All-Time Great Catch Fails to Lift Mets Past Cards

The Catch


Endy Chavez leaps high over the fence at Shea to make a snow cone grab, robbing Scott Rolen of a potential two-run go-ahead home run for the Cardinals with the score tied at one in the top of the sixth inning of Game 7 in the 2006 Mets-Cards NLCS.

Put it in the context of the other great ones and you see how rare a feat it was . . . Few defensive plays in any sport carry near the weight of history that baseball's elite postseason defensive gems do. Perhaps it's because of the sheer drama and intensity of baseball's always special October. Or maybe it's just the do-or-do nature of the players who play them, and the way we who love baseball can't help but watch, entranced again, to see how it will all unfold.

Remember them now . . . .

In the top of the eighth inning of Game 1 of the '54 World Series, scored tied at two between the New York Giants and the Cleveland Indieans, with his back 180 degrees to home plate, Willie Mays runs full steam into the vast open space of centerfield at the Polo Grounds---desperately stretching his glove out and nabbing Vic Werz' deep smash . . . On top of that Mays gets the ball back into the infield for an inning-ending double play. Mays' play sends the Giants on to a four game sweep of the Tribe . . . .

Just a year later, also in the top of an eighth inning, this time in Game 7 of the World Series between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Yankees, Brooklyn's Sandy Amoros laying out down the left field line, parallel to the ground below, snaring Yogi Berra's drive and spurring the Dodgers past the Yankees for a series victory . . . Amoros was also able to turn his catch into a double play.

And then in the third inning of Game 6 of the 1991 Fall Classic between the Twins and the Braves (in maybe the best World Series ever played), with the score tied at two, Hall of Fame centerfielder Kirby Puckett skies at the fence, going up and over the plexiglass with his glove and stealing a home run from Ron Gant, and the Twins rallied past the Braves to win the Series in seven games at home . . . Puckett would also win Game 6 with a home run in the bottom of the eleventh inning. Amazing.

And then the play we began with here, just last night in the sixth inning of tie game between the Mets and Cardinals, not in a World Series but in a league championship series Game 7 nonetheless, Endy Chavez up and over the fence and perfectly timing a snowcone grab of Scott Rolen's scorcher off of Oliver Perez. Unfortunately for Chavez, a 3-1 loss by his Mets to the Cardinals in the game will probably always render his catch the least signifcant of the four postseason moments in the grander context of future baseball discussions.


World Series Matchup


So it will be the Cardinals and the Tigers in a rematch of the 1968 World Series that went seven games. Detroit rallied from 3-1 down to win that best of seven set, and it's hard to discount the Tigers as the favorite to take it all again this time around. Bolstered mightily by its starting pitching all year long, Detroit has gotten great efforts up and down the rotation so far in the playoffs. What it's even scarier is the timely, clutch hitting that Magglio Ordonez has provided. We really haven't seen this much power from Mags since he left the ChiSox two years ago. If his hot streak continues, and Pudge, Monroe and Guillen are able to support him in the lineup, Saint Louis is in trouble.

But don't discount the Cardinals' overall grittiness. Saint Louis has overcome major injuries that have permanently or partially hindered almost every big name in the lineup---Mark Mulder, Jason Isringhausen, Scott Rolen, David Eckstein, and even Big Albert himself all on the list.

If Saint Louis is to pull off one last stunner, it's going to be largely on the shoulders of a suddenly dominant bullpen. With Wainwright, Kinney and Flores all getting big outs, the goal for the Cards' is to make it a seven inning game. The key will be how good a job Pujols and his supporting cast do of putting enough marks in the scoring column before then.


The Guys Behind the Final Two


The best battle of all will probably be watching the managers in the confrontation between Tony LaRussa and Jim Leyland. These guys are both Hall of Famers, and both have pushed all the right buttons in getting their teams to where they are. Leyland won the World Series with the young Florida Marlins in 2003, while LaRussa's single ring came at the helm of the Oakland Athletics in 1988. Both of these guys have tremendous regular season records with the likes of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Saint Louis Cardinals, but neither has won the big one "enough" times for the always-vocal naysayers out there. The naysaying should stop right now though. Regardless of who win's this year's title, they've both done phenomenal jobs just to get their teams to this unexpected point.


Prediction: Tigers in six


-JAB

Upset of Auburn Launches Hogs Into New Stratosphere

The tingly feeling Arkansas' road upset of #2 Auburn gave to its fans on Saturday will last through the month of October. With three utterly winnable games lined up against the likes of Southeast Missouri State, Ole Miss and Louisana-Monroe, it's hard to imagine the Hogs being anything less than 7-1 headed into the month of October. Already up by two full games in the SEC West race, the Razorbacks have seen a season of uncertainty rapidly develop into one of unbridled optimism.

And yet, there's one major side effect that accompanies Arkansas' new piece of real estate (#17 in the AP, #23 in the Coaches) in the Top 25 polls: raised expectations. A loss on the road against South Carolina in early November is no longer acceptable. A loss to Tennessee at home on the 11th of November may not be either. This is what happens when you win big games . . . People just expect more out of you.

Even with the weight of increased expectations in play, there are clearly many things to be excited about in terms of this year's young Razorback football team. With Darren McFadden emerging as the most dominant tailback in the SEC, with Felix Jones proving to be a phenomenal change of pace runner, with an offensive line that just dominated the second-ranked Tigers, with a talented young receiving corps starting to find its way, with a true feshman quarterback who's learning on the job what it takes to pilot the ship of a winning SEC team, with a Gus Malzahn playbook that's only just beginning to open up---there's no doubt that this team has barely scratched the surface offensively. And that bodes awfully scary for the remaining opponents on Arkansas' schedule.

Houston Nutt survived all of the September negativity and very well may prove to have the last laugh with this team. In addition to the improving offense, the defense has come a long way in a short amount of time, with the front four of Keith Jackson, Marcus Harrison, Jamaal Anderson and Antwain Robinson finally gelling as a unit and getting consistent pressure on opposing backfields. The linebacking corps is thin, for sure, but it's filled with steady tacklers in Sam Olajubutu, Weston Dacus and converted safety Matt Hewitt. And the secondary has plenty of speed, though it'd be nice to see the cover guys turn their heads to see the football on a few more plays.

What does it all boil down to? Arkansas is in a commanding position, solely in the driver's seat of the SEC West. Sweep the highly sweepable slate in October, take three of four from South Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi State and LSU in November (plausible at the least) and you'll get the chance to take your best shot at Florida in the SEC Championship game first week of December in Atlanta.

Win that one and you will be playing in a BCS game. Some would call it unrealistic dreaming, I call it a now distinct possibility. Arkansas just might end up the best team in the 2006 Southeastern Conference when all is said and done.

How would you feel about those apples, Razorback nation?

-JAB