by Red Herring
[Note: PLS's own Red Herring was at the Marlins/Phillies game for this memorable occasion.]
Perfection:
Living in South Florida I have a plethora of entertainment options on a Saturday. Luckily for me I choose to attend the Phillies-Marlins game. At this point I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that My wife, Mrs. Red, was the driving force behind this decision. I didn’t even know who was pitching until I was already in the car and asked my wife to look up the probable pitchers. Tonight its Halladay and Johnson she read to me off the Marlins webpage. I told her, that’s a really good pitching matchup I’m excited about this now.
The first three innings were spent like most normal innings are when you’re at a ball game. Ordering a beer, ordering a second beer, the trek to the concession stand where and selecting something that will probably take five minutes off my life. By the fifth inning I did notice something. The Marlins had no hits, I think to myself, have they had any base runners? A quick check of the box score on my iPhone tells me no, they haven’t had a single base on balls.
Holly crap! This is a perfect game I’m watching! But it’s only the fifth, plenty of time for the Marlins to get someone on base and break it up.
There are certain rules to watching a perfect game. But you only need to remember one rule to do it properly. YOU DO NOT TALK ABOUT THE PERFECT GAME. Why am I telling you this? Because the gaggle of middle school aged boys behind me seems to have forgotten that very simple rule. From the fifth inning on these children were mentioning perfect game, saying perfect game and doing everything short of lighting a fire and sending smoke signals to people on the other side of the stadium alerting them to the perfect game they were watching. This pissed me off. Being a baseball fan I know that there have only been 19 perfect games in the history of the game. 19! Professional baseball has been played in this country for over 100 years and a perfect game has happened 19 times and these kids are doing everything they can to jinx it. Instead of being able to tell their children I saw a perfect game they will be able to say “I saw Roy Halladay pitch a perfect game into the 6th inning. That’s bush.
Anyway back to the game. I started taking notes on my iPhone when I realized what was going on but honestly, at some point between the fifth and seventh inning I just put it away and started watching. Simply put, Roy Halladay is the best pitcher in baseball. He was not on the same level as the rest of the players on the field that night. He was hitting his spots and not over thinking it. I can’t remember him shaking off his catcher a single time. He threw the ball, caught the ball and then threw the ball again. He was calm and deliberate and most importantly not over thinking things. Far too often athletes will over think what they’re doing and proceed to screw it up. Not Ol’ Roy. He was masterful, he trusted his catcher to call the right pitches and his defense to make plays behind him.
Roy started to fall behind batters after the Seventh inning. He was in several three ball counts but the Marlins seemed to understand that you just don’t break up a perfect game in the eighth inning with a base on balls and they proceeded to swing freely at three ball counts. (or they knew that either the ump wasn’t going to give them a base on balls or Halladay would proceed to beat their brains in on the way to first if they even thought about trying to work a walk against him.)
I had a direct view into the Phillies dugout from my seats and I could see that everyone was treating Roy like he had the plague. Which is another rule for a perfect game. You don’t pat the guy on the back, or talk to him or look at him. You stay as far away as you can, but not too far away. You avoid looking at him, but don’t make it look like you’re trying not to look at him. You sit down, stay away and take your at bats when you come up in the order. I’m sure you also pray that you’re not the one who screws this thing up because you know that you’ll never be able to live it down. Roy was left alone to continue his dominance and it worked out pretty well.
Sometimes you don’t realize how fast the game is played unless you’re actually sitting in the stadium and watching it firsthand. When something happens in a ball game it happens quick. Leading off the eighth Jorge Cantu hit a screamer to third and Juan Castro scooped it up and threw Canto out. On TV this looked like a nice play. In person you see things a little differently, everyone in the stadium held their breath when that ball came off Cantu’s bat. Castro lunged to his left and snared it on the hop and made an easy throw to first to get Cantu, but I have never seen a more exciting play in person. It was quick, it was skillful and it was calm sometimes we don’t give enough credit to players for making the easy plays but we have to remember even the easy ones in the bigs are still darn hard to come up with.
Simply put everything that Roy had done that night was in the hands of Castro and Castro didn’t let him down. It was clutch, it was money and it was probably the most important play of the game.
By the time we hit the bottom of the ninth everyone was on their feet. The tension was rolling off of everyone in the stadium, and while there might have been a few die hard Marlins fans there (I know they exist, just not in large numbers or at the actual game very often) everyone else was wishing and rooting and screaming for Halladay to get it done. And he did.
Perfection existed for one man on one Saturday night in Florida. He did everything right, and he was rewarded with joining the most exclusive list of pitchers in the history of the game. Halladay was perfect, and the scary part? He didn’t even look like he was trying very hard to do it.
Showing posts with label Running Thoughts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Running Thoughts. Show all posts
Monday, May 31, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
A Running Account of the ECF, Game 2
Posted by Iroquois Plisken
Note: this account makes no semblance of impartiality. It isn't an issue most of the time, but I do have a stake in the outcome, so it isn't fair and balanced or anything, but I do try and give credit when it is due.
1st Quarter
11:17 – One thing that bugs me quite a bit is how bad the C’s flop and act. Paul Pierce got stabbed 10 times in the kidney or back or whatever it is. You so much as breathe on him now and he hits the deck like an Italian soccer player. Which is it, Paul?
11:01 – Putting Kendrick Perkins, Dwight Howard, and Shaq in a China shop, who can walk the furthest without breaking anything? I submit this to the commentariat.
10:50 – Nice to see Vince off to a good start. He is really coming up strong in his first conference finals, but as we've all suspected, he probably just doesn't have what it takes to lead a team by himself. [Note: Boy, will I regret those words later.]
10:34 – Great point by Jeff Van Gundy about not whining. It's been whoever plays the Magic and Dwight Howard getting in the biggest pissing contests this postseason. Whining leads to paternal calls by the referees. Shut up and play.
9:57 – Liking both team’s defensive efforts so far.
9:18 – Barnes’ defense is electric right now. SVG must have put him and/or Vince on up-front duty. They don't move that Tercel with the transmission problems and they're riding the pine, which will then be converted to sawdust to put in the engine. SVG - he is nothing if not crafty.
8:15 – Rajon Rondo = Starvin Marvin?
6:45 – Dwight is most effective when he just goes straight up. His offense and footwork is not good enough to consistently do this spinning nonsense. Let's just say he won't be performing Swan Lake anytime soon.
5:55 – Down goes Rondo with what appears to be a bad case of "Owwie, I hurted my head."
5:33 – Pierce usually gets that foul call where he throws himself into the defender. Surprised the refs held back.
3:41 – The Twin Towers (Dwight and Marcin Gortat, everyone's favorite parrot) lineup has the potential to cause problems. It did during the regular season.
2:47 – What an awesome commercial for Jim Beam. Sadly, I'm not fat or have a hairy back, so I'm not her type. Also, on the following commercial, SKINNY SHAQ HOLY HELL.
36.5 – CALL A FOUL ON BOSTON. I DARE YOU. PLEASE. HOW MANY TIMES MUST MATT BARNES GET HIT?
2nd quarter
12:00 - After perusing the box score, Boston actually had more foul calls than Orlando (7 to 6) in the first quarter. I guess even the best of us lose track when they aren't shooting fouls.
9:54 – Blocked by a white guy. Take that, Glen. By no means is that trashing Gortat at all; he is a legit starting C for someone, perhaps as soon as next year.
7:00 – Michael Finley sighting…is this 2005? I also love how he left San Antonio because he wasn't getting playing time to go to Boston, where he still doesn't get any playing time.
6:17 – Look, Dwight. This is what happens when you go up every time without auditioning for Dancing With the Stars. Straight. Up. In the offseason, watch tapes of Hakeem, not Ewing (sorry, Coach).
Commercial for Miller Lite – If some bartender talks to me like that, I’m decking her and not tipping. I didn’t ask for your god damn opinion on what beer I get. I’m paying for the pouring, not for the commentary. Probably more offensive is that this commercial leads us to believe that Miller Lite tastes good (it doesn't). This coming from a guy who has swilled down multiple American macrobrews in his day.
[Note: Something I didn't even pick up on until I found that page linking the commercials. From their comments:
5:54 – Good Lord, even JVG is talking about Hanley Ramirez. Literally no one immune from the VG boys criticisms, as the Chicago Bulls organization will attest.
5:18 – Gotta wonder if things are getting desperate to talk about Scalabrine.
4:45 – Awful, awful T. There is no reason to call that whatsoever. Joe DeRosa's crew is making this game unwatchable. [Note: What an understatement. Check back later.]
4:16 – Well, can’t say I didn’t see that coming. Someone was gonna get a flagrant on some side out of sheer frustration. Doesn't surprise me that it's Dwight. Doesn’t change the fact that for EITHER TEAM, that’s a boneheaded play right now.
3:44 – This is such a poorly reffed game. It’s unbelievable.
2:30 – I'm taking umbrage with the commentators right now. Don’t go thinking that Pierce is going off because of that flagrant. He’s been doing that all half. Or have you not been watching this game?
1:38 – The SVG face is back. You know the type.
Halftime Impressions – This game is getting out of hand with the fouls. The players are slightly to blame. They do commit the acts anyhow. The refs are nearly entirely to blame. There was a foul on every meaningful possession it seems. Vince’s T was indefensible. It figures that Dwight would get the boiling over foul. Once again, Orlando coming out slow and not responding. We'll see if they perk up.
Basketball is not basketball. Sorry, WNBA.
3rd Q
10:56 – Nice alley oop to get started.
10:43 – And Pierce goes down like he got stabbed again. What happened to the Paul Pierce that shrugged off the minor contact and still got the calls? I'd be happy to see him again.
10:19 – All ball. Again, we resume the bad reffing.
9:xx (lost track of time) – Vince doing too much with the fade away. Start attacking the basket again.
7:59 - Apparently, before halftime, Joe DeRosa (the head ref) threw a ball at a fan.
I can’t believe the fan got ejected for returning the ball. That pretty much seals how awful this game has been. First of all, the ref started it by throwing the ball at the guy. Second, what was the fan supposed to do? Keep the ball? He would have been in a good degree more trouble that way. The refs have to hear it from the front row fans all the time. What makes this chump any more special than, say, everyone else in the arena who was booing him?
Jeff Van Gundy blaming the fan boggles the mind. Sorry, Jeff, you're dead wrong here. Just because this guy was closer than most folks to be able to yell what he's thinking within earshot of the ref in no way excuses the referee - the arbiter of the game! - losing his cool. This guy should be suspended for the remainder of the playoffs, if not fired.
2:36 – Dwight Howard, in the offseason, needs to leave his phone at home, take only what he can carry, and go get a log cabin or something. Seriously. The Magic are a team that has a lot of negative energy all the time, mostly from the Head Coach. Dwight's tantrums are affecting everyone out there. Please, Dwight. Stop whining and play the game. After you clubbed Pierce, he got carried away, yelled a couple times, then went right back to business.
1:17 – Rashard is wilting like he did in the Finals last year. Good thing he's only signed to the mid-level exception. Wait, what?
4th Q
10:00 - Well, let’s see if they can make it a game. If Orlando cares, it will get close.
8:xx – This game is just ugly. Basketball is basketball, I guess?
7:44 – Was that really a moving screen? I have my doubts. There is no consistency to these calls at all.
6:57 – Is JJ the smartest player on the floor for Orlando now? [Note: Things I type that I will regret later upon posting, volume 2 - that.]
Commercial – how typical is this game for both squads? Orlando gets hit in the nose by the refs and they whine like children. Boston can’t help but make the game interesting in the 4th Q.
4:24 – Gotta run the O through Dwight now. Kick the ball into him and see what Boston does. Collapse and pass out. Space out and go strong. They're not making shots, so here's your chance.
3:35 – They took the lead. God bless ‘em.
2:20 – Redick shows some surprising athleticism and gets by KG only to have a bad charge called. First, it wasn't a charge at all; it was definitely a blocking foul. Second, JVG says there was a foul on KG with the reach-in; I'd agree, but I'd also not fault the refs for the no-call, as I have been railing against ticky-tack calls all game. C’est le jeu ("That is the game").
31.9 – Hats off to Pierce. Great game for him.
30.6 – Ouch. Big 2 misses by Vince. Nick Anderson part 2.
Conclusion – In between the referees blowing whistles, we had a basketball game tonight. I can’t say I’m surprised with the result. Orlando once again played up to snuff in Q4, but started off slow as usual. It seems Boston is doing just enough to win. Typical game for both sides, like I said earlier.
While I want to get really mad at Redick for messing up that timeout situation, he played extremely well for most of tonight. While I want to get mad at Vince for missing the two free throws, he played well for most of tonight. The guy I am going to criticize is Rashard Lewis, who again is disappearing on a big stage. Essentially, we have the same C's team as last year, except with a vastly improved Rajon Rondo. I know you put up some stinkers in the Finals, but you played pretty well last year against the C's in that series. Find that Rashard and make sure he shows up. Ryan Anderson not getting any burn is ridiculous. He had more of a pulse on the bench than Rashard did for a long time.
The series isn't over, but it's a pretty tall order. We'll find out what the Magic are made of pretty soon, whether they are a Tercel from SVG's lot or a full blown Maserati.
Note: this account makes no semblance of impartiality. It isn't an issue most of the time, but I do have a stake in the outcome, so it isn't fair and balanced or anything, but I do try and give credit when it is due.
1st Quarter
11:17 – One thing that bugs me quite a bit is how bad the C’s flop and act. Paul Pierce got stabbed 10 times in the kidney or back or whatever it is. You so much as breathe on him now and he hits the deck like an Italian soccer player. Which is it, Paul?
11:01 – Putting Kendrick Perkins, Dwight Howard, and Shaq in a China shop, who can walk the furthest without breaking anything? I submit this to the commentariat.
10:50 – Nice to see Vince off to a good start. He is really coming up strong in his first conference finals, but as we've all suspected, he probably just doesn't have what it takes to lead a team by himself. [Note: Boy, will I regret those words later.]
10:34 – Great point by Jeff Van Gundy about not whining. It's been whoever plays the Magic and Dwight Howard getting in the biggest pissing contests this postseason. Whining leads to paternal calls by the referees. Shut up and play.
9:57 – Liking both team’s defensive efforts so far.
9:18 – Barnes’ defense is electric right now. SVG must have put him and/or Vince on up-front duty. They don't move that Tercel with the transmission problems and they're riding the pine, which will then be converted to sawdust to put in the engine. SVG - he is nothing if not crafty.
8:15 – Rajon Rondo = Starvin Marvin?
6:45 – Dwight is most effective when he just goes straight up. His offense and footwork is not good enough to consistently do this spinning nonsense. Let's just say he won't be performing Swan Lake anytime soon.
5:55 – Down goes Rondo with what appears to be a bad case of "Owwie, I hurted my head."
5:33 – Pierce usually gets that foul call where he throws himself into the defender. Surprised the refs held back.
3:41 – The Twin Towers (Dwight and Marcin Gortat, everyone's favorite parrot) lineup has the potential to cause problems. It did during the regular season.
2:47 – What an awesome commercial for Jim Beam. Sadly, I'm not fat or have a hairy back, so I'm not her type. Also, on the following commercial, SKINNY SHAQ HOLY HELL.
36.5 – CALL A FOUL ON BOSTON. I DARE YOU. PLEASE. HOW MANY TIMES MUST MATT BARNES GET HIT?
2nd quarter
12:00 - After perusing the box score, Boston actually had more foul calls than Orlando (7 to 6) in the first quarter. I guess even the best of us lose track when they aren't shooting fouls.
9:54 – Blocked by a white guy. Take that, Glen. By no means is that trashing Gortat at all; he is a legit starting C for someone, perhaps as soon as next year.
7:00 – Michael Finley sighting…is this 2005? I also love how he left San Antonio because he wasn't getting playing time to go to Boston, where he still doesn't get any playing time.
6:17 – Look, Dwight. This is what happens when you go up every time without auditioning for Dancing With the Stars. Straight. Up. In the offseason, watch tapes of Hakeem, not Ewing (sorry, Coach).
Commercial for Miller Lite – If some bartender talks to me like that, I’m decking her and not tipping. I didn’t ask for your god damn opinion on what beer I get. I’m paying for the pouring, not for the commentary. Probably more offensive is that this commercial leads us to believe that Miller Lite tastes good (it doesn't). This coming from a guy who has swilled down multiple American macrobrews in his day.
[Note: Something I didn't even pick up on until I found that page linking the commercials. From their comments:
I am a woman, and when I watch these commercials, the guys come off as friendly and attractive to me, whereas I am kind of blown away by how mean the bartenders are. And mean about Miller Lite of all things! I wonder if these ads are effective for their target audience?And the reply:
Spot on. I don't think the black guy from the High Life commercials is doing it to be mean, but still, condescending is Miller Brewing Co's raison d'etre. Little Brother Syndrome, Miller?]Well, they act as a complement to the Miller High Life commercials, where the black truck driver (and I think that I could well be important that the character is portrayed by a black actor) gets out of his truck, goes into up-scale restaurants and bars, and takes back all the Miller, because they are selling it for too much money.
That these commercials (High life and Lite) both portray the Miller purveyors as mean-spirited seems to be speaking to a general theme in their marketing campaign.
5:54 – Good Lord, even JVG is talking about Hanley Ramirez. Literally no one immune from the VG boys criticisms, as the Chicago Bulls organization will attest.
5:18 – Gotta wonder if things are getting desperate to talk about Scalabrine.
4:45 – Awful, awful T. There is no reason to call that whatsoever. Joe DeRosa's crew is making this game unwatchable. [Note: What an understatement. Check back later.]
4:16 – Well, can’t say I didn’t see that coming. Someone was gonna get a flagrant on some side out of sheer frustration. Doesn't surprise me that it's Dwight. Doesn’t change the fact that for EITHER TEAM, that’s a boneheaded play right now.
3:44 – This is such a poorly reffed game. It’s unbelievable.
2:30 – I'm taking umbrage with the commentators right now. Don’t go thinking that Pierce is going off because of that flagrant. He’s been doing that all half. Or have you not been watching this game?
1:38 – The SVG face is back. You know the type.
Halftime Impressions – This game is getting out of hand with the fouls. The players are slightly to blame. They do commit the acts anyhow. The refs are nearly entirely to blame. There was a foul on every meaningful possession it seems. Vince’s T was indefensible. It figures that Dwight would get the boiling over foul. Once again, Orlando coming out slow and not responding. We'll see if they perk up.
Basketball is not basketball. Sorry, WNBA.
3rd Q
10:56 – Nice alley oop to get started.
10:43 – And Pierce goes down like he got stabbed again. What happened to the Paul Pierce that shrugged off the minor contact and still got the calls? I'd be happy to see him again.
10:19 – All ball. Again, we resume the bad reffing.
9:xx (lost track of time) – Vince doing too much with the fade away. Start attacking the basket again.
7:59 - Apparently, before halftime, Joe DeRosa (the head ref) threw a ball at a fan.
I can’t believe the fan got ejected for returning the ball. That pretty much seals how awful this game has been. First of all, the ref started it by throwing the ball at the guy. Second, what was the fan supposed to do? Keep the ball? He would have been in a good degree more trouble that way. The refs have to hear it from the front row fans all the time. What makes this chump any more special than, say, everyone else in the arena who was booing him?
Jeff Van Gundy blaming the fan boggles the mind. Sorry, Jeff, you're dead wrong here. Just because this guy was closer than most folks to be able to yell what he's thinking within earshot of the ref in no way excuses the referee - the arbiter of the game! - losing his cool. This guy should be suspended for the remainder of the playoffs, if not fired.
2:36 – Dwight Howard, in the offseason, needs to leave his phone at home, take only what he can carry, and go get a log cabin or something. Seriously. The Magic are a team that has a lot of negative energy all the time, mostly from the Head Coach. Dwight's tantrums are affecting everyone out there. Please, Dwight. Stop whining and play the game. After you clubbed Pierce, he got carried away, yelled a couple times, then went right back to business.
1:17 – Rashard is wilting like he did in the Finals last year. Good thing he's only signed to the mid-level exception. Wait, what?
4th Q
10:00 - Well, let’s see if they can make it a game. If Orlando cares, it will get close.
8:xx – This game is just ugly. Basketball is basketball, I guess?
7:44 – Was that really a moving screen? I have my doubts. There is no consistency to these calls at all.
6:57 – Is JJ the smartest player on the floor for Orlando now? [Note: Things I type that I will regret later upon posting, volume 2 - that.]
Commercial – how typical is this game for both squads? Orlando gets hit in the nose by the refs and they whine like children. Boston can’t help but make the game interesting in the 4th Q.
4:24 – Gotta run the O through Dwight now. Kick the ball into him and see what Boston does. Collapse and pass out. Space out and go strong. They're not making shots, so here's your chance.
3:35 – They took the lead. God bless ‘em.
2:20 – Redick shows some surprising athleticism and gets by KG only to have a bad charge called. First, it wasn't a charge at all; it was definitely a blocking foul. Second, JVG says there was a foul on KG with the reach-in; I'd agree, but I'd also not fault the refs for the no-call, as I have been railing against ticky-tack calls all game. C’est le jeu ("That is the game").
31.9 – Hats off to Pierce. Great game for him.
30.6 – Ouch. Big 2 misses by Vince. Nick Anderson part 2.
Conclusion – In between the referees blowing whistles, we had a basketball game tonight. I can’t say I’m surprised with the result. Orlando once again played up to snuff in Q4, but started off slow as usual. It seems Boston is doing just enough to win. Typical game for both sides, like I said earlier.
While I want to get really mad at Redick for messing up that timeout situation, he played extremely well for most of tonight. While I want to get mad at Vince for missing the two free throws, he played well for most of tonight. The guy I am going to criticize is Rashard Lewis, who again is disappearing on a big stage. Essentially, we have the same C's team as last year, except with a vastly improved Rajon Rondo. I know you put up some stinkers in the Finals, but you played pretty well last year against the C's in that series. Find that Rashard and make sure he shows up. Ryan Anderson not getting any burn is ridiculous. He had more of a pulse on the bench than Rashard did for a long time.
The series isn't over, but it's a pretty tall order. We'll find out what the Magic are made of pretty soon, whether they are a Tercel from SVG's lot or a full blown Maserati.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)