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Post by Paul Sylvain on Oct 7, 2011 8:26:27 GMT -5
I am not a Yankee's fan and never will be accused of being one. But I certainly respect them. They manage to do what they need to do to make it work, and a lot of people just don't like them for it. As far as payroll, the Sox have spent a ton of money in recent years and have little to show for it (after 2007, that is). I have a theory about the Yanks leaving 11 on base tonight: they took a page out of Boston's play book. LOL
Getting back to the Yankees, I would hardly consider their season a failure. They rarely are -- except possibly to die-hard Yankee fans who might consider anything less than a world championship ring a failure. The Red Sox, well -- that whole campaign was, indeed, a failure. I don't think there is any comparison between the year the Sox had vs. what the Yankees did.
It's going to be a fun round of games between the Rangers and Tigers, for sure. When I arrived in Texas in 2008, they were pretty bad as a team. I was thrilled to see them make the playoffs and series last year and am cheering them on again this year. But the Tigers have been a hard-luck team for a long, long time. I really won't be too upset if the Rangers fall to the Tigers. At least we're not dealing with the Yankees.
But, having said that ...
LET'S GO RANGERS!
Paul
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Post by Bill Yowell on Oct 7, 2011 8:46:21 GMT -5
Paul, I think my preference would have been Rangers vs Yankees. Seems the "Big Boys" of the Yankees are not producing at this time. Detroit vs Rangers should be a great series. If the Rangers pull this out, I'm still not too thatconfident that they can win the World Series. Here's Hoping. Go Rangers !!!
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Post by Allen Wiener on Oct 7, 2011 9:17:40 GMT -5
I think money can get you into the postseason, but won't necessarily get you very far once you are there. The Yankees proved that two years in a row now. You need steady, reliable players all year to get you through the ups and downs. Even with their eradic playing, the Red Sox came within one game of going to the postseason. Only Tampa Bay's miraculous comeback from a 7-0 deficit to the Yanks in the 8th inning booted the Sox out of the running.
Once in the postseason, however, you are pitted against a few other teams that have met that same test. None of them are pushovers or they wouldn't be here. And a 5 game series is a very short make-or-break series indeed. As we saw last night, anything can happen.
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AL East
Oct 7, 2011 18:53:49 GMT -5
Post by loucapitano on Oct 7, 2011 18:53:49 GMT -5
Thanks for the condolences. Yes, it won't be the same without the Yankees to hate in the Post-Season. And, you're right about the Steinbrenner "ALL or Nothing" philosphy. What galls many of us Yankee fans most is the $200 million payroll that is wasted on superior players who choke at the worst times. It was fitting that the the biggest disappointer of the post season should make the final out. My shameful violent streak wishes it could have been there to B*t*h-Slap numbers 4,5 and 6 of the batting order last night. Allen, I said back when you started the AL thread that the Yankees would fall because they left too many baserunners in crucial situations. I was right, darn it!!!! I hope you all enjoy the rest of the series. I will too, because I love baseball. But I must admit, I will spend more time rooting for the Giants and hoping the Jets finally put it together this year.
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AL East
Oct 7, 2011 19:29:58 GMT -5
Post by Allen Wiener on Oct 7, 2011 19:29:58 GMT -5
I know how you feel Lou; very frustrating when the key players fail to execute at the most crucial moments. There are only so many Babes, Micks and Jacksons, who seemed to thrive in these post-season pressure cookers and revel in it. They could break an opposing team's spirit with one swing. ARod just ain't in the same league.
But, try to cheer up; they had a great year and, after all, you COULD be an Orioles fan!
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AL East
Oct 7, 2011 22:15:48 GMT -5
Post by Allen Wiener on Oct 7, 2011 22:15:48 GMT -5
And just to emphasize the point, and despite this thread's I.D. as an A.L. discussion, the Cardinals just eliminated the Phillies in game 5 by the excruciating (for Phils' fans) score of 1-0. The Phillies had the best record in all of baseball this year and were the only team to win 100 or more games. Their pitching was the envy of all teams and Halliday showed why tonight. On any other night, he would have chalked up a well-earned victory, but tonight Mr. Carpenter was darn-near perfect, practically untouchable, and performed that rarest of feats these days - a complete game shutout, allowing no walks and only 3 hits. Does this mean St. Louis is a better team than Philadelphia? No way. Remember, St. Louis only got into the post season on that same, wild final night of the regular season, when they handily won their final game, then sat through 15 innings before seeing the Phillies (ya get the irony???) defeated the Braves, ending their season and giving St. Louis the wild card spot.
Once again, baseball is a game played over a very long season and the best teams go the post season because they've played best over the long haul, weathered the ups and downs, and emerged above the rest of the pack. Once in the postseason, however, all bets are off and the old, old baseball adage is invoked: anything can happen in a short series. Just ask the Yankees and Phillies, the two best teams in baseball this year, neither of which got past the first round of playoffs. C'est la vie! Let the games continue!
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AL East
Oct 7, 2011 22:38:05 GMT -5
Post by Allen Wiener on Oct 7, 2011 22:38:05 GMT -5
BTW, my little fantasy Series pitting Detroit against Milwaukee moved one step closer to reality today. A bit of a sloppy win for the Brewskies, but better than not winning.
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AL East
Oct 9, 2011 12:36:44 GMT -5
Post by loucapitano on Oct 9, 2011 12:36:44 GMT -5
It's Autumn and I just love the games. The Games! THE GAMES! I'm in sports withdrawal after the Superbowl and only March Madness and Pitchers and Catchers can revive me. No Rangers and Islanders, no Knicks, just the real sports (sic) I'd better get over to the Giants game. I'm wearing their T-shirt today for luck. PS: My wife is a big Phillies fan. We go see them when they played the Mets. The Mets won every time. Now she's heartbroken too. Go figure. You gotta play the games and anything can happen!!!
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AL East
Oct 9, 2011 14:51:05 GMT -5
Post by Allen Wiener on Oct 9, 2011 14:51:05 GMT -5
Lou - you ought to head down to the Tampa Bay area next spring. The Yanks train there and the Phils are right across the bridge in Clearwater, only minutes from where we stay. But, bring your checkbook! Standing room seats alone were around $90 for the Phils, and these are PRACTICE games! Too much, really!
By the way, was anyone else a little put off by the hot dog act Nyjer Morgan pulled after Milwaukee beat Arizona? I know this is common in sports these days, especially in football, but in the old days anyone who pulled that kind of stunt could count on getting knocked down on the first pitch next time at bat. When Mantle hit a home run, he ran the bases with his head down so not to even appear to be showing up the pitcher. And he didn't have to; he let his bat do the talking. I'm not saying teams shouldn't celebrate, but some of this stuff has really gone over the top in recent years.
I understand there is considerable bad blood between St. Louis and Milwaukee, by the way, some of it the result of Morgan's behavior. One columnist said their series could be the Tyson-Holyfield of baseball. Stay tuned!
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AL East
Oct 9, 2011 18:27:34 GMT -5
Post by Paul Sylvain on Oct 9, 2011 18:27:34 GMT -5
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AL East
Oct 10, 2011 9:44:45 GMT -5
Post by Allen Wiener on Oct 10, 2011 9:44:45 GMT -5
Good grief. Just when I thought I'd seen the back of him for the last time. Neither he nor the Red Sox will ever learn.
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AL East
Oct 10, 2011 12:46:23 GMT -5
Post by Paul Sylvain on Oct 10, 2011 12:46:23 GMT -5
Didn't they ever hear of "no deposit, no return". Is it to soon to start saying, "Wait till the year after next?"
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AL East
Oct 10, 2011 15:59:56 GMT -5
Post by loucapitano on Oct 10, 2011 15:59:56 GMT -5
I wish we could pin all our problems on one scapegoat, but face it. The Yankees sucked at the worst time. I relive that last game disaster daily. But face it. Leland knew enough to play the Yankee's strength against them. And Girardi fell for it by having everyone keep swinging away (and making out via strikeout or popout). Only the pesky players got hits and got on base, only to have #'s 4,5 & 6 end the rally in the most depressing fashion. I may sound like a Bible beater beating up a revival at a river crossing camp meeting, but... I must sound like an idiot, kvetching over the Yanks, but that don't change the truth none. There's Yank lovers and Yank haters. You gotta choose one from the other. Choose one and there's always next year, choose the other and you're a Met fan. My deepest apologies to all those offended by the previous rant, especially JW. These ALCS games are fun! I usually root for the home team!
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AL East
Oct 10, 2011 17:07:21 GMT -5
Post by Allen Wiener on Oct 10, 2011 17:07:21 GMT -5
Very funny Lou, with a genuine grain of truth! There are times when fans of any team feel this way, I'm sure. The one move Girardi made that I honestly did not understand was bringing in Sabathia. I thought it was a mistake the minute I saw it; just didn't figure and smelled a bit of panic. Nonetheless, a few more RBI from the Yank hitters would have made that unimportant. Something like this happened to the 1979 Orioles in the last 3 games of the Series. They just stopped hitting, and/or Chuck Tanner so successfully played Weaver's platooning obsession against him that it discombobulated the whole team.
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AL East
Oct 13, 2011 15:15:52 GMT -5
Post by loucapitano on Oct 13, 2011 15:15:52 GMT -5
Allen - where did you get the courage to write "discombobulated?" As usual, you're right. Sabathia was a bit of a panic move. Giradi should also have tried to get blooper balls from all his batters. But he let them swing away. That's how Bremley beat us in the 2001 World Series against Rivera. Choke up on the bat and slap at the ball to make contact. Any major league ballplayer should know how to do that. But I guess it's a lost art, like the bunt. Well, the ALDS game just started, so I'm off!
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