One Strike Away

It was becoming difficult to remember why October baseball is so great. Thank you, Albert Pujols.

Sure, there would be no dramatic win without Eckstein’s little bleeder or Edmonds’ walk, but Pujols made the big play. I’ll admit that I’m rooting for the Cardinals in this series, and I was glad the way the inning played out. As Edmonds came to the plate, I thought that at least the Cardinals might get a shot with their best player. Can’t ask for more than that.

You’ll see a lot of comparisons between the ’05 Astros and the ’86 Angels the next few days, and it’s fitting. I can tell you from personal experience that losing a clinching game when you’re down to the last strike is the cruelest thing that can befall a baseball fan. Stupid little details of those few minutes in my life nearly 20 years ago – from the time Lucas hit Gedman to when Pettis flew out to the warning track (the 11th inning has been removed from my memory) -- remain crystal clear. I was drinking a bottle of Michelob. We had these cheap kitchen chairs in hideous lemon yellow. An old Coors promotional electric clock with a simulated waterfall sat on the TV. My beer bottle didn’t break when I threw it on the floor.

The crowd in Houston was going nuts from the moment Berkman hit his homer in the seventh, into those gawdawful Crawford Boxes. How did Houston get a waiver for those things anyway? The noise was tremendous, prompting the Fox guy to say it’s the loudest park in baseball, but I have serious doubts that it’s louder than the Humpdome. In seconds, it became a morgue. Baseball’s crazy like that.

Another Angels anecdote: 1979 playoffs, game 4. Orioles lead the series 2-1 and the game 3-0 in the bottom of the fifth. With one out, the Angels load the bases for shortstop Jim Anderson. The Anaheim crowd is going nuts. It’s so loud that third baseman Doug DeCinces said he couldn’t hear anything else. Anderson hits a rope down the line, which DeCinces spears before stepping on third then throwing to first to kill the inning. DeCinces said he could then hear his spikes crunching the sod as he ran back to the dugout.

Back to ’05. Finally an LCS game where we don’t have to gnash our teeth over the umpires. Frankly, the men in blue have been an embarrassment the past few weeks, from Eddings’ strike “mechanic” or whatever the hell he calls it to Cuzzi’s sideshow in game 4 of the NLCS. But if it weren’t for the umpires, there might not be a whole lot to talk about.

Things that were great:
*Pujols’ homer. Duh.
*Bruntlett-Everett-Berkman double play to end game 4. An amazing turn by Everett.
*Larry Walker stealing third in game 4. The Fox dudes made a big deal about someone on the Astros not calling timeout, but there wasn’t really a good replay shown. Besides, the play seemed to be continuous, and it was more of a case of the catcher turning his back to the play. You can’t call timeout if things are still going on, and Walker wasn’t just hanging around second. *White Sox pitching. They got help from the brain-dead Angels hitters, but still.

Things that weren’t:
*Vladimir Guerrero. He may be hurt, but he might have still stunk. Guerrero sees the ball, swings the bat. It’s what he does. Contrast his “approach” with, say, Pujols. When it gets to playoff time, you’d better be able to make adjustments. Vladimir couldn’t or can’t or won’t, so he did squat. The scary thing is that when you see how Guerrero goes up there without a plan, you have to figure out that he puts up his numbers on sheer talent.
*The umpires. Cuzzi was a disgrace. Aside from the terrible strike zone, he tossed La Russa and then hid behind the crew chief like – I’m sorry – a little girl. *All these frigging bunts. Actually, I’m kind of stunned La Russa let Pujols swing away.

Comments

[Jason]

Schadenfreude dept.: When Pujols hit the home run, I turned to my wife and said, "I don't feel so bad about the [2002] Giants now." Yes, it's an LCS and not a World Series, but... total gut punch. Very '86 Angels-like. As Phil told me last night, "Can you be up 3-2 and still have your back against the wall? Ask the 2004 Yankees."