2:45 AM Eastern
The game didn’t finish until about a quarter to two in the morning, local (and Toronto) time, but nobody was falling asleep with the crazy finish down in Philadelphia. The Rays came back from a 4-1 deficit through six to tie it up with a sloppy run, but the Phillies won it in the bottom of the 9th on an even sloppier one.
It started with a 91-minute rain delay, and once they got things going, the Phils were up to their old tricks. First inning, second and third nobody out, and they couldn’t pick up a hit. One run scored on a Chase Utley groundout, but in that situation with 3-4-5 coming up, one would expect that a team good enough to get to the World Series would be able to score both runs.
The failure to score two didn’t hurt immediately, because Jamie Moyer threw by far his best game of the playoffs. Throwing his fastball at 79 miles an hour at times, he had the Rays eating out of his hand through six innings of three-hitter, the only run scoring on a second-inning sac fly by Gabe Gross after Carl Crawford doubled and stole third. In the bottom of the inning, Carlos Ruiz homered to give the Phillies their one-run lead back.
The big bats struck in the 6th, when the Philbos broke it open with solo homers by Utley and Ryan Howard. It was the first time we’d seen back-to-back World Series jacks in six years. Last time it happened it was Reggie Sanders and David Bell turning the trick for the Giants in Game 2 of the 2002 Fall Classic. Anaheim won that one 11-10 on the way to a seven-game victory, the last time the World Series has gone the distance.
The Rays got the two runs back right away with a rally that started when Crawford dropped a bunt down the first-base line. Moyer came over, laid out and flipped the ball with his glove to the bare hand of Howard to get Crawford by half a step, but umpire Tom Hallion called Crawford safe. The Rays got second and third and none out and scored both, on a pair of groundouts, to close to within one, and then they got the ugly one to tie it in the 8th.
Bossman Junior led off that inning with a chopper up the middle that Jimmy Rollins snared, but had trouble getting out of his glove, and the throw to first was late. Upton then stole second, and then stole third. The ball on which he took third was a bouncer in front of Ruiz, but he short-hopped it and threw anyway, and the throw sailed to the inside of the bag, hit Upton’s leg and bounced away, allowing Upton to stroll home to tie the game.
The Phils had a chance to take the lead in their half of the 8th when Jayson Werth led off with a walk and stole second. But with one out and Howard at the plate, Werth fell for the old “spin on the mound and throw” trick pulled by J.P. Howell and was meatcake trying to scramble back to first.
That’s pretty unforgivable right there. You’re the winning run, late in the ballgame, and Werth has enough speed that he has to worry about neither getting a big secondary lead nor stealing third. He simply cannot get picked off there, that’s the absolute minimum asked of him in that situation. Luckily for the Phillies, it didn’t kill them.
In the bottom of the 9th, it was payback time. Upton had scored the tying run thanks to an infield chopper and a bad throw, the Phillies scored the winning run thanks to an even uglier set of circumstances.
Eric Bruntlett was hit by Howell to lead off the inning, and in came Grant Balfour, whose 0-1 pitch to the next hitter, Shane Victorino, went right to the backstop. Bruntlett took off but the Rays got a great bounce off the backstop and the ball came right back to catcher Dioner Navarro, who turned and threw to second – and right into centrefield.
With the winning run on third and nobody out, Rays manager Joe Maddon really had no choice but to walk the bases loaded, and he did, which brought up Ruiz, who had homered in the second and who was 3-for-7 with four walks to that point in the Series, with all his hits going for extra bases. While Maddon was in the process of walking the bases loaded, he also brought his right fielder Ben Zobrist (a natural shortstop) in to play as a 5th infielder, leaving the outfield for Crawford and Upton to cover. The idea was to lock up the infield, that any ball on the ground gets gobbled up by one of the five, who would throw home for the force and keep the game going. If a ball gets to the outfield, the game is likely over anyway.
So Ruiz, the “big power bat” (1.143 SLG for the Series so far) hit a little nubber up the third-base line that barely got 40 feet. Evan Longoria charged it as hard as he could, and tried the underhand flip over Bruntlett who was running down the line with the winning run, and flipped it about 20 feet over Navarro’s head and the game was over.
Hopefully Alanis Morissette was watching, because this was actual irony. Bringing in a fifth infielder to prevent the winning run being scored with a ball on the ground, and then having the winning run score on a ground ball is a lot more ironic than a free ride when you’ve already paid.
The official scorer gave Navarro a single, which was probably the right call, so that gave the Phillies one hit with a runner in scoring position in this game. They’re now 2-for-33 with RISP in the series, and are actually firmly in control, with the spectre of Cole Hamels awaiting the Rays in Game 5 Monday night.
Could Longoria have let the ball roll foul? Maybe, but he picked it up a few inches shy of even the dirt basepath, and though it was spinning towards the line, there was no guarantee that it was going to go foul. He had to try to make that play.
As Jerry Howarth would say, Ruiz had the long and short of it- the homer and the nubber, and even with a lot of this series left, the inside track on World Series MVP (right now – that could all change in a few hours).
So far, this has been a pretty rough World Series. Each team has made at least one error in each game, there has yet to be an offensive half-inning in which more than two runs have scored, and we’ve seen several baserunning mistakes, as well, let alone the Phillies complete inability to hit with runners in scoring position or score runners from third with less than two out. Yes, the bottom of the 9th excepted.
But the games have been close, and they’ve certainly been entertaining. Heck, we almost had a chance to see Matt Stairs play hero again tonight – he was on deck when Ruiz drove in the game-winner.
Seven and a half hours before we signed off for the night, we had the Jays’ Director of Scouting, Jon Lalonde, on the BJADPPGS. He was, as I assumed he’d be, an outstanding guest, and you can listen to his hour on the air right here:
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Before I go, just a quick comment about the Jays’ two acquisitions of Friday, Adam Loewen and Bryan Bullington. These are two guys the Jays would have loved to have drafted ahead of Russ Adams in 2002 – Bullington went first overall and Loewen fourth. Both are extreme low-risk signings, and at least Bullington has a chance to really pay off. The righty was on the fast track to the bigs before he blew out his shoulder and missed the entire 2006 season. He made it back to the majors this year and was OK in a couple of starts with the Indians. The Jays are talking about moving him to the bullpen, but he could be a dark horse to really help out the rotation next season.
As for Loewen, well, maybe the Jays can convince him to have another elbow surgery and resume his pitching career. If they can (and I don’t believe for a second that they’re trying to), then this is a fantastic signing. If they can’t, he’ll go down to A-ball and see if he can regain the form that saw him win the batting title at the 2002 World Juniors, ahead of such U.S. stars-to-be like Delmon Young and Lastings Milledge. Loewen can hit – at least he could, he hasn’t really swung a bat in anger in over six years – the question is, will he be able to develop into a legit major-league hitter? There’s no one who knows the answer to that question. It’ll be fun to watch him try to work his way back, but the odds of him becoming Rick Ankiel II are remote indeed.
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Mike Wilner,
The Ducks won the Cup in 2007 when they dropped ‘Mighty”‘ from their name. The Rays won the AL pennant when they dropped ‘Devil’ from the name.
Whaadya think? Toronto Jays?
MW: I don’t think it’ll go over so well with the fan base.
- Ken PaganMike….I am pleased that Yankee Stadium WON’T be the site of the NHL Winter Classic and they moved it to Wrigley. I know football was played there at one time on a regular schedule, but the name of the venue itself tells the world what it’s renown for. Let the last game there be a baseball game and keep the spirits of Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Rizzuto, et al, happy. Do you buy that reasoning, Mike? After all, it’s “The House That Ruth Built” not Bettman.
MW: I do think that the last event there should be a baseball game, but I don’t get all that worked up about it. That stadium hosted many, many events other than baseball.
- chris m.Your blog Mike, is better than any beat reporters articles I have read of late.
Exciting baseball games – a little messy but that only adds to the excitment of the close games.
Hope Jays fans are taking note as to the Phils and their recent slump with risp. It can and does happen to any team at any time.
How nice to have a domed ball park in T.O. – no rain delays – no cold weather to deal with. We are, luckily spoiled with that.
Keep up the excellent reporting Mike – your blogs offer complete coverage of each game by doing what articles should do. That being, create theatre of the mind.
Thanks.
MW: Wow, thanks!
- -Bob-According to your definition of “superstar”, is Carl Crawford one? How good that guy is?
MW: I think “superstar” is a term that’s very much overused. I don’t think Crawford qualifies, but he’s really, really good.
- BeburgM-Dub,
You’re a big picture kinda guy. Cant you see theres nothing more ironic than a song about irony that isnt ironic????
c’mon man!
Cool Entry!
Go Phils!
Jim Bunning Forever!
MW: It would be ironic if it was intentional, but we have to be real.
- slobberfaceWill the Giants consider doing a one-for-one involving Cain and Rios? Maybe JP will be reluctant to, considering he was holding out for Lincecum last year, unless he swallows his pride and settles for Cain.
MW: I don’t think it’s about swallowing pride. I think that he doesn’t think Cain is worth Rios, but he thought Lincecum was.
- Joe N.Hi Mike,
On the topic of blue jays off-season activity I’m wondering about Rays forgotten starting pitcher Edwin Jackson.
I know he’s had an up and down career but he’s still young with a live arm and put together a decent season with the Rays in ’08.
With the core of young pitchers they already have plus the emergence of David Price, what do you think TB has in mind for Jackson? Could he be avaialable and at what cost? Do you think this is something the Jays would/could/should look at?
I also know there’s a reluctancy to trade within the division but I wanted your informed opinion on the matter.
Thanks Mike, keep up the good work.
MW: I think we may see Edwin Jackson as the Rays’ closer next year. He’s young, got a terrific arm and is still under control for three more years. I doubt very much that he’s going anywhere.
- Mattgood to see Howard finally homer and was that Matt Stairs on deck when the Phills won?
MW: Yes, it was. Dare I say, it’s not a bad idea to actually read the post on which you’re commenting.
- JamesHey Mike,
I came across a very interesting article that I wanted to share and discuss:
http://www.bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2568:inside-the-numbers-ranking-the-30-clubs-by-marginal-payrollmarginal-wins&catid=29:articles-a-opinion&Itemid=41
Essentially, the article looks at how payroll as related to performance above a certain arbitrational success rate as a means of evaluating a team’s management.
The obvious biases are teams that are comprised mostly of high draft picks due to many years of bottom feeding.
With that said, let’s take a look at teams who finished above .500 this past season (83 or more wins) and compare how much it cost them per marginal win.
1. Florida – $0.35M
2. Tampa Bay – $0.68M
3. Minnesota – $1.31M
4. Milwaukee – $1.69M
5. Los Angeles (A) – $2.01M
6. Houston – $2.07M
7. Los Angeles (A) – $2.10M
8. Chicago (C) – $2.21M
9. Toronto – $2.35M
10. St. Louis – $2.40M
11. Boston – $2.64M
12. Chicago (WS) – $2.75M
13. Los Angeles (D) – $3.04M
14. New York (M) – $3.15M
15. New York (Y) – $4.90M
From this list, we can see that the Jays currently rank as the 9th most cost-efficient winning team in Major League Baseball.
It’s important to note though that two of the teams ahead of Toronto, Milwaukee and Tampa can attribute much of their success due to years of bottom dwelling and high picks.
Evan Longoria, BJ Upton, Matt Garza (acquired via Delmon Young), David Price, and Rocco Baldelli were all acquired via top 6 picks for Tampa.
Ben Sheets, Rickie Weeks, C.C Sabbathia (acquired via Matt Laporta), Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun were all acquired via top 10 picks for Milwaukee.
So if we were to discount the “rebuilding through tanking” method for the Blue Jays, you could legitimately make the case that the Blue Jays are the 7th most cost-efficient winning team in the MLB, and perhaps would’ve deserved at least one playoff berth over the last few seasons.
MW: Cost-effectiveness and playoff berths really don’t have anything to do with each other, so your final sentence doesn’t hold for me. Also, you have the Angels in there twice. And not to pile on, but it’s arbitrary. It’s always nice, though, to see more data that illustrates that the Blue Jays actually do a lot of things right – in this case, spend money.
- Alex from MississaugaMike,
Any chance the Jays make a run at Matt Holliday? He is available and much younger than Man-Ram. He, like Delgado in 2003, was cheated from the MVP. Would they be able to take on Rios contract in such a deal, because that would make sense. Maybe the Jays add someone to sweeten the deal, but Holliday can sure hit. Would the Jays be able to re-sign him if they did? Thanks
MW: Holliday would cost a lot more to re-sign than the Jays are paying Rios over the next bunch of years, and there’s certainly no guarantee at all that he’d stay beyond 2009. I don’t think I’d trade Rios for one year of Holliday.
- Justinfew thoughts, one this rays team reminds me of the tigers team that threw every ball away and basically gave the series away.
if I am the rays manager there are only 2 threats to worry about utley and howard and I would not throw them anything to hit, especially howard. why would you throw a breaking ball for a strike to him? these 2 have about 80% of the rbis, make someone else beat you.
why is hinske not on the playoff roster? baldelli can only play once a week and gross is well…gross. hinske can play outfield and he had 20 homers plus he has the experience after playing for boston.
rays look emotionally drained after playing boston and have nothing left.
why would upton give his homer bat to the hall of fame? players are notoriously superstitious and this guy destroys all his momentum?
is hinske not a free agent? seems like the jays should go after him, wouldn’t cost too much, he can play first or dh.
MW: Point-by-point: The Phillies had made more errors in the series than the Rays going into this game, and they were the ones who couldn’t buy a hit in a big spot. Going into Game 4, Utley had 3 RBIs in the series, Howard 1- they’d combined to drive in 40% of the Phillies’ runs. Rollins, Burrell, Werth and Victorino are all threats, as well. Hinske is on the roster now (because of Cliff Floyd’s injury). He didn’t make it originally because he’s not the defender that Gross is. His “experience” having played with Boston last year was one World Series at-bat, striking out in the 8th inning of a game the Red Sox led 13-1. The Rays didn’t look emotionally drained in winning Game 2 and coming back from 4-1 down to tie Game 3 late. Upton obviously isn’t superstitious enough to be worried about the bat. Hinske is probably Plan G or H for the Jays as a DH this winter.
- roccobwhat happened to instant replay? we’ve seen horrible calls already.
MW: We sure have, but for some reason they only want to use instant replay on boundary calls – home runs and fair/foul.
- roccobactually mike, the jays do not spend money well. every year they waste 10-20 mil on players that are either injured, do not even play here, or just plain do not perform. ex include koske, hinske, thomas, burnett, rolen, wells. yes boston and ny have wasted some money as well but not as much as the jays do as a percentage of payroll.
MW: They have dropped a lot of money on those guys over the last few years, and yet they’ve still managed to have a winning record despite a mid to low relative payroll.
- roccob“MW: Cost-effectiveness and playoff berths really don’t have anything to do with each other, so your final sentence doesn’t hold for me. Also, you have the Angels in there twice. And not to pile on, but it’s arbitrary. It’s always nice, though, to see more data that illustrates that the Blue Jays actually do a lot of things right – in this case, spend money.”
Good point Mike.
This next thought is just completely for the sake of discussion but:
As noted above, each marginal win is costing the Jays roughly $2.35M.
Considering that the Jays finished 9 games out of the wild card last season, that would probably mean they need roughly 9-10 more wins.
If each win was costing the Jays $2.35M, (bear with me here, I know this reasoning is flawed), then it would cost an additonal $21.15M to reach those 9 wins.
Numerous times last season, you mentioned the need for one, maybe two impact bats and the ’08 Jays would’ve gone far.
If you had $21M to address that need, do you think the Jays are a playoff team?
MW: Yup. But I wouldn’t have needed $21M. I would have needed $500K, and would have given it to Barry L. Bonds.
- Alex from Mississaugamike, re the payroll, the point is imagine how many more wins the jays would have had if they had not wasted that money.
re the errors, it’s not just how many errors it’s when they occur. when navarro did not catch the ball and threw it into cf that was at a crucial time that lost the game.
re rbis, I’m not sure how you do your math but utley/howard had combined for 5/9 rbis through game 3. I exaggerated with 80% but the point is valid, make someone else beat you. and what happened in game 4, howard has 5/10 rbis. sutcliffe spelled out exactly how to pitch howard, breaking balls in the dirt and throw him fastballs for strikes away. at least 2 of his homers were breaking balls over the plate. what has burrell done? I am not scared of him.
re hinske, I didn’t say his playoff experience, I said his experience with boston which means playing with a good team with veterans who grind out ab’s. still don’t understand why baldelli is on the roster if he can’t play everyday
re emotionally drained, since being up 3-1 vs boston, rays have gone 2-5. they have played sloppy baseball, the bullpen has been horrible, longoria, upton, pena have been horrible. I would say that’s emotionally drained when you consider how great they played previously
I’m sure upton wishes he had his bat back.
why is hinske plan g? are you saying he hates JP or vice versa? or are you saying that JP burns a lot of bridges with players?
MW: Point-by-point again: Yes, the Jays would have been better had they not wasted that money, but they’ve done a good job of overcoming their spending mistakes. There’s no team that doesn’t waste some (if not a lot of) money over the course of a season. It’s true that the Navarro error came at a horrible time, but so did the Carlos Ruiz error the inning before that actually allowed the tying run to score. I’ve got Howard with one RBI and Utley with three through the first three games, and the Phillies with 10 runs. That’s how I do math. Hinske’s experience on the bench in Boston doesn’t count for much, I don’t think, and I’m not sure that Baldelli can’t play every day, or at least the seven out of nine days. It’s just that he’s a platoon guy now, at least at this point. You make the best argument that can be made for a team being “emotionally drained”, but I don’t buy it. They had enough to win Game 7, and that’s about as emotional a situation in which a team can be. I just think they’re not playing well, and that happens. When did Upton tell you he regrets giving his bat to the Hall? And I don’t think anybody hates anybody, it’s just that there are several better options than Hinske available. He’s not that good.
- roccob#5
- slobberfacelol
you’re right.
what happens if the rain doesn’t stop. can a world series game be called? or do they wait all night?
MW: I don’t think there’s any reason why a World Series game can’t be called, but it’s never happened before.
- roccob