A.J. Burnett
World Series Game 6 – Pedro Martinez, Phillies @ Andy Pettitte, Yankees
Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 | 2009 Fall Classic, MLB, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Sports, World Series | No Comments
Can’t wait for World Series Game 6 tonight in the Bronx. Should be a blast to watch.
Can’t believe that Pedro Martinez and Andy Pettitte are going to duke it out on the main stage. The 2 pitchers have faced each other 6 times in their careers, but never in the post-season. In those 6 games, each pitcher has won 3 times and lost 3 times. The visiting team has won each game (advantage Phillies) and Pedro has a better ERA in those games – 3.86 to 5.88. Pedro has pitched better than Andy in this World Series. In Game 2, Martinez worked 6 innings, giving up 3 ER on 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out 8 (he took the loss against A.J. Burnett). In Game 3, Pettitte worked 6 innings, giving up 4 ER on 5 hits and 3 walks while striking out 7 (he got the win against Cole Hamels). Further, Pettitte does not pitch well on 3 days’ rest – in 18 career starts on 3 days’ rest, Pettitte is 5-7 with a 4.18 ERA. Pettitte has pitched well this post-season, however – 3-0 in 4 starts with a 3.24 ERA.
Plus – you gotta love the quotes from the 2 starters – -
Pedro: “Two old goats out there doing the best they can and having fun with it. I don’t have enough words to describe how excited I am about being here. This is just a great gift to me.”
Andy: “I think everybody knew it was going to be a great Series. I think everybody knew it was going to be a tough Series. And it looks like it’s living up to that.”
Fasten your seat belts baseball fans. It should be a fun, but bumpy ride tonight in the Bronx…
Utley, Lee Force Series Back to New York: Phillies 8, Yankees 6
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 | 2009 Fall Classic, MLB, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Sports, World Series | No Comments
It wasn’t pretty, but a win is a win, especially when a loss sends you home for a long winter break…
The Phillies defeated the Yankees on Monday night, forcing the World Series back to the Bronx for a Game 6 on Wednesday night at the New Yankee Stadium. Cliff Lee rose to the challenge and picked up his 2nd win of the Series. After giving up a single run in the 1st inning on an Alex Rodriguez double, Lee held the Yankees scoreless until Johnny Damon’s RBI groundout in the 5th inning. By that time, the Phillies led 6-2 and looked like they were going to cruise to victory. But Lee gave up hits to the 1st 3 batters he faced in the 8th inning, and Manager Charlie Manuel was forced to go to his troubled bullpen after A-Rod crushed Lee’s 112th pitch for a 2-run double that cut the lead to 8-4. But Chan Ho Park rose to the challenge, getting the next 3 outs and limiting the threat to just 1 more run. Manuel then opted to go with Ryan Madsen instead of closer Brad Lidge in the 9th inning. After a double and single to start the inning brought the tying run to the plate, Madsend induced Derek Jeter to hit into a run-scoring double play. Johnny Damon singled to prolong the inning, but Madsen rallied to end the game by striking out Mark Teixeira. You’d hate to see what will happen if the Phillies have a 1-run lead heading into the 9th inning. Given how Lidge and Madsen have pitched thus far, you might just want to leave your starter in the game.
Lee ended up with a ho-hum night – 7 innings pitched, 5 ER, 7 hits, 3 walks and 3 K’s. It was only a matter of time before the Yankees middle of the lineup got to him. But he did what he had to do to keep the series going. And given the way Cole Hamels has pitched this post-season, if the Phillies had not acquired Lee from the Indians mid-season, we might be looking at a different National League representative in the World Series.
The other big story – Chase Utley – can’t believe it took me this long to get to him. Utley answered A-Rod’s 1st inning double with a 3-run home run of his own to stake the Phillies to a 3-1 lead. He also hit a solo home run in the 7th inning that extended the Phillies lead to 7-2. On the night, Utley went 2 for 3 with a walk, 2 home runs, 4 RBI’s and 3 runs scored. Utley is hitting .333, with 5 home runs, 8 RBI’s and 6 runs scored for the Series. Utley and former Yankees slugger Reggie Jackson are the only 2 players to ever hit 5 home runs in a single World Series. If the Phillies somehow come back and win this World Series, he and Lee will be sharing the MVP trophy.
What it all boils down to – Game 6 – Andy Pettitte on 3 days’ rest v. Pedro Martinez on full 4 days’ rest. Pettitte gave up 4 ER on 5 hits and 3 walks in Saturday night’s World Series win, but he does not have a good history of pitching on 3 days’ rest. Martinez pitched as well as could be expected of him in Game 2 in New York last week. Although he took the loss – 3 ER on 6 hits and 2 walks in 6 inning – he lost to the better pitcher that night – A.J. Burnett. Could Martinez outduel Pettitte? You betcha…
Should be fun to watch, especially if the Phillies can force a Game 7. Sabathia is definitely going for the Yankees, but who will get the shot at glory for the Phillies – Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton, Lee? Ah the suspense…
Yankees in Driver’s Seat with 7-4 Game 4 Win; World Series Title in Sight!
Monday, November 2nd, 2009 | 2009 Fall Classic, MLB, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Sports, World Series | No Comments
The New York Yankees are in the driver’s seat. With their 7-4 win on Sunday night, the Yankees now lead the Phillies 3-1 in the 2009 World Series. One more win, and the Yankees will have the franchise’s 27th World Series Championship.
Sunday night’s game was a game for the ages. CC Sabathia pitching on 3 days’ rest. Phillies Manager Charlie Manuel going with Joe Blanton instead of his ace Cliff Lee on 3 days’ rest. Lead changes galore. Home runs, hit batsmen – what more could you ask for.
The Yankees struck 1st with 2 runs in the top of the 1st, but the Phillies answered with single runs in the 1st and 4th innings to tie the game at 2. The Yankees jumped back on top with run scoring singles from Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon in the top of the 5th inning. The Yankees still held that 4-2 going into the bottom of the 7th inning, but the Phillies would not be denied. Chase Utley hit a solo home run off of Sabathia (his 3rd off of Sabathia in this series) in the 7th inning and Carlos Ruiz tied the game at 4 with his solo shot off of Joba Chamberlain in the 8th inning.
Manuel opted to go with his closer – Brad Lidge – in a tie game to start the 9th inning, and that move proved to be costly. Although Lidge got the 1st 2 outs of the inning, Damon singled and stole second to get into scoring position. After Lidge plunked Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez delivered the big blow just as he had done the night before (he hit a 2-run HR off of Cole Hamels to get the Yankees back in the game and was also hit by pitches twice). A-Rod’s double gave the Yankees a 5-4 lead and Jorge Posada followed that up with a 2-run single that plated Teixeira and A-Rod for a 7-4 Yankees lead. Just like that, the air left Citizens Bank Ballpark – Phillies fans knew it was over.
Cliff Lee will try to avoid letting the Yankees celebrate on their home turf. Lee outdueled Sabathia in Game 1 of the World Series, but he will go up against A.J. Burnett this time around. Burnett stymied the Phillies in Game 2 of the World Series, but will be pitching on 3 days’ rest, something he has not done so well in his past. If the Phillies can somehow win tonight, it will be Andy Pettitte for the Yankees on 3 days’ rest on Wednesday night in the Bronx. Pettitte does not like pitching on 3 days’ rest, so the Yankees will not be bringing their best lineup in Game 6. Tonight is the key – if the Phillies win, it would not be surprising to see the Phillies take this thing to a dramatic Game 7 in NY. Sabathia would make his 3rd start of the series and we would likely see Cliff Lee for a few innings out of the bullpen on just 2 days’ rest. Bring on the drama…
Burnett, Rivera Even Up World Series with 3-1 Win over Phillies
Friday, October 30th, 2009 | MLB, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Sports | No Comments
Not that it was a must-win, but the Yankees must sure be thrilled that they defeated the Phillies 3-1 on Thursday night at the new Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. Going down 2-0 and heading to Philadelphia would not have meant the end of the World Series, but it would have been a mighty hill to have to climb to win 2 out of 3 in Philly and then 2 at home in New York to pull off a 7-game World Series win.
A.J. Burnett’s 7-inning gem allowed Manager Joe Girardi to keep his bullpen off the field. Burnett gave up just 1 earned run on 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 9. After 108 pitches, Girardi called upon Mariano Rivera to get the Yankees a 6-out save and preserve the 3-1 lead. Rivera came up big in the 8th after 2 men were on with just 1 out. Rivera induced Chase Utley – the Phillies’ Game 1 hero – to hit into an inning-ending double play to end the threat. Rivera allowed the Phillies to get the tying run to the plate when Raul Ibanez doubled with 2-out, but he struck out Matt Stairs swinging to end the game. And then the celebration began in the Bronx.
Pedro Martinez did about as well as he could given the circumstances – he pitched 6 innings, giving up just 3 earned runs on 6 hits and 2 walks. He also had 8 strikeouts. But he gave up solo home runs to Mark Teixeira in the 4th inning and Hideki Matsui in the 6th inning that gave the Yankees a 2-1 lead. Martinez even started the 7th inning, but Manager Charlie Manuel removed him after he gave up leadoff singles to Jerry Hairston, Jr. and Melky Cabrera. Brett Gardner – who ran for Hairston – ended up scoring an insurance run when Jorge Posada singled off of reliever Chan Ho Park.
Andy Pettitte will square off against Cole Hamels at Citizens Bank Ballpark on Saturday night in Philadelphia. And as it stands now, it looks like we could see a rematch of Game 1 on Sunday night, as CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee are penciled in to start in Game 4 of the World Series on Sunday night. This is really turning into the Classic Epic World Series Battle that we hoped for…
Lee, Phillies Cruise Past Yankees 6-1 in World Series Game 1
Thursday, October 29th, 2009 | 2009 Fall Classic, MLB, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Sports, World Series | No Comments
Cliff Lee made it look easy as the Phillies cruised past the Yankees 6-1 in Game 1 of the 2009 World Series. Heading into the 9th inning, Lee had given up just 4 hits (and no walks!) through 8 innings while striking out 8. After giving up singles to Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon to start the inning, Lee induced Mark Teixeira to hit into what should have been a double play. But Jimmy Rollins error allowed Jeter to score and Teixeira to move up to 2nd base with 1 out. But instead of getting flustered, Lee simply struck out Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada swinging to end the “mini” threat. Phillies 6, Yankees 1, Advantage Phillies with the 1-0 lead. The Lee – Sabathia duel was a good one, but Lee was just that much better. To not walk a single Yankees batter while pitching 9 innings is simply incredible. Lee never seemed out of sync and he never seemed to be intimidated by pitching in the Bronx.
Sabathia pitched well for the Yankees, but not good enough. He only gave up 4 hits and 3 walks in 7 solid innings of work. But 2 of the hits were solo home runs to Chase Utley. The Phillies only broke the game open after Sabathia departed after throwing 113 pitches in 7 innings. Phil Hughes promptly walked the only 2 batters he faced in the top of the 8th inning. Both runners came around to score on Raul Ibanez’s clutch 2-out 2-run single against David Robertson. That gave the Phillies a daunting 4-0 lead with just 6 outs left for the Yankees. Brian Bruney and Phil Coke did not fare much better in the top of the 9th inning. The 2 pitchers allowed 2 more insurance runs to score on Shane Victorino’s single and Ryans Howard’s double.
All in all, it was a solid start for the Phillies. They showed they were not intimidated by the Yankee “aura”. They showed the could score runs against the Yankees best pitcher. And they showed that they were in this for the long haul.
There’s not too much time to dwell on the Game 1 loss for the Yankees. Game 2 is tonight at 7:57PM EST on FOX. Pedro Martinez will surely be greeted with a lot of boos as he tries to pitch the Phillies to a 2-0 lead against A.J. Burnett. I hate to say there is a must-win game this early in a series, but it would serve the Yankees well to find a way to get a W tonight in the Bronx. Heading back to Philly for Game 3 on Saturday night down 2 games to none is not the game plan that Manager Joe Girardi and the Yankees drew up before the start of the 2009 Fall Classic.
Maybe it isn’t over just yet?! Angels Prolong ALCS with Thrilling 7-6 Win over Yankees
Friday, October 23rd, 2009 | Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Sports | No Comments
Talk about a gutsy performance – I was shocked (on so many different levels) to see the Angels defeat the Yankees 7-6 to push the ALCS back to the Bronx for Game 6 on Saturday night.
First: I could not believe how the Angels jumped out to a 4-0 lead before even recording their 1st out in the 1st inning. Torii Hunter’s big 2-run single seemed to relax the rest of the team and electrify the Angels fans. The place went nuts, and when Vladimir Guerrero and Kendry Morales got hits to drive in 2 more runs, I thought I was back on the east coast in Fenway Park or Yankee Stadium. That set the tone for what looked to be an easy Angels win.
Second: But then it all went wrong in the 7th inning. John Lackey, who had allowed just 5 hits to the Yankees through 6 innings, seemed to implode. After Lackey got the 1st out, he gave up a double to Melky Cabrera. Lackey thought he had struck out Jorge Posada, but the home plate umpire called the 3-2 pitch a ball – instead of man on 2nd 2 outs, it was now 1st and 2nd with just 1 out. Lackey lost all focus when he walked Derek Jeter to load the bases, and even after he got the 2nd out of the inning on a Johnny Damon fly out, Manager Mike Scioscia opted to go with a lefty reliever – Darren Oliver – to turn Mark Teixeira around to his “weaker” right side of the plate. Teixeira ended up delivering a 3-run double that cut the Angels lead to 1. After intentionally walking Alex Rodriguez, Oliver served up a Hideki Matsui run-scoring single that tied the game at 4. The Angels still had a chance to get out of the inning all even, but another Scioscia move backfired when K Jepsen gave up a rocket triple to Robinson Cano that brought home 2 runs to give the Yankees a 6-4 lead. You could have heard a pin drop in the stadium as the Yankees players were going nuts in their dugout. Game over, right? No way the Angels could rebound from this disaster – they would go quietly with their final 9 outs and the Yankees would advance to yet another World Series to take on the Philadelphia Phillies who had already disposed of the Los Angeles Dodgers in ho-hum 5-game NLCS for the 2nd year in a row.
Third: A.J. Burnett has settled down after his awful 1st inning, but he let 2 Angels reach base to start the bottom of the 7th inning, and it was Manager Joe Girardi’s turn to remove his starter for a bad reliever. Damaso Marte gave up a sacrifice to Chone Figgins and then got Bobby Abreu to ground out for the 2nd run of the inning. The Angels scored a run to cut the lead to 6-5, but there 2 outs and Phil Hughes could get that final out for the Yankees. Think again… Hughes promptly walked Torii Hunter to put the go-ahead run on base. Then he gave up Vladimir Guerrero’s game-tying single that scored Erick Aybar. Kendry Morales then drove in Hunter with the go-ahead run to give the Angels a 7-6 lead, but would it be enough.
Fourth: Brian Fuentes had blown a save before in the series – on A-Rod’s solo home run way back in the 11th inning of Game 2 that the Yankees ultimately won in 13 innings. Fuentes had to go through the heart of the Yankees order 2-3-4 to record the save. But the baseball gods wouldn’t let the Angels get this far just to have Fuentes blow it, would they?! Well Fuentes sure made it interesting, even after he recorded the 1st 2 outs of the inning. Fuentes then intentionally walked A-Rod – great move Scioscia (seriously!) – but then he walked Matsui and hit Cano to load the bases. What in the hell is going on here? Here we go again – another come-from-behind win for the Yankees as we are forced to listen to Joe Buck and Tim McCarver get all goo-goo over how good the Yankees are at erasing leads late in games. But my prayers were answered – Fuentes got Nick Swisher to pop out to left field and the Angels lived to see another day.
And I get another day (2 actually) to hope that the Yankees somehow blow this 3 games to 1 lead over the Angels to let the Angels battle the Phillies in the 2009 World Series. Gotta love October baseball…
TOP 10 MLB Free agents
Thursday, December 18th, 2008 | MLB | No Comments
1
Mark Teixeira
POSITION: First base
AGE: 28 | BATS: B | THROWS: R
2008 TEAM: Los Angeles Angels
STATUS: Free agent
Teams talking to him: Yankees, Orioles, Red Sox, Nationals, and Angels
| 2008 SEASON STATISTICS | ||||||
| GM | R | HR | RBI | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| 157 | 102 | 33 | 121 | .308 | .410 | .552 |
2
CC Sabathia
POSITION: Starting pitcher
AGE: 28 | BATS: L | THROWS: L
2008 TEAM: Milwaukee Brewers
STATUS: Agreed to deal with N.Y. Yankees (12/10)
TERMS: 7 years, $161M
| 2008 SEASON STATISTICS | ||||||
| GS | IP | W-L | ERA | CG | SHO | SO |
| 35 | 253.0 | 17-10 | 2.70 | 10 | 5 | 251 |
3
Manny Ramirez
POSITION: Left field
AGE: 36 | BATS: R | THROWS: R
2008 TEAM: Los Angeles Dodgers
STATUS: Free agent
Teams talking to him: Yankees, Dodgers
| 2008 SEASON STATISTICS | ||||||
| GM | R | HR | RBI | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| 153 | 102 | 37 | 121 | .332 | .430 | .601 |
4
A.J. Burnett
POSITION: Starting pitcher
AGE: 31 | BATS: R | THROWS: R
2008 TEAM: Toronto Blue Jays
STATUS: Agreed to deal with N.Y. Yankees (12/12)
TERMS: 5 years, $82.5M
| 2008 SEASON STATISTICS | ||||||
| GM | IP | W-L | ERA | BB | SO | WHIP |
| 35 | 221.1 | 18-10 | 4.07 | 86 | 231 | 1.34 |
5
Derek Lowe
POSITION: Starting pitcher
AGE: 35 | BATS: R | THROWS: R
2008 TEAM: Los Angeles Dodgers
STATUS: Free agent
Teams talking to him: Yankees, and Phillies
| 2008 SEASON STATISTICS | ||||||
| GS | IP | W-L | ERA | BB | SO | BAA |
| 35 | 211.0 | 14-11 | 3.24 | 45 | 147 | .246 |
6
Rafael Furcal
POSITION: Shortstop
AGE: 31 | BATS: B | THROWS: R
2008 TEAM: Los Angeles Dodgers
STATUS: Signed $33 million, three year deal with Dodgers 12/18
| 2008 SEASON STATISTICS | ||||||
| GM | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP |
| 36 | 34 | 5 | 16 | 8 | .357 | .439 |
7
Adam Dunn
POSITION: Left field
AGE: 29 | BATS: L | THROWS: R
2008 TEAM: Arizona Diamondbacks
STATUS: Free agent
| 2008 SEASON STATISTICS | ||||||
| GM | HR | RBI | BB | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| 158 | 40 | 100 | 122 | .236 | .386 | .513 |
8
Ryan Dempster
POSITION: Starting pitcher
AGE: 31 | BATS: R | THROWS: R
2008 TEAM: Chicago Cubs
STATUS: Re-signed with Chi. Cubs (11/18)
TERMS: 4 years, $52 million
| 2008 SEASON STATISTICS | ||||||
| GS | IP | W-L | ERA | BB | SO | BAA |
| 33 | 206.2 | 17-6 | 2.96 | 76 | 187 | .227 |
9
Milton Bradley
POSITION: DH/Left field
AGE: 30 | BATS: B | THROWS: R
2008 TEAM: Texas Rangers
STATUS: Free agent
| 2008 SEASON STATISTICS | ||||||
| GM | R | HR | RBI | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| 126 | 78 | 22 | 77 | .321 | .436 | .563 |
And for 10 we have….
Oliver Perez
POSITION: Starting pitcher
AGE: 27 | BATS: L | THROWS: L
2008 TEAM: New York Mets
STATUS: Free agent
| 2008 SEASON STATISTICS | ||||||
| GS | IP | W-L | ERA | BB | SO | WHIP |
| 34 | 194.0 | 10-7 | 4.22 | 105 | 180 | 1.40 |
