Fewer homers and a subway ride

From the Sidelines
   By Chad Golder and Chris Pierce

COURTESY CNNSI.COM If Slammin' Sammy keeps hitting homers, last season's historic home run race will lose its luster.

This time last year, baseball fans were engrossed in the epic home run race between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa; the amazing season of the New York Yankees; and the Chicago Cubs' return to the postseason, led by Sammy and young phenom pitcher Kerry Wood. While this season might not reach the historic heights of the 1998 campaign, it has provided fans with excitement and proven that the game your father watched is also hip enough for you. But with five weeks left before we all begin counting the days again until pitchers and catchers report to spring training, here are some things we'd like to see. We've rubbed the lamp. Here are our three wishes for the baseball genie:

1. The Oakland Athletics make the playoffs

We'd love to see a team like Oakland, or its National League (NL) counterpart, the Reds, make the playoffs, because it would prove that small market organizations with smart management can succeed in a baseball system marked by economic inequalities. Last winter and this season, the A's made some shrewd moves: they added key veteran players and mixed in some cheap young talent, and now they're contending for the American League (AL) wild card.

John Jaha is a testament to the wisdom of Oakland management. His numbers this year (32 home runs, 96 runs batted in, .541 slugging percentage) far surpass those of $13 million man Mo Vaughn. It's ironic that the Angels, backed by Mickey's money, passed on Jaha in favor of Mo. Oakland also made the best trading deadline deals. They dealt an unhappy Kenny Rogers for a highly touted centerfield prospect, and then turned around and acquired two solid starting pitchers (Kevin Appier and Omar Olivares) as well as proven veteran Randy Velarde. In doing this, they also shed $100,000 from their payroll and are now literally taking money out of a large-market team's pocket (the A's still receive $250,000 from the Yankees for Rogers' contract, even though he is long gone). A playoff spot for Oakland would prove to major league baseball's other cash-strapped franchises that money doesn't win ballgames, intelligent front office moves do.

2. No homerun chase this year

Last year was arguably the greatest season in the history of baseball, due largely to the home run race between Slammin' Sammy and Big Mac. But a repeat performance would simply dilute last year's heroics. Give it 20 years until little Tre Griffey makes the majors and challenges McGwire's 70. The wait will make last year seem much more special.

Frankly, this year's home runs have been tiresome. Last weekend, Cincinnati beat Philadelphia 22-3. No, the Bengals weren't playing the Eagles. En route to the drubbing, the Reds hit a record nine homers by eight different players. This is one example of how the increasing number of homers has changed the game. The Sammy and Mac Show only contributes to this problem by encouraging players to bulk up and swing for the fences so they can appear on the 11 p.m. SportsCenter. We prefer the occasional nine-inning pitchers' duel to the now routine slugfests.

3. An exciting post-season and a Subway Series

Most years, the fall is when baseball really shines. If a few things go the right way, this October will shape up to be a classic. We might get the chance to see if the Houston Astros' hurlers have really overtaken the Braves as the best pitching staff in baseball. We also might see if the frugal Reds can defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks, who spent millions in an attempt to purchase the NL West pennant. But most of all, we'd like to see a Red Sox-Yankees AL Championship Series. This is a rivalry that divides the allegiances of these two columnists, as it has divided Yankee and Red Sox fans in generations past. Even before Bucky Dent's shocking home run in 1978, New Englanders dreamed of knocking off the hated Bronx Bombers. Similarly, Yankee fans never tire of sending the Red Sox players to the golf course a few weeks early.

A Boston-New York series, which would be extremely thrilling, could only be exceeded in excitement by a Subway Series. For the first time since both organizations have been in existence, there is a legitimate chance for a crosstown matchup between the Mets and the Yankees. Such a World Series would captivate not only one city, but the entire nation. Imagine Mike Piazza facing Roger Clemens on baseball's biggest stage, or Darryl Strawberry stepping to the plate at Shea in pinstripes with the World Series on the line. Here's to Bobby Valentine wearing another disguise to hide from the New York press after a shameful seven game defeat!

Wouldn't you like all that to happen, too?

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