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Playoff tradeoff Postseason has new blood, but the inexperience is showingPosted: Friday October 11, 2002 3:27 PM
How refreshing was it to see the gems pitched by the Giants' Jason Schmidt in Game 2 of the NLCS and the Twins' Joe Mays in Game 1 of the ALCS? Aside from those two masterful performances, the question on everyone's mind this October has been: Where have all the pitchers gone? After a season in which scoring dropped slightly and the number of home runs hit fell by more than 7 percent, the playoffs have been a bashfest for hitters and a horror show for pitchers. Through Thursday, a total of 217 runs were scored in 21 postseason games, an average of 10.3 per game. That's more than a run higher than the regular season per-game average (9.24). It's not just that runs seem easier to come by than a headache at the Metrodome. Most of the postseason games have been one-sided and devoid of drama. Just six of the 21 contests have been decided by two runs or less. Many became blowouts because of poor defense and fundamental mishaps rather than any individual offensive heroics. Take the Angels' 6-3 win in Game 2 on Wednesday night. Yes, Darin Erstad put Anaheim up 1-0 with a first-inning home run, and Brad Fullmer's two-run shot, which gave the Angels a 6-0 lead, became important after the Twins rallied for three runs. But the game was essentially over when Minnesota botched a simple rundown with runners on first and third and two outs in the second inning. Rick Reed had Adam Kennedy picked off first base, but instead of retiring Kennedy to get out of the inning, the Twins tried to get Scott Spiezio, who broke from third and was heading home. The Twins blew the play and Spiezio scored, giving the Angels a 3-0 lead. An RBI single by David Eckstein on the next pitch put the game out of reach. This is October baseball? Ho hum. "We haven't seen a game that we expected," Twins first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz said after Game 4 of the Division Series. "We expected 1-0, 3-2 games. We haven't had one yet." He finally got one when Minnesota beat Anaheim, 2-1, in Game 1. But why aren't the young Twins and the other three teams in the field getting schooled in typical playoff baseball? Here are two theories:
One sign that both the Twins and Angels like their chances to score against the starters they're facing: Both are built around speed and their ability to manufacture runs, yet neither team attempted a stolen base or a hit-and-run in the first two games of the ALCS.
Sports Illustrated staff writer Stephen Cannella covers the baseball beat for the magazine. Check back regularly for his dispatches from the 2002 playoffs.
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