On Playing To Win

Ok, so let’s see, where are we?

The Yanks lost. Arod is the goat, of course. New York’s favorite goat, that’s Arod. No sense in whining about it, Yankee fans, you’ve got him for six more years. Sure, it seems like a lot of money, but look at the bright side.

Ummm, Arod can play his position somewhat, he probably still has the potential to hit 30-40 home runs, he still can command attention in that Number 4 spot, at least when he’s healthy. He’s taken care of most of his physical problems and he really wasn’t in a groove yet by the time the playoffs rolled around.

I hate feeling sorry for Arod. But really, he wasn’t the only Yankee not doing much at the plate. Teixeira and Swisher weren’t exactly awe-inspiring. Jeter still can hit that ball, almost well enough to put the Yanks in front down the stretch in that final game.

What the heck, Texas probably would have beaten them anyway.

I just watched a re-run of the final Brewers-D-Backs game. Maybe if the Yankees had somebody like Nyjer Morgan, they’d be a lot scarier. I felt the Yanks would lose when they didn’t send Arod home when they had the chance, then they had the bases loaded again and didn’t do anything with the opportunity.

The Yanks have no speed, none at all. Yeah, I know they have Brett Gardner and Jeter and Granderson but Jeter isn’t really a burner. He’s just a smart runner. Grandy can still turn on the burners too but he’s not as scary as, well, Jose Reyes for example. Besides, hitting in the ninth spot in the order, Gardner’s often not right in the heart of things, y’know? There’re guys who can set the table, and Gardner is one of those, but it’s just a little harder from the nine spot.

I know Jeter is after all Jeter but, really, does he have to bat leadoff more often than not? Jeter can still steal a base but the pitcher and catcher don’t get all hot and bothered when Jeter’s on first base. But a lack of speed is not why they lost. I keep asking myself how that game turns out if the 3rd-base coach sends Arod home. And I’m not even a Yankee fan.

I’d feel more comfortable with another speedy outfielder. Swisher’s a good outfielder, well, maybe a fair outfielder, and he gets some big hits during the season but not so many during the post-season. He’s not a threat on the bases at all. Since the Yanks are locked in with no speed in their infield for quite some time, I’d think that situation would demand that all the outfielders have some speed.

I love Swisher, and who’s to say he won’t become a good post-season hitter, but Nick would probably fit better on some other team, a team that already has some speed. That middle of the Yanks lineup is ponderous when you think about it, Teixeira, Arod, Cano, Swisher……there are no extra bases in the Yanks future.

But I still wish they had sent Arod. He sure was ready to go.

There are those moments in every game when it’s either won or lost. You can play like you mean it, go for the win with everything you’ve got, or you can sit back, play it safe, and hope that still one more batter will come through for you. That second option really doesn’t work as often as you might think, not in a big game when the opponent’s pitching ain’t too shabby.

Oh well, the Yanks are dead. Arod probably would have been out anyway. Right?

The Brewers won their series with the D-Backs with speed and it was a lot of fun. The Brew Crew had a speed-burner on first base and another one at the plate, one Nyjer Morgan. The burner on first stole second as the catcher, Henry Blanco of Mets fame, came up throwing before he actually had the ball in his glove. He only muffed the play because the guy on first was fast. See what I mean?

With that burner now in scoring position, all Nyjer Morgan had to do was hit a ground ball through the middle to bring home the winning run and give the Brewers their first playoff-series win since, well, a long long time ago.

The best storyline for me is that Cardinals team, if only because I’ve been watching them since spring training. Just before Game 1, I told my cousin Joey, a Phillies fan, to watch out for the Cards. They had too many players who could come up in big spots and deliver. Deliver they did and now the Cards get to face those Brewers.

While I’d been somewhat prophetic , the Cards won because of Chris Carpenter. What a great pitchers duel it was, the Cards ace against the Phillies ace for all the marbles. And it wasn’t just a match of aces. It was a matchup of good friends. You knew you were going to see a great pitchers duel and that’s what you got. You not only got the results but the anticipation as well.

I think the Cards will be too much for the Brewers. The Brewers have Braun and Fielder (and Morgan) but the Cards have Pujols and Berkman and Holliday. They also have these no-name guys who just kill you in big spots, Friese and Theriot, Schumacher and Furcal.

The Brewers have better pitching overall but so did the Phillies. It didn’t seem to matter in the end. Those guys who just battle the whole game through, who pick each other up, those guys are mostly on the Cardinals.

So it’ll be Cards-Brewers in the NLCS and Rangers-Tigers in the ALCS. I’ve seen them all play and there’s great managers all around too, La Russa (I still hate him) and Leyland and Washington, but when push comes to shove, those Cardinals are playing to win.