Epilogue

Time to give 2005 a swift kick out the door, Cards fans.

I’m confounded this morning. Confused, vexed, thoroughly perplexed.

Are the White Sox really the most dominant post-season team ever?

11-1. Tied for the best postseason record with the 1999 Yankees. Wow. Include the final five games of the regular season, and the White Sox have won 16 out of their last 17.

Congratulations, I suppose.

But this is a Cardinals site. Not a White Sox site. I’m less interested in congratulating the Sox, and more interested in how the Cards are effected by all this.

Point one: I think the Birds played a definite roll in the Astros ineptitude in this Series. If Lidge retires Eckstein in game 5, he’s still invincible. Oswalt is fresh for Game 1, and the Series is likely tied 1-1 going back to Houston. Clemens gets an extra three days to rest his hamstring, and he pitches in warm weather.

It’s a different series. As it happens, Oswalt was ineffective, having thrown far harder for far longer in Game 6 of the NLCS than he’s used to doing. Lidge lost two of the three games he appeared in during the Series, and he’s lost three of his last four overall. Last nights rally was started by a single from Willie Harris. He’d spent the last two weeks hitting solely off of first base coach Tim Raines.

Is Lidge going "Calvin Shiraldi" on us? His stuff would suggest otherwise. Still, it was his control and confidence that separated him from, say Kyle Farnsworth. You have to wonder, is he done? I doubt it, but still….he’s got a long winter ahead of him.

Point two: I can’t imagine being more miserable than a Cub fan this morning. Not only have they failed to win since 1908, but they’ve lost the only two teams that have kept them company since then.

Does the Cub fan’s plight compare to anything? It’s the ultimate kick in the cohunes. Enough to drive you to eat nothing but Funyuns and watch reruns of the Littlest Groom.

This has to be how Neil Bush feels around George and Jeb. George is President, Jeb is Governor, and Neil is divorced after having what CNN described as “sex romps” with women in Thailand.

To make matters worse, Cub fans have to be thinking that they missed the opportunity providence granted them in 2003. They were six outs from the Series. They would have had a rested Wood going against a very battered Yankee team. A team the Marlins carved up in six games.

That was it. That was their shot. Cub fans curse Bartman. I blame Alex Gonzales. It was his error that opened the floodgates. Gonzales gets paid to catch routine grounders. Bartman pays to catch foul balls.

Now they have by far the longest Series win drought in baseball. Second place goes to the Cleveland Indians, who last won in 1948. Come to think of it, the Indians looked pretty good coming down the stretch….

So, the Cubs missed their shot. But, if history is any guide, both Sox and the Cubs should have another chance in about 2091. I’ll only be 119 years old.

Point Three: Perhaps Bud Selig is more miserable than Cubs fans. The Series may have been the least watched Series ever. EVER. Intriguing teams, great players, hall of famers. No one watched.

Are you paying attention, Bud? Are you going to start marketing your sport, Bud?

This postseason was remarkably quick, and MLB had to lose a lot of money on it. With all of the sweeps and the White Sox domination, there were only six games played above the minimum number possible. SIX!!!! In seven series. Each playoff series averaged less than one game over the minimum. That's amazing.

I can't blame that on Bud, sadly. However, I'm curious to see what overreaction he has to this "crisis." Perhaps there will be a mandatory loss for any team that takes a 3-0 lead in a Series.

Perhaps he'll build in an advantage for NL teams, who have now lost 8 straight Series games. Ouch. In any event, MLB lost a lot of money this postseason, which is always fun to watch.

That's it for 2005, time to gather around the Hot Stove and countdown the days until we utter the greatest four words in the English Language....pitchers and catchers report.