LORDS OF THE RINGS DO BATTLE ONE MORE TIME
Clemens, Pettitte and Astros to face White Sox in Fall Classic




By: Russ Rose
Special to Yankees Talk Shop
October 20, 2005

The Houston Astros should send George Steinbrenner and the New York Yankees a note of thank you. They should thank them for allowing Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte to escape the concrete jungle of New York City for the wide open spaces of Houston, Texas.

Andy Pettitte was brought up in the Yankees organization and was part of all four of the Yankees recent World Series victories (1996, 1998-2000). Roger Clemens joined the party in 1999 when he was traded from the Toronto Blue Jays to the Yankees. The Rocket was part of the Yankees 1999 and 2000 championship teams.

Both pitchers were aboard when the Yankees made World Series bids in 2001 (Vs. Arizona Diamondbacks) and 2003 (Vs. Florida Marlins). New York came up short in both series.

During the 2003 campaign Roger Clemens made it known that he was retiring after the season was over. When Josh Beckett tagged Jorge Posada to record the last out of the 100th World Series everyone bid the Rocket a fond farewell. It was assumed Clemens was retiring to his home near Houston to be with his wife and kids.

In the meantime, Andy Pettitte became a free agent. He rejected offers from the Yankees and signed with the Astros.

Then, the rumors started to swirl. It was reported that Houston Astros owner Drayton McLane had approached Clemens about coming out of retirement and pitching for the Astros. His best friend, Pettitte, also beckoned Clemens to join the club. With incentives he couldn’t resist Roger Clemens signed with the Astros. With both the Rocket and Pettitte in the Astros rotation Houston became an instant playoff contender.

Pettitte was hampered by elbow problems during the 2004 season and only started 15 games. He finished with a 6-4 record with a 3.90 ERA. Clemens, on the other hand, went completely in the other direction. The Rocket at 42 years of age earned a record seventh Cy Young award by going 18-8 with a 2.98 ERA. The Astros won the wildcard and were good enough to advance to the NLCS where they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.

This year the Astros started off horribly. By July 1st they were 36-41, in fourth place, and trailing the Cardinals by thirteen games. They were also behind eight other teams in the Wild Card race. But, in the second half of the year, the Astros caught fire and once again won the Wild Card by posting a 53-32 mark. Behind this amazing turnaround was a healthy Andy Pettitte (17-9, 2.39), Roy Oswalt (20-12, 2.96), and Roger Clemens (13-8, 1.87).

The Astros dispatched the Atlanta Braves three games to one to earn the right to meet the defending NLCS champion St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals showed they were all business by sweeping the anemic San Diego Padres in three games to advance to the league championship.

The Cardinals won Game 1 behind the stellar pitching of their Cy Young candidate Chris Carpenter. The Astros returned the favor by taking Game 2 behind the pitching of Roy Oswalt. Both teams moved to Minute Maid Park for Games 3, 4 and 5.

The Astros continued their newfound mastery of the Cardinals by winning Games 3 and 4. With a three games to one lead the Astros had a chance to close out the NLCS at home. It wasn’t to be as in the 9th inning the Cardinals came to life.

With Astros closer Brad Lidge on the mound and two outs David Eckstein stepped in the batter’s box. Lidge got two strikes on Eckstein before Eckstein delivered a single to keep the inning alive. Lidge walked the next batter, Jim Edmonds, causing the ever dangerous Albert Pujols to step in to face Lidge. Lidge hung a breaking ball over the plate and Pujols rocketed the ball over the left field wall for a 3-run home run. The Cardinals won 5-4 to bring the series back to St. Louis.

Still leading the series 3-2 the Astros had, with one pitch, lost a lot of the momentum they had gained by taking the first two games at home. They needed a big time stopper. Roy Oswalt was their man. Oswalt was stifling as he pitched seven strong innings allowing St. Louis three hits and one earned run. Relievers Chad Qualls and Dan Wheeler pitched shut out ball the last two innings as the Houston Astros advanced to their first ever World Series with a 5-1 victory.

The Astros will now turn to their two veterans, Clemens and Pettitte. Both have tasted what most of their teammates have not; champagne at the end of a World Series victory. Between them they have six rings. They will be flashing those around in the next few days, showing them to their comrades so they can see what they will be playing for.

Manager Phil Garner will be putting the Game 1 ball in the glove of Roger Clemens. Their opponents, the Chicago White Sox, have some pretty good arms in their camp as well. The White Sox last won a World Series in 1917 and have had to live down the “Black Sox” scandal of 1919. They haven’t been to a World Series since they faced the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1959. The City of Chicago will be every bit as hungry as Houston for a World Series ticker tape parade down their streets. The Fall Classic starts on Saturday in the Windy City and it should be a doozy. Good luck to both teams. They both deserve it.

PLAY BALL!



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