Frankie The Sports Guy

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 The Following Post  was contributed By Richard Malangone of sportsfanIQ ( www.sportsfanIQ.com ) 

So the Yankees are again World Series Champions of baseball. After finishing

off the, previously, defending World Series Champions in six games, the Bombers

from the Bronx brought back a title that was beginning to seem elusive.

We know what the critics are saying. "It's been nine whole years for the poor

Yankees since they last tasted victory."

And that's true.

Fans of the New York Yankees are spoiled to be given a competitive team year in

and year out. But so what. Fans of other teams are simply resentful and

jealous that it isn't their team attempting to win every title.

But wait a second. The Yankees don't win every title. So what's all the fuss

about?

Just because the Yankees spend money to win - you know, the whole point of

sports in the first place - doesn't guarantee them a title (as the last nine

years as proven).

When the Red Sox won their first title, this writer was respectful of their

championship, even though they did it in historic fashion over the Yankees.

Every fan should have the opportunity to experience a taste of victory.

Five years later, and two championships, you would think Red Sox fans would have

the decency to sit back quietly. But no.

Let's keep things in perspective here. The Red Sox sought Alex Rodriguez. They

dangled large amounts of money (although seemingly not enough) in the eyes of

Mark Teixeria. And don't dare claim they didn't want CC Sabathia this off

season.

But because they couldn't wrangle them in, they're once again bitter.

But we digress.

The New York Yankees are champions.

In six games, the best team of 2009 showed what it took to win. No one made

predictions. They simply went out and played ball. They hit, they pitched,

they fielded, and they did it all with purpose.

Say what you may about the boys from the Bronx. But if your team woke up today

as World Series Champions, I would say congratulations!

After a pretty successful 3 games in Philadelphia, the Yankees will give the ball to Andy Pettite looking to win their first World Series title since 2000. Andy Pettite will be going on short rest. Is that a good thing? He is a big game pitcher and has had great success in the postseason particularly at home, but will he be able to pitch 1 more big game in the postseason is the key question? Having won games 3 and 4 and going up 3-1, it would have been nice to beat Lee and take game 5 in Philly to win it all. However, it will be good to clinch at home where the Yankees have provided a lot of magic with many walk offs and big hits. Will it be in game 6 or 7? Tomorrow night you will find out as the Yankees strive for the ultimate crown in the Bronx.

I have heard so many different reasons why in the last few days why the Philadelphia Phillies can't beat the Yankees: The bullpen is not doing their job, the hitting is too spotty, Ryan Howard is not hitting, The manager is a wacko, Ryan Howard is not hitting.

The fact is the Yankees as they did all year long have never said die. The score could be 10-2 with 2 outs and they most likely will not win, but the Yankees will keep plugging and never stop trying. This is a credit to everyone from the players but definitely a credit to Joe Girardi. If Girardi doe win his first World Series and it looks pretty good that he will, the Yankees fans should realize that he was a big part of this. No matter how some of his moved made you think" What was that ", he has still given the team the fight and character he played with.

I know the Phillies are not done yet , but as the saying goes, the way they are playing , the fat lady  has reared her head at Citizens Bank Park and is just about to open her mouth.

What a difference a game makes not only during the season, but in the World series as well.

In the first World Series game in the Bronx, Cliff Lee shut down the Yankees in a complete game effort. We could not get the bats going and although Sabathia pitched very well in his outing, his 7 innings were not enough to get the Yankees off to a good start. Cliff Lee won both the first regular season game and the first World Series game at the new Yankee Stadium. Potential trivia question?

In game 2 however the tables turned. AJ Burnett needed to pitch a good game to keep the Yankees in the series, and he threw a dandy. 7 dominant innings allowing just 1 run and striking out 9 as the Yankees crept passed Pedro and the Phillies 3-1 to even up the series going to Philadelphia. Big home runs from Teixeira and Matsui and an RBI single from Posada got the Yankees all they needed as they turned the game over in the 8th and 9th to Rivera for a 6 out save. 

Tonight the Yankees will turn to Andy Pettite as the series shifts to Philadelphia for Games 3, 4 and 5.

Prediction: Yankees win this series in 6 and get their first World Series title since 2000.

After defeating the Los Angeles Angels in six games, the New York Yankees will appear in the World Series against the National League East divsion leaders, Philadelphia Phillies. Two teams that have good World Series experience and understands the amount of work it takes to win a championship.

The Yankees will have a strong pitching staff and bullpen to work with. Yankees starting pitcher, C.C. Sabathia has played a huge role with the Yankees success this post-season. Sabathia is undefeated in this post-season and he'll have a great line-up to compete against.

Nick Swisher, Mark Teixeira and Jorge Posada haven't produced up to expectations for the Yankees. Phillies starting pitcher, Cliff Lee will have the advantage in that area. Lee has been just as or even more dominate then C.C. Sabathia is the post-season.

Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard have been a disappointment when facing the Yankees. With the Phillies having their three star players facing problems when up against the Yankees, this will make things hard for their team.

The Yankees have the edge against the Phillies in the World Series. Their bullpen is better, but their line-up will need to perform, but besides their minor problems, the Yankees have the advantage. The Yankees will be the World Series Champions.

 Originally submitted by Thomas.Kaunzner on Tue, 10/27/2009 - 1:54pm.

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The New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies have won their respective Championship Series and will play in the World Series, starting this Wednesday evening.

Here is my take on the matchup as to how it will play out and who may call themselves World Series Champions 2009:

World Series 2009

New York Yankees vs. Philadelphia Phillies

The Yankees open the series at home thanks to a 4-3 victory of the AL in this year’s All Star Game. They beat the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 6 games, making it possible to operate with a 3-man rotation once again. Rumor has it the Yankees don’t consider Chad Gaudin World Series material. Joba Chamberlain will likely remain in the bullpen. That makes CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte (the pitcher with the most postseason wins) the designated starting pitchers.

The Philadelphia Phillies will most likely operate with a 4-man rotation. Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and Pedro Martinez are locks. Joe Blanton seems most likely to become the 4th starter. Cliff Lee will start in Game 1 and the matchup with CC Sabathia is probably the best the MLB has to offer right now. Charlie Manuel has not announced a starter for Game 2 yet but I expect Pedro Martinez to get the nod. Cole Hamels has been better at home during the regular season and Pedro Martinez has experience pitching a playoff game in New York against the Yankees.

If you compare the top 3 starters with each other I’d give the Phillies a slight edge, but if you compare the 3-man rotation of the Yankees with the 4-man rotation of the Phillies the advantage is on the side of the Yankees.

The closers Mariano Rivera (NYY) and Brad Lidge (PHI) come into this Series with 3 saves apiece in 3 save opportunities.

The bullpen of the Yankees has been as solid as expected, accumulating an ERA of 2.28. Phil Hughes improved his ERA from 9.00 to 5.79 in the ALCS and Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera boast ERA’s of 2.70 and 0.84 respectively.

The bullpen of the Phillies is one if the reasons why they got this far. They give up nearly one run less compared to the regular season and Chad Durbin as well as Brad Lidge have yet to surrender an earned run.

I still have more faith in New York’s relief pitchers when the game gets to the final innings.

The line-ups of the Yankees and the Phillies are both very talented and powerful. The Yankees were batting better in the ALCS than in the ALDS but only have 3 players - Derek Jeter, A-Rod and Melky Cabrera - with a batting average of over .260 in the postseason. They have 5 players with an OBP of over .360. Alex Rodriguez has been absolutely outstanding with a OPS of 1.517. I still would like to see a bit more from Mark Teixeira.

The Phillies are still not batting very well against lefties, where they have a batting average of .189 in the postseason. Bear in mind that 2/3 of the Yankee rotation are southpaws! It should be pointed out, though, that the OBP against lefties is at a respectable .355. The Phillies were batting better in the NLDS. They have 5 players who are batting over .260 in this postseason and the exact same players have an OBP of over .360. It is hard to decide who’s been more impressive, Ryan Howard or Shane Victorino, but you shouldn’t overlook catcher Carlos Ruiz who is very productive from the the 8th spot in the line-up. Chase Utley and Jayson Werth did not have their best stuff in the NLCS and hopefully can step it up a notch in the World Series.

I like the Phillies line-up a bit better if the Yankees go for a 4-man rotation. If the Yankees opt for a 3-man rotation, and this is the more likely scenario, then I favor the Yankees line-up over the Phillies.

Prediction: New York Yankees vs. Philadelphia Phillies 4-2.

I know a lot has been said about Jimmy Rollins and his predictions, but this should not shock anyone. The fact is he has been running his mouth off since 2006. I am sure Mets fans remember his comments before the 2007 season when he claimed the Phillies were the team to beat, not the Mets. Well, as painful as this is for me to say and as much as I wish it were not true,  everything Rollins has said out of that annoying mouth of his has rung true. The phillies have been the team to beat since 2007, and they are still the team to beat in regards to the World Series. 

What I am more surprised about is how people continue to compare the Benny Agbayani prediction against the Yankees in 2000 to this one. There are no real comparisons. Sure, both teams opponent is/was the Yankees, but that is where it ends. Jimmy Rollins has had one goal and that has been to win a championship. Benny Agbayani, was just a kid who I think was asking himself " What The Hell Am I Doing Here? ". The correct answer from Agbayani would have been , not sure, or I can't do that!!!

So, if the Phils indeed beat the Yanks in 5 or just beat them period, does this mean Jimmy Rollins can see into the future? So far his comments and predictions have been correct. Like him or not he has been right on target.

By the way, if you were wondering what happened to Agbayani, He played a few years ago in Japan where he was named MVP in the Championship series ( his manager was Bobby Valentine, go figure ).

When you live by yourself, you can go hours without speaking. You don't realize it, but then sometimes you wake upon a Sunday after a baseball game and call your parents at noon only to discover you lost your voice.

Actually, "lost" isn't the right word. I know exactly where I left it...somewhere in the left field second tier of Yankee Stadium.

Game 3 of the ALCS is Monday at 4:13, so I'm figuring that it's a blessing in disguise that my voice is taking a personal day or 2. Because a day game means following the action at work. A day game means screaming and otherwise strident activity is prohibited.

(Unless I want to remove any lingering doubts about my emotional stability in the fall...)

After taking the first 2 of a 7-game series, the Yankees head out to Anaheim to face the Angels (who, for the record, are NOT in a must-win situation. Yet.) Saturday night's circus match-up left both teams exhausted, drained, and sluggish (which I think may have had something to do with the obscene number of errors put up.)

But it was the Yankees whose resource-depletion wasn't all for naught. Between both teams, 13 pitchers were used and 432 pitches thrown. I don't want to think about what would have happened if the game had to go another inning or two thus necessitating the need call upon our absolute final bullpen option, Chad Gaudin.

Let's hope the day and half of rest is enough for them to back up Andy Pettitte (14-8,4.16) when he goes up against Jered Weaver (16-8,3.75). Since I always lionize CC's fat, I think it only fair that I do something in kind for our boy Andy.

[It also should be mentioned that a win would set a record for pitcher with most postseason wins (16).]

Andy P.

It was many and many a year ago,

In a borough by NYC,

There lived a pitcher who you may know,

By the name of Andy P.

And this pitcher he lived with no other thought,

Than to play for the team the Yankees.

He was a child and I was a child,

In this borough by NYC,

But he pitched with a fire that was hard to ignore,

The Yankees and Andy P.

With a spark that the bitter AL contenders,

Coveted our Andy P.

And this was the reason that long ago,

In this borough by NYC,

The Houston Astros stole him from us,

Our beautiful Andy P.

So that his southern kinsmen came,

And bore him away from me.

To shut him up in a NL club,

Far from the borough by NYC.

The agents, not half so happy with Yankees,

Went envying his pulchritude,

Yes! That was the reason (as all fans know,

In this borough by NYC),

That the Houston Astros came out of the south,

Wheeling and dealing our Andy P.

But our bond, it was stronger by far than the bond,

Of one on Houston's team,

Of one with Clemens' team.

And neither the roots in Texas's earth,

Or the pull of free agent trade,

Could ever dissever our boy from the Bronx,

Our beautiful Andy P.

For Frank never sings, without reminding us of rings,

Of the beautiful Andy P.

And his dynasty days, are coming back into play,

Our beautiful Andy P.

All his postseason nights, he continues to fight,

Our starter--Yanks' starter--an ace and our light.

In the home by NYC,

In the stadium near NYC...

Somewhere, Poe is rolling over in his grave right now. The ultimate indignity--a Boston native having his art spliced up into a Yankee ode.(Although, this guy probably has it worse...)

Hopefully our boy can continue the Yanks' postseason run on Monday.If nothingelse, the weather conditions should a be a bit more comfortable. (I wonder if they would rather play in perfect weather on the road or freezing torrential downpour at home? I'm guessing the latter, but if someone asked me the same question, I'd rather watch the game from thebad guys' house. But then again, this could be the voice-less-achy-sore-quasi-sick-thanks-to-freezing-rain-for-3-innings part of me talking.)

The Yanks have a good chance to go up 3-0 depending on how well their pitching holds up. If Pettitte can go deep into the game, Girardi can take advantage of the fact Joba and Hughes were only lightly applied to Saturday's game. By the same token, the Yanks need to continue their erosion of Anaheim's starters, chasing them early so they can feast on their pen.

Weaver is hit or miss on the mound, but it almost seems like he's lately developed this aggressive assurance that makes him think he can attack batters with his 4-seamer. I'd love to see him "attack" the Yanks' 0-9-line with his innocuous low 90's heat.

The Angels' line-up is only batting .158 in the ALCS to New York's.288. Neither team has been particularly overpowering on offense, so this game may be the one where everyone resumes their true identity and bannishes these multi-error/hitless impostors. There's no rain to blame it on.

But never underestimate Joe Buck and Tim McCarver. As far as they're concerned, every ump call has been "blown," with each one altering the outcome of the game. Also, the World According to T-Mac contends that:

"Something doesn't look right with Mariano Rivera."

"The threat of a steal is worse than the steal itself."

Or my personal favorite, from Friday night's play at first:

"Torii Hunter had the best view of it, and he was sure he was safe!"

I think T-Mac would be better served to point fingers at Vladimir "King of the Menacing Stare Down" Guerrero, who is 2-for-11 in the series, having left 10 runners on base in the two games, while striking out four times.

Or, you know, I guess we could stick with his airtight logic. We could also have high school students score their own SAT exams.

Time to go up 3-0, Yanks. A-Rod did his part to exile the choker broken record. Now would be a good opportunity to do the same for the 2004 ALCS headache.

BEAT L.A.

The guy who has constantly been attacked for not getting the job done in the playoffs finally delivered. It all started for him in Game 1 where Alex Rodriguez got 2 hits, both RBi singles. The Yankees won this game 7-2 against the exhausted Minnesota Twins coming off a thrilling win 24 hrs before to get into the playoffs in a 1 game playoff at home vs the collapsing Tigers.

Game 2 I was fortunate enough to be at and was by far the best game of the 3. It was 3-1 as we entered the 9th inning and Joe Nathan, the Twins closer, came on to pitch. He has notoriously struggled in the Bronx, and Alex Rodriguez saw no reason to change that. Arod launched a laser into the Yankees bullpen to tie the game. The crowd absolutely erupted. I was screaming and shaking hands with anyone I saw in a Yankees hat or shirt. It was the most exciting moment at a baseball game I was ever at. In the 11th inning, the Twins has the bases loaded 0 out and failed to score. David Robertson came in and cleaned up Marte's mess as the Yankees escaped disaster in miracle fashion. Once they did not score, I knew the game was over and the Yankees would win it and sure enough, that was all she wrote. First batter of the bottom of the 11th Mark Teixeira sent a Tex message that lined right off the left field wall and into the seats. A postseason walk-off home run in Yankee Stadium. Does not get any better then that.

Finally we had the do or die game for Minnesota in game 3. This was potentially the last game to ever be played by the Twins at the Metrodome. This game was flying by as Andy Pettite and Carl Pavano were throwing up zeros until the 7th inning when the Twins finally broke through on a Mauer RBI single. However, the next inning, when the Yankees batted knowing they were trailing late, big hitters got big hits. Alex Rodriguez, the man of the series, hit a game tying opposite field home run. Then, 2 batters later, Jorge Posada follows that up with an opposite field home run of his own to left giving the Yankees the lead. They never looked back. Thanks to a Punto base running blunder and some solid relief pitching, the Yankees swept the Twins and now have a date with the Angels starting Friday night in the Bronx.  Thank you Yankees. Thank you Alex Rodriguez for showing your greatness when it counts.