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opinion
Diamondbacks win
ugly
First off, I am not
a Yankee fan, rather a baseball fan. And because of this, I
was rooting against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the World Series.
Well, it didn't work out for the Yankees -- or me -- as the
Diamondbacks pulled out the series title Sunday in the seventh
game. Despite some asinine moves by Diamondback Manager Bob
Brenly throughout the series, the four-year-old franchise is
now baseball's world champions.
Which brings me to my point. For the second time in four years,
a franchise in its infant stages has won the World Series. You
know about the Diamondbacks this year, but quickly, can you
name the other team to claim a title after only four years in
existence?
Of course, the legendary Florida Marlins in 1997.
How did the Marlins do it? By overspending to get quality free
agent players, then dumping those same players the following
years in cost-cutting measures. The result? The Marlins have
been one of the most pathetic franchises since that point and
now on the verge of being disbanded as baseball looks to lessen
the number of major league teams from 30 to 28.
The Diamondbacks have done much of the same. The team has more
than $200 million in deferred salaries over the next five years
and soon the D-Backs will start losing greenbacks. In order
to supplement these outrageous salaries, the team's higher-ups
will fleece the fans with higher ticket prices and bid adieu
to most or all of its key players.
Can't happen, you say? It already has. The Marlins jacked up
ticket prices following its championship and currently have
less then five players from its championship team of 1997. Trust
me, give the Diamondback brass four years or less and see what
transpires.
A team like the Diamondbacks -- or the Marlins -- winning the
World Series so soon after coming into existence is just wrong.
Teams like the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox haven't won a
World Series in over 80 years, yet these are two of the most
storied franchises in baseball. The Diamondbacks storied? Hardly.
More like a store-bought championship fluke squad.
I had the same empty feeling Sunday as I had in 1997 after the
Marlins won the championship. The TV in my house was off before
Luis Gonzalez's weak liner even reached the edge of the infield
grass to end this year's series, much like it was in 1997 soon
after then-Cleveland Indian reliever Jose Mesa blew, coincidentally,
a 2-1 ninth inning lead in the deciding Game 7 that led to extra
innings and a Marlin victory.
Sure, I admit there were some great individual stories this
year like Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson getting their rings,
but absolutely nothing riveting about the Diamondback team itself.
A whiny purist? Maybe I am, but with another baseball strike
looming -- baseball's collective bargaining agreement ended
as soon as Game 7 concluded Sunday -- I don't need the Arizona
Snakes as the world's champion of baseball. In two or three
years, when the Diamondbacks opening day starter is some tired
retread or a career minor leaguer, you'll know why.
Mike Haubrich is the sports editor of the On-line Forty-Niner.
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