Another classic Game 6

by Phil Wood

Last night's Game 6 of the World Series was one for the ages. Great intrigue, unexpected heroes and a very late night on the East Coast. Watching David Freese go deep with a walk-off home run in the home half of the 11th inning brought back memories of Carlton Fisk's game-winning home run in the 12th inning of Game 6 of the 1975 World Series.

Red Sox fans remember it all too well, some preferring to think of it as a series-winning round tripper. In point of fact, the home team came back the next night and lost to Cincinnati 4-3.

It's easy for fans to assume that the multi-comeback effort of the Cardinals puts most of the championship eggs in their basket, and they may indeed prevail tonight in Game 7. I don't think we've seen such an evenly matched pair of teams in the Fall Classic in a long time. I also don't think we've seen as many questionable managerial decisions in a while.

The bullpen coach doesn't hear what the manager is saying on the phone? Sorry, I'm not buying that one. We've all said one thing intending to say something else, and I don't believe Tony LaRussa is beyond something like that. I do wonder why so much has been made out of that, inasmuch as the damage had already been done when he summoned Jason Motte to the mound and got Lance Lynn instead. There's still an element missing from that story.

I also wonder why Ron Washington batted for Scott Feldman when he did, knowing that Mark Lowe hadn't been impressive in his one-inning stint in Game 3, a 16-7 blowout loss. If the game had stayed tied, how long was he going to keep Lowe in the game? His longest stint during the regular season was 1 2/3 innings. Only Mike Gonzalez was left in the 'pen, and he's another short reliever.

Anyway, second-guessing is what it's all about this time of year, and in 24 hours we'll have more decisions to ponder as we salute a new world champion.