While the best of five divisional series between the Detroit Tigers and Oakland A’s is tied at a game apiece, the three other such series could end today.
In the other American League series the top ranked Boston Red Sox can win their first post season series since 2008 with a win at Tampa, vs the Rays.
The BoSox won both Fenway park tilts putting Joe Maddon’s Rays on the precipice of a third straight divisional series loss all in a four season span (2010-2013).
The loss is likely but far from certainly to occur in their “no real atmosphere,” home in Tampa, also for a third time in as many appearances in that span.
In the National League with each team playing on the exact 39 year anniversary of their game two clash in the 1974 NLCS, the Pittsburgh Pirates and Los Angeles Dodgers won home divisional series games yesterday, making a 1974 NLCS redux a likely, but still far from certain, outcome.
There is action in all four series today. The Tigers host the A’s in the day’s first game, a scheduled 1 pm eastern time start.
The next game will be the Pirates vs the St. Louis Cardinals in game four. The Pirates are hoping to win their first post season series (play in game is not a series) since winning the 1979 World Series in that 3pm start.
Next, the aforementioned Red Sox’ bid to wrap up their series will be in game three at Tampa with a 6pm scheduled starting time.
The day’s final game is in Los Angeles (9:30pm scheduled start) with the Dodgers facing the Atlanta Braves in game four.
Yesterday, on the exact 50 year anniversary of winning the 1963 World Series in four straight games vs the still great New York Yankees, the Dodgers moved one win away from just their third LCS appearance in 25 seasons(1989-2013) with a “football score”(13-6) win vs the Atlanta Braves.
There was more history made on Friday October 4, 2013. After the first two of the four divisional games produced The Pirates and Red Sox winning post season games on the same day for the first time, the Detroit Tigers’ victory in the day’s final game also produced an historic first.
Yesterday was the first time in history that the two franchises (the Pirates and Tigers) which met in the 1909 World Series, won post season games on the same day.
In the last of the four divisional series games played yesterday, the Detroit Tigers scored three runs in the first, (Miguel Cabrera getting the key hit) and held off the Oakland A’s (3-2) in their division series opener.
In 1909, the Pirates, (who lost that first World Series to the Red Sox franchise 5 games to three in a best of nine event in 1903), beat the Tigers in the first seventh and deciding game of a World Series (the Pirates are (5-2) in World Series play, (5-0) in decisive game sevens).
Each team featured an all time baseball great. The Pirates had shortstop Honus Wagner while Ty Cobb played in the outfield for the Tigers.
Only once since their 1909 World Series clash have the Pirates and Tigers made the baseball post season in the same year.
That year was 1972 and as is the case this year the Tigers’ post season opponent is Oakland(A’s). Additionally the Pirates’ lone 1972 opponent, the Cincinnati Reds, were also a post season opponent for Pittsburgh this year.
Similarly and of course coincidentally, the two previous times the Pirates and Red Sox were in post season play together, in opposite “brackets” if you will, their opponents were the Reds and A’s.
In 1972, four times the Tigers and Pirates played on the same day, the Tigers in the ALCS and the Pirates in the NLCS. On Saturday October 7th, the Pirates won but the Tigers lost in series openers. The next day, both teams lost. Only the Pirates played on Monday October 9th, winning to take a (2-1) series lead.
However it was the Pirates’ last win and on Tuesday October 10th and Wednesday the 11th while the Tigers won each day to force a decisive 5th game, the Reds beat the Pirates both days to take the series in five games.
Hence yesterday October 4, 2013 was the first time that the Tigers and Pirates, World Series opponents 104 years ago, won post season games on the same day.
The A’s won that decisive 5th game in 1972 and went on to win their first World Series in 42 years and after having moved from Philadelphia to Kansas City (remember innovative A’s owner Charles O–for owner–Finley and his “pennant porch” in K.C.) and again to Oakland.
Since that 1972 ALCS, the Tigers are (8-2) vs the A’s in the playoffs, winning series in 2006 and last year.
Already pre series 8 to 5 favorites, and having won a road opening game in a best of five series, Detroit will be considered huge favorites in the current series vs the A’s.
Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner
Rather than tell you how horrible the broadcasting and the seven post season games have been thus far, I will give you an interesting fact you will not likely find elsewhere.
The two teams (Boston Red Sox franchise and Pittsburgh Pirates) that met in the first World Series 110 years ago, won post season games on the same day for the first time in history on Friday.
The Pirates eased (7-1) in a noon or so start at St. Louis and squared the division series at a game apiece.
The Red Sox beat the Tampa Rays (12-2) in their division series opener. This snapped a four game Red Sox post season game loss skein that started with a game seven loss to the Rays in the 2008 ALCS.
Other than in 1903 when they faced each other, only twice before have the Red Sox and Pirates been in the post season the same year.
In 1975 while the Red Sox swept the Oakland A’s, the Cincinnati Reds, (who, 38 years later, today fired their manager, Dusty Baker despite a 90 win season, after their loss to the Pirates) swept the Pirates. Each series went three games in a best of five LCS.
The other time both teams made the post -season in the same year was 1990 and each team (The Red Sox and Pirates) faced the same opponent.
The Reds again beat the “Bucs,” this time it was 4 games to two in a best of seven series. Meanwhile the A’s, who had swept the Red Sox in 4 straight in the 1988 ALCS, did it again winning four straight from them in the 1990 ALCS.
Thus on Friday October 4, 2013, 110 years after meeting in baseball’s first post season contest, the Red Sox and Pirates won post season games on the same day for the first time in history.
Let’s cite the exception to the bad broadcasting: it’s Bob Costas, broadcasting the sixth of seven “little or no drama” games (Pittsburgh Pirates’ rout of the St. Louis Cardinals) in this horrible extra round(s) of baseball playoffs.
Costas mentioned that the Cards’ “pitching advantage” upcoming in #4 last year, when broadcasting #3 of St. Louis/ Washington Nationals (the Cards lost that game but rallied to dramatically win the decisive 5th game), cited the Pirates “edge” in #3 this year with starter Francisco Liriano pitching at home.
“Las Vegas” “agrees” as the Pirates are three to two favorites in the upcoming tilt. The series is considered even after St. Loo was a nearly three to one series favorite after game one.
Costas is still a joy to hear, making the best of a bad game without trying to con us that the game’s winner is in doubt.
As always, Bob did a good, professional job. Sadly it is his only broadcast of the post season and I believe just his second in the last thirteen seasons.
Bob Costas
The Tampa Bay Rays are in the divisional series for the third time in four seasons after posting a (4-0) victory at Cleveland (Indians) in the American League “play in” game.
The Wednesday night victory in Cleveland followed a Rays’ victory in another must game at Texas two nights earlier.
The Rays, who have made the division series four times in six seasons, played three games in four days in three different seasons. They survived, winning (7-6) Sunday afternoon in Toronto.
The busy itinerary continues when the Rays face the American League top seed, Boston Red Sox in Boston on Friday.
That is game one of the division series which is a redux of the 2008 ALCS, won by the Rays in the maximum 7 games vs the Red Sox. This will be a best of five series.
The Rays return to Tampa for game three of the division series on Monday. In a two week span the Rays will have played in Tampa, New York, Toronto, Texas, Boston and Tampa again.
The Rays still managed by Joe Maddon repeated a Maddon post season entity victory over Terry Francona, who managed the 2008 Red Sox and is the current Indians’ manager.
Exactly fifty years ago today, the great Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitcher Sandy Koufax set a World Series record, striking out 15 New York Yankees in a (5-2) Dodgers’ win in the World Series opener.
It was Wednesday October 2nd, 1963 and as is the case today, was a beautiful day in the New York area. The game was played at the original Yankee Stadium.
I have incredibly fond memories of the game, lucky to have watched while in my third grade classroom.
I had a great teacher, Mrs. Drusin, who let the class watch the game.
And I wouldn’t leave the classroom until I got to see Sandy strikeout Harry Bright to break Carl Erskine’s record of 14 strikeouts in a World Series game.
Not too far away, future great broadcaster and already a baseball lover, Bob Costas saw the game in his sixth grade class.
That was because as Bob so eloquently put it during his brilliant, moving eulogy for Mickey Mantle 32 (Koufax’ number) years later, his teacher Mr. Tomasee, “a very wise man knew that the World Series was more important, at least for one day, than any school lesson could be.”
Life went on and horrible tragedy struck just one month and twenty days later when of course, President Kennedy was killed.
Yet the memories of that innocent and bold day on October 2nd remain tucked into a rare special place of happiness for me.
Destined to go vs the flow even then, I succeeded that day with my once beloved Dodgers against a once intensely disliked Yankees team.
Yet 50 years later, the memories and greatness of those Yankees; Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris and Edward “Whitey” Ford to name three, are as sweet as those of Dodgers Sandy, Don Drysdale and John Roseboro (who hit a big three run home run in game 1). Almost, anyway.
Jack Nicholson’s character “Mc Murphy” in his award winning performance in the film, “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” badly wants to watch the 1963 World Series and that “opener,” as he calls game one. His character tries again to watch the next day and is again denied. That depicted the harsh reality of mean triumphing over good.
Still amidst the sad in the film, is broadcaster Ernie Harwell’s actual recap of Game 1, as part of the “preview” for game two.
The ads for the game (players like Roseboro or the Yankees Elston Howard telling us how much they love the new Gillette razor), the price of razors, and the Gillette theme to open the World Series broadcast all take me back to better days.
The game, exactly 50 years ago today, represented much of what, (and here are those saddest words again), “might have been.”
I am grateful that for one day, at least, it was “what might have been.”
Not only did Sandy strikeout 15 but former New York governor and minor league baseball player Mario Cuomo, in attendance that day, years later told me: “most remarkable was that Bobby Richardson, who rarely struck out, fanned three times that day.”
Frank Howard’s second inning double to the famed, on the field monuments was hit as hard as any ball was ever hit.
What great memories!
Four of the five teams that were (3-0) and did not face another (3-0) team won last Sunday.
Meanwhile in a battle of (3-0) teams, the New Orleans Saints easily dispatched of the Miami Dolphins in the Monday night game.
The other (4-0) teams are the Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks, Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots.
The (3-1) Detroit Lions handed the now (3-1) Chicago Bears their first loss, winning (40-32) in the Motor City.
Sadly, the great former Pittsburgh Steelers’ defensive lineman, L.C. Greenwood, who wore number 68, died at the age of 67.
Coincidentally he died on the same day and with each team wearing the same colors, as a Super Bowl 9 redux between the Steelers and Minnesota Vikings.
In that Super Bowl, Mr. Greenwood chased scrambling Minnesota quarterback, Fran Tarkenton all over the field and batted down three of his passes in a (16-6) Pittsburgh victory giving the franchise its first ever NFL title.
One of Baseball’s four divisional series will match the Detroit Tigers against the Oakland A’s.
It will be the second straight year that these teams play each other in the divisional series. Last year, the Tigers won the series in 5 games.
The Tigers and A’s have also met in two American League Championship Series. Each team won one.
In 2006, the Tigers swept the A’s in four straight games. Magglio Ordonez hit a game ending home run to end the series in the fourth game. The Tigers lost the subsequent World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals in five games.
The other League Championship Series between the two clubs was a great one. It was in 1972 and the A’s won the decisive fifth game in Detroit.
Gene Tenace, who would go on to be the World Series MVP as the A’s won their first World Series in 41 years, broke out of a big slump and delivered the game winning hit in the final game of the series.
The great clutch player, Reggie Jackson scored the tying run in the decisive game, getting credit for a steal of home. He was hurt on the play and saw no further action that post season.
George “Easy Rider” Hendrick, who would start on the St.Louis Cardinals’ title team a decade later, replaced “Reginald Martinez”(Jackson) and caught the last out.
Normally a starting pitcher, Vida Blue pitched in relief and saved the game getting Tony Taylor to end the series.
Coincidentally, by far the most memorable post season meeting between the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates was also a 1972 LCS (the NLCS). The Pirates’ “play in game” vs the Reds tomorrow night will be the fifth post season meeting between those two clubs. I have great memories thinking back to both League Championship Series of 1972.
Tonight the Texas Rangers host the Tampa Rays in a one game playoff with the winner becoming one of ten teams in the Baseball tournament.
It evokes Ed Asner’s great character “Axel’s” remark in “Rich Man Poor Man,” concerning his wife’s “religious,” attitude. Getting up from the marital bed of the 1950’s, he leaves saying there are “two saints in this bed, one too many for him.”
That is how I feel about the number of teams in baseball’s post season as there are way too many and so little reward is given to the teams that did the best during the 162 game schedule.
Anyway, play they will, and Texas hopes to eliminate the Rays from the playoffs for the third time in four seasons.
The Rangers prevailed in division series vs the Rays in both 2010 and 2011, clinching the series at Tampa.
The winner of tonight’s game visits the Cleveland Indians in the American League “play in” game on Wednesday night.
Cleveland won their last nine games while Texas won their last seven. The Rays, who had won 7 straight to take a two game “qualification” lead into the final weekend, lost the first two games at the Jays (Toronto Blue Jays) and had to hold on for dear life in winning the finale by a (7-6) score.
Recently I saw a truly gripping, excellent play called ” A Dish for the Gods.” The words for the play’s title come from “Anthony and Cleopatra” (also Julius Caesar), both written by William Shakespeare, and refer to the queen’s beauty and overall appeal.
Those great qualities are certainly in Margot White, who stars as writer Julia Richards. Ms. White gives a strong performance having just the right intonation for Victor L. Cahn’s words about a writer, her career and one true romantic love.
She is a sight to behold and a presence from the time she enters from the back of the theatre (“Always look to the back” Robert Shaw’s “Lonnegan” says to Robert Redford’s “Kelly,” really “Johnny Hooker,” in “The Sting”) to start the play. She is riveting as Julia–A Dish for the Gods–even in what is supposed to be an old suit.
The great love interest appearing in flashbacks is “Greg,” played more than ably by Kevin Cristaldi. His brooding, suffering teacher/aspiring writer character eventually finds his way. Cristaldi captures his essence through his good and bad times.
“A Dish for the Gods” is directed by Adam Fitzgerald and runs through October 5th at Lion Theatre. The location is 410 West 42nd Street. Click for Tickets, more info
It is virtually certain that the Cincinnati Reds will face the Pittsburgh Pirates in a one game “play in ” game on Tuesday October 1st.
The site of the game will be determined this weekend as the winner of a 3 game series between the two clubs in Cincinnati, will host the playoff game.
The Pirates lead the Reds by one game but Cincinnati holds the tiebreaker. Hence if they win 2 or more games this weekend, the Pittsburgh/Cincinnati clash will be in “The Queen City” of Cincinnati.
These two teams have staged some memorable games, particularly in the 1970’s, when they met four times in the NLCS.
Those series determined a berth in the World Series. The winner was to be one of two teams left. This year the winner will be one of eight teams still competing for the title. That is quite a difference.
The Reds won 3 of the 4 NLCS battles and three of the four series resulted in three game sweeps. The Reds swept in 1970 and 1975 while the Pirates swept the Reds in 1979.
The most memorable series was in 1972 when the Reds rallied in the fifth and deciding game to win the series and the pennant.
The great Reds’ catcher, John Bench hit a game tying, leadoff home run in the bottom of the 9th inning to tie the game.
The home run sailed over the head of the great Pirates’ outfielder, Roberto Clemente. Essentially, it was the last time the public saw Mr. Clemente, who died tragically on the last day of that year on his way to aiding earthquake victims in Nicaragua.
Oh do I recall the great hitters on both teams during the glorious 1960’s and 1970’s!
There was a great game between the two teams in 1966 that I read about yesterday in an old Sporting News Baseball Guide, sadly the only one I still possess.
The game was won by the Pirates by a score of (14-11) in 13 innings despite the exploits of future, 1969 World’s Champion New York Mets player, Art Shamsky, then with the Reds.
He entered the game played on August 12,1966, in Cincinnati’s Crosley Field, as a defensive maneuver in the top of the eighth inning. His two run homer in the bottom of the frame put Cincinnati up (8-7) going to the top of the 9th inning.
However, the Pirates tied the game and twice took leads in extra innings only to see Shamsky tie the game both times, first with a solo homer in the 10th and then with a two run shot in the bottom of the 11th inning.
Maybe there will be a great game this Tuesday. Surely these two clubs in the ’60’s and ’70’s provided some great thrills, each with a roster that featured some incredible talent.
