Mets -- and baseball -- history on iTunes

Happened to be browsing through the games available for purchase at Baseball's Best on iTunes and noticed these Mets-related gems:

Game 5 of the 1969 World Series

Game 3 of the 1986 NLCS

Game 6 of the 1986 NLCS

Game 6 of the 1986 World Series

Game 7 of the 1986 World Series

Game 5 of the 1999 NLCS (Ventura's "grand slam single")

Plus, these heartbreaking or bittersweet games:

Sept. 16, 1978, Tom Seaver's no-hitter

Game 4 of the 1988 NLCS (Scioscia and Gibson homer as L.A. wins in extras)

May 14, 1996, Dwight Gooden's no-hitter

July 18, 1999, David Cone's perfect game

Game 2 of the 2000 World Series (Clemens' roid rage)

And, for a bit of schadenfeude:

Game 7 of the 1993 World Series (Joe Carter's walk-off)

Game 7 of the 2001 World Series (Luis Gonzalez singles off Mariano Rivera)

Hooked 'em

SI's Stewart Mandel tweeted this photo of Roger Clemens at the national championship game. I didn't see one of Mindy McCready, though.

The Longhorns could give USC a run for the equivalent of the Lakers of college football with all their celebrity fans/alumni.

Piazza retires

So if Roger Clemens never throws another pitch in the Majors, he and Mike Piazza will be on the same Hall of Fame ballot in five years. That, of course, begs the question:

Will Roger throw a bat at the TV as he watches Mike give his speech in Cooperstown?

Berra museum removes Clemens' jersey

While the American tenet that you are innocent until proven guilty should provide Roger Clemens with the benefit of the doubt, and while anything he may or may not have done with Brian McNamee certainly wouldn't make him the only player of the last 20 years to do such things, I see nothing wrong with the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center removing Clemens' jersey from a display on the Yankees' World Series run of the late 90s.

The museum director's explanation that "we have a lot of kids coming through here who are asking questions we’re not prepared to answer" really says it all. Education and children's programs have always been the focus of the museum's -- and Learning Center's -- mission, and if the young visitors are asking questions about Clemens while touring the small exhibition space, it's better to remove that which is prompting the queries. The staff and volunteers at the museum aren't necessarily in a position to answer those questions, so why risk providing an incomplete answer when the safest thing is to try to avoid the issue in the first place? I think it's pretty similar to a visit I took to Kennedy Space Center in 2003 only weeks after Columbia broke up over Texas. Our tour guide said at the beginning of our visit that she could not answer any questions about the accident because she did not have enough information. That's essentially what the Yogi Berra Museum is doing.

Besides, as the director points out, having Clemens' jersey there with those of Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera in an exhibit about the Yankees' four World Series titles from 1996 to 2000 was inaccurate because Clemens was only a Yankee for two of them. Andy Pettitte and Jorge Posada would be better choices.

Surely some not-so-free agents

If money were no object, some team in baseball could potentially add nine future Hall of Famers to its roster this offseason, including what is obviously a baseball first: available sluggers who have reached the 700, 600, 500, 400 and 300 home-run plateaus.

First, the possible -- not all probable -- Hall of Famers: Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Tom Glavine, Andruw Jones, Mike Piazza, Mariano Rivera, Alex Rodriguez, Curt Schilling and Sammy Sosa. I'm not going to go into here the debate about whether Jones and Schilling are Hall of Famers, just like I'm not bothering with the technicality that Clemens hasn't filed (and could very well retire) and that Sosa's election to the Hall is very much in doubt.

And the homers:

Bonds, 762
Sosa, 609
A-Rod, 518
Piazza, 427
Jones, 368

Even in such a weak free-agent class, some video-game roster finagling could still produce a pretty competitive team. Obviously age is a factor in the real world, but not on the Xbox -- particularly if you turn off the injuries. A rotation consisting of Clemens, Glavine, Schilling, Kenny Rogers and Livan Hernandez would pile up some wins. Todd Jones or Eric Gagne could close. First base would be a problem -- Doug Mientkiewicz and Ryan Klesko seem to be the only options, unless you count Julio Franco -- but Kaz Matsui is there at second, David Eckstein at shortstop and A-Rod, obviously, at third. Or go with A-Rod at short and Pedro Feliz at third. The outfield has options from Bonds, Jones, Sosa (left to right) to an all-center lineup of Jones, Torii Hunter and Aaron Rowand, or some other grouping. Mike Piazza, Paul Lo Duca and Jorge Posada are there to catch.

But the team would probably have a payroll of $300 million, a tenth of that spent on A-Rod alone.

The Rocket returns to the launch pad

As expected, Roger Clemens leads the United States' 30-man roster for the World Baseball Classic. If he is still there on March 2, when the rosters become final before the next day's opening games, we'll at least know that he's healthy enough to pitch competitively. But will he go beyond that? His agent still says that retirement is the "lead horse" in the race, but it hasn't reached the finish line yet.

So here's my prediction: If his health fails him again, like it did at the end of last season, the WBC will be his curtain call. He's done. He'll get the U.S. as far as he can, probably to San Diego for the semifinals at least, and then bow out. His number will be retired in Houston before the season is over and in five years, the year he enters the Hall of Fame, the Red Sox will make it official and put No. 21 up on the edge of the roof. (While not officially retired, no Boston player has worn 21 since Clemens left town.)

If he's healthy, he'll play on. He'll accelerate his conditioning to be in mid-April form in mid-March and carry the U.S. as far as he can. He'll then take a step back, rest up for a week or so and recover from the higher-intensity efforts so early in the year before resuming his training. Unable to re-sign with Houston before May 1, he'll use that month to conserve his energy for the long haul of one more season. September was his worst month of the 2005 season -- and he didn't do too well in the World Series, either. He was worn down. Taking a month off at the start of the season should keep him healthier later into the calendar. He only went 1-1 in five April starts last year anyway because the Astros weren't scoring runs for him.

Clemens insists he won't decide whether or not to play this year until after the tournament concludes. Whether that means the final game for Team USA or the March 20 tournament final -- which we all hope are one and the same -- is not clear. But with that timetable, the Rangers, Red Sox and Yankees won't be able to wait around. They'll have to set their rosters and rotations. The Yankees already have six starters -- Randy Johnson, Mike Mussina, Shawn Chacon, Chien-Ming Wang, Carl Pavano and Jaret Wright -- for five slots. These teams can't wait around for Clemens' decision, though they'd certainly make room for him if he did suddenly decide on March 21 that he wants to sign with one of them. At this point in his life, however, I feel Clemens will want to have the flexibility he's had the last two summers, with the opportunity to be away from the team to watch his sons play their high school games and to travel to Lexington or Salem or wherever his eldest son Koby is assigned.

If there's one thing we're assured it's that we'll see Roger Clemens dial it up one more time, most likely March 7 in the United States' opener against Mexico. I don't think we can predict what he'll do until we know whether his body holds up, but unless a healthy Clemens is part of a gold-medal winning U.S. squad, I think a refuled Rocket will return to Houston for one last season. If Nolan Ryan can pitch five seasons -- only three of them up to his stellar standards -- in Arlington and have that be enough to wear a Texas cap on his Cooperstown plaque, three stellar, Cy Young-worthy summers in Houston might get Clemens a star on his bronzed likeness.

Sox it to me

So my postseason predictions were dead on ... until the end of each league's championship series. So much for the Angels and Cardinals.

I had picked the Cards in six, but we're now at seven straight World Series losses by the National League. (If you want to believe the All-Star Game counts for something, that's nine straight AL victories that don't count in the standings.) The last time an NL team won a game against the AL with postseason implications was the Marlins' Game 6 victory in 2003.

I choose to look at it as the last AL team to lose to the National League in a game of postseason importance was the Yankees. And now, four starting pitchers who have worn pinstripes within the last three seasons are playing for either Houston or Chicago in this year's World Series.

Brilliant.

Anyway, I'd meant to write up a new World Series preview (since my teams weren't in it and therefore my previous "prediction" was obsolete), but after thinking about it a little last Thursday, the next time it occurred to me was Saturday night as I watched Jermaine Dye take Clemens deep and I didn't have a good feeling about it.

I suppose I was pulling a little more for the Astros, for the National League allegiance and the Roger Clemens factor too. I go back and forth on liking Clemens. He's been nice enough to me in the couple of brief encounters we've had. We've never talked or anything, but I've gotten a nod and a kind look.

[A brief sidebar, as Phil Garner just left Mike Lamb in to face Neil Cotts -- again. What is it with managers who get their team to the World Series, then, inexplicably, go against what got them there? I mean, it's not like they throw everything out the window, but why would you leave Lamb in to face a left-hander? At least he got a walk tonight. I remember the same thing happening in 2000 when Bobby Valentine said Al Leiter would be starting Game 1 of the Series against the Yankees, even though Mike Hampton had a full four days rest after the complete-game clincher in the NLCS because the Mets won in five. Valentine's reasoning was that Leiter had followed Hampton all year and he wasn't going to change that now. Well, start Hampton in Game 1 and Leiter in Game 2. My argument for Hampton in Game 1 was that he would come back to pitch Game 5 at Shea Stadium, where he'd hit and give the Mets an advantage over the Yankees.]

So no Series preview, but I don't know if I would've foreseen the White Sox' momentum continuing to this extent. Last year, you just had a feeling that the Red Sox would win those last four games after they'd finally slain the Yankees. This year, I know at least I wondered if there could be two such Cinderella stories in consecutive years. Two teams named for their hosiery doing away with their curses of 80-plus years in successive autumns.

Maybe it can all be attributed to Chicago's recent addition to the overhead compartment. The White Sox have taken to bringing a "Play Like A Champion Today" sign with them on the road. No wonder they're winning. The signs aren't hard to find: They sell posters at the bookstore on campus and the J.C. Penney at the mall. Still, the Sox got theirs from the home office.

Three duels, one night

The last time two 300-game winners took the mound to start in the same game was June 28, 1986, when Phil Niekro and Cleveland visited the Angels and Don Sutton. Neither starter got the decision in the 9-3 California (as they were called then) victory. Niekro went 6.1 innings, allowing 10 hits, three earned runs while walking seven and striking out four. Sutton lasted seven, but gave up three runs on seven hits (two of them homers) with no walks and six Ks.

The last time it happened in the National League was 1892, when Tim Keefe and Pud Galvin met for the fourth time in the past three seasons, and second time in a month, on July 21. Keefe's Phillies won that game 2-0 over Galvin's Browns after losing a July 4 meeting 9-2 in the first game of a doubleheader.

It happens tonight in Houston, when Greg Maddux takes his 305 victories up against Roger Clemens' 328. With 14 wins this season, Clemens will tie Keefe's 342 for eighth on the all-time list. Galvin finished with 364, in fifth place. Tonight's pitchers also have 11 Cy Young awards between them; where once they were tied at four each, Clemens now has three more than his opponent tonight, having won one every three years since 1998 (then 2001 and 2004).

There's another Cy Young matchup in the Bronx, where Roy Halladay and Randy Johnson are scheduled to go if the rain holds off. And in what would seem like a Cy Young matchup, had either of them won it in Oakland, former teammates Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson will pitch to one another when the Cardinals play in Atlanta. Both finished second, in consecutive years; Mulder in 2001 to Clemens and Hudson in 2000 to Pedro Martinez. This is the reason I have the Extra Innings package on digital cable. Alas, I have a friend's birthday party in New York tonight. The game I really want to see is in Houston, but so long as they play, I'll at least be assured of the Evil Empire vs. the team from the Great White North at the bar.

I'm such a good friend. Well, he is too -- $20 for a two-hour open bar, plus appetizers.

Then and Now: The Springfield Nuclear Nine

Homer at the Bat
Today I watched "Homer at the Bat," the episode of The Simpsons in which Mr. Burns hires nine major league players to token jobs at the power plant so that they can play on the company softball team. When Smithers goes out to hired the first of the ringers, his first stop is a baseball card show at which Jose Canseco is signing autographs. "I get $50,000 to play one game?" Canseco asks, sounding excited. "Well, it's a pay cut, but what the hey, it sounds like fun."

Looking back on it now — the episode originally aired almost 13 years ago, Feb. 20, 1992 — it's amazing to see what players were chosen, and the subplots that were explored. For instance, today Canseco is still looking out for Jose, trying to make money however he can. So I thought I'd take a look at the Springfield Nuclear Nine, then and now.

JOSE CANSECO
Then: The 27-year-old was coming off a 44-home run, 122-RBI season with the A's, his sixth full season. He'd hit 209 homers to that point. The 1992 season: He was traded to Texas in August for Ruben Sierra, Jeff Russell, Bobby Witt and cash. It was a deal that seemed like it could be one of the biggest ever and an exchange of two certain Hall of Famers. Now: I hear he's got a book out, based loosely on his playing days.

MIKE SCIOSCIA
Then: At the age of 32, Scioscia batted .264 for the '91 Dodgers in 119 games. He had what would probably be considered his career year in 1990, when he also hit .264, but with 12 homers and 66 RBI, both career highs. He knew how to work a count, though: In each of his 13 big-league seasons, he walked more times than he struck out, despite a career .259 batting average. The 1992 season: It was his last as a player. In 117 games, he hit just .221 with a career-low .286 OBP (.344 lifetime mark nonetheless). He retired with just 68 career HRs. Now: He's about to enter his sixth season as manager of the Angels, coming off his first division title. The team's 75th win this season will be his 500th. Show quotation: [Explaining why he actually enjoys working in the power plant.] "It's such a relief from the pressures of playing big-league ball. I mean, there, you make any kind of mistake, and — BOOM! — the press is all over you." And now he's a manager. Go figure.

OZZIE SMITH
Then: At 37, The Wizard of Oz had just come off his third straight season with exactly 50 RBI. The 1992 season: He hit .295 and stole 43 bases, but would have only one more season with 500 at bats before retiring in after the '96 campaign. Now: He may be the last player to reach the Hall of Fame for his defense and solid consistency moreso than his offensive numbers. Show moment: During practice, Mr. Burns takes the bat from Oz to show him how to bunt. The pitch comes in, and Mr. Burns is knocked to the backstop by the force of the ball hitting the bat.

DON MATTINGLY
Then: He played 152 games for the Yankees at 30, but hit just 14 homers combined in 1990 and '91. The 1992 season: He overcame his back problems enough to hit 14 homers in '92 and 17 in '93, with 86 RBI in each. Now: He's in Tampa, about to start his second season as the Yankees' hitting coach. Show quotation: "I still like him better than Steinbrenner." Airing six months after George Steinbrenner criticized Mattingly for wearing his hair too long (and had him benched for one game because he didn't cut it), Mr. Burns insists Donnie Baseball shave his sideburns. Mattingly doesn't see the problem (he has no sideburns) and ends up shaving the sides of his head up and over the top. Burns still isn't satisfied and kicks him off the team, prompting the comment.

STEVE SAX
Then: "Saxie" hit .304 with a career-high 10 homers and 56 RBI in '91 for the Yankees. He also stole 31 bases at 31. The 1992 season: In the first of two seasons with the White Sox, his average plummeted to .236, though he still stole 30. He played just 57 games in '93 and seven in '94. Now: Sax appeared to be the leading candidate to land the color commentator's role for TV broadcasts of about 50 Dodgers road games (those for which Vin Scully does not make the trip), but the team hired Steve Lyons instead. Show quotation: "But there's hundreds of unsolved murders in New York City." The police pull him over as he's driving through Springfield and harass him because he's from NYC.

ROGER CLEMENS
Then: The Rocket, 29, went 18-10 with 13 complete games (four shutouts) for the Red Sox, striking out 241 batters. The 1992 season: Clemens was 18-11 with 11 complete games (five shutouts) and 208 Ks. Now: He's signed on for one last, final last season with the Astros. Show moment: The Rocket's grounded from the softball game because the hypnotist brought in to convince the team (ringers and true employees alike) that they were outstanding athletes has made Clemens think he's a chicken. He walks around the field clucking. Eight years later, he'd throw a bat at Mike Piazza and then claim he "thought it was the ball."

WADE BOGGS
Then: The 33-year-old third baseman hit .332 for the Sox in '91. The 1992 season: His worst average, by far: .259. Not great for a contract year. In '93, he was in the Bronx. Now: All the money he earned in the bigs bought him a new full head of hair. And, he's in the Hall of Fame. Show quotation: "Pitt the Elder!" At Moe's, in a debate with Barney over who was England's greatest prime minister, Boggs gets punched out for disagreeing with Barney.

KEN GRIFFEY JR.
Then: He played three seasons before turning 22 and reached 100 RBI (exactly) for the first time in '91, hitting .327. The 1992 season: Continuing his steady rise, he batted .308 with 27 HR and 103 RBI. Now: After the difficult offseason of 1999-2000, when he forced a trade to his hometown Reds, this is the fourth straight spring folks in Cincinnati are beginning sentences with "If Griffey stays healthy ..." Show quotation: When Mr. Burns forces everyone to drink Brain & Nerve Tonic to "promote robust health," despite causing gigantism in rare cases, Griffey gets hooked on the sauce and develops a huge head. Since then, he's missed at least 20 games in eight of 13 seasons.

DARRYL STRAWBERRY
Then: His first season with the Dodgers produced 28 home runs and 99 RBI at the age of 29. The 1992 season: This is where the signing officially went bust. He played just 43 games and would top 100 only once (1998 with the Yankees) before retiring after the '99 season. Now: Returning to his roots, Straw will be a spring-training instructor for the Mets in Port St. Lucie. Show moment: As the only ringer who wasn't kicked off the team or otherwise kept from playing, Strawberry starts the game in place of Homer in right field. Upset that their father isn't playing, Bart and Lisa start chanting "Daaaa-rryl! Daaaa-rryl!" Marge scolds them, but Lisa explains, "Mom, they're professional athletes, they're used to this sort of thing. It rolls right off their back." Strawberry sheds a tear.

Postseason awards picks

In a few hours, we'll learn the first of this season's award winners, and since I've been lazy and couldn't come up with a real analysis, here's the quick version:

NL MVP
I think Barry Bonds will win, yet again. But I think it should be Adrian Beltre. The simple argument/formula is take the player away from his team, and where would they be? Yes, if you take Bonds off the Giants, they're not good at all. They might be lucky to win 75 games. But the same can be said of Beltre. In 2003, the Dodgers made an unexpected run at the postseason on the strength of their pitching. They couldn't hit for anything. They needed an offensive upgrade, and their only key offseason acquisition was Juan Encarnacion, until Milton Bradley came over at the end of spring training. But the key to the division title was Beltre, a young player whom the Dodgers expected to become a superstar at least three years ago. He's been drafted in so many fantasy leagues with those expectations and been dropped y Memorial Day every year. Not this time. Granted, fantasy is far from reality, but Beltre was the most valuable player this year. I'm convinced that if major league managers had some guts and pitched to him more, he wouldn't have such gaudy numbers. For one, he wouldn't have a .680 on base percentage. His numbers are tainted in so many ways.

NL Cy Young
For the most part, I'm not a fan of the guy, but how can Roger Clemens not win it? Randy Johnson just didn't have the won-loss record, Jason Schmidt faded over the season's final six weeks and Carl Pavano didn't do enough in the final stretch to seal the award. Clemens, on the other hand, looked like his classic, dominating self for much of the season and led the Astros to the postseason. But the best part, from my perspective, is that if he had remained with the Yankees, they almost certainly would have reached the World Series, probably even won it.

NL Rookie of the Year
This one seems like a two-horse race. Those who dig deeper argue for San Diego shortstop Khalil Greene, whose offensive numbers are solid, but far from spectacular. His defense, however, is stellar and he looks like a veteran already. The other half generally falls in the camp of Pirates outfielder Jason Bay, who has the flashier home run and power numbers that Greene lacks. Bay, however, doesn't have the advantage of playing on a contender and has less support overall in his lineup. My vote would be for Bay because he seemed, to me, like the most outstanding rookie; I think his offensive numbers were impressive enough to outrank Greene's defensive contributions, though there is something to be said for a complete, all-around player. I'm talking out of both sides of my mouth here. End of story: I'm picking Bay, but I could see Greene getting it easily and I think it will be this year's closest award.

NL Manager of the Year
Bobby Cox. Perhaps for the first time since 1991, most pundits expected someone other than the Braves to win the NL East. I'm sure some of the Braves themselves thought so too. But after the games were played, the same team could be found atop the division. Really though, next year is the year for someone else.

AL MVP
This one will probably be close as well, coming down to Vladimir Guerrero, Gary Sheffield and Manny Ramirez. I'm going with Vlad. While Anaheim got a lot of headlines for all its offseason pickups, the strong-armed right fielder became the heart of the team and performed better than what was expected of him. He was arguably the only Angels pickup to do so. Bartolo Colon was dreadful for a good stretch and while Jose Guillen certainly showed he can hit, his end-of-season benching showed he's also, clearly, a head case. It was Guerrero who performed consistently throughout the season and who picked up the slack for the injured Garret Anderson and Troy Glaus. It's always tough with the Yankees, because when you apply the "if you take him out of the team's lineup" test, they usually have enough to compensate for the loss of any one player. Sheffield certainly did a lot for the Yanks, but even without him, they still had Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada. And for much of the season, their pitching wasn't as bad as it became in the postseason, so they had the arms to make up for a loss at the plate. As for Manny, he falls into the same predicament Sheffield's in: a lineup that's too good.

AL Cy Young
Curt Schilling will be second. Johan Santana had the better numbers overall, and this award is a bit more straightforward. It's not which pitcher was most valuable to his team, it's which pitcher was the best. I'm sure Schilling got the hardware he wanted anyway.

AL Rookie of the Year
I think it goes to Bobby Crosby. The A's let Miguel Tejada leave because they thought Crosby was ready to be a big-league shortstop. Turns out they knew what they were talking about. Whether or not that decision meant the difference between first place and second place is another matter. (I happen to think it wasn't; thinking Arthur Rhodes could be your closer was much worse.)

AL Manager of the Year
Buck Showalter. How good would the Yankees be next year if they traded Rodriguez this winter? Look at the history: the 2000 Mariners with A-Rod were 91-71 and won the wild card. In 2001 they went 116-46, setting the AL record for most wins in a season, and won the division. In 2003, the Rangers (with A-Rod) went 71-91. This year they wre 89-73 and in the AL West race until the final two weeks, even without anything resembling a competitive pitching rotation. Anyway, Showalter pulled off the managing feat of this millenium so far. And be sure to put those World Series bets down on the Rangers the year after Buck leaves. His previous two jobs ended in 1995 with the Yankees and in 2000 with the Diamondbacks.

World Series Game 3: Why not?

Red Sox 4, Cardinals 1

First and foremost, I just have to thank God for the opportunity to write this blog.

Why not them? I have to say, having not been a part of all the Red Sox fans' heartaches over the years, I also don't suffer from the pessimism that's come to define them, to an extent. Boston has a 3-0 lead right now, and while some may allow themselves to believe what they don't want to say out loud, there are just as many who are noting that just 10 days ago, it was the Red Sox down 0-3 -- to the Yankees, no less -- and they're not allowing themselves to think about what could be a reality in 24 hours. But ever since the Red Sox took that 6-0 lead against the Yankees, I've started to let myself think about it. I've started to allow myself to believe it could happen -- it will happen -- and, as a result, my outlook of the World Series has been that it's going to happen. I can't explain it, but I've just felt since Friday that this is going to become a reality.

Of course, I'm not going to actually type out the words just yet, but I'm confident that, even after a possible Cardinals win or two, it will indeed come to pass.

So Pedro Martinez still has it, and now he's the one people are calling Daddy. I'm a little tired of the "what might be Pedro's last start as a Red Sox" talk. Leave that for the postseason. Fox played it up with Roger Clemens -- his last start ever! -- in last year's postseason, and look what happened there. A lot of the talk on New York's sports radio today was about the Mets interviewing Willie Randolph for their managerial opening yesterday and what the Yankees will do in the offseason to improve, from signing everyone from Carl Pavano to Carlos Beltran to Eric Milton to Pedro Martinez, to trading Kevin Brown and Jason Giambi and getting Troy Percival to set up Mariano Rivera. I just don't see how Pedro would come to the Bronx. First of all, George Steinbrenner doesn't want him. For one thing, the Yankees have done very well against Boston when Martinez pitches, so it's not like he's killing the Yanks every time out, something that might prompt George to go get the guy. Second, I just don't see him as a pitcher George covets, and we all know George gets the players he wants (Gary Sheffield over Vladimir Guerrero, Kenny Lofton over, well, anyone). Finally, a left hander is more important for New York, so Milton or Randy Johnson will be the target.

But that's hot-stove league talk. There's still at least one more game left in this baseball season.

NLCS Game 7: Rocket grounded

Yesterday's game:
Cardinals 5, Astros 2

Cardinals win series 4-3
The last time the Cardinals were in the World Series, 1987 against the Twins, the home team won every game. The same happened in this NLCS, sending St. Louis back to the Fall Classic. Should that trend continue, well, that means Red Sox in seven. This will be the third meeting between these two clubs in October, but we'll look ahead to that matchup later. For the Cardinals, as it was for the Red Sox and Astros, just to get to a seventh game, superb pitching performances from unlikely starters meant the difference. For Boston, it was Derek Lowe with six one-hit innings on two days' rest. You could even make a case for Curt Schilling's Game 6 start after his drubbing in Game 1 on the bum ankle. For the Cardinals, it was Jeff Suppan last night. Craig Biggio put Houston on top in the first, but Suppan settled in and didn't let the Astros build a comfortable lead behind Roger Clemens. I've heard it was the first time that two former teammates met on the mound in a postseason Game 7, though I don't know if I remember the circumstances correctly (that is, it could've been the first time ever in postseason history, or the first time in Game 7 in the NLCS, or either LCS, etc.).

What did in the Astros, I contend, was the decision to wear those ridiculous rust-colored jerseys for a Thursday night postseason game. I've discussed my displeasure for alternate jerseys before, though my main complaints are with breaking tradition (how the Mets simply adopted black as an official color simply to have a black jersey, rather than introducing the black beforehand or making the alternate jersey the classy, shimmering blue that used to define their spring training uniforms) and the inconsistency of when and where those jerseys are used. For the most part, there's no rhyme or reason to when a team decides to go with the colored top instead of the home white or road gray. However, I've noticed -- in highlights and on my Extra Innings package -- this season that the Astros tended to only wear the rust jerseys at home on weekends. I don't remember if it was Saturday or Sunday. And I may be wrong on all counts. In any case, why they went and switched things up last night I just don't get. Apparently, Major League Baseball either asks or requires the players to wear his team's standard home or away uniform, because in Houston this year I did not see any alternate jerseys, even on players whose teams love to use them -- the Cubs and Sammy Sosa, the A's and Mark Mulder, and so on. Why won't Bud insist -- or request, but I'd prefer a firm stance on this -- that in the postseason, teams should stick with their main standard uniforms. The Red Sox, who wore their red jerseys regularly on Sundays in Boston this season, abandoned them for Sunday's Game 4 at Fenway. It just doesn't seem right to see the celebratory pile-on when all the players are in black softball tops like the Marlins are fond of wearing. The game doesn't seem big enough if that's how they look. Some may contend that banning the jerseys for entire series, or the postseason, is a little strong, so then make it apply only to night games or, at least, potential series-ending games. But that's probably just me.

Game 4s: BELT-ran and solving Rivera

Yesterday's games:
Astros 6, Cardinals 5
Red Sox 6, Yankees 4, 12 innings

Cardinals-Astros series tied 2-2
Well, here we are. Series tied. Fresh start. Best of three. We'll have to see how the rookie Brandon Backe does tonight at home, where the Astros haven't lost since August 22, when the Cubs won the rubber match of a three-game series 11-6. If this series was any indication, the AP story said, Houston is going to have a tough time overtaking the Cubs in the standings. Chicago was only a ninth-inning rally on Saturday away from a sweep. "This puts us in a bind," Astros manager Phil Garner said. "We're not out of it, but it's going to be tough." At the time, the Cubs were 67-56, the Astros 61-62. Chicago went 22-23 the rest of the way, Houston 31-8. No matter what happens tonight, the thinking is that Roger Clemens will get the nod on three days' rest to pitch either a season-saving or a potential clinching Game 6 in St. Louis on Wednesday. What's been really great about this postseason is watching Carlos Beltran emerge as the superstar fantasy players and many others truly believed he was. The tragedy will be if he really does sign with the Yankees in the offseason.

Yankees lead series 3-1
Imagine if this game had happened in any other game than a Game 4 with the Red Sox down 0-3. It's the kind of game that can turn things around, that can propell a team on a run that ends in a series -- or a World Series -- victory. It's the kind of loss, particularly when you note that, once again the Red Sox got to Mariano Rivera. Yet, all it does is make it a 3-1 series, basically pushing back the inevitable and making it one Boston win from allowing the Yankees to clinch the AL pennant at home. No team has ever bounced back from an 0-3 deficit to win, and while it will happen one day, it's probably not going to be the Yankees who blow it.

Game 3s: Night and day

Thursday's game:
Cardinals 6, Astros 4

Yesterday's games:
Astros 5, Cardinals 2
Yankees 19, Red Sox 8

Cardinals lead series 2-1
There was little attention paid to baseball the past few days because Notre Dame was playing Navy at Giants Stadium, and with so many college friends and their families in, we didn't spend too much time watching the LCS. During last night's relaxing dinner party at my apartment, however, we did flip back to the games when football contests were slower or in commercial, so we saw a bit of Roger Clemens' strong performance capped by the devastating slider of the former Notre Dame pitcher, Brad Lidge. At the moment, the Astros are tied 5-5, but I'll hold off on further comment until the game is final. I have to say, though, that my favorite uniform for Houston is the white jersey without the pinstripes and the brick-red "Astros" and cap. I don't like the red BP jerseys they're wearing today, and the black pinstripes and hats aren't as cool.

Yankees lead series 3-0
I'm just not in the mood. I'll address it when it's time.

Postseason thoughts, Day 2

Yesterday's games:
Astros 9, Braves 3
Yankees 7, Twins 6, 12 innings
Red Sox 8, Angels 3

Astros lead series 1-0
Early in the season, when Roger Clemens was something like 9-0, I didn't want to think he was still that dominant. I figured a lot of it had to do with changing leagues and facing lineups who had never seen him and his impressive splitter. As the Astros faded, he didn't get the same press, and I look up his numbers in September, and he's 18-4. OK, that's good. He may have struggled yesterday, but he got out of those jams. He may be a bit of an ass, but he's from Texas. A lot of people are. At least he's a little more likable, and more subdued, than Barry Bonds. I can enjoy watching Clemens set milestones. But the Braves are in trouble. They've never drawn well, so they gave fans who purchased tickets to yesterday's game free tickets to today's game, just to fill seats. Yeah, great fans they have in Atlanta. But Carlos Beltran showed why he'll be the most coveted free agent this winter. Since the all-star break, when the Astros were just 44-44 and struggling, he hit only .257, with 17 home runs and 41 RBI. But he improved his strikeout-to-walk ratio ever so slightly (51 Ks to 45 walks pre-break, 50-47 afterwards) and upped his on-base percentage 5 points to .370. The biggest difference, however, was his aggressiveness on the bases: 27 post-break steals to 15 before the midsummer classic. And all three of his caught stealings came in the first half. But it's Clemens I keep coming back to, and if Roy Oswalt mimics Rocket's output, hometown boy Brandon Backe will have a chance for another big -- and historic -- win in Game 3 in Houston.

Twins-Yankees series tied 1-1
As much as the Yankees and their fans would have talked calmly and acted cooly if they had gone down 0-2 -- "We've just got to take it one game at a time"; "We've been here before"; etc. -- this team would have been in trouble going to Minnesota in such a hole. Sure, it was a big win for the Twins too, which is why Ron Gardenhire had his closer out there to finish off the game in his third inning of work. It's just that I don't get why he was out there in the 10th to begin with. Gardenhire said he left Nathan in for his third inning after the Twins had taken a 6-5 lead on Torii Hunter's home run off Tanyon Sturtze because he "didn't like our options" left in the bullpen. When you're on the road, you know you're going to have to protect a lead with the home team getting one last at-bat, so why was Nathan in there in a tie game to begin with? When the Yankees rallied, he had to bring someone in after Nathan, so why couldn't J.C. Romero have started the 10th? If he got into trouble, then Gardenhire could've brought Nathan in to get out of a jam. The Yankees were lucky to come away with this one. Mariano Rivera faltered again, and Sturtze, who was one of the relievers the team was talking up as having finished the season strong, would have been the losing pitcher. Now the question is: How will Kevin Brown pitch? He's obviously not Joe Torre's first choice, or the decision would have been announced earlier than yesterday. This may seem like an obvious expectation, but my feeling is Brown will either get shelled and not make it through the third, or he'll be brilliant and scatter four hits over seven.

Red Sox lead series 2-0
It's over. Boston isn't the Oakland A's, the Red Sox are not going to blow a 2-0 lead. There's a very slim chance this series will even get back to California. It might not make it to Saturday. Pedro sure sounds like a different pitcher now, far from the "the Yankees are my daddy" comments two weeks ago. "I was the No. 1 today, and that's all that matters," said Martinez, 0-4 with a 7.72 ERA to finish the season. "I don't care what the experts have to say, they were talking trash. Every time they give me the ball, I'm special." The Red Sox may have celebrated their postseason-clinching victory in Tampa Bay (while the Yankees like to talk about how they don't make a big deal out of postseason appearances because that's expected and their goal is to win the World Series), but Boston is playing like a calm, confident, focused team determined to be one of the last two playing this season. Bronson Arroyo might not scare many as the opposing pitcher in an elimination game, but are Angels fans really confident with Kelvim Escobar as their savior? In Boston, which might be the biggest home-field advantage this side of the Metrodome? I'm not so sure about that one.

Postseason thoughts, Day 1

Yesterday's games:
Cardinals 8, Dodgers 3
Red Sox 9, Angels 3
Twins 2, Yankees 0

Cardinals lead series 1-0
Hooray for Larry Walker. Good for him. Sixteen years in the majors, six in Montreal, nine-plus in Colorado, one playoff appearance with the Rockies in 1995. He he .214 with just three hits, one homer and three RBI. In his first game back, he slams two home runs. I listened to the game a little on the radio, called by the Mets' own Gary Cohen and Arizona outfielder Luis Gonzalez (it seemed like every inning there was a former Diamondback on the field -- Steve Finley, Elmer Dessens, Tony Womack), while I was on the road. And leading up to the game, it seemed everyone had the same feeling I did: is there one pitcher on either staff (Eric Gagne aside) who scares you? Not really. Walker's performance got me thinking about the Expos that got away, mostly because Montreal has had a great farm system and player development run the last 15-20 years, but the team can never keep its own talent because of financial constraints. Walker may have been the biggest: one of Canada's own, he didn't want to leave, but Montreal couldn't keep him. We've also got Vladmir Guerrero and Bartolo Colon (not brought up and developed by the Expos, but unable to stay because of financial reasons) in Anaheim (along with Andres Galarraga, who's not on the postseason roster, and backup outfielder Curtis Pride), Orlando Cabrera and Pedro Martinez in Boston and Javier Vazquez in New York. So with former Expos on four of the eight playoff teams, we've got a shot at seeing one of them soaking in champagne in three weeks.

Red Sox lead series 1-0
I'm not going to get ahead of myself here (because it's only a 4-1 Astros lead in the third), but could you imagine a World Series Game 1 in Boston with Curt Schilling facing Roger Clemens? Fox executives would be all tingly inside. The Red Sox seemed determined yesterday, and depending on which Pedro we see tonight, this one could end a lot faster and end up more wide-open than anyone expected.

Twins lead series 1-0
I think even the biggest Yankee fans expected this one. Johan Santana is pitching like God, but with a better slider. I'm not sure, but I think I saw Rudy Giulliani on ESPN this morning -- taking a break from his tireless campaigning for President Bush -- trying to convince everyone that, despite appearances, the Yankees actually won this debat- er, this game. But all this means is that the Twins didn't let last week's sweep in the Big Apple affect them. They may need to watch out: In 2001, Tony Womack's father passed away, and Fox loved that storyline. It helped that he had some big hits in that World Series for Arizona. I can't tell you how many times I heard someone at the network explain last night how Jacques Jones took the redeye back from California, where his father died over the weekend, and will return there after tonight's game for the funeral tomorrow before meeting the team back in Minnesota for Game 3. Jones homered last night.

It's the top of the fourth in Atlanta right now, and the Braves have left seven men on in three innings. Clemens has gotten into two bases-loaded jams and wiggled out of both, allowing the one run in the first. If they can't get those guys in, they're done.

It Still Counts: All-Star Gameday

All-Star Game Day, July 13, 2004, Houston

Really, it could have been Christmas morning. That's the kind of excitement Tuesday held. Laura played hooky from work and the three of us went to Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch. Joe Morgan was in the hotel lobby when she came in to get me, and she thought about getting a baseball for him to sign, then didn't.

We rode the shuttle to the ballpark together, getting there around 3:30. I went down to the field and sat on the Astros bench in the dugout to relax and be ready for batting practice at 4 o'clock. Stark and Kurkjian stood at the railing and talked. A few all-stars came out and mingled. Mark Loretta talked with someone about teammate Phil Nevin: "If he likes you, he'll do anything for you." That came after a statement that held the opposite meaning, if you know what I mean.

Being 5-foot-7, I'm dwarfed on the field when the players come out. Most people are taller than me, so even the sports writers look down to me. So unless I can get to the front of the crowd, I don't see much. So when, standing near the batting cage, I heard "Derek! Derek! Jeter!" coming from above the NL dugout behind me, I knew he was around. When I turned, two media members stepped aside and Derek Jeter came right at me. He obviously hadn't seen me on the other side of the tall people. "Excuse me," he said, then brushed past me and embraced Barry Larkin in a bear hug from behind.


Members of the shortstop brotherhood.

Mike Piazza came out of the dugout and walked out to the outfield behind second base. He said hello to Albert Pujols, then asked to see his first baseman's mitt, trying it on.

I took some pictures of Jim Thome taking throws at first base, of Mike Lowell in the batting cage, of Bobby Abreu next to it.

After the NL batted, the players went out to centerfield for the team photo and I noticed Tommy Lasorda amid a sea of reporters. When the NL players came back in from the outfield, Piazza put his arm around Lasorda as the two talked.


The catcher and the godfather.

Fox had its pregame desk set up in foul territory down the first base line, and Jeanie Zelasko had her long blond hair done up all wavy and wore a brilliant pink jacket. She just seems to get more bimboed up each week.

In another case of someone seemingly following me, I turned around to see Roger Clemens coming off the field. It was like a train wherever he went: always followed by a trail of reporters and/or security. At one point, the script "Astros" was headed straight for my head. ESPN's Chris Berman pulled him aside for a quick interview, and I headed down the steps into the dugout for a little bit.


Boomer and the Rocket.

I snapped a shot of Tom Glavine giving an interview and was heading up the steps when I heard the telltale cries from the fans above the dugout: "Mike! Mike!" Piazza was coming. I looked ahead of me, saw him coming toward the steps I was ascending, and backed down quickly, hoping to get a picture as he walked into the dugout. He was walking too fast, however, and I barely stepped to the side on the steps as he reached them. Looking up to the fans, he said, "Not now. I've got to go inside." He gestured beneath the stands as he spoke, pointing downward, and nearly conked me in the head with his elbow as he did so.


Glavine 47.

This 75th All-Star Game is the second in the two-year experiment to give home-field advantage in the World Series to the league that wins the midsummer exhibition game. Because baseball screwed up the concept so badly, coming to a climax with the 2002 tie in Milwaukee, they had to do something. I don't think using the All-Star Game is the answer, but it is at least nice to see it treated like a meaningful game again. There's no chance of it ever becoming meaningful again for the sake of league pride, so I guess this is the next best thing. What they should really do is have a monetary bonus for the winning players, a prize you only get if you actually play in the game. That would motivate them. It might cause some problems with players who aren't used, but something could be worked out for them. If they were healthy and able to play, but didn't, then they'd get a smaller, token bonus, but a guy like Schilling or Sean Casey, who were there and took part in just about everything else, wouldn't because they couldn't contribute. But the MLB slogan "This One Counts" seems a little ridiculous to me. It counts, but it doesn't. The stats don't count, the game result doesn't count. Only the winner matters. And yet, as if to remind the players that they truly are playing for something, the bases not only carried the All-Star Game logo on top, but the "This One Counts" slogan on the four sides. Any player diving into a base on a pickoff attempt or an extra-base hit will see those words coming closer. I think it was Scott Rolen who was quoted in an article I read that said the All-Star Game wasn't the right way to decide who gets homefield advantage. It shouldn't be decided by 32 guys on either side, he said, suggesting interleague play be the determining factor. Let all 700 players decide it was his point.

Exhausted, I left the field and joined Laura and David in the stands to talk with them some more before leaving for the mezzanine. I staked out a spot in the front row, directly above the Astros bullpen mound, planning to take pictures of Clemens as he warmed up. It put me in the perfect spot to see Roger start his warmups by long-tossing with his bullpen catcher in the outfield. When Piazza wandered out from the dugout, Roger kept throwing with the bullpen catcher, so Mike put his mask and glove down and did some stretches. When he moved to the bullpen, Clemens brought his bullpen guy with him. Then Piazza went in and took two or three pitches before hopping on a bullpen cart for a quick trip back to the dugout for the player introductions. Ivan Rodriguez, meanwhile, remained in the AL bullpen throughout introductions warming up Mark Mulder. In listening to New York talk radio and some viewpoints from Houston and elsewhere since last Tuesday, Mike Piazza has come out of this whole "feud" with Clemens as the good guy. It was Clemens who hit him, Clemens who threw the bat, Clemens who used his own catcher to warm up for the All-Star Game. It was even Clemens who, in the midst of his worst first inning ever, who shook off Piazza's pitch to throw a slider that Manny Ramirez sent into the left-field seats. I've since heard that the reason Piazza's so pissed at Clemens is that somewhere during the past few years Clemens has made an insensitive and derogatory comment about Piazza and, well, his sexual preference.


The Rocket warms up.

When it comes to Clemens, I don't blame him for signing with the Astros and I think the Yankee fans who whine and cry over his "betrayal" of the Yankees are whining for whining's sake. How many players have the Yankees taken from their original teams, players the fans now despise for simply jumping at the money the Yankees can offer? Nowhere does it say that every potential Hall of Famer since 1990 has to play for the Yankees and retire a Yankee, but to hear some of the callers to New York talk radio, you'd think it was one of baseball's new rules or trends, like the bereavement list or alternate jerseys. That being said, I'm not a big fan of Clemens. I'm in awe at what he's done as a pitcher, but I don't admire him the way I did Nolan Ryan. It was amusing to see Clemens get shelled by the AL in his home park, and I've always felt there was a difference in Clemens and a pitcher who throws inside. There's throwing inside and there's throwing at a batter's head. A case can be made for the likes of Don Drysdale and Bob Gibson, notoriously aggressive headhunters, but at least those guys had to pay for it themselves by taking their turn at bat. Until this year, and with the exception of that one interleague game at Shea Stadium a couple of seasons ago, Clemens never had to pick up a bat and stand in the batter's box.

I watched the game and kept score, not an easy task on a standard scoresheet (I used the one in the media guide) for an All-Star Game with so many changes. I still haven't gone through it to make sure it's accurate. My seat in the front row of the section nearly proved to be the perfect spot. When David Ortiz sent a rocket to right-center, I took a quick look and declared, "That's coming up here." It hit the front of the temporary table about 15 feet to my left, bounced back toward the field, then ricocheted off the railing and three rows up into the hands of another journalist. Within minutes, he'd taken several calls from friends and family who saw him on TV and then he went hunting for a clubhouse pass to borrow from another reporter (not all of us, myself included, had the Texas-shaped badge necessary for clubhouse access). "It's his first all-star homer," he said. "It's right for me to keep it."

After the sixth inning, my prediction came true when the roof began rolling back. I didn't notice it at first, instead watching the stadium's "Kiss-Cam" on the monitors in the press area. But when the Fox feed came back on, it was a wide shot of the field showing the growing opening. "Drayton loves the roof," Laura told me earlier after we'd talked about the home run derby. "He's got a button for it in his office." I figured that if he was going to open it for the derby, he'd surely want to show it off during the game itself. Again, before the roof was 1/3 open, I felt the warmth from outside already, but also the breeze. If there was a breeze, it was bearable. Without the air circulating, it was stuffy. After the seventh inning, Laura called me to say that the people in the seats next to theirs had left, so I joined them for the last inning and a half, passing through the pleasantly air conditioned club level one last time.

When the game ended, we had no need to stick around for any post-game ceremonies, so we were among the first ones on the first shuttle. Our driver, a rotund black woman, enjoyed getting us to the hotel as quickly -- yet safely, she assured us -- as possible. She floored it through yellow lights at intersections and took any opportunity to change lanes when other drivers left the smallest opening. After one adept maneuver, she laughed heartily. "I think she's cackling," I said to Laura. My thought was confirmed when we made another yellow light, and some passengers closer to the front commented as well. "Don't worry, honey," the driver said, "I'll get you there safe."

Laura, David and I had a drink in the bar area and ordered a plate of nachos before, just after midnight, they left. As I headed up stairs with my beer, I saw Karl Ravesh with one of his own, just back from the ballpark. On the television, Chris Berman anchored the post-game edition of Baseball Tonight.

In the morning, I saw Harold Reynolds at the ATM and Berman at the front desk, then again out in the driveway asking the bellhop for a car to the airport. Berman left in a private car while I waited for the cheaper shuttle. I should've taken a cab myself, expensing it on the magazine, instead of waiting for the van, which then stopped at the Hilton and was packed, nine men and a woman sitting three to a bench seat for the half-hour drive north.

Waiting at gate E7, I saw Tom Gordon's family come through and sit down in the waiting area, one of his sons holding the large dry-mounted placard with Tom's name, left over from the media day, I guessed. Until I was told I was sitting in the wrong seat, it appeared that I would be flying home next to one of the Gordon boys, but instead I had the bulkhead on the aisle, two rows in front of Reynolds and his wife.

Back in Newark, I chatted with Reynolds at baggage claim after I noticed his wife carrying my magazine, then went outside to see two undercover cops putting hand cuffs on a man posing as a taxi driver. It's one of the current concerns at airports: people who pose as drivers and offer to take passengers from the airport to their hotel for a fee around the same or cheaper than what a legitimate cab would cost. But when they get to your destination, they charge you much more than they quoted you and won't give you your luggage from the trunk until you pay up.

So from Kenny Mayne as I entered the hotel to a conversation with Harold Reynolds and a sting operation in progress, it was nonstop excitement for five days. Next year, Detroit, if I can handle the heat in an open ballpark.

I think I'll manage.

My take on the Carlos Beltran trade

I sat here on the couch last night watching the Astros-Pirates game on my MLB Extra Innings package when the play-by-play man made the announcement:

"The Astros have acquired Carlos Beltran in a two-team deal with the Kansas City Royals."

He said it with all the enthusiasm of announcing the daily lottery numbers. That surprised me. I would've expected more excitement at acquiring the A-Rod of the outfield.

You know, C-Belt.

(And seriously, what is it with the Astros and their "Killer Bs"? Biggio, Bagwell, Berkman, now Beltran? They used to have David Bell in that mix. They traded catching prospect John Buck in the deal, who very well could've become another one. If they were in the American League, they'd probably get Barry Bonds in another year.)

For about an hour, I fretted. I own Octavio Dotel in my primary fantasy league. I kicked myself at not acting on my urge a month ago to try to acquire setup man Brad Lidge, a player I covet not only for his ability, but because he was drafted out of Notre Dame as the Astros' first-round pick in 1998. I searched the rosters, considering possible trades, coming back to some deals I considered proposing weeks ago. Dotel in Kansas City wouldn't have been that bad. He wasn't getting too many save chances with the 37-34 Astros; or at least they were sporadic. I read an analysis earlier in the season that proved that better teams -- winning teams -- do not necessarily get more save opportunities than bad ones. But I just didn't feel as comfortable with Octavio Dotel, Royals closer as I did with Octavio Dotel, Astros closer.

Then, just after Houston GM Gerry Hunsicker left the booth, the announcer came back with the same low-key monotone:

"Octavio Dotel is now an Athletic. The Royals have turned around and traded him to Oakland for third-base prospect Mark Teahen and pitcher Mike Wood."

Whew. Now I feel better. Octavio Dotel, A's closer. That's better. Oakland has done well with closers during their successful run these past few years. There's a winning attitude around that clubhouse, and with a reliable pitcher at the back of the bullpen, they've thrived. Arthur Rhodes is not a reliable pitcher at the back of the bullpen, that's been their problem this year. The only problem I could foresee is that Oakland no longer has pitching coach Rick Peterson -- he's in New York now, helping the Mets to the best ERA in the majors.

But as for the Astros, they made out well in this deal. They gave up one young closer who has struggled just a bit this year, but certainly looks like he's on his way to being a reliable stopper. They traded a catching prospect who likely would've replaced Brad Ausmus next year, but he's not a sure thing. And they got a five-tool player, even if it's only for three months. In dealing Richard Hidalgo for David Weathers last week, Houston got itself another reliable setup man who can step into the seventh/eighth inning role vacated by Lidge now that he's coming on in the ninth.

What makes it such a great move for the Astros is perhaps more than any team outside Boston, they're built to win Now. You hear that a lot, but no where is it more true than Minute Maid Park. Bagwell and Biggio are not getting any younger, faster or healthier. Who knows if Robot Roger Clemens will return next season -- or if he'll have the same amazing success? Their pitching staff, outside Clemens and Weathers, is on the young side, and when Clemens does retire, Andy Pettitte can assume the experienced veteran leader role. Taylor Buchholz, acquired in the Billy Wagner trade, could very well become a No. 3/4 starter someday. But the bulk of the offense is aging, and replacing Bagwell, Biggio, Ausmus and Jeff Kent will be the more pressing needs in the coming seasons.

If Houston is going to win its first playoff series -- ever -- it will need to make a run with this team.