World Series 2005: please go seven
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I know I'm a bit late on this one, since the first game is now "in the books" with a White Sox victory, but as you read, you'll see quickly that as long as this article comes fairly early in the series, it's still pertinent.
Normally, if my team isn't in the championships (whatever sport and whatever championship series that may be), I don't really care, and don't pay much, if any attention to what happens. In baseball, I have the luxury of having "two teams", though I have to hold my nose a bit for the second (my original team): the Baltimore Orioles. I grew up as an Oriole fan, and loved them in the 70's, and up through most of the 90's, when the stupidity of their current ownership became too much to bear.
Thankfully, I now also have the luxury of having the Nationals in D.C., and can claim them as "my team", with the Orioles taking a back seat until they get their act together and rebuild what was once a very proud and pride-worthy franchise.
While the Nationals came close to getting in the playoffs this season, they missed it by enough to have seen the writing on the walls with a few weeks left in the season.
Meanwhile, the teams that did advance through the playoff series are interesting to me for a variety of reasons. In the case of the White Sox, the team had a dark history with the Blacksox scandal, and hadn't been back in the series in my lifetime. They had last been in the series in the 1940's, and that is one heck of a long time to go without.
I remember them as one of the competitors for the Orioles of my youth. They had some great players along the way, and somehow seemed to miss the playoffs by just a bit several times along the way. They always seemed to have to deal with someone just a little bit better, or perhaps a little bit luckier, and never could seem to get over the hump.
Even in the years when Frank Thomas was in his prime and actually out on the field competing rather than being on the Disable List for most of the season, they just couldn't seem to get there. Unfortunately for Frank Thomas, if he gets a World Series ring this season, it will have come without him in the field for most of the season, and all of the playoffs and series.
On the other side of the field from them we have the Houston Astro's. A team that had *never* in it's history been in the World Series before this season.
Now, having grown up in the Chesapeake bay area, with the Baltimore Colts and Washington Redskins to cheer for, I was never a great fan of teams from Texas, even though I can and do claim Texan by birth. I truly hated and still do (though I grudgingly respected them along the way) the Dallas Cowboys. I was never that concerned with the Houston Oilers, though I did start cheering a bit for them after the Colts abandoned Baltimore, especially during the Earl Campbell years with Bum Phillips at Coach.
A few times along the way I actually did pay some attention to the Houston Astros. At one time they really looked as if they'd be moving to D.C., and I was trying to learn what I could about the team during that time. There was also a star player on their roster at one time, a throwback style flame thrower by the name of Nolan Ryan, one of my all time favorite players. There were also a few colorful teams, including the J.R. Richards team and some others. Enough to pique (I think that is the right word) my interest every now and again.
Flash forward a bit to 2005 and now we have a team with another aged flame-throwing pitcher that is still gettin' her done. Roger Clemens, himself a Texan. Along with Andy Pettitte, also a Texan that had gone home to play for the team of his dreams, and Bagwell and Biggio, and a batch of other players, we have the 2005 Astros in the world series for the first time ever.
The Astros came close last season. Beaten out by a better team (unfortunately). But this year they were able to pull it all together, and into the series they went.
Which brings me back to my point of saying what I really hope for out of this series is 7 good games.
I really don't care who wins, though I have to say I'd probably rather have the Astros win if I was really forced to choose. Actually, I told my son, who is cheering and supporting the Astros, it would probably be better in some ways for the Astros to just barely miss this season. That would hopefully bring Clemens back for one more try. It's amazing that he is still doing it at such a high level at his age, but he really shows no signs of slowing. He pitched well enough this season to win a Cy Young award, even though a severe lack of run support cost him many wins over the course of the year. He's in good enough shape to do it again next season if he wanted to. Which is really and truly amazing.
But again, what I really want, is seven good games. Go seven close games. Let the games go first to one team, then to the other. Give them both a chance until the very end, and let both have high hopes of winning game seven to take home the trophy and the championship. That is what both teams really deserve, and what I hope they both get (along with giving fans a great series to watch).
As much as I'd like programming on Fox to return to normal soon, give me my seven games please. I'll promise I'll be patient through all of them.
Normally, if my team isn't in the championships (whatever sport and whatever championship series that may be), I don't really care, and don't pay much, if any attention to what happens. In baseball, I have the luxury of having "two teams", though I have to hold my nose a bit for the second (my original team): the Baltimore Orioles. I grew up as an Oriole fan, and loved them in the 70's, and up through most of the 90's, when the stupidity of their current ownership became too much to bear.
Thankfully, I now also have the luxury of having the Nationals in D.C., and can claim them as "my team", with the Orioles taking a back seat until they get their act together and rebuild what was once a very proud and pride-worthy franchise.
While the Nationals came close to getting in the playoffs this season, they missed it by enough to have seen the writing on the walls with a few weeks left in the season.
Meanwhile, the teams that did advance through the playoff series are interesting to me for a variety of reasons. In the case of the White Sox, the team had a dark history with the Blacksox scandal, and hadn't been back in the series in my lifetime. They had last been in the series in the 1940's, and that is one heck of a long time to go without.
I remember them as one of the competitors for the Orioles of my youth. They had some great players along the way, and somehow seemed to miss the playoffs by just a bit several times along the way. They always seemed to have to deal with someone just a little bit better, or perhaps a little bit luckier, and never could seem to get over the hump.
Even in the years when Frank Thomas was in his prime and actually out on the field competing rather than being on the Disable List for most of the season, they just couldn't seem to get there. Unfortunately for Frank Thomas, if he gets a World Series ring this season, it will have come without him in the field for most of the season, and all of the playoffs and series.
On the other side of the field from them we have the Houston Astro's. A team that had *never* in it's history been in the World Series before this season.
Now, having grown up in the Chesapeake bay area, with the Baltimore Colts and Washington Redskins to cheer for, I was never a great fan of teams from Texas, even though I can and do claim Texan by birth. I truly hated and still do (though I grudgingly respected them along the way) the Dallas Cowboys. I was never that concerned with the Houston Oilers, though I did start cheering a bit for them after the Colts abandoned Baltimore, especially during the Earl Campbell years with Bum Phillips at Coach.
A few times along the way I actually did pay some attention to the Houston Astros. At one time they really looked as if they'd be moving to D.C., and I was trying to learn what I could about the team during that time. There was also a star player on their roster at one time, a throwback style flame thrower by the name of Nolan Ryan, one of my all time favorite players. There were also a few colorful teams, including the J.R. Richards team and some others. Enough to pique (I think that is the right word) my interest every now and again.
Flash forward a bit to 2005 and now we have a team with another aged flame-throwing pitcher that is still gettin' her done. Roger Clemens, himself a Texan. Along with Andy Pettitte, also a Texan that had gone home to play for the team of his dreams, and Bagwell and Biggio, and a batch of other players, we have the 2005 Astros in the world series for the first time ever.
The Astros came close last season. Beaten out by a better team (unfortunately). But this year they were able to pull it all together, and into the series they went.
Which brings me back to my point of saying what I really hope for out of this series is 7 good games.
I really don't care who wins, though I have to say I'd probably rather have the Astros win if I was really forced to choose. Actually, I told my son, who is cheering and supporting the Astros, it would probably be better in some ways for the Astros to just barely miss this season. That would hopefully bring Clemens back for one more try. It's amazing that he is still doing it at such a high level at his age, but he really shows no signs of slowing. He pitched well enough this season to win a Cy Young award, even though a severe lack of run support cost him many wins over the course of the year. He's in good enough shape to do it again next season if he wanted to. Which is really and truly amazing.
But again, what I really want, is seven good games. Go seven close games. Let the games go first to one team, then to the other. Give them both a chance until the very end, and let both have high hopes of winning game seven to take home the trophy and the championship. That is what both teams really deserve, and what I hope they both get (along with giving fans a great series to watch).
As much as I'd like programming on Fox to return to normal soon, give me my seven games please. I'll promise I'll be patient through all of them.