Phillies

The Beasts of the East: Who Wins Baseball’s Best Divisions?

/ Sara / Leave a comment

It seems like everyone is making their picks for who wins the AL East, I’m going to take it one step further and look at both the AL and NL East, arguably baseball’s best divisions.

Lets
start in the National League. The East is a powerful division, will the
defending World Champion Phillies again take the top spot? Will the
Mets suffer another late-season collapse? Can the Marlins overtake them both? Will the Nats actually look good this year? Barring major injuries and some fluky miracle season, here are my picks for the NL East:

  1. New York Mets (2008: 89-73, 3 GB) Here’s why: K-Rod and JJ Putz should ease the Mets’ bullpen woes,
    somewhat. It will at least keep them from hemorrhaging so much at the end
    of games. They have a good offense anchored by Wright, Reyes, and
    Beltran, the Mets should be able to make the playoffs this year. If
    they don’t, I give up, they must be cursed.
  2. Philadelphia Phillies (2008: 92-10, WS Champs) They kept most of their World Series winning team together, backed by a great offense with players like Utley, Howard, Victorino, and Rollins. However,
    the injury bug tends to bite hard the year after winning it all (look
    at the Red Sox from last year: same team, new injuries). Look for the Wildcard to come from the East this year.
  3. Florida Marlins (2008: 84-77, 7 1/2 GB) The Marlin’s
    are a good young team on a tight budget, and could surprise everyone
    and take over the East this season. With Hanley Ramirez and excellent
    pitching, the Marlins are a force to be reckoned with. Look for them to
    hang around and make life miserable for the Mets and Phillies.
  4. Atlanta Braves (2008: 72-90, 20 GB) Atlanta made some good moves in the off-season, with good pitching additions, but a weak offense will have them trailing the Mets, Phils, and Marlins this year. They are young, so look for the Braves to start contending more in a year or so.
  5. Washington Nationals (2008: 59-102, 32 1/2 GB) The Nats
    are young. I wouldn’t look for them to be great this year, but I would
    expect a better season than 2008. They’ll still come in at the bottom
    of the NL East, but with a much better record.

Now
on to baseball’s toughest division. The AL East has appeared in the
World Series 54 times out of 104 series. Of those 54 appearances, they
have won the World Series 38 times. That’s a pretty impressive
division, and its only getting tougher. Here are my (mostly) unbiased
picks.

  1. Boston Red Sox (2008: 95-67, 2 GB, Wildcard) Boston made a few little moves in the offseason that will have a very big impact. “Bargain” additions of Smoltz, Penny, Saito, and Tazawa make a descent bull pen and good pitching staff into a phenomenal pitching staff with a lights-out ‘pen. They have a few young guys to watch, both on the field and on the mound, and have several key players returning from injury in Lowell, Ortiz, and Beckett. This
    team came within one game of the World Series last year when they were
    hurt, now that everyone’s back, look for them to retake the East.
  2. Tampa Bay Rays (2008: 97-65, AL Champions) Everyone is still waiting to see if the Rays are “for real”. They are. The addition of Pat Burrell certainly helped the Rays, but they may have the same issue as the Phillies: health. In order for the Rays to compete, Troy Percival needs to stay healthy, and the pitching staff is a little lacking in depth.
    The key cog in the Ray’s wheel is David Price. He came in and pitched
    well late in the season, but once there’s a legitimate scouting report
    out on him, major league hitters will figure him out. He has to stand
    up to the pressure and eat up good innings. If not, the Yankees may
    take back the second spot, and wi    th it the AL Wildcard spot.
  3. New York Yankees (2008: 89-73,
    8 GB) Why, if they spend $400 million dollars on stellar players this
    off-season, are the Yankees in third? Because they spent millions of
    dollars on a very small number of players and neglected to give
    themselves some dep    th.
    CC Sabathia ate up a lot of innings last year, many times on short
    rest. It takes longer than a few months to recover from that and puts
    you at risk for injury. Burnett should do okay, and the addition of Teixeira will definitely help the Yanks, but without much of a bullpen and with
    starters who don’t always eat up innings, the Yanks may find themselves
    losing games late. Mariano Rivera, great closer that he is, is also
    approaching 40, and will start to decline.The Yanks will keep things interesting, and be competitive, making things tough for the Rays and Red Sox.
  4. Toronto Blue Jays (2008: 86-76, 11 GB) The Jays, in any other division, would be a playoff team every year. The loss of Burnett could hurt them, but they still have Halladay
    and a great pitching staff. They are looking for some players to return
    to form and some young guys to give them a lift, but probably not
    enough to compete for a playoff spot because their division is so
    tough. 
  5. Baltimore Orioles (2008: 68-93, 28 1/2 GB) Though the
    Orioles have a young, good offense, their lack of pitching means they
    will again be in last place in the division. Look for them to do a
    little better than last year, but with a division this tough, where
    they have to face the Rays, Red Sox, Yankees, and Jays in 72 games this
    season, its going to be a difficult year.

News from the Weekend:

The Red Sox locked up LHP Jon Lester for 5 years, and ended talks (temporarily) with
OF Jason Bay. Because of his free agent status at the end of the 2009
season and the down economy, Bay decided to wait and see what the
market does. He would like to stay in Boston, but not at a cut rate
when he could get more elsewhere.

Dustin Pedroia
has a minor abdominal strain and will need a few days of rest before
resuming baseball activities. The injury is minor and should not effect
his opening day status.

The shortstop debate is over for the Red Sox, at least temporarily. Julio Lugo will have arthroscopic surgery on his knee tomorrow and will be out of opening day. Jed Lowrie will (most likely) start the season as the Red Sox shortstop.

Manny
Ramirez started his spring training by being pulled from a game due to
a hamstring injury. After trying to cut off a double in left field, he
felt tightness in his hamstring and was pinch hit for in the bottom of
the 4th inning.

Baseballs Best* Fans, Then And Now

/ Sara / 5 Comments

*sort of. Not an all-inclusive list, just a few of the best, then and now.

This is a list of a few of the most loyal, most interesting fans in the
Majors. It covers over 100 years of history, betrayal, and rivalries
that make baseball the dramatic, interesting sport that it is off the
field. Since today kicks off the first official game of Spring training
(yay!) it’s time we salute you, the fans, for being there every season.

The Royal Rooters

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The Royal Rooters, led by Third Base Saloon owner Mike “Nuf Ced” McGreevey, were a rowdy group of Irish fans who cheered on the Red Sox from 1903, where they were instrumental in distracting the Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series, until 1918. They would clank glasses and sing songs, most notably “Tessie”, and change the words to further torment opposing teams and inspire the Red Sox to victory.
The Rooters are a fascinating bunch, check them out if you get a chance.

Bleacher Creatures

bleachercreatures.jpgKnown for their “Roll-call” after the first pitch and their always amusing “(enter name here) sucks” chants, the Bleacher Creatures of Yankee stadium exemplify the essence of being a fan no matter how where your seats are.
They are loyal Yankees fans, and they will let you know it. The Bleacher Creatures are also master hecklers, and a staple at Yankees games for years.
In the Old Yankee Stadium, they occupied sections 39 & 37, and will move to their new home in section 203 when the new Yankee Stadium opens in April.


Damon’s Disciples

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Now disbanded, Damon’s Disciples formed in 2004 when Johnny Damon, then a member of the Boston Red Sox, made the descision to not cut his hair or shave until the Red Sox had won it all. The leader of the “Idiots” of 2004, Damon’s antics kept the clubhouse loose and his teammates laughing. It also endeared him to the Red Sox rabid fan-base, and created a fan group known as Damon’s Disciples. Because the hair and beard made him look like Jesus, his followers donned wigs and beards and called themselves “disciples”.
While Red Sox Nation will always realize that Damon was a huge reason for ending the championship drought, he will unfortunately also be remembered like this:  “looked like Jesus, threw like Mary, betrayed like Judas”.

Cubs Fans

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While this isn’t a specific “group” like the previous three, we take a moment to salute baseballs most loveable losers. Most teams fans would jump ship after a century of no rings. Or at least after their team has lost 9 straight post-season games, most likely due to the pressure of said 100-year drought. Now, whether you believe in the curse of the goat or not, you have to respect the fans who come out, year after year, disappointment after dissapointment, and cheer on their team.

Cardinals Fans

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Since we just talked about the Cubbies, might as well mention their arch-rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals. Cards fans are present and loud, St. Louis, like Boston, is a baseball town. Even when the Rams were the “Greatest Show on Turf”, St. Louis maintained their love for the Cardinals.
So Cards fans, we salute you.

Giants Fans

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Giants fans make this list because of their loyalty. As a Giants fan about Barry Bonds and you would get a defense better than the one at OJ Simpson’s trial. These guys are fiercely loyal, and really into their team. I have to respect that, and admire them for sticking by their guys no matter what.

Phillies Phans

phils.jpg
The Phils Phans make the list because of the sheer meaness and rowdiness of the fan base. I mean, their old stadium had a prison in it just for disorderly conduct arrests.
We give them props for have the guts to boo Santa, and generally make life miserable for visiting fans and teams. 

Red Sox Nation

RedSoxNation.jpg
We end our show with one of the most knowledgeable, and one of the best traveling fan bases in all of baseball: Red Sox Nation. The Nation is massive, though many are bandwagon fans who jumped on in 2004 or 2007. However, much of Red Sox Nation is made up of true fans. Even when the Patriots were having their dynastic run, they couldn’t replace the Sox in the hearts of Boston fans everywhere. There is no doubt about it, Boston is, and always has been, a baseball town.
Red Sox Nation gets props here because of their loyalty and their presence at away games. Its actually cheaper for most fans to fly somewhere and see the Red Sox then take in a game at Fenway, though those tickets are always coveted. When the Sox play the Orioles at Camden, I go, and Red Sox Nation far out numbers the birds fans there. They are always vocal, and always supportive of the team, no matter what.

That’s All Folks!

Like I said, this was not an inclusive list, and I’m sure I missed quite a few great fans, and I’d love to hear about them. Fans are the lifeblood of baseball, and the crazier they are, the more I love them. So to all the baseball fans out there who are counting down the days until April, I salute you. 🙂

Sayonara Cinderella, Goodbye Billy Penn Curse!

/ Sara / Leave a comment

For all you Red Sox and Cubs fans, skip the next section, it doesn’t apply. For everyone else, keep reading.

The Phillies have finally done it. It has been 28 years since the Phillies were here last, and 25 years since any professional sports team from Philly had won anything. This is called the “Curse of William (or Billy) Penn”. It dates back to the construction of One Liberty Place, which became the tallest building in the city, rising over the height of William Penn’s statue on City Hall. One year and four months ago, the statue was moved to the Comcast center, the new tallest building in Philadelphia. With the Phillie’s fall classic win, it breaks the Curse and frees all Philadelphia sports teams to start winning again.

This is not the only curse to have been broken in the new millennium. The so-called “Curse of the Bambino” (insert eye-roll) ended in 2004 when the Sox won their first World Series in 86 years. The “Curse of the Black Sox” ended in 2005 when the ChiSox won their first World Series since 1919 and the Black-Sox scandal. Curses still in effect: The Detroit Lions’ Curse of Bobby Layne and the Chicago Cubs Curse of the Billy Goat (which, by the way, is even more fascinating and superstitious than the Red Sox curse)

Of course, the curse of Billy Penn is the only curse to have an effect on ALL professional teams in a city, the other curses only applied to a specific sport.

Okay, its safe for everyone to read again.

I have a house mate who is a Phillies fan and she is ecstatic today. I gotta say I am glad that game 5 is finally over. I am also glad the Rays are still ring-less, because that means we will not have to hear about how the Rays won game 7 and went on to win the World Series every time they play the Red Sox. Now, its only “they beat the Red Sox and went on to lose to Philly 4 games to 1”. Not as much of an accomplishment. Thank goodness!

It was a series marked by rain storms, and the first time in over a century that a game was suspended. I think the suspension was unfair, because the game should have stopped in the 5th, even if they were going to finish all 9 innings at some point, but it seemed like they waited until the Rays had tied it up. Because a good portion of the country wants to see Cinderella win. Everyone wants to see the little guys do well. For my part, I wanted the Phillies to sweep little Cinderella away with blow-out after blow-out. I’m not sure if that’s bitterness over losing in game 7 or annoyance that the AL East’s power has shifted to a Ménage à trois that I, personally, never wanted. I was happy with the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry.

Brad Lidge notched his 48th save in 48 tries to be perfect in the 2008 season. Cole Hamels ended his Becket-like post-season by winning World Series MVP.

All I have to say is congrats Phillies, and now that the World Series is over, we can officially look towards next year, where (hopefully) the red Sox will be in the Phillie’s position. For now, we cheer on the Brady-less Pats, who are tied for division lead with Buffalo (how weird!) and the Celtics, who are calling this season: Unbuntu II: The Return (or repeat?), and I will continue my campaign to keep Jason Varitek and get Dustin Pedroia and/or Kevin Youkilis the honor he deserves: MVP!

Frozen Fall Classic

/ Sara / Leave a comment

The Phillies and the Rays are held in suspense due to ridiculously wet (and cold) conditions. And the poor Rays had to go to Delaware to spend the night because they had already checked out of their hotel. 

Of course, a game suspension is unprecedented, it has not happened in a century, what are the chances that it would happen? They probably should not have played the game at all last night, but they did, so tonight (possibly) we will start in on World Series Game 5 part II. Will is be over tonight or will we have a game 6? Regular stats do not apply. The Ray’s streak when Longoria has an RBI does  not count, because that was yesterday. The Phillie’s issues with hitting with runners in scoring position need not carry over, though they have from game to game lately.

Look for a wet game tonight, and cold, which I put in the Phillie’s favor. They play in the cold in March and April and again in September and October, while the Rays play indoors.

For my housemate’s sake, I hope it is over tonight. I switched over from MNF to see what was going on and I was shocked. I can’t believe they played in weather like that, but I also can’t believe they suspended it. How have we made it through 112 World Series without a suspended game for weather? That is a ridiculous feat. Its clearly possible but also somewhat mind-boggling. And Bud Selig…poor Bud Selig and the umpire crew are bearing the brunt of the fan anger. Had they called the game in the 5th, the Phillies would have won. Even if they had suspended the game in the 5th, which, weather-wise, they should have, the Phillies would be going into tonight with the lead, so they are, understandably, angry at the refs and the commish. And had they called the game sooner, perhaps the Rays would have found a hotel in Philly and not in Delaware.

For now, I continue my stint as a Phillies fan. So lets go Phillies!

 

Rays Relief is a Relief For the Phillies – And Congrats Youk!

/ Sara / Leave a comment

Well, the Phillies took game 4 in spectacular style last night, and being that I am temporarily a Phillies fan, this is a good thing.

The game was close-ish until the later innings when Philly just opened up on the Rays ‘pen for homer after homer. It makes me begin to think that maybe the Rays didn’t beat the Red Sox, the Red Sox’s injuries finally caught up to them and they lost. I mean, really, the Rays being in the World Series is really a giant scouting game for the Yankees. They are mostly locked up until 2009, but the next year, the Evil Empire will come calling.

As for the Sox, I hope we rob the Jays of one of their starters, like AJ Burnett or something, keep Tek on a two year deal and phase him into the coaching staff slowly while grooming a young guy. I think bringing in a guy from another team would not be good for the pitching staff, but as all of you who read me regularly know, I’m a Tek supporter. The players have already come out and said they will be shocked, disappointed, sad, worried about the kind of team they are on, etc. if he isn’t signed. Now all we gotta do is keep Boras from being too greedy…(like that’s going to happen)

Without the big money contracts of Manny and Schill, we have a good bit of money to work with and really, not that many holes. We have the Cora-Lowrie-Lugo shortstop debate, and there’s no one we can dump Lugo on at the moment, but this means we don’t need a shortstop. Pedrioa and Youk are solid infielders and even solider bats. If Mikey comes back from the surgery OK, then yay! If not, we should pick up Texiera, maybe we should pick him up anyway, since Mikey might be on the way out at the end of next year…(hopefully retiring… I don’t want him to play for anyone else) Papi will be back to his old self, so no need for a DH, but we’ll probably keep Casey around as a good overall backup. Then we’ve got Bay, Drew, Coco, and Ellsbury in the outfield. The starting rotation of Beckett, Dice-K, Lester and Wake is still pretty potent (I know Wake led the team in losses, but go back and look to see how many of those were 1-run losses where we couldn’t generate the offense)

So, we add a pitcher, maybe an infielder, or a good backup like Kotaras who can play both pretty well, maybe bring up a new guy to work in the ‘pen. We’ll be good. The big question is catcher, and with limited prospects around the league, and Tek meaning so much to the team, it would be a stupid decision on Theo’s part not to keep him around.

Here’s to game 5. May it silence the Cowbells forever.


Also, Congrats to KEVIN YOUKILIS who won the Hank Aaron Award! Yeah!
Here’s what he had to say (and it makes me love him even more!)

“Well, I don’t think I can ever compare myself to Hank Aaron in any
way,” Youkilis said. “I’ll never see myself in that level. So to win
this award, I don’t know, I’m a little humbled by it. But it’s great
just to be able to have an award that’s named after somebody that
exemplified so much in this game and has brought so much history to
this game. It’s an honor just to be named in the same sentence. So for
me, I’m thrilled.”

 

All Good Things…

/ Sara / 3 Comments

…must come to an end. I have to say, in the bright (and cold) light of morning, I am almost glad its over. I would have liked it to be over after another four games and a ring…but my stress level goes down and my number of hours sleeping goes up.

I will watch some of the fall classic, but only when they play in Philly, because if I ever hear another cowbell, it will be too soon. Maybe the Rays should have Christopher Walken throw out the first pitch?

Anywho, the Red Sox are gassed. Last night everyone just looked tired. So I think in a small way, they’re glad its over. Now its time to marvel at the fact that they never should have made it as far as they did, take a few days off to rest, and start figuring out how we can get CC or some other pitcher without giving up anyone we like. I really like our line-up next year. For the first time in my memory, the Red Sox are young. Pedroia, Lowrie, Coco, Ellsbury, Masterson, Lester, Bay, Papelbon, and Youk have many years left in them. If you look back on the Sox, this rarely happens. And these kids are battle tested. There are only two things the Sox must do this off-season: get Tek back, and get another starting pitcher, whether we take one from somewhere else or develop them.

I’m going to take a few days off of hard-core baseball following to catch up on that all-important school work which has fallen by the wayside. I continue my campaign for the Captain, because you can’t just get rid of a captain, even one who has struggled so much at the plate, you have to phase him out, into retirement. Just the reactions from his homer in game 6 proved one thing: they need him. He is the soul of the team, and if we get rid of our soul we’ll turn into the Yankees.

One final note before I head off to get lunch (yum!) Our playing season may be over, but the Nation still has work to do! The 2008 This Year In Baseball Award has several Red Sox on the ballot!

Vote Pedroia for Hitter, Dice-K for Starter, Jacoby for Rookie, Tito for Manager, Paps for Closer, Dustin for Defense, Lester’s No-No for Performance, and Youk’s on-the-wall triple for Oddity (this one is under Damon’s name).

And the best part is you can vote as many times as you want and it’s really very easy! So go vote HERE