matt holliday

Matt Holliday Injury: World Series Game 7 Status Uncertain

The status of Matt Holliday for Game 7 of the 2011 World Series is unknown after the Cardinals right fielder suffered an injury to his right hand on Thursday night. Holliday did say ”I should be able to play,” when asked about if he would be in the lineup Friday night.

The freak pinky injury occurred when Holliday was picked off by Rangers catcher Mike Napoli in the sixth inning Game 6. Texas third basemen Adrian Beltre stepped on Holliday’s finger, causing bleeding and swelling, and forcing him out of the game.

“I thought it might be [broken]. It was sore,” Holliday said. X-Rays showed his finger is not broken.

If Holliday cannot play, manager Tony La Russa will likely turn to Allen Craig, who replaced Holliday in the lineup in Game 6. 

That Matt Holliday is sure some kind of gamer!

You were wondering too.”What’s the matter with Napoli?” He’s rolling around on the ground for no reason whatso…then they showed the replay.DID YOU SEE HOW FAR HIS ANKLE BENT?oh my GOD!I fell off the couch making dog noises.just get a freaking stretcher and have a surgeon re-attach his foot.

But then he… stood back up.Mike Napoli is made of stuff I have no experience with whatsoever.

Conversely, there’s St. Louis’ future Alfonso Soriano, Matt Holliday.Here’s what it says at St. Louis SB Nation:  ”The St. Louis Cardinals will be without Matt Holliday for the rest of Game 6 of the World Series, after their star outfielder injured his little finger in the course of getting picked off at third base in a crucial bases-loaded situation in the sixth inning. The Cardinals outfielder has had an incredibly rough game, making a critical error that led to an early run and looking uncomfortable at the plate; his only solid play in the game was a brilliant takeout slide of Ian Kinsler that led to the Cardinals’ third run.”  

Are you kidding me?what a gamer Matt turned out to be.

But seriously, the above is a buncha nothin’, because this was just one of those games that make you love the game of baseball, even if you hate the Cardinals.you experienced every single emotion you can have even if you’re not emotionally attached to a single person on the field. you saw every kind of play imaginable.Errors and slop, brilliance and heroics, clutch hits and coming back from the dead.and of all things, the Cardinals make it go the full seven, winning 10-9 in 11.

Didn’t you think Josh Hamilton won it with his 10th inning 2-run dinger?what a great story – guy playing with some sick injury we’ll all know more about later.But no.Freaking Berkman ties it up in the bottom.and this hometown kid David Freese from St. Louis – he turns out to be The Man with his walk-off homer to center in the bottom of the 11th.oh, and that was after he hit the game-tying triple in the bottom of the 9th on what I thought was the last strike of the season for the Cards.

Amazing game.amazing.

BTW – Mike Napoli went 2 for 3 with an RBI and walked 3 times. 

AP: Berkman’s bat helps Cardinals stay alive 

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Published 10/28/2011 in Sports

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Lance Berkman batted cleanup in Game 6 of the World Series, moving up one spot and switching spots with slumping Matt Holliday.

It was a brilliant move by Cardinals manager Tony La Russa.

Berkman paid off immediately with a two-run home run in the first inning, then he made the Texas Rangers pay for yet another intentional walk to Albert Pujols with a game-tying RBI single in the 10th inning.

That set the stage for David Freese’s game-winning homer in the 11th of a wild, resurgent 10-9 victory on Thursday night.

Berkman, the NL comeback player of the year, was 3-for-4 and scored three runs, helping to add another improbable chapter to the wild-card Cardinals’ October story.

He said he felt pretty good about his 10th inning at-bat.

“I figured I was in a no-lose situation. if you don’t come through, they’ll just talk about it for a couple of days,” he said. “If you come through, it’s the greatest.”

Plus you built a little bank account of coming through. so if I don’t come through tomorrow, I can say I came through in Game 6, what more do you want from me?”

La Russa moved Berkman to fourth in the order because he sensed Holliday was pressing to produce.

Holliday has no RBIs in the series, and he made two critical mistakes in Game 6.

First, he dropped a shallow pop fly by Nelson Cruz to start the fourth, colliding with shortstop Rafael Furcal right after the ball popped free. perhaps more damaging, the Cardinals had the bases loaded in the sixth when he was picked off third with a strong throw from catcher Mike Napoli combined with a strong defensive play at third by Beltre, who blocked Holliday from the bag with his foot.

Holliday injured his right hand in a different spot on the play, and was removed before the seventh with a bruised right pinkie. He was hampered down the stretch in the regular season and at the start of the playoffs by an inflamed tendon on his right middle finger.

Holiday Decorating Without Really Trying

Changing your current decor for the holidays does not have to be an enormous undertaking. There is no need to do a complete switch over, just replace a few items and add some touches to create a festive look. besides, it’s a great time to give your regular decor items a break.

Start early in the season, adding new decorations gradually, allowing your home to transform little by little. Remove them the same way, taking down the obvious holiday themes, leaving the winter themes up until spring. You’ll be surprised at how much more you appreciate your existing decor once it’s updated and refreshed. try some of these ideas to get your home in the spirit for the holidays.

Add a small cedar garland under existing photos or mantel decorations. for a more dramatic change, remove the existing vases or floral displays and replace them with a holiday floral display, a basket of pinecones or a garland with red bows. Remove that mirror from over the mantel and replace it with a cedar wreath with a red bow.

If you have vases of silk or dried flowers, keep the vases and replace the flowers with poinsettias or bright red dogwood branches.

Put your candles away and replace with red, green or gold versions. Transform your everyday candlesticks into Christmas candles by wrapping vines of holly or red berries around the bases.

Replace your table runner with a glittering holiday version. Put your white paper napkins and paper towels in the cupboard and opt for the holiday versions.

Place gold and silver accent pillows on the furniture or drape a bright red afghan on the sofa.

Maybe it’s time to give some of your pictures a rest for the cooler months by replacing them with winter scenes.

In the kitchen I have a set of holiday glasses and mugs that replace my everyday glassware until the New Year. I also have holiday place mats, tee-towels and guest towels.

Start now and force some bulbs for fresh hyacinths or daffodils during the winter months. if you start one every 2 or 3 weeks, you’ll have fresh flowers all winter.

Keep your hanging planters out, just remove the dead plants, and replace with cedar, silk poinsettias and large pine cones. Add a holiday wreath to your door, railings or porch columns. Add some red bows to your bird feeders, shrubs or evergreen trees.

Replace your doormat with a holiday mat.

Replace your outdoor lights with red and green bulbs.

A few simple changes not only refresh the look of your home, but improve your attitude when facing the long winter ahead.