A Night To Remember

Wow.

If you are a true baseball fan, you've go to be feeling like a kid in a candy store tonight.  It'll be a cool night in the Bronx, 47 degrees, 9mph winds, and a clear sky that will have the night filled with stars in the air and on the field.  And last but certainly not least, there will be a pair of aces on the mound, and what a pair it will be.

In the Yankee corner - Andy Pettitte, 37 years old, the most experienced postseason pitcher in the history of the game, and notorious for rising to the challenge of a big game.  And in the Phillie corner - Pedro Martinez, 38 years old, storied enemy of the Yankees, and a member of the historic 2004 Boston Red Sox team that banished the Curse of the Bambino at Yankee Stadium.  Between the two of them, they combine for 54 postseason games pitched with a record of 23-12.

Pettitte is a career Yankee (minus a 3-year sabbatical with the Houston Astros) and a no doubt, first ballot hall-of-famer when the time comes.  He also has to be one of the most respected Yankees of this generation - infamous for his glove covering his face, his hat pulled tightly down over his brow, and through the tunnel the two create, peers his overpowering glance of determination.  Any Pettitte is a competitor; he celebrates a big out, but not for himself, rather for his teammate that made the play, he doesn't talk trash, he doesn't guarantee victories, he doesn't make excuses, he gives credit where credit is due, even if to an opponent.  Simply put Andy Pettitte is a true "ballplayer" and one could only hope he remains an ambassador of the game for a long, long time.

And on the other side Martinez - an 18-year veteran of the game who has definitely come full circle.  Another first ballot hall-of-famer, who spent 7 years of his career making his mark on the hearts of Bostonians everywhere as well as on the dramatic history of the Red Sox organization.  Pedro was a go-to pitcher in his prime, and when you saw him on the list of pitching probables for the day you knew the Sox were going to win.  In his time in Bean Town, Martinez posted a record of 117-37, so on average his record was 17-5...wow.  Then he went to the New York Mets where all good careers go to die (i.e. Carlos Baerga, Mike Piazza, Johan Santana, etc...) - he had 4 atypical seasons, plagued by injuries.  But now Pedro is back for perhaps one last chance at glory.  Like Seabiscuit and Red Pollard coming back from injury to obtain past success - it is not necessarily within the realm of physical law to determine the ability of a player like Martinez, that's too shallow.  For what he lacks physically is compensated by his eager heart, his fierce determination, and the immense amount of wisdom he has grown since his time in Boston; making him as formidable an opponent as ever.

Perhaps it is poetic justice that the game of baseball is the only main sport not limited by time, because tonight, in the new Yankee Stadium, time will truly be irrelevant.  Not just in terms of game length, but for the two studs opposing each other on the mound age will be of little, if any significance.  The only role history will play is that each competitor is likely to fuel themselves with powerful memories of the past, where they have faced each other many times before.  There will be no limitations on either pitcher - this is, for a fact, the last game they will pitch in the year 2009, so they will both be prepared to reach back and give it everything they've got, and then some. 

I am prepared to be wrong and disappointed, but to be honest, I don't think the laws of the universe would allow it.  This game is meant to be, and will be, one of the best games in the history of the Major League postseason.  And as a true baseball fan I can honestly say that regardless of who wins, I just can't wait to sit down, turn on the TV, and be a blissful spectator of two guys doing what they love, and doing it exceptionally well.

Take It Like A Man

So after making the decision that I'd rather see Babe Ruth in a speedo than see the New York Yankees win the World Series, I started to realize how difficult it would be to stand by the Philadelphia Phillies.  They aren't making it easy to root for them, that's for sure.  First there was the guarantee by Jimmy Rollins that they'd win in five games, "six if their nice," - well Jimbo if you're going to win it has to be in Game 7, so what happened to your cute little prediction?  Ok, that doesn't even matter, I'm over Rollins' arrogance, and now my frustration is purely centered on the Phils' manager, Charlie "I should read a coaching" Manuel.

If you've seen a Charlie Manuel press conference, you probably agree with me when I say that Charlie needs to take it like a man.  Manuel has developed a nice little routine of heading to the podium after a loss and putting on his cranky pants.  He answers every question with a tone of "how dare you ask me something so dumb," and he also defends every decision he makes like it was the right move and it just happened, coincidently, not to work out.  Well, in trailing the Yankees 3-2 in the World Series, there seems to be quite a few coincidences costing the Phillies their season.  I was really expecting the Yankess to lose this Series as a result of Joe Girardi's mismanagement - but what I underestimated was Manuel's incredible ability to mismanage his own team.

Granted, Manuel is riding high now because the Phils won Game 5 behind ace Cliff Lee, but that's not a big surprise, we all expected Lee to win and he did.  And there's a great chance that the Philadelphia takes Game 6 in a Pedro Martinez vs. Andy Pettitte showdown for the ages.  So where did Skipper Chuck go wrong?  Well we could start with Game 2 when he let Pedro go back out to the mound for the 7th inning, but we'll let that Grady Little-esque moment slide.  Lets look at Game 4.  The Phils had just lost Game 3, at home, with their former ace, Cole Hamels on the mound.  So how does Charlie respond in a must-win game?  He sends out his #4 starter, Joe Blanton, on the mound against the Yankees ace, C.C. Sabathia - genius idea Chuck.  In his post-game cranky pants session, Manuel was asked, "Charlie, Cliff Lee said he was willing to pitch tonight, if he had insisted he wanted to pitch, would you have gone with him?"  Manuel's quick and degrading response was, "Nope, absolutely not."  Wow, how insightful; thanks Chuck, great explanation.

In pregame discussions, many said that Manuel wasn't starting Lee because he had never pitched on three days rest before.  Who cares!?  It's not like he's making him drive blindfolded or something; pitching on three days rest isn't dangerous, it's just uncommon because this generation's pitchers are so pampered.  In the current age of pitch counts, 6-inning starts, and 1-inning saves, we forget that pitchers of previous generations threw until the cows came home, and they didn't even have Tommy-John surgery, or all this medical pampering available!  Regardless, starting a short-rested Lee is still better than a well-rested Blanton.  Many will say "well, Blanton didn't pitch that bad."  Ok, true.  But guess what, he didn't pitch that good, and I guarantee that Lee would've pitched better and probably won.

So now let's look at the big picture.  Let's say Pedro out-duels Pettitte tomorrow, who is on the bump for Game 7?  In the Yankee corner, their ace, at home, Sabathia - and in the Phillie corner, choke artist of the '09 playoffs, the guy who can't even win at home and is now on the road, in the hardest postseason building to win at, Hamels.  Perfect.  Lee will only be on two days rest for Game 7, so even if he is available, there are two concerns - 1, Lee will only be able to pitch limited innings whether it's in a start of in relief.  2, if Manuel is willing to use him on two days rest, why didn't he use him on three days rest in Game 4??

Right, I know - if I know so much and I can complain about the problem, what is the solution?  I'll tell you what it is.  Start Lee in Game 4 and win, tying the series at 2-2.  Then, you save Pedro for Game 6 in the Bronx because he can win there, and in Game 5 you give the ball to...Jamie Moyer.  That's right, old man Jamie Moyer.  I say this for multiple reasons - 1, Moyer has been out of the rotation for a while and the Yankees would have to look back to August to find film on him.  2, it's a great change of pace - all these pitchers, Sabathia, Lee, Hamels, Pettitte, Blanton, even an aging Pedro, rely on bringing some low-to-high 90's heat.  Jamie Moyer changes a hitter's entire approach, first he has to roll his wheel chair out to the mound, then he has to use his cane to stand up, and then he throws a nasty 88 mph fastball...on a good day.  In the same way that Tim Wakefield's knuckleball can baffle any lineup, so can Moyer's finesse.  3, by pulling Hamels out of the rotation, you now have someone reliable in your bullpen, and should probably use him as the closer, this way Lidge can't blow any more games.  The postseason makes us forget, but the Phillies had the most unreliable bullpen in baseball in the 2nd half of the season, they could use a change of pace.  4, Moyer has experience...I mean like dang, he is living proof that dinosaurs once roamed the Earth.  He knows what he's doing on the mound, he knows how to control a game, and how to come through in the clutch.  And 5, by starting Lee in Game 4 that makes him available to start and win a potential Game 7, so even if Moyer loses and the Phils go down 3-2 as they are now, the outlook for the next two games is much better.


Doesn't seem so complicated to me, so why not try it?  Oh that's right, Charlie didn't think of it, so he won't do it...because clearly anything that Chuck thinks of has worked perfectly.  Don't get me wrong, managers will always be second-guessed by fans and media, and it's a lot harder to make the call before you know what will happen.  However, it's not so much Manuel's managing that I'm frustrated at, it's his attitude.  Don't you dare go to that podium and make someone feel dumb for asking you a perfectly valid question.  You got paid big money to make the right decision, and you messed up...big time.  So go to that podium, admit your mistakes, and for crying out loud...take it like a man.