IST: WS 2021 — Help Me, I Need Somebody to Lose (ATL vs HOU)

[G-Fafif]

Td'A HR in the WS!

[Frayed Knot]

Jose Altuve: more post-season HRs and a higher post-season OPS than Jeter in about half the number of ABs



So I reckon we'll be hearing all about that going forward, right?

[kcmets]

Blasphemy! There has to be some intangible stuff to counter into it.

[G-Fafif]

[G-Fafif]

America's most beloved World Series teams are knotted at a game apiece following HOU's 7-2 victory in the second go-round.

[stevejrogers]

Frayed Knot wrote: Jose Altuve: more post-season HRs and a higher post-season OPS than Jeter in about half the number of ABs So I reckon we'll be hearing all about that going forward, right?

I didn't catch too much of it, but I did hear them trot out the “different era, different number of rounds” caveat when comparing the numbers with ManRam

and Bernie Williams. But that's silly when they pretty much play the same amount of series now as they have since 1995!



So I assume it's to placate those still clinging to “Only World Series stats count” point of view since 1968, or “only WS and LCS stats count”!



Also Altuve has only played in one Wild Card Game, and of course last season's best out of 3 WC round series last year, which they swept. Yeah 3 games can mean a lot with percentage stats, but using that caveat with Altuve makes it sound like the comparison between someone like Mickey Mantle and someone like Bernie Williams!



Of course the sign cheating scandal wasn't even hinted at, unless you count lingering a bit on how overwhelming Altuve's stats at Minute Maid are, compared with his postseason numbers on the road.

[Ceetar]

Got us an extra day to get the POBO in place.



I mean, also screw Atlanta. At least this is an easy rooting WS.

[MFS62]

https://twitter.com/zackraab/status/1453519549735788544

Fried should have davened more.

Later

[G-Fafif]

Fun story about how the Braves scream for ice cream.

ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves are making their first World Series appearance since 1999 because of star players at several positions, an underrated pitching staff and shrewd midsummer moves by the front office. Inside the clubhouse, though, players also point to a secret weapon. It doesn't field, throw or hit, but it has delivered over and over again. Atlanta's game-changer in 2021? A soft-serve ice cream machine. “When they brought that into the clubhouse, it was like magic,” infielder Johan Camargo said. Added the star reliever Tyler Matzek, “It's just something that we kind of rallied around.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/28/sports/baseball/atlanta-ice-cream-world-series.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/28/sports/baseball/atlanta-ice-cream-world-series.html

[Fman99]

I'm watching but I really don't give a fig. There's just nothing else better on.

[Frayed Knot]

1-0 game thru 5 with a total of five hits (none by Houston).

So, seeing as how this is baseball in 2021:

a) the game is already past the two hour mark

both starters are gone

[G-Fafif]

Combined ATL no-hit bid ends in 8th on a ball that should've been caught.

[G-Fafif]

Td'A with his second WS HR to make it 2-0 in the 8th.

[Frayed Knot]

Those ads featuring 'the Moon' might be the biggest swing and a miss this whole post-season.

[G-Fafif]

Five pitchers, two hits and a 2-1 Series lead for the Braves.

[MFS62]

Is John Smoltz really Kevin Bacon?

Since 1982, there have been 38 World Series played (no Series was played in 1994 because of the strike). That's 38 seasons -- nearly four decades of Fall Classic baseball -- with the current Fall Classic being the 39th. And for each one of those late October or sometimes early November games, there has amazingly been at least one participant who played previously with John Smoltz ... or would end up playing in the future with Smoltz.

https://www.mlb.com/amp/news/john-smoltz-world-series-teammate-streak.html?fbclid=IwAR0BKtSarXnr6KI8MsKzAKo5T-5jmoFViuYyEXKGaLNS2uYi0cDPFyIekQIhttps://www.mlb.com/amp/news/john-smoltz-world-series-teammate-streak.html?fbclid=IwAR0BKtSarXnr6KI8MsKzAKo5T-5jmoFViuYyEXKGaLNS2uYi0cDPFyIekQI



Later

[bmfc1]

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/32496167/world-series-2021-well-atlanta-braves-move-chophttps://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/32496167/world-series-2021-well-atlanta-braves-move-chop

https://www.si.com/mlb/2021/10/28/atlanta-braves-tomahawk-chop-daily-coverhttps://www.si.com/mlb/2021/10/28/atlanta-braves-tomahawk-chop-daily-cover

F the Braves and their fans. I crave baseball when it's not there but this Series can't be over fast enough for me.

[G-Fafif]

[Willets Point]

I watched the first three innings before I had to put my kid to bed and then nodded off myself. I loved the Aaron tribute and that the fans were so engaged and noisy. I hated that so much of that noise was the Tomahawk Chop. I thought that the Braves were no longer encouraging that, such as no organ prompts, but then I saw that part of the stadium is called the Chop House, so I guess they're still fully invested in racism.

[G-Fafif]

A nice story about World Series press pins.

Even though we had credentials on lanyards, printed on site and including our photos, MLB continues the tradition of World Series press pins. It's a relatively well-kept secret, and they're still just as rare as they were in the Great Depression. In all my excitement over getting to cover my first World Series, I'd forgotten all about the press pin tradition, but my father hadn't. And he built me a case so I could display my first of perhaps many. I now have pins from All Star Games, ACC Tournaments, the Final Four, Super Bowls and the Little League World Series. They're all in my case, lined up next to the pin in the first slot — the 2006 Detroit Tigers World Series Press Pin.

https://nsjonline.com/article/2021/10/working-media-a-story-of-dads-and-sons-and-pins/https://nsjonline.com/article/2021/10/working-media-a-story-of-dads-and-sons-and-pins/

[G-Fafif]

[Fman99]

I realized that the best thing to do in this series is to continue to root for whatever team is on the road that day. Seeing disappointed fans who paid big $ for WS tix only to see their beloved team fall flat is making me feel better about the Mets.

[Frayed Knot]

I tend to root for whichever side is down... so tonight that means Houston.

But the anti-home team angle is fun too, I've done that before.

[Willets Point]

My daughter wanted to watch Ghostbusters tonight, so I only turned on the game in the 5th inning, but I've got to say that this is a pretty entertaining game from my neutral perspective. The Astros right fielder missing a catchable homerun followed by Eddie Rosario making a great catch in almost the same spot is especially fun.

[G-Fafif]

ATL one win away.

[Ceetar]

hate it. screw Atlanta

[bmfc1]

As much as I want this series to be over I don't want the ATL fans to celebrate at home, especially after their embrace of The Former Guy last night and how it appears that they've doubled down on the racist chop.

[G-Fafif]

National League lineup. Savor it.

[G-Fafif]

And the pitcher bats ninth here, too.


[tweet]

[/tweet]

[Frayed Knot]

In this final DH-less game in history, the Framber Valdez* AB in the top of the 2nd [HOU down 4-2, 2-out, runner on 3rd] makes a better case AGAINST the DH than it does for it!

Far too many people can't or won't understand that.







*some of you may remember his brother Exxon