2001 Post Season: October 2001 Archives

Leading up to game 1 of the World Series, I listened to the radio, television, and print as Sportswriters and broadcasters touted their baseball knowledge of what to expect from the series opener.
"A classic pitching duel"
"An even match-up that would go extra innings to be decided"
"The Yankees will prove why they are the World Champions"
So with all of the hype being mounted upon this series and this game, it was time for all of the talk to cease and baseball to begin. Being a National League fan and specifically a Diamondbacks fan, I was not quite sure what to think. Everyone talked about the Yankees in hushed respectful tones. I had to keep reminding myself that they were discussing a baseball team and not some type religious figure. The way in which they spoke of this team almost had me buying into the fact that they Yankees were destined to be in this place and to repeat as champions. How else could you describe the fact that two much more talented opponents in the Oakland A's and the Seattle Mariners were able to lose against them?

With game one of the World Series only a day away, I find myself pacing back and forth like a caged animal. I have no idea why. It is not like it is me that is facing Mike Mussina or chasing down a Bernie Williams fly ball in the outfield. Regardless, I am on edge.

As this week has progressed, baseball fever has become contagious around Arizona. You literally cannot walk around Phoenix without seeing someone with some type of Diamondbacks item displayed. Whether it be a hat, shirt, flag or tattoo; these people are genuinely getting into the notion of their team being in the World Series.

With the Diamondbacks clinching the National League Pennant so early, manager Bob Brenly has the advantage of setting his pitching rotation to how it will best fit the opposition. I am sure that Bob took a lot of time and effort in coming up with this rotation after carefully weighing all the options with Bob Welch the Diamondbacks pitching coach.

I have to give the Arizona Diamondbacks credit. They are very fan oriented. Today was a great case in point. After clinching the National League pennant on the road, the Diamondbacks wanted to share their experiences with the fans. It was decided that perhaps the team would allow the fans into Bank One Ballpark to watch practice. I am not sure exactly how many people team officials thought would come down to watch the players take infield practice but I am sure it was not that many. Instead, there were over 15,000 screaming fans piling into the BOB to get a glimpse at their favorite players and to let the team know how they felt about going to the World Series. It soon became evident that this was less a baseball practice than it was a pep rally. Fans dressed in Diamondbacks gear and carrying signs lined the stadium fences, as victory chants were the norm. Before long, it became just a great big party.

Now that the Arizona Diamondbacks are in the World Series, it is time to find them an appropriate opponent. I found that I had renewed interest in the American League Championship Series now that the Diamondbacks have clinched the National League pennant. I am really torn on who I would like to see the Diamondbacks face in the World Series.

It seems like only yesterday that I was attending the Major League Baseball Expansion Draft that was held in Phoenix Arizona on November 18, 1997. On that date, the Arizona Diamondbacks were officially born. Oh sure, the team was awarded on March 9, 1995 but it really wasn't official to baseball fans until the team had players. I remember sitting there listening as each draft pick was made digging through baseball reference books as I tried to find out who most of these guys were. I thought that was the most incredible baseball experience I would ever have.

Sometime before game four of the National League Championship Series, the Atlanta Braves decided that instead of playing the baseball game, they would present a tribute to one of the outstanding baseball movies ever made, the Bad News Bears. This was an interesting idea considering the Arizona Diamondbacks had decided to pitch Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Lopez for this game against the Braves ace. But who am I to argue? So instead of a baseball review, let me change hats and give you my best Roger Ebert impression.

I am sure that Atlanta Braves fans everywhere were excited to return home to Turner Field with the National League Championship Series tied 1-1. I am sure that they were encouraged at the thoughts of an 8-1 whooping of the Diamondbacks. After all, the Diamondbacks have scored only 3 runs this entire series. Obviously, Arizona was going to be in a world of hurt now that they would be playing the next three games at the TED.

There are times when a box score does not necessarily tell the entire story about how a game went. This was definitely the case in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series. At first glance, it appears the Braves crushed the Diamondbacks in route to tying the series up at one game apiece.

Going into Tuesday afternoon's game, all we ever heard about was the inadequacies of Randy Johnson and how he was not a big game pitcher. Johnson was identified as a choker who just rolled over during a big game. There were even some that said Johnson was cursed since he had not won a post-season game since 1995.

Ah, there is nothing quite like an afternoon of Major League Baseball in October, especially if your team is playing in its first ever National League Championship Series. The grass is greener, the sun is brighter and the hot dogs smell good enough to eat.

Play-off baseball is a fascinating phenomenon. It has a way to bring out the best and the worst in people depending upon the circumstances. The events of the St. Louis and Arizona series bears witness to this fact. With their season on the line and in one of the most important games in the history of this franchise, the Diamondbacks found two unlikely heroes.

Loyalty is an interesting concept, especially as it pertains to sports. If you ask anyone what one of the biggest changes in sports today, a large number of those questioned would exclaim free agency. With the advent of the free agent, Major League Baseball changed forever. Gone were the days when a player would break into the big leagues as a rookie and play their entire career for one franchise. With the retirement of Tony Gwynn we may have seen the final player of our generation begin and end with the same National League team. Fans everywhere are becoming accustomed to seeing their favorite player move from the hometown team to a rival. When these moves occur, the fans are in an uproar as the player is admonished for their lack of loyalty. "Where is their sense of community?" they ask. "How could they abandon the fans like this?" or "The players are nothing more than a bunch of pampered millionaires looking for money." These comments are often heard on sports talk radio or read in print. Soon, that player that was the cornerstone of the local team is now publicly ridiculed and derogatory remarks are made that he didn't care about the fans or didn't care about the game.

It has been interesting to watch the intensity of the play-offs and what effect it has had on the players as well as the fans. For the past week, all anyone has heard is how much different play-off baseball is versus the regular season. How every play and every pitch has so much more meaning. That always sounded like such a cliché. I really questioned whether the media was being overly dramatic in order to promote interest or if there was indeed a difference. All of my doubts about this being just another baseball series have been erased with the past two games of the Arizona and St. Louis series. The divisional play-offs have been an emotional roller coaster ride that is not even half over.

As Bob Brenly announced the starting pitching rotation for the Arizona Diamondbacks series against the St. Louis Cardinals, hundreds if not thousands of Diamondbacks fans questioned what he was doing. After all, it was a forgone conclusion that Randy Johnson was the number one starter on this ball club. Granted, both of these pitchers have earned the right to be the game one starter with the performance they have shown during this season and I am sure that there are 29 other clubs in Major League Baseball that would love to have the problem Brenly was facing. What a quandary, does he go with the 22 game winner with 273 strikeouts for the year or does he go with the 21 game winner who has 372 strikeouts?

Nothing quite like October baseball to get a fan's heart to race. The air at Bank One Ballpark is electric with excitement as anticipation grows towards Game 1 of the National League Divisional Play-offs. I can still remember the atmosphere back in 1999 when the Diamondbacks made their first trip to the post season. Everything was so magnified compared to the regular season. It was like Christmas morning and I was a kid again. I fully expected to see Santa Claus descend from the JumboTron and deliver special baseball bats to the players. The Diamondbacks even dressed the stands around the stadium with red, white and blue bunting giving it a look of baseball tinsel. Everything seemed larger than life. From the increased sound system to the screaming of 48,000 fans, the stadium seemed so alive. The grass seemed greener and the hot dogs tasted better. There is nothing that can compare to the sights and sounds of Major League Baseball play-offs.

With no baseball being played today as the teams all travel to their games and put in a short workout, I am left to ponder the meaning of life. No good can ever come of that as my mind tends to wander to areas it should never be allowed. As I looked at the calendar, I noticed that it is Columbus Day.