Tagged: Cole Hamels
Year of the Pitcher Continues
Holy F’n sh!t! Look at all this kick *** pitching for the ALCS and NLCS game 1s…except for Texas…
for the NL…
In the red corner, for the NL east champion Philadelphia Phillies, with 21 wins, over 200 strikeouts and comming off a freakin no hitter in his last start…Roy “Doctor No” Halladay!!!
And in the blue corner, for the NL west champion San Francisco Giants, with back to back Cy Young awards, +200 strikeouts this year and a complete game shutout in his last start…Tim “The Freak” Lincecum!!!
meanwhile in the AL…
In the red corner, for the NL west champion Texas Rangers, uh…well…he beat the Rays in game 2 of the ALDS though his resume againt New York is a bit lacking…Christopher John “Not Cliff Lee” Wilson!!!
And in the blue corner, for the 27 Time Defending World Champion New York Yankees, with 21 wins, a Cy Young award on his resume, the last remaining AL Cy Young nominee in the playoff run and the defending ALCS MVP…Carsten Charles “CC” Sabathia!!!
…oh yeah, predictions. I wish I could predict the NLCS, but the pitching matchups are too good. I hope they both go with 3 man rotations because Halladay-Oswalt-Hamels vs Lincecum-Cain-Sanchez would make one bad *** match, and 4th starters on either side would only water it down.
…In the ALCS, Im goin Yankees in 6. Once again, I think the lack of faith in a 3 days rest Cliff Lee will cost the team facing the Yankees since the Yankees are too good to assume you can make it to game 7. Rangers will beat Burnett, and Cliff Lee might beat the Yankees, but beyond that, youll need more.
2010 ALDS vs Twins…Game 1
This feels familiar…
So yeah, few things about this and other series…
1-The Yankees are underdogs? No…no they arent.
The Yankees havent been underdogs since the 1996 World Series against the Braves…and Ill bring up those Braves in a while too…
2-Cliff Lee proves the Rays shouldnt make any ALCS plans just yet.
Rangers looked good as well, scoring 5 runs…thats more than double the combined total of their previous 6 playoff games.
3-Not to be outdone, Roy Halladay did a little something to the Reds in the form of a no hitter. I watched a little bit of that game, just in time to watch Jay Bruce take ball 4 on a 3-2 pitch. It was pretty hard to watch, since i was rooting for the Reds n all…
Now…comparisons to Don Larsen are starting to be casually thrown around.
Im gonna say this once people…
A no-hitter in the NLDS doesnt even compar to a perfect game in the world series
Ok? Not to take anything away from Roy, and a no-no is pretty big on its own, but why compare it to what Don did in the fall classic?
Thats like me writing a book, and people start talking about me and Shakespear in the same sentence. not even on the same level…
4-finally, the whole Phillies rotation thing…Halladay, Oswalt and Hamels….being seriously talked about as the modern version of what the Braves had in the 90s with Maddux-Smoltz-Glavine…
Oswalt and Hamels are barely above average at best. Now, up until his last start, Hamels has been red hot and Oswalt has a new lease on life now that hes in Philly…but .500 and barely above .500 pitching records does not an unstoppable rotation make.
I remember when the 2008 Rays tried making comparisons like that.
The 2010 Phillies trio doesnt even stack up against the 2009 Yankees trio.
Anyway…despite the major, major, MAJOR setback, Im gonna stand by my “Reds in 5” prediction and sink with the ship if need be. The Reds just need to dig deep, rediscover their sacks and flat out rape Roy Oswalt in retaliation if they want any hope in winning this thing.
…or this could all be part of a larger plan to win…ice the bullpen through non-usage….
…maybe not…
Anyway, onto tonight, where the future Cy Young and MVP will lead Defending World Champion New York Yankees into battle against the Twinkies.
…I really have nothing new to say about this series seeing how its the same series from last year. Dig into my archives from the 2009 ALDS if you want, Im just gonna wait for the game to begin…
Playoff Histories-2010 edition
The Rangers were praying a lot on Sunday. They were praying to God that the Rays would win the AL east. They were probably willing to sell their souls in order to avoid having to deal with the Yankees this year. Good reason.
The Rangers are in the playoffs for only the 4th time in franchise history. The 3 other times?
Each. And. Every. Time. The Texas Rangers made the playoffs previously (1996, 1998, 1999) they faced off against the New York Yankees in round 1.
Each. And. Every. Time. The Texas Rangers played the Yankees in the ALDS, the Yankees won. 3-1, 3-0, 3-0.
Thats right, the Rangers all time playoff record is 1-9 with 0 wins at home and 0 ALCS runs.
This year will be different because they wont have to play the Yankees, but they still have to deal with the AL east winner.
Anyway, once again I feel the need to bring up all 8 playoff teams recent playoff history before I figure who has the best shot at the LCS…
“recent playoff history”=the last 10 years only
So, the Reds and Rangers have no recent playoff histories.
New York Yankees: 52-41…4 AL Pennents…2 World Championships
Philadelphia Phillies: 20-12…2 NL Pennents…1 World Championship
San Francisco Giants: 12-13…1 NL Pennent
Atlanta Braves: 9-16
Tampa Bay Rays: 8-8…1 AL Pennent
Minnesota Twins: 7-17
Cincinnati Reds: 0-0
Texas Rangers: 0-0
Thats overall playoff records, heres what all 8 of these guys have done against each other only:
New York Yankees: 13-4
Philadelphia Phillies: 6-5
San Francisco Giants: 3-2
Atlanta Braves: 2-3
Minnesota Twins: 2-9
Tampa Bay Rays: 1-4
Cincinnati Reds: 0-0
Texas Rangers: 0-0
LETS MAKE PREDICTIONS!!!
Texas Rangers vs Tampa Bay Rays
(No prior matchups)
So the Rangers get someone new to face for the 1st time ever, and they need to make the most of it…the Rays meanwhile need to get themselves back on track after the late season tumble. The Rangers were the only AL playoff team to not suck down the stretch, plus theyve got Hamilton back, plus theyve got Cliff Lee, so its win-win-win.
I don’t expect a sweep, mainly because the Rays have proven they can dig deep, but the Rays also have no homefield advantage unless they give free tickets away. Either way, it’ll be party time in Texas, cuz I think theyre finally gonna do it.
Rangers in 4
New York Yankees vs Minnesota Twins
Previous meetings: 2003 (NYY-3, MIN-1), 2004 (NYY-3, MIN-1), 2009 (NYY-3, MIN-0)
While the Rangers were praying for the Rays to win the east, the Twins were praying for the Yankees to win. If theres one team the Yankees have owned harder than the Rangers, its the Minnesota Twins.
And if anyone misses the Metrodome more than the Twins, its the October Yankees who were a perfect 5-0 there. But I dont expect anything different this year.
Yankees in 3 if AJ Burnett doesnt pitch
Yankees in 4 if AJ Burnett pitches
Philadelphia Phillies vs Cincinnati Reds
(No prior matchups)
The Reds (aka-the “other” NL playoff team) will be the unlucky team facing the Phillies as they try to defend their back-to-back NL titles. The Reds will try to stop them with future NL MVP Joey Votto but it might not be enough.
Let it be known that the Phillies arent observant. Taking a page from the 2009 World Champion New York Yankees playbook, theyre going to roll out a postseason starting trio of their own. Halladay wont disappoint, Oswalts just happy to be on a postseason favorite, and Cole Hamels is hot, but his last start meltdown might have a few concerned, especially after his playoff meltdown last year.
As much as I want to see the Reds in the world series…
Phillies in 4
-wait a minute…this is my f*cking blog…and if the better team on paper always won, then the Yankees wouldve won more than 2 world championships last decade. So screw Roy Halladay, screw Chase Utley and screw the Philles. The “best team” thing doesnt always equal a win in the playoffs…so…
Reds in 5
(For the NL, I’m a Reds fan dammit. So f*ck you)
Atlanta Braves vs San Francisco Giants
Previous meetings: 2002 (SF-3, ATL-2)
In their world series run, the Giants met the Braves in the NLDS in 2002. Back then Barry Bonds and Chipper Jones led their respective teams. A lot has changed since then, except one guy: Bobby Cox.
The Giants have the freak Lincecum while the Braves have some serious resolve to make it this far. But the Braves are struggling, especially against the Phillies B-squad, while the Giants are riding high after surviving the scare the Padres gave them. The question here isnt who will win, but how many games exactly will it take?
Seeing how the Giants have a knack for taking until the last damn second to do things, Im gonna go with…
Giants in 5
And those are my fearless 2010 predictions. I would love to see a Yankees-Reds series, but a Yankees-Giants series would be interesting given the old NY Giants appeal…..a 2009 rematch would be neat as well, as would a 1996/99 rematch with the Braves…a lot of good options in the NL this year…
What? Someone else win the AL this year? Thats silly. Youre silly.
2009 World Series vs Phillies…Game 3
We’ve been here before. Baseball on Halloween? Done and won before.
Tonight the Yankees go up 2-1 behind the clutch left arm of Andy Pettitte.
For the Phillies, Cole Hamels is out there, though this hasnt been the same postseason for him as 2008.
It also seems the Yankees have finally found the perfect 8th inning bridge to Mariano Rivera…in Mariano Rivera…..now we just need the perfect 7th inning pitcher and we’ll be set!
Mo with the 9 out saves?
The question tonight though seems to be who will be the 3rd outfielder for the Yankees? Will Hinske get his shot? Swish a chance for redemption? Matsui earned the right not to leave the lineup? We’ll find out. I hope its Godzilla though, that way Girardi can do his usual late inning pinch running with Gardner and not miss a step…
Lets do this!
Top 1 in Philadelphia
Ugh…Rain sucks…
Looks like we’ll be playing November baseball tonight if this delay holds up…
Good thing is: whenever it rains for a delay, Pettitte pitches well…
…And it looks like Swisher gets his chance at some World Series redemption…him and A Rod…
Quarter after 9…Play ball!!!
End of 1 in Philadelphia
A Rods slumping? How bout Howard? How many strike outs in a row now? 5? 6?
…………and my computer craps out right after A Rod hit the home run-turn double-turn home run again…
I got it working again, but mlb.com still doesnt load…for some reason…
Does it really matter compared to the big picture? The Yankees win! 2-1 advantage!!!
Now its a series…
Theres been nothing but talk these last couple days about pitching. How great Lee/Sabathia/Martinez are…but last night featured a pitching performance that outshined everyone!
Burnett pitched in a manner that deserves his entire paycheck. If not for A Rods misplay that let a run score early, AJ wouldve had a nice shutout going. Nevermind that. He outpitched every other starter this series, including Lee-yeah thats right. AJ was in control in every inning over the Sillies
Yankees now have this thing tied at 1-1 with the ever-clutch Pettitte going onn halloween vs the not so steady Hamels…then its the Lee/CC rematch in game 4 before AJ goes out there for game 5 against someone not named Lee. Is it too much to think we can take the next 3? Cuz I think we can.
Now if only A Rod can break this little ugly slump he fell into, we’d be golden…
Yankees in 6
There, I said it.
We’ll win game 1, naturally. Philly will fight back and win game 2. We’ll roll into Philly and take game 3 then CCs game 4 start will be another masterpiece. 3-1 Yanks. Philly will salvage game 5, forcing the trip back to New York. Pettitte will pitch another clutch game and we’ll take this thing at home.
I was dead on the mark for us needing 3 and 6 to win the ALDS and CS. No reason to think I’ll be wrong here.
Philly has a good looking infield with Rollins, Howard and Utley…but we’ve got Jeter, Tex and A Rod…AND Cano. Phillies have a more sound looking outfield though, Ill give them that.
Both Starting rotations look clutch. Lee-Hamels can go toe to toe with Sabathia-Pettitte, though anyone against CC is a lost cause for Philly.
What puts the overall advantage in New York is the bullpen. Philly can match us everywhere but in the pen. In fact, Philly has had one of the worst bullpens in the postseason, while tha Yankees have had the best. If the Yankees can outlast Hamels and Lee and work into that pen, the series will be ours!
Burnett aint half bad either, much better than any other Phillies pitcher.
…and dont start about the return of Pedro Martinez. Dont forget who your daddies are, Pedro…I hope you end up having to pitch in New York just so the crowd can chant “Who’s your daddy?”
…….Brad Lidge or Mariano Rivera? HA! Dont make me laugh. Anyone with half a brain cell would pick Mo.
When 2 powerhouses like the Yanks and Phills collide, it all comes down to who has the better bullpen, and the Yankees clearly win on that front, and thus, should be favored to win #27 this year.
Game 1 in a couple days…
Freeway Series? HA! Dont make me laugh!
1st of all, lemme just say that I’m soooooooo happy both wild card teams didnt make it through round 1…I just hate it when a wild card team wins. (97, 02, 03 and 04 were all sh!tty years for baseball)…anyway, onwards with my post…
One, if not, both LA teams will fail this round. Mainly cuz the Yankees don’t plan on losing. Here are 8 reasons why one, if not both LA teams will fail to win 4 of their next 7 games…(or, if youre an optimist: why the Yankees and/or Phillies will be going to the world series)…
1. The bums went home.
Matt Holliday will not be patrolling the outfield in anymore 9th innings and PapelBUM won’t be around to offer the Angels anymore rallies courtesy of a meltdown.
The Sillies may not have an intimidating trio in the OF, but they can field their positions, so the Dodgers can forget about any choke-aided rallies. Slick defense is what wins the close games. Though in comensation, Brad Lidge and his 11 blow saves are around, but Manuel seems to have found a compromise, bringing Lidge in only for those rare four three two 1 out saves.
Meanwhile, Papelbum is home and now the Angels will have to face the wrath of Rivera in the 9th inning. ’nuff said.
2. Yankees aren’t afraid of Anaheim anymore.
If we learned anything from winning that intense series in LA late in the regular season, its that YES WE CAN! And unlike Obama, we delivered, taking 2 of 3 in that series and becomming the 1st team to clinch a playoff birth. Now we can basically do the same thing again and become the 1st team to clinch a world series birth.
(Cue the fallout for the meaningless political shot…)
3. C.C. Sabathia will pitch 3 games in the series.
Angels fans might cry foul at this one. Our ace will pitch a mind boggling 3 games in the series. And he should. Hes gotten an incredible amount of rest over the month, and hes the only pitcher in baseball you’d feel fine about pitching again and again on short rest because hes done it before with success (see: Getting the Brewers into the playoffs)
Hell, if this works, let him pitch games 1, 2 and 3 of the world series, let him have game 4 off, then pitch him in game 5 if Burnett screws up.
4. The AL MVP is facing the Angels.
“But I thought Joe Mauer went home?”
Yeah he did, but A Rod is still playing.
The man missed an entire month and the Yankees sucked. The moment he came back, we took off and never looked back, while he still found a way to post 30HRs and 100RBIs. Thats not just incredible, thats MVPcredible. The way he played this season, recovering from hip surgery, shrugging off the ‘roids bitching, and going on a tear in October…to me that says MVP.
If he somehow wins this, it would be the 1st one I feel he’d deserve since now hes got the October credentials to back it up for once.
…Plus, ya know, A Rod RAPES the Angels pitching everytime he faces them.
5. The Phillies rotation.
…for a minute, I forgot to include the NLCS…
Cliff Lee against any non-AL team + Cole Hamels against the Dodgers in October = easy wins.
…and for extra credit…Pedro Martinez + him not pitching against or anywhere near the Yankees = more easy wins.
The Dodgers may have a better overall look, but the Phillies have a 1-2-(maybe 3) punch that will give those (trolly) Dodgers a run for their money
6. Yankees have a bench and bullpen deeper than most hookers’ va-jay-jays
(Thats right, PG for the kids…)
Lets start with Molina, who has an arm that will keep those pesky Angel runners in check…expand to Speedy Gonzalez Brett Gardner who can steal bases at will…and end with a bullpen so deep, Girardi can pitch them <1 inning of work, and still have enough talent left to win an 11 inning game against the Twins…though if he does that again, I’ll personally slap him.
7. The Phillies infield.
Ryan Howard…Chase Utley…Jimmy Rollins? In one infield? Wow.
…and Pedro Feliz, yeah…no infield is perfect…but it’s still way better than any infield out of LA…
8. Angels and Dodgers benefited from slumping opposing bats in LDS.
The Cardinals couldn’t drive in a RISP to save their lives. The Red Sox fell asleep and Ortiz apparently forgot to take his roids right beforehand. The Yankees on the other hand had to fend off a streaking Twins team while the Rockies managed to win a game and almost forced a game 5. Yankees and Phillies earned their wins.
The Dodgers survived from some solid St Louis pitching, but had the luxery of a popless Cardinal lineup.
The Angels probably overhyped themselves for undoing their woeful past against Boston.
…I’m not saying both LA teams will lose in their LCSs…but AT LEAST one of them will (My money is on both…but my money was also on the Dodgers to lose in round 1, so go figure)Crap (OPTIMISM, dammit!)
I’m not saying the Yankees and Phillies will both win their LCSs…but AT LEAST one of them will (My money is on both…but my money was also on the Cardinals winning the NL, so go figure)
The Yankee Hater Hater 