ALDS Game #1: A's 3, Twins 2
October 3, 2006 | A's @ Minnesota
WE WIN GAME ONE!- Thank goodness for the Big Hurt's insurance run!
- Zito pitched extremely well. I'm so proud of him. He's probably motivated to do well so he can shop himself to the highest bidder when all of this is over.
- Marco Scutaro's RBI double. Tanner Boyle asked me a couple of weeks ago, "Is Marco Scutaro the kind of shortstop you can take to the playoffs against the likes of Derek Jeter?" or something to that effect. Yes, TB, it looks like we can.
- The game is blacked out on MLB.tv. It's a good thing we still have radio and a reliable sports bar not too far away...
(Game experience: 1220 AM for 7th and top of the 8th, TV for the rest of the game)
posted by blank book at 12:56 PM
5 Comments:
On the radio, it was mentioned that the 1-0 day game that Dan Haren won in the Metrodome back in September was of immeasurable help today. The A's defense was prepared for the tough day conditions with the sun illuminating through the metrodome roof. The A's also showed good poise after Bradley misplayed the triple to lead off the ninth inning.
It's funny how defense and hitting behind the runners often gets dismissed during the regular season. But during the post season, they come to the forefront. It seems like this happens every year.
I almost fell off my chair when Bradley lost the ball in the 9th.
But you chose a good word there: POISE. I think that made a difference in the game somehow.
This is a different A's team that played in Minnesota. Sure, Zito and Chavy were with the A's back in '02, but these A's looked a lot more focused, a lot more confident. A lot more POISED.
Go A's!
somewhere, miggy is still protesting a phantom interference call from rounding third, and byrnes is still spoiling to fight with Varitek.
and Mulder is recuperating,
and Huddy is pushing a tractor living next door to John Rocker,
and Giambi is counting his cash,
and Little G is piling up his dope,
and Matt Stairs is off of the playoff roster,
and Terrence Long is no longer in baseball,
and Ben Grieve is a financial counselor,
and Isringhausen is blowing games for someone else
and Koch is on tv for mystery illnesses.
Oh, did I mention Chad Harville got cut from the Rays?
There are a few out there doing well.
Bradford is still with the mets.
ah, at least we won today. Felt almost as good as getting that call from my red sox friend, who finally capitulated defeat.
Brendan
Zito pitched extremely *smart* but definitely not well. He probably didn't throw 8 strikes all day and at least three of his strikes got clobbered. But give him credit for recognizing that he didn't need to throw strikes.
The story of this game was the undisciplined free-swinging of the Twins' hitters. Their generosity in giving Zito easy outs almost matches Buffet's generosity in giving Bill Gates $30 billion to play with.
I'm hoping we won't have a game 5, where the Twins might be more ready to force Zito to throw strikes.
The Twins team is reminiscent of their two prior World Series winners in that they have two big hitters (Mauer and Morneau now, Plunkett and Hrbek back in the day). Let's hope these two will need one post-season series under their belts before making waves.
Brendan, that was quite poetic. There aren't many you mentioned who I still miss.
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