You knew it had to happen eventually. Bernie Miklasz’s article on April 9, 2005 is basically a recap of a pretty pedestrian early season game. I guess he has a quote for how many articles he has to write each week.
Bernie starts off by letting us know that Tony La Russa calls Jim Leyland from time to time. Yawn. Tony’s been in St. Louis longer than most grade schoolers have been alive, so we know all about him and Jim Leyland. I’m surprised there wasn’t a Bobby Knight reference.
Bernie tells us:
Plays weren’t made by fielders, pitches sailed out of the strike zone, and too many runners were forsaken on the bases. This wasn’t exactly a primer on winning baseball. Perhaps it was the bright sun; it was as if both teams’ minds were still in Florida, in the spring-training mode.
Ok, so the game play sucked. But then it gets confusing. He says:
The charge came in the eighth in a winning, three-run rally that contained three singles, three walks, a sacrifice fly and some puzzling managing by the Philadelphia’s Charlie Manuel.
If you saw the game or even read Bernie’s description this wasn’t a game that featured a “charge.” More like a lumbering stumble.
Bernie winds up letting us know Tony La Russa had a concert to go to:
La Russa had a Michael McDonald concert to get to Friday night at The Pageant, but the music could wait. La Russa took the extra time to appreciate the small details as he relived the late innings with his friend, Leyland.
Whew. Glad we got that in.
Score: 2 out of 10.