NLCS Game 2, ALCS Game 2: Brewers/Cardinals, Rangers/Tigers

by Al Yellon on Oct 10, 2011 2:00 PM CDT in Chicago Cubs Game Threads

You wouldn't think they'd need to: Grounds crew members water the field after Game Two of the American League Championship Series at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington was postponed due to inclement weather on October 9, 2011 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

So let me get this straight. On Saturday night, the weather forecast looked dire for the Dallas area, with thunderstorms and heavy rain expected, but they started on time and played anyway, with the result being two rain delays, starting pitchers having to be lifted early, and a game that ended at midnight local time.

Sunday, with a lesser chance of rain, they called things off about four hours before game time -- at which time the rain completely left the area. They could have easily played Sunday night. File this under "You Can't Win No Matter What You Do".

Fortunately, this afternoon's forecast for Arlington, Texas is for sunshine and temperatures in the upper 70s, perfect for baseball.

Tonight in Milwaukee, it's also supposed to be nice, but I presume the roof will be closed at Miller Park simply because it will be a coolish fall evening.

I hope you're as amused as I am about the photo of the grounds crew watering the wet grass in Texas.

Game time for Rangers/Tigers: 3:19 pm CDT. TV: Fox. Announcers: Joe Buck and Terry Francona.

Game time for Brewers/Cardinals: 7:05 pm. CDT. TV: TBS. Announcers: Brian Anderson (play-by-play), Ron Darling (analyst), John Smoltz (analyst), Craig Sager (reporter).

MLB.com Gameday for NLCS Game 1

MLB.com Gameday for ALCS Game 2

SB Nation game preview for NLCS Game 1

SB Nation game preview for ALCS Game 2

This is the only thread I'm posting for today's game. If you need overflows due to extra innings or rain delays, post them in the fanshot section.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

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Comments

The tarp prolly kept the infield grass dry

… Go tigers. Oh, and since it rained last night does that mean mccarver is back today?

by chit0wn on Oct 10, 2011 2:17 PM CDT via mobile reply actions

Also...

… since I wrote this, they’ve announced the roof will be open in Milwaukee tonight.

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by Al Yellon on Oct 10, 2011 3:09 PM CDT reply actions

So the full moon can shine down

and draw out the craziness. Or is one Brewers player a werewolf? Werewolves have added hitting power you know… Damn, Vincent Price’s dead, so we can’t have him call the game.

by ddoubleheader on Oct 10, 2011 7:26 PM CDT up reply actions

...that's so Halloween-ish of you.

’tis the season

"Well-behaved women seldom make History"---Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

by cooliogirl47 on Oct 10, 2011 7:50 PM CDT up reply actions

That reminds me....our wolfbane isn't blooming yet...that's odd...

and a little scary.

Dear Great Pumpkin, I am looking forward to your arrival on Halloween Night. I hope you will bring me lots of presents.

by katie casey on Oct 10, 2011 8:11 PM CDT up reply actions

I have some extra hemlock root, and a recipe.....

Eye of newt, and a wing of bat
And a long black whisker from a big black cat
Spider legs and wolf hound fur
Bring to a boil and then stir
Add posion ivy with a hemlock root
A thread from the collar of a vampire suit
Guaranteed with your money back too
But be careful when you mess with witch’s brew!

"Well-behaved women seldom make History"---Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

by cooliogirl47 on Oct 11, 2011 8:19 AM CDT up reply actions

And it's about time to check Uncle Fester's batteries.

You know, check ’em every 6 months, in the spring and the fall.

by ddoubleheader on Oct 11, 2011 3:44 PM CDT up reply actions

I'm on the ground crew.

What should I do today?

Water the field.

The field is wet. You still want me to water it?

Is there an echo in here?

I'm a Cubs fan. The Jaded Bitterness comes as a Standard Feature.

by timh815 on Oct 10, 2011 3:10 PM CDT reply actions

The inswamp, a speciality of down south baseball...

If the Cubs still have a chance, no matter how small, it’s still Go Cubs, damn the math and pass the KoolAid.

by eths on Oct 10, 2011 4:02 PM CDT up reply actions

Can anyone do

a “Where’s Waldo?” parody called “Where’s Theo Epstein?”

by Josh Timmers on Oct 10, 2011 3:40 PM CDT reply actions

I just saw Warren G Harding

in a speakeasy

I'm a Cubs fan. The Jaded Bitterness comes as a Standard Feature.

by timh815 on Oct 10, 2011 3:53 PM CDT up reply actions

Better Harding than Hoover

That Prohibition series is really good.

I’m glad we’re starting a trend of naming obscure, forgotten presidents in these topics. I said Grover Cleveland days ago, you said Warren G Harding. We’ll have to find a way to work Rutherford B. Hayes in somewhere…

by ddoubleheader on Oct 10, 2011 7:29 PM CDT up reply actions

I just saw William Howard Taft

At Whole Foods

by JOVE23 on Oct 11, 2011 11:10 AM CDT up reply actions

Rutherford B. Hayes...

… is checking out Starbucks, trying to locate Samuel Tilden to tell him he lost.

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by Al Yellon on Oct 11, 2011 1:30 PM CDT up reply actions

I heard Tilden

Was at the free speech zone at the Electoral College.

by JOVE23 on Oct 11, 2011 3:02 PM CDT up reply actions

The Electoral College of Coaches, no doubt.

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by Al Yellon on Oct 11, 2011 3:35 PM CDT up reply actions

That's it!

Cubs fans can elect 3, maybe 4 coaches from a pool of 50 has-beens, whichever dozen or so draw the unlucky short straw to be contestants. The problem this season hasn’t been too much Quade, it’s been too little! We need to multiply his lacksidaisical hallucinatory style of managing. If there’s enough mixed signals and cackling chorus, maybe Cubs players will mis-hear/misread the right moves and start winning. Call it “From Chaos- Wins”, or maybe the “What?!” strategy.

I still think the Cubs need to become the Chicago Whales to win a World Series title in Wrigley.

by ddoubleheader on Oct 11, 2011 3:48 PM CDT up reply actions

Yesterday at that Starbucks. Where?
Theo Epstein wasn’t there
He wasn’t there again today
All of this, I will downplay

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by Al Yellon on Oct 10, 2011 4:06 PM CDT up reply actions

As I was going up the stair,

I met a Theo who wasn’t there.
He wasn’t there again today,
I wish to hell, he would go away.

If the Cubs still have a chance, no matter how small, it’s still Go Cubs, damn the math and pass the KoolAid.

by eths on Oct 10, 2011 4:12 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs

+1000

"I'm not much of a chemistry guy, you know. Chemistry to me is a pinch-hit double with the bases loaded"--Jim Frey, Chicago Tribune, 1985.

by zevkalman on Oct 10, 2011 5:17 PM CDT up reply actions

When Theo Epstein

visits Wrigley’s neighborhood,
he stops at Starbucks

better at Haiku

I'm a Cubs fan. The Jaded Bitterness comes as a Standard Feature.

by timh815 on Oct 10, 2011 4:14 PM CDT up reply actions

The Cubs GM search
Includes a stop at Starbucks
So says Sullivan

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by Al Yellon on Oct 10, 2011 4:28 PM CDT up reply actions 2 recs

In Germany we have a pocket version

If the Cubs still have a chance, no matter how small, it’s still Go Cubs, damn the math and pass the KoolAid.

by eths on Oct 10, 2011 4:33 PM CDT up reply actions

Theo

is the Fuhrer?!?!

by JOVE23 on Oct 11, 2011 11:11 AM CDT up reply actions

Theo is a study system for driver's license exams.

Führerschein = Driver’s license

If the Cubs still have a chance, no matter how small, it’s still Go Cubs, damn the math and pass the KoolAid.

by eths on Oct 11, 2011 2:39 PM CDT up reply actions

That's pretty neat.

More drivers here would benefit from that, but we’d need to have expensive and rigorous driving exams like you guys do to necessitate that gadget.

by JOVE23 on Oct 11, 2011 3:03 PM CDT up reply actions

Quade would have been tossed long ago...

If the Cubs still have a chance, no matter how small, it’s still Go Cubs, damn the math and pass the KoolAid.

by eths on Oct 10, 2011 4:30 PM CDT reply actions

About the only thing he was good at.

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by Al Yellon on Oct 10, 2011 4:31 PM CDT up reply actions

True, so true, but kind of sad too.

If the Cubs still have a chance, no matter how small, it’s still Go Cubs, damn the math and pass the KoolAid.

by eths on Oct 10, 2011 4:33 PM CDT up reply actions

was?

I'm a Cubs fan. The Jaded Bitterness comes as a Standard Feature.

by timh815 on Oct 10, 2011 4:37 PM CDT up reply actions

I'm assuming he won't manage the Cubs again.

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by Al Yellon on Oct 10, 2011 4:50 PM CDT up reply actions

Where's some of that eternal Cubs optimism?

The Cubs always have hope every year is the year, so Quade can still be manager next year (the silence has been long. Cubs seem to be assuming a new GM might want to keep Quade). I’m erring on the side of caution by not underestimating the potential stupidity of the Cubs.

Maybe Quade needs company, a college of coaches. Find 3 other imbeciles like him and all 4 can impart their ‘wisdom’ onto the players.

by ddoubleheader on Oct 10, 2011 7:32 PM CDT up reply actions

First official action the new GM will do will be to fire Quade.

It will give him instant legitimacy with the fan base.

by jpeters407 on Oct 10, 2011 7:54 PM CDT up reply actions

If that's not the first official action...

Imagine the collective moan that will come from all around the Chicago area, westward into Iowa, southward into central Illinois, and in small pockets across the country.

by ddoubleheader on Oct 11, 2011 3:50 PM CDT up reply actions

Why am I sad when I see the Brewers and Cards in the playoffs?

"I'm not much of a chemistry guy, you know. Chemistry to me is a pinch-hit double with the bases loaded"--Jim Frey, Chicago Tribune, 1985.

by zevkalman on Oct 10, 2011 5:17 PM CDT reply actions

because the Cardinals an Brewers are in the playoffs...

by daily2b on Oct 10, 2011 5:19 PM CDT up reply actions

yeah. that's clearly the reason. sigh.

"I'm not much of a chemistry guy, you know. Chemistry to me is a pinch-hit double with the bases loaded"--Jim Frey, Chicago Tribune, 1985.

by zevkalman on Oct 10, 2011 5:22 PM CDT up reply actions

On a brighter note...

…one of these team’s fan base is gonna get their hearts ripped out and feel like crap ALL winter about “getting so close” AND also worrying about if their 1B is gonna leave or not. So, that’s a good thing. At least our pain was over quick – sorta like a trip to the guillotine – but, we get to look forward to GM announcements and cool stuff like that…hopefully in the near future.

"When I came up to bat with three men on and two outs in the ninth, I looked in the other team's dugout and they were already in street clothes." - Bob Uecker

by Easy Ed on Oct 10, 2011 5:47 PM CDT up reply actions

we're so lucky!

;)

"Well-behaved women seldom make History"---Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

by cooliogirl47 on Oct 10, 2011 5:52 PM CDT up reply actions

Lol

"Well-behaved women seldom make History"---Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

by cooliogirl47 on Oct 10, 2011 5:46 PM CDT up reply actions

nice catch

If the Cubs still have a chance, no matter how small, it’s still Go Cubs, damn the math and pass the KoolAid.

by eths on Oct 10, 2011 5:19 PM CDT reply actions

Cruz just hit a ball almost as hard as Prince hit his homer last night.

"The riches of the game are in the thrills, not the money." --Ernie Banks

by dtpollitt on Oct 10, 2011 5:57 PM CDT reply actions

These playoffs have been pretty good thus far. Lots of fun games to watch.

"The riches of the game are in the thrills, not the money." --Ernie Banks

by dtpollitt on Oct 10, 2011 6:28 PM CDT reply actions

I don't think Valverde is going to be doing his rain dance tonight.

"The riches of the game are in the thrills, not the money." --Ernie Banks

by dtpollitt on Oct 10, 2011 6:50 PM CDT reply actions

He is entitled to dance his ass off for getting out of that.

"I am not ashamed to say I love Greg Maddux" - Jim Hendry
Me either

by Doggie Stalker on Oct 10, 2011 7:02 PM CDT up reply actions

I think the Rangers blew that.

"The riches of the game are in the thrills, not the money." --Ernie Banks

by dtpollitt on Oct 10, 2011 7:12 PM CDT up reply actions

Happy Yom Kippur, by the way.

"The riches of the game are in the thrills, not the money." --Ernie Banks

by dtpollitt on Oct 10, 2011 7:13 PM CDT up reply actions

The Rangers are Jewish?!

by ddoubleheader on Oct 10, 2011 7:33 PM CDT up reply actions

Actually Scott Feldman who kind of saved their asses today is.

"I am not ashamed to say I love Greg Maddux" - Jim Hendry
Me either

by Doggie Stalker on Oct 10, 2011 8:29 PM CDT up reply actions

Rangers should've won it

"A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality." John Lennon
"My favorite food is Macaroni and Cheese, from the blue box." Geovany Soto

by Cubbiegoon on Oct 10, 2011 6:57 PM CDT reply actions

Shoulda coulda woulda

by ddoubleheader on Oct 10, 2011 7:33 PM CDT up reply actions

Bear Down Chicago Bears.

"The riches of the game are in the thrills, not the money." --Ernie Banks

by dtpollitt on Oct 10, 2011 7:35 PM CDT reply actions

Holy crap.

Don’t pitch to Cruz.

"The riches of the game are in the thrills, not the money." --Ernie Banks

by dtpollitt on Oct 10, 2011 7:45 PM CDT reply actions

I assume that was a joke

but that reminds of the Bobby Cox story I posted earlier in the season. John Smoltz says Cox game out to the mound for a conference with Glavine and the infielders and said he walk the next batter , to which Glavine replied " and where do you suggest we put him?". Cox looked around and realized the bases were loaded. Now there are some cases where you might even walk a guy with the bases loaded but the bottom on the 11th inning of a playoff game ( or any game) is not one of them.

"I am not ashamed to say I love Greg Maddux" - Jim Hendry
Me either

by Doggie Stalker on Oct 10, 2011 8:33 PM CDT up reply actions