Not a great game to go to, but it was playoff baseball, so, even though it sucked, it was still worth it. We actually had no traffic problems at all coming in or leaving (considering people started leaving in the 6th inning). We were behind home plate in the 400 level. Pretty good view from up there, hard to really see balls and strikes but that didn't keep the person I was with from voicing his opinion.
Here's my take from the game:
- First off, crowd was better than I expected. Not numberswise, but behaviorwise. That game asked for a brawl and there were none in the sections I could see.
- Kendrick looked and was very hittable. Those two first inning homeruns really sucked the life out of the place.
- I called the Rollins triple and everyone was happy for an inning or two. I am not sure why Helms didn't score on the Kendrick grounder though.
- The real issue with the 4th inning was walking Torrealba was that you saw they were warming up a righty and they were going to pinch hit. Not only are they going to pinch hit but it takes their lefty out of the game for Werth, Helms and Ruiz (my biggest concern at the time as a Kaz Matsui grand slam wasn't in my vocabulary). Talk about putting your team in a position not to win.
- I have no problem pulling Kendrick there, but you have to have a better option than Lohse. Lohse is ok, but he isn't Pedro Martinez coming in to pitch 5 innings of shutout ball. This is where they needed another lefty to just swing the odds in their favor a bit more. Castro would have been my choice there. Heck Happ could have been brought up and even given you 3 innings. And the fact that they didn't have a long reliever killed them.
- Is Lohse our game 4 starter or Hamels if it gets to it?
- Kill Manuel all you want, but Lohse has to get Matsui to do something else on a 1-2 pitch instead of hit it out of the stadium.
- The rest of the pitching part of the game can't really be looked at since they had 5 more innings to play and a bullpen with Mesa and Condrey and Alf.
- The loss of Madson is really showing now.
- Place was pumped for Ruiz's AB. Talk about a let down. I like Ruiz, but he has some of the most anti-climatic at bats in the history of this franchise.
- The place booed Mesa pretty badly. I felt kinda bad for him. Not that I really care at all about Jose Mesa, but he was called in to d oa job that nobody (including himself) thought he could do and I am sure he was trying as hard as he could.
- Russel Branyan would have been a perfect person to bat for Ruiz in the 8th. Just saying...
- I am REALLY beginning to hate "God Bless America".