World Series game 2 thoughts: I love Craig Monroe, and despise the DORKS!
Will Pudge ever get another hit? He looks totally discombobulated at the plate. You could see Yadier Molina continually set up closer to the dugout than the plate, and Pudge would still flail away at pitches well out of the strike zone. The Tigers need him to step up if they want to win this series. Soon.
As bad as Pudge has been, Juan Encanarcion looks even worse with the bat, and that's saying something...
I told you Craig Monroe was clutch. He's one of the few Tigers that is consistently hitting the ball hard against the Cards. Monroe is really making a name for himself nationally in this postseason. Same goes for Carlos Guillen, who will finally go back to SS for game 3. He's been criminally underrated outside of the D. This series is solidifying his place as the Tigers best all around player.
Is it just me, or did the DORKS that are Buck and McCarver seem more impressed with "Cheech" Weaver's average outing than with anything the Tiger did? The biggest downfall of playoff baseball broadcasts is having announcers that don't know a damn thing about the team they are covering. In game one the DORKS called Craig Monroe the Tigers best athlete and most "Toolsy" player? What the Hell? The "Brandon Inge is the best athlete on the Tigers" story has been done to death in the Detroit media. Despite my man crush Craig Monroe, even I'll admit that to to call him "Toolsy," is an insult to tools.
Why was John Mellencamp there? I got nothing against him, but what does he have to do with Detroit? I know, I know, to sell Chevy trucks. Anita Baker, on the other hand, gave a smoking performance of "The Star Spangled Banner." Show what real talent can do, especially when compared to Jennifer Hudson's SHOUTING of "God Bless America" during game one. Goes to show that I'm not missing anything by refusing to watch "American Idol."
Speaking of which, what's with the singing of "God Bless America" during the 7th inning stretch? It was cool at Yankee Stadium in 2001. It had meaning. Now it just feels gratuitous. What have the Yankees wrought upon America?
To touch on the Gambler controvery again, I'll play devils advocate. I'll admit that Tiger Nation would be going insane if it had been Chris Carpenter spooted with a gooey hand. So in thinking of that, I'd have a HUGE issue if I'm a Cardinals fan. Whatever it may have been on Rogers' hand, pine tar, rosin, dirt, fecal matter, or as Todd Jones said, chocolate cake, why wasn't LaRussa going apeshit over the while thing? Why won't he comment about the situation? Did the umpires give him a satisfactory explanation? If so, that's great. But if he didn't because of his friendship with Jim Leyland, then I'm screaming bloody murder if I'm in St. Louis. If true, that's a bigger competitive issue than anything that the Gambler may have done.
The only other reason I've seen hypothized is that LaRussa didn't want "Cheater" thrown back in his face, and have to answer questions, considering he's had the 'roid bloated Mark McGuire and Jose Canseco on his benches. Let alone the unsubstaniated 'roid rumors that hover around Albert Pujols. I'm not saying that Rogers did anything wrong. But it's still surprising that the supposed super genius that is Tony LaRussa didn't raise holy hell.
Rogers performance after he washed his hands made everything moot, anyway. It's going to work in his favor, no matter what. Rogers will have something to prove in his next start, that he can dominate while "Clean," and the whole is he/isn't he controversy has to be in the heads of the Cardinals.
Every Tiger playoff series has had some sort of controversy. We've had the strange "Rainout" in NY, the moving of a weekday playoff game start time to the afternoon with less than 24 hours notice, and now the Gambler's hand and if it was something that the umpires treated like the phantom tag of 2nd on the double play (Ignored it as something that everyone does). Baseball continually brings shitstorms like this upon themselves. I doubt we'll ever get a clear explanation on any of it.
C'mon Leyland, free Vance Wilson!!!
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I believe LaRussa didnt complain much, because his own pitchers probably do the same thing at some point. I read somewhere that alot of pitchers use lotion or pine tar to help grip the ball. If thats the case, then LaRussa didnt want to make a fuss if his own pitchers do the same.
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