NLDS: "Just not in the Cards..."

Gents,

This was the most disappointing series I’ve ever played in KOD. After a great regular season, I was hoping that this might be the project to get my first ever KOD championship. Alas it was not to be.

The series was bizarre. It was not quite “1960 World Series-esque”, but it was somewhat similar. Take game one (Please! ). The Giants won by the narrowest of margins as Gar Bailey turned a Bob Gibson fast ball around and sent it to the right field bleachers in the fourth inning for the game's only run. The Cardinals outhit the Giants 8-4. The Giants committed an error and the Cardinals played error free. The Cardinals struck out only 3 times and walked twice whereas San Francisco struck out 7 times and walked only once.

Gibson’s game score was 72, while winner Gaylord Perry’s was 63. How can you lose? The Cardinals hit into 4 double plays and stranded 6, that’s how.

So maybe you have a game like that, but things tend to even out. Not in game two. At one point in Tito Fuentes. Overall the Cards again outhit the Giants, 10-6 this time. The Giants committed two errors to the Cardinals one, Cardinal pitchers struck out 6 and walked 3 while Giants hurlers struck out 5 and also walked 5. Again, just looking at the numbers it sounds like a Cardinal win, but it was those Boys from the Bay again with a 5-3 win. This time St. Louis stranded 11, and hit in to two more DPs. San Francisco stranded four and did not suffer a twin-killing.

this one Steve Carlton had a two-hitter going, but was trailing 4-1! Both hits happened to be long ones. And not by the guys you would think, Mays, Cepeda, McCovey, maybe Jim Ray Hart. Nope, those two stalwarts in the infield Jose Pagan and

So maybe a switch to beautiful San Francisco would do the trick? It wouldn’t be easy against Juan Marichal, and the Dominican Dandy lived up to the moment as his mates backed him with 6 runs while the Redbirds could only plate 5. Three losses by a total of 4 runs for the Birds On The Bat.

Top line numbers had each team only get 5 hits, quite low considering 11 runs were scored. But amazingly, four of the Giants five hits were home runs! And again the Giants committed more errors, 3, to the Cards one. Giant pitchers struck out 7 Cardinals and walked one, while the Cardinal hurlers struck out 8 and walked 3. Both teams stranded 3, and there were no double plays.

Let’s total up some numbers for the series:

Hits: Cards 23, Giants 15

Errors: Cards 2, Giants 6

LOB: Cards 20, Giants 10

DPs turned: Cards 1, Giants 6

Baseball is cruel sometimes.  

Congrats to Larry and those scrappy Giants!

Bike Mike