GAME 7: The most remarkable World Series of my lifetime. Well, maybe 1975 was better, but then again, Cincy and Boston don't have a natural rivalry. The Angels went eight innings with rookie pitchers, two of whom weren't even on the roster at the All-Star Break, and captured their first World Championship, 4-1. In typical Angel fashion, they went ahead not with power but through a barrage of hits, the key one being a three-run double to right by Garrett Anderson, a player ripped earlier in the week by an LA Times columnist for being a lazy choker. As the Giants' bullpen shut the Angels down thereafter, the decision by Dusty Baker to start Livan Hernandez over Kirk Rueter will be scrutinized in the off-season; Hernandez had a solid post-season rep going back to 1997, when he won the MVP award for the Fall Classic, but he had a mediocre season, and didn't belong out on the mound last night. In reality, the Giants seemed broken by their collapse in Game 6.

Having said that, Barry Bonds deserved the MVP, even in defeat. Glaus had a great series, but in reality, Bones was the dominant figure in every game. His mammoth home run in Game 1 put the Giants ahead to stay, and his numbers thereafter were astonishing: .700 OBP, batting average of .471, 4 home runs, 8 runs scored, 6 RBI's. The latter number is a bit deceptive, since the Angels put him on base almost every time there were runners on. The whole key to stopping the Giants was making sure there was no one on base when Bones was up; that way, the staff could challenge him, knowing that if he went deep, the damage would be minimal. The alternative strategy was to walk Bonds if a base was open, even in the first inning; that tactic had less success, as Benito Santiago had a pair of big hits in Games 4 and 5. The point being, every move Mike Scioscia made in the Series was to minimize the harm that one player could impose on his team, and he still hit .471 !! The fact of the matter is, Troy Glaus won the Series MVP because the Angels won (duh!!).

Poor Darren Baker !!!