The Sports Section

Sometime between the moment that Yadier Molina's home run clinched the NLCS for the Cardinals and the moment when Anthony Reyes released the first pitch of game one, the Detroit Tigers won the World Series. They are still three games away from an actual victory, they still have to face Suppan and Carpenter, and they still have to see how Robertson and Bonderman will hold up in these high pressure games. But before any player had even stepped on to the field at Comerica Park, the Tigers were already winners; not because they have better pitchers (although they do), or because they are a better team (though they are), but because they have a better story.

Looking at the St. Louis Cardinals, it doesn't take long to see why they are not the story of this year's fall classic. People love to see an underdog, but not one that doesn't really deserve to be where it is. To me, it's not magical that a team that only won 87 games is in the World Series. To me, this means that the level of competition in the National League is not where it should be.

It's also not a shock to see St. Louis in the post-season. They were there in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005 and this year won their second pennant in three years. In 2004, their last trip to the World Series, they were also playing against a team with a better story; The Boston Red Sox. The Cardinals are a good team and I could wax nostalgic about seeing Mookie Wilson's step son, Preston, win a World Series. But we all know that Preston will never hit a slow grounder through Carlos Guillen's legs to win it all; the Cardinals are far from Amazin'.

Speaking of amazin', if the Mets had won the National League like they were supposed to, this really would be a battle of two storied franchises. Of two sports crazed cities and two oft-forgotten teams. It would be Minaya and Randolph, a Queens native and a Yankees hero, vs. Illich and Leyland, a Detroit native, and a grizzly shrunken man, who promised a run down city that they could have a championship team, and made good on that promise.

If the Mets had won, it would be the battle of the resurrected careers. It would be Floyd, Delgado and Franco, vs. Pudge and Ordonez. If the Mets had won it would be a battle of a remarkable but young pitching staff with Bonderman and Verlander vs. a remarkable but young infield with Reyes and Wright. If the Mets had won it would be the battle of the inextinguishable veterans; Glavine and Rogers.

If the Mets had won it would be their chance to exert dominance over New York sports vs. the Tigers chance to silence the Twins and the White Sox, the egocentric powerhouses of mid-west American League baseball.

If the Mets had won, I would lose sleep over who I wanted to win the World Series more, which manager I liked better, which rookie was headed to Cooperstown faster, which aging pitcher had just enough gas.

But the Mets didn't win. So, instead the Tigers face the Cardinals. They head to Busch stadium, in its third incarnation, to its stands populated by the western half of the city it represents, to a team that discovered and pampered Albert Pujols, the only beefy slugger in the game who does not get questioned about steroids. Instead it's Leyland vs. LaRussa, the guy no one has heard of against the guy everyone has heard of. Instead, it's the team that defied everyone's expectations to dominate a difficult division vs. the team that defied everyone's expectations of how badly you could play all year to still end up in the World Series.

I am thrilled that this year won't be a sweep, and that the two teams are hitting well and pitching better. I like late inning scares like Todd Jones supplied last night, provided that they end right, as it did last night. But, I also like a good story. The Red Sox were the story of 2004; the White Sox were the story of 2005. Here's hoping the Tigers will be the story of 2006.

Posted by Snugget on 10.23.2006 at 2:35 PM | Permalink