When Bud Selig and MLB came up with the new wildcard system for the playoffs, they couldn’t have dreamed of the first round we experienced this past week.

In all my years of being a baseball fan, I’ve always said that the five-game series is a crapshoot. The best teams don’t always win and that’s what makes baseball so great. Well, at least for the teams that win and advance to the League Championship Series.

Believe me, I’ve lived through many first round exits as a fan of the New York Yankees and it’s not fun especially when your team enters the series as the favorite which brings us to the first series we’re going to discuss.

» Continue reading “A Look Back At The Division Series Round: What A Week For Baseball”

Animal baseball? Via muppet.wikia.com

…And you thought the only animals at baseball games were polyester-furred mascots. Or Dbacks fans in frighteningly realistic horse masks.  Or, the Giants giant hybrid, Panda Sandoval.

Each week, Throwback Thursday concerns the intrinsic Human Craving for nostalgia. Paying homage to the Good Old Days*, back when animals were animals, and people were people?

*AUTHOR’S NOTE: Also see, “Ye Goode Olde Days.”

Yeah, life was good back then. Like, back in 2011…

Remember the rally squirrel that scurried about the St. Louis stage of the NLDS last year? Holy rabies, Batman- that guy was cyuuute. He became an instant hit. From T-shirts, to memes, to stuffed animals, to his own Wikipedia page (and that’s how you know you’ve made it big time) he scampered into the hearts of baseball fans aplenty.

Well, you should know, even waay wayy back in 2004, squirrels were going nuts over baseball. (ha, ha.) And then is when the first Rally Squirrel frolicked by fans with his skiddish antics. The squirrel materialized at an Indians-Yankees game, and interrupted not only Derek Jeter’s at-bat, but also interrupted a losing streak for the Tribe.
» Continue reading “Throwback Thursday: “Bye Bye Birdie” And Other Baseballian Animal Tales”

Keith Allison / Flickr

Four games was all it would take. The Texas Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 to win the ALDS and move on to the ALCS against either the Yankees or the Tigers. After losing 9-0 to the Rays in game one, the Rangers found a way to come back and take the next three, although they were all relatively close games (8-6, 4-3, 4-3). And so the Rangers advance to their second straight ALCS while the Rays advance to the offseason.

The game of home runs would start early as Ian Kinsler belted one on the second pitch of the game. The Rangers would never relinquish that lead. But the real home run story of the game belongs to Adrian Beltre. After going 1 for 11 in the first three games of this NLDS, he hit three home runs – enough to tie a playoff record and to insure a Ranger victory.

Beltre didn’t do it alone, however. Matt Harrison got his first win as a pitcher in the postseason and did it holding the Rays to only two runs in the five innings he spent on the bump. He allowed five hits and two walks while striking out nine batters. The relief pitchers all showed great stuff as well. Derek Holland pitched 1 1/3 scoreless the Mike Adams came in and finished off the last two batters in the seventh inning. Alexi Ogando made certain that the eighth inning went down 1-2-3 and Neftali Feliz would earn the save finishing up in the ninth.

But you cannot applaud the efforts of the Rangers last night without also noting the efforts of the Tampa Bay Rays this season, especially in that magical month of September. They are team that fought hard, played well and excelled late in the season to earn their spot at the table. They showed that same heart in the final game as they trailed the Rangers 4-2. A walk by Sean Rodriguez and a single from Casey Kotchman would give Rays fans hope of a rally and comeback win, but Desmond Jennings grounded into second base, allowing for the force out and the end to what has been a tremendous season.

This was a fun series to watch and the excitement level on both sides of the field was intense. The biggest letdown of this series? The scheduling. These games were played so early each day that it was impossible for many to watch and cheer for their favorite teams. Meanwhile, the Yankees and Tigers have enjoyed prime-time slots each night. I hope that Major League Baseball learns that playoffs are exciting, no matter which team are playing and gives time slots more evenly.

Regardless of to time slots, congratulations to the Texas Rangers who will do their best to find a way to their second straight World Series.

Terri Schlather (AGirlintheSouth) is the Senior Houston Astros Writer for Aerys Sports. You can read her Astros blog at www.talesfromthejuicebox.com, email her at agirlinthesouth@gmail.com, or follow her on twitter @agirlinthesouth.

Heading into the crucial Game 4 of the ALDS between the NY Yankees and Detroit Tigers (who led the series 2-1), all anyone could talk about was starter AJ Burnett.

Would he step up?

Would he implode?

How much alcohol would Yankees fans need to get through the game?

Keith Allison/Flickr

Well, it started out ugly for Burnett. He walked Austin Jackson to lead off the bottom of the first inning, but was helped out by Ramon Santiago’s failed bunt attempt (he popped it up). AJax stole second base and Delmon Young grounded out, with AJax hustling to third base. Burnett then intentionally walked Miguel Cabrera. And then walked Victor Martinez to load the bases.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi got bullpen action. Don Kelly ripped the second pitch from Burnett to dead center field but Curtis Granderson made a nice running grab to end the inning unscathed (though he threw 21 pitches). Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild immediately followed Burnett into the clubhouse.

When Burnett returned to the mound in the 2nd inning, he was a totally different pitcher. He threw just 23 pitches over the next two innings.

» Continue reading “Burnett, Offense Send Series Back to NY”

The Rangers are on the brink of heading to the ALCS. Tonight they shut down the Rays to put them ahead 2-1 in the series. The Rays had put a run up in the 4th on the first of Desmond Jennings 2 solo homers of the night, but the Rangers owned the 7th knocking 4 runs in to take the lead that they would never relinquish. Tropicana Field didn’t seem to feel like an away stadium to the Rangers.

That 7th inning saw Mike Napoli homer on a fly to left center to start the rally. The next three runs would be plated when Josh Hamilton singled to right sending Craig Gentry, Ian Kinsler and Elvis Andrus all home. The Rays answered at the bottom of the inning with Johnny Damon heading home after Sean Rodriguez grounded out. But the inning would end with two runners stranded and the score at 4-2 with the Rangers on top.

The final score of the night came in the 8th when Desmond Jennings added one more to his home run count taking the game to 4-3. The bottom of the 9th inning would be the Rays chance for redemption, but Casey Kotchman popped out right before Sean Rodriguez singled to center field. kelly Shoppach then grounded into a double play to close out the Rays hope for a 9th inning rally.

Now the Rangers sit poised » Continue reading “Rays Strike First, But Rangers Get The Last Laugh At The Trop”

Detroit Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer is a fly ball pitcher, which is why he was slated to pitch Game 3 in Detroit. With the suspension on Friday night, Scherzer was forced into action on Sunday afternoon in NY (where the ball flies).

However in Game 2, Scherzer was virtually unhittable. He did provide some cover your eyes moments though. Like the first inning, when he walked two before getting Mark Teixeira to pop up to end the inning.

From then on, he shut down the Yankees powerful offense. The TNT commentators made it a point in the bottom of the 6th inning to talk about the last time a team carried a no-hitter against the Yankees in the postseason. That was former Tigers pitcher Jeremy Bonderman during the 2006 ALDS. He carried a no-hitter into the 6th inning before Robinson Cano broke it up.

Well, what do you know, Cano broke up Scherzer’s no-hitter in the 6th inning with a bloop single to left field with one out. That hit didn’t bother Scherzer, as he retired Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez to end the inning.

Yankees starter Freddy Garcia, on the other hand, had his moments. Miguel Cabrera hit an opposite field two-run homerun in the first inning to give the Tigers the quick 2-0 lead. Cabrera took the outside pitch from Garcia off the bottom portion of his bat, just over the short porch in right field and just inside the foul pole.

» Continue reading “Scherzer Almost Unhittable, as Tigers Tie Series”

Rangers starter Derek Holland earned a win in Game 2 of the ALDS.

What do these Wild Card teams have against 3-0 leads?

Just after the St. Louis Cardinals blew a 3-0 first inning lead against Philadelphia’s Roy Halladay, collapsing for an 11-6 Game 1 loss, the Rays gave up their own 3-run lead in the early innings, falling to the Rangers in Game 2 of the ALDS by a final score of 8-6.

Two streaks ended tonight: the Rays’ 31 straight wins when scoring 5 or more runs, and the Rangers’ 7-game home losing streak in the ALDS.

The Rays jumped all over Texas starter Derek Holland in the first inning when a double by B.J. Upton, Evan Longoria walk and Johnny Damon single loaded the bases with two outs. Holland then issued his second walk of the inning to – you guessed it – THE #SHOPPACHALYPSE! to force in the first Rays run of the game.

The Rays tacked on two more in the top of the fourth on a Matt Joyce 2-run shot to right and the tension in Rangers Ballpark appeared to be thicker than Texas-style french toast.

Meanwhile, Rays starter James Shields was cruising through his first three innings, allowing just one hit. But that’s where the good times ended.
» Continue reading “Wild Inning Sinks Rays as Texas Ties Series in Game 2″

Well, it took two days to complete, but Game 1 of the ALDS between the Detroit Tigers and NY Yankees is finally complete. It didn’t turn out quite the way many expected.

With aces Justin Verlander and CC Sabathia used up prior to Friday night’s rain delay, Saturday’s “relievers” Doug Fister for the Tigers and Ivan Nova for the Yankees were left to pick the game up.

Fister was first up, as he began the bottom of the 2nd inning against the Yankees.It was Fister’s first postseason appearance. It was a little sketchy to start, but poor base running by Jorge Posada saved him from allowing a run.

Yankees finally take Game 1

The rookie Nova looked unfazed by his first postseason appearance. The Tigers had a scoring opportunity in the top of the 5th inning, but Alex Avila was thrown out at the plate on Jhonny Peralta’s single to center field. I’m still scratching my head as to why Avila didn’t run over Russell Martin at the plate.

The Yankees were pumped by that play and it showed on offense. With two outs in the bottom of the 5th inning, Curtis Granderson singled. Robinson Cano followed with a blast off the very top of the left field wall, which scored Grandy. The umpires went to review the play, but the original call stood. The Yankees broke the tie and took a 2-1 lead.

The 6th inning did in Fister and the Tigers. Mark Teixeira led off the inning with a double. With one out, Posada walked and Martin grounded out to short, moving Texeira and Posada up a base. Brett Gardner followed with one of the big hits, a two-run single to give the Yankees a 4-1 lead. After a Derek Jeter single and a Grandy walk to load the bases, Tigers manager Jim Leyland made the call to the bullpen.

» Continue reading “Nova Provides Solid Relief”

It was considered a possible game for the ages on paper. Justin Verlander, the ace of the Detroit Tigers, was pitted against CC Sabathia, the ace of the NY Yankees. All eyes were on the two workhorses against two of the most powerful offenses in the American League.

The Tigers got on the board first in the top of the 1st inning with two outs as Delmon Young hit a solo homerun just over the short porch in right field to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. At first, I thought Yankees right fielder Nick Swisher had caught the ball.

The lead was short-lived, as Verlander struggled a bit with his command. Derek Jeter led off the game by striking out, but the ball bounced away from Tigers catcher Alex Avila and Jeter hustled to first base. Curtis Granderson, the former Tiger, walked. Robinson Cano followed with a ground ball to first baseman Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera couldn’t get the ball out of his glove to start the double-play, so he had to settle for just getting Cano out at first. Alex Rodriguez followed with a ground ball to third baseman Brandon Inge, but Inge bobbled it a bit (which hurt his chances of getting Jeter at the plate) and settled for throwing ARod out at first. The Yankees tied the game at 1-1 without a hit.

Via kelsey_lovefusionphoto/Flickr

Sabathia settled into the 2nd inning, as he struck out two and threw 12 pitches. He also pitched through heavy rain.

The rains continued and the umpires decided to throw on the tarp (at around 9:10pm ET). If you were watching the game on TBS, Tom Verducci talked about how the weather reports said that there was supposed to be intermittent rain that they could play through. Instead, they received downpours (remember the 2008 World Series?).

At around 10:30pm ET, all sides (umpires, MLB executives, both team’ managers, and both teams’ GMs) decided to call the game. It will be continued on Saturday night at 8:37pm ET on TBS. The game will be picked up in the bottom of the 2nd inning (with the Yankees 7-8-9 hitters coming to the plate) with the game tied at 1-1.

When the game resumes, Doug Fister will be on the mound for the Tigers, while Ivan Nova will start the top of the 3rd inning for the Yankees. No news yet on when Verlander and Sabathia will get back into a game. Verlander threw just 25 pitches, while Sabathia threw 27.

It’s not exactly the way Game 1 was supposed to play out.

*Sunday’s off-day is now Game 2 beginning at 3:07pm ET at Yankee Stadium.

**UPDATE: I’m hearing that Max Scherzer will now start Game 2 on Sunday, with Verlander going in Game 3 on Monday, followed by Rick Porcello and then Fister for a possible Game 5. Freddy Garcia will now start Game 2 for the Yankees (though Sabathia is lobbying for that start). The rain may change the Yankees hopes of only using three starters.

I guess you really can’t predict baseball.

With David Price, James Shields and Jeremy Hellickson all having pitched in the last five days, Joe  ”Mad Genius” Maddon tabbed 22-year old rookie pitcher Matt Moore, he of only one major league start, to face Rangers’ ace C.J. Wilson in Game 1 of the ALDS. On the road.

Moore responded by holding the high-octane Rangers offense to two hits and two walks over 7 innings, striking out six. Totally predictable, right? Well, kind of, if you’ve been following Moore in the Minors, where he went 12-3 with a 1.92 ERA in 155 innings pitched between AA and AAA this season. With 210 – TWO HUNDRED TEN? – strikeouts.

Meanwhile, the  homer-happy Rays offense picked up where they left off Wednesday night, when a 7-0 deficit in the eighth inning against the Yankees turned into an 8-7 win in 12 innings and a Wild Card berth.

Johnny Damon got the party started with a 2-run blast in the second inning, with Ben Zobrist aboard after a hit-by-pitch. Kelly Shoppach – THE #SHOPPACHALYPSE! – then shocked the baseball world with two homers, after sporting just a .607 OPS during the regular season. His  3-run shot to center in the third and 2-run bomb to left in the fifth, both with 2 outs, powered the Rays to a 9-0 win in the first game of the ALDS.

The Rangers mustered two hits from Josh Hamilton, a single in the first inning and a double in the fourth, but Hamilton was picked off second on a baserunning error and the Rangers couldn’t do anything after that. The Rays bullpen was perfect through the final two innings, behind Brandon Gomes and Wade Davis.

C.J. Wilson finished with 8 runs, 6 earned, in 5 innings for a 10.80 postseason ERA. Ouch.

Stay tuned here at Around the Horn for all your Division Series coverage. For more in depth Rays and Rangers coverage, keep an eye on Cowbell Clankers and Big Game Claws.