Major League Baseball "2009 Postseason" Talkback

[.bg]

Originally Posted by cohenmarioman

I am very sorry, but the Phillies do the same money slinging, how do you explain how they got Pedro? It is hypocracy on its own, since the Phillies have one of the highest payrolls in the league as well. Most of the Yankees are homegrown too, Jeter, Posada, Melina, Hughes, Rivera, Hideki, and many of their other pitchers, such as Jaba.

But again, that payroll pales in comparison to the mega-bloated payroll of the Yankees.

As for Hughes and Joba, who would you rather have in your starting rotation - them, or perennial Cy Young candidate Lester and young rising star Buccholz? I'd take the second option.

As for Rivera, I'd take Papelbon over him. Pap is young but is one of the best closers in the game. Mariano is a choker who blew two saves in the World Series once. He's not even the best closer ever to play the game - that title goes to Trevor Hoffman.

I'm willing to agree Jeter is a good player. He is a class act on and off the field and has won the respect of the whole league, and opposing fanbases. I mean, I do have contempt for the fact that he is a Yankee, but I wouldn't mind if he was shockingly traded to the Red Sox in the offseason.

Posada, Melina, and Hideki are middle-of-the-road and definitely not "elite homegrown talent."

I still can't understand Yankee hate. Why hate them, if they win? You can hate Steinbrenner all you want, but the team isn't run by him, just owned. You can blame Michale Myers for telling Joe to get Damon and all the others.

I hate them because they're a division rival and I'm a Red Sox fan, which intensifies the rivalry. Others hate them for throwing money at players that could more drastically improve other teams than the Yankees, who usually don't need the players they overpay for.

Oh, and don't worry, the Yankees will be winning this series, and many more to come.

I think they choke as usual, and I also think the Yankees are cursed and will lose many more series to come. You can't buy championships anymore, and you can't juice up and hit your way to championships anymore. You need pitching, and the Phillies' rotation is better while the Yankees' is suspect.

You Sox got swept by a tema the Yankees beat 7-0 in a playoff game, i think we know who is better currently, so you are just jumping on the Bandwagon yourself.

Your Yankees lost a series to the Red Sox a few slim years ago, 4-3. They were up 3-0 at the beginning of the series. This was after they had choked to the Marlins in the World Series in '03, the Angels in the '02 ALDS, and the Diamondbacks in the World Series in '01.

And I have been a Red Sox fan since birth. I have seen good teams and bad teams and rooted them on every step of the way. I'm pretty sure I am the antithesis of a bandwagon fan.

After the Phillies win this Series, we'll see who is really better currently.

[cohenmarioman]

Originally Posted by .bg

But again, that payroll pales in comparison to the mega-bloated payroll of the Yankees.

As for Hughes and Joba, who would you rather have in your starting rotation - them, or perennial Cy Young candidate Lester and young rising star Buccholz? I'd take the second option.

As for Rivera, I'd take Papelbon over him. Pap is young but is one of the best closers in the game. Mariano is a choker who blew two saves in the World Series once. He's not even the best closer ever to play the game - that title goes to Trevor Hoffman.

I'm willing to agree Jeter is a good player. He is a class act on and off the field and has won the respect of the whole league, and opposing fanbases. I mean, I do have contempt for the fact that he is a Yankee, but I wouldn't mind if he was shockingly traded to the Red Sox in the offseason.

Posada, Melina, and Hideki are middle-of-the-road and definitely not "elite homegrown talent."



I hate them because they're a division rival and I'm a Red Sox fan, which intensifies the rivalry. Others hate them for throwing money at players that could more drastically improve other teams than the Yankees, who usually don't need the players they overpay for.


I think they choke as usual, and I also think the Yankees are cursed and will lose many more series to come. You can't buy championships anymore, and you can't juice up and hit your way to championships anymore. You need pitching, and the Phillies' rotation is better while the Yankees' is suspect.


Your Yankees lost a series to the Red Sox a few slim years ago, 4-3. They were up 3-0 at the beginning of the series. This was after they had choked to the Marlins in the World Series in '03, the Angels in the '02 ALDS, and the Diamondbacks in the World Series in '01.

And I have been a Red Sox fan since birth. I have seen good teams and bad teams and rooted them on every step of the way. I'm pretty sure I am the antithesis of a bandwagon fan.

After the Phillies win this Series, we'll see who is really better currently.

The past is the past, I look in the present. Rivera so far has only blown one save the entire season, and is much better of a closer than that other guy, but he is getting old, but pitchers can last longer.

I said you were a bandwagon Phillies fan, i know many born Red Sox fans, and understand that hate, but this is just hate for the sake of it.

Jeter isn't going anywhere unless he gets seriously injured and unable to play at all. I still take the Yankees Aj Burnette and Pettitte, not to mention the returning Wang.

We cna go at this forever, we aren't going to change anyone's minds, lets just wait till game 7, when X team is victorious, let it be a repeat or a long overdue. All I can say is the Yankees look better on stats and wins. 104 is better than 93 isn't it, in a division with such hard teams, such as the Sox and the Rays?

[Wonderwall]

26 championships = chokers? Now I know it's more of a recent thing but they did win only 9 years ago. I think the yankees being chokers is kinda overdone as I only remember the Sox series from 04.

[TMC1982]

David Maril of the Brockton (MA) Enterprise says he likes to see local announcers on the World Series TV broadcasts just like in the old days.

Personally, as much as I would like to have local announcers on the national TV broadcasts of the World Series just like in the old days, unfortunately we have to come to the realization that times change. Particularly, they change when more money is at stake to go along with all of the technological advances. Wanting local announcers to cover the World Series to me, creates a slippery slope. Would you also want local announcers to call the national television broadcast of the Super Bowl also? Besides, if you don't want to listen to the national TV broadcasts, then there's always the local radio broadcasts.

I grew up in the '80s and '90s (long after the local announcer policy ended). The baseball announcers (at least on a national level) that I would say that I revere and idolize the most are Vin Scully, Bob Costas and Al Michaels. I would say that the main problem today concerning baseball broadcasts, is the quality of the announcers (not the fact that local announcers are no longer allowed to call the World Series).

And while I agree with David Maril that Joe Buck (my main problem with him is that he sounds too emotionally detached in his baseball play-by-play) will never be a good as his father (my first real exposure/memories of Jack Buck was when he was calling baseball games with Tim McCarver on CBS TV back in the early '90s), it's unfiair to chastise Joe for not exactly sounding like Jack. I mean, if I smoked packets of Camels like Buck Sr. did in his lifetime, I would be sounding like him too.

[cohenmarioman]

I think what the Yankees did in the top of the 9th starting with Damon and two outs, getting 3 runs in 3 at bats is what a championship team does. Sorry haters, but this will be closed up tomorrow.

[Old Guy]

Originally Posted by cohenmarioman

I think what the Yankees did in the top of the 9th starting with Damon and two outs, getting 3 runs in 3 at bats is what a championship team does. Sorry haters, but this will be closed up tomorrow.

It certainly didn't help the Phillies that there was no one on 3rd base during the 8th inning.

[cohenmarioman]

Originally Posted by Old Guy

It certainly didn't help the Phillies that there was no one on 3rd base during the 8th inning.

wasn't that the top of the 9th?? I thought they were trying to field the grounder better by moving third base up, and Damon stealing exploited that. How do philly fans defend their team now?

[Old Guy]

Originally Posted by cohenmarioman

wasn't that the top of the 9th??

Yeah...you're right.

How do philly fans defend their team now?

They can't. This is the type of screw up that loses championships. Had there been someone in 3rd base they could have won the game.

[.bg]

Are you serious? This is Game 4. There's still plenty of baseball left to play. Teams have come back from 3-1 deficits before - the Red Sox just did it two years ago in the ALCS. The Yankees have choked up commanding series leads before. Anything can still happen. Don't count the Phillies out quite yet.

Originally Posted by Wonderwall

26 championships = chokers? Now I know it's more of a recent thing but they did win only 9 years ago. I think the yankees being chokers is kinda overdone as I only remember the Sox series from 04.

I always say, "you are who you are this decade." The Yankees have choked in the playoffs almost every time they've gone this decade, so they are chokers. The Red Sox have won two world championships this decade, so they are champions.

It's nice and all to talk about the distant past, but the fact is, those 26 championships don't mean a thing when your team isn't adding on any more.

Originally Posted by cohenmariofan

The past is the past, I look in the present. Rivera so far has only blown one save the entire season, and is much better of a closer than that other guy, but he is getting old, but pitchers can last longer.

"That other guy" only blew three, and he used more than one pitch to save all thirty-eight other games. I'm sure Mariano has blown more than one in a season before. Keep in mind that Papelbon has only been in the major leagues for five years. Most closers get even better with time.

I said you were a bandwagon Phillies fan, i know many born Red Sox fans, and understand that hate, but this is just hate for the sake of it.

When my favourite team isn't in the championship, I always pick one of the teams that are playing in it to root for. Last year, I rooted for the Rays even though they were division rivals, simply because I liked the way they played "ball on a budget." It would have also been hilarious to tell Yankee fans all year that even the Rays have won a World Series by now.

Jeter isn't going anywhere unless he gets seriously injured and unable to play at all.

That's a shame, because he'd probably play even better at Fenway with the Red Sox.

I still take the Yankees Aj Burnette and Pettitte, not to mention the returning Wang.

Andy Pettitte is decent, and I would probably put him in at the back end of the rotation. But AJ Burnout and Chien-Ming "9.64 ERA" Wang are absolutely dreadful. You would seriously take them over Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, and Clay Buccholz?

We cna go at this forever, we aren't going to change anyone's minds, lets just wait till game 7, when X team is victorious, let it be a repeat or a long overdue. All I can say is the Yankees look better on stats and wins. 104 is better than 93 isn't it, in a division with such hard teams, such as the Sox and the Rays?

The Phillies won 93 games in a very competitive NL, with multiple good teams (the Rockies, the Dodgers, the Giants, the Braves, the Cardinals, the Marlins until the end of the year, and even the Brewers). The Yankees won 104 in a very weak AL, where the only truly good teams they faced were the Red Sox, Angels, and Rays. I believe they started off losing nine (!) games in a row to the Red Sox.

The Yankees aren't "long overdue" for anything. They've bought enough World Series titles. Maybe a long, hundred-year curse would finally teach them that they can't win championships without pitching and a farm system.

[bat313]

Originally Posted by .bg

As for Rivera, I'd take Papelbon over him. Pap is young but is one of the best closers in the game. Mariano is a choker who blew two saves in the World Series once. He's not even the best closer ever to play the game - that title goes to Trevor Hoffman.

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAA ........HAHAHAHAHHAHAAH ...... Pap over Rivera ??? REALLY???????? HAHHAHAHAHAHA HAHHAHAHAH .... JUST ...TOOO...FUNNYYY.....HHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

Thanks for the laugh though, i needed that on a Monday!

FYI - Rivera in the Postseason
Lowest career ERA (minimum 30 innings pitched) 0.75
Most saves 39
Most consecutive scoreless innings pitched 341⁄3
Most consecutive save opportunities converted 23
Most two-inning saves 14
Most appearances 87
Most games finished 69
Most saves in each round of postseason 16 (LDS), 12 (LCS), 11 (WS)
Most appearances in each round of postseason 34 (LDS), 30 (LCS), 23 (WS)
Most games finished in each round of postseason 27 (LDS), 24 (LCS), 18 (WS)
Lowest career ERA in Division Series history 0.35
Most saves to clinch series 9
Most times recording the final out of a series 13
Most times recording the final out of a World Series 3
Most consecutive postseasons with an appearance 13 (1995-2007)

Originally Posted by .bg

I always say, "you are who you are this decade." The Yankees have choked in the playoffs almost every time they've gone this decade, so they are chokers. The Red Sox have won two world championships this decade, so they are champions.

.

Man, you just don't stop! New's flash, the Yankees won in 2000, and won the ALCS in 2001 and 2003. If they win it all this year that gives them:

2 WS victories
4 AL Championships
ALL THIS DECADE

While the Red Sox would only have:
2 WS victories
2 AL Championships

Hmmmmmm....... who is the better team here........

[Candice Suzana]

It's unfortunate that Cliff Lee is on the mound tonight for the Phillies. It would've made the Yankees clinching tonight so much easier. Of course, I said that the Yankees would win in 6 so . . . .

[CaptainHero]

Originally Posted by .bg

Are you serious? This is Game 4. There's still plenty of baseball left to play. Teams have come back from 3-1 deficits before - the Red Sox just did it two years ago in the ALCS. The Yankees have choked up commanding series leads before. Anything can still happen. Don't count the Phillies out quite yet.


I always say, "you are who you are this decade." The Yankees have choked in the playoffs almost every time they've gone this decade, so they are chokers. The Red Sox have won two world championships this decade, so they are champions.

It's nice and all to talk about the distant past, but the fact is, those 26 championships don't mean a thing when your team isn't adding on any more.


"That other guy" only blew three, and he used more than one pitch to save all thirty-eight other games. I'm sure Mariano has blown more than one in a season before. Keep in mind that Papelbon has only been in the major leagues for five years. Most closers get even better with time.


When my favourite team isn't in the championship, I always pick one of the teams that are playing in it to root for. Last year, I rooted for the Rays even though they were division rivals, simply because I liked the way they played "ball on a budget." It would have also been hilarious to tell Yankee fans all year that even the Rays have won a World Series by now.


That's a shame, because he'd probably play even better at Fenway with the Red Sox.


Andy Pettitte is decent, and I would probably put him in at the back end of the rotation. But AJ Burnout and Chien-Ming "9.64 ERA" Wang are absolutely dreadful. You would seriously take them over Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, and Clay Buccholz?


The Phillies won 93 games in a very competitive NL, with multiple good teams (the Rockies, the Dodgers, the Giants, the Braves, the Cardinals, the Marlins until the end of the year, and even the Brewers). The Yankees won 104 in a very weak AL, where the only truly good teams they faced were the Red Sox, Angels, and Rays. I believe they started off losing nine (!) games in a row to the Red Sox.

The Yankees aren't "long overdue" for anything. They've bought enough World Series titles. Maybe a long, hundred-year curse would finally teach them that they can't win championships without pitching and a farm system.

So much bias, so many foolish things being said.

[Wonderwall]

Originally Posted by .bg

I always say, "you are who you are this decade." The Yankees have choked in the playoffs almost every time they've gone this decade, so they are chokers. The Red Sox have won two world championships this decade, so they are champions.

The Yanks have won half the amount of titles as the Red Sox though and have a very good chance of equaling that now. How does 1 title equal chokers but 2 titles equals champions? That's not a team of chokers to me if you win at least 1 title. Maybe underachievers but still that's far from being a choker. Besides just because you don't win every year doesn't mean you're a choker or else every team would be considered that.

[cohenmarioman]

Originally Posted by CaptainHero

So much bias, so many foolish things being said.

Thanks for the support man. The Yankees have only lost one in a 3-1 lead in the world series out of 39 other tries. I don't think it will happen again. .bg, stop it and face the facts. The Yankees are in a much more competetive division Han the phillies, with three great teams, them, the sox, and the rays, with a decent jays. Phillies have who? Marlins stink, and so do he Mets.

[Wonderwall]

I guess the Yankees can be upgraded from chokers to champions now

[zoombie]

The Yankees win, I am so happy, finally champions.

[cohenmarioman]

I waited 9 years. My wait is over. As the New York Post said, "Pedro has gotten beat by his daddy many times, this father being the Yankees."

[BonyT]

I normally can't stand the Yanks--I'm a lifelong Red Sox fan. But a very dear uncle of mine passed away a few months ago, and he absolutely LOVED the Yankees. I'm being as sincere as I'm able to be when I say he is one of the best people I've ever known in my entire life; so in his honor, I've been rooting for the Yankees to win it all this year.

Donnie, I know you're loving this! I do so wish you were here right now to tease me about it.

[Lord Dalek]

Ok lets get the first thing straightened away. It's "Postseason" P.O.S.T.S.E.A.S.O.N. Playoffs is a football word.

That said, with the exception of the 2004 debacle (haha, eat it!) and maybe 2007 (you lost to the fricken Indians, the INDIANS!) the Yankees haven't really choked. They've just had difficulty dealing with The Big Unit and Josh Beckett respectively.

So...

GO SOX IN 2009!

[cohenmarioman]

Originally Posted by Lord Dalek

Ok lets get the first thing straightened away. It's "Postseason" P.O.S.T.S.E.A.S.O.N. Playoffs is a football word.

That said, with the exception of the 2004 debacle (haha, eat it!) and maybe 2007 (you lost to the fricken Indians, the INDIANS!) the Yankees haven't really choked. They've just had difficulty dealing with The Big Unit and Josh Beckett respectively.

So...

GO SOX IN 2009!

don't you mean in 2010?

I think the sox really need to improve if they want to stand a chance against the Yankees. They were out by 8 games this year, and were lucky to be the wild card. I thought they could beat the Angels, and make it an interesting rivalry, but no, the yankees had to face the harder Angels.

Unrelated, this has got to be the first time Hideki Matsui has spoken on TV.