They put up a valiant fight but the 2017 World Series Champs are done for the year. It’s fitting that they fell to the team who had the best record this regular season but I kinda expected them to put out a better showing than winning one of 5.

In this final match, David Price held the potent offense of Houston scoreless through 6 innings. He only gave up 3 hits and struck out 9 to pick up his first post season victory in 12 starts. In fact, the only run the Astros picked up was after Price left the game in the 7th when Marwin Gonzalez homered to left. Unfortunately there was no one on and no one followed up on his effort. Instead, Houston only amassed 5 hits in the final game they played as Champions.

On the mound, Justin Verlander had trouble in the 6th. He didn’t have his best stuff as he gave up 7 hits and 2 walks and with home runs in the 3rd and 6th he just seemed overpowered today.

I don’t think the team really recovered from the crappy call in the 1st inning of Wednesday’s game.

Regardless, the Red Sox are moving on and they’ll face either the Dodgers or Brewers in the World Series.

The post The World Series Champs are Done appeared first on Beyond Tannhauser Gate.

Milwaukee wasn’t done playing baseball after they fell to 3–2 in the NLCS on Wednesday so they came out with bats on fire in the first on Friday. While David Freese got the scoring started in the top of the first with a solo home run, the Brewers weren’t behind for long. The home team sent 9 batters to the plate and scored 4 runs in the bottom of the inning.

Doubles by Jesus Aguilar and Mike Moustakas along with singles by Lorenzo Cain and Erik Kratz scored 4 runs to get the Brewers rolling. Hyun-Jin Ryu only lasted 3 innings as he gave up 7 hits and 5 runs. But it really didn’t matter beyond the 3rd run since the Dodger offense struggled to put things together.

In all, the West Coast representative only managed 5 hits and went a resounding 0 for 3 with runners in scoring position. David Freese was the only real contributor going 2 for 3 with a home run and 2 RBIs but to put things into perspective without his 2 hits and Ryu’s single, the rest of the Dodger offense barely did a thing.

The bottom line is that Milwaukee was fired up and they forced a game 7.

Sports – West Coast Baseball – Going to Game 7<_font><_p>

The post Going to Game 7 appeared first on Beyond Tannhauser Gate.

Like most games in this NLCS, was one to remember. A rookie started for one team, veteran starters came in as relievers, MVP candidates smashed home runs, and defenses were put to the test. It was a fun game to watch even more so since it launched a West Coast team into the World Series.

This year will feature an East-West face-off by one team who dominated all season and one who had to play a 163rd game just to win their division. But before that, the Dodgers/Brewers match was pretty exciting.

Milwaukee got on the board first with a home run by Christian Yelich. As an MVP candidate he was expected to make a difference in this series but unfortunately for the Brewers this was his first RBI all series. Has he performed as expected the Brewers probably would have finished the series off as victors much earlier in the series. Instead they had to rely on their great bullpen to try to hold things together.

The Dodger match began shortly after Yelich’s home run. As soon as the Dodgers got a chance to respond they pounced. Manny Machado lead off the 2nd with a surprise 3–2 bunt single to third. Bellinger followed by launching a 2–2 Chacin fastball over the right field fence. That was all the Dodgers ended up needing but there were 7 1/2 innings left in the game.

Jhoulys Chacin Left the Game in the 3rd and the Brewer bullpen were charged with keeping things close so the offense could mount a comeback. And they performed well. Josh Hader specifically, as he helped the Dodgers put up 3 zeroes and when he left, the game was still 2–1. Too bad he didn’t pitch more tough since the guys who followed him proceeded to give up singles to Muncy and Turner before Yasiel Puig smacked a 3-run home run to center and that nailed the coffin shut for the Brewers.

Pitcher of the Day: Walker Buehler, LAD – 4.2 INN, 1 ER, 7 K
Player of the Day: Yasiel Puig, LAD – 3–4, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 HR

Sports – West Coast Baseball – Dodgers Head to the World Series<_font><_p>

The post Dodgers Head to the World Series appeared first on Beyond Tannhauser Gate.

I’m not sure I have much to add to what many others have said about the game yesterday but I’ll try to add a couple cents.

On the whole, the game was fun to watch and I enjoyed the back and forth nature of it. Boston clearly was the better team yesterday though I’m not sure they are the better team overall since in my mind the first game of the World Series came down to the extra outs that the Dodgers handed over to the Red Sox. That and the fact that catcher interference wasn’t called on the last play of the game. But that’s just sour grapes since Boston had pretty much already won at that point.

I’m not surprised the interference wasn’t called but I am a bit surprised that Dave Roberts didn’t make an issue out of the fact that Justin Turner hit Sandy Leon’s glove on the last strike of the game. It’s probably something you can’t argue but I would have at least gone out to speak with the umpire about the play. But then the game was over.

The game was pretty much over in the 3rd when Brian Dozier couldn’t pull off a routine double play. I suppose that after 170+ games his arm is tired and he can’t throw hard to first base on a double play but in my mind this was the turning point ofthe game. A solid throw and the inning is over and the game is still tied. But Dozier couldn’t make the play and the next batter smacked a double that allowed Boston to retake the lead, 3–2.

Later, in the 5th, Xander Bogaerts comes up with runners on 2nd and 3rd and hits a grounder to Manny Machado at short…another typical double play ball. Not for Brian Dozier! Once again he’s unable to turn the double play and once again it results in a Red Sox run.

Two extra outs gifted by Dozier led to 3 runs by Boston.

Bottom line for me is that the Dodgers have a bunch of guys who can play 2nd base and I’m not sure Brian Dozier is the one they should be playing right now. His arm is obviously tired and he can’t make the routine plays that are needed to keep the team competitive.

Hopefully tonight they’ll wisen up and put someone else in his place or maybe he’ll have gained some arm strength overnight.

Other than Dozier’s troubles the Dodgers played pretty well. Justin Turner had a nice 3 for 5 game, Manny Machado knocked in 3 RBIs, and Matt Kemp smacked a home run, but they couldn’t overcome the 2 extra outs Dozier gave the Sox.

Sports – West Coast Baseball – 2 Extra Outs

The post 2 Extra Outs appeared first on Beyond Tannhauser Gate.

So when is Dave Roberts gonna figure out that Ryan Madson is not the pitcher he wants to bring in to relieve his starters? For the 2nd game in a row, the second game that mattered, he brought in the same pitcher and got the same results. Now his team is 2 games down in the World Series and they’re heading quickly towards a sweep at the hand of Boston.

I’m sure the starters aren’t pleased either. While Madson sports a 0.00 ERA nearly every runner he’s inherited has scored. He’s given up walks and singles all to let the Red Sox score and take the lead in the 2 games he’s pitched. 2 runs charged to Kershaw in game 1 and 3 runs in game 2. Singlehandedly he’s given up 5 of the 12 runs the Red Sox have scored and the most critical runs at that. It’s really sad.

Please Dave, let Madson sit on the bench in game 3.

Sports – West Coast Baseball – Bad Decisions <_font><_p>

The post Bad Decisions appeared first on Beyond Tannhauser Gate.

The Dodgers did almost everything they could do on Friday to lose but it took 18 innings and the turning of the date for them to finally pick up a win in the 2018 World Series. Here’s a list of things NOT to do when trying to win a World Series game, much less a Championship ring:

• Squander a great pitching performance, the best of all the starters in the series so far, by scoring a measly single run
• Pull your hair out as you watch the supposed closer give up a home run with 4 outs left in the game…oh yeah, he was the reliever brought in to take over from the best starter in the series so far
• Have your first baseman try to field a ball that was hit to the pitcher so that first base is left open…IN THE 13TH INNING
• Watch in horror as the pitcher who made the play proceeds to throw the ball past the second baseman covering first, allowing the visiting team to score

I seriously thought the game was over at that point. It was the 13th and the Dodgers had not shown any ability during the game to score runs. Somehow they did though, and without a solid hit. Max Muncy walked to lead off the 13th and got to 2nd on a pop up by Bellinger who ran Eduardo Nunez into the stands on a foul ball. That set the stage for Yasiel Puig to squeak out a hit to Ian Kinsler at 2nd base who proceeded to throw the ball past first base and into the camera well. Muncy scored and we were all tied up again.

After that it was just a bunch of pretty boring, try to stay awake baseball where neither team did much of anything. Each team knew they were close to losing the game so they kept pushing, and the biggest player of the game in my view had to be Nathan Eovaldi. Even though he was pitching when Muncy scored the tying run in the 13th, it was nowhere near his fault, but he moved on from that crazy inning to post 6 innings of solid pitching, throwing almost 100 pitches.

Sadly for him, it was clear that when he can out to pitch in the 18th, he was running on fumes. While he might have still been able to throw 98 and 99 mph pitches, he had lost command and could not place them where he wanted.

In a year that featured the most walk-off wins ever, the Max Muncy smacked a walk-off home run in the 18th! It was his 8th plate appearance of the game and 3rd against Eovaldi, and as all the pitching analytics have show this season, the 3rd time’s the charm. His home run was not a monster shot, in fact it barely made it over the left center fence, but it gave the Dodgers hope. Rather than being down 0–3 to a dominating Boston team, they’ve turned the tide and held on to their slight home field advantage.

For us West Coasters, I hope this signals a shift in momentum towards the Dodgers.

Sports – West Coast Baseball – Shifting Momentum

The post Shifting Momentum appeared first on Beyond Tannhauser Gate.

Unless things take a dramatic shift, the story of this World Series will come down to one thing – Dave Roberts reliance on Ryan Madson in critical situations.

Actually, perhaps they don’t start out as critical situations but they quickly turn into them as Madson does everything in his power to give Boston opportunities to do something. Boston may be a good team but if Roberts stopped bringing in Madson the series would have a completely different look. But it doesn’t seem that the Dodger manager can see what everyone else in the baseball world (and even President Trump) can – Ryan Madson is not the pitcher you want on the mound in the World Series right now.

In 11 games this postseason, Madson has compiled a decent 2–0 record with a 2.08 ERA but those are just the crude statistics that our fathers used to use to rate pitchers. It’s 2018 and the statistical analysts are all over the place. In my mind, the key stat of his postseason is Madson’s percentage of inherited runners that this guy has allowed to score.

When a reliever comes into a game they’re often placed in a high impact situation. Many times they’ll have to deal with the mess that the previous pitcher created so they tend to be good at pitching from the stretch and dealing with runners on base…that is if they’re a good reliever. With all the numbers floating around baseball players these days it’s not hard to find out how many runners a pitcher has had to deal with when they come into a game. For a starting pitcher, they get the lucky ZERO inherited runner count since they come into the game with no one on base, a pristine situation. When a reliever comes in at the start of an inning, they get lucky too – ZERO inherited runners. These are both great situations to be in since the pitcher is responsible for his own fate. If he gives up a run, it shows up in a pretty obvious way even in his traditional stats as his ERA will be impacted. Relievers who come into a game partway through an inning though have a different possibility. They might come in with runners on base already.

These are the situations where you separate the great relief pitchers from the mediocre.

I’m not sure where Dave Roberts gets his stats but I’m pretty sure someone on his staff had to have known that Ryan Madson is not the pitcher you want coming in when there are runners on base.

In 11 postseason games this year, Madson has come into the game inheriting 14 runners. 9 of those have scored. 64% of runners that are on base when he comes into a game have scored. And if we look at the World Series, he’s allowed all 7 runners he’s inherited to score.

When Roberts claims “He’s done it time and time again for us” in reference to Madson I’m wondering what exactly he’s talking about. Time and time again he’s blown the game for the Dodgers? Time and time again he’s allowed runners to score? Time and time again he’s come into a game and NOT done his job? What exactly has he done for the Dodgers?

Well the game is in the books and the 2018 World Series is almost over as well. It’s a been frustrating year being an Angels fan with all the injuries they had and it’s even more frustrating to watch a team you don’t really like, but are rooting for, make really poor decisions. I just hope that with all his misplaced confidence Dave Roberts has learned that Ryan Madson is not the pitcher you want to bring into the game when there are runners on base. If he can learn that, maybe the Dodger have a chance.

Sports – West Coast Baseball – Why Does Roberts Keep Relying on Madson?

The post Why Does Roberts Keep Relying on Madson? appeared first on Beyond Tannhauser Gate.

I really hate it when technology fails me but it happens every once in a while. In this case, my post disappeared but I know I have it saved, just not on my iPad or here at home. Oh well, I’ll post the image and update things tomorrow with the post I was gonna put out today.

—UPDATED November 14th with real post—

It was never a question in my mind but it’s nice to see the rest of baseball agree with me that Shohei Ohtani was the best rookie in the American League this year.

He may have started out slowly but even after enduring a severe injury that ended his time on the mound for the season (and most if not all of next season), Ohtani still had an offensive year that would put him on par with the top candidates for the award. On the season as a slugger, Shohei batted .285 with 22 home runs and 61 RBIs. He even picked up 10 stolen bases which I’m not sure anyone expected.

And that was only his time at the plate. His pitching numbers were similarly good even though his time was cut short. Over 51 2/3 innings Shohei picked up 63 strike outs and drove a 3.31 ERA. Sure, he only picked up 4 wins in his 6 decisions but this was on a team that ended the season 2 games under .500. On a team in which most of the opening day starters ended up on the disabled list, some gone for 3 or more months, his 10 games were definitely needed and even after he was injured he fought back to give the mound another shot during the season.

And I think that says a lot for Ohtani – he kept fighting for playing time even when his body was not cooperating. He came back to pitch in the 2nd half and when that resulted in a worsening of his injury, he still pushed himself to contribute to the team, hitting .310 with a 1.003 OPS and 7 home runs in the final month of the season – while injured.

He had my vote for Rookie of the Year early on and now it’s official and I’m glad he got the recognition he deserves.

Sports | Shohei Ohtani is AL Rookie of the Year!

The post Shohei Ohtani Wins The AL Rookie of the Year Award appeared first on Beyond Tannhauser Gate.

Today I wanted to try out something new that I’m calling a WeChron, short for Web Chronology. It’s basically a running commentary as I’m watching a baseball game or reading a book or comic or something like that. I’m not sure how it’s gonna go but I wanted to give this type of thing a try so her goes…

Since I don’t really want this to clutter up my post pages I figure I’ll try with a separate page for now. Let see how this works with the Angels game today. They’re playing Tampa Bay and so far the series is leaning in the Angels favor at 2-1.

The Angels won the first game and TB took the 2nd. Yesterday, the Angels pulled off the third game so today we’ll see if the Rays can even up the series or if the Angels can walk outta Florida with 3 victories against a tough team.

Here’s the link to the page I’m gonna try this on…

The post Trying Out Something New appeared first on Beyond Tannhauser Gate.

I only knew him from his time on the mound but I am deeply saddened to learn that Tyler Skaggs has passed away.

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and loved ones and all those he touched in life.

The post Tyler Skaggs R.I.P. appeared first on Beyond Tannhauser Gate.