Tag Archives: postseason

Mr. Octobers of Yesterday (October 15, 2013)

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Yesterday’s Mr. Octobers:

In the Red Sox-Tigers game, we must again give out two pitching awards, as both starters, John Lackey and Justin Verlander, were superb. It’s bogus that Verlander got the loss in yesterday’s game, but that’s just part of the problem with the Win and Loss stat, as Brian Kenny would no doubt agree.

As for the NLCS game between the Cardinals and Dodgers, the Mr. Octobers are Matt Holliday (who had a big 2-run HR), and Carlos Martinez, who threw two good innings of relief.

Standings (PP= Position Player, P= Pitcher):

P Justin Verlander– 14

PP Carlos Beltran– 11

P Clayton Kershaw– 11

P Max Scherzer– 11

P Adam Wainwright– 9

PP David Ortiz– 8

P Michael Wacha– 8

PP Jhonny Peralta – 8

PP Matt Holliday– 8

P Koji Uehara– 6

PP Shane Victorino– 6

PP David Freese – 6

PP Miguel Cabrera– 6

P Zack Greinke– 5

P Anibal Sanchez – 5

P Hyun-jin Ryu– 5

PP Yasiel Puig– 5

P Carlos Martinez- 5

P John Lackey- 5

P Sonny Gray-3

PP Adrian Gonzalez– 3

P Gerrit Cole– 3

PP Pedro Alvarez– 3

P Jon Lester– 3

P Mike Minor– 3

PP Hanley Ramirez– 3

PP Yoenis Cespedes– 3

P Jason Grilli– 3

PP Carl Crawford– 3

P Chris Capuano– 3

PP Seth Smith– 3

P Dan Otero– 3

PP Jose Lobaton-3

P Jake McGee-3

PP Juan Uribe-3

PP (Position Player) Russell Martin– 1

P (Pitcher) Francisco Liriano– 1

PP Desmond Jennings– 1

P Alex Cobb– 1

Mr. Octobers of Yesterday (October 14, 2013)

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Yesterday’s Mr. Octobers are Hyun-jin Ryu and Yasiel Puig. Ryu went 7 shutout innings and gave up just three hits, while Puig went 2-3 with an RBI on his crazy triple, where he was able to get to third standing up despite spending his time getting out of the box admiring the hit while flipping his bat.

Standings (PP= Position Player, P= Pitcher):

PP Carlos Beltran– 11

P Clayton Kershaw– 11

P Max Scherzer– 11

P Justin Verlander– 9

P Adam Wainwright– 9

PP David Ortiz– 8

P Michael Wacha– 8

PP Jhonny Peralta – 8

P Koji Uehara– 6

PP Shane Victorino– 6

PP David Freese – 6

PP Miguel Cabrera– 6

P Zack Greinke– 5

P Anibal Sanchez – 5

P Hyun-jin Ryu- 5

PP Yasiel Puig- 5

P Sonny Gray-3

PP Adrian Gonzalez– 3

P Gerrit Cole– 3

PP Pedro Alvarez– 3

P Jon Lester– 3

P Mike Minor– 3

PP Hanley Ramirez– 3

PP Yoenis Cespedes– 3

P Jason Grilli– 3

PP Carl Crawford– 3

P Chris Capuano– 3

PP Seth Smith– 3

P Dan Otero– 3

PP Matt Holliday-3

PP Jose Lobaton-3

P Jake McGee-3

PP Juan Uribe-3

PP (Position Player) Russell Martin– 1

P (Pitcher) Francisco Liriano– 1

PP Desmond Jennings– 1

P Alex Cobb– 1

Mr. Octobers of Yesterday (October 13, 2013)

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There was just one game yesterday, but it felt like two: There was the game where Max Scherzer shut down the Red Sox, and then the game that saw David Ortiz hit a game-tying grand slam and that set up a later walk-off hit by Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

Needless to say, Scherzer and Ortiz are the Mr. Octobers of yesterday.

Standings (PP= Position Player, P= Pitcher):

PP Carlos Beltran– 11

P Clayton Kershaw– 11

P Max Scherzer– 11

P Justin Verlander– 9

P Adam Wainwright– 9

PP David Ortiz– 8

P Michael Wacha– 8

PP Jhonny Peralta – 8

P Koji Uehara– 6

PP Shane Victorino– 6

PP David Freese – 6

PP Miguel Cabrera– 6

P Zack Greinke– 5

P Anibal Sanchez – 5

P Sonny Gray-3

PP Adrian Gonzalez– 3

P Gerrit Cole– 3

PP Pedro Alvarez– 3

P Jon Lester– 3

P Mike Minor– 3

PP Hanley Ramirez– 3

PP Yoenis Cespedes– 3

P Jason Grilli– 3

PP Carl Crawford– 3

P Chris Capuano– 3

PP Seth Smith– 3

P Dan Otero– 3

PP Matt Holliday-3

PP Jose Lobaton-3

P Jake McGee-3

PP Juan Uribe-3

PP (Position Player) Russell Martin– 1

P (Pitcher) Francisco Liriano– 1

PP Desmond Jennings– 1

P Alex Cobb– 1

Mr. Octobers of Yesterday (October 12, 2013)

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Who are the Mr. Octobers of yesterday?

Well, the Cardinals-Dodgers game has Mr. Octobers in Michael Wacha (who again impressed with 8 Ks in 6.2 scoreless innings) and, in another case where two pitchers are getting the award, Clayton Kershaw, who got a tough-luck loss, having given up just two hits in the game and no earned runs.

As for the Tigers-Red Sox game? Anibal Sanchez, who has 6 hitless innings with 12 Ks before the pitchcount took him out, and Jhonny Peralta, who had three hits, including the game’s lone RBI.

Standings (PP= Position Play, P= Pitcher):

PP Carlos Beltran– 11

P Clayton Kershaw– 11

P Justin Verlander– 9

P Adam Wainwright– 9

P Michael Wacha– 8

PP Jhonny Peralta – 8

P Max Scherzer– 6

P Koji Uehara– 6

PP Shane Victorino– 6

PP David Freese – 6

PP Miguel Cabrera– 6

P Zack Greinke– 5

P Anibal Sanchez – 5

PP David Ortiz– 3

P Sonny Gray-3

PP Adrian Gonzalez– 3

P Gerrit Cole– 3

PP Pedro Alvarez– 3

P Jon Lester– 3

P Mike Minor– 3

PP Hanley Ramirez– 3

PP Yoenis Cespedes– 3

P Jason Grilli– 3

PP Carl Crawford– 3

P Chris Capuano– 3

PP Seth Smith– 3

P Dan Otero– 3

PP Matt Holliday-3

PP Jose Lobaton-3

P Jake McGee-3

PP Juan Uribe-3

PP (Position Player) Russell Martin– 1

P (Pitcher) Francisco Liriano– 1

PP Desmond Jennings– 1

P Alex Cobb– 1

Songs of October: A Retrospective (Because Why Not?)

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It’s a sensation that’s spreading across the nation: Mups. Their spread is unstoppable, to the point where some like the “Cespedes Family BBQ” and Jesse Spector have begun to engage in a “#Mupwatch”. But some wonder: What is a Mup? Are they some sort of Muppet? Is it dangerous? And why are they being lit on fire?

Well, the answer lies in the commercials that have been playing in the lead-up to and during the post-season, featuring Fall Out Boy’s “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark”. Here is an example of such a commercial. While officially they are saying “Light ’em up”, it sounds, especially during the echoing segments, like they are actually talking about things called “mups”.

And thus continues a long tradition of October songs that have graced our televisions and infected our ears, whether we liked them or not. And, usually, if we DID like them at the start of the postseason, we end up being sick of them by the end just from hearing them so many times.

And, what’s more, these songs and how they become memes aren’t of a universal source. Most of them, for example, are part of TBS’ coverage, but others, including the latest Fall Out Boy song, are actually of MLB’s doing. Like, TBS is using a different song*,  and MLB Network itself also has a different song for the commercials for it’s two games**. Also, it should be noted that none of them are explicit about baseball, and most of them are more picked for the imagery of their chorus than any type of lyrical sense and fit.

*Using Google searches of the lyrics I was able to decipher, I’ve figured out it’s 30 Seconds to Mars’ “Do or Die”.

**Again using Google, I’ve found that the commercials use the chorus from Papa Roach’s “Still Swingin’“.

Still, with that out of the way, here’s a history (after the jump) of the Songs of October:

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If this is the end of Josh Beckett, his tale is a tragedy

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Over the past few years, Josh Beckett‘s life has been a dark comedy. There were the fights with the media, the failure to live up to his contracts, and the whole thing with the fact he was one of the Red Sox who apparently were having chicken and beer over games of Call of Duty while the 2011 Red Sox burned.

But now, it looks like it will instead be a full-on tragedy, as the Los Angeles Times reports that Beckett has been feeling numbness in his pitching hand, something that could well end his career.

And that stinks. Because, while Beckett’s career has been in free-fall this decade, at his peak he was one of the best pitchers in the game, and, what’s more, he was awesome in the post-season.

In fact, it’s the post-season where, if this is the end, we will probably most remember Beckett. His first appearance on the national stage came in 2003, when he was the World Series MVP with the Marlins, finishing off the Yankees on short rest with a complete game shutout in Game 6.

That is more than can be said for many pitchers, but in 2007, he did it again, going 4-0 in his starts for the Red Sox, including winning the MVP of the ALCS, where he had a absurdly low ERA 1.93 ERA… which was actually higher than his ERA in the other two series he pitched in (although, admittedly, those series were sweeps where he only had one start).

Of course, after that, his career took a downturn. His postseason performances did a downturn first, with him going 1-1 with no ERA below 5.40 in the three series he’s pitched since 2007.  While he was a regular season All-Star in 2008 and 2011*, he was no longer the above-all ace he once was. Since 2011, in fact, he is 7-19 with a 4.76 ERA in the regular season.

But, perhaps if this is the end, we should try to remember where he was best: the World Series. In his three starts (so admittedly a small sample size) and 23.1 innings pitched in the Fall Classic, Josh Beckett went 2-1 with a 1.16 ERA.

And that’s impressive.

*Before the ASG in 2011, Beckett was 8-3 with a 2.27 ERA, but the second half saw him be a just-okay 5-4 with a 3.73 ERA.