Yankees Win 27th World Series

It started during spring training.  At a pool hall.  Yes, it was an odd place for a baseball team to build a foundation for a championship caliber team, but this wasn't your early 2000s Yankee team.  The Yankee teams for most of this decade featured a group of mercenaries that never quite fit in together.  Sure, you can argue that baseball is the least like a team game of the four major sports in America, but I think that if you have a deeper investment in a person than simply as a co-worker good things are bound to happen.  By taking the team to play pool in spring training, Yankee manager Joe Girardi lit the fuse of team chemistry.  A light that had been dark in the Yankee clubhouse for the past several years. 

This Yankee team wasn't like recent Yankee teams.  There was no surly clubhouse character like Kevin Brown or Randy Johnson.  Instead, a guy like A.J. Burnett pied players after walk-off wins.  Nick Swisher kept thing light and prepared a collage of positive headlines in his locker each day.  Even Alex Rodriguez found a side of his personality no one thought existed - the quiet, team-first guy that stayed out of tabloid trouble.  These Yankees still believed they could win, even with two outs in the ninth inning. 

No, this was not your grandfather's Yankee team.  They weren't stoic professionals all the time, but that's why they won.  Oh... and maybe that $200 million payroll helped.  You can remind Yankee fans about that, but that doesn't take away how special this year was to them. 

First to Third: Three Days Rest

Despite taking a 3-1 series lead into last night's game five of the World Series, the Yankees sent A.J. Burnett to the mound to face the Phillies on three days rest rather than sending Chad Gaudin out to pitch.  Burnett, who hadn't thrown on three days rest all season, didn't make it out of the third inning and surrendered six earned runs and issues four walks.  Not what the Yankees were looking for in their number two starter.

After the game, the Yankees were quick to tell the media that it wasn't the three days rest that was Burnett's problem, but it couldn't have helped.  Andy Pettitte, the Yankees 38 year old third starter is likely to take the ball on short rest in game six of the World Series, Wednesday in the Bronx. 

As the season creeps into November, each of the three Yankee postseason starters has thrown over 200 innings and their arms aren't getting any fresher.  With such a commanding series lead, why didn't the Yankees pitch Gaudin?  He certainly couldn't have fared worse than Burnett and he would have enabled the Yankees to have a fresh set of starting pitchers for the remaining two games.  The Yankees seem content to finish the postseason with three starters and are looking to become the first team since the 1991 Minnesota Twins to win the World Series with just three postseason starters.  

First to Third: Second Guessing Game Two

One of the best parts about being a sports fan is the ability to second guess your team's manager or coach - and sometimes, even the players.  In game two of the World Series, there were several questionable decisions that are worthy of debate.

Derek Jeter tries to bunt in the 7th: Over the past 15 seasons, the amount of times Derek Jeter has been criticized for doing something that wasn't a "smart baseball play" can probably be counted on one hand.  However, his decision to try to bunt with no outs and two runners on base as not a good one.  It got even worse when Jeter didn't give up on his attempt with two strikes.  The Yankees had a chance to break the game wide open, but didn't.  It didn't cost them the game, but what was Jeter thinking?

Charlie Manuel lets Pedro Martinez start the 7th: Shades of Grady Little in 2003 as Manuel let Pedro convince him that he wasn't tired after the 6th inning.  Now 38, Martinez promptly surrendered two base hits to the Yankees' seventh and eighth hitters before being replaced by Chan Ho Park.  Park allowed a base hit that put the Yankees up 3-1.  With a fully rested 'pen... why send Pedro back out there?

Charlie Manuel doesn't start the runners in the 8th: I agree with Manuel here.  Chase Utley grounded into five double plays all year and since he bats lefty, if Utley sung and missed the the runner at third had a good chance of getting thrown out since Jorge Posada would have a clear throw to third. 

Joe Girardi throws Mariano Rivera for two innings: With a day off today, there was no reason why Rivera couldn't go two innings.  It's the World Series... not May.  So what if he threw 40 pitches... the Joba Rules don't apply to Mariano.

Joe Girardi starts Jerry Hairston over Nick Swisher:  Girardi will tell you this paid off since Hairston had a base hit in the 7th which eventually resulted in a run scored.  Personally, I would have left the singles hitter on the bench and thrown Eric Hinske out in right field. 
 

First to Third: World Series Preview

The Battle of the I-95 corridor begins tomorrow night in New York as the Philadelphia Phillies take on the New York Yankees in the 2009 World Series.  I think the teams match up pretty evenly, so it should be an exciting series.  Here's a preview:

Infield: NLCS MVP Ryan Howard has been a beast this postseason, but in the Philadelphia infield, he's really the only one who has produced.  Jimmy Rollins is hitting .244 in the postseason and Chase Utley hit .211 in the NLCS.  Pedro Feliz is hitting around .160 for the postseason.  On the other hand, Alex Rodriguez decided to learn how to hit in the postseason and is leading the Yankees with a .424 postseason batting average.  Across the diamond, Mark Teixeira struggled through the first two rounds of the playoffs but is five for his last 14 (.357).  Derek Jeter is hitting .297 in the postseason, while Robinson Cano has yet to find a groove in October.  Advantage: Yankees

First to Third: How Much Does a Manager Matter?

With a two run lead in the seventh inning of game five of the ALCS, the Yankees sent A.J. Burnett back out to pitch the bottom of the seventh.  Burnett promptly put two runners on base, at which point he was relieved and the bullpen couldn't hold the lead.  Just an inning before, John Lackey was pulled, although he really didn't want to leave, and Darren Oliver surrendered three runs without recording an out as the Yankees pulled ahead.

At this point, many fans believed they could manage better than either Joe Girardi or Mike Scioscia.  I think in the postseason it is very easy to over-manage a game.  Quick hooks and questionable substitutions have been a staple of playoff games for a number of years, but how much do these decisions impact a game or series?  In his first postseason as a manager, Girardi has made questionable bullpen moves and has chosen to start the soft-hitting Jose Molina in games Burnett pitches over playoff veteran Jorge Posada.  Scioscia has had backup Jeff Mathis catch Lackey over Mike Napoli.  Joe Torre continued his history of questionable bullpen moves before the Dodgers were eliminated.  Charlie Manuel has stubbornly stuck with the erratic Brad Lidge and has been rewarded.  Aside from the umpires this postseason, the managers have been second-guessed the most, which raises the question: how much does a manager matter?

There Goes the Neighborhood

With all this discussion about expanding the use of instant replay, sometimes the human side of baseball is forgotten. There are certain plays in baseball where it's ok to not get a call right. The strike zone, while actually defined in the rule book, is largely subjective based on the home plate umpire. Tim Tschida's strike zone is different than CB Bucknor's. Another example is the "neighborhood play." The neighborhood play is a reference to a middle infielder being in the neighborhood of second base when turning a double play. In 99% of double play balls, the second base umpire will call a runner out at second as long as the middle infielder comes close to the base when turning a double play.

If baseball selects its best umpires to work the playoffs, it is reasonable to assume that now isn't the time to change accepted conventions. However, in game two of the ALCS, Angels shortstop Erick Aybar was turning a double play where he never touched second base - but came extremely close and was in fact straddling the base - and the Yankee runner was called safe.

Baseball fans can argue for furthering the use of replay all they want but it's important to maintain the human element. In Joe Torre's most recent book he reminds people to always remember that the game has a pulse. Let's keep it that way.

First to Third: All These Missed Calls!

Joe Mauer hit a double in the top of the 11th in game two of the ALDS to give the Twins a runner on second with no one out. Well... maybe not. Despite having an umpire stationed down the left field line just for these sort of calls, Mauer's double, which was fair by a foot or two, was ruled foul. Mauer singled and the Twins would go on to leave bases loaded before the Yankees were able to win the game.

It's been a rough October for the umpires so far, as several calls have been missed - and not just by those pesky outfield umpires.

Some have called for the expansion of instant replay, but anyone who has seen The Matrix knows that machines can take over any minute. Those who watche the American League will tell you baseball games are long enough. Where's the compromise? How about taking a page out of the NFL's book and giving the managers a challenge flag and a set amount of challenges per game. I'm a purist, so I don't agree with this at all, but let's have some fun.

I tell you what, baseball loves this idea of a series. The Reds will play a three game series against the Pirates in May (and no one will show up!). Why not give managers three "challenges" per series (or four for a four game set). Dusty Baker can use all three in one game or none at all (they won't carry over... this isn't rollover minutes, people). Baker can challenge boundary calls just like the umpires can now. The umps can also review a play on their own - managers can't provoke this without using a "challenge." He can't challenge balls and strikes, but maybe he can challenge a close play at first base. How would that change the game? Would we really be worse off then? Would games be officiated more accurately? Would the pace of play slow to a halt?

Photo Credit: BizofBaseball.com

First to Third: May the Best Team Win?

It turns out Matt Holliday made a colossal mistake that just cost the Cardinals the division series. Yes, I realize that Holliday dropping a line drive that... well... was RIGHT TO HIM!! only put the Cards down 2-0, but in a best of five series, that about does it for the Cards.

Baseball's postseason is like a lottery. Teams enter with just about the same chance to win and one small blunder or one small mistake makes the difference between advancing to the next round - or not. In a five game series, all a team needs is 2.5 good starting pitching performances to advance to the next round. That's why I'd like to see baseball make the division series seven games.

In a seven game series maybe the best team doesn't always win, but mistakes like Holliday's don't cost a team their postseason life. Baseball plays 162 regular season games (163 if you're in Detroit or Minnesota, apparently) for a reason: to create a chance for the best team to win. A five game series does not follow the same logic. A five game series is chaos for a few days and then one team emerges to play for a chance for the World Series. Earlier this year, the Nationals beat the Yankees two out of three games. If this were the division series, the Yankees would have their backs against the wall. I don't think anyone would dispute that the Yankees in 2009 were much better than the Nationals, but say the Nats won the next game. Is that really the best way to decide who moves on after 162 games? I don't think so.

SportsJudge Dispute No. 1586-T: Court Upholds the Trade of Cory Hart and J.J. Hardy for B.J. Upton

SPORTSJUDGE.COM

COURT OF FANTASY BASEBALL

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	X	Index No. 1586-T Date: March 24, 2008 League Type: 10 TEAM MIXED 5X5 Dispute: TRADE DISPUTE Judge: MARC EDELMAN TRADE BETWEEN 2 LEGIT 2 QUIT AND IT BYRNES IS APPROVED
COMMISSIONER GARY B. Petitioner, - against - 2 LEGIT 2 QUIT & IT BYRNES Respondent	: : : : : : : : : :
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Petitioner, Commissioner Gary Benik, brings this claim in the COURT OF FANTASY BASEBALL, seeking to determine the status of a proposed trade of 2 Legit 2 Quit players Cory Hart (OF, Brewers) and J.J. Hardy (SS, Brewers) to IT Byrnes in exchange for player B.J. Upton (2B/OF, Rays). This court upholds the trade.

The Law on Upholding a Trade

In this court, it is the general rule that any fantasy baseball trade shall be upheld as long as the trade adequately benefits both teams. (See Public Opinion No. 101, Big Red Rockers v. Big City Bombers). Where a league constitution provides alternative criteria for reviewing a trade, the alternative criteria may supersede the general rule. (See Public Opinion No. 409-T, Commissioner P.K. v. Cartman). However, in this case, according to the league constitution, the only rule is that www.SportsJudge.com gets the final say in resolving all disputes so precedents from previous cases must be used.

The Proposed Trade

The proposed trade is a 2-for-1 trade with players matched in their positions.

2 Legit 2 Quit proposes to send to It Byrnes (final 2007 statistics in parentheses):

· Corey Hart (.295 AVG, 86 runs, 24 hr, 81 rbi, 23 sb)

· J.J. Hardy (.277 AVG, 89 runs, 26 hr, 80 rbi, 2 sb)

It Byrnes proposes to send to 2 legit 2 Quit:

· B.J. Upton (.300 AVG, 86 runs, 24 hr, 82 rbi, 22 sb)

Analysis of the Trade

B.J. Upton and Corey Hart are two young superstars in Major League Baseball who put up nearly identical numbers last season. By most accounts, Upton is the more valuable of the two players because he qualifies at second base. According to the Rotowire.com 2008 Top 200 Mixed League Rankings, Upton is ranked at no. 31, and Hart at no. 57. Meanwhile, according to the CBS Sports 2008 Top 300, Upton is listed at no. 35, and Hart is listed at 93. Finally, in the SportsJudge.com Experts League Draft, Upton was selected at no. 20 and Hart at no. 75.

Indeed, there are certain mitigating factors that cut in Hart’s favor, as brought to my attention by one of the court’s internal baseball experts, Joseph Romano. For example, an examination of the two players’ game-by-game statistics from 2007 will show that Hart started strong, struggled for some time, but then raised his average during the last month of the season. Meanwhile, Upton started strong (hitting a high point in batting average in mid-July of .344), but over the final two months of the season struggled and finished hitting just .300. This significant drop has been attributed to Upton’s lack of plate discipline and may indicate that some American League pitchers have figured out how to pitch Upton.

The wild card in all this is J.J. Hardy, a player with varied expectations. Hardy was a tremendous disappointment after a great first half last season and did not even crack the Rotowire Top 200. However, in the SportsJudge.com draft, Hardy went in the 14^th round. Indeed, the young Brewers shortstop hit 26 home runs last season, and has at least enough upside to balance any perceived difference in value between Upton and Hart, even if one were to consider Upton’s late-season struggles to be an aberration.

Finally, according to the e-Affidavit by Anthony Salva, general manager of 2 Legit to Quit, 2 Legit to Quit was “seeking to upgrade my middle infield … [while IT Byrnes] wanted to improve the quality of his outfield.” Having reviewed both teams rosters, the court finds this assessment earnest and valid, and there is no reason to doubt the parties had any intentions other than as stated.

Holding

Based on the foregoing, this court upholds the proposed trade of Corey Hart (OF, Brewers) and J.J. Hardy (SS, Brewers) from 2 Legit 2 Quit to It Byrnes for B.J. Upton (2B/OF, Rays).