Thursday, October 20, 2005
Astros win the NLCS
I loved seeing the Astros beat the Cardinals, if only because it cut through all the bullshit stories about Brad Lidge (who did have 3 saves, including 2 saves in 1-run games) and the stupid comparisons to Donnie Moore and the '86 Angels. (Or to BH Kim and the '01 D-backs.) It showed to me that momentum is overrated, that a good starting pitcher outtrumps any sort of 'team emotion', and that any idea that the Astros' loss in Game 5 was soul-crushing was just a nice way to tell the story of the game, rather than a reflection of the players' own attitudes.
Hell, if the Astros players could joke about it on the flight out to St Louis (something about the charter not being able to take off because Pujols' ball entered the airspace), they were never too concerned. I presume at least some of the Astros may have had even more devastating games growing up - disappointing their families, their friends, their schools, which in a way may be even more important than disappointing random fans of a team that one has no personal connection with - and they managed to get past that to become major leaguers.
Congrats to the 'Stros.
I loved seeing the Astros beat the Cardinals, if only because it cut through all the bullshit stories about Brad Lidge (who did have 3 saves, including 2 saves in 1-run games) and the stupid comparisons to Donnie Moore and the '86 Angels. (Or to BH Kim and the '01 D-backs.) It showed to me that momentum is overrated, that a good starting pitcher outtrumps any sort of 'team emotion', and that any idea that the Astros' loss in Game 5 was soul-crushing was just a nice way to tell the story of the game, rather than a reflection of the players' own attitudes.
Hell, if the Astros players could joke about it on the flight out to St Louis (something about the charter not being able to take off because Pujols' ball entered the airspace), they were never too concerned. I presume at least some of the Astros may have had even more devastating games growing up - disappointing their families, their friends, their schools, which in a way may be even more important than disappointing random fans of a team that one has no personal connection with - and they managed to get past that to become major leaguers.
Congrats to the 'Stros.
Of all people, I'd have thought a Sox fan (the red variety) would have been the last to say that momentum is overrated.
Game 4 of the NLCS was one of the craziest 1-run saves I've ever seen. 1st and 3rd, nobody out, grounder to third, put out at home (Pujols). Walker gets to third because no one's watching. Then a heart-stoppingly close double play.
Momentum? I think it was Biggio who said a couple days ago, "Momentum is as good as your next starter." The Sox were just lucky those starters were Pedro, robo-Schilling, and I've-got-something-to-prove Lowe (against Kevin Brown/Javier Vazquez helped, too).
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Momentum? I think it was Biggio who said a couple days ago, "Momentum is as good as your next starter." The Sox were just lucky those starters were Pedro, robo-Schilling, and I've-got-something-to-prove Lowe (against Kevin Brown/Javier Vazquez helped, too).
Singapore Sox Fan
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