I’ll Drink To That

Who are these guys? Last year, if we were down by one in the fifth I would completely write the game off as a loss, and I was almost always right to do so. Now we can have two outs and an 0-2 count on Woodward in the bottom of the 9th, and I’ll still feel like we’ve got a chance. Last night’s Smoltz vs. Maddux game wasn’t exactly the nail-biting pitcher’s duel one might have expected, but they both looked good, and I loved seeing Smoltzie get the win. I wonder what his “surprise” for Maddux would have been, had Maddog not gotten a hit off of the first pitch he offered? I think the gag was pretty much canceled after that — maybe Smoltz later arranged to have Maddux’s hotel room bed short-sheeted to make up for it.

Browsing through baseball articles this morning, I came across this one, about the clubs’ alcohol policies following Josh Hancock’s death. It offers some cool insight into how much the various teams trust their players, and what kind of clubhouse atmosphere they have. Some of the more interesting listings:

Dry clubhouses:

–Yankees and Mets (Probably because ballplayers can’t do anything anywhere ever in New York without getting taken to task in the press — and yet, somehow David Wells played there for four years. They must have banned alcohol after he left — possibly because of him. His story about pitching a perfect game while extremely hungover has always been an inspiration to me.)

–Baltimore (The Orioles don’t even deserve beer.)

–Florida (Half their players are underage anyway.)

–Washington (Drinking and severe depression really don’t mix well.)

Beer available on tap:

–Colorado (Of course — isn’t “Tap the Rockies” printed somewhere on their jerseys?)

–Philadelphia (The team psychologist actually recommended a tap to help them deal with their fans.)

“Beer and wine available in the clubhouse”:

–Chicago White Sox (This was the only team that specifically mentioned wine. I’m having a hard time picturing A.J. Pierzynski sitting in front of his locker sipping chardonnay from a wine glass.)

So how about Atlanta? We’re listed as “beer available.” I’m sure David Wells is extremely relieved. Hopefully he’ll need quite a few of them after we’re done with him today.