La Russa, Baker Enjoy Matching Wits
Tipsheet had to double-check the calendar Sunday. Was this still May?
It didn’t seem like May watching Cardinals manager Tony La Russa and Reds manager Dusty Baker do their thing. Fans came to see a baseball game, only to see a marathon chess match break out.
They saw stolen bases, sacrifice bunts, semi-intentional walks and a flurry of substitutions and double switches. The Reds played for keeps and the Cards responded.
Adam Wainwright did his best Matt Morris imitation, throwing 119 pitches to get through six innings. Reliever Ryan Franklin entered the game in the eighth inning and labored for 43 (!) pitches.
To get from Wainwright to Franklin, La Russa burned four relievers to get five outs.
Skip Schumaker hit lead-off for the Cards until giving way to giving way to two pitchers, a pinch-hitter, three more pitchers, a pinch-hitter and still two more pitchers in that slot.
Baker played three left fielders, two catchers and two first basemen. He used a pitcher to pinch hit — Micah Owings, who hit the game-tying homer in the bottom of the ninth.
(Pitcher Todd Wellemeyer later pinch hit for the Cards in a bunting situation and failed to get the ball down.)
When Baker inserted in 18th player into the game, pinch-hitter Paul Janish, La Russa countered with his 19th player, reliever Chris Perez.
And Perez got the final out in the 8-7 10-inning victory. Checkmate.
IT’S OFFICIAL: REFS SCREWED UP
In the wake of the Tim Donaghy Scandal, NBA officials face intense scrutiny during the playoffs. So they shouldn’t ignore an obvious foul that, if called, would have prevented the game-winning three-point bomb.
This happened in Dallas Saturday, where the Mavericks had a two-point lead and a foul to give as time wound down. When Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony fumbled the ball with three seconds, Antoine Wright hacked him and then stepped back – assuming the call was made.
It wasn’t. Anthony regained the ball and buried his deep trey, giving the Nuggets a dramatic 106-105 victory and a 3-0 series advantage.
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban went postal, and rightfully so. His players were beside themselves after the game.
The blunder was so bad that the NBA owned up to it just hours after the game, issuing this statement: “The officials missed an intentional foul committed by Antoine Wright on the Nuggets’ Carmelo Anthony, just prior to Anthony’s 3-point basket.”
In the wake of this blunder, Celtics coach Doc Rivers gave his team a refresher course in intentional fouling.
DRAMATIC GAME-WINNING SHOTS
Anthony’s bomb was memorable, but not as memorable as Michael Jordan torching Craig Ehlo.
MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE
Questions to ponder while waiting for Manny Ramirez to explain himself:
- What is it about “keep the ball down in Cincinnati” that the Cards pitchers didn’t understand?
- Say, has anybody seen the Sedin Twins lately? And where did Kobe Bryant and Tiger Woods run off to Sunday?
- Is Patrick Roy ready to take his Crazy Coach act to the NHL level?
- After seeing Brian Leonard and Pisa Tinoisamoa depart, did Joe Klopfenstein turn off his cell phone and go into hiding?
PAYING YOUR DUES
Baseball players devise all sorts of rules to keep rookies in line. In Texas, the Rangers saddle the relief pitcher with the least seniority with a pink Snow White backpack.
Derek Holland is Snow White’s current keeper.
“I have to make sure it’s out there in the bullpen and make sure it has everything it needs in it,” Holland told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “I have to make sure I have it with me.
“It’s the life of a rookie. But at least it’s in the major leagues.”
The backpack is used for critical bullpen supplies, like protein bars, gum, sunflower seeds and aspirin.
TIMES CHANGE
Old school: Coffee, “greenies” and chewing tobacco.
New school: Red Bull, steroids, women’s fertility drugs.
QUIPS ‘R US
Here is what some of America’s leading sports pundits have been writing:
Greg Cote, Miami Herald: “ ‘Manny being Manny’ took on a sinister shade with the news once-lovable Manny Ramirez tested positive for HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin), a female fertility drug banned because it often is taken by steroid users coming off a cycle to help restore normal testosterone levels. Hmm. Manny suspended 50 games for a female fertility drug? Hey, could be worse! He could be pregnant with twins.”
Scott Ostler, San Francisco Chronicle: “I’m no chemist so I don’t know exactly how HCG works, but I think it’s important that we keep Manny Ramirez away from OctoMom.”
Mike Lupica, New York Daily News: “Hey, maybe Manny can advertise for hCG on television, like those people in the dueling tubs do for Cialis and all like that.”
Dwight Perry, Seattle Times: “Based on the allegations in the new book ‘A-Rod: The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguez,’ the slugger’s next stint on the disabled list will likely be because of: A) a delayed reaction to an old high-school injection. B) RSI from signaling ‘curveball’ to opposing hitters. C) breast-reduction surgery.”
MEGAPHONE
“As a racecar driver you want everything as safe as you can have it. I applaud them for stepping forward and standing behind their word. I hope it’s a wake up call for everybody. We don’t know what it is, if it’s something that could be taken for a cold. Whatever you’re taking, whether it’s for allergies or whatever, you’ve got to make sure it’s OK by NASCAR. As drivers we all know that now, so we’ve got to stay in tip-top shape and make sure we walk the line.”
NASCAR driver Elliott Sadler, to ESPN.com, after Jeremy Mayfield’s drug suspension.
ELSEWHERE ON STLTODAY.COM
Hockey Guy offers an overview of the league’s franchise instability, along with notes and links ‘o plenty.
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The Cardinals were lucky to win one game this weekend, again with the bad base running and defense. These are aspects of the game that will absolutely kill any team – including this one. Wainwright has not been good all year and they need him to be at a high level especially with Carpenter out.
These aren’t your fathers Reds anymore by the way. Didn’t they hire a new GM about a year ago? Walt something or other? You can bet they will be a team to be reckoned with going forward.
I’m beyond tired of the local broadcast and their incessant skewed view for the home team. Both Dan and Rick Horton were talking on Saturday how it was okay for Duncan to get doubled off on a fly ball. Uh, no it’s not okay. It’s not okay in little league or in high school or in college and especially not okay at the professional level. Can we just get a fair and objective view of the game? Oh, wait a minute that can’t ever happen since they work for the Gestapo better known as the Cardinal organization.
I think the pinch hitting pitchers says it all. Apparently this team is SO good they can afford to throw outs away in games. Wainwright, Wellemeyer…not exactly the kind of at bats you expect to see from Championship clubs. Then again, the Cardinals won it in 06 with an 83-78 record so why wouldn’t Billy D adopt the mantra that .500 clubs win championships…
The sports media act so indignant and outraged with every new steroid scandal. Of couse they have known about this abuse for years. They are complicit.
That’s just Manny being Wo-manny
I will say it up front - I am no basketball fan. But I think the whole fouling strategy ruins the game. What should be the most exciting part of the game, when the score is close and time is running out, turns into a tedious, drawn out sequence of fouls and free throws. I think basketball needs to find a way to fix this and restore the edge-of-your-seat excitement. Why should play stop if an offensive player gets fouled but retains possession?
The Reds are a good team this year, but so are the Cards. So are the Cubs and the Brewers. Seems all four teams are doing the “we’re hot, we’re cold” beat this year. This may end up being a real interesting division come September.
I miss my daily A-Roid updates on ESPN. How am I going to live without them!?
Tiger Woods seems human, and the rest of the sharks smell blood in the water. I’m not saying the rest of the field doesn’t still respect him, but you can tell by the way they talk that the deer in the headlights look is being replaced by a “Why not me this week” optimism…
S.W. - good call- the only thing worse is listening to Jay Randolph do the game on ch. 5.
i don’t normally bash S.W. for bashing’s sake…but i am FLABBERGASTED that you are praising Jocketty for the way the Reds are playing. how many times did you scorch Walt in your comments when he was here? and now he’s some sort of genius since he left the Cardinals?
the rest of your post is the usual Kevin Slaten regurgitation, but you propping up Jocketty is the height of hypocrisy.
Ben,
Love or hate Tony LaRussa ball, I’m going to remind your short memory that the LaRussa Cardinals had 95-67, 93-69, 97-65, 105-57, and 100-62 records all from 2000-2005 before we won our “excuse me” 83-78 championship. We didn’t win the World Series because we won 83 games, we won the World Series because we averaged 96 wins for three years, and got a championship for one of them.
With your logic, you could bash Yadier Molina for winning his first gold glove last year (when it wasn’t his best defensive year), bash a few legendary actors for winning their first oscars in movies that weren’t their best, and bash a player like Ray Bourque for “gravy training a ring” while latching on to the juggernaut Avalanche.
S.W., who cares if the Cardinals were lucky to get a win this past weekend? They got the win and still carry a solid 20-12 record.
I can’t wait until we win a chmpionship and you tell us all that we didn’t win it the right way……oh wait, you already did do that in 2006.