New York Yankees capture 2009 title

I’m 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 night’s game.  And Hideki Matsui left no room for error in judgment.  ‘Shemp’ drove in six runs in Game Six’ 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.  They’re the Evil Empire.  But, let’s face it.  Without them, baseball wouldn’t be the same and probably wouldn’t be in as good as shape. 

In 2010, I’ll 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.

Baseball Reference’s stat summary of the World Series

Cops catch Lincecum with pot

Tim Lincecum’s timing was bit off last week. 

Last Friday, the former Cy Young award winner was caught with pot when he was stopped after driving 74 mph in a 60 mph zone.  Police found a pipe and 3.3 grams of marijuana. 

Lincecum was “cited and released” and will receive a fine for the misdemeanor. 

Rumor has it that the Giants won’t be taking action against him.  But secretly, they’re probably taking some satisfaction that Lincecum’s arbitration hearing will be coming up soon.  No doubt, this will come up during the hearings and perhaps have a little impact. 

Lay off the doobie, Tim.  It’ll cost you.

Sox Getz Teahen from Royals

mark teahenOne day after the World Series ended Kenny Williams is at it, getting the White Sox ready for next year.  Chicago traded secondbaseman Chris Getz & power hitting Josh Fields to Kansas City in exchange for Mark Teahen.  I’m hoping they install Teahen at the hot corner, moving Alexei Ramirez back to secondbase, and allowing Gordon Beckham to play his natual shortstop position.  There’s talk that Teahen will play rightfield, but I hope not, we need more production out of rightfield than Mark’s season average of .269 with 14 home runs.  We shall see what happens.

Bronx considering ‘Jeter Bridge’

Bronx officials have confirmed that they are considering naming a 512 foot bridge after Derek Jeter.  Which prompted this rather ‘ugh’ comment from Angela Montefinise of the NY Post:

Big Apple women may soon be able to take a ride on Derek Jeter — the bridge, that is.

As a commenter to her article notes, what happens if he somehow ends up on the Red Sox?  Yeah, yeah, Yankee fans, he’s Mr Pinstripes.  Don’t forget, he’s a businessman first and foremost.  Remember, Johnny Damon took the reverse route.

Good luck on the bridge thing New York fans.  And have fun, ladies.

(via Circling the Bases)

Utley: A case for a losing World Series MVP?

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 wasn’t World Series hero Bill Mazeroski who garnered the award but Bobby Richardson. 

4954Bobby_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. 

It’s a crap shoot if the Yankees win.  Most likely, it will depend on what happens tonight but I’m giving Damon the edge right now. 

Take part in Baseball Reference’s survey

The invaluable stat resource Baseball-Reference.com is conducting a survey now on how they can improve their site.  If you use B-R, I encourage you to hop on over there and fill out their survey form. 

I just took it myself.  It took me just 5 minutes to fill out but it does ask some great questions especially in terms of what areas you would like for them to focus their energies on in the future. 

So, if you can spare five minutes of your busy day, take Baseball Reference’s Survey.

Hamels and Myers a little tense after “quit” remarks?

 

A little tension between Cole Hamels and Brett Myers in the clubhouse during the World Series?  Couldn’t hurt the chemistry, right?

From mlb.com:

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.


Hamels 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 don’t know about you but that’s a clear indication that there WAS a “tense confrontation”. 

The big question (which most media will tend to ignore) is whether or not it’s a really big deal.  Hamels and Myers are good friends (“He’s my buddy”, says Myer of Hamels).  Can’t 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, they’ll pounce on this like a lion on a juicy bone and we’ll hear every analysis of each angle of this story. 

The most surprising thing about this story is that it didn’t happen in New York.  The Big Apple media like to pick on their own.

Chase Utley takes Phillies to Game 6

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 Phils’ 8-6 win over the Yankees. 

He’s also playing like a World Series MVP.  For the Series, he’s batting .333 with five homers.  He could easily get that MVP award assuming Philadelphia wins it all.  Not an easy task considering that they’re 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.  It’s 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.

 

World Series bits

Looks like the frequency and duration of mound meetings by Yankee pitchers and catcher Jorge Posada are giving MLB some pause.  They’ll most certainly be discussing it this winter. 

Nice going, Jorge.

 

The LA Times’ headline reads Another tight game means big numbers for Fox.  Nice sentiment but I’m 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 doesn’t like a little trash talk?