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10/05/2002 10:06 pm ET
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Proud D-Backs look to next year
World Champs eye 2003 after being swept
By Rich Draper / MLB.com
ST. LOUIS -- There were teary eyes and sad faces in the Arizona Diamondbacks clubhouse. Hands shook in commiseration. Hugs signifying farewell to the postseason abounded. Some players sat silent, staring at the floor.
Yet way back inside their minds, there was a feeling of a job well done, even if they had lost their chance of defending their world title after a 6-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on Saturday night, in Game 3 of the National League Division Series.
Three and oh. Three and out. A nightmare series.
But if disappointment reigned and will make for a long flight home in the darkness, the Diamondbacks could still see a beacon of light, hope and resurrection far ahead, when they meet again in Spring Training.
And it starts at the top.
"We had a great four-year run," said president and managing general partner Jerry Colangelo, the architect who helped create this dynasty-in-progress. "We won three divisional titles, we won a World Series and so we're proud of those accomplishments.
"It puts that much more focus on how unbelievable last year was in winning the World Series," said Colangelo. "It's not easy to get there. And now we have to go back to the drawing board and do the things we need to do to stay competitive. But I'm proud of the effort we had."
The next step? "We need to lick our wounds a little, let the dust settle, and then get back to work."
Manager Bob Brenly, heartbroken after seeing his club overcome injuries to top players from the spring through the fall, could hold his head up high after the game, even if the Busch Stadium field was littered with celebratory confetti, and horns and sirens blared throughout a jubilant city of St. Louis.
"I told my guys before we came in the (clubhouse) I'm extremely proud the way they've battled this season. Hopefully this gives our players a better appreciation of what happened last year and what we hope to happen next year.
"It's not easy to win a series, and I realize it's only my first years as a manager," he said. "It's one of the toughest things in all of sports to do, to get through 162 games and three rounds of playoffs and come out on top. Unfortunately, we were undermanned and not up to the task this year, but we'll be back."
Undermanned, yes, but also outmanned by the Cardinals.
There would be no last-minute magic or heroics for Brenly's crew Saturday, as reconstituted Redbird right-hander Andy Benes gave up three runs on two hits over 4 2/3 innings and even bunted home the go-ahead (3-2) run in the fourth frame, scoring Miguel Cairo from third.
Relievers Jeff Fassero (1-0), Rick White and Steve Kline shut them down through the eighth, with closer Jason Isringhausen getting the save in the ninth. Losing pitcher Miguel Batista (0-1) was rocked for four runs on five hits over 3 2/3 innings.
Perhaps the saddest sight of all was looking box score of the D-Backs' batting average, a mere .184. Eighteen hits and six runs in three games to the Cardinals' .314 average, 33 hits and 20 runs. A virtual landslide victory for St. Louis.
This was not characteristic of Arizona this season, a team that outdistanced the tough San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West, a milestone achievement.
But without Craig Counsell and without Luis Gonzalez, the bullpen in a death spiral at the finish and Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling unable to win in the NLDS, it proved too much to overcome.
It was a battle, however, at least for a while.
The D-Backs jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning on a walk to Quinton McCracken and a two-run homer by David Dellucci, but the Cardinals struck back with a lone run in the second on Miguel Cairo's looper to left field, scoring Albert Pujols.
St. Louis tied it in the third when Fernando Vina singled to left and eventually scored on Pujols' base hit.
Batista was hand picked by Brenly to start Game 3 because he rarely put himself in jams, yet the right-hander was constantly in trouble. The fourth inning proved to be his downfall and his Waterloo.
Miguel Batista
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Cairo, the hitting hero of Game 2, was hit by a pitch, moved to third on Mike Matheny's base hit to right, then came sliding home when Benes spun a perfect squeeze bunt in front of the plate.
Fernando Vina drilled an RBI single to right, plating Matheny for a 4-2 margin.
Arizona had a big chance in the fifth, when Barajas slammed a 402-foot homer to left. Pinch-hitter Chris Donnels and Junior Spivey walked, and with two outs Steve Finley singled to left-center. Donnels tried to score but was out on a perfect throw home by Pujols.
Cairo, making his bid for series MVP, drove home the Cards' fifth run on a double in the eighth off reliever Byung-Hyun Kim, scoring Tino Martinez. Moments later, pinch-hitter Kerry Robinson singled home Cairo.
The Diamondbacks potent regular-season bats mustered only four hits in the NLDS finale.
Still, the 2002 season was a solid one. A record 55 victories at home. The emergence of players such as Junior Spivey, Quinton McCracken, Mike Koplove, Erubiel Durazo, Chad Moeller and Rod Barajas, either making their mark or improving.
Barajas, who slugged a fifth-inning homer in the finale, says the team should be stronger overall in 2003.
"It's tough to look forward to next year, but we do know we will have a healthy Luis Gonzalez, we're going to have a healthy Craig Counsell," said Barajas. "When you lose guys like that right before the playoffs it's going to be an uphill climb. But next year we should have about the same team, hopefully, and we'll make another run at it."
One player who rose from the obscurity of the minors was catcher Chad Moeller, who was almost forgotten in April, but would hook up with the Big Unit for a remarkable 17-game stretch, going 12-2.
Moeller would hit .286 over 37 games, a 54-point improvement from 2001.
"I don't think anybody thought it would end like this, but we start looking forward to next year," said the second-year player. "It's never fun to end a season like this, but only one team that ends the season happy."
Rich Draper is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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