Today is the two year anniversary of Foulke under-handing the ball to Minky for the final out of the 2004 World Series. Let do it again next year.

As somebody pointed out on SoSH, Scooter is Fox’s equivalent of the annoying Microsoft paper clip.

Instead of having Jeff Suppan help Scooter show me what a slider is, can Fox get Kenny Rogers to show me what a pine-tar ball is?

Jon Miller: Something has happened to Suppan that hasn’t happened this postseason.
Kim: He’s facing the American League.

If you want to know why XM is dropping in market-share to Sirius, here’s one reason: poor marketing. I’ve never been a fan of the XM commercials during baseball games, but spending an entire break to promote the “Oprah and Friends” station is beyond stupid. Why not have a tampon commercial during the Ultimate Fighting Championship next?

Joe Buck: Remember, Edmonds is a .500 hitter when the count starts 1-0.
Me: How could I forget?!

Tim McCarver used the word “vociferous.” Has he been studying for the SATs recently?

Tim: Dart throwers guide their darts; pitchers throw baseballs.
Me: (Dumbfounded)

Dammit the Tigers suck. I have never seen a team give away a game like they did yesterday. Eckstein hit two “doubles” that should have been a pop outs. Apparently Rodney was next in line to get Todd Jones and Joel Zumaya disease. On the one hand if (and when) the Tigers lose this series it’s because they don’t deserve to win. On the other hand, I feel sick knowing that an 83 win baseball team is going to win it all.

Right now I’m rooting even harder for the Tigers just so we get to stretch the season out a little bit longer.

I have three words for the Tigers’ lineup: TAKE A PITCH!

It’s really nice to see a slugger like Albert Pujols not used in the same sentence as steroids (until now, I guess). But he really is coming off as kind of a jerk during this postseason.

Speaking of jerks, have you seen the anti stem cell commercial that tonight’s starter Jeff Suppan is in? Hey Jeff, even Curt Schilling is pro-stem cell research.

I guess my prediction about Zumaya vs. Pujols (like everything else this postseason) was wrong. I’m sorry I didn’t predict “grounds to Zumaya who throws the ball away at 103 MPH for a 2 run error.”

All the Tigers need tonight is to catch Suppan dancing off a base and they’ll be all set. (I needed some excuse to use that picture.)

Two games into the World Series and there’s already more excitement than I expected. I don’t think anybody thought the Tigers would come out that flat and the Cards that sharp.

But the big story is Dirt-gate. Or, “what the hell was that discoloration on Kenny Roger’s pitching hand”-gate? I don’t know what he had on there. It could have been dirt, it could have been pine tar, or, as Todd Jones pointed out, it could have been chocolate cake. I doubt it’s the later, because only David Wells would try something like that. But the truth of the matter is I don’t care what was on his hand. I care if he had any more of it hidden on his uniform (under the hat, in the pockets, etc.). I don’t think a pitcher, especially a 41-year old veteran, is going to try to pine-tar his hand before the game and never again. In four batters the pine tar is gone, and you’re back to square one. Why risk everything for the first four batters of the game? However, if he had some under his hat, then we need to talk. Either way, he wiped it off, and then pitched seven more shutout innings giving up only one hit. So I think he can do just fine without the “brown substance.”

Is there a reason why they play “Hava Nagila” at Tigers games? Hank Greenberg last played for the Tigers 60 years ago (1946).

Oh, and can we start a petition to stop using Todd Jones as a closer?

Update: Interesting read on si.com. If this is true, you can pretty much disregard this post. I still think David Wells is using chocolate cake though…

The Sox couldn’t have won the World Series without you. They needed a good luck charm as small as you to combat a “curse” as large as Babe Ruth. (For the record, no, I never believed in the “Curse of the Bambino.”)

First, some notes about the game last night:

• Normally I’m a big Joe Buck fan, and he’s great at staying neutral in big games, but last night was disgusting. I thought he was going to run out of the booth and give Suppan a hug when he walked off the mound. But when Heilman gets out of the 8th, all he says is “and Encarnacion strikes out.”
• Speaking of Heilman, I agree with sticking with him in the 9th. He might have made one BIG mistake pitch, but Wagner couldn’t be trusted in that situation. Here’s what I don’t agree with: pinch hitting Cliff Floyd. I know he struck out, but if he hits a ball on the ground, that’s an EASY double play.Willie Randolph had visions of Kirk Gibson a la 1988, but that was just stupid. Bring up somebody who can lay down a bunt. Make Wainright throw a strike, and then lay it down.
• If anybody told me that the Cardinals would win and Pujols would have 1 RBI, I’d ask what they were smoking.
• Endy Chavez’s catch was the best of the year not even considering the situation. He’s like Coco but he can catch.
• I blame Sweet Caroline for the Mets loss. They already stole a World Series from the Sox, now they want their music too? They got greedy. Why not just play Dirty Water when the Mets win?
• I was rooting for the Mets the whole way, but I’ll admit that I didn’t feel quite as bad after hearing the Mets announcer say “the Mets will need a Buckner-sized miracle to win this one” at the start of the 9th inning.

And as for the matter of that pesky World Series:

• I’m looking forward to Zumaya vs. Pujols. Here’s my prediction, 1-3: 1 K (swinging), 1 line out, 1 470 ft HR.
• A quick statistic about NLCS MVP Jeff Suppan: the last time he pitched in the AL (2003) his ERA was 5.57. His last WS start (2004)? 4.2 IP, 4 ER.
• Suppan also proved last World Series that white men shouldn’t dance…especially off of 3rd base.
• Fox has got to be pissed. You can probably fit all of the people in California who are going to watch this Series in my apartment.

Either way, I’m hopeful this series will be as good as the NLCS, but I kinda doubt it: Tiggers in 5.

There’s the old saying in baseball that “good pitching beats good hitting.” Which is true except in the National League. In the last three games, the stating pitcher which the higher regular season ERA has won. Take a look:

Game 4: Perez (6.38 ERA) over Reyes (5.06 ERA)
Game 5: Weaver (5.18 ERA) over Glavine (3.62 ERA)
Game 6: Maine (3.60 ERA) over Carpenter (3.09 ERA)

Tonight the Mets are probably going to start a combination of Perez, Oliver, and maybe Trachsel against Jeff Supan in Game 7. That’s a combined ERA of 4.72 compared to Suppan’s 4.12. This game is in the bag for the Mets ;)

Watching last night’s game made me appreciate Varitek behind the plate even more. There were a number of situations where you had to wonder what LoDuca was thinking in his pitching calling. First, David Eckstein should have seen a steady diet of fastballs inside. The guy hurt his hand in Game 5, so even if he gets around on the pitch he’s not going to be able to do anything with it. But the bigger question was the pitch selection to Scott Rolen in the 9th. The guy couldn’t catch up with a fastball all night, so with a guy who can throw 97 you call for a slider? I think LoDuca may have out-thought himself.

I would like to thank the Mets and the Cards for this series. Until the NLCS the playoff had, quite frankly, been pretty boring. No series went to even a Game 5, let alone 7.

So I hope the Mets pull it out tonight, because I want to see more of Shawn Green doing his Jewish white-boy dance in the dugout with Jose Reyes, Mr. Met dancing around, and as Kim points out, that stupid “Everybody clap your hands” thing they do at Shea to get the crowd going. It’s hillarious. Nobody can keep up, so the whole stadium is out of sync and confused. I live for this.

A few random thoughts covering multiple sports:

1. Proof that the National League isn’t on par with the American League: Jeff Weaver has a 2.16 ERA in the playoffs. I, who can barely throw a softball from short to first, could probably close for an NL playoff team.

2. The Mets offense is pretty much Carlos Delgado. But if the Mets lose this series, he’s one of the main people to blame. Nobody seems to remember that after he hit a 3-run HR in the 1st inning of game 2, he had a huge fielding error in the top of the next inning. What might have been a double play instead becomes 1st and 2nd, no outs. The Cards go on to score 2 that inning and are right back in the game. Huge turning point.

3. MLB has reached a new low, they’re going to profit off dead people.

4. The NY Post can never reach a new low, they’re like a never-ending chasm. But they shouldn’t be proud of this either.

5. Great article over at the Armchair GM. They did a fake BCS system for the NFL to see who would be playing in the Super Bowl. Here’s the line of the article:

Peyton Manning goes undefeated, yet still manages to choke, failing to reach the Super Bowl.

I mean, how perfect is that?

May I introduce to you the (one and only) 2006 American League Champion Detroit Tiggers. They totally dominated the A’s in both hitting and pitching on the way to a four game sweep. Plus the final game of the series was a great game; coming back from a 3-0 deficit and leaving a runner at third with fewer than 2 outs in two separate innings only to win it on a 2-out 3-run walkoff home run by Magglio Ordonez. (A bit of trivia, what was the last team to win a playoff series with a walkoff home run? Answer below…) It’s not question that this Tigers team is streaky, and they’re certainly on a hot streak right now. For their sake, I hope the week off between the end of the ALCS and the beginning of the World Series doesn’t give them too much time to cool down. Remember, this team was swept by the RoyAAAls, at home, less than two weeks ago.

There’s still the question of who the Tiggers will face in the World Series. Both the Mets and the Cards are reeling for pitching right now. I think they’d both be ecstatic if they could get Lenny DiNardo to start a playoff game. Hell, the Cards “ace” is Jeff Weaver who was kicked off of the Angels roster just a few months ago. Pathetic.

I got a big kick out of Dusty Baker doing commentary on Sportscenter though. The host asked Baker if he’d keep pitching to Carlos Delgado since he has 9 RBIs in the series through four games. This raises an interesting question. Why would you bother to ask Dusty Baker how he would manage a critical in-game decision? That’s like asking Kate Moss what dessert you should order. Baker is famous for being “the best manager for 23 hours a day.” In other words, what ever he suggests LaRussa should do I would fully endorse that LaRussa does the opposite. I’d even hire Baker just so I know what NOT to do.

Anyway, we’ve got (up to) three games left in the NLCS. I’m rooting for the Mets, but only if we don’t have to see Mookie Wilson in the crowd anymore.

Trivia Answer: 2004 Red Sox (ALDS vs. The ANAHEIM Angels — Big Papi, who else?)

I’ve had this picture sitting on my desktop waiting for the right time to use it. It’s from ESPN’s Page 2. I probably should have posted it during his 1-14 playoff showing, but now works too.