What Happened To Mr. October?
Until Albert Pujols hit that magnificent homerun in Game 5 of the NLCS, the playoffs have had that empty taste of a big name Mr. October.
After the Yankees Alex Rodriguez and the Angels Vladimir Guerrero both tanked horrifically, the steely determination and clutch peformance by Pujols conjured memories of the original Mr. October, Reggie Jackson.
It's quite ironic that as both Rodriguez and Guerrero smashed any hope that their respective teams would advanced with their performances, viewers were repeatedly showed their infamous Pepsi commericial where they repeatedly knockout the stadium lights with their prodigious blasts.
Don't believe everything you see on television.
Conversely, anyone who TiVoed Game 5 of the NLCS--painfully many probably did in the Houston area--you might take a look at some of the pre-homer shots of Pujols in the dugout.
A fierce glare oozing with confidence and determination was clearly evident on his face. Did he know he was about to cut the throats out of the giddy Houston fans?
If St. Louis sweeps the last two games of the series at home, odds are that Albert Pujols raised his stature in the game quite a few slots in the order of the greatest ever.
THE GHOST OF HENDU
ESPN's Jim Caple has a good article catching up with former A's centerfielder, Dave Henderson, who was the last person to accomplish Pujols' feat of bringing his team back from the brink of elimination.
Hendu's two-out, two strike homer with the Boston Red Sox brought the team back from a 3-1 series deficit to beat the California Angels. It also may have led to the suicide of pitcher Donnie Moore, who gave up that gamebreaker.
ECK LENDS PERSPECTIVE TO BLOWING THE LEAD
Another former Athletic, the always candid Dennis Eckersley, has concerns for the young Houston closer, Brad Lidge, after giving up the game-winning homer to Pujols.
Eckersley famously placed the slider that the Dodgers Kirk Gibson clubbed into the rightfield stands during Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.
It's a good point by Eckersley that the youthful closer faces a huge struggle if I gets the ball again during this series. That is, if they ever get as close as one strike away from the World Series, again.
After the Yankees Alex Rodriguez and the Angels Vladimir Guerrero both tanked horrifically, the steely determination and clutch peformance by Pujols conjured memories of the original Mr. October, Reggie Jackson.
It's quite ironic that as both Rodriguez and Guerrero smashed any hope that their respective teams would advanced with their performances, viewers were repeatedly showed their infamous Pepsi commericial where they repeatedly knockout the stadium lights with their prodigious blasts.
Don't believe everything you see on television.
Conversely, anyone who TiVoed Game 5 of the NLCS--painfully many probably did in the Houston area--you might take a look at some of the pre-homer shots of Pujols in the dugout.
A fierce glare oozing with confidence and determination was clearly evident on his face. Did he know he was about to cut the throats out of the giddy Houston fans?
If St. Louis sweeps the last two games of the series at home, odds are that Albert Pujols raised his stature in the game quite a few slots in the order of the greatest ever.
THE GHOST OF HENDU
ESPN's Jim Caple has a good article catching up with former A's centerfielder, Dave Henderson, who was the last person to accomplish Pujols' feat of bringing his team back from the brink of elimination.
Hendu's two-out, two strike homer with the Boston Red Sox brought the team back from a 3-1 series deficit to beat the California Angels. It also may have led to the suicide of pitcher Donnie Moore, who gave up that gamebreaker.
ECK LENDS PERSPECTIVE TO BLOWING THE LEAD
Another former Athletic, the always candid Dennis Eckersley, has concerns for the young Houston closer, Brad Lidge, after giving up the game-winning homer to Pujols.
"I don't know the kid, but I don't think he's done it long enough to know what he's dealing with. I think a lot of it, with me, was that I was old enough to appreciate where I was and where I came from. I came back from the dead -- my whole story, you know -- and that helped. In the offseason. It really did."
Eckersley famously placed the slider that the Dodgers Kirk Gibson clubbed into the rightfield stands during Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.
It's a good point by Eckersley that the youthful closer faces a huge struggle if I gets the ball again during this series. That is, if they ever get as close as one strike away from the World Series, again.
