Heroes of 2001

On this day eight years ago, my D-Backs brought their home state of Arizona its first, and to date only, professional sports championships. The D-Backs look pretty cool compared to the rest of the big four in their state--no championship trophies for those guys. But I'm not here to talk about Kurt Warner or anything.

Oh, no.

A few days ago, I rewatched game 7 on my iPod, and it was magical. It was brilliant. They caught Paul O'Neill trying to make his double into a triple and then Schill shut down the Yanks for a while after that. The D-Backs did nothing either, because the Roid Rocket was pitching at 97 MPH, and at least they looked better at the plate than he did--they didn't twirl around when they swung.

And then the Yanks get up on Soriano's homer-that-shouldn't-have been and somewhere it kinda rained a little, and they didn't close the roof because it would have taken too long. So they were ahead and we were in trouble and then Schill had to get out and Brenly called him his hero, and he did pitch a hell of a game. But then it was time for a specialist and then in came RJ.

RJ would have made a great closer. I mean, he was a great starter, no question, he still does get brilliant fairly often. But just think. All six feet and ten inches of him, throwing fastballs that went right by you--kapow! Well, he outpitched Mo in that game.

Because then after RJ was cool and lights-out, the D-Backs got real lucky. Mo Rivera made a throwing error. See, that's the irony of the situation. Mo blew this WS save by throwing crooked, but the D-Backs' closer blew a couple of games because he threw the ball straight down the middle.

But this was the one game that counted, and Mo threw crooked and it was all good to go on Damian Miller's bunt. And then a few batters later, it was tied. And then the bases were loaded with one out, and Gonzo hit the ball in the right spot, and after that run crossed: I have never seen Curt Schilling run so fast ever.

Of course, that team eventually separated, as teams are wont to do even if they are not the Florida Marlins. But where are they now? Are any of them still playing?

Yes.

Okay, there are obvious non-players such as Gonzo the executive, BK the restarautier, Schill, who's a blogger now, and Gracie and Matt Williams, who are announcers for the D-Backs. But some of them are still playing, none for AZ, and they've pretty much scatttered:

RJ has found his calling as a reliever in SF, helping out the very good Giants bullpen. He managed to get the best of the D-Backs in several meetings this year.

Rod Barajas, backup catcher in 2001, had a good year for the Blue Jays as an everyday player. He didn't leave Arizona until a few years ago, actually, and he went to Philly first before coming to Toronto.

Craig Counsell, NLCS MVP, somehow managed to slam 8 triples at the age of 39 for the Brew Crew this year, despite getting caught stealing more than he reached safely--which was only 3 times.

If any others are still playing, they aren't doing anything that has caught my eye. But it just goes to show how much baseball cycles through only 8 years. Or something like that.

But anyway, happy anniversary, guys!