Riggs Reflection

Well the '09 WS is over and like many Phillie fans, I am disappointed. I didn't see the much sadness from friends and fellow fans however as I did disappointment. See this series the Phil's just didn't have it.

Hoy writes up his recap and makes some points that I just don't agree with. You can read his here. From my perspective, it's just a little different. And more realistic I think. Outcomes are gained by all sorts of things, and when your team loses, frustration can set in and I think you tend to see things a little differently. Blame may take the front seat and make you see things in a way that just aren't true.

Two things that Hoy wrote that I entirely disagree with. 1) The series was a blow out. 2) The Yankees were just that much better of a team.

The first one will take some explaining. The second is as easily dismissed by admitting that the Yankees played much better this series. That is true. But they are not MUCH better than the Phils. I will prove that shortly.

First, let's talk about the Yanks and give them their props. I have never been a Yankee hater. I am in the purest sense a baseball fan. Baseball will always come first for me. That is before any team. Even my Phils (who my grandfather played for way back in the 30's).
Anyone who is a fan of baseball has to appreciate the tradition and history that the Yanks have provided over the years with greats such as DiMaggio, Ruth, and Mantle.

The Mets I hate. I really hate. Their fans might be the most retarded, hateful fans in the world. Comments such as "I knew '08 was a fluke" reeks so much of stupidty and jealousy that those types should be ashamed of themselves. I digress.

All the talk about the Yankees buying a team is moot to me as well. It doesn't matter. It just doesn't. For this is the arena in which you must play, and you must adapt to the rules within that arena. Good for NY for being able to field such talent. Good for their organization for going out and getting the players they want and can to build a team that can win. Winning on less money to field a team of greats doesn't make you a better organization. It just shows you did the best with what you have. The Yanks truly earned this championship and for that they deserve it.

I will also tell you that if the Phils hadn't won last year, this one would have been really hard to take. But the bottom line is, they just didn't show up.

There was one point in this series that changed the tide. It was a defining moment, and it proved to be the moment that would award the Championship to whatever team took advantage.

That moment was when Pedro Felize hit his game tying homer off of Joba Chamberlain in the 8th inning in game 4. With 2 outs then in the 9th and 2 strikes to Damon, Lidge blew up.

IF Lidge gets Damon out to end the inning, the Phils have a huge opportunity to win that game, and imo most likely do and tie the series back at 2-2. The series from there is a whole different series. We win game 5 and go back to NY with a one run game.

The scores of each game were 3-1, 3-1, 8-5, 7-4, 8-6, and 7-3.

Game 4 (7-4) was much closer with the Phils tying it in the 8th. Lidge i mplodes and gives up 3 in the 9th. Game 5 (8-6) was much more of a blow out with the Yanks getting 4 bs runs late in the game but still not coming as close at it seems. Game 6 was a travesty with the Yankee lineup just slamming Pedro who just couldn't get passed Hideki.

Hoy made a comment that the NY pitching was much more dominant than the Phils. Again, I have to disagree. They performed better over all. But dominant? Hardly. Pedro gave up 3 runs in 6 innings of pitching in game 2. The fact is that Philadelphia left 6 runners in scoring position on in that game. In this type of series, with any pitcher facing either of these lineups, it doesn't matter how good they are. You need run support.

Lee out classed the Yankees this whole series. Burnett pitched a gem in game 2, but was his usual self in game 5. CC pitched well but not dominant. He gave up two hits in game 1 (both homeruns) but lost the game against lee. His next start (game 4) wasn't all that great. He gave up 7 hits and 3 earned runs in 6 innings. Same as Pedro in game 2. But the Yanks took advantage of Lidge's explosion in the 9th and scored 3 to make it improbable for another comeback.

You can blame Charlie for not pulling pitchers when he should have. Did he leave Pedro in to long? did he leave Blanton in to long? In hind sight, probably yes. But the most glaring thing I can point to during this whole series was the lack of Philadelphia offense. An offense that we are so accustomed to seeing. It just wasn't there. It doesn't mean they don't have it. They just didn't bring it.

Next to that, the absence of pitcher Cole Hamels' magic has to be pointed at as well. But this should be no surprise as he didn't perform at all throughout the year. Some say his arm died after last years performance. Some say hitters adjusted to his change up. Whatever the reason, the dominance he provided last year just wasn't there this year. It was one of many things lacking that turned out to be to much to overcome.

Howard was brilliant during the divisional and league champ series. He was not to be found during the world series. It's a big spot to take out of the line up when you count so much on his bat in that spot to help produce huge amounts of runs. With his bat stifled, it was going to be an uphill battle.

So yes, the Yankees played better baseball. The Phils, not so much. In my opinion, the Yanks should be disappointed that they didn't get the Phillies best. Philadelphia lost this series more so than the Yankees won it. I'm not saying this as a bitter Philly fan either. I'm saying this as a baseball fan. To think that the Yanks destroyed their opponent is to ignore what the Phils have been most of the year. That is, an offensive Giant. They lost 17 saves throughout the year yet still managed to walk through the NL. They fielded a team that played an extra month and half of baseball last year and had several surgeries in the off season, and still managed to come back to the World Series.

There's a lot to be said about this team winning last year, and getting there again this year. Not to mention what lies ahead. With the addition of some arms this year, possibly bringing Drabek up, and adding a closer, or Lidge figuring out what the hell went wrong an fixing it, (hello slider!!!), The Phils will be a beast next year. It shouldn't be above anyone's expectation to see both of these teams battling again next October.

I want to congratulate the Yankees and their fans. They are a superb team, and yes, a slightly better team than the Phils were. They deserve their props.

Congrats to the 2009 World Series Champs - NY YANKEES

Fuckers!

Game 6

Phillies win... that is all.



Ok, I wish it was that easy. But Petite going on 3 days rest, instead of Burnett going on full days rest (because Girardi panic'd and fawked the eff up) is going to be a big obstacle for them to get over.

The Phils are not going to quit. Their bats will be a blaze tonight and if Pedro can keep it together for 7 -8 innings, the Yanks will have issues closing out in 6 games.

If this game is a hitting game, it will be tough for the Phils to overcome the Yanks home field advantage. If Pedro deals, then the Phils should win by a wide margin. If this game is 15-12 type game I gotta give it to the Yanks.

If the game is a 2-1 type game, I gotta give it to the Yanks.

If the game is an 8-2 tpye game, the Phils win and we head back for game 7.

I like the 8-2 type game. Much like game 5.

Now, is we win this game, the best scenario for the Phils is a rain out tomorrow. That way we can bring Lee back to start game 7. If not, it will be all hands on deck as I stated in the previous post.

I don't know what it is but I'm feelin' it. Look for a 7 game WS and the first time since 1985 that a team has had the opportunity to come back down 3-1 in a WS game. SHIP!!

LIFE SUPPORT!

I don't wish to convey an air of panic here, and I certainly don't want to take anything away from the Phillies, but all things considered, it will take a miracle to win this series.

Not since 1985 has a team come back from a 3-1 deficit in the WS. Only 10 times has it happened in MLB history (4 WS, and 6 AL/NLCS's). In '85 the Royals won both of games 6 and 7 at home. They also came from a 3-1 deficit in the ALCS that year to get to the World Series against the Jays.

Since 2002 the Yanks have been a colossal disappointment in big spots. So we have that going for us. But the fact remains, we need Pedro to pitch lights out tomorrow night AND have the bats working, and then we need "all hands on deck" going for game 7.

Whether it's Hamels or Happ who gets the start for a possible game 7 remains to be seen. My guess is Charlie will have a short leash on Hamels with Happ backing him up as early as the second inning.

After that I gather you will see every arm on the staff be used. But let's talk about game 6 first. Since game 7 depends on winning game 6.

Pedro is set up here perfectly. He loves NY. He's not sick like he was in game 2. He pitched well in game 2 with a little less velo than he is capable of. This could be his last shot as well at another WS title.

The Yanks pitching Burnett on 3 days rest was a huge mistake last night. It seemed desperate. Why, with a 3-1 lead would you think it necessary to pitch him? Gauder wouldn't have done worse, and you would have Burnett at home for a game 6 on full rest. I understand Burnett is 3-0 at three attempts to pitch on short rest, but I see no reason to waste an arm when you know you can use him in game 6, AT HOME, full rested.

For whatever reason Girardi chose that option, it failed, and now they head back to NY for game 6. I'm liking our chances in game 6. Someone mentioned that whoever's big man gets out of their slump first (Howard or Texiera) will win the series. That's a tough statement to make considering the Phils HAVE to win 2 games on the road. It seems an overly simplified statement.

The bottom line here is that pitching is going to win this series from here on out. Both teams can hit. Who pitches better will be the deciding factor. In short, and again, I think it's going to take a miracle.

All in all, I am still excited for baseball. This series has been all it's been cracked up to be. Awesome pitching, exciting endings, and very evenly matched.

I might be heading up to Foxwoods on Friday for some meetings. I'm hoping I can go up representing the back to back World Champions. Nothing would make me happier. Surprised, but happy!

GAME 1 - 2009 World Series Recap

I told you to watch. I told you this was going to be one of the best WS to be played in a very long time.

Through 7 innings, it was. As I stated in previous posts, this team has owned Sabathia. They have proven that they hit him well. The consensus in the media was that the Phillies predominately left handed line up would struggle against the lefty Sabathia and that this game would be the one that could be the pitchers duel.

It kind of was through 7. The Phils only scored 2 hits. Both coming from Utley and both being solo home runs. But Sabathia struggled being dominate and those mistakes came from what looked like frustration to me.

I said that Utley was thought to be hurting from his hip injury and some in the Philly media may have thought that he would continue to struggle at the plate, and moreso in the field. However, the 6 days off that the Phils had between the NLCS and last night proved to Chase some good.

His first homerun was really an incredible at bat. Sabathia had thrown at least 7 pitches to Utley before serving up the fast ball low and inside. Utley hits that like a bitch and the Phils take a one run lead. The second was almost Broxton like. On an 0-2 count, Sabathia threw another fastball, only this time straight up the middle. A literal meatball. An 0-2 meatball which should just never happen from a great starting pitcher. Utley killed that ball and that brought the lead to 2, and making history by being only the second player in WS history to hit two home runs from the left side of the plate against a left handed pitcher. The other was some cat named George something or another.

Meanwhile, Cliff Lee spent his night just plain dealin'. Never before has a pitcher thrown 10 strike outs, not allowed an earned run, and not allowed a walk in World Series history. Lee was spot on, and he did so with an air of confidence that has never been reached before. This was after all, game 1 of the World Series. Not some rubber match in May against a non divisional opponent.

Lee proved to everyone that he is worthy of his Cy Young last year. This is truly one performance that is more appreciated by watching then by reading about. He gave up 6 hits in total, 3 coming from Jeter, and 1 unearned run when Rollins tried to force a double play.

What was most amusing to me was the banter going back and forth between Yankees fans and Phillies fans via facebook, blogs, twitter, and IM.

There was very little gloating going on from the Phillies fans. The comments I saw were more about the Phils performing well moreso than shots being thrown at the Yankees. But the Yankees fans were hysterical. "Philly gets lucky and they think they are champs". Um... Lucky?? Yeah, Lee's performance was a fluke. Think we are champions? Um... Reigning world fucking champions dumbass.

How is it that Philly fans get the brunt of all insults when morons out there make statements like these??

Anywho, The Yanks never managed to put forth any kind of comeback effort. Lee was just too dominating almost toying with them by basket catching an infield fly and snatching an up the middle shot behind his back as if it were an everyday occurrence, shrugging it off to his team mates as if to say, "whatever". His persona just showed everyone that he knew this game was his, and that there was no way they were losing.

After the Phils put up two more in the 8th I notice the stadium start to get a little empty. I couldn't imagine that happening anywhere. You certainly wouldn't see that in Philadelphia. It's a World Series game. You are supposed to be the most dominate team in the league. You claim to be the best fans anywhere, and everyone else pales in comparison. Yet you bail when your team is down 4 in the 8th with 6 outs left. Have you no hope? Have you no SHAME???!?!

Who are the fraud fans now? Just unfathomable to me.

The last thing I want to make note of about last night is the umpiring. Home plate ump Gerry Davis called a fantastic game. His zone was generous but fair. His calls were even and he even threw some in that made the batters swing. Some questionable calls for strikes only came when the batter was behind in the count and that happened on both sides.

Tonight is a huge game for the Yankees. It's also a huge game for the Phils. Winning tonight will give them their best chance to win the series at home, and really put the Yanks in bind. If Pedro does what he did against LA, the Yanks will be in for it. Make no mistake about Pedro as well. He seems to have a little bit of a chip on his shoulders given recent media interviews. This guy will throw his arm off as well to perform.

With Pedro facing Burnett anything can happen. A pitchers duel is possible but unlikely. I think you'll see a ton of hits and a lot of scoring, although it won't be lopsided. This one will go down to the final innings and if that's the case, I gotta give the edge to the Yanks.

They need Burnett to get into the 7th or 8th inning. If he can do that, Rivera should have an easy 6 outs. If not, the Yanks are in for it.

PHILS IN 5!!!

Um, no... that's not my prediction. I don't know where to start in predicting this series. That's Jimmy Rollins prediciton. As he stated on the Jay Leno show last night.

You can read it here...

Rollins is good at making predictions though. He called the Muts out last year, the year before, and this year. He also stated that the Phils would play the Yankees in this years WS. So some credit has got to be given to this statement. :)

Realistically however, I think the Yankees will be a little bit tougher than the Dodgers. Texiera has been a huge reason that the Yankees did so well this season. His defense has won them at least 10 of the 103 they did. And stopped a game 7 against the Angels in my opinion. With 2 on and no outs he dove and made an unassisted out off of the first base bag that was nothing short of spectacular.

The post also put up another cover story that had a picture of Shane Victorino wearing a skirt and calling the Phillies the Frillies. Then doing a side by side comparison on several different points, such as Mascots, food, etc.

Here are a few...

Records: Phils - 10,000 losses NY - 26 World Championships (*sigh)

Mascot: The Phanatic NY - Kate Hudson (I don't know which one is crazier)

Best Sandwhich: Phils - Cheesesteak NY - Derek Jeter and a couple of models (Jeter wins!)

Ball Parks: Old stadium had a jail for idiot fans NY - New stadium has a steakhouse and the greatest fans on earth - HAHAHAHAHAHA Greatest FAIR WEATHER FANS on earth maybe.

Best quote - "Yo Adrian" NY - "Give me your tired, your poor, and I'll give you the city with the most hate crime. PHILLY WIN

Ok I made that last one up, but it's close. I bet!

Articles like this come out all the time denegrating the visiting teams city. Most take it personally. We here in Philly laugh it off and see it as pure comedy (as it is intended.)

All kidding aside, this World Series will be the best one in a long time. These two teams will put on a show that even the most jaded fan (Bam, I'm looking at you), should be able to enjoy. Forget the strike, forget steroids, these two teams will please. That I have no doubt about.

So get your pop corn ready Terrel.... and enjoy the ride. I thought about live blogging game 1, but I will be too entrenched watching the game and going crazy with every pitch.

Have fun!

2009 MLB WORLD SERIES - Phils v Yanks!

Get your asses on the edge of the seats folks because this years World Series should interest even the most casual of baseball fans. The dream has come true.

The New York Yankees, having won 103 games this year and being the best offensive team in all of baseball will face the Philadelphia Phillies. Reigning world champs who have fought and scratched their way back to the series after a very awesome post season.

Think about this...

The Phils gave up 17 saves this year. 17!! That's a ridiculously stupid number for a team to overcome and still dominate the post season.

Some features of this game - Yanks and Phils are each number one in their leagues when it comes to offense. Yanks and Phils stadiums are 1 and 2 in the category of parks that allowed the most home runs. The two most pertinent facts about that is that the Yanks stadium is way above the Phils in HR's allowed, and that the Phils hit more home runs on the road this year.

The Phils have had a remarkable road team this year posting a better record, better hitting average, and a better team ERA while on the road. In comparison, the Yanks have been the best home team this year.

So who wins? In how many? Is it going to be a blood bath? Is each game going to be combined 10 + run games? Who gets the MVP?

It starts on Wednesday baby, and I couldn't be more excited. I think the Phils have proven time and time again that they know how to win. Even in the most dire of situations, they have managed to overcome adversity (horrible pen, no closer, etc.)

So let me start with some thoughts.


Team Defense - The Phillies made only 76 errors this whole season making them the second best team in that category. Right behind the Pirates. The Yanks allowed 86 team errors.

Pitching - Philadelphia had a team ERA of 4.16 for the regular season. The yanks ERA was 4.26

Batting - The Yankees produced 915 runs with 5660 at bats while the Phils produced 820 runs with 5578 at bats. The yankees team Batting average was .283 while the Phils was .258 Of course the Yankees never had to account for a pitcher batting during the regular season. The Phils combined average for pitchers batting was a paultry .101 and accounted for 623 of those at bats.

Bull Pen - Well, I'm not even going to look up numbers for this category. The Yanks certainly own the Phils in this category.

All the numbers in the world mean very little however. This is why they play the game. I think this series will come down to more than just numbers. As a matter of fact, I bet this series becomes a sandlot match. It's very exciting to think about it.

The Yanks are the winningest team in all of professional sports garnering the most trips to the Championship game and winning the most titles. They haven't been there in a while and they are hungry. The Phils are the reigning world champs and play like they want to keep it that way. I've never seen a team with almost zero panic in each and every player. No matter how dire the situation has gotten, they just don't panic. They win.

The yanks are without a doubt the better team right now. If everything matches up pretty solidly, the fact that their bullpen is so much better gives them that designation. But lets stop here for a minute.

I have some bad news for the Phils. Utley is hurt. A story came out in the Philadelphia media that Utley has had some hip pain. He had surgery in the off season and the pain's effect has been noticeable throughout the post season. Utley didn't make a statement. Rather some scouts and "experts" have been watching. His slugging percentage has gone down and he has been relegated to hitting singles (pity), and his throwing errors have been amplified as well during the post season. He can't turn as effectively with that hip. That could prove to be a liability.

Ibanez has also been diagnosed with the same injury as Utley, and has considered the possibility of the same surgery in the off season. Both of these guys have been clutch hitters in important spots in the line up for the Phils.

The Yanks have been smoking. A Rod has been just unstoppable this post season. His hitting has been spot on. He is tied with Jason Werth for the most home runs in the post season at 5. his average is .438, and he is second behind Howard in RBI's with 12. Sabbathia has the most wins in the post season with 3 and Rivera is tied with Lidge for the most saves at 3.

I don't know how to pick this series. Obviously my heart tells me that the Phils win in game 5. I don't know that the Yanks have faced a team that hits like this one, but there is no way of telling if that will effect them at all.

I am not so worried about the Yanks starting pitching. Lee v Sabbathia in game one should really be a Phils win. Even at Yankee stadium. The Phils put up 5 runs in 3 innings last year against him and did even better the year before in interleague play. The numbers prove we just own this guy. Lee has a post season ERA of .074 If the Yanks can topple him and put up like 6 in 4, then we have an issue. But Lee has been lights out to date, so there is no reason (other than they are playing the Yankees) to think that he will collapse like that.

If we win game one, the Yanks will be on their heels. Hamels pitching in game two will be a huge factor for this series. If we win game one, and Hamels goes on to pitch a gem in game 2, the Yanks are cooked. If we lose game 1, Hamels will need to go lights out in game 2 in order to give the Phils any kind of chance to win the whole thing.

I believe this because the Yanks are hot. If we can piss on that fire just a little, we get the edge. If this series is a slug fest, the edge goes to the phils. If the series becomes a pitching duel, I gotta think the Yanks walk away with it.

I just don't know that going toe to toe in the late innings with a 1-2 run lead is the best scenario for the Phils. It worries me. A ton.

Just to pick on Dawn a little more, I liken this series/ season for the Yankees to the Pats perfect season a few years back. Randy Moss, Tom Brady were the best team in Football going undefeated. Right up until the Super Bowl. Hoy said this is the Yanks perfect season. It may be. Right up until the World Series!

It will be fun to watch, that's for sure!

On a side note... for all you Cleveland fans out there, it must be hard to watch two Cy Young Winners who were on your team within the last year and a half starting game one for the World Series this year. Just Sayin' :)