Tag / Steve Bartman

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Historic Games Part Three

Last summer, the White Sox fell victim to Clayton Kershaw’s 3000th career strikeout and I decided to take a look back at the historic games I’ve attended over the years.  Here is part three, featuring another six games where an individual hit a career plateau or a team clinched a pennant.

April 11, 2011 – A’s 2, White Sox 1

In the bottom of the fifth inning of a scoreless tie at US Cellular Field, the slugging Brent Lillibridge, he with the 19 career home runs, launched the first pitch he saw from Dallas Braden into the bleachers for the 10,000th home run in White Sox franchise history.

May 9, 2015 – Reds 10, White Sox 4

With the White Sox trailing the Reds 3-0 in the bottom of the 7th in the first game of a double header, Alexei Ramirez took the first pitch from Johnny Cueto and deposited it into the left field stands for his 100th career home run.

September 5, 2015 – Blue Jays 5, Orioles 1

Filling in for the injured Mark Buehrle, David Price scattered three hits and struck out eight in seven innings to beat the Orioles at Rogers Centre for his 100th career victory.  The win increased Toronto’s lead to 1 1/2 games in the AL East.

October 21, 2015 – Mets 8, Cubs 3

With an 8-3 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field, the Mets, in their first post-season appearance in nearly a decade, completed the sweep and won the NL pennant for the first time since 2000.  They would go on to lose the World Series in five games to the Royals.

October 22, 2016 – Cubs 5, Dodgers 0

For the first time since 1945, the Cubs won the National League pennant after defeating the Dodgers 5-0 in game 6 of the NLCS.  Behind a two hitter from Kyle Hendricks, the Cubs put to rest the painful memories of the collapse of 1969, the failure to win one of three in San Diego in 1984, and the Steve Bartman-fueled fiasco of 2003.  They would go on to face the Indians in the World Series, winning their first championship since 1908.

September 9, 2017 – White Sox 13, Giants 1

Jose Abreu hit for the cycle in the White Sox victory over the Giants, going 4-5 with 3 RBIs.  Abreu started with a home run in the first inning and a double in the third against starter Jeff Samardzija.  In the seventh, he singled against Josh Osich and, in the eighth, he finished things off with a triple to the right field corner against Roberto Gómez.  He became the first White Sox player to get the cycle since José Valentín in 2000.

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What If… Moises Alou Makes That Catch

Welcome to the first installment of what should become a recurring feature, taking a look back at some occurrence in the world, mostly sports, and trying to ascertain what the outcome would have been if just one thing, a decision or an outcome, went a different way.  We start in October 2003, with game six of the NLCS where one particular play, debated for years, may have turned the tide.

 

On October 14, 2003, the Cubs were five outs away from winning their first National League pennant since 1945. Mark Prior was on the mound for the Cubs and had retired eight straight batters into the eighth inning when Juan Pierre doubled, bringing Luis Castillo to the plate. On the eighth pitch of the at bat, Castillo hit a high foul ball down the left field line, heading towards the stands. Moises Alou tracked the ball and reached, when the ball was touched by a fan. A visibly upset Alou, along with Prior and Cub manager Dusty Baker, pleaded for a call of fan interference, but the umpires ruled that the ball had left the field of play. Castillo returned to the plate and, on the next pitch, walked on a wild pitch, allowing Pierre to advance to third.

Ivan Rodriguez then hit an 0-2 pitch for a single, knocking in Pierre and making the score 3-1. When the next batter, Miguel Cabrera, hit a shard ground ball to shortstop Alex Gonzalez, it looked like the rally was over, but, instead of turning the ready-made double play, Gonzalez booted the ball, loading the bases. Derrek Lee then drilled the next pitch for a double, knocking in Castillo and Rodriguez and tying the score 3-3. At this point, Baker emerged from the Cub dugout to remove Prior, but the damage had been done. The Marlins scored five more times, winning the game 8-3 and forcing a Game 7.

The following night, the Marlins completed the unlikely comeback, beating the Cubs 9-6 and going on the face the Yankees in the World Series. They would wind up winning that as well, defeating the Yankees in six games to take home their second title.

But what if Alou had made that catch? How would the rest of history play out? Let’s take a trip through the multiverse to see what the outcome would have been.

OK, so Alou makes the catch for the second out of the inning.  Let us assume Rodriguez still singles, scoring the speedy Pierre from second to make it a 3-1 game.  Let us also assume Cabrera hits the same grounder to Alex Gonzalez, but, without the pressure of trying to make up for the missed out, he fields it cleanly, retiring Cabrera and ending the inning. Continue reading →

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Book 11 (of 52) – Wild Pitches

Wild Pitches: Rumblings, Grumblings, and Reflections on the Game I Love - Jayson Stark

Wild Pitches: Rumblings, Grumblings, and Reflections on the Game I Love – Jayson Stark

I must admit, I was a bit disappointed to find out that this wasn’t a new work, but instead a collection of Jayson Stark’s columns from ESPN.com.  It wasn’t bad, but it was mostly columns that I had already read in the past.  That said, it was a good way to wind down spring training and await the beginning of the baseball season.

The book collects Stark’s take on numerous stories over the years, including the collapse of the Cubs following the so-called Steve Bartman incident in 2003 and the White Sox breaking through and winning the World Series in 2005.  The Philadelphia-based Stark also includes numerous takes on the Phillies.

by jim

10 Years Ago Today

BartmanGameAfter taking 2 out of 3 games in Florida, the Cubs returned home needing to win 1 game to go to their first World Series in 58 years, and their top two starters, Mark Prior and Kerry Wood, were scheduled to take the bump for games 6 and 7.  Prior was dominant in Game 6, giving up only 3 hits heading in to the 8th inning.  The crowd was starting to anticipate that, after years of futility, their team was about to make it to the promised land.  With only 5 outs standing between the Cubs and the World Series, Luis Castillo came up to bat against Prior and hit a foul ball down the left field line.

That’s when things started to fall apart, and one man’s life was, at least temporarily, destroyed.

Tonight is the 10 year anniversary of what has become known as the Steve Bartman game.  From my vantage point in the upper deck down the left field line, I couldn’t see the play as it happened.  The ball disappeared as the 400 section blocked my view, but, based on the crowd’s reaction, you could tell instantly that something could happen.  The replays quickly showed what we had missed, that a young man, decked out in a goofy sweatshirt, Cubs hat, and bulky Walkman headphones, tried to catch the foul ball, getting in the way of left fielder Moises Alou, who was not exactly hiding his displeasure.  The crowd grew angry and, as we would later learn, Bartman had to be escorted from the stadium for his own safety.

Continue reading →

by jim

2011 Movie Review – Part 2

The 131 movies I saw last year was good (bad?) enough for 4th all time, behind only 2000, 2008, and 2001.

Now, continuing Tuesday’s look at the first batch of 50 movies that I saw last year, here are movies 51-100.

 

The Thirst (2006)
A dying girl becomes a vampire to stay alive.

 

The Good Life (2007)
A kid who doesn’t fit in meets a girl who encourages him to look beyond the town’s borders.

 

Thor (2011)
The Norse thunder god falls from grace and recovers quickly to save Asgard.

 

The American (2010)
George Clooney stars as a former hitman trying to go straight.

 

Due Date (2010)
Robert Downey Jr goes through his own Planes, Trains, and Automobiles moments while trying to get home for the birth of his child.

 

Valentine’s Day (2010)
A group of vignettes celebrating the day that celebrates love.

 

MacGruber (2010)
The latest one-note SNL sketch to get strectched out to feature length. 

Continue reading →