With teammates yelling in his ear and pouring beer over his head, Mark Grace was overloaded with emotion and drunk with enthusiasm.
“These guys have been so good to me by allowing me to fit in,” Grace said after Arizona’s dramatic 2-1 victory over the Cardinals on Sunday night. “I feel like I’ve been a Diamondback for a long time. This is by far the best team I’ve ever been on and by far the best moment of my career.”
In his 13 years with the Cubs, Grace never won a playoff series. He reached the playoffs just twice. And now here he is, one step from the World Series in his first year in Arizona.
“Honestly, we’re enjoying the [heck] out of this, but it’s only two [celebrations] and we have two more to go,” he said. “In spring training we said that our goal was to win the World Series. We’re not there yet, but we took a big step closer.”
The next step is the best-of-seven National League Championship Series against Atlanta, which begins Tuesday in Phoenix. Atlanta would appear to have the edge, given the ease with which the Braves swept Houston behind their dominant starting trio of Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Burkett.
Add the fact the Diamondbacks’ offense produced a measly 10 runs in the division series–the fewest of any winning team in a series since the 1918 Red Sox–and it’s easy to understand why Arizona is considered the underdog.
But that doesn’t matter to Grace, who knows the Diamondbacks’ 3-2 series victory over St. Louis had nothing to do with logic.
Consider that the key figures in Arizona’s ninth-inning rally Sunday night were Matt Williams and Tony Womack.
Womack had been ridiculed for posting an on-base percentage befitting an eighth-place hitter, not a leadoff man. Williams had been booed so lustily by the normally laid-back Arizona fans, his manager, Bob Brenly, took personal offense.
“I’m sure they feel great right now,” Brenly said, “but I don’t think it’s in a vindictive way. It’s just in a way that they’re pleased they came through for their teammates and fans.”
Williams had gone hitless in 15 postseason at-bats before Sunday’s ninth-inning rally. His shoddy treatment by Diamondbacks fans had so angered Brenly, the first-year manager said after Game 2: “I’m sure he’s anxious to go to St. Louis where the boos will come from the enemy, not the home fans.”
Williams took the high road all along, saying he didn’t want to dignify the boos with a response. He seemed impervious to them. He wasn’t.
“It hurt him to the bone,” Grace said. “He’s our leader, and when you see your team leader hurting like that, you want to come to his rescue. But he didn’t want that. He wanted to come to his own rescue, and he did.”
Williams led off the ninth with an opposite-field double against fellow right-hander Dave Veres. Asked why he hadn’t pinch-hit for Williams, Brenly responded: “It was a blind-faith call. I’m a firm believer Matt Williams can come through when nobody else thinks he can.”
After a sacrifice bunt and intentional walk put runners on first and third with one out, Womack could not make contact on a suicide squeeze attempt. But down to his last strike, Womack lashed Steve Kline’s fastball into left field, scoring pinch-runner Danny Bautista with the winning run.
How unlikely an ending was it? Forget that Womack, who lost his starting job in June, reached base less than 31 percent of the time this season. The man hit just .188 against lefties with two RBIs in 96 at-bats.
“When you know you have your teammates behind you, the adrenaline [pumps] through your body,” Womack said.
He had more than teammates in his corner. Womack said he was guided by his father, Thomas, who died on April 22.
“People really don’t understand that my dad was my best friend,” he said. “And at the age of 52, I didn’t think it was time for him to go home.
“My dad was always pinching my leg when I wanted to say stuff. But he told me to stay strong because good things come to those who wait. And when you believe, there is nothing you can’t achieve.”
Braves vs. Diamondbacks: Who has the edge?
Teddy Greenstein looks at the National League Championship Series.
HITTING: EVEN
Don’t expect much from either team. The Diamondbacks were helpless against St. Louis, averaging two runs and going 6-for-35 with runners in scoring position. But the Braves are hardly explosive and top threat Chipper Jones is concerned about the layoff. “We never played real good after one day off, much less three days off,” he said.
FIELDING: EDGE DIAMONDBACKS
Matt Williams’ defense at third base is so strong, Arizona manager Bob Brenly said Williams would continue to play even if he goes hitless. Craig Counsell and Mark Grace provide reliable gloves on the right side of the infield. Braves catcher Javy Lopez remains questionable for the series with a sprained ankle.
PITCHING: EDGE BRAVES
Because they swept Houston, the Braves can line up aces Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Burkett for Games 1, 2 and 3. Randy Johnson will get a chance to end his seven-game postseason losing streak Tuesday, followed by the underrated Miguel Batista. But division series hero Curt Schilling figures to get only one start before a potential Game 7.
INTANGIBLES: EDGE DIAMONDBACKS
The Braves won the fewest games of any playoff team but are surging with confidence after dominating the Astros. The Diamondbacks are loaded with savvy veterans who believe in one another.
MANAGER: EDGE BRAVES
Observers marvel at how Arizona wins despite Brenly’s unusual decisions. Brenly ordered Tony Womack to bunt in the eighth inning of Game 2 with two runners on base and his team trailing by three runs. Atlanta’s Bobby Cox drew praise from Astros second baseman Craig Biggio for using his players perfectly in the division series.
Teddy Greenstein’s pick: Diamondbacks in 7.
