October: Classic

Another baseball season comes to a close tonight. The season officially ended yesterday, but the National League has gone down to the wire, requiring a one-game playoff between the Padres and Rockies to see who will make a run at the World Series.

It was quite a season, especially in the NL. However, I don't see any surprises coming in October. The Padres somehow end up in the hunt all the time, and wind up on the early flight home after the first round.

As for the monumental collapse of the Mets, it was, well, monumental. They blew a 7 game lead with less than three weeks to go. Should have been a cinch. Instead, they let it come down to a final day where they had to beat a less-than-stellar Florida club, and get help from a Phillies loss. Neither happened. Glavine came out and pitched the worst clutch game of his life, allowing 7 runs in the first inning and committing a throwing error to third base. To add injury to insult, Mets slugger Carlos Delgado broke his hand on an inside pitch, so he'll be watching the World Series from his therapist's office while dipping his hand in a bucket of ice water.

The Phillies did what they had to do, winning their final game and partying well into the night. But baseball is a fickle mistress. No two week wait for the next round of the playoffs, as in football. These players must take to the field within the next few days, and stand the chance of going down 0-2 in a series while the champagne from Sunday is still drying on their heads.

The AL turned out as I thought it would. I said two months ago, when the Yankees were 'doomed,' that they would make a race out of the AL East, and that they would get into the playoffs.

The Toronto Blue Jays spent more money on their team yet again this year ($80 million and change), and yet again their wins went south. JP Ricciardi, the general manager, can say whatever he wants about injuries, but the facts are simple: make the playoffs. Now. This was his sixth year as the Jays GM, and his freshness has worn off. He's now a regular GM that is spending a ton of bread with nothing to show for it. Win. Period. Fans don't care about anything else.

Congrats go out to Lou Piniella. In his first year as manager, he's taking the Cubs to the playoffs. The Cubs haven't won a World Series since dinosaurs walked the earth. There's no reason to think that they'll win it this year, but with Piniella, they have a better chance than ever before. Good luck to him.

My early prediction for next year: Barry Bonds will end up as a DH in New York. The Giants dumped him, and he's too old to play in the National League. I can see the Yankees taking a chance on his bad reputation and giving him 4-at-bats per game with a few days off every month.

As for A-Rod, if he decides to leave NY, who can blame him? Last year, by anyone else's standards, he had a great season and the home crowd booed him. This year, he's having a Hall of Fame year and the NY crowd is chanting "MVP." Rodriguez must be thinking, "Oh, now you love me, huh?" If he walks, there is no reason to wonder why. It just depends if another team has a Brinks truck big enough to back all that money up to his front door.