Down The Stretch They Come

Pennant races take shape after trade deadline

- Peter Gammons

Since the trade deadline was moved to July 31, the surest thing seemed to be the 1998 Astros. That night, Houston—in first place with a 65-44 record—and general manager Gerry Hunsicker got Randy Johnson from the Mariners. Johnson went 10-1, 1.28 in 11 starts down the stretch, and the Astros went 37-16 after the deal. They had Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Moises Alou and Billy Wagner in their primes.

Those Astros lost to the Padres in the National League Division Series, thanks to days off between Games 1 and 2 and then Games 2 and 3. That enabled San Diego to start Kevin Brown in two of the first three games. Brown, who Bagwell says “had the best stuff of anyone I ever faced,” gave up one run in each start.

When the trade deadline passed this year, the consensus appeared to be that the Dodgers are the lock that the ’98 Astros once appeared. And they might be, presuming that Clayton Kershaw is healthy in front of Yu Darvish, Rich Hill, Alex Wood and a deep bullpen led by Kenley Jansen.

Still, stuff happens. Do we know how good Darvish really is? The Cubs and Indians were on his no-trade list, and when he eventually ended up in Los Angeles with his friend Kenta Maeda, the Dodgers hadn’t given away any of their future for a rental.