Film Score Monthly
FSM HOME MESSAGE BOARD FSM CDs FSM ONLINE RESOURCES FUN STUFF ABOUT US  SEARCH FSM   
Search Terms: 
Search Within:   search tips 
You must log in or register to post.
  Go to page:    
 Posted:   Oct 12, 2017 - 12:34 AM   
 By:   Eric Paddon   (Member)

This thread is hard to load because of its length which is why I wasn't able to post after a couple of the earlier games. Though I was really feeling as black as I can recall after a postseason game after Game 2 especially when it emerged that Girardi had botched a challenge that should have resulted in the inning ending with the Yankees still up 8-3.

But now all is forgiven and forgotten as the Yankees have concluded an incredible comeback to beat the Indians and advance to the ALCS for the first time in five years. They got off the deck with outstanding pitching from Tanaka and Severino and great hitting from Greg Bird, Gary Sanchez and so many others plus a season saving catch by Aaron Judge that robbed the Indians of a two run homer in Game 3. And in Game 5, just an incredible performance by Didi Gregorius and outstanding relief work from David Robertson and an epic at bat by Brett Gardner that reminded me of the battle Paul O'Neill put on the 2000 World Series against Benitez but with even greater results.

I am sorry for the Cleveland Indians because I pulled for them last year and felt they should have ended their drought before the Cubs did. I wish they had won in 1997 and in 2007. But there is a lot of satisfaction that a new era in Yankee history has begun and also satisfaction that 13 years after the 2004 ALCS nightmare, the Yankees made Terry Francona experience it from the other side.

I will likely get to one of the ALCS games, my second time to a playoff game at Yankee Stadium and even though it will require me to go alone and use the train/subway I'm ready for it!

 
 Posted:   Oct 13, 2017 - 10:27 PM   
 By:   Eric Paddon   (Member)

Well that wasn't the kind of start to the ALCS I wanted. The pitching was there and Keuchel wasn't quite as overpowering as he was in the wildcard game two years ago but in the end they just didn't take advantage of the chances they had. Bird got a slow jump and could have scored a run to cut things 2-1 but was instead thrown out at the plate. He at least did provide the solo homer in the 9th off the closer to at least ruin the shutout and frankly I'm glad they won't go into Game 2 anxious to finally get their first run.

I'm a little more chipper because when you rally from 0-2 in a best of five you can't let a loss in Game 1 of a best of seven discourage you too much. Also, I have a confirmed ticket for Game 4 on Tuesday and thank goodness it is an afternoon game (5 PM start) which means my second ever trip to a postseason game at Yankee Stadium is not going to end badly like my first trip back in the 2009 ALCS did when due to some unfortunate events I will not recap, I was not able to see the finish and left 20 minutes before the thrilling extra inning game ended.

 
 
 Posted:   Oct 13, 2017 - 10:42 PM   
 By:   Moonlit   (Member)

Also, I have a confirmed ticket for Game 4 on Tuesday and thank goodness it is an afternoon game (5 PM start) which means my second ever trip to a postseason game at Yankee Stadium is not going to end badly like my first trip back in the 2009 ALCS did when due to some unfortunate events I will not recap, I was not able to see the finish and left 20 minutes before the thrilling extra inning game ended.

Still, not as bad as those who left before Kirk Gibson's at-bat in '88.

 
 
 Posted:   Oct 14, 2017 - 6:25 PM   
 By:   ANZALDIMAN   (Member)

If you want to remember pitching the way it was in the 1970's (my favorite days of the game) today's ALCS game 2 Yankees vs. Astros was it. The veteran Justin Verlander pitched a gem today for the Astros pitching into the 9th hurling well over 100 pitches. No early bullpen moves needed thank you. Verlander was dominant against a formidable Yankees lineup with a double digit strikeout effort that brought back memories of his brilliant early career days with the Detroit Tigers. This is the reason why the Astros traded to get the high salaried Verlander. A veteran starter who knows how to get it done in big games. And he's motivated getting away from the recent losing environment in Detroit. He pitched brilliantly for Houston down the stretch after coming over and today he turned the clock back. An incredible performance.

Jose Altuve should be named the AL MVP IMHO . Altuve has hit and fielded his position at such a high level now for years and he is showing just how good he is on stage in these playoffs. When you play in Houston and not New York, efforts can get overshadowed. And clearly, a giant like Aaron Judge with his size and the power numbers he put up this year is a strong contender for the honor in his first season. But in terms of heart and what he has meant to his ball club over the years (particularly this one) the 5'6" mighty might Altuve deserves it. And just today by turning around a Chapman pitch for a hit and later scoring the winning run circling the bases with road runner like speed in game 2 he proved his value once again.

A word or ten about the Washington Nationals early exit once again from the playoffs.

If not this year with all that talent, when? When is this team going to finally going to advance to a World Series? On paper the rest NL east will most likely stink in 2018 and the Nats will once again run away from the rest of the pack early. IF they can stay healthy offensively, and IF the aging Scherzer and the oft injured Strasburg can duplicate what they did this year. Once again they will attempt to climb the hill of October baseball without being knocked off. AGAIN. I thought Washington would beat the Cubs in that series. Not to be. How many more chances will they get?

 
 Posted:   Oct 15, 2017 - 2:00 PM   
 By:   Eric Paddon   (Member)

Still, not as bad as those who left before Kirk Gibson's at-bat in '88.

Yeah, the sight of the car in the parking lot with its lights blinking is as much a part of the image of that as Gibson himself!

I'm more ticked off about yesterday than Game 1 because I admit the strikeouts by this team is getting to me. It reminded me of the midge game when a 1-1 tie always felt like we were behind the whole while as this was a game of every bad break that could happen for the Yankees did and every good break that could happen for the Astros did. I'm only going to say though that if Sanchez had just held that ball, then Altuve doesn't look like a hero for running on that play because he should have been out by six feet.

 
 
 Posted:   Oct 16, 2017 - 10:33 AM   
 By:   ANZALDIMAN   (Member)

Hopefully the Yanks can take game 3 tonight and not make this ALCS series a blowout for the Astros. They'll be facing Jersey boy Charlie Morton tonight starting for Houston. Those bomber bats need to break through and if they can put some dents in Morton early, they'll have that good bullpen after a day off following up Sabathia if he doesn't have it tonight. But the Yankees need to start hitting. If they get any kind of early lead the pressure will be on the Astros because they know what's waiting for them in the late innings if they get behind. A positive for the Yankees is that both Sabathia and Tanaka have both pitched well so far in post season play. I'm rooting for the Yankees to take game 3 to make this a series.

I talk a lot about Daniel Murphy, but another ex-Met Justin Turner has made himself right at home out in Dodger Land . He went from being a bench warmer and part time player in New York to Superstar status as a late bloomer in Los Angeles. And his home run against John Lackey of the Cubs last night in the NLCS has people now mentioning him in the same breath as Kirk Gibson, who hobbled off the bench and hit that famous walk off home run in the '88 World Series against the Oakland A's. It's hard to believe that the last time the Dodgers were in the big show was 1988. Of course, that was the year they beat the Mets in the National League Championship Series to advance on to their date with destiny.

I'm rooting for Justin Turner and Curtis Granderson (whom the Mets traded to the Dodgers this season) to both do well this October. Turner is already well on his way in that regard.

 
 Posted:   Oct 16, 2017 - 11:28 PM   
 By:   Eric Paddon   (Member)

Well Aaron Judge came back with a vengeance tonight with not just a big three run homer, but also two spectacular catches that show why he's not a one-dimensional player and can dazzle in the field just like Altuve, the seemingly more "complete" player. Sabathia was great, but the one sour note was Betances proving that he is a worthless piece of dead weight on the roster at this point. The man can not throw a strike at all and when he makes you feel queasy with an eight run lead in the ninth inning that says it all.

I will be taking the train to Penn Station and then the D Train I believe it is (I have it printed out) up to the ballpark for the 5 PM start. I like our chances for Game 4 though if we do even it up we have to show we can beat either Keuchel or Verlander to have a chance at winning the whole thing.

The greatness of the game though is to see Judge define himself as a player for the future and having his stand out moments that will be remembered even if the Yankees don't win it all.

 
 
 Posted:   Oct 17, 2017 - 11:45 AM   
 By:   ANZALDIMAN   (Member)

Eric, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that your vote for AL MVP 2017 will be for Aaron "ALL RISE!" Judge, right? big grin

Enjoy the game. Hope to hear from you later in the day.

The Aaron Judge 2017 highlight reel is now in session. Yankees on YES Network broadcaster Michael Kay provides the calls.







 
 Posted:   Oct 17, 2017 - 9:23 PM   
 By:   Eric Paddon   (Member)

Thanks Anz. Well, tonight washed away the unfortunate memory of what happened for me in 2009 as I was there for all of the greatest game I ever saw in person, bar none. The team was absolutely dead in the 7th inning with a four run deficit and facing elimination tomorrow against Keuchel. And then Judge singlehandedly woke the crowd up with a monster shot that also jump started the team to a 6-4 victory. The excitement in the ballpark should also lay to rest the canard that the new ballpark can't duplicate the sound of the old one.

My boss who got me the ticket for this game has come through again and barring an unforeseen hitch, I am going back tomorrow to Game 5.

 
 Posted:   Oct 17, 2017 - 9:30 PM   
 By:   Eric Paddon   (Member)

Forty years ago tonight! (if I allow for the fact this will post in GMT where it's already October 18)



This upload of mine of the radio broadcast I had restored from reel to reel tapes I won on e-bay.

 
 
 Posted:   Oct 18, 2017 - 6:11 PM   
 By:   ANZALDIMAN   (Member)

Ralph Kiner was a part of that broadcast. I'd forgotten about that! Thanks for posting that Eric.

Well, last night the Yankees feasted on the Astros bullpen after starter Lance McCullers was removed by Hinch after a solid effort and 80 pitches. Tonight, the Yankees didn't have to wait that long to expose the weak underbelly of the Astros. Their bullpen. The Yanks knocked out their nemesis, Astros ace Dallas Keuchel early in game 5 tonight. The Yankees did their homework after game 1 on finding ways to attack Keuchel. It paid off tonight. They are now smashing away offensively against the Houston pen.

The Yankees hitters are in a groove. And once again, the vaunted Astros offense, one of the best in all of baseball in 2017 cannot get off the ropes these last several games after delivering some early damaging punches. The Yankees are getting solid starting pitching this fall. And that was really the only question mark going in this October about whether this team could go all the way. Sabathia last night and Tanaka tonight have been lights out pitching deep into these games enabling Girardi to keep that killer bullpen rested and in reserve.

After falling behind 2 games to 0 lead in this best of 7 2017 ALCS the Yankees have not only roared back to tie this series, they are on the verge of going up 3 games to 2. They came back from the brink against favored Cleveland in the ALDS and they are doing it once again here.

 
 Posted:   Oct 18, 2017 - 11:36 PM   
 By:   Eric Paddon   (Member)

You're welcome Anz! Yes, CBS Radio had Ralph do their coverage of the NLCS in 76-77-78 and in 77 and 78 he did pregame and postgame of the WS games in New York.

I made it to Game 5 today and saw the Yankees finally shatter the image of Dallas Keuchel being invincible against them. Key hits from each of the next generation in Bird, Judge and later a line homer by Sanchez gave them a 5-0 win as Tanaka shut down the Astros completely, pitching out of jams more than once. Now the Yankees force the Astros to start Verlander in Game 6 and even if the Astros prevail, advantage still Yankees for Game 7 with Sabathia against an unknown starter as none of Houston's pitchers would be on full rest or seem up to a Game 7 task.

This has been a successful year for the Yankees beyond their expectations but now that we're one win away from a pennant I do indeed want it. The atmosphere at the ballpark was exciting and I'm glad I was there for both games.

 
 
 Posted:   Oct 20, 2017 - 10:31 AM   
 By:   ANZALDIMAN   (Member)

The Yankees have the momentum going in. But ALCS game 6 is back in Houston, and their fans are going to be up for a bounce back tonight. The Astros better be ready or they'll go home and The Yankees will advance on to play the Dodgers in the 2017 World Series. These short series are notorious for strong lineups cooling off. It's a long season to begin with and the pitching just gets better and better as you advance. Houston needs to find the business end of the power cord and plug it back in early. If not, they'll go down as yet another favorite going in that winds up having a huge letdown season. You just don't know when or if you'll get back into this position again. Houston will be under an enormous amount of pressure to grab the early lead tonight. It's an elimination game for the Astros if they lose but they put themselves in this position. I'm sure they're already well aware of that. So many things change from year to year in baseball. Free agency, down years, and injuries, injuries, injuries.

The Dodgers soundly beat the Cubs in the NLCS to advance to the World Series. They deserve it. They had the best record in baseball and stepped it up in the playoffs after springing a leak toward the last lap of the regular season. A solid club all around top to bottom. The game last night was a Dodger blowout from the start. If it were a fight, it would have been stopped after the Dodgers were up 7-1. To their credit, the Cubs fans sat through the blowout until the bitter end. They wanted to show how much they appreciated their team and what they accomplished last season. The 2017 Cubs were not the 2016 Cubs. They looked tired in the postseason and Joe Maddon said as much after the game last night. They had to fight their way back into the race after a rocky start and it was a struggle they did not have to face last year. They were fortunate to get past the Nationals in the Division Series. The Cubs will go into 2018 with a lot of questions about their starting pitching and bullpen moving forward. But they made it through their window last season in grand style to win it all and reverse the dreaded Curse of The Billy Goat. That is off their backs now. A memorable year for all time for scores of long suffering Cubs fans. This year not so much.

It was announced today that the Washington Nationals have fired manager Dusty Baker. The Nats will now join the list of teams looking for new field managers. The Mets are one of them. Although Terry Collins still remains with the organization with the title "assistant to the General Manager". Baker, like Matt Williams before him was not able to lead a talented Nationals squad to the World Series after several seasons at the helm.

 
 
 Posted:   Oct 21, 2017 - 4:13 PM   
 By:   ANZALDIMAN   (Member)

And so here we go. Game 7 Astros vs. Yankees tonight.

It will be Sabathia vs Morton getting it started for all the marbles tonight.

Last night in a do or die game the Astros did indeed find that elusive power cord. Verlander picked it up and handed it off to Altuve who promptly plugged it back in and suddenly the punchless Astros looked like the dangerous 2017 Astros again. Altuve lead the charge with some key hits last night as he has all season. Severino started out strong for the Yanks but when he began to mix up his pitches the second time around the Astros lineup they would have none of it. Severino has great stuff and he proved that this year but he's still young and prone to mistakes and he will learn from last night.

The veteran Justin Verlander was brilliant once again last night for the Astros. He's tinkered with his mechanics particularly the retooling of his slider since coming over in the trade from Detroit and it's made him once again look like he did in his dominant younger years. Verlander was solid down the stretch for Houston since the trade and whatever tinkering he's done has turned back the clock on his career. While still in Detroit earlier this year he struggled toiling away on a team going nowhere. Many thought he was through at age 34. It's a trade that went right down to the deadline. And so far it's made all the difference for Houston.

The Yankees CC Sabathia has had a similar rebirth this season. at age 37, he can still can bring it in the mid 90's if he has to in certain situations but he's far from the power pitcher he once was as a young pitcher in Cleveland and Milwaukee. Sabathia has learned how to pitch without the consistent hard stuff in his arsenal and his hard work through the adjustment struggles over the last several seasons has made him successful this year. Not long ago, as with Verlander, people were saying he was through as well. He will be counted on to do some heavy lifting tonight in the early innings. Game 7. One team pops the corks and prepares to meet the Dodgers in the 2017 World Series while the other will pack up and go home until spring training next year.



 
 Posted:   Oct 24, 2017 - 10:44 AM   
 By:   Eric Paddon   (Member)

Well it turned in to a disappointing finish. The Yankees couldn't carry the magic that was there at home on the road at all where they played like a different team with no offense. They end up a perfect 5-0 at home but 1-6 on the road with the only road win the clinching Game 5 of the ALDS. I think maybe this young upstart team probably had a little too much overconfidence because they had been able to beat Cleveland in the ALDS in the clincher but looking back, Cleveland I think was a more "uptight" team dealing with the pressure to win it all this year after coming so close last year that it made them more vulnerable to an upstart like the Yankees whereas Houston has more of the "hungry" edge and a little more veteran experience.

It was disappointing because when you get that close you want it even if the final result is a season that exceeded expectations on all levels. But the good news for Yankee fans is that we've finally seen a new era begin with a new group of Core players in Judge, Bird, Sanchez, Severino etc. and many more are still on the way up. Hopefully five years from now the disappointment of 2017's ending will be more like that of 1995 and 1976 when defeat offered a hope of greater things to come.

I really have no favorite in a World Series that has the odd matchup of two teams that were division rivals for so many years. The Dodgers I think might as well put a capper on their 84 Tigers/98 Yankees like season of dominance and close the deal.

 
 
 Posted:   Oct 25, 2017 - 11:53 AM   
 By:   ANZALDIMAN   (Member)

As a Yankees fan, you have a lot to look forward to going into spring training 2018 and beyond. GM Cashman and Co. will surely be tweaking an already good team during the winter attempting to get them further into the playoffs next year. I wish I could be as optimistic about my team, the Mets. Verlander's brilliance against the Yankees twice in the ALCS had a lot to do with the Yankees being eliminated. Verlander shut down a lot of good lineups after he came over from Detroit. So credit must be given where it is due.

The Dodgers took game 1 of the 2018 World Series on a strong effort by Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw is just about as good as it gets as a modern day pitching star. As hard as it is to believe, Kershaw has been around ten years already, and this is his first shot in big show. He has been baseball's version of the great Dan Marino. If Kershaw never threw another pitch beyond this season he would be an automatic first ballot Hall of Famer five years from now. But his lack of winning a WS Championship (or even getting there) has dogged his brilliant career for years. This year could seal the deal on that. Another big home run in game 1 by Justin Turner has solidified his status as a Dodger folk hero. It just feels like it's the Dodgers year to win it all. Such a upbeat complete team with a strong bullpen to rival the Yankees. But you can't count out the Astros who despite their weak bullpen worked hard all season and deserved to get to this point.

Vintage Kershaw in game 1 last night.



The New York Mets named 42 year old Cleveland Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway as their new manager replacing Terry Collins. At 68, Collins was the oldest active manager in the Major Leagues. And for a guy who was only expected to be a stop gap manager when he was first hired he took a struggling Mets franchise a long way. Including all the way to the 2015 World Series. I wish Terry luck in his new job in the Mets front office. He's a got a lifetime of experience in the game and he'll be a sounding board of advice for GM Sandy Alderson. This will be Callaway's first managerial job. He's a pitching guru who comes highly recommended by a number of respected baseball people including Terry Francona. The Mets pitchers, once considered one of the best starting staffs in baseball have broken down big time with injuries and other issues both on and off the field over the last several years. Callaway will have his hands full trying to bring them back to their brief former glory.

 
 Posted:   Oct 26, 2017 - 6:53 PM   
 By:   Eric Paddon   (Member)

Well I wasn't expecting the Girardi era to end so abruptly. All had been forgiven over the Game 2 ALDS debacle because of how far the Yankee run went but its clear the tensions underneath between Girardi and Cashman were much deeper and longstanding than we realized. Cashman is clearly enamored with the type of "organization" manager that Roberts and Hinch typify in terms of being more integrated with the front office and less independent and "old school." So I don't expect the Yankees to hire anyone from the few big names out there and I certainly don't expect them to try and get Don Mattingly out of his Miami contract. The next Yankee manager will be as obscure a name as Buck Showalter was in 1992.

Joe Girardi is a good man and certainly established himself as perhaps the best "second tier" Yankee manager in club history, that is to say not in the category of the elite four which is Huggins-McCarthy-Stengel-Torre, but more like Ralph Houk and IMO ultimately more successful (and certainly more successful than Billy Martin). Girardi will never get his number retired or a plaque in Monument Park (not even Houk has one) but he will be respected for what he was able to do by getting one last championship for the Core Four in 2009 and then keeping the team in contention as the last traces of the Torre dynasty faded away and the team entered its roughest period in decades while being there at the dawn of the next exciting era.

Godspeed, Joe.

 
 
 Posted:   Oct 29, 2017 - 8:33 PM   
 By:   ANZALDIMAN   (Member)

It would not surprise me in the least if Girardi winds up getting the Nationals job. It would also not surprise me if he took a year off and did some television. He'd probably be much better at it than a few of the current clowns on the FOX Sports pre and post game shows. Like him or dislike him, the man has the highest winning percentage of any manager in baseball over the ten years he was with the Yankees plus a WS championship. Not too shabby.

 
 Posted:   Oct 30, 2017 - 2:06 PM   
 By:   Eric Paddon   (Member)

The Nats decided to go with Dave Martinez.

Last night's WS game was one of the wackiest of all time. We had a power failure from 11:45 to 2 AM here and I ended up hearing the 8th inning to finish on a portable radio in the dark. Dodgers are dead.

 
 
 Posted:   Oct 30, 2017 - 11:57 PM   
 By:   ANZALDIMAN   (Member)

One of the "wackiest" decisions was to schedule the game for 8:30 on a Sunday night. Probably just as memorable as the game itself and the finish was how long into the next morning the game went. That was being discussed a lot today in the media. Most of us work and had to be up early Monday morning. In my case all the earlier to attempt to avoid the shitty morning commute road construction traffic that knows no end everywhere in the state of New Jersey. It seems to me that on a Sunday night this game could have been started at least an hour earlier. It turned out to be a great game but after 11 pm I shut the off the TV and had the radio on listening to the game in bed and nodded off shortly thereafter. There was indeed a pretty nasty rainstorm that passed through the area on Sunday that affected both of us but I didn't lose power over here.

Kershaw once again got tripped up in post season play in his second start in this WS. And on and on it goes for him. He could not have pitched a more brilliant game to open the WS and last night after being given the early lead he gave it right back after being pounced on by the Astros bats. He could not duplicate the adjustment success of fellow veteran pitcher Justin Verlander in his second start in a short series against the Yankees. Verlander, knowing full well that the Yankees were going to be scouring the video of his first performance to make their adjustments made some adjustments of his own the second time around. Kershaw was not so fortunate in his second go round in quick succession against Houston.

The network cameras kept showing him looking bewildered on the bench after he was hooked from the game. Dave Roberts has had to overuse his prized pen in this series and it's probably going to cost him. If you've got your ace Kershaw going to the mound following a dominant performance in game 1 you are expecting some length from your ace to give the bullpen a blow. It was not to be. The Astros are such a good hitting club and their offense which struggled against the Yankees in the ALCS is firing on all cylinders now. They are like a swarm of bees. A lot of folks who do not see a lot of Altuve during the regular season or who are just casual baseball fans tuning in to post season play are seeing what all the fuss is about in this 2017 World Series. He's on a national stage now.

 
You must log in or register to post.
  Go to page:    
© 2024 Film Score Monthly. All Rights Reserved.
Website maintained and powered by Veraprise and Matrimont.