THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
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SPORTS 
DIAMOND MUSINGS Freelance sports journalist Jay B. Webster delivers some chin music from the world of Major League Baseball A Fall Classic It's been a great ride so far, and hopefully the best is yet to come. The 2012 edition of the Major League Baseball post season has been full of hair-raising twists and turns, all of which have brought us to a rather unlikely pairing between the Detroit Tigers and San Francisco Giants in the World Series. After the two brand new, must-win Wild Card games opened the postseason and delivered the Baltimore Orioles and St. Louis Cardinals to the real playoffs, all four of the Division Series amazingly and scintillatingly went the full five games, the first time that has ever happened. The Tigers won their first two games in Detroit before losing the next two to the A's in Oakland, including coughing up three runs in the bottom of the ninth in a 4-3 Game 4 loss. Luckily, the Tigers had Justin Verlander to fall back on in the deciding game, and he responded by tossing a 4-hit complete game shutout, as Detroit advanced with 6-0 win. Meanwhile, the Yankees and Orioles split their first two games in Baltimore. Then the Yanks won in 12 innings in Game 3, as Raul Ibanez pinch-hit for Alex Rodriguez (yes, that Alex Rodriguez) in the bottom of the ninth and hit a game-tying home run. Then for good measure, he hit a walk-off game winning homer in the 12th. The Orioles returned the favor with a 13-inning win the following night, but luck ran out for the plucky O's in the decider, as they couldn't overcome CC Sabathia, and the Yanks moved on with a 3-1 victory. Over in the National League, the Giants lost the first two games to the Reds in San Francisco. A quick look at the record books established that no team had ever lost the first two games at home of a Division Series and come back to win the next three on the road, but somehow, someone forgot to tell the Giants. Or maybe they just didn't listen. Either way, the Giants ran off three unlikely victories in Cincinnati, including a tense 2-1 thriller in 10 innings in Game 3. In the other NLDS it was the Cardinals doing what they do best. That means doing what it takes to win in October, downing the Nationals – who led the majors with 98 wins in the regular season – in five games, naturally. In the decider, the Cardinals fell behind 6-0 after three innings, but chipped away to trail 7-5 entering the top of the ninth. Twice they were down to their final strike against Nats' closer Drew Storen, but a game-tying two-out, two-run single from Daniel Descalso and a go-ahead two-run single from Pete Kozma were enough to propel the Cards to the NLCS. It marked the first time in baseball playoff history that a team had ever rallied from more than four runs down in a sudden-death deciding game, and continued an amazing postseason run extending all the way back to last year's World Series victory. In the Championship Series against the Giants, the Cardinals continued their run and stormed out to a 3-1 series lead. But just like in the NLDS against the Red, the Giants had the Cards just where they wanted them. The Giants outscored St. Louis 20-1 over the final three games, as the Cardinals ran out of magic October dust and the wheels finally fell off the bus. Amazingly, it was the record-tying sixth consecutive win in an elimination game for the Giants, sending them back to the Fall Classic, which they won just two years ago. Back over the in the American League, age, injuries and everything else seemed to catch up with the Yankees. They couldn't get a hit, they couldn't pitch, and when iconic shortstop Derek Jeter left Game 1 with a broken ankle, the air seemed to come out of the Yankees Bronx balloon. The final numbers made for grim reading. The Yankees hit an embarrassing .157 for the series, getting out-hit 46-22 and outscored 19-6, with four of those runs coming in the ninth inning of a 6-4 Game 1 loss. One has to wonder if this was the closing chapter for a team that reached the World Series seven times in 16 years, and only missed the playoffs once in that span. While the Yankees won 95 games this year, it would seem they have a lot of cracks to fill to maintain their relevance in the hyper-competitive AL East. As for the Tigers, expectations were sky-high back in April after the team shelled out $214 big ones to lure Prince Fielder to Detroit to hit behind Miguel Cabrera, but the team finished with just the seventh-best record in the American League. It was enough to win the AL Central, however, and they have ridden a starting rotation that was 2-1 with a 1.30 ERA against Oakland, and an even more impressive 0.66 ERA against the Yankees. While the Giants have some good pitching, they were forced to use their top starter, Matt Cain, in the NLCS decider, meaning he won't be able to go until Game 4 on Sunday. The Tiger meanwhile had Verlander – he of the 0.74 ERA this post season – lined up to start Game 1, and they could possibly run him out three times if the Series goes the full seven games. That's a whole lot of Verlander, and a pretty daunting task for San Fran. Then again, nobody has been able to throw that Giant knockout punch yet. |
