Ubaldo Jiminez 2010 vs. Mariano Rivera's Postseason Career

Ubaldo Jiminez has been the best pitcher in baseball so far in 2010. He may be the best player in baseball so far in 2010. Jiminez is doing things on the field that haven't been seen before and making it look easy as he does it. But how does he compare to the master of making things look easy: Mariano Rivera? I took the 2010 numbers from Jiminez and matched them up with Rivera's postseason numbers. Here was the result (Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs with the statistics):

	Ubaldo Jiminez's 2010	Mariano Rivera's Postseason	Mariano Rivera 1996
W-L Record	11-1	8-1	8-3
Innings Pitched	87.1	133.1	107.2
ERA	0.93	0.74	2.09
WHIP	0.927	0.773	0.994
H/9	5.4	5.5	6.1
HR/9	0.2 (2 HR)	0.1 (2 HR)	0.1 (1 HR)
BB/9	2.99	1.42	2.84
K/9	8.04	7.22	10.87
SO:BB	2.69	5.10	3.82
FIP	2.72	2.23	1.88
xFIP	3.96	3.14
BABIP	0.229	0.229	0.293
LOB%	92.4%	90.1%	78.1%

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How to Correctly Use a Bullpen

Many times I shake my head at the bullpen usage of Major League managers. No matter how many new tools are available to managers, they find more ways to micromanage bullpens and use relievers in rigid, antiquated ways. Roles are set and cannot be undone regardless of the circumstances. Closers can only pitch the 9th and will only do so in save situations. But sometimes you see a manager do something smart and it helps his team win a game. Yesterday in the Colorado vs. San Francisco game, Jim Tracy made one of these good decisions.

The Rockies were in desperate need of a win after falling in the first two games of the series. They started a rookie, Jhoulys Chacin, in his second career start and he was really good, giving the Rockies 7 innings of one-hit ball, striking out 7 and walking only 3 as the Rockies held a 4-0 lead into the 8th. Right handed reliever Matt Daley allowed a double, got an out and then served up a single to Aaron Rowand leaving the situation for Jim Tracy where he had runners at first and third and one out. Coming up next was left-handed hitting John Bowker, switch hitting Pablo Sandoval (who has an OPS 334 points higher and wOBA 124 points higher from the left side), and, potentially, left-handed hitting Aubrey Huff.

Tracy decided not to mess around with middle relievers. He realized the game was right here. He went straight to his closer, Franklin Morales, a power lefty. Morales struck out pitch hitter Andres Torres and then struck out the Giants' best hitter, Pablo Sandoval. Inning over and threat diverted. That was your high leverage situation and Morales was brought on at the right time to get the Rockies out of it.

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NYaT's Expert MLB Predictions for 2010

We're not really experts--but we're really doing our predictions. Last year I did pretty well. Not great. I had the Yankees and Phillies in the League Championship Series. So, hey, I did OK. But let's get ready for 2010 with some more "expert" predictions. Here's my predictions with the rest of the blog writers chiming in:

AL East
1. Yankees
2. Red Sox  (Wild Card)
3. Rays
4. Orioles
5. Blue Jays

This is a three team race with a third team (the Orioles) who have an up-and-coming team. The Blue Jays have some good young players but are probably a few years from competition. The Orioles have one of the best young outfields in baseball (Adam Jones, Nick Markakis, and Nolan Reimold) but their starting pitching and bullpen may be too raw to compete in 2010. So that leaves the big three. I love the Rays team, but while everything came together for their bullpen in 2008, last year we saw what happens when that bullpen implodes. They will hit and they will field, but can they protect leads? I'm not confident in that. That leaves the Yankees and the Red Sox. The Yankees were 8 games better last year. While the Red Sox probably improved 8 games with their pitching and defense, the Yankees improved as well, basically replacing Chad Gaudin/Sergio Mitre in the rotation with Javy Vazquez (the only guy to throw 198 innings every season of the past decade). It's going to be closer, but I still think the Red Sox are an acquisition or two from beating the Yankees. While the Yankees could be undone by injuries, the Red Sox injury risks (John Lackey, Josh Beckett, Dice-K, J.D. Drew, etc.) are equally as present. What remains to be seen if Jonathan Papelbon has any ill effects from his implosion in last year's deciding game of the ALDS. The Fenway Faithful may not be too forgiving if he blows a game or two in the opening series vs. the Yankees. The Yankees fans will probably feel the same way if Javy Vazquez starts off slow as well. Ben and Ari took the Yankees with the Red Sox as Wild Card as well. Jay took the Yankees winning the division with the Rays as the division winner. Sarah has the Red Sox winning the division with Tampa winning the Wild Card. (picture from the New York Daily News)

AL Central:
1. White Sox
2. Twins
3. Tigers
4. Indians
5. Royals

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Quick Review of Yesterday's Games: NLDS Game 4

Phillies 5, Rockies 4 - Probably the best series out of the bunch. The last three games were all one-run games. And this may have been the best of the bunch. Carlos Gonzalez went absolutely insane for the Rockies and looks like a star in the making. And it looked like the game was going to the Rockies, especially after a huge 8th inning rally where Dexter Fowler leaped over Chase Utley (I give him a 8.5 for the jump, but a 3 for the awkward slide afterward). But the Phillies are never out of it (I was there in July with Joe Biden when they came back from 4 runs down in the 9th to beat Pittsburgh) and they proved once again to be a resilient team with a great combination of fortitude and talent. Brad Lidge still doesn't inspire any confidence, but he got the job done again for his second save. Biggest mistake of the game, in my opinion, was the Rockies not bringing in lefty Joe Beimel against Ryan Howard in the 9th inning. I know that Huston Street is the closer, but isn't that why you have a lefty specialist? Charlie Manuel brought in Ryan Madson when he needed him in Game 3 (the 7th). You're best reliever should be used in your tightest spots. But if you have a specialist in your bullpen, use him! Cliff Lee, who had never pitched in a playoff game before last week, was dominant again. As was Ubaldo Jiminez. But the problems for both teams occurred once the bullpens were used. The Phillies move on to face the Dodgers (again) as they look to continue their title defense.

Side note: The picture to the right is from Yahoo! Sports. Shane Victor-ino may be one of the best sports names. Also a pretty darn good baseball player. But the best part of him is that he seems to be having a lot of fun out there no matter what the circumstances.

Coming up:

• Phillies @ Dodgers starts Thursday. First preview here.
  
• Angels @ Yankees starts Friday. First preview here.

No baseball until Thursday!??! Painful!

Quick Review of Yesterday's Games: ALDS Weekend

New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins
Game 2 - Yankees 4, Twins 3 (11 innings): What more can I say? I was there! So were 50,006 which was a new record for the New Yankee Stadium as the Stadium shook on multiple occasions. Matt Tolbert's oblique strain was the worst thing that happened to the Yankees in the series as Tolbert's replacement, Brendan Harris, almost singlehandedly won Game 2 for the Twins. David Robertson got his due after getting out of an all-time jam in the top of the 11th. Even though the Yankees won a ridiculously dramatic game that will be a Yankee Classic, all anyone could talk about afterward was instant replay. Earth to the reporters who have nothing better to write: it may not have made a difference! Joe Nathan, one of the top 3 closers in the AL, was on the mound for the Twins with a golden chance to tie this series up at 1, but failed. Then Mark Teixeira finally got a piece of the pie. Some more postgame reaction from fans who were there here, here, here, here, and here.

Game 3 - Yankees 4, Twins 1: The comeback kids did it again and produced some memorable images. It took a while for the offensive to get going against Carl Pavano who was seeking redemption but the Yankees came on late (again) and won. A-Rod continued to crush his playoff reputation. The Yankees helped to tear down the Metrodome and will advance to the ALCS to take on their nemesis, the Angels, instead of their archrival. A-Rod is ready for some payback against the Halos after he continues to pass his test with flying colors. It was fitting it was Posada and the "Old Guard" that helped end the ALDS, though it was really a combination of A-Rod and the "Dynasty Boys". It was also some historically awful postseason baserunning by the Twins that did them in, including "fundamentally sound" Nick Punto who may not be such a gamer after all, as shocking as that is to the Minnesota media. Still, their manager had a lot of classy things to say in defeat. The Twins' run is finally over. Bring on the Angels!


Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim vs. Boston Red Sox
Game 2 - Angels 4, Red Sox 1: For a second game in a row, Boston got out-aced with Jered Weaver out-pitching Josh Beckett. One big inning proved to be too much for the Red Sox. The Angels dominated the Red Sox in Games 1 and 2 wall to wall and put their backs against the Green Monster. The Red Sox just didn't do their part to make Yankees/Red Sox III happen. The bats failed the Red Sox in the first two games. The Red Sox tried to conjure up remembrance of comebacks past to help them out.

Game 3 - Angels 7, Red Sox 6: This was a great scenario for the Red Sox: they got a 12 PM game, at home, against a west coast team that hasn't played well in their ballpark. They got a 5-1 lead and the infamous afternoon shadows started to creep in. There was 4 outs to go and a 5-2 lead so the Red Sox went to Jonathan Papelbon, their lights-out closer. He gave up two runs (allowing two inherited runners to score) in the bottom of the 8th. The Red Sox got an insurance run in the top of the 9th and that looked like it would loom large. In the bottom of the 9th, Papelbon had two outs and an 0-2 count. It's over, right? Not exactly. A total meltdown for Papelbon (and a great job the Angels to expose his flaws) and an ill-conceived intentional walk and the Red Sox are swept in the first round. Well Bostonians can enjoy their cell phones and watching the Yanks and Angels the rest of the postseason. Or there's other ways to get over the Red Sox (H/T Jenn). Jonathan Papelbon may take the blame of Red Sox Nation as they try to fix the team for the future, regroup and figure out what went wrong and why they fell apart as a team. Give credit to Vlad Guerrero for one of the best postseason moments so far (though I won't call it the best) and one of the greatest Angels' victories. The Angels are a tough team.


Los Angeles Dodgers vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Game 3 - Dodgers 5, Cardinals 1: The Cardinals never recovered from Matt Holliday dropping that line drive. What a swing of events (Billy Buckner-esque) as the Cardinals are eliminated in a sweep and the Dodgers move on to the NLCS once again. If the Cards could have won this game, they would have had Carpenter and Wainwright (who was brilliant) pitching in Games 4 and 5. But it never got to that point. The Cards looked flat and dejected and the Dodgers just steamrolled all over them. Vincente Padilla feels at home in Los Angeles. Joe Torre is the toast of the town after guiding Los Angeles back to the NLCS. It almost feels like it will be Joe Torre back in the Bronx at the end of October, a finish baseball needs.


Philadelphia Phillies vs. Colorado Rockies Game 3 - Phillies 6, Rockies 5: After being snowed out, the Phillies and Rockies played a great, cold one in Colorado. The game went back-and-forth and back-and-forth but the Phillies proved to be more resilient. Give MAJOR props to Charlie Manuel who used his best reliever, Ryan Madson, when it counted the most instead of waiting for the traditional save situation. Brad Lidge got a little redemption for a day as he got the save. Lidge came in one of the worst closers in recent NL history and came out of it with the save after throwing a pitch he hadn't thrown in a very long time. It felt like the Phillies had turned back the clock a year when the game was over. That all being said, Lidge put two runners on base in the 9th so you can't feel that comfortable with him. But it's baby steps. Maybe it was the Colorado pitching. And maybe another bad umpiring decision. Either way, 2-1 lead for the Phillies (who are now in the driver's seat), though it was over way too late for me to stay up and see the end of the game. In fact, it was the longest 9-inning postseason game in NL (NLDS or NLCS) history. With Cliff Lee going tonight, this one could be over.

Today:

• 6 PM game - Phillies @ Rockies: Cliff Lee vs. Jose Jiminez
  
• Dodgers off until NLCS starts Thursday
  
• Yankees and Angels off until ALCS starts Friday

Quick Review of Yesterday's Games: ALDS Day 2

Rockies 5, Phillies 4: Cole Hamels didn't pitch well and then ran to the hospital to be with his wife who was in labor. One of the pitches hit out? A Cole Hamels curveball by Yorvit Torrealba (who took inspiration from his son) which was a first for both of them this season. Then Charlie Manuel decided to dump out the starters out of the bullpen, pitching possible Game 3 starters JA Happ (who got hurt) and Joe Blanton (as well as my favorite-named pitcher, BASTARDO!). Some liked this move, others did not. The Phillies weren't able to come back despite rallying to make it a one-run game and putting two on in the 9th. There was a little role reversal in Philly and the Rockies offense looked revitalized. Now they're heading back to Colorado where it looks like it will snow, tied at 1 game a piece and Pedro Martinez will be on the mound (unless he decides to move Blanton into the rotation after throwing the inning in relief or use Happ coming back from injury). Charlie Manuel intends to keep everyone guessing on who his Game 3 starter will be. That could spell trouble for the Phillies. Also could doom the Phillies? Putting star starting pitchers in to pinch run. After Matt Stairs got on base, the Phillies pinch ran Cliff Lee for him. I know Cliff Lee had a stolen base the day before, but why take the chance? Now Philly goes from being in the driver's seat to needing to pull at least one game out of their hat in Colorado.

Dodgers 3, Cardinals 2: My roommate Ari, a Mets fan, said to me "it seems like Matt Holliday already thinks he's on the Mets." Let's be fair, the reason that the Cardinals had the lead in the first place was because of Holliday's home run and Ryan Franklin didn't have to give up another run. So there is blame to go around. But I don't think that will diminish the pain as the image is rebroadcasted of the catch (and maybe some Dewey-Truman-esque headlines). The one person who is probably happy? Luis Castillo who's dropped pop-up against the Yankees pales in comparison and significance. Adam Wainwright (who pitched brilliantly in a wasted effort) said it was the towels, but Matt Holliday said it was the light. I guess that's manning up, but it's still a loss. Let's see how the "best fans in baseball" react to him down 2-0. The Cards are indeed playing like their division rivals, the Cubs. Although victory dropped into the Dodgers' laps, let's give some credit to the Dodgers for not giving up and also their depth as they are on the cusp of another NLCS.

Angels 5, Red Sox 0: Red Sox fans, C.B. Bucknor did not lose this game for you; John Lackey just shut you down. Even if "Constantly Bad" Bucknor didn't make that call, they still would have had to score off of Lackey who out-aced Jon Lester. Lackey is making a play for a big free agent contract after a dominating performance, mixed with some revenge. Big Papi's 3rd strikeout of the game ended things in SoCal and, for one night, seemed to put an end to a hex, shifted the psychology, and made people believe that the Angels may be able to beat the Red Sox. Torii Hunter, a classic bad ball hitter, crushed a bad pitch by Lester (who was not great) and that was that. Now Josh Beckett has a lot of weight on his shoulders after being injured during last year's postseason as he tries to overcome the Angels, the Thunderstix and the Rally Monkey to salvage a split in Anaheim . If the Red Sox can get a game here, it may be tough for the Angels to win in Boston.

Today:

• 6 PM game: Twins @ Yankees - Blackburn vs. Burnett. I've written about the catching situation for AJ, but a few others have their opinion as well. Ian O'Connor considers this an "E-2" for Girardi. Jack Curry says that Posada is a spectator with AJ pitching. The Hartford Courant's Jeff Jacobs says that Posada needs to settle down and I agree with him; there's a fine line between being vocal about wanting to play and being a whiny cancer in the clubhouse by making this awkward for everyone involved. Sam Borden has Jose Molina's take and Joe Girardi's take on the situation. More in a little bit on this game before I head down to the Stadium
• Late game: Red Sox @ Angels - Josh Beckett vs. Jered Weaver. One totally legit criticism I heard about last night's game was that TBS couldn't get anything right as FanGraphs talks about: they went to commercial at the wrong times, they missed replays and graphics, and they just seemed a bit off, especially coming back from commercial late. Between that and Chip Caray's "verbal slump" as The New York Times calls it, TBS has had a worse playoff start than Matt Holliday and the St. Louis Cardinals.

Back later with more...

Quick Review of Yesterday's Games: ALDS Day 1

I'll try to do this every day (if I can) during the playoffs. Get you caught up on the games from the day before with lots of links to accompany it. Here we go on Day 1:

Yankees 7, Twins 2: As we said before, The Yankees won a vintage Yankees playoff game. They followed their blueprint for success, exactly the way they drew it up, and took apart a bad pitcher on a groggy and gassed team. Derek Jeter continued to lead the march and christened the New Yankee Stadium. CC was great and enjoyed the love. A-Rod looked horrible in his first two at-bats and instead of letting bad get worse, he got himself back on track and off the snide. Maybe it was Mr. October who finally helped A-Rod. The question is now can A-Rod build on his solid start (because, as we all know, he still has work to do)? Can the Yankees continue to pound the Twins? If A.J. Burnett is on tomorrow night, it may not matter and it may equal short trip to the playoffs for the Twinkies, especially with the American Idle himself, Carl Pavano, going in Game 3 for Minnesota.

Phillies 5, Rockies 1: When I picked the Phillies to just sneak by the Rockies, it was because I was worried about the Phillies having to go to their bullpen, knowing full-well that their starting pitching and hitting was superior. Well I can see Charlie Manuel's game plan now: Cliff Lee pitched a complete game (and savored the moment) and every player in Manuel's lineup got a hit, including Lee. That's one way not to use your bullpen. Lee's strategy was clear too: throw first-pitch strikes and pitch off the fastball. This was a good way to start a title defense and quiet the critics who wanted Cole Hamels to start Game 1 over Lee. The Phillies didn't lose at home last postseason and they're now 1-0 there. Some are suggesting that the Rockies change up their lineup, maybe benching Brad Hawpe. But this could be over fairly quickly if Hamels does his thing in Game 2.

Dodgers 5, Cardinals 3: Well that was a shocker, no? The Cardinals took a Cy Young candidate into a pitchers park and he didn't pitch very well at all. Matt Kemp's home run to center field was an absolute blast. It all worked out for the best for the Dodgers as the swagger is back, along with the big hits (though they did, amazingly, still strand 16 runners). In total, the teams set a division series record leaving 30 runners on base. For the Cardinals, the big hits were elusive (maybe that had to do with Albert Pujols being walked intentionally in his first two ABs). The winners escape the scrutiny when men are left on base, the losers do not.In the end, it was the longest game in division series history. The Dodgers relief stood out as well. The good news for the Cardinals? They get to throw out their other Cy Young candidate, Adam Wainwright, in Game 2.

Today:

• Early game: Colorado @ Philadelphia Game 2 (Cook vs. Hamels)
  
• 6 PM game: St. Louis @ Los Angeles NL Game 2 (Wainwright vs. Kershaw)
  
• Late game: Red Sox @ Los Angeles AL Game 1 (Lester vs. Lackey) - Baseball Musings has a preview
• Yankees and Twins have a workout day
  

ALDS Postseason Predictions

Time again for my expert MLB predictions:

Minnesota Twins @ New York Yankees:

Is it better to be hot or to be a better team? Minnesota has now won 17 out of 21 to get into the playoffs and their similarities to the 2007 Rockies are eerily close. They have one of the best hitters in baseball, a rocking bandbox of a park that should provide them homefield advantage, and the dreaded "nobody believed in us factor". That being said, I can't see them pulling this one out. The Yankees dominate at almost every position and the starting pitching match-ups all favor the Yankees. The Twins are hot and confident right now so I can see them pulling out a game. But I see the Yankees continuing their dominance over the Twins from this regular season and the recent playoffs and so I'm taking the Yankees in 4.

Joe Girardi breaks down the Twins (via Tyler Kepner). Sam Borden says that the Yankees have chemistry in mass quantities...and a great graphic to go with it.


Boston Red Sox @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim:

Despite my joking around about rule changes, the rules will stay in effect...and the Angels will run on the Red Sox. How do the Red Sox stop that? Don't allow baserunners. Jon Lester and Josh Beckett are strikeout pitchers who need to limit the guys they allow on base. If Boston can take one of the first two games of the series in Anaheim, the Angels may be in a bit of trouble. This has not been a kind match-up to the Angels in the past few years, and I do see this team as being different, but if they couldn't beat the Red Sox last year with Mark Teixeira and K-Rod, I don't think they'll have much more success with Kendry Morales and Brian Fuentes. Jonathan Papelbon walks the tightrope, but he gets out of it. Fuentes I don't have that much faith in...especially in Fenway. I've gone back-and-forth in this series, but I think, in the end, we'll see the Red Sox pull it out in 5.

Not surprisingly, 5 out of 6 Boston Globe sportswriters picked Boston, according to the LA Times. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer picks the Red Sox in 4. Ken Rosenthal thinks that the Angels will run all over the Red Sox and win in 5.

Colorado Rockies @ Philadelphia Phillies:

These two teams have good pitching staffs, but I predict a lot of runs in this series because they both play in huge offensive parks. These are the last two NL pennant winners so both have playoff experience. But I believe the Phillies winning it all last year will give them that added advantage here. The one problem for the Phillies has to be their closer as Brad Lidge has not been the same guy who was perfect all of last year. But Cliff Lee has the ability to go all the way and I think the Phillies do as well so I got the Phillies eeking by 3-2.

Ed Price from AOL FanHouse says that the weather could wreak havoc on this series (a la last year's World Series). A former Yankee could be part of the postseason roster for the Phils, according to the Philadelphia Daily News.

St. Louis Cardinals @ Los Angeles Dodgers:

What is more important? Starting pitching or relief pitching? St. Louis has Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter going in games 1 and 2. Los Angeles has a deep bullpen in front of Jonathan Broxton. Both teams have big hitters in the middle of the lineup: MannyBeingManny vs. Sir Albert, Matt Kemp vs. Matt Holliday, etc. I've been back-and-forth on this series. I just think that, in the end, superior starting pitching wins playoff games. The Dodgers have been just going through the motions in the second half and I'm not sure they can flip the switch. I'm going to go against my original gut and pick the Cards in 5.

Sean Forman picks the Dodgers because he says the Cardinals played much worse competition the entire season and the Dodgers were legitimately a 95-win team and the best team in the NL by a wide margin. The New York Times has some more NL storylines.

Other "experts":

• Sam Borden has the Yankees in 3, the Phillies in 4, the Dodgers in 5 and the Angels in 5.
• LyfLines uses a "scientific" formula and has the Yankees (in a sweep), Red Sox, Rockies and Cardinals (H/T Rob Neyer)
• Jayson Stark picks the Yankees to go all the way
  

ESPN's World Series predictions:

• 15 have the Yankees winning the World Series, 4 have the Cardinals, and 3 have the Red Sox
• 18 have the Yankees winning the AL Pennant, 3 have the Red Sox and 1 has the Angels
• 11 have the Cards winning the NL Pennant, 5 have the Phillies, 5 have the Dodgers, and 1 has the Rockies
• Not one person predicted the Yankees to lose in the first round

What do you think? Post your predictions below!

A Brief History of One-Game Playoffs

Baseball-Reference has a list of all-time tiebreaker playoff games (* = Division Tiebreaker, ** = Wild Card Tiebreaker). The National League, for some reason, used best-of-3 tiebreakers through 1962. The only one-game playoff in that period was in the AL when the Indians beat the Red Sox in 1948. But below are the 7 one-game playoffs since 1962. Tomorrow the Twins and Tigers will make it 8.

Year	Lg	Date	Winning Team		Losing Team	Score	Winning Pitcher	Losing Pitcher
1978*	AL	10/2/1978	Yankees	@	Red Sox	5-4	Guidry	Torrez
1980*	NL	10/6/1980	Astros	@	Dodgers	7-1	Niekro	Goltz
1995*	AL	10/2/1995	Mariners		Angels	9-1	Johnson	Langston
1998**	NL	9/28/1998	Cubs		Giants	5-3	Trachsel	Gardner
1999**	NL	10/4/1999	Mets	@	Reds	5-0	Leiter	Parris
2007**	NL	10/1/2007	Rockies		Padres	9-8	Ortiz	Hoffman
2008*	AL	9/30/2008	White Sox		Twins	1-0	Danks	Blackburn

Analysis: No team in the past 30 years has won a tiebreaker playoff game and won the World Series. The only team to make it to the World Series after the one-game playoff in the past 30 years was the 2007 Colorado Rockies.

The 1978 Yankees-Red Sox game is the most famous as it featured Bucky Dent's home-run in Fenway (or the infamous Bucky f@$ing Dent, as he's known in New England). The 2007 playoff ended after Trevor Hoffman blew the save and Matt Holliday slid just past the catcher's tag (the Rockies would sweep their way through the next two rounds before getting swept by the Red Sox). Randy Johnson pitched a complete game, 3-hitter with 12 Ks in 1995 (and then went 2-0 against the Yankees in the ALDS). The Mets won the ALDS before losing the ALCS to the Braves on a Kenny Rogers walk-off walk. The 1980 Astros, the 1998 Cubs and the 2008 White Sox wouldn't make it out of the first round of the playoffs.

So since the Yankees won the 1978 World Series, the winning one-game playoff winners are a combined 4-6 in their following playoff series.

West Leaders Reload Before the Deadline

Well we talked earlier about how the San Francisco Giants went out and got Brad Penny for their rotation. Well the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Dodgers couldn't allow the buck to stop there. The deadline was tonight to add players who would be eligible for the postseason and like Weeds tonight, there needed to be a little fireworks before a season finale.

According to MLBTradeRumors:

Dodgers got: Jim Thome from the Chicago White Sox, Ronnie Belliard from the Washington Nationals, and John Garland from the Arizona Diamondbacks

Rockies got: Jose Contreras from the Chicago White Sox (who lost out on Garland and Penny)

I like the Dodgers moves a lot more, but I wonder how exactly they're going to use Thome in the National League. That is SOME bat bench there (all 564 HRs).

The Yankees and Red Sox both got some speed insurance for the stretch run as well: Joey Gathright for the Red Sox and Freddy Guzman for the Yankees. Both of these teams just got pinch runners to use in September.

The weather is getting cool but the race is heating up!

You Heard It Here First: Mets Will Play Until The Last Day Of The Season

I've been saying it to my friends and now I need to say it in public so I can be on record: despite how bad the Mets are playing, they will start mounting a comeback this season, springboarding a huge showing against the Rockies this week and push towards a playoff berth. They will play on the last day of the season with a chance to make the playoffs.

And they will lose again.

How is that for torture for Mets fans?

Some more fun links for Metropolitan fans:

• Deadspin looks into that unbelievably bizarre press conference. Amazin' Avenue has the transcript of the press conference. ShysterBall is amazed that Mets can even make the firing of Bernazard a crazy affair.
  
• Adam Rubin responds!
• Buster Olney says that Omar Minaya has shifted the glare to himself now and his own clock is ticking. Rob Neyer notes that Minaya is losing control.
• Deadspin on a sort-of-maybe apology from Minaya
• The New York Times looks at Bernazard's career before this debacle
• Deadspin takes a few more rips at the Mets (picture courtesy of Deadspin, too)
  

And, lastly, I don't know if SNY showing the whole press conference, the interviews afterwards, talking about it on the network and running clips of the meltdown on their website is one of two things: transparency from a team not trying to hide from its mistakes or complete and utter disdain for the fanbase which it seems to want to torture at every turn. It absolutely amazes me that a team that once employed drugged out Doc Gooden and Darryl Strawberry, (allegedly) women-crazy David Cone, firecracker-wielding Vince Coleman, poker-playing Rickey Henderson, reporter-threatening Bobby Bonilla, bleach-spraying Bret Saberhagen, sexually-harassing Steve Phillips and Mo Vaughn could only now be deemed a total mess.

Either way, it keeps A-Rod off the backpages so as a Yankees fan, I can't complain