Running 2011 Baseball Thread, Vol. I: Dedicated to spnited

I have NO allegiance to the Cardinals. In fact, I despise La Russa and McGwire so much. I have held my nose and rooted for their success, because by extension, it was Punto's success.

Seeing The Riot at second base has me considering a heel turn. Or maybe the opposite, since the Cards are obviously the bad guys.

 

and of course they give it right back up.

Jeebus

 

Don't have a dog in this fight, but someone tell Jerry Layne that homeplate is not a fucking frisbee....it's got corners.

 

Interesting thing for (where I work at) is that he's a hometown umpire.

 

I had to reread your post. No way do that put a guy from Dallas behind the plate.

 

I think this is a function of being a 20-something in a much meaner and angrier world. At no other time I can recall is it such sport to make fun of people. They compete with one another to see who's the snarkiest douche of them all. But some of this you just have to plow through. He often makes great points.

 

So Ron Washington should be fired after guiding his team to consecutive World Series appearances? Really? Please tell me the names of all of the brilliant managers that should take his place.

And Washington, who has spent a lifetime in the game as a player, coach and manager, makes some blogger called Mr. Destructo nervous because the esteemed Mr. Destructo believes that Washington somehow doesn't understand what may be happening in the games that he's managing. Please. What a joke.

 

Good call: 1/4 step.

 

The Red Sox canned Grady Little after his 2003 ALCS fuck up and replaced him with Terry Francona, who had never won a thing as a major league manager. That after Grady Little had won 92 games in his first season and 96 in his second. Turned out to be the right move - the Red Sox won it all the next year and did it again in 2007.

 

The Rangers aren't the Red Sox. Boston has had only one losing season since the end of the 1994 season, which covers a span of four managers. Francona inherited a talented roster with a front office willing to spend whatever it took.

That's not the case with Washington in Texas. He's helped get the Rangers to a place they've never been. So now all of a sudden he must win it all or face getting canned? Good lord. He also has done just fine going head-to-head against the guy with the third most wins in MLB history. To be honest, my earlier point was primarily about some know-nothing blogger questioning Washington's baseball acumen from the comfort of his couch.

 

Meanwhile, back to the game, both pitchers seem to have settled down. Of course, the way this series is going, all hell is about to break loose.

 

Because if the Rangers lose this series, it won't be because they lost to a better team or simply got outplayed. It will be because they choked in a fashion no team in World Series history ever has. And Washington's tactical blunders played a big role in that. When that happens, you can't bring the same team back again. And you may not be able to bring the manager back either.

The '07 Mets did that after their late-season fold. The team had a hangover the next season and Willie Randolph was fired mid-season anyway.