Stardate 20011105.1235 (On Screen): Last night's final in the World Series was one of the best games I've ever watched, with all the drama you could have hoped for, and with brave performances by people on both teams. The game was decided by good play, not by errors and flukes, and it was close -- and that's the best it can be. Of all the performances in the game, to me one stands out. Randy Johnson came out and closed the game for Arizona, getting five Yankees out in the 8th and 9th innings. That in itself is an achievement, but he did it after pitching more than 7 innings the day before, and that is astounding. It should have been Kim's job, but after the 4th and 5th games Brenley wasn't willing to trust Kim with it. Even for a young man what Johnson did would have been difficult; for Johnson at age 38 it was stunning. Arizona's manager, Brenly, showed tremendous guts and poise in this series; he's already demonstrated himself to be one of the greats and this was his rookie season as a manager. His decision to go with Johnson at the end of last night's game was totally unorthodox, gutsy as all hell, and clearly absolutely correct. Keep an eye on him; he's going to have a long career.
The decision to award the MVP trophy to both Johnson and Schilling was absolutely correct. It would be difficult to decide which contributed more to this victory overall. But Johnson's performance last night was beyond spectacular. He's a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame. (discuss)
