Sully Baseball Daily Podcast - April 10, 2013

The Padres and Angels were the last teams to have home openers.
Naturally they wait to have the cities with the best weather open last.

I talk about that on The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast along with the fact that I think the Luxury Tax has worked wonderfully so far.


Also I determined that Cliff Lee, Will Venable, Nick Tepesch and Miguel Cabrera owned baseball on April 9, 2013.

 Subscribe on iTunes HERE.

Players who owned baseball for a Day

Clayton Kershaw – 2
Cliff Lee - 2

Clay Buchholz – 1

Madison Bumgarner – 1 
Miguel Cabrera - 1
Robinson Cano - 1
Shin-Soo Choo - 1
Alex Cobb - 1 
Zack Cozart - 1 
Yu Darvish - 1 
Chris Davis - 1 
Jacoby Ellsbury – 1 
Prince Fielder - 1 
Adrian Gonzalez - 1
Carlos Gonzalez – 1 
Gio Gonzalez – 1 
Bryce Harper – 1
Matt Harvey - 1
Felix Hernandez – 1
 Adam Jones - 1 
Jed Lowrie – 1 
Justin Maxwell - 1 
Will Middlebrooks - 1
Bud Norris – 1
Gerardo Parra – 1 
Andy Pettitte - 1 
Brandon Phillips - 
Albert Pujols - 1
CC Sabathia - 1
Ervin Santana - 1
Drew Smyly - 1 
Nick Tepesch - 1
Justin Upton - 1
Will Venable - 1
Adam Wainwright - 1
Barry Zito - 1


Sully Baseball Daily Podcast - April 10, 2013

Sully Baseball Daily Podcast - April 5, 2013

The big beards and messy hair on many of the players today will be a symbol for baseball in the 2010's. Let's appreciate them and be nostalgic for them now!

It is like a return to the House of David!

And with Chris Davis, Andy Pettitte, Cliff Lee and Shin-Soo Choo owning baseball last night, they all join the list of previous players who owned baseball.

 Let’s update the tally.  

Players who owned baseball for the Day 

Clay Buchholz – 1
Madison Bumgarner – 1
Yu Darvish - 1
Jacoby Ellsbury – 1
Carlos Gonzalez – 1
Gio Gonzalez – 1
Bryce Harper – 1
Felix Hernandez – 1
Adam Jones - 1
Clayton Kershaw – 1
Jed Lowrie – 1
Justin Maxwell - 1
Bud Norris – 1
 Gerardo Parra – 1


Sully Baseball Daily Podcast - April 5, 2013
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COMPLETE GAME VICTORIES TO CLINCH DIVISION SERIES (Updated with Justin Verlander and CC Sabathia)

In 2010, I wrote a post about pitchers who threw a complete game victory to clinch the Division Series.

Since then, Chris Carpenter, Justin Verlander and CC Sabathia have been added to the list, so it was time to update this list.

In this day and age of specialized relievers, complete games have become more rare and pitchers finishing a clinching game is even less common.

But these pitchers pulled off the feat. And two were added this year.

Let's update it.

Complete Game Division Series Clinchers

John Smoltz
1997 ATLANTA BRAVES
Game 3
4-1 victory against Houston Astros




Bobby Jones
2000 NEW YORK METS
Game 4
4-0 victory against San Francisco Giants




Curt Schilling
2001 ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
Game 5
2-1 victory against St. Louis Cardinals



Cole Hamels
2010 PHILADELPHIA PHLLIES
Game 3
2-0 victory against Cincinnati Reds


Cliff Lee
2010 TEXAS RANGERS
Game 5
5-1 victory against Tampa Bay Rays

Chris Carpenter

2011 ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

Game 5

1-0 victory against Philadelphia Phillies

Justin Verlander

2012 DETROIT TIGERS

Game 5

6-0 victory against Oakland Athletics

CC Sabathia
2012 NEW YORK YANKEES 
Game 5
3-1 victory against Baltimore Orioles

The 2001 Series didn’t end with Schilling on the mound getting the last out. The series ended with a walk off single by Tony Womack.

For sticklers of details, they played the Division Series in 1981 as well and two more complete games clinched series THAT year.

Steve Rogers
1981 MONTREAL EXPOS
Game 5
3-0 victory against Philadelphia Phillies


Jerry Reuss
1981 LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Game 5
4-0 victory against Houston Astros

But while relievers were being used more frequently then, the whole specialization of EVERY bullpen role (and the cheapening of the save) didn’t come around until the late 1980s.

So Verlander and Sabathia did the trick this year. If they face off in the ALCS, it should be quite a battle.

Let's see if this gets updated in 2013.

Are the Phillies done?

A team had a great five year run. It included multiple trips to the World Series and several consecutive divisions won. Multiple MVPs played on the teams. The deep pitching staff includes a Cy Young winner and another star pitcher who won the LCS and World Series MVP.

But despite all the success there was an aura of disappointment. They won a single World Series but in other years, they lost multiple series where they had no business dropping. And the good times ended abruptly. There was no transition. They went from potential World Series contender to a last place team in one year.

Now what team am I talking about?

Am I talking about the Philadelphia Phillies from now?
Or am I talking about the Oakland A's from the 1980s and 1990s?

The A's exploded in 1988 with an outstanding team headed by manager Tony LaRussa. Jose Canseco, Rickey Henderson and Dennis Eckersley all won MVP honors.

Bob Welch may have won the Cy Young in the rotation, but it was Dave Stewart who brought home ALCS and World Series MVP honors.

Those A's were tremendous. But they only won one title: the 1989 Earthquake Series against the Giants. They lost to far inferior teams like the 1988 Dodgers and 1990 Reds. But after losing the 1992 ALCS to Toronto, the good times ended. Riddled with free agent defections and injuries, the 1993 A's finished in the AL West cellar. It took years (and a Billy Beane mentality) before the A's were any good again.

Which brings us to the present Phillies. From 2007 to last year, they won the Division each year. They won it all in 2008 and another pennant in 2009. Roy Halladay won the Cy Young, but Cole Hamels won the LCS and World Series MVP trophies. Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins picked up MVP honors (yes, I know Ryan Howard won his in 2006. The analogy isn't perfect.)

Yet they lost to teams like the 2010 Giants and 2011 Cardinals. The Phillies should have crushed them but they didn't.


And here we sit with about 36% of the season done and the Phillies are in freefall. They've dropped their last six games including a sweep by the Matt Kemp-less Dodgers. Roy Halladay, Ryan Howard and Chase Utley are all on the disabled list. And, despite an excellent 2.92 ERA, Cliff Lee is still winless.

Sure there is about 2/3 of the season to play. But what part of the Phillies game makes you think this team is turning around. They are a veteran team and the rest of the Division looks pretty good.

In order to get to 93 wins, which is probably what it will take to make the playoffs, the Phillies will have to go 65-38 the rest of the way. That's a .631 clip. They are currently playing .475 ball.

That's not hopeful.

All great runs come to an end.

It happened to the A's of the 1980s and 1990s.

Maybe the Phillies of the 2000s and 2010s have reached the end of their line.

Cliff Lee could be Ryan Gosling's brother

I saw a picture of Ryan Gosling in some up coming film called Gangster Squad. I don't doubt that I will see it because my wife is, to put it mildly, a fan of Mr. Gosling.

Do you know who is also a big fan of Ryan Gosling? Every heterosexual woman I have ever met.

He's a reasonably handsome dude.

You know how some couples have the "Free Pass" list? The celebrity that one partner can hook up with guilt free if the situation ever came up.

Well Ryan Gosling is on my wife's "I am allowed to shoot my husband in the knee to spend a night with him" list.

When we did our casting the 2011 movie video, she tried to cast Gosling as Josh Hamilton even though he doesn't look like him.

HOWEVER, when I saw his pic for the new movie, it looked very familiar.

Then I realized where I saw that intense, bad ass stare.

He looks like Cliff Lee.

Not 100% like Cliff Lee. They aren't dead ringers.

But he could be Ryan Lee. He might be the more sensitive Lee brother who never was understood by his tougher more athletic brother.

Maybe if more women knew there was a Ryan Gosling type on the Phillies they would sky rocket in popularity.

And I for one would like to see Cliff Lee play Noah in The Notebook.




  

I LOVE the new Washington/Philadelphia rivalry

Cole Hamels sent a message the other day when he hit Bryce Harper, but I don't think it was the message he THOUGHT he was sending.

I'm not really impressed when pitchers hit batters, quite frankly. And the best way for Cole Hamels to make Harper realize he is being a cocky twit is to strike him out and look unprepared, NOT to put him on base!

But the real message was sent to the rest of baseball. The Nationals and the Phillies could be the best new rivalry in the game right now.

I'm not saying for all time. Red Sox and Yankees have generations of bad blood and the Giants and Dodgers have been battling on two different coasts.

But just for this year, 2012, Washington and Philadelphia could wind up being the most intriguing match up of teams in the game.

Geographically the rivalry couldn't be more appealing. Just 137 miles (and Baltimore) separate the two cities. It's about a 3 hour drive from park to park. Philadelphia draws from Eastern Pennsylvania and South Jersey.

The Nationals pick up whichever baseball fans in DC didn't grow up with the Orioles, whatever baseball fans exist in Virginia and of course staffers of Congressmen and women who try to look cool offering access to the Nats game to visiting lobbyists.

In terms of personnel there is a wonderful contrast. The Phillies have the weathered veterans, many with World Series experience. Jimmy Rollins, Carlos Ruiz and Shane Victorino are still there. So are Joe Blanton, Hunter Pence and Roy Halladay. World Series winners like Juan Pierre and Jonathan Papelbon have been added to the mix.

And if Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Cliff Lee and Jim Thome come off the disabled list anytime soon, this will be a "Who's Who" of respected veterans.

The Nationals represent a new face of baseball. What two recent prospects have been brought up with more hype and fanfare than Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper? And so far they have lived up to the hype.

With the likes of Steve Lobardozzi, Ian Desmond, Jordan Zimmermann, Craig Stammen, Ross Detwiler and when he comes back, Ryan Zimmerman, the Nats have created a nice core of home grown talent.

Throw in some former Phillies like Brad Lidge and Jayson Werth, and it becomes very interesting on the East Coast but South of Red Sox/Yankee land.

But there is more to this than geography and age differences between the players.

The Phillies have been THE team in the National League for five seasons. Between 2007 and 2011, they won all five Division Titles, made three trips to the NLCS, two trips to the World Series and won it all in 2008.

But with upset losses by the Giants in 2010 and St. Louis last year, there is a sense that the Phillies should have at least one more trip to the World Series on their resume.

And with injuries and age creeping up on the team, this could be the last year for them to be a legit pennant winner and have a chance for multiple titles (and a first ring for Halladay, Lee and Thome.)

Yet who is in first?
Even after they were swept by the Dodgers, the Nats remain on the top, 6 games ahead of the Phillies in the loss column.

Washington hasn't seen post season baseball since the 1933 Senators lost the World Series to the Giants. That was around the time King Kong was released. It has been remade twice since then.

Basically we have the old veterans looking for one last gasp of glory against the young phenoms who don't want to wait their turn and be respectful to the codgers.

So who is going to win?
Well, I think it is going to be the Marlins who are getting their groove back. But the fight for a playoff spot between these two teams who don't seem to like each other could be as entertaining a match up as we'll see this calendar year.

That's not a bad message for Hamels to send.


 

From a Daily News article in 2011

While looking up some facts for a post I am writing about Brian Cashman, I stumbled across this gem in the New York Daily News from John Harper.

He wrote it on September 7th, 2011 after Jesus Montero homered for the Yankees.

I'll cut and paste the whole thing here.

It will always be fair to wonder if Brian Cashman was right or wrong not to give in to the Mariners' demands for Cliff Lee 14 months ago and include either Ivan Nova or Eduardo Nuez along with Jesus Montero, the centerpiece of the proposed deal.

But one thing for sure: After Montero flashed the opposite-field power that has had scouts comparing him to Mike Piazza for years, hitting his first two big-league home runs at Yankee Stadium on Monday, it's starting to look like the Mariners were the real losers in that rather famous near-deal.

 Oh what an ironic ending!
A player that scouts compared to Mike Piazza could have been dealt for Cliff Lee, who was the difference between the Yankees going to the 2010 World Series or the Rangers going to the 2010 World Series.

Instead of a Cy Young winning post season stud (up to that point) they traded him for a guy with one good first half and will miss all of 2012 and part of 2013 before he throws a single pitch for the Yankees.

Meanwhile the Mariners wound up getting him anyway AND was able to deal Lee for prospects. Yeah, Justin Smoak has been a disappointment. But pitcher Blake Beavan has shown promise.

In a way, Montero's production this season is almost irrelevant in evaluating this trade in the short term.
Listening to the Yankee broadcast yesterday, Suzyn Waldman stuck to the company talking points saying that Montero hasn't been tearing up Seattle, creating a false equivalency that the trade might be equally bad for both teams. (This was before Montero crushed a Piazza like homer last night.)

Even if Montero finishes with a .100 OPS and winds up vomiting into Ichiro's cap during a game, this trade is still disastrous in the short term. Montero's Yankee role and position was "Prime Trade Chip."

He was the bait to fill the inevitable pitching holes and needed to be spent wisely.

And he wasn't.

And I think the Mariners no longer feel like the loser of that deal.

Now THAT was a ballgame!

9 shutout innings by Cain.
10 by Cliff Lee.
The Giants bullpen perfectly wiggled out of a jam.
And as John Sterling would say about Melky Cabrera "The Melk Man Delivered!"

Folks, regular season games don't get better than that!

10 Reasons why the Philadelphia Phillies winning the 2011 World Series would be good for baseball

The latest entry for the Why Each Team's Potential World Championship Would Be Good For The Game series will be for the Philadelphia Phillies.

A lot of these entries have been for long shots or teams that are pretty much dead right now (I'm looking at YOU Indians, Giants and White Sox.)

But now it is time for one team that not only has a shot, but should be the prohibitive favorite against any team.

The Phillies were picked by many people (including yours truly) to win it all. And frankly it would be stunning if they didn't. Now if you are the kind of person who doesn't like offense, pitching and power, then the Phillies aren't for you.

Today they clinched a playoff berth.
With 95 wins and 16 games left, they are a cinch for 100 wins.
If they win 102 games, they will have the best regular season record in franchise history.

And with the memory of last year's stunning loss in the NLCS against San Francisco fresh in their minds, they have gone all in.

The Phillies are the Big Bad Wolf. They could turn the Red Sox or Yankees into underdogs.

So they are another big market Northeastern team with unruly fans using their deep pockets to buy another championship!

What could there POSSIBLY be to root for with a Phillies World Series title?
PLENTY!

10 Reasons why the
Philadelphia Phillies
winning the 2011 World Series
would be good for baseball

1. Another World Series title would make Charlie Manuel's Hall of Fame candidacy very compelling.

Charlie Manuel seems like a cool guy. A classic "Gold Ole Boy" Southern manager who has tamed the wild Philadelphia fanbase and delivered the city's first Championship in a quarter century.

While the classic Hall of Fame manager seems to be a strategist or a fiery, who can deny the results. With a clinched playoff spot this year (and assuming the Division is inevitable) he will have 5 straight Division Titles, back to back pennants and the 2008 World Series title.

Throw in the fact that his Phillies zoomed past the Mets in the wild 2007 Division race and Manuel could be the best manager in the team's history. Who is ahead of him?

(He also has another Division Title as a manager of the Indians.) If he wins another World Series title, his Cooperstown resume would start to look convincing.


2. Another title would shine light on the new "Core."

Jimmy Rollins has been a Phillie for 11 plus seasons. Chase Utley has been a Phillie for 9 seasons. Ryan Howard has been a Phillie for 8 plus seasons. Cole Hamels has been a Phillie for 6 seasons. Ryan Madson has been a Phillie for 8 plus seasons. Carlos Ruiz has been a Phillies for 6 seasons.

They are all home grown players who have been together for all 5 Division Champions. Throw in Shane Victorino who came over to Philadelphia after making his big league debut with the Padres and you have a core of players who have been together through many different Octobers and give the Phillies a sense of stability with the franchise not seen since the Joe Torre Yankee days.



3. The redemption of Ryan Howard's contract.

Speaking of that core, Ryan Howard has been much maligned since signing his long contract extension. I understand the deal emotionally. Having him play the bulk of his career in Philadelphia would mean that Phillies fans could invest some emotion in the big guy. And he is no doubt one of the more likable stars in the game.

But with his numbers declining (except RBI... the REASON he is paid so much) and the age of sluggers suddenly getting good again seems to be over, the deal looks like it might be an albatross for the next 5 years.

Ahh but what if he helps the Phillies earn ANOTHER World Series title? You could say "Sure he's over paid and slipping, but that's the price for an MVP, 3 pennants, an NLCS MVP and being part of 2 of the only 3 World Series titles in team history."


4. Speaking of redemption, Philadelphia fans can show themselves in a better light.

You might not like it, Phillies fans, but you have one of the worst reputation in sports. I know not ALL of you booed Mike Schmidt... or Santa Claus for that matter. I know not ALL of you got tased or threw up on a little girl. But enough of you have to give Philadelphia sports fans a bad rep.

Want to change that? When the Phillies win the World Series, cheer. Clap. Stomp your feet. Have a great time. But don't riot. Don't flip cars over. Show some class. And you can say "Yeah, I'm a Philly fan. At least I'm not a Vancouver fan!"


5. Roy Halladay is great for baseball and deserves to be a champion.

As we move past the Steroid Era and pitchers are becoming more and more dominant, it would be nice to see the BEST current pitcher get a ring.

Halladay could win his third Cy Young this year (although it will probably go to Clayton Kershaw) and last year showed his greatness with a regular season perfect game and a playoff no hitter. Today he threw a complete game shutout to clinch a spot in October. He's already a Hall of Famer. He is lacking the ring and he'll join Tim Lincecum, CC Sabathia, Cole Hamels, Jon Lester, Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter as current aces who are also World Champions.


6. Cliff Lee's bad ass-ness needs to be celebrated.

In 2009 World Series against the Yankees, Cliff Lee casually caught a pop up while barely moving his body. He just was so cool and non chalant. That's how he plays the game. He is good. He KNOWS he is good. And he'll just shut you down on HIS terms.

And those terms also means being a cool customer after being traded from the Indians to the Phillies to the Mariners and to the Rangers in two years. And cool in saying "Thanks but to thanks" to the Yankees money and declaring Philadelphia the place to win.

Like Halladay, Lee is one of the stars of post steroid pitching. And save for his two games in the World Series last year, has been as exciting a big game pitcher as you will see in baseball. He should be a champion.



7. Juan Samuel would get his World Series ring.

In the mid 1980s, Juan Samuel was the best second baseman in the National League not named Ryne Sandberg. He was part of the 1983 National League Champion Phillies and looked like he was going to be a staple in Philadelphia for a long time.

Then he went to the Mets, fetching Lenny Dykstra and Roger McDowell, which turned out to be one of the best deals in Phillies history. Samuel is a baseball lifer. He's been a coach and briefly managed the disastrous Orioles last year before Buck Showalter arrived.

The three time All Star has been in professional baseball since 1980 but has never been part of a World Series winner. The current member of the Phillies coaching staff has earned it.


8. A World Series ring for Brian Schneider, the last Expo.

There are very few Montreal Expos left in baseball. Schneider is one of them and he played for the team as MLB was screwing the franchise sending them to San Juan, not letting them call up players in September even while Frank Robinson was putting a winning product on the field. When baseball sent an All Star team to Japan after 2004, the Expos last season, Schneider represented the team. When he returned, they were the Washington Nationals. So by definition, Schneider was the last ever Expo.

He's now Carlos Ruiz's backup and probably won't see any action in the post season. But it would be nice to see one of the remnants of that lost team be rewarded.



9. Another title would make this the greatest Philadelphia team in history

If the Phillies win the World Series this year, which Philadelphia team would be better in history than this squad? The Dr. J/Moses Malone 76ers? The Broadstreet Bullies? The Jimmie Foxx/Lefty Grove Connie Mack led A's?

This Phillies team might be better than them all.

And sometimes it is GOOD to see greatness unfold and the best of something emerge.



10. Sometimes it is good to have the best team win.

Yeah, underdogs are fun to see win. A little team that could like last year's Giants or the 2006 Cardinals beating the odds can be appealing. But there are other times it is cool to see a team that is clearly the best in the sport take the title and the crown.

Sometimes seeing a champion who was the best from start to finish can be more satisfying than simply honoring whichever team happened to get hot over three weeks. This Phillies team was designed to win the whole damn thing and they played like it since April. There is something to be said for that.

Is there any doubt who the best team in baseball is? Then by definition they deserve to win the World Series!



Oh I know this will be a hard sell for a lot of you. Philadelphia is as bad as New York and Boston in terms of gluttony in many people's eyes. (The Phillies payroll is now bigger than the Red Sox!) But trust me, the world won't end if the Phillies win the World Series. And in many ways, it could be a very cool thing.

Show some brotherly love, my dear readers.


If you liked this then go ahead and read the entries for the other teams.

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
CHICAGO WHITE SOX

CLEVELAND INDIANS
DETROIT TIGERS
LOS ANGELES ANGELS OF ANAHEIM
MILWAUKEE BREWERS
NEW YORK YANKEES
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

Sometimes the other team is just better

Seriously, what else can you say?
Cliff Lee was just unreal. He was the man on the mound AND at the plate. This was a classic tip the hat and realize that a win wasn't in the cards.

I'm glad that if Beckett had a lousy game, it might as well be in a game where the other guy was dominating.

It's better than Beckett losing a 1-0 game or a 6-5 games.

If it is a World Series preview then hey... at least they made the World Series.

Cliff Lee's no hitter was broken up

I can't help but feel partially responsible.

I should NEVER have mentioned he was throwing a no hitter in my last post.

It would be a shame if Cliff Lee lost the game.

(Am I pushing it?)

CLIFF LEE IS THROWING A NO HITTER!!! RIGHT NOW!

I'm not one for superstition... but just in case, I am going to scream the fact that CLIFF LEE IS THROWING A NO HITTER over and over again.

I will be happy to be the man who jinxed THIS one!!!

Something special happens around 0:59 of this video

7th inning of Game 5...

Lee and Lincecum are locking antlers in a pitchers duel...

Giant fans at the Public House watching.

For the first minute of this video, everyone is paying close attention, but know there are 2 outs, Cliff Lee is not the pinata he was in Game 1, and that a scoring opportunity may be squandered here.

I mean how many times can Edgar Renteria come through for the Giants.

Then the fly ball...

There is cautious optimism...

Then it completely clears the wall.

At around the 0:59 mark of this video, listen for that pause before the place erupts.

That pause was the very last moment that a Giant fan ever thought they were going to die without seeing their team win it all.

Then collective "YEAH!"

At that moment they knew the Giants were up 3-0 with Lincecum on the mound.

They knew that the World Series was theirs.

No more Finley grand slam.

No more J. T. Snow thrown out at the plate.

No more handing the game ball to Russ Ortiz.

No more Troy Glaus double or Scott Speizio homer.

No more Benny Agbayani walk off shot.

No more watching the Marlins get 3 walk off wins in two different series.

No more winning 103 games and missing the playoffs.

No more Earthquake series.

No more Jose Oquendo home run.

No more Maldonado losing it in the lights.

No more line drive by McCovey.

At that moment, all of that became prologue.

And the release of happiness was well earned.

I had a similar scream in 2004.

It felt good.

Enjoy it Giants fans.

Pitchers and catchers are reporting soon.