Two Days Into The Divisional Series
Written by Christopher Corazon, Friday October 08 2010
The first two days in the MLB playoffs have seen similarities in both leagues. In the American League, the road teams have won all four games. Both home managers were ejected in the second game disputing a blown strike call. Meanwhile, in the National League, the home teams have won both games. In each situation, the pitcher was a former Cy Young Award winner in the playoffs for the first time.
American League: Rangers And Yankees Lead 2-0
In the 5th inning in Tampa, there were two runners on when Michael Young tried to check his swing. The radio broadcasters and TV broadcasters both thought that Young had struck out. Instead, a 3-2 pitch resulted in a 3 run home run. Tampa Manager Joe Maddon came out for a conference, but was looking for an argument with the umpires and was promptly ejected. The Rangers increased their lead from 2 runs to 5. The final score was 6-0.
In the prime time game in Minnesota, Lance Berkman received a similar chance at a second life, turned it into an RBI double to break a tie score, and scored later in the inning. Like Maddon, Minnesota Manager Ron Gardenhire was ejected for arguing the blown call. The Yankees went on to win 5-2.
Back to Tampa, where fans started chanting "Replay, Replay". They may have been still thinking that they lost a chance to take a lead in game 1 on a missed call when Carlos Pena was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Pena struck out, the Rays never took the lead.
Replay does not solve everything. And you can't challenge every call. But if you put stakes on a challenge, it could limit the number of times it would happen. If the manager challenges and the umpire was right, the manager is ejected. Maybe it would not make a difference in these series, the Yankees seem to have Minnesota's number in the playoffs and the Rays are failing at all parts of the game. But don't let the umpires become a 10th opponent on the field. use replay and get the call right.
National League: Phillies And Giants Lead 1-0
Roy Halladay won the Cy Young in the AL in 2003. He has been in the league 11 years, and just made the playoffs for the first time. Some things are worth the wait. Halladay no-hit the Reds to start the NLDS.
In over 100 years of playoff baseball, the only other no-hitter was Don Larsen, who had a perfect game in the World Series. On ESPN radio, Colin Cowherd downplayed the achievement, saying that the Reds are "frauds". That may be a bit harsh, since when you think of frauds, you tend to think of criminals. But the Reds might really bbe pretenders more than contenders. Many of their regular season wins came against weak NL Central opponents like the Pirates, Brewers, Astros, and Cubs. Other talking heads on the radio were ready to place Halladay's performance second to Larsen's in playoff history. It seems those folks might be forgetting about Jack Morris pitching 10 innings of shut out ball for the Twins in game 7 against the Braves in 1991.
Finally in San Francisco, the last game of the first two days was the first in the series between the Giants and the Braves. It was also the first playoff start for Tim Lincecum, who has won the Cy Young Award in the NL the last two seasons. Lincecum did not throw another no-hitter, but he did allow only two hits and struck out 14, a team record for strike outs in the playoffs. The Giants won the game 1-0, lead the series 1-0.
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