The 2008 Major League Baseball Thread

#390 Reply
Posted by DocEllis70 on 26 Sep, 2008 02:23
up in the mezzanine is the way to go with weather like tonights. it was quite the game to see..a roller coaster of events. thought the bunt tactic was pretty bone headed and Manuel said postgame it was not advised, so im sure murphy heard about it after.Church rebounds from last night and Pedros pitching was there and glad to see him do it at his possible last performance at shea.

#391 Reply
Posted by Spacey on 26 Sep, 2008 08:09
Aruny, when was/is your final game at Shea? Any tickets for this weekend?

#392 Reply
Posted by FrankZappa on 26 Sep, 2008 11:29
A little history, I was talking with pitchy last night and couldn\'t remember which game this was until I looked it up:

Quote
The Curse of Fred Merkle has haunted the Chicago Cubs for many years. During the 1908 National League pennant race, the Cubs took advantage of a mistake by New York Giants\' rookie Fred Merkle. This served to give Chicago the title. They went on to win the World Series that year, but have yet to win another one.

The Situation

[edit] The Original Game
In 1908, the Cubs and Giants were in a fierce battle with each other for the National League pennant. The two teams played each other at the Polo Grounds in New York on September 23. It was a key matchup in the fight for the championship.

The game was tied, 1-1, in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Giants had Moose McCormick on third base and Merkle on first with two outs. Al Bridwell was the batter. Bridwell hit a single into the outfield, scoring McCormick. The Giants had an apparent victory, setting off an emotional scene of fans running onto the field.

As McCormick scored, Merkle turned and headed off the field without reaching second base. Cubs\' infielder Johnny Evers saw that Fred didn\'t touch the base. Through the crowd of happy Giants\' fans, Evers tried to get the ball in order to get the force out at second. Giants\' pitcher Joe McGinnity, seeing what Evers was up to, grabbed the ball and threw it far away. Anyway, Evers managed to come up with a ball and stepped on second base. Following the rules, umpire Hank O\'Day called Merkle out, cancelling the winning run. The game was declared a tie.

[edit] The Replayed Game
The Cubs and Giants finished the regular season tied for first place in the National League. In order to decide the pennant (and a spot in the World Series), the teams had to replay the tie game on October 8. Chicago won, 4-2, to become the champions of the National League for the third straight year. New York was left without a title they thought was theirs.

[edit] World Series of 1908
The Cubs went into the World Series, where they defeated the Detroit Tigers, 4 games to 1 for their second consecutive world championship. This is the last World Series the Cubs have won - a Series in which they would not have been had they not taken advantage of Fred Merkle.

#393 Reply
Posted by Spacey on 26 Sep, 2008 11:33
Our own DW has tickets to the last game of the season at Feway.

#394 Reply
Posted by FrankZappa on 26 Sep, 2008 11:37
if tonights game gets rained out to a double header game sunday I\'m getting the tickets. (runs off to do his rain dance) :hehehe:

#395 Reply
Posted by Me! on 26 Sep, 2008 11:43
I thought the Cubs curse was the curse of the goat or something.

#396 Reply
Posted by Spacey on 26 Sep, 2008 11:49
Quote from: Me!;204397
I thought the Cubs curse was the curse of the goat or something.

It is the Curse of the Billy Goat.

#397 Reply
Posted by Me! on 26 Sep, 2008 11:59
Quote from: wikipedia
The Curse of Billy "The Goat" Sianis
Main article: Chicago Cubs futility theories
The Curse of the Billy Goat is a curse on the Chicago Cubs that was started in 1945. As the story goes, Billy Sianis, a Greek immigrant (from Paleopyrgos, Greece[1]), who owned a nearby tavern (the now-famous Billy Goat Tavern), had two $7.20 box seat tickets to Game 4 of the 1945 World Series between the Chicago Cubs and the Detroit Tigers, and decided to bring along his pet goat, Murphy (or Sinovia according to some references), which Sianis had restored to health when the goat had fallen off a truck and subsequently limped into his tavern. The goat wore a blanket with a sign pinned to it which read "We got Detroit\'s goat".[2] Sianis and the goat were allowed into Wrigley Field and even paraded about on the playing field before the game before ushers intervened and led them off the field. After a heated argument, both Sianis and the goat were permitted to stay in the stadium occupying the box seat for which he had tickets. At this point, Andy Frain (head of Wrigley Field\'s hired security company at the time), waved the goat\'s box-seat ticket in the air and proclaimed, "If he eats the ticket that would solve everything."[2] However, the goat did not. Before the game was over, it started to rain and Sianis and the goat were ejected from the stadium at the command of Cubs owner Philip Knight Wrigley due to the objectionable odor of wet goat. Sianis was outraged at the ejection and allegedly placed a curse upon the Cubs that they would never win another pennant or play in a World Series at Wrigley Field again because the Cubs organization had insulted his goat, and subsequently left the U.S. to vacation in his home in Greece.

The Cubs lost Game 4 and eventually the 1945 World Series, prompting Sianis to write to Wrigley from Greece, saying, "Who stinks now?"

#398 Reply
Posted by Spacey on 26 Sep, 2008 12:00
See.

Watch out who you offend.

#399 Reply
Posted by Gordo on 26 Sep, 2008 12:09
Nerves are mounting, goats are being sacrificed. Bring on whoever the **** wants it....!

#400 Reply
Posted by FrankZappa on 26 Sep, 2008 12:18
the cubs have more than one curse working against them. I heard they started the great chicago fire.

#401 Reply
Posted by derickw on 26 Sep, 2008 13:19
Quote from: Spacey;204392
Our own DW has tickets to the last game of the season at Feway.

indeed, i\'m hoping this rain stops.

#402 Reply
Posted by Spacey on 26 Sep, 2008 13:25
Quote from: derickw;204446
Quote from: Spacey;204392
Our own DW has tickets to the last game of the season at Feway.

indeed, i\'m hoping this rain stops.

I hope it rains on your parade.

#403 Reply
Posted by derickw on 26 Sep, 2008 14:23
Quote from: Spacey;204450
Quote from: derickw;204446
Quote from: Spacey;204392
Our own DW has tickets to the last game of the season at Feway.

indeed, i\'m hoping this rain stops.

I hope it rains on your parade.

NO WAMMY!!! NO WAMMY!!!!! STOP

http://imageshack.us">http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/748/whammyvj5.gif" border="0" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us"/>
http://g.imageshack.us/img519/whammyvj5.gif/1/">http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/whammyvj5.gif/1/w629.png" border="0">