Frayed Knot

Also appearing on both sides of the coin, Edgar Renetria gets the WS-winning hit in 1997, then seven years later makes the final out to break the Red Sox long drought. The full cast of characters from those videos below. There was a stretch from 1965 - 1971 where seven straight series ended with the winning starter still on the mound. In the 44 years since it's only happened five times and only one of those in the last 27. YEARTEAMPITCHERS/RTEAMBATTER1952YANKEESBOB KUVAZARDODGERSPEE WEE REESE1953DODGERSCLEM LABINERYANKEESBILLY MARTIN1954GIANTSJOHNNY ANTONELLIRINDIANSDALE MITCHELL1955DODGERSJOHNNY PODRESSYANKEESELSTON HOWARD1956YANKEESJOHNNY KUCKSRDODGERSJACKIE ROBINSON1957BRAVESLEW BURDETTESYANKEESMOOSE SKOWRON1958YANKEESBOB TURLYRBRAVESRED SCHOENDIENST1959DODGERSLARRY SHERRYRWHITE SOXLUIS APARICIO1960YANKEESRALPH TERRYRPIRATESBILL MAZEROSKI1961YANKEESBUD DALEYRREDSVADA PINSON1962YANKEESRALPH TERRYSGIANTSWILLIE McCOVEY1963DODGERSSANDY KOUFAXSYANKEESHECTOR LOPEZ1964CARDINALSBOB GIBSONRYANKEESROBBY RICHARDSON1965DODGERSSANDY KOUFAXSTWINSBOB ALLISON1966ORIOLESDAVE McNALLYSDODGERSLOU JOHNSON1967CARDINALSBOB GIBSONSRED SOXGEORGE SCOTT1968TIGERSMICKY LOLICHSCARDINALSTIM McCARVER1969METSJERRY KOOSMANSORIOLESDAVEY JOHNSON1970ORIOLESMIKE CUELLARSREDSPAT CORRALES1971PIRATESSTEVE BLASSSORIOLESMERV RETTENMUND1972A�sROLLIE FINGERSRREDSPETE ROSE1973A�sDAROLD KNOWLESRMETSWAYNE GARRETT1974A�sROLLIE FINGERSRDODGERSVON JOSHUA1975REDSWILL McENANEYRRED SOXCARL YASTRZEMSKI1976REDSWILL McENANEYRYANKEESROY WHITE1977YANKEESMIKE TORREZSREDSLEE LACY1978YANKEESRICH GOSSAGERDODGERSRON CEY1979PIRATESKENT TEKULVERORIOLESPAT KELLY1980PHILLIESTUG McGRAWRROYALSWILLIE WILSON1981DODGERSSTEVE HOWERYANKEESBOB WATSON1982CARDINALSBRUCE SUTTERRCARDINALSGORMAN THOMAS1983ORIOLESSCOTT McGREGORSPHILLIESGARRY MADDOX1984TIGERSWILLIE HERNANDEZRPADRESTONY GWYNN1985ROYALSBRET SABERHAGENSCARDINALSANDY VAN SLYKE1986METSJESSE OROSCORRED SOXMARTY BARRETT1987TWINSJEFF REARDONRCARDINALSWILLIE McGEE1988DODGERSOREL HERSHISERSA�sTONY PHILLIPS1989A�sDENNIS ECKERSLEYRGIANTSBRETT BUTLER1990REDSRANDY MYERSRA�sCARNEY LANSFORD1991BRAVESALEJANDRO PENARTWINSGENE LARKIN1992BLUE JAYSMIKE TIMLINRBRAVESOTIS NIXON1993PHILLIESMITCH WILLIAMSRBLUE JAYSJOE CARTER1995BRAVESMARK WOHLERSRINDIANSCARLOS BAERGA1996YANKEESJOHN WETTELANDRBRAVESMARK LEMKE1997INDIANSCHARLES NAGYRMARLINSEDGAR RENTERIA1998YANKEESMARIANO RIVERARPADRESMARK SWEENEY1999YANKEESMARIANO RIVERARBRAVESKEITH LOCKHART2000YANKEESMARIANO RIVERARMETSMIKE PIAZZA2001YANKEESMARIANO RIVERARDIAMONDBACKSLUIS GONZALEZ2002ANGELSTROY PERCIVALRGIANTSKENNY LOFTON2003MARLINSJOSH BECKETTSYANKEESJORGE POSADA2004RED SOXKEITH FOULKERMARLINSEDGAR RENTERIA2005WHITE SOXBOBBY JENKSRASTROSORLANDO PALMIERO2006CARDINALSADAM WAISRIGHTRTIGERSBRANDON INGE2007RED SOXJONATHAN PAPELBONRROCKIESSETH SMITH2008PHILLIESBRAD LIDGERRAYSERIC HINSKE2009YANKEESMARIANO RIVERARPHILLIESSHANE VICTORINO2010GIANTSBRIAN WILSONRRANGERSNELSON CRUZ2011CARDINALSJASON MOTTERRANGERSDAVID MURPHY2012GIANTSSERGIO ROMORTIGERSMIGUEL CABRERA2013RED SOXKOJI UEHARARCARDINALSMATT CARPENTER2014GIANTSMADISON BUMGARNERRROYALSSALVATORE PEREZ

And the midnight edition of SPORTSCASTER leads with ... a basketball game.

Edgy MD wrote: Too lateski, Ms. Messing. Help me out? Is Dennis Miller a day tripper or something like the real dealio? I think he's a real baseball fan but I don't know that he's a Mets fan. Is originally from the Pittsburgh area I believe.

Fman99 wrote: This is all thanks to me imbibing vodka and grapefruit soda. I'm going with Orange/Pineapple juice as the additive.

At Bats of the Game: 1) the Grandy come-backer where the pitcher brain-locked 2) getting Gordon to ground out with the bases loaded (Syndergaard's last pitch as it turned out) If either or both of those ABs turn out other than how they did this could have been a very different game despite the final lopsided score

Mets Guy in Michigan wrote: How come Curtis puts the glove on his head for every postgame interview? He explained that a few days ago: so he doesn't forget where he put it.

If Jeurys could have struck out Gordon three days ago and allowed him a HR tonight we'd be up 2 games to 1 here instead of the other way around.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Let's keep hammering this bullpen. I missed that one. What product were they pitching?

If you get even half of the side-effects that this over-priced patent medication can cause, then you're going to be in worse shape than you are from the condition it's supposed to combat.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: You can't spell URIBE without RBI Practice? Practice? I don't need no stinking' practice.

Two thoughts right there: 1) that's probably it for Syndy, particularly since he bats 4th this inning 2) if Flores didn't make that play it would be his last game as a starting SS for his career

Noah is back on track with his pitch count (75 thru 5) after those early hard innings. I'd like to see him go as long as possible here tonight. It's his last game of the season (last start anyway)

Worst AB of the game there by Flores. Bad swing - AND ON A 2-0 PITCH!!!!

Ceetar wrote: ... odd that it doesn't have a sponsor on it So it was definitely pre-Wilpon then -- ba-dum-Ching!

Ceetar wrote: did you catch where [scully] compared (I think it was) the 81 Dodgers to the 69 mets? Yeah. He called it 'The Impossible Dream' team, a phrase which was more associated with the '67 Red Sox (who of course ultimately did NOT win) than it was the '69 'Miracle' Mets.

Part of the fun with the way this is set up is seeing the same guy, sometimes in back to back years, being on each end of the celebrations. - That's Tim McCarver catching the final strike and racing out to Bob Gibson in the 1967 WS, but then that's also him again popping out to end the '68 series. - and Ralph Terry is seen serving up the HR to Mazeroski in '60, then two years later he's finishing up a 4-hit shutout by retiring Willie McCovey on a liner to 2nd (in between he started, though didn't finish, the '61 clincher). - and of course Mariano Rivera is on the good side of several in a row but then on the wrong side of the 2001 final pitch.

Apparently Anthopolous was offered a five year extension but turned it down. But the writing for this has been on the wall since the Jays hired former Injun exec Mark Shapiro (the guy depicted as talking trades with Beane/Pitt in the early scenes of MONEYBALL) as team president in August. But, yeah, after years of finishing 3rd behind the Yanx/Sawx blockade, then trying big stuff but never busting to the top of that division (the Dickey trade, the Reyes/Buehrle deal) he finally does break through this season and it turns out to be his last. And all this on the day that Anthopolous was named AL executive of the year. I suspect he won't be out of work long.

Piazza to throw out first pitch. Alcides Escobar likely to swing at it.

Not specifically manager related, but Alex Anthopolous will not return as Toronto GM

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I thought that these announcements weren't supposed to occur during the World Series? Or is there some exemption for tweets? 1) it's an off day 2) nothing so far sounds like an official announcement and it's tough to legislate against leaks Mainly the 'rule' is in there to prevent Steinbrennerian type of hires timed purposely so as to steal the back page headlines in the largest media market in the country from a Game 7 of a WS that he wasn't in.

Lefty Specialist wrote: Well, with the way they were hitting Cueto, they weren't winning anyway. But I'd like to know, was he that bad (location) or were they that good (able to hit anything). The 0-2 pitch to Escobar that Hahn talked about above was a bad pitch. For all the talk about not throwing that guy a fastball, deGrom threw him a slider but it was one that was up and barely moved. Mainly you just can't throw him a strike there. In general though, putting the bat on the ball is just who they are. We talked pre-series here about them having the 2nd highest BA in the AL (just .001 behind 1st) with the fewest Ks so this kind of thing is hardly out of character for them. If they go on to win this thing there's going to be a lot of talk (hell, it's already started) about how their method should be the blueprint for how to build an offense. And while I do think there's something to that in the sense that, in this high-K and shifting defense era, all-field hitting guys with low-K rates might be today's 'Moneyball' type of undervalued skill-set, the fact that their runs scored over the course of the entire season was just a shade above average indicates that this approach is hardly the one true shining path.

Dunno if anyone asked Terry but I had no problem pitching to Hosmer. There were already 2 outs so 'setting up a force' is of little concern, both swing lefty (Morales switch-hits), and statistically the two are pretty much equal except that Morales has a bit more power. The part about someone having good playoff numbers or 'w/RiSP' stats is mostly small sample variation that shouldn't be the basis for a decision IMO. Focus on who's the better overall hitter which, in this case, was pretty much a coin flip. And not that it means it would have happened the same way but Morales singled right after Hosmer did.

Lefty Specialist wrote: Royals were on everything deGrom threw. It was kind of weird; even most of the outs were hit hard. And impossible-to-hit pitches were getting fouled back so they could live for another pitch. He simply couldn't put them away. The stat about only 3 swing and misses all game was telling. The 5th inning in a nutshell: - Gordon walks on 3-2 count - Rios singles on 1-1 - Escobar RBI single on an 0-2 pitch (this one was a killer) - Zobrist grounds out on 0-1 (but not in a way that would result in a GiDP so both runners moved up - they did that twice last night) - Cain lines out on 1-2 (I was surprised they didn't send the runner from 3rd) - Hosmer 2-RBI Single on 0-1 - Morales singles on 0-1 - Moustakas RBI single on 3-2 count (8 pitches) - Perez grounds out on 0-2 35 pitches

Do you wanna see a montage of the final pitch in each of the last 62 World Series? What a silly question, of course you do! (we just don�t want to see the final pitch of THIS one anytime soon) Some of the links here overlap. And not surprisingly the quality varies and gets better as you get more recent. That final one contains clips that are a bit longer for each year than the previous. 1952 - 1961 w66ktYvhKko 1962 - 2013 qLiVPpOYlOU 1990 - 2014 fLubBwQAuNw A breakdown of the WS-ending plays from the covered era: 18 Fly Outs - oddly only 1 to a RFer while 8 went to LF & 9 to CF 13 Ks - not surprisingly, six of those came in the last nine years. Only one was looking and that was Miguel Cabrera 3 years ago (wonder if he gets Beltranian 'bat on the shoulder' abuse?) 12 Ground outs 8 unassisted IF outs - pop ups, line-outs, force play 5 foul outs to a catcher or IF twice the Series ended on a bunt - and, yes, both times it was a losing rather than a winning play (BIFL) Six times in this span a Series ended on a �walk-off� hit - 4 singles and 2 HRs. Four of the Six came in a Game 7, the other two in Game 6�s Only the Joe Carter HR was a come-from-behind win. The game was tied in the other five. Famously Carter and Bill Mazeroski were the HRs. The four Series-winning singles were by Billy Martin (1953), Gene Larkin (�91), Edgar Renteria (�97) and Luis Gonzalez (2001). Only Martin�s (1st & 2nd) did NOT come with the bases loaded. The Renteria & Gonzalez hits came with 2/outs.

Yeah, it's the old: You're never as good as you look when you're winning and you're never as bad as ... (you know the rest)