Here it is...World series wrap-up!

Here we are on the last day of the year…the regular NFL season has drawn to a close…so that could only mean…. it’s time for the World Series wrap-up! This way, we’ve all had time to digest the happenings and form rational intelligent conclusions.

It’s in this frame of reference when I say…MAN THE GIANTS BLEW IT! I mean BIG TIME! They had it all but won, then handed it back like they didn’t deserve it. We’ve witnessed one of the all time chokes…on par with the Red Sox’s Bill Buckner play.

Sports competition is often based on momentum. Not always, but more often than not. The team that can finish the season on a hot streak has the opportunity to see it continue into the post season. That would help explain why the Angel’s beat the Yankees, while the A’s lost to the Twins. When Oakland was hot, nobody could beat them. If the series were played in August, the A’s would be champs. If my grandmother had balls, she’d be my grandfather.

But…I digress. Back to momentum. The series started off well enough when they split the first two games in Anaheim. The Angels winning a well played game before the Giants took a slugfest in the re-match. The Angel’s chose to pitch to Bonds and paid for it on the second pitch they threw him. The lack of dominate pitching on both teams made for an even match-up.

On to San Francisco… Anaheim realizes the folly of pitching to Bonds when the Giants don’t have the fire power to bat behind him (or for that matter, in front of him). They make it look easy in game three…perhaps this won’t be a great series afterall…Game 4 seems like a continuation of the night before. The Angel’s jump out to an early lead… when Kenny Lofton places a bunt down the 3rd base line that appears to be rolling further into foul territory when Troy Glauss bends to pick it up and it hits a pebble to send it back to fair ground just as he touches it! The proper play would be to not pick it up at all…. just kick it while it’s still foul!

A brief argument ensued…(replays on T.V. proved the right call was made)…and the inning continued. But I believe the Angels were still thinking about that play as the Giants made it count for three runs, including a clutch hit by Benito Santiago after another intentional pass to Bonds. (It was still the right call by Scoscia). The Angels go quietly into the night, as we prepare for the pivotal game 5!

Momentum stays with the Giants, as the Angels still seem unfocused. Glauss didn’t get a hit since he let that bunt go fair AND he made a key error to give the Giants some extra runs. The most memorable play was J.T. Snow saving Dusty Baker’s kid on a play at the plate. (More on that later!) The only question asked around San Francisco was, did the Giants save anything for game 6 in Anaheim two nights later?

Could they possibly ride that momentum one more night to win it all? It didn’t seem likely, till the giants opened up an early lead and expanded it to 5-0 in the 7th. Everything’s going swell, right? Till Dusty Baker makes a pitching change…instead of handing the ball to the new pitcher, he receives permission from the umpire to award the game ball to the departing pitcher, Russ Ortiz. Angel’s 1st base coach, Alfredo Griffen, spots this and comes back to the dugout to point out that the Giants have already begun celebrating the victory…. The game’s not over, but Dusty is handing out game balls!

Anyone who’s ever coached a team at any level…. including Little League and choose up, knows to never give the opposition something to get pissed about! Let them have their dignity ….at least until the game is over! Let sleeping dogs lie and all that…why give them ammunition to get themselves pumped up? They had been extremely quiet since the Lofton bunt in game 4. Dusty gave them a wake up call. Good morning Anaheim.

The Angels rallied to win it. The Giants were winning 5-0, needing 8 more outs to win the World Series. Momentum had changed sides again…courtesy of Dusty Baker. There was little doubt that the Angels would go on to win from here. After the Angels took the lead in game 7, you could see it in the various Giants body language…watch a replay if you can…. even Bonds walks up to the plate with shoulders slumped…no bravado left…It’s over, Johnny!

I’ll have more to say on Dusty Baker later (and his son)…. but I'd like to end this portion by saying that although I rooted for the Giants, I had no emotional attachments as I would have if the Yanks or A’s were playing…. it was enjoyable to watch the series like that…. not having to live & die by each pitch!

 

A Rose by any Name....Still Smells!

Bongo Johnny wrote in to say that my opinion of the Pete Rose situation was not perfectly clear. Perhaps it wasn’t. So, let me regurgitate….

Pete Rose has more hits than anyone who ever played the game. He played four different positions on some great teams. A perennial all-star, he was yearly listed among the top batting averages in baseball. Even today, when a player provides what’s now considered “something extra”, he’s compared to Rose. His admission to the Hall Of Fame is mandatory!

There are members in the Hall that wouldn’t play on the same field as a black man….until threatened with unemployment. I’ve never researched it, but I’m sure that there are numerous skeleton’s hidden in the Cooperstown closets. Do you suppose that Babe Ruth might have done a little gambling in between banging hookers? Mantle admitted to playing many games still under the influence of the binge from the night before. That could have had a larger effect on the outcome of a game than betting on your own team to win. And God forbid…what about the influence on the children! If we had known at the time, we would have drunk some beer before every game! There are those that would only permit members that lived up to the Boy Scout code. The place would be empty (and boring)!

My personal feeling is that Pete Rose is an A-hole. I’m not alone in this opinion. I asked my friend Bonnie, originally from Cincinnati to write a short memoir of her experience with Rose…

Hey guys - how r u??? Pete was a jerk! I worked in the office where the guys (Reds) would come up and sign the baseballs for all the knothole kids at the season opener. In 1969 Pete refused to sign the balls for free. He was the only one that didn't sign them that yr. Boy I wish I asked for a ball then! haha!! Johnny bench was cool - I use to issue him the basketball gym rental because he coached a basketball kids team off season, Tony Perez was there, Joe Morgan, they would all come up to our office, I issued the season permits to Johnny and hung out, flirted with the guys while we signed dozens of cases of balls!!! Boy, did I blow it!!

So there you have it. Right here on Brahma’s World…. proof that Rose at least was…an A-hole. What do you think? Contact Brahma’s World.

Bonnie’s story reminds me of stories that I heard from a member of my last softball team. He was the batboy for the New York Yankees in the early 70’s. But that’s for another time. Does that clear it up bongo?

 

This Just In...

I 've heard that the following is an excerpt from a (the?) North Korean newspaper...

[...] "The DPRK remains unfazed as it has made full preparations to cope with the confrontation and clash with the Yankees," a commentary in the ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun said.
"The army and people of the DPRK with burning hatred for the Yankees are in full readiness to fight a death-defying battle," said the commentary, carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The Brahma suspects that it's actually from the Boston Herald!

 

Arron's Baseball Blog

I'm sorry it's taken so long to post on this site. I haven't forgot.....I've been busy with some medical stuff. Meanwhile, I'd like to direct you to This baseball site to keep up on the National pastime!

I'll be back soon.........SEE YA'!