The Great Oswalt (or WORLD SERIES, BABY!)
Posted by: Bradley McDonald
It's been quite an emotional week. My grandmother, whose health had been slowly detoriorating over the past few months, passed away Monday morning. It wasn't unexpected, so our family was somewhat prepared, but it's always tough to say goodbye. I have a lot of good memories of playing at Grandma and Grandpa's house; they were everything grandparents are supposed to be and I'm very thankful for all the memories they've left me.
(I also had a mid-term exam and a project due in the two classes I'm taking, but since you probably don't care about finite state machine diagrams for validating floating point numbers, I'll spare you the details. Let's just say they took up valuable sleep time.)
It looked like the Astros would provide a pick-me-up Monday night when Berkman hit a three run homerun in the seventh inning to give Houston a 4-2 lead. Of course, we all know how that ended and we even have many pictures to prove it (thanks, Kent). I've never been so high then so low over one sporting event. It was heartbreaking, quite frankly.
Then I became nervous. Going back to St. Louis for two games didn't thrill me at all. And as Kent stated, "Mighty Mo swung red." But as I heard an announcer put it tonight: "Momentum is your team's next starting pitcher."
And, boy, did the Astro's next starting pitcher ever step up. Roy Oswalt allowed only three hits over seven innings to a team that averages 5 runs a game. He was just flat-out overpowering. His line in two games against the Cardinals this series: 14 innings pitched, 5 hits, 2 earned runs, and a 1.23 ERA. Not bad at all. Smells like an MVP.
After this week, I never needed a win so much. After 45 years and no World Series apearances, the city of Houston never needed a win so much. After a combined 33 years in the big leagues and not one World Series game, Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell never needed a win so much.
And they got it. Finally. Sweet Relief.
It's guys like Biggio and Bagwell that I'm so happy for. I feel like I grew up with them having followed the Astros so closely over their careers. You can tell what kind of person Biggio is just by watching an interview with him. He was choking up after the game tonight when he talked about how he just wanted to go home and give his boys a big hug.
I don't know whether to chalk this win up to experienced veterans or youthful exuberance. After Pujols demoralizing blast, I thought the 'Stros might come out nervous and flat. Wrong on both accounts. But was it because of calm leadership or did the young guys just not know they were supposed to be nervous?
All I know is that the team followed Roy's lead and competed. Competed their way to the Big One.
Thanks, boys. I needed that.
It's been quite an emotional week. My grandmother, whose health had been slowly detoriorating over the past few months, passed away Monday morning. It wasn't unexpected, so our family was somewhat prepared, but it's always tough to say goodbye. I have a lot of good memories of playing at Grandma and Grandpa's house; they were everything grandparents are supposed to be and I'm very thankful for all the memories they've left me.
(I also had a mid-term exam and a project due in the two classes I'm taking, but since you probably don't care about finite state machine diagrams for validating floating point numbers, I'll spare you the details. Let's just say they took up valuable sleep time.)
It looked like the Astros would provide a pick-me-up Monday night when Berkman hit a three run homerun in the seventh inning to give Houston a 4-2 lead. Of course, we all know how that ended and we even have many pictures to prove it (thanks, Kent). I've never been so high then so low over one sporting event. It was heartbreaking, quite frankly.
Then I became nervous. Going back to St. Louis for two games didn't thrill me at all. And as Kent stated, "Mighty Mo swung red." But as I heard an announcer put it tonight: "Momentum is your team's next starting pitcher."
And, boy, did the Astro's next starting pitcher ever step up. Roy Oswalt allowed only three hits over seven innings to a team that averages 5 runs a game. He was just flat-out overpowering. His line in two games against the Cardinals this series: 14 innings pitched, 5 hits, 2 earned runs, and a 1.23 ERA. Not bad at all. Smells like an MVP.
After this week, I never needed a win so much. After 45 years and no World Series apearances, the city of Houston never needed a win so much. After a combined 33 years in the big leagues and not one World Series game, Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell never needed a win so much.
And they got it. Finally. Sweet Relief.
It's guys like Biggio and Bagwell that I'm so happy for. I feel like I grew up with them having followed the Astros so closely over their careers. You can tell what kind of person Biggio is just by watching an interview with him. He was choking up after the game tonight when he talked about how he just wanted to go home and give his boys a big hug.
I don't know whether to chalk this win up to experienced veterans or youthful exuberance. After Pujols demoralizing blast, I thought the 'Stros might come out nervous and flat. Wrong on both accounts. But was it because of calm leadership or did the young guys just not know they were supposed to be nervous?
All I know is that the team followed Roy's lead and competed. Competed their way to the Big One.
Thanks, boys. I needed that.
