Ouch

[lal4l]

Do i Need to say more....

Should you have walked him?

[Nanner]

DANG! I purposely sat down at a bar at the San Francisco airport (I have a 3-hour lay-over before catching a red-eye back to New York). I sat down to have a beer, all ready to cheer and call Pops at the end of the top of the 9th!

:(

Well, it was a nice beer. :(

Dang, that was disappointing. I guess we'll just have to wait to Wednesday.

(I'm at a computer station at the airport. I have so much time before my flight! :eek: )

Yeah. Should have walked the hottest hitter in the NL...... but, that's second-guessing and arm-chair managing.

Still......... the possibilities. :sigh:

[imgreat95]

i do nt think that you can walk him. YOu walk him, and you put the tying run in scoring position. You have one of the best closers in the league... with a 3 games to 1 lead. You go after him. Unfortunately, sometimes you lose.

[barzilla]

All true Astros fans are numb right now. You have some calling for Garner's head or cussing out Lidge, but I'm just numb and most of the other people I've talked to are numb. Yes, I would have walked him, but Lidge is the best closer in baseball. I have to believe numbers are on our side. We've now had four cracks at closing out a series. The fifth time will hopefully be a charm. Here's to getting more than one hit with RISP per game.

[Baseball Guru]

Agreed... You go with your best vs their best.. If anything, you do the uninetentional, intentional walk and pitch very carefully to him... You have another righty (Sanders) who is not hitting very well in the NLCS right after him.... You definitely dont give Pujols a pitch to hit...

Great battle, this time Lidge and the Stros lost, next time, you may see a different result...

I also had my phone in my hand to call Willie.. Damn Eckstein is a pain in the a$$ huh?

[Spitball67]

Man that was a shot. I was stunned along with all of the Astros fans when I saw Pujols hit that ball out of the park. Being a life long Cubs fan, I know the feeling of having certain victory turned into crushing defeat. But I think that moment even surpasses most of our worst losses. I'll be pulling for Houston for the next two games. Good Luck!!

[Eva]

imgreat cover why they could not walk Pujols. Lidge put himself in a hole when he walked Edmonds. If you're going to let the Cardinals get Pujols up to the plate, at least make them earn the chance with a hit. Not walking Edmonds and giving Pujols the chance. I guess you would un-intentional walk Pujols, probably the best player in MLB. Giving him the Bonds treatment since he's that damn good.

Tough lose for the Astros. They need to clinch in St. Louis now. Hey, Busch Stadium lives another day at least.

[barzilla]

Being a life long Cubs fan, I know the feeling of having certain victory turned into crushing defeat. But I think that moment even surpasses most of our worst losses

It's kind of hard to measure pain in that kind of way. Does Lidge's meltdown mean that much more than the Leon Durham error in 1984? I don't know how any of us can answer these questions except to say that I have a hard time understanding RSN. I love em' over there and I'm not judging them, but I can't understand their reactions to things. I look back on 1980 and 1986 with fondness because the Astros put up a hell of a fight. I look at last year the same way. Even today I cannot say I hate Lidge, Garner, or anyone else.

Unfortunately, events take on more significance than they really should in the playoffs. Pujols home run is not destiny or a choke, but the simple fact that great players do great things. Lance Berkman is a great player and he did a great thing in the seventh inning. When you fall short in a playoff series the answer is not to blame it on fate, choking, or luck but to get more great players. We have two great pitchers going in the next couple of days. One of the two has to win. I'm still fairly confident that it's going to happen.

[Toy Cannon]

Lidge put himself in a hole when he walked Edmonds. If you're going to let the Cardinals get Pujols up to the plate, at least make them earn the chance with a hit.
Exactly. The key to the game was walking Edmonds. The pitches weren't even close. Challange him, at least if he hits it out, you're only tied. I don't know if Lidge choked or if he was too pumped up, but he blew it. The pitch Eckstein hit was a good pitch, give him credit, he went down and got it. But if it were up to me, he would have seen nothing but heat.

[yagsy]

Eckstein is a pest, pure and simple. He WILL get on base. That's a given. Edmons worked for that walk but Pujols looked for the slider and when that pitch did hang, he crushed it. That's so unfortunate for the Astros but Lidge was very classy answering all the questions at his locker afterward. He has the right stuff to go out again and not let it happen again. He is too good to let it happen again.

I agree with TC, the key to the game was the walk to Edmonds. He needed to challenge Edmonds and Edmonds wasn't hitting all that great in the NLCS. I don't agree though with pitching all heat to Pujols because he is one of the best and smartest hitters. He can hit the fastball, and the slider is LIdge's money pitch. Lidge didn't make a mistake in pitch selection but he did in execution.

What Astro fans can take heart is the the best NL pitcher is taking the mound tomorrow and I see he does have a chink in his armour but he is such a good pitcher.

[Toy Cannon]

I don't agree though with pitching all heat to Pujols because he is one of the best and smartest hitters. He can hit the fastball, and the slider is LIdge's money pitch. Lidge didn't make a mistake in pitch selection but he did in execution.
I was talking about Eckstein. He knew what pitch was coming. Lidge would have blown him away with a 97 mph fastball on the inside part of the plate. With Eckstein, he did make a mistake in pitch selection.

[yagsy]

Oh, I thought the pitch Eckstein hit was a good pitch. I would have to review that at bat again.

At any rate, I still believe the Astros will win it with Oswalt on the mound!

[Toy Cannon]

It was a good pitch, and I give Eckstein credit for being able to hit it. But it is also what he was looking for. You face the same pitcher 3 days in a row and you learn his pattern. David said as much.