Well Albert Pujols shut ME up!

What can I say?
If you thought Albert post Game 2 acting bush league, then he showed today that he belongs in a HIGHER league.

Seriously... I am totally speechless on his performance.
He basically said "You want a comment from my previous game? How about THIS as a comment?"

5 for 6?
6 RBI?
Putting his name along side Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson with single game World Series dominance?

Doing this on the biggest stage may have put a year or two on his contract too.

Folks, I wasn't crazy about his style after Game 2.
But holy CRAP did he deliver substance.

Lest we forget, the Rangers scored 7 runs and Cardinals starter Kyle Lohse only retired 9 batters... and it was a Cardinals blow out.

I think Cardinal fans would take that rather than a quote.
That WAS his quote.

Save for that extra inning meltdown by the Cardinals, we'd be looking at a St. Louis sweep tomorrow.

And yeah, Allen Craig was terrific the first three games... but after tonight, if the Cardinals win is there ANY doubt who the MVP should be?

I for one was hoping Albert would avoid the press tonight too... just to let his bat do the talking.

It was loud and clear tonight.
And all I could do is shut up!

Who should win the ALCS MVP?

It's a tough call.

Nobody is really stepping up.

Someone needs to show some good power numbers and some clutch at bats.

I really can't think of anyone who is a front runner.

Hmmmm.

The Ted Lilly Playoff Home Run Reaction Award goes to...

... Brewers pitcher Shaun Marcum.

Remember a few years ago in the 2007 Division Series, Cubs pitcher Ted Lilly let up a go ahead homer to Diamondbacks centerfielder Chris Young?

Lilly saw it was gone the second it left Young's bat. And he reacted by throwing his glove on the ground in disgust, a la Tanner.

Well last night Shaun Marcum let up a game breaking grand slam to Paul Goldschmidt.
Same mound as Lilly, Marcum threw his glove in the air in a gesture that said "Well THAT wasn't what I wanted to do."

Well done, Shaun Marcum. We need more unrepentant emotion on the mound.

Instant Replay meets the Human Element in Kansas City

Last night in Kansas City we may have had the great compromise between people like me who are FOR Instant Replay (because we like to have calls be correct!) and the opponents of instant replay, who evidently think screwing up calls makes the game better and players shouldn't be rewarded for what they actually DO!



Billy Butler of the Royals hit a ball off the top of the wall against Yankees starter Bartolo Colon.



That's what he did.

We all saw it.



Now it may have looked like it went over the fence when it happened, but all the camera angles clearly showed it stayed in the park.



Even the Kansas City announcers were talking about how Butler should be on second base.



Joe Girardi asked the umpires to review it. They did. All the TV crews showed over and over again that it didn't clear the fence while they reviewed it.



The umpires returned... and ruled it a home run.



Even the Royals were laughing knowing that they got away with one.



So there you have it! The great compromise! Instant Replay in use, and the human element screws it up!



By finding the mid ground, the umpires for a perfect compromise that EVERYONE can hate.



Instant Replay opponents can complain about the game being slowed down and the over reliance on technology.



Instant Replay supporters can complain that the call was wrong.



EVERYONE LOSES! Which means everyone wins when you think about it.



My previous position still stands!

Thank you Miguel Olivo!

Mariners catcher Miguel Olivo hit the 8th inning Game winning homer to beat the Tampa Bay Rays today.

The Mariners were losing in the 8th and the rally, capped by Olivo's blast, put the Rays down and this Red Sox fan is happy about that.

My Sox are going to try and chase down the Yankees this weekend. I don't want Tampa sneaking up behind us.

Every win counts.

Thanks for the help.

It's the same old song in Motown

The Red Sox just keep on winning. And for the first game today, they brought back the oldies at Motown!

Big Papi may not be who he used to be (not injecting what he used to inject) but he can still come off the bench and crush a game winning 9th inning homer from time to time.

The Sox are playing with a little bit of house money in the second game of the double header. They know they took 3 of 4 from the Tigers. Taking 3 of 4 from ANY team on the road is an accomplishment, even against the Brownies.

And they know that they are going into Memorial Day in first place.

Not bad for a team that was dead in the water a few weeks ago.

Let's update the tally.

DODGED BULLET GAMES - 15

April 8 - 9-6 win against the Yankees. (The Sox end their 6 game losing streak with a slugfest. John Lackey stinks but Phil Hughes stinks even more.)
April 10 - 4-0 win against the Yankees. (Beckett and Sabathia duel in a game that was 1-0 until the late innings.)
April 20 - 5-3 win in Oakland. (Red Sox survive a lead off homer and two bases loaded situations and facing the tying run at the plate to win their first road game.)
April 21 - 4-2 win in Anaheim. (The Red Sox stranded 15 men on base and Josh Beckett's went 8 strong with no decision. But the Sox rallied in the 11th to win.)
April 22 - 4-3 win in Anaheim. (Peter Bourjos makes a 2 run errors and the Red Sox survive a bizarre passed ball by Jarrod Saltalamacchia that let a run scored from second.)
May 1 - 3-2 win against the Mariners. (Ichiro loses a ball in the sun that turns into a 9th inning triple for Lowrie. Crawford singles him home for the win.)
May 8 - 9-5 win against the Twins. (Dice-K lets up 3 runs in the first but settles down as the Red Sox clobber Carl Pavano.)

May 9 - 2-1 win against the Twins. (A bullpen breakdown cost Beckett the decision but Cark Crawford ended the game with an 11th inning walk off hit.)
May 13 - 5-4 win in the Bronx. (Youkilis homers off of Joba and Bard and Papelbon make it more interesting than it needed to be.)
May 15 - 7-5 win in the Bronx. (Sox fall behind 4-1 but come back as Youk, Papi and Salty all homer.)
May 16 - 8-7 win against the Orioles. (Down 6-0 after 6 innings, the Sox rally and win it with a 2 run walk off double by Adrian Gonzalez)
May 18 - 1-0 win against Detroit. (With 2 outs in the 8th, Salty doubles home Crawford from first for the only run. Papelbon gets himself in and out of 9th inning trouble.)
May 19 - 4-3 win against Detroit. (Bard blows Beckett's lead but Carl Crawford wins it with a walk off hit.)
May 24 - 4-2 win in Cleveland. (Varitek throws two runners out and homers as the Red Sox win their first game against the Indians.)
May 29 - 4-3 win in Detroit. (The Red Sox blow an early 3-0 lead but David Ortiz wins the game with a pinch 9th inning homer.)

TEETH GRINDER GAMES - 14

April 1 - 9-5 loss in Texas. (The Sox tie Opening Day in the 8th with an Ortiz homer only to have Bard implode and the Sox let up 4 in the bottom of the 8th.)

April 5 - 3-1 loss in Cleveland. (The Sox drop their 4th straight as the bats are dead in Cleveland.)
April 7 - 1-0 loss in Cleveland. (Sox blow a great Lester performance on a squeeze bunt and Darnell McDonald overrunning the bag to end the game.)
April 12 - 3-2 loss to Tampa Bay. (A solid Lester performance is wasted as Kyle Farnsworth of all people shuts down the Sox.)
April 15 - 7-6 loss to Toronto. (Bobby Jenks implodes with a 4 run seventh inning as the Red Sox waste Pedroia and Youkilis homers and a clutch RBI double by Scuatro.
April 19 - 5-0 loss in Oakland. (Pedroia gets picked off, the Sox bats go dead and waste a solid Lackey start.)
April 26 - 4-1 loss in Baltimore. (Buchholz pitches tentatively and the Sox let Kevin Gregg of all people to close out the 9th.)
April 27 - 5-4 loss in Baltimore. (The Sox tie the game with a 3 run 8th only to have Bard lose it in the bottom of the 8th.)
April 29 - 5-4 loss to Mariners. (Bobby Jenks blows a 7th inning lead, wasting 2 Mike Cameron homers.)
April 30 - 2-0 loss to Mariners. (The Sox strand 11 runners and let Milton Bradley double home the go ahead run.)
May 4 - 5-3 loss to Angels. (7 hours with rain delays and stranded runners. Marco Scutaro was thrown out at the plate in the 12th)
May 10 - 7-6 loss in Toronto. (8th and 9th inning heroics, including a homer by Adrian Gonzalez, are undone by a walk off sacrifice fly by David Cooper.)
May 21 - 9-3 loss to Cubs. (Up 3-1 in the 8th inning, the bullpen and defense implode. The Cubs score 8 runs while both teams wear their 1918 uniforms.)
May 23- 3-2 loss in Cleveland. (The Sox blow a 2-1 8th inning lead when the Indians rally with 2 outs. Crawford ends the game on a double play.)

+1

And the Red Sox and Beckett are playing tonight with house money.

Ortiz hitting in the clutch at Motown? It is indeed the same old song.

How mad were opponents of instant replay tonight?

They should be enraged!

Lance Berkman hit a home run! The umpires called it that way on the field... and another one confirmed it.

Umpires make calls and whether they are right or wrong and whether or not we have the technology to make calls correct and reward players for what they actually do and not for what they DON'T do... we should NEVER use that technology.

That's the HUMAN ELEMENT, right?

So I assume all of you who hate instant replay HATED the fact that the call was reversed, am I right?

You must have been saying "NO! Leave the call WRONG! Baseball is better when calls are wrong!"

(Seriously... someone please send me a logical reason to NOT have instant replay. I've been begging for an answer.)