Spanking the Rally Monkey (II)
 The Angels are not good at foreplay. Passive and listless for most of Game 6, they just lay there until the 7th inning, at which point they decided they dug the scene after all and gratified us with an eruption of runs. The Giants were caught without protection. The L.A. Times remarks on this excruciating form of delayed-gratification baseball:
The Angels, facing an elimination game for the first time this October, made history in victory. Never before in World Series history had a team trailed by five runs in an elimination game and come back to win.
Of their 10 postseason victories, the Angels have come from behind in seven. In Game 3 of the division series, they came back from five runs down against the New York Yankees. In Game 2 of the World Series, the previous most amazing game in franchise history, the Angels blew a 5-0 lead and won 11-10.
Believe in the power of the Rally Monkey.
Statistical note: in the last seven World Series championiships that extended to game 7, the home team -- which tonight happens to be the Angels -- won. In a few hours, we shall see what we shall see.
3:14:59 PM
|