November 21, 2009
MLB
Will Girardi’s pitching gamble come back to haunt the Yankees?
The Yankees would love to have some of the rain from games 1 and 2 come back now as it would give Joe Girardi a reprieve if they can’t take one of the last two games at home to close out the World Series. Joe gambled by attempting to get through with a 3-man rotation and now in games 6 and 7 he’ll need Pettitte and CC to go on only 3 days rest. AP has typically not done well on short rest and 30-something will need to be at his best as Philly is riding the Mo’ after a strong game 5. I tell ya, if the Yanks don’t get it done tonight it’s not such a given with CC in game 7 as Philly will be able to get a couple of, if not a few, relief innings from Lee and Joba “the hut” has not been lights out in his WS appearances and NY may not be able to get to super Mariano. What do you think, can the Phillies sweep a pair from the Yankees and take a title in the process?
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Phillies leave World Series hopes out on the Lidge
Tied at 4 with 2-out, no one on, and an 0-2, the Phillies were one strike away from getting the opportunity to even the series with a run in the ninth. Instead their closer Brad Lidge served up a 3-run two-out rally to all but end
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Yankees get the performance they need from AJ, now must avoid road sweep
AJ Burnett pitched his best game of the post season in game 2 as the Yankees evened the series with the Phillies at a game a piece. Burnet previously had a 4.57 ERA against the Phillies going into game 2 but shaved that significantly, allowing just one run seven innings of work. Now if the Empire can avoid a three-game sweep by
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Lee pitches a gem as the Phillies take game 1
He had the Yankees shut out for the first time in their history through nine games an only an error on Rollins allowed the Yankees to get an unearned run as Cliff Lee went the distance and gave the Phillies a 1-0 series lead with a 6-1 victory. Now
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Howard and Pedro not pulling punches, now Phills have to back it up
Rollins called hit shot on the Jay Leno show, saying the Phillies would win the series in 5 games, and Pedro Martinez said he was the most influential player ever to play in the house that Ruth built. Now that they got the Yankees all hot n’ bothered they need to step up and deliver. What they did do was land the first punch in the Heavyweight Brawl as now weather they really are or not, they have the perception that they’re NOT intimidated by the Yankees, and haven’t come to kiss their rings but win one at their expense. Meanwhile if
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“Freeway” World Series turns out to be I-95
As the Dodgers and Angels had the best records in their respective divisions for the entire season and best even the Leagues for some, many on the West coast dreamed of an I-5 Series. The second half of that vision was derailed Sunday evening as the Yankees put the finishing touches on a 100 win season with a game 6 victory over the LA Angeles and another trip to the WS. However there will be an interstate series, it will just run north/south on the I-95 between
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Sun setting quickly in LA
October in the Golden State started with dreams of an I-5 World Series but although the weather for the East Coast teams has been cloudy, rainy, and even snowing, the horizon looks much better than it does in LA where the games have been played in sunny 72 degree weather, because LA Dodgers/Angels (take your pick) find themselves down 3 games to 1 and headed to Malibu for the winter. In the Dodgers case the one component that figured to be in their favor, the bullpen, has let them down. Even the reliable John Broxton couldn’t get the three outs needed to take home filed advantage back and now the Blue Crew is one game away from elimination, and facing a rested Cole Hamels in game 5. The Angeles had their opportunity in game 2 but couldn’t deliver with men in scoring position on multiple occasions and finally froze in the middle of a bitter cold
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Matchups set for Championship Series
It may not be the final four many expected but it is full of the usual suspects. The NLCS will be a rematch of last year as the Dodgers and Phillies will match up again, only this year LA will have home field advantage. In the
If you look back at our post from before the All-Star game we called an I-5 world series between the Dodgers and Angels when they both had the best record in their respective leagues. Since then the Yankees caught fire and past them both but the Angels were playing the best baseball going into the playoffs of anyone still left and they continued that pace by giving the Red Sox a new curse to think about by sweeping them in 3 straight after all the talk was how many time Boston had taken them out. The pivotal point in this series came in game three when Paps couldn’t get the save for the first time in his post-season career. Not one of the 38,704 in attendance or millions watching on TV thought Paps could blow a two-run lead, but then again most of those people had the Sox and Yankees matching up to decide the AL as well.
Unfortunately the Yankees/Twins series will be remembered for as the series that was the catalyst for the initiation of instant replay to baseball. The outcry for umpires to “get it right” will fall outweigh the purist or time concerns as the foul ball that wasn’t will continue to be brought up until the Yankees lose, and if they win the whole thing, well…It was bad and it did cost them the game, but c’mon Twins fans, the mental lapses you displayed on the base paths, in games where runs are at a premium, were inexcusable and would have come back to haunt you with or without replay.
Not without it’s own controversial missed call was the Philly/Rockies series where a swinging bunt that clearly hit the plate was crucial call that also cost the
So on one side we’ve got a rematch on the NLCS from last year Philly vs. LA and a vintage East Coast vs.
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Dodgers, Yankees, and Angels in driver’s seat at 2-0
The gift came out of left field but the Dodgers will take it as Holliday’s error turns a 1-1 series tie into an overwhelming 0-2 deficit from which no National League team has ever recovered in the history of the 5-game series. There’s no way around it, it may not have been a game 7 but it’s in the same park as Buckner’s in 86’ because the game was over. Now the series is over for the Cards. Meanwhile LA rides into
The other play that will be talked about when this year’s post season is folklore is the home cookin’ the Yankees got at home, with the phantom foul ball call that would have been the go ahead run prior the single the next batter hit. The Twins have not only hung in there but should have been going back home with a split similar to the Cards but they’re down 0-2 (0-9 vs. NYY all time) and it doesn’t look good but the “piranhas” didn’t get their name by accident. They’ll take the first one in the dome but all bets are off for game 4.
So much for jinxes, and the Sox should know all about that. This time their the victim of the antidote as the Angles seem to have all the answers to the Red Sox bats only allowing 1 run in 18 innings en route to a commanding 2-0 lead. There’s no relief for
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Playoff picture finally set, almost. Smacchat playoff predictions
American League
Detroit/Minnesota at NY Yankees
Red Sox at LA Angels (Angels lead Series 5-4)
National League
Cardinals at Dodgers (Cards lead Series 5-2)
Rockies at Phillies (Phillies lead series 4-2)
Twins at Yankees – Coming off one of/the best 1-game playoff games ever the Twins overcame a 3-0 deficit to defeat the Tigers 6-5 in 12 innings, adding insult to injury, as the Tigers let a huge divisional lead slip away down the stretch(3 games w/4 to play). Now they try to ride this momentum into the
Cardinals at Dodgers – The Cards late season acquisition of Holliday gives them plenty of ‘stick’ in the lineup and on paper it appears that they will just shell the Dodger pitching staff which has not looked good down the stretch but keep this in mind; the Cards are hitting just over .220 against left handed pitching and LA starts to tough, young, lefties that are pitching as well as they have all season. Furthermore,
Red Sox at Angels – By now everyone knows the history of the LAA’s futility against the BoSox in the post season, from freaky ‘game ending strike 3 calls that turn into 2-run innings’ etc., to a 9-1 record of the last 3 series, three straight eliminations, with two leading to World Series appearances. However if
Unlike other sports home field doesn’t seem to matter in baseball
Down the stretch of this year’s MLB season one thing has become incredibly evident, that the division leaders in the NL don’t seem to be any hurry to wrap up their respective division or secure a home field advantage in the upcoming DS/CS, especially in the National League. The Cardinals and Dodgers have both gone 4-6 their last 10, where mere percentage points separate the three division leaders LA, Philly, and STL. The Dodgers STILL haven’t even wrapped up the division as they’ve had a magic number for what seems like half the season, and they’ve failed to nail it down in five consecutive tries and now they’ve opened the door for the Rockies to come into their house and take it from them with a sweep. Perhaps it’s an “LA thang” and they’re taking their cues from the Lakers who were not fond of putting teams away either en route to a championship. Not sure what Joe’s is saying to them in the clubhouse but it’s not motivational. The Cards have an opportunity to host a home series AND dictate when it begins to benefit an very potent pitching staff but also can’t get out of their own way with only a 3 game set with the non-contending Brewers to deal with. Which brings us to Philly, who is percentage points behind LA for the best record, but you wouldn’t know it by their .500 performance of the their last 10 games. They get the ‘Stros for one then the Marlins for 3 at home to finish but then again, with the worst home record of all remaining playoff teams maybe they know something we don’t. Who is in the best position to advance past the Divisional Series? Let us know here or any of the other quick links:
Playoff picture not quite set
Perhaps we were a bit pre-mature with our assertion that everything was decided coming down the stretch in MLB with the exception of the Wild Cards and home field. Then without warning or proclamation the Twins went on a tear and won nine out of ten and find themselves only 3 games back with a 4-game series coming up with the Tigers, who had previously gone three of their last ten before recognizing where they were and winning three straight. Not to pick on the Tigers as there are a few clubs that may be taking their positions for granted but have some major issues to address if they’re going to hold on to their playoff position and/or advance beyond one series. Starting with the Dodgers, who have actually increased their lead in the NL West over the last 10 days they haven’t looked good doing it, getting fat off the likes of the sub .400 teams like San Diego, Pittsburgh, and Washington. Even with that schedule they could only go 7-3. The spotlight is on the NL Wildcard race which completely resides in the west as the Giants and
battle to the final game. The major question facing LA is starting pitching which has really come down to earth and when the Rockies made their charge had it not been for the bullpen going 23/24 scoreless relief innings, with best eras in baseball (Belisario 0.49, Sherrill 0.77, Kuo 1.31, Broxton 1.44) they might be more in the WC conversation than division winners. Ironically, despite all of this, the Dodgers have the best record in the NL right now and a magic number of 4, so we must allow them some latitude, however once the real season begins in less than a month all bets are off as we think the Dodgers are very susceptible to a first round upset. The Wild Card race could be even closer than it looks on paper, as although the Rocks have a 3.5 game lead but six of their last nine are against the Cards and Dodgers who will certainly want to go into the playoffs with some momentum. For most of September it looked like that final series was going to decide the NL West and Wild Card but now the Rocks may need to get out of LA with more than just a series win to take on the Cards in the ALDS, and now Atlanta and Florida are in the picture as well.
Wild Cards and home field is the only thing left to be decided
With all of the tight races early in the season we had every reason to believe that this year was going to be one of the best ever as we came down the stretch. Unfortunately, all of the divisions did a complete 180 as the only division that was all but sealed after the all-star break (the NL West) turned out to be the only close race with LA finally getting some space with 20 games to go. The other pennant races have long since ended. We know the Series will be hosted by the