Unbelievable but true.  The Cardinals may be long gone but the Astros are still being victimized by that one great homerun by Albert Pujols.  Game 1 saw the ghost of that magical moment come back to haunt the hopeless Astros.  And in Game 2 it was obvious.  Who was on the mound?  And when was the last time he was on the mound?  And how prophetic!  During the Podsednik at bat:

Buck:  "People said in regards to Lidge, ‘it would’ve been nice to get Lidge in the game in Game 6 [of the NLCS] in St. Louis to get that taste out of his mouth, the Pujols homerun."

McCarver:  "I don’t think that taste is there."

On the very next pitch…BOOM!  Did you hear McCarver try to cover up a few minutes later?  He quickly added, "the taste might be there now."  Nice try, buddy.  The taste was always there, Tim. 

The Astros did not just lose Game 5 in the NLCS when Pujols hit that homerun.  They clearly lost more than that.  And that’s justice, since the Astros have no business being in the World Series.  Win your Division or go home.  Down with the Wild Card!

Again, Sox in 5.

Had Pujols not hit that homerun to win Game 5, Roy Oswalt would’ve been the starter in Game 1 for the Astros.  And you can’t tell me Mr. Oswalt wouldn’t have been a better option in Game 1.  Clemens?  Are you kidding me?  Clemens couldn’t do it in a critical Game 4 in the ’03 World Series…he’s going to do it now, two years later?  Right.

Wake up, Houston.  Look how hard you celebrated when you won the LCS.  That’s all you’re going to get.  A little more humble, a little more cool, and you may still have some juice left to win the one that counts.

Finally, for the first time in four years, a Wild Card team will not win the World Series.  All is right in the baseball world.  White Sox in 5 (Houston wins one=Oswalt)

Are you kidding me?!  I dare you to find a sport that has more drama than baseball!  The Astros were one strike away in Game 5!  They had already selected the Chevrolet Player of the Game: Lance Berkman.  They had shown Nolan Ryan and Biggio and Bagwell…"the faces of this organization."  Who can forget Brandon Backe screaming "Yeah!" when Berkman hit that homerun in the 7th?  And when they replayed it in the 9th?

Then with 2 outs and a 1-2 count on Eckstein, the announcer says, "They like everything big in Texas, they’re ready for a big bash tonight."

On the very next pitch…Eckstein gets a hit.  Oops.  Put down the champagne glass guys.

Then came Edmonds.  A career .077 against Lidge (we’re talking 1-13).  And Lidge, maybe thinking he had gotten lucky those previous 13 at bats against Edmonds…walks him.  He walks him to face Pujols?!  With two outs, you’re not going to go after Edmonds??  I would’ve lobbed it to Edmonds.  Underhand.  Take your best swing, I’ll hope for fly out or a line out…anything…but I’m not facing Pujols. 

Wow.  I love to see great players do great things when it’s expected of them.  Did you see that A-Rod?  And don’t think I didn’t see George Bush’s reaction standing there, front row, behind home plate when Pujols hit that home run.  Shame on Fox for not catching that.  It was like a kid being told he couldn’t go and play outside.  Classic.

How about Pettitte’s reaction?  He just sat there, with his mouth agape, and as the ball flew out, he mouthed, "Oh my God."  Again classic.

Baseball.  The greatest game in the world.

Once upon a time there was a young boy.  A boy who loved baseball.  He grew up playing wiffleball every chance the weather allowed; and growing up in New York, wiffleball season was a precious one.  Little league was great of course, but you only played once a week, twice if you’re lucky.  He loved wiffleball because he could play every day; and he could win every day.  And that was a big deal.  Because, you see, this boy, this boy had the misfortune of growing up in the 80′s…a Yankee fan.  His favorite player was Butch Wynegar #27.  Enough said. 

So after almost 15 years of never seeing the Yankees in the postseason, 1994 came and saw the Yankees in first place – late in the season – only to see it all go away with the strike of ’94.  Then there was 1995 and the joy of seeing Mattingly finally play games that meant something…and the heartache of seeing Griffey score the winning run in Game 5 of the ALDS.

In comes Joe Torre.  Joe who?  And that young boy, now a young man, was able to celebrate 4 World Series titles in 5 years.  4 in 5!  That is outstanding.  Incredible.  Amazing.  Unforgettable.

But all good things come to an end.  Thanks to a bloop single by Luis Gonzalez in 2001.  That moment marked the end of a dynasty.  The end of a beautiful era.  I still haven’t gotten over that World Series.  After 9/11, you just knew the Yankees would win that Series and bring a parade to a city that desperately needed something to celebrate about.  I know the Yankees showed some magic at home in Games 4 & 5…but to lose in Game 7…with Mariano on the mound? That hurt.  Still does…just as bad.  Remember Brosius?  What a great Yankee thirdbaseman.

The only bright spot the last five years was that incredible blast from that other great Yankee thirdbaseman, Aaron Boone.  Brosius was clutch, no doubt, and he was sorely missed.  But when Boone homered against Wakefield in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, everything felt right again…and the pain from ’01 subsided a bit.

I remember where I was, how many times I jumped, how loud I screamed.  But that was my World Series.  The Yankees, again, came up short…losing to the Wild Card Florida Marlins in 6.  Then inexplicably losing 4 in a row to the Red Sox in the ’04 ALCS.  I have to struggle sometimes to remember that one great moment brought to us by Aaron Boone.  And now, in 2005, another heartbreaking defeat to the team that eliminated the Yankees only three years ago.  Speaking of clutch Yankee thirdbasemen…our current one went 0-4 in both Game 7 last year and Game 5 this year.  Brosius, Boone…Pagliarulo, where have you gone?

It’s time for a change.  You can’t fire the players, especially when they make over $20 million a year.  So what do you do?  It’s time to say goodbye.  Thank you Joe.  Thank you Mel.  I just don’t want to go back to the 80′s.

Face it.  Look at it carefully and you’ll see that the ball hits the dirt; inches in front of the glove.  Credit to AJ for realizing it and taking off for first base.  Why didn’t Paul tag him just in case?  Why not do a better job of keeping Ozuna close to first?  Not even a throw to second.  Credit to Guillen for putting the steal sign when he did. 

The AJ play did not win the game.  Ask Escobar about that hanging splitter he threw Crede.  Crede could have struck out on that pitch, he could’ve grounded out or popped up.  Give credit where credit is due.  Call it cheap, call it disgusting…shame on you.

Great game.  The better team won tonight.

The LCS.  The final four of baseball.  Incredible games, incredible drama…and I have to struggle to find the channel the game’s on?!  One game’s on Fox.  That’s easy.  The other is on FX?!  Now, I can deal with the whole ESPN, ESPN2 thing…but FOX and FX?  Do I even have FX?  Where do I begin to look for this channel?  FX…game’s probably in black and white. 

Note:  I found FX.  One channel up from C-SPAN!  I couldn’t watch it.  It didn’t feel right.  I don’t watch games on this channel.  It’s like watching a movie on the USA Network or A&E.  Just not right.  It didn’t even feel live.  It felt like they were replaying an old game.  What’s next?  Post-game interviews on FoxNews?

Why do we feel the overwhelming need to predict the outcome of a playoff series.  It’s not good enough to simply say what team is going to win – that’s for amateurs!  You gotta say who will win and in how many games.  That’s ridiculous.  You’re set up to fail.  If you predict a particular team to win in 7, for example and they sweep, you feel like an idiot. 

"But I picked the right team!"

"Yeah, but you thought they’d lose 3 games…shows what you know."

How about: may the best team win.  Most of us aren’t going to be rooting for our favorite team; chances are our favorite team has already been eliminated.  If you live in Kansas City or Pittsburgh, your team’s been eliminated.  But what do you care…Go Chiefs!  Go Steelers!

Why worry about who will win and in how many games?  Let’s just hope for competitive and exciting games in each series.  Where the starting pitcher goes a strong 6-7 innings and their key players don’t go hitless.

So here’s to a memorable ALCS and NLCS.

Cardinals in 5      White Sox in 5

I still remember the day I found out A-Rod was going to be a Yankee.  I couldn’t believe it.  I was dreaming.  What a beautiful, beautiful dream.  What a nightmare it’s been.  Two years of agonizing pain.  Remember, in New York, you are measured for what you do in October. 

2004:  Games 5-7 vs. Red Sox; A-Rod went 1-12 (.083), including 0-4 in Game 7

For a player of his stature and I have to listen to Torre give excuses for why he’s not performing up to par against the Angels in the 2005 ALDS.  "He’s too anxious," Torre would explain.  Cano, maybe.  He’s a rookie, right?  But A-Rod?  Former AL MVP Alex Rodriguez? 

Jeter leads off the 9th with a single and then A-Rod (the tying run) on a 1-0 pitch – ahead in the count! – hits a nasty curveball (out of the strikezone) for a 5-4-3 double play.  My neck is killing me from shaking my head so much…I’m doing it right now just thinking about it.  You can’t be the MVP, you can’t be the MVP…

2005 ALDS: 2-15 (.133); 5 K’s; 0 HR; 0 RBI; 7 LOB  Enough said. 

It’s going to be a while before I wear the A-Rod jersey again.  Wait a minute, no.  I’m going to continue wearing that jersey.  I’m just going to be smart enough to put it away in October. 

I’m sitting here watching the Angels/Yankees game and I swear that half of those red shirts in the stands are Red Sox fans.  They’re in the stands in Anaheim, they’re glued to their TV’s at home, hoping…praying that the Yankees lose.  They’re rooting for the Angels, they don’t care.  What happened to rooting for your own division?  Wouldn’t you want a team from your division to go as deep into the postseason as possible; to show what a tough division you play in?  I find it hard to believe that all those A’s fans out there are rooting for the Yankees. 

Looks like somebody knew what they were talking about…

Joe Buck is great because he makes you aware of the little things you would never know about.  This game is more than just stats.  Colon is clearly uncomfortable.  And if you read his body language, you can tell.  And but for Joe Buck pointing that out, I would never have known to look for that.

Soon after he mentions it, the Angels take Colon out of the game.