Hey, I finally got to see your World Champion San Francisco Giants in person! Sunday, in Houston; first time I've seen the team since June 2009. Couldn't have been a better game, as it turned out...that was the one with the Panda HR winning it in the 11th inning, and with Belt slamming his own HR and four hits. Here's the box, if for some reason you're curious. Got to see Steve Edlesfson's major league debut, for whatever that's worth. I saw Tom O'Malley's debut, too; hope Edlefson has a better career! Also, I saw Kent Hrbek's first home run. No, that's not really related, but I figured I'd slip it in there.
Anyway, that was Sunday. Here's what I want to know: what is the record of teams with four or more middle infielders in the lineup at the same time? Ugh. I know there are injuries and all, but this is one ugly lineup tonight. Oh well -- the good news is that the Giants still are still three games to the good of Arizona in Clay Davenport's adjusted standings, which if all things were equal would mean that they still have a fair chance of catching the Diamondbacks. I think I'll just pretend that means something, for now.
The Reds won a couple of pennants (1939, 1940) with an infield of three shortstops and a first-baseman who could sort of handle second base.
ReplyDeleteBill McKechnie was such a defense first manager that he was blind to what Hank Sauer could do with the bat.
And while his formula worked for a while, as soon as the players slipped they started to have real problems scoring runs.
I'm a New Englander and lifelong Red Sox fan, though the Giants are my NL favorite from living near SF for 20 years. The Sox have had several years where the lineup often consisted of three middle infielders and a first baseman. I think in 2003-04 they may actually have fielded some lineups with four middle infielders (Pokey Reese, Nomar, Bellhorn, and Todd Walker).
ReplyDeleteCan't believe you spent zero time talking about the Little League World Series. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing these kids play their hearts out, showcase their skills, and give everyone watching them a sense of national (and regional) pride.
ReplyDeleteKudos to my neighbors in Huntington Beach for a great win against Japan!