Month: May 2004

A ROAR AND A LUMP

The wise Bart Giamatti once described baseball as a game “designed to break your heart.” And he was right. Three Sundays ago at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, I received a dose of heartache I haven’t been able to shake since. Trouble is, the pain was delivered on the verge of the kind of exhilaration that makes baseball so brilliant . . . and keeps us coming back for more.

This particular visit to the House That Brock Built was an extra special one. It was my 1-year-old daughter’s first exposure to the epicenter of Cardinal Nation. The magnitude of the event didn’t exactly register for Elena. (Her nap between the seventh inning and the top of the ninth was a perfect metaphor for the home team’s offense during that stretch.) But considering the torch first carried by my grandfather will someday be hers to share with her big sister, this gusty matinee affair was a very big game for Elena’s father.

Seeking to sweep the Colorado Rockies, St. Louis dug a hole with some less than stellar pitching from Woody Williams. Despite a three-run second inning and a two-run homer from Marlon Anderson, the Cards entered the bottom of the ninth trailing, 8-5. The Rockies sent their converted closer, Shawn Chacon, to the hill to face the bottom of the Cardinal order. Elena stirred in my arms just about the time Chacon began his warm-up pitches.

Anderson went down on strikes. Catcher Mike Matheny followed with a bloop single to right, but when pinch-hitter Ray Lankford — an old, familiar friend — whiffed, the Cardinals were down to their last out. I rose to my feet, Elena still at my hip. The bags were packed, a family of four ready to start the 280-mile drive down I-55.

Tony Womack doubled into the rightfield corner. Then, after falling behind in the count, Reggie Sanders drew a walk. Bases loaded now . . . tying run at first. And the buzz started.

Aura is a hard thing to define, particularly in sports, where it’s an overused description for coaches, trophies, and certain celebrated venues. But Albert Pujols is developing an aura about him. The Cardinals’ 24-year-old superstar — now a $100 million man — is doing to a baseball what 10-year-olds will to a birthday pinata. And the expectations among his army of followers is growing with his unprecedented numbers. So the stage was set, right before my sweet Elena’s eyes.

Pujols fell behind Chacon, 0-2. He fouled off two (three?) pitches, the drama intensifying with every delivery. One more strike . . . Colorado wins. A home run (grand slam!) from Pujols . . . the Murtaughs don’t need transportation back to Memphis.

On Chacon’s fifth (sixth?) delivery, Pujols drilled the ball to rightfield. (Eerily similar to the ball he hit on September 15, 2000, to win a championship at AutoZone Park.) The crowd of 35,000 rose to its feet, a roar rising with the punished spheroid. And I held Elena tighter than I ever have, for fear of dropping her in celebration. Then . . .

The ball was caught. Colorado rightfielder Kit Pellow snared the ball just as his back smashed into the padded wall in front of the Cardinals’ bullpen. The collective exhale from the crowd would have lifted a small airplane. And just like that, Elena’s first trip to Busch ended in defeat.

I take these things — these moments — way too seriously. And I’m convinced Elena deserved the extra three feet that ball should have traveled. She’d be hearing the story of Mr. Pujols’ game-winning grand slam so often she’d have it memorized before her 10th (5th?) birthday. But it wasn’t to be. There’s little doubt that the wind — blowing from south of the stadium, in from rightfield — directed that ball into Pellow’s glove. What in the name of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome is Mother Nature doing deciding a baseball game?

Rare is the baseball player who makes spectacular outs. I had somewhat of a lump in my throat as we began our drive south. The lump came from imagining how very close Pujols had come to delivering yet another memory I’d carry — and share — the rest of my life. But the more and more I thought about it as the sun began to set, the more I recognized that this is precisely what he did.

THE MANNINGS AND THE NFL

What makes a great talk-show topic is a dilemma that allows for passion on both sides of the argument. Both views have debatable points. Both will elicit an emotional response.

Welcome to the world of the Mannings.

In case you’ve been off the planet, Archie Manning, the patriarch of football’s first family, and father of both Peyton and Eli, decided to take on the NFL draft system this past week.

He won. Maybe.

Eli, the Ole Miss quarterback who was the number-one chosen player in the draft, probably lost.

Let’s go back aways, into the history of the family. Archie was the first golden-boy signal caller to set foot on the Oxford campus. He set records, and led the Rebels to glory. When he graduated, he was drafted by the New Orleans Saints. That would seem a perfect fit, considering the geography. But Archie never had much talent surrounding him in the Mardi Gras city, and though he received recognition (not to mention riches), there weren’t very many victories. Those losing seasons apparently made a huge impression on Pops.

So much so, that when it came time for his second son, Peyton, to go to school, Archie chose the University of Tennessee over his beloved Rebs. Why?? Because, in Knoxville they had a bigger offensive line, quicker receivers, and a lot better odds of winning.

Archie wanted his son to have an easier path to succeed.

Peyton didn’t win a national championship. But the Vols got a bunch of victories, the kid stayed for four years and graduated, and then was the number one player in the draft, going to Indianapolis.

Then came Eli’s turn. The offensive co-ordinator at Tennessee during Peyton’s tenure was David Cutcliffe. You know how life is timing? Just when Eli was picking the college he wanted to attend, Cutcliffe was chosen as the head coach of Ole Miss. Buddy Guy wouldn’t have drummed the beat as perfectly as Cutcliffe did. Pops already had a relationship with the new head coach, and the decision was made that this son would follow in dad’s footsteps.

Eli didn’t win a national championship. But the Rebels got a bunch of victories, the kid stayed for four years and graduated, and then was the number one player chosen in the draft.

You’d think that maybe Archie would have learned something here. While neither sibling won a national title, both achieved athleticaly and personally. Both got degrees. Both enjoyed their college days. Even though one had a much tougher path to follow, they both ended up in the same place.

Some lessons are hard to grasp, especially when it involves your own flesh and blood.

When the Indianapolis Colts chose Peyton, Pops liked the fit. He liked the organization. He loved the stout offensive line that would protect his kid.

When it was Eli’s turn to be the top pick, the organization that lay in waiting was the San Diego Chargers. This team did not fit Archie’s expectations. He didn’t think much of their managerial direction. He worried about their porous offensive line and the health of his youngest kid.

One of the reasons the NFL has become our national pastime is its competitive balance. Each year, the weakest teams draft first, getting the best young talent to help rebuild their squads for the future.

Archie is well aware of this system. He remembers those playing days in New Orleans. The wins were rare, the physical beatings came with regularity. In fact, every Sunday afternoon. He just didn’t want that for his kid.

So, he told the Chargers to take a hike. Either trade the Rebel, or be prepared to be without your first-round pick. No matter what, Eli was NOT coming!

Who could blame Pops for that sentiment? Wouldn’t you want the very best for your kid?

But here’s what Archie forgot. As a player, he made it through with flying colors. He survived to be a success in the next phase of his life. He has no money worries, the system saw to that. And he gained the love and affection of an entire community in the place he still calls home.

Many will look back on this draft and recall how the Mannings stood their ground and won the battle. Oh yeah, the Chargers did draft Eli, but only to trade him to the New York Giants for a ransom. So Eli will be headlining on Broadway, instead of soaking up the rays at the beach.

However, there was a price. First, there’s the image of the first family of football. Across the country, the perception that prevails is that the Mannings thought they were too good for the rules.

Secondly, the pressure they just placed on Eli’s shoulders will be very heavy. Last year”s starting quarterback at New York, Kerry Collins, has said he will be leaving. In the Big Apple, there are no excuses, only results. Can a rookie come in and turn around a team that lost every game the last half of this past season?

Archie Manning only wanted what was best for his kid. A truly noble notion. But in the process of getting what he wanted, Archie undermined a league, and underestimated his own child.

And unfortunately, that’s what we’ll be talking about for a long time to come.

(Dave Wolshin is sports director for WMC Radio, and the “Voice” of the University of Memphis football and basketball Tigers. You can listen to Dave, weekdays from 4:00 to 6:30 pm on SportsPlus 790-WMC.)