World Series: Notes from Game One

First, I have to say that this was as good as advertised: the Giants and Angels are very well-matched and played very well overall. Here are the notes I scribbled on my scorecard as I watched the game (some explanatory notes added in square brackets):

Top of 2nd: Bonds' home run was a monster shot. Washburn looked like a fan, smiling as the ball left the park.

Bottom of 2nd: Fullmer steal-Bad call on steal. He was out. High tag but foot was over not on bag.

Bottom of 3rd: Eckstein hit high and tight ball to right to move runner [Kennedy to third with one out]-nice.

Bottom of 3rd:Erstad's second strike (called) was clearly inside. Strikes out on ugly pitch.

Top of 4th: Bonds K'ed on ball four (high and tight). How often do you see that?

Top of 5th: Lofton shows bunt on 1st, 2nd, 4th pitch late. McCarver says AL doesn't bunt as much as NL [Lofton had been on Chisox until midseason]. Is that still true of position players or just perception?

Bottom of 5th: Salmon-Snow fell down, got up, caught foul ball. (McCarver mentions Boone-dropped/Rose-caught fly ball in 1980 World Series. I though of that, too.)

Bottom of 6th: Glauss [2nd HR]-bad pitch. Turned on it. Ball over plate, should've been outside.

Bottom of 6th: Molina-Hit & Run. Bad hop to Bell. Can only go to first. H&R saved double play.

Top of 7th: Shinjo still in vs. righty? Baker left bench short and is saving Goodwin.

Top of 8th: Kent ostensibly lined out to short. Eckstein dropped ball but had time to get Kent since he did not run it out.

Top of 8th: Bonds [after Schoeneweiss brought in to face him]-why bring in lefty to pitch around Bonds? Waste!

Bottom of 8th: Worrell in. Nice at-bat vs. Glauss. Some nasty breaking stuff.

Bottom of 8th: Figgens [pinch-runner]-McCarver says that he shouldn't run because it would waste [pinch-hitter] Palmeiro given that Jose Molina would have come in to catch an lead off 9th. What if Molina takes Figgens spot and Palmeiro plays first? Just an idea.

Bottom of 8th: Worrell-not getting ball three call to Spiezio seemed to rattle him. Followed by four straight balls.

Bottom of 8th: Snow holding runner [tying run] on full count, 2 out.

Top of 9th: Buck called Goodwin a pinch-hitter, but isn't he just the new DH?

[From the rule book: Pinch hitters for a Designated Hitter may be used. Any substitute hitter for a Designated Hitter becomes the Designated Hitter.]

Bottom of 9th: Good to know Rally Monkey ancestry [Fox graphic]. Started vs. Giants-how prescient!

Bottom of 9th: Kennedy-monster hit foul on fourth pitch.

Bottom of 9th: Eckstein-liner down left field line just foul, 3rd pitch. Strike out on a nasty outside slider, impossible to hit, impossible to lay off [1-2].

Post: For a team known for late-inning rallies they [Angels] were 0-9 with a walk vs. Giants pen.

Lyons [interviewing Snow] half-jokingly admonished Snow for slipping [on foul ball]-moron.

Jeanne-"It's Barry Bonds' world...series" and "The Bonds market is up". Oh brother!

Final notes:

The Giants can feel good because they got the win, took the home-field advantage away, their bullpen pitched well, the Shinjo move (almost) worked (1-3), Sanders had a big game, and the bottom of the order contributed. But they only had 6 hits, the top three in the order did nothing, and Kent looks very bad offensively and failed to run out a play.

Gammons had asked if game-two starter Russ Ortiz, who hits better than practically anyone on the Giant bench, will hit for himself? Rulebook says: "It is not mandatory that a club designate a hitter for the pitcher, but failure to do so prior to the game precludes the use of a Designated Hitter for that game." If Ortiz leaves early this could come back to haunt them. There is no way that they will do it.

For the Angels, Washburn looked hittable and may get two more starts, top of the order went 2-for-14, and only had one run that wasn't driven in by a home run. The only bright spots are Glauss' continued postseason improvement and Donnelly and Weber's performance.

Keep in mind that the Giants' OPS against lefties is nearly 100 points higher than against right-handers. With Bonds' bat, you wouldn't expect it. Those numbers may be slightly skewed since Snow and Lofton did not play full year.