains me, I gotta side with Timmy on this one. AJ as much as suggested that Posey needed to block the plate more even if he risked injury.
McCarver is just the worst. You have instant replay and clearly you can see it smacked Fister in the head but yet McCarver tells us it hit his glove.
Another comic moment was when TimMcC in yet another example of keen analysis says "that's why you have a second cutoff man, just in case the outfielder misses the first one." And then a few seconds later he says, "credit to Scutaro. How many second basemen would be there."
No matter what happens, Fister needs to go to the hospital and get a CT Scan. He got nailed in the head and MUST ensure there is no brain hemmorage. I can only imagine what Brandon McCarthy felt when he saw that (or hopefully he doesn't see it)
Wow, did you see the way Fister took a direct line drive off the side of head ... and had absolutely no reaction. You certainly hope he's OK, but that's the kind of thing where the symptoms of something serious might not show up immediately.
Gonat to Tim Mc's credit when he actually saw the replay he was cringing and you could hear it in his voice
MicheleS said...
No matter what happens, Fister needs to go to the hospital and get a CT Scan. He got nailed in the head and MUST ensure there is no brain hemmorage. I can only imagine what Brandon McCarthy felt when he saw that (or hopefully he doesn't see it)
October 25, 2012 8:46 PM
__________________________________
Shocking to see him still in the game. I hope he really is okay.
You've gotta hope Fister is making a rational decision here and risking his health or his career.
Wow, HP ump Dan Iassogna is running this game the way Patton and MacArthur ran WWII. I wish this guy had been behind the plate for Nats-Cards Game 5. We might still be playing.
That swingback fastball is a pitch of beauty. I guess you throw it more with the fingers further apart. I hope our boys are taking notes and especially listened to Zito's postgame news conference.
Fister's team needs to make a decision for him. Several of you are correct about symptoms showing up later. They need to be absolutely hovering over him at this point. No game, not even this one, is worth that risk. Of course, McCarver is the one acting like there is something wrong in his head...
The 1st base ump may want to rethink that call. Scutaro hasn't made an out in a close play all post-season Hah!
2nd time thru the order for Madison.. I wonder if the Tigers figure him out (like everyone else did this post season)
Scutaro deserves to be called out for his pointless head-first slide into first base. Not only is it dangerous, not only does it make it tougher for umpires to make bang-bang calls ... but it's also proven to get you to the base slower than running straight through.
Dang.. Panda has some hopps!
Just jumping into the game thread here, after getting some telephone support from Verizon to fix my DVR box.
So, swami, you know the great DC Washington? He is far and away the best anthem singer the Nats use on a regular basis. They ought to have him in there a lot more than they do.
Very interesting to read Desi's tweet endorsing DC.
Panda doing his Ryan Zimmerman impression.
Do you get the sense the Tigers are starting to press to make something happen offensively? Sure feels like it, between Fielder getting thrown out at the plate and Infante now getting picked off first base.
Really, they're just not catching any breaks. Cabrera hit that line drive as hard as humanly possible but was robbed by Sandoval. Fielder hit the ball well to deep left field, too, just not deep enough.
The last thing the Tigers should be doing is trying too hard to score a run. They've got too good a lineup to be held in check for long.
Mark Zuckerman said...
Scutaro deserves to be called out for his pointless head-first slide into first base. Not only is it dangerous, not only does it make it tougher for umpires to make bang-bang calls ... but it's also proven to get you to the base slower than running straight through.
October 25, 2012 9:06 PM
__________________________________
John Brenkus of ESPN Sport Science analyzes whether it's faster for base runners to dive into first base or run through the bag.
http://espn.go.com/high-school/baseball/video/clip?id=6571277
MarkMeister.. I called it early: TIGERS ARE DESPARATE! They want a split and if they don't get it, they are terrified to have to come back to SF for game 6.
Dave- yes, have worked with him. Did the Messiah with him several times- great privilege to accompany him. He is not the biggest baseball fan and is amused that I consider those appearances to be a huge deal. I wish they would ask him more often, especially for special events. Haven't seen him in a while, though. That is his actual name, by the way.
Infante is out. And still no free taco!
Mark Zuckerman said...
Really, they're just not catching any breaks. Cabrera hit that line drive as hard as humanly possible but was robbed by Sandoval.
October 25, 2012 9:11 PM
_______________________________
First of all a great play. Second, was that great scouting or more Giants luck to have Sandoval so close to the line as I'd expect him 2 to 3 further to his left in the early innings of the game.
Okay. so I have seen a couple of interviews with Sergio Romo, and well, I can get behind that guy. Truly appreciates being in the game. He could trim up the facial hair.
He is quite the chatterer.
Gonat: Thanks for the video evidence confirming my suspicion! To me, the only time it makes sense to dive into first base is if there's a chance the first baseman might try to tag you. That obviously wasn't the case on the Scutaro play tonight.
Now this is a game I can get behind. Tense, pitchers duel. If I had a stake in this game, I would be breaking out the bourbon and the maalox.
And yes Romo is chatty. better to listen to him than Buck and McCarver.
SF radio team on Fielder's dive to get that foul: "It did knock a couple of pictures out of tilt up here."
Yes, I know I'm at least a full minute behind the real world, but the radio guys are so vastly superior to the Fox doofuses that I'll accept being late.
Michele, I assume Romo is going for that Brian Wilson look with the beard.
Lots of players sacrificing the bodies tonight. Surprised Prince's lay out didn't register on the seismograph . Prince and Panda are some big, beefy guys.
Swami: LMAO! Look at this:
Thomas Boswell@ThomasBoswellWP
Prince's dive for foul ball only registers a 5.1 on the Richter Scale. Press box seemed to shake but otherwise no major structural damage.
Okay.. SHUT UP Erin.. No one cares about College football during the World Series.
Swami, I would love to know whom we need to talk to to get the Nats to use DC for the anthem more. His rendition is classic, and he wastes no time. I can even stand listening to GBA in the 7th inning when he does it.
Swami.. and more fielder humor:
Dave Kindred@DaveKindred
San Andreas Fault says, "What was THAT?" #FielderQuake
I don't know, Dave. I do know that he was asked quite often back in the RFK days. He lives nearby- I should ask around about him to see if he is still active or if he has retired. Doubt it. Last time I saw him was at a funeral and so I canned the baseball talk for once.
Very interesting to hear that he's a classical choral singer. No surprise, though. Does he do something with music in his day job? Music teacher? Something like your gig?
I think he was a military musician. Those people are usually the best at the National Anthem. Last I saw him he was singing with a couple of professional groups in DC.
Well, Fister hasn't allowed a hit since he got hit in the head. And we've got ourselves a real pitchers' duel here, scoreless through five. Feels like the kind of game where one clutch hit in a big spot could be all that's needed.
Dave/swami, I know DC Washington as well. Super nice guy and a great singer. He told me that in addition to his scheduled appearance, they sometimes call him as a last minute substitute when a scheduled singer can't make it for some reason. After eight years of anthems, the Nats have lots of folks they invite back year after year, plus the winners of the open auditions they have. It's rare for anyone to perform more than once a season with the limited number of spots they have. I don't think that lobbying for a particular performer to be asked more often will have any effect. I'm sure they know people like DCW.
no Tim.. Doing the Wave is NOT great.
Also, Fister better not be on that plane tonight. CT Scan before he EVER gets on a plane and has to deal with the pressure changes.
So - posters here, folks on twitter, facebook, texting me during games - everyone is commenting on how terrible these guys are on tv - embarassing, almost. This is the World Series - there are tons of qualified people who would do a great job. It's the world series, so I will watch. So nothing will change. Is this particular network completely clueless as to how bad this is? Do they have a permanent contract or something?
Scrambled the brain and pitches better? Is that a pitching technique? ;)
I am baffled at the low quality of the post-season announcers in general. Fox, TBS--the same couple of mediocre guys each year do the same mediocre job of it.
Remember back in the day when the major broadcast networks had these contracts every year? When the likes of Vin Scully had the network call?
Listening to Jon Miller on KNBR San Francisco reminds me of those days. Just vastly superior to Buck and McCarver.
Remember how much better Terry Francona was last year when TimMcC was sick? Of course, he's no longer available....
Gonat and Michele, delayed LOL.
I'm listening to Dan Shulman and Oral Hersheiser on ESPN radio, far prefer Shulman to the TV crew, despite the fact radio is about 20-30 seconds behind TV.
Nattering, I'm doing the daily routine of starting the radio feed on my iPhone, then sitting down with my DVR and delaying it until it more-or-less matches the TV.
I pause the DVR the moment a first pitch to a new batter hits the catcher's mitt. Then when I hear that sound on the radio feed, I hit play. I've currently got it within about a half-second of synchronized. Close enough for me. The radio and TV in the Stars & Stripes Club is not as close as I've got it right now.
This game is reallly exciting in a pure baseball, national league park kind of way.
I like the fact that both starting pitchers are still in there in the 6th. Real baseball.
Tim just has nothing to say. Its all forced. Hard to believe they can't find a better replacement. It took ESPN 10 years too long to replace Joe "Slide Piece" Morgan.
Quintessential Tim McC -- On Panda: "With that body type he has to do much more work than most people to stay fit and trim."
I have had enough. What radio station are you using? I tried to find the game in the car earlier and couldn't find it. Help - save me from this garbage. This is a tremendous world series game and you would not know it from listening to these guys.
I'm doing it through the MLB At Bat app on my iPhone. I think I tried it once with the Gameday Audio and it worked okay, too.
But both require spending a little money. I find the $15 a year I spend on the At Bat audio subscription to be some of the best money I spend every year.
Supposed to be on ESPN radio, but I don't know what station carries that feed in the DC area. I looked around during the NLCS and couldn't find it.
I meant Gameday Audio via the MLB.com website--that thing where you can watch pitch-by-pitch. That one costs a bit more per year (I don't know why), but it's still relative cheap. Less than $30 for a year. They might have it pro-rated to dirt cheap right now, not sure.
Relatively cheap. Typing too fast. Too much red wine late in the night.
swami, I'm on AM 980, ESPN radio.
Dave, very obsessive--um, meticulous--of you! I admire that degree of precision, really, but I kind of don't mind the lag. Truth be told, often during Nats games I am listening to Charlie and Dave, who usually are about 6 seconds ahead of MASN. Especially when upstairs, but even when I see the TV, I hear the excited voices on radio and am able to catch whatever the play is on TV a few seconds later.
Works for me, also calms me down during high-stress games, of which there were many (were there any that were NOT?).
Man, this is turning into something epic. What a duel between Fister and Bumgarner. FYI: The last World Series scoreless game to reach the eighth inning was Game 4 in 2005 between the White Sox and Astros. The last scoreless game to reach the ninth inning was perhaps the greatest World Series game ever: Game 7 in 1991 between the Twins and Braves.
LOL, NN! Yes, I guess I'm a bit obsessive about it. Right now I'm listening to/watching the guy do God Bless America, which is an acid test, and it's pretty dern close!
(This guy is no DC Washington!)
Those of you looking for the game on the radio here in D.C.: It's on ESPN-980 AM, which also simulcasts on 92.7 and 94.3 FM.
MadBum has way fewer pitches than Fister, right? Can't recall where they are in the batting order. Does Bumgarner stay in?
Thanks, Mark. By the way, great side-by-side commentary.
Alas, in central Montgomery County, I can hear neither FM 92.7 nor 94.3. So, AM 980 it is for me, the old-fashioned sound for a classic WS game.
Hope Fister's okay after that shot to the head. That was a great pitching performance.
You can't walk Belt. Have to make him earn his way on. LOOGY
Blanco has a bunt hit now and a hit off of Fister's head. The guy looks like a superstar in the WS
Found a station! Staticky but that reminds me of the old days!
Fister could lose this game through (basically) no fault of his own because the run scores on a double play.
Talk about having to manufacture a run. They had to give up not one but two outs for it.
How many times does that weirdo bouncy bunt roll foul? Wow. What a game.
I've got it synced up perfectly now. The signal is awful , but better than the tv guys. Thanks for the fm stations, am wasn't working at all.
I may be in the minority here, but I actually agree with Jim Leyland playing his infield back there, even though it helped the Giants score the night's first run. Playing the infield in does increase the chance of a forceout at the plate, but it also increases the chance of a big inning. With the bases loaded and nobody out, you're really in danger of a big inning. Yes, they conceded a run late in a scoreless game, but the Tigers are going to have to score to win this game no matter what. A 1-0 deficit is much easier to overcome than 2-0 or 3-0.
The other annoying thing Fox does is show their network's actors in the ballpark. Self-serving self-promotion as if we are to believe they are fans of the game. Puhleeeze.
Certainly hope Fister is at a hospital getting a CT scan.
When the bases are loaded with no outs the probable run expectancy is 2.417.
A little 1966 flashback in a 1-0 pitcher's duel but that 2nd inning no out play where Prince was sent home should get Lamont fired.
Man, when did this Tigers lineup turn so feeble? They've been so bad in this series, Jim Leyland is thinking about benching A-Rod for Game 3!
NatsLady said...
When the bases are loaded with no outs the probable run expectancy is 2.417.
October 25, 2012 10:41 PM
_________________________________
Unless you have Ryan "2 Pitch" Mattheus on the mound!
Nice-- good playoff memories!
Yep, Bochy looks like a genius again. Bumgarner looked Aces.
With the bases loaded and no one out, the chance that a run will score in the inning is 87.7% (for the years 1993-2010).
Hard to believe that Gregor Blanco has a higher WS batting average than Marco Scutaro .250 vs .286
NatsLady said...
With the bases loaded and no one out, the chance that a run will score in the inning is 87.7% (for the years 1993-2010).
October 25, 2012 10:48 PM
________________________________
Its a good thing that Ryan Mattheus spits on stats like that!
Free taco. Thanks, Angel.
Remember the Yankees game when Girardi made a double-switch and the outfielders couldn't figure out which one of them was coming out? Ah, AL baseball players (snicker).
Finally- the free taco.
Nats Lady - yet another great memory from the season!!
Supposed to be 30-40 degrees in Detroit. We need our WS to be in a warmer city. Tampa Bay?
Love that sac fly. Starting to look rough for the Tigers. But they play all nine innings, so we'll see.
Boy, stinky Detroit bullpen. Four walks? (So far).
I think my biggest mistake in predicting this series was severely underestimating just how fundamentally sound the Giants are ... and just how unfundamentally sound the Tigers are.
No east coast teams playing- hurricane/ nor'easter due on Monday.That would have been interesting.
Brian Goodwin with a monster night - 3-4 with a walk, 2 doubles. Rendon 1-4 with a double. Skole 0-5
Only problem with the radio broadcast-- commercials for "question 7".
Mark Zuckerman said...
I think my biggest mistake in predicting this series was severely underestimating just how fundamentally sound the Giants are ... and just how unfundamentally sound the Tigers are.
October 25, 2012 11:02 PM
___________________________________
That Detroit layoff last week after sweeping the Yankees I think really slowed them down. Their bats have been ice cold.
Dave, NN, 222, etc:
The line against the McCarverization of America forms directly behind me. I couldn't stand this guy when he was just a so-so catcher for the Cards and Phils. I totally blame Steve Carlton for inflicting this guy on our nation. If Carlton had talked to the media, nobody would have ever talked to McCarver when he was the Phils' catcher. And nobody would have made the dreadful mistake of handing him a network microphone.
Joe Buck deserves combat pay: he spends his entire year sitting next to either Timmie or Troy Aikman. Eeeesh.
This game is just thrilling. It's completely beyond me why anyone likes football better than baseball. Just makes no sense at all.
Romo's sliders are just impossible to judge. Incredible pitches.
Man, this home plate ump is good.
Romo shows how you put away a game with a 2 run lead. Throw strikes. (sigh)
Man, what a performance by the Giants pitching staff. Sergio Romo didn't even let the Tigers get a whiff of a comeback in the ninth. They are now in complete control of the series, up two games to none. It's not unprecedented to blow a 2-0 lead -- 21 percent of all World Series teams down 2-0 came back to win -- but it's an uphill climb for Detroit. And it doesn't help that San Francisco's two best pitchers (Ryan Vogelsong and Matt Cain) get to pitch Games 3 and 4.
Thanks again for following along tonight. See you Saturday for Game 3!
Atta way, Giants! Felt bad for Fister, as he pitched well, especially given that ball he took to the head. How about that first pitch by the wounded warrior? Now to try and get some shut-eye.
No baseball tomorrow? Errands and sleep.
I think I'll actually do some work. Heh.
Good comments everybody. And I'm happy the Giants won!
Note the following comment about how Bochy did EXACTLY what Davey did--not walking Kozma after Descalso stole second base. Results different, narrative different, but, as I said before, Davey managed correctly. Davey doesn't like giving away free bases.
He’s [Bochy's] also not giving away baserunners. In the second inning of Game 7 against the Cardinals, Matt Cain was pitching with runners on first and third, one out and No. 8 hitter Pete Kozma at the plate. Daniel Descalso went on to steal second. Had Mike Matheny been managing the Giants, there’s a good chance the steal would have led to an intentional walk of Kozma, setting up the double play with the pitcher up. Bochy, though, let Cain face Kozma, got a strikeout and then retired Lohse on a soft liner. As a result, it was inning over, instead of Jon Jay potentially being up with the bases loaded and two outs.
Yay Giants!
Also, free tacos October 30. Yay. :-)
Loved the story of his draft day call to grandpa, the LAD fan. :-)
MicheleS said...
Okay. so I have seen a couple of interviews with Sergio Romo, and well, I can get behind that guy. Truly appreciates being in the game. He could trim up the facial hair.
October 25, 2012 9:16 PM
Post a Comment