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Top 2006 highlights for postseason clubs
Updated 10/31/2006 12:34 AM ET E-mail | Save | Print |
By Devra Maza for USA TODAY
For every baseball team there is a defining moment, a point in time so
emblematic that its images outlast the season. Often, these moments are so
inspiring they can color the character of a club, imbuing individual
players with a collective personality.
"For fans, a moment means so much more than a cold statistic or a dry
fact," Los Angeles Dodgers team historian Mark Langill says. "A visual
highlight or good story is just as important as a milestone. A rookie's
walk-off home run in the ninth might not be a significant statistic, but
it's a heck of a moment."
For the eight clubs that made baseball's postseason, these moments were as
idiosyncratic as the teams that played them, yet all were revealing. Be it
a pivotal game, play or player, these scenes sparked the imagination and
helped shape how teams will be remembered for years to come.
As Langill says, "A true fan has the courage to dream." For fans who saw
these moments, the dream became reality. And for the World Series winners,
reality became the dream.
Devra Maza, author of a baseball screenplay called The Show, has written
about the postseason teams' visual moments:
Dodgers do the impossible
It still seems impossible.
On Sept. 18, the Los Angeles Dodgers were playing the San Diego Padres for
first place. The score was 9-5 in the bottom of the ninth. With their
Dodgers down four runs, fans hit the exits. They should've waited. What
was about to happen was worth the traffic. A leadoff home run got the
remaining fans on their feet. Then a second home run hit the seats. Then a
third ... and a fourth!
As the stadium rocked, FSN's cameras caught bailing fans in the parking
lot trying to get back in. The Dodgers had hit four consecutive homers to
tie the score.
How do you top that?
Listen: In the top of the 10th, the Padres battled back with a run to take
the lead but wait this isn't their moment. In the bottom of the 10th
came a walk you heard me a walk.
Then Nomar Garciaparra hit a two-run, walk-off home run, and the stadium
exploded, inside and out.
Coincidentally, the Dodgers would be swept in the playoffs by the New York
Mets when they lost their last game by the score of 9-5. It would have
taken five home runs to win it, and, as everyone knows, that's impossible.
Mets get much from Glavine
The mighty Atlanta Braves had gone to the postseason for 14 consecutive
full seasons. It would take a lot to dethrone them. But the New York Mets
had the mojo to rule the NL East including former Brave Tom Glavine.
He began strong, in one stretch winning nine consecutive starts. Then the
team's mojo tripped. There were bathroom slips, torn tendons and tennis
elbows. Then Glavine's fingers went numb. New York held its collective
breath as the lefty flexed his hand at a news conference. The moment would
sum up the Mets' season of excellence and injury. When Glavine got back
his grip, he picked the ball up where he left off, notching his 290th win
on the last weekend.
Then in the playoffs, with two starters down, he stepped up to hurl 16
scoreless innings until the St. Louis Cardinals finally sent the Mets
home. But he'll probably be back next year to get his 300th win. He might
be the last to do it.
Final-day drama as Mauer makes history
Despite all the homer hankies in the Homerdome, the Minnesota Twins were
playing small ball. Leading the charge was their catcher, Joe Mauer, whose
seeing-eye singles had him running neck and neck for the batting title
with the New York Yankees' Derek Jeter, who was having an MVP year.
It would come down to the last day of the season, when Twins fans found
themselves watching three games at once: their own, the Yankees', and the
Detroit Tigers', with whom they were tied atop their division.
The day began with Mauer ahead of Jeter by only .001. In their first
at-bats, Jeter got a hit but Mauer struck out. Next, Mauer doubled while
Jeter missed chances. Then, in some freak moment of baseball magic,
everything converged. Suddenly, with Mauer up, the scoreboard flashed
Detroit falling behind by a run, and Mauer stepped out of the batter's box
to give fans time to cheer. Meanwhile, in New York, Jeter struck out
swinging.
Within minutes, Mauer stepped back into the box and smacked his second
hit, clinching the title the first catcher in American League history to
win a batting crown. By day's end, the division would be clinched as well.
South Side salutes its former hero
They say you can't go home again. Even future Hall of Famers visiting
former teams find themselves booed by the very fans whose caps they might
one day wear on a bronze plaque.
So May 22, when Oakland Athletics slugger Frank Thomas returned to Chicago
for the first time after 16 years of service there, the only question was
about his reception.
The breakup hadn't been pretty, but much to their credit, the White Sox
fans, feeling generous in their world championship reign, hailed The Big
Hurt's return and even cheered his home run. But when he slugged a second
one, the cheers mixed with jeers as if to say, "Welcome back. Now please
don't hurt us."
Too late.
He starred as the slugger the A's needed, hitting 39 homers and adding two
more in the Division Series. But his bat fell silent in the AL
Championship Series, and with each shot of a dejected Thomas in the
dugout, one had to wonder: Who's hurting now?
Tigers react to Leyland's tirade
"I don't fine guys," Jim Leyland once said. "I don't want their money. I
want their effort." So on April 17, when he didn't get that effort, the
chain-smoking manager of the Detroit Tigers let off steam. His
expletive-laced lecture echoed through the closed clubhouse doors after
the "lackluster" game.
The smoke was still rising when Leyland vented to the media. "We stunk,"
he fumed. "It's just not good enough." The postgame smack-down turned
around the Tigers, who made the postseason for the first time since 1987.
Later, the pennant-winning players hoisted their teary-eyed manager on
their shoulders and carried him off the field. Too bad the Tigers didn't
have enough fire left for the World Series.
What have you done lately
Nothing in Yankee Stadium is cheap. From the players to the concessions,
only the best is served, so it was shocking, even shameful, when their
devoted fans chose to boo Alex Rodriguez as he struggled through June. New
York's natives expected a lot of bang for their buck, and there were a lot
of bucks to be booed.
Then came July's Subway Series with the Mets, hyped as a postseason
preview. It was in the final game that Rodriguez finally busted out of his
slump and blasted the grand slam and three-run homers that turned the boos
to cheers.
Still, the June booing of A-Rod proved money can't buy love, and the
Yankees' October All-Star lineup proved it couldn't buy championships,
either. Good pitching really does beat good hitting no matter how
high-priced the hot dogs.
La Russa takes rotation gamble
Everyone said, "The St. Louis Cardinals backed into the playoffs." The
pitching was "iffy," a slugger was injured, the Houston Astros were
gaining, whatever would they do? If you were looking for their manager to
tip his hand, you would've looked twice in the dugout. Like a card shark
at a high-stakes poker table, Tony La Russa was wearing sunglasses even
at night games.
The crafty skipper dealt his Cards on the last day of the regular season.
With the division on the line, La Russa decided to hold his ace for the
playoffs and shuffled his rotation. His bluff was nearly called when the
Cardinals lost, but the Astros also lost and the Cardinals advanced. The
strategy paid off as the ace, Chris Carpenter, started the National League
Division Series and won the first game and got the clincher in Game 4.
In the end, the World Series championship proved what the Cardinals knew
all along: They hadn't backed in. They were led.
Closing it out big time
"Save the cheerleader; save the world." That's the mantra of the eponymous
leads in NBC's new hit Heroes.
But if they really wanted to save something, they'd call the San Diego
Padres' Trevor Hoffman.
His superpower: a changeup. His theme song: Hells Bells.
When it was Trevor Time in San Diego, the bells tolled and Hoffman jogged
in to the rescue. Sept. 24, he was called on to save the city from the
Pittsburgh Pirates.
Three up, three down.
As a grateful crowd cheered, fireworks and streamers flew. Hoffman had
just become baseball's all-time saves leader with 479. As the vanquished
Pirates applauded, Hoffman, clearly moved, pressed his cap to his heart.
He was human after all.
He would only get the ball once in the playoffs, but the fans would
remember the moment when Hoffman saved the day and turned Pirates into
cheerleaders.
***
Screenwriter Devra Maza has written a baseball movie called The Show and
is writing one on horse racing. She frequently writes articles about film
and baseball.
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Throwing
The objective of any throw is to hit
the target provided. Generally, on a force play or cut-off throw the goal
is to make the throw to the chest area of your target. On a tag play, the
throw should be made roughly (6 inches) above the dirt on the side of the
base the tag is to be made.
If the throws consistently hit the mark, the throwing mechanics are most
probably very good. However, if missing the mark is a regular occurrence,
then mechanics most likely need correcting.
Factors to consider in having good throwing mechanics are:
1 - Grip;
2 - Stance;
3 - Arm Action and Follow-through.
With reference to grip, assuming the hands are big enough, the index and
middle fingers should be on top of the ball roughly (.5-.75 inches) apart
at the tips of the fingers. The thumb should be located underneath the
ball positioned between the index and middle finger. In terms of depth,
the ball should be held on the finger tips so that a pocket of air exists
between the palm and the ball. Finally, the ball should be held with a
four seem grip (top fingers should be positioned perpendicular to the
horse shoe formation of the seams). The four seam grip promotes the
straightest flight for the ball, thereby, increasing the probability of an
accurate throw. A two seam grip (holding the ball along two seams)
promotes lateral ball movement and makes it more difficult to throw a
straight ball.
With respect to stance, other than having the feet roughly shoulder-width
apart and the weight on the balls of your feet, the most important factor
is to point the glove shoulder at the target, in much the same manner a
quarterback would. Therefore, a right-handed thrower would point his/her
left shoulder at the target.
It is difficult to discuss arm action and follow through simply through
words and images. There are numerous variables to consider. The two most
important components, however, are throwing elbow positioning and
follow-through path.
In order to minimize the strain on the throwing elbow the position of the
elbow during the forward motion as it moves past the body should be at
shoulder height or slightly higher (regardless of the throwing action is
"over the top" or "three quarters"). If the elbow is below shoulder height
it is only a matter of time until elbow injuries occur.
In reference to follow through it is extremely important the arm finish
the path it has begun. Generally speaking, the arm should finish going by
the left hip (if the thrower is throwing with his right hand). In doing
so, the muscles generating the arm movement are allowed to maximize
acceleration and efficiently decelerate the arm in a safe manner. Not
allowing the arm to follow its natural follow through path forces many of
the muscles to work extra hard to slow down the arm. This can result in
injury and is one aspect of what is referred to as "short-arming the
ball".
Therefore, to achieve good throwing mechanics the player must start with a
good grip (four seam), point his/her glove shoulder at the intended
target, while keeping a solid balanced stance and execute safe arm action
and follow through.
The objective of any throw is to hit the target provided. Generally, on a
force play or cut-off throw the goal is to make the throw to the chest
area of your target. On a tag play, the throw should be made roughly (6
inches) above the dirt on the side of the base the tag is to be made. |
