Freese World Series MVP just one of many Cards to come up aces

It was a fabulous World Series story for a great World Series. David Freese, a hometown kid who grew up just 30 miles from Busch Stadium's home plate, dreaming of being a Cardinal, is named MVP of the Fall Classic. The 28-year-old third baseman who had thought he was done with baseball as a youngster in college, batted .348 with five extra-base hits, seven RBIs and a 1.160 OPS as the Cardinals won the 11th World Series title in history, beating the Rangers 6-2 in Game 7 on Friday.

“What a feeling, this is incredible,” Freese said. “You come to this field and you're part of something like this as a fan, it makes you want to be part of it on the field. You bust your tail to get to this point. It takes a total team to not only get to this pount but to beat the Texas Rangers.”

Freese had three consecutive at bats that bridged his heroics connecting Game 6 to Game 7. The three hits cemented his place as one of the all-time legends of post-season lore. In the ninth inning of Game 6, faced with elimination, Freese stroked a two-out, two-on triple to right field to send the game to extra innings. In the 11th he took the series to Game 7 with a bomb to the grassy knoll in straightaway centre field. In Game 7, moved up to the five-hole for the injured Matt Holliday, Freese smacked a two-run double to left centre to tie the game. Three momentous hits in the two biggest games of the season.

“You turn the page, keep your focus,” Freese said, shaking his head in wonder at his own fast-track to fame. “That first AB I had a good plan going on. I put a pretty good swing on something. You gotta get things to work out for you in the post season. It's tough enough to get in. You've got to be somewhat lucky to win it. We did enough things to get it done.”

A little bit of the luck Freese was talking about showed up on Wednesday when the threat of torrential downpours in the St. Louis area caused MLB to call off Game 6 and delayed the series by a day, meaning an extra 24 hours of rest for Cards' ace Chris Carpenter. He immediately petitioned manager Tony LaRussa for the rights to the Game 7 start. Without the rain it would have been Kyle Lohse. All bets are off.

“I was hoping so, Carpenter said of being handed the ball on Friday. “It's not my decision, it's Tony's, but I was hoping to have an opportunity to go ahead and pitch in that game. Fortunately it worked out. It started out a little rough in the first but I was able to collect myself, make some pitches and our guys did an awesome job to battle back.”

Carpenter allowed the first four Cards to reach base, allowing two runs, but carried the Cards into the seventh inning with a lead they never surrendered. Carpenter completed the World Series with a 2-0 record in three starts and a 2.84 ERA. Fringe MVP.

And it wasn't just Freese and Carpenter for the Cards. There was Albert Pujols in what may have been his last hurrah in the Caridinals uniform. He owned Game 3 with one of the most complete offensive performances in World Series history, five hits, three homers, six RBIs and 14 total bases. He had one hit the rest of the series but was a daunting presence.

There was Allen Craig with hits in each of the first three games, two of them pinch-hits, to put the Cardinals ahead. There was Lance Berkman, earning his first World Series ring in his 13th season. He batted .423 with five RBIs, five walks and a strikeout.

But if the World Series had a three-star system like in hockey, the Cards' second star to Freese would have been catcher Yadier Molina. The youngest of the Molina brothers drove in nine runs in seven games, batting .333 with an .830 OPS. But the biggest contributions for Molina were while wearing the tools of ignorance and handling the staff. He threw out three of four base stealers and allowed just one wild pitch letting his staff pitch down and even below the strike zone with no fears, a la Pat Borders.

“The last month of the season, that's where it started,” Pujols said. “Different guys were coming through getting big hits and we carried that into the post-season and here we are. World Champions.”

It was as if the three blown-save Game 6 was it for the Rangers and manager Ron Washington, their lone window of opportunity. Once they had slept on their group failure to launch that Thursday night, the pitching dried up and so did their World Series chances as they lost two games in a row for the first time since August. It only gets tougher for the Rangers to repeat as AL champs for a third time. With a five-game World Series loss to the Giants in 2010, they may be becoming the Buffalo Bills of major-league baseball.

And Cito Gaston, with the Jays in '92 and 93 remains the only African-American manager to win a World Series.

 

Griffin: Jays to explore possibility of David Ortiz

Jays' general manager Alex Anthopoulos calls it "doing his due diligence" and it's the important process of exploring all available avenues for improving the baseball team that, this winter, according to one source, will include at least discussing the possibility of signing free agent designated hitter David Ortiz, after Big Papi declares his free agency with this year's class in the second week of November. 

Ortiz, 35, batted .309 with 29 home runs and 96 RBIs for the Red Sox in 2011. He was in the final season of a five-year contract that paid him $12.5 million in '11. Ortiz, who has played just 39 games in the field, at first base, in the past seven years, has hit 378 career homers, with a .283 batting average and a .922 OPS since debuting with the Twins in '97.

The Red Sox, after the departure of former GM Theo Epstein and with the recent disappointments of Carl Crawford and John Lackey, are expected to be very careful in free agency this off-season, according to club executive Larry Lucchino.

Ortiz has talked about his desire to re-sign with the Red Sox, but on another front has backed off of earlier talk about being interested in the Yankees. Ortiz knows Jays manager John Farrell from his four seasons as the Sox' pitching coach. He knows and likes Jose Bautista, a fellow Dominican, and Big Papi hand-selected him to round out the AL team for the 2011 home run derby this summer at the All-Star Game in Phoenix. 

Anthopoulos is known for his thorough preparation. He will likely speak to Ortiz' agent on a preliminary, exploratory basis when the free agent season opens 15 days from the end of the World Series. However, Anthopoulos will not let himself become involved in a bidding war where he chases any free agent and is used to ratchet up bids from other teams. 

The Jays' modus operandi under the third year GM is to set an internal value on a player and to not outbid themselves, the style of negotiation that came into play with Cuban lefthanded defector Aroldis Chapman. Ownership had approved additional money for the international free agent, but when the Reds upped the ante, Anthopoulos backed off. 

The issue with Ortiz is that the Jays would prefer that Bautista, who will earn $14 million in 2012, remain the highest paid position player on the team. It's likely, also, that off of his outstanding season as the Red Sox DH that Ortiz would look for a raise, since the general impression around baseball was that he gave the Red Sox a hometown discount when he signed a five-year deal prior to the team's second World Series run in 2007.

If Ortiz insists on a healthy raise and with this his last chance at a big contract, if he wants three or more guaranteed seasons at more than $13 million, chances are that the Jays would pass. But if Ortiz finds the open free-agent market not as lucrative as he had hoped with the interest not as strong as he believes, the Jays might then enter the picture late as a developing contender with some familiar faces.

The Jays' primary designated hitter right now must be considered to be Edwin Encarnacion who has a club option year for 2012 at $3.5 million. The Jays have not announced whether they are going to pick it up, but the likelihood is good after the strong second half posted by the 28-year-old who hit .272 overall with 17 homers and 55 RBIs. 

The caveat for Jays' ownership in pursuing Ortiz was the signing several years ago of DH Frank Thomas, who was approaching 500 home runs and had just come off a season with Oakland that re-established his credentials as a power threat. He reached his milestone homer in a Jays uniform but was released part way into his second season. The odds of the Jays ever reaching agreement with Ortiz remain slim.

Griffin: Cards' Freese leads unlikely comeback to take World Series to Game 7

ST. LOUIS-It was a wonderful game of unlikely heroes on both sides of the field and unbelievabe comebacks for the Cardinals. It was a game upon which backyard dreams are made. The scrappy Cards, on the verge of elimination, came from behind five times, including from two runs behind with two outs in both the ninth and 10th innings, finally capturing a no-tomorrow, backs-to-the-wall Game 6 by a score of 10-9 in 11 innings on a walk-off solo blast by third baseman David Freese to centre field. They're stayin' alive.

The 28-year-old Freese, still basking in the afterglow, acknowledged he was one of those kids, with backyard dreams like every young boy that has ever played the game growing up, waiting for the call for dinner, imagining he was a baseball hero like the real major-leaguers he watched on TV.

“Yeah, you imagine yourself in that scenario,” Freese said. “And I'll be honest with you. I was running around the bases (in the 11th inning) and (Jim) Edmonds popped into my head because I remember when he did that in Game 6 (of the 2004 NLCS).”

The memory that Freese was evoking was that of Edmonds, the former Cardinals centre fielder, winning Game 6 of the '04 NLCS aganst the Astros with a home run in the 12th inning aganst Dan Miceli that propelled the Cards to a Game 7, before going on to lose to the Red Sox in the World Series.

“But seriously, growing up and you see stuff like that happen, those become your memories,” Freese added. “I've said it time and time again, as far as being part of this comeback, it wouldn't be as sweet if this group of guys weren't with me. This is cool to have this group doing this kind of stuff.”

The soft-spoken Freese also had his downs in Game 6 as well as those nosebleed ups. In the fifth inning he had allowed Josh Hamilton's easy popup to bounce out of his glove, off his head to the infield dirt. Hamilton then came around to score the Rangers' fifth run to put them ahead.

Freese also came up empty twice with runners on base, but in the ninth, when he was most needed, when closer Neftali Feliz was just one strike away from signalling the start of the Rangers' victory celebration, Freese stayed with a low outside fastball and drove it off the right field fence over the head of a loping Nelson Cruz who shied away from the fence at the last second.

“I went up to the dish saying what a great way to have my first career AB off Feliz,” Freese smiled. “I just told myself to stay short. I just looked for something out over (the plate) and swung through a heater and then got the same pitch and didn't miss that one.”

It was a rare three-blown save performance by the Rangers pen. In the sixth inning, Alexi Ogando entered with the bases loaded and walked Yadier Molina to tie the game at four. Then there was Feliz on the Freese triple in the ninth and Scott Feldman allowing an RBI single to Lance Berkman in the 10th after Ryan Theriot's groundout had earlier brought the Cards to within one.

“I actually felt pretty good about it, because I figured I was in a no-lose situation,” Berkman explained. “If you don't come through it's only one at-bat and it's over with. They might talk about it for a couple of days. If you come through it's the greatest and you've built a little bank account of being able to come through so that if I don't come through tomorrow I can be like 'Well I came through in Game 6. What do you want from me?'”

The Rangers for their part already had a fistful of potential heroes as the game went on. Every time the Cardinals tied the score, the Rangers would take the lead. The list of clutch Texas performances included familiar names. Mike Napoli with a go-ahead single in the fourth and a snap throw behind Matt Holliday, picking him off with the bases loaded in the sixth.

There were Adrian Beltre and Cruz with back-to-back homers in the seventh that gave the Rangers a two run lead that turned to three when Ian Kinsler singled in the same inning. Then there was the storybook hero, the story of the game if the Rangers hang on, Josh Hamilton with his two-run homer in the 10th that if they had won the World Series Thursday would have created a legend.

But maybe it was never meant to be. The man battling the most demons in his life finally making the difference for his entire team. Hamilton had struggled through the post-season hobbled by a sports hernia, but in the 10th inning, the former No. 1 draft pick, once suspended from all contact with baseball by the commissioner's office, slammed the big homer, his first of the World Series, that made the difference, a two-run blast off of Jason Motte. His legend must wait for at least one day.

As for the Rangers' fiery manager Ron Washington being one pitch away from ultimate victory not once, but twice, was especially painful. Victory was so close he could taste it.

“Of course I had that feeling,” Washington admitted. “Bringing (Darren Oliver) in on those two lefties, I thought maybe we could get those guys out, having the pitcher come up, I don't think it could have been more perfect. But it just wasn't to happen tonight.”

As for Cards' manager Tony LaRussa, he was not willing to name his Game 7 starter, likely to be Chris Carpenter pitching on his fourth day. He just wanted to savour the moment for a while.

“There's a lot of reasons I'm really pleased,” LaRussa said. “Even though it didn't look good we competed better than to get bounced in six. It's been an even series and now it's winner-take-all. There are a lot of guys on our club that are really enjoying the World Series, especially the first timers or second timers and the experience of Game 7 is something they'll never forget.”

Both teams suffered injuries as time, tension and ultimate effort continue to take their toll. Napoli had an x-ray on his left ankle that was negative. Cruz has a strained groin and is day-to-day – or with Game 7 coming up maybe that should just be day. And Matt Holliday suffered a bruised pinkie finger on the pickoff at third base. If they can play, with no tomorrow the likelihood is they will play.

If there's a slim possibility this wasn't the greatest World Series staying alive game in history, then, I believe you could see it from here. On Friday there will be no tomorrow for both teams.

 

 

 

 

 

Jays mailbag: Farrell for Francona?

We remember vividly the excitement generated by manager Ernie Whitt's first ever Team Canada entry into the Pan Am Games back in '99 in Winnipeg.

We were so excited that a team of Canadian minor-leaguers and amateurs could compete with the best countries from the Americas.

Canada won bronze in that Pan-Am Games, with catcher Andy Stewart hitting a key home run and infielder Stubby Clapp chipping in with a key bases-loaded single that beat Team USA. It's been 12 years since that heady moment -- a bronze on home soil.

It was the exact moment Canada realized it could be more than a footnote in international baseball. There have been some wonderful Team Canada moments since then.

There was the World Baseball Classic win over Buck Martinez's Team USA that had me and the Sun's Bob Elliott high-fiving each other in the stunned, hostile press box at Chase Field in Phoenix.

There was the close call at the '04 Athens Olympics when the wind robbed Canada of a potential game-changing homer against Cuba. But beyond that has been mostly elevated expectations and major disappointment for Team Canada...until now.

The run started in Panama at the World Cup of baseball with Canada going 5-1 in the preliminary round and emerging on top of Group A with wins over Japan and the U.S. settling for bronze.

It continued in Mexico where Whitt finally led his senior Canadian team to a gold medal. It's also an emotional culmination of passion and effort for Baseball Canada head man Greg Hamilton.

With the next Pan-Am Games in Toronto, it becomes a hot ticket already and will encourage kids to play at the upper levels in the hope of being part of that experience in four years. It was a long time coming for Hamilton and company, but will prove well worth it. Congratulations.

CLICK HERE to send Richard your Jays question and he'll answer a selection in the blog.

Q-I just finished reading your piece about Mike Napoli not making 10-games difference had the Jays kept him (needed to make the playoffs). I am wondering if in addition to the lack of a closer and 20 blown saves you'd like to reconsider the statement. I am willing to give credit where it is due, but A.A. makes mistakes, frankly, plenty. He started the year needing a second baseman, a reliable veteran starter, a closer and maybe a centre fielder and guess what? He still does. Let's try and be more objective. Turns out E7 can play DH, Lind isn't bad defensively, he found a 'stud' for 3B and Bautista's contract is a bargain - but this doesn't erase the fact the other needs were not addressed.

Rick Moffitt, Cambridge

A-I stand by the statement that Napoli's presence with the 2011 Jays in would not have been a significant difference maker towards a 90-win season and contending for a post-season berth. In fact it might have even retarded the development of J.P. Arecibia.

Yes Anthopoulos makes mistakes, but he  seems to quickly understand those mistakes and try to correct them. His ego does not overpower his judgment unlike some previous Jays GMs. Let's go over your question point-by-point.

Napoli via trade was turned into Frank Francisco, who, whether you liked him or not, by the end of the season was the team's closer. His personal numbers were 17 saves and four blown saves. In the second half he posted a 1.26 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP. By the final five weeks of the season he was pretty lights-out reliable in the ninth inning.

The Jays bullpen led the AL with 30 wins and we, as fellow stats-geeks-in-arms, all know that wins by themselves are not the be-all and end-all for pitchers, especially when you're talking about the pen. But with 30 victories, of the Jays staff's 25 blown saves, many were turned into wins for relievers.

In fact, three times the bullpen was credited with two blown saves in the same game. If Napoli had stayed with the Jays at that point your closer would come from among Jon Rauch, Octavio Dotel, Jason Frasor, Shawn Camp and Casey Janssen.

I'm sorry, that's not a 90-win pen.

At second base the Jays had a player with one contract season and two option years in Aaron Hill. It was just a couple of years ago Hill was an all-star and one of the fine young players in the game.

Both Hill and the ball club believed, or at least were hoping, that he could return to his personal glory years. It didn't happen and he was turned into Kelly Johnson, who will either return on a multi-year contract, return for one season or leave as a free agent gaining Type B draft pick compensation. No problem.

The Jays never felt they needed a reliable veteran starting pitcher in '11. That was a fan perception and that would have been with the thought of contending, which was not a Jays' reality in the front office last year.

However, if they do want to contend in 2012, they will need that reliable veteran starter you talk about. Last year was about finding which of their own young starting pitchers they would be able to count on going forward.

They needed to see as many of those homegrown pitchers perform at the major league level, given extended looks. Mission accomplished.

They now know what they have in Ricky Romero, Brandon Morrow, Henderson Alvarez and the rest. Nobody except fans ever said they needed a reliable veteran starter in 2011, so how could that count as a failure? 

As for closer, why did you need a lights-out major-league elite closer if you are not going to contend. The shelf life of elite closers is fairly short, given rare exceptions, so why would you waste one of those top-tier bullpen bullets, one of those great closer years on a season in 2011 when you're not planning on contending? Save that signing for when you believe you're on the cusp of a championship.

As for the centre fielder, I recall in July taking e-mails and comments from hardcore knowledgeable fans that populate my readership. They were all hot and bothered about the availability of one Colby Rasmus and I agreed that if he was out there as trade fodder, then grab him.

Anthopoulos made the move and dealt from the depth of the organization – which is pitching. Who knew that Rasmus was so mentally fragile that his skills would disappear like a frightened turtle. The feeling here is that given a fresh start at spring training that Rasmus will emerge towards what everyone thought he could be, but the GM surely saw the need for a centre fielder and went out and got him.

Q-What if Boston offers Farrell twice his current Blue Jay salary to be the Red Sox manager? Would that still considered a lateral move? Wouldn't Farrell in fact be "bettering" himself? Would the Blue Jays hold Farrell back from speaking to the Red Sox and if so, wouldn't that potentially harm their future relationship?

Perry Chasson, Thornhill

A-First of all, for Farrell, to know what the Red Sox are offering, it would have to be tampering by Boston since Farrell is under a three-year deal with the Jays and has been shut out from talking to anyone about becoming their manager with the Jays recent statement of a revised policy for “lateral moves”.

Have a problem with that policy? Hey, what's the purpose of a contract, not just in baseball but in any business.

Contracts are and should be a two-way agreement. If the Jays want to fire someone they are obliged to pay the balance of the contract. Shouldn't the club have protection from their employees just going around and looking for a better deal while still under contract.

Nobody twisted Farrell's arm to come to the Jays. In fact he chose the Jays as much as the Jays chose him. What has changed in that relationship? The question of Farrell leaving has become moot. Sneaking around behind your employer's back looking for more money is not the basis for harming a relationship, especially from employee – Farrell - to employer – Jays. Since that's your question, Farrell is happy.

Q-Richard,

The three following pitchers should be considered by AA for the No. 2 Pitcher in the Blue Jays rotation: Felix Hernandez, Ervin Santana or Dan Haren. All three are No. 1 or No. 2 quality pitchers. Granted, Hernandez will be expensive, but that team needs positional players — catcher, first baseman, outfielder and a high prospect pitcher. I believe one of the California pitchers is a better possibility.

Your thoughts. Thanks for your response

Steven Banks, Palm Beach Gardens

A-It's easy to go around baseball and cherry pick great starting pitchers and project them into your favourite team's rotation, but real life is not like owning a Fantasy League team where numbers are numbers and that's all that counts. First of all, if I was going to make a wish list from among your choices, I would have to go with King Felix one, Haren two and Santana three.

As far as Felix is concerned, the Mariners made a couple of nice trades and all of a sudden at the end of the year, they found they had real players at positions where at the beginning of the year they seemed horrible. But they own one of the great pitchers in baseball at the top of their rotation and they have him for three more years at $58 million. Hernandez is Henderson Alvarez's personal hero and it would be amazing to have them talking every day and the influence would be sublime, but it ain't gonna happen. To get Felix would require a core player, a core pitcher and top prospects. Not worth it. 

With Haren, he has been one of my favourite pitchers for years. You look at him year by year and you go, oh well, that's nice. You look at his body of work for his career and you go, this guy might be a Hall-of-Fame pitcher. He has one more year with the Angels at $12.75 million, with a 2013 option for $15.3 million. That's exactly the type of contract that Anthopoulos is looking for to complete the upper end of his rotation, however the Angels are not the type of franchise that needs to deal salary because of financial issues. You're on the right track, though, but he's not they guy. Maybe if the Jays took that pesky Vernon Wells contract off their hands the Angels would consider it.

Ditto for Santana. The guy's a talent and he has a 2012 deal for $11.2 million with a club option for $13 million in 2013. He would look good in the Jays rotation, but the problem is the Jays are one of his patsies that he just throws his glove on the mound and it spells W. He would not be able to pitch against them anymore. These are the types of contracts AA is looking at. But the Angels are not in dump mode. 

Q-Griff

Where oh where has my mailbag gone? Now is the time to pull the trigger. How possible would it be for the Jays to make a splash and out of nowhere hire Tito to coach (I am sure Farrell is fine but Francona is an elite level upgrade who will draw free agents) and trade for Pedroia (a loyal Francona guy who seems distressed with the situation of his current team). Secondly, what about stealing CC when he opts out? Not only do we gain a great pitcher but we take him away from the Yankees. Money well spent. Work your magic my good man.

Mauro Cavazzon, Trail, B.C.

A-So let's see now. You go ahead and fire Farrell after forbidding him from looking elsewhere. Hire the guy that used to be Farrell's boss and that the same team that fired Francona the Sox then became interested in poaching Farrell who you now suddenly have made available to them. So basically it's a Francona for Farrell trade. Now you count on the fact that the summer of Pedroia's discontent can translate into coercing a trade to the Jays so he can go back to playing cribbage with Tito. Then the Jays have Francona and now the thinking is they can attract free agents like John Lackey, Mike Cameron, Jason Varitek, guys like that. Nice.

And about any possibility of C.C. Sabathia, if he opts out of his current deal, the Jays are not even on his personal radar. It's either the Yankees or the West Coast. He's an Oakland guy and all of his charity work and his family life is on the West Coast. Jays? For him, those are letters between I's and K's.

Q-Dear Richard,

Very much appreciated your defence of Terry Francona and your spot on criticism of the Red Sox. Money covers a lot of mistakes: no one is perfect, but I consider the signing of "Dice- K" the stupidest move since the Cubs traded Lou Brock for Ernie Broglio. You can say this is hindsight, but $50 million would buy 25 $2 million top draft choices, etc, etc. Rather like putting 20 per cent of your investment portfolio in one unproven stock. We'll see how smart Epstein is in Chicago.

Your talk with Paul Beeston reinforced my likely unfair prejudices about this man: poor grammar, and two repetitions of his Cliff Lee observations. I don't understand the high regard in which he is held: Again, probably unfair. I wish you had asked him about the poor food quality/high prices at the park; the return of Brian Tallet, etc. I am sure he has answers.

Keep up the fine work.

Selby Martin, Toronto 

A-The thing about this Japanese posting thing, the process that landed Dice-K Matsuzaka in Boston is that an auction of any kind is unlike anything else when it comes to balancing value against cost.

There is a certain frenzy that possesses auction bidders. “How much am I bid for Elvis's streaky underwear?”

Gotta have it, dude.

For instance, who was to say that a Honus Wagner 1909 trading card was worth $2.35 million. The guy that bought it, that's who.

Well, just sitting on a table the card is not worth it, but put it up for auction and all of a sudden you have established its value. Same for pitchers like Dice-K. Incidentally, Honus Wagner had the same number of wins in 2011 as Dice-K for a lot less money.

For me, upon further inspection, the Yu Darvish situation is different than Matsuzaka. He and his agents have learned from the mistakes of Dice-K. The Red Sox right-hander, after he came over, refused to ever adjust to North American methods of conditioning and between-start routine. Plus, Dice-K as a younger pitcher never was seen as preparing for his next career in North America. Darvish is aware. 

For instance, in high school, Dice-K led his Yokohama High School to a championship. Great. His routine according to his coach was to throw up to 1,000 pitches per week as a high schooler.

In the '98 Koshien tournament his team won five games to win the championship. Dice-K threw complete games in the first three wins of the tourney. Then in the game that made him legendary, in the very next game, Dice-K threw 17 innings, 250 pitches in a 9-7 win. No misprint. The day after that, in the championship game, he picked up the save. That's crazy. Now people wonder why he has  arm problems. Darvish has learned from those lessons and the 25-year-old Japanese-Iranian star comes major-league ready for a 2-3 role in a rotation. Sure it will cost the winning team a lot of money, but there are revenue possibilities if an entity like Rogers Communications uses a little imagination.

Q-With the offseason fast approaching, do you see the Jays pursuing Jayson Heyward to play left field or trading for Votto? With the closers a plenty on the free agent market are the Jays going to chase any of the big names out there? Or do you think they will make a trade or two before hitting the market?

Scott Cochrane, Niagara on the Lake

A-The easiest question to answer is that, yes, the Jays will want to make a trade or two before hitting the free agent market for anything significant. They need to take a few more building steps before they can argue to Rogers ownership that they are ready to contend this year. That involves trades before the new year.

Club president Paul Beeston has indicated that at a certain point when they are poised to contend, Type A free agents, players for whom they give up a draft pick are not an obstacle. The farm system is already deep and at some point it has to be about the major-league team.

Your other question about the Braves' young outfielder Heyward is like a hundred other suggestions that come out of left field and have little substance. The Braves obviously weren't satisfied with what Heyward gave them in his second season as they blew the wild-card lead down the stretch, but there are a lot of great players that have had bumps

in the road in their early years with their team responding by offering a dose of tough love. It took outfielder Eric Davis a while to establish himself in the late '80s with the Reds and every winter there were trade rumours. Great talent, few at-bats, must be available. But when he finally got it, he became a force of nature and the Reds won a World Series. Being benched does not necessarily constitute a desire to make a trade. If a parent calls “time out” on a child and sends him to his room it does not mean they are abut to put him up for adoption.

Q-Your interview with Beeston was great. In 2015 or whenever Beeston retires for good, can you envision a situation where AA becomes president and one of his protégés becomes GM? AA's built a solid collection of young baseball management that could take over from him. Reminds me of the way Theo Epstein built the Red Sox.

Jason Sinnarajah, San Francisco

A-Beeston took a several years time out in his Jays' career and went to New York only to find that the streets aren't paved with gold.

The greatest thing he did in his years as Chief Operating Officer of baseball was get the players union and ownership talking and cooperating on projects involving players for the good of the game. Think about it. Since Beeston went to New York in the mid-'90s there has been none of the vitriol that marked earlier negotiations and not the sniff of another work stoppage.

As for his future retirement from the Jays, why would he? Rogers pays him good money, he comes to the office and listens to other people's problems. He goes to Rogers and updates the suits. He makes fans feel better. He plays golf all summer then comes to watch ball games. Why would he retire?

But, as for Anthopoulos, he would never be a good choice for president. He found his niche. He is too secretive and not open enough to be president.

As president, for instance, he would likely not let fans know how much Jays tickets cost because they don't really need to know till they get to the park, do they?.

He would not allow anyone to talk about or release the TV schedule because the danger is other teams might be able to watch Jays games on TV and get an advantage in scouting. Oh, I'm sorry the Jays already do that secrecy thing.

It's called Sportsnet-1. In any case, I do agree that a lot of AA's assistants will become good general managers, starting with Tony LaCava if the O's choose wisely.

Griffin: MLB takes the easy way out with Game 6 postponement

ST. LOUIS-It was official at approximately 2:14 p.m. ET. Wednesday's Game 6 at Busch Stadium between the Cards and the Texas Rangers had been postponed until Thursday at 8:05 p.m. ET. The problem was the sidewaks were dry at the time.

It was not a popular decision. Out on one of those dry sidewalks, one of the concession workers, a Redd Foxx lookalike in red shirt and Cardinals cap was rallying those around him also heading for work unaware of the news. 

"They called the game off and it's not even raining," he ranted as if trying to organize an Occupy Busch Stadium rally. "Trust me the game is cancelled and it's not even raining."

There have been dozens World Series games over the years played in worse conditions, with more threatening weather reports than Game 6 of the 2011 World Series on Wednesday. Trust me. But MLB was looking at the comfort of its players, sponsors and partner networks before it was looking out for its fans. 

Baseball was taking the easy way out. For three days they had paid attention to weather reports even while the games were being played in balmy Arlington, Texas. For three days the forecasts were for a 90-percent chance of rain. By noon on Wednesday it was down to a 60-percent chance, but it made no difference. Joe Torre, who has become the commissioner's front man of dicey decisions, admitted that as early as Tuesday, he had warned both managers that there was a good chance the game could be postponed. 

"Basically for convenience," Torre said of why they didn't wait until closer to game time. "Because of the forecast there was no reason to wait any longer. And the earlier we can do it the more people can change plans, including the players and managers too."

So what do those changed plans include as the teams are grounded for the second straight day following Tuesday's travel day?

"Moneyball, I'm actually going to see it tonight," Cards skipper Tony LaRussa said. "I think Brad Pitt is a great actor."

This was a backhanded slap at A's GM Billy Beane, the character played by Pitt. Beane was the godfather of the Moneyball concept that lessened the value of traditional scouting. LaRussa like many baseball men of his generation, had a lot of friends that lost jobs and prestige as the sabermetric, stats-oriented, younger generation of GMs took over the game.

"On-base percentage is one of the most dangerous concepts of the last seven, eight years, because it forces some executives, coaches and players to think it is all about getting on base by drawing walks," LaRussa said, straying from the topic du jour.

"You watch your productive hitters in the big leagues and they get a chance to drive in a run, they look for the first good strike and the better the pitching, especially this time of year, you get that first strike that may be the best one you see. So you'd better be ready to swing early. I think most people would agree with that."

It sounds like LaRussa will not be enjoying his viewing of Moneyball.

Cards' right fielder Lance Berkman spoke for a lot of his fellow players when he expressed his feelings on the early postponement.

"I'm not sure whey they cancelled it," Berkman said, standing in front of his locker ready to change back to street clothes. "This is better weather than Game 1 (of this Series). I mean the previous World Series I was in, Game 1 and Game 5 in Chicago the weathers was in the 40s (F.) and was raining. We played through it no problem. I guess I'm going to go and lay on the couch like a big fat pig and watch a movie."

One major factor in this decision to postpone that goes unspoken is when the rule for rainouts was changed in the 2008 World Series between the Philles and the Rays. 

The rule is now that whatever portion of a World Series Game is played, it will be picked up on the next available day at the point where it was halted. That is vastly different from the regular season wherein if a game is halted before the end of five innings (or 4-1/2 if the home team is leading) then the game is replayed from the start. If it is an official game after five, then it goes into the books as a completed game.

Commissioner Bud Selig and baseball were confronted with the issue of TV and history at that time, meaning what if a guy did something spectacular in the third inning and the game was rained out in the fourth. It never happened. Or what if a game is rained out in the sixth and it's a clinching game like last night could have been. Is it fair to crown a World Series champ on a shortened game? 

So the Commissioner changes the rule -- because he could. Solomon is still sleeping soundly. Now, MLB prefers to take the easy way out. They reason that if they're not going to be able to play all nine innings in the window presented by the weather, why bother starting at all because the next day they have to finish the previous game anyway and push back all other games just as if the first was postponed. It has made them a bit conservative and candya-- in their thought processes.

"If it doesn't rain (tonight), you make the decision on what you knew," Torre said.

What?? 

There is an advantage now that goes to the Cardinals if the Series goes to Game 7 on Friday. It will allow Chris Carpenter to start for LaRussa on his fourth day and let LaRussa skip the World Series-challenged Kyle Lohse, which is a huge benefit for the Cards. As for the Rangers, they dismissed the suggestion of starting C.J. Wilson on short rest.

LaRussa would not confirm that this was what was going to happen, saying he must focus first on Game 6. Carpenter is the one that went to his manager and said he was ready.

LaRussa allowed himself to loosen up for once, and his humour showed when asked what he saw as the greatest benefit of having a postponement on Wednesday.

"I can't make any mistakes...maybe running a red light." 

 

 

 

 

 

Griffin: Napoli the Rangers new Mr. October a Jay for 90 hours

Just as Jays' GM Alex Anthopoulos was finishing up his conference call on Tuesday explaining the club's amended policy barring parallel moves, the one designed specifically to keep the Red Sox from poaching on their manager John Farrell, a radio reporter from Montreal asked if he could answer a question in French.

The important question was not about Farrell or the Red Sox, instead it was about how on earth the Jays could have had the Rangers' Mr. October, the star of the 2011 World Series, and traded him four days later for Frank Francisco. It's the same question in any language.

Mike Napoli, 30, has batted .308 in the World Series with two homers and nine RBIs and has been the star of the last two victories with a three-run homer against Mitchell Boggs and a two-run double off Marc Rzepczynski. In addition, he threw out Allen Craig stealing in the ninth inning of Game 5 and has played a major role in every post-season game.

And this guy was a Blue Jay for 90 hours when he came over from the Angels with outfielder Juan Rivera for Vernon Wells. On Jan. 25 he was dealt to the Rangers for their setup man and the Jays' next closer, Frank Francisco. Why didn't they keep Napoli?

Here's an educated guess as to what Anthopoulos was actually thinking as he spoke to Angels GM Tony Reagins on that fateful January night.

"Hmm. I really need to get rid of Vernon's contract cuz I need that money to sign Jose Bautista, but now Tony wants me to take on two contracts that I don't want. Let's see, Napoli's making $5.8 million and Rivera is making $5.25 million. Well, I'm sure I can turn one or both of those guys around to teams that think they are contenders.

"I signed Edwin Encarnacion for a pretty good contract at $2.5 million with a $3.5 million option for 2012 and I already told him he'll get his 500 at-bats and that he's not going to ever play third base again. That only leaves a chance for Edwin at DH and first base, the same positions Napoli plays. And Napoli's making $5.8 million. So Edwin's a better deal.

"I also kind of committed to J.P. Arencibia as catcher after Rod Barajas blew me off in December and signed with the Dodgers. And I got Jose Molina as a backup and he's pretty good at what he does and way cheaper. I better find my best deal for Napoli because he's not going to see that much playing time here. We're not ready to win and that's a lot of money to be paying for a backup catcher, backup first baseman, platoon DH."

Now, nine months later, clearly also the gestation time of fan angst, Alex and Jays' ownership and supporters must watch as every night the Rangers race out to swarm their former Jay-for-four-days World Series star.

But it's not like even the Rangers knew what they had in Napoli during the regular season. Over 162 games of the AL West winning season, Napoli started 57 games behind the plate, 27 at first base and 18 as the DH. That's 60 games that he began on the bench.

However when he did play, he produced and his catching skills and leadership were far more advanced than when he played with the Angels. Over there he was considered the offensive side of the catching coin, with Jeff Mathis being the better defender.

Offensively in the regular season, he hit .320 in 369 at-bats, with 30 homers, 75 RBIs and a 1.046 OPS. It was a breakout year and a dream post-season for a team that was poised to take advantage of Napoli's experience and skill set.

As far as the Jays are concerned, Napoli was not the right player or the right contract for where they stood. Anthopoulos did use the money from Wells to invest in Bautista, Arencibia showed what he could do as the everyday catcher, Edwin Encarnacion had an acceptable, sometimes frustrating season and is a viable option to come back on his reasonable option-year contract, Adam Lind was somewhat of a disappointment as an offensive first baseman but now realizes that he needs to be in better core shape and Francisco might have had better numbers as a closer if manager John Farrell had known as much about handling his bullpen at the beginning of the year as he knew at the end. He admitted that the bullpen was his most difficult adjustment as manager.

Yes, Napoli is shining in the post-season for the Rangers, but this is a different result than if had remained in a Jays uniform. He would not be there. Fans, relax and enjoy the spectacle of one of the most interesting and competitive World Series in years.

Napolis would not have been a 10-win difference if he had remained and that's the number they would have needed to compete for the wild card. 

 

 

 

Jays amend policy to prevent Sox from talking to Farrell

Blue Jays' president Paul Beeston responded quickly to the controversy surrounding the Red Sox rumoured pursuit of Jays manager John Farrell.

Te club issued a statement on Tuesday morning that reads:

“Due to the distraction caused by media speculation regarding our employee permission policy, the Toronto Blue Jays have amended their policy and will not grant permission for lateral moves.”

The Red Sox, who have been without a manager since the departure of Terry Francona at the start of the current post-season, had been rumoured to be interested in re-hiring Farrell who had acted as their pitching coach from 2007-10, including a World Series championship over the Rockies in '07.

This announcement by the Jays prevents the Red Sox from continuing any pursuit of Farrell as this would clearly qualify as a "lateral move."

Griffin: Farrell holds all the cards in Red Sox quest for manager

The Red Sox haven't yet made the call to Jays' GM Alex Anthopoulos to ask permission to talk to John Farrell, according to the first-year manager himself, reached by The Star this morning in Boston.

Don't panic, fans. Farrell is not there to be interviewed by the Red Sox. In fact, since the end of the season, John and his wife Sue have remained at the side of their son Luke, 21, as he undergoes treatment for removal of a recurring tumour on the back of his skull.

It makes sense that Farrell hasn't yet heard from the Red Sox. They have had other pressing matters, like the hiring of a replacement for the departed GM Theo Epstein and the compensation they will receive from the Cubs. The hiring of a manager will quickly become a priority for new GM Ben Cherington whenever it is his appointment is confirmed. That official announcement confirming Epstein's assistant as GM will likely come Tuesday, the off day between World Series games 5-6.

But even the mere rumour of the Red Sox interest in Farrell is a slap in the face for Jays fans. And why does Anthopoulos not already have his back up and squash the rumours early, denying the Sox permission before they even ask? It's not an upward baseball move, manager to manager, which Anthopoulos encourages for any of his employees pursuing the chance of bettering themselves. This is a parallel move, unless you believe the Sox and Yankees operate in a higher league. They believe.

The Jays talk boldly about competing for the playoffs in the near-future, yet allow themselves to be treated as the farm team, the development centre of the AL East's big boys. I thought they were serious in fighting that belief, but this Farrell loss would be a step backwards.

Even the Sox media take the Sox/Yankee superiority for granted. If Boston wants someone, even if that person is an important piece in a clearly developing situation like the current Jays, that if the Sox crook their index finger in his direction, that Farrell will come back to New England. He's not even from New England. He's from the Jersey Shore living in a suburb of Cleveland.

If the Sox call for Farrell does come later this week, Anthopoulos would likely allow the new GM to contact his manager and the former Red Sox pitching coach would listen to what they have to say. There is no immediate commitment, but why should he refuse the call if it's allowed.

At worst, even the interest from the Sox will benefit him financially, even if he remains with the Jays, which, by all rights and integrity he should. Somehow leaving does not seem right?

When Farrell was being interviewed by the Jays, he was perceived in Boston as a likely successor to Terry Francona if he had stayed in his position as pitching coach. But the perception was that Francona was locked in with a team that was primed to be a perennial playoff team.

Farrell was so highly regarded in baseball circles that he was able to choose the Jays as much as the Jays chose him. He and Anthopoulos worked well together in his first year. There was a mutual respect between the manager and his boss, who is 15 years his junior. Farrell brought in a surprising aggressiveness on the bases, combined with a healthy reliance on his coaching staff, including pitching coach Bruce Walton. He communicated with his GM every day.

That's exactly the sense of cooperation and front office teamwork that Anthopoulos was looking for in a manager. Farrell managed to win but understood the need for player development at the major league level. It's an asset that had long ago left Cito Gaston, who wanted to use his veterans to win.

Sure Farrell made some mistakes, especially, as he himself admits, in the way he handled his bullpen of interchangeable parts, not assigning specific roles early enough, leading to negative results in the long run. His players took a while to warm up to him, even making fun of the awkwardness of his first managerial ejection in Tampa. But they warmed to his style as a players' manager, treating them as men, with the mature attitude of “just show up on time and be ready to play every day.”

So don't blame Farrell for just listening to the Red Sox if they call. He has earned that right. It even may work for him the way it did for former GM J.P. Ricciardi who parlayed Boston's interest in hiring him away from the Jays into a lucrative multi-year extension. That would be fine if Farrell used the expression of interest the same way. It's not our money. Who could blame him for that?

But it would be unseemly for him to take the Boston job after one year in Toronto. It would be a setback for the new, chest puffing image that Anthopoulos had created as the upcoming David to the AL East's Goliaths. Once again, the Jays would be the small-market feeder system.

What if Farrell had stayed on as the Red Sox pitching coach? There are two ways of looking at it.

1. When Francona was allowed to leave, Farrell would have been in line to take over as manager, so he's just picking up where he probably would have been.

2. If Farrell was the pitching coach in 2011, the Sox would not have had those discipline problems. Pitchers say that Farrell instilled a healthy fear in them. If he had noticed that some of his starting pitchers were missing from the dugout during games and were in the clubhouse drinking beer, he would have nipped the problem in the Bud. If that was the case, the Sox would likely have held on for a playoff spot and Francona would still be manager.

How wrong would his leaving be? Let me put it this way.

If Farrell took the Red Sox job of his fired buddy Terry Francona, it would compare to Waylon Jennings playing the remaining tour dates of the late Buddy Holly after Jennings had narrowly missed the doomed 1959 flight that Jennings was supposed to be on and took the lives of Holly, the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens.

Is Farrell going?

“That'll be the Day.”

If the Sox want permission to talk, they will get it from Anthopoulos. That's where it stands as of Monday. There is smoke. We're not sure about the fire.   

Griffin: World Series Game 3 proves to be Pujols personal playground

ARLINGTON, TX-There could be no avoiding talking to Albert Pujols after the 16-7 Cardinals win over the Rangers in Game 3 on Saturday. The slugging first baseman posted the fourth three home run performance in World Series history. Babe Ruth did it twice -- in 1926-28 -- and, of course, Reggie Jackson in the '77 Fall Classic against the Dodgers. Pujols also banged out five hits, tying Paul Molitor's record set in 1982 and equalled the World Series record with six RBIs, set by a pair of Yankees -- Bobby Richardson in '60 and tied by Hideki Matsui in 2009.

“It's pretty special,” Pujols admitted of joining Hall-of-Famers Ruth and Jackson. “Those guys are great players and to do it at that level and on this stage is amazing. But at the same time you need to enjoy this for a minute and be ready to play tomorrow.”

In the space of just four innings, the 2011 World Series became Pujols' personal showcase. The soon-to-be free agent already had two singles when he stepped to the plate in the sixth and crushed an Alexi Ogando fastball off the facing of the Club Level in left field where only 15 home runs had gone in the ballpark's 18 years. An inning later against Mike Gonzalez, he slammed a two-run shot to straightaway centre giving him five RBIs -- and counting.

Pujols completed what was arguably the greatest offensive performance in World Series history lining his third homer into the front of the left field stands off of lefthander Darren Oliver completing the scoring in a 16-7 victory. His 14 total bases stands alone as a record. The Rangers super bullpen has apparently met its Kryptonite.

“I mean with Babe and Reggie that's good company right there,” Cardinals' manager Tony LaRussa said. “According to some of the stats it's the greatest of any World Series in 120 years. I think the best thing to do is you make that statement and ask somebody, okay you show me one that was better.”

While Pujols was reluctant to talk about his own accomplishments, he praised LaRussa for passing Bobby Cox into second place on the all-time list of post-season managerial wins.

“I just thank God every day that I'm able to wear this uniform and share a special moment with Tony,” Pujols said. “I've been with him for 11 years and he's been like a dad to me. It's pretty special.”

First base umpire Ron Kulpa can thank Pujols later. Every once in a while at the World Series there is a call by an umpire that overrides what happened in the game. Think Don Denkinger in 1985. Such was the case in the fourth inning Saturday. It was a missed call by Kulpa on the back end of a double play grounder by Matt Holliday that opened the door to a four-run inning that could have been the story of the game, but thanks to Pujols power display, it will be forgotten.

Here's how it went. Holliday grounded to Elvis Andrus who flipped to Ian Kinsler for the force on Pujols. Kinsler's relay pulled first baseman Mike Napoli off the bag, but his swipe tag bounced off Holliday's shoulder as he was still a stutter-step away from safety. After a brief argument and a brief umpires tete-a-tete, Rangers' manager Ron Washington returned to the dugout still unsatisfied. Kulpa was asked about the play after the game and admitted he had made a mistake.

“I saw a replay when I walked off the field and the tag was applied before his foot hit the bag,” the St. Louis native, Kulpa told a pool reporter. “At the time of the play I had him on the base at the time of his tag. I had a tag, but I had him on the base. On that type of play, I'm not going to ask for help. Ron (Washington) didn't ask me to get any help either.”

After that, Rangers starter Matt Harrison and his defence fell apart. Lance Berkman singled. David Freese doubled home a run. Yadier Molina was walked intentionally setting up a key defensive gaffe that may have been the game's early turning point.

Jon Jay bounced a ball towards first, charged by Napoli. On the run his throw was to the foul side of the plate. Yorvit Torrealba, with an epic display of poor footwork, fanned on the catch, getting a piece of leather on it with two runs scoring. Ryan Theriot followed with an RBI single. It all started with the umpire. Won't matter to Rangers fans that Kulpa was born and raised in St. Louis will it? Fans don't look at things like that. Right?

"We still had an opportunity to get off the field with maybe them just pushing one tun across the plate," Washington said. "We just didn't make the plays."

Down 5-0, with the four-spot tacked on to the first inning homer by Allen Craig, the Rangers roared back in the bottom of the fourth against starter Kyle Lohse. Michael Young led off with a home run, his first in two World Series. Adrian Beltre singled and ALCS hero Nelson Cruz homered into the first row in the right field seats. It was the fourth straight playoff game at home in which Cruz had homered. He had also homered in Game 5 of the 2010 series, making him the first Ranger with multiple World Series homers. It was his seventh homer of this post-season.

But the difference in the two stadiums became apparent, with Arlington extremely hitter friendly compared to the cold and blustery conditions of Busch Stadium. Scott Feldman was now working for the Rangers in the fifth. The Cards loaded the bases with nobody out. Freese broke his bat but drove in a run, then Molina delivered a two-run double to regain a five-run advantage.

The Rangers were not done either. They closed to within an 8-6 score with three of their own against Fernando Salas and Lance Lynn, who ended up the winner. The rally was keyed by an RBI double by Young, a single by Beltre and a sacrifice fly by Napoli. They left the bases loaded in the fifth. Both teams combined to score 13 runs in the fourth and fifth innings.

In the sixth it was Pujols time to step up and leave his mark. With his three-run blast, the Cards had once again re-established a five run lead. The price of playing poker with Pujols just went up.

“Between him and (Miguel) Cabrera, you need to outlaw them,” Washington said with no hint of humour. “They're just that good. He's a super player, no doubt about it.”

One of the pluses for LaRussa as the series shifted to Texas was that he would be able to find a spot in the batting order for his super-sub, Craig. With Berkman becoming the DH after consultation with the manager, Craig was in the lineup in right field and batting second. He will play all three games deep in the heart of Texas, perhaps a great equalizer for the Cards.

The Series continues on Sunday with the Cards leading two games to one

Griffin: Someone's in the kitchen with Albert

ARLINGTON, TX--Less than 24 hours after messing up a key ninth inning cutoff play in Game 2 of the World Series, a 2-1 loss against the Rangers and after being seriously ripped by media in print, on TV and radio, Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols, following his team's off-day workout, lashed out against the unfair treatment he feels he has received, claiming he was dressed and in the clubhouse kitchen having a post-game bite to eat, not avoiding the press.

 “If somebody wanted to talk to me about that play why didn't they try to come and approach me or ask Brian," Pujols said. "Brian Bartow, the media guy, is right there and you know it. He's right there, okay. He's right there. As soon as you guys walk in, he's the first guy that's right there as soon as Tony's done talking. So there's no excuse. If somebody wants to ask me, you guys didn't see my clothes there. I was in the lunch room. If somebody would say, 'Hey, is Albert around?' Right away, 'Yeah, he's over there.' 'Okay, they need you.' Alright, I'll go talk to you."

Pujols had been the cutoff man behind the mound on a key single by Elvis Andrus, as Ian Kinsler flew from first to third, rounding the bag hard and slamming on the brakes. The throw from a charging Jon Jay in centre field bounced once on the infield grass and deflected off Pujols glove with Kinsler diving back to third and Andrus scooting into second base as the ball rolled away. Pujols later was given an error and both runners scored, providing the margin of victory. 

 “I took my eyes off it," Pujols admitted. "I think it was an error. It had to be an error. It hit my glove so it would have to be an error. You want to blame me for that that we lose the game, go ahead and blame me. I don't care. It is what it is. You have to stand up.

“I wasn't even looking at Jay, where he was going to throw the ball. A lot of people teach different. What I learned is when that ball's hit to centre field you need to look at the runner because you're going to have the chance to cut that ball. And as soon as I turned and I saw that big turn on Kinsler, I knew I had a chance if I cut the ball if I throw right away to third base, maybe I have a chance to make that play. He took that big turn, obviously I took my eyes off the ball and missed it."

Pujols was angry at the press. The night before, following Game 1, he had answered questions well after the game in front of his locker, but that was a win. As a leader of the Cards' clubhouse there are a lot of players that follow his example. They can say 'If only speaking when things go well is good enough for Albert, hey, it's good enough for me.' Pujols does not see it that way.

 “The way you guys are ripping me off I guess I need to stay in the clubhouse tomorrow until you guys decide to talk to me," Pujols said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "My responsibility I have is to God and my family. I don't have a responsibility with anyone else. And I try to do the best that I can to represent the game of baseball, I do that. I mean sometimes I make a mistake.

"Did I feel good last night when I made a mistake? I don't think so. I was waiting and nobody approached me. I mean, what can I do? There's nothing I can do. I did it against Philly then I did it against Milwaukee. Now it's the World Series, somebody wants to make that a big deal. That's what I don't understand. That's no fair, you know. I did that against Philly. I did that against Milwaukee. All of a sudden, it's the World Series, big stage, somebody wants to make a big deal about it. Come on guys. I don't think that's fair you know."

The World Series is the marquee event of major-league baseball and for 10 days players are asked to cooperate with the Commissioner's Office and make themselves available for the media. Players are asked to enjoy the experience and part of it is the media crush. If a player stands in front of his locker as soon as he is ready after a game, the clubhouse clears out more quickly and it's a benefit for all of his teammates. Players notice. It's expected of every team's superstars. 

 “I got home at one o'clock the night before," Pujols said. "I give you guys an hour to the media. I give it to you guys in English and Spanish and you try to rip somebody's reputaton for something like this, I don't think it's fair. But you know what, I don't throw rocks at you guys. You guys are human. You guys are going to make mistakes just like I did. It's part of the game. That's the way it goes sometimes. It's hard to understand, but there's some days like that."

There are many areas of a major-league clubhouse that are for players only, many places to get intentionally lost. When the media was allowed into the losing clubhouse after Game 2, Pujols clothes were gone from his locker and there are writers that stayed in the Cards clubhouse that still believe he had really gone when he said he was fully dressed and in the kitchen, willing to talk.

Game Three is Saturday night with the Series tied at a game apiece. Hopefully this incident is behind him and the focus will be on playing baseball.