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SB Nation World Series 2011: Cardinals vs. Rangers
Thanks largely to Chris Carpenter and David Freese -- but with a little help from Mother Nature and Dave Duncan -- the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Texas Rangers in Game 7 to win the 2011 World Series.
Oct 28, 2011 - It's hard to win a World Series without a little luck.
It's practically impossible to win a seven-game World Series without a lot of luck.
And the Cardinals rode their share of good luck to yet another championship, beating the Rangers 6-2, Friday night in Game 7 of the 2011 World Series.
You can't do it without some really good players, too. The St. Louis Cardinals couldn't have done it without David Freese or Allen Craig or Albert Pujols or Lance Berkman or Chris Carpenter. The Cardinals beat the Rangers in Game 7, 5-2, with Freese knocking in two runs with a first-inning double and Craig chipping in with a tie-breaking homer in the third.
But when you're apportioning credit for Game 7, you have to save some credit for a couple of extraordinary creatures who didn't swing a bat or throw a pitch all month long.
First, let's hear it for Mother Nature.
Being honest about it, nobody associated with the St. Louis Cardinals was looking forward to seeing what Edwin Jackson or Kyle Lohse might do as Game 7 starter. Sure, both of them pitched well during the regular season; Lohse actually led the Cardinals in both wins and ERA this year. But Lohse posted a 7.82 ERA in three postseason starts; Jackson wasn't sharp, either, with a 5.60 mark in four starts.
But then the rains came, and everybody got an extra day off, which gave Tony La Russa another Game 7 option: ace Chris Carpenter on short rest. And of course that's what La Russa chose.
One could reasonably question La Russa's judgment, considering what happened the first (and last) time Carpenter started on short rest: He lasted only three innings against the Phillies in a Division Series game.
And for a while, it looked like Carpenter was tired and La Russa was foolish.
Ian Kinsler led off Game 7 with a single. The Cardinals caught a HUGE break when Kinsler got himself picked off first base. It was HUGE because the next three batters singled, doubled, and doubled; the score was 2-0 after four hitters and could easily have been 3-0. Still with nobody out, and who knows what else might have happened.
But Kinsler's miscue gave Carpenter just a bit of extra breathing room, and he escaped the first inning with no more damage.
In the bottom of the first, Freese hit his two-run double and the game was tied.
Carpenter looked shaky again in the top of the second. Mike Napoli led off with a single, and was replaced on first base when David Murphy hit into a fielder's choice. Ian Kinsler walked.
At which point, the second non-playing character in our little drama took the stage. Out of the dugout popped Dave Duncan, arguably the greatest pitching coach in pitching-coach history. We don't yet know what Duncan said to Carpenter, but presumably the subject of curveballs came up; Carpenter had not, to that point, thrown any of them.
Duncan trotted back to the dugout, Carpenter started mixing the occasional curveball into his repertoire, and from that moment until the top of the seventh inning, Carpenter allowed only two runners to reach first base. Neither of them scored.
By the time Carpenter came out of the game -- after David Murphy led off the seventh with an automatic double down the right-field line -- the Cardinals were ahead 5-2, thanks Craig's homer in the third and the Texas bullpen's wildness in the fifth. The Cardinals tacked on one more insurance run in the seventh, but they wouldn't need it.
Arthur Rhodes and Octavio Dotel took care of the Rangers in the seventh, Lance Lynn took care of them in the eighth, and Jason Motte breezed through the ninth inning. Let history remember that the Cardinals won their 11th World's Championship at 10:22 Central Daylight Time, when David Murphy hit a fly ball to deep left field and Allen Craig squeezed the 27th out in the Cardinals' 180th game in this delightful, magical, nearly impossible season.
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2011 World Series, Game 7: Cardinals Beat Rangers 6-2, Clinch 11th World Championship
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Comments
Nuffsaid
by Rusty_Shackleford on Oct 28, 2011 11:34 PM EDT reply actions
Time warp
The time was 10:22 Central time.
But we’ll take it anyway.
by jdscott on Oct 28, 2011 11:57 PM EDT reply actions
Speaking of luck
The home plate umpire COMPLETELY MISSING Scott Feldman’s strike three that would have ended the inning, taken Texas out of a bases loaded jam, and kept the game at 3-2, rather than resulting in 5-2, just might have shifted this game entirely. Especially when Chris Carpenter led off the next inning with the exact same pitch and blue called it a strike without hesitation. Next pitch, same location, strike two. Beltre then has little option after that. Truly questionable.
(fyi – my petralli moniker is happenstance; not actually a Rangers fan).
by genopetralli on Oct 29, 2011 12:30 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Maybe wrong on the molina walk
but “COMPLETELY” is stretching it.
the called strikes to beltre, according to brooks baseball were outside.
We yet enjoy little to be envied, but endure much to be pitied.-Thomas Dudley
by Future Ed on Oct 29, 2011 3:04 AM EDT up reply actions
so Brooks and Foxtrak agree...
If you’ve been given the honor of umping the plate for the seventh game of the World Series, you do not miss this call (and then call worse pitches strikes the next inning).
Instead of reviewing everything, how about an NFL or tennis major style review where you get a few challenges per game? Since two of the technologies agree that it was a missed strike, we can guess that the technology is pretty accurate. Feldman throws the strike, Layne misses it, Washington throws the challenge flag, Layne goes to the camera watches Foxtrak, calls it a strike, end of inning, 3-2, whole complexion of the game isn’t tainted by the call. We can’t know what would have happened afterward, if it would have stayed 3-2, become 14-2, or wound up a Texas win, but the cascade of decisions that emerged from that missed call (I say if it’s in the strike zone and missed, it is completely missed) would not have happened.
by genopetralli on Oct 29, 2011 10:56 AM EDT up reply actions
why are there umpires in that scenario?
we are past the point of being able to have robo umps for balls and strikes.
We yet enjoy little to be envied, but endure much to be pitied.-Thomas Dudley
by Future Ed on Nov 3, 2011 11:51 PM EDT up reply actions
I agree completely
Bad umpiring completely affected the game
I was a Ranger fan when being a Rangers fan wasn't cool.
by JTodd on Oct 30, 2011 2:16 PM EDT up reply actions
180th game
not counting spring training
by hotwater2 on Oct 29, 2011 12:31 AM EDT reply actions
Can someone please compile some data on how the outside corner was called?
I feel like the outside portion of the plate was owned by the Cardinals last night. I am NOT Rangers fan. I’m just really bothered by how terrible those umpires were I would like to see the data, just to know that I’m not crazy, or maybe that I am crazy and the umpire was being fair.
Important note: the rest of the world may have noticed those bad calls a little more easily if the National Broadcasters weren’t lifelong Cardinals affiliates. McCarver and Buck never really questioned those calls.
by Real Tom on Oct 29, 2011 1:19 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
If it was called consistently, I have no problem. I want data that shows how consistent calls were.
If that outside corner belonged to the pitcher (as it has most of the series), then it belonged to Feldman. The very next inning, those balls were called strikes for Cardinals pitchers. It was weird.
by Real Tom on Oct 29, 2011 1:22 PM EDT up reply actions
I am a fan of the great game more than a Ranger fan
Sadly, the umpiring in game 7 is the biggest story instead of the play of the players. Jerry Layne was awful and one sided. To reward a player(YMolina) with a walk when he doesn’t even attempt to hit. the ball is a travesty. Molina clearly struck out. Then to pour salt in the wound, the next half inning he called several pitches that were well off the plate strikes. Bring on the robot umps.
I was ready for a World Series game 7 and it was ruined by the plate ump.
I was a Ranger fan when being a Rangers fan wasn't cool.
by JTodd on Oct 30, 2011 2:14 PM EDT reply actions
Layne Must Feel Awful that His Strike Zone is So Controversial
I assume he was doing the best he could and, just by chance, he blew more calls when the Rangers were batting. I agree it should be an electronic strike zone. If it is accurate enough for MLB to use to evaluate the umpires, why not use it to make the calls?
by Kansas City Oracle on Oct 30, 2011 8:08 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Put is this way
If Molina had actually ever tried to hit the ball and had grounded to the 2B who threw him out at 1st by 2 steps and the umpire called him safe the world would be in an uproar. But the pitcher clearly threw strike 3 and the umpire missed it. It is the same thing.
I was a Ranger fan when being a Rangers fan wasn't cool.
by JTodd on Oct 31, 2011 2:36 AM EDT reply actions
i agree it seems like a bad call
but it is far from clear.
We yet enjoy little to be envied, but endure much to be pitied.-Thomas Dudley
by Future Ed on Nov 3, 2011 11:53 PM EDT up reply actions
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