“Spahn and Sain and Two Days of Rain”

Over-hyped.

The ALCS has turned into a huge disappointment. Could it have been otherwise? After all, this isn’t Armageddon despite attempts to portray it so. In the end it’s really just a series between a team nearly everyone across the country likes to hate and another team whose 86 years of futility doesn’t resonate with fans outside New England. All that’s left now is for the Red Sox to avoid an embarrassing sweep or stage the most astonishing comeback in the history of sport.

Yesterday’s slaughter and the Yankees’ commanding 3-0 lead in the series didn’t exactly erase any doubts about the New York’s starting pitching. Kevin Brown looked like the up-and-down pitcher he’s always been and Javier Vasquez didn’t acquit himself any better though the box score will show he got the win. Yankee pitching has given up sixteen runs in three games, hardly world-beating numbers but apparently of likely World Series potential thanks to their offense.

The NLCS has been the more interesting series by far on every level. Going into the series the Cardinals were well-rested while Houston staggered across the finish line, its starting pitching match-ups in complete disarray. Astros manager Phil Garner’s well-documented mismanagement of his rotation was completely unjustified as I said a week ago. How else was he supposed to win against Atlanta? Hold back Clemens or Oswalt? And though they lost the first two games in St. Louis, the Astros were in a position to win both games.

Back in their own friendly confines, if that can be said of a retro park named Minute Maid, Houston trotted out 42-year Cy Young candidate Roger Clemens, who pitched one of the biggest games of his extraordinary career leading the Astros to a 5-2 victory. Equally important, the Astros were finally able to hand a game over to closer Brad Lidge for the first time in the series and he responded with two innings of one-hit ball. Today, Roy Oswalt tries to even the series; if Houston wins, more than a few people will be watching the weather forecast for St. Louis and working on some variation of “Spahn and Sain and two days of rain.”