Houston Astros +107 (Clemens - R, Suppan - R)
There are many people who thought Houston skipper Phil Garner made a huge mistake by NOT pitching Roger Clemens on 3 days rest yesterday. However, even with Peter Munro on the mound, the Astros still nearly pulled off an upset in extra innings. I want to take all of you back to the Divisional series when the Astros failed to knock out the Braves in game four at HOME. At that point, all Astros fans had to be thinking about the "cursed" franchise that had never won a postseason series. In game five back in Atlanta, the Astros made a huge statement and clocked the Braves in the deciding game on the ROAD. Tonight, we have a similar scenario as Houston again is in an elimination game on the ROAD. Baseball in unlike any other sport in that they LIMIT the amount of teams allowed to play in the postseason. The teams that make the playoffs ALL deserve to be there when you consider the enormous success of the WILD CARD teams. With a Houston victory this evening, once again we would have a pair of WILD CARDS battling it out in the World Series. Why do the wild cards do so well??? The answer is easy as they generally end the regular season RED HOT, and carry that momentum into the playoffs. Houston ended in a 36-10 flurry in what of the great regular season comebacks in history. Of course, history was made last night in the Bronx, as the Red Sox beat the Yankees after being in an 0-3 hole. The reason why Boston got past mighty New York is due to the fact that they had better overall PITCHING. The Yankees' best hurler, reliever Mariano Riviera, even failed twice in critical save situations as he finally showed he was human. Even though St. Louis wiggled their way to a win yesterday, it is important to note that closer Jason Isringhausen FAILED in the ninth inning to nail down the victory. Time and again in the baseball playoffs, it is pitching and defense that determines the eventual series' winner. The bottom line is that the most effective CLOSER in the playoffs is Houston's Brad Lidge who has completely shutdown the star studded Cardinals offense that helped the team have the best overall regular season record. As the old saying goes, good pitching will always beat good hitting, which is exactly what happened in the ALCS, as the Yankees dominant offense failed when it counted. Houston starts Roger Clemens tonight on FULL REST. The Rocket has won 5 consecutive postseason starts and has a lifetime 2.76 ERA in game SEVEN situations! Clemens has WON 6 in a row against high-octane offenses like St. Louis, as he relishes the challenge. The Astros are a dazzling 18-4 with a "tired" bullpen that has thrown 13+ innings in the prior 3 games. Jeff Suppan went only 1-6 at HOME this season against high-scoring squads like Houston who averaged at least 4.8 runs per game. Now the big news: HOUSTON WAS 6-0 THIS SEASON following consecutive games as an underdog!!!
GOOD LUCK
There are many people who thought Houston skipper Phil Garner made a huge mistake by NOT pitching Roger Clemens on 3 days rest yesterday. However, even with Peter Munro on the mound, the Astros still nearly pulled off an upset in extra innings. I want to take all of you back to the Divisional series when the Astros failed to knock out the Braves in game four at HOME. At that point, all Astros fans had to be thinking about the "cursed" franchise that had never won a postseason series. In game five back in Atlanta, the Astros made a huge statement and clocked the Braves in the deciding game on the ROAD. Tonight, we have a similar scenario as Houston again is in an elimination game on the ROAD. Baseball in unlike any other sport in that they LIMIT the amount of teams allowed to play in the postseason. The teams that make the playoffs ALL deserve to be there when you consider the enormous success of the WILD CARD teams. With a Houston victory this evening, once again we would have a pair of WILD CARDS battling it out in the World Series. Why do the wild cards do so well??? The answer is easy as they generally end the regular season RED HOT, and carry that momentum into the playoffs. Houston ended in a 36-10 flurry in what of the great regular season comebacks in history. Of course, history was made last night in the Bronx, as the Red Sox beat the Yankees after being in an 0-3 hole. The reason why Boston got past mighty New York is due to the fact that they had better overall PITCHING. The Yankees' best hurler, reliever Mariano Riviera, even failed twice in critical save situations as he finally showed he was human. Even though St. Louis wiggled their way to a win yesterday, it is important to note that closer Jason Isringhausen FAILED in the ninth inning to nail down the victory. Time and again in the baseball playoffs, it is pitching and defense that determines the eventual series' winner. The bottom line is that the most effective CLOSER in the playoffs is Houston's Brad Lidge who has completely shutdown the star studded Cardinals offense that helped the team have the best overall regular season record. As the old saying goes, good pitching will always beat good hitting, which is exactly what happened in the ALCS, as the Yankees dominant offense failed when it counted. Houston starts Roger Clemens tonight on FULL REST. The Rocket has won 5 consecutive postseason starts and has a lifetime 2.76 ERA in game SEVEN situations! Clemens has WON 6 in a row against high-octane offenses like St. Louis, as he relishes the challenge. The Astros are a dazzling 18-4 with a "tired" bullpen that has thrown 13+ innings in the prior 3 games. Jeff Suppan went only 1-6 at HOME this season against high-scoring squads like Houston who averaged at least 4.8 runs per game. Now the big news: HOUSTON WAS 6-0 THIS SEASON following consecutive games as an underdog!!!
GOOD LUCK
