2011 was certainly a great year in baseball, and for "HITS and ERRORS" as well. Of course, none of this would be possible without the support of you faithful readers ^_^ The steady stream of viewers helped keep this baseball blog going, and motivated me to become a better writer. Also, special thanks go to Twitter for broadcasting my blog and my posts to the global audience of baseball lovers like you ^_^
I will not be gone for too long ^_^ I will still write about baseball on the Major League Baseball website, MLB.com under my username "PhilHollywood82", and from time to time I may write an entry or two during the off-season to this blog. As for weekly, if not daily, updates however those are off until the start of the regular season in 2012.
In the meantime, I do have a few projects on the go. One of which you can view on YouTube as I am running a daily vlog for everyday during the MLB postseason, and if you read my personal blog, then you know I'm supposed to take up songwriting o_O I know, I made the same face when a friend of mine challenged me to do it. The last time I wrote a song was in high school, and my music teacher said I didn't do very well -_- Hopefully, I will do better this time. ^_^ There is also a hockey blog I started last year, which I hope to get going again with weekly updates every Saturday! Google search for "Behind Blue Lines" ^_^
If you want to keep in touch with how I'm doing, then check out my personal blog "Just Phil", and my Twitter account @PhilHollywood.
Well, enjoy the World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Texas Rangers ^_^ If not sooner, I hope to see you later in 2012 for another exciting year in baseball.
Texas Rangers' outfielder Nelson Cruz receives the ALCS MVP Award after the Rangers defeated the Detroit Tigers 15-5 in Game 6 to win the ALCS and advance to the World Series for the second consecutive year.
I offer my congratulations to the Texas Rangers upon winning their second consecutive American League pennant ^_^ I wasn't too thrilled with the end of the game coming in the third inning, but I'm glad for Josh Hamilton, manager Ron Washington, and the Texas Rangers ball club.
FACEPALM! As a reeling Justin Verlander tried to pitch his way out of Dodge, which is a bases loaded situation in the sixth inning of the ALCS Game #5, Ian Kinsler swings at the first pitch delivered and starts an inning-ending double play. As Homer Simpson would say, "D'oh!"
Most of the time, when I'm watching games and the first pitch in an at-bat comes right down the pipe, I scream "There it is: Home run ball!", but the batter doesn't swing (8 out of 10 times). I suppose something in the numbers on Justin Verlander motivated Ian Kinsler to swing at the first pitch: During the regular season, Verlander's "Bases Loaded" ERA topped 23.14, and considering a WHIP of 1.29 in that situation Kinsler felt pretty good about swinging right away. Evan's numbers may also show Kinsler had every reason to swing at the first pitch, too. However, stats also show Verlander is not accustomed to pitching with the bases loaded (pitched only 2.1 IP during the season with the bases loaded): This could mean Verlander is really good, the Tigers' fielding stepped up when they needed to, or both.
Swinging at the first pitch is a toss-up, and without a history or pitch sequence the chances of hitting it just right is 50/50. Considering the situation, the inning, Verlander's state, and the score Ian Kinsler made a gutsy move swinging right away. Before scolding, consider the number of times Kinsler made gutsy moves in the past? You only need to search "Ian Kinsler" on Twitter to see what he is doing, and how he is makes plays out of nothing. Now consider if the Rangers would be playing in a second consecutive ALCS had Kinsler, or any Texas Ranger for that matter, play safe. This time it didn't work out, but kudos to Kinsler for trying.
Molina (thinking): As empty a gesture as their trophy case.
I'm surprised how well that worked... o_O
So you are the Cardinals, and once again you lost the first game against your National League opponent in their stadium. As loud and raucous as the Milwaukee Brewers are, there is no denying their talent as well as their showcase in the pivotal performance in the fifth inning.
I don't know about manager Tony La Russa and his Cardinals' strategy, but I believe the Brewers
want to win every inning of the game. Three of their starters pitched
more than 200 innings + postseason this year (RHP Gallardo, RHP Marcum,
LHP Wolf), and Zac Greinke still has lots of game left due to early
stint on IR.
The hitters also like to extend the pitch count, and
hit for the fences when they do. I'm no expert on the stacked bats of
the Milwaukee Brewers, but this reminds me of the famous Japanese
samurai Miyamoto Musashi: He deliberately arrived late for a duel, and
used his opponent's already high emotional energy against him. Maybe the
trick is not to beat Nyjer Morgan, Ryan Braun, or Prince Fielder, but
to delay and stymie the Brew Crew to get the team out of rhythm. I am
not a fan of the consistent gesturing, swagger, and curtain calls for
every little thing; if you tried that stuff at Yankee Stadium the next
batter would get a fastball in the back. Celebrate if you must, but win
the game so it doesn't look so premature and foolish
A rested Verlander to start the ALCS is the only move Mr. Leyland could
make. His 14-2 record on away games during the regular season would
scare any team o_O His insane form continues into the postseason (1-0, 2 games started including the suspended game vs NYY, 12 K, .188 AVG).
The Rangers are capable of giving Verlander a good test. There is no
weak link among the Rangers' batters (27 H, 6 HR; 2 H in lone defeat to
TB in ALDS Game 1). This series is too close to call: Rangers in seven, but I'm pulling for the Tigers.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Speaking emotionally is not my strong suit, but I would like to the St. Louis Cardinals return to the World Series as the NL champion. The Brewers defeated the Diamondbacks in extra innings after losing their one-run advantage in the ninth, and did it with bravado and gesturing during and after the game. Nyjer Morgan likes to run his mouth, in particular at St. Louis Cardinal players. Emotion could take the Brew Crew out of their game and cost Milwaukee a place in the 2011 Fall Classic. For more on this series, check out MLB.com
Thanks to the Texas Rangers' homerun hitters (2B Kinsler leadoff HR, and 3 solo HRs from 3B Beltre), the Tampa Bay Rays' improbable season comes to an end. At the end of August, or the beginning of September rather, if someone told a member of Red Sox Nation or one of the Rays faithful that New York and Tampa Bay would see postseason baseball, there is a good chance both fans would scoff at the notion.
There is no doubt the run-up to the final day of the 2011 Major League Baseball regular season will go down as one of the most epic collapses and turnarounds in the history of the game. While it is not on the same level as the epic 1951 "Shot Heard 'Round The World" season finale between the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers, the Rays improbable comeback captured the attention of mostly everyone from die-hard baseball fans to the casual channel-surfer.
The Rays required a myriad of decisions to go their way before securing the final playoff spot in the American League from a do-or-die performance against the most decorated baseball club in professional baseball, the New York Yankees, as well as a prideful and spunky effort from their divisional bottom dwellers, the Baltimore Orioles, against the rival Boston Red Sox.
Could the unbelievable highs of that comeback be the undoing of the Tampa Bay franchise in the ALDS against the Texas Rangers? In all likelihood, a fresh and polished Texas Rangers ball club proved to be more than a match for the Rays. As evident in the streams of tweets flying back and forth on Twitter, the Rays proved you can be successful even if you aren't in New York or Boston. Baltimore also proved their team has the character to play tough in big games, even when there is nothing for the Orioles to play for; pride in performance won out over big budgets and high salaries.
Watch Joe Maddon's very nice post-game press conference via link to MLB.com
Any game featuring the Milwaukee Brewers will have its share of thrills and excitement, in particular at home at Miller Park. The highlight film the folks at MLB.com mashed together provides evidence of this, and another disturbing trend:
I am a fan of fan support, and nothing gets fans rooting for the home team than a big inning or a solid performance from the mound. There is a growing concern about the bravado and borderline showmanship by some Milwaukee Brewers on any or every big play. While the following is a quote from American football coaching legend Paul "Bear" Bryant, one can apply it to baseball as most teams exhibit high levels of enthusiasm, more so in the postseason. "Act like you did it before, and you plan on doing it again."
Last summer, I spent a great deal of the baseball season as the left fielder, and in our league if the baseball was in the air, then it was heading for left field. There was no fence to rope off where the outfield ended and the tree line began, so the challenge was to find a spot where I can reach any spot in that area, and not run into a tree. For years, players in left field would catch the ball, throw their hands up, and jump around; after the third out, teammates would rush to the lucky fielder who made the catch to end the inning. I understand that part of it: Teammates being happy for each other, celebrating the opportunity to be an adult, play a kid's game, and enjoy it. However, what happens to a player or a team, when the baseball falls and no one is there to catch it?
I was guilty of jumping around and gesturing, only to be burned on the very next play. To go from an emotional high and crash can be a shattering experience, so when playing left field I would try to "act" I did it before, and I "planned" on catching the ball again. Last year, to keep this philosophy was very difficult to do, and prevent those emotions from coming to the surface wound up costing me an opportunity to really have some fun out there. Quite possibly the ultimate respect a left fielder can attain is for the opposing team to push the ball the opposite way to right field, so to watch Ryan Braun notch another assist, when he gunned down Diamondbacks' base-runner Bloomquist in the early stages of Game 1 in the NLDS, was a thing of beauty. When the outfield is in "max protect" to right field, then the batter can't figure it out ^_^
In the case of the Milwaukee Brewers, who are now up 1-0 in the National League Division Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, there seems to be no end to the enthusiasm and energy their players possess. My hope, for their sake, is to be able to dial things down before someone on that great team gets burned o_O
