Morgan Ensberg tells us something we didn't know about that Pujols HR off Lidge
Of course, I'm referring to the 9th inning of Game 5 of the 2005 NLCS. That shot may go down in Astros' infamy. But Morgan Ensberg explains in his blog that the HR would have never happened if he was properly positioned, more toward the hole, for David Eckstein's at bat. Ensberg says that Garner tried to position him properly, but a problem in the manager's vantage point created an optical illusion. Ensberg says he didn't question the manager's instructions, because he assumed that the positioning must have something to do with Lidge's plan of attack on Eckstein. An interesting read.
5 months ago
clack
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Very interesting indeed
but also very painful since it brought back all the memories and introduced new scenarios of what might have been…
Wasn’t Eckstein’s hit on 2 strikes too?
Still, I am not sure whether to believe that Phil was fooled by an optical illusion.
Eckstein was hit by Pettitte earlier in the game. In the 9th inning of game 5, here is the play by play:
J. Rodriguez strike out swinging
J. Mabry strike out swinging
D. Eckstein ground ball single
Eckstein steals 2d on defensive indifference
Edmonds walks
Pujols HR
A curiosity question for me. Suppose Ensberg had been positioned properly and he made the play on Eckstein. What would have happened next? Would it have made a difference if Oswalt had started Game 1 of the WS? By avoiding that Pujols’ HR, would Lidge’s pitching results have changed in the future? Is it possible that Lidge would have pitched more successfully in the WS? Is it possible that Lidge’s career wouldn’t have taken a downward trend in 06/07? Probably not. But who knows?
The one thing about Oswalts start in the WS is that I remember him cruising along and then the 5th inning they started getting all these dinky hits and before you know it they’re 5 runs down. It’s not like the Astros didn’t have 3 other starting pitchers, Backe pitched a gem in game 4 the Astros just couldn’t get 2 runs across the plate. Clemens left after 2 innings, I don’t even remember what Pettitie did. I don’t think that play really defined the Astros World Series run.
Lidge was the record loser on two of the World Series games. He gave up a walk off HR to Posednik, which was very rare for the low power hitting outfielder, to end Game 2 of the World Series in extra innings. That was Lidge’s first appearance after the Pujols blast. Did Lidge still suffer from a Pujols hangover? Maybe not, but some fans thought so. Lidge lost the final game of the World Series in the 8th inning after Backe’s sparkling shutout start to the game. If you buy into the “Lidge became damaged goods after the Pujols HR” (I don’t necessarily believe it, by the way), then maybe the Astros might have won 2 games in the World Series. And if the Astros had won 2 games, who knows what the outcome of the World Series would have been?
I just don’t buy that the Astros World Series was a result of one play or even one player.
Going into the bottom of the 9th in Game 2 the game was tied, so why would you even have Lidge in the game in that situation, especially if you’re looking to go extra innings. Up to the 7th inning the game was 4-2 Astros, Wheeler comes in and loads the bases, then Qualls serves up a grand slam. Game 4 it was a 1 – 0 game if the Astros had scored 2 runs they win the game. Was Lidge struggling yes, but so was the rest of the bullpen, the offense and the starting pitching.
I was reading through the other posts in the blog, and Morgan answered most posts and made some points I agree with in the Milton Bradley post. He seems like a pretty good person.
by mjh84 on Mar 15, 2010 1:14 PM CDT via mobile reply actions
They should have walked Pujols!
Reggie Sanders was on deck and he could hardly swing due to the collision he had in game 1 with the left field wall at Busch Stadium. If I remember correctly Sanders struck out to end the inning. I know it sounds crazy to walk the bases loaded but I wouldn’t have wanted to pitch to Pujols.
You Shouldn't walk Pujols
This seems like an option after the fact, but you never want to put the tying run at second base. If the tying run gets to second, a base hit will score him. Pujols has always had difficulty like everybody else with Brad.
Morgan
by MorganEnsberg on Mar 16, 2010 6:10 PM CDT up reply actions
Welcome to The Crawfish Boxes.
I agree with you, but Astros’ fans always seem to want to walk Pujols. Pujols is an otherwordly hitter, but he still makes an out about 60% of the time.
I don’t know the details (or can’t recall them anyway) about Sanders’ injury at the time. But Reggie Sanders is a player who absolutely blistered the Astros, particularly in MMP. (Reggie Sanders’ batting line during the 2005 regular season versus Houston was only .429, .529, 1.17, 1.7 OPS.) Given Sanders’ history, if I’m Garner, I don’t know that I would want to take a chance betting on his injury. Sanders’ injury didn’t prevent him from getting a hit and stealing a base in this game.
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