No real excitement yet. No classic games. But how about the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks?
The way the National League West race went down to the wire, forcing all of the contenders to be at their best until the final day of the regular season, seems to be paying off for the Rockies and D-Backs, who have been very impressive in rolling to 2-0 leads in their respective series’.
I have to get in a little jab at the Chicago Cubs, who have looked lethargic against Arizona. Maybe that will change when the Cubbies get home for two games at Wrigley Field, but there has to be a lot of grumbling going on in Chicago over a team that spent tons of money during the offseason to bolster the team. And here they are losing to an Arizona club with only a couple recognizable names and a payroll less than half of what the Cubs’ is.
I was happy to see Cleveland wallop the New York Yankees last night. I think Boston will finish the deal with the LA Angels.
As for my St. Louis Cardinals, these are nervous times. The Cardinals let their highly successful general manager of the past 13 years, Walt Jocketty, go the other day. The fate of manager Tony La Russa is in the air. It’s been a long time since there was this much turnover at the top of the franchise.
Personally, I’m for a change. I think the Cardinals have gotten a little stale over the past couple of years. I know, that sounds crazy when you consider they won a World Series championship in 2006. But even that team, during the second half of the regular season, played poorly.
The Jocketty-La Russa years have been beyond belief in St. Louis. But it’s probably time for a change. At least, that’s what I’m telling myself.