MLB First Pitch 2010

The 2010 St Louis Cardnials


















Special points of interest:

Key Fantasy Player: Albert Pujols

Three Keys to Victory:

*Starting Rotation Health
*Top of the order Table Setters
*Albert Pujols

The X-Factor: Kyle Lohse

Over Rated: Yadier Molina

Seasons End: First Place Finish NL Central
Winners of the 2010 National League Pennant

1. Skip Schumaker 2B
2. Brendan Ryan SS
3. Albert Pujols 1B
4. Matt Holliday LF
5. Yadier Molina C
6. Ryan Ludwick RF
7. David Freese 3B
8. Colby Rasmus CF

SP) Chris Carpenter RH
SP) Adam Wainwright RH
SP) Kyle Lohse RH
SP) Brad PennyRH
SP) Rich Hill LH


RP) Trever Miller LH
RP) Ryan Franklin RH

Matt Holliday
On Thursday October 8th 2009, the St Louis Cardinals were three little outs away from tying their Division Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers at one game a piece. The Cards were up 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth inning. A pop up retired Andre Ethier. Manager Tony Larussa brought in closer Ryan Franklin. A fly ball to center retired Manny Ramirez. With one out to go, Left Fielder Matt Holliday dropped the third out on a fly ball by James Loney. After the error, three consecutive batters reached base before Mark Loretta hit a game winning single to center. 48 hours later, the Cardinals 2010 season was over. The error in left cost them everything.

Holliday and the rest of the St Louis Cardinals are eager for redemption. And this team is certainly good enough to attain it this October.

Big Mac Hitting Coach
On Monday, January 11, 2010 at approximately 3:00pm, Mark Mcgwire, (former Cardinal first baseman and current hitting coach) officially and formally came out of the closet. No, not that closet! He became just the latest former slugger of the steroid era to openly admit to using drugs. Now as I have said it a million times. I am done writing on the topic of roids. However I will say that I am thrilled to see Big Mac in the Cardinals dugout as a coach. Mcgwire himself has said, he has a rolodex of information he is just dieing to pass on to hitters. He will get his chance this season. I for one am excited to see his influence on the 2010 Cardinals.

2010 Cardinals
I am officially on the St Louis Cardinals band wagon! I am a firm believer that with two dominate starters, the best 3/4 batting order in the National League, and a very solid closer, the Cardinals will easily win out the National League Central. They do need a little help from the starting rotation after Wainwright and Carpenter. And offensive production beyond Pujols and Holliday is a must too. However the 2010 Cardinals are still my pick to win the National League Pennant.

MLB First Pitch 2010

The 2010 Philadelphia Phillies
















Special points of interest:

Key Fantasy Player: Chase Utley

Three Keys to Victory:

*Middle of the batting order continued production.
*Bull Pen Bounce Back
*Roy Halladay

The X-Factor: Cole Hamels

Over Rated: Jimmy Rollins

Seasons End: Another Divisional Title.
The loss of Jayson Werth in the off season.
End of the Phillies five year run going into 2011?


1. Jimmy Rollins SS
2. Placido Polanco 3B
3. Chase Utley 2B
4. Ryan Howard 1B
5. Jayson Werth RF
6. Raul Ibanez LF
7. Shane Victorino CF
8. Carlos Ruiz C

SP) Roy Halladay RH
SP) Cole Hamels LH
SP) Joe Blanton RH
SP) J.A. Happ LH
SP) Jamie Moyer RH

RP) Ryan Madson RH
RP) Brad Lidge RH



Roy Halladay

It’s going to be hard for me to make the case, but here I go! The Philadelphia Phillies made a terrible move by acquiring the best pitcher in baseball: Roy “Doc” Halladay…….Let me try to explain.
When I first heard of the news that the Phillies had traded for Roy Halladay, just before Christmas in 2009, I was elated! First and foremost, I was thrilled to get Roy out of the American League, and away from the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees had to face Halladay four painful times last year. Now, in the 2010 regular season, the most they will face Doc is once.
But the real reason for my excitement was the idea that Doc Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels would all be pitching on the same team that also harbors the best offense in the National League. Then my co-worker/informant filled me in on the details. The Phillies had lost Cliff Lee in the three way deal to the Seattle Mariners. There went the rotation depth, I thought. But that part still didn’t bother me. Trading an ace for an ace makes sense if one ace is remarkably better then the other. A straight up Lee for Halladay deal would have been a synch. But where the deal really went sour was the loss of both top prospect, Kyle Drabeck, and lefty ace, Cliff Lee form the Phillies.
Kyle Drabeck was Philadelphia’s highest regarded pitcher on the minor league level. He was selected 18th overall in the 2006 amateur draft by the Phillies. Kyle is also the son of former Pittsburgh Pirate Doug Drabeck. Most scouts and baseball minds believe Drabeck is a future ace, and will be Major League ready by the second half of this year. The simple math of acquiring one pitcher, while giving up an ace and a top prospect is just too steep a price to pay. What’s worse will be watching Kyle Drabeck possibly develop into the games next Roy Halladay.
Now don’t get me wrong, the Phillies got a dominate ace who is going to win a ton of games for them this year when the signed Halladay. But at the same time, they already had that with Cliff Lee. They upgraded for sure, but at what cost? Cliff Lee and Kyle Drabeck in a rotation would have been better then Roy Halladay all alone.
You can be sure that die hard Phillies fans will be watching the Toronto Blue Jays box scores out of the corner of their eyes for the next few years. (Maybe even longer.) It’s bad enough what Joe Carter and the Jays did to the Phillies in the 1993 World Series. Now Drabeck’s dominance may be the next chapter in the Philly agony from north of the border.
The bottom line is any combination of two starters would have been far better then just Roy Halladay alone. Weather it was, Halladay & Lee / Halladay & Drabeck / or Lee & Drabeck, the Phillies should have never settled for such a high trade demand.
Phillies got gypped, and only time will tell how badly.

Jayson Werth

2010 is going to be the biggest year of Jayson Werth’s life!

The Philadelphia right fielder is in the final year of his two year deal with the Phils. Before 2009 Jayson had never played in more then 134 games in any one season. He was mainly a platoon outfielder with raw power and limited production. But as the 2008 World Series push unfolded, Werth became a intrical part of the Phillies Championship. Last season he became the Phillies everyday right fielder, and went wild! Werth hit 36 homers with 99 Ribs in 2009. He made the All-star team, and became the perfect man to hit behind Ryan Howard in the batting order.

Over Werth’s short 7-year- career, he had made a combined 6.3 million dollars (excluding 2010’s totals). If Werth is as good this season, as he was in 2009, he could make double his total career earnings on the free agent market in 2011 alone.

The trouble for the Phillies is that if Werth is that good, his services will be signed to another team in 2011. The Phillies are not in a financial position to sign Werth to a lofty multi-year deal.

So with each big hit, and each towering homerun hit by Werth in 2010, it will be bitter sweet for Phillies fans. Sweet that they are getting so much production from their power right fielder, who came from obscurity. But bitter knowing that his production will lead to his services away from Philadelphia.


This year's Phillies

Overall this team is in the middle of one of the most remarkable runs in National League history. Excluding the Braves of the 1990’s, Cincinnati’s Big Red Machine of 1975 /1976 was the last NL franchise to appear in back to back World Series. The Phillies have a great chance this year to make it three in a row. That feat hasn't been accomplished since the St Louis Cardinals did it in the mid 1940’s. I like the Phillies to continue to dominate the NL East in 2010. I am projecting them to fall short of the Fall Classic. But they are sure to be right in the mix come October.

Saints Win Super Bowl XLIV

It started on Sunday January 31st 2010 at 7:57pm Eastern Standard Time.

“I’m Scott Pelley. The Super Bowl is on CBS next week. We will be back in two weeks with another addition of 60 minutes.”

The weekly journalistic news program that has marked our times since 1968 had literally taken a back seat to the biggest non-holiday date of the calendar year:

The Super Bowl

From Sunday January 31st to Sunday February 7th the typical hype, excitement, and impatience grew more and more with every passing day. The theme affectionately known as Super Bowl week played out in Miami Florida. First, the media of news writers, television crews, journalists, and NFL insiders arrived in down town Miami. Then the players touched down from their charter flights in the sunshine state.

Tuesday February 2nd was media day.

The player/ reporter event was moved in doors on account of the unusually wet and cold Florida weather. The hot topics: Manning’s second Super Bowl, Dwight Freeney’s injured right ankle, and of course the City of New Orleans, and its Saints fans. The parties, dinners, live events, and social gatherings, continued until Friday, when the players went into seclusion. Super Bowl weekend arrived and the nights and days went by with their usual pace: sometimes fast, sometimes slow.

Then on Sunday February 7th 2010 the final day of the NLF season had arrived.

The NFC’s New Orleans Saints versus The AFC’s Indianapolis Colts

The preparation and build up all coming down to just one Sunday afternoon. For the two teams of ninety total players, and the millions watching around the world, the game was sure to play out one of two ways: One team would go home World Champions, the other in the agony of defeat.

At 6:10pm the madness and preparation went into overdrive. The game, just minutes away. The New Orleans Saints won the coin toss, not an uncommon occurrence for the NFC. The National Anthem had been sung, the final analysis had been discussed, and the last bathroom break, soda break, and snack break were over. Super Bowl Forty Four had begun.

The first position would show no reward for the Saints. Drew Brees did attempt one of his traditional long passes. But the results of the Saints first drive of the game, would be a “three and out”. Peyton Manning on the other hand, had no trouble moving the ball. His very first play of the Super Bowl was an 18-yard slant route completion to tight-end Dallas Clark. The Colts first drive would result in 11 plays over 5:53 minutes, and a Matt Stover 38 yard field goal. The Colts drew first blood, and the score was 3-0 halfway through the first quarter.

Score: Colts-3, Saints-0

Brees and the Saints once again looked lost on offense. They did convert a first down on a Reggie Bush catch, but soon after, they punted the ball back to Indianapolis.

It was on the Colts ensuing drive that Peyton Manning began incorporating Joseph Addai and the Indy running game into the Super Bowl. Powering down the field, Addai had two carries for 27 yards, during a series that concluded with a Colt touchdown. Manning’s 18 yard pass to Carcon was good for the first touch down of the day, and a 10-0 Colt lead at the end of the first quarter.

Score: Colts-10, Saints-0

It was looking early on as though a blowout was well underway.

However the Saints were not about to just roll over. It was a pair of unanswered field goals before half time, which kept the New Orleans Saints well within striking distance before “The Who” took the field to perform. The game could have been a lot closer, but Sean Peyton elected to try a fourth a goal play at the one-yard line. The Colts defense held, and so six points was the most New Orleans could muster up on offense through 30 minutes. It was safe to say, that when both teams departed from the field at half time, that Super Bowl XLIV was very much undecided.

Half Time Score: Colts-10, Saints-6

The second half started off as casual and nonchalant as any second half ever does. Twenty-Two total men lined up on the field, as the Saints prepared to kick the ball off to the Colts. But just then, in one of the most shocking plays in Super Bowl history, the Saints started the third quarter doing something that had never been done in Super Bowl history. The entire Saints team was in on it. Sean Peyton had tipped off the officials too. But the 106 million watching around the world were in shock! More importantly the Indianapolis special teams was in shock.

The New Orleans Saints, led by kicker Thomas Morstead attempted an onsides kick.

Morstead’s kick caught an entire nation off guard. The ball dribbled 12 yards before a cluster of players, both Colts and Saints, piled on top. The end result was a successful onsides kick and the ball belonged to New Orleans. Drew Brees then threw a series of short passes that ended with a Pierre Thomas touch down.

The Score: Saints-13, Colts-10

The first lead of the Super Bowl for the Saints would not last very long. Peyton Manning working a no huddle offense, charged his team down the field in his typical machine like fashion. Before anyone knew what happened, Joseph Addai was in the end zone for yet another Colt touchdown. The Colts re-established themselves and re-took the lead.

The Score: Colts-17, Saints-13

The Saints were still playing the roll of underdog. They added a Garrett Harley field goal to come within one point, 17-16. However the feeling that the game was going to come down to the last five minutes of the fourth quarter began to resin ate with everyone. And with the game on the line, Peyton Manning is Quarterback most everyone would want.

Drew Brees once again found the end zone. This time it was Jeremy Shockey, with the short pass catch good for six points.

The Score: Saints-22, Colts-17

I knew right then and there that the aggressive coaching of Sean Peyton would lead to a two-point conversion attempt. Brees threw yet another of his of his standard Super Bowl short passes. This time the pass was to Lance Moore. Moore caught the ball just outside the end zone, and just in front of the right pylon. Moore bobbled the ball as he fell to the ground. The ball was in the end zone, but it came to its rest out of Moore’s hands and on the turf. The initial call was an incomplete pass, but the ruling was overturned, after a video challenge, and the points were good.

The Score: Saints-24, Colts-17

“No problem.” I thought. The Colts have Peyton Manning: The greatest Quarterback of a generation. The Colts were sure to charge down the field and score. The game would be tied if nothing else. But with just less then six minutes left in the game, there was still plenty of time to determine a winner. Then in a move as shocking as the on-sides kick that started the second half, Peyton Manning did something I never would have expected. Driving down field, just six yards for the red zone, Manning sought out one of his favorite targets: Reggie Wayne. In an attempt to hit Wayne near the 20-yard line, Manning’s pass was read perfectly by Saints Cornerback Tracy Porter. As the ball flew through the air, Porter made it his destiny to steal it away from Manning and Wayne. Porter caught the ball with both hands at his chest. As if the interception alone was not dazzling enough for Saints fans, while equally devastating for Colt fans, Porter returned the intercepted pass 76 yards. The play concluded with Porter standing in the end zone having scored the game deciding touchdown. New Orleans went nuts! The game was all but over. Even the great Peyton Manning couldn’t lead his team back from such a devastating series of events. (Especially after just throwing the interception of a lifetime.) The final minutes of the game played out uneventfully.

When it was all over the Saints had won their first ever Super Bowl.

A team that was in shambles just five years earlier is now on top of the NFL. This was a franchise in rags. A team temporarily transplanted to Texas as a result of Hurricane Katrina. When the wounds of the deadly Hurricane began to heal, it was determined that the fate of the Saints would remain in New Orleans. But the fate of New Orleans remains in question even still today. A city that wanted so desperately to rally behind a winner in order to continue to help heal the wounds left behind from Mother Nature and a government that had failed its people had gotten its wish. New Orleans has something to celebrate. New Orleans has its Super Bowl Champion Saints.

Wild Card Weekend / Wild Card Road Trip

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Maybe it was all the buzz I kept hearing on sports radio 660am (WFAN). Maybe it was the animated shouting of Mike Francesa, informing Jets fans that their victory over the Colts was a gift. Or maybe it was the rallying cries of Craig Carton, who all week long was coordinating a Jets prep rally, while planning to cross the Brooklyn Bridge in a Speedo. Carton was already proclaiming victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in wild card weekend. Maybe it was Chad Johnson informing the media his knee was fine, after he worked it out over a recent evening of sexual activity. (The story was featured in the New York Post). Or maybe it was just all the playoff hype and excitement that can be found in late January when the NLF’s playoff season kicks offs.

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Whatever the reason, I decided to take a look on Stub Hub to see what playoff tickets were going for in Cincinnati’s Paul Brown Stadium for the Jets/Bengals wildcard game. NFL tickets are always ridiculously expensive. Even prices for a regular season game tend to be out of control. So when I fired up my computer I was expecting to see the same outrageous prices I was accustomed to. To my immediate shock, decent seats in the upper deck and end zone were available in Cincinnati for as low as $40.00. I was stunned! Surely this was not what I was prepared for! I could never see an Eagles or Giants game for $40.00 bucks even in the preseason, let alone the playoffs. About the same time that my eyes were discovering these ticket prices on Stub Hub, my fingers began texting my Misses. On a complete whim, I wrote: “do you want to go to Cincinnati?” Well I should have known better. One of the things she loves most about me is my spontaneity. Actually it’s a love hate thing, but in the case of an NFL cross-country road trip, it was all love this time.

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I began thinking about the long strange season for both these NFL teams I was about to see.

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The 2009/2010 Cincinnati Bengals were well documented on the HBO series “Hard Knocks” (a multi piece documentary commemorating their preseason and August practice schedule) to kick off the season. The stern leadership from owner Mike Brown, the dominating personality of head coach Marvin Lewis, and the usual antics of Chad Johnson, were all captured very intimately. The Cincinnati Bengals overcame tremendous adversity over the long football season. They overcame injuries, tragic deaths within the organization, a shaky second half, and a losing reputation throughout the league. (The Bengals have not won a playoff game since 1990, and have only made the playoffs once between then and now.)

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Then there are the New York Jets. They technically started their 2009/2010 season by losing Brett Farve and Eric Mangini. NFL coaching heir and defensive guru, Rex Ryan; and rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez quickly replaced them. Ryan, who New Yorkers rapidly learned, doesn’t do any thing small. His media comments are as large and outrageous as is his stomach. Ryan, wrote the Jets off after their week 16 loss to Atlanta, saying that his team had been “eliminated from the playoffs”. Then he came back a day later only to apologize for not knowing his team was still alive and in the playoff hunt. Then before his week 17 match up against the Colts, Rex made a Christmas wish list of players he wanted Indianapolis to bench.

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It was safe to say when we began our 630-mile drive to Cincinnati that this was arguably the most exciting match up of wild card weekend. It took us about eight hours to make the drive from central New Jersey. We did three plus hours on Friday night, and another five on Saturday morning.

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We arrived at Paul Brown Stadium in downtown Cincinnati right at game time. An insane amount of Bengals fans, wearing a sea of orange and black were slowly pouring into the gates around the stadium. There were some Jets fans to be seen, but they were certainly in the vast minority. The noise level was off the charts; the weather was freezing cold.

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Then with 67,000 NFL fans screaming at the top of their lungs, Jets kicker Jay Feely booted the football to the Cincinnati offense to open the game. Bernard Scott caught Feely’s kick at the 8-yard line and returned it 56 yards to start the NFL post season. The Bengals offense went to work on the Jets 36 yard line, and the roar of the crowd was as loud as it would be all day.
Just when it looked as though Cincinnati would have at least a field goal on their opening drive, a fumble recovery by the Jet’s Shaun Ellis led to the first turnover of the day. The Jets would run just six plays on offense before punting the ball right back to the Bengals.

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The Battle of two of the AFC’s top defenses was well underway.

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The first touch down of the game finally occurred with 7:13 left in quarter number one. Carson Palmer dropped a short pass to his left. Laveranues Coles caught the pass, and ran the ball from the 11 yard line, down to the front left pylon and scored the first Bengal points of the post season.

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The first quarter ended with the score 7-0 Cincinnati.

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I had yet to actually sit in my seat through a quarter of football. As it turned out, it didn’t sit more then five minutes during the entire game.

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The Jets and Mark Sanchez had a real hard time moving the ball on the Bengals. In the Jets first 19 plays on offense, they had just 2 first downs. They were looking more and more like the team that struggled down the stretch, before winning their last two games of the regular season. The Jets were trying desperately to break out of their funk by running the ball.
Finally at 12:41 in the second quarter, the Jets running game broke through. It was the run of Jets back, Shonn Green who tied the game. From 39 yards out Green entered the left end of the end zone once again scoring a touch down in the same magic corner of the field that Laveranues Coles had just scored in. Only now the Jets had tied the game at 7-7.

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On the very next Cincinnati possession, the Bengals would turn the ball over to the Jets yet again. A Carson Palmer interception put the New York offense back on the field. Then the play of the game unfolded right before my eyes. I watched as Mark Sanchez rolled out of the pocket, and to his right, while on the Bengals 45 yard line. He began running toward the Jets side line, while looking to pitch a short pass. When he saw that every eligible receiver within 10 yards of him was covered, Sanchez saw an open Dustin Keller near the 20 yard line. Sanchez threw a pass that met Keller down field, and the Jets tight-end took it from there. Keller reached the end zone, breaking the plain with the ball, good for a Jets 14-7 lead.

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The half-time score was, 14-7 the New York Jets over the Cincinnati Bengals.

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I am still having tremendous difficulty describing, in written word, just how cold it was Saturday night in Cincinnati. The Misses lost feeling in her toes, and had to shove a hand warmer down each of her sneakers at half time. I could feel my eyes getting cold, as they were exposed to the frigid air, and they began to water. I was shivering and shaking, and I had cracked open every hand warmer I had with me. As the sun went down the temperature fell well below 23 degrees. The Bengal crowd grew cold and quite, and the momentum was now with the Jets. At 2:23 of the third quarter Thomas Jones scored the Jets third touch down from 9-yards out. The score was 21-7 and the game felt all but over.

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Then Bengals star running back Cedric Benson gave the Cincinnati fans a glimmer of hope. Benson ran a 47-yard touchdown route, to make the score 21-14. The Cincinnati crowd came out of their slump and tried to rally around their team for a very brief moment. But then, on the very next possession the Jets Jay Feely kicked a 20-yard field goal, and the Jets were up by two scores with only 5:17 left in the game.

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The Bengals fate was sealed when Carson Palmer was sacked on his own 43-yard line. Jets defensive lineman, Shaun Ellis, engulfed Palmer’s body, and dropped him to the turf. It was 4th and 22 for Cincinnati, when Palmer hit the ground. The sack ended the game and the season for the Bengals. Mark Sanchez kneeled three times after the two minute warning, and the game was over.

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The final score to game one of wild card weekend was 24-14 the New York Jets over the Cincinnati Bengals.

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At the end of the day, the Cincinnati Bengals can only blame themselves. The turnovers, failed video challenges, and two missed field goals were the reason they lost on Saturday. The New York Jets did not beat the Bengals, the Bengals beat the Bengals.

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Watching Mark Sanchez and Rex Ryan exit the stadium from the tunnel just below me (slightly to the right of my section) was an experience like no other. They were so pumped up, grinning from ear to ear. They acknowledged all the die-hard/extreme Jet fans, which made the road trip, and were still hanging out, and cheering them on in the 90% empty stadium.

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For the Bengals the waiting game begins today. Its now 364 days of hard work and dedication, just to get back to where they were yesterday. The Bengals road to the 2010-2011 post season starts right now. It's the kind of grueling exercise that caused coaching legend Bill Parcells to retire from the sidelines. The waiting is truly the hardest part. Luckily coach Marvin Lewis is young and his sprit looks to still be strong.

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For the Jets, it’s on to San Diego. Another week of hype and excitement on WFAN. Another week of outrageous comments from Rex Ryan. Another sudden death playoff game on the path to the Super Bowl. But this time I will not be checking Stub Hub for San Diego Charger tickets. At least I don’t think I will

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Top Ten Of 2009

Without Futher delay, here are my top ten athletes of 2009:

1) Santonio Holmes- Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers

2) Angel Cabrera- PGA Masters Champion

3) Sidney Crosby- Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins

4) Kobe Bryant- NBA Finals MVP Los Angeles Lakers

5) Jonathan Sanchez-No Hitter San Fransisco Giants
6) Mark Buehrle- Perfect Game Chicago White Sox
7) Alex Rodriguez- World Series Champion New York Yankee

8) Mariano Rivera- World Series Champion New York Yankee

9) Brett Farve- Quarter Back, Playoff bound Minnesota Vikings

10) Peyton Manning- Quarter Back, Playoff bound Indianapolis Colts

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It looked like an Arizona Cardinal victory in Super Bowl forty-three. All of my family assembled in the Burger Palace, in down town Bloomington, were rooting for Arizona, and now a mild celebration had begun. Then in a stunning turn of events, Ben Rohelisburger charged is Pittsburgh Steelers offensive down the field. The Burger Palace grew silent. In one of the most impressive two-minute drills in Super Bowl history Big Ben had his team on the six-yard line, with a first and goal. Then on second and goal Big Ben lofted a pass into the far corner of the end zone. The lighting fast pass should have sailed out of bounds, and it should have bounced up against the first row of seats. As millions around the world watched Ben’s pass fly deep, two gloved hands emerged out of now where. They were the hands of Santonio Holmes. Holmes, the Steelers wide receiver, was a rising star in both Pittsburgh and the NFL alike. Santonio, caught Ben’s deep pass, showed possession, and then somehow some way dragged the tippy toes of both his feet onto the red painted end zone grass before falling out of bounds. With 35 seconds left in the game, the Steelers had scored the last touch down of Super Bowl forty-three. The catch by Holmes was the play of the season. It made him a Super Bowl Champion, and kicked off 2009’s sports calendar year.

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The 2009 Masters Tournament brought with it an excitment that hasn’t been seen in PGA golf for a long time. All day on Easter Sunday 2009, I kept running back and forth from my uncle’s living room to the kitchen. Pacing back and forth, I kept delivering updates of the action from Augusta to anyone who would listen. As the eighteenth hole approached for the leaders, two very different stories were playing out simultaneously. On one part of the course, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson where battling each other in attempts to make historic comebacks. While their combined efforts fell short, the other story on the course did not. Angel Cabrera, Kenny Perry, and Chad Campbell all battled for first place in Golf’s most coveted achievement. It was a three way dead lock rarely seen in golf period, let alone the Masters Tournament. As Tiger and Phil fell by the waist side, a three-way tie had emerged at the top of the leader board after 18 holes had been played. (The tie, largely due to the back-to-back bogies on 17 and 18 by Kenny Perry.) I had declared Kenny Perry the winner long before the tournament was over and as usual, when predicting things in the world of sports, I was wrong. As the sudden death extra play unfolded, it would be Angel Cabrera who would emerge on top. Cabrera picked off his linked foes one at a time! Campbell was the first to go on the first extra hole. His bogey on 19 dropped him to third place. Then on the second sudden death hole of the tournament Cabrera came out one shot ahead of Kenny Perry. The Green Jacket belonged to the 40 year old Argentinean. His low profile, unexpected path to victory at the Masters, makes him one of golf’s great stories of 2009.

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They absolutely deserve to win! The Pittsburgh Penguins were down 2-0 to the heavily favored Detroit Red Wings in the quest for the 2009 Stanley Cup. The Penguins muscled back to tie the series 2-2, only to fall again (down 3-2 in the series). But when they had to win a game seven on the road in Detroit, it was the Pittsburgh Penguins that had overcome tremendous adversity to win the Stanley Cup. The leader of a once proud historic franchise back on top, is no other then Sidney Crosby. Crosby desperately tried to return to the ice after a crippling injury forced him out of game seven. But the vision of Crosby lifting the Cup high over his head, while skating around Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena is one that will always stick with me in remembering the world of sports in 2009. Crosby, the 22-year-old captain of the Penguins has been pegged as the NHL’s next Wayne Gretsky. Weather or not he will become a Hall Of Fame hockey icon remains to be seen. However a Stanley Cup Championship in just his fourth year in the league, is a very good start.

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“Yeah, but can he do it without Shaq?” “Where would he be without the big man?”
“Until he gets his own Championship, he will forever be in O’Neal’s shadow.”

They are all quotes that had to drive Lakers Point Guard Kobe Bryant crazy.

The feud between Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal has been well documented, since Shaq’s departure from the Lakers in 2004. O’Neal quickly won another NBA title as part of the Miami Heat. However Kobe went on a title-less drought after the 2002 season.

From 2002 to 2009 Kobe remained among the leagues very best players, but could never attain Championship greatness. He tried to force a trade, his antics played out on ESPN. Then finally in 2009 all the pieces of the puzzle finally came together for Kobe and the Lakers. The Lakers plowed through the 2009 playoffs and found themselves in a Championship match up with the underdog Orlando Magic.

In just five games Kobe and the Lakers dominated an over matched Orlando Magic team.
In 23 playoff games in 2009 Kobe averaged 30.2 points a game. He scored 162 total points in the Finals, and was quickly named the finals MVP.

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He had absolutely no business even starting on July 10th 2009. With absolutely no notice before a Friday night home start against the San Diego Padres, manager Bruce Bochy gave Giant’s pitcher Jonathan Sanchez a shot. Bochy had to scratch the scheduled starter, Randy Johnson, due to shoulder soreness. But as I wrote: Sanchez had absolutely no business starting on the July 10th Giants game. Surely Bochy could have found a better starter. Sanchez had been demoted to the bullpen almost three weeks prior to this emergency spot start. He had not started a game since June 22nd and he had not won a game since May 25th. His 2-8 record, and 5.30 ERA were among the worst on the team. Yet for some unknown reason manger Bruce Bochy went with Sanchez. In another strange turn of events, Jonathan’s father had just flown in from Puerto Rico. Sigfredo Sanchez had never seen is son pitch at the Major League level, and when he boarded his flight there was no guarantee he would see his bullpen occupying son pitch either. All the little variables lining up for Sanchez, spoke to something bigger: his fathers unique appearance, Randy Johnson’s ailing shoulder, Bruce Bochy’s hunch. But just then fate stepped in. Sanchez dominated the San Diego Padres. In a remarkable 110-pitch outing (77 for strikes) Jonathan Sanchez fell just one error short of a perfect game. He faced just 28 batters and picked up the only no-hitter of 2009. After the game he embraced his father who finally saw his son make good on a dream. He also just happened to see him make history too!

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On Thursday, July 23rd 2009, White Sox ace Mark Buehrle pitched a perfect game against the Tampa Rays. With 28,036 fans at U.S. Cellular Field, on the South side of Chicago Buehrle made Tampa’s hitters look lost at the plate. Working mainly with his fastball, and mixing in the occasional curve, changeup and slider, Buehrle needed just 116 pitches to attain perfection. The game lasted just two hours, and three minutes, as Buehrle became just the 18th pitcher in Major League history to retire all twenty-seven batters in a game. Two very honorable mentions go out to Buehrle’s perfect game, are his manager and center fielder. Manager Ozzie Gullien substituted defensive Center Fielder Dewayne Wise in the top of the ninth inning. Wise made a spectacular catch for the first out in the ninth inning, robbing Gabe Kapler of a certain extra base hit. Two batters later Buehrle had achieved “baseball immortality” to quote Yankees radio announcer John Sterling. The win propelled Buehrle to an 11-3 record on the year. But unfortunately for Mark and the sox, it would prove to be the last highlight in a disappointing season. Mark’s perfect game was one of the legendary moments of 2009.

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On May 8th, Alex Rodriguez stepped into a batters box for the first time in 2009 in Camden Yards in town down Baltimore. Alex had missed the Yankee’s first 28 games recovering from hip surgery. Originally, the Yankees feared A-Rod’s hip surgery would to cost him the entire 2009 season. Orioles starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie had two runners on base, with one out as A-Rod began his season. Guthrie’s first pitch was an 89 MPH fastball, about belt high on the inner half of home plate. A-Rod swung at the pitch with tremendous speed and force. The ball was launched high and deep to left. It landed in the left field stands. It was Rodriguez’s first hit, first homerun, and first three RBI’s of the year. It was just the start of a magical season for A-Rod, who finally became the most dependable and clutch hitter in baseball. Alex hit .286, with 30 homeruns and 100 RBI’s. He homered in his first at bat of the regular season, and in his last at bat as well. But his post-season numbers are the real reason for his appearance on my list. He hit .387 with 6 homeruns and 18 RBI’s in 15 games that mattered most. All the more remarkable is that 5 of his 6 homeruns came in games that the Yankees were losing at the time. They went on to win five of the six games. He is baseball’s highest paid player, the highest profile athlete in New York, and now in 2009 he is finally a World Series Champion.

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All September long I was growing more and more concerned about the post-season reputation of Mariano Rivera. His surgically repaired shoulder, it receding hair line, his frail looking body to go with his 37 year old life all scared me moving forward to October’s playoff baseball. After all, Mo and I are the exact same height, yet he weighs 50 pounds less then me. So what did Mo do in 2009? He remained the iconic figure in professional sports he has always been. Revolutionizing a sports position that remains in its infancy, Mo is without a doubt the Babe Ruth of relief pitchers. I might have been scared for Mo, but he put all my fears and all Yankee fan fears to bed with awesome ease.

Joel Sherman, in his book, Birth of A Dynasty, called Mariano Rivera the weapon no other team in baseball can match. Tom Verducci wrote in Sports Illustrated “Mo’s blessed right arm is like the hammer of god.” And teammate Alex Rodriguez said of Rivera: “To me, he's the greatest modern day weapon I have seen or played against. He has been the heart and soul of the New York Yankees dynasty."

I could sit here and write up stats until I’m blue in the face, about Rivera’s 2009 season. But here are the only two that really matter: Mo closed out the 2009 All-Star game in July, insuring an American League victory yet again. And he gave up just a single run in 12 post-season games versus the Twins, Angels and Phillies combined. Rivera picked up five saves in his 16 innings of playoff work. Just after the World Series Rivera said he plans on pitching another five years. I will continue to worry, but the Sandman seems to always put my worries to bed.

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I hate Brett Farve!!! “I’m retired, I’m not retired, I’m retired, and I’m not retired!” Those of are the wondrous quotes from the two-year saga known fondly as the Brett Farve show. This is the kind of off the field nonsense that infuriates me! What a player does when he is not performing should never ever make a headline in sports, unless its charitable work! Yet for the last two NFL off-seasons the Brett Farve show, of no substance or content has kept ESPN busy, and fans annoyed. Then this past August came Farve’s signing with the Minnesota Vikings. All I kept thinking about was Fave’s interception in the NFC Championship game against the Giants two years ago. It was his very last play as a Green Bay Packer. I figured there were many more plays just like that one in store for Farve in Minnesota. Boy was I wrong! I hate to admit it but I have to give credit where credit is due. Farve has lead an above average Minnesota team to near Super Bowl contention. Brett led the Vikings to an 11-2 start through the first 13 Minnesota games. Only two teams were better through 13/16th of the NFL season (The two other teams: The 13-0 New Orleans Saints and the 13-0 Indianapolis Colts.) Brett has passed for over 3,800 yards this season. He has thrown 29 touchdowns with only 7 interceptions. (Stats valid through December 27th.) Weather you love him or hate him, (I’m sticking with the hate) Brett Farve’s ability to lead an offense and quarter back, remains at the top of the NFL. Brett turns 41 this October, but I wouldn’t rule out a return for his 20th season in professional football. But first Brett will likely retire a few more times.

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He is quickly becoming one of the game’s most idol figures of all time. The only thing that eludes him is multiple Super Bowl rings. He is smart and inventive. His reflexes are inspiring, and his adaptability is like no other. But his results are what make him the very best. He is of course Indianapolis Colts Quarter Back, Peyton Manning. The last week of 2009 was not exactly a great one for Manning. It was only the second time in 2009 that a Peyton Manning took a lost on a football field. No other team or sportsman can say that, but in the calendar year that was 2009, Manning only lost two games!!! *(First loss was January 3rd in the AFC playoffs to the San Diego Chargers. The second loss was last Sunday to the New York Jets. Manning was removed from the game in the third quarter.) Moving forward Manning’s Colts will be the top seed in the AFC, and he will be in a great position in 2010 to pickup another Super Bowl ring. But his accomplishments in 2009 make him a top figure!

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Thats It! Now I'm going to bed! Wake me up in 2011!

2009 World Series Recap

It was a World Series match up I had projected back in March. Although a Yankees fan before anything else, the Philadelphia Phillies have become my unofficial B-team. And so the match did crate some mild conflict for me. The team I have grown up with and rooted for my entire life, verses the team that plays less the fifteen miles from my front door.

So as a Yankee Fan First and Foremost the 2009 World Series did not start off the way I would have drawn it up! New York Yankees Captain, Derek Jeter is my hero, my life mate, my love mate and my soul mate! I have no bigger man crush then the one I have for Derek Jeter. I expect a base hit almost every time Jeter is at the plate. If he doesn’t get a hit, 90 percent of the time he has a great at bat. He will put the ball in play, or he may line out hard to a position player. Derek is seldom one to ever give up an at bat. So when he struck out on three pitches to begin the offensive campaign for the Yanks, I went into panic mode. Fastball, curve ball, slider, and Phillies starter Cliff Lee had made Jeter look like a fool with three rapidly fast pitches.

TOM and I had seen a game in 2008, at the Old Yankees Stadium, where Cliff Lee pitched for the Cleveland Indians against the Yankees. Because I remembered his dominance in that game, and because I keep a scorecard from every game I’ve been to, I went back into the archives and looked up Lee’s stats prior the World Series. On Wednesday May 7th, 2008 Cliff Lee pitched seven innings, allowing no runs, on six hits, while striking out seven. Derek Jeter, Johnny Damon, and Hideki Matsui were a combined 1 for 9 with two strikeouts. Lee was better then good in that regular season weeknight ball game, he was dominate! So on the grandest stage of them all (Game 1 of the World Series) I was anticipating an even better outing from Cliff Lee.

I wasn’t wrong.

In total, Lee threw 122 pitches (80 for strikes) in Game One. He pitched all nine innings, allowing just six hits, while striking out ten. He was awarded the MVP of game one by the Dugan & Dugan Sports Bureau. Not only had Game One ended poorly for the Yankees, but now the series was off to an undesirable start.

The side story to game one (if there was one behind Cliff Lee) was Chase Utley’s two solo homeruns. They accounted for all the offense the Phillies would need to be victorious. Philadelphia did add four more runs late in the game. But Lee’s dominance proved to be the overwhelming difference in game one.

Final Score of Game One of the 2009 World Series: Philadelphia 6, New York 1.

Philadelphia takes a 1-0 Series Lead

Game two featured an old Yankee nemesis wearing pinstripes. Relax! Not Pedro Martinez in midnight blue pinstripes. (That kind of visual makes me nauseous!) But rather Pedro Martinez in Phillies red pinstripes. Pedro Martinez did his best Roger Clemens impression this year, and became baseball’s hottest midseason free agent. The Phillies front office, believers in the philosophy “you can never have enough starting pitching”, jumped into the Pedro sweepstakes with both feet. On July 15th, 2009 Pedro Martinez signed a half-year, 1.5 million dollar contract to join the Phillies. Who knew then that Pedro would be back in New York for yet another Post-Season match up with the Yankees. Yet there he was, starting game 2. This time, he was pitching in the World Series, and this time for the Phillies of Philadelphia. At 37 years old, Pedro is now a very different pitcher then Yankee fans may have remembered. Now Pedro is finding new ways to get batters out with a velocity that tops out around 89 miles per hour. Game two of the 2009 World Series featured a new method of operation, but that same old Pedro. Pedro was actually throwing 69 MPH changeups, the results of which were very effective. When all was said and done, Pedro had pitched six very good innings. His mistakes were few, but costly. He allowed two solo homeruns (one to Mark Teixeira and one to Hideki Matsui). But when Pedro left to a serenade of Yankee boos, he was trailing 2-1. The reason Pedro stood to get a World Series loss was the curve ball of A.J. Burnett. Yankees starter, A.J. Burnett was throwing strikes and getting outs, and was just a little bit better then Pedro. As game two came to an end, and the series shifted to Philadelphia, power pitching was once again prevailing in the playoffs. The Dugan & Dugan Sports Bureau named A.J. Burnett the game two MVP.

Final Score of Game Two of the 2009 World Series: New York 3, Philadelphia 1.

Series tied at 1-1.

As game three shifted venues from New York to Philadelphia, I shifted from Philadelphia to New York. I went home for Game 3, watching the game with my uncle G.T. Steltz. The Yankees have never lost a playoff game when I watch from my uncle’s house. Sometimes I wonder which of my superstitions is worse, watching an insane amount of playoff games at my uncle’s house, or refusing to clip my toenails until after the World Series.

In hindsight, games three and four were where the series was ultimately decided.

Game three marked the first night in World Series history that a game had taken place on Halloween. There were plenty of tricks for Philadelphia but no treats when game three had concluded. The Phillies had a 3-0 lead on Andy Pettitte. Cole Hamels looked fantastic. But then, after a very innocent walk to Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez came to the plate. Alex had been having the post season of his life before going 0-8 in the World Series. Alex was due. A-Rod's first ever World Series hit was a shot down the right field line. He pulled the ball with tremendous speed and power. In real time and with the naked eye, it looked as though A-Rod had just missed a homerun. It looked like the ball had hit off the very top of the wall and bounced back into the field of play.

“What a bad break we just caught” I said to my uncle.

I was wrong!

Enter the magic of instant replay. Fox showed replay after replay of the ball hitting a camera that was overhanging the field of play. Had the camera not been there, the ball would have just soared into the front row of seats. The umpires went down under the stands to review the play, and get a quick cup of coffee (according to my uncle). And when the came back, they had overturned the initial call of a double. Alex Rodriguez had just hit his first ever World Series homerun!

3-2 Phillies was the score after four innings.

The fifth inning saw the implosion of Cole Hamels. The Yankees got to Cole for three runs including an RBI base hit by pitcher Andy Pettitte. The mentally exhausted Cole Hamels turned the ball over to manager Charlie Manuel, and for the last time in 2009 Hamels walked off the mound. Last year Cole was a key component in the Phillies winning the World Series, this year he was a key component in their game three loss to the Yankees. Both teams would tack on runs, but the lead never changed and the Yankees held on to win a pivotal game three.

Final Score of Game Three of the 2009 World Series: New York 8, Philadelphia 5.

New York takes a 2-1 series lead.

I returned once again to my uncle G.T.’s home for game four.

“Here I am doing all the leg work for the Yankees” I thought to myself.

Truth be told, I enjoy my uncle’s company during any Yankee game anywhere. Just so happens that playoff games at his place produce the very best results. We also had a decent family gathering for game four at his house. This created a very “bad party” atmosphere!

Yankee starter C.C. Sabathia returned to the mound on just three days rest. His Philadelphia counterpart was Joe Blanton. For the first time in the World Series neither starter looked sharp out of the gate, and after one inning the Yankees had a 2-1 lead. It became evident early that both teams were desperately seeking a victory in this game. The nervous energy I was feeling, was only compounded my by my aunt Gert interrupting my focus from the game. She was asking me personal questions about the weather forecast, and my consumer preferred laundry detergent. The top of the fifth inning saw Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon deliver huge RBI base hits, giving the Yankees a 4-2 lead. Although I took great pleasure in the runs scored, the thought I kept having was:

“Not enough!”

Maybe it was the home crowd, or the uncertainty of the Yankee pitching, but you could sense the momentum shifting in the Phillies favor. Then in the bottom of the 7th inning Chase Utley faced C.C. Sabathia for the seventh time in the series. In his prior six at bats Utley was three for six with a walk and two homeruns.

After his seventh at bat against C.C., the Phillies trailed by just one run.

Chase Utley had belted yet another solo homerun off of Sabathia.
“Utley just really has C.C.’s number” was my cry from the living room floor!

The Phillies were within one run, and the gap between the seventh and Mariano Rivera seemed greater then the Grand Canyon.

Joba Chamberlin relived C.C. in the 8th and struck out the side. But in and among picking up three strikeouts, he gave up a bomb to Phillies third baseman Pedro Feliz.
The game was tied at 4-4. With Philly home field advantage and Brad Lidge warming in the bullpen, it seemed like the series would also be tied at 2-2 in just a matter of minutes.

The top of the 9th started out as disappointing as imaginable for the Yankees. Hideki Matsui quickly popped up to shortstop, and then Derek Jeter struck out. Brad Lidge was getting by with his fastball, and fooling hitters with his slider. Johnny Damon represented the last hope for the Yankees in the 9th. Johnny put together a plate appearance that will go down as one of the greatest of all time. Johnny fouled off two nasty sliders, and two 93 MPH fastballs. Then on the ninth pitch of the at bat, Johnny slapped a soft line drive into left field for a base hit.

The Phillies were quick to over shift their defense, as Mark Teixiera came to the plate.

For anyone not familiar with an over shift- it’s when a manager strategically positions is his infielders to compensate for a pull hitter. In the case of Mark Teixiera, the Phillies put their short stop on the right side of the infield and moved their third baseman to cover second base.

On the very first pitch to Mark Teixiera, Johnny Damon broke from first and stole second base. With third baseman Pedro Feilz out of position, and covering second base, Damon had stolen the base easily. But what happened next was as brilliant on Damon’s part, as it was clumsy on the Phillies part. Damon saw that no one was covering third base. In a split second decision, Damon darted for the open base. Damon found himself safe at third. He had two stolen bases all in one play.

Now, with a runner on third, Brad Lidge had grown leary of throwing his slider. Fearing that a slider in the dirt would skip away from catcher Carlos Ruiz, Lidge went with his fastball. The first fastball he threw to Teixiera hit him square in the back. That brought up the new king of clutch, Alex Rodriguez. All post season long, A-Rod had been delivering big hits in key moments. He didn’t fail in game four either. A-Rod doubled down the right field line, driving in Damon. The game was all but over. Jorge Posada doubled, driving in two more, but Mariano Rivera was already up in the Yankee bullpen. He had a lead, and as Rivera has proved so many times in the World Series, a lead is all that he needs to insure victory. He retired all three Phillies he faced on just eight pitches in the ninth.

Final Score of Game Four of the 2009 World Series: New York 7, Philadelphia 4.

New York takes a 3-1 series lead.

Coming back from being down 3-1 in a series is so insurmountable that it has only happened 11 times in MLB history. So although the Phillies had Cliff Lee going in game five, the Yankees odds to win the series were nearly locked up after game four’s victory. But the Phillies did have their ace in the hole pitching in game five. In typical fashion, Lee dominated the Yankees. He wasn’t as sharp as he was in game one, but he was good enough for a victory. Lee pitched 7 innings giving up five runs (three of his five earned runs came in the 8th). The Philadelphia bullpen managed to find a way to secure the last six outs of the game. Chase Utley’s mighty swing proved once again to be the key to victory. He had two more homeruns in game five, along with four RBI’s. The Phillies finally looked like the defending World Series Champions. They refused to lose the series on there home soil, and they had forced the series to a game six. However they were still down 3-2 in the series, they were headed back to New York, and the best of their starting pitching had just thrown for the final time in 2009.


Final Score of Game Five of the 2009 World Series: Philadelphia 8, New York 6.

New York holds a 3-2 series lead.

I had a feeling all day on Wednesday 11/4/09, that game six would be the final game of the World Series. I was very confident that the Yankees would win. My Philadelphia co-workers were equally confident in the Phillies ability to win. The media’s assessment was 50/50. Mike Francesca of sports radio fame was certain that Yankee starter Andy Pettitte would be awful in game six on three days rest. Fox broadcaster Mark Grace was certain the Yankees would finish it off in game six. With such a mix of opinion, I found my confidence almost odd. But this team was like few I have ever rooted for. From mid July up to the start of November, no team has been as dominate as these Yankees. These were not the 2008 Tampa Rays facing the Philadelphia Phillies. This is why I was almost certain the Yankees would win their 27 title in 96 years on Wednesday night.

Once again, I wasn’t wrong.

In one of the hardest fought, grittiest performances I have ever seen on a pitchers mound, Andy Pettitte pitched 5 and 2/3 innings for the Yankees. He pitched around tough Philly hitters, gave up a decent number of hits and runs, (3 runs on 4 hits) and threw 94 total pitches. But when he turned the ball over to skipper Joe Girardi, the 37-year-old left-hander had left his team with a 7-3 lead, needing only 10 outs for victory.

For as gritty, tough and creative Andy Pettitte was, Pedro Martinez was soft, ill, and lost pitching for Philadelphia. Pedro was slow to pitch, at times looked sick, and was throwing no faster the 85 MHP. From the first inning on, fans could tell that Pedro was not long for the game. He lasted only four innings.

But the real story of game six was the World Series MVP. Hideki Matusi put on a hitting display that will not soon be forgotten in Yankee lure. Matsui hit a two run homerun in the second inning, had a two RBI single in the third inning, and then he topped it off with a two RBI double in the fifth. All told Matsui had accounted for all but one of the Yankee runs in game six. Never before had a player (non-pitcher) who only started three games in the World Series won the MVP award. But Matsui’s efforts in game six put him over the top.

Lost in the shadows of the series was the performance of lefty reliever Damaso Marte. He struck out both Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, before turning the ball over to Mariano Rivera. As "Enter Sandman" played for Mariano Rivera as he entered the game. The Yankees were in need of five outs to win the World Series. A strike out, double and pop up ended the top of the eighth inning. The final inning of 2009 was now under way.

The Yankees went quickly and quietly in the bottom of the eighth inning. The only note was a perfect swing by Derek Jeter driving a ball to right field. A classic Jeter base hit. If Jeter never has another World Series base hit, it was the perfect way for him to leave the fall classic. An inside-out base hit as the all time Post Season hit leader.

In the top of the ninth Rivera once again took his rightful place on top of the mound at Yankee Stadium. On his sixth pitch, and third cutter to Philly pitch hitter Matt Stairs, Mo got his first out of the ninth. Stairs lined up to second baseman Robinson Cano. The 50,315 at the Stadium were going nuts, millions more around the world waiting for the final two outs. On another six pitch at-bat Mo walked catcher Carlos Ruiz. The suspense prolonged just a little while longer. When Jimmy Rollins stepped to the plate, he jumped all over the second cut fastball he saw. He launched it deep to right field, and for a moment I thought the Phillies still had life. But Nick Swisher was quick to rest under the ball for the second out of the inning.

The final batter of 2009 was Shane Victorino, and he would not go quietly into the night. Shane took a strike, swung and missed at a strike, took three balls, and fouled off four strikes. Then on his tenth pitch of a terrific at bat, Shane weakly ground the ball to second baseman Robinson Cano.

Cano, with all the pressure in the world on his left arm, tossed a twenty-foot strike into the glove of first baseman Mark Teixeira. Teixeira had secured the ball in his glove, with his right foot on first base. The Yankees had won the World Series! Teixeira had raised his right arm in victory. Rivera pumped his fist. The infielders all began running in different directions, until they all found their way to the area between third base and the pitchers mound. That is where they found Alex Rodriguez, the single most significant force in the Yankees 2009 season. The celebration began just before midnight. It lasted until well after sunrise.

Final Score of Game Six of the 2009 World Series: New York 7, Philadelphia 3.

New York Wins The 2009 World Series 4-2.

Two days later the Yankees had their World Series victory parade in the Canyon of Heroes in downtown Manhattan.

I was there.

The celebration of 1.5 million Yankee fans in the streets of New York is hard to describe. The madness that took place, as each player was showered with cheers, waves, and confetti was incredible. Every band that played, every float that went by, every human wearing midnight blue, captured the sprit of victory in a way that my words will never do justice to.

As the last float carrying Mariano Rivera went by, the parade was gone. Soon the barricades holding the fans on the sidewalks up and down Broadway were opened. As the masses poured out onto the street, I looked to the north, up Broadway. I could see the last float 100 yards up the street. Suddenly this feeling of downheartedness had entered my life. The parade had literally passed me by. What had really happened was that the 2009 MLB season had come to an end. All that remained was the distant view of a final parade float and six NYPD squad cars. A mess of confetti, ticker tape and newspaper were last pieces of an unforgettable season.

Although the 2009 baseball season is gone, it will never be forgotten. The end of great baseball season was certainly the only thing that saddened me.

The result of the 2009 season is a very fair tradeoff!

In the fantastic words of John Sterling,

Ball Game over…World Series over… Yankees Win ….THEE YANKEES WIN!

Phillie Fanatics, Yankee Fanatics too

The 2009 MLB World Series

I don’t think I have ever dedicated a Sports Blog to my opinions on the hype, focus, and attention that takes place outside the baselines. But here I am devoting a Blog to the Phillies and Yankees, their fans, and the media coverage upon the dawn of the 2009 World Series.

How is it that the Philadelphia Phillies are the defending World Series Champions, and yet they seem to be the team that has nothing to lose, and everything to gain? The Phillies are the one’s defending their title and yet the perception in Philadelphia is that they are underdogs that crave to beat the gold standard in professional sports in order to be justified and legitimized.

Everyday I work out of an office that sits almost exactly half way between the 108.38 miles that separate Yankee Stadium from Citizens Bank Park. I lived for nine months of my life in Center City Philadelphia, and I grew up in New York. So I tend to see both fans prospective and I get an even amount of media coverage from both teams. If I had one word to sum up the growing rivalry between the two World Series contestants, that word would be- brutal. The articles written on the internet have been raunchy, senseless, and poorly expressed. The articles in the news papers have been only slightly better. The talk radio, and television media- out of control! But the fans, in these two rival cities, they have been the most brutal of all!

Even before the ball landed in Shane Victorino’s glove for the last out of the 2009 National League Championship Series, there was a chant gaining huge popularity at Citizens Bank Park. It is a call that infuriates me like no other. It was a battle cry coming from 46,214 Philadelphia fans. The Chant was of course “Yankees Suck”.

It’s such an ignorant mantra!!!

Wikipedia defines the word suck as- a slang term for failure. Surely the word “suck” doesn’t represent the very best of the 2009 World Series! A Professional Sports franchise can’t win 26 World Series Championships in a remarkably rich 96-year history and suck. A team can’t win 103 games in the 2009 regular season and suck. A team can’t make it to the World Series and suck. Period. As a Yankee fan, I would never I cry out “Phillies suck”! Of course they don’t suck! You know who sucks? The Kansas City Royals suck. The Pittsburgh Pirates suck. And yet, those were the calls from ignorant blue-collar Philadelphia fans that had the upper hand last Wednesday night.

But what the fan’s chant really represents is a desire by Philadelphians to bring on the best. “Bring on the Yankees, so we can beat them down in the World Series” is the common thought among Phillies fans. They are simply calling out the most formidable and worthy of opponent, to justify their second Championship in as many years.

After last year’s historic and memorable victory over the Tampa Rays, ending a 26-year drought of Championship-less baseball in Philadelphia, you would think Phillies fans wouldn’t change a thing. Yet the impression I get from most, is that they would trade it all back for a chance to beat the dreaded New York Yankees in this year’s version of the fall Classic. Even as recent as yesterday, Phillies Manager Charlie Manuel said “We have to beat the Yankees...we wouldn’t want to be playing any other team.”

So how do I feel as a Yankees fan? My thoughts were best expressed by Charley Steiner.

Former ESPN announcer and baseball commentator, Charley Steiner called Yankees games on the radio for a very brief period from 2002 until 2005. When asked why he was leaving the Yankees after such a short period, he gave the most eloquent quote about the Yankees I have ever heard. He said, “I want to cover a team whose players and fans react to winning as fun, and not as a relief”. I use that quote at least once a week as a Yankee fan. Charley said it almost five years ago.

Winning in New York is not fun, it is simply a relief. Why?

Because every single team in baseball approaches the Yankees the exact same way. It’s the way the Phillies are coming into this World Series. Weather it is a Spring Training game in March against the Pirates, or game 7 of the World Series, everyone wants their piece of the Yankees, and everyone is the underdog. (And the media takes extreme measures to support these fan feelings.) All baseball fans want to see their team beat down the Yankees more then anything else.

To prove my point, if you compare the Yankees and Phillies position by position, the only clear advantage the Yankees have is at third base. Almost everything else about these two World Series teams is dead even. Truthfully, as an honest Yankees fan, I could see this series going either way. Yet Las Vegas has the Yankees favored by 2 to 1 odds. And Las Vegas sets the ideology for the rest of the world. After all, they control the all mighty dollar.

As a fan this idea that the Yankees are always the best (even when they are not) leaves me only relived when they win, as opposed to excited or happy. Even the Yankee players themselves don’t celebrate like other teams. The Yankees haven’t engaged in a dog pile (a victory celebration of ecstatic euphoric proportions) since the 2003 ALCS. Why? Because they are suppose to celebrate all the time. They win so much that they are supposed to be jaded by it.

And sure the Yankees bring these problems on themselves with all their acquired talent.

The Yankees went out and acquired top players to build their team. A-Rod, Teixeira, CC Sabathia, and Burnett are all acquired free agents whose asking price was embarrassing. Their costs were then turned over to fans who were asked to pay as much as $2400.00 for tickets.

But are the Phillies really that different?

In the last five years no team with a pay roll of less then 75 million has won the World Series. The Yankees are first in payroll, while the Phillies are sixth. To put that in prospective- half of baseball’s team’s this year had a payroll less then 75 million. Meaning half the teams were most likely out of World Series contention before the season even got started. The Phillies went out and acquired Cliff Lee, Pedro Martinez, Brad Lidge, and Raul Ibanez. And truth be told- neither team would be in this World Series without their high priced acquired talent.

But just like the Yankees, the Phillies have a ton of homegrown talent too. Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, and Shane Victorino are as wholesome and genuine to the Phillies, as Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and Robinson Cano are to the Yankees. And those core players are the ones I like to focus on going into this World Series.

I guess the only real conclusion I can draw is that “Its good to be the king, but it is lonely at the top.” When the day comes that the Yankees win their 27th World Series title, their will be more baseball fans enraged then those who will be ecstatic throughout the country. And as for the 2009 World Series, the Philadelphia Phillies are in the driver’s seat. They are the team with nothing to lose, and everything to gain!

Yankees in six.