October 13, 2007
Walk This Way
Mike Littwin notes the walking them of NLCS Game 2:
And then came the ninth, when the Diamondbacks tied the score in an inning that will be long remembered for the runner, who could have been the winning run, walking off second base, straight into an out.
This was the kind of rally-killer you rarely see. But walking would be a theme for the night.
The Rockies, who don't know how to lose, found a different way to win.
An infield hit.
A walk.
A walk.
A walk.
When you walk Jamey Carroll to load the bases and Willy Taveras to bring in the winning run, you deserve to lose.
The Drew walk away from the bag coupled with the Upton slide cost the Diamondbacks out at critical times. Both showed the immaturity of the Diamondbacks. That will change.
In a way, the Rockies are turning the tables on the Diamondbacks. Arizona posted a higher batting average, OBA and slugging percentage in the two games, but Colorado out-scored them 8-3. The DBacks had four runners removed via double plays, caught stealing and Drew blunder. When teams aren't putting a lot of people on in the first place, you can't afford to lose potential runs. The Rockies only hit into one double play so far.
Watching part of the game on MLB's gameday, I noticed that when the Rockies had a D'back on 1st base, they'd pitch to the low outside corner...which has a better chance of creating a double play ball. I didn't notice the D'backs practicing that. It's the little things that win games.
Montero didn't have a good time at 2B in the first game.
