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Saturday, October 27
Updated: October 28, 2:54 AM ET
Big opening win doesn't equal a ring
By Jayson Stark
ESPN.com
With Arizona's 9-1 victory in the books, it's time once again for another edition of the World Series Useless Information Department:
Those wipeouts in World Series openers may look impressive. But they don't always lead to a ring. Four of last five teams to win a Series opener by eight runs or more went on to lose the series -- the '96 Braves (12-1 to the Yankees), '82 Brewers (10-0 to the Cardinals), '59 White Sox (11-0 to the Dodgers) and '45 Cubs (9-0 to the Tigers). The only team since the '30s to win an opener big and go on to win the Series -- the '87 Twins (10-1 over the Cardinals).
Blowout losses haven't exactly been a Yankees tradition in October. This was the Yankees' 207th World Series game. It was only the fifth time they have lost a game by eight runs or more. The others:
Game 1, 1996 -- 12-1 to Atlanta.
Game 2, 1958 -- 13-5 to Milwaukee.
Game 2, 1926 -- 10-2 to St. Louis (and Grover Cleveland Alexander).
Game 3, 1921 -- 13-5 to the New York Giants (the Yankees' first World Series loss ever).
In five combined postseasons from 1996-2000, the Yankees allowed a total of nine unearned runs in 61 games. They've now allowed nine just in this postseason -- including five in Game 1.
Before the postseason, Clobberin' Craig Counsell had hit two home runs since April 25 -- and rolled up four all year, just 69 behind Barry Bonds. Naturally, he's now hit two in the postseason. And his first-inning homer in Game 1 gave him as many career World Series home runs (one) as Mark McGwire, Willie McCovey, Stan Musial and George Brett. What a sport.
The Yankees had been almost automatic when they scored first in the postseason. Since their championship run began in 1996, they were 35-7 (an .833 winning percentage) when they took the lead first.
The Yankees also have had a unique ability to go into an opposing city for the first time in a postseason series and just about get on the board before the national anthem was over. In 16 postseason series since '96, the Yankees now have scored in the first inning of their first road game six times -- usually with better results.
It isn't every game in October you see a Yankees starting pitcher disappear before the fourth inning. Mike Mussina became just the second starter in the Yankees' last five postseasons to be gone before he got 10 outs. The other was Roger Clemens, who lasted two memorable innings in his epic "duel" with Pedro Martinez in Game 3 of the 1999 ALCS. Then again, Kenny Rogers had three straight starts like that in the '96 postseason, which may have something to do with why he isn't a beloved Yankee anymore.
Mussina had given up three runs in his previous five starts combined, then allowed five in three innings in this one. He had given up four runs in an entire GAME exactly once in his previous 13 starts, then allowed four in the third inning alone. That was the biggest inning against him since Aug. 2, when the Rangers scored six in the third.
So much for numbers. David Justice was 10-for-28 lifetime against Schilling and hadn't struck out against him in his previous 16 plate appearances -- before this game. His line in this one - 0-for-3, three whiffs.
Diamondbacks catcher Damian Miller likes to make an entrance. He is 5-for-9 with a walk in his first plate appearance of the 10 postseason games he has played in this October. In all his other at-bats, he's 3-for-26.
Curt Schilling won 22 games this year -- none of them by more than seven runs. He won by eight in this game. His total margin of victory in his previous three games was six runs.
The Diamondbacks scored 11 runs in Game 4 of the NLCS. In their other nine postseason games, they scored a total of 21 runs before this game -- an average of 2.3 runs per game.
Jayson Stark is a senior writer for ESPN.com
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