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Sporting News, The, Oct 9, 1995 by Bob Nightengale

This sure feels weird, doesn't it?. It's October and we're still playing baseball.

No strikes, no lockouts. This season will long be etched in our memories. It began three weeks late, sullying the second consecutive season and spoiling attempts to break single-season records. It was a slap in the face that still stings.

The Lords of Baseball kept telling us that the fans would come back, but outside of Cleveland and Denver they never did. Attendance plummeted by 19 percent throughout baseball, 40 percent in San Francisco. Tickets were available less than 48 hours before the Dodgers' first playoff game against the Reds.

Fans have to wonder why their 1994 World Series was sacrificed. There still is no labor agreement None is in sight.

We mourned last year that Matt Williams lost his chance to break Roger Maris' home run record and Tony Gwynn could not continue his pursuit of a .400 season. This year, there are new things to mourn:

Could Albert Belle, who hit 50 home runs, have broken Maris' record?

Just how many games could the Indians have won?

Considering the Angels' resurgence the final week, could their fate have been different if they played 18 more games?

Would Greg Maddux's season be considered one of the greatest of all time?

Did the shortened season cost the Indians' Jose Mesa the Cy Young Award? He had 46 saves with a 1.14 ERA, the eighth-lowest ERA by a pitcher in major league history.

Who knows what would have happened if the 18 games had not been canceled.

There will be a World Series.

There will be a World Series champion.

There should be an asterisk.

We can celebrate the return of a Fall Classic, but any way you look at it, this is not a true season.

And that's a shame.

The envelopes, please

The postseason awards, at least in one man's eyes:

A.L. MVP: Sorry, Albert, but Mo Vaughn has been a steadying force for the Red Sox, on and off the field.

N.L. MVP: Sure, sure, we know he plays only once every five days and already has his own award. But Greg Maddux has dominated this game like no other this season.

A.L. Cy Young: Jose Mesa is the one responsible for the Indians' confidence in late innings. We're talking about 46 saves and a 1.14 ERA.

N.L. Cy Young: Are you kidding?

A.L. Rookie: The Twins' Marty Cordova might have played on a rotten team, but he still had 23 homers and 80 RBIs and hit.277.

N.L. Rookie: Hideo Nomo not only saved the Dodgers, but perhaps all of baseball.

A.L. Manager: The Mariners never would have won without Lou Piniella. It's that simple.

N.L. Manager: Don Baylor did a marvelous job with the Rockies, but there's something magical about Davey Johnson's performance with the Reds. Anyone who can work wonders as an employee of Marge Schott deserves special consideration.

A.L. Executive: Dan Duquette was an absolute magician working that Red Sox roster.

N.L. Executive: Jim Bowden won't win any popularity contests with the Reds, but his peers will concede that there is no more aggressive general manager in the game.

Crazy days

Now that we have finally figured out this crazy playoff system, maybe we can tell who is going to be playing in the league championship series.

Indians vs. Red Sox: This is the prestige matchup among the four first-round series. A team that hasn't won in 41 years against a team that has been haunted since 1918.

Winner: The Indians, 3 games to 1.

Yankees vs. Mariners or Angels: The Mariners scare the daylights out of everyone, but considering they had to waste Randy Johnson in the one-game playoff against Mark Langston, the Yankees are the clear favorites.

Winner: The Yankees, 3 games to 1.

Reds vs. Dodgers: The Dodgers are the mystery team of the postseason. They have the best pitching staff outside the city limits of Atlanta and their everyday lineup can be frightening. The Reds sputtered down the stretch, losing 18 of their last 31 games, but they still have a mature, veteran team.

Winner: The Reds, 3 games to 2.

Braves vs. Rockies: The Rockies are a great story. The Braves are a great team. The Braves also happen to have a pitcher named Greg Maddux.

Winner: The Braves, 3 games to 0.

Going, going, gone

The season ends with nearly a quarter of the managers looking offseason:

Sparky Anderson of the Tigers is out; look for Pat Corrales or Buddy Bell to replace him.

Phil Regan of the Orioles is out; Peter Angelos wants Tony La Russa, but may have to swallow his pride and take Davey Johnson.

Johnson will be out when the Reds are out; Ray Knight is in.

Mike Jorgensen of the Cardinals is out; Johnson may be in.

La Russa likely is out from the A's; who knows who will be in.

Buck Showalter of the Yankees still has to decide whether he wants to be out who in his right mind would want to be in?

Around the bases

The Padres lost a good executive when Randy Smith resigned as G.M. Smith called the year working under President Lany Lucchino the most miserable one of his life. "I kind of get a sense that Larry wants there who is going to agree with what he is going to say," Tony Gwynn says, "because I think secretly he wants to be the G.M. He wants to be the president the G.M., owner, bat boy, whatever. I just wonder who they're going to bring in, wondering, is he going to be a G.M.? Or is he going to be Larry's bobo?" Frank Robinson may resent the implications, but he will be the man... Just how good is Gwynn? He not only has won six batting titles, joining only seven players to have accomplished the feat, but he has never finished lower than sixth in a batting race, too.