10:25 AM Eastern
I know: What a stupid thing to say, right? Of course you can’t take anything for granted, and there’s no guarantee that if the Yankees lose tonight’s Game 5 of the ALCS that they’ll definitely win either Game 6 or Game 7 back in the Bronx on the weekend, so they need to put the Angels away whenever they have the opportunity to do so.
I’m not saying that they should throw tonight’s game or anything like that.
But……….the Phillies won the pennant last night, which means they now have an entire week off before the World Series begins on Wednesday (stupid MLB scheduling), and baseball isn’t a game that’s meant to be played on so much rest. If the Yankees clinch tonight, then they’ll have nearly a week off too, and will be on the same feet-up footing as the Philbos. If the Angels win, the two teams fly back to New York with a game to play on Saturday night, and maybe another on Sunday – less down time means a greater chance for later success.
I know it didn’t work that way last year, with the Phillies winning the NLCS in five over the Dodgers (that could never happen twice in a row, right?) and the Rays taking seven to take down the Red Sox, but that was different. That was a “holy crap, we can’t believe we’re in the World Series” Tampa Bay team. Time off at this point doesn’t help as much as it hurts.
That said, I don’t want the Yankees to win at all, so I’m hoping that A.J. Burnett has the playoff meltdown for which everyone is looking and then the Halos can pull off the improbable comeback over the weekend. I wouldn’t bet on that happening, though.
So Tony Viner, the President of Rogers Media, was on Prime Time Sports with Bob McCown last night (the audio is still available here on this very website, check it out) and answered some important questions. No, the team is not for sale. He was unequivocal about that. Yes, Rogers realizes how important the Blue Jays are to its other media properties and, therefore, to the company as a whole. Yes, the goal is to build a winner as soon as possible and the financial resources are available to the Blue Jays if they need them. No, he hasn’t yet had his meeting with Paul Beeston and Alex Anthopoulos to lay down a plan for 2010 and beyond – that should happen at the end of next week.
Hopefully, this will quiet the “Rogers has never said anything! They’re getting their house in order to sell the team!” crowd, but I have my doubts.
Pat Gillick was on as well, and said that he has no plans to pursue a position with the Jays “at this time”, whether as a senior advisor to Alex or as President. Those are three big words, though, “at this time”. After the World Series, the Phillies’ season will be over and Gillick will be at another point in time in his career. Maybe then he’ll consider it, because he’d be a perfect fit here as the wizened sage on whom Alex can lean when he needs to.
Congrats to the Phillies, by the way. They’re trying to become the first National League team to win consecutive World Series since the Big Red Machine in 1975 and ’76. It was a blow out last night, and there were no huge blown calls (a rarity this October), but I thought Joe Torre made a huge mistake in that 8th-inning Dodger rally. With the bases loaded, two out and the Dodgers having pulled to within five runs, Torre sent eighth-place hitter Casey Blake to the plate with Jim Thome on deck getting set to hit for the pitcher. Which one of those guys would you rather have up in that situation? Sure, you want Thome up with a chance to tie the game if he can, and if he walks (which Jim Thome is inclined to do) then you have to go to Mark Loretta, Juan Castro or Brad Ausmus as the tying run – but if Blake gets out, what are the odds that you’ll be able to put together another huge rally to get the tying run anywhere near the plate in the 9th?
Pretty damn low. Thome had to hit in that situation – that’s basically why they picked him up. If he goes deep, it’s a one-run game. To hope that Blake can extend the inning so that Thome could be given a chance to tie the game was just foolish.
I find that a lot of managers manage that way – based on the idea that their moves will work. There’s not often a lot of contingency planning going on. You see the lefty reliever brought in to face a couple of lefties with one out, but there’s a ton of righties to follow and nobody is up in the bullpen. That’s because the manager goes to the lefty thinking he’ll get those lefties out and we’re out of the inning. Then one of the lefties reaches and all of a sudden we’re into “oh, crap” time, with stalling and sending the catcher out and going to the mound himself just so he can get his righty warmed up. Same with last night – Torre sends Blake up with Thome on deck thinking that Blake will somehow reach, not thinking that if he doesn’t (and the odds were heavily against him getting on base) the inning is over and they’re down by five going into the ninth with their biggest bullet left in the chamber.
Tonight on the FAN590, a quick little pre-game show and then right into the Yankees and Angels, John Lackey against Burnett. The game starts at 7:57 PM Eastern, so if things follow according to playoff form, I’ll be back on with the post-post-game at about 12:55 AM.
Rational, reasonable comments are always welcome!
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michael,
- darrell bishopmaybe not the best or most talented total team ever in the bronx.
but very possibly the best hitting team no?
i mean 7 guys in the starting lineup with 20 or more hr’s. hun?
not to mention the rbi totals individually or collectively, the no. of average & obp hitters thruout, runs scored totals from the group, etc… etc… etc…
and the jays are suppposed to draft & make calculated fa signings to match or exceed this yankee amalgamation of talent. man come on… just look at their infield would you?
tall task indeed my friend. very tall task. but you go get em’ alex…..
I disagree mike,
Down by 5 you need to play for 5.
So Thome walks and then who would you rather have up Mark Loretta, Juan Castro or Brad Ausmus or Blake? I know that is not the order but no matter what you do two hitters in that situation have to hit for you to score your 5. If your playing a run or maybe even 4 down then it changes down by 5.
MW: Down by five you have to play for five if you’re in the ninth inning or later. Not in the 8th, though.
- JWWith the Dodgers looking a little overmatched against the Phils the last 2 yrs, do they make a strong push for Halladay? If that is the case, do you think the Jays are wise to take an offer from them? What would the Dodgers be willing to part with and what would you be willing to take?
MW: It has to start with either Clayton Kershaw or Chad Billingsley. If the Dodgers are willing to go there, then we can talk. It would be great if the Jays could come out of a deal with one of those pitchers and Matt Kemp, but that’s unlikely at best.
- Jason1) I was working late last 2 nights and listened to the games on the FAN590. I was looking forward to some late night basbeall talk after ESPN got out of the way.
All I got was you for 1 minute while you introduced the Marlies playing half a game on the left coast. I know you said hockey (and McCown) run the show but holy crap Mike! I’m sure you loved hanging out for hours just so you could intro the Marlies. Come on.
2) I agree with Viner’s position that he is not going to lead with a budget # for Alex. To me it makes sense for him to ask Alex to put a plan together and present it to him (and other decsion makers). The plan should include the request for a specific budget number, as well as some scenarios for additional funds if needed to take advantage of a FA opportunity that would help. To me it didn’t make sense that Rogers would hand down a payroll number without first wanting a proposal from AA.
MW: 1 – I have no problem being a traffic cop around baseball on the nights when that’s necessary. 2 – Agreed.
- Rezhmm…I jsut reread my post and I’m not sure the sarcasm and came through. I felt badly for you as I figured you were looking forward to more time to talk baseball and take some calls. I know I was looking forward to it. I pictured you putting on your best “team guy” face when told you were just going to intro the Marlies. Shades of Johnny Fever as “Heavy Early”. Do you recall that episode ?
MW: I’m not dyeing my hair.
- RezHey Mike,
Great blog as always. Glad to hear that Rogers is comitted to winning as they should be and also glad to hear that they are not selling the team as alot of people seem to think. I have heard in the past that you (I think, I may be wrong) and others have said that the advertising of the Jays is not like other teams, dont you think it would be a good idea since the owners also own the cable company that it would be a good idea to have Jays TV like they have for the Raptors and Leafs? I think it would be a great way to promote not only the product of the team but also the game of baseball itself.
My other question is with all the blown calls by the umps in the post-season do you think its they extend the instant replay? Even if its just for the playoffs because some of the calls have been brutal and from memory the one against Minnesota in extra innings in round 1 may have cost them atleast 1 game and maybe even more
Thanks as always Mike and I hope your enjoying the playoffs as I am
GO PHILLIES
MW: Go Phillies, indeed. I think a Blue Jays TV Channel would be phenomenal. I don’t think instant replay will get extended – for some reason, a lot of people prefer “human error” to actually getting the plays right all the time.
- ChrisI hope AJ gets absolutely lit up. I try not to cheer against teams or players but I can make an exception for AJ Burnett in pinstripes.
I’m incredibly disappointed in this Postseason… from the very beginning I pegged a Phils-Yanks WS as the worst possible outcome. MLB should be pleased though… they’re probably salivating over the TV ratings for a World Series featuring the Evil Empire for the first time since 2003.
I might go have a nap ’til April…
- KPHi Mike,
I know JP used to say that the Yankees and Red Sox don’t “cycle” the way other teams do (i.e., they don’t go through a period of winning years, followed by some rebuilding years, and ultimately cycling back to winning years again). Do you agree with this?
I’m not sure that we won’t see a Yankee decline phase in the coming years, once Rivera, Jeter and Posada are retired or no longer as effective as players. The clock is ticking on those guys and mercifully they should be gone soon.
It would be nice to get back to the 1980′s version of the Yankees that would attempt to bring in high-priced talent year-after-year but it just wouldn’t work out for them. Ah good times, good times….
MW: The Yankees and Red Sox don’t “cycle” because they don’t have to. They can always go out and fill holes with money over the off-season, or in trade with teams that are forced to give players up for financial reasons. When Posada’s done, the Yankees will find a catcher. When Jeter has to move off shortstop, they’ll sign one, or deal for one. When Rivera hangs them up, Phil Hughes will get his job, or Joba Chamberlain, or Mark Melancon.
- JamieI’m glad Rogers has committed to the Jays. But how much payroll will they have to allow in order to get a team that has some chance of competing? The club doesn’t have much in the way of blue chip prospects coming through the farm system right now, so money would have to be spent to get a team together that stands a chance. What do you think the dollar figure is on that amount?
MW: Again, the Blue Jays are one whole year removed from having a team that was one of the best in the game. They had a terrible year this year, but even with all their problems still managed to score more runs than they allowed. As currently composed, the team stands a chance of competing. To be able to compete for a title wouldn’t take a major, major overhaul.
- isabella reyesHi Mike, after the Rogers CEO came on Prime Time Sports this week, I have more confidence that the Jays will up the payroll next season as long as who ever the president will be presents him with a sensible plan. I think he is willing to go to around or more than a $100 million if the plan is right.
Having said that, I believe John Lackey is a free agent this off season. Do you think the Jays would be interested in him? I think the Angels may not resign him since now they got Scott Kazmir. If the Jays decide to go for it in ’10, Halladay, Lackey would be a great 1-2 punch. And if they add Marcum, Romero, & McGowan, I think that would be one of the best rotations in the baseball(cross your fingers & hope there’s no injures). They should sign Figgins & try to get a ‘real’ clean up hitter, maybe a Jason Bay but he’s not your typical 4 spot hitter. All this will probably cost less than $100 million payroll. I think they got to see if they can trade Overbay & put Lind on first. Nothing against Overbay but the Jays have to change this passive line up. Too many laid back personalities/approach like him but he would be a great fit for a more aggressive team like the Angels. Kind of just how Abreu is a patient hitter & fitted in nicely with the Angels this year. I think all these players are all within reach IF, that’s a big IF, payroll goes up because Figgins has said he would like to play for Cito & Bay is Canadian so assuming he would want to come home. Lackey, I’m not sure about. Your thoughts on these points. Thanks Mike.
MW: Don’t assume that Bay would want to come home and don’t assume that Cito will be the manager next year. I have a hard time believing that the Jays would be able to reel in Lackey if they were interested. What about Bay makes him “not your typical 4 hitter”?
- ClaudioMichael,
With the spate of bad calls we’ve seen this off season how long before you think we see instant replay for calls beside home runs?
What are your feelings on instant replay? And while we’re at it, what about a pitch clock?
MW: There is a pitch clock, believe it or not, but it’s not in effect when there are runners on base, and it can’t be. I would like to see robot umpires, personally, but if they’re not willing to do that, I don’t have a problem with instant replay. I think that a fifth umpire up in the press box with access to replay could easily make a determination within 30 seconds – which is a lot shorter than an argument between the manager and an umpire on the field lasts.
- Uncle BenThe first half of this post is quite unlike you. I think, and I thought you would think, off days or how mentally prepared for the world series do not matter much. People loves to put reasons for why certain teams won or lose (like you did for last year’s Rays). But after all, as you said repeatedly, the play off is a crapshoot, isn’t it?
MW: The playoffs is a crapshoot, it’s very true, but the game has a rhythm to it as well. The Angels and Yankees have played something like eight games in the last 20 days, which is very unbaseball-like. I may not believe in intangibles, but you also can’t lose sight of the fact that the game is played by human beings.
- DRNot to rain on a great post-season so far, excluding the umpiring at times, but aren’t Jon Miller and Joe Morgan……………
MW: You knew I wasn’t going to post that whole comment, right? This isn’t the place for that.
- Rob MHey Mike. What is with this horrible schedualing in the playoffs? It’s not even the time between series. It’s also the time between games in a series. I understand a day off on a travel day in the playoffs but yesterday the Yankees and Angels should have played! Suddenly a baseball schedual looks more like a hockey schedual when the playoffs begin. Also if both the ALC’s and NLC’s ended up being a sweep then why can’t they move up the World Series start date? It’s like giving the players a March break!
MW: Preaching to the converted.
- Matt from BCThat was a nail biter of a game.
But why didn’t they leave Weaver in?
MW: Because the closer’s the closer.
- BarbPat Gillick wants to extend replays on close plays on the foul line. Did you hear his interview?
MW: I didn’t get to hear any of the Gillick interview. I want to extend replay on a whole bunch of things.
- BarbHi Mike: I heard Greg Zaun talking on the Fan the other day…..are there issues between you and Greg?…just something that was said. Also, his comments on Roy Halliday were quite interesting. Do you agree with his perspective on a)the reason Roy was sent back to the minors and b)how Roy was treated at the trading deadline?
MW: There was nothing that Zaun said that indicated any issues between me and him. He said “I know Mike” when Jack Armstrong brought my name up out of nowhere. Nothing more was said, even though Zaun saying that made Jack laugh – for some reason. I don’t agree with Zaun’s theories on either of those things that involve HallAday.
- AlI don’t think Joba’s gonna be taking Rivera’s job anytime shortly. He’s unreliable. I’ve never really bought into all the Joba-fever, and I thought it was hilarious that the NY media were proposing a Halladay for Chamberlain+any 2 not-ready-for-prime-time prospects deal.
I was pretty happy to witness AJ’s 1st inning. If he’d only given up 2 runs instead of 4, the Yanks would be heading for the World Series right now.
MW: I think there’s a better chance that Phil Hughes or Mark Melancon eventually takes Rivera’s place than Chamberlain does. I like Joba, though, and I do think that if they quit screwing around with him he will wind up being very, very good. Unfortunately, Burnett didn’t quite blow up as much as many of us had hoped he would.
- reyesMW: “It has to start with either Clayton Kershaw or Chad Billingsley. If the Dodgers are willing to go there, then we can talk. It would be great if the Jays could come out of a deal with one of those pitchers and Matt Kemp, but that’s unlikely at best”
Agreed, but more strongly. If the Dodgers traded Kemp and Kershaw for one year of Halladay there would be riots in the streets of L.A. In my opinion there is no way either Kemp or Kershaw are moved by L.A. – I would have to think both are considered crucial cogs for the future. Billingsley had a bad year after a good one, but I’m not sure they’d want to give up on his potentially bright future for a possible one year rental… Would Russell Martin be a possibility?
Payroll (and Ramirez) aside, the Dodgers are one of those teams, like the Phils, Red Sox, Twins etc. that have managed to gather through the draft and shrewd trades a key corps of players who are in their prime productive years. That’s what J.P. apparently set out to accomplish in 2001 – 8 years later.. well… his shortcomings and ultimate failure have been well documented…
MW: It’s funny – you can’t really put payroll aside, because it’s a huge factor. Russell Martin is a possibility, I guess, but him being the centrepiece of a Halladay deal would be a non-starter for me.
- KenI hope it rains/sleets/snows in NY for a week to make a point with the idiots who run MLB that this is a summer game that should end by Oct15.Come to think, I guess the idiots who run it are the TV moguls who dictate when the games are played.The umping has been brutal which might expedite the advent of full electronics. I don’t think we agree on this one.The guy who called Mauer’s fly foul (I think Cuzzi) should be forced to take an extended leave of absence-like forever. He proved that his eyesight is simply not good enough to ump at this level.By the way,why did the 3rd base coach not scream his face off.Does he also have myopia? Glad to share your rooting interest, Wilner, as should anyone living outside NY.Go Angels, go Phils, go ABNYY.
MW: I’m sure the third-base coach had his view blocked by both the third-base and the left-field umpires. When the Jays won their World Series, they finished on October 23rd and 24th. That, it’s true, is late enough.
- CarlosI’ve always been a huge believer in confidence boosts. Say Casey Blake punches a single and scores two, then Thome comes up and hit the home run all Dodgers fans believe he would have done. Now you have a real rally. Think of the confidence Casey Blake will have after that. Moments like that can carry a team. That is the kind of gamble that wins championships, it just doesn’t always work.
MW: It’s just not, though. Let’s say that Thome pinch-hits for Blake and hits the grand slam that makes it a 9-8 game. Wouldn’t that, in your world, also provide the confidence boost for the rest of the team to rally and win?
- T.J.I really don’t understand how Nate Mclouth and Palmero prove that the gold glove is a joke, if anything the fact that Palmero won the gold glove shows that only great fielders win the gold glove. I would like to ask you who was the player that really deserved to win the gold glove that didnt win it? Delgado? Giambi? Mike Stanley? Lee Stevens? The fact is that there was not a full time first baseman that year who could field a lick and instead of giving it to the best of the butchers they respected the award and gave it to Palmero who was a great fielder and had won the gold glove previously.
With regard to Nate Mclouth its amazing that there are probably 3 people in the universe who have ever watched a Pirate game from begining to end and based on some chart that somebody made up people form an opinion on a player. The fact is if you read some of the Pirate writers, who saw him play every day, thought he was an excellent outfielder . Again can you please tell me who was so deserving that didnt win the gold glove?. Furthermore your argument was that players win gold gloves because of their offensive statistics is not true. Matheny, Ausmus, Pokey Reese, Izturis, Mientkiewicz which one of these guys are even average offensively? Go back to Garry Pettis who was a 200 hitter who won 5 gold gloves, so to say that you have to have good numbers to win the gold glove is just not true.
MW: You can’t tell me that you honestly believe that there were NO first basemen in the A.L. who could field a lick in 1999 other than a guy who managed to put a glove on in all of 28 games? You’re not serious. With regards to Nate McLouth, who by defensive plus-minus was the WORST fielding centre fielder in the major leagues last season, I think that Chris Young would have a pretty good case – so would Jody Gerut and Cody Ross, for that matter. And yes, you’re right, several players who are lacking offensively have won Gold Gloves, but they have far and away been the exceptions.
- elliottMike re my post of yesterday regarding where a mid market team should spend their payroll dollars, you made my point. The Blue Jays had 86 wins in 2008 (45 wins from their 2 thru 5 starters) and they scored 714 runs. In 2009 the team scored 798 runs (1/2 a run per game more) had 75 wins and had 35 wins from their 2 thru 5 starters. So if you were going to structure your payroll to get the best bang for your buck where would you spend it?
MW: How did I prove your point for you?
- mike glattWilner, you’re partially right in saying that the Yankees can replace players with impunity (remember him?)However, I don’t think that Jeter and Rivera can be replaced with equal amounts of talent, stage presence and effectiveness. The same can probably said for the younger A-Fraud. Posada won’t be as much of a problem. They will replace these aging stars as you say, but can they duplicate the talent,consistency and will-to-win of these future hall of famers? I think (and hope) that they will not.
MW: Impunity is a really good hitter, but he has trouble with the low-and-outside pitch. There are always future Hall-of-Famers about, and the Yankees have the money to take any and all available ones any time they want to.
- Carlosmichael,
- darrell bishopperhaps it’s just wishful thinking but i actually don’t think so….
mr. gillick is coming on board with this organization in some capacity. and certainly wouldn’t be surprised if paul b. continues on in tandem as well.
suspect it mainly because of the gillick interview that you referenced in this blog.
as you noted, the very deliberate & far reaching “not at this time” comment from him when posed the question during that interview just smells of very obvious patronization of the question on his part.
a true media pro like himself has no problems effectively choosing his words very carefully as he did there.
to me, there was lots of other ways for him to handle the words to that response if genuinely not looking in that direction going forward.
to decipher the morse code….my season & engagement with the phils isn’t over yet so i can’t say anything right now.
but let me throw out the big fat beachball cliche response for now & we’ll talk again at a more appropriate time…..
we’ll see i guess……..
Wilner,
What do you think about allowing the Managers 2-3 opportunities a game (similar to the NFL) where they can ask the umpires to use video replay to resolve a conflicted play? Do you think MLB would be open to such an idea?
MW: I would hope so, but I would have a problem with that. Why limit it? What if a team has used up all its challenges, and correctly so, and there’s a blown call later in the game that they can’t protest?
- BobbywHY THE DELAY IN POSTING MY COMMENT? iT’S ACTUALLY PRETTY HARMLESS. iF YOU WANT MORE HARMFUL, JUST ASK.
MW: I’m sorry that I’m not going above and beyond the call of duty quickly enough for you.
- CarlosMike,
Any thoughts on the Jays possibly being interested in Cuban pitcher Aroldis Chapman?
MW: I should hope they’re interested in him. Are they willing to spend for an essentially unproven commodity? I doubt it.
- EricMW: Maybe then [Gillick will] consider it, because he’d be a perfect fit here as the wizened sage on whom Alex can lean when he needs to.
Hi Mike,
While I like the elegant placement of the preposition “on” in front of the verb, either you don’t know what “wizened” means or you’re not a nice man. Either way, those who are wizened, sages or otherwise, do not take well to leaning.
Also: You think starting the series on Wednesday is “stupid.” What, MLB should start the series on Monday, competing against Monday Night Football and running the risk of not getting two weekend games in? MLB and the television networks are not stupid. Having the series begin on Wednesday ensures that the ALCS winner will get a day off before World Series begins, allowing for a seven-game series and a rain postponement of one day. You might call it “contingency planning.” We know how important that is.
And as far as baseball not being a game meant to be played on a week’s rest, I don’t buy into that. Baseball plays a more compact schedule than any other major sport because it can, not because it needs to. Baseball plays 162 games in six months because it makes more money that way than playing 81 games in six months.
Do you have any research that indicates that more rest is a handicap? I don’t have any numbers that back up the contrary, other than the example you’ve provided.
Thanks.
MW: I don’t have any numbers to back up the “rest is a handicap” theory – there might not even be enough data to make a statistically significant case yet anyway. Yes, MLB should go up against Monday Night Football – it’s going to for Game 5, why be shy in Game 1. To make the Wednesday start easier, they inserted the stupid extra off day in the second round. Take that out, and they can go back to a Monday or even a Saturday start (they want to play as little as possible on the weekend – another reason for the switch). And yes, I’m not using the common dictionary definition of “wizened”, I’m going with the guy who was going to teach The Flash the dim mak.
- Evan WhiteWhat you wrote about Torre not using Thome instead of Blake is bang on. It’s an example of how too many managers don’t use Game Theory.
Game Theory says that you take all of your available information and create every available option. The one that is most likely to succeed, is the one you use.
A situation like that was a perfect time to employ the theory. “What do we need here. A hit or walk or more. Blake’s up. He’s ok. Thome’s better. What about the pitcher’s spot? Doesn’t matter, there’s two out. This situation is now, the next spot is secondary. Okay, do it…..Blake sit down! Thome grab a bat!”
It’s akin to managers saving closers for the ninth inning. If he’s the best reliever and you’re in a jam, get him out there!
It’s puzzles me that managers don’t use it more. Especially, since baseball is a game! Full of statistics!
If a hockey coach rolled his fourth line out in the last two minutes, down by goal, he would be crucified. And, deservingly so.
MW: Yes!
- RomeHey Mike
Keith Law stated on an ESPN chat yesterday that the Mets offered JP David Wright for Jose Cruz jr and Ricciardi turned it down. Law also claims the Jays were offered Rafeal Soriano for Cruz. Did you ever hear these rumors?
MW: I had heard the Wright rumour, but not the Soriano one.
- rickIsnt firing JP and keeping Cito like throwing out the baby and keeping the bathwater?
With Dana Brown on board, the guy i want is Manny Acta. I though of him as the eventual Jays manager the moment he was fired from a dysfunctional DC team.
so let me ask you this…with all this talk about Rogers not putting a number on the payroll, how does a decision get made? I think a payroll Ceiling must be first given to AA for him to be able to make a reasonable plan. He could, based on talent available both in trade and in free agency, spend much less than that cap..or up to the cap…but geeez..guy needs to at least know what his general limit is..doesnt he?
lastly, would you do Doc for Kershaw straight up?
MW: I would do Doc for Kershaw straight up, but only as a last resort. Sorry about Acta, the Indians got him.
- General ZodIt seems like this playoffs, it’s all about the Yankees. Yankees this, Yankees that, Yankees are doing this better than the Angels, WOW!!! The American media really knows how to shove something down your throat, and the World Series hasn’t even started yet!
- DannyMike:
You are going to have to talk to Alex Anthopoulos, if possible. He has 9 Starters, 1 Starter/Reliever, 2 Starters coming off the D.L. in 2010 and 2 or more AAA Starters who can backup injuries if necessary. He also has 11 Relievers, not counting those in the Minors.
At sometime or other, he needs to trade one or more of these 25 pitchers, who cannot all pitch at the major league level at the same time. Also not everyone will keep their value beyond this off-season.
You do a good job Mike, don’t let anyone tell you any different.
MW: Thanks. Not all those pitchers are at their ultimate value, of course, and not all of them are viable major-leaguers, either.
- RichardSeems like JP won’t be jobless for very long. I’m sure the Jays are pleased, they won’t have to pay his full salary next year if he finds work (I would assume they’d have to only pay the difference).
http://www.nesn.com/2009/10/report-red-sox-offering-front-office-jobs-to-jp-ricciardi-kevin-towers.html
MW: There was never any doubt that Ricciardi would be offered a job relatively quickly. The question is, will he take it?
- Kevin A.Just watching the end of the Yankees – Angels series. I had wished that the Angels hadn’t had done it to themselves in game 6, with the bases loaded walk in the 4th and the two errors in the 8th. Unfortunately, the Angels didn’t deserve to win with that kind of fielding and pitching.
You gotta love Mariano though. He is just a unbelieveable pitcher and he’s a homegrown Yankee.
Glad to see that AJ didn’t win any games in the series.
Here’s hoping the Phillies can put em away in 5.
- TimRe: My Post 13 above
Fair enough Mike, but it would have been better if you’d have posted just a little bit more of it.
After all, I would have preferred if the readers could at least have got the gist of what I was saying – like maybe one more sentence than what you actually let go through since I didn’t swear or saying anything rude. Maybe people wonder if what I said was gross or something.
Basically I expressed discontent with the Miller-Morgan broadcast crew. And I also resent the trend towards making post-season baseball broadcasts sound like a NASCAR telecast, that’s all.
MW: I don’t get the NASCAR thing – but that’s because I don’t watch NASCAR telecasts. I don’t know that anyone would necessarily have inferred that you said anything rude or obscene, but like I said, this isn’t the place to vent about other broadcasters. Sorry if you thought I snipped too much.
- Rob MMike my point on the payroll issue is, if the Jays won 86 games in 08 with great pitching and a lousy offense, then turned around the next year and had a much better offense (1/2 a run per game more) and poor pitching and won 75 games then what area of the ball club given you have a limited budget would you spend your money on. Way too many teams get caught in the overpaid position player trap. If am going to spend $15 million a season, it is going to be on John Lackey not Jason Bay or Chone Figgins. When was the last time you heard someone say “I wonder who’s starting in left field in game one of the World Series”.
MW: How many times has the answer been “Ben Francisco” though? I understand where you’re coming from, but I think that, as a general rule, offense is far more predictable than pitching – and it gets hurt less often.
- mike glatt