SB Nation - Joe Blanton

Does Anyone Like the Phillies' Lee Trade?

David S. Cohen — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:24:34 -0000

This is an honest question. Outside Phillies reporters (or ex-reporters) who rely on access to the team in order to put food on their table each day, are there any analysts who like what the Phillies did with Cliff Lee?

Obviously I can only read a small portion of what's out there, but what I've read isn't pretty. (And I agree with it.) Below is my sampling. In the comments, please post links to what you've seen from other analysts about the Lee trade. And if you find someone saying the Phillies did the right thing here, I'd in particular like to see that.

Matt Swartz, Baseball Prospectus: "The only team that does not necessarily come out ahead in this is the Phillies. The team really made two separate trades—three prospects for Roy Halladay conditional on an awesome extension, and Cliff Lee for three inferior prospects. The former will turn out to be a success and the latter will not. . . . The issue I take is that they could have non-tendered Joe Blanton (or, better yet, traded him for some inferior prospects) and Chad Durbin and won two or three more games in 2010 at the same $9 million salary. I say that even as someone who believes Blanton is vastly underrated, but they could have gotten better value by doing that. If Blanton was worth nothing on the trade market (which I am skeptical about), then the Phillies were foolish to offer him arbitration—clearly no one else would have even offered him his arbitration estimate on the free-agent market, so why pay him that much? Figure out what other teams would pay him and offer him that and a cookie."

Joe Sheehan, Baseball Prospectus: "This, in fact, gets to my biggest problem with the sequence: Roy Halladay just left $60 million on the table to come to Philadelphia. The Phillies couldn’t leave $9 million on it in pursuit of putting him on the best team in baseball? . . . The Phillies play in a taxpayer-funded ballpark, have been to back-to-back World Series—with all the direct revenue that generates—and will no doubt pack Citizens Bank Ballpark again in 2010 with another three million people paying even higher ticket, parking, concession, and souvenir prices. To trade away Cliff Lee in a blatant money move is utterly ridiculous under those circumstances, and worse still, turns the Roy Halladay trade into little more than a minor upgrade."

Christina Kahrl, Baseball Prospectus: "Less certain is the necessity of coupling this trade with the deal that put Lee in Seattle. Even if you accept for the sake of argument the suggestion that Amaro had to work within a budget, and that he had to have one or the other, this seems to suggest that the Phillies just blew it by being active early and, true to form, acted fast. If payroll's a problem, then the money spent on Placido Polanco or Ross Gload or Juan Castro or Brian Schneider—in short, the entire pack of elective add-ons, these veteran talents barely above the free-talent alternatives or players making close to the minimum—deserves to be seen collectively as needlessly spent money on players who don't significantly alter the Phillies' chances at a third pennant, not nearly so much as having a rotation with Doc and Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels gives you a rotation that might have been able to handily beat the best the AL might throw at you, and start a case for elevating the Phillies to dynastydom."

Dave Cameron, FanGraphs: "The Cliff Lee to Seattle portion of this trade just seems very light in return for the Phillies. They’re getting two power arms with a lot of questions marks and a speedy center fielder without a lot of power. None of these guys are top tier prospects. This is the best Philadelphia could have gotten for Lee? Really? A pu-pu platter of interesting, high-risk guys not really close to the majors for a Cy Young-quality pitcher who is already well on his way to Type A free agency? And, even if that’s true, why clear $8 million from the books by trading Lee? Surely, you could have moved Joe Blanton without eating any of his salary, even if you didn’t love the deals being offered. Or, how about this – don’t sign J.C. Romero, Brian Schneider, and Ross Gload, whose 2010 salaries are about equal to Lee’s. Replace those three reserves with league minimum guys and you’ve saved enough money to keep Lee around."

Evan Burnell, Hardball Times: "The Phillies overextended themselves financially last year and are trying to keep payroll steady (the $6 million they're receiving in the deal helps tremendously). In addition, the prospects back to Philadelphia help to replenish a farm system gutted by the Lee and Halladay trades. Unfortunately for Philadelphia, I don't think they're receiving anything more than midlevel prospects who are a long shot to have long-term value in town. They all look like eventual major leaguers, but are they anything more than replacement level? We can't answer that definitively. I do credit GM Ruben Amaro, however, for recognizing the need to replenish the farm system. [On the other hand,] the Seattle Mariners made a tremendous move acquiring Cliff Lee for three prospects that don't rank as even guaranteed future major leaguers."

THIS JUST IN: Phillies Trade Lee, Hamels, Utley, Drabek, Brown, Taylor, D'Arnaud, Schmidt, Carlton, and Ashburn for Halladay and Two Prospects

David S. Cohen — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 03:49:00 -0000

More photos » by Kathy Willens - ASSOCIATED PRESS

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That's about where this thing is right now, right?

Let's get out on the table what we have the most certainty is true: Roy Halladay was in Philadelphia at some point today.

Is there anything more that we might have even a 50/50 shot of knowing is true? There have been about 148 iterations of this deal since 2pm this afternoon. The Phillies are trading Cliff Lee, then they're not trading Cliff Lee. The Phillies are getting prospects, then they're shipping prospects. The Phillies couldn't trade Joe Blanton, now they're sending Blanton and J.A. Happ out for physicals. The Phillies are negotiating a $68M contract with Halladay, then they're asking for small change in return from the Blue Jays.

It's all pure speculation at this point. And the reporters know that. All they have to do is look back at their Twitter feed or Facebook page and compare what they wrote earlier today with what they're writing or reporting now. There's no doubt at all that tomorrow morning it will all be different. (Hell, why wait? It'll be different two hours from now.) Just like it will be when the trade is announced (if there is even a trade to announce at the end of this).

If you want to know what's wrong with the internet, journalism, and sports, here's exhibit 1 with a bullet. Jon Heyman, Jayson Stark, Ken Rosenthal, Todd Zolecki, Andy Martino, etc. -- none of them can look like he's lagging behind the others. So they report what they've heard rather than what they've found out to be true. I'll sound old when I say this, but I'll say it anyway: in the old days, the reporters would have at least tried to do their fact checking, confirmed with multiple sources, and reported something in the next day's paper based on their best belief as to what the facts are. Now, what we get is a phone call from someone who might at one point in time have been in touch with some guy who knew someone who vacationed with an agent who is colleagues with another agent who has a player on the team who could be the fourth team in on the deal and who claims to know something. Then, that is reported right away so the scoop is made.

And we buy it hook, line, and sinker. Let me be entirely clear: I'm not immune to this at all. After all, did I get much work done this afternoon while trying to find out every morsel of information I could? Of course not. And where does that leave me? With the best report from one of the most trust-worthy reporters being that the Phillies are getting had and paying much more for Roy Halladay now than they would have had to pay in July. That makes no sense. I know it. Jayson Stark knows it. You know it. Yet that's what we get fed because we are hungry and the reporters know how to gorge us.

Someone who has reported something today may just get this deal right. But if they do, it'll be because blind squirrels do indeed find nuts every once in a while. It won't be for any other reason.

Remember that as this thing develops. We know nothing. And neither do they.

MLB Trade Rumors: Cliff Lee involved in Roy Halladay Deal??

raygu — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 20:33:36 -0000

More photos » by Matt Slocum - AP

about 1 month ago: FILE - In this Oct. 18, 2009, file photo, Philadelphia Phillies' Cliff Lee pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first inning of Game 3 of the National League Championship baseball series in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Phillies have picked up Cliff Lee's $9 million option for 2010. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

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Ken Rosenthal from FoxSports speculated that the Phillies may be working on a 3-4 team deal whereby they would deal ace pitcher Cliff Lee to one of the teams involved in order to get the players the Blue Jays want in return for Roy Halladay. I was actually talking to a friend of mine yesterday saying that I thought that one of the reasons why the Phillies were going after Halladay is because they may have learned during the Winter meetings that either Lee wants to test free agency, or that the price to sign him long-term may be exorbitant, possibly CC Sabathia money.

I also heard yesterday that SI.com was reporting that the Phillies offered starting pitchers J.A. Happ, Joe Blanton and one of outfield prospect Michael Taylor or Domonic Brown.

If these are the kind of offers that Toronto GM Alex Anthopolous is getting, then I may have underestimated him, and the market price for one year of Roy Halladay. Am I the only one who thinks that Toronto may get July 31st, 2009 value for one year of Halladay?

Poll

Will Toronto get July 31st value for Roy Halladay this offseason?

MLB Trade Rumors: Roy Halladay to the Phillies for Michael Taylor and Kyle Drabek??

raygu — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:00:31 -0000

More photos » by NATHAN DENETTE - AP

6 months ago: Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Roy Halladay reacts after defeating the Los Angeles Angels 6-4 during the ninth inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Canada, Tuesday, June 2, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Nathan Denette)

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It has been very quiet Winter Meetings if you are looking for rumors involving Roy Halladay. Toronto GM Alex Anthopolous is keeping things close to the vest and not allowing trade talks to leak out to the likes of Jon Heyman, Buster Olney and Ken Rosenthal. It appears he wants to manage and drive the price up for Roy Halladay himself, rather than through the media.

But yesterday, Buster Olney posted this in his morning blog post that I was thinking about once I heard the Phillies were shopping Joe Blanton:

Our colleague Jayson Stark reported that the Phillies are taking offers for Joe Blanton, which makes you wonder if they are quietly trying to clear salary space for a possible run at Roy Halladay.

It would not suprise me to see the Phillies make an effort to deal for Roy Halladay. I can't imagine a rotation of Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels-three aces on one staff would be hard to beat.

Would a package involving outfield prospect Michael Taylor and pitching prospect Kyle Drabek be enough to get Halladay? But the only way the Phillies make this deal is if they clear some payroll and deal Joe Blanton, otherwise their payroll hits $150 million in 2010. But if you deal Blanton, who is their 5th starter? I assume they could search the bargain bin in free agency.

Poll

Who leaves the suite first on the proposed Roy Halladay for Michael Taylor and Kyle Drabek deal?

Ruben Amaro-he runs out of AA's suite

167 votes

Alex Anthopolous

134 votes

They leave the suite together on the way to the hotel bar after agreeing on the deal.

348 votes

649 votes | Poll has closed

Wednesday Bird Droppings

duck — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:00:16 -0000

More photos » by Richard Drew - AP

Your Off-Season O of the Day: Koji Uehara (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

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More nuggets from Winter Meetings...

O's like landscape at third; Millwood talks continue -- baltimoresun.com
Jeff Zrebiec's late Tuesday night update contains lots of info. To wit: • Dan Uggla: not likely as long as the Marlins want two pitching prosects • San Diego's Kevin Kouzmanoff: The O's are interested in him, especially since he could move to first when Bell comes up • "mild interest" in Garrett Atkins of the Rockies • Phillie Pedro Feliz is still "top of the list" • The Rangers wanted David Hernandez + a lower-level prospect for Kevin Millwood and $3M. The teams have discussed other deals, and the O's are still frontrunners. • No real interest in Derek Lowe or Joe Blanton • .... and a bunch of other stuff. As a footnote, the Rockies apparently have shown an interest in Melvin Mora. -zk

MacPhail's 6pm presser, via Roch - Discussing 3B
Andy MacPhail: "There are some options available to us, and not just free agents. Potential trades that we've identified," he said. "It's a reasonably sized list. And we're somewhat guided by the fact that we're very pleased with how Josh Bell has responded since he put on an Orioles uniform. We don't want to do anything that's going to hamper his development, but we also have to be realistic that prospects are just that - they're prospects." -zk

More names floated as signing possibilities for O's - MASN
"The Orioles maintain interest in first baseman Carlos Delgado, who is expected to begin playing in Puerto Rico later this week. And they also are keeping an open dialogue with Sam Levinson, who represents third baseman Pedro Feliz. Also, if the Orioles lose a player in the Rule 5 draft, it could be Double-A Bowie second baseman Miguel Abreu, who is drawing strong interest from the San Diego Padres. At least two other teams, the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers, have scouted him in Puerto Rico." -duck

The Schmuck Stops Here: The third man
"The Orioles also have expressed interest in San Diego Padres third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff, who had 18 homers and 88 RBI in 141 games last year." I know absolutely nothing about this player. Enlighten me. Also, if you have nothing better to do with your life (and I sincerely hope you do), you can participate in a chat with Peter Schmuck at 1:30 p.m. today -duck

O's to meet again with Chapman team
"The Orioles will meet with the representatives for Cuban pitcher Aroldis Chapman before leaving Indianapolis. They've had discussions with Alan Hendricks over the past few weeks in sort of a start-over process after Chapman switched agents." -duck [UPDATE: They met with his reps yesterday -zk]

The Schmuck Stops Here: Orioles: Arms sale
The O's have their pick of Kevin Millwood, Joe Blanton or Derek Lowe, who averaged 15 wins a year for the last 8 years - who knew? All can be had at reasonable prices. But do we actually want any of that group? -duck

Obstacles block Royals' interest in Orioles outfielder Pie
"The Royals remain interested in a trade to acquire outfielder Felix Pie but appear unable — and unwilling — to meet Baltimore’s asking price of a run-production corner infielder." They won't budge on Billy Butler, and they have no one else we're interested in. -duck

Peter Gammons: Baseball analyst to leave ESPN after winter meetings
Peter Gammons is leaving ESPN after the winter meetings. He may be a Red Sox homer, but he is a pretty good source of information on the larger media market clubs. -duck [UPDATE: He's going to MLB Network. -zk]

Organizational Rankings: Practical makes perfect for Red Sox - MLB - CBSSports.com Baseball
Larry Dobrow (who?) breaks down all 30 franchises in his annual Organizational Rankings. The O's ranked 15th, up from 29th last year.

Woodland critters: [singing] What special time, what special place! It's Woodland Critter Christmas!
Squirrely the Squirrel: Hail, Open Thread!

MLB Trade Rumors: Joe Blanton to the Dodgers for George Sherrill?

raygu — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 18:00:16 -0000

by Matt Slocum - ASSOCIATED PRESS

about 1 month ago: Philadelphia Phillies' Joe Blanton pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first inning of Game 4 of the National League Championship baseball series Monday, Oct. 19, 2009, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

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On Sunday night, AOL Fanhouse's Ed Price tweeted the following regarding the Phillies starting pitcher Joe Blanton:

To the list of Ps avail. in trade -- Halladay, Lowe, Meche, Millwood -- add Joe Blanton. He's arb-elig & #Phillies could use $ on relief.

This tweet was confirmed by some Philly sports writers on Monday. Blanton is arbitration eligible after making $5.5 million in 2009. Blanton went 12-8 with a 4.05 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP in 2009. He struck out 7.5/9 and walked 2.7/9 resulting in a respectable 2.76 K/BB ratio. His HR/9 of 1.38 and HR/FB ratio of 13.0% was his highest since 2004, and both were well above his career averages of 0.96% and 9/0% respectively.

Blanton is good for 200+ innings every year, but I don't expect him to continue striking out as many as he did in 2009, nor do I expect him to continue giving up so many long balls.

George Sherrill is arbitration eligible and could make around $4 million in 2010. The Phillies are looking for a reliever and the Dodgers are looking for a starting pitcher. So why not deal Sherrill for Blanton straight up, as the deal would help both teams address their offseason needs. Sherrill will more than likely be cheaper than some of the alternatives on the free agent market. The Phils would swap out Blanton's arb contract for Sherrill's arb contract.

The Phillies could land a cheaper starting pitcher on the free agent market to hold the sport for pitching prospect Kyle Drabek who could be ready by mid-season, or next season at the latest. Sherrill could fill in for closer Brad Lidge should Lidge continue to ptich poorly and blow saves in 2010

Meanwhile the Dodgers have a surplus in the bullpen making Sherrill expendable. Plus, the Dodgers have a prospect or their own in the name of Josh Lindblom who almost made the team out of spring training in 2009, who is ready or very close to being ready for big league action.

Poll

Does a Joe Blanton-George Sherrill swap make sense for the Phillies and Dodgers?

Yes, too much sense

295 votes

No, if the Dodgers throw in a prospect we can talk

186 votes

481 votes | Poll has closed

MLB Trade Rumors: Roy Halladay to Phillies for Cole Hamels??

raygu — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:00:24 -0000

by Darren Calabrese - AP

4 months ago: Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Roy Halladay works against the Boston Red Sox during the first inning of a baseball game in Toronto on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darren Calabrese)

View full size photo »

A friend of mine who is a Phillies fan emailed me today saying he was watching Comcast Sports Nite earlier this evening, and during the show, they were talking about the Phillies interest in Roy Halladay. They mentioned that the Phillies expressed an interest in Halladay and Toronto came back asking for Cole Hamels.

And apparently the Phillies are listening.

This move by the Phillies would surprise me as Hamels is still a very young pitcher, with alot of talent. He just has a bad year for him, but for most pitchers, he had an average year. For the Phillies to deal him, they must feel that he doesn't have the mental toughness anymore.

Hamels dominated in the 2008 season and playoffs. He won the World Series MVP. And now the Phillies are talking about trading him? This tells me two things. One, they really want to get back to the World Series in 2010. The team is built to win now. And two, they don't think Hamels will rebound in 2010, which I am not so sure I agree with based on his peripherals.

Hamels went 10-11 in 2009, with a 4.32 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. In 193 innings, he struck out 168 batters and walked 43 giving up 24 HRs. His K/BB actually increased from 3.70 in 2008 to 3.91 in 2009. His HR/9 was about the same as in 2008 and his HR/FB% dropped from 11.2% to 10.7%, but his BABIP increased from .270 in 2008 to .325 in 2009. His GB%, LD% and FB% were pretty much unchanged from 2008.

Based on his peripherals, one would conclude Hamels was unlucky in 2009, and is a good choice for a bounce back in 2010.

And the Phillies are rumored to be trading him for Roy Halladay. Should the Phils deal Hamels for Halladay, they will be heavy favorites to make the 2010 World Series. But, they may be forced to sign either Lee or Halladay long-term after the 2010 season. That may force the Phillies hand as both Jimmy Rollins and Jayson Werth are free agents at the end of the 2010 season. Otherwise, the Phils will be left with a rotation of J.A. Happ, Joe Blanton and Kyle Drabek.

Poll

Should the Phillies deal Cole Hamels for Roy Halladay?

Yes, Halladay guarantees another World Series appearance.

331 votes

No, the Phillies rotation will be decimated come 2011.

217 votes

548 votes | Poll has closed

Belated Words on the 27th World Championship Victory...

CrazyYankeeChick — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:17:43 -0000

I wrote this when I finally got out of bed circa 2:30 in the afternoon.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around it.

My fellow crazies and I were out celebrating the World Series Championship of the New York Yankees up until about 7am. None of us wanted the night to end.

Ball game over. World Series over. Baseball season over.

Listening to asinine hating anti-fans drop the "who's won more in this century" over.

Having to hear people say they "can't wait til the Yankees choke" over.

First year at new stadium over.

Nine years without a ring over.

Ball game over. The Yankees win.

What a night. The hours and day(s) leading up to last night were saturated with critics attacking Girardi for pitching AJ Burnett in Game 5 because it meant not only would Andy Pettitte have to go on short rest for Game 6, but CC Sabathia would have to pitch his 2nd short-rested game in a row, should a Game 7 be needed.

Funny, though, how these naysayers were oddly silent up until the point AJ started getting shelled. THEN it was a fatal flaw. THEN Girardi was a moron. And all I heard about for all of Monday night through 8pm last night was how that move will change the face of the series, and there's no way Andy will be able to go on 3 days rest, and Girardi should be fired, etc.

The consensus was that if the Yankees win the World Series, it was be in spite of Girardi, not because of him. I really couldn't disagree more on this one. And this is coming from someone who spend many a game banging her head against the computer, screaming to no one in particular that Girardi is an idiot for not using [fill in name of bullpen reliever who wouldn't have let up runs, in my estimation].

My dad even said, "Kris, I could have won a championship with that team. Look at them."

True. But how much different are they from any other one of their teams in the last 5 years? What about when they got Randy Johnson? And Carl Pavano? A-Rod? Those were big name guys, and they never brought us to a title.

Something was different this year. There was no Torre doing ungodly things to his pitching staff's arms. There a case study in "Eff you, critics" performance from A-Rod. A relatively steadfast batting order that wasn't seemingly determined by picking names out of a batting helmet. Patience at the plate (cough...Cano...cough).

I don't think it's easy to manage a club no matter how good they are. And the fact that Girardi took this team through the World Series is not something that should be trivialized. He didn't always do thing we agreed with, but his strategy of a quilted motley crew of relievers to support precarious starter situations, worked out beautifully.

The Yankees were able to ride a 3-man rotation through the entire playoffs, all 3 of them going on short rest at some point (some faring better than others). And it worked out. It %&#@E worked out. The New York Yankees are Kings of the World once again.

And my God, it feels good.

The Phillies were good, and put up a good fight, so much so that there was even talk of Chase Utley getting World Series MVP even if the Phils didn't win. (Of course, you can't really make that argument when a guy on the winning team somehow manages to knock in 6 ribbies in one game to tie the World Series record. Thank you, Hideki.)

Ryan Howard was abysmal all series, save one long ball he knocked off Petitte last night to bring the score to 7-3. It was too little too late though, and the Phils weren't able to overcome that kind of damage in a rocking stadium filled to the rafters with fans salivating for, in the words of Cole Hamels, "it all to be over with."

Pedro Martinez was no one where near as sharp as he was when he dueled with AJ Burnett in Game 2. (And of course, now the scapegoat blame gets applied to Charlie Manuel for not taking Pedro out when Hideki came to the plate with bases loaded in the 3rd, with the lead only 4-1.)

The Phils scored on a sac fly by Shane Victorino, who I was half hoping would enter the game with a bloody batting glove and give the Fox announcers something to distract themselves away from hating on the Yankees for 2 seconds.

But the Yankees were doing what they do best, which was knocking the ball all over the park. Even the foul balls were long shots, even the outs were well hit liners. This is to be expected, perhaps, when Pedro is throwing 87 mph fastballs.

When Hideki's 2-strike, 2-out, single put the score at 4-1, I was a little more relaxed, but I never stopped compulsively flicking at my hat brim and pacing and grinding my teeth, until he hit a 2-run double in the bottom of the 5th to make it 7-1, following Mark Teixeira's base hit that had scored Jeter.

A 6-run lead isn't any guarantee, but it was comfortable. And that was when we all started to let it prematurely sink in. The Yankees were going to be World Champions soon.

I think this implosion from good old Petey should be indicative of how short rest or normal rest, an erratic pitcher in his 30s isn't going to always be lights out. I don't think AJ was knocked around on Monday because he wasn't well rested. I think he was beat up because he's AJ Burnett, and that's what he does. He surprises us with either Good AJ or Bad AJ, and let's be honest, we all knew this when we bought him, so let's not act so surprised when he gets chased early.

Pedro gave a mirror image performance of that, but it was a little more untimely than AJ's crap outing. If I were a Phillies fan, I'd point fingers directly at the decision to pitch Pedro in Yankee Stadium for Game 2, when they should have pitched him at home.

And more significantly, the decision to pitch Pedro in Yankee Stadium for an elimination game!! I guess they didn't have much choice in the matter, but if Cliff Lee had pitched instead of Joe Blanton on Sunday, they wouldn't have been in that situation in the first place.

(Eh, whatever. Like I care about what the Phillies do with the pitchers.The Yankees just won the World Series. I got all day today to read every last word written about the game, and then all day tomorrow to get lost in the masses of people tumbling into the Canyon of Heroes.)

With 2 outs in the top of the 9th, the bar packed wall to wall, the stadium deafening with every pitch Mariano Rivera threw that made the title that much closer...it started to feel like New Year's Eve. Well, if the year lasted 9 years.

All of us expectantly waiting for the ball to drop, so to speak. All of us exploding in raucous, bleary eyed, delirious, euphoric celebration when it did.

"New York, New York" blared through the streets. Then "We are the Champions." "Empire State of Mind." The text message congratulations. The shots. The dancing. The screaming. The hugging. It was heaven. It still is.

I've kept my mouth shut about retaliating against all the shit-talkers that tried their damnedest to curse the Yankees, who tried to rain on our playoff parade. I've limited my jabs to half-kidding trash talking towards our opponents.

But I wrote in Game 5 postmortem:

If someone makes a point to go out of his or her way to poke the bear, unprovoked, then there's the exception to the rule. Because if the Yankees should end up winning the World Series this year, I will make a pit stop before riding off into the sunset, to dole out heaps of karma three-fold.

Instead of just letting us enjoy the fact our team was playing in the World Series, and that we were really happy and excited about it, NYC was teeming with assholes that wanted us to be as miserable as them. They were unrelenting in their banal insults, their pathetic and predictable Yankee shots.

Maybe we couldn't be bothered, or maybe a part of us was secretly scared that if we responded in kind, that we'd be putting ourselves in grave danger should the Yankees happen to choke it away.

Whatever the reason, it's immaterial now. BECAUSE WE WON.

Everyone out there with your "I can't wait to see them blow it the ALDS" and the "I can't wait til they choke against the Angels" or "I can't wait to see Pettitte get lit up on short rest" etc etc etc... HOPE YOU ENJOY THE NEXT FEW DAYS OF SEEING NOTHING BUT YANKEE COVERAGE.

And I hope your commute to work is significantly screwed up because of the ticker tape parade.

And until the 2010 World Series, the Yankees are the World Champions. So every time you see a fan walking down the street with a Yankee hat on, and your knee jerk reaction is to say something negative, just remember: The Yankees won. And you're out of material.

The Yankees did it. They won their 27th championship, the most of any team in any sport. In the first year in their new stadium, they christened their home with champagne and victory...just as they did to their last stadium, when they won the World Series in its inaugural season in 1923.

Congratulations, Yankees. Thank for you bringing the trophy back to where it belongs.

Thank you for everything that you've given your fans this season.

Thank you for #27.

-CYC

Manuel, Lidge Get What They Deserve: FAIL

Nico — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 04:57:45 -0000

Baseball never fails to astound me, and that includes some of the choices that made in an apparent effort to win. Despite Pedro Feliz' heroic efforts to keep tying the game -- first with a single to make it 2-2 off Sabathia, and then with a dramatic HR to re-tie the game 4-4 with 2 out in the 8th off Joba Chamberlain -- the Phillies seemed determined to put their worst foot forward.

From the beginning, when a game that should have, IMO, been started by Cliff Lee, went instead to Joe Blanton, ensuring that Lee will not pitch thrice in the series -- the only way I foresaw Philly pulling off an upset. Blanton pitched a lot better than the numbers suggest, as he was nickel and dimed to death in the 5th by a well-placed chopper, a seeing eye single, and a flair to right field hit so weakly it hit 3 pigeons and 2 of them didn't even notice.

But Lee should have gotten the call, and on a night when the Phillies' offense had 4 runs in them they might have prevailed behind their ace.

And then there's Brad Lidge, throwing his second best pitch, the fastball, to Alex Rodriguez in the season's most crucial moment to date. Not just a fastball, mind you, a fastball right down the middle with the count 0-1. But the location was probably just an execution mistake. Getting beaten with your second best pitch is what drives managers crazy -- assuming they're not busy messing things up from the beginning themselves.

Maybe Lidge was afraid to bounce a slider with Johnny Damon at 3B. Here's a solution: Cover 3B like you're supposed to and a steal of 2B won't end with the runner at 3B. Here's another solution: Bounce the slider if that's what can get the hitter out. It's the catcher's job to block it.

So now the Yankees are one win away from completing their purchase of a World Series title. Pathetic.

A happy day in the Yankee Universe

Ed Valentine — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 12:47:02 -0000

More photos » by Eric Gay - AP

The New York Yankees celebrate after beating the Philadelphia Phillies 8-5 in Game 3 of the Major League Baseball World Series Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009, in Philadelphia. The Yankees take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Browse more photos »

Life is good as a New York Yankee fan this morning. A 2-1 World Series lead with CC Sabathia heading to the mound tonight -- against Joe Blanton instead of Cliff Lee.

Let's cruise the Inter-Google while we celebrate the Game 3 victory, and see what is being said Around the Yankee Universe.

New York Daily News media critic Bob Raissman was highly critical of FOX for their reporting -- or lack of reporting on the Alex Rodriguez home run that resulted in the first-ever World Series replay reversal. The camera, of course, belonged to FOX -- a fact that was never mentioned. The other question is, of course, why would the network stick a camera in a place where it could interfere with play?
Mike Lupica has plenty of praise for Andy Pettitte this morning, after Pettitte perservered through six difficult inning.

None of it (the comeback) happens if Andy Pettitte doesn't stand in there against the Phillies, like a hitter standing in against the curve. There have been what feel like a hundred October nights when he had more fastball and more stuff than he showed you against the Phillies in Game 3, those three runs in the first two innings, two home runs by Jayson Werth, the second one a monster shot that went off the facing of the upper deck at Citizens Bank Park.

He pitched six innings, gave up five hits, struck out seven, gave up the two home runs. It does not look like a lot. It was. On this night, the night when the Yankees were trying to get ahead and then give the ball to CC Sabathia, Pettitte was as much a champion Yankee as he has ever been. He needed 17 minutes and 24 pitches to get out of the bottom of the first. He threw over to first eight times after Jimmy Rollins singled. He saw Rollins steal second without even drawing a throw from Jorge Posada. It is supposed to be easier stealing from an armored car.

While Pettitte is drawing praise today, Philadelphia starter Cole Hamels is mostly drawing scorn. Including a 'WTF were you thinking?' reaction to that fifth-inning curveball he threw to Pettitte that resulted in a game-tying single. The following is from SI.com's Tom Verducci, and it probably sums up the reaction of Philly fans and knowledgeable baseball people.

If Game 3 is the turning point of the World Series -- 68 percent of teams up 2-1 go on to win it -- then a Yankees championship began with one pitch from Cole Hamels that will be remembered as one of the great gaffes in recent Series history. The beginning of the end for Philadelphia was a first-pitch curveball Hamels threw New York pitcher Andy Pettitte with no understanding of basic baseball. When Pettitte stepped in, Hamels was working with a 3-2 lead, a runner at second base and -- here's the key part -- one out. Pettitte is a career .134 hitter who has come to bat a total of 12 times over the past three years. Hamels could dispose of him with fastballs, the way J.A. Happ would do the next inning, and he would be one out away from being out of the inning. Instead, Hamels threw a first-pitch curveball up, and Pettitte slapped a single to tie the game. Why in the world would he throw something slow -- and up, no less -- to an American League pitcher? "I made the right pitch to Pettitte," Hamels explained. "A pitcher doesn't hit an oh-and-oh curve in a bunting situation." I was incredulous. I had to follow up, and asked him, "Just to clarify, you thought Pettitte was bunting, so you threw a breaking ball up to try to get him to pop up a bunt?"

"Yes," Hamels said. "That's what I get my fair share of the time when I'm bunting. He swung and got a hit. Baseball is very, very difficult to understand sometimes." Hamels emphasized his point by way of explaining he missed location only once, on a fastball to Johnny Damon that became a two-run double that inning. Hamels clearly did not regard the pitch to Pettitte as a mistake. I couldn't believe it. There is no way Pettitte is bunting there. There is virtually no advantage to be gained from moving a runner from second to third and be left with two outs. With no outs, it's an obvious bunt situation. One out? The pitcher swings away, because even if he strikes out, you still have a runner in scoring position with two outs, and on all but rare occasions the runner will be sent home from second on a single. So you have nothing to lose by letting the pitcher swing away. It's Baseball 101.

After a day off, Nick Swisher came up huge for the Yankees Saturday night.

"Skip [Joe Girardi] sat me down the other day and said, 'Hey, just relax. I want you to just watch this game, enjoy this game,' " Swisher said. "And then we talked about some stuff after the game. But I think it really helped me mentally, not necessarily physically because right now you're such on Cloud Nine because you're playing in the World Series and you don't really feel anything.

"But it was nice for my head to just rest and enjoy that game, and especially for us to win, that was great."

After watching him surrender a ninth-inning home run to Carlos Ruiz, Ken Davidoff wonders what the Yankees will do with Phil Hughes the rest of the Series.

You have to wonder what sort of role Hughes, sporting a 10.80 ERA in eight postseason appearances, will play the rest of the way. If Girardi doesn't trust him to get two outs before surrendering three runs, that doesn't speak much for the manager's confidence.

It is a fair question. My guess is that you will see more David Robertson and Joba Chamberlain. SI.com's Jon Heyman got this tidbit about Hughes from a scout. "He looks frightened, he doesn't look the same."

Other Yankee Doodles

Swisher, Melky Cabrera get back at raucous Philly fans.
Steve Serby hs a Q&A with former Yankee hero Paul O'Neill.
MLB Trade Rumors discusses Hideki Matsui's future.