Everything Old Is New Again

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One hundred years ago today, Wrigley Field (known then as Weeghman Park) hosted its first baseball game. It was the home of the Chicago Whales of the Federal League.

In the first half of the 1920s, it was known as Cubs Park, and it was the home of the National League's Chicago Cubs — as it still is today. In November 1926, it was renamed Wrigley Field after chewing gum bigwig William Wrigley Jr., who owned the Cubs at the time.

"Most of what we know of Wrigley Field came to be in 1937," writes Tim Newcomb for Sports Illustrated, "when then–owner P.K. Wrigley urged Cubs general manager Bill Veeck to spruce up the stadium, which had already been renovated in 1921 and 1926. ... The owner wanted a park–like setting, similar to what he'd seen in trips to ballparks in California. That vision gave us the park we know today, complete with ivy, a brick outfield wall and a scoreboard."

When a sports venue has existed for a century, it is to be expected that it has hosted its share of luminaries, but Wrigley may have had more than its share in that time. Many stadiums have doubled as homes for baseball and football. Wrigley has truly been an all–purpose facility.

"Wrigley has also hosted professional boxing, professional soccer, college football (Northwestern and DePaul have both called it home) and even a ski jump competition from the upper deck in 1943," Newcomb writes. "All those events, not to mention a visit from every National League team since 1916 (and Michael Jordan once during his baseball days, the only big–league stadium he played in), have brought a who's who of visitors through the locker room."

Only Fenway Park, which observed its centennial a couple of years ago, is older, but Fenway is home to an American League club. In the National League, no stadium is as old as Wrigley Field. Not even close.

In a season that has already saluted the 40th anniversary of Hank Aaron's record–setting home run, baseball has another milestone in Chicago today — and lots of folks will be on hand to celebrate.

The game will match the Cubs and the Arizona Diamondbacks. This may be the brightest the spotlight will shine on these teams all year. After last Sunday's games, both teams were already eight games behind their divisions' leaders.

The teams are unimportant. A game must be played, and Commissioner Bud Selig will be there to see it, as will several noteworthy Cubs, such as Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Andre Dawson, Fergie Jenkins.

"The first 30,000 fans will receive a replica 1914 Chicago Federals jersey," reports MLB.com, "and the first 10,000 fans will get a birthday cupcake."

WGN will be on hand to provide coverage of the big event — which, appropriately, will take place during the day. Until 1988, all the games that were played in Wrigley Field were played in the day. But lights finally were installed in 1988, and the ballpark joined the rest of the baseball world and began scheduling night games.

Day games are still played at Wrigley Field, and today's game will be played in chilly but sunny conditions, according to the forecasters.

It's funny, but I never realized before that Wrigley Field and Harry Caray, the longtime announcer for Cubs games, were born less than two months apart. Caray was born in March 1914.

It does seem appropriate, though.

A Starry Night

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If you have ever watched a major league baseball all–star game (including the one that was played last night), you are sure to have seen the clip of Pete Rose ripping into Ray Fosse like a chainsaw to score the winning run in the 12th inning of the 1970 All–Star Game.

I remember watching that game. I was heavily into baseball card collecting in those days, but, with the exception of Saturday afternoon baseball broadcasts and the playoffs, I seldom saw a major league game.

I remember listening to St. Louis Cardinals games on the radio when I was a child (and picturing in my mind the faraway stadiums in faraway cities), but nearly all of the pro ball games I saw in person before my teenage years were played by the minor league team that was based in Little Rock.

Cable began to change all that a decade or so later, but the All–Star Game was always a big deal to me when I was growing up. No matter how infrequently I saw major league games, I always knew that the guys playing in the All–Star Game were all but certain to wind up in the Hall of Fame.

The teams that met in Detroit's Tiger Stadium 40 years ago tonight were loaded with guys who were destined for Cooperstown. Eleven of the guys on the National League roster, and nine players on the American League roster have made it so far.

One of those players was Reggie Jackson, who was playing for the Oakland Athletics in those days. He didn't start that All–Star Game, but he came in after a few innings and, in the third inning, he hit a home run that propelled the American League to its only All–Star victory between 1962 and 1982.

Every run in the American League's 6–4 triumph scored on home runs that came from the bat of a future Hall of Famer. Other than that, there was nothing especially noteworthy about them — except for Jackson's. It was a towering shot that covered more than 500 feet — and might well have gone farther had it not hit some lights.

I was reminded of that home run several years later when I saw nearly the same thing (albeit with quite a bit more of a pyrotechnic effect) dramatized in the film "The Natural."

(The other future Hall of Famers who drilled homers in that game — setting an All–Star Game record for home runs by both teams that still stands, I believe — were Johnny Bench, Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson, Harmon Killebrew and Roberto Clemente.)

There were other things that made the '71 Midsummer Classic memorable.

For one thing, it was the last All–Star Game ever played at historic Tiger Stadium. When the All–Star Game returned to Detroit in 2005, the Tigers were playing in a different facility.

It was also the last time Clemente appeared in an All–Star Game. An All–Star selection 15 times in his magnificent career, Clemente actually was chosen again in 1972 but was injured at the time of the game and unable to play.

He died a few months later in a plane crash while taking relief supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.

Clemente's solo home run in the top of the eighth was the last run scored in the 1971 All–Star Game — and Clemente's final All–Star at–bat.

I suppose it foreshadowed, in a way, the conclusion of his regular–season career a year later. On the last day of the 1972 season, in his last at–bat, Clemente got his 3,000th hit.

Pennant Races

They played major league baseball's All–Star Game the other day, and now the baseball teams all have resumed their regular schedules following the three–day All–Star break.

How does it look in each division?

Well, let's start with the American League.

• In the Eastern Division, the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees could be about to treat baseball fans to one of their epic duels. The Red Sox lead the Yankees by two games — but if the season ended today, New York would clearly win the wild–card spot.


• In the Central Division, the Detroit Tigers have a 1½–game lead over the Chicago White Sox. The Minnesota Twins, 2½ games behind the Tigers, are also in the chase.


• In the Western Division, as I have been predicting all season, the Texas Rangers have fallen behind the Los Angeles Angels by 2½ games. The slumping Rangers are 5–5 in their last 10 games while the Angels are 7–3. And don't look now, but the Seattle Mariners are 4½ games out of first place.

It's probably a little premature for this, but I think fans in Cleveland, Kansas City, Oakland, Baltimore and Toronto can probably turn their attention to football season.

The playoff picture seems to be in sharper focus in the National League.

• In the Eastern Division, the world champion Philadelphia Phillies have built a six–game lead over the Florida Marlins. Atlanta is 6½ games out, and the New York Mets are eight games behind.
  
  At 24½ games back (with a winning percentage of .292), I think it's safe to say that the Washington Nationals won't be playing in October. The Nats would need to win about 75% of their remaining games just to finish at .500.


• In the Central Division, the St. Louis Cardinals have been surging lately, thanks in large part to MVP favorite Albert Pujols, who leads the major leagues in home runs and RBIs, and they have taken the division lead. It isn't a done deal, though. Chicago, Houston and Milwaukee are all three games behind, and Cincinnati is hanging in there at 5½ games out.


• The Western Division is the only division in the major leagues that has looked like a lock all season. The Los Angeles Dodgers lead the San Francisco Giants by 6½ games, but the Giants have given the Dodgers some spirited races in the past and could well do so this season. As it is, they are well positioned to take the wild–card slot, But if they falter, the Colorado Rockies are seven games out in the division and next in line in the wild–card standings.

Along with the Nationals, I think it is safe to conclude that Arizona and San Diego are not in the picture. And I am inclined to think that Pittsburgh also has no chance. But all three of those cities have football teams they can get excited about.

We're making our way into the dog days of summer. Baseball's pennant races won't really heat up until the weather starts to cool in the Northeast.

It will take longer before it starts to cool down in this part of the country, but I predict that it won't be long before local attention turns exclusively to the Dallas Cowboys and the approach of football season.

Midway Through the Season

As we near the Fourth of July holiday, we're almost halfway through the major league baseball season.

And my predictions are looking a lot better than they did shortly before Memorial Day.

All three of the teams I picked to win the divisions of the National League are leading, but Los Angeles, with an 8–game lead, continues to look like the most likely team to be in the playoffs when October gets here. The other two, Philadelphia and St. Louis, lead their divisions by one game and ½ game, respectively.

In St. Louis' case, that's an improvement. Around Memorial Day, the Cardinals were in third place in their division.

If the season ended today, though, my wild card pick, the New York Mets, would not be in the playoffs. The wild card would go instead to the San Francisco Giants, who have a winning percentage of .542, which is .008 better than Milwaukee and .028 better than the Mets.

In the American League, things are improving. My pick to win the AL East, Boston, is leading and my wild card pick, New York, is leading in that chase (the Yankees trail the Red Sox by four games). My other two picks, Minnesota and Los Angeles, are currently second in their divisions. The Twins trail Detroit by 4½ games while the Angels trail the Texas Rangers by a mere ½ game.

The Twins have lost a little ground in the last month or so, but the Angels have closed the gap considerably and look poised to take control of the race, as I predicted they would.

You can see the current standings here.

Stay tuned.

Against the Wall

Down 3-1 in their best-of-seven championship series with the Philadelphia Philies, the Los Angeles Dodgers find themselves against the wall when the series resumes with Game 5 on Wednesday.

Game 5 is the last game scheduled to be played in Los Angeles. If the Dodgers win, they still have to take the last two games in Philadelphia to advance to the World Series.

It's a tall order, one that has seldom been achieved in postseason baseball.

Based on his column for CBS Sportsline, Gregg Doyel doesn't think the Dodgers can do it. Doyel believes that, in spite of Joe Torre's record of managerial success with the New York Yankees, he's blowing the series with the Phillies.

"You can argue that [Torre] has been unlucky in this series, but you can't argue this: He has been unsuccessful," writes Doyel, who contends (legitimately, I might add) that L.A. pitcher Derek Lowe "came out too early" last night.

"And isn't that what it comes down to? Success and failure? Wins ... and losses?"

I don't know if the Dodgers can win the last two in Philadelphia, especially after failing to win either of the first two games that were played there.

But I do know this. The karma isn't good for a Dodger opponent on Wednesday.

Why?

Let me answer that question with a question. Do you remember where you were 20 years ago tomorrow?

I remember where I was. Let me refresh your memory.

It was Saturday, Oct. 15, 1988. The first game of the World Series, between the heavily favored Oakland A's and the raggedy Dodgers, was being played at Dodger Stadium (which, coincidentally, is where Wednesday night's playoff game will be played).

Everyone believed the A's — with their potent offense, led by the "Bash Brothers" (Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco), and a stellar pitching staff, led by 20-game winner Dave Stewart and reliever Dennis Eckersley, who recorded 45 saves that year — would manhandle the Dodgers.

Of course, the experts thought the Dodgers wouldn't make it to the World Series in 1988. The experts thought they would lose the National League championship to Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry and the New York Mets. Nevertheless, the Dodgers prevailed.

(In much the same way, I might add, a majority of the experts in 2008 believed the Chicago Cubs would dismantle the Dodgers in the first round of the playoffs.)

The first game of the 1988 World Series appeared to be living up to expectations. The A's fell behind, 2-0, in the bottom of the first inning, but Canseco hit a grand slam in the second to give Oakland a 4-2 lead. The Dodgers added a run in the sixth but trailed, 4-3, in the ninth inning.

And that set the stage for perhaps the most memorable World Series at-bat ever.

Twenty years ago, I was working on the sports desk of the Denton (Texas) Record-Chronicle. I had been there for two months, having moved to the city in August to enroll in graduate school.

On weekdays, the newspaper was an afternoon paper, which meant the copy desk had to be at work very early in the morning to meet the late-morning deadline.

But the paper published a Sunday morning edition, which required the copy desk editors to work on Saturday nights.

There was a TV in the newsroom (which, up to that time, had been a rarity in the newsrooms where I had worked) and it was on, showing the World Series.

Nearly all the copy editors were in the back shop, assisting with pasteup. I was virtually alone in the newsroom, monitoring the sports wire for late football scores and waiting for the World Series game to end.

The process was governed by the clock. During the lag time between the end of the game and the appearance of game articles on the Associated Press sports wire, I could write a headline and send it through our computer system so the folks in the back shop could paste it on the front page of the sports section.

Then, when the game story appeared on the wire, I could send it through to the back shop as well. It could be pasted on to the page beneath the headline I wrote earlier.

I knew the dimensions of the space that had been left for the headline in the page layout so I was working on a few ideas while keeping an eye on the game — in case something dramatic happened.

Something dramatic did happen.

Eckersley retired the first two batters, then intentionally walked the next batter to bring up the pitcher. The Dodgers chose to pinch hit for him.

The pinch hitter was Kirk Gibson, who had been sitting out the game because of two injured ankles and a stomach virus. But he came to the plate and crushed a slider into the outfield bleachers for a two-run home run — like Roy Hobbs in "The Natural."

Few, if any, memorable baseball moments have been replayed for TV viewers as often in the last 20 years as Gibson's walk-off home run. (And, if you witnessed Gibson's painful yet exultant trip around the bases, you know the word "walk" is woefully misused in this context. Perhaps hobble-off would be more appropriate.)

Gibson made no more appearances in that World Series. But the Dodgers seemed to be inspired by his home run and went on to defeat the A's in five games.

Is something similar going to happen tomorrow night?

I don't know.

But if the Dodgers are going to come back and win the series, Wednesday is an appropriate time to start their rally.

No Jive — A.L. Teams Stay AL-ive

The Philadelphia Phillies finished off the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday, setting up the National League Championship Series almost as I had predicted.

The Phillies and Dodgers won their divisional series faster than I anticipated, though. I thought both teams would need the full five games to finish off their foes, but the Dodgers eliminated the Chicago Cubs in three games and the Phillies vanquished the Brewers in four.

The National League's best-of-seven Championship Series is slated to begin Thursday in Philadelphia. The starting time hasn't been announced.

In the American League, the Chicago White Sox and the Los Angeles Angels faced elimination with another loss, but both teams hung on to force a fourth game today.

The Tampa Bay Rays and the White Sox meet in their Game 4 at 4:07 p.m. (Central). The Angels face the Boston Red Sox in their Game 4 at 7:37 p.m. (Central).

Tampa Bay and Boston can win their series if they win today. If either loses, Game 5 will be played Wednesday.

Both games are to be televised by TBS.

Incidentally, Ken Griffey Jr. of the Chicago White Sox has the opportunity (however slim it may seem to be) to end the longest personal World Series drought of any active player in the major leagues.

Griffey has played in more than 2,500 games in his 20-year career without ever playing in a World Series — although he came close to playing in the 1995 World Series when Seattle took Cleveland to six games for the American League championship.

But, to make it to baseball's promised land, Griffey's White Sox must defeat the Rays today and Wednesday, then win the American League championship against either Boston or Los Angeles.

Dodgers, Phillies on Verge of Advancing

The other day I predicted that the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies would win their divisional series and advance to the National League's championship series.

But they've both been more efficient than I expected.

I predicted that both teams would need all five games to finish off their foes.

Each team has played only two games — and they both have today off — but both teams are 2-0 and could finish off their series tomorrow.

Particularly amazing are the Dodgers, who barely managed a winning record in baseball's worst division yet have surprised baseball observers by winning the first two games on the road. Now they need only one more win — with the next two games to be played in Dodger Stadium — to move on to the N.L. championship series.

Only one team in major league baseball history has come back to win a playoff series after losing the first two games at home — the 2004 Boston Red Sox — recalls MLB.com.

The Phillies, meanwhile, took care of business at home. They, too, need only one more victory to win the series with the Milwaukee Brewers — but the next two games will be played in Milwaukee, where the Brewers won 60% of the time this year.

The Brewers, however, are going to have to win 100% of their home games in this playoff series, then take the fifth and deciding game in Philadelphia if they're going to deny the Phillies a spot in the league championship series. That's a tough assignment.

As MLB.com observes, prior to this year, there were 16 times when a team took a 2-0 lead in a best-of-five National League divisional series. Each of those 16 teams won the series — and 13 of them did so by completing the sweep with a win in the third game.

The odds clearly are against the Brewers and the Cubs.

And, if you're a Cubs fan, it's going to be hard to blame this postseason collapse on a 63-year-old billy goat curse — unless the Cubs can manage to rise from the near-dead, win two straight in Dodger Stadium and bring the series back to Wrigley Field for the fifth game.

If that happens, the billy goat might turn out to be a plausible scapegoat.

But make no mistake about it. The blame for the first two losses (especially Thursday night's 10-3 disaster) belongs to the Cubs themselves.

And a certain amount of the credit probably belongs to the Dodgers.