Thursday, October 27, 2005

Sweeping up the dust

Maybe it's just me, but it seems that this season is not one that has been kind to Palmeiros.

With Orlando Palmeiro's groundout (a very close groundout, I should add) up the middle, the Chicago White Sox won the 2005 World Series. But never mind that they haven't won since 1917 - a year before the Red Sox's drought started in 1918. Never mind that each game was pretty close. Never mind the squabbling over the roof being closed. None of that matters. This was a series that the Sox not only dominated, but one that was never in doubt. Tonight the Sox had 8 hits to Houstons 5. They pulled a double play, unlike the Astros. They left seven runners on base, whereas Houston left nine (five of those in scoring position with two out).

Tonight in almost every category, and in each one that counts, the Sox either led, or came very close to leading, the Astros. And it wasn't just tonight, either. In all four games, the Sox (for example) outhit the Astros 44 to 29 while leaving 36 baserunners on (Houston left 34). It's key factors like this that show that the Sox were, for the vast majority of the series, in complete control.

Take game three, for example. In the bottom of the 9th inning the Astros loaded the bases (Burke, the hero from the 18 inning marathon was at third) with only one out - but were unable to score. By the 12th inning, the Astros had left 12 runners on since the bottom of the 9th - with the winning run in scoring position in every inning. Numbers like that are unacceptable to any team, let alone one fighting for it's life in the World Series.

The fans knew this - the Astros barely made it into the playoffs and barely won their first series against the Braves in an 18 inning marathon - as detailed in a previous Blog entry. While they did routinely beat the Cardinals, a Tony LaRussa team, they showed themselves to be the Wild Card team they were.

Yes, the Astros kept it close, barely losing in each game. But, to paraphrase Vince Lombardi, you show me someone who almost won and I'll show you someone who lost.

Thursday, October 20, 2005

The World Series and a Final Farewell

Well, with the loss last night of the NL-Leading St. Louis Cardinals we saw the end of two major things: The Astro's luckless Postseason streak, rivalled only by that of Tony La Russa, and the old, if somewhat forgettable, Busch Stadium.

It was a landmark among ballparks, really, with it's long-outdated look bringing back memories of Barry Goldwater, freezing games in the NFL playoffs and the Johnson administration. Yes, it was truly a sight for the ages. And that is where it's headed, off to the history books and a page on Wikipedia under the "Default Sports Facilities" heading.

I had never been there, personally. I had rarely seen it on television (We don't get too many NL games in Jays Country). And it didn't even mean anything special to me. Why, I'm not even too sure why I'm writing about it, in all honesty. Whatever.

The point that I never even addressed is that finally, after years of being so goddamn close (1986, 2004 come to mind) the Astros have finally done it, finally made it to the Final Series, as it were. Finally getting a chance to not only beat the best team in a league, but to actually become it. And, as usual, they couldn't have had worse luck.

They are facing the Chicago White Sox, the best team in the AL, a team that has outstanding hitting and pitching, a team that has something to prove, even if it's only to those damn Cubs fans (George F Will, et al). They don't just want this win, they need it - to finally put that damn Black Sox scandal (the one that everybody remembers only because of a semi-decent movie) behind them for good. The Cubs have the "Billygoat Curse", the Red Sox the "Curse of the Bambino" and Billy Buckner. The White Sox have a gambling scandal that would curl Pete Roses hair - and a chance to beat those Texans and put Shoeless Joe to rest, for once and for all.


***

Remember how I said that Joe Sakic was the Last Nordique? Well, he ain't for much longer: the Aves will let him become a free agent at the end of the season.

Monday, October 10, 2005

The Houston Marathon / By the Rocket's Red Glare

Yesterday, we all (at least those of us not watching NFL, Nascar, NHL or the Cooking Channel) saw one of the longest, most exciting and most dramatic baseball game in recent memory.. we all saw one man, who has a knack for saving the day, hold an entire team at bay when it was needed the most, while another fell apart at the seams. But this story starts almost two decades ago, in 1986...

It was in the same town, although in a different venue, in the National League Championship Series, that we saw (as broadcasted by ABC, if my memory serves correctly) New York Mets and the Houston Astros play a 16 inning marathon in the old Astrodome for entry to the World Series - and when the Mets finally won, it was the longest game ever played in postseason baseball.

And it was less then two weeks later, in Boston's Fenway Park, that Roger Clemens led the Red Sox to what should have been a series-winning victory - until the Red Sox bullpen let the Mets tie in the 9th. Then, only one inning later Mookie Wilson's ground ball dribbled between the legs of Bill Buckner (who, if the Red Sox had won, would have been a major candidate for playoff MVP) in one of the most infamous baseball errors of all time.

In the nineteen years since that game-ending error, the Astros have never again been as close to the World Series, Bill Buckner moved to Idaho, the Astrodome was left empty and Roger Clemens won two World Series, eventually winding up with the Astros.

We now go to the 1992 World Series - where the Toronto Blue Jays defeat the Atlanta Braves. Or the 1991 World Series, a victory for the Minnesota Twins over the Braves. Or the 1996 or 1999 World Series. Or any MLB Postseason from 1991 to the present. Every year, save 1995, they lost. And they needed a victory this year, save they lose to the NL Wild Card.

So, we finally arrive at Minute Maid Park in Houston - The Astros lead the series 2-1 but the Braves lead 6-5 in the top of the ninth inning. However, an Astros home run sends the game to extra frames. And the game remains tied. Running out of relief pitchers, the Astros are forced to call in one of their starting pitchers - Roger Clemens. But still, nobody scores.

NFL games that started at the same general time as the game have all ended; games that started at at 4 are getting close to halftime. Still, nobody scores. Atlanta changes pitchers. Not a single runner scores. The clock ticks ever closer to six PM EST.

By now, all of the football games that are still playing are in their fourth quarter. All the existing time records for a Major League Division Series have been broken - and it's getting close to the all-time Baseball Postseason record - that fateful night in Houston almost 20 years before. Still, not a run scores. Indeed, it could be argued that only one man is still keeping the Astros in the game: Roger Clemens, pitching his heart out and keeping the bats of the Braves at bay.

It was close to seven, almost six hours since the game started, when the Astros hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 18th. Who hit it is almost irrelevant, like who finished first in the last leg of the Tour de France or the winner of the Bronze Medal game of the World Cup; it was only needed because of the masterful pitching of the Rocket, who came out the bullpen and delivered when it was needed the most and who, in the process, looked like that other famous Texan who pitched for the Astros; like Nolan Ryan in the fading light of the Texas sun.

Monday, October 03, 2005

The Last Nordique

The rain was pouring down this morning, waking me up at some ungodly morning hour and making my window take the appearance of frosted glass. And as I awoke, cursing the foul elements that had awaken me, I listened to the ESPN Radio previews of the new NHL season - in particular the preview for the Avalanche. And it reminded me about one of the last of the greats; the last Nordique.

Since 1996, when the Quebec Nordiques moved to Denver to begin anew, many of the players have moved on; wither because they retired, were traded away or just signed to another team the former Nordiques moved on (Adam Deadmarsh, Peter Forsberg, , slowly but surely. And while many of the players from the second glory days of the Nordiques (the first being the mid 1980's) are still playing, none are playing for the Nordiques/Avalanche - except one: Joe Sakic.

In an age where players can change teams almost on a whim, Joe Sakic is a rarity. He has played his entire career (16 seasons) for the same team. With the rise of free agency and salary caps, it's almost unheard of to play for the same team for more then 10 years; even Ray Bourque eventually left the Bruins. For a player to stay with a team for as long as Sakic has, and most likely will, is a product of special circumstances. Mario Lemieux is part of the management for the Penguins, for example. Joe Sakic, on the other hand, has no such business; instead, he's the spiritual backbone of a team that not only is a proven winner, but a consistent threat.

The Avalanche are one of the last great dynasties in pro sports (their only rival would be the New England Patriots or the Atlanta Braves). Every year they make it to the playoffs and every year they they put the best teams (Detroit, Dallas, Anaheim, Calgary) in the league to the test.

So, will Joe Sakic remain the Last Nordique? Only he knows for sure... but he is not only the best man for the job, he's the only one who can do it. And who knows, he may even end up coaching them in a few years.