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2006 World Series Recap
The Captains prevailed 4-2 this year, with some interesting performances.
Blake
and Giambi each had 2hr games. This was not a repeat of last year's no
punch effort for Clear Lake. For those who care, here is a recap of the
series -
Game 1 - Contreras vs. Blanton (Final CL 9 - Bel 5)
CL got off early with a 4-0 lead thanks to Hafner HR and Payton big hit,
but Bel tied it back up in the 9th off Rivera (blown save but no loss) to
go extra innings. While CL grabbed a 5-4 lead in the 13th, the Duch blew
the save and the game went on until the 15th, where CL scored 1 run and
then Posada followed with a 3 run HR for the final of 9-5. Germaine Dye was
injured. Both teams burned a lot of relief innings and were looking for
shelter....what was to come???
Game 2 - Rogers vs. Santana (Final CL 11 - Bel 9)
Expected as a pitching duel, especially with Santana facing the LH hitting
CL lineup...but Swisher started in place of Giambi and delivered with a HR.
But this was Casey Blake's game...he hit 2 HRs and drove in 5 runs going 4
for 4. After a wild first 5 innings... the bullpens settled down and Rivera
did not blow the save this time. Bellaire had a huge 5th inning scoring 6
runs, but the middle innings were disastrous as Santana gave up 9 earned
runs in only 6 innings of work.
Game 3 - Garcia vs. Hallady (Final CL 8 - Bel 0)
This was Roy Halladay at his finest. Bellaire was limited to 4 hits Coach
Phil was definitely rattled a little by the offensive explosion of CL in
the series at this point. This was Giambi's 2 HR game and Coach Phil said
he didn't like hearing the negative things and having Swisher start ahead
of him.
Game 4 - Harden vs. Contreras (Final Bel 6 - CL 3)
Well Bellaire got just what it needed .... a horrible effort in the 1st
inning by Contreras as he couldn't get anyone out and they plated 5 runs
before CL came to bat. Harden was very strong in this one and didn't need
anything else getting the complete game win...giving only 1 run innings in
the 3rd, 4th & 8th innings. While CL tried to make a go of it, too much of
the 1st inning in this one. Germaine Dye's return to action and 3 run HR
capped the 1st inning scoring and sealed the win for Bellaire.
Game 5 - Blanton vs. Rogers (Final Bel 9 - CL 1)
Another strong pitching performance, this time by Joe Blanton was too much
for CL who put their bats on ice in this one. CL could only manage a 1st
inning run as Blanton fired an overpowering 4 hit complete game win.
Bellaire had HRs from Brian Roberts and Jason Veritek and enjoyed the
laugher and felt good at this point in the series as Game 6 would return
Santana to the mound.
Game 6 - Towers vs. Santana (Final CL 3 - Bel 1)
A good old fashioned pitching duel as this was the second game of the
series to go into extra innings. Santana refound his form as he only
yielded one run in 8 innings (leaving after facing 32 batters) when he led
the 9th inning with a walk. But Bellaire could only muster a solo HR from
Konerko and 3 hits overall, as Towers pitched 6 1/3 of 1 hit (the Konerko
HR) ball, leaving when Coach Ernie sensed the wheels were about to come off
with a pair of walks in the 7th inning. The Duch gave up 2 hits over 2 1/3
innings and Rivera got the WIN pitching the final 1 1/3 flawlessly. It was
Huston Street's turn to blow the game, as Bellaire was amazed to see the
big triple by pinch hitter Ben Broussard with 2 out in the 10th inning
winning the series for Clear Lake. This was really a game CL left traffic
all over the bases (10 lob) while Bel didn't have traffic (3 lob).
Series Recap:
It is hard to pick an MVP from the motley crew...as slugging was up but
hitting was down. While Giambi hit 3 HRs he only drove in 4 while scoring 6
(had 7 walks) while hitting only .235, and Posada who hit 4 doubles and 2
HRs and drove in 6, only hit .154 for the Series. Blake hit 2 HRs and drove
in 5, but all in one game, but he did hit .320 for the series. E. Brown hit
.375 but wasn't all that run productive. Broussard is a quiet contender
playing in only 2 games but delivering in both with 2 game winning hits and
driving in 3 while hitting .500 and slugging 1.000!
A telling stat was Bellaire's bullpen woes ... Street 4.50 ERA; Shields
3.86 ERA; Gordon 5.06 ERA; and Cordero 8.31 ERA ... ouch!!!! Brian Roberts
was Bellaire's hitting star at .360 and 4 RBIs along with Jason Varitek
.286, 3 HRs & 8 RBIs.
But the FINAL KEY STAT of this series was Tony Blalock .... he appeared (as
he did last year) and Bellaire can't lose...he left and the wheels came
off.... Bellaire has decided to hire Tony as a fan coach to attend all
world series games in the future.
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Est.
1996
