F*cking Nats snatch defeat from jaws of victory, lose game by 1 strike

[Freddie]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by cyberswede (a host of the General Discussion forum).

Final score 7-9. Cardinals advance to the NLCS.
That's all.

[Danmel]

1. that was disappointing

Guess teddy goes back to losing next season.

O

[donco]

2. Thats old hat

for the cards.Look out Giants.

[villager]

3. You just reminded me I hadn't put up my "Giants" avatar for the playoffs yet!

Corrected!

[budkin]

4. Poor Expos

Maybe next year.

[Kingofalldems]

5. It sucked big time

Storen will have a heavy burden on his shoulders this winter. OTOH without Strasburg their chances of winning it all were not good anyway.

[orwell]

14. I can't beleive he didn't go after the batters...

...What was with the nibbling around the corners. He is throwing 94 mph.

Never put men on base for free with a 2 run lead...

Throw frickin strikes!

[Elwood P Dowd]

16. 1-2 count with one on and two outs.

The idiot tried to get fancy when he should have played the odds. Make the hitter beat you. Hitter's chances in that situation are less than 30%. Throw the heat over the plate and make them fucking swing at it. He gave the Cardinals the ultimate gift by being stupid.

[Matt_in_STL]

6. I am concerned for my Giants against the Cards

The Giants pitching needs to be solid if they are going to have a chance. Meanwhile, as a Giants fan in St. Louis, I have to listen to the smug Cardinals fans for the next week or so.

[JimGinPA]

7. I Guess It All Depends On Your Point Of View

[Lugnut]

9. Yep.

[hrmjustin]

8. As a mets fan I know how you feel. so sorry my friend.

[Art_from_Ark]

10. As someone whose first exposure to Major League Baseball

was listening to Cardinals games on KOAM radio in 1967, all I can say is...

Go Cards!

[TuxedoKat]

11. For me

it was being exposed to the World Series in '68, for the first time when they played the Tigers. So 2006 was very satisfying when they beat the Tigers. To see the Cards win the Series the way they did last year too was just incredible. Tonight's game was amazing too! I wasn't sure if they were going to prevail but I remembered not to count them out after last year. What a game! Go Cards indeed!!!

[Art_from_Ark]

15. I remember that '68 series

It was a real heartbreaker. I think Bob Gibson was pitching that final game for the Cards, against, who? Mickey Lolich? I was *sure* the Cards were going to win because Gibson was pitching. But it was not meant to be.

Maybe that was Mike Shannon's final year, before he took Jim Woods's place as Jack Buck's partner?

[TuxedoKat]

24. I'm not sure

It was heartbreaking though. Was so happy when they beat the Tigers in the rematch in 2006. Last year after the Cards won, the cable sports channel (TBS) replayed all the World Series Games that the Cardinals had ever won, well, the ones they had film of that is.

Did you ever read Bob Gibson's autobiography? It's pretty good. I liked what he had to say about batters on opposing teams. Have you ever been to any Cards' games? We used to go often when we lived in St. Louis in the mid-80's, early '90s. Gee I sure miss that, heck, I miss the whole city of St. Louis and the state too, even though it's trended redder since I lived there.

[Art_from_Ark]

25. I've never gotten to attend a Cardinals game

The only Missouri team I've seen play in person is the Royals, back when they were just getting started. I had a friend who lived in the KC area, and he took me to a couple of games.

One game was in their (at the time) brand-new stadium. It was a day game, and the stadium was mostly empty. We were sitting pretty high up in the home plate area, and there was almost no one sitting down in the area right behind home plate. My friend suggested that we go down to the area right behind the catcher. So we did, and no one bothered us! We got to see half the game from right behind home plate! They were playing the brand-new Rangers, and the Rangers were winning by 4 runs. But the Royals pulled it out of the fire with 5 runs in the bottom of the 9th. I never became a Royals fan, but that was still a magic day.

I had another friend who was a big-time Cardinals fan, and he sometimes went with his parents to St. Louis to take in some games, but he never invited me to go with him. *sigh*

[TuxedoKat]

26. Ahh

that's too bad that you never got to see a game. If you ever get a chance to go see one take it. Are you within driving distance to try and get playoff tickets? Baseball is in the air and in the atmosphere all over St. Louis every day, but especially on a game day. And visit the Brewery too for the tour as there is a little museum with Cardinals memorabilia there. It's really special to see a game in STL, on a hot summer night, with a beer, and a sandwich you brought with you from your favorite Italian deli with the arch overhead. God I miss it! Especially in the post season when the Cards are playing!

[Art_from_Ark]

27. These days, the stadium that's within easiest reach

is Tokyo Dome. And the only time I had a chance to attend a game there was when it was just opened, and the two worst teams in the league were playing, and it was already the bottom of the 6th, and it was standing room only, but I still would have had to pay the full admission price. So I gave up on that idea.

I get the feeling that I am not destined to watch a Cards game in St. Louis.

[TuxedoKat]

28. Wow

you are in Tokyo! That is too cool! My daughter is taking Japanese in HS. Did you get to see the game tonight? How do you watch it from over there?

[Art_from_Ark]

29. Unfortunately, there's no way I can watch the games over here

If I could afford the premium channel that broadcasts Major League games, I still couldn't watch the playoffs live, since the starting time there (7:00 or 7:30 Central Time?) is the start of the working day here. I can catch some highlights on the Internet or NHK, I guess.

By the way, if your daughter has any questions about Japan or Japanese, I would be happy to try to answer them

[Art_from_Ark]

30. Remembering back,

when I was at one of those Kansas City games, I bought a Cardinals pennant at the souvenir shop. The guy at the register exclaimed, "Why do you want a *Cardinals* pennant?? This is Kansas City!"

That Cardinals pennant hung in my room until I went to college-- then it, like nearly all of my other baseball stuff, mysteriously disappeared. I still have the very poor quality cassette tape I made of Lou Brock's 105th stolen base, though, with Jack Buck yelling, "He is... going! The pitch is a strike! The throw... he is there! He did it! 105 for Lou Brock!"

[MadHound]

13. No, the Cards once again rose up and took that victory.

They've done it time and again, that's why they've always been called the Cardiac Cards, they may get down, but they never give up and they win.

Go Crazy Folks, Go Crazy!

[Are_grits_groceries]

17. One strike never determines anything.

It is simply the last action in a string of problems.

IMHO Rizzo owns this. He wanted to protect Strasburg for future reward. Rizzo could have monitored his arm and taken action when necessary. CARPE DIEM, RIZZO! There are no guarantees for the future. For all the bright possibilities, the Nats may never be in this position again.

When Rizzo sat Strasburg, he dramatically altered their rotation. In addition, there is no way to know how it affected the psyche of each player. The effects of sitting him will never be known.

Having Strasburg wouldn't guarantee winning the series. It sure would have kept the team in their season long rhythm and not created a new set of circumstances for them to adjust to.

They needed his presence as a counterweight to the pressure of the playoffs. Without him, a young team like the Nats had no cushion or room for error. He would have provided some.

[MassedPole]

18. Damn Cards get to NLCS again..AHAJAJA

Im a Brewers fan BTW.

Im rooting for the SF Giants

[taterguy]

19. Thanks for the Spoiler

[Honeycombe8]

20. This is not the right forum for sports-chat. So say the rules, explicitly. nt

[LeftyMom]

21. "Unless there is really big news" like oh, a come from behind victory in a decisive playoff game.

No need to be a forum nanny. It's one thread.

[GoCubsGo]

22. At least they made it to the playoffs.

They have a great team, and next year will be better. I was rooting for them. Oh well.

[Barack_America]

23. It makes me feel better having Valverde for a closer.

But not much better.