Friday, June 18, 2004
Astros-Angels
Houston and Anaheim have a weird semi-connection in the baseball cosmos. Had things worked out a little differently in 1986, the two clubs could have very well played in the World Series.
But Donnie Moore served up a two-out, two-strike homer in the 9th inning of Game Five (with the Angels leading the series 3-1 over Boston). The Sox took the series in seven. And Umpire Fred Brocklander blew a call, also in Game Five, that kept Houston from scoring the winning run and taking a 3-2 NLCS lead. NY won that series in six.
It doesn't seem like 18 years have passed since then. But they have. Anaheim exorcised their demons with a World Series two years ago. Houston's demons, though, still exist.
So that brings us to this series. Both teams enter on on the heels of a recent skid. A month ago this would have looked like a potential World Series preview. Now it looks like one team trying to right the ship, while another tries to just keep it afloat. I'm not making any predictions, though I will say that the pitching matchups should favor Houston. Too bad you still have to score to win.
Friday Kelvim Escobar (4-2, 3.27) v. Pete Munro (0-0, 2.79)
Saturday Ramon Ortiz (2-5, 5.32) v. Roger Clemens (9-1, 2.46)
Sunday Jarrod Washburn (7-3, 5.31) v. Wade Miller (6-6, 3.77)
Hopefully Houston can eke out a few W's, but I'm not sweating it. This weekend, the Stros take a backseat to the Horns. In honor of the pending sixth National Championship in Texas Longhorn baseball history, I'm concentrating my efforts on the team that doesn't fold before the flop when the stakes get high. Go Horns!
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But Donnie Moore served up a two-out, two-strike homer in the 9th inning of Game Five (with the Angels leading the series 3-1 over Boston). The Sox took the series in seven. And Umpire Fred Brocklander blew a call, also in Game Five, that kept Houston from scoring the winning run and taking a 3-2 NLCS lead. NY won that series in six.
It doesn't seem like 18 years have passed since then. But they have. Anaheim exorcised their demons with a World Series two years ago. Houston's demons, though, still exist.
So that brings us to this series. Both teams enter on on the heels of a recent skid. A month ago this would have looked like a potential World Series preview. Now it looks like one team trying to right the ship, while another tries to just keep it afloat. I'm not making any predictions, though I will say that the pitching matchups should favor Houston. Too bad you still have to score to win.
Friday Kelvim Escobar (4-2, 3.27) v. Pete Munro (0-0, 2.79)
Saturday Ramon Ortiz (2-5, 5.32) v. Roger Clemens (9-1, 2.46)
Sunday Jarrod Washburn (7-3, 5.31) v. Wade Miller (6-6, 3.77)
Hopefully Houston can eke out a few W's, but I'm not sweating it. This weekend, the Stros take a backseat to the Horns. In honor of the pending sixth National Championship in Texas Longhorn baseball history, I'm concentrating my efforts on the team that doesn't fold before the flop when the stakes get high. Go Horns!
Longhorn Sites
Astros Sites