ANAHEIM – So how did the World Series turn into a slow-pitch softball tournament pitting Terry’s Trophy Shop against American Legion Post 450?
Have the pitchers’ wings turned to goo in October? Are the balls wound tighter than Jeff Kent? Are the bats corked? Are the bullpens spent? Does Barry Bonds’ talent exceed his rudeness? Does World Series pressure suffocate pitchers?
Where are this year’s Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling? Or Johnny Podres and Bob Gibson?
Not on the mound tonight for Game 6 when the Giants, who were left for dead as recently as the third inning of Game 3, attempt to close out the Angels and cop their first World Series title since 1954 when the Polo Grounds was home and their best player was Willie Mays.
Tonight, a jammed Edison Field gets a repeat of Game 2 when the Angels’ Kevin Appier and the Giants’ Russ Ortiz combined to give up 14 hits (four homers) and 12 runs in 32/3 innings. That’s a fat 29.51 ERA. That’s right, bet the over.
“I think we are running into a couple of things,” said Mike Scioscia, who scrapped yesterday’s optional workout in order to give his club time to regroup mentally after a 2-1 advantage morphed into a 3-2 hole. “I think it’s been a long year. I think the hitting in this series has exceeded what I imagined because of the type of pitching staffs the clubs have.
“There have been a couple of keys that have not fallen into place for us. Particularly, it’s easy to see where our starting pitching has been. They haven’t pitched deep enough into a game. If you don’t do that your bullpen is taxed a little bit more. Things can get thin.”
And pitches can get fat. On both sides.
The Angels dig in against Ortiz tonight hitting a stout .328 and the Giants take aim at Appier swatting at a .308 clip. Combined they are hitting .318. The Series record for combined batting average is .300 set by the Yankees and Pirates in seven game in 1960.
The Angels’ ERA is a swollen 6.91 while the Giants’ is not much better at 5.73. And Scioscia’s assessment that it falls on the starter’s shoulders is correct. His starters sport a 9.14 ERA (22 ER in 212/3 innings) and Dusty Baker’s are at 8.73 (21 ER in 212/3 innings). Ouch!
Even Jason Schmidt, who houses the nastiest stuff and strongest arm of the Series’ starters, has faltered. In 101/3 innings across two starts he has given up six runs and an alarming 16 hits. He was so gassed in Game 5 that Baker had to remove him with two outs in the fifth and the Giants leading, 6-3, after scoring six runs in the first two innings.
“I don’t think it’s pressure,” Baker said. “Part of it is you might get two hot teams that are swinging the bat well. Plus the concentration level of the hitters is extremely high. If you make a mistake, they aren’t going to miss it.”
“I am surprised because of the arms in this Series,” Scioscia said of the Coors Field-like hitting displays. “I think our guys can pitch better than they have.”
That sounds right, because it’s hard to believe either side could chuck worse. Until you think about the Appier-Ortiz rematch tonight.