Thanks to Kathryn, Rich and other great Yankee fans who graciously offered their condolences to Warren, me and other suffering Met fans. Last night was painful. Thanks to Cliff’s shrewd scheduling of FDD’s 5th anniversary celebration, I caught only the excruciating bottom of the 9th (I pulled over on Times Square and watched it on the huge TV). What really pains me, I think, is that we were so worried about the very thin starting pitching, and it turned out to be the hitting and the bullpen — the things that carried the team all year — that let us down in the end.
But I’ve been at the dreary end of a lot of Met seasons, and there’s a lot more appreciation and optimism than disappointment coming out of this one. When they lost to the Yanks in the 2000 World Series, they were an old, flawed team that had probably missed its last chance. This time around, the future is bright. They should be very competitive again next year and for years to come. Willie Randolph and Omar Minaya have really done a great job changing the tone.
John J., the ‘68 World Series is the second one I remember well (I was 9 years old) — the first one being the Cardinals’ great ‘67 series win against the Red Sox. It was the year of Denny McClain’s unbelievable 30-win season (starters barely get 30 STARTS anymore, much less come close to 30 wins), but I think Mickey Lolich, not McClain, was the star of the series. Great Tiger team — Al Kaline, Willie Horton, Gates Brown, Bill Freehan, and on and on. And the Cardinals of Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Orlando Cepeda, Mike Shannon, Tim McCarver … What a tremendous series.
Don’t be fooled by only 83 wins. These new Cardinals are very good, and Albert Pujols is simply a great player. The Tigers should win, but it will not be a cake-walk.