Houston Astros vs. Chicago White Sox - World Series 2005

[Guest sharpie]

So ratings are down 30% from last year but the games are more than 30% better than last year's World Series which frankly was a bore.

[Frayed Knot]

"Chicago is the second biggest market in the Country and Houston the fourth"

Splitting hairs a bit here, but while they are the 3rd (Chicago) and 4th largest cities in the country, Houston only ranks as the 10th largest market (as judged by size of metropolitan area, number of TV sets available, etc.).

I don't get bent out of shape over this stuff anyway. The networks' share of the total viewership goes down every year as consumer choices go up and if people (and media types) want to miss or constantly put down the series simply for it's lack of "glamour" teams then that's their problem.
Also, that 30% number is just a comparison (and all these are just estimates anyway) of game 1 vs game 1 last year. The verdict on the whole series isn't in yet.

[Willets Point]

I don't know how tv markets are measured but according to this source Chicago is the 3rd largest metro area with 9,333,511 people and Houston the 8th with 5,075,733. Compared to last year Boston is the 11th largest metro area and St. Louis the 18th, so in the home teams areas alone there is already a bigger potential audience. Obviously both the Red Sox and Cardinals have large followings nationwide that this year's teams probably don't have.

[metirish]

Thanks for the correction FK, I knew I had that mixed up.

[Centerfield]

Btw, when Clemens wussed out in Game 1, did anyone think about the way he blew up at the ump in Game 4 of the 1990 ALCS? That was when Clemens was ejected in the second inning after giving up the lead and then left his bullpen to work their way out of the bases loaded one out situation. If I ever hear again about what a "gamer" that fuckhead is I'll lose it...

[Willets Point]

He asked out of Game 6 of the '86 World Series too.

[Guest Edgy DC]

That's exactly what I was thinking of. Both of those instances.

I say he pitches again in this series.

[Willets Point]

He also once got in a fit of roid rage and threw a shard of broken bat at a baserunner in the first inning of a World Series game. Somehow he did not get ejected for that, although WS history may be different had the umps had the cajones to do so.

[Guest Edgy DC]

What's your source?

[Willets Point]

There's a pic of the incident. The rest is my own supposition.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Wow! What a fierce competitor!

[metirish]

It was such an honour to watch one of the great competitors of the game pitch into the second inning the other night.

[Willets Point]

Now, you cut that out!

[Centerfield]

The 2000 World Series needed Phil Cuzzi.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

Willets Point wrote: He also once got in a fit of roid rage and threw a shard of broken bat at a baserunner in the first inning of a World Series game. Somehow he did not get ejected for that, although WS history may be different had the umps had the cajones to do so.

MK definitely attributes Fuckface's bat shard throwing behavior to steriods.

That kid is my source - he's very bright.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I wasn't challenging the roidy stuff, just a-joking about Willets playfully reporting as if we missed the incident.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

I know. I'm just playing along.

[Centerfield]

I just checked. WhereisRoger.com is no longer. A shame. It was a wonderful site.

[Guest mlbaseballtalk]

Centerfield wrote: Brantley's an idiot. Accusing someone of "falling in love" with one pitch or another is idiotic. Let's say a pitcher throws a fastball by a hitter for strike 1. If he throws a slider on his second pitch that gets hit for a HR, he will be accused of changing pitches "even after the hitter has demonstrated he can't hit the fastball". If he throws another fastball that gets hit for a HR, he "falls in love with one pitch." The problem is usually not the pitch selection, it's pitch quality. But analysts would sound awfully boring just repeating "well, he needs to make a better pitch..."

Add that to the fact that most closers only throw one or two pitches. Mariano Rivera has built an entire legacy on just his cutter, hate to use another MFY but Sparky Lyle threw nothing BUT a slider, and I could go on, and on, and on...

That really is shoddy and lazy analysis right there.

He got beat with his best stuff, plain and simple.

[Guest mlbaseballtalk]

Wonder if that HR shut every MFY fan crying about how Posednik of all people beat out Jeter for that 32nd man voting for the AS game.

Gee, maybe he really DID deserve to be on the All Star Game...

I mean I've heard people actually claim that it was a giant Anti-Yankee, Anti-Jeter conpiracy that a White Sox won the voting

Probably was, but still leave it to MFY fans to whimper instead of ya know, DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

I'll put this on another thread as its a completely seperate topic, but I had an enitre breakdown of Yankee AS selections by fan voting since 1970, and in general, MFY fans, don't "rock the vote" so in theory, they can do something besides whining about their guys not getting voted in

Steve

[nymr83]

]Gee, maybe he really DID deserve to be on the All Star Game...

he did, but his performance now has nothing to do with that. the fan voting is what it is and theres not much you can do, but the reserves should be picked based solely on their stats up until that point of the year.

[Guest mlbaseballtalk]

Nymr83 wrote: ]Gee, maybe he really DID deserve to be on the All Star Game... he did, but his performance now has nothing to do with that. the fan voting is what it is and theres not much you can do, but the reserves should be picked based solely on their stats up until that point of the year.

I know, I'm just poking fun at that whole Jeter vs Posednik thing, especially considering what Posednik is doing in what is considered Jeter's "domain" of October Baseball

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Paul Lukas on the series:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=lukas/051024

[Guest Edgy DC]

Paul Lukas, a lifelong Mets fan, still hasn't fully recovered from the 2000 World Series (not because the Mets lost, but because they wore their horrific black jerseys in Games 1 and 4, and didn't wear their blue caps even once).

[Guest Edgy DC]

A guy who looks like Francis Buxton from Pee Wee's Big Adventure just helped the 'Stros get a walk by legally interfering with a foul pop.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Looks like Barbara Bush is sitting behind home plate, but escorted by one of her sons (Neil?) and not her hubby.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Posting alone here.

Forced quirkiness in ballpark design is looking silly right now.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

It always looks silly.

One day someone is going to rip up an ankle on that stupid hill.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

Chicago has come alive in the top of the 5th and have taken a 5-4 lead.

[Zvon]

ScarletKnight41 wrote: Chicago has come alive in the top of the 5th and have taken a 5-4 lead.

Im kinda in shock that the Sox took the lead. I thought Oswalt was cruisin.
It coulda been way worse tho....Houstons still in it.

But 5 runs in one inning? Off Oswalt....
OUCH