WORLD SERIES NOTES
ST. LOUIS - With several key hitters slumping in the World Series, Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland is considering lineup changes for Game 4.
"I'm going to sleep on it," Leyland said Tuesday night after a 5-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals left Detroit down 2-1 in the Series. "I'm not sure who's going to play (today). I don't know what it's going to look like, and I'm certainly not going to talk about that."
Some of the players struggling at the plate are among the most experienced hitters in Detroit's lineup.
"I would obviously talk to a player before I would ever maybe play someone else or give somebody a rest or try something else," Leyland said. "So obviously I wouldn't give that information out tonight, but it's a possibility."
Cleanup bust
Juan Encarnacion was the Cardinals' top free agent pickup, signing a three-year, $15 million contract. He's been the primary cleanup hitter in the postseason and has five RBIs, but his .186 average, including 0 for 7 in the World Series, landed him on the bench for Game 3.
St. Louis manager Tony La Russa opted for So Taguchi, who came in 5 for 8 in the postseason with two crucial hits in the NLCS, in right field.
The other two outfield spots were no-brainers, center fielder Jim Edmonds and left fielder Preston Wilson, who entered 5 for 5 with two homers against Tigers starter Nate Robertson.
"You've got to get what you earn," La Russa said. "Part of it is Juan is struggling. It's not like he's the only guy that's struggling, and I don't like to point fingers, but he's talking about not feeling right."
Encarnacion's slump is reminiscent of April, when he totaled seven RBIs and batted .222.
"I'm not saying they're pitching me tough," Encarnacion said. "I'm not doing enough. They're pitching me the same as they've been pitching me."
Taguchi went 0 for 3 with a walk and scored. Wilson was 1 for 3 with a single against Robertson and walked twice against relievers.
Long-range view
Joe Garagiola has seen plenty of questionable pitches during a decades-long stint as a player and broadcaster. On the eve of Game 3, with the controversy over the smudge on Tigers pitcher Kenny Rogers' hand still percolating, he recalled a few.
Garagiola said he labeled a pitch a spitball on a telecast a few years back, and a producer nearly yanked him off the air on the spot, demanding how he could be so sure.
"I told him, 'Because you can still see the rainbow over home plate,' " Garagiola said.
During his time with the Cardinals, several ballplayers were upset after facing pitcher Preacher Roe, convinced he was loading up the ball. But Garagiola remembered how Stan Musial, a St. Louis teammate and one of the best hitters in baseball history, silenced the griping by saying, "What the hell are you worried about? Just hit the dry side."
"Of course," Garagiola added, "it was easy for him to say."
Another of Garagiola's favorite episodes involved pitcher Red Munger, a teammate with the Cardinals.
Seems Munger wanted to learn how to throw a spitball in the middle of the game, "So he spit in his glove and when the ball was thrown back, he kept patting it in the webbing."
"It looked," Garagiola chuckled at the memory, "like he was breading a pork chop."
"I'm going to sleep on it," Leyland said Tuesday night after a 5-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals left Detroit down 2-1 in the Series. "I'm not sure who's going to play (today). I don't know what it's going to look like, and I'm certainly not going to talk about that."
Some of the players struggling at the plate are among the most experienced hitters in Detroit's lineup.
"I would obviously talk to a player before I would ever maybe play someone else or give somebody a rest or try something else," Leyland said. "So obviously I wouldn't give that information out tonight, but it's a possibility."
Cleanup bust
Juan Encarnacion was the Cardinals' top free agent pickup, signing a three-year, $15 million contract. He's been the primary cleanup hitter in the postseason and has five RBIs, but his .186 average, including 0 for 7 in the World Series, landed him on the bench for Game 3.
St. Louis manager Tony La Russa opted for So Taguchi, who came in 5 for 8 in the postseason with two crucial hits in the NLCS, in right field.
The other two outfield spots were no-brainers, center fielder Jim Edmonds and left fielder Preston Wilson, who entered 5 for 5 with two homers against Tigers starter Nate Robertson.
"You've got to get what you earn," La Russa said. "Part of it is Juan is struggling. It's not like he's the only guy that's struggling, and I don't like to point fingers, but he's talking about not feeling right."
Encarnacion's slump is reminiscent of April, when he totaled seven RBIs and batted .222.
"I'm not saying they're pitching me tough," Encarnacion said. "I'm not doing enough. They're pitching me the same as they've been pitching me."
Taguchi went 0 for 3 with a walk and scored. Wilson was 1 for 3 with a single against Robertson and walked twice against relievers.
Long-range view
Joe Garagiola has seen plenty of questionable pitches during a decades-long stint as a player and broadcaster. On the eve of Game 3, with the controversy over the smudge on Tigers pitcher Kenny Rogers' hand still percolating, he recalled a few.
Garagiola said he labeled a pitch a spitball on a telecast a few years back, and a producer nearly yanked him off the air on the spot, demanding how he could be so sure.
"I told him, 'Because you can still see the rainbow over home plate,' " Garagiola said.
During his time with the Cardinals, several ballplayers were upset after facing pitcher Preacher Roe, convinced he was loading up the ball. But Garagiola remembered how Stan Musial, a St. Louis teammate and one of the best hitters in baseball history, silenced the griping by saying, "What the hell are you worried about? Just hit the dry side."
"Of course," Garagiola added, "it was easy for him to say."
Another of Garagiola's favorite episodes involved pitcher Red Munger, a teammate with the Cardinals.
Seems Munger wanted to learn how to throw a spitball in the middle of the game, "So he spit in his glove and when the ball was thrown back, he kept patting it in the webbing."
"It looked," Garagiola chuckled at the memory, "like he was breading a pork chop."
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