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Showing posts with label 2010 Division Series. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2010 Division Series. Show all posts

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Will by NL Central pick be once again a year early?

This September I pointed out that I am not very good at picking who will actually win the NL Central, but I AM good at figuring out that the consensus pick will probably fall short.

In 2009 everyone and their cow was picking the Cubs to win.
I picked the Reds. The Cardinals won (I picked the Cardinals for the Wild Card.)

In 2010 everyone and their moose was picking the Cardinals to win.
I picked the Brewers. The Reds won.

But with Zack Greinke going to the Brewers, I can't help but wonder if the Brewers and their solid rotation and terrific line up, should be considered to be the favorites in a very winnable NL Central.

And would my pick be a year premature?
Am I the baseball predicting equivalent to that show Early Edition?

There's only one way to test it:
I am going to pick the Pittsburgh Pirates to win the 2011 NL Central.
If the Brewers win in 2011 and the Pirates win in 2012, I will be FREAKED OUT!


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Sunday, October 24, 2010

What can I say, Rangers fans? I WAS WRONG!

















Lots of people doubted the Texas Rangers.
Guess who was one of them?

ME!

I didn't buy them in the first half...
I didn't buy them in the second half...
I didn't pick them in the Division Series...
I didn't pick them in the ALCS...
And I wondered if they had fans.

And guess what?
I was wrong every time.

I tip my hat to the Rangers and their fans (who have been posting on my comment sections and calling XM Radio.)

I've got egg on my face.
I messed with Texas.

(If only there was a sign or two in the state to remind us to NOT mess with them.)





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Sunday, October 17, 2010

Sully Baseball Honors Freddy Sez

















This has been a rough year for Yankee mainstays.

Bob Sheppard passed away.
The Boss, George Steinbrenner is gone.

And now the Freddie Sez guy is no longer with us.
For those of you who don't know who he was, Freddy Schuman was a die hard Yankee fan who was at just about every Yankee game there was.

(He was at all of them that I went to, and I went to a lot.)

And for those of you too young to remember, he was there for the lousy years as well. Yes the Yankees had crap seasons, and he was there.

He always was dressed in his Yankee gear... always cheerful despite advanced age and having use of only one eye (evidently he lost an eye playing stickball as a kid. I am not sure if that was true or legend... but I like to believe it.)

And of course he had his pan that he would bang with a spoon... and had a new sign written for every damn game.

He encouraged people to bang the pan and I did as well, even though I am a Red Sox fan.

He was legendary... appearing in the World Series parades, a Master Card commercial and even the video for "Jump Around" by House of Pain.

But I remember him personally because he was always in my neighborhood.

He would stop by that bagel place on Broadway and 71st street that I don't think exists anymore and pick up a newspaper on the way to the subway.

I'd see him a few times a week and we'd talk baseball. He knew I was a Red Sox fan but he also knew I was a good baseball fan. We'd chat about the game the night before and he'd be very specific.

"I thought Torre let Mendoza in too long. Take him out. That's why we have Nelson!" Or "I love that Brosius. Hit behind the runner let him go 1st to 3rd. Great hit."

It was always a treat to talk baseball with Freddy.
I'd ask him his memories of World Series past and some of his favorite players.
And he'd light up wanting to talk about Mantle and Berra and Elston Howard and other great Yankees... and I loved hearing him get excited about it.

He was a great baseball fanatic.
And a hell of a nice guy.

I hope the Yankees pay tribute to him tomorrow.
I'm sure he had a great sign made for Game 3 of the ALCS.

"The Yankees can Certain-Lee beat Texas."

Rest in Peace, Freddy.
If there is a Heaven, bang the pan there as well.


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Why should umps have different strike zones?

















I'm watching the Giants/Phillies game and already one of my big pet peeves in baseball has reared its ugly head.

Dan Iassogna, the home plate umpire, called ball four on Jimmy Rollins to drive in the lone run of the game so far. It looked knee high down the center of the plate.

An inning late, he called a pitch lower than the one thrown to Rollins a called third strike on Fontenot to end the second.

The boys on KNBR were talking about how Iassogna does not have a good reputation for calling balls and strikes.

Couple this with the Hunter Wendelstedt fiasco against the Twins and the general acceptance that certain umpires call high strikes but not low strikes... some call a ball off the plate... some squeeze pitchers... some don't...

Um, isn't that crazy?

Let's go to the Official Rules...
The Strike Zone is, and I quote:

...that area over home plate the upper limit of which is a horizontal line at the midpoint between the top of the shoulders and the top of the uniform pants, and the lower level is a line at the hollow beneath the knee cap. The Strike Zone shall be determined from the batter's stance as the batter is prepared to swing at a pitched ball.

Pretty cut and dry, isn't it?

And yet people just accept that the umpire will call it how they please.

You don't see this in other aspects of the game.
You don't hear "He calls the ball foul if it just falls one foot fair... that's just how he calls it."
Or "If you slide somewhere near home plate, that's good enough... that's how he calls it."

No. The rest of the game it is in black and white.

Now I am sure there will be many of the opponents of instant replay who will write in and say that one of the joys of baseball is seeing umpires take control of the game and decide what a strike zone is.

I ask "Why should a pitcher get squeezed and be forced to throw pitches down the heart of the plate?"

How about an answer to the question "Why should a pitch be a strike in one inning and a ball to another?"

And "Why should a 3 time batting champ get a favorable call? Isn't it hard enough to get a 3 time batting champ out without the ump bending the rules in his favor?"

I am going to make a video on this topic, but I would LOVE to hear a logical reason why the umpire shouldn't call a strike a strike and a ball a ball.




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Saturday, October 16, 2010

The Yankees are partying like it is 1999

A team that has struggled to get out of the Division Series (and had a sad tendency of getting swept) crawled their way into the ALCS.

They had to win the final Division Series on the road and use their ace... but the ace finished the game and the series and it was a sweet victory.

But they now had to face the Yankees... a team that had tormented them over the years... and couldn't use their unbeatable ace until Game 3.

So what did that team do?
They scored against the Yankees in the first inning... they took a startling 3-0 lead.

Things looked and felt different. And everyone began thinking "If they can beat the Yankees in this game and throw their ace in Game 3... the Yankees COULD BE BEATEN!"

But the Yankees settled down, tied the game in the late innings and won it.

They stole the momentum completely.

Now what playoff series am I talking about?
Am I talking about this ALCS?
Or am I talking about the 1999 ALCS?

My Red Sox had to use Pedro Martinez in the final game against Cleveland meaning he wasn't available until Game 3 of the ALCS. But the Red Sox were up 2-0 before El Duque Hernandez had recorded an out in Game 1 and tacked on another run in the second.

But Scott Brosius homered to make it 3-2, the Yankees tied it up and won it on Bernie Williams' walk off shot.

The Red Sox did indeed get their win from Pedro in Game 3, but that was all they got.

I have a feeling all the Rangers are going to get is Cliff Lee's win in Game 3.

This was their chance to take control of the series... instead they are continued to be tormented by the Yankees.

Cue up Prince.
It's 1999 all over again.



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Friday, October 15, 2010

Don't look for the silver lining, Rangers. It's not there

















It's funny. In a strange way, nothing unusual happened tonight.
Sabathia is the Yankees best pitcher and everyone on the planet expected the Yankees to win Game 1.

And they did.
So why does this feel like a watershed moment of devastation for the Rangers?

Because it was all falling into place so wonderfully.
A win in Game 1.
Knocking Sabathia out early.
Taking control of the game and knowing the WORST case scenario had the series tied 1-1 with Cliff Lee on the mound.

Instead... every insecurity the Rangers had is still out there.

They can't win a playoff game at home.
Their bullpen isn't up for the task.
They can't beat the Yankees.
The Yankees are in their heads.

Of course they are.
How else could you explain how they just couldn't make an out in that 8th?
How Hamilton messed up that base hit?
How Kinsler got picked off?!

And now they have to play a day game after a night game. They have to shake off the fact that they had Game 1 in the bag... just 6 outs to go with 3 runs to play with... and they couldn't do it.

Now the Yankees have home field advantage and Sabathia is more than rested to go Game 4 if by some miracle the Rangers win Game 2.

The end result in the playoffs is always what matters.
It doesn't matter if a team wins or loses 10-0 or 11-10. Just win or lose.

But somehow this felt like an exception to that rule.

The Rangers needed this win... and if they had lost 10-0, I have a feeling they could shrug it off. Now they have to wonder... did they spoil their best chance?

I may have to pull out the DeNiro clip from Cop Land.

YOU BLEW IT!



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Texas Dragonslayers


You want to slay dragons this off season, Texas… then there’s no better way to do it than this.
When my Red Sox slew their many dragons in 2004, they had to go through New York to do it… facing down fears and demons that brought down the franchise for so many generations.

Well, so far the Rangers have reached heights that the franchise has never scaled before. They are in the ALCS.

They still haven’t won a home game.
And they still haven’t beaten the Yankees.

Both dragons need to be slain if they have any aspirations of making it to the World Series.

You have the twin headed beast of former Rangers, Teixeria and A-Rod… and their fiercest opponent, Sabathia is looming tonight.

Stay focused and take them on. Win a home game in the first 2 meetings and suddenly you go into THEIR lair with your best slayer… the one who slew them twice last October.

Win today or tomorrow and you have a fighter’s chance.

Just watch out. These guys breathe a LOT of fire.
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Wednesday, October 13, 2010

COMPLETE GAME VICTORIES TO CLINCH DIVISION SERIES (Updated with Cliff Lee)


















A few days ago I wrote a post about pitchers who threw a complete game victory to clinch the Division Series.

I felt it was such a rare occurrence that it was worth noting.

Now it has happened twice in three days and Cliff Lee has added his name to the list. It just goes to show you, I shouldn't write lists like this until the round is OVER!

Let's update it.

Complete Game Division Series Clinchers

John Smoltz
1997 ATLANTA BRAVES
Game 3
4-1 victory against Houston Astros




Bobby Jones
2000 NEW YORK METS
Game 4
4-0 victory against San Francisco Giants




Curt Schilling
2001 ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
Game 5
2-1 victory against St. Louis Cardinals



Cole Hamels
2010 PHILADELPHIA PHLLIES
Game 3
2-0 victory against Cincinnati Reds


Cliff Lee
2010 TEXAS RANGERS
Game 5
5-1 victory against Tampa Bay Rays

The 2001 Series didn’t end with Schilling on the mound getting the last out. The series ended with a walk off single by Tony Womack.

For sticklers of details, they played the Division Series in 1981 as well and two more complete games clinched series THAT year.






Steve Rogers
1981 MONTREAL EXPOS
Game 5
3-0 victory against Philadelphia Phillies


Jerry Reuss
1981 LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Game 5
4-0 victory against Houston Astros


But while relievers were being used more frequently then, the whole specialization of EVERY bullpen role (and the cheapening of the save) didn’t come around until the late 1980s.

Maybe we'll update it next year if there is any new names to add.

Little side note... Cliff Lee is the first person to throw a complete game to clinch an AMERICAN LEAGUE Division Series.

ChaChing this off season!

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Updating the No Hitter Post



Earlier this year, I wrote up a list of each teams most recent no hitter... and I should update it each time a new no hitter is thrown.

And I forgot to when Roy Halladay threw his last week.

So dutifully, here is the updated list of each team's most recent no hitter.

THE MOST RECENT NO HITTERS
FOR EACH FRANCHISE



PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
Roy Halladay - October 6, 2010
4-0 over Cincinnati. (Playoff Game)


TAMPA PAY RAYS
Matt Garza - July 26th, 2010
5-0 over Detroit.

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
Edwin Jackson - June 25, 2010
1-0 over Tampa Bay



OAKLAND A'S
Dallas Braden - May 9, 2010
4-0 over Tampa Bay. (Perfect Game.)


COLORADO ROCKIES
Ubaldo Jimenez - April 17, 2010
4-0 over Atlanta.


CHICAGO WHITE SOX
Mark Buehrle - July 23, 2009
5-0 over Tampa Bay. (Perfect Game.)


SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
Jonathan Sanchez - July 10, 2009.
8-0 over San Diego.


CHICAGO CUBS
Carlos Zambrano - September 14, 2008.
5-0 over Houston.


BOSTON RED SOX
Jon Lester - May 19, 2008.
7-0 over Kansas City.

DETROIT TIGERS
Justin Verlander - June 12, 2007.
4-0 over Milwaukee.


FLORIDA MARLINS
Anibal Sanchez - September 6, 2006.
2-0 over Arizona.


HOUSTON ASTROS
Roy Oswalt, Peter Munro, Kirk Saarloos, Brad Lidge, Octavio Dotel and Billy Wagner -
June 11, 2003.
8-0 over New York Yankees.


ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Bud Smith - September 3, 2001
4-0 over San Diego.

MINNESOTA TWINS
Eric Milton - September 11, 1999
7-0 over Anaheim.


NEW YORK YANKEES
David Cone - July 18, 1999.
6-0 over Montreal. (Perfect Game.)


PITTSBURGH PIRATES
Francisco Cordova and Ricardo Rincon - July 12, 1997.
3-0 over Houston. (10 innings.)


LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Hideo Nomo - September 17, 1996.
9-0 over Colorado.


TEXAS RANGERS
Kenny Rogers - July 28, 1994.
4-0 over California. (Perfect Game.)

ATLANTA BRAVES
Kent Mercker - April 8, 1994.
6-0 over Los Angeles.


SEATTLE MARINERS
Chris Bosio - April 22, 1993.
2-0 over Boston.


KANSAS CITY ROYALS
Bret Saberhagen - August 26, 1991
7-0 over Chicago White Sox.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS (AS MONTREAL EXPOS)
Dennis Martinez - July 28, 1991.
2-0 over Los Angeles. (Perfect Game.)


BALTIMORE ORIOLES
Bob Milacki, Mike Flanagan, Mark Williamson and Gregg Olson - July 13, 1991.
2-0 over Oakland.

TORONTO BLUE JAYS
Dave Steib - September 2, 1990.
3-0 over Cleveland.


LOS ANGELES ANGELS OF ANAHEIM (AS CALIFORNIA ANGELS)
Mark Langston and Mike Witt - April 11, 1990.
1-0 over Seattle.


CINCINNATI REDS
Tom Browning - September 16, 1988.
1-0 over Los Angeles. (Perfect Game.)


MILWAUKEE BREWERS
Juan Nieves - April 15, 1987.
7-0 over Baltimore.

CLEVELAND INDIANS
Len Barker - May 15, 1981.
3-0 over Toronto. (Perfect Game.)

Bonus
WASHINGTON SENATORS
Bobby Burke - August 8, 1931
5-0 over Boston.


Keep in mind, with as bad an offense that the Giants have, Halladay, Oswalt AND Hamels have a solid choice to crack this list.


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