Astros - Cardinals Wrap

By Marshall Adesman

I know you remember Bull Durham. Classic film, one of the finest sports-themed movies of all time. Remember the scene where the frustrated manager, played by the late Trey Wilson, tells his players "this is a very simple game: you throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball"? Well, you know, it would seem that he was right, it is a simple game.

Psyche, schmyche. The other day I said that the ending of Game Five "could permeate the psyches of both teams." Uh-huh, that was really the case. It would seem that those of us who write about the game - as opposed to the ones who actually PLAY the game - tend to over-think things. The truth is, it really is a simple game.

Houston right-hander Roy Oswalt kept it simple enough. His mission is the same, be it a game in May or a championship game in October - throw strikes, stay ahead in the count, keep the hitters off-balance, and don't forget to throw strikes. For the second time in this National League Championship Series, he dramatically demonstrated why he is one of the very best pitchers in the major leagues. He gave up just three hits and a single run in seven innings; in the series, he threw 14 innings and surrendered just eight hits and a pair of runs, striking out twelve with that hard, rising fastball. He became the poster boy for a Houston team that is boldly going where no Astro has ever ventured before - into the World Series. Stop me if you've heard this before, but this group wins with pitching, defense and timely hitting. As a team they scored just 22 runs, fewer than four per game, a figure which generally does not translate to many victories. But they batted a very respectable .278, which indicates that they got their hits when they needed them most. And their pitching virtually over-powered St. Louis, holding the formidable Cardinal lineup to 39 hits and 16 runs, for a .209 team batting average. If you're still scratching your head, trying to figure out how Houston won this series, look no further than the mound.

So now we have two very similar teams matched up in the World Series, and by the way, what kind of odds do you think you would have been quoted back in, say, early March on a White Sox-Astros finale? Both revolve around their pitching, especially the starters - Ozzie Guillen can pretty well match the vaunted Clemens/Pettitte/Oswalt with Contreras/Buehrle/Garland, plus he also has Freddie Garcia and the very seasoned Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez. Neither team has tremendous hitting but both seem able to score runs when needed, and the White Sox can also manufacture some runs with a good running game. Both teams feature a good solid defense, and the casual fan, who only watches in October, will be introduced to Chicago's excellent centerfielder Aaron Rowand.

This series may be decided by the bullpen, however, and I would give the Astros an edge. While it is true that Chicago's relievers are very well rested - the bullpen was never needed after Neil Cotts threw 2/3 of an inning in the opening game against the Angels - they may have had a little too much rest, so we'll keep an eye on that. And if/when Guillen goes to his pen, well, it is frankly not as formidable or effective as Houston's, in my opinion.

I think this has all the trappings of a close, hard-fought series, perhaps akin to that marvelous 1991 war between Minnesota and Atlanta, where five of the seven games were decided by one run and four were won in the final at-bat, including three in extra innings. That was one of the greatest World Series ever and I am not predicting that this one will match that one for overall excitement, but with two similar teams of relatively equal strength facing off, we could have a wonderful wrap-up of a very fine season.