Trivia Tuesday: Missing out on October

It hasn't been all smiles for Adam Dunn and the ChiSox (Chicago Tribune)

Adam Dunn is having an awful first season in Chicago and his White Sox currently sit 5 games out of first place. If Dunn and his White Sox don't make the playoffs, he'll extend his major-league leading active streak of the most regular season games played without making the playoffs. His streak currently sits at 1515 but 8 other active major league players have at least 1000 games played without making a playoff appearance. Can you name those other 8?

Bonus Question: obviously, Dunn is also on the list of players who have never made a World Series. But his 1515 games only ranks 12th among active Major Leaugers who never have made a World Series appearance. Can you name those top 11?

Put your answers in the comments below. No cheating! We'll reveal the correct answers later. Good luck!

NYaT Roundtable: World Series Picks

We gave you our division series, ALCS, and NLCS picks but now it's time to figure out who is going to win the World Series. Here at NYaT, we didn't do well last round but we'll try to do better with the World Series which starts tonight. Here are our predictions:

Will the Giants pitch to Josh Hamilton in the World Series? (NYT)

Ari: "Texas hitting is just too strong. San Fran pitching behind the Freak has been iffy recently. The MVP will Hamilton if they pitch to him--potentially Cliff Lee if they don't." Rangers in 6 - Series MVP: Josh Hamilton

Ben P: "San Fran pitching is better than the Texas hitting" Giants in 7 - Series MVP: Pat Burrell

Ben W: "Tough choices here. No doubt in my mind it goes 7, since both teams have great starting pitching and strong bullpen arms. After Lincecum vs Lee, take your picks. I'd take Sanchez over Wilson and Cain over Lewis. But I'd also take Hamilton, Guerrero, and Cruz over Posey, Huff, and Burrell. My vote: pitching wins." Giants in 7 - Series MVP: Brian Wilson

Jay: "Just like last year, Cliff Lee will win his 2 starts. This should be a lower-scoring series than the ALCS, but the Texas lineup will score enough runs off Matt Cain and the fading Jonathan Sanchez to pull out the other 4 wins. Elvis Andrus will continue to harass the Giants by stealing 2nd and 3rd seemingly at will. Hamilton won't be walked every single trip to the plate, and he'll make San Fran pitchers pay when they finally pitch to him. Cody Ross will cool down but Buster Posey will shine on the biggest stage of them all. The ageless Vlad Guerrero will come up clutch one more time at some point, not unlike his line drive double in Game 6 of the ALCS against the Yankees." Rangers in 6 - Series MVP: Cliff "Soon to be a Yankee" Lee

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"Mad Season" for the Yankees Comes to an End

Joe Girardi's Binder was part of this Mad Season (NYT)

"I feel stupid - but I know it won't last for long
I've been guessing - and I coulda been guessin' wrong
You don't know me now
I kinda thought that you should somehow
Does that whole mad season got ya down?"
-"Mad Season" by Matchbox 20

Whenever a season ends without a championship, it sucks. As a fan, we feel betrayed, angry, and confused and want to second-guess every decision. Should they have taken A.J. Burnett out earlier in Game 4? Should they have resisted walking Josh Hamilton all those times? Should they have used CC Sabathia instead of David Robertson in Game 6? Should they have gone to Mariano in more games? We look back and we try to figure "when did this go wrong?" We look to blame someone: The Captain, the manager, the general manager, even the idiotic play-by-play guy who declared the series over and done with after the Yankees had won exactly one game. In the end, though, after digesting a tough ALCS loss, I feel that maybe we were fooled by this Yankees team, thinking they were better than they were and that we ran into a better team in the Texas Rangers.

But while I'm ready to tip my cap to the Texas Rangers and wish them luck representing the American League in the World Series, I'm not ready to put this Mad-dening Season to rest. The Yankees came into the season as World Series champs, looked like the favorite to repeat at the All-Star Break, faltered down the stretch, swept a very good Twins team in the first round, and then ran into Cliff Lee and the Rangers in the ALCS. The turning point of the season may have been the Yankees' failure to acquire Lee. I opined at the time that not acquiring Lee may be the move that cost the Yankees the pennant. I thought the lack of Lee on the Yankees was the trouble--I had no clue that Lee would actually be one of the guys to knock the Yankees out of the playoffs.

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The Clutchest of the Clutch: Best Yankee Playoff Hitting Performances Since 1995

A fan sitting behind me at the bleachers yesterday was remarking how amazing it was that Robinson Cano had gone from "un-clutch" to "clutch" and how Alex Rodriguez had gone from a playoff zero to a playoff hero. I remarked to my dad that we forget that A-Rod was really good in the 2004 playoffs before the whole team (including him) collapsed. We remember certain performances by guys but forget others. But which individual performances helped the Yankees the most to win games? We can debate if "clutch" actually exists, but there is a way to measure how much someone contributed to a Yankee playoff win. Using Win Probability Added (WPA) from Baseball-Reference, here are the Top 10 clutchest of the clutch Yankee hitters since the Wild Card Era:

Where will Jose Vizcaino's 2000 World Series heroics rank? (ESPN)

#1: Alex Rodriguez, 2004 ALDS Game 2

Alex Rodriguez shows up quite a bit at the top of this list. This performance--hitting #2 in the lineup--was the highest WPA of any Yankee player since 1995 with .684. In this game A-Rod went 4-for-6 and helped the Yankees to a big win after getting blanked in Game 1 at home. He singled and scored a run in the third, hit the go-ahead home run in the 5th, and hit an RBI single in the 7th to make it 5-3 Yankees. But his biggest hit came in the bottom of the 12th inning. Minnesota had gone ahead in the top of the inning and it looked like the Twins were going to leave New York with two wins. But facing Joe Nathan in his third inning of work, the Yankees got two on with one out for A-Rod who took a 1-1 pitch to left center for a game-tying, ground-rule double. The Yankees would win it two batters later when Hideki Matsui hit a sacrifice fly, but A-Rod's big hits contributed most to the win.

#2 Scott Brosius, 1998 World Series Game 3

There was a reason that Brosius won the World Series MVP in 1998. Brosius hit 6th for the Yankees in this game and was their only hitter with more than one hit, going 3-for-4 and putting up a .624 WPA. In a scoreless game, Brosius singled in the top of the 5th but Sterling Hitchcock let him go no further striking out Shane Spencer and Joe Girardi. The Padres took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the 6th, and Brosius answered right back with a home run as the leadoff hitter. The Yankees would score one more that inning but trailed 3-2 when Trevor Hoffman, one of the top closers in the history of the game, came on in the top of the 8th. With two on and one out, Brosius hit a 2-2 pitch out of the park and put the Yankees ahead for good at 5-3. Brosius would hit .471 in the series but his Game 3 performance helped the Yankees go up 3-0 before sweeping the very next game.

#3: Alex Rodriguez, 2004 ALDS Game 4

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September Record Doesn't Predict a Team's October Success

Momentum. More than anything else, it seems that when October comes around that momentum plays a big deal about who is going to finish on top and win the World Series. A hot starter, a hot hitter, a hot bullpen. We all tend to think that a team needs to be hot down the stretch to win the World Series. Sure there's a few teams that can turn it up when they really need to, but most teams feed off the games before, right? Well looking at the Yankees' recent history as well as the history of other World Series winners, your record in the last month of the season may not be as important towards determining your fate in October as you think.

History says Joe Girardi doesn't need to pray for playoff success in 2010 (NYDN)

The reason I did this quick study was because of the 2010 Yankees. "Limping" towards the playoffs (literally, with guys like Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher actually limping), the Yanks are 11-13 so far in September after having the best record in baseball for the first five months of the season. So how much does this poor September record affect their chances of excelling in October? Let's take a look.

Part of this is certainly the size of the sample and there are a million other factors at work here including the fact that the playoffs in baseball are usually little better than a crap shoot. But looking back at the Yankees teams that have either won the World Series or failed to do so since 1995, it seems that September/October record doesn't always equate success. Here are the September/October regular season record of those Yankees teams that failed to win the World Series recently: 

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The "Nitty Gritty" Yankee Teams of the Late 90s

Last night I got into a discussion with a few friends about baseball. The discussion moved at one point to the Joe Torre teams of the late 90s. I had mentioned how on base percentage was, in my opinion, the most important statistic to measure a team's offensive efficiency--though I mentioned a hollow OBP without power was worthless. I was trying to explain weighted on base average (or wOBA, a category that Dave Cameron of FanGraphs does much better and Alex Remington of Big League Stew adds to) when one of my friends piped up and said that the the offense of those 90s Torre teams were built less on OBP and more on taking pitches and their nitty, gritty mentality. Although I think that pitches per plate appearance has a good deal to do with OBP (more pitches seen usually means patience, more pitches wears out the pitcher and causes them to throw more balls, etc.), I thought that this idea that these Yankee teams didn't win because of OBP and wOBA was false. It turns out I was right.

I think most of this misconception lies in the fact that OBP wasn't exactly a mainstream topic before 2003 when Michael Lewis' Moneyball hit the scene. The truth is that teams were thinking about this before that time, but like good organizations do, they decided not to share that trade secret with others. If you take a look at those Yankee teams, you remember Paul O'Neill's warrior-like ABs, but you forget how they ended many times: with him jogging to first base. Using FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference (and a 50 PA minimum), here was what those Yankee teams looked like:

"The Warror" did more than just foul off pitches (Yankee Yapping)

1995
I add this one in just to show when the change occurred. Obviously, this was not a Torre team (Buck Showalter ran the show), but some of the seeds of Torre teams were planted. The 1995 Yankee team put up a .357 OBP which was good for 2nd in the American League. But the OBP was pretty empty of power. Although they had 280 doubles (2nd in the AL), they had only 122 HR (12th out of 14). Paul O'Neill had 22, Bernie Williams 18, Mike Stanley 18...and no one else had more than 7. The starting infield of Don Mattingly, Pat Kelly, Tony Fernandez, and Wade Boggs accumulated 21 combined. While Paul O'Neill (.387 OBP, .388 wOBA), Bernie Williams (.392 OBP, .385 wOBA), and Wade Boggs (.412 OBP, .373 wOBA) carried the offense, Dion James (.317 wOBA), Luis Polonia (.304), Tony Fernandez (.296), and Pat Kelly (.293) all were black holes. The team made the playoffs as the first American League Wild Card but they were disposed of in a tough 5-game loss in the American League Division Series to the Seattle Mariners.

1996
In 1996, the Yankees got rid of most of the dead weight from the 1995 lineup. They replaced Dion James with Tim Raines (.383 OBP/.377 wOBA), Luis Polonia with Ruben Rivera (.381/.368), Tony Fernandez with Derek Jeter (.370/.353), and Pat Kelly with Mariano Duncan (.352/.364). The team OBP ticked up to .360 and the hitting improved even further when they swapped Ruben Sierra for Cecil Fielder mid-season. Paul O'Neill continued to be a force in the Yankees lineup, walking 15.5% of the time and putting up a .411 OBP. The team gave way too many PAs (219) to Andy Fox (probably the worst Yankee hitter of the past 20 years that they've given that many PAs to) and Gerald Williams was never the answer in left, but this team was able to win the World Series because of those improvements it made.

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Hot Stove Coal: Can You Win the World Series by Making a Big Mid-Season Trade?

The truth is that what a roster looks like today (or Opening Day) is not what it will look like once the playoffs start. Injuries occur, players are traded, released, picked up on waivers, called up from the minors, and free agents are signed. Nothing is set in stone. And big pieces can be had at the trade deadline. Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez were traded last season and CC Sabathia the year before that. But none of those teams won the World Series. Yet many point to the big David Justice trade in 2000 the key piece for the Yankees win. Let's examine the teams that won the World Series since the strike and their biggest mid-season (April 1st to October 1st) deal to see if you should have your team mostly set now or you can hold out for that big piece...(thanks to Baseball-Reference for the help in this)

2009 New York Yankees

Biggest Deal: June 30, 2009 Traded Casey Erickson (minors) and Eric Fryer (minors) to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Received Eric Hinske.
Analysis: The Yankees also picked up guys like Jerry Hairston, Jr. and Chad Gaudin but the trade for Hinske was probably the most helpful. Many fans were upset the Yankees didn't go out and make a bigger splash for a guy like Roy Halladay, but it ended up that the pop from Hinske, versatility of Hairston and the solid starting pitching of Gaudin was all they needed to win it all.
Big scale: All small trades

2008 Philadelphia Phillies

Biggest Deal: July 17, 2008 Traded Adrian Cardenas (minors), Matt Spencer (minors) and Josh Outman to the Oakland Athletics. Received Joe Blanton.
Analysis: The Phillies also traded for Matt Stairs and Scott Eyre, but their biggest trade came before the season when they acquired Eric Bruntlett and Brad Lidge from the Astros. They would make a much bigger splash with Cliff Lee a year later but these smaller deals were the ones that actually propelled them to the championship. Blanton was solid down the stretch for the Phillies, going 4-0 with a 4.20 ERA.
Big scale: Medium trades

2007 Boston Red Sox

Biggest Deal: July 31, 2007 Traded Engel Beltre (minors), Kason Gabbard and David Murphy to the Texas Rangers. Received Eric Gagne and cash.
Analysis: Believe it or not, this was the Red Sox biggest deal and it failed miserably. Amazingly, many Yankees fans were angry with Brian Cashman that he didn't make this deal. It ended up working out the best for the Red Sox anyways as they took home the World Series trophy. The only other mid-season acquisition to play in the majors for the Sox was free agent signing Royce Clayton who had a grand total of 6 plate appearances.
Big scale: All small trades

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End of Week Link Roundup

Lots and lots of links but only one Derek Jeter. He's with Minka Kelly courtesy of the New York Post on the right.

• Two great visuals from the World Series to start us out. The first is the Gigapan Photo. This thing is ridiculous. They had this at the inauguration as well and it's just another reminder not to pick your nose at a big world event. Zoom in and see what I mean (one thing that is confusing is that the picture was taken over almost an hour so while the players are celebrating on the field, some of the fans may be in their seats). The second is from the New York Times and is a time-lapsed view of the World Series. Both are really awesome. And if you want to go see the World Series DVD, Mets Police points out there's quite a few screenings.
  

• From the NFL, Bill Simmons didn't like Bill Belichick's call at all but the Wall Street Journal and FanGraphs both break it down a little more. The Giants could have Aaron Ross back this week according to ESPN which is really good news for the G-men. The Baltimore Sun talks about Michael Oher trying to not get distracted as his life is made into a Sandra Bullock movie. I read the book and I'm excited to see the movie at some point. Next is a cool PSA from NFL.com that will be run during Thanksgiving that has Drew Brees thowing a pass to President Obama as Troy Polamalu guards him and DeMarcus Ware looks on. Last link on football is a crazy play you'll have to see for yourself from Yahoo! Sports (H/T Jenn).

• Want some more reading on the Cy Young votes? Keith Law takes on the American League candidates. Wezen-Ball has a funny post called "The Carpenter Travesty". Tyler Kepner talks about the lessons of Cy Youngs past. Fack Youk asks if Zack Greinke really understands FIP. And, lastly, Jim Kaat says that the writers made the right call with Tim Lincecum. River Avenue Blues tries to put it all in context.
  

• More baseball: a hysterical story of a man who hit a woman with a cheesesteak in Philly (can't make that shit up). Keith Law and Jon Heyman rank their top free agents. Ken Rosenthal thinks aloud about the Tigers trading Miguel Cabrera. IIATMS figures out if it really is all about the money (stupid). Baseball Junk Drawer has the best of B-R's sponsorships (sad we didn't make it up there with our Clay Zavada one). FanGraphs looks at the best baserunners. Baseball-Intellect gives you everything you need to know about Aroldis Chapman. And a great A-Rod article from the SI Vault from 1993.

• A few unsavory baseball things: Verb Plow finds the smoking gun that shows former Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey was a racist. Ken Rosenthal hints at some possible labor strife. And Outside the Lines has a crazy story about baseball in Cambodia.

• Last few: RealClearSports says that the Knicks aren't getting LeBron James and Yahoo! Sports agrees and says it's because they passed on Brandon Jennings. The New York Times writes about efforts to curb bring drinking on college game days (even though the BBC cites a study that says that alcohol protects men's hearts). Lastly, "Sean Avery" and "Youth Hockey Instructor" just sound like they should not go together.

I'll end with a Bill Simmons quote from his latest article (Jay likes this one too): In the aforementioned Game 6, I remember watching those Yankees fans celebrating after the seventh and thinking, "There is absolutely nobody in my sports fan life now that makes me feel as secure as those Yankee fans feel with Rivera right now."

Google Wave Invitation Giveaway With Trivia

I have 8 invitations to give away to Google Wave. How do you get them? Be the first eight to get an answer to this trivia question correctly:

10 different players hit home runs in the 2009 World Series. Name one of them.

Post your answer in the comments below and include your e-mail address so I can send you the invite. You cannot duplicate one that someone else put up there or else you will be disqualified. If you answer more than one player, you are also disqualified. Again I only have 8 invites right now so the first 8 people to get the question right will get the invites.

Good luck!

Trivia Tuesday: World Series Games

According to Baseball-Reference: "Derek Jeter is the only player to have the opportunity to play in every Yankees World Series game since 1996. In fact, with his six World Series games this year, Jeter has now become the all-time leader in World Series games played since divisional play started in 1969."

There are 13 players who have played in at least 25 World Series games since divisional play started in 1969. There are 10 players in between Jeter's high of 38 games and the 25 games that Chuck Knoblauch and Tino Martinez played in the World Series. Can you name those 10 players?

Put your answers in the comments below. I'll reveal the correct answers later tonight. Good luck!

Some Pictures from the Parade

Here were some pictures I took at the parade. I posted all the good pictures on Facebook, so you can click on this link and enjoy!

The best sign of the parade:

The MVP, Hideki Matsui and Eric Hinske

Mark Teixeira and CC Sabathia

Fittingly, they put A.J. Burnett with his personal catcher, Jose Molina, on the same float

The Captain

Jorge Posada telling all of us that the Yankees are, in fact, #1

Joba with his son running around having a great time

Thumbs up for Andy Pettitte

I yelled "one more year" at Andy Pettitte. He pointed back. I take that as a good sign

It ended with the closer, Mariano Rivera

A look at Broadway after the parade passed

It was an awesome experience in the Canyon of Heroes. I hope I will be back many, many times in the upcoming years. Great job by the city of New York, the fans, and the Yankees.

Saluting the Yankees and Thoughts from the Parade

Today was my first time watching in person as my team was draped with ticker-tape floating down in the Canyon of Heroes. I missed the Giants in 1990 and 2008, the Rangers in 1994, and the Yankees previous four. In 2001, I had made plans to head down to the parade if the Yankees had closed it out. Unfortunately, they did not and I've been waiting to go back. I was there today to witness the madness and I can report it was an amazing experience.

I will post some pictures later that I took (had to head back into work once the parade passed by), but it was awesome. I got down there a little before 9 AM and it was already packed. I found a spot right at the edge of the sidewalk on Broadway between Rector and Exchange. The crowd was great and was buzzing from the second I got there. I took a few pictures on my Blackberry and have posted them here. The first one is of the crowd at about 9:15. Yes, that is a roll of toilet paper flying across the air--there were a ton of them.

Everyone seemed to have a good time, there were some great chants from the crowd, and some great signs (two best was a Pedro RIP coffin with the Post cover inside and a sign that says "Hey Rollins, Predict This"). People were hanging out of windows, some were climbed on on street signs, some were perched on scaffolding, but everyone just seemed to be in a good mood. We debated whether Mike Mussina had the same "Ewing Effect" that Don Mattingly did and we talked about all the random guys from this season who would be getting rings (hello Anthony Claggett!). We had chants about one side being better than the other and a lot of camaraderie among the throng. No one pushed or shoved, no one tried to get ahead of other people, and no one was disrespectful. It was chaos, it was crowded, but it was controlled (at least in my area, I heard some others did not feel the same way).

The scene was perfect. The weather was perfect as well.

And then the recycled paper started flowing from the sky, the floats started moving down Broadway and the parade really got going. Biggest hands were for the floats of CC Sabathia/Mark Teixeria, Derek Jeter/Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte (who my picture is of on the right) and Mariano Rivera (whose float zoomed down Broadway too fast for anyone's liking).

The biggest boo was for Michael Kay in the back of a convertible (okay, maybe it was mostly just me booing, but it sounded pretty loud). Some of the pairings were great especially A.J. Burnett and Jose Molina after the whole catching controversy and Sabathia/Teixeira who were loving every minute of it. Of course, Nick Swisher was awesome as well. But for the most part, we cheered everyone. It must have been a thrill for all those players who have never been there before, but you could also see it was a thrill for the "Core Four" who accomplished it one more time together.

The best part about it: being among friends and total strangers and laughing and realizing that after all that disappointment, the New York Yankees had finally won another World Series. And, I have to say, the ticker-tape parade down the Canyon of Heroes for the New York Yankees was just as I imagined it would be: simply amazing.

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things (Yankees)

As I get ready to head down to the Canyon of Heroes to watch the 2009 Yankees be adored by over a million fans in a ticker-tape parade, there are a lot of things over the past day since the Yankees won to make me smile.I've listed a few of them here (and some pictures including the one on the right which was Deadspin making fun of all the unoriginal coverage). Enjoy!

Bing!

The Great Introductions

• The hook from the Hartford Courant:

The shortest curse in baseball history is over. Third-graders everywhere who had never seen the Yankees win the World Series in their lifetime can now sleep easy.

The Yankees ended nine years of title-less slumber — granted, a mere catnap for some franchises — when they beat the defending champion Phillies 7-3 Wednesday night before 50,315 at Yankee Stadium to win the 2009 World Series in six games.

• A little more verbose/grandiose from Tyler Kepner at the New York Times:

A sliver of time for other teams is an epoch for the Yankees, who define themselves by championships. For eight seasons, they led the majors in victories, payroll and drama. They built a ballpark, created a network and expanded their brand around the globe. But they did not win the World Series.

Now they have done it. There is a 27th jewel in the Yankees’ crown and a peaceful, easy feeling across their empire.

Joe Girardi and everything else about the #27

• I should have linked to this story when I saw it this morning, but if you haven't read about the heroism of Joe Girardi, you really should go to LoHud and read the story. It is amazing. Joe Girardi, the man that he is, actually stopped on his way home to help a victim of a car crash. Wow.

• See that picture on the right from the New York Post? Yes, Joe Girardi got pied by A.J. Burnett (H/T Ben). You gotta love that! Also to love? When reporters get pied (just watch this video from The Star-Ledger)
  

• Jesse Spector of the New York Daily News has 27 things about the 27 New York titles. IIATMS has 27 reflections. Dave Schoenfield has 27 facts for ESPN and he also ranks the 27 Yankees title teams.

The Core Four/The Dyansty Boys adding another ring

• It was all about the "Gang of Four" who felt something that must have been similar but different according to Jayson Stark. They earned one for the thumb according to the New York Post.

• Some Mariano love from Rob Neyer and The Big Lead. Baseball-Reference gives some love to Andy Pettitte. 

• As Deadspin writes (and provides the picture on the right), it really never gets old:

So they spent more money than anyone else. So they didn't have to wait as long as anyone else. Ask us fans if it feels any less amazing. It doesn't.

Totally agree

Godzilla, A-Rod and being careful about what you say about (or do) to both

• The New York Times says that while perception has changed, A-Rod is just being A-Rod. If that's the case, keep on doing what you're doing. I give the credit to Kate Hudson.

• Matsui's fans in Japan went wild according to the New York Times. Damon and Matsui headline the names of the biggest free agents from The Biz of Baseball. The New York Daily News wonders if the Yankees can let Matsui go after a performance like this in the World Series (I say: yes, absolutely). 

• Matsui got the best of Pedro in 2003, Pedro got the best of Matsui in 2004, and after Matsui got the best of Pedro in 2009, Pedro decided to act like a baby according to Amy K. Nelson. Maybe the New York Post's cover was appropriate after all.

• River Avenue Blues points out that a lot of people were wrong about Matsui, A-Rod and a lot of other things this baseball season. Funny to go back and see all those overreactions by people.

A few great recaps to take us home

• The Purist Bleeds Pinstripes posts pictures and tells the story from Blondies where Elliot Stabler made an appearance (!). Very upset I missed that one, though The Hill was a great crowd last night.

• LoHud has a slideshow with audio overlay. And in case our memories were short IIATMS points out the banner on the right is already up to remind us the Yankees did, indeed, win.

• And a great job by Big League Stew recapping the exchange between Joba and Harlan Chamberlain. Sometimes you get frustrated with Joba on the mound but when you see him and his dad together, it's hard not to get some emotion.

Thanks again for reading and following along and putting a smile on my face (John Sterling had a big part in that too). I will have pictures and stories from the parade route. One last thing to make you smile before I go: the Yankees are the 2009 champions.

A Toast to the Best in Baseball

Congratulations to the New York Yankees on winning the 2009 Major League Baseball World Series! It's been a fun run from the last offseason through the playoffs, but we've had it all here at No, You're a Towel. No more will I have to hear from opposing fans that we couldn't win with A-Rod, that we were cursed by 9/11, that we hadn't won a championship this decade (even though we had won one in 2000). The pain of 2001 and 2003 and 2004 are erased for a little while. Now that's it's over, let's do a champagne toast to the best of the best from the World Series and beyond. I'll go into each one a little bit later, but here's a quick hit on everyone for now:

• A tip of the cap, first, to Chase Utley and Cliff Lee. Ut-Lee was the dynamic combo that gave the Yankees a run for their money in the playoffs. You have one of the best pitchers and one of the best hitters in the National League right there and they played like it in the World Series

• Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon. Both are free agents and there is a chance neither will be back (though it seems like Damon is more likely). But if this is it, both gave it their best. Matsui won the World Series MVP despite having only started 3 games of the series and tied the record for the least amount of ABs by a World Series MVP winner. Johnny Damon had the biggest steal(s) of his career and helped to steal a win from the Phillies.

• Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte. Mo said that he wants to pitch for another five years while Andy hasn't said if this is it. I can't imagine life without either right now. Rivera is a machine on the mound. In the postseason he is about as close to automatic as it comes. With the struggles of all the other closers this postseason, we can look at his microscopic 0.74 ERA and smile. Andy has been dandy for the Yankees for a long time. He won every clinching game of this postseason for them. It was, fittingly Andy to Mo again for this clincher.

• Derek Jeter and A-Rod. Derek Jeter just keeps on hitting in the playoffs. He had a .423 average this postseason and really always seems to be there at the right times. A-Rod got the monkey off his back. All my Red Sox friends said that the Yankees would never win with A-Rod, well here is championship #1--a championship he helped earn with a ridiculous playoffs of big hit after big hit. 

• CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira. Neither one really contributed to wins in the World Series on paper (CC was 0-1 in two starts and Tex had only 3 hits), but they would never have been there without them. They got the big money to come in and deliver a championship, and unlike free agents brought in the past 9 years, they were able to accomplish their goal. Teixeira's defense, even when his bat went cold, were a huge part of the playoff run, and CC's dominance in the first two rounds helped the Yankees get to where they were.

• Joe Girardi and Damaso Marte. I lumped them together because they're two people I owe apologies to. Marte turned into the Graeme Lloyd of this postseason, sucking it up during the regular season but getting big outs against lefties when it counted most in the playoffs. Joe Girardi I have second and third guessed at times but his moves paid huge dividends with a World Series win. He may have had his best game as manager decision-making-wise in Game 6 of the World Series.

• Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner. For spending the money, but spending it wisely. Nick Swisher was absolutely stolen from the White Sox and has been a great presence on and off the field. A.J. Burnett and his pies were one of the best parts of the season. You really rooted for CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira when I couldn't care less about the Randy Johnsons and the Kevin Browns that we signed before. And I'm excited to see what's coming through the pipeline.
  

• To all those who read the blog or follow me on Twitter (@noyoureatowel) or who write things in their own space that inspire me to write. I doubt there's any team in the world that has as much media attention as the Yankees, but the great camaraderie I've felt with the fans throughout this season has been special. I hope that it continues for a long time, but wanted to toast all of you for making this even more fun and I'm glad to be able to share the euphoria of this championship with all of you. We shattered our record for visitors in October, zooming past 50,000 total, and I'm excited for what the future will hold.

There are many other to toast but that's just a sample. We'll have plenty more Yankees coverage throughout the offseason, including pictures from yours truly at the parade tomorrow. We'll also be covering the Giants, Rangers, and probably even the Knicks on the blog as well as talking about whatever else is going on in the sports world or world as a whole (including TV updates as summer shows' season finales kick off). It's been a helluva ride so far and I just can't wipe the smile off my face today. #27 baby! Feels so good!

pictures courtesy of Yahoo!'s Photo Gallery

Yankees On Top Of The World

 

Thanks to Newseum.org for all those great covers (NY Post for the first one)

For Lani:

World Series Game 6 Notes and Pitching Matchups

Yankees lineup:

1. Derek Jeter SS
2. Johnny Damon LF
3. Mark Teixeira 1B
4. Alex Rodriguez 3B
5. Hideki Matsui DH
6. Jorge Posada C
7. Robinson Cano 2B
8. Nick Swisher RF
9. Brett Gardner CF

P. Andy Pettitte

Some notes:

• Despite Jerry Hairston, Jr's good numbers vs. Pedro, Joe Girardi rightly resisted the urge to start him over Cano, Swisher or Gardner. I think that's a very good move. Swisher is the better hitter, Cano is the better player and Gardner is the better defender. Makes the most sense
  

• After Hideki Matsui had to sit out a July trip through NL parks, he his .349/.473/.767 with 5 HR and 14 RBI in his next 15 games. With the same amount of rest maybe he can be as productive tonight. Also, Matsui's postseason career was going along swimmingly until Pedro brushed him back in the 2004 ALCS. Can Matsui exact some revenge?

• If this is Matsui's last game as a Yankee, they will miss him. He is .303/.385/.517 w/ 9 HR, 33 RBI in his postseason career
  

• Speaking of revenge, I think Posada would like some after being sat for Jose Molina and going back to 2003-2004 rivalry with Pedro where Posada thought Pedro was threatening to throw at his head.
  

• Girardi said that A.J. Burnett is available in relief as early as tonight. Since he's sucked it up in the first innings of his games, I'm not sure you want him in there in any big spot. Girardi said Mo is good for 2 innings tonight

• Supposedly Charlie Manuel hasn't ruled out bringing back Lee for a possible Game 7--on two days rest. Why, if that was the case, didn't he bring him back Game 4 on 3-days rest? Strange
  

• I'm thinking of showing up tonight at Yankee Stadium with a pan and a spoon and telling security I'm here because Freddy Sez is going on short rest. I don't know if they'll buy it, though.
  

• I was thinking of this Seinfeld quote today: "George Costanza: Do you wanna talk about hotels or do you wanna win some ball games?/Derek Jeter: We won the World Series/George: In 6 games"

• Although George Constanza was my pick to throw out the first pitch, they're going with Scott Brosius who is a pretty good choice too. Mary J. singing national anthem.
  

Quick Links:

• Love the ending of this blog post by Chris Shearn
• Great job by Fack Youk taking apart Mike Lupica
• River Ave Blues points out that the Yankees have won before with key players struggling
• Joe Posnanski wonders if The Boss "deserves" another championship
• The OC Register shows just how good Mariano Rivera really is
• Walk Off Walk has a great list of things they can't deal with today
  

Let's just take a quick look at how these two veterans pitchers match up against their opposing teams (stats from Baseball-Reference and include the postseason):

Yankees vs. Pedro

PA  AB  H  2B 3B HR RBI  BB  SO   BA   OBP   SLG   **OPS**   SH  SF IBB HBP GDP G_miss YR_miss
+-----------------+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+---------+---+---+---+---+---+------+-------+
 Jerry Hairston     34  30  11  2  1  0   0   3   7  .367  .424  .500    .924     1   0   0   0   0                
 Mark Teixeira       9   9   2  1  0  1   1   0   4  .222  .222  .667    .889     0   0   0   0   0                
 Derek Jeter       119 105  28  6  0  4  10  12  29  .267  .347  .438    .785     1   0   0   1   0                
 Jorge Posada       84  72  15  4  1  4  12  11  34  .208  .321  .458    .779     0   0   0   1   1                
 Hideki Matsui      48  45  11  4  0  2   3   3   8  .244  .292  .467    .759     0   0   0   0   0                
 Alex Rodriguez     70  61  17  2  0  1   4   7  22  .279  .371  .361    .732     0   0   0   2   1                
 Eric Hinske        33  30   8  0  0  1   7   1  10  .267  .303  .367    .670     0   1   0   1   1                
 Melky Cabrera       9   8   2  0  0  0   0   1   3  .250  .333  .250    .583     0   0   1   0   0                
 Jose Molina        14  11   2  0  0  0   1   1   1  .182  .308  .182    .490     1   0   0   1   0                
 Johnny Damon       30  28   5  0  0  0   0   2   5  .179  .233  .179    .412     0   0   0   0   1                
 Robinson Cano      16  15   0  0  0  0   2   0   1  .000  .000  .000    .000     0   1   0   0   1                
 Nick Swisher        2   2   0  0  0  0   0   0   0  .000  .000  .000    .000     0   0   0   0   0                
+-----------------+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+---------+---+---+---+---+---+------+-------+
 Total             468 416 101 19  2 13  40  41 124  .243  .318  .392    .710     3   2   1   6   5                

Philllies vs. Pettitte

PA  AB  H  2B 3B HR RBI  BB  SO   BA   OBP   SLG   **OPS**   SH  SF IBB HBP GDP G_miss YR_miss
+-----------------+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+---------+---+---+---+---+---+------+-------+
 Carlos Ruiz         3   3   2  0  0  1   1   0   0  .667  .667 1.667   2.334     0   0   0   0   0                
 Brett Myers         2   2   1  0  0  0   0   0   0  .500  .500  .500   1.000     0   0   0   0   0                
 Shane Victorino     6   6   3  0  0  0   0   0   1  .500  .500  .500   1.000     0   0   0   0   0                
 Ben Francisco       6   5   2  0  0  0   0   1   1  .400  .500  .400    .900     0   0   0   0   0                
 Raul Ibanez        22  21   6  1  0  1   3   0   5  .286  .318  .476    .794     0   0   0   1   1                
 Pedro Feliz        10   7   2  0  0  0   2   3   1  .286  .500  .286    .786     0   0   0   0   0                
 Jimmy Rollins      18  18   4  0  0  1   1   0   2  .222  .222  .389    .611     0   0   0   0   0                
 Chase Utley         8   7   1  0  0  0   0   1   3  .143  .250  .143    .393     0   0   0   0   0                
 Jayson Werth       13  13   1  0  0  1   2   0   5  .077  .077  .308    .385     0   0   0   0   2                
 Ryan Howard         9   9   1  0  0  0   0   0   1  .111  .111  .111    .222     0   0   0   0   0                
 Paul Bako           1   1   0  0  0  0   0   0   0  .000  .000  .000    .000     0   0   0   0   0                
 Chan Ho Park        5   4   0  0  0  0   0   0   3  .000  .000  .000    .000     1   0   0   0   0                
 Matt Stairs         9   9   0  0  0  0   0   0   1  .000  .000  .000    .000     0   0   0   0   0                
+-----------------+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+---------+---+---+---+---+---+------+-------+
 Total             112 105  23  1  0  4   9   5  23  .219  .261  .343    .604     1   0   0   1   3                

Some more great stats on this game here

Quick, non-reliable prediction: 7-4 Yankees in a game decided by bullpens. Posada, Matsui and Werth go deep, Mariano closes it out.

Who Will Win The World Series MVP?

When the World Series ends an MVP will have to be declared. Let's take a look at the candidates:

Yankees hitters:

• Johnny Damon is tied for the series lead with 8 hits, has scored a team-high 5 runs and is 3-3 in stolen base attempts. His 2-out approach in Game 4 and his double steal puts him in the spotlight and a big game tonight to seal the deal could give him the MVP.

• Derek Jeter also has 8 hits in the series and if he has a big hit to win the game tonight or picks up 3+ hits, you could see him sneaking in and winning it. Mostly because of "intangibles". But the GIDP in Game 5 will hurt him. But winning the MVP would be very Jeterian.
  

• Hideki Matsui will be back in the lineup tonight and the Yankees have missed him in their regularly. Matsui has an awesome .556/.600/1.222 line (yes, that's a 1.822 OPS) with 2 HR this postseason and if he keeps up that fire tonight, he has a chance of winning it. Being only available to pinch hit for all three games in Philly may hurt him

• A-Rod just missed out on winning the ALCS MVP but he has a chance to take home the World Series MVP with a big Game 6. He has had a ton of big hits this postseason and few more may vault him over the top. His no-show in Games 1 and 2 may hurt the cause, however. If he does win, I wonder if he has to split it with Kate Hudson?

Phillies Hitters:

• Chase Utley is having a monster World Series. I came in praising the job he has done without as much critical acclaim as Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins or many of his other teammates, but Utley is truly a beast. As Sporting News and Big League Stew point out, Utley could win it without his team winning the World Series for only the second time in MLB history. If he hits another home run tonight, he may seal it.

• Jayson Werth has a very outside shot of winning it. But let's say he hits two more home runs against Andy Pettitte tonight to win Game 6 and produces big in a Game 7 win...don't you have to think about giving it to him at that point? That also means that Chase Utley can't do any more damage than he's done now so this is a very outside shot

Yankees Pitchers:

• Andy Pettitte could win it with an 8 inning, 1 run game tonight (or something like that). That would give him two out of four wins for the World Series, including yet another clincher.

• Mariano Rivera could win it with a big save tonight. Let's say he gets 7 outs tonight. That would give him 3 saves and 6 innings pitched. I think he would have earned it, too.
  

• CC Sabathia would need a huge Game 7 to win it. But imagine if he finishes the World Series with a huge Game 7 and a low ERA. He would have pitched 3 really good games for the Yankees, though I wonder if he'll get punished for getting an L and an ND in the other two.
  

Phillies Pitchers:

• Cliff Lee could win it by coming out of the bullpen tomorrow night and closing out the World Series for the Phillies. If he does that a la Randy Johnson, I think you have to give him the hardware.

• Ryan Madson is a dark sleeper here but let's say he gets two huge saves in the final two games. That would mean he would pitch in 6 of 7 games and get 3 saves. I don't know if it'll ever come to that, but it would be an interesting choice.
  

Who do you think is going to win it? I've put a new poll up on the right. Put your vote there but let us know in the comments why you chose that player.

Winning It All On An Anniversary

On November 4, 2001 one of the most exciting World Series ended with one of its most exciting games. Mariano Rivera walked off the mound as Luis Gonzalez infamous bloop landed. It was the only World Series to be played into November until this year. Eight years to the date later, Rivera and the Yankees have a chance to erase those memories and start a new chapter.

In some ways, this feels like 1996. The Yankees had a World Series drought and reached the World Series again in the first year of a new era. The Yankees easily handled the ALDS against the best hitter in the American League that season (Juan Gonzalez and Joe Mauer). The Yankees faced a familiar, tough foe in the ALCS and won that series with Andy Pettitte on the mound. And both years they faced the defending World Series champion, went down early, won big, dramatic games in the other team's park, and then came back home with a veteran lefty on the mound ready to close out the series.

I feel like all that is beckoning that tonight is the night. The night that Andy Pettitte starts, Jorge Posada catches, Derek Jeter hits, and Mariano Rivera closes--just like old times. The night Rivera gets over his postseason past and the Yankees start a new chapter. And the night that the Yankees win World Series #27. Let's hope that it's more than a feeling.

Some linkage:

• Some great stuff from around the blogosphere on Johnny Damon's amazing double steal. River Avenue Blues calls it "Jeterian" (sort of). Jayson Stark calls it "historical". Big League Stew calls it "instinctual".  Keith Olbermann calls it "the smartest play in World Series history". Can't Stop The Bleeding wonders if it's "the most incredible athletic feat in all of humankind".

• David Wells has had some great postseason moments as a member of the press from farting the on the TBS set to his New York Post columns. His two recent columns: Kate Hudson being a huge help for A-Rod and knocking down Chase Utley tonight. Boomer, I couldn't agree with you more.

• Buster Olney breaks down the key matchups for Game 6. Big League Stew says that Game 6s have not been kind to Andy Pettitte. Cole Hamels and Bretty Myers may or may not have a rift but Tyler Kepner puts it all in context. Yankees and Phillies fans go for worst behaved on the Daily Show. Jon Heyman wonders about Pettitte on short rest as does Newsday. Mike Lupica says that Girardi better be right about this move. RealClearSports says that Manuel made a mistake by starting Pedro twice and they really want to talk to him about his pitching plans. And Eduardo Perez writes for Baseball Tonight that the Phillies have the edge because Andy Pettitte is on the mound. I am very, very happy Perez wrote that because I don't think he's been right about one thing all season long.

• The New York Daily News says the Yankees need to win so that Mark Teixeira's nightmare can end. Ian O'Connor says that Tex needs to hit so that A-Rod can produce. I agree with Ian here; A-Rod has had way too many ABs where he was leading off an inning or they just never got to him during a rally because of Teixeira's struggles.

• I have no clue if anything Phil Mushnick wrote about Mike Francesca is true, but if it is, shame on you FatMan and you should resign. What is true, the Big Apple may have a "Jeter Bridge" according to the New York Post. This bridge would be best in the fall and have all the intangibles you look for in a bridge.

• Joel Sherman tweeted yesterday: "Tdy is Yanks' 16th offday since end reg sked (hv plyd 15 plyoff gms) Yanks' 16th reg-sea offdy (AS break included) was 9/17, 147Gs into sked". Wow. And with $1.8 million made per team, according to Darren Rovell, I don't think anyone on their side is complaining.

• Lastly, want to join the rest of the blogosphere in congratulating Shysterball's Craig Calcaterra on all his success and his latest decision. Quitting his day job to become a blogger makes him a hero amongst the rest of us who long to do just that. This blog started as a hobby at the beginning of the year, but I have found great love in doing it. Hopefully Craig can inspire me to follow his path.

Three Bothersome Things and a Few Takeaways

It's weird to feel nervous about this World Series. The Yankees are up 3-2 and coming back to the Bronx. The Yankees have lost two games in a row at home only twice since A-Rod returned to the lineup at the beginning of May. Amazingly, those two times were to the Nationals and the Orioles. So there's reason to have faith that the team with the best record in baseball and the best record at home should be able to win one of two back in the friendly confines of Yankee Stadium.

It also may be unreasonable to think the Yankees should have won all three games in Philly. The last team to sweep the middle three games of the series on the road were the 1996 Yankees who swept the Braves in Atlanta to win the 1996 World Series. But it doesn't mean that last night's game isn't bothersome. Here's four reasons why:

• Joe Girardi starting A.J. Burnett on 3 days rest and going with Molina over Posada. I was a big fan of going with A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte and CC Sabathia on 3 days rest. I still think it was the right decision to do so. It just didn't work out. Burnett was awful last night and the Yankees were forced to use their bullpen for a lot of pitches. That bodes poorly when you consider the Yankees have Pettitte on short rest coming up next. The one thing I have a problem with was keeping Jose Molina in the lineup over Jorge Posada. I can at least tolerate it in an American League park with the DH, but with Gardner, Molina and Burnett at the bottom of the Yankees lineup last  night against Cliff Lee, they were already playing from behind. And Molina's game calling hasn't stopped A.J. from having bad first innings in Game 5 of the past two series. So that move was a total failure.

• Phil Coke's two home runs. One big takeaway from last night was how well the Yankees bullpen pitched--except for Phil Coke. The rest of the bullpen (David Robertson, Alfredo Aceves and Phil Hughes) pitched 5.1 innings, giving up only 3 hits, 0 BB, and 4 K. Although they were mostly low-pressure situations, it was good to see some reliable arms emerge from the bullpen. Phil Coke, on the other hand, was downright awful. With Damaso Marte having worked a lot this series and coming off arm troubles this season, it was up to the other lefty in the Yankees 'pen to get the job done. Instead, Coke gave up two home runs to two lefties and those two runs were the insurance the Phillies needed as that was the difference in the game. Add Phil Coke to Brian Bruney on the list of pitchers who should never see the pitching mound again this season.

• Derek Jeter's GIDP and Mark Teixeira's K. The last bothersome thing is that the Yankees had a chance to come back, but fell just short. Derek Jeter grounded into a huge double play in the 9th inning. With runners on first and third and nobody out, Jeter had a chance to really put the pressure on the Phils. Jeter let a fastball go right down the middle then turned over on another fastball for an easy GIDP. Derek Jeter has hit into 14 postseason double plays, including 3 costly ones in the 2007 ALDS. None were more costly, however, than last night's. Johnny Damon reached after Jeter (another great AB by Damon) and Mark Teixeira represented the tying run. But Ryan Madson made Tex look silly and struck him out looking. The gameplan for the Phils facing Teixeira seem to be fastballs away and breaking balls down and it has been working. Teixeira now has struckout 7 times so far in the World Series after 8 Ks in the ALCS. He has only two hits in 19 ABs (although one was a HR and the other a 2B). Mark Teixiera's first playoffs in pinstripes is looking a lot like Tino Martinez's first playoffs for the Yankees in 1996, especially the World Series. Tino was only 1-11 in that series and had to be replaced by Cecil Fielder, but was an offensive force in his next 4 World Series with the Bronx Bombers. Teixeira still has a chance to be a hero both because of his defense and because he had 24 HR, 71 RBI and an OPS of 1.013 at home during the regular season. He also had 30 of his 39 HR and 91 of his 122 RBIs as a lefty this season and he will switch around to that side for Pedro Martinez, the pitcher he went deep off of in Game 2. That's little consolation for the Yankees comeback last night, however.
  

A few Twitter reactions when I posed the question about what bothered people the most this morning:

• @Lumpy231: how bout the decision to throw the whole staff on 3 days rest
• @yankeechick78: I was just talking about the goats of the game. and I named all three that you did. Cokes bothers me the most.
• @YankeeClipper09: Coke's HRs and Jeter's GIDP.  But, I love the fight in this team.  They made the Phillies, and their fans, nervous in the 9th
• @darry2385: coke's HRs.  turned out to be the difference in the game, despite AJ's no-show
• @Milfhunters: the gidp was the game killer, but tex's weak outs are really troubling
• @jonathan_meola: AJ put us in the hole 2 begin with.  Coke's HRs was just the frosting on the cake
• @5States: I'd say AJ's start, because without that, the other stuff really doesn't happen.
  

One good thing for the Yankees is that Pettitte has been really good for the Yanks on short rest. Here's what he's done in the postseason on 3-days rest via Baseball-Reference:

Date          Series G Tm   Opp GmReslt App,Dec    IP   H  R ER BB SO HR Pit Str GmSc BF AB 2B ERA
-------------+------+-+---+----+-------+---------+----+--+--+--+--+--+--+---+---+----+--+--+--+--+--+
1996-10-13    ALCS   5 NYY @BAL W  6-4  GS-8  ,W   8    3  2  2  1  3  2 100  60   70 28 27  0  2.25 
1996-10-24    WS     5 NYY @ATL W  1-0  GS-9  ,W   8.1  5  0  0  3  4  0  96  59   74 31 28  1  0.00 
1997-10-06    ALDS   5 NYY @CLE L  3-4  GS-7  ,L   6.2  6  4  4  0  2  0  97  68   48 26 23  2  5.40 
2000-10-08    ALDS   5 NYY @OAK W  7-5  GS-4       3.2 10  5  5  2  4  0  88  55   23 23 19  1  12.27 
2003-10-19    WS     2 NYY  FLA W  6-1  GS-9  ,W   8.2  6  1  0  1  7  0 111  70   76 32 31  0  0.00 

That's really only one bad start in there. I know Pettitte is a bit older, but if you look at the World Series success he has in the past on short rest, there's a reason to be optimistic

Here's another few reasons to be optimistic: the Yankees never give up, the Phillies bullpen is shaky at best, and the Yankees are still up 3-2 in this series. This is how the ALCS was won as well and keeping with my original prediction, I see the Yankees bringing it back to the Bronx and wrapping it up in 6. This team never gives up in a game and I think it would be apropos of the themes of the 2009 season if the Yankees won it at home tomorrow night with Pettitte starting, Rivera closing and a comeback win for the Yankees in the Bronx.