^ I agree, there were number of instances where Garner could have helped his team.
1. Not doing anything to help Oswalt in the 5th...like stalling, sending the pitching coach out, asking Ausmus to hold a mound conference to break up the momentum, taking a stroll to the mound himself to calm him down etc.
2. Not going for the Squeeze in the ninth is inexcuseable.
3. Pitching Estacio instead of Wandy Rodriguez in 14th was plain old dumb.
Bad Luck department:
Lane's double in the 8th took a friendly bounce for the sox and came right back to Uribe at SS...if that ball rolls down the line..Astros go up 6-5.
However, the bottom line is ...they did not deliver the winning hit when it was needed. They left 15 men on base.... if you cannot get a run across with that many gift walks, you dont deserve to win.
I can hear the fat lady (in this case Chicago White trash) singing....
We will see what happens tonight, most likely much of the same...but you never know
Congratulations to Chicago White Sux and the "my country" Venezula Guillen. What a moron for using this forum to repeatedly talk about "my country" this and my country that...Hey moron you are in US...you love your effing country so much go the eff back. Oh and alos try to control some of the white trash fans you have who hit Biggio's wife and threatened to kill many other Astros fans who had the misfortune to visit the cheecago's south effing side.
I heard that the joke in Chicago is that the Astros lost because Cubs fans were rooting for them.
Ah well... who'd have thought at the start of the season that White Sox will win the World Series.
Two consecutive years of ALC sweeping NLC in WS. AL also whoops their arse in All-Star. Something wrong with NL, I say. Why the heck do they want to see a pitcher hit? Or to run bases? About time they also adopt the DH rule. Level the playing field. Get an extra hitter conditioned in the regular season.
Of course, Faisal :D we wouldn't like to see any team from central division to win the WS before us which could be quite long. :D
I'm happy for Chicago. Finally a WS title in collective over 170 years. But that doesn't change the fact the town belongs to Cubbies. :D Those ChiSox fans were trying to sell champioship gears just a mile away from Wrigley Field, which is, btw a Ghost town at this time around. It will take more than WS title for White Sox to really join shoulder to shoulder with Cubbies, let alone getting ahead of us :D because we own the newspaper (Chicago Tribune) and most games on WGN are of Cubbies. :D
You'll see how many were really Sox fans and how many were bandwagoners come next season. Just tune in WGN around June and see how many people are there in U.S. Cellular Centre.
Faisal, with your comment regarding the DH, you showed that you are a new baseball fan. DH was only put in 1973 ...it was a gimmick to juice up the scoring. It has no place in the game, it needs to go. Its about time AL got rid of the fat arse good for nothing DH. Now that you know the baseball purist view point, maybe you will reconsider your statement.
Yes AL is better than NL right now, these things go in cycles. Its the same thing ...people used to say NFC is better than AFC in NFL. Guess what AFC is the superior league now....just wait....plus it helps that you have the two of the highest payrolls in AL (Yanks and BoSox).
I’d be shocked to be honest. The Cubs are a major draw for WGN which is also owned by Tribune. I’m hoping we don’t go back to the 90s when in an effort to make a profit, the Cubs signed few high priced free agents because they knew the Wrigley Field would sell out anyways.
But if it means of firing Dusty Baker, I am all for it.
Dusty Baker has to be most least motivate person I have come across with or known. If we lose, we lose badly. He makes such stupid moves that are beyond imagination. Matt Murton was called up from Triple-A Iowa late August. The kid was hitting .400 and was getting on bases. But Dusty took PT away from him 'cause he might have a chance of winnning the ROY next season. How dumb is that? If you won't let a young lad gel among other players in the club house, how on earth you expect consistentency from him, let alone team?
Have you, by any chance, seen who Baker uses as a pinch-hitter for a pitcher? Jose Macias. Baker's impression is like, 7th inning time....Pinch-Hit...Dude where is my Macias? Why on earth is this stupid moron guy is on the roster? He doesn't even deserve a spot here let alone in minors.
Another major concern is the flip-flop of batting line. One day, you'll see Corey leading off, next day you will see him in the 6th spot, and the day after you won't even see him. I know Corey has been disappointment but why would you wanna give him so many chances when the guy can't produce? Why not just stick with Jerry Hariston and let the things how they unfolds?
On more thing...Dusty believes that if Cubs can comeback it will only be possible with the sluggers. It's my statement but that's what I feel every time when we are battin' in the 8th or 9th. I remember the game was against Cardinals at St. Louis when the suicide sequeeze bunt of David Esckien was the talk of the media. Hell, even the Cub announcers (Len and Bob) were predicting the bunt and it happened. It was dishearting the way we lost but I wasn't surprised at the result and management of Dusty. Why not Hendry just fired Dusty and give the managerial job to Bob(who btw won 2001 WS as a manager of D'Backs)
..and don't get me start on how Dusty uses the bullpen.
i agree dusty seems to be rather erratic in how he does things, why do u think he was successful last year..the team almost made it to the WS, beginners luck?
Yes, I do…Cubbies still did not make the playoffs, despite the hype of their starting rotation and a career years from Lee and Ramirez. They will always be looking upto Astros. There is no shame in getting to the WS BTW…something you as a cubby fan cannot understand…dont switch sides on me and say that you are White Sux fan..now
Excuse me, for not following baseball since bachpann However, to have two leagues play for World Series with such a fundamental difference in rules is ridiculous. Its not even playing field. And, rather than scratching the DH rule from AL, I am more inclined to support adding it to NL. A pitchers job is to pitch and pitch well. A hitters job is to hit and hit well. Baseball should be a duel between a good pitcher and a good hitter. Not between a pitcher pitching and a pitcher hitting. This is the lively ball era, mind you. AL woke up to this years ago. Lets see when NL figures it out.
And by the way, here is a news article for you… and in case you can’t get it to open up, let me know.
Fasial, I did not read the article you listed, but I have read/listened enough about baseball to tell you that all baseball purists want the DH be done away. I know it is not going to happen anytime soon or maybe never...because baseball players union is too strong...getting rid of DH means they will give up on at least 25-30 jobs. Lets face it, most of the DHs are defensive liability. The cannot play in the field...they are not true baseball players.
If we were to accept your argument, maybe we should go ahead and put defensive stalwarts in the field and have specialist hitters to hit...you see it does not work.
I guess at some point baseball "purists", like cricket "purists" will learn to move on and understand new realities. Till then, they can hold on to their "puritan" beliefs :)
However, to have two leagues play for World Series with such a fundamental difference in rules is ridiculous. Its not even playing field. And, rather than scratching the DH rule from AL, I am more inclined to support adding it to NL. A pitchers job is to pitch and pitch well. A hitters job is to hit and hit well. Baseball should be a duel between a good pitcher and a good hitter. Not between a pitcher pitching and a pitcher hitting. This is the lively ball era, mind you. AL woke up to this years ago. Lets see when NL figures it out.