GaryMrMets
10-24-2005, 07:58 PM
World Series Game One: The Inside Story
SportsTicker
By Jim Keller SportsTicker Baseball Editor HERO: Chicago third baseman Joe Crede hit the go-ahead homer in the fourth inning and made two outstanding stops to save runs. His fourth-inning homer off Wandy Rodriguez snapped a 3-3 tie. He helped Jose Contreras work out of trouble in the sixth and seventh with diving backhanded stops. Crede robbed Morgan Ensberg with one out and a runner on third in the sixth and fielded a smash by Craig Biggio with runners on the corners and two outs in the next frame. The home run was Crede's third game-winning hit of the postseason. He also won Game Two of the ALCS with a ninth-inning double and Game Five with a single in the eighth.
GOAT: Although Houston's Roger Clemens did not pitch well and manager Phil Garner inexplicably left Mike Lamb to hit against fellow lefthander Neal Cotts in the eighth inning, Ensberg failed to produce with runners in scoring position three times. In the third, he stranded Lance Berkman at second with two outs and couldn't plate Willy Taveras from third with one out in the sixth, when he was robbed by Crede. And with runners on the corners and none out in the eighth, the righthanded hitter struck out against lefthander Neal Cotts. Ensberg hit .313 with runners in scoring position in the regular season.
KEY MOMENT: After Chicago starter Jose Contreras allowed a leadoff double in the eighth and Cotts yielded a ground single, Cotts came back to strike out Ensberg and Lamb. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen brought in fireballing Bobby Jenks, who fanned veteran Jeff Bagwell with a 2-2 fastball that registered 99 miles per hour. The bullpen threw just seven pitches in the ALCS against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and had not pitched in a live game for nearly two weeks.
BY THE NUMBERS: Houston second baseman Craig Biggio set the major league record Saturday for the most regular season games played before appearing in a World Series. The 18-year veteran has played in 2,564 games, eclipsing the 2,439 by Barry Bonds. ... After retiring the last 15 batters he faced in the ALCS Game Five, Contreras got the first four Saturday before Lamb homered. The Astros first baseman hit .179 with two walks and 16 strikeouts in 56 at-bats against lefthanders during the regular season.
FLASHBACK: On this day five years ago, in their first matchup since Clemens beaned New York Mets slugger Mike Piazza in July, Clemens came close to hitting Piazza again - this time with the jagged barrel of a broken bat. Piazza fouled a grounder off a letter-high inside pitch and his bat shattered, with the largest chunk - the barrel head - going back to the mound. Clemens picked up the splintered wood and threw it angrily in front of Piazza as he ran toward first, missing the Mets star by about two feet. Clemens went on to pitch the best World Series game of his career, allowing two hits and striking out nine before leaving after eight scoreless innings of a 6-5 victory.
CELEBRITY SIGHTINGS: Actors James Denton, Bernie Mac and Chi McBride and all-time strikeout king Nolan Ryan, who serves as special assistant to Astros general manager Tim Purpura. Ryan is also part of the ownership group for Houston's Class AAA affiliate in Round Rock, Texas.
10-23-05 02:14 ET
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World Series Game Two: The Inside Story
SportsTicker
By Jim Keller SportsTicker Baseball Editor CHICAGO (Ticker) - Here is an inside look into Game Two of the World Series.
HERO: Scott Podsednik had only hit one homer in 529 at-bats this season - in Game One of the American League Division Series against Boston - before turning around a pitch from Houston closer Brad Lidge in the bottom of the ninth inning for a 7-6 win. The 29-year-old Podsednik, who did slug 21 homers in the previous two years with Milwaukee, led the American League with 39 infield hits and 16 bunt singles. He also ranked second with 59 stolen bases. The lefthanded hitter is the second player in major league history to homer in the postseason after not homering in 500 at-bats during the regular season. Podsednik hit the 14th game-ending homer in World Series history.
GOAT: Take your choice. Houston's Dan Wheeler loaded the bases in the seventh with a walk and hit batter, Chad Qualls gave up a grand slam to Paul Konerko and Lidge yielded the game-winner to Podsednik. Chicago closer Bobby Jenks yielded a four-pitch walk to Chris Burke and a two-run single to Jose Vizcaino in the ninth, allowing Houston to extend the contest. We'll go with Wheeler, who should have gotten out of the seventh before leaving the bases loaded for Chicago's best hitter.
KEY MOMENT: Again, take your pick, but Konerko's slam against Qualls, who had retired 18 of the previous 19 batters he had faced, took a two-run deficit and turned it into a two-run lead. But don't overlook the blown call by the umpires just before Konerko's blast. Plate umpire Jeff Nelson ruled that Jermaine Dye was hit with an inside fastball from Wheeler, but replays clearly showed that the ball only struck the bat.
BY THE NUMBERS: Including the postseason, Chicago is 66-35 in games decided by two runs or less. ... The White Sox have won 14 of their last 15 games and improved to 9-1 in the postseason, the third best single-season postseason record behind the 1976 Cincinnati Reds (7-0) and the 1999 New York Yankees (11-1). ... Vizcaino's two-run single ended the Chicago bullpen's scoreless inning streak at 11 ... This is the 50th time that a team has taken a 2-0 lead in a World Series game. Thirty-eight have gone on to win the championship. It marked the 35th time a home team has gone up 2-0.
CELEBRITY SIGHTINGS: Lou Rawls sang the National Anthem, Bo Jackson threw out the first pitch and fellow former White Sox Robin Ventura caught it. Jesse Jackson also was in attendance.
FLASHBACK: In one of the most dramatic endings in World Series history, Joe Carter hit a three-run, ninth-inning homer off Mitch Williams as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Philadelphia Phillies in 1993, 8-6, for their second straight world championship. Paul Molitor, who hit .500 in 24 at-bats in the series, was named MVP.
10-24-05 02:13 ET
SportsTicker
By Jim Keller SportsTicker Baseball Editor HERO: Chicago third baseman Joe Crede hit the go-ahead homer in the fourth inning and made two outstanding stops to save runs. His fourth-inning homer off Wandy Rodriguez snapped a 3-3 tie. He helped Jose Contreras work out of trouble in the sixth and seventh with diving backhanded stops. Crede robbed Morgan Ensberg with one out and a runner on third in the sixth and fielded a smash by Craig Biggio with runners on the corners and two outs in the next frame. The home run was Crede's third game-winning hit of the postseason. He also won Game Two of the ALCS with a ninth-inning double and Game Five with a single in the eighth.
GOAT: Although Houston's Roger Clemens did not pitch well and manager Phil Garner inexplicably left Mike Lamb to hit against fellow lefthander Neal Cotts in the eighth inning, Ensberg failed to produce with runners in scoring position three times. In the third, he stranded Lance Berkman at second with two outs and couldn't plate Willy Taveras from third with one out in the sixth, when he was robbed by Crede. And with runners on the corners and none out in the eighth, the righthanded hitter struck out against lefthander Neal Cotts. Ensberg hit .313 with runners in scoring position in the regular season.
KEY MOMENT: After Chicago starter Jose Contreras allowed a leadoff double in the eighth and Cotts yielded a ground single, Cotts came back to strike out Ensberg and Lamb. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen brought in fireballing Bobby Jenks, who fanned veteran Jeff Bagwell with a 2-2 fastball that registered 99 miles per hour. The bullpen threw just seven pitches in the ALCS against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and had not pitched in a live game for nearly two weeks.
BY THE NUMBERS: Houston second baseman Craig Biggio set the major league record Saturday for the most regular season games played before appearing in a World Series. The 18-year veteran has played in 2,564 games, eclipsing the 2,439 by Barry Bonds. ... After retiring the last 15 batters he faced in the ALCS Game Five, Contreras got the first four Saturday before Lamb homered. The Astros first baseman hit .179 with two walks and 16 strikeouts in 56 at-bats against lefthanders during the regular season.
FLASHBACK: On this day five years ago, in their first matchup since Clemens beaned New York Mets slugger Mike Piazza in July, Clemens came close to hitting Piazza again - this time with the jagged barrel of a broken bat. Piazza fouled a grounder off a letter-high inside pitch and his bat shattered, with the largest chunk - the barrel head - going back to the mound. Clemens picked up the splintered wood and threw it angrily in front of Piazza as he ran toward first, missing the Mets star by about two feet. Clemens went on to pitch the best World Series game of his career, allowing two hits and striking out nine before leaving after eight scoreless innings of a 6-5 victory.
CELEBRITY SIGHTINGS: Actors James Denton, Bernie Mac and Chi McBride and all-time strikeout king Nolan Ryan, who serves as special assistant to Astros general manager Tim Purpura. Ryan is also part of the ownership group for Houston's Class AAA affiliate in Round Rock, Texas.
10-23-05 02:14 ET
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World Series Game Two: The Inside Story
SportsTicker
By Jim Keller SportsTicker Baseball Editor CHICAGO (Ticker) - Here is an inside look into Game Two of the World Series.
HERO: Scott Podsednik had only hit one homer in 529 at-bats this season - in Game One of the American League Division Series against Boston - before turning around a pitch from Houston closer Brad Lidge in the bottom of the ninth inning for a 7-6 win. The 29-year-old Podsednik, who did slug 21 homers in the previous two years with Milwaukee, led the American League with 39 infield hits and 16 bunt singles. He also ranked second with 59 stolen bases. The lefthanded hitter is the second player in major league history to homer in the postseason after not homering in 500 at-bats during the regular season. Podsednik hit the 14th game-ending homer in World Series history.
GOAT: Take your choice. Houston's Dan Wheeler loaded the bases in the seventh with a walk and hit batter, Chad Qualls gave up a grand slam to Paul Konerko and Lidge yielded the game-winner to Podsednik. Chicago closer Bobby Jenks yielded a four-pitch walk to Chris Burke and a two-run single to Jose Vizcaino in the ninth, allowing Houston to extend the contest. We'll go with Wheeler, who should have gotten out of the seventh before leaving the bases loaded for Chicago's best hitter.
KEY MOMENT: Again, take your pick, but Konerko's slam against Qualls, who had retired 18 of the previous 19 batters he had faced, took a two-run deficit and turned it into a two-run lead. But don't overlook the blown call by the umpires just before Konerko's blast. Plate umpire Jeff Nelson ruled that Jermaine Dye was hit with an inside fastball from Wheeler, but replays clearly showed that the ball only struck the bat.
BY THE NUMBERS: Including the postseason, Chicago is 66-35 in games decided by two runs or less. ... The White Sox have won 14 of their last 15 games and improved to 9-1 in the postseason, the third best single-season postseason record behind the 1976 Cincinnati Reds (7-0) and the 1999 New York Yankees (11-1). ... Vizcaino's two-run single ended the Chicago bullpen's scoreless inning streak at 11 ... This is the 50th time that a team has taken a 2-0 lead in a World Series game. Thirty-eight have gone on to win the championship. It marked the 35th time a home team has gone up 2-0.
CELEBRITY SIGHTINGS: Lou Rawls sang the National Anthem, Bo Jackson threw out the first pitch and fellow former White Sox Robin Ventura caught it. Jesse Jackson also was in attendance.
FLASHBACK: In one of the most dramatic endings in World Series history, Joe Carter hit a three-run, ninth-inning homer off Mitch Williams as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Philadelphia Phillies in 1993, 8-6, for their second straight world championship. Paul Molitor, who hit .500 in 24 at-bats in the series, was named MVP.
10-24-05 02:13 ET