37 game season for the AL East title

125 games into the season and the Rays and Yankees are dead even.
They are both the best team in baseball, although if they finished tied it looks as if Tampa Bay would win the AL East based on their head to head record.

Now if I told you there would be two teams tied for the best record in baseball... and one of them had lost their biggest slugger to injuries, their veteran World Champion left handed starter was on the DL, their captain was day to day and they seemed to be starting the 15th caller from WFAN 2 out of every 3 starts.

And the other team seemed to have a never ending supplies of phenoms coming out of their farm system and their former #1 pick over all (no not the pitcher who was #1 over all but the outfielder) was finally hitting....

Wouldn't you think the second team has the better chance to win one more game than the first?

It's no longer about payroll. It's about who will do better over 37 games.

Now if the Red Sox start SWEEPING series, they might be in this equation as well... but for now, the two best teams in baseball have 37 games to determine who will start the post season at home.

Sully Baseball Honors THE AWESOMENESS THAT IS STEVE SOMERS

There was a time in my life when I was as big a fan of WFAN as you will ever meet. I listened to Joe Beningo, Mike and the Mad Dog, Suzyn Waldman, Sid Rosenberg, Jody McDonald and even, God help me, Russ Salzberg.

I would call in from time to time and it was a staple on my radio dial and I would for years fall asleep with WFAN playing on the radio.

But nobody was better than the Schmoozer. Steve Somers had the perfect voice, the perfect sarcasm, knew exactly which buttons to press with each caller and could be so condescending in such a friendly way.

Well, when I was looking for a clip to use in my Ryan Howard/Albert Pujols post, I stumbled across this gem.

It was when Somers was in Sacramento (or as he called it later, Sacratomato.) As the sports anchor on KOVR Newwatch 13 in 1982, the future Schmoozer shows the many talents that have made that Bay Area native a mainstay in New York sports talk.

The sarcasm (throwing in a "ho hum" while listing the Cincinnati/Houston score), the admitting he is annoying some of the people listening to him (especially L.A. Dodger fans), the strong opinions (especially regarding Robin Yount's MVP candidacy) and a flair for the smirking dramatic (the "Fan held hostage" graphic is classic Somers.)

Plus watch the video... besides the amazing late '70s/early '80s afro, there are two other awesome elements to this video.

First is how the clips are set up. The score is told first, as opposed to being held to the end. I forgot that is how they did it.

Secondly, look at how cool the Giants looked with the orange top, orange cap bill and cursive writing on the jerseys.

The Schoomzer has always been king... I can say that as Sully here and YOU there!

5 Reasons why the Pujols for Howard trade is a good thing

1. It's a good old fashioned blockbuster deal that will put a spark in Spring Training!

Seriously, is this a Fantasy Baseball trade? I mean this is a deal I would make in June when the Fantasy League is getting stale and I think "Heck, let's shake this up!"

It's not a salary dump... it's not a Johan Santana like "deal away a superstar for spare parts" fiasco. It's not a "We need to get Manny Ramirez off the team" trade. It's a pair of contenders swapping former MVPs, former NLCS MVPs and guys who have delivered a World Series title to their home towns. We don't see enough of these trades.


2. It kind of makes sense baseball wise

The Phillies have too much left handed hittting... throw Pujols into that line up and not only will it be more balanced, but he'll see quite a few more fastballs.

Put Howard in St. Louis with Matt Holliday batting behind him and you'll have the deadliest lefty/righty combo in baseball.


3. It will add a nice plot turn in Albert Pujols' legend

As I wrote the other week, Pujols doesn't owe the Cardinals nor their fans anything. They've had MVPs, playoff heroics and a World Series title with Albert in the lead. He could play the next 10-11 seasons in St. Louis, pile up numbers and work on his Cooperstown speech.

OR he can bring his act to a new city and give him some new challenges. Maybe it will be like when Pete Rose came to the Phillies... or Mike Piazza, seemingly a Dodger for life, brought his legend to Queens (by way of the Marlins) and will probably go into Cooperstown with a Mets hat.

Sure Pujols can be a Cardinal forever and be fawned over by the passionate yet friendly Cardinals fans... or he can jump into the cauldron of the Northeastern baseball and be loved in two different cities.


4. It is an ideal place for Ryan Howard

Ryan was born in St. Louis.
He grew up rooting for the Cardinals.
He went to High School at Lafayette High in St. Louis County.
He went to college at Missouri State University.

He was born to play for the Cardinals. And yes, he is replacing a beloved legend... but Cardinal fans are loving fans (just ask Mark McGwire.) And a few bombs into the right field seats will have Cardinal fans saying "Welcome home!"


5. It will embolden every yahoo calling up WFAN and XM Radio with trade theories

You know those guys who call up, especially late at night, to sports talk stations? They usually have outrageous trade proposals. Usually it is something like "I think the Mets should trade for Derek Jeter... maybe we can send them Luis Castillo, Daniel Murphy and some prospects."

And then Steve Somers would shoot them down.

But now whenever someone has a crazy trade proposal that is dismissable, they can reply "Hey! You never would have thought the Pujols for Howard trade would have happened!"

Yes, it is a good thing to give those looneys some ammo... it makes listening sports talk radio so much more interesting!


Now this trade is probably not going to happen. For what I understand it was an internal conversation among Phillies scouts... and who knows? Maybe some scouts left a spring training game and wandered over to Meg O'Malley's bar in Melbourne Florida, and got hammered.

And one of the scouts just blurted out "Heck, why don't we just trade Ryan Howard for Albert Pujols?"

Next thing you know it is front page news.

It isn't going to happen.
But it would be cool if it did.

Making Macaroons while the baseball world is turned upside down

Last night was one of those "race to ESPN and get an update" nights that I love in the off season.

Actually these days I race to the MLB Network and have my web browser open.

But last night was a little different. My wife was making macaroons for our kid's teachers... and she was tired... and needed her husband to take over and cook them.

Fine. Wifey went upstairs and a dutiful husband went to dolloping coconut mixed with apricots onto a baking tray... all the while trying to making sense of the upheaval that was happening in the world of baseball.

THE RED SOX SIGN JOHN LACKEY FOR 5 YEARS AND MIKE CAMERON FOR 2 YEARS

Now I have been wrong about Red Sox moves before.

Remember I loved the Eric Gagne trade when it first happened.

But I love both of these moves. The Red Sox made their rotation stronger with a "Don't F--- With Me" stud. Granted I don't think he is a true #1 ace... but with Lester and Beckett still hanging around he doesn't have to be.

Any rotation that starts with Lester, Beckett and Lackey is going to win a lot of 3 game series.

This takes some pressure off of Dice-K for his comeback.... takes some pressure off of Theo should Beckett want to skedaddle after 2010!

AND they improved the pitching without sacrificing Clay Buchholz, Daniel Bard, Michael Bowden, Ryan Westmoreland, Casey Kelly, Ryan Kalish, Josh Reddick, Lars Anderson, Junichi Tazawa nor Jose Inglesias.

And also guess what?
He's not going to the Yankees!

Meanwhile Mike Cameron is a nice player. So is Jeremy Hermedia. Together they will probably hit a little and field a little. There is no need to over pay for a Jason Bay or a Matt Holliday.

Besides, next year there will be no Ortiz, Varitek, Lowell nor Beckett on the books. There are some big fish available... best not have Bay locked up for his declining years!

(Also Bay leaving town means they get the picks lost from the Lackey signing.)

All in all a good night for Red Sox fans.


THE PHILLIES FINALLY LAND ROY HALLADAY... BUT WHO GOT WHAT? AND DID THE PHILLIES PAY TOO MUCH?

First let me get my petty Red Sox fan perspective out of the way first... I am so relieved that Halladay is completely out of the AL.

He is not a Blue Jays, he is not a Yankee, he is not an Angel... all which bodes well for the Red Sox new revamped rotation.

OK, on to the trade.
I THOUGHT I understood what the Phillies were up to.

I THOUGHT the Phillies were basically saying "Hey! We don't know how much longer we have the whole Howard/Rollins/Utley team together... so let's try to get Halladay in here, have the best team in the NL... have the best chance at three straight pennants in Philadelphia since the days of Connie Mack... and go into the World Series with Halladay and Lee going 1-2."

Then I heard Lee was involved in the trade.

Hmmm, I thought. Well I guess the Phillies figured they didn't want to part with some of their prospects like Kyle Drabek or Michael Taylor.

Then I heard they were sent in the trade too.

But they get some minor leaguers back from Seattle.

What in the name of Pete Incaviglia is going on in Philadelphia?

Is this a lateral move?

They start with a Cy Young caliber ace leading a questionable rotation and have some good prospects.

They finish with a Cy Young caliber ace leading a questionable rotation and have some new prospects.


Yes, I know that Halladay is now locked up to a long term contract and Lee’s deal was done at the end of the year… but this wasn’t about avoiding a negotiation.

This was about putting together an uber team.
This was about putting a team together to play in that third straight series and possibly have this Phillies squad become the most loved team in Philadelphia Sports History.

And wouldn’t it have made more sense to drag this out? The Mets and Twins dragged out the Johan Santana trade until the Mets basically got a bargain. And no offense to Halladay, but Santana is a better pitcher.

And now, they made their big deal and seem to be in the same place.

Notice I didn’t write “they made their big move.” The Phillies haven’t moved anywhere.

Oh the Mariners have… they trade three minor leaguers and got a second ace. That’s what the Phillies should have done.

Even one season of Halladay/Lee would have been worth it.

Meanwhile the trade is so complicated and involves so many parts that I had to make sure that I wasn’t involved some how.

Now Oakland is involved according to Buster Olney, who has no reason to lie.

Brett Wallace, the prize in the Matt Holliday deal, will be shipped off to Toronto. In the end the Jays snagged a top pitching prospect, one of the top hitting prospects in the game and a solid minor league catcher. A potentially great haul, and no doubt better than two draft picks.

HEY J. P. RICCIARDI! If you could have pulled that off last summer, you’d still have a job!

THE LUNATICS WERE OUT ON WFAN!


While baking the macaroons, I listened to WFAN streaming on my computer. I was the biggest WFAN addict in New York and man it was great listening to the always brilliant Steve Somers calm down Met fans looking to jump off the edge.

“Why didn’t WE get Cliff Lee?”
“Why didn’t WE sign John Lackey?”

The Shmoozer was his usual smooth and borderline condescending self, especially when dealing with the callers who kept saying “The Mets Have No Heart!”

Somers would counter “What is more likely is they have no TALENT!”

The handful of Yankee callers complaining about Hideki Matsui leaving cracked me up.

“We’ve GOT to keep Matsui!”
Somers would ask “WHERE WOULD HE PLAY?”

Of course there is nowhere. He’s gone and wouldn’t be the first World Series hero to find a new address the next year. (John Wetteland anyone?)

If there is a more insane gathering of irrational sports fans than late night on WFAN, then I can not imagine it. And no better keeper of the insane flame than Somers.


That’s a lot to digest… and so are these macaroons which KICK BUTT