Looking at the Game of Baseball from all ends of the Spectrum
Listen and watch as President Obama follows protocol and calls the San Francisco Giants (is it Bochy heâs talking to?) to congratulate them for winning the 2010 World Series.
Within 10 seconds, Obama doesnât hesitate to invoke the Chicago White Sox, who âbroke a much longer dry spellâ in his conversation. Let it go, Barack⌠weâre ALL happy the SOX won what, five years ago??
Nevertheless, a fine call despite the fact it was probably scripted on both ends.
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Whoever said that Baseball is a microcosm of all that is America was probably right. All you need to do is read a few of the countless forums out there tonight on the heels of the Giantsâ World Series victory over the Texas Rangers.
Over at the MLB forums, you can find this gem:
BlueFan124 wrote:You hippie losers can take the WS but tomorrow we take our COUNTRY back!!!!!!!11/1/2010 10:58:16 PM
Hmm⌠Sandy Alderson. The Mets could have a whole lot worse.
Texas gets a win. MLB interviews with Lewis, Washington and Moreland.
2010 first pick Bryce Harper gets his first pro dinger in the Arizona Fall League
Jose Bautista had his monster year in 2010 but do you know who came in second in homers in the AL? Paul Konerko did. And the Diamondbacks are interested in him.
Thereâs a creepy looking costume of Ron Washington⌠but fortunately heâs flattered.
ESPN ranks all 27 of the New York Yankee champion teams.
Their #1 isnât the most widely known of the Bronx Bomber squads but they make a good case for it.
This yearâs team came in 10th.
Iâm no Yankee fan but I give credit where credit is due. The Yankees played like the Champions they are. Indeed, with 40 league championships and 27 World Championships, it seems their franchise has been one long dynasty with short interruptions here and there.
As I alluded to yesterday, the World Series MVP would probably be decided in last nightâs game. And Hideki Matsui left no room for error in judgment. âShempâ drove in six runs in Game Sixâ 7-3 clincher. For the series, he hit .615 with three dingers and 8 rbis.
The Yankees seem to be the team of New York and New York only. Theyâre the Evil Empire. But, letâs face it. Without them, baseball wouldnât be the same and probably wouldnât be in as good as shape.
In 2010, Iâll probably root for any team playing the Yankees as I do every year. But for now, congrats to the to all the Yankee fans out there. A job well done by the Bronx Bombers.
Outside of possibly Johnny Damon who is currently hitting .381 with 5 runs scored and 4 rbis, the Yankees are without a clear choice of a World Series MVP at this point. Is it outside the realm of possibilities that even if the Yankees win it all, Chase Utley be named for this honor?
Through Game 5 of the Series, Utley leads both teams in runs scored (6), rbis (8) and of course homeruns (5). Not only that, he was primarily responsible for two of the Philadelphia Phillies victories.
The last and only player to win the World Series MVP for a losing team, ironically, was a Yankee. In 1960, it wasnât World Series hero Bill Mazeroski who garnered the award but Bobby Richardson.
Secondbaseman Richardson went 11 for 30 (.367) and drove in 12 runs and scored eight behind two doubles, two triples and a homer. Most impressive credentials, indeed.
That all said, my prediction is that conventional practice will prevail and the winner will share the spoils. Should the Phils pull one out, Chase will most likely get the honor.
Itâs a crap shoot if the Yankees win. Most likely, it will depend on what happens tonight but Iâm giving Damon the edge right now.
A little tension between Cole Hamels and Brett Myers in the clubhouse during the World Series? Couldnât hurt the chemistry, right?
Myers and a Phillies official both dispute a Yahoo! Sports report that Myers and Hamels had a "tense confrontation" in the Phillies clubhouse following Game 5 of the World Series.
⌠(Phillies director of baseball communications) Casterioto asked Myers if he had seen Hamels.
"He quit," Myers cracked.
âŚHamels is sensitive to the word "quit" these days after he told reporters following Game 3 of the World Series that he couldn’t wait for the season to end. Myers said he was unaware of Hamels’ comments following Game 3, although the comments have upset some players inside the Phillies’ clubhouse.
I donât know about you but thatâs a clear indication that there WAS a âtense confrontationâ.
The big question (which most media will tend to ignore) is whether or not itâs a really big deal. Hamels and Myers are good friends (âHeâs my buddyâ, says Myer of Hamels). Canât we just chalk it up to Series jitters and leave it at that? Or do shall we make it a national story?
If I know the media like I do, theyâll pounce on this like a lion on a juicy bone and weâll hear every analysis of each angle of this story.
The most surprising thing about this story is that it didnât happen in New York. The Big Apple media like to pick on their own.
Chase Utley is playing like a man on a mission. A mission to get the Phillies their second straight championship. Last night, his 2 homerun, 4 rbi performance keyed the Philsâ 8-6 win over the Yankees.
Heâs also playing like a World Series MVP. For the Series, heâs batting .333 with five homers. He could easily get that MVP award assuming Philadelphia wins it all. Not an easy task considering that theyâre down 3-2 going into the heart of the Evil Empire for Game 6.
Cliff Lee was on his game last night despite his linescore. He left the game with an 8-3 lead. Itâs not his fault that the Phillies seem to find value in Chan Ho Park and think he can get the job done. Rumor has it that Lee might be ready for Game 7 should there be one and he might give Chase a run for his money for that MVP award. Lee is already 2-0 for the Series with a 2.81 ERA in 16 innings.
Looks like the frequency and duration of mound meetings by Yankee pitchers and catcher Jorge Posada are giving MLB some pause. Theyâll most certainly be discussing it this winter.
Nice going, Jorge.
The LA Timesâ headline reads Another tight game means big numbers for Fox. Nice sentiment but Iâm giving more credit to the fact that the Series is taking place in two big market cities.
On a related note, Business Weekly notes that World Series TV ratings are indeed up despite the influx of web streaming of the games.
YFSF presents: Reason(s?) Why The World Series Isn’t Over
Finally, who doesnât like a little trash talk?
C.C. Sabathia was matched up against fellow Cleveland Indians starter Cliff Lee in the opener of the Series. Lee outpitched C.C. in that game, but only Sabathia was ready to go on three days rest, Cliff would need one more day before he could go. So on Sunday night Joe Blanton would answer the bell for the Phillies versus big C.C.
Derek Jeter got the Yankees going in the 1st with a leadoff single, went to 3rd on a Johnny Damon double, and Derek would score on a Mark Teixeira groundout, and then Damon would be plated on a Jorge Posada sacrifice fly, after Alex Rodriguez was drilled by a pitch, Yanks up 2-0 with the Phils coming to bat. Back to back first inning doubles by Shane Victorino & Chase Utley would cut it to a one run game, 2-1 after one.
BIG Ryan Howard got a leadoff single in the bottom of the 4th, stole 2nd, and scored on a Pedro Feliz base knock to knot the game at two. It was time for New York to get to work in the top of the fifth, Nick Swisher started it with a base on balls, went to 2nd on a Melky Cabrera single, and then C.C. Sabathia struckout trying to bunt the runners up. With one out Derek Jeter plated Swisher with a single, then Cabrera scored on a base hit off the bat of Damon, and the Yanks again had a two run lead, 4-2.
The Phillies got their first two guys on in the bottom of the 5th as Jimmy Rollins singled & Shane Victorino walked, bringing up Chase Utley (who had homered twice in game one off C.C.), BIG Ryan Howard, and Jayson Werth, the meat of the order. Two popouts & a strikeout later, and the threat was over. Neither starting pitcher allowed a run in the 6th, Ben Francisco batted for Blanton, ending his night.
Chan Ho Park pitched a scoreless 7th. When Sabathia delivered his 98th pitch of the night in the 7th it struck me, while thinking about this superhuman’s accomplishments, pitchers routinely went the distance in the olden days, often times throwing 200 pitches in a game, sometimes working on two days rest. Still it was great to see this workhorse, C.C., going about his job, mowing down the top of the Phillies order, one, two… But then Utley chased Sabathia from the game with his third home run of the Series off C.C. (so much for platooning), once again it was a one run ballgame, all six Philadelphia home runs being solo shots. Damaso Marte was brought on to get BIG Ryan Howard to popup to end the inning, 4-3 NY.
There were two on & one out in the top of the 8th, Nick Swisher could’ve iced it, but he took strike three down the middle, shaking his head, rather than lighting up reliever Ryan Madson. Joe Girardi didn’t want to have Mariano Rivera pitch more than one inning, thus Joba Chamberlain was called on to face the hot hitting Jayson Werth (down on strikes), Raul Ibanez (K’s him on heat), & Pedro Feliz took the kid over the wall for a game tying homer. Oh brother, wasn’t supposed to happen that way if you’re a Yankees fan, what a ballgame, what a Series! A wicked breaking ball to Carlos Ruiz, and Joba’s struckout the side, but now it’s all tied at four, going into the 9th.
I know this from experience, sometimes you try to save your closer for tomorrow, and then there is no tomorrow. Chamberlain looked overpowering, but Rivera is overpowering. Charlie Manuel called on his closer Brad Lidge to work a tie ballgame in the top of the 9th, getting the first two before Damon singled to left, stole 2nd & went around Feliz, and went all the way to 3rd (the Phillies had a shift on for Teixeira), he’s credited with 2 SBs on that one play. Lidge hits Teixeira, bringing up ARod (1 for 13 in the Series). Alex hits a double off the leftfield wall, big moments for big players. With the Yankees up, Mo starts seriously loosening up to try to close it out with the lead. A couple of insurance runs score when Posada delivers a single into leftcenter, continuing on to 2nd, where he is tagged out easily, 7-4 Yanks.
Not that it matters, but Rivera faces pinch hitter Matt Stairs and then the top of the order. A groundout, a popout, & a groundout, all three to firstbase, and it’s over. The Bronx Bombers now have a three games to one Series lead, with one ballgame in Philadelphia before heading back to New York (if necessary).  Philadelphia needs to win three straight, if not impossible, close to it.  Game five features Cliff Lee versus nasty A.J. Burnett on three days rest. Joba Chamberlain was credited with the win in this one, but we all know it was C.C. Sabathia on three days, getting the job done.
There was a one hour twenty minute rain delay before game three finally was set into motion. Southpaw Andy Pettitte was on the bump for the Pinstripers, while lefty Cole Hamels (I see that commercial with those kids dad, every time he pitches) was matched up against the cagey vet.
It looked like Pettitte was the kid with the jitters in the 2nd inning, when he allowed a leadoff homer to Jayson Werth to give Philly a 1-0 lead. Before the second inning dust had settled, Andy walked Jimmy Rollins with the bases loaded, and then Shane Victorino’s sac fly made it 3-0.
In the top of the 4th with a runner on 1st Alex Rodriguez’ flyball hit off a camera in rightfield, it appeared as though the camera was out over the field of play, but it was reviewed and ruled a two run home run, making it a 3-2 game. With one out in the 5th Andy Pettitte took matters into his own hands when he singled home Nick Swisher from 2nd base with the tying run, Swisher had doubled to open the inning. Derek Jeter kept the line moving with a base knock. The big blow came moments later when Johnny Damon’s double plated both Pettitte & Jeter, giving NY a two run lead.
In the sixth inning the teams exchanged runs with Nick Swisher hitting a home run in the top of the frame and Jayson Werth matching it with a big fly of his own in the bottom for Philadelphia, still a two run Yankee advantage. New York took control in the 7th & 8th, with one run in each inning, Jorge Posada’s RBI single in the 7th and pinch hitter Hideki Matsui’s solo shot in the eighth.
Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz hit a solo blast in the 9th off reliever Phil Hughes to cut it to three, but then Mariano Rivera was called upon to close it out. Andy Pettitte was the winning pitcher, his 17th postseason victory.
I want to say something about the talking heads, they are crazy, and for the most part they talk about stuff which makes no sense. They talk about pressure & clutch, they talk about slumps, and meaningless statistics of what batters are doing off certain pitchers in certain situations. The problem here arises in the fact that there isn’t a whole lot of data, the statistics are very limited, and they are skewed as a result. What I’m talking about in particular is Alex Rodriguez 0-8 with six strikeouts after the first two games, Chase Utley with two long balls in one game off a lefthanded pitcher, Nick Swisher & his woeful slump, and then there’s Ryan Howard 0-8 with seven K’s in his last eight at bats. This isn’t about pressure and coming through or not coming through in the clutch. This is the World Series, featuring the best of the best, don’t over analyze everything, just sit back & enjoy.