It’s becoming pretty clear that there’s not a huge demand for this tournament. For the second straight week, I had just seven responses to our matchup. However, we’ve got it scheduled out and even as things lag behind at a few places and the lack of interest grows here, we keep pushing on. Here’s what the tournament looks like right now.
Technically you can still vote on the last Redbird Rants matchup since it went up Friday. You’ll find that Twitter poll here, though I went ahead and recorded it as it stands now because I feel it probably isn’t going to change. Cardsblog got one of theirs up Wednesday and one up yesterday, both of which are still receiving votes and will until Tuesday. As for The Intrepid’s matchups, one went up Friday (so click and go vote) and the other will come sometime soon.
Instead of stretching this into two posts, let’s just go simple with the regional semifinals this week, shall we? The first matchup is here and the second will be found after this one’s voting form.
#1 Bob Gibson strikes out 17 in World Series Game 1 (1968)
vs.
#5 Jim Edmonds makes a diving catch in NLCS Game 7 (2004)
The road here: Gibson took out that 2010 Cincy beef and Albert Pujols‘s blast off of Brad Lidge; Edmonds passed up Vince Coleman and Willie McGee‘s wheels and Bruce Sutter ending the ’82 World Series.
The clips:
The matchup: I thought Gibby would go down in the last round, so I’m not able to judge (especially with small samples of voters). That Edmonds catch is one of the finest I’ve ever seen, though, and was so instrumental in the Cardinals moving on to their first Series since 1982. I’d give it the slight edge but what do I know?
#2 Chris Carpenter shuts out Philadelphia in Game 5 (2005)
vs.
#6 Matt Carpenter battles Clayton Kershaw in NLCS (2013)
The road here: Carpenter the pitcher wiped out Ozzie Smith‘s flip and Grover Alexander’s strikeout of Tony Lazzeri, Carpenter the hitter eliminated Glenn Brummer‘s steal and Mark McGwire‘s 62nd.
The clips:
The matchup: I’ve said it many times that Chris Carpenter’s Game 5 is the best pitched game I’ve ever seen. I rated it over Game 6 as the best game of that playoff. I’d be surprised if one AB, as great as it was, would surpass that but again, I’m terrible at predicting this thing.
Thanks for sticking with us this far. We’re coming down the home stretch!
