Complete relief
Two-thirds of an inning. Tony La Russa must be going mad, and not just because his team is down 3-1 in the NLCS.
By design, that’s all Ozzie Guillen and his White Sox got out of their bullpen in dispatching the Angels over five games of the American League Championship Series, setting a modern day record with a fourth consecutive complete game win last night. In stark contrast, the Red Sox received six complete games all season from their starters.
Over eight games this postseason, Chicago relievers have pitched just eight innings, two from closer Bobby Jenks way back in Game 2 of the ALDS against Boston, three from Orlando Hernandez in Game 3 of that series. With those pitching credentials behind them, the White Sox will certainly be the favorite to win their first World Series title since 1919.
It is, of course, the first time that Sox teams will appear in the World Series in consecutive years since 1918-19. It is Chicago’s first World Series appearance since 1959.
With the Astros on the verge of taking out the Cardinals tonight, up three games to one in that series, we’ve got the prospect of a classic World Series in our immediate future. Houston’s pitching hasn’t been nearly the dominant factor that Chicago’s has this month – Astros pitchers have allowed 15 Cardinals runs over four games compared to the White Sox’ 10 in the ALCS, just one more than Boston scored over three games of the ALDS. Still, imagine pitching matchups between Mark Buehrle and Andy Pettitte, Jose Contreras and Roy Oswalt, and Jon Garland and Roger Clemens, and we might have something special on the way.
Chris Deluca of the Sun-Times, however, points out that White Sox fans ought to be rooting for the Cardinals to make a comeback. One, it would drive Cubs fans further insane to see their South Side rivals and long-standing rivals in the Fall Classic, where their team has not been since 1945. St. Louis is also probably the more beatable team. And this a club some were ready to hand the pennant to after its 5-3 win in Game 1 over Houston.
It’s hard to remember postseason pitching this good since the 1991 World Series, the October classic between the Braves and Twins universally regarded as one of the best of all time. Just more fuel for the Fall sporting cliche machine: It’s about the pitching, stupid.
Consider the following:
Of the top four teams in ERA, three are still alive, Chicago, St. Louis, and Houston.
The top four teams who scored the most runs in 2005, Boston, New York, Texas, and Cincinnati, are as Ned Martin would say, long gone and hard to find.
Avalanche of concern
It’s either the end of an era, or just another hiccup in an injury-filled season thus far. Either way, the Broncos’ 28-20 win over the Patriots yesterday has to have the Colts licking their chops at their showdown in Foxborough in a few weeks, ready to prove they are the team to beat to an NFL public that has been waiting years to anoint them as such.
In Denver today, there are differing views on what this means for Denver, as some around the league are already ready to consider them a contender for Lombardi. Not so fast says Dave Krieger of the Rocky Mountain News, pointing out that the Patriots were also 3-3 in 2001, and the Broncos 5-1 at this point the last two seasons as well. True. But the 2001 Patriots didn’t have the weekly MASH unit that this edition does, missing Rodney Harrison, Kevin Faulk, Tedy Bruschi (for now), Richard Seymour, Matt Light, etc.
Mike Klis of the Denver Post puts a little perspective on the win for Denver. Yes, they beat the champs, but this team resembles the champs about as much as the 1998 Marlins resembled the World Series team of a year previous.
“And the Broncos hope they’re not the same 5-1 Broncos,” he writes.
Time will tell.
Meanwhile, the Indianapolis Colts face an extremely important test tonight in facing the St. Louis Rams, the No. 2 offense in the NFL. The Colts’ much-ballyhooed defense has yet to face an offensive opponent ranked better than 16th this season.
Tangled up in blue
Nomar Garciaparra could be wearing Dodger Blue soon enough, as well as playing a new position. The LA Times reports: Don’t be surprised if Nomar Garciaparra, who turned down Dodger overtures last winter to play second base, becomes an option to play third base for the Dodgers next year. Garciaparra is said to be convinced a move to third will extend his career.”
At the money it’s going to take to sign Garciaparra, after an injury-plagued season, it’s a no-brainer for the Dodgers. Garciaparra doesn’t figure to get too many offers this offseason.
Wash their hands of him
The priority for the Red Sox this offseason continues to be improving a pitching staff whose ERA was worse than the pathetic Baltimore Orioles. Might Angels free agent Jarrod Washburn be an option? It’s a possibility, yet there’s not much more attractive about Washburn than there is about AJ Burnett, the underachieving free agent from the Marlins. Peppered with No. 3 and 4 starters, Boston’s best hope is that Curt Schilling returns to form, and Jonathan Papelbon breaks out in 2006.
