Well...that was different. The St. Louis Cardinals won Game 3 of the World Series in about as unlikely a fashion as anything most people will ever see in their lifetimes. An obstruction call at third base ended it after Jarrod Saltalamacchia's throw bounced off the tip of Will Middlebrook's glove, off Allen Craig and into the left field foul grounds. I believe the call was the correct one. But Saltalamacchia's throw was off line, Middlebrooks did not catch it and the Cardinals go home a winner. Somewhere, a dead announcer is saying, "How about that." The play was the third time in this World Series where the go ahead run was caused by throwing the ball to third base to try and get a runner. Unbelievable.
The Red Sox are angry, understandably. Just about every player interviewed started by saying, "I don't know the rulebook..." Exactly. But they are upset. How will that translate to Game Four? That is what this post has to figure out.
If the Red Sox focus that anger on the Cardinals in Game Four, they could be fueled to victory. If they glower internally, they could have a feeling the odds are against them and that would not be a good way to go after this game. How will they react? And what of the pitching match-up?
There has to be a pick. Here it is:
- The Cardinals over the Red Sox: If this was the average, healthy Clay Buchholz, this pick would be for the Red Sox. But he has been saying all week that his arm feels dead. He has pitched in the post season like his arm is dead. That is not encouraging. Meanwhile, Lance Lynn won seventeen games. But it feels sort of like a Phil Hughes sort of winning record. Lynn has fallen apart often in the last couple of months. But, unlike Hughes, he is capable of a shut down game. But let's say that neither pitcher does well. In that case, the Red Sox are not in good shape. The Cardinals have Shelby Miller and none of their relievers overextended themselves in Game Three. The Red Sox burned through Felix Doubront and he likely would not be available. That leaves them with Franklin Morales or Ryan Dempster for long relief. Neither of those options seem appealing. But baseball being the great game it is, all this theorizing could be moot and the game could end on a catcher's interference call. Who knows.
Yesterday: 1-0
Post season: 20-16
Season: 1394-1083
No comments:
Post a Comment