Holdin' Onto Hope Part 2: Cranes, Trains, and Auto-Explosions (The Show 12)

[TheNumber35]

Re: Holdin' Onto Hope Part 2: Cranes, Trains, and Auto-Explosions (The Show 12)

Well, it would seem that this series has taken a serious tilt in our direction after that extra inning game we played last night. It was huge for our psyche to win a game on the road against an excellent Reds team after they countered our punches. This series could really be a heavy-weight battle to the death.

On a short night of rest after the extra inning affair, we need a good start from our studly rookie Clemens. The problem is that we have to battle the Reds best postseason pitcher thus far in Homer Bailey. Bailey has been amazing this postseason and we could be in trouble tonight.


Game 4 in Cincinnati and it is a packed house once again. If there's one thing I respect about the Reds (and yes I do respect something about these bums) its their ability to fill the stands on a consistent basis.


There's the pitching matchup in this game, as mentioned above Clemens vs Bailey. This game was scoreless until CarGo runs into one from Bailey and gives us a lead.


Pena would double home Juicin' Maxwell and make it 3-0 Astros through 4 innings.


Let's take this opportunity to get an update after the game went final in Oakland


Detroit wins again and they are now a win away from the World Series. Behind their strong pitching and electric offense, they will be a force to be reckoned with for whoever reaches the Series on the NL side.

Anyways, back to the action. Cosart and Datdude BP go for a pair of HRs in the 5th inning and the Reds trail by a lone run.



Then all hell breaks loose and after a Matt Carpenter RBI single in the 8th, Joey Votto would strike out...but of course Castro would mishandle it and we'd give up a run to give Cincinnati the lead.


Damnit...well we'd have to chip a run across in the 9th to extend the game. And do that we would! Jose Altuve would single with two men on and two out to tie this bitch up heading into the bottom of the 9th.


Yeah, and after Sergio Escalona locked up the Reds in the 9th, we'd play extras again. Two nights in a row with this chit, the bullpens are gonna be a *** **** mess tomorrow. Back and forth the teams would go until the 13th inning when CarGo would reach base with two outs and the next batter, Juicin', would do what he's done 31 other times this season; trot around the bases and give us the lead.


Hell yeah. Extra innings lead and we needed it. Kevin Jepsen came in after his two inning of work yesterday to go for the save in the bottom of the inning. And he would punch out Joey Votto with a runner on 2nd to end the game.


Wow. Two extra inning wins here in Cincinnati? Maybe we are the team of destiny this season? I sure as hell hope so because Bud Norris takes the hill tomorrow against Mat Latos in Game 5. We need Norris to pitch a long time into this one to save the pen if this series heads back to Houston for Games 6 and 7 (if necessary.) Both starters factored in the decision in Game 1 of this series, Latos allowed 7 runs over 4 innings in Game 1 loss while Norris allowed 3 runs over 7 innings in a win.

[AC]

Re: Holdin' Onto Hope Part 2: Cranes, Trains, and Auto-Explosions (The Show 12)

Relevant and awesome.

[TheNumber35]

Re: Holdin' Onto Hope Part 2: Cranes, Trains, and Auto-Explosions (The Show 12)

Alright boys and girls, after a week long hiatus and some disappointing stuff happening this past weekend...its time to continue our quest for the World Series. Before we started Game 5 in this series, we got an interesting message about the AL series


Detroit clinches the series ehh? Guess one half of the epic rematch from the middle of the season has made the WS with a 4-1 series win against Oakland. The A's had a good season and nothing should be taken away from them but Detroit with the Twin Aces in Hamels and Verlander were just too much for them, sporting an ERA just over 2.7 between the two of them in the series. Now back to our game, in case you've forgotten we lead the Reds 3-1 in the series after two consecutive extra inning victories in Cincinnati. And now we send our Ace to the hill to take on the Reds in a potential series clinching game. Ready?


Let's get the ball rolling here with a quick peek at the stats of our starting pitchers today


Latos's ERA has ballooned over 6 because we beat the chit out of him in game one of this series with 3 HR balls and a 7 spot that we dropped on his ***. Hopefully we can do that today. This game would be a little closer than the last one however. First inning Bud would strike out the side and then have a tough 2nd inning, throwing 27 pitches. Early on it looked like he would get bounced but he would recover and get things going again in the 3rd with a 9 pitch inning. Then, bottom of the 3rd we would get some run support. Ryan Theriot who's been playing better than A-Gon for us at SS got the start today and he would make our decision to play him pay off with a solo HR off Latos.


In the same inning, with a runner on base and 2 outs CJ would come through in the clutch for us once again


So to recap, after 3 innings the score was 3-0. That would be all that Bud would need today. Norris was dominant from start to finish in this one and we'll get back to him in a second. I forgot to mention another CarGo sighting. Recall that his power was almost non-existent for us during the regular season once he came over? Well here is HR #4 this postseason.


Yeah, so it was 4-0 and headed into the 9th inning Bud Norris was going strong. He would go 3-2 on Joey Votto with 2 outs in the inning before the pitch...a fastball on the outside black of the plate. And the call is...strike three! The Astros are going to the World Series!



Wow, we definitely earned this. A couple of really solid wins here in Cincinnati and then a convincing 4-0 shutout victory from The Bud to clinch it. Speaking of Bud, this was easily his best start in over a month...check it out.


Well, that's all I've got on this one. Get ready because we're headed to Detroit for Game One of the World Series!

[Nikko25]

Re: Holdin' Onto Hope Part 2: Cranes, Trains, and Auto-Explosions (The Show 12)

What happened to this?

[TheNumber35]

Re: Holdin' Onto Hope Part 2: Cranes, Trains, and Auto-Explosions (The Show 12)

What happened to this?

It died off as I got busy late in the year, and the Show's interest dwindled. I'd link you over to the one I'm doing this year with the Marlins...but its on the first page of the Baseball Dynasty page. The games won't start until OSFM Opening Day comes out, but a lot of backstory and other random stuff will be put in there until then.

[Nikko25]

Re: Holdin' Onto Hope Part 2: Cranes, Trains, and Auto-Explosions (The Show 12)

So did you win the world series or not?

[TheNumber35]

Re: Holdin' Onto Hope Part 2: Cranes, Trains, and Auto-Explosions (The Show 12)

I was feeling a bit nostalgic this morning and just re-read through this entire thing (parts 1 and 2) today. I think it's wrong that I left ya'll hanging like I did. And thus, I have decided to go back into the archives and dig up some of my World Series game transcripts and release them to the public and to my lovely readers who were so amazing over that year I wrote this thing. Game photos may be limited (nonexistent in other words, this was a like a year and a half ago...but I did save all my text write-ups from these games.)

Afterwards, you'll get the conclusion of the 2013 storylines...and if I happen to get a PS4 over the holidays and happen to pick up MLB 14, who knows, maybe our friend Mr. Gillespie will make a return to baseball front offices. Let's finish this thing out strong!

[TheNumber35]

Re: Holdin' Onto Hope Part 2: Cranes, Trains, and Auto-Explosions (The Show 12)

Game 1 of the World Series. This is the best day of the entire year as a baseball fan. The culmination of 162+ games of hard work, of countless amounts of blood, sweat, and tears (if you were a Reds fan...them bros got stomped out in the NLCS. All aboard the Astros hype train! Choo Choo!) The greatest players made their legacies eternal in this hallowed series; Derek Jeter, Reggie Jackson, Curt Schilling, Pablo Sandoval, David Freese, David Eckstein, and hundreds others have showed up and played big time baseball in the biggest games of the season. Likewise, you can become a lifetime goat if you mess up here. Bill Buckner, Joel Zumaya, Tony Fernandez, Jose Mesa, etc. all made their names hated in the towns they called home. The anticipation is killing me, things are finally coming to an incredible conclusion.


Let's talk about the teams playing tonight for a minute: The Tigers. Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder, Justin Verlander, Cole Hamels. These guys are loaded with star talent, they can bludgeon you to death with a 10+ run outburst...as well as beat you 1-0 behind a dominant performance from one of their 5 ace quality starters this season (even Scherzer, Fister, and Porcello are spotting excellent numbers behind the Twin Aces.) These guys have to be the heavy favorites going in, and it's well deserved. Everyone expected them to be here, and they've certainly held up their end of the bargain.


The Astros. These guys are a collection of young guns and misfit veterans molded together to form a 100 game winner that is more unexpected than the negative PED tests from Juicin' Maxwell this season. Seriously, dude has to be on something. He has 31 jacks!! He was a bum a year ago, something's gotta give. But I digress, this team has rode excellent pitching performances from Bud Norris and Jeremy Bonderman through the postseason. Between the two of them, the Astros have won all 5 games they've pitched, and in mostly dominant fashion as well. Timely hitting from midseason acquisitions Carlos Pena and Carlos Gonzalez have driven the Stros' to an almost perfect postseason run that nobody expected this season. Myself included. I'd be seriously lying if I told you that at the beginning of this season we'd be heading into game 1 of the World Series with a legitimate shot to win the damned thing. Nobody would have believed me if I would have said we'd be here in this game...one year removed from a season where Lucas Harrell made 32 starts for us.

Enough nostalgia, it's game time here at Comerica Park. We'd send Jeremy Bonderman to the hill here in game 1 after using Norris to clinch the NLCS. Bonderman here in Detroit once again...recall earlier in the season we saw Jeremy dominate his former team here at Comerica to a standing ovation from the classy Tiger fans. His reception tonight would be much less friendly, but more on that later. Bonderman would face a familiar face; one of his closer friends from their days in Detroit, Justin Verlander. The two have remained close over the couple years since Bonderman's departure from Detroit and Verlander was one of the first calls to Bondo when he heard about the comeback. As sweet and nice as all that is, we need to beat Verlander senseless and show the Tigers they let go of Bondo too soon.

The first inning came and went with both pitchers setting the sides down in order, then the second as well. The third inning saw the scoring get underway with a Ryan Theriot single being the first hit of the game. Jason Castro followed up with a walk, and Jose Altuve drove the ball back up the middle to plate Theriot and give our boys a 1-0 lead. JV was rattled by this, and decided to play bean ball with JD Martinez. 2 on with 2 outs in the inning for CarGo. Too bad for JV that CarGo is playing his best ball of the season here at the end...CarGo hit a 2 run triple and made this sucker 3-0. As much as I want to have a suspenseful game recap here, this game was over the second we plated a single run. Bonderman was pitching inspired tonight, he was a little pissed off about being cut dry by a team that he gave everything for, and it showed. Yosty came out to take the ball from Jeremy in the 9th inning with a 3-0 lead and Bondo spit in his face. Dude would not be denied tonight, he wanted that shutout, and he would get it. Bonderman would strike out Miggy with a filthy slider on his 122nd pitch of the evening. Bonderman's statline this evening was as follows: 9IP, 4h, 2BB, 15K. You read that right...15Ks against a really good hitting team. He was filthy tonight, and with that we lead this thing 1-0. Who's ready to shock the world?

[Tazer19]

Re: Holdin' Onto Hope Part 2: Cranes, Trains, and Auto-Explosions (The Show 12)

Really good stuff, nice job with this.

[TheNumber35]

Re: Holdin' Onto Hope Part 2: Cranes, Trains, and Auto-Explosions (The Show 12)

We're up 1-0 in this series, and hot damn does it feel good to be an Astro. Houston is rocking, the town is excited, the tickets are selling like hotcakes for our first home games coming up. This is the most excited anyone has been about Astros baseball since 2005, and it's mainly because of a couple of breakout seasons for guys like Paul Clemens and Jarred Cosart. Speaking of Clemens, he was throwing so well in the previous two rounds, we decided to send him out there for game 2. Weiland has been pitching decent baseball, but we want a guy who can match Cole Hamels pitch for pitch, and Clemens has better ability to do that tonight and going forward.



Let's talk more about Cole Hamels for a minute here: Hamels has been the real Tigers ace this season. JV might be #1 in the rotation, but Hamels has had a much better season numbers wise. He's also pitched better this postseason, which is another reason we were more worried about Cole than we are about anyone else in this rotation. Our worries would be proven right tonight; Hamels absolutely dazzled tonight. He went 8 innings, allowed 1 run, 4 hits, no walks, and 10 punchouts in a truly remarkable postseason performance. Reminiscent of some of the all-time great games pitchers have thrown in big games. And unfortunately it came in a game I'd really rather have won. Pauly C didn't pitch badly, but he did get beat up by a guy we also need to talk about.



Miguel Cabrera...he may not have had the biggest numbers in that lineup (thanks Prince) but he certainly is the most feared guy in baseball. This dude doesn't strikeout, hits the ball hard and far, and is clutch as clutch can be. He showed it today in a big big way. Clemens started off pretty well, giving up a hit here or there at the beginning of the game, but pitching out of the jam. Then the 5th inning rolls around and Miggy made things start to unravel. Cabrera led off the inning with a grounder that snuck past the glove of Ryan Theriot and into center field for a base hit. He then went 1st to 3rd on a single by Prince Fielder, and followed up with some more smart base running that saw him score on a passed ball that I was shocked he scored on. But that describes Cabrera perfectly doesn't it? Dude just does all of the little things perfectly and steps up big time when the moment presents itself. And one inning later that moment presented itself. Clemens had escaped fairly unscathed up to Cabrera's AB with 2 men on and 2 outs in the 6th inning; the score was 3-0. Nothing that we couldn't come back from, and after a couple excellent pitches Clemens had him 0-2. But Miggy did Miggy things and hit a 3 run jimmy jack! I have a ton of respect for this dude and all, but for this series, I hate him. I hate him so much that he may be receive the fallout from the JV bean ball of JD in game 1. We'll see how that goes moving forward, but all that matters after this one is that we're heading home tied up 1-1 in this World Series.

[TheNumber35]

Re: Holdin' Onto Hope Part 2: Cranes, Trains, and Auto-Explosions (The Show 12)

Mark Cuban's Office
October 13th, 2013
9:57 pm

Mark Cuban sits alone at his desk, pondering his next move. The Astros are slipping from his grasp and the people he made promises to were getting antsy. This is the problem with selling your soul to the devil; sometimes they want to collect too soon. This was Cuban's dilemma in a nutshell. His hand was forced early because of that Jim Crane and his meddling friends. Bud Selig wouldn't allow him to get his hands on the team unless Selig had things completely taken out of his control. Which is why the first plan was so perfect; hell even the backup plan was a great one, but that was once again foiled when Selig ran right to Bagwell and Biggio after Luhnow had to be "cleaned up". Cuban was running out of time and unfortunately, he may have overplayed his hand a little bit, he may have gotten in way over his head. He knew these dudes were bad news, but he also knew that money talks...and he would make so much of it through the Astros that these guys would be appeased within the year.

These guys had no interest in the Astros, they had no interest in the US. They only wanted one thing, the thing that he was storing in a desolate, in the middle of nowhere warehouse. Warehouse 119 to be specific. He had to keep it hidden from Them, at least until he had control of the Astros. Then they could have their prize and return to whatever country they were looking to run. Mark didn't ask, he honestly didn't care either. It wasn't the United States problem, and therefore, he had no qualms about helping Them out. The bad news is that they wouldn't leave him alone after he gave it to Them, not now. He was late on his payment, and even though these guys don't care about baseball, they do care about interest on payments. Mark didn't have more of what they were seeking, and it wouldn't be possible to get more. He had to sell off an arm and a leg to get the first one.

His time was running short though, the Astros were in the World Series and if they win, Mark was afraid his time would officially be run out. He was out of options, there was no end in sight for him, unless...no that couldn't work. They wouldn't possibly believe that would they? It just might work. He'd have to do this just right, there's no room for error here.

Time to call them up...a business man is never late on payments. Unfortunately for them, this is payment they just won't be receiving. Getting the Astros might have to go on the back burner for a little bit, but every smart man knows when to step back and regroup.

[TheNumber35]

Re: Holdin' Onto Hope Part 2: Cranes, Trains, and Auto-Explosions (The Show 12)

Welcome back to baseball my friends. What could Mark Cuban have up his sleeve? What is in Warehouse 119? Who is he working with? What is Jim Crane's endgame plan? All excellent questions, all will be answered at some point. Let's get back to Game 3. Kyle Weiland vs Max Scherzer. This matchup is one that could make or break the series, especially because this is a crucial home game here at Minute Maid Park! The first important playoff game here since, well the 2005 World Series. But we don't talk about that around these parts, at least, not in this dynasty we don't!



Things we can talk about: our offensive resurgence in these playoffs. So it's no secret that our Astros struggled with scoring runs all season long, despite the additions of Carlos Pena and Carlos Gonzalez, they struggled to put everything together and the entire lineup couldn't hit at the same time. One guy would be red hot, 4 other guys would be ice cold. But finally, they've found the light at the end of the tunnel and everyone is hitting the baseball consistently. Outside of our game yesterday against Hamels, we've scored 3+ runs in most games this postseason. Mad Max has had an excellent season, but I trust our guys to pull this one out.

Another theme in this series prior to this game has been the bullpen dominance. Both team's bullpen's have allowed no runs in 6 total innings. Kevin Jepsen continues his roll, pitching two scoreless innings in the series with a pair of punchouts and a save. Whereas Bruce Rondon has the Detroit save and a dominant pair of innings as well. The bullpen has been an issue for Detroit this season, so seeing them pitch in relief is (no pun intended here) relieving for their fan base, to say the least.

Fortunately for the Astros, the bullpen wouldn't have much of an impact on this game. They built a big enough lead off the starting pitching tonight to avoid pressure situations against a bullpen that's red hot. Most guys in our lineup had themselves a ballgame. Every starter had at least 1 hit, the Astros had a hit in every single inning of the game, and Max Scherzer was off his game, to say the least. I don't know what it was about tonight that was so special, maybe Minute Maid was rocking extra hard, maybe the Crawford Boxes appeared real appealing tonight, whatever the case was, the Astros hit 5 homers tonight off Max Scherzer. Count them, 5 homers. And like I mentioned previously, all of them found their way into the Crawford Boxes. Who were the lucky recipients of the Max Meatballs you ask? How about the Carlos Bros? Pena and CarGo went back-to-back twice in this one. The fifth homer was by our favorite alleged PED user, Mr. Maxwell.

Kyle Weiland was just alright tonight. He pitched 5 innings of 5 run baseball. On a night where we didn't plate 13 runs on 22 hits, that could be a problem. But it was enough to turn around and hand the ball to Folty in relief. Folty did his thing. 3 innings, no hits, 6Ks. We had Serg Escalona close it out ceremonially. Remember he was our stopgap closer last season? Pitched super well out of the bullpen last season and just couldn't put it all together this year? For all his hard work and success throughout the trials of the franchise, he's earned his moment in the spotlight. He capitalized and got his 3 outs. He may not get called on again, and if that's the case, Serg...you were always my favorite reliever. As I alluded to a second ago, the final was 13-5. We're up in the series 2-1, and as you know, all things are right in the world again!

Also, look at how disappointed Max was tonight. I love disappointed opposing pitchers, it's so satisfying to see them miserable.

[TheNumber35]

Re: Holdin' Onto Hope Part 2: Cranes, Trains, and Auto-Explosions (The Show 12)

Before Game 4, before we see Jared Cosart go head-to-head with Doug Fister, there's something I've been wanting to say for awhile. Prepare for a tangent: *Sigh* I like Minute Maid Park, and I love these Astros, I could go on and on about how much this team has grown on me over the last year of my life. This franchise has been my favorite thing going for the last year, and I look forward to advancing through my universe. To micromanaging my roster, suffering through an awful first season, finding our stride in year two, to sitting down and typing up the life of Gillespie, Crane, Cuban, and Co., it's all been incredible. But sometimes, there is just not enough space to type out the thoughts, feelings, processes, and emotion that go into managing and running a dynasty that you can feel satisfied with. Normally I reserve this space before the game recap to talk about an important topic relevant to the night's game (i.e. our offense in the last game that broke out and scored 13 runs,) but tonight I want to dedicate this thing to all of you.

Every dedicated reader, every inspiration who's driven me to get better, every friend I have in this place that bounces trades back and forth with me, and anybody who's dropped by even for a second to check me out. Even though I write this thing mainly for my own satisfaction and enjoyment, I definitely draw a lot of motivation from the comments and enjoyment you all seem to get out of this thing. With this season coming to an end, and myself not knowing what the future of chising holds with the college on the horizon, I wanted to extend a heartfelt and sincere thank you to everyone. It's been a great ride so far. Here's to some more awesome times!*

And after that emotional tangent, game 4 is coming! Jarred Cosart has been really up and down all season long, and despite having pitched well as of late he could really implode at any moment. Opposing him is the ever consistent Doug Fister. Fister's allowed 2 or fewer runs in 19 of his last 21 starts (17 in a row.) Game on Doug, game on.



This game would start off with the teams trading RBI singles in the first inning. Detroit's would come off the bat of Prince Fielder, driving in Torii Hunter with 2 outs. Houston had JD Martinez drive in Jose Altuve, who doubled and stole 3rd base off Fister. After that, both pitchers settled into a groove and retired 9 in a row each. Fister's streak would continue for 6 more batters to 15 in a row, while Cosart's came to a screeching halt by allowing 5 consecutive hits. Three doubles and two singles plated 4 runs and put the Astros in a position they really haven't been in all postseason. How would they react?

Well they folded like a cheap lawn chair...that's how.


Fister went 7 strong innings of 1 run ball before handing the ball off to the dominant bullpen of Detroit (weird saying that I know!) Benoit and Rondon combined for a pair of scoreless innings to get Detroit to a 2-2 series tie. Game 5 may very well be the most important game of the series. Houston intentionally held off Bud Norris so they could run him and Bonderman out there in the most important games of their season. Norris starts tomorrow night here in Houston and Bonderman after throwing 122 pitches has been battling a sprain in his left knee the past couple days. He could pitch Game 6 if it's an elimination game, but Houston may want to hold him off until Game 7 to protect his body if they have the cushion. Game 5 will be super important in determining the way this series plays out. Stay tuned.



*So truth be told, when I found this post on my computer, it was the main reason I decided to go back and re-read the thread and consider finishing out all my posts. It's funny how things work out and looking back at this post, I was pretty right on about a return to college overwhelming my time, but I still feel the same way I did back then. Ya'll are definitely the main reason I do what I do. Thank you again.

[TheNumber35]

Re: Holdin' Onto Hope Part 2: Cranes, Trains, and Auto-Explosions (The Show 12)

Brandon Gillespie's Office
October 16th, 2013
12:03 pm

The headline was shocking. There's no way this could be what Jim had in mind when he talked to Brandon a few weeks ago.

This just in to Sportscenter, Billionaire Owner Mark Cuban's plane has just been found drifting in the ocean 50 miles off the coast of California. Cuban's jet stopped in LA to refuel before he took off on his trip to Ecuador to build a school as a part of his charity work. Two days ago it was reported that the plane went down and a frantic search began to find the eccentric mogul. The plane was found, but no signs of Cuban or any of the pilots/passengers he had with him. All in all, there are 6 people missing from the plane and they are all assumed dead. Rest in peace Mr. Cuban. He was 55.

Gillespie changed the channel, of course the talking heads really didn't mention the part of the story that was important. Yes Cuban's death was tragic, but they completely left out the thing found on the plane.

Biggio and Bagwell's report said that the nuclear warhead that Jim told me he found at that warehouse was found on that plane, the US Government took possession of it. It's obvious that they aren't wanting to talk about it too much. And that there's probably going to be a full-scale investigation into why Cuban had possession of a WMD. I didn't figure Jim for a murderer...but I guess that's what it took to finish this once and for all.

Even though the situation should have felt resolved, Brandon couldn't shake the feeling that things were far from over. And these feelings seemed to always be right when it comes to Jim Crane.

He tried to shake the feeling of uncertainty and celebrate, after all, the Astros just took a 3-2 lead in the World Series! His second season on board with Houston and he'd helped the biggest turnaround he had ever seen. Bud Norris was stupendous yesterday. A complete game 3 hitter! He dominated from beginning to end, and once again, we beat JV at his own game. This time, we needed Bud to be perfect though. CarGo hit a solo jack in the first inning, and then both guys took the ball the distance. It was an incredibly intense ball game from start to finish, and no matter how good Ian Kennedy's stats were, I stand by the fact that the Bud should be donning the Cy Young this year. CarGo has put together quite a series himself, that homer and RBI put him at the top of my list for MVP candidates in this World Series. He's got 5 dingers and 12 RBIs so far, and a .450 average to boot!

Brandon still couldn't shake the feeling something was wrong. There was an eerie aura in the air and when you're involved in as much craziness as Brandon has been the past two years, you start to realize how bad moments of calm are. If things aren't going to hell, there's something in the works to make things go to hell. It's the story of this job. He knew how he should feel. He should be ecstatic, but something felt wrong to him. He turned the TV to the MLB Network and started watching their coverage of last night's game. Right as Bud's last pitch was shown, Brandon heard a knock at his door and a familiar face walked in, clearly looking distressed.

Jim! What the hell are you doing here? You told me you'd never see me again if things worked out. It looks like they did.

Brandon, we've got a problem...

[TheNumber35]

Re: Holdin' Onto Hope Part 2: Cranes, Trains, and Auto-Explosions (The Show 12)

And now, the thing you've all been waiting for all season, and the entirety of this dynasty. Answers to questions you've been asking all year, important plot drivers, exposition, and everything else you could every ask for. Get ready for.....Game 6! Oh? Not what you want to know? Curious about how Mark Cuban got a Nuclear Warhead? Me too. Want to know what Jim Crane's problem is? Me too. Just because I narrate this thing doesn't mean that they tell me the plot points. I'm sitting on pins and needles here! I gots to know! Let's get this stupid game out of the way and back to what we all care about.

I kid, game 6 of this World Series is easily the most important moment we've ever had in this dynasty. After a lot of debate and struggles internally, and a gigantic ultimatum from a certain starting pitcher, Jeremy Bonderman emerged from the visitors bullpen here at Comerica Park tonight to start another huge road game. This time, there was a much larger prize on the line. He also faced Cole Hamels tonight, an even more imposing task than before when he faced JV. Clearly Houston wants this one now. Game 7 here in Detroit sounds like a recipe for disaster if we get there, it's best to just end this thing now and clinch our title.

Cole Hamels and the Tigers had no interest in that storyline though, they would do everything in their power to force a game 7 here in Detroit. Cole Hamels did his part once again; shutting down the Astros over 8 innings, holding them to a lone hit and walk. Striking out 17 batters over those 8 innings. Dude was absolutely disgusting all night, every single one of his pitches was A++ tonight. Offensively, Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera led the charge for Detroit early on. but despite some threats, Bonderman pitched around trouble early on and escaped unscathed through 7 innings. No, the guy who got Bonderman tonight was a familiar face to followers of this franchise. One Brian "Bogey" Bogusevic. Bogey got a start in left field tonight and didn't disappoint Leyland as he came through late in this one with a big solo homer off Bonderman in the bottom of the 8th inning. Making it 1-0 Tigers, and with Bruce Rondon pitching lights out, this one is as good as over.

Rondon got the first batter of the inning in Altuve to strikeout looking. JD Martinez came up in a tough situation, facing a buzzsaw on steroids. And you know what? JD came up absolutely huge tonight, working a 12 pitch walk off Rondon after falling behind 0-2. So up steps the current front runner for the series MVP honors, Carlos Gonzalez. Hitting lots of homers, driving in lots of runs, etc. The perfect guy to have come up in this situation. But sadly, CarGo didn't come through tonight. He hit a flyball to center that was easily taken care of by Austin Jackson. One out away from the end of this one and Justin Maxwell stepped up to the dish. Juicin' has had a very up and down postseason so far, hitting homers and striking out a lot are his forte. Hell he's struck out in all 3 ABs he's had tonight. Game's over.

Spoiler

Or is it? Juicin' works a hell of an AB out of Bruce Rondon, works the count to 3-2 and calls time. He looks at the dugout, smiles, and points his bat to the stands. Is this dude for real? Is he Babe Ruthing this SoB right now? Maxwell, this dude has been dominant all postseason and you've been awful, don't be doing this chit man. Come on!

But because we love Disney movies (Brave New World anyone?), this ending surely comes straight from a movie. Maxwell sits dead red on a 100mph fastball and commits to swing as hard as he can at it. By some miracle, he makes contact. He probably popped it up, ******* calling his shot and all...wait? Is that ball still going? Jackson is running back towards the wall, he's climbing up it in deep center...that ball left the yard? You've got to be kidding me. The Astros just won the World Series. Wait? THE ASTROS JUST WON THE WORLD SERIES!!!!!! Cue the mobs, cue the confetti, cue the booze shower!! Wait, we aren't at home. Crap. After Chris Johnson bounced out to end the frame, the score was 2-1 with Fielder, Castellanos, and Bogey due up.

Guess who got the call? Kevin Jepsen? Dude's been super red hot right? Nope. It was Sergio Escalona! Ned Yost must have a hunch or something, because Jepsen has been electric all postseason. Escalona got Prince Fielder to roll out weakly to shortstop, 2 outs to go. Castellanos reaches on a sharp single to right field, but that's alright. Bogey is going down. First pitch...strike one on the inside corner. Next pitch coming, ball one outside. Escalona works quickly and the third pitch is called strike 2. One strike away from a WS title. Escalona delivers and its hit on the ground to short...take it away Joe Buck

Grounder hit sharply to Gonzalez at short, he fields cleanly and shuffles to Altuve at second. Altuve takes the out at second and hurdles over the sliding Castellanos, the throw to Pena is...in time! The Astros turn the prettiest double play you will ever see to end this game, and end this series. What a rags to riches story this is! Lose 97 games a year ago, win 100 this year. Look absolutely pathetic in all aspects of the game last season, play hard and tough with the best on paper team in the league. Folks, I don't believe what I'm seeing. The Houston Astros have won the World Series!

We did it! We won it! This can't be happening. We sucked last year, we had Harrell and Lyles. Lee, WPOC, the Human Pinata, Brett Wallace, all these guys were playing significant time for us last season. And yet, here we stand at the end...bloody and beaten, but ever victorious. I can't lie, this is easily the most satisfying WS title I've ever won in a sports game. Hell, it's easily the most satisfying title in any game I've ever won. These Astros were hapless, and now here they stand, beating my favorite team in the biggest game, in the toughest manner possible. I can't believe what I just saw. This isn't real.