2008 Woodie Awards
Point / Better Point: NLCS: Brooms or shockers?
By: Patrick Devine vs. Tom Parr
Issue date: 10/12/06 Section: Sports
POINT: by Patrick Devine, possibly lives in the arch
The air changes from muggy and constricting to a crisp, cool, almost refreshing feel. The leaves begin to change from green to that hardened brown look before they fall to the ground. The days seem shorter and the nights feel longer. It's the time of year when a six-month grind turns into a month full of memories to last a lifetime. It's the time of year when legends and heroes carve their names into baseball granite - it's time for the playoffs.
By the time this paper is in your hands our beloved Cardinals and the Mets will have played one game in the National League Championship Series. The city will either be jubulent or nervous. This is the beauty of the playoffs. After one game some people will be ready to jump off a bridge or start claiming the series is already over.
I am, of course, speaking of New York. Considering who the Cardinals' foe is and where my literary combatant resides from, my guess is that if the Mets win the first game, the series will be over. And the rings should be on order.
Let's look at this from a different angle. The Mets have been in the shadow of the Yankees for the last 10 years. The only time the spotlight was on the Mets was when they were in the World Series. Oh, by the way, they played the Yankees, so the light wasn't that bright.
After another early Yankee playoff exit, the entire baseball focus of New York just turned in the Mets direction. The Mets are the favorites. Every decision, error, hit and pitch will be scrutinized. Don't forget the Mets swept the Dodgers. They haven't lost yet. They haven't had to face the brutal New York press after a loss.
The Mets are an impressive team - there is no question. That lineup is powerful and that bullpen can be, in the words of my foe, dominant.
On the other hand, the Cardinals have advanced to the NLCS three years in a row. They won their first and lost the second. The spotlight has been on them before. What's different for the Cardinals this year is that they are the underdog. The first two times, the Cardinals were expected to win. This year, the pressure is squarely on the shoulders of the Mets.
Many sports reporters and baseball experts didn't expect the Cardinals to make the playoffs. They ended September in the midst of one of the worst losing streaks they had all year. They were up eight-and-a-half games with a week to go and won the division by a game and a half. To say they limped into the playoffs would be a colossal understatement.
Go back to 2004. The Cardinals tore through the year. The Cards won their division in a landslide. St. Louis met the Red Sox in the World Series. The Cardinals ran into a team that just wouldn't be stopped. The next year, the Cardinals tore through the league again. They found themselves right back in the NLCS as the favorites. This time the Astros knocked them off.
The Cardinals have been here before. I know the Mets were here in 2000 and I know they knocked off the Cardinals. My point is that this is not the same Mets team, but this is the same Cardinal team. The Mets have three or four starters in their lineup that have never even been in the playoffs before. They haven't felt the pressure of an unruly New York crowd.
Before the playoffs started the Mets lost two starting pitchers. Their starting pitchers are just as hittable as the Cardinals starting pitchers and the Mets lineup is tough, but the Cardinals have the best hitter in the game. The Cardinals' advantage is Chris Carpenter and Albert Pujols. The Mets don't have an ace or a slugger that can match up with last year's Cy Young award winner and last year's MVP.
Just for old times sake, the Mets have been, and always will be pond scum.
BETTER POINT: by Tom Parr: "...come on out and..."
Pond scum, huh? Good one. What's the origin of that witty phrase again? Ah, yes - some loser, '80s deejay coughed it up during the Reagan administration and this city went nuts. T-shirts were made and sold at local car washes, custard stands and supermarkets. The phrase, chanted through Busch Stadium Sr., just plain made sense to countless Cardinals fans. But here's the rub - it didn't make sense to anyone else. There are no ponds in all of Queens. It's childish name-calling. Why not just call New Yorkers "poopy-heads" or "stupid pants." Those phrases at least make a little sense as we do, in fact, have heads and wear pants.
Also, what is this obsession this city has with the 1980s? My theory is it's the last time the Cardinals were any good. Seriously. Name one good thing that happened for this team in the '90s? They discovered that Pujols fellow and he's panned out, but besides that the decade pretty much sucked for the birds.
And the attendence proved it. In 1994, the Cardinals went 53-61 and only 1.7 million "fans" witnessed a live game all season. The next year was a little better as the birds went 62-81, but only 1.8 million members of "Cardinal Nation" purchased a ticket. Where were you rabid fans in the down years? I'll tell you where you were - eating "concretes" and voting Republican. In 2000, St. Louis went 95-65 and placed first in the always-competitive (nice) National League Central. Guess how many "loyal" fans showed that year - 3.3 million! Nearly double the attendance during the down years. Interesting. When the Cardinals are good (relative term), the fans return. I think we all know the term for those type of fans.
Now, on to more timely matters: the 2006 NLCS. To be honest, I'm really not scared. There is no pressure. My Metties have led the NL since the second day of the season - that's a long time. I circled this upcoming week on my calendar back in late June. I said to myself "Self, this is when we will make our stand. This is when the New York Metropolitans will come to this red-fiefdom and take what is rightfully ours: the NL pennant."
We don't need pitching because we put up runs. We aren't scared of No. 5 because he is just one slugger on a team of aging veterans. We are not scared of No. 29 because he is just one ace played out of an Uno deck. We are a genuine team with a genuine outfield. We have three potential, future MVPs - all under the age of 27. The Cardinals are a few weeks away from the shuffleboard court, bingo night or whatever lame retirement activity these creaky old men have planned.
But don't fret St. Louisans, in 20 years you can sit down for a quesadilla at Pujols or a steak at Rolens or some pasta primavera at LaRussa's (or whatever restaurant you compel your "heroes" to open) and reminisce about the glory days of the early millennium when your beloved Cardinals came close to being somewhat decent.
To close, I issue this guarantee: If the Cardinals win the series, I will sit in the Quad for two days straight and will answer every statement directed at my person with the phrase "The Mets are indeed, pond scum."
Game 2 @ NY, Oct. 12, 8 p.m.
Game 3 @ STL, Oct. 14, 7 p.m.
Game 4 @ STL, Oct. 15, 7 p.m.
Game 5 @ STL, Oct. 16, 8 p.m.*
Game 6 @ NY, Oct. 18, 4 p.m.*
Game 7 @ NY, Oct. 19, 8 p.m.*
*if/most likely not necessary
The air changes from muggy and constricting to a crisp, cool, almost refreshing feel. The leaves begin to change from green to that hardened brown look before they fall to the ground. The days seem shorter and the nights feel longer. It's the time of year when a six-month grind turns into a month full of memories to last a lifetime. It's the time of year when legends and heroes carve their names into baseball granite - it's time for the playoffs.
By the time this paper is in your hands our beloved Cardinals and the Mets will have played one game in the National League Championship Series. The city will either be jubulent or nervous. This is the beauty of the playoffs. After one game some people will be ready to jump off a bridge or start claiming the series is already over.
I am, of course, speaking of New York. Considering who the Cardinals' foe is and where my literary combatant resides from, my guess is that if the Mets win the first game, the series will be over. And the rings should be on order.
Let's look at this from a different angle. The Mets have been in the shadow of the Yankees for the last 10 years. The only time the spotlight was on the Mets was when they were in the World Series. Oh, by the way, they played the Yankees, so the light wasn't that bright.
After another early Yankee playoff exit, the entire baseball focus of New York just turned in the Mets direction. The Mets are the favorites. Every decision, error, hit and pitch will be scrutinized. Don't forget the Mets swept the Dodgers. They haven't lost yet. They haven't had to face the brutal New York press after a loss.
The Mets are an impressive team - there is no question. That lineup is powerful and that bullpen can be, in the words of my foe, dominant.
On the other hand, the Cardinals have advanced to the NLCS three years in a row. They won their first and lost the second. The spotlight has been on them before. What's different for the Cardinals this year is that they are the underdog. The first two times, the Cardinals were expected to win. This year, the pressure is squarely on the shoulders of the Mets.
Many sports reporters and baseball experts didn't expect the Cardinals to make the playoffs. They ended September in the midst of one of the worst losing streaks they had all year. They were up eight-and-a-half games with a week to go and won the division by a game and a half. To say they limped into the playoffs would be a colossal understatement.
Go back to 2004. The Cardinals tore through the year. The Cards won their division in a landslide. St. Louis met the Red Sox in the World Series. The Cardinals ran into a team that just wouldn't be stopped. The next year, the Cardinals tore through the league again. They found themselves right back in the NLCS as the favorites. This time the Astros knocked them off.
The Cardinals have been here before. I know the Mets were here in 2000 and I know they knocked off the Cardinals. My point is that this is not the same Mets team, but this is the same Cardinal team. The Mets have three or four starters in their lineup that have never even been in the playoffs before. They haven't felt the pressure of an unruly New York crowd.
Before the playoffs started the Mets lost two starting pitchers. Their starting pitchers are just as hittable as the Cardinals starting pitchers and the Mets lineup is tough, but the Cardinals have the best hitter in the game. The Cardinals' advantage is Chris Carpenter and Albert Pujols. The Mets don't have an ace or a slugger that can match up with last year's Cy Young award winner and last year's MVP.
Just for old times sake, the Mets have been, and always will be pond scum.
BETTER POINT: by Tom Parr: "...come on out and..."
Pond scum, huh? Good one. What's the origin of that witty phrase again? Ah, yes - some loser, '80s deejay coughed it up during the Reagan administration and this city went nuts. T-shirts were made and sold at local car washes, custard stands and supermarkets. The phrase, chanted through Busch Stadium Sr., just plain made sense to countless Cardinals fans. But here's the rub - it didn't make sense to anyone else. There are no ponds in all of Queens. It's childish name-calling. Why not just call New Yorkers "poopy-heads" or "stupid pants." Those phrases at least make a little sense as we do, in fact, have heads and wear pants.
Also, what is this obsession this city has with the 1980s? My theory is it's the last time the Cardinals were any good. Seriously. Name one good thing that happened for this team in the '90s? They discovered that Pujols fellow and he's panned out, but besides that the decade pretty much sucked for the birds.
And the attendence proved it. In 1994, the Cardinals went 53-61 and only 1.7 million "fans" witnessed a live game all season. The next year was a little better as the birds went 62-81, but only 1.8 million members of "Cardinal Nation" purchased a ticket. Where were you rabid fans in the down years? I'll tell you where you were - eating "concretes" and voting Republican. In 2000, St. Louis went 95-65 and placed first in the always-competitive (nice) National League Central. Guess how many "loyal" fans showed that year - 3.3 million! Nearly double the attendance during the down years. Interesting. When the Cardinals are good (relative term), the fans return. I think we all know the term for those type of fans.
Now, on to more timely matters: the 2006 NLCS. To be honest, I'm really not scared. There is no pressure. My Metties have led the NL since the second day of the season - that's a long time. I circled this upcoming week on my calendar back in late June. I said to myself "Self, this is when we will make our stand. This is when the New York Metropolitans will come to this red-fiefdom and take what is rightfully ours: the NL pennant."
We don't need pitching because we put up runs. We aren't scared of No. 5 because he is just one slugger on a team of aging veterans. We are not scared of No. 29 because he is just one ace played out of an Uno deck. We are a genuine team with a genuine outfield. We have three potential, future MVPs - all under the age of 27. The Cardinals are a few weeks away from the shuffleboard court, bingo night or whatever lame retirement activity these creaky old men have planned.
But don't fret St. Louisans, in 20 years you can sit down for a quesadilla at Pujols or a steak at Rolens or some pasta primavera at LaRussa's (or whatever restaurant you compel your "heroes" to open) and reminisce about the glory days of the early millennium when your beloved Cardinals came close to being somewhat decent.
To close, I issue this guarantee: If the Cardinals win the series, I will sit in the Quad for two days straight and will answer every statement directed at my person with the phrase "The Mets are indeed, pond scum."
NLCS schedule:
Game 2 @ NY, Oct. 12, 8 p.m.
Game 3 @ STL, Oct. 14, 7 p.m.
Game 4 @ STL, Oct. 15, 7 p.m.
Game 5 @ STL, Oct. 16, 8 p.m.*
Game 6 @ NY, Oct. 18, 4 p.m.*
Game 7 @ NY, Oct. 19, 8 p.m.*
*if/most likely not necessary
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
JG Hitzert
posted 10/22/06 @ 5:56 PM EST
Looks like your Mets lost. As far as attendence, STL is a city of what 2.5/3 Million and yet the Cards routinely kick the Mets ass in regards to attendence. (Continued…)
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