Archive for November, 2009
Ten Things We Learned About Baseball in October »
Not only is October the best month on the baseball calendar, it’s also the busiest. Besides the playoffs, you have general managers being fired and hired. You have managers being fired and hired. And you already start to hear some free agent and trade rumblings. This October was no different. Let’s take a look at 10 things we learned about [...]
New York Yankees: “Strategy” Is Paying Off »
You don't want to pitch CC Sabathia against Cliff Lee. So the Yankees found out in the first game of the Word Series, which they lost, 6-1 (trailing 2-1 on Sabathia's watch). This is the reason why the strategy of pitching Sabathia (and others) on three days' rest appears to be working. This, in spite of the fact that starters on three days' rest [...]
Joe Girardi May Have Cost Yankees World Series by »
There was no reason to start A.J. Burnett on three days' rest in Game Five of the World Series against the Phillies. I'm not second guessing. As I wrote after New York won Game Four to go up 3-1, sending the right-hander to the mound was an unnecessary risk. Sure, Burnett entered with a 4-0 record and a 2.33 ERA in his career on short rest, but [...]
Live Blogging Game Five of the World Series »
The Yankees are just one win from their first World Series title since 2000. This calls for a live blog, no? 7:37 p.m. Coming to you live from the Brooklyn headquarters of River & Sunset , we begin our blog just in time for a Derek Jeter fluff piece on FOX. No word if Tim McCarver tried to destroy the master tapes prior to the telecast. 7:40 [...]
Phillies-Yankees Game 5 Notes »
> And we're back, because this has gone so well the last two times I've tried this. Stout heart! Firm belief! Cliff Lee! I might also still be drunk. > In that all important portion of the game where I'm not really watching due to being a less than totally worthless Dad, the Phils took a big early lead on the continued relentless [...]
Wealthy Redneck Briefly Pitches in World Series Game »
For anyone overwhelmed and surprised by A.J. Burnett’s early exit in Monday night’s World Series Game Five against the Phillies, here is some Earth-shattering news: A.J. Burnett totally sucks. I’m not sure how this fact has been ignored to such extremes that not only is it not common knowledge, but two major league baseball teams have seen [...]
Alex Rodriguez Plans Personal Parade to Honor His »
PHILADELPHIA—Several sources close to Alex Rodriguez report that the All-Star third baseman is planning his own parade to celebrate the New York Yankees' presupposed World Series victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. "It's already in the works," said Rodriguez's agent Scott Boras. "We just need to figure out an appropriate compensation [...]
Some Impressions of a Young Alex Rodriguez »
As a follow-up to my recent article about Alex Rodriguez's productivity in the playoffs as a Mariner, here are some portions of an interview I did early this year with Kevin Kalal of the Tacoma Rainiers, the Mariners' AAA affiliate, in 1995. The excerpts deal with Kalal's impressions of A-Rod back then. When I asked the readers of Mariners' fan [...]
Heroes and Goats: Notes on Game Four of the 2009 World »
Johnny Damon and Alex Rodriguez provided the heroics for the Yankees in their 8-5 win Sunday night in Game Four of the 2009 World Series, but when there are heroes in the game of baseball, there also must be goats. Unlike other sports, baseball is mostly a zero sum game. If a pitcher gets a really big (or final) out, then the hitter didn't "come [...]
The Same Old Yankees: Why Game Four’s Outcome »
The only thing I could think of after watching Game Four of the 2009 World Series last night, was something so obvious, that I'm surprised no one brought it up. Haven't we seen this before from the Bronx Bombers? Go back to Game Seven of the 2003 ALCS. The Yankees are down 5-2 in the bottom of the 8th inning to the Boston Red Sox. Pedro Martinez, [...]