Wednesday, October 26, 2005
The 101st World Series, Game 4: White Sox vs. Astros
We haven't done a running commentary in a while.
7:12 p.m.: Well, we were asleep for a while. It's the 5th inning.
7:16 p.m.: Interesting slide by Brad Ausmus as he tried to break-up a double play. The hit-and-run was on and he still couldn't get to second on that ground ball to Joe Crede. Yeah, when you slide to a base, Ausmus, make sure your legs aren't bent and hanging in the air over the base. The object is to actually touch the base.
7:18 p.m.: And were we treated to a Freddy Garcia/The Rock Separated-At-Birth feature earlier? What was that all about? We were sleepy but we swear we saw this.
7:23 p.m.: Brandon Backe is on fire. After going the first three innings without a strikeout, he now has six in the last three innings.
7:30 p.m.: Morgan Ensberg is up with two on and one out, with a chance to leave two more runners on base by popping up weakly.
7:31 p.m.: Boy, McCarver and Buck are really merciless tonight in constantly mentioning how confused Ensberg is at the plate. Earlier, Buck went so far as to say something like, "Man, it must suck to suck on national television during an event such as the World Series!"
7:34 p.m.: As Ensberg strikes out, our thoughts turn to this article by S.I.'s Tom Verducci, which tells us how merciless Phil Garner was last night in assessing his Astros' performance last night.
7:36 p.m.: With two outs and two on in a scoreless game, the Astros need a hit. And instead of going after Mike Lamb, who is 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position, they walk him to get to Jason Lane, who had the Astros' only two hits after the third inning last night.
7:42 p.m.: As Lane strikes out with the bags full to end the sixth inning, leaving the game scoreless, our thoughts turn to the World Series Final Game Inning-By-Inning-Score Grid we bought into at The Stockpot Restaurant & Lounge. One square cost us $20, and we're hoping that we got the zeroes box. If the White Sox end the World Series tonight, whoever beat the 1% odds and got that zeroes box has already amassed $1,200 in prize money.
8:06 p.m.: Well, Garner took Backe out, for some reason. He's only pitching a shutout in a game Houston absolutely must have, and he gets taken out. Dusty Garner. The struggling and hurt Jeff Bagwell grounds meekly to second, and that's what they get in that trade.
8:17 p.m.: And with Backe out and the rattled Brad Lidge now in, the Sox put together a tiny rally and Jermaine Dye drives in the lead run with a two-out hit right up the middle. Houston, we have a...well, you know.
8:58 p.m. Wow. Great play by Juan Uribe, diving into the crowd. Where's Steve Bartman now? The Astros needed him in that first row there. One out to go, and the Sox will be World Series champions for the first time since 1917.
9:01 p.m. Wow! Outstanding play by Uribe! We could have sworn, from our living room in Portland, that the ground ball Orlando Palmeiro hit nicked his leg as he bolted out of the batter's box. But no matter...for the first time since 1917, and amazingly, for the first time in one-hundred-and-seventy-six baseball seasons, Chicago can finally once again lay claim to the World Series title.
And now begins six months of a baseball-free world. Oh well. As always, it was fun while it lasted.
7:12 p.m.: Well, we were asleep for a while. It's the 5th inning.
7:16 p.m.: Interesting slide by Brad Ausmus as he tried to break-up a double play. The hit-and-run was on and he still couldn't get to second on that ground ball to Joe Crede. Yeah, when you slide to a base, Ausmus, make sure your legs aren't bent and hanging in the air over the base. The object is to actually touch the base.
7:18 p.m.: And were we treated to a Freddy Garcia/The Rock Separated-At-Birth feature earlier? What was that all about? We were sleepy but we swear we saw this.
7:23 p.m.: Brandon Backe is on fire. After going the first three innings without a strikeout, he now has six in the last three innings.
7:30 p.m.: Morgan Ensberg is up with two on and one out, with a chance to leave two more runners on base by popping up weakly.
7:31 p.m.: Boy, McCarver and Buck are really merciless tonight in constantly mentioning how confused Ensberg is at the plate. Earlier, Buck went so far as to say something like, "Man, it must suck to suck on national television during an event such as the World Series!"
7:34 p.m.: As Ensberg strikes out, our thoughts turn to this article by S.I.'s Tom Verducci, which tells us how merciless Phil Garner was last night in assessing his Astros' performance last night.
7:36 p.m.: With two outs and two on in a scoreless game, the Astros need a hit. And instead of going after Mike Lamb, who is 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position, they walk him to get to Jason Lane, who had the Astros' only two hits after the third inning last night.
7:42 p.m.: As Lane strikes out with the bags full to end the sixth inning, leaving the game scoreless, our thoughts turn to the World Series Final Game Inning-By-Inning-Score Grid we bought into at The Stockpot Restaurant & Lounge. One square cost us $20, and we're hoping that we got the zeroes box. If the White Sox end the World Series tonight, whoever beat the 1% odds and got that zeroes box has already amassed $1,200 in prize money.
8:06 p.m.: Well, Garner took Backe out, for some reason. He's only pitching a shutout in a game Houston absolutely must have, and he gets taken out. Dusty Garner. The struggling and hurt Jeff Bagwell grounds meekly to second, and that's what they get in that trade.
8:17 p.m.: And with Backe out and the rattled Brad Lidge now in, the Sox put together a tiny rally and Jermaine Dye drives in the lead run with a two-out hit right up the middle. Houston, we have a...well, you know.
8:58 p.m. Wow. Great play by Juan Uribe, diving into the crowd. Where's Steve Bartman now? The Astros needed him in that first row there. One out to go, and the Sox will be World Series champions for the first time since 1917.
9:01 p.m. Wow! Outstanding play by Uribe! We could have sworn, from our living room in Portland, that the ground ball Orlando Palmeiro hit nicked his leg as he bolted out of the batter's box. But no matter...for the first time since 1917, and amazingly, for the first time in one-hundred-and-seventy-six baseball seasons, Chicago can finally once again lay claim to the World Series title.
And now begins six months of a baseball-free world. Oh well. As always, it was fun while it lasted.
