“Snake-bit” doesn’t really cover it, y’know. Not unless it’s a really big snake, more like that Harry Potter’s basilisk. This Mets team just can’t get a break. When their starting pitcher, Fernando Nieve, went down to injury early in yesterday’s game, it seemed just too much.
As small as it may have seemed, losing a journeyman pitcher, it proved to be big. The Mets filled in with a guy they’re soon either sending down or releasing, Tim Redding, and then looked lifeless for nine long innings. In the face of such disaster, why even try? The gods of baseball had already decided their fate, this day and most days in this horrible 2009 injury-fest.
It’s difficult to watch, of course, so you wind up turning the game off. Almost anything would be more interesting, say, a reality show featuring celebrities watching grass grow. Did they do that one yet?
Of course, there is an alternative, but it’s a bad one. Watching the hated Yankees. Yesterday they even had Joba going, and it’s really difficult not to like Joba, even if he is on the wrong team. Joba was great yesterday, and the announcer only mentioned pitch counts maybe 63 or 64 times in the game.
But there’s an even better alternative…two actually, but one is turning off the TV altogether, unthinkable for a baseball fan of limited means. After all, the weekly fantasy baseball contests wind up on Sunday. The other alternative is watching the MLB channel when they’re covering things live.
I had wanted to re-acquire Joba in my fantasy league on Saturday night. I was tied in wins and losses with my weekly opponent and only slightly ahead in ERA and WHIP and strikeouts. Plus, he had three pitchers going, three pretty fair pitchers, Matt Cain probably the least of them, but I had been afraid that if Joba turned in another clunker, I’d lose the advantages I had.
Bad choice. Even the idiots in the Yankee dugout, not to mention the one behind the plate, couldn’t shake Joba’s confidence yesterday. He pitched into the seventh inning, giving up just a lone home run and 3 hits overall, struck out 8 batters and looked confident until the very end when the idiots finally prevailed. Girardi pulled Joba with two outs and nobody on in the seventh. Much to my delight, the crowd booed lustily, and never was a panning more deserved.
The announcers stressed that it was the right move. Sure it was. The crowd got to watch Coke, Hughes and Rivera finish the Tigers off and Joba got the win. And he got a tremendous ovation from the crowd when they finally stopped jeering.
As I found out later on, Joba went home for the break and forgot about baseball except for a bullpen session with a good friend. He “did not think about baseball one time”. He also said, “I needed that” before resorting to the typical Yankee line, how he loved the place to death yada yada (insert finger down throat).
If he loves the place to death so much, why was it so wonderful to get away? Why did he come back renewed? Why did his fastball attain upper-90’s and where did he finally get all that confidence? In Nebraska, that’s where, well away from the idiots and the corporate atmosphere that is the Yankees.
Joba’s a great pitcher on the wrong team. If he pitched for the Rangers, where Nolan Ryan has loudly excoriated all the crap written about the significance of pitch counts, he’d be much better. If he had a catcher who didn’t drive him crazy, if every pitch and every location wasn’t dictated from the bench, the sky would be the limit on Joba.
But that’s just wishful thinking. Joba won’t go anywhere. They’ll throw money at him when the time comes and wheel out some of the old-timers and that will be that. In a couple of years, they’ll remove the shackles and let him breathe. But until then, you won’t see any complete games from Joba.
You won’t see a fist-pump after striking out an even dozen batters over nine. You won’t see the jubilation achieved only after really having completed something you started. You won’t experience any late-inning buzz, the kind of group near-frenzy that typifies baseball at its finest.
What you’ll get is those corporate guys congratulating themselves after the game, after they’ve counted the daily take from those thrice-over-priced tickets, after the W.B. Mason guys have celebrated still another sighting of a Yankee pop-up sailing over that embarrassingly short wall.
The Yanks are a game out of first and Cashman is already celebrating his acumen. They have a glut of fine talent, Arod and Teixeira, all the rest of the aging Jeters and Pettites and Posadas and now Sabathia and Burnet too. They’ll undoubtedly be there at the end of September, especially if all these old guys can hold on until then.
But at what price? I’m not just talking about the tickets. I’m talking about the cost of a stifling atmosphere in the dugout, the clubhouse and even the broadcast booths, the cost of hearing the same Yankee line from every player and announcer, an announcer who knows nothing about baseball but can tell you only how many strikes and how many balls have been thrown.
This is an emphasis that can only come from above, from that embarrassingly stupid Yankee hierarchy that has only managed to achieve a higher form of mediocrity these last several years, this achieved despite spending double and triple that of virtually every other team in major league baseball.
And while I won’t be seeing any blue and orange in this year’s festivities, the Mets having all gone to the trainer’s room, I’ll take solace in watching those Torre-less guys in pinstripes go down once again, hopefully to a team that still has fun playing baseball, the Red Sox or the Rays, or in a perfect world, the Rangers.
Showing posts with label Rays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rays. Show all posts
Monday, July 20, 2009
Friday, October 31, 2008
Chase Utley - The Keystone Difference
Well, as I had predicted, it was the Phillies, but easier than I had thought, the Phils prevailing in five, not seven, games. But it couldn't have been more exciting. And today, as callers to the FAN's Mike Francesa discussed who the MVP of the Series should have been, nobody mentioned Chase Utley. And that's just plain wrong.
Just to recap, Cole Hamels was voted the MVP. He won Game 1 and was the starting pitcher in Game 5, that the Phils went on to win. But, as Francesa pointed out, he was really just 1-0 for the Series. And, as he reviewed the batting stats for Phillies in the Series, he basically said, "well, there really was nobody else".
Spoken like a Yankee fan. Yankee fans are all about home runs. That's all they know, except perhaps for batting average. Those were the categories Francesa reviewed. And I had to wonder whether he even watched the Series. He mentioned Carlos Ruiz, the Phils catcher, and he mentioned Howard's production in Game 4. He pointed out a few others and totally ignored Chase Utley, except to point out that he did make an excellent play in Game 5 when he faked a throw to first and threw a runner out at home.
What he neglected to point out was that that play kept the score tied. Utley had made the game-changing play and Francesa missed it totally. Fielding doesn't count to Yankees fans. Nor does running for that matter. And they love the designated hitter. Idiots.
I probably shouldn't let this bother me so much. After all, Utley was only 3 for 18 in the Series. But let's review. Utley scored five runs, walked five times, stole 3 bases and made the game-deciding fielding play in the final.
His 4 rbi's won two games, Game 1 and Game 3, which were both won by just one run. Of the four Phillies victories, I figure Utley was the key player in three of them. In the 10-2 laugher in Game 4, Utley really didn't do that much. But then, he didn't really have to.
In Game 1, the opener in Tampa Bay, when a tone needed to be set, if ever there was to be a tone, Utley stepped up to the plate in the first inning against the Rays top pitcher, Scott Kazmir and promptly smacked a two-run homer. Those two runs held up for the entire game until Ruiz plated the winning run on a ground ball late in the game.
In the pivotal Game 3, back in Philadelphia, Utley set the tone once again. He drove in Jimmy Rollins in the first inning and then he and Ryan Howard hit back to back solo homers in the bottom of the 6th to extend a 2-1 lead to 4-1. Those runs prevented the Rays from ever taking the lead when they came back in the 7th and 8th to tie the game.
Game 4 was the laugher, of course, the Phils winning it 10-2. But, before it was a laugher, Utley scored the run that extended a 1-0 lead to 2-0 in the third. And he was on base for Howard's drive in the Phillies 8th that ensured the Phillies win.
In the all-important Game 5, a game that had to be won lest the Series go back to Tampa, Utley followed Werth's walk in the first inning by getting hit with a pitch. He was therefore on base when Victorino singled both him and Werth home to take the critical 2-0 lead, once again in the first inning, once again helping to break the Rays back before things really even got started. The Rays would finally tie the game in the top of the sixth to make it 2-2, which, of course, allowed the game to be suspended, setting up its dramatic resumption.
Of course, in the resumed game, Jenkins and Werth put the Phils immediately ahead in the bottom of the sixth, and Utley struck out in that inning against the tough Rays lefty J.P. Howell. Things looked bad in the 7th after Baldelli's homer tied the game, only to be followed by still another Rays hit and a sacrifice that put the winning run on 2nd base in the person of the pesky Rays shortstop James Bartlett.
If Utley had been looking for an opportunity to change the momentum, he found it almost immediately. His counterpart at second base for the Rays, Akinori Iwamura, whose misplay of Werth's Texas Leaguer had put the Phils ahead an inning earlier, hit a hard ground ball to Utley's right. Utley, sensing that he had no play on the speedy Iwamura at first, nevertheless faked the throw to first, inducing Bartlett to break hard for home. Utley then made a very nice throw to Ruiz to nail the runner and end the inning still tied at 3-3.
Pat Burrell's double and then Pedro Feliz's single later put the Phillies ahead again, of course, and the Phillies wouldn't relinquish that lead. J.C. Romero and Brad Lidge made sure of that with some fine pitching.
But Utley tried his utmost to extend that Phillies lead once again in the eighth, drawing a walk off the tough Rays lefty reliever Price with two outs. Utley then stole second base to put himself in scoring position for Howard once again. That Howard struck out isn’t really the point. Utley put himself in position to make sure the Phillies would prevail.
There's no doubt in my mind that Utley played a key role in this Series. As did Ruiz and Werth and Howard and Feliz, and all those tough Phillies pitchers. But all those momentum swingers by Utley were hard to miss. Not to mention all those double plays that more often than not cut down the Rays tough B.J. Upton.
Second base is called the keystone for good reason. Chase Utley drove home that point. It was the keystone difference in this 2008 World Series.
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Just to recap, Cole Hamels was voted the MVP. He won Game 1 and was the starting pitcher in Game 5, that the Phils went on to win. But, as Francesa pointed out, he was really just 1-0 for the Series. And, as he reviewed the batting stats for Phillies in the Series, he basically said, "well, there really was nobody else".
Spoken like a Yankee fan. Yankee fans are all about home runs. That's all they know, except perhaps for batting average. Those were the categories Francesa reviewed. And I had to wonder whether he even watched the Series. He mentioned Carlos Ruiz, the Phils catcher, and he mentioned Howard's production in Game 4. He pointed out a few others and totally ignored Chase Utley, except to point out that he did make an excellent play in Game 5 when he faked a throw to first and threw a runner out at home.
What he neglected to point out was that that play kept the score tied. Utley had made the game-changing play and Francesa missed it totally. Fielding doesn't count to Yankees fans. Nor does running for that matter. And they love the designated hitter. Idiots.
I probably shouldn't let this bother me so much. After all, Utley was only 3 for 18 in the Series. But let's review. Utley scored five runs, walked five times, stole 3 bases and made the game-deciding fielding play in the final.
His 4 rbi's won two games, Game 1 and Game 3, which were both won by just one run. Of the four Phillies victories, I figure Utley was the key player in three of them. In the 10-2 laugher in Game 4, Utley really didn't do that much. But then, he didn't really have to.
In Game 1, the opener in Tampa Bay, when a tone needed to be set, if ever there was to be a tone, Utley stepped up to the plate in the first inning against the Rays top pitcher, Scott Kazmir and promptly smacked a two-run homer. Those two runs held up for the entire game until Ruiz plated the winning run on a ground ball late in the game.
In the pivotal Game 3, back in Philadelphia, Utley set the tone once again. He drove in Jimmy Rollins in the first inning and then he and Ryan Howard hit back to back solo homers in the bottom of the 6th to extend a 2-1 lead to 4-1. Those runs prevented the Rays from ever taking the lead when they came back in the 7th and 8th to tie the game.
Game 4 was the laugher, of course, the Phils winning it 10-2. But, before it was a laugher, Utley scored the run that extended a 1-0 lead to 2-0 in the third. And he was on base for Howard's drive in the Phillies 8th that ensured the Phillies win.
In the all-important Game 5, a game that had to be won lest the Series go back to Tampa, Utley followed Werth's walk in the first inning by getting hit with a pitch. He was therefore on base when Victorino singled both him and Werth home to take the critical 2-0 lead, once again in the first inning, once again helping to break the Rays back before things really even got started. The Rays would finally tie the game in the top of the sixth to make it 2-2, which, of course, allowed the game to be suspended, setting up its dramatic resumption.
Of course, in the resumed game, Jenkins and Werth put the Phils immediately ahead in the bottom of the sixth, and Utley struck out in that inning against the tough Rays lefty J.P. Howell. Things looked bad in the 7th after Baldelli's homer tied the game, only to be followed by still another Rays hit and a sacrifice that put the winning run on 2nd base in the person of the pesky Rays shortstop James Bartlett.
If Utley had been looking for an opportunity to change the momentum, he found it almost immediately. His counterpart at second base for the Rays, Akinori Iwamura, whose misplay of Werth's Texas Leaguer had put the Phils ahead an inning earlier, hit a hard ground ball to Utley's right. Utley, sensing that he had no play on the speedy Iwamura at first, nevertheless faked the throw to first, inducing Bartlett to break hard for home. Utley then made a very nice throw to Ruiz to nail the runner and end the inning still tied at 3-3.
Pat Burrell's double and then Pedro Feliz's single later put the Phillies ahead again, of course, and the Phillies wouldn't relinquish that lead. J.C. Romero and Brad Lidge made sure of that with some fine pitching.
But Utley tried his utmost to extend that Phillies lead once again in the eighth, drawing a walk off the tough Rays lefty reliever Price with two outs. Utley then stole second base to put himself in scoring position for Howard once again. That Howard struck out isn’t really the point. Utley put himself in position to make sure the Phillies would prevail.
There's no doubt in my mind that Utley played a key role in this Series. As did Ruiz and Werth and Howard and Feliz, and all those tough Phillies pitchers. But all those momentum swingers by Utley were hard to miss. Not to mention all those double plays that more often than not cut down the Rays tough B.J. Upton.
Second base is called the keystone for good reason. Chase Utley drove home that point. It was the keystone difference in this 2008 World Series.
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Monday, October 27, 2008
Red Hot Phillies May Only Need Five
Wow. What can you say? The Phillies continued their drive towards the World Championship last night by embarrassing the stumblin' bumblin' Rays in Game 4 by a score of 10-2 to take a 3-1 lead in the Series. After eking out just a 1-run victory in Game 3, it seemed the guys in the home reds might just finish these hotshot Rays in five games.
Over the weekend, the Phils hurlers Moyer and Blanton outdueled the Rays Garza and Sonnanstine while a little-known guy named Carlos Ruiz showed why he can be added to the list of nobodies to star in a World Series. And Ryan Howard showed everybody why he's Ryan Howard.
But last night it was all about Joe Blanton. He was friggin' magnificent. It's so good to see a guy come up big in the World Series. He not only pitches great, he hits a home run too. Now, this shouldn't have come as so much a surprise as it was. Joe had actually helped win 9 of the 13 games he pitched for the Phils since he was acquired from the A's in July. And any fantasy player knew how good he was.
But Joe was lost in the whoop-de-doo over the Rays starters and the Phils ace, Cole Hamels. And he was only the fourth starter behind Hamels and Myers and Jamie Moyer, who is about a hundred and three years old. So big Joe looked like he meant business last night as he pitched 6 strong innings for the NL Champs, surrendering just two solo home runs. Oh, and he cranked a low fastball over the fence in the bottom of the fifth to make it 6-2 Phillies. The place became electric.
This self-proclaimed pundit thought it would be the Phillies in seven when this whole thing started. But I didn't count on Jamie Moyer coming up quite so large in Game 3. I figured that game for the Rays. And I thought either Myers or Blanton could come up big. But it seems like everything is going the Phillies way.
The Rays are having some trouble in the field as of late. When had that last happened to the sure-handed Rays? When they do make a play, the umpires miss it. But between Longoria and Iwamura, they've produced adventure to rival some Indiana Jones movie. And then Ryan Howard came to life with two dingers, and Jayson Werth came back to life too.
And then there's a guy like Carlos Ruiz behind the plate for the Phillies. Ruiz just took over a large part of this Series from Game 2 on. Just when the Rays have finished with the likes of Rollins, Utley, Werth and Howard, here comes Carlos Ruiz. It's really been kind of comical. The Phils catcher got the game-winning ground ball the other night and has been just a real pest since Game 2.
But, here's the funny part about baseball. The worm could turn at any time. Now the Rays are up against the wall. And the Phillies have been riding high. And , while the Phils have their ace Hamels going one more time, the Rays Scott Kazmir ain't exactly chopped liver. And, if the Rays get Game 5, it's back to that monstrosity of a ball field in Florida for Games Six and Seven. The Rays would like that.
Would they ever. Then it would be just a matter of winning two straight at home. With Shields and Garza on the mound. They would have to like their chances.
So the real key is tonight. If the Phils can't win this one tonight, they might have to wait another twenty years or so to win a World Series. Not that they can't beat Shields and Garza in Tampa but can guys like Moyer and Myers do it again? I don't even want to think about it.
But it would make this Series one for the ages rather than just a footnote in Red Sox history. In five games, it’ll just be the year the Rays shocked the world but fell apart against a veteran Phillies team. In seven games, it’s something else entirely, and maybe guys like Longoria and Upton and Pena make more of a mark on this Series.
<>If the Phillies really are a smart veteran team, they’ll realize that Game 5 might be the now or never game. They’re hot now and have the Rays on the run. Let the team that beat the Red Sox live one more day at their peril. <>
I’d still like the Phillies to win this thing, even if they do lose tonight. I sense that they’re a team that’s ready now. The Rays have too many excuses for a breakdown with that much youth on their squad, no matter who’s on the mound. And the Phillies do have Utley and Rolo and big Ryan Howard. And that little sparkplug of a Victorino whose “I Got It I Got IT I Got It” is the loudest in either league. <>
But for a New York fan, even a rabid National League and Mets fan, who’d like nothing better than a World Series victory for the team that knocked off his team, yesterday wasn’t all about the baseball. There was a whole lot of football being played in Pittsburgh by the defending champion Giants. And the Jets managed to play a bit more football than the lowly Chiefs.
As well as the Giants played down the stretch, I did see the single ugliest play I’ve ever seen by a secondary man in safety James Butler’s horrible coverage on Roethlisberger’s long pass to Nate Washington. Not only did he appear to just let his man run by him, but when he caught up, he pirouetted away from his man.
<>The Jets are just awful. But not as awful as a Herman Edwards team that ran three into the line when they desperately needed a first down. Count your blessings, Jets fans.
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Over the weekend, the Phils hurlers Moyer and Blanton outdueled the Rays Garza and Sonnanstine while a little-known guy named Carlos Ruiz showed why he can be added to the list of nobodies to star in a World Series. And Ryan Howard showed everybody why he's Ryan Howard.
But last night it was all about Joe Blanton. He was friggin' magnificent. It's so good to see a guy come up big in the World Series. He not only pitches great, he hits a home run too. Now, this shouldn't have come as so much a surprise as it was. Joe had actually helped win 9 of the 13 games he pitched for the Phils since he was acquired from the A's in July. And any fantasy player knew how good he was.
But Joe was lost in the whoop-de-doo over the Rays starters and the Phils ace, Cole Hamels. And he was only the fourth starter behind Hamels and Myers and Jamie Moyer, who is about a hundred and three years old. So big Joe looked like he meant business last night as he pitched 6 strong innings for the NL Champs, surrendering just two solo home runs. Oh, and he cranked a low fastball over the fence in the bottom of the fifth to make it 6-2 Phillies. The place became electric.
This self-proclaimed pundit thought it would be the Phillies in seven when this whole thing started. But I didn't count on Jamie Moyer coming up quite so large in Game 3. I figured that game for the Rays. And I thought either Myers or Blanton could come up big. But it seems like everything is going the Phillies way.
The Rays are having some trouble in the field as of late. When had that last happened to the sure-handed Rays? When they do make a play, the umpires miss it. But between Longoria and Iwamura, they've produced adventure to rival some Indiana Jones movie. And then Ryan Howard came to life with two dingers, and Jayson Werth came back to life too.
And then there's a guy like Carlos Ruiz behind the plate for the Phillies. Ruiz just took over a large part of this Series from Game 2 on. Just when the Rays have finished with the likes of Rollins, Utley, Werth and Howard, here comes Carlos Ruiz. It's really been kind of comical. The Phils catcher got the game-winning ground ball the other night and has been just a real pest since Game 2.
But, here's the funny part about baseball. The worm could turn at any time. Now the Rays are up against the wall. And the Phillies have been riding high. And , while the Phils have their ace Hamels going one more time, the Rays Scott Kazmir ain't exactly chopped liver. And, if the Rays get Game 5, it's back to that monstrosity of a ball field in Florida for Games Six and Seven. The Rays would like that.
Would they ever. Then it would be just a matter of winning two straight at home. With Shields and Garza on the mound. They would have to like their chances.
So the real key is tonight. If the Phils can't win this one tonight, they might have to wait another twenty years or so to win a World Series. Not that they can't beat Shields and Garza in Tampa but can guys like Moyer and Myers do it again? I don't even want to think about it.
But it would make this Series one for the ages rather than just a footnote in Red Sox history. In five games, it’ll just be the year the Rays shocked the world but fell apart against a veteran Phillies team. In seven games, it’s something else entirely, and maybe guys like Longoria and Upton and Pena make more of a mark on this Series.
<>If the Phillies really are a smart veteran team, they’ll realize that Game 5 might be the now or never game. They’re hot now and have the Rays on the run. Let the team that beat the Red Sox live one more day at their peril. <>
I’d still like the Phillies to win this thing, even if they do lose tonight. I sense that they’re a team that’s ready now. The Rays have too many excuses for a breakdown with that much youth on their squad, no matter who’s on the mound. And the Phillies do have Utley and Rolo and big Ryan Howard. And that little sparkplug of a Victorino whose “I Got It I Got IT I Got It” is the loudest in either league. <>
But for a New York fan, even a rabid National League and Mets fan, who’d like nothing better than a World Series victory for the team that knocked off his team, yesterday wasn’t all about the baseball. There was a whole lot of football being played in Pittsburgh by the defending champion Giants. And the Jets managed to play a bit more football than the lowly Chiefs.
As well as the Giants played down the stretch, I did see the single ugliest play I’ve ever seen by a secondary man in safety James Butler’s horrible coverage on Roethlisberger’s long pass to Nate Washington. Not only did he appear to just let his man run by him, but when he caught up, he pirouetted away from his man.
<>The Jets are just awful. But not as awful as a Herman Edwards team that ran three into the line when they desperately needed a first down. Count your blessings, Jets fans.
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Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Phillies (and Determination) In Seven!
Life must go on. Despite America having been sold, despite billions and billions of dollars that we don't have bailing out a few cheating, incompetent, greedy financial companies (and campaign contributors to both Presidential candidates), despite all those homes in foreclosure remaining closed to the foolish families that bought them with money they didn't have and couldn't hope to have. Despite the macabre choice that faces all Americans on November 4th, life will go on, at least for a short time. And a large part of life for any real sports fan is the World Series.
This is an event that remains unsullied. Best four out of seven . Sure, the games may start a little later than in the past, but what the heck, it's still the two best teams in baseball facing off for the World Championship. And this should be a great World Series. Both teams have pitching and defense and both teams are undeniably tough.
The NL Champion Phillies were tough enough to outlast my Mets for the NL East Division and tough enough to make short work of the Brewers and Dodgers, the latter a team that had beaten the best team in the National League for the entire regular season. The upstart Rays only beat out the Red Sox and Yankees for the AL East lead, then redefined "tough" by outlasting the Red Sox in seven games.
The oversimplifications surrounding this Series have been amazing. The Rays have the best starting pitching so they'll win it all. Tampa Bay teams have beaten Philadelphia teams in hockey and football playoffs so Tampa Bay will win it all. Tampa Bay beat the best teams in baseball so they'll win it all. The Phillies have the better lineup so they'll win it all. The Phillies have the best relief staff so they'll win it all.
But that's okay, I love all the speculation, even the stupid stuff, for isn't that part and parcel of a World Series? Hasn't it been part of every World Series that I can remember, never mind those Series before my time? It'll still be the World Series. Sure, there'll be a designated hitter this year, and that's quite different from back in 1954, the first Series that I can really recall. And the Rays will get the home field advantage because the American League once again won the All-Star Game. But it's still fundamentally the same game of baseball, the same series of games, even the same format of two-three-two.
The Rays seem to be favored by most pundits and probably in Vegas, although I have too little respect for Vegas to even check the actual odds there. And for good reason, I suppose, with that corps (and core) of starting pitchers. Kazmir, Shields, Garza, Sonnenstein, geez! Except for the Phils Cole Hamels, who might be the best pitcher of them all, the Rays would seem to have the advantage there.
But there's so much more to baseball than just the starting pitching. These Phillies seem to be able to hit good pitching. Didn't the Mets have good pitching, at least starting pitching? Didn't the Brewers have good pitching? the Dodgers? What a lineup these Phillies have! Rollins, Utley, Burrell and Howard come first to mind, but there's also guys like Jayson Werth, who only seem to kill the opponents at the most critical junctures. I don't care to search for the stats with runners in scoring position but I just know what I've seen all season from these Phillies.
And, most frightening of all, maybe, is that if the Phillies take a lead late into the game, that lead ain't going nowhere. And if they hold the lead going into the ninth, they've been unbeatable. But, in the final analysis, baseball is more than all of these things too. It's the pesky guys, like Victorino, the Phils centerfielder, who just seems to run everything down and steal a base at the most opportune moments. It's the moves made by the manager, Charlie Manuel, who seems to have his finger on the very pulse of his charges.
Of course, the Rays are no slouches either. And they seem to be playing better in the post-season than they did during the regular season, a very scary proposition indeed. Their centerfielder, B.J. Upton, didn't really hit for power during the regular season, but he's really turned his game up a notch now. Carlos Pena can drive them a long way too. And then there's Longoria and Baldelli and Crawford. And their own set of pests in that shortstop Bartlett and that quicker than a bunny kid from New Jersey and Columbia University.
So what makes me think the Phillies can really win this thing? Experience, particularly the experience of having lost in the post-season before, particularly the experience of losing to the Colorado Rockies just a year ago. Determination, the resolve to win it all.
That can mean a lot, and I think it will spell the difference in this World Series. <>For determination plays itself out in all aspects of the game, at the plate, in the field and on the mound. In my heart of hearts, I don’t see the same determination in the Rays. Didn’t they seem awfully happy to have survived that Red Sox Series?
Make no mistake about it, the pressure will be squarely on the Rays right now. For the first time really this year. They’ve handled whatever pressure there has been, of course, the pressure of playing without Longoria and Crawford and Baldelli for long periods of time, the pressure of having lost a seven-run lead to the Red Sox in Game 5 and having to win it in that fateful Game 7.
But I think the Rays have been locked in all along on winning the AL pennant. On beating the all-powerful Yankees and Red Sox, on making it to the biggest stage of them all, the World Series.
Did their dreams extend beyond this point? I don’t think so.
Phillies in Seven.
This is an event that remains unsullied. Best four out of seven . Sure, the games may start a little later than in the past, but what the heck, it's still the two best teams in baseball facing off for the World Championship. And this should be a great World Series. Both teams have pitching and defense and both teams are undeniably tough.
The NL Champion Phillies were tough enough to outlast my Mets for the NL East Division and tough enough to make short work of the Brewers and Dodgers, the latter a team that had beaten the best team in the National League for the entire regular season. The upstart Rays only beat out the Red Sox and Yankees for the AL East lead, then redefined "tough" by outlasting the Red Sox in seven games.
The oversimplifications surrounding this Series have been amazing. The Rays have the best starting pitching so they'll win it all. Tampa Bay teams have beaten Philadelphia teams in hockey and football playoffs so Tampa Bay will win it all. Tampa Bay beat the best teams in baseball so they'll win it all. The Phillies have the better lineup so they'll win it all. The Phillies have the best relief staff so they'll win it all.
But that's okay, I love all the speculation, even the stupid stuff, for isn't that part and parcel of a World Series? Hasn't it been part of every World Series that I can remember, never mind those Series before my time? It'll still be the World Series. Sure, there'll be a designated hitter this year, and that's quite different from back in 1954, the first Series that I can really recall. And the Rays will get the home field advantage because the American League once again won the All-Star Game. But it's still fundamentally the same game of baseball, the same series of games, even the same format of two-three-two.
The Rays seem to be favored by most pundits and probably in Vegas, although I have too little respect for Vegas to even check the actual odds there. And for good reason, I suppose, with that corps (and core) of starting pitchers. Kazmir, Shields, Garza, Sonnenstein, geez! Except for the Phils Cole Hamels, who might be the best pitcher of them all, the Rays would seem to have the advantage there.
But there's so much more to baseball than just the starting pitching. These Phillies seem to be able to hit good pitching. Didn't the Mets have good pitching, at least starting pitching? Didn't the Brewers have good pitching? the Dodgers? What a lineup these Phillies have! Rollins, Utley, Burrell and Howard come first to mind, but there's also guys like Jayson Werth, who only seem to kill the opponents at the most critical junctures. I don't care to search for the stats with runners in scoring position but I just know what I've seen all season from these Phillies.
And, most frightening of all, maybe, is that if the Phillies take a lead late into the game, that lead ain't going nowhere. And if they hold the lead going into the ninth, they've been unbeatable. But, in the final analysis, baseball is more than all of these things too. It's the pesky guys, like Victorino, the Phils centerfielder, who just seems to run everything down and steal a base at the most opportune moments. It's the moves made by the manager, Charlie Manuel, who seems to have his finger on the very pulse of his charges.
Of course, the Rays are no slouches either. And they seem to be playing better in the post-season than they did during the regular season, a very scary proposition indeed. Their centerfielder, B.J. Upton, didn't really hit for power during the regular season, but he's really turned his game up a notch now. Carlos Pena can drive them a long way too. And then there's Longoria and Baldelli and Crawford. And their own set of pests in that shortstop Bartlett and that quicker than a bunny kid from New Jersey and Columbia University.
So what makes me think the Phillies can really win this thing? Experience, particularly the experience of having lost in the post-season before, particularly the experience of losing to the Colorado Rockies just a year ago. Determination, the resolve to win it all.
That can mean a lot, and I think it will spell the difference in this World Series. <>For determination plays itself out in all aspects of the game, at the plate, in the field and on the mound. In my heart of hearts, I don’t see the same determination in the Rays. Didn’t they seem awfully happy to have survived that Red Sox Series?
Make no mistake about it, the pressure will be squarely on the Rays right now. For the first time really this year. They’ve handled whatever pressure there has been, of course, the pressure of playing without Longoria and Crawford and Baldelli for long periods of time, the pressure of having lost a seven-run lead to the Red Sox in Game 5 and having to win it in that fateful Game 7.
But I think the Rays have been locked in all along on winning the AL pennant. On beating the all-powerful Yankees and Red Sox, on making it to the biggest stage of them all, the World Series.
Did their dreams extend beyond this point? I don’t think so.
Phillies in Seven.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
For Want of an Outfielder...
As bad as the Mets looked against the Cards, there are a few reasons to look forward to the rest of the season. This feeling was reaffirmed after a close look at the differences between our locals and the best team in baseball right now, the Tampa Bay Rays.
Say "Rays" and most baseball people in the know will think "pitching", as Mike Lowell of the Red Sox did the other day when asked if he thought the Rays will be around for the entire season. The Rays' ace, Scott Kazmir, is now 7-3 with a 2.28 ERA . Their number 2 is hard-luck James Shields, just 6-5 but with a 3.70 ERA and one hell of a right cross. Three, four and five are named Garza, Jackson and Sonnanstine and have combined for a 19-13 record with an ERA around 4.00. Just those 5 guys have fanned 342 batters.
Say "Mets" and most people will think "mistakes", but their response earlier in the season, at the very start, would have been "pitching". And Johan Santana has been great halfway through with a 3.01 ERA but just a 7-7 record. Number 2 starter Oliver Perez, despite his ups and downs, is 6-5 but with a relatively high 4.98 ERA. Starters 3, 4 and 5 are currently listed as
The Mets compare favorably to the Rays on the relief front as well. Billy Wagner has an ERA under 2.00 while saving 18. Troy Percival has one more save but sports an ERA of 3.54. The Mets main setup guy, if they can be said to have one, is Duaner Sanchez. His ERA is just 3.89 thus far. The Rays main setup guy has been J.P Howell, who sports a more respectable 3.00 ERA. The Rays other relievers, Wheeler, Glover, Hammel, Miller and Balfour don't outshine the Mets group, statistically at least.
Despite Aaron Heilman's problems, for example, his ERA is just 4.68. I would have expected a much higher number. But Mr Heilman has apparently thrown a lot of good innings too. I must admit to not recollecting those quite as well. In any event, the Mets have a nice mix of relievers, with lefties Feliciano and Schoenweiss and some quality in Joe Smith. All in all, the Mets relief staff outshines that of the Rays.
So the Mets staff compares pretty favorably as a whole with that of the Rays, on an overall basis, at the very least. So why are the Rays sporting the best record in baseball while the Mets wallow in the muck and mire of the NL East?
It's the outfield. The Mets have only two real live major-league outfielders. I'm referring to Carlos Beltran and Ryan Church of course. Most teams have three, never mind the Rays. Endy Chavez is a defensive specialist. He's batting .248 but has just 6 rbi's. That's ridiculous. Marlon Anderson is batting .196 with almost no production of any kind. There's hope for Fernando Tatis who, after all, can boast of a .283 BA but his production has tailed off lately. And then of course there's Moises Alou, the Carl Pavano of outfielders.
The Rays not only have three genuine outfielders, they're pretty good ones, among the best in the American League. Carl Crawford, BJ Upton and the tandem of Gross and Hinske, sometimes supplemented by Jhonny Gomes have scored 177 runs and driven in 166. Although Metsies Beltran and Church have combined for 93 runs scored and 89 ribbies, Chavez, Anderson, Alou and Tatis have combined for just 35 runs scored and 32 runs batted in.
The Mets picked up Trot Nixon, nice move but he's on the DL already. The Mets still need another outfielder desperately, one who can produce runs, not just a warm body opposing pitchers can target as a second pitcher in the lineup. The situation wouldn't be so critical, maybe, if the Mets were stronger at second and behind the plate. But they're not. The Mets lineup can definitely be worked, quite easily.
The Mets infielders compare favorably to the Rays from a production standpoint, Longoria vs Wright, and certainly Reyes vs the Rays shortstop
The Mets infield defense has been pretty bad though. Third baseman Wright's FPCT is just .942. Longoria's is .975. Shortstop Reyes is at .966, Bartlett at .972. At second, Castillo has a FPCT of .980 while his counterpart on the Rays, Iwamura, sports an incredible .997. Delgado's FPCT isn't really that bad at .988 but Pena's is ten points higher.
And the infield defense needs to pick it up, beginning with Wright. There is reason to believe that they will. Wright’s current .942 is 12 points lower than his numbers for the last two years. Reyes’s .966 is 16 points lower than his .982 from last year.
<>As for Delgado and Castillo, Manager Jerry Manuel has already outlined a plan to substitute Tatis for Delgado as a defensive replacement late in close games. That change should alleviate the lack of range shown by both men on the right side.It seems relatively simple. The Mets need to make a trade for an outfielder. Maybe they could use one of those good relievers as bait. Come on, Omar, make a few calls
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