Walkoff

Walkoff - Baseball term used to describe the home team winning the game in its final at bat forcing the loosing team to ‘walkoff’ the field. Most prominently and dramatically used along with homeruns but can be used along with any event(homerun, double, single, walk, balk…) that concludes the game. (from urbandictionary.com)

A blog post is close to useless (so really I don't know why I'm trying) at describing the emotion of seeing a walkoff live. I've now been to six in the last two seasons.

Let me tell you about the most recent one.

They say a picture says a thousand words. Here is a good picture for you. The picture is a graph of the percentage chance of the Rays winning the game based upon historical data as the game progresses. The game usually starts somewhere near 50% but not necessarily because it is based upon pitching matchups and home field advantage and overall records and a number of things. So this graph shows what the odds were from the first pitch to the last and you can see the roller coaster we witnessed.

The game was similar to the game I blogged June 11th because it was a back and forth affair and each team had at least one lead during the game.

It was quick baseball to start as the pitchers each made quick work of the opposing lineups.

And then... Here's Johnny! Johnny Damon gives the Rays a lead with a homerun.

The fangraph guys jump our odds of winning over 70% which makes sense considering David Price has a perfect game through 4 innings and we are at home (even though we have a much better record on the road than at home this year). The perfect game gets broken up by an error:( but Price continues to cruise until we reach the 8th inning.

Upton gets nervous about the wall and turns a double into a triple for Stubbs. Renteria ties the game. Price still had enough stuff to get through the next two while keeping Renteria in check. This is when I was hoping Joe would pull Price but he doesn't. There are a lot of possible reasons - Price had dominated Votto so far in the game, Price hates to get pulled if he isn't in line for the win, Joe doesn't trust the bullpen. Either way 115 pitches is too many to leave a guy in against such a good hitter as Votto and Votto won that battle with a double. Renteria may not have scored from first but the double came after Price was so concentrated on Votto that he forgot about Renteria and let him steal second.

You could feel the energy seep out the doors or maybe through the roof of the dome. Fangraphs swings to favor the Reds at this point and the Rays are down 2-1.

The Never-Say-Die Rays are at it again in the bottom of the 8th. Leadoff strikeout by Upton followed by a single to Jaso (two days removed you wouldn't think I'd remember it so well). Ruggiano pinch runs but doesn't steal. Fuld comes to the plate but doesn't bunt. Fuld singles up the middle. At this point I was hoping for a double steal with two of our faster guys to give us a tying run on third with one out and go-ahead within a single of the plate. Nope.

You've heard the phrase about blessings in disguised. That might be applied to Brignac's fly to left because runners don't go on contact with few than two outs and there is no way we score both the tying and go-ahead runs on Damon's flair to leftcenter that gets deflected 20 yards or so away on a diving attempt to end the inning.

Johnny comes through again. Hope is restored and replaced with confidence all in one play as we flip the graph and the one-run deficit back to the Reds.

Farnsworth falls behind Bruce and the ball was crushed to dead centerfield. Tie game. Are you kidding me?

Close to 50/50 chance with no outs and a tie game in the top of the 9th but it didn't feel that way. It felt like all the momentum flooded the Cincinnati dugout and spread to the 5,000 or so Reds fans in attendance.

Back on our heals, we pitch well to get to the bottom half of the inning.

Evan had the same look on his face taking his warm-up swings as Johnny did taking his in the 4th before his homerun. I mentioned to my dad sitting next to me that I hadn't ever seen an Evan walkoff.

Walkoff! (this is the far right side of the graph where the odds of winning jump to 100%) It was sweet!

The beginning of the end?

I like headlines. I came up with a few subject titles for this Wimbledon blog post:

Round Up the Usual Suspects - I meant to but didn't get around to predicting the top 4 mens seeds advancing to the semifinals (and probably predicting none of the top 4 women advancing) but then Roger lost so there went that predication and the headline.

The Fed Falls - but I didn't want Ron Paul enthusiasts to hijack my post in the comments section.

Transition - close but that implies a knowledge of the future

The Beginning of the End? - the winner and here is why...

Julie and I have a movie line that is often quoted between us that goes like this - "Confidence is key." That statement is contradicted in this article but that is beside the point of this post.

Is Roger losing his grip on one of his most important qualities? I haven't had a chance yet to watch the match but I hope to watch some of it, if not just the highlights. What I have seen out of Fed so far on the grass courts (edit to the bucket list post is I'd love to play on grass courts before I die), Federer has played remarkably.

He is still one of the best in the world along with two other guys but I don't know if he still expects to win and and it is a very opportunistic point in the careers of all three.

I'm excited to see how it plays out. Will three dominate the sport or will two dominate going forward or can one take home the majority of the hardware the next couple of years and which one will it be? I've read and heard plenty of arguments for all three but I'm excited to savor the pudding and find the proof in the months and years ahead.

There is certainly some legacy to create, improve, and elevate for all three.

Bucket List

Note to self: Before I die I'd like to attend a baseball double header. I saw a day game at Wrigley and got to Milwaukee for a night game one day (part of 15-day story probably worthy of a separate blog post) but I'd like to see a traditional double header some day and it isn't going to happen with a dome stadium in Tampa Bay. The end (to steal a line from my favorite person).

The List

Attend a double header
Play a game of duckpin bowling

Feel-good story

Tiger who?

So my dad calls me into his office around lunch time to watch Rory hit from the rough on the 18th. We suffered with him through that last hole but it wasn't going to overshadow an awesome round. His tee shots were good and his approach shots brilliant in a round that actually left a few shots on the course with some missed putts inside 10 feet.

So I guess this is what they call a feel-good story because I feel good for Rory. Awesome round today even if it ended with a bit of a thud. The future of the PGA is in good hands. I was rooting all the way for McIlroy in April but maybe his Masters meltdown was a positive thing because it took my admiration for him to a new level to witness his humility and class after the wheels came off. Make it 5 great rounds out of 6 in 2011 Majors so far for Rory. Here's to him getting it done on Sunday.

Two of my favorite players in golf paired in this grouping but Rory is surely my favorite golfer right now and the one guy I was bummed didn't play at TPC.

Watch the highlights

Rays throw no-hitter

Folks in Mobile, Alabama got more than they bargained for when they showed up to a minor league baseball game. Matt Moore threw the first no-hitter in the history of the Rays AA minor league team, the Montgomery Biscuits.

It must have been a magical moment. I wonder what it felt like. To make it even better is the fact that for the first time this season his parents, brother and sister-in-law had flown in for the game to watch him pitch.

And that is all we'll say about the Rays from last night.

TPC

I'd probably self-categorize as marginally more than a casual golf fan. It isn't the top of my list but I can really get into it during the majors.

With the rest of humanity I've been mesmerized by Tiger's domination up until his US Open injury. I haven't seen anything like it since MJ hijacked basketball. I didn't think I could ever get into golf as much without Tiger in the field. It has been a slow recovery the last couple of years but I think I just discovered last month that my sobriety is complete and I'm no longer a Tiger addict. I'm over it and the cure wasn't what I expected.

Last month my dad and I cashed in his 2010 Father's Day gift and we drove to Ponte Vedra, FL to watch The Players Championship at Sawgrass. TPC is dubbed the 5th major. It is about 3.5 hours from our house and is famous for their island green on the Par 3, 17th.

I had never been to a professional golf tournament. IT WAS AWESOME. Being there live is what converted me from a Tiger fan to a golf fan.

Predictably, I followed Tiger's injury leading up to the tournament and checked regularly to see if he had entered the field. Just my luck he signed up to play. We decided to go for the second round. Tiger dug himself into such a deficit thru 9 holes on Thursday (and aggravated his injury) that he withdrew before we ever got within 200 miles of the course. Just my luck again, but it took a day to realize it.

Now it would have been nice if Tiger was still playing because he would have diluted the rest of the crowds on the golf course but it really wasn't that busy anyway and I didn't have the temptation to spend the whole afternoon following him around.

We saw every hole at least once. The 17th didn't disappoint. We saw plenty of splashes to accompany our many personal miseries on the golf course. I was really excited to see the 18th because I'd seen so many times in past years the risk and reward of how far left to aim your tee shot. Nobody took much risk on a Friday at the 18th except those outside the cut line with nothing to lose and those were some pretty remarkable shots. The 16th really had the most reward for the risky and David Toms hit an awesome second shot on 16, especially considering the pin placement on Friday. We probably watched 10 groups play the 13th during the day. It was a par 3 and we sat probably 5 feet from the back edge of the green and saw some awesome shots during the day. I can and do still walk the whole course in my imagination.

The personalities and egos were interesting to observe. Some were spot on with my expectations and some were surprising. There could be a lot of factors that go into that and I may go another day and have a totally different experience.

A few examples of guys that I'm less of a fan of after watching in person:
Dustin Johnson
Graeme McDowell
Jim Furyk
Anthony Kim
Davis Love
Lucas Glover

A couple of examples of guys that I'm more of a fan of after the human experience:
Padraig Harrington
David Toms
Phil (last name not necessary)
Sergio Garcia
Jason Day
Ian Poulter
Bubba Watson

The US Open starts today. I'm sure I'll tune in a bit and now I'll be watching through a totally different lens.

One Boston win too many

My friends tell me I shouldn't root for anything Boston since I'm from the Bay area. That brings up another point - my wife tells me the Bay area is in California.

Anyway, sports often comes down to who you dislike the least come playoff time. I decided to dislike Boston the least after the Lightning stopped.

The Boston team I wasn't cheering for last night was the team that probably deserved a no-hitter against the Rays last night. I'm not a big Youkilis fan so I'm glad it was his defense that prevented the no-hitter.

Price pitches tonight in the rubber game of the series. Go Rays!

The Bruins are up 4-0

You'll recognize that post subject if you watched the New Hampshire GOP debate tonight on CNN. Contrary to what my siblings might think, sports is not the only way I spend my time and attention.

They say the higher you are the farther you fall. The world is about as complicated as ever and all the advances in wealth, knowledge, and technology only seem to add to the complication and danger.

I was impressed with a few of the candidates tonight. Most had at least one good comment. Julie had a point that it is a shame that the advent of modern communication almost certainly guarantees that we will never again have a shy, frail, or ineloquent president no matter how good his ideas. As a wise man once said - It is what it is.

There are certainly some serious parts to life and some serious decisions for which to plan. And that is part of why I love sports, games, recreation, and fun. To all things there is a season - and if you like enough sports the seasons overlap into a perma-season;)

Inspiring what practice can become

I'm not a Winter X fan by any means but whether it is at the piano, at a Broadway performance, or on a snowboard I'm almost always amazed by the hidden talent exposed after what I assume is considerable practice. Hard work really can reveal some spectacular potential and magnificent gifts. I stumbled on this and had to share. (wait for the advertisement to pass. I got it from ESPN.com)

Remember, Remember

The Cubs are the best example but I've supported a lot of teams empathetic to this plight.  I watched a lot of Cubs games growing up.  Usually around June I could spot a few signs in the bleacher seats that all were some variation of "Wait Til Next Year."  In a good year the signs wouldn't emerge until after the Summer Classic and in poor years we might even see the signs in May.  With over 100 years between World Series titles I'm sure there are some sarcastic signs that find their way into the stadium on Opening Day.

Having endured such seasons makes it all the more important to remember and appreciate the winning years. 

Under the leadership of Coach Rose, BYU basketball has built a winning tradition but this year had a little something extra.  I think it was the combination of fairy-tale heroism from Jimmer, the sudden rush of national attention justifying an attention-starved fanbase, and the late climax that appeared tragic when the ladder got knocked out from underneath us with the reports regarding Brother Davies. 

You weren't paying attention this year if you still believe the common phrase that there are no moral victories.  BYU enjoyed moral victories on multiple levels and the season ended with heads held high rather than confidence beaten down.

And so with the NBA Finals behind us and the draft about to remind us, let's take a minute (or 13) to remember.

Another June Baseball Game

I have a wonderful wife.  Most who might tune in to see my sports thoughts are people would are already of the same opinion that she is wonderful.  She taped the Rays game for me tonight and what a game it was (is).

I picked up the game in the top of the 4th with the Rays up 1-0.  David Price was pitching against BYU-product Jeremy Guthrie.

I was hoping the one run would hold as I could use the stats of a complete game shutout on my fantasy team from my Cy Young runner-up from last season.  When the Rays tacked on 2 more I felt very comfortable.

Then adversity strikes.  I've never really liked or had reason to like Mark Reynolds.  I think there might be some subconscious to that because his is a low-average, power hitter and I played the game by speed and design rather than power.  Either way, Reynolds irked me again tonight knocking a home run in consecutive innings.  The latter gave the O's a 4-3 lead.

Side note, until the Rays came to existence I was a big Orioles fan because even though I don't have the memory to support the fact, the Orioles were the first team I saw live when in my first three years of life growing up in Maryland.  My mom could tell you more because I really don't remember.  But the O's were my AL team growing up and the Cubs my NL team because of the distribution of Cubs games through WGN.  Being an infield guy my favorite middle infield would be Ryne Sandberg and Cal Ripken even though I really liked Ozzie's backflips.

Back to tonight.  Guthrie was probably done anyway after the top of the 6th.  He was on the hook for the loss but after the bottom half of the inning he was actually in line for the win.  Lady luck reversed course in the top of the 7th when the Rays managed to tie it up and again without making a pitch Price was relieved as being the pitcher of record and you knew either way he wouldn't come back bottom 7 with where his pitch count stood.

At this point the game is really getting good because each team has lost a lead already.  It is like a playoff series - they say it isn't a series until each team has won a game.

Also, this is where the subject of the post comes from.  All these games in the middle third of the season get lost in the longevity of a 162-game season but can become so important. 

The Rays have sputtered the last month or so.  They've fallen from first in the AL East to third.  Dropping another last night left them 4 games out of first and a Boston win today meant they needed to equalize with a win to hold serve and keep pace at 4 games out.  Now all is not lost if we drop to 5 games and the urgency is not lost if we win but the season can certainly turn on small hinges and these kind of games do a lot to team psyche.  A team can spiral downhill fast and while a division can't be won before the All-Star break it can certainly be lost by that time.

Back to the game.  The O's crush my hope with a run in 8th.  Peralta had Reynolds up with runners second and third and one down.  He had him 2-2 and I was just hoping he left nothing close to the zone.  Reynolds had to know the plan was to get him to chase or give him first to set up the force with runner third and less than two outs but after fouling off a pitch out of the zone low and away Peralta hung a slider on him that must have surprised Reynolds as much as it did me because he froze for a called third strike rather than a third homer for the game.  No surprises on the next batter and he pitched him cautious with an open base in a tie game.  After going to a full count Peralta gave up a walk which isn't bad independent of the next at-bat.  He went 3-0 before a gimmie strike and walking in the go-ahead run.  A nice play by Brignac got us out of the inning but it felt like part of the hinge for our season might have been tonight and the door was swinging the wrong way.

Enter the ninth and hope is restored.  The Rays really are a late-inning team.  I've been at the Trop for two walk-offs already this year and multiple last year.  So Zobrist gets us going again with an awesome head first slide for a triple on a ball that probably should have been caught but that's baseball.  They give Joyce the walk because they want no piece of him even with Longoria behind him.  No problem - right.  Like missing a free throw, Evan pops out to the infield and momentum shifts back to the home crowd.  One out from the end and guess who comes through in the clutch - Casey Kotchman.  Casey played for my high school a few years after I graduated.

It is the bottom of the 10th right now and I don't know who is going to win but this has been a fascinating game and this is why I love baseball (I just wish they had bunt base hit with BJ in the top of the ninth with Joyce on third.  He didn't get a pitch that it would have worked on but I would have loved the call and Upton could totally beat it out.  I should do a blog post some time on the lost art of the bunt base hit.).

Paging MC

Anyone seen Mark Cuban lately?  He is due on stage soon if things go according to plan.

Out of sight out of mind, I guess.  I hadn't thought about him so far during the NBA Finals until last night as I watched Lebron lose the biggest game of his life (his words, not mine).

I'm not your typical fan.  I enjoy sports playoffs more in the early rounds than toward the championship because more often than not my team isn't one of the final 2 or 4 teams and there aren't as many underdogs (likable teams) around.

So this year is a little different because I kind of like the Mavs even if I thought the most intriguing Final would pit the Bulls against the Thunder.  We'll never know if I'm all talk or not but I think I would have watched all of that series.

Anyway, I started to reminisce some of my favorite NBA playoff memories and the Mavs come to mind a lot.  I enjoyed their battles with Pheonix back in the day and I was disappointed they couldn't disappoint Shaq when the Heat beat them in the Finals a few years ago.

The more I thought about the Mavs the more my memory was filled with the distraction that is Mark Cuban.

But I can't think of one time in the 2011 playoffs that I've seen him on the bench or on the court or in the media, which is a bit out of character so I'm assuming it is by design.  Seems to be working.  I wonder if all that pent up MC is going to pop on Sunday or Tuesday if the Mavs get this done.