Yardbarker: Rafael Furcal

Two-Nil 4 Phightin Phils

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 07:21:43 -0500

Hero: Brett "Babe" Myers the hitter, not the pitcher. Jobu: Ryan Howard no hit curveball, look for straightball. Good: Victorino's bat and glove. Bad: Carlos "Cooch" Ruiz nonblock of Furcal K. LA Sucks: F' Simers of the LA Times, H-Mo!!!

Bottoms Up: Phils take 2-0 lead in NLCS

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 22:46:27 -0500

After Brett Myers' Game 2 victory against CC Sabathia and the Milwaukee Brewers in last week's NLDS, all the media could ask him about was his two crucial at bats in which he forced the Brewers' ace to throw 19 pitches. One of those at bats resulted in a crucial walk that would lead to the game winning grand slam by Shane Victorino. Myers did little to give the media good reason not to continue talking about his offensive prowess in Friday's 8-5 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS Game 2 in Philadelphia. Myers was a perfect three for three with two runs and three RBIs. "I'm not a very good hitter," said Myers, who became the first pitcher to get three hits in an NLCS game. "I just get lucky occasionally. I'm baffled by it. I would've rather pitched better." While Myers did not pitch great by any means, he pitched better than the box score indicates. Myers went just five innings, giving up five runs on six hits with six strikeouts and four walks. In all honesty, Myers should have only given up two runs. In the top of the 4th inning, Myers got Jeff Kent to ground out into a double play, bringing shortstop Rafael Furcal to the plate. Myers would get Furcal to strikeout on a pitch down around the plate, but the ball got away from catcher Carlos Ruiz. It was called a wild pitch on Myers, but if Ruiz had made an attempt to catch the ball in a normal manner, as opposed to the backhanded grab attempt, then he would have most likely held on to the ball, inning over. Instead the ball got away from him and the speedy Furcal made it to first base. Myers then gave up a single to Dodgers' catcher Russell Martin, bringing to the plate the ever dangerous Manny Ramirez. Ramirez then proceeded to belt his major league leading 27 playoff homerun. If Ruiz holds on to the ball, inning over, no homerun. That being said, the bottom of the order (Greg Dobbs, Ruiz, and Myers) made up for the defensive blunder, going a combined six for 10 with six hits, four RBIs, and six runs scored. The bottom of the order's ability to get on base set the table for Victorino to knock in four runs of his own. After being criticized for not being able to score a run not off the homerun before this game, the Phillies manufactured every single one of their eight runs this game, not hitting a single homerun the entire game. The Phillies continue to score their runs in one or two impact innings, and go quiet the rest of the game. Friday night they scored all eight runs in the 2nd and 3rd innings, and then were shutdown by the Dodgers bullpen. The Phils' offense was particularly troubled by youngster James McDonald, who allowed just two hits and one walk in 3 1/3 innings while striking out five of the 10 batters he faced. Lucky for the Phils', their bullpen exceeded the Dodgers, allowing just two hits total amongst all four relievers. Chad Durbin and J.C. Romero were able to quiet the Dodgers' bats after the Ramirez homerun, and Ryan Madson continues to dominate the eighth inning. Despite walking two batters, closer Brad Lidge continued his perfection by striking out the side for his fourth save of the postseason. The Phillies look to take a commanding lead when they head out to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Sunday. Veteran lefty Jamie Moyer takes the mound against Hiroki Kuroda. Despite being the Philliest steadiest pitcher this season, Moyer lasted just four innings in his Game 3 start against the Brewers. He threw 34 pitches in the first inning alone and was lifted for a pinch hitter in the fifth inning. Nevertheless, Moyer has been a steady hand on a sometimes rocky ship this season and looks to bounce back against the Dodgers. He led the Phillies this season in wins with 16 and has LCS experience under his belt. Moyer beat the New York Yankees while with the Seattle Mariners in 2001. He has not faced the Dodgers yet this season. Despite never pitching in a postseason game, Kuroda pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings against the fearsome Chicago Cubs in their division series last week. The young rookie faced the Phillies twice this season, and pitched well both times out. He allowed just two runs over 13 innings. Kuroda has a 2.86 ERA this season when pitching with more than four days rest. First pitch is set for 8:22 PM Eastern Time.

NLCS Game Two Analysis

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:10:18 -0500

Philadelphia struck first in the NLCS with a 3-2 victory in Game 1. There is no need for panic in Los Angeles however as Manny Ramirez and the Dodgers are still in a strong position heading into a pivotal Game 2.

It's Not All About Furcal

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 08:30:26 -0500

Yes, Furcal probably blew this game for Lowe with his error in the bottom of the 6th inning. After that, Lowe looked unnerved (which is partially his fault) and then proceeded to give up 2 home runs. If Furcal makes that play, I firmly believe Lowe keeps on rolling. That said, the blame is not all on Furcal. The Dodgers still didn't generate many scoring chances, and they didn't take advantage of the chances they did get. Besides, 2 runs is not going to win many games in the first place. Now that the Furcal stuff is out of the way, here are some other random thoughts from yesterday. * While the Dodgers' offense struggled, it's...

Welcome to the Playoff(s) Chase

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 07:22:25 -0500

Chase Utley silenced some of the questions surrounding his post season performance with a two run homerun that tied the game in the sixth and Pat Burrell followed it up with the go ahead shot.

I Love (Beating) LA

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 05:56:41 -0500

Game 1 Recap: Key Play- Furcal's error. Runner-Up- left field wall saving a Manny Ramirez homerun in the 1st. Best Homerun- Pat The Bat Burrell. Worst Play- pinch-bunting So Taguchi. Best Defender- Blake Dewitt. Best Slider- Brad Lidge. Worst Defender- Ryan Stonehands Howard. Worst Announcer- tie between butt-bumper Joe Buck and dick-lick Tim McCarver. Game 2 Preview- Chad Billingsley vs. Brett Myers. Go Phils! Click on the URL for a full breakdown of each category above.

2009 Offseason: Shortstop

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 23:03:43 -0500

In this 2009 offseason extravaganza I plan on looking at each area of the team including, starting pitching, relievers, positional players, bench, and what ever else I feel like coming up with. In this section I'm going to covering shortstop.

In 2008 the Reds split the majority of the playing time at short among 3 guys.

Jeff Keppinger: 108 games
Jerry Hairston Jr.: 36 games
Paul Janish: 36 games

The Reds went into 2008 planning on Alex Gonzales to be their every day shortstop, but when he went down with a bunked up knee, they moved back to Jeff Keppinger. To start the year Keppinger was a hitting machine, but then he fractured his knee cap on a foul ball. After the DL trip Keppinger's numbers fell hard and fast.

Pre Knee Injury
Average: .324
On base percentage: .373
Slugging: .446
On base plus slugging: .819

Post Knee Injury
Average: .238
On base percentage: .281
Slugging: .299
On base plus slugging: .580

Just based on his seasonal hitting numbers Keppinger was well below average. Of shortstops with 300 plate appearances Keppinger ranked 11th out of 14 in the NL in Average(.267), Slugging(.356), and OPS (.664) and 14th in what many people expected his strong suit to be OBP(.308).

NL Averages for SS
Average: .260
On base percentage: .331
Slugging: .413
On base plus slugging: .744

Reds Team Average
Average: .272
On base percentage: .321
Slugging: .368
On base plus slugging: .689

Defensively shortstop was almost as bad. I really don't feel comfortable with the numbers I normally use (RZR, OOZ) for guys like Paul Janish, and Jerry Hairston Jr. because of the limited amount of time they both played there. The numbers say Hairston is pretty much terrible, and Janish is better by a pretty large margin than Keppinger, who is only slightly better than Hairston, but since the data isn't strong enough to compare them I really don't want to use them.

The obivous problem here is that Reds have no option at short right now that even warrants a big chunk of playing time. Gonzales can maybe be that guy, but he is never healthy and is yet another year older and I think his defense is largely over rated. Personally I would give Brandon Phillips a large chunk of time at short this spring to see if he can handle it and worry about replacing the 2nd baseman. Phillips bat would profile a lot better at short in case he never learns how to hit right handers, and he would have to be better than just about anyone else they have to use their right now.

Key Free Agents:

Orlando Cabrera
Rafael Furcal
Edgar Renteria

Pete's Preview and Prediction of the NLCS

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 21:26:14 -0500

Let me start off by saying that according to the numbers, this should be an exciting series and a sweep would be extremely disappointing. I expect this to go 6 or 7 games!

I think that the top 6 hitters in each line up are just about equal with each other except for the Phillies reliance on the long ball.

Phillies	Line up	AVG/ OBP/ SLG	VORP
SS-S	Jimmy Rollins	.277/.349/.437	43.4
RF-R	Jayson Werth	.273/.363/.498	30.4
2B-L	Chase Utley	.292/.380/.535	62.3
1B-L	Ryan Howard	.251/.339/.543	35.2
LF-R	Pat Burrell	.250/.367/.507	33.4
CF-S	Shane Victorino	.293/.352/.447	33.4
3B-R	Pedro Feliz	.249/.302/.402	0.1
C-R	Carlos Ruiz	.219/.320/.300	-7

Dodgers	Line up	AVG/ OBP/ SLG	VORP
SS-S	Rafael Furcal	.357/.439/.573	24.5
C-R	Russell Martin	.280/.385/.396	33.6
LF-R	Manny Ramirez	.332/.430/.601	83.5
RF-L	Andre Ethier	.305/.375/.510	39.7
1B-L	James Loney	.289/.338/.434	16.9
CF-R	Matt Kemp	.290/.340/.459	31.5
2B-L	Blake DeWitt	.264/.344/.383	9.5 @ 2B
3B-R	Casey Blake	.274/.345/.463	27

I’d give the Dodgers bench the advantage with Nomar (it’s easier to spell) and Kent over Dobbs and anyone else on the Phillies bench.

I like the Dodgers rotation better than the Phillies if LA goes with the veteran Greg Maddux over the young lefty Clayton Kershaw. Adding Kershaw to the bullpen ala Boston’s rookie starter Justin Masterson, would bolster an already good Dodger bullpen, which I also award the edge to the Dodgers because of their low ERA. The highest ERA (outside of Kershaw or Maddux) of anyone in their bullpen is Chan Ho Park at 3.40

The closer position is a clear advantage for the Phillies with NL comeback player of the year Brad Lidge over either Broxton or Saito (if healthy).

Phillies	Starters	IP	ERA	Phillies	Bullpen	IP	ERA
LHP	Cole Hamels	227.1	3.09	RHP	Brad Lidge	69.1	1.95
RHP	Brett Myers	190	4.55	RHP	Ryan Madson	82.2	3.05
LHP	Jamie Moyer	196.1	3.71	LHP	J.C. Romero	59	2.75
RHP	Joe Blanton	197.2	4.69	RHP	Chad Durbin	87.2	2.87
				LHP	Scott Eyre	25.1	4.21
				LHP	James Happ	31.2	3.69
				RHP	Clay Condrey	69	3.26

Dodgers	Starters	IP	ERA	Dodgers	Bullpen	IP	ERA
RHP	Derek Lowe	211	3.22	RHP	Jonathan Broxton	69	3.13
RHP	Chad Billingsley	200.2	3.14	RHP	Takashi Saito	47	2.49
RHP	Hiroki Kuroda	183.1	3.73	LHP	Joe Beimel	49	2.02
LHP	Clayton Kershaw	107.2	4.26	RHP	Cory Wade	71.1	2.27
or				RHP	Chan Ho Park	95.1	3.4
RHP	Greg Maddux	194	4.22	LHP	Hong-Chih Kuo	80	2.14

The keys to this series are how well the Phillies middle of the order of Utley, Howard and Burrell hits and if Manny Ramirez can keep up his dominance in the playoffs. On the mound, the Phillies need Brett Myers to pitch like he’s been pitching and not like the way he was when he got sent down to the minors. Likewise, both Moyer and Maddux (if he starts) need to NOT act their age in order for their team to win games three and four respectively.

I’ll have to go with the firepower of the Phillies overpowering the Dodgers and advancing to the playoffs for the first time since 1993.

MLB Playoff Picks: Phillies-Dodgers and Red Sox-Rays

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 19:17:54 -0500

One of the puff pieces that happened in advance of the NLCS this week spoke to the Useless Dodger Veteran Bench (aka Nomar Garciaparra, Andruw Jones, Jeff Kent and Juan Pierre) that all have Playoff Experience, but are also mostly ballast for this team. You will be relieved, I am sure, to find out that they are all Team Players who want to play, but remain totally unselfish and professional and so very, very tired...

On the contrary, I'd argue that it took Joe Torre far too long, and that he got fortunate with injuries, to learn that these guys really weren't going to be much use for him in the act of winning ballgames. Pierre's offense has been terrible for years. Jones has seemingly hit a complete wall in terms of no longer being someone who belongs in MLB -- seriously, only his contract is keeping him in the majors right now.

Kent can still hit -- hell, I suspect you'll be able to say that of the man the week that they bury him -- but he can't stay healthy, and he's got about as much right to play second base as I do. (I actually have better range, but being still afraid of baseballs hit with startling speed by grown men, I'm pretty sure that he'd be more effective. Anyway.) Nomar is a reasonable utility fill-in these days, provided you aren't expecting much pop at the plate.

On an MLB Minus team, these contracts would be absolutely crippling, and the Dodgers would have resembled the Bonds-less Giants of a few years back. Instead, here they are, having taken out the doomed Cubs and more or less an even-money bet to go to the Series. All because Manny Ramirez puled his way out of Boston, carrying them to a bad division win, and the luck of the draw got them the team that never, ever wins. Right?

Well, no, not quite. What happened was that they finally played the people that they should have been playing all along. James Loney is a good left-handed hitter and reasonable defender at first, and the only thing that keeps more people from knowing this is that his home park deflates offense. Matt Kemp in center is a stone-cold stud, a man who anyone could tell just by looking at him should never have to want for playing time. I suspect he could be one of the 20 best players in baseball within two years. Andre Ethier in right just doesn't make a whole lot of outs, does everything well, and has upped the ante since the Manny trade by, well, hitting like Manny's little brother. Blake Dewitt at second grinds like a prototype Dustin Pedroia and covers ground.

Combine them all with the return to health of Rafael Furcal (aka, the single non-Manny everyday playing vet that might be worth his contract), and hey presto... it's a good offense. If Russell Martin is fresh enough to hit (they wear him out and he fades every second half), it's actually a very good offense.

Pitching wise, they are also fine, though not as good as the park makes them out to be. Derek Lowe has carried them recently and has an exceptional post-season record. Chad Billingsley has been aces for a while now, and will be cited as such any day now. Hiroki Kuroda isn't great, but he doesn't walk people and keeps the ball in the park; you could do a lot worse from a #3 starter (and when Brad Penny is healthy, you do very well with him at #4). Greg Maddux is the Kuroda story with 350 more MLB wins. The bbullpen has tons of plus arms that are generally reliable.

Oh, and Manny Ramirez is the best hitter in baseball right now. That helps, too.

So why am I picking the Phils to win?

Well, the home field helps a lot here. So does the general feeling that when push comes to shove, Cole Hamels and Brett Myers are just better than Lowe and Billingsley. The back end of the Phillies rotation - Jamie Moyer and Joe Blanton -- seems more useful to me, to the point where I think the Phils get better starting pitching in every game.

As for the bullpen, the slight hiccup in Game Two notwithstanding, I like Brad Lidge a little more than Takashi Saito, and Jonathan Broxton has utterly filthy stuff, but just seems like a guy who's going to issue a key walk or two. The Dodgers have better depth for an extra inning game, but for the simple act of closing a game in regulation, I think the Phillies have the edge.

I also think the Phillies can win in LA more easily than the Dodgers can win in Philly. I also think that (deep breath) Charlie Manuel has seen enough of Manny Ramirez over the years to know how to limit the damage that Ramirez does, whereas the Dodgers will fear no Phillies hitter -- and wind up paying the price.

Finally, there's this. The way to shut the Phillies down cold is to have quality left-handed pitching. And all of the Dodger starters are right-handed.

Phillies in 6.

Well, Red Sox Fan, welcome to the Hated Favorite status that we all knew you'd get to, or have been arguing you were for years. Here's the plucky and lovable Rays, a bunch of kids -- kids, you bastards!

If you beat them, you'll face one of the most tortured fan bases in the country with the Phillies, or the lovable man-child that you refused to sign to an extension, just because he was a minority, and hated so much that you had to ship him out of town for a nondescript white guy, even while *still* paying his salary.

How does it feel to be the New Yankees, even down to the noxious traveling fan base that ensures that no matter how nice and easy-going your players are, you'll always be known as the opponent of every MLB fan's second favorite team? (In that they root for theirs first, than your opponent.)

But first things first, which is how this strange little series will play out. Tampa has the better rotation and everyday players (especially with Mike Lowell out), while Boston has the better bullpen and home field advantage. Seriously, in all seven games of this series, Boston will be playing in front of at least a 50% fan base.

The teams Just Don't Like Each Other, and Boston's got a ton of post-season experience. Also, while Tampa's starters are good, they aren't lockdown great (even Scott Kazmir can be worked into high pitch counts that prevent him from going deep). Finally, Tampa's hitters will grip the bat too tight in their One Chance To Get To The World Series (seriously, even though they are young and affordable, everyone knows this can't last -- see Oakland, Minnesota, Cleveland and every other non-BOS-NYY-LAA AL team of the last decade).

So, I'm just going to pick what will happen, rather than what I want. That way, no matter what happens, I'm feeling like a winner. (Well, at least more than usual.)

Red Sox in 6.

Which, of course, gives us Boston cock-blocking another Philadelphia sports championship, while my football-only friends tell me that they really hate Washington, Dallas and New York instead. Please, my friends, can't we all come together in our hate for Boston teams and her fans? The rest of the nation is already there. Join in!

Why the NLCS Will Last 5 Games

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:28:18 -0500

Phils - Dodgers..NLCS. It wont go 6 or 7. This series will be over after game 5. Read why

Create The Caption #292

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 11:36:46 -0500

(Usually) Everyday I'll throw out a photo, you provide the caption, and then hilarity ensues. I'm also adding a handful of links at the bottom of the page that you should check out each day.

Yesterday's Winners....

"FRANK: "HOLY SHIT! Is that a Nets fan?"- Matt Daaaaamon

"Neil Patrick Harris stars in Harold & Kumar go to Nets Camp- Underachieving One Free Agent at a Time"- Anon

"Yi: YOOUUUUU SHALL NOT PAAAAAAASS!!!!
VC: Coach!! He won't moooooove!!!!
Frank: First down!"
- Frigidevil

"In an attempt to fit in with his new team's co-owner Jay-Z, Yi Jianlin shows he can throw his hands in the air like he just don't care."- Anon

"Josh Boone: Practice?!? You want me to stay awake during practice?!?"- Anon
_______________________________________

Are you funny enough to create a caption for this photo of the Dodgers' Pablo Ozuna, Rafael Furcal, Manny Ramirez and Casey Blake getting a workout before the NLCS?

Daily Links:

FOX's Eric Karros Agrees With McCarver (Farther Off The Wall)
Silly Pacman (The Landry Hat)
Blogger Video Awards! (NESW Sports)
Reilly Might Be Right About The Rays (Signal to Noise)
The Collins Brothers Are Not All That Good (Simon on Sports)
The Daily Show Thinks Cubs Fans Are Stupid (You Been Blinded)
F'ing Steve Bartman (Mouthpiece Sports)
Bargnani Isn't Playing Around (Food Court Lunch)
Female Rays Fans Are Awesome (Deuce of Davenport)
And There's Even Video Of The Process (SFW) (Bugs and Cranks)
K-State Fans Are Equally As Awesome (The Sports Point)
Worst Sports Fan Tattoos (Yep Yep)
An Interview With Busted Coverage (The Big Picture)

Playoffs 2008: LCS Previews

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 01:27:16 -0500

Los Angeles Dodgers @ Philadelphia Phillies
Series line: LAD -105, PHI -105
Game 1: LAD (D. Lowe) +123 @ PHI (C. Hamels) -131

The unpredictability of a short series applies both to the winner and the length; although both these series appear to be evenly matched, there's about a 61% chance that one won't even reach a sixth game. It seems like we've had some bad fortune with that over the last few years; maybe we'll get lucky and both of these will go down to the wire.

For the Dodgers, it's a good thing that we're down to a format that has so many off days between games, because the depth of their bullpen, which was a strength during the year, is beginning to become a concern. It looks like Saito may not even be on the roster, and he's been awful since returning in mid-September anyway. Kuo may be able to pitch, but who knows how effective he'll be if he returns. Even through all this, they do still have Broxton, Wade, and Beimel back there, and that should suffice, especially in the games started by Lowe and Billingsley.

The idea that the Dodgers are significantly better than their record (both W-L and Pythag) has been repeated ad nauseam over the past few weeks. For once, the popular opinion is correct. LA's season can pretty much be divided into three parts. For the first 32 games, they had a red hot Rafael Furcal, and hit .283/.361/.416 as a team. When he went down, their offense struggled mightily before the addition of Ramirez, with a .244/.303/.359 line over 76 games. Things then turned around when Manny came aboard, and they hit .281/.355/.443 in the last 54 games of the regular season; the last four included Furcal, although he contributed an OPS of just .522.

Because of the ridiculous off day after Game 5, all four remaining teams have a decision to make regarding their G4 starter; bringing your ace back on short rest would allow him to be on full rest for G7. The Phillies have been pretty clear that they'll go with Blanton; that's easy to say now, but we'll see what actually happens if they're down 2-1 or 3-0.

The Dodgers haven't even narrowed it down to two, as their fourth starter could be either Maddux or Kershaw. It probably should be the 20-year old Kershaw, who has been excellent in his second stint in the majors, with a 67:28 K:BB ratio in 69 innings since mid-July. You'd think Maddux and his veteranness would win out on a team managed by Joe Torre, but he seems to like having the 42-year old in the bullpen. Regardless, they seem like the most likely team to bring their #1 back on short rest. You always read that sinkerballers are better on short rest than other pitchers; has anyone researched that idea? That's not a rhetorical question.

(I couldn't work it into this post, but this is a fantastic picture.)

Boston Red Sox @ Tampa Bay Rays
Series line: BOS -123, TB +113
Game 1: BOS (D. Matsuzaka) +102 @ TB (J. Shields) -110

The series line opened at BOS -145 at Pinnacle, but has since come down to something much more reasonable. The Game 1 line, however, continues to be totally absurd. Matsuzaka is 18-2. Okay. We get it. His walk rate is three times as high as Shields'.

I'm still not convinced throwing Matsuzaka in G2 is a good idea. Since you have the advantage of having "all hands on deck" in Game 7, wouldn't it be advantageous to have Matsuzaka throwing in that one, since he averaged just 5.8 IP per start this season? It seems like having Lester pitch there is a poor use of resources, since he has gone at least seven innings in 16 of his last 21 starts.

The Red Sox had a significant platoon split during the regular season, with an .849 OPS against lefties, which was 57 point higher than their OPS vs. RHP. That should be a little less pronounced now, with the lefty Kotsay taking Lowell's spot in the lineup. The Rays have the opposite split, as their OPS was 52 points higher against righties, not surprising since three of their regulars (Pena, Iwamura, and Crawford) bat exclusively from the left side. If the Red Sox can manage a split in Tampa they'll be in good shape, with the lefty Lester pitching at home in G3. Although that's what I said about the ALDS, and we saw how that worked out.

The Red Sox have the famous closer (who hasn't allowed a run in 19.2 postseason innings), but the Rays had the superior bullpen this season, with a 3.55 ERA. David Price was on the ALDS roster, but never pitched; Tampa is now considering putting Percival on the roster for this series. I really hope they don't; he's been horrendous for months now, and there's really no reason to give Joe Maddon the opportunity to put him in in a high leverage spot. Price may not be a vital component, as the third lefty in a deep bullpen, but I think I'd rather have an empty roster spot than Percival at this point.

Since Lester is schedule to start Games 3 and 7, the Red Sox will almost certainly start Wakefield in Game 4. The whole benefit of bringing the G1 starter back on short rest is that he can pitch G7, but Matsuzaka obviously wouldn't bump Lester from the deciding game. The Rays have a more difficult decision to make, as the idea of throwing Matt Garza in the deciding game against Lester is not appealing. Shields has never pitched on short rest; that decision will come down to how comfortable they are with rolling the dice a bit there, and also the state of the series; if they're up, they'll almost certainly play it safe with Sonnanstine.

MLB Punchlines: Tim McCarver is Not a Huge Fan of Manny Ramirez

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 21:10:37 -0500

Looks like if you want Rays ALCS tickets you will have to pay a steep price. It will be interesting to see what the Boston/Tampa fan split will be for the games at the Trop. (Tampa Trib)

Will McCarver express his true feelings towards Manny Ramirez on the Fox broadcast? (Philly Inquirer)

Talk about getting the most for your money, check out the Rays' salary breakdown for this season. (Orlando Sentinel)

Something tells us the Dodgers would have had a significantly better record has Rafael Furcal not missed 125 games due to injury. Just a shot in the dark. (OC Register)

Mariano Rivera underwent successful shoulder surgery yesterday and his rehab is expected to take three months. (NY Post)

One of the offseason questions in the Bronx: Will Mike Mussina be back next season? (Star Ledger)

Mets pitcher Ambiorix Burgos turned himself into police in the Dominican Republic. Police say he was involved in an accident that killed a person. (Star Ledger)

The division series TV ratings were down this year from last. Frank Caliendo, your thoughts? (Miami Herald)

Looking back maybe it was a good thing Mattingly didn't get the Yankees manager job. (L.A. Times)

Here are some storylines to help you get into watching the ALCS and NLCS. (KC Star)

The Rockies had a bad season no naturally this means the manager stays and all of the other coaches go. Naturally. (Denver Post)

Indians GM Mark Shapiro discusses the organization's offseason issues and personnel needs. (Plain Dealer)

The hits keep on coming (no pun intended) for the Cubs. Stud reliever Carlos Marmol was in a car accident in the D.R. that required stitches. (Chicago Trib)

The outcome of Rich Harden's visit to a shoulder specialist could decide whether the Cubs pick up his option or not. (Chicago Trib)

Lidge is focused on the here and now, not the ball that Pujols hit off him in the 2005 NLCS that hasn't landed yet. (Baltimore Sun)

ESPN and the MLB Network will televise the World Baseball Classic which starts on March 5. (AZ Republic)

AccuScore NLCS Preview: Dodgers vs. Phillies

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:46:12 -0500

The Phillies and Dodgers easily won their opening round series, and now square off in what should be an exciting, evenly matched National League Championship Series. AccuScore analyst Jonathan Lee gives you the complete preview.

Royals Targeting Burrell and Furcal?

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 10:52:11 -0500

The Royals are looking to make a splash this offseason and are targeting names such as Pat Burrell and Rafael Furcal. It is hard to lure anyone to Kansas City right now, so the Royals might need to overpay to land Burrell or Furcal, both of whom are in the NLCS right now. The Royals are better off going after someone like Bobby Abreu or Rocco Baldelli because they are cheaper and could put up big numbers.

As for the infield, going after Furcal is a little far-fetched, mostly because he has already expressed an interest in staying in LA, but going after Orlando Cabrera or Mark Ellis could work. In a trade, they could go after Mike Fontenot, who hit .305 with 9 HR.

This story was approved by MLB Rumors.