Monday, October 30, 2017

Monday Morning Hot Links

I don't even know where to start, except to say that, I sort of need to go soon. Game 5 went so long, took so much out of anyone who was watching, was such an emotional roller coaster, and my alarm had to go off so early. Astros won Game 5, which was a game so insane that it made Game 2 look like it was played in the 1940s. The Astros, who were down 4-0 TO CLAYTON KERSHAW, then down 7-4, down 8-7, then blew their own 3-run lead at 12-9, win 13-12, and take a 3-2 series lead. And on a Sunday night? Jeez, man. Come 7:30pm tonight, I'll have a cup of tea and prepare to go to bed.




*Bregman, who had the walk-off in the bottom of the 10th:
It's an unbelievable moment. You dream about it as a little kid. To be living a dream, one win away from the World Series, is really special.

*The Astros became the fifth team in baseball history to rally from two separate three-run deficits. Hinch:
Just when I thought I could describe Game 2 as my favorite game of the year, I think Game 5 exceeded that and more. It's hard to put into words all the twists and turns in that game, the emotion, doing it at home, in front of our home crowd. Just exactly what you expect to come to the park with Keuchel and Kershaw pitching.

*Jim Crane:
How did that happen? It was like Frazier against Ali there.

*We haven't talked about Dallas Keuchel's 1st inning. And we won't.

*LA Times' Pedro Moura: The Astros Fab Four got it done. Again.

*David Barron took a look at the crucial 7th inning.

*For the first time in World Series history, five players (all of whom play for the Astros) hit a home run in a single game. Click the link for the Firsts of this game.

*The Win Expectancy chart looks like a dad gum EKG.

*Richard Justice said Game 5 was as good as sports get.

*Yahoo's Tim Brown: The Dodgers had hope until the very end.

*CBS Sports' Mike Axisa: What to know about maybe the best World Series game ever.

*USA Today: 11 crazy facts about Game 5.

*Grant Brisbee: The Astros and Dodgers broke the game of baseball into a million pieces. Brisbee:
A common refrain for a game like Game 5 of the 2017 World Series is that baseball is drunk. Baseball is not drunk. Drunk people don't fall up the stairs, through a window, and explode upon contact with the moon.

*Yasiel Puig guaranteed a Game 7.

*NY Post's Joel Sherman: Two of MLB's most reliable bullpen arms have vanished.

*Mike Oz got the story of the fan who stole Yasiel Puig's home run ball and threw it back.

*FanGraphs gives it a 79% chance that the Astros can win one of the next two games.
FiveThirtyEight has the Astros winning one of two in LA at 69%. Even though they give the Dodgers the nod in Games 6 and 7. Don't ask me how the math works.

*Sunday afternoon was marked - if you weren't watching the Texans - by Tom Verducci's report courtesy of pitchers from both teams - that the World Series balls are slicker, making it harder to use a slider. Which would explain how Darvish got rocked so hard. And how Ken Giles can't seem to make a pitch to save his life. Verlander:
I know Mr. Manfred says the balls haven't changed, but there's enough information out there to say that's not true. On the one hand, you can have someone who manufactures the balls say they're not different, and on the other hand, you can say people who have held the ball in their hand their entire lives are saying something different.

*Giles "wasn't surprised" about losing the closer role for Games 5-7.

*I have to go. Like, now.