MLB Playoffs 2009

[PirateLover]

Well I'll say right now that I think the Yankees are taking it this year.

No NL team has won back to back championships in 35 years. There's a reason for that.

Plus the Yankees are really, really good.
[/I]

You know what, the Phillies are really, really good, too. This team is something special. I say it's time for back to back NL World Series Champs. We've gotten very little respect all season, despite having won it all. It doesn't bother me, I'm just stating the fact-people underestimate us, I think our own fans included. When Madson came into the game last night some fans were sitting on their hands, nervous, even though we had like a 4 run lead. Me, I knew we had it in the bag because time and time again this team comes up big when it counts. On paper, many people felt like the the Dodgers would win. And yet we pretty much wiped the floor with them and were it not for an error by our all-star 2nd baseman, they would've been swept. We have an AMAZING team that is full of heart they just never quit. I think a Phils- Yankees series has the potential to be very intense and entertaining. They don't really scare me because I am already so proud of my team just for making it back this far. Should they loose, we'll always have last year. However, I really, really like our chances and there is no way I'm just handing the series to the Yanks before it even begins.

I thought in the playoff you were supposed to heve the best teams & the best umps

It used to be this way but then they switched to a rotation so that "everyone gets a chance." Well, sorry, but if you are infamous for missing calls, you DO NOT deserve a chance to do playoffs. An umpire's strike zone is a human touch that adds an unpredictable element that can make a game interesting, but there really should not be so many issues with fair/foul, safe/our etc. It's just been so blatant in these playoffs.

[Scar]

I really don't understand why the umps can't be treated just like the players. Pay the best more, and send the worst back to the minors. If they can prove they deserve another chance than they can come back when the next bunch of bad ones get sent down.

[DAKustodial]

You know what, the Phillies are really, really good, too. This team is something special. I say it's time for back to back NL World Series Champs. We've gotten very little respect all season, despite having won it all. It doesn't bother me, I'm just stating the fact-people underestimate us, I think our own fans included. When Madson came into the game last night some fans were sitting on their hands, nervous, even though we had like a 4 run lead. Me, I knew we had it in the bag because time and time again this team comes up big when it counts. On paper, many people felt like the the Dodgers would win. And yet we pretty much wiped the floor with them and were it not for an error by our all-star 2nd baseman, they would've been swept. We have an AMAZING team that is full of heart they just never quit. I think a Phils- Yankees series has the potential to be very intense and entertaining. They don't really scare me because I am already so proud of my team just for making it back this far. Should they loose, we'll always have last year. However, I really, really like our chances and there is no way I'm just handing the series to the Yanks before it even begins.

It used to be this way but then they switched to a rotation so that "everyone gets a chance." Well, sorry, but if you are infamous for missing calls, you DO NOT deserve a chance to do playoffs. An umpire's strike zone is a human touch that adds an unpredictable element that can make a game interesting, but there really should not be so many issues with fair/foul, safe/our etc. It's just been so blatant in these playoffs.

You know, Maryanne, I want to agree with your entire post but I can't. Being a fellow teacher, I need to say that the Phils will not "loose" to either the Yankees or the Angels in the World Series this year. But if they lose, I will still be very happy and proud of the year that they've had! Sorry, but I couldn't resist calling that out...Go Phils!

[JerseyMouse]

It is great to finally have a management group that goes out and gets the job done. The heist that netted us Lee and Fransisco was unreal, and without that deal...I honestly don't think we're still playing ball at this point.

Was glad to see the Angels extend the series last night...would love to see them force a game 7..Sabathia would lose a potential WS start...of course, the Phils do have a history with CC in the playoffs, should that not happen.

Nothing in sports is guaranteed, but I feel confident in saying that whoever the Phils get in the WS is going to have the Phight of their lives trying to take 4 of 7 from this team right now.

Regardless of outcome, the Phils have reminded me just why it is I loved sports in the first place. I will never forget wearing my WS Champs t-shirt in WDW last year...receiving and giving serious high fives from total strangers on Main St. USA also decked out in their Phils gear was beyond cool.

DW and I will be in WDW from 11/8-22, a repeat performance of those high 5's will be in order.

Can't wait until Wednesday!!

[PirateLover]

You know, Maryanne, I want to agree with your entire post but I can't. Being a fellow teacher, I need to say that the Phils will not "loose" to either the Yankees or the Angels in the World Series this year. But if they lose, I will still be very happy and proud of the year that they've had! Sorry, but I couldn't resist calling that out...Go Phils!

[Pagan]

Was glad to see the Angels extend the series last night...would love to see them force a game 7..Sabathia would lose a potential WS start...of course, the Phils do have a history with CC in the playoffs, should that not happen

Two things...

One, CC won't lose a WS start. He's been pitching on 3 days rest with no problem. Holding an ERA of just over 1 so far. Game 7 would be Sunday, game 1 of the WS Wednesday. No problem.

Two, your history with CC is meaningless right now. He's not the same CC who choked in the playoffs in the past.

He's 3-0 in the playoffs this year. 1.19 era, only 3 walks and 20 strikeouts.

I wouldn't be too happy to face him right now.

[JerseyMouse]

Two things...

One, CC won't lose a WS start. He's been pitching on 3 days rest with no problem. Holding an ERA of just over 1 so far. Game 7 would be Sunday, game 1 of the WS Wednesday. No problem.

Two, your history with CC is meaningless right now. He's not the same CC who choked in the playoffs in the past.

He's 3-0 in the playoffs this year. 1.19 era, only 3 walks and 20 strikeouts.

I wouldn't be too happy to face him right now.

Kindly refrain from trying to disrupt my happy dream with logic!!...

I really want this to be Phils/Yanks..best vs. best..who could ask for more as a fan??

[Scar]

CC won't lose a WS start. He's been pitching on 3 days rest with no problem. Holding an ERA of just over 1 so far. Game 7 would be Sunday, game 1 of the WS Wednesday. No problem.

Although that is 2 days rest. What I would do is pitch him Saturday, then he'll be ready for Wednesday on 3 days rest.

You're right on about you're other point, I wouldn't want to face him once, twice or three times on any amount of rest. As much as I hate the Yankees, I like Sabathia, always have. He's going to be the next 300 game winner.

[Ian]

Two things...

One, CC won't lose a WS start. He's been pitching on 3 days rest with no problem. Holding an ERA of just over 1 so far. Game 7 would be Sunday, game 1 of the WS Wednesday. No problem.

Two, your history with CC is meaningless right now. He's not the same CC who choked in the playoffs in the past.

He's 3-0 in the playoffs this year. 1.19 era, only 3 walks and 20 strikeouts.

I wouldn't be too happy to face him right now.

Two minor points ... maybe the issue with CC has nothing to do with him. In case you haven't noticed, he didn't play the Phillies in the post-season.

Maybe the issue is the Phillies are WAY better than the Angels and the Twins.

Second point ... the more he pitches on three days rest, the more tired he gets. Just because it hasn't effected him yet (and if memory serves he's only done it once so far this post season anyway) doesn't mean it never will.

Without a shred of doubt, the Phillies will be the best team the Yankees play in the post season.

[Ian]

Hey, here are two post-season pitching lines ... you tell me which looks better?

Wins - 2
Losses - 0
ERA - 0.74
Starts - 3
Complete Games - 1
Innings Pitched - 24.1
Home Runs Allowed - 0
Hit Batters - 0
Walks Issued - 3
Strikeouts - 20

Wins - 3
Losses - 0
ERA - 1.19
Starts - 3
Complete Games - 0
Innings Pitched - 22.2
Home Runs Allowed - 1
Hit Batters - 1
Walks Issued - 3
Strikeouts - 20

Which pitcher would you rather face??

[barnaby]

Two things...

One, CC won't lose a WS start. He's been pitching on 3 days rest with no problem. Holding an ERA of just over 1 so far. Game 7 would be Sunday, game 1 of the WS Wednesday. No problem.

Thats only 2 days rest. Sunday would Game 7, Monday and Tuesday are off days, Weds is WS Game 1.
CC wouldn't pitch in WS game 1 if there is a game 7 in the LCS.

[Pagan]

Thats only 2 days rest. Sunday would Game 7, Monday and Tuesday are off days, Weds is WS Game 1.
CC wouldn't pitch in WS game 1 if there is a game 7 in the LCS.

Well, technically...

Sunday night through Monday night...one day.
Monday night through Tuesday night...two days.
Tuesday night until gametime Wednesday night...three days.

[barnaby]

Well, technically...

Sunday night through Monday night...one day.
Monday night through Tuesday night...two days.
Tuesday night until gametime Wednesday night...three days.

No, not in baseball terms though - 3 FULL/24hr days.

CC pitched on 3 days rest in the ALCS already. He pitched the 16th and the 20th.

If it goes to game 7, if CC pitches both game 7 and game 1, he would be going on only 2 days rest. Not gonna happen. It would probably be Burnett game 1.

[Pagan]

Without a shred of doubt, the Phillies will be the best team the Yankees play in the post season.

Um....Homer? Hate to burst your bubble, but let's look at the offensive team stats for this seaosn between the Angels and the Phillies, shall we?

Runs Scored: LA - 883, Phil - 820
Hits: LA - 1604, Phil - 1439
Doubles: LA - 293, Phil - 224
Triples: LA - 33, Phil - 35
Home Runs: LA - 173, Phil - 224
RBIs: LA - 841, Phil - 778
OMP: LA - .350, Phil - .334
Batting Avg.: LA - .285, Phil - .258

Sorry bro...there's more than a few shreds of doubt there. Take off those rosy glasses.

[Pagan]

No, not in baseball terms though - 3 FULL/24hr days.

CC pitched on 3 days rest in the ALCS already. He pitched the 16th and the 20th.

If it goes to game 7, if CC pitches both game 7 and game 1, he would be going on only 2 days rest. Not gonna happen. It would probably be Burnett game 1.

Stop tinkling on my parade, willya? Moot point anyway.

We win tomorrow night and CC starts game one.

[PirateLover]

Stop tinkling on my parade, willya? Moot point anyway.

We win tomorrow night and CC starts game one.

If there's a game... the rains are back

[Ian]

Um....Homer? Hate to burst your bubble, but let's look at the offensive team stats for this seaosn between the Angels and the Phillies, shall we?

Runs Scored: LA - 883, Phil - 820
Hits: LA - 1604, Phil - 1439
Doubles: LA - 293, Phil - 224
Triples: LA - 33, Phil - 35
Home Runs: LA - 173, Phil - 224
RBIs: LA - 841, Phil - 778
OMP: LA - .350, Phil - .334
Batting Avg.: LA - .285, Phil - .258

Sorry bro...there's more than a few shreds of doubt there. Take off those rosy glasses.

Two things ... neat how you only talked about the regular season. In case you didn't notice, it's now the post-season where the stats for both teams look like this:

At Bats: LA - 182, Phil - 156
Runs Scored: LA - 17, Phil - 35
Hits: LA - 42, Phil - 36
Doubles: LA - 12, Phil - 6
Triples: LA - 1, Phil - 3
Home Runs: LA - 3, Phil - 10
RBIs: LA - 16, Phil - 34
OBP: LA - .302, Phil - .348
Batting Avg.: LA - .231, Phil - .231

Also, I see you conveniently ignored the fact that Cliff Lee's stats are significantly better than Sabathia's in the post-season.

Regular season don't mean nothin', bro. This is the playoffs.

[Pagan]

Two things ... neat how you only talked about the regular season. In case you didn't notice, it's now the post-season where the stats for both teams look like this:

At Bats: LA - 182, Phil - 156
Runs Scored: LA - 17, Phil - 35
Hits: LA - 42, Phil - 36
Doubles: LA - 12, Phil - 6
Triples: LA - 1, Phil - 3
Home Runs: LA - 3, Phil - 10
RBIs: LA - 16, Phil - 34
OBP: LA - .302, Phil - .348
Batting Avg.: LA - .231, Phil - .231

Ah...so we throw away the entire regular season, huh?

I know this requires logic now Ian, so I'll go slow for ya.

Ever stop to think that the Angels numbers were down in the playoffs because....oh I don't know....they face better opposition? The Yankees pitching has been pretty darn good this postseason. Just might be a factor.

You said there isn't a SHRED of doubt that the Phillies are the best team the Yankees will face. Based on the ENTIRE year, I showed you the flaw in that theory.

Also, I see you conveniently ignored the fact that Cliff Lee's stats are significantly better than Sabathia's in the post-season.

SIGNIFICANTLY? What kool aid are you drinking, Ian? Same amount of walks, same amount of strikeouts, and a .4 difference in ERA.

SLIGHTLY better is more like it my friend, and again...let's look at the opposition.

Regular season don't mean nothin', bro. This is the playoffs.

I know, I know...you Phillies fans aren't used ot being there...so I can understand your overreacting.

[Ian]

Let's look at the stats that are more meaningful ... post-season Phils vs. Yankees:

At Bats: NY - 194, Phil - 156
Runs Scored: NY - 28, Phil - 35
Hits: NY - 53, Phil - 36
Doubles: NY - 9, Phil - 6
Triples: NY - 2, Phil - 3
Home Runs: NY - 8, Phil - 10
RBIs: NY - 26, Phil - 34
OBP: NY - .374, Phil - .348
Batting Avg.: NY - .273, Phil - .231

The Phils have 38 fewer at bats than the Yankees and they have 7 more runs scored and 2 more homers. They also have 8 more ribbies.

The only area the Yankees are significantly better than the Phils from a statistical standpoint is in OBP and batting average. But timely hits are more important than hits that result in stranded runners and the runs scored/RBI numbers show that the Phils are clearly getting more timely hits than the Yanks are.

In terms of pitching, the Yankees do have a significantly better team ERA ... 2.52 vs. 3.04. They've also allowed 8 fewer runs than the Phils.

I'm getting the idea that Yankees fans think that, if they get to the Series, it's going to be a cakewalk. I wouldn't be surprised if some of them were thinking sweep.

You obviously can't rule anything out ... they are a great team ... but so is this Phillies team and I think Yankees fans might do well to temper their expectations a bit. The Phils have a way of punching teams right in the mouth ... we did take two of three from the Yanks in their own ballpark back in July, remember. They're not going to be intimidated by this team, especially not considering that they are the defending champs.

[Ian]

I know, I know...you Phillies fans aren't used to being there...so I can understand your overreacting.

Funny ... I wonder where those rings on the Phillies' fingers came from then?

Huh ... and here I thought we were the reigning World Champs. Silly me.