New York – Those who love the nuances of baseball will love the game-within-a-game drama of tonight’s Game 2.
Commanding the mound for the Cardinals will be ace Chris Carpenter, who moved up a day in the rotation thanks to Wednesday’s rainout. Behind the plate will be Yadier Molina, one of the game’s best defensive catchers. Leading off for the Mets is speedster Jose Reyes, a special young shortstop whose star power should burn white-hot this postseason.
The three form an intriguing triangle.
For most big-league batteries, Reyes, who led the majors in triples (17) and stolen bases (64), is cause for a nervous breakdown.
But few pitchers control the running game better than Carpenter, and few catchers gun down would-be base stealers more often than Molina.
“With the ability of me throwing, and Yadier throwing, I think we have a nice little combo,” Carpenter said Thursday. “That will give Reyes less of an advantage.”
A terrific story in The New York Times this week broke down the game within the game this way: According to the Mets’ stopwatches, Reyes needs 2.9 seconds to cover the 90 feet between first and second base. According to the Cardinals’ stopwatches, Molina needs 1.7 seconds to catch, fire and get the ball to second base. An efficient pitcher takes 1.25 seconds to get the ball to the catcher. The verdict: Reyes should win the 90-foot race by five-hundredths of a second.
But it’s clear that Carpenter and Molina are eager to try to put the brakes on the Mets’ Ferrari.
“I was always fast enough to home to get my catcher a chance to throw the guy out,” Carpenter said. “Then you get a guy behind there like ‘Yadi’ – a guy that’s probably got the best arm in the league – and it helps out even more.”
Reyes is a career 80 percent base-stealer, and this year became the first Met to steal 60 or more bases in consecutive seasons. But Reyes is not so good against Molina. He’s tried to steal five times against the Cardinals’ catcher and been thrown out three times.
Some may consider this type of analysis stuff only a seamhead could love. If that’s the case, watch Reyes for the pure joy of his athleticism. He’s a beautiful baseball player who plays with flair reminiscent of the great Willie Mays.
“I think he’s made great, great progress, but I think Mets fans are going to be in for a real treat,” Mets manager Willie Randolph said. “He’s going to get better and better and he’s one of the more exciting players in the game.”
La Russa’s no-brainer
Carpenter was scheduled to pitch Saturday’s Game 3 in St. Louis. The rainout provided the opportunity for manager Tony La Russa to give Carpenter the ball tonight.
“It’s as simple as he’s our best pitcher and that’s his fifth day,” La Russa said. “Seems to make sense that if there’s a game on a day that he’s used to pitching, whatever the reason is, you pitch him.”
It’s a fortunate turn of events for the Cardinals, because Carpenter has the chance to lead his club home to St. Louis for Games 3-5 with momentum. Not only is Carpenter one of the best pitchers in baseball, he’s 4-0 with a 2.10 ERA in five postseason starts. Off the field, he’s the ultimate gentleman. On the mound, he can be a mean cuss.
Footnotes
Randolph said it’s no big deal that the teams have to play back-to-back days in different cities: “This time of year you can’t let little things like the timing of the game get in the way of preparation of a game.” … Before Thursday’s game, there was a moment of silence at Shea Stadium for baseball legend Buck O’Neil, who died last week, and Cory Lidle, the Yankees pitcher who died in a plane crash Wednesday.
