In these magical times, when we can communicate with amazing speed in countless places and ways, it is almost stunning to think that a Major League Baseball team might lose the World Series because two men a few hundred feet apart couldn't hear each other over an old land-line phone. Couldn't Tony LaRussa have just sent bullpen coach Derek Lilliquist a text? Maybe a quick call on the cell? E-mailed him? Tweeted at him? Facebook friended him in the middle of the 8th?
Nope. Those old-school phones apparently left the Cardinals with a 20th Century problem. As a result, on two occasions relievers LaRussa wanted up were not up. Per ESPN:
The first time La Russa called, Lilliquist never heard Motte's name, and Motte never got up. And the second time, Lilliquist apparently thought La Russa said "Lynn" and pointed to Lance Lynn, who had thrown 47 pitches Saturday night and was supposed to be used only in an emergency.
So Mike Napoli got to hit off a lefty, he clubbed the go-ahead double, and that was that.
A classic failure to communicate during an era in which we are inundated with communication options. If you're not a Cardinals fan, the situation is just too bizarre not to love. It will go down in World Series lore next to Kent Hrbek's wrestling move, Vince Coleman's tarp injury and countless other little tipping points that make baseball so unpredictable.
Almost as unbelievable: A couple days prior, the New York Times ran a huge piece on bullpen phones, focusing on the Cardinals. The end quote was from Lance Lynn, the pitcher who was warming up instead of Motte:
"I think for now the hard lines are just a little easier to work with," he said.
