Game Thread World Series Game 4 Royals vs. Mets Saturday, 10/31/15

...^^^

 

I've never blamed Billy Bucks for that error. WTF- was McNamara thinking in the late 8th inning, to leave Buckner on the Field, when He should of gone for a stronger Defensive Replacement, .......?

Pulling Clemens who had thrown 10 Complete Games in 86, while bringing in the un-impressive Calvin Schiraldi......tho' Clemens had thrown a 4 hitter, 135 Pitches, He still argues McNamara's claim, that Roger opted out, not what Roger states.

The top 5 reasons Bill Buckner shouldn't be blamed for the Red Sox' loss to the Mets in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series.

skip to the 8:40 Mark......
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- missed opportunities (14 LOB)

- Oil Can Boyd's premature celebration

- Shea Stadium scoreboard (flashed 10th inning message "Congratulations Boston Red Sox 1986 World Series Champions")

Top Five:

5. Roger Clemens' exit (at the time Roger was hooked from the mound, he had - only given up 4 hits)

4. Calvin Schiraldi (was very very hittable, and fooled no one)

3. Rich Gedman and Bob Stanley (wild pitch, not handled by Gedman)

2. Mookie Wilson's speed (he may have beaten Buckner to the bag anyway).

1. John McNamara- No it wasn't Macs fault Billy Bucks let the ball go thru his legs, and with both knees in braces, did Mac really think Buckner was going to play like a Gold Glover....?

 

and- ( I know most of our posters know this, but its still good to go back and revisit)...


Normally? Bill Buckner, throughout the League Championship Series and the World Series to that point, was always taken out late in the game for defense. He had also been handled that way during the stretch drive in August and September.

John McNamara wanted to have Buckner on the field when the Series got nailed down, almost solely because he appreciated Buckner's gutsy play that season (105 RBIs, playing in pain). His heart was in the right place, but his brains had gone to bed in that hour, even if you allow that Buckner's error was actually the next best thing to a freak occurrence. (He [McNamara] could have let Buckner hit his turn, pinch hit Don Baylor for relief pitcher Calvin Schiraldi instead, and still sent Dave Stapleton (an impossibly weak hitter whose only legitimate major league ability was playing defense) to spell Buckner.

For listening to his heart rather than trying to win the baseball game for dead last certain, John McNamara merely secured his reputation as a manager who couldn't get out of his own way, and who would prefer to resent the hell out of anyone who pointed it out than make any attempt to correct it - or to own up to his mistakes, rather than try blaming the victim of his mistake...as he tried to Roger Clemens, claiming Clemens had told him he couldn't go any more, a remark for which Clemens had to be restrained from taking him apart...)

Buckner's flaw as a fielder actually wasn't his hands so much as it was his badly limited range, after all those years of leg injuries. If you watch the play closely enough, you see the ball take a tiny weird skip on the infield dirt (Mookie Wilson had hit a chopping grounder pretty much up the first base line; Buckner was playing him back near the edge of the outfield grass, the proper way to defense a free-swinger with running speed whom you're trying to get to hit it on the ground), maybe hitting a small chunk enough to cause the weird skip; tiny and weird enough that Buckner actually had his glove down in proper position to pick it off on a scoop-up, or to block the ball in front of him should it have taken an odd hop upward, but he could only watch helplessly as that skip on the infield dirt slipped the ball under his glove like a limbo rocker. He looked as stunned as anyone else in the park that the ball had gotten through his legs; that told me he was prepared and expecting to have the ball in his glove and, at worst (since Wilson had pitcher Stanley beaten on the play), keep Wilson to an infield hit and the Mets to first and third with two outs.

 

...in defense of Buckner and Murphy, I think both were victimized by bad hops to a degree. Both grounders were bouncers that suddenly flattened out on the last bounce.

...it would be a shame if one misplay overshadows all Murphy has done this Post Season. Hopefully, baseball history will not remember him as a "goat".

 

In the case of both a classic example of one "ah shit" wiping out all the "atta boys". Billy Bucks was a fine player who screwed the pooch in the wrong place right time still it did not cost them the series overall. The Bostons has one more to play, got the lead, lost it and failed to solve Fernandez. Had Boston won game 7 all that would have been forgotten. Murphy is now in a similar situation excepting the Mets have a tougher ladder to climb now down 3-1. if they pull it out then Murphys play will be forgotten.

 

Sadly if the Mets lose this series Murphy will be more remembered for his error in game 4 than what he did in the first two rounds.

 

After a very hot start with the Mets 17 HRs in his first 40 games Cespedes has battered only 226 over his last 7 weeks including 235 during the PS & 3-17 in this series with no RBIs & no XBHs. Not good numbers going into free agency.

 

I totally agree. Murph was incredible with his HR Terror throughout the P.S. Sad too about Buckner, the guy could flat out hit, and once field, prior to those bad knees. 1 Batting Titlist, who will forever sadly enough be remembered for one single play......Not Fair at all.....!!!

 

3 team deal, package the pos Puiggy with Yoenis, and ya' gotta' deal....!

 

Obviously it takes a "team" to win or lose a WS however there were four culprits who sabotaged the Redsox in that fateful 10th inning of game 6 which was the potential last inning of a Redsox WS title.
Four. That's it - four.

Schiraldi, Stanley,German and BUCKNER.

Bottom 10th, Redsox lead 5-3.

Schiraldi had two outs, bases empty, two strikes on Carter...Carter fought off a couple of pitches before hitting a looping liner single to CF.
Then Schiraldi gave up another two singles including an RBI single to Knight making the score 5-4 Boston....
......Mitchell to third, Knight on first.
Enter Bob Stanley- who promptly throws a "wild pitch" which many (including me) also believe should've been handled or knocked down by catcher Rich Gedman.
The ball wasn't very far off the plate, and wasn't in the dirt.

This allowed Mitchell to score- tie game, Knight moved to 2nd base.

Then the lazy grounder to Buckner who failed to surround the ball and failed to get his glove down low enough....had PLENTY of time to adjust and handle that ball. Knight scores winning run from 2nd base as Buckner couldn't even keep the ball in the infield. Ugh

Buckner's lazy lackadaisical approach to that ground ball was the ONE single error which was responsible for the Mets scoring the winning run of game six to keep the Mets alive and well.

We'll never know which team would've won that game had Buckner made the routine play....but we DO KNOW how the winning run was allowed to score with two out.
Buckner!