Anybody else watching the World Series?

[Roy Hersh]

After nearly an hour and a half of rain delay, Game 3 began quietly and what started out as a one-sided blow out turned around in a hurry in the middle innings.

I know that there has to be a few other baseball lovers here, right?

[Eric Ifune]

I was rooting for an LA freeway series, but alas, it never happened. Dodgers/Yankees would have been a classic, but it never happened either. So I'm lukewarm.

[Roy Hersh]

Regardless of who you are rooting for, tonight was a fantastic and exciting game. I even had my wife watching with me for the entire game and it has been years since that happened (except when we go to the ballpark).

I can't believe there are no other Port lovers who also enjoy baseball WS games!

[Brian C.]

I haven't been able to watch much, unfortunately, as much as I want to. That said, I am hoping that the Phillies repeat, but that doesn't seem likely at this point. Their Achilles' heel has been the bullpen. Last night's ninth inning must have been painful to watch for Phillies fans, and especially painful to see A-Rod actually get a clutch hit. Otherwise, A-Rod is not having a great Series, but it is assured that it won't be as bad as the original Mr. May's performance in 1981.

With Burnett on the mound for game 5, the Phillies will have their work cut out for them, even if they have Lee going for them. Burnett looked really good in game 2 (I did watch part of that game).

If the Yankees win, and they probably will, there will be a lot of talk about whether Charlie Manuel should have pitched Lee in game 4. He is clearly their ace right now, but then hindsight is too easy. Last winter will also be acknowledged as one of the best offseasons for the Yankee front office, if not the best. Given the perpetual problems with their farm system, they have no choice but to get it right in the free agent market. Given what I read in Joe Torre's book, Cashman is probably finally incorporating statistical analysis into the equation. And we can probably expect to see Girardi in pinstripes for a long time, unless the front office screws that one up, too.

[Roy Hersh]

Brian,

A solid analysis. Very

I think that last night's 9th inning with Lidge was amazing to watch the battle between him and Damon. 8 or 9 pitches and Damon who is not known (poor at this in 2009) for keeping at bats alive with intentionally fought off foul ball control, won out and ignited the fuse that exploded this series to 3-1. Yes, Alex was the hero (he was quite often in the 2 earlier series this year too) but don't forget the night before. Down 3-0 and looking like NY was headed to a defeat, he woke up the team when his HR hit the RF camera. So, although he has only 2 hits in this series ... both were ENORMOUS.

NY has a way of exploiting weaknesses in team's pitching staffs, through their mostly patient lineup. If I told you that ARod and Texeira would have a combined 3 hits through 4 games of this WS ... would you ever believe the Phillies would be down 3-1? Additionally, Melky Cabrera and Robinson Cano have not hit their weight and with a pitcher hitting, that means that literally 5 batters in the lineup are just not producing. The Phillies pitchers are letting the other 4 beat them ... which seems illogical to me. Besides Burnett's performance ... NONE of the Yankees starting pitching has been overwhelmingly solid. Then again, they do have MO and that is a weapon that NO other team in baseball possesses and it is an incredible asset as everyone knows.

So game 4, with Lee on short rest would have been a poor choice in my opinion. He pitched a boatload of innings this year and has not worked on 3 days rest ... almost ever. Besides, he gives the Phillies the best chance of winning game 5 of any pitcher on their staff, and is going up against the toughest pitcher the Yankees have in this WS. They ALMOST beat Sabathia 2x. AJ Burnett in his game 2 performance was "lights out" scary good. But Lee in game 1 was even better. Well rested, I believe he will greatly outperform AJ tonight and Philadelphia winds up back in NY for game 6, going up against Pettitte with Pedro Martinez.

It may take 6 or it may take 7 but I don't see the Yankees losing 3 in a row, or 2 at home -- not this year; nor do I see Philly getting swept at home (which is their most significant strength during the year and 11-0 postseason up until this series).

That's my story and I am sticking to it.

[Brian C.]

The reason I bring up Lee like that is because the Phillies' rotation seems to be in disarray right now. Hamels has nothing. Happ is not starting. That leaves Lee, Pedro, and Blanton. If Hamels had his stuff together, I don't think that debate ever sees the light of day.

It has been a strange series. Jeter is having a great series, but like you said, the middle of the lineup has been largely absent except for a few key moments. The patience of the Yankee lineup is something to behold, as you say, though. Sometimes the bottom of the lineup beats you. For an extreme example, consider the regular season game in 2007 where the Rangers put up 30 runs, but very little of that came from Kinsler and Young. The bottom two guys had 7 RBIs apiece!

http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/boxscore? ... re-orioles

Before you say that the Yankee starting pitching has been mediocre, consider that they are pitching against the best lineup from slots 1-8. There is no weakness in the Phillie lineup. Every guy can flat out hit. No, they don't have a big presence at DH for the games at the Stadium, but it's still better than any AL lineup. Sabathia pitched pretty well, I thought, considering that, as did Pettitte.

Mo is the best closer ever, but the rest of the bullpen does not remind me of what the Yankees had 10 years ago when they were winning all those championships. I thought the Phillies showed they could hit MO in Game 2, though, despite the fact that they didn't get any runs across the plate.

Winning three in a row is very hard to do. If one assumes hat each game is a 50-50 proposition, then there would be a 12.5% chance of winning three in a row. I think tonight's game is probably better than 50-50 for the Phillies, but I can't say the same for the other two games.

I'll confess that I'm not an A-Rod fan. I know he works hard, but aside from the juicing and the off the field crap, I don't care for the things like how he slapped the ball out of the glove in the 2004 ALCS and how he yelled during a pop fly. That's just not baseball. And I have yet to hear any of the Yankee faithful say that he's a true Yankee. I hear a lot of griping that most of his stats happen in meaningless situations (much as I used to always say the same about Sosa once upon a time), and that he is not a clutch performer. Yeah, the two hits this series were very important, and I'm sure that he'd gladly have his few hits in clutch situations instead of padding his stats with a few homers at the end of the games that are already decided. So I hope that he never wins a ring, but it's probably going to happen, and then I'll deal with it.

[Roy Hersh]

Another fine post and it is clear that you and I need to watch some "neutral games" together (for me watching CHI ... either AL/NL ... OR Seattle, would be "neutral" for me ) and drink some great Port together to discuss/disect a game.

I wish all of my predictions (aka ... the stock market) would be as accurate as my forecast of what's happening in this WS.

ARod gets yet another key clutch hit early in the game which brought things closer. I doubt you watched the AL (Minn. vs NY or LAA vs. NY ALCS) series, but if so, you saw that almost every one of Alex's hits were not only clutch, but came late in games and also scored runs to either tie a game, break a tie or put the Yankees ahead. It happened over and over and this guy now has 18 RBIs during this post season, to tie an all-time Yankee record. Seeing as they've been to the WS 40x, that is a heck of an accomplishment and trust me, I don't like Alex either, but I do respect his talent. He has always come off so "smarmy" and I was here when he left Seattle after being worshipped by locals here (I am not an M's fan) and then said mean spirited things about the new stadium, the fans and was not honest about going for the money. That said, I can turn my head from his juicing (SO MANY OTHERS are also guilty, he just happened to be one of the many who was outed) but don't know that the HOF voters will ever forgive him. Anyway, this year ... I truly saw how he was humbled by his injury/surgery on his hip, recovering from the HGH lying scandal and being ripped a new one by the NY media. He needed something of that magnitude to tear away his 'tude of holier than thou. This year for the 1st time as a Yankee, he WAS and IS a team player. Much less ego shown, far more humble ... and it seems real from all accounts. He is relaxed and had an amazing season given missing a month and a half or more at the beginning. He had many winning hits and RBIs this year and compared to others, where I agree with you, he hit a ton of worthless HRs and RBIs that were absolutely meaningless ... this season he was Mr. Clutch for 5 months and now maybe 6?

Anyway, back to games 6 and 7. Personally, when the game was tight in the 8th and 9th inning tonight, I did NOT want to see the Yankees come back and beat the Phillies in their house. I was screaming at their pitchers in the last two inning and my wife thought it was hysterical. Thank god, that 2x (even after Jeter hit into the DP in the 9th) with the tying run coming up to bat ... the Yankees failed. That would have really been lousy to win this game. I am very happy for the Phillies fans that they got to see what some will consider a great win, at home and not have to be disgraced 3x in their stadium.

Now back to NY where things will be really interesting. Pedro is so tough pitching in NY and loves to be hated by the fans ... who actually despise him because of how great he was as a Red Sox when playing there forever and then as a NY Met. But he is a great warrior and has more balls and grit than ANY other Phillies pitcher. At his best when younger, no pitcher on either current WS team was/is as good as Pedro was in his heyday. I have tons of respect for him ... but I hate him too, of course.

He will bring his "A game" on Wed. night and he'll be rested, whereas Pettitte, no slouch in his own right, but certainly past his prime and now a wiley veteran with either great control or early departures ... should make for a great game 6. Pettitte's greatest asset, is that when he does not have his best stuff, he can still find a way to give up 3-4 runs over 6-7 innings (I hope) get key K's and ground ball/pop up help when needed. He is battle tested (obviously the guy has won more game in post-season than anybody). Pedro though ... his change up is sick. Throwing his fast ball at 88-91 nowadays and then change ups at between 70-78 mph ... I don't know how anybody can hit off that guy. His injury and year+ off took a few mph off his fastball, but when he is on ... he is still, one of the very best in baseball. He is clearly the BEST money spent by the Phillies in upping their quality for the postseason this year. Love/hate!

Will we see the cold bats on either side get luke warm or even hot? The DH is obviously going to play into the equation. I am not so sure that the Angels lineup was not scarier than the Phllies, but then again, I have not seen the Phillies hitting on all cylinders as quite a few guys are absolutely absent, like a few on the Yankees too, when it comes to ABs.

IF this goes to game 7 ... which would be cool as a fan (although I personally would love to see Andy get one more WS win under his belt as he is one of my faves of the old guard on the team), CC Sabathia against ? is the question. Would they bring in their game 3 pitcher after his comments about "wanting the season to end" ... I dunno. Can't wait for Wed. ... and more of your thoughts.

[Glenn E.]

Pedro though ... his change up is sick. Throwing his fast ball at 88-91 nowadays and then change ups at between 70-78 mph ... I don't know how anybody can hit off that guy.

So after another couple of years of decline in speed he'll be Jamie Moyer? I swear Jamie threw his changeup at about 65 mph!

[Brian C.]

Pedro's start will be exciting. It cracks me up that the Stadium still chants "Who's your daddy?!?" when he's on the mound. Somehow, the luster of that chant has worn off five years and two teams later, but it's still entertaining.

As much as I rip on A-Rod, I know that he did have an MVP season where he had a ton of clutch hits, many of the walk-off variety. I know there are plenty of players who have juiced. I think ultimately the juicers will get in, but it will be awhile. I think it will come down to when a few juicers sneak in, claim they juiced, and then the writers and/or veterans will decide that juicing is okay. It will take time, but they will get in. That is the Bill James argument. As much as I don't want to see him get a ring, I don't mind seeing the old guard get another ring, and Matsui and Girardi are deserving. As far as A-Rod tying a postseason record, that's one of my pet peeves with the announcing crews. To me, the only records that should be mentioned regularly are World Series records. The LCS records were never mentioned at all when I was younger. Nobody cared about them. It smells like another Bud Selig gimmick to me.

I think Game 7 is going to be a problem for the Phillies. Who do they start? Blanton? I would not start Hamels. He has nothing, and his desire for the season to end is due to the fact that he just hasn't had it for quite some time now. He is not confident at all, and the Yankee lineup will eat him alive if he doesn't feel up to the task. I would send Blanton out there, the idea being that he will give up 3 or 4 runs and eat up some innings, and it will be up to the bats to get the job done. None of this will matter if they can't win Game 6, though.

Port and baseball, I'm in! For what it's worth, most games are pretty neutral for me as well. I just like to see good baseball. I grew up in Phoenix as a Dodger fan (thanks to Rupert for putting an end to that), and enjoyed listening to Vin Scully call games on the radio through the long hot summers. My AL team was the Brewers, because I'd get out to County Stadium each summer when I visited my grandparents. I never warmed up to either Chicago team. I always despised the ownership of both clubs, though I give more credit to White Sox fans for boycotting their team owner for many years. If the Cubs didn't have Wrigley, I don't know how they would have built up their fan base. I'm not sure what's funnier, how the Cubs can draw crowds regardless of how good or bad they are, or how much it irks White Sox fans.

[Brian C.]

oops

[Roy Hersh]

So after another couple of years of decline in speed he'll be Jamie Moyer? I swear Jamie threw his changeup at about 65 mph!

Glenn,

Sorry man, I think you have the 65 mph figure mixed up with Jamie's best fastball.

[Roy Hersh]

As to the "who's your daddy" chant, did you see in game 2 of the WS where he walked off the field at the end of his stint and the last you see of him is a few feet from the steps of the dugout and he looks up from beneath the brim of his cap with a big s__t eating grin on his face? Supposedly one Yankee fan stuck a poster right over the dugout at that moment reading: "Your daddy is the NEW Yankee Stadium." Who knows if that is really true, but if so, I give him credit for a great sense of humor.

I don't know if you saw Pedro's interview after that game where he said something like, "they respect me here because I battle and they like that. If I ever played here, I'd be the KING or something." It was LOL funny and all the reporters were dying with laughter. He's a cool dude ... he can't help it that he played for the Red Sox AND Mets! What could be a worse fate than that.

Speaking of the Cubs and or White Sox, I hope that one day before my demise, I get to visit Wrigley Field once. Never been there and would love to. I have to admit Brian, I was kinda thinking you were a Cubs fan, from Chitown and seemingly favoring the NL in general. So I did not consider the White Sox and certainly never would have guest Dodgers.

Ahhh the good old days. As a young boy just getting into baseball, I remember one of my neighbors in Queens, who was inexplicably a Dodger's fan. He had Sandy Koufax posters on his wall, a real serious LA Dodgers fan at maybe 8 years old. We used to have some serious arguments as kids watching WS together.

It was with this same guy, Kenny Cohen ... that I first "flipped" baseball cards, when that term used to mean something to young boys under 15. You had to chew a lot of gum to amass the great collection. Sadly, mine all disappeared one summer while I was away at sleep away camp, when my mother thought it was a great time to clean out my closet with those shoeboxes full. The horror! The horror!

[Brian C.]

And to think that Pedro should have been a lifelong Dodger. Delino DeShields, the California translation for "Ernie Broglio."

I've been to Wrigley a few times. It's an interesting place. On one hand, it is very old school. No commercials blaring on a Jumbotron between innings. No billboard feel to the place at all. On the other hand, the concessions are sorely lacking, and the accommodations are very spartan (meaning not much in the way of bathrooms, among other things). And I have to say, not the greatest fans, either. The knowledge is often lacking, and many people are there for reasons other than baseball. Some call it the world's largest open air tavern, except the beer is awful. It is not a cheap ticket, either. To make matters worse, the Cubs scalp their own tickets. I'm sure you've seen it, where high prices bring in the business comp crowd and people with money to burn. The bleachers used to have the hardcore devotees who knew the game, but now the bleachers are party central. That's Wrigley. In comparision, I went up to Miller Park for the first time in September, and I had a great time. Great food, great facilities, and great fans (they cheered Velez robbing Felipe Lopez of an extra base hit, something that would never happen in Wrigley). And the prices at Miller were so much better. If only the team was better. I fear that when they can't afford Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun anymore, the place will become a ghost town.

[Michael Whitehead]

sorry, i should have caught this thread earlier. i've been following VERY closely.

the phillies are playing well, and i can't think of any other team that had a chance at making a worthy foe for the yankees. but the time has come.

game 6, THE PHILLIES TAKE A DIVE!!!!!!!!!!!

[Roy Hersh]

Michael,

I have reached out to Dan to discuss organizing the troops for an offline. Even if Port is not part of their agenda, I will bring something cool to share with you at an "after party." Just need to figure out a good date to do this.


Roy

[Glenn E.]

Sorry man, I think you have the 65 mph figure mixed up with Jamie's best fastball.

Do you remember those funny ads the Mariners used to run?

My favorite was one that had Jamie pitching in the bullpen next to a coach with a radar gun. After each pitch, the coach would read off the speed: 98! 97! 99! One of the two guys walking by looks at the other and expresses surprise, to which the second replies something like: Not mph, kph. Jamie got a new radar gun from France.

[Roy Hersh]

Head to head, Pedro vs. Pettitte and they are both 3-3 in six games from 1998-2003 with Botox vs Yankees.

Each and every win came at the hands of the pitcher who was visiting their opponent's stadium!

Should be fascinating. I pulled out a fine Douro wine for tonight and will only drink Port if the WS ends in Game 6. It will have to be a great Colheita or Tawny at that point. Heck, as I am pretty confident that it won't go any further than Thursday night I might as well decant a VP too.

[Brian C.]

It was good to see the old guard doing it again, and to see Girardi, Teixeira, and Matsui win one (though I could have done without seeing A-Rod celebrating after the final out). I was rooting for Matsui to get a triple to complete the cycle. He was a one man wrecking crew out there tonight. Definitely a professional hitter. Before tonight, I would have voted for Jeter to get MVP honors in the Series without hesitation. Hard to deny Matsui after tonight's performance.

Pettitte got the job done, and the bullpen performed as well. Pedro almost got out of that inning, though he just didn't have much going tonight, it seemed. A shame that Joe West was working behind the plate tonight. His strike zone is so inconsistent, and both teams were having a hard time with it. I always wonder how that guy has been an ump for as long as he has. I hope that they can come up with a way to have the best umps calling the postseason games. It should be a privilege to be there, not a mandate borne out of a collective bargaining agreement. Okay, off my soapbox on that one.

Growing up a Dodger fan, that always means I have to root against the Yankees (well, except if they play the Giants, in which case, I just hope they both lose). I think that was borne out of the late 70s matchups with the Bronx Zoo crew, which wasn't nearly as likable as the crew that won 4 times in the late 90s. That said, the Yankees deserved this one, no doubt. The Phillies just couldn't put much together this series. They did not look like the team that won last year. At some point the pitching just wasn't going to hold up outside of Cliff Lee, and the Yankee staff quieted the bats.

So what did you end up drinking tonight, Roy?

[Alex R]

#27 mission accomplished way to go yanks

[Roy Hersh]

How sweet it is, both the Port and also the the win tonight.

The "Core 4" of Capt. Jeter, Posada, Pettitte and Rivera ... what can I say?
Matsui was in a zone rarely seen in any WS game ... even thinking back to some like the game when Reggie hit 3 HRs and had a chance for a 4th ... but Hideki carried the offense tonight and lit up the fans.

Regardless of one's feelings about ARod, I am happy that he got the taste of this, as I truly saw a different Alex ... selfless FINALLY and clutch all season long, after so many years of selfish/smug/smarmy behavior. So I am even happy for Alex, who hit decently, but clutch, after the first two games.

But although the stats may not do his performance justice ... Andy Pettitte going on short rest, yet again is a quiet and humble warrior. He's not flashy and doesn't care about personal glory or records, yet he will always be remembered by true fans for being a class act and his uncanny way of coming up big at the exact moment when his team needs him most. I've seen this for 15 years now. He's come in after a three or four game losing stint and put up a stop sign performance. I love the guy, even after his admission about the juice.

Damon could easily have been the MVP of the WS and Jeter too, but why not Mariano? What does this say to me ... this was a full frontal team effort with solid pitching for the most part, the greatest closer in history, patient and clutch at bats and enough solid defense, that they deserved to finally win again this year.

People can argue that Steinbrenner (I've never liked George or his eldest son Hank) bought these rings and yes, he certainly went out and spent a ton of money. But we have seen that for years now, it has not mattered, as teams with considerably smaller payrolls have been able to win too (think Tampa Bay and Arizona -- both of whom, beat the Yankees!). So money does not guarantee wins. Chemistry, a "player's manager" and fundamentals and the players believing in their "team" playing selflessly ... qualities which have far more to do with winning a season than just having a big payroll. The NY Mets are a good example of money not helping.

When I look at the "unknown" Yankees who came in as pieces of the puzzle to play well in this series ... D. Marte and Robertson's pitching throughout the series, key hits and plays by Hairston, and so many others, it seems like they were a deeper team. To be honest, I felt like the Angels gave the Yankees a much tougher series, yet they did not play their game and certainly not the fundamentally sound defense and running game that they are accustomed to. The Phillies on the other hand, beyond Lee ... their pitchers performances were very forgettable except maybe Pedro in Game 2. Before the series, I was concerned about guys like Lidge and Hamels ... but they didn't even show up. Besides them, their starters and relievers did not seem to bring their A game. In 2008 theses same guys were "lights out" stellar (albeit w/o Pedro). Was it the Yankees patience at bat or what? The Yanks pitching neutralizing the lefties on Philly, for the most part, was a huge factor in the outcome.

Anyway, they will be back in years to come because they are a tough and young team with a solid nucleus and a gritty, straight shooting manager. I take my hat off to them!

My wife and I shared most of a bottle of 2003 Niepoort Redoma, had a glass of 2007 Quinta do Crasto Vintage Port and after the game, I am now sipping a 1963 Burmester Colheita. 1963 was the year I started watching the NY Yankees and I love this particular bottling.