Monday, October 28, 2002
Anaheim Wins
Well, I had Anaheim making it to the ALCS, but losing to Oakland. Whoops. I also had SF losing in the Divisional Round. Not a particularly great World Series this year, though it was compelling at times, particularly Games 2 and 6. Barry broke out of his postseason blues, but one man cannot win the World Series. Great team effort by the Angels all year long. Mike Scoscia should be a shoo-in for Manager of the Year honors, and Troy Glaus was as deserving as anyone else for Series MVP. I know my old college buddy Helio is a happy camper right now, and I wouldn't be surprised if he scored Game 7 tickets himself, the lucky punk. So congratulations to the Angels, the ghost of Gene Autry, and yeah, even Disney. (It was painful at times watching FOX have to tout Disney.)
Baseball thoughts now turn to free agency and hopes for next season. Sadly, I think the Astros are going to again be a team in decline, as the Baptist Grocer continues to try to squeeze every penny possible from the fans without putting much back in. Berkman will continue to be a beast, and Oswalt, Miller, Redding, Hernandez, Wagner, and Dotel will still anchor the pitching staff, but everything beyond that is very much up in the air. Will Biggio's skills decay even further? Will Bagpipes start to follow Biggio down that chute? Will anyone on the left side of the infield stand up (Blum's too much of a wildcard)? Will Ausmus learn to hit? Can we dump Hidalgo on some backroad in Venezuela along with Tony Eusebio?
Still, if the Angels can finally win a World Series, there is hope for Houston. Someday. Hopefully before I die.
# posted by Eric @ 2:01 AM 
