Well, I missed Monday again.
So Sports comes to you on Tuesday again this week. We'll chalk it up to another win by I (heart) Hefeweizen, which is now leading Livin' La Vida Other Cat. Technically, I'm tied for record but leading on points.
As a matter of fact, I'm tied with Gerald who made a trade with me a couple of weeks ago. In a league where trades are rarer than bigfoot sightings in Meijer, the two guys bold enough to pull one off reign supreme.
But that's not what I'm here to discuss today. With the World Series starting tomorrow, I thought I'd put out one more prediction blog. Before we get to predictions, though, I want to take a look back. I was reading an article earlier that was discussing recent World Series and it got me thinking of my favorite Fall Classics. My memory of the Series goes back to about 1987. I remember bits and pieces of games before that, but not entire series. Including that year there have been 20 World Series. Of these, the ones that follow were the 5 best in my opinion.
Honorable Mention: 1990: Reds 4, A's 0
It's not in the top 5, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention Cincy manhandling the A's. An
artificial, selfish mention, yes, but it's about all we've had in the last 20 years.
5) 1993: Blue Jays 4, Phillies 2
A very exciting, highly unpredictible series on the surface. A series that ended with a walk-
off homer. I remember being glued to the TV for this one. The only thing that holds this one
back a bit was a subtle feeling I had all along that the Jays were going to win. Not a
predicition-like feeling. Not a gut feeling. The knowledge like it had already happened.
Personally, it took a little bit out of it for me.
4) 2001: Diamondbacks 4, Yankees 3
Many people look back on this fondly as the end of the Yankees' dynasty. Others remember
it as the crowning of Mr. November. Of all of the World Series that happened while I was in
college, this is the one I remember most. This is probably in no small part thanks to the
Yankees for domilishing their opponents in the other 3. (I particularly remember going on a
band trip to Tampa in 1998 and missing nearly the entire series). Anyhow, back to 2001. A
seven game series that came down to the most improbable finish I've seen: Porfessional
shitstain Craig Counsell getting hit by a pitch to bring up Luis Gonzalez with bases full to
stirke a bloop hit off the best closer the game has ever seen. Unbelievable. Jeter's game 4
homer, equally so. And let's not forget everyman Scott Brosius having hsi day.
3) 2002: Angles 4, Giants 3
Another 7 game series. After 2001 reinvigorated my passion for the series, 2002 did not
disappoint. I remember being drawn into Rally Monkey mania and rooting hard for the
Angels to take it. An Angels team that, mind you, I couldn't have cared less about two
months before. The postseason makes strange fans sometimes. Close games, not-so-close
games. High scoring games, low-scoring games. It was a roller coaster of a series with the
Angels down 3-2 coming back home to the Monkey. I also remember the emergence of
Francisco Rodriguez, which was a thing to see in and of itself.
(Random Fact: David Justice played for 14 seasons. 13 of those had a World Series. He played in the World Series 7 times. (1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001) Not the postseason mind you. the WORLD F'N SERIES. Now that's a career. )
2) 1996: Yankees 4, Braves 2
I don't know if this series just hit at the right time in my life, but few sports events have
enthralled me more than this series did. So many moments stick out. Leyritz's series-
changing shot in Game 4. John Wetteland's perpetually dirty cap. Wade Boggs on that damn
horse. And Charlie Hayes still haunts my nightmares. For me, though, the signature moment
of this series is a popout caught by Paul O'Neill in right to end the bottom of the ninth,
wrapping up one of the finest pitching duals ever seen in the Series or any game for that
matter. Pettitte/Smoltz. Eight innings apiece (8 1/3) for Pettite. Golden Boy Chipper Jones
on third after a leadoff double and a groundout (with his hot wife getting plenty of camera
time in the stands). And Wetteland...and that cap...put the game away. I stayed up late for
this one. Simply one of the best games I've ever seen, though it often seems overlooked by
"experts" in this category.
1: 1991: Twins 4, Braves 3
Generally considered one of the best World Series of all time, it's impossible to find anything to fault here. The worst-to-first storylines of the teams coming in (The young stars and pitching depth of today's Rays look so much like the 1991 Braves, every AL East team should sleep less easy tonight). Kirby Puckett looking like a superhero in game six, carrying his team on his back and back into the series. (I also remember Puckett crashing hitting the old plexiglass they used to keep up in above some of the walls to catch a flyball that might have been a homer. I remember he looked like a hockey player crashing the boards. I'm not crazy). The Metrodome going apeshit crazy. Hell, even Fulton County Stadium was lively. Seven games of ravenous fans that needed baseball success. However, the series can be summed up in a line:
10 7 0 0 2 8
Let's try that with labels: 10 ip 7 hits 0 runs 0 earned runs 2 walks 8 strikeouts
10 innings...no runs...7th game of the World Series. That's 10...T-E-N innings. That's clutch. That's Jack Morris. That was the 1991 World Series.
Alright. Now that I've gotten that out. A prediction. Hamels can make or break the Phillies. Game 1, after a week off, against Scott Kazmir. Now, I've had both of these guys on my fantasy team. I'll take Kazmir. Yeah, Hamels has the nasty stuff, but Kazmir is the better pitcher, I think. In the TropDome, I don't see pitchers making it through without freak homers. Hamels' fastballs put him at more risk. Game one, and momentum goes to the Rays. They'll continue through game 2. A well-seasoned Jamie Moyer will give Phillies fans hope in Game 3 before the Philly fans torch Citizen Bank Park. Balnton has been lights out and will continue to be so in Game 4. Game 5 could go either way, and will be the Phillies only chance at this series. For some reason, though, I see Mr. Cool Kazmir weaving his magic again. If the 'pen can hold together (and with Price emerging, I think it might happen), the Rays can take that one and send it back to Tampa where Big Game James can fianlly live up to his billing.
World Series Prediction: Rays 4, Phillies 2
See you at the ballpark tomorrow night!
baby einstein walker
2 years ago
1 comment:
Dude, wire-to-wire or not, the Reds were picked to lose to the A's in '90. And what did they do? They showed the entire world that you don't go wire-to-wire without being able to take care of business. Having the Nasty Boys for a bullpen didn't hurt.
My fondest memory: Drawing out "working" on a social studies project to stay up and watch Jose Rijo do his thing. My project, incidentally, had me making a pyramid out of sugar cubes, which I then painted gold.
Didn't watch the '93 Series, partly because I didn't care for either team and partly because baseball had less appeal to me then.
The 2001 Series may well be the best I've ever seen. Everyone remembers Brosius and then Jeter (and sometimes they remember Tino) for their dramatic dingers. What nobody ever talks about is the absolutely insane at-bat by Paul O'Neil to set up Brosius coming to the plate. Dude fouled off, like, 17 pitches or something. It was crazy.
I'll never forget watching Game 7, and shortly before Mo came in Ryan and I disagreed on how it would end. Conventional wisdom said the Best Closer in the History of Baseball wouldn't squander a lead. I lost a case of beer that night.
2002 Angels were a pet project of mine, because the year before I had followed them via DirecTV's MLB Extra Ticket package. I saw the potential then, and I said they were about to put together a hell of a franchise. So far, they've just got the one trip to the Big Dance to show for their efforts, but they've made the postseason most of the time. More on them in another blog.
The '96 Series can be credited with bringing me back to baseball. The rookie Braves (Andruw, Furcal, some other guys) vs. the veteran Yankees (Boggs, Fielder, O'Neill, Cone, etc.). The Yankees were, essentially, a collection of the only guys left from when I had stopped following baseball. After losing the first two games at home, Joe Torre took the Bombers down to Hot-lanta and went on a tear, forcing the return to the Big Apple. Great Series.
Personal memory: In Speech & Debate class, bored by my opponent, using my note paper to reconstruct the pitching matchups to that point.
1991. I remember my half-brother living at my dad's at that point. I remember going to one of Adam's flag football games with them, and drinking hot chocolate. I remember the Tomahawk Chop broke out when Adam's Centerfield Rams rallied.
I remember the Series, but to a lesser extent. I remember the reaction at school the next day as our first period teacher, Mr. Chris Kraft, walked into the room, examined his environment and declared, "I don't need an eight-foot 'Twins Suck' on my board." I wasn't responsible for it, but I did disagree with him on that point.
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