Houston – Sid Vicious with triplets.
That’s who drove home the meaning of this year’s World Series.
It is 20 minutes past 2 a.m. Wednesday, and Geoff Blum is slowly pulling on a T-shirt. He is a baseball rat known more for his “big-league hair,” as catcher A.J. Pierzynski put it, than his bat. It’s rock-star big, California blond and flammable from a toxic amount of hair spray.
Beyond the flaky appearance lies his significance. Blum is that kid – with three matching children – in all of us. He reacted to his brush with stardom as if he punched the winning Lotto ticket.
A 14th-inning home run to win an October epic? When he woke up Wednesday, he didn’t require pinching, but electroshock to believe his good fortune.
“This means the world right now,” said Blum on his fifth big-league team. “It’s unbelievable.”
Blum, 32, is what the World Series used to be -a dirt-stained jersey uncluttered by promotions, sponsors, agents and corporate business. He had batted just 18 times since Sept. 18. He was a card-carrying member of “Group 4” – the affectionate name for reserves who take batting practice last.
Until Wednesday morning, Blum’s main playoff contribution was “killing the team spread,” working as a taste tester for crab legs and lobster.
To hear Ozzie Guillen tell it, Blum was only in because Ozzie’s son suggested it, leading the manager to scribble through Pablo Ozuna’s name. It freed Blum, acquired from the San Diego Padres for former Colorado high school pitcher Ryan Meaux, to live the dream.
“When your playing baseball in the backyard, you always imagine this happening,” Blum said. “I just can’t put it into words.”
Clutch failure
The Astros’ loss wasn’t as difficult to stomach for manager Phil Garner as how they squandered Game 3. They left 10 runners on base from the ninth inning on. Their last hit came in the eighth. It continued an ugly trend, leaving the Astros 16-for-82 with runners in scoring position entering Wednesday night’s game.
“I don’t know any other way to say it than we are in an old-fashioned slump,” Garner said.
Lidge rebounds nicely
Houston closer Brad Lidge handled failure with humor and class. Asked what his teammates said to keep him loose before Tuesday night’s appearance, he said, “Well Brad Ausmus is calling me ‘Lights On’ Lidge.”
Lidge rebounded from two agonizing, home run scarred outings, striking out three batters in 1 1/3 innings.
“For me personally, it was nice to get back out there and have success,” said Lidge, a Cherry Creek High School alumnus.
Footnotes
All-time home run king Hank Aaron, in town to present a trophy bearing his name, predicted that Barry Bonds would break his record either next season or in 2007. Bonds has 708 home runs, 47 shy of Aaron. Aaron was complimentary of Bonds and said his records should stand. Bonds spent last season tied to the BALCO scandal, but has never tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. …
Atlanta’s Andruw Jones and Boston’s David Ortiz, received the Hank Aaron Award for their respective leagues. Said Ortiz, “With all the stuff going on, I think people are going to realize we still have players that have a lot of love and feeling for the game.” …
The Padres and Diamondbacks are discussing compensation that would clear Kevin Towers to become Arizona’s next general manager. Towers has two years remaining on his contract with San Diego. There are growing indications the financial hurdles will be cleared. …
Former Rockies outfielder Eric Byrnes, in a style matching his play, is serving as baseball analyst for ESPN News.
