Congrats to the Phillies for winning the world series last night.
The offseason officially begins today. Free agency starts in 15 days. Going to be a fun offseason for the Yanks.
Not sure it will all be big free agent signings. I think with a deep minor league system the team is going ti make a big trade.
After watching some of the world series, and watching Shane Victorino play, I was thinking maybe Melky needs to go with the double ear flap. Melky is a switch hitter just like Victorino. Plays centerfield like Victorino. If Melky could play like Victorino he would be back playing centerfield full time. Then Gardner could be a 4th outfielder, pinch runner and slowly develop.
I love it when the baseball gods stick it to the fools that run baseball. Game 5 will not end until tomorrow night, at the earliest. How crazy would it be for the Rays to pull out game 5, then go home and win games 6 and 7. If I was a Phillies fan, I would be pissed. The game should have never started last night and the game should have started on a night with better weather.
The parking guys will love this. Two nights of parking revenue and only one game. I was robbed of $50.00 a couple years ago after a Yankees playoff game was postponed to the next day.
This world series cannot end soon enough to the hot stove league can start up. Fall ball is a little fun to follow but not the same as following the Yankees.
OK, my Rays in 6 prediction looks about as good as my April prediction the Yankees would win the World Series in 2008. At least it has been a competitive series. It would be nice to see the Phillies win their 2nd world series ring.
I think the fact the Phillies have more veteran players and guys that have been in the game longer has made the difference. The Rays are a talented young team but seemed tight last night. Good chance the series ends tonight.
The quicker the series ends, the quicker free agency and the hot stove league starts. I have a bad feeling the Yankees payroll may be at 225 million next year and they are going to go crazy signing free agents. Lowe, Burnett, Sabathia, Texeira and others.
Does baseball think we are all complete idiots. I am watching Fox at 8:00 last night and Dupay says the rain is supposed to stop at 8:15-8:20 that the game should start around 9:00. I switch to the weather channel and could easily see the game was not going to start at 9:00. Was it stupidity by baseball or a ploy to fans to make us think the game would start at a reasonable time??
I went to a Yankees/Tigers ALDS game a few years back and had to sit in the stadium for an hour, no rain, and then the game was postponed to the next day. The Yankees had momentum and having the game postponed when there was no rain upset the baseball gods. I also had to pay $25.00 twice for parking.
As I said in the previous post, it is all about the money.
The game ended last night at 1:30 a.m. Who was still watching the game??? Doesn’t baseball realize the kids is what will make baseball live on? No wonder kids don’t play baseball the way they used to.
BTW, 8 NFL football players have been busted for steroids? Where are all the headlines? Why do NFL players get a pass for PED’s?
Bud Selig made an astonishing statement the other day. He wants to shorten the postseason. Really??? The world series, if it goes 7 games next year would end November 5th!!!!
It is bad enough the Super Bowl is now played in February but so we really need November baseball? Please, King Bud, stop the madness!!!
I always wonder how someone that looks and sounds so stupid could be the commish of baseball? He is in the back-pockets of the owners so I guess that is how.
I am a purist so I will never like King Bud but he has had done things to make baseball more popular. I still think the DH has to go bye-bye and expand the rosters to 26. I am sick of seeing old guys that cannot play the field have their careers extended. Edgar Martinez does not deserve to be in the hall of fame.
Baseball is all about money and business. The Fox pregame show charade last night was dragged out with so many commercials it was pathetic.
I watched a little of the game and it looks like it will be a competitive series. It was big for the Phillies to steal one against the Rays at home. I think the series may now go 7 games. If the Phils win tonight, it may be over in 4 games.
The new Yankee stadium is moving along swiftly. I cannot wait to see it open. It looks like it will be a real gem.
Here are some photos:
I am not extremely interested or will watch much of the series. I am hoping it is quick so the hot stove league can officially start. The Yankees are going to have a busy offseason so it will be interesting to see how the team is put together. Check out www.mlbtraderumors.com for good offseason rumors.
I do not think the Yanks should go after Peavy. He wants to pitch in NL and I fear he will be another hyped NL pitcher who will get knocked around in the Al East.
Catcher: Ruiz vs. Navarro. Ruiz is a good defensive catcher but does not have much of a bat. Navarro is good defensively and offers a little more with the bat. Edge: Rays
First Base: Howard vs Pena. Both are power lefties who strike out a lot and have OK batting averages. Pena is better defensively but not by much. Howard is a former MVP and has more pop than Pena. Edge: Even
Second Base: Utley vs. Iwamura. Iwamura is a scrappy player and is very good defensively. He also is a pretty good lead off hitter. Utley is one of the best, if not the best second baseman in the majors. He is good defensively but has a great bat for a second baseman. Edge: Phillies
Shortstop: Rollins vs. Bartlett. Bartlett plays great defense and is a very important part of the Rays success this year. When he was out with a minor injury this year, the Rays played below .500 ball. Rollins though is another former MVP and is a top notch shortstop. Edge: Phillies
Third Base: Feliz vs. Longoria. Feliz is an OK third baseman. Play adequate defense and has a decent bat. Longoria is a star in the making. Besides the fact whenever I hear his name I think of Eva Longoria, he plays amazing defense and has a very good bat for a young hitter. Edge: Rays
Outfield: Burrell, Victorino, Werth vs. Crawford, Upton, Gross/Perez. I do not want to go position by position so I will lump the whole outfield. In Left field it is a push between Burrell and Crawford. Burrell has more power, Crawford provides the speed. In Centerfield Upton play gold glove defense while Victorino is a good all around centerfielder. Slight edge to the Rays. In right field, Werth had a good year with the bat and is ok defensively. Gross and Perez are adequate but not everyday players. Slight Edge to the Phillies. Overall the outfield is a push. Better bats for the Phillies, better defense and speed for the Rays.
Starting pitching: The Rays have a better starting 4. Garza, Sheilds, Kazmir and Sonnastine are better than Myers, Moyer, Hamels and Banton. It is not a huge egde but the edge here has to go to the Rays.
Relievers: The Rays have better setup men but no closer. The Phillies have a closer but not as good setup men. I am also worried about Lidge mentally in a big spot. Edge: Even
Bench: I do not know a lot about the benches for these teams but usually a NL team has a better bench because they do not have a DH. But when playing in an AL ballpark the NL has a disadvantage because they do not have a DH like the Rays do with Cliff Floyd. Since the AL has home field advantage, I give a slight advantage to the Rays.
Managers: Both managers have proven to be successful. Neither manager is much better than the other. Both have experience with their ballclubs, first time for both in the worls series as managers, both are not household names. Edge: Even
Sum up of the numbers:
Edge to Rays: 3
Edge to Phillies: 3
Even: 4
After comparing the teams I still stick with my Rays in 6 prediction because I think they have played against better teams all year although I think it is a much more even matchup than I thought yesterday.
You never know with baseball and what teams look like on paper means nothing, that is why they play the games. These playoffs are waaaaaaay too long.