1:03 AM Eastern
The Yankees are one win away from their first World Series title of the 21st Century. Sigh.
A.J. Burnett is taking the ball in Game 5 and could conceivably be the winning pitcher in a World Series clinching game. Heavy sigh.
Go Phillies!!!
John McDonald guested on the pre-game show tonight and was, as expected, phenomenal. Here’s the audio evidence of the great job he did:
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Adam Lind was fantastic on Saturday night’s show, too – you can listen to that one in the Audio On Demand section of this very website.
Monday night, prior to Game 5, Travis Snider is scheduled to join us to take your phone calls beginning at 7:00 PM Eastern, so make sure to tune in!
Also, I have been talking about Tom Cheek and trying to get the vote out so that we may end the long wait and finally get him the Ford C. Frick Award, which would get him into the broadcasters’ wing of the Hall of Fame. I had thought that the online voting went through the month of November, but I was off by a month. It starts December 1st, so please spend the next month thinking about how best you can budget your time to be able to vote for Tom in December as many times as you possibly can.
Rational, reasonable comments are always welcome!
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I think the phils made a big mistake in going with pedro game 2 instead of hamels. the worst of the big 3 is pettitte. pedro vs burnett is a tossup. hamels vs pettitte is prob a loss given their faith in him. so why not concede the loss in game 2 with hamels? then you have pedro vs pettitte at home which is a much higher chance of a win. they prob would have won that game so it would be 2-2 right now. then you have lee for game 5. If they win then once again you concede the loss with hamel/happ for game 6. then you have pedro for game 7 with lee also available. now it’s hamels/happ for game 7 which is suicide.
MW: It’s a great argument to make in retrospect, but it’s impossible to prove. Remember, despite how barely average Hamels has been this season, he was the World Series and NLCS MVP last year. And maybe the reason they held him back for Game 3 was because they wanted him to be the Game 7 starter. I think, too, that they wanted Pedro at Yankee Stadium, given his history with the city, the crowd and the place across the street. If they felt they were conceding the games that Hamels started, they would have started Happ instead.
- bobit’s pretty clear now that ryan howard is the most overrated player I have ever seen. this just proves how weak the NL is. the only reason the phils are even in the world series is because they brought in a bunch of AL players like lee, pedro, ibanez. when a player like howard can’t even make contact on any pitch how more hopeless can you get? he would probably hit 10 hr in the AL. the yankess pretty much only have to beat 1 team to win the world series every year. reg season is batting practice for them. then they face a creampuff team in the first round. then they just have to beat 1 good AL team and then face another cream puff in the world series. oh and in 2 years their rotation will be cc, burnett, halladay, lee and they will go 152-10. they are making a mockery of the league.
MW: That’s ridiculous. You’re killing Howard because of three bad games, two of which were against tough lefties? Was he overrated last year when he hit .286/.375/.762 in the World Series with three homers?
- bobexactly how long is rivera going to pitch like a 20 year old? he is either a freak of nature or else he has really good doctors. the real difference in this playoffs is closer. the angels would have won at least 1 game if not for daisy fuentes. and maybe the phils win one if not for brad “throw me off a” lidge.
- bobHi Mike.. I think Mat Stairs comes into play on monday.. Just a gut thing.. See..ya..
- FLIPPERif it looks like a duck, sounds like a duck, and walks like a duck, it must be cito gaston.
MW: Huh?
- randyPeople are still complaining about the unsigned draft picks? Paxton couldn’t keep his ERA under 5.40 in school – he was not good enough to sign for $1.35 M. Eliopoulos hardly pitched in High School, most of the hype was smoke and mirrors. Anything more than slot was a waste. Barrett was significantly injured and wanted healthy (I can pitch now) money, not worth his price. I think the right decisions were made. Would you as a GM, sign them?
MW: I would have tried to sign the first two, not the third, but I would also have drawn a line in the sand.
- Richard Spackmanhey mike. i just wanted to say great interview with adam lind. i love how laid back this guy is. he seems really genuine and down to earth. that part when he got confused about brad mills was hilarious. all the more reason to love this guy. did you enjoy the interview, mike?
MW: I really did. He’s a fantastic guy and like you said, really laid-back, really funny. He sounded like he was having a great time.
- trevor bThe Phillies closer last night reminded me of BJ Ryan — Completely blew it in the top of the 9th. What kind of bothered me is the different management style of handling pitchers.
Girardi / Posada is all about talking to their pitchers in any situation and their visits to the mound are completely maddening. I absolutely believe that they use the visits as psychological warfare on the hitting team. It is absolutely guaranteed that Posada visits the mound when there is any runner on 2nd and it is absolutely maddening to slow the game down that much.
A visit to the mound by Manuel/Ruiz after the hit by Damon (to remind Lidge and the infield to cover 3rd on a stolen base — why even throw to 2nd to get out Damon?) or when Lidge smacked Teixeira might have calmed Lidge down enough to get the 3rd out on A-Rod. Then in a tie game Girardi likely doesn’t send Mariano out to pitch leading to a good chance of a walk-off win and a 2-2 tie going into game 5 with Cliff Lee at the mound.
Now you are right, AJ has a chance to win the world series.
I will be voting for Tom Cheek as much as I can in December.
MW: Lidge didn’t completely blow up. He got the first two outs and Damon took him to a 9th pitch before getting that single. Things didn’t fall apart until Damon got to third (you’re right – why throw?) and Lidge felt he had to abandon his slider. I wouldn’t say the Phils would have had a good chance of a walk-off win had it been tied going to the bottom of the 9th.
- TimMike,
I grew up a Yankee fan, but switched to the Jays when they came into existence. They spend the most $$$$$ (as did the Jays in ’92 & ’93), thus may reap the rewards. (I think of them as the Evil Empire though!)
I have been listening to/watching the W.S. since the early ’50s. It’s really a shame there are no day games and they start so late. I have managed only to see one complete game…and it wasn’t last night’s. I must be getting old!
MW: You must be! But it’s ridiculous that most playoff games don’t end until around midnight Eastern. There’s a huge relative, time-adjusted difference between the Yankees’ payroll and the Blue Jays’ ’92 and ’93 payrolls.
- ArmyJohnny Mac – what can you say, he is for certain a great ball player but even moreso such a good guy all around. Must be good having his positive energy in the clubhouse!
Nice to see he has moved his family to Massachusetts as he is closer now to Fenway. Don’t be too sad Jays fans when Johhny Mac suits up for the Red Sox next spring! The Bo-Sox need more late inning defense and JM is the guy.
Great job on the interview Mike as per usual.
- Bob (from Burllington)damon never tipped that pitch in the dirt…i believe that would be the 6th win delivered to yanks, care of the umps…surely mlb isnt doing everything in its power to ensure such results
MW: Tinfoil hat time, huh? There’s absolutely no way to prove that Damon didn’t foul the pitch off.
- jpHi Mike,
On the Halloween night show you were talking about Mike Mussina and what he had done to Cito Gaston during the all star game in Baltimore??? What did he do? I don’t remember or probably I never knew about it at the time?
Thanks,
Bill
MW: He got up on his own to warm up in the bullpen prior to the 9th inning – even though he knew that he wasn’t going to be used. The Baltimore crowd got all excited seeing him in the ‘pen, and then destroyed Cito when he didn’t bring him in.
- Bill Whipplemichael,
such a pivotal game to lose for the phillies needless to say.
man… instead of 2-2 series tie up with lee on the mound at home. down 3-1 & looking rather bleak.
lidge, what can you say? got the top of the 9th to 2 outs & 2 strikes and then like only the yanks can do…. you get it right up the side the head. too bad. that line up of theirs is ridiculous though. it really is isn’t it?
want to ask you though, is it just me or is johnny d. made a really nice turn about this yr?
it seems that the last season or 2 he was starting to get a little past his prime.
but now he’s looks as dangerous as he ever did at the plate & on the basepaths.
had a real nice season & stepping it up even more in the playoffs as he’s tended to do over his career.
i like the guy myself. real real good ballplayer in my estimation……
and with a few more productive seasons perhaps in the pin stripes (can’t say i’ve heard it bandied about to this point an awful lot) but is hall of fame too much of a stretch for him one day. what do you think about this guy’s career michael?
MW: He’s younger than I thought he was, turning 36 later this week as opposed to seriously pushing 40 like I thought. I’m a big fan of Johnny Damon as a person, just a terrific guy, and if he can be productive another four or five years then he’ll likely get to 3,000 hits, which probably means Cooperstown.
- darrell bishopHeadline: Yankees payroll takes a commanding lead in World Series…..yawwwwwwn
How do you think Doc REALLY feels about seeing AJ Burnett getting a ring AND the giant contract with the evil empire while Cliff Lee at least got a shot where Doc didn’t end up???
I absolutely refuse to take the World Series seriously as long as there is the 150M salary discrepancy between the haves and have-nots.
And I’ll be voting for Tom again, the guy deserves it but why do they allow the multiple vote thing if it’s online?
MW: Why not? They allow multiple votes for the all-star game and lots of other stuff, too. How does Roy Halladay really feel? Probably like he shouldn’t have signed a long-term deal with the Blue Jays when he did.
- Garymichael,
one more to discuss…
this wells/bradley talk, do you seriously think it has any traction?
to me, i gotta believe that the organization would be much more prudent in seeing if wells could get back to playing similar to some of his past yrs. (which he’s certainly capable of duplicating i would think based on how his career has teetertottered thruout) and then try moving him (if then deemed necessary) from more a place of strength as opposed to the worst season of his career to date.
he’s not that old yet in ballplayer’s years, so a bounce back is as likely as not for the guy i would imagine…
your thoughts michael. move him now if you can. even under the scenario being mentioned?
MW: I’ve discussed this already. I don’t think the Wells/Bradley talk has legs, nor do I think moving a guy at the low point of his value is wise. I also don’t think it’s worth moving Vernon if the Jays have to pick up a huge chunk of his contract.
- darrell bishopJohnny Mac has no business starting at the major league level. Defense doesnt win you ball games. Thats that.
MW: That’s that, is it? Don’t tell the 2008 Rays.
- Han Solowhere’s the ford frick link?
MW: Coming your way December 1st.
- Matt G.I enjoyed hearing John McDonald on your show last night. I am a huge fan of his because he is a great shortstop and an even greater person. Do you think there is a realistic chance that he will be back in Toronto next year? I wish you or one of the callers would have addressed the rumors at the end of the season that he was partly responsible for the problems in the clubhouse. Although he had every right to complain about the way he was treated, I find it extremely hard to believe that he would be involved in that. Here’s hoping Johnny Mac will be back and will get a fair chance to play next year.
MW: I never heard, nor did I ever report, that McDonald was partly responsible for the problems in the clubhouse. As far as I’m concerned, none of the players were really responsible for it. I don’t know how realistic the chances are that he’ll be back, but I sure hope he will be.
- DebbieHi Mike,
After paying attention to toronto’s major media following Cito’s reaffirment, I felt the same as they did – In that the Jays seemed at best to be spinning their wheels. Why would they announce that the manager is going to hang around for the next season, then move upstairs. Didn’t this make him a lame duck Manager, and send a bad signal to Free Agents & the Fans? I was ticked off. And I wasn’t alone amongst my friends with that view.
My hope is that the changes aren’t as simple as I’d feared. Hopefully there’s at least a few layers to this plan. That the intent isn’t to just sit on their hands. But that they intend to Reload, and that Cito’s around this season as a bridge b/c there’s another manager in the offing who’s just not available yet (no disrespect to the man with 2 rings intended; I believe he’s served the Jays well, and been served well by the Jays), and that he’s on board with the plan.
My comment ends with a question for your opinion: Am I being too optimistic?
Thanks for your time.
-Darren
MW: I think so.
- darrenMichael,
Aw, nuts sums it up perfectly.
I have a ridiculous question for you to help prove myself correct in a bet with a friend. Is or is not Vernon Wells related to David Wells?
Sorry for wasting your time.
Don’t believe everything you read on the internet kids.
MW: No, he’s not, but I’m pretty sure you knew that.
- MattMichael,
I haven’t watched him pitch enough lately to know if Halladay’s influence had any long term effects on AJ Burnett.
I know for a period of time in Toronto it seemed that maybe he learned to pitch more to contact rather than just trying to strike everyone out.
What are your observations?
MW: Honestly, I’m not sure what to believe when I hear A.J. Burnett talk about his time in Toronto and with Roy Halladay. I never really saw him as somebody who tries to strike everybody out, though.
- Uncle BenI join with other Jays fans in admiring JMac – love him to stay.
On his hitting – it seemed to me that early last year he started pulling the ball more instead of trying to just plunk it somewhere – the result was surprising power – at times.
MW: At times. And yet overall, still a .258/.271/.384 mark. Career high in slugging percentage, though.
- MylegacyHi Mike,
I have to say I love Gregg Zaun’s work as a studio analyst on Sportsnet. He is very insightful and shows great knowledge of the game.
Also, I just read on SI.com that the Cubs may be interested in a vernon Wells for Milton Bradley deal. I would do that deal in a second if I’m Alex Anthopolous. If the jays can get rid of that contract, that would be two gifts from Chicago teams. Even if Milton Bradley is a very angry angry man, its worth it. He does have talent.
MW: He does, but the rumour is Wells and $43 million for Bradley. It’s not likely to happen.
- Ian from WhitbyMike…I got a little tongue-tied talking to Johnny Mac last night and forgot to mention to him and yourself that it’s a testament to his great defense that for the little amount of playiong time he gets, he’s always on the plays of the week…Also Mike, great call with the young lad going through the health issues and you and John were great with a difficult situation…Probably the best feeling I ever got from any call or blog..Nice job getting the young lad on the phone.
- chris m.I’d love to see Johnny Mac back. The Jays have a lot of young pitching next season and I think they need excellent defense to gain confidence.
In other news, AJ Burnett went down in flames tonight and I could not be happier. Welcome to the Really Big Game AJ! Don’t let the club house door hit you on the way back to the showers.
MW: Sadly, Game 2 was a bigger game for the Yankees than Game 5.
- isabella reyesMW: That’s ridiculous. You’re killing Howard because of three bad games, two of which were against tough lefties? Was he overrated last year when he hit .286/.375/.762 in the World Series with three homers?
the rays pitchers were exhausted from the boston series and had nothing left.
you yourself said howard has a worse ops vs lefties than john mac so that would mean he is horrible no? what are his numbers vs AL teams vs NL teams. I would guess they are horrible.
MW: No, it means he was awful against lefties this season, as a lot of left-handed hitters are. Interestingly, Howard is a career .249/.300/.546 in interleague play. You’re still wrong, though.
- bobThe Jays need to step up and give Vernon a shot in the arm. He IS the franchise player next year like it or not. Perhaps a few kind words by his new GM and reaffirmed mentor Cito in the daily papers and radio might help to get Vernon back to being Vernon. And thats a lot of Vernon .
Anyway, even with a rebuild let this guy come around before you dump him, IF you dump him.
Go Phillies
- jason from thornhillif it goes to game 7 do you go with lee on 2 days rest or go with camels?
MW: I don’t have any camels. I go with Cole Hamels, with all hands on deck. But I try to get to Game 7 first.
- remmyMike,
Did you watch Curb Your Enthusiasm last night?
Apparently the stone mason used by Larry David’s dad agrees with you about Derek Jeter.
MW: I haven’t seen it yet, I’ll watch it when I get home.
- ProkopecMW: Sadly, Game 2 was a bigger game for the Yankees than Game 5.
True, Game 2 was a very big game. However they could have won the series tonight and they didn’t. For which I thank every baseball god around. If AJ had pitched the game that clinched the series I would have been sick for days.
- isabella reyesare you gonna post the rain delay show?
MW: Didn’t I? Nuts. I’ll post it in the morning.
- Matt G.thank you!
- Matt G.Hey Mike
I was looking at the regular season statistics for the Phillies, and for the life of me i can’t figure out how they won so many games with that pitching staff. The starting rotation was bad and Lidge was an absolute disaster. Any chance the Phillies take a chance and let Happ start a game instead of going back to Hamels? Too bad Toronto and Philly couldn’t get the Doc Halladay deal done, i think the Yanks would be in a lot of trouble if Doc was throwing in this series…..
MW: Hopefully the Phillies are now kicking themselves for not making that Halladay deal. As I said in July, the chance to win two or three straight World Series in a short period far outweighs any sort of loss of prospects.
- rickWho cares about the Yankees and their huge payroll! Bottom line is whomever they have still has to do the job, still has to hit, pitch and play solid defence and they are doing it. A huge salary doesn’t always equal huge returns as to hits etc! I would think any Jays fan should realize that.
Like him or not Jeter is a solid all around player and there is not a team that wouldn’t take him. Johnny Damon however is the backbone of that Yankees offence he is scary each and every time he is at the plate and even moreso in the late innings. He sure is missed in Beantown!
Someone here (Han Solo) said “defence” doesn’t win games – say what; are you kidding me? Isn’t good solid pitching your best defence? All you need do is look at what the powerful Yankee lineup has done against Cliff Lee and what the Phils have accomplished offensively against CC Sabathia. If you have been watching any of the WS games you would realize that for certain, good defence wins ball games all the time.
What did you think of AJ and the lack of strike calls on his breaking stuff with one umpire Vs another Mike? It really showed when the network did a split screen showing the same pitch and same location calls from two different home plate umpires.
AJ will never be able to keep his cool when he most needs to! Although, it must have been frustrating for him (AJ) not to get the strike calls he was getting in his previous start. I have to say however the ump last night was making very good balls and strike calls – at least from my point of view.
Finally, I thought it was hillarious to see Posada trying to call a second timeout in a row when he was at bat – the look on his face when the pitch (called strike)went sailing past him said it all.
Thanks Mike, take care and keep up the great job you do.
MW: The argument that “they still have to play the games, no matter what the payroll” is seriously, seriously flawed. Remember, that the team with the higher payroll has a far better chance to have the better players, which makes it easier to win when they go out and play the games.
- Bob (from Burllington)Hi Mike,
You know, the Phillies’ bats woke up last night and I’m thinking trouble could be ahead for the Yanks. All along, I was thinking that the 3 man rotation could come back to haunt the Yankees. Game 6 is huge. Can 37 yr old Andy Pettitte respond on 3 days rest? Clearly, AJ Burnett had his problems (but that wasn’t necessarlit because he pitched on 3 days rest). If Petitte falters, that forces Game 7 with CC again on 3 days rest. Now I know he is a horse and has been doing this for a while now, but you never know. Maybe I’m wrong, but with the Yankees up 3-1, I might have gone to Chad Gaudin in Game 5, knowing that there was still Game 6 and 7 in New York witha rested Burnett or Petitte for Game 6 and CC for Game 7. If the Phils get into the Yankee ‘pen (before the great Rivera), that changes everything. They have not been effective. Of course, the Philly pen is a powder keg as well.
MW: It is. I was very surprised that Pettitte pitched as effectively as he did in Game 6.
- Ian from WhitbyMike,
I am so glad that AJ got the loss and that he was pulled after getting his 6 earned runs.
It looked like the Yankees were going to pull off one of their patented comebacks especially with the way their bullpen hasn’t got it done. I was yelling at the TV last night with Tex up and was not looking forward to an AB with A-Rod and two on.
The world series has been fun to watch and it’s interesting to watch these two teams work. With Utley’s five home runs in the series, will the Yankees just walk him and pitch to the strike out king (of the world series) Howard?
The Phillies bullpen has not been good and against hitters has good as Damon / A-Rod / Posada the Phillies will have to put up alot of runs to take game 6. With Pettitte on there’s a chance again that the Phillies will get the early lead and hopefully will be able to hold it.
Go Phillies!
I agree with the positive comments about Vernon. Let’s hope that he bounces back nicely next spring.
- TimMichael, was listening to the Dirk Hayhurst interview & he said he found out about the clubhouse ‘so called’ major issue through the paper his wife showed him. It goes to show that the whole Cito thing was way overblown & media hyped. The media always likes to make minor off field stuff like this into a natural disaster since the team looses & wants to write a reason for the team’s performance. It’s great for ratings & great to sell papers. At first, I thought it was a big deal but once I heard some of the players, Cito & Beeston, it was only a hand full of players. If some players didn’t even know about it in the clubhouse, it can’t be a big issue. Issues like these always come up when a team looses, not when their winning. If players like Wells or who ever has even a small issue, it’s their fault for not talking to Cito or any of the managers about it behind closed doors. Kind of immature & a coward act using the media first & not trying to talk it over & trying to fix the minor issue first. A team is like a family. These players spend almost the whole year together. It’s great that the Jays found a middle ground & Cito will be back next season. I will definitely go to the ball park & can’t wait for the ’10 year. He will make a great consultant for the team moving foward after with all his experience.
MW: If Hayhurst didn’t know about the clubhouse issue, then he either wasn’t paying attention or wasn’t talking to his teammates.
- ClaudioWell, the bad AJ showed up and the Phils push it to game 6.
I win a pizza if the Yanks win it in 6 (definite head over heart bet there), so here’s hoping they wrap it up.
Sutcliffe on Sportnet kept talking about the different strikezone with different umpires. Burnett wasn’t getting the close calls.
Should be exciting tomorrow night.
What feed is sportsnet using fo the game?, It isn’t FOX, and there is no advertising anywhere to see where it is coming from.
MW: Sportsnet used the MLB International feed for the game – they’ve been doing it for a few years now. Congrats on the pizza.
- Aaron Kermichael,
i forgot to mention to you, you made (what i thought) was an interesting observation re: the coaching changes with the blue jays in your previous post. just curious if i was reading between the lines correctly on it.
something to the effect that there seemed to be compromises made all around on the final decisions made & the players probably didn’t get what they were hoping for, a new field boss for next yr. (based on the obverall dissention brought to your attention late in the yr. by a large group of the players)
it’s not too hard to get a read on how you feel about mr. gaston as manager of this club granted. certainly lots of peculiar ideas & strategies on how to manage a ball game & team from that man. no lies there. (and i could probably go either way on the man. i see good & bad with him & his general conduct day to day)
but don’t you think to a great degree it was important that the players of this team didn’t get their way on this issue & have him out the door on their whim just like that.
just think that they have not done nearly enough as a team in terms of overall success to warrant a pass out the door for gaston based on his credentials compared to theirs.
they haven’t earned the right yet it says here.
and i’m guessing that was maybe beeston’s assessment of the situation as well based on the final decision made on that one.
agree disagree?
MW: I agree that that was likely Beeston assessment, and I agree that the players shouldn’t have control over the hiring and firing of a manager. But I do think that management has a responsibility to put its players in the best possible position to succeed as often as possible, and Cito simply doesn’t do that.
- darrell bishopMike,
Just listened to Mike Toth’s, I think, interview with Jermy Acardo. Toth said that Pettitte was a borderline HOFer while Pedro was a HOFer. But Pettitte has more wins, the stat the seems to be key factor in deciding HOF status for pitchers. So how can one be borderline and the other a shoe-in?
MW: I think it was Mike Hogan’s interview. It’s shoo-in, by the way, and wins isn’t the stat that decides Hall of Fame status among pitchers, unless a guy has 300 or more.
- jwHey Mike,
If the Series goes to 7 games, what do you think about starting Hamels for 3-4 innings then bringing in Lee? I don’t have the stats, but from what I can remember Hamels has pitched well in the first few innings before falling apart, and cutting the innings down for Lee on short rest would help him out a lot.
Thanks
MW: Sorry, I should have answered this one sooner. If the series had gone to seven, I would have started Hamels with J.A. Happ pretty much up in the bullpen from pitch one.
- JohnWilner: So John Mac was phenomenal and Lind was fantastic… that’s your opinion of their performance on your radio show. Nice guys, but too bad they can’t play like they interview.The only original athlete interview was the first one! I think your colleague McCown is right on this one..talking to pro athletes is like talking to morons (his words, my friend)…they really have nothing of interest to say. The only original interview with an athlete was the first one (my words).
MW: I’m not sure what to say to this. You have a problem with the way Lind and McDonald played this season?
- Carlos