Why not Oscar Taveras?
The wunder-prospect that took too long to call-up, that took a trade to get in the line-up, that never really took to hitting MLB pitching and found himself as a bench player during the end of the season… why couldn’t he come in and with one swing erase a season of tumult and introduce himself on the most national of stages?
Why not?
Because he’s not a professional hitter.
In the most literal sense, of course he is. But when you juxtapose his at bat with Matt Carpenter’s? There’s no comparison. MARP methodically landed jab after jab after jab before getting his pitch and knocking Clayton Kershaw out.
It was methodical. Beautiful. Professional.
https://twitter.com/athooks/status/518267609435738112
In a season that has become predictably unpredictable, the battle of the Cy Young finalists ended 10-9. Because of course it did.
The Best? The Worst?
+ Matt Carpenter will get a majority of the credit today, but don’t forget about Matt Holliday’s three run insurance HR. Both men should share equal credit for the win.
– Adam Wainwright had a piss poor start. Couldn’t get a single clean inning. Surrendered a huge lead. Toasted the bullpen. Pretty much the nightmare scenario for the Cardinals. He looked to be getting back to his dominant form by the end of the season, but ‘pipe-shot’ Waino came roaring back Friday night.
+ Larry King. What he’s doing all day that he still needs to wear a tie and suspenders when it’s 92 degrees outside is a mystery for another day. But I’m pretty sure he didn’t leave his seat for 9 long innings, he got there before the game started and stayed through the end. Not all Dodgers fans are terrible, guys!
– Am I the only one that finds the Kolten Wong/Pete Kozma platoon a bit, well, weird? Where did this idea come from? Hey Pete – you’re not good enough to play in the big leagues until the September roster expansion… but now that it’s the playoffs and the best pitcher in the world is throwing – why don’t we go ahead and get you a start. Argue the split all you want – it’s weird.
+ Apparently the size of the dip is equal to the nastiness of Carlos Martinez’s stuff. Because he had a MONSTER lipper in last night (estimated 1/2 can) and came out throwing freaking darts. When Los is on, his stuff is electric. We like electric Los.
– Wins in the playoffs aren’t easy or often, so Trevor Rosenthal’s shaky outing isn’t going to get the run that it normally wold in the regular season. Just a reminder, though, that the tying run was 90 feet from scoring last night. I don’t know what’s thinner than a razor’s edge, but the Birds are perched on it with their closer.
+/- Hard not to love when teammates stick up for each other. Yadi getting fired up didn’t go unnoticed by his teammates. Still, touching the umpire? Can. Not. Do. The last thing the Cardinals need is an avoidable suspension of their team leader and most valuable defensive weapon.
And the biggest positive? We get to do it all over again tonight.
Highlight Of The Night:
[mlbvideo id=”36738949″ width=”650″ height=”324″ /]Photo: The Big Lead
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
