Reds Showed True Colors, A’s Scored an F

Here is a sampling of the commentaries on the Cincinnati Reds’ surprising sweep of the Oakland A’s in the World Series:

Tom Jackson, McClatchy News Service: Whatever image the A’s have been building as one of modern sport’s model franchises, all chrome and glass and integrated software, it was ripped inside out and stomped to particles in a minimum number of days by a team that had more pluck, grit and--dare we say it?--outright ability.

If, if, if. It wasn’t enough that the A’s abandoned a dynasty at the altar and instead dashed to embrace a brazen historical anomaly--first team to go from World Series sweeper to World Series sweepee in one year--they had to muddy the aisle carpet with “if” whines.

Like, if the Reds were in the American League West, they wouldn’t be so hot. Put that shoe on the other foot. Would the A’s care to mix it up with the Reds, Giants, Dodgers and Padres on a regular basis and throw in the Pirates, Mets and Expos for good measure? Come to think of it, a steady diet of Royals, Rangers, Mariners, Angels and Yankees looks pretty palatable.

How about this for an if: If in 1989 there’s not a Game 3 earthquake, the Giants get to face the A’s No. 3 pitcher (the quirky Bob Welch) and maybe even their No. 4 (Storm Davis, Mr. 4.36 ERA), and maybe the Series is even after four games. Absurd? Sure, but no more than what emerged from the A’s clubhouse after Game 4.

Jon Heyman, Newsday: Going into the Series, the A’s had won eight of 10 and 25 of 35, including the four-game sweep over the Red Sox. They may not have been at their bashing best, but they weren’t slumping either; they outscored Boston, 20-4.

Quite possibly, the confident A’s became overconfident. When all was said and done and they had had their collective oversized heads handed to them, the A’s were still claiming they are the best.

“This team likes to be on edge, and we weren’t on edge” during the World Series, Willie Randolph said. “Maybe the workouts kind of lulled us to sleep.”

There’s a thought. The intra-squad games the A’s played while waiting for the National League champion to be decided seemed unfocused and unserious. In ‘88, the A’s blamed their first bad World Series on their workouts, which mostly consisted of batting practice.

So in ’89 and ’90 they played practice games. But these games had all the seriousness of slow-pitch softball. Playing second base for one squad was trainer Barry Weinberg, who plays the way you’d expect a trainer to play. Manager Tony La Russa took part in the fun, too, playing a remarkably weak first base and then joking about it later. “Someone told me I wasn’t a bad first baseman,” La Russa said. “They said I was real bad.”

Asked about the workouts, Randolph said, “This is California, so what do you expect? You know, you smell the grass, the air is fresh, the ocean is nearby.”

Perhaps five days of California dreamin’ was too much to overcome.

Jack O’Connell, The Hartford Courant: First baseman Todd Benzinger probably encapsulated the Reds’ season best when he said, “What we had this season was a great start and a great finish and a whole lot of mediocrity in between.”

The Reds won their first nine games and by June 3 had a 10-game lead in the NL West with a 33-12 record. They led by 11 games as late as July 23, but an eight-game losing streak reduced the margin to 5 1/2 in early August. The Reds pushed the advantage back up to nine Aug. 16 only to have it slide to 3 1/2 Sept. 20, but the Dodgers never caught them.

“We kept focused and tried to sidestep pressure and just do what we had to do,” pitcher Norm Charlton said. “I don’t think anyone expected us to be here, except everyone in this room.”

Peter Schmuck, The Baltimore Sun: There were several factors that conspired to deprive the A’s of a second consecutive world championship.

THE JOSE FACTOR: Right fielder Jose Canseco was too battered to bash. The A’s needed offensive leadership. Instead, they looked as if they caught something from the Boston Red Sox.

THE OTHER JOSE FACTOR: Reds pitcher Jose Rijo dominated the A’s in games 1 and 4, finishing with an amazing flourish. Rijo was named the World Series Most Valuable Player after he gave up one run in 16 1/3 innings. He also beat Dave Stewart twice in a row, which probably caused Roger Clemens to punch out his television set.

THE SABO-HATCHER FACTOR: Reds outfielder Billy Hatcher pushed somebody named Babe Ruth off one page of the World Series record book with a .750 average against a formidable Oakland pitching staff. Third baseman Chris Sabo batted .563, which was good enough to rank him third on the all-time list for highest batting average in a single Series.

Hatcher, Ruth, Sabo. Time will not diminish the glory of their deeds.

Tom Verducci, Newsday: The Athletics hit .207 in the World Series, their starting pitching failed them and their defense broke down at critical times. They made a poor showing. But the story of the World Series is not so much that Oakland lost it as it is that Cincinnati took it. The Reds made them look bad. The better team won.

“I don’t care if they did play well,” Benzinger said. “We played so well they couldn’t have beaten us.”