October 2008 - Posts
It’s just a week to the start of free agency so here are five “marriages” that would make sense if they come about this baseball winter:
CC SABATHIA AND THE YANKEES: This will happen simply because the Yankees cannot let another winter go by without taking a run at the game’s best available pitcher.
The decision to pass on Johan Santana last offseason didn’t work out too well in the Bronx. The math works in the pursuit of Sabathia as nearly $90 million comes off the Yankees’ books and with their new stadium much more money is headed into their coffers. Thus, the Yankees can simply follow the “Tom Hicks” playbook -- outbid everyone by so much that the players union implores Sabathia to accept the lucrative deal for the “good” of all players (see Rodriguez, Alex circa 2001). Sabathia will trade California and the chance to hit in the National League for mind-boggling dollars and October baseball.
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Pat Burrell plays this World Series knowing these may be his final games in the only uniform he has worn as a major leaguer.
Not long ago the Phillies had a trio of Bobby Abreu, Jim Thome and Burrell that was the NL’s best for packing a punch. But the Phillies couldn’t win behind those bats. They needed Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins to be their main men. And only Burrell survived from the original threesome.
Do the Phillies look to keep Burrell who is a free agent this offseason? His numbers in bulk are impressive: 251 home runs in nine years and OPS the last three years of .890. He provides power that will be in demand as the game phases out of the BALCO era. No longer will slight infielders be belting 25 home runs a season.
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The call here is Tampa Bay to become world champions in a series that is more likely to be long than short.
Pressure? Don’t you think that Tampa Bay has already conquered that with its September series in Fenway Park? And isn’t it the Rays who outlasted the two Goliaths of their division not to mention the sport – the Red Sox and Yankees -- over 162 games and then knocked the Big Choke off their heads in Game 7 of ALCS?
After achieving all this, shouldn’t the Rays play the World Series with house money?
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At least for me, Game 7 of the ALCS was like 1991 revisited: Matt Garza of the Rays (traded to Tampa Bay from Minnesota last offseason) plowed through the Red Sox lineup for seven-plus innings. His performance had me flashing back to Game 7 of the 1991 World Series when a 23-year-old named John Smoltz of the Braves threw seven shutout innings against the Twins in a raucous Metrodome.
History shows us there was no reward for Smoltz that night thanks to Jack Morris. Smoltz combined with two Atlanta relievers to allow the Twins but one-run over 10 innings. But Morris found a way to top that – and oh, did he ever! He never handed over the baseball, throwing 10 shutout frames as the Twins prevailed, 1-0, to become world champions.
For Smoltz that game launched a career that should land the righty in the Hall of Fame. As for Garza, he grew up before America Sunday night. His temper and bucking instruction caused Minnesota to trade him. His temperament in a confrontation with Tampa Bay catcher Dioner Navarro this season forced the hand of Rays manager Joe Maddon. And Maddon again showed his stuff by working through the problem with Garza, whose temperament and approach to pitching have markedly improved since his sit down with Maddon.
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One huge factor in what looked to be Tampa’s Bay’s stunning sweep of the Fenway Park ALCS games was that Jonathan Papelbon didn’t leave the bullpen until a courtesy/desperation appearance in the seventh inning of Game 5 -- one that looked bad when he allowed two inherited runners to score but became surprisingly important when he stifled any further scoring.
For most of this series Papelbon was neutered as Tampa Bay scored early and often and the Rays’ starting pitchers negated Boston’s bats (until the final three innings of Game 5 when the Red Sox incredibly rallied back from a 7-0 deficit to stave off elimination with by winning 8-7).
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There was a great scene in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series as Matt Stairs blasted a pinch-hit home run in the eighth inning to give the Phillies a 7-5 lead and eventual win over the Dodgers. As Stairs returned to the dugout, Geoff Jenkins went up behind manager Charlie Manuel and embraced him with a huge bear hug.
Manuel is the least heralded successful manager in the game. The man often dismissed for his Appalachian drawl and simple straightforward demeanor has done nothing but win as a manager, taking two teams (the Indians and Phillies) to the postseason on multiple occasions. All six of his managerial seasons have been winning ones, none with less than 85 victories.
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Each of the four teams in the LCS has its mega stars that pretty much own the headlines. And each has the somewhat underappreciated contributor who shines in the baseball world if not on the highlight shows. You know their names, Howell, Lester, Hamels and Mattingly but it’s time to give them the recognition they deserve for the roles they play in the success of their respective teams.
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A look at the top surprises and disappointments of the playoffs through the LDS:
THUMBS UP:
TAMPA BAY BULLPEN: Early in the season the Rays hoped Troy Percival would provide a veteran presence in closing games. In October, Percival is hobbled and J.P. Howell and Grant Balfour are sharing the load as the team’s closer. And Balfour’s competitive fire -- on display for all to see during his verbal “battle” with Orlando Cabrera of the White Sox in the ALDS -- is a reflection that these Rays aren’t just happy to be in the playoffs.
PHILADELPHIA STARTERS: The collective blood pressure of Phillies fans rose as Brett Myers struggled through his last two regular-season starts. Then he stifled the Brewers in Game 2 as did Cole Hamels in Game 1 and Joe Blanton in Game 4. The trio held a strong Brewers lineup to nine hits and three runs in 21 innings.
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Baseball's greatest moment this October would be Manny Ramirez playing in the World Series as a Dodger in Fenway Park. It couldn’t get any better than that. The Manny-Red Sox Nation dynamic would be juicy and riveting to watch. And it could happen.
On Aug. 1, this possibility seemed ludicrous. Today, it's real. It’s hard to look at the National League Championship Series without seeing the Dodgers as slight favorites over the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Boston Red Sox's experience gives them an even slimmer edge on the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Championship Series.
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One pitch to Shane Victorino in Game 2 of the NLDS probably ended Milwaukee’s dream of a run deep into the postseason but CC Sabathia will always be remembered in Brewers’ lore for his Herculean effort to bring October baseball back to Wisconsin.
Yesterday’s loss to the Phillies may end up as Sabathia’s last start for Milwaukee. Indeed the curse of the current playoff system is the ridiculous phenomenon of prevailing over 162 games to make the postseason only to be eliminated in as few as three games. The first round should be best-of-seven but television doesn’t want more games.
Besides a huge contract when he hits the free-agent market this offseason, here’s what else Sabathia should be in line for: the National League Cy Young.
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Eight teams are in the playoffs and the keys to the success of each include having an important player come up big. My focus will be on the eight below:
COLE HAMELS: The Phillies needed to win Game 1 since the Brewers have lined up CC Sabathia to pitch two of the last four games, Game 5 (if needed) on four days rest. Hamels did not disappoint as he was outstanding. He authored eight shutout innings, striking out nine and walking just one. The nine strikeouts were one shy of the postseason record for a Phillies’ starting pitcher.
Hamels was in total command as only three hitters reached base against him. Even though Milwaukee batters knew Hamels was going to come with his changeup, they couldn’t touch it. It was exceptional much like the man who threw it and it paved the way for the Phillies to take the NLDS opener, 3-1. A win they had to have.
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