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Absolute power: several things are beyond dispute heading into the World Series. One of them is that whoever is playing will be capable of lighting up the scoreboard

Sporting News, The, Oct 25, 2004 by Kyle Veltrop

We entered this postseason with questions. Could Johan Santana pitch the Twins past the Yankees? Was this finally the Red Sox's year, with Curt Schilling being the difference? Can anyone stop the Cardinals'--or the Astros'--offense? Will, as in the past two postseasons, some unexpected team crash through and continue baseball's budding trend of being wacky and unpredictable?

All of those questions were answered with bold, albeit succinct, statements: No. No. No. No.

Santana tamed the Yankees for one game; after that, New York rolled to six straight wins, often dismantling opponents to the point where Alex Rodriguez told reporters after his team scored 19 runs on the Red Sox in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series, "We feel like we can score runs no matter who is pitching."

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Who wasn't pitching became the big news for the Red Sox; Schilling was betrayed by a balky ankle. Still, it really wouldn't have mattered because Boston's offense didn't show up until the seventh inning of both games at Yankee Stadium, and its pitching staff didn't surface at Fenway until after the Yankees pounded out a record number of runs in Game 3. On the other side of this little tournament, the Cardinals and Astros put their big bats on display for all to see in the NLCS.

As far as that unpredictability goes, the Yankees, who looked so vulnerable late in the regular season, entered the week primed to represent the A.L. in the World Series for the seventh time in nine years. And though the Cardinals split their first four games with the Astros, they still had home-field advantage in their hip pocket and the knowledge that they'd either not have to face Roy Oswalt again or would get Roger Clemens and Oswalt both on short rest, circumstances under which neither pitcher thrived in the NLDS against the Braves.

Instead of the 2004 postseason being known for uncertainty, it has been defined by a series of absolutes.

Absolute No. 1: The superheroes are bat men, The Yankees and Cardinals, the two teams who set the standard for 2004 baseball, are in the plate-denting business, first and foremost, so it's not surprising there has been a run on runs this October.

Sure, some stellar starts have been spotted--Jon Lieber's Game 2 performance against the Red Sox in the ALCS springs to mind--but offenses have spoken the loudest. The Cardinals and Astros hit 19 home runs in the first four games of the NLCS. Each team in the majors' final four featured All Star-caliber lineups, and that almost is a hyperbole-free statement. Playoff games in 2003 averaged 8.2 runs; in 2004, that figure was 11.2 runs through the weekend.

St. Louis' Larry Walker, New York's Alex Rodriguez and Houston's Carlos Beltran have hit .413 (43-for-104) combined with 15 home runs and 29 RBIs this postseason. They have won batting titles, home run crowns and MVP awards. If you project what Beltran will make as a free agent this offseason, those three will have contracts that reach the $450 million range combined. And they all bat second in their team's order.

Three of the leadoff hitters--Houston's Craig Biggio, Boston's Johnny Damon and New York's Derek Jeter--hit 20 or more homers in the regular season. Forget setting the table: This postseason spread is offering Porterhouses as an appetizer.

The big boys haven't gone hungry, either. Gary Sheffield has put the bite back in the Yankees that was missing last year against the Marlins. With his ridiculously strong wrists and frightening bat speed, Sheffield has whipped hits all over the field.

The Cardinals' Albert Pujols pulverizes baseballs, but he's also a thoughtful thumper. Pujols keeps his hands back, uses all fields and recognizes what pitchers are trying to do to him. His game-winning homer in the eighth inning against the Astros in Game 2 was what made the highlights, but almost as impressive was his fifth-inning single in his previous plate appearance. Houston's Pete Munro threw a 3-and-1 pitch just off the plate. If Pujols had tried to pull it, he likely would have hit a popup. Instead, he kept his left shoulder in and drove the pitch right past Munro and into center field. The next hitter, Scott Rolen, homered, giving the Cardinals a 4-3 lead.

Even a hitter of Walker's stature realizes Pujols is on a different level, calling him a "freak." "Before I came here;' says Walker, who was traded from the Rockies to the Cardinals in early August, "I only saw him six times a year. I knew he was great, but come on ... He's patient. He'll hit to left field. His swing is never out of whack. I've only been here a couple of months; I can't wait to see more."

It's impossible for pitchers to treat Sheffield and Pujols the way they do Barry Bonds. Hideki Matsui, who had a 5-hit game and a 5-RBI game within the first three games of the ALCS, has protected Sheffield like a Doberman. And when Rolen awoke from his October slumber and belted two home runs in Game 2 of the NLCS, well, you didn't need flash cards to be reminded why St. Louis won 105 games in the regular season.

Absolute power: several things are beyond dispute heading into the World Series. One of them is that whoever is playing will be capable of lighting up the scoreboard

Sporting News, The, Oct 25, 2004 by Kyle Veltrop

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