Last night at work ESPN Classic dug deep by broadcasting a tilt from waaayyyyy back. Although I could barely remember the details of it, it is one very near and dear to my heart. Namely, the 1981 National League Championship Series between the LA Dodgers and Montreal Expos.
Initially, I thought it was the decisive and gut churning Game 5, more commonly known as Blue Monday. Which always makes me puke up my poutine just thinking about it. But to my very pleasant surprise, ESPN was not that sadistic and was airing the very close and very epic Game 3.
While I don't remember much about the actual series (having watched it as a lad) I do remember one thing very clearly. That at that time, the Expos ruled the nation. For a lot of you young hipsters dancing to your disco punk, I know that this is a very tough notion to digest, but believe you me. It was real.
Very real. In the days before the Blue Jays were driving to the post season, the Expos were Canada's team. CBC routinely broadcast their games, Olympic Stadium was always packed, and the squad was very, very good.
Watching this pantheon team in action once again, consisting of the likes of Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, Tim Raines and Steve Rogers, I was blown away by how solid they were. As a kid is was instilled in me that they were good. The CBC said so, therefore it must be true. Watching close to 30 years later, as a full grown baseball fan, it still rings true, Brian Williams or no Brian Williams. They were awesome.
During Game 3, in an intense pitcher's duel and trailing 1-0 for most of the game, Rogers managed to hold the line so that Carter and Dawson could lead the charge in the sixth. After Carter scored off a Larry Parrish single and Dawson and Parrish triumphantly trotted home off the ensuing Jerry White homer(don't worry..I don't know who this is either...), Les Boys were up 4-1.
And Le Stad. Went. Fou.
This was the buzz that epitomized the city at the time. Montreal fans are notoriously deathly passionate about hockey and it spilled over baseball. Olympic Stadium was the place to be as 50 000 fans rocked la masion consistently.
And most importantly the Expos were likable. They had it all. Quality pitching, hot hitting, stellar defence. They never appeared arrogant, yet did their thing with a swagger that only a team on the cusp of doing great things can roll onto the field with. I would put them up there with the great Oilers teams of the '80s.
Carter had a lot to do with it. As the franchise player, he always displayed an upbeat and honest disposition. When ever he was interviewed, he was always friendly, calm and gracious. Always had time for the fans. Always had time for the kids. He seemed like a nice guy so you couldn't but help but root for him. Not because you were told to by TV commercials, but because you wanted to. You believed him. Reggie Jackson is the first baseball player I remember. Gary Carter is the first baseball player I liked.
As well as Dawson and Raines and Francona (yes, the one that is the current RedSox Manager) and the rest of Les Lads. They brought a buzz to the country that set the table for the Jays a few years later. Post season ball in Canada was unheard of. And here they were, a game away from the World Series. The anticipation was unreal. They were the first team to make us believe that we could compete with our neighbours to the south at their own game. And even win.
So it is, on the heels of this National League gem, with the memory of the great Expos buzz of '81 still lingering, I bring to you the official Maniwaki MLB Preview Of 2008. As the Skip and I started this almanac four years ago now, some things have changed, others have not. The format has been fluid from year to year (this year I'll be dissecting one Division per day), but the order has remained as strict as an 18th Century English teacher.
So let's throw the opening pitch of '08 in:
The National League East.
1. Pedro And The Prodigal Sons. In 1985, DC Comics decided that their creation had become too overwhelming and thus, unwieldy. Boasting not only one, two or even ten universes for their heroes to inhabit, DC Comics had a vast amount that ran throughout their publications. As you can imagine trying to keep track of two Supermans, two Wonder Womans, various versions of Robin as well as a whole roster of Superboys was a nightmare for readers, never mind the DC front office.
So, in an attempt to simplify theirs and everyone else's situation, they launched "The Crisis On Infinite Earths," a 12 part maxi series that had ramifications that are still reverberating throughout comics today. To summarize: DC took these "infinite universes" and condensed them into one continuity, destroying many worlds and characters in the process. An implosion of such magnitude it is almost to colossal to comprehend.
Yet, it is only on this scale that the Mets' collapse of last season can be measured. With 18 games to go in '07, the Mets were up by 7, (a lock to win the div) yet managed to drop game after, game after, after game, after ga..(you get the idea) until Philly had no choice but to take over top spot.
I've read articles over the winter about how the Mets' front office circulated memos to their staff to combat the very real grieving process they were all going through. When they all got to stage 5, "acceptance," they were ready to carry on.
And carry on they did, making a monstrous splash in the off season reeling in the BIGGEST of fishes, one Johan Santana from the Twins. Santana is a true heavy weight of the League, and would most definitely have survived the Crisis On Infinite Earths purge. Much like the Big Red "S" of DC comics, the Big Blue "S" of Shea Stadium will be a massive force in rebuilding his new realm. Along with the help of other superheroes (and get ready for this list...) David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, Jose Reyes, and Pedro. There's no way this squad doesn't walk away with the title by at least 10 games.
Put it like this. If Pedro is happy and healthy (cracking off many nonsensical "mango tree" quips and as well as engaging in his other general shenanigans), he is a force. Put him behind Santana and the two will absolutely devastate the division. The aforementioned Beltran and company are by no means B-list either. The Mets this year will be able to successfully shake off the Crisis and quite possibly be the the most unbeatable team in the entire Bigs.
2. No Phucking Chance. I don't care how good they are. I don't care what Phillies Short Stop Jimmy Rollins proclaims this year. They have a guy named Chad Durbin in their rotation. As well as a guy named JD Durbin (no relation). Add to that a relief pitcher named Mike Zagurski and the Phillies are starting to sound more like a scrubby squad from small town Saskatchewan that I played against in Bantams in '86. Two Durbins and a Zagurski. On a big league squad. Never mind the steroid problem in baseball, we have a skid problem in baseball. It's only a matter of time before Congress holds hearings.
3.The Colorado Avalanche Of Baseball. If re-signing Adam Foote and Peter Forsberg didn't work for the Avs in the NHL, do the Braves really think they'll really recreate the Seinfeld era by bringing Glavine home and chucking him in the rotation alongside John Smoltz? Chipper looks anything but these days and it almost looks like he might finish the season in AA (and I don't mean the minors...) While manager Bobby Cox seemed ancient to me in '85 when he coached the Jays. Throw in Old Man Hampton rocking away on the porch of this rotation as well and you have a squad that makes the cast of Star Trek VI seem like fresh faced rookies straight out of Starfleet Academy. Boldly going nowhere.
[In sharp contrast to the Expos tribute at the beginning of this article, I will now fling the door open to the NL East basement and venture down into the perpetually putrid pit that it is.]
4. Enough Of This Shit. Current Marlins' owner Jeffery Loria, not content with destroying baseball in Montreal when he owned the Expos, has done another bang up job of dismantling another team. Not that I have any remote allegiance to the Fish from Florida (truth be told, I detest them thoroughly), but let's once again dare to peer into the blackest parts of the human sole by putting Loria under the lens.
When he's not threatening the city of Miami to move the team to Las Vegas, or Hell, he's dumping off their prize players like they're discarded innards from a big game fishing trip. Sound familiar?
How about staff ace, Dontrelle Willis and phenom Miguel Carbrera getting shipped off to Detroit for an old Walkman Eminem once owned and two Ted Nugent concert ticket stubs from '78?
Doesn't sound so hot does it? If you're a hardcore Marlins fan (and God help you if you are...) you might not be so inclined to hit the park this year will you? You might even feel a tad jaded and resentful. So much so that you just might even find better things to do than watch your team get gutted like a mackeral before your very eyes.
Never mind the steroid and skid problems. Baseball has a Loria problem.
5. A National Disgrace. Continuing on this sunny stroll, lets take a look the fruits of Loria's labours.
Well, well, well... tell you where I won't be on opening day.
At the grand opening of the brand spanking new Nationals' Park, where President Bush is scheduled to throw out the first pitch. Maybe if DC taxpayers are lucky, Loria and Commisioner Bud Selig will join him on the mound to pose for a new Axis Of Evil photo op.
Most likely a rain delay will be called, due to MLB pissing all over everyone. From the fans in Montreal to the fans in DC to everyone that got absolutely pantsed on the relocation/stadium fiasco.
If it wasn't bad enough that Loria eviscerated the Expos and then sold them to MLB (making off like a fiend in the process), the league then used the team as leverage to pressure Washington into a ridiculous stadium deal which pretty much absolved them of any of the stadium costs. Although MLB owned the team, they felt that that the entire expense should be shouldered by the moms and pops of the District. That don't smell like apple pie to me.
And if that's not enough, when Baseball did finally get this heist down on paper and the stadium was well under construction, they sold the depleted team for about double the price. Just swell.
So aside from this ugly back story, let's take a look at what the Nationals are actually throwing out on the field in '08.
And it doesn't look like much. This year's roster boasts:
i. A steroid user. The recently acquired catcher, Paul Loduca, got caught with his syringe down in the Mitchell report. Yikes.
ii. A criminal. Apparently trying to fill the void left by the volatile Jose Guillen, the Nats picked up Elijah Dukes from the Devil Rays in the off season. His rap sheet reads as follows: domestic assault, resisting arrest and multiple drug charges. He's also accused of impregnating a 17 year old foster child who was living with his relatives. He'll most likely become the face of the organization.
iii.A lot of has-beens. Christian Guzman and Aaron Boone? Really? That's the best you can come up with? Luis Ayalya on the hill? Are you kidding? This guy got shot hunting in the off season and just about had to miss spring training due to the buck shot in his arm. I'm not kidding.
So this is what it's come to? We've gone from Gary Carter, to a cheating steroid user. Andre Dawson to an aspiring felon, and Steve Rogers to an idiot who can't shoot or pitch.
Youppi must be walking around Montreal wearing a paper bag. Or doing back flips that this sorry, sorry squad is far removed from his heyday at Le Stad.
To conclude, The National League East is by far the most preposterous division in all of baseball. Aside from the Mets (who last year demonstrated their share fieldly follies), everyone else this season will be running around like circus clowns, throwing pies in each others' faces, and attempting to pile into Ladas. That ultimately go nowhere.
Tommorrow, The Central.
The N.L. East as it was meant to be.
