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Friday, October 22, 2004

Fall Classic 

By Charlottesvillain at 10/22/2004 08:53:00 AM
It's going to be the Boston Red Sox against the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series. I am still stunned after the incredible drama of the Yankees-Red Sox series. It is being covered in such depth elsewhere that I have little to add. It has been widely written that the four game collapse of the Yanks after taking a three game lead is historic in sports. It could have happened to any team, but this kind of stuff just doesn't happen to the Yankees. It's more the stuff of Cubs or Red Sox lore. Yankee fans now have had a small taste of the bitter drink that Red Sox fans quaff with disturbing regularity. (The Cubs' history of failure is less tragedy than futility. It's not tragic when you're 15 games out on August 1, it's just pathetic.)

It is sad that the glare that is the Sox/Yanks rivalry seemed to suppress the spectacular NLCS, which also went to 7 games and had its share of extra innings and walk-off drama. The series was decided in a two batter sequence last night. With two out in the sixth, Houston's Roger Clemens was cruising with a 2-1 lead and a man on second. Albert Pujols singled in the tying run, and Scott Rolan followed with a two-run shot that sounded titanic on ESPN Radio. We are thus deprived, I say mercifully, of Roger facing the Red Sox in the World Series.

The Red Sox and Cardinals have both been to the World Series many times in their storied histories, yet they have never met. Both clubs are supremely talented and between them have several potential hall of famers on their rosters. It will be interesting to see whether their hard fought battles to get this far will bring them in on the crest of a wave, or have left them utterly depleted.

UPDATE:

An alert reader catches me in a sloppy error:

I think you missed one, though, on the Sox and Cards -- they met in the '67
Series, which the Cards won in Game 7 and in the fateful 1946 World Series,
where Ted Williams' really didn't hit, Enos Slaughter had a mad dash home from
first on a single (but did Johnny Pesky, so beloved in Boston, really hold the
ball too long?)and even Joe Garagiola (Sr., for those too young to remember the
host of "The Price is Right") made a big contribution.

No excuses, just deepest apologies. That will teach me to post "facts" overheard on TV broadcasts.


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2 Comments:

By Anonymous Anonymous, at Fri Oct 22, 10:29:00 AM:

Thanks for the insight, Villain!

Great point about the difference between the angst of the (Red) Sox' fans and the Cubs' fans. The Sox fans get much closer to the title than the Cubs' fans, and, as a result, the angst is greater.

I think you missed one, though, on the Sox and Cards -- they met in the '67 Series, which the Cards won in Game 7 and in the fateful 1946 World Series, where Ted Williams' really didn't hit, Enos Slaughter had a mad dash home from first on a single (but did Johnny Pesky, so beloved in Boston, really hold the ball too long?)and even Joe Garagiola (Sr., for those too young to remember the host of "The Price is Right") made a big contribution.

One small irony from last night: the Cards' Game 7 starter, Jeff Suppan, came up through the BoSox organization originally and apparently was left off the Sox post-season roster last year. Very small world.

Should be a great World Series.  

By Blogger Charlottesvillain, at Fri Oct 22, 10:47:00 AM:

Thanks for the clarification. I am red faced and must admit that I rushed to post without doing proper research, and that I received my "facts" from one of the broadcasts. Shame on me.  

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