Bob Brenly still pinches himself.
“I don’t know if there’s a more descriptive word than surreal,” said Brenly, describing the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Game 7 comeback to win the World Series.
“I don’t know how to describe it. Things happened out there that just defied baseball logic. I don’t know if there’s any logic in baseball anyway. That’s why people like it.”
In his first season as a manager, Brenly let Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling take him on arguably the wildest ride in baseball history. In his 15th season as a manager, Lou Piniella took the Seattle Mariners on a journey that was just as amazing, with the exception of the ending.
But beginning Sunday night, when Cleveland plays at Anaheim in the 2002 opener, it’s time for the Diamondbacks, Mariners and their brethren to do it again. How do you provide an encore for a 116-victory season or a ninth-inning comeback in Game 7 of the World Series?
As long as baseball is played, fans will rehash the 2001 Series, especially Johnson’s three victories and the Luis Gonzalez single off Mariano Rivera that gave Arizona a championship in only its fourth season. But it’s worth remembering the path the Diamondbacks followed.
Arizona didn’t clinch its playoff spot until the next-to-last day of the season, ultimately finishing two games ahead of San Francisco. Its first-round series with St. Louis could have gone either way, eventually turning on Schilling’s 1-0 and 2-1 victories over the Cardinals’ Matt Morris.
Somewhere along the line, Brenly believes the World Series trophy picked the Diamondbacks, not the other way around.
“No matter what I did, what we did, whatever was going to happen happened, and we couldn’t stop it,” Brenly said. “It was the damnedest thing I’ve seen in my life. . . . It was like somebody else was doing it and I was just watching.”
Reality beckons for the world champions, who open the season with third baseman Matt Williams and first baseman-right fielder Erubiel Durazo on the disabled list. The middle of the Arizona’s lineup in Monday’s opener against San Diego could include Mark Grace, who batted seventh in Game 7, and catcher Damian Miller, who hit eighth.
With San Francisco seemingly improved and the Dodgers’ Kevin Brown and Andy Ashby healthy, a return to the playoffs is not a given for Arizona. Nor is it for the Mariners, who have lost 15-game winner Aaron Sele.
If there’s a given in this season, it’s that Seattle is in for a fall. The question is how far.
The Mariners are the sixth major-league team to win at least 110 games. The previous five declined by an average of 15 victories the following seasons. You’d better believe general manager Pat Gillick and Piniella would take 101 wins right now.
Gillick imported National League castoffs Jeff Cirillo and Ben Davis, who should upgrade the Mariners at third base and catcher, respectively. But the key to their success is how close can Jamie Moyer, Bret Boone, Mike Cameron and Mark McLemore come to duplicating the career years they had in 2001.
With Oakland’s talent, Anaheim’s improvement and Texas’ reckless spending, the American League West has become baseball’s best division. The Athletics are taking dead aim at Seattle. The Angels are capable of being this year’s surprise team.
Who knows who will be pinching themselves next spring?
In exile: For Champaign’s Matt Herges, a trade to the Montreal Expos was too much to take standing up. The Los Angeles reliever, who had been expected to get a chance to close games, broke down after he and minor-league shortstop Jorge Nunez were sent to the Expos for right-hander Guillermo Mota and outfield prospect Wilkin Ruan.
“I sobbed,” said Herges, 31. “I sobbed hard. Every time I think about it, I well up. My heart is absolutely broken. I’m in shock. It twists your life around. But as soon as I come to grips with it, I’ll be excited to move to Montreal.”
Herges wasn’t drafted after playing at Illinois State and he advanced to Dodger Stadium the hard way, with eight minor-league seasons. He has been a workhorse in the bullpen the last two years, earning the respect of his teammates.
“You feel bad for Matt because he gave everything to this organization and was a model citizen for the Dodgers,” first baseman Eric Karros said. “It comes out of nowhere and you’re not prepared for it.”
Right-hander Eric Gagne, who lost a battle for a starting spot to Odalis Perez, is getting a crash course in pitching short relief. He’ll share closer duties with a committee that includes Paul Quantrill, Giovanni Carrara and Jesse Orosco.
Looking for a letdown: Forget another run at 73 homers. Barry Bonds is nervous about becoming the next Ken Griffey Jr.
Bonds admits he’s afraid that this will be the season he struggles to hit 35 to 45 home runs.
“I always wait for that one year that’s going to be bad,” he said. “That’s why I’m always pushing my body and pushing myself to the fullest. I know it’s going to happen one day. I just don’t know when. Sometimes I wonder if the people are going to be appreciative then. I’m only human.”
When the Cubs arrive in Cincinnati on Monday, they’ll find a Griffey trying to bounce back from a season in which he hit .286 with 22 homers. Despite their billing, neither Griffey nor young slugger Adam Dunn had big springs. They left Florida hitting a combined .237, with only three homers in 114 at-bats.
Hanging on: It’s apparent to everyone except Charles Nagy that he has nothing left. But the 34-year-old Nagy refuses to retire and the Cleveland Indians don’t want to release him when he’s owed $6 million, so manager Charlie Manuel will carry the three-time All-Star as his long reliever.
“He can get guys out, but he has to be almost perfect to do it,” Manuel said.
Nagy has no cartilage left in his elbow, leaving him unable to throw harder than 84 to 85 m.p.h. If he declared himself unfit to pitch, the Indians could place him on the disabled list and recoup 80 percent of his salary from insurance. He has won 24 games and worked 329 innings during the four-year, $24 million deal that runs out at the end of this season.
“They know what I can do,” said Nagy, who has allowed 18 runs and 31 hits in his last 13 2/3 innings. “I came to camp fighting for a job, and I’m not doing too well. But I have a track record. Who knows what’s going to happen?”
Saying farewell: Baseball lost two Florida stops last week. It’s unlikely teams again will base themselves in Port Charlotte or Baseball City, where the Rangers and Royals had trained since 1987 and 1988, respectively. Those teams will share a complex northwest of Phoenix next spring.
While Baseball City is now only a stadium across from an Interstate Highway 4 truck stop between Lakeland and Disney World, it was something to see when it opened. It included a baseball-themed amusement park complete with thrill rides, and for a few years it hosted multiple games every day. The Royals shared time with some of the nation’s best college teams.
“It was really a lot of fun,” George Brett said. “We sold out a lot of games. The roller coaster was going. I was playing third base and people were yelling and screaming at you. . . . The kids had a blast going over to the amusement park. It was a great little place to train. But then Anheuser-Busch bought it and said, `This place isn’t making any money. Let’s close it.’ All of sudden it became a ghost town.”
With the moves by Kansas City and Texas, 12 teams will train in Arizona and 18 in Florida.
Whispers: Ron Coomer, the St. Rita and Lockport Township product who played for the Cubs a year ago, landed a spot on the Yankees’ bench despite hitting .148 in spring training. Herbert Perry, traded by the White Sox to Texas, protected his spot as a bench player. . . . The top of the Dodgers’ lineup has long-shot center fielder Dave Roberts as the leadoff man and rookie shortstop Cesar Izturis as the No. 2 hitter. Roberts beat out Tom Goodwin, Marquis Grissom and McKay Christensen for the job. . . . No organization is more homegrown than Houston. Catcher Brad Ausmus and right-hander Dave Mlicki are the only members of the lineup and starting rotation who have played for another franchise. . . . Fantasy leaguers might get a steal in rookie Mike Rivera. He hit 33 homers in Double A last season and opens the year as the Tigers’ primary catcher. . . . The Yankees might regret turning down Toronto’s offer of Shannon Stewart for prospect Nick Johnson, who will be forced to be the designated hitter with Jason Giambi at first.
The last word: “He says, `This is [Derek] Jeter’s team.’ I want to correct him on that. It’s my team.”–George Steinbrenner on Jason Giambi.
