Posts Tagged CC Sabathia
Posnanski’s Future Hall Of Famers
Posted by Chris Cwik in Baseball on November 26, 2009
If Pujols Quit Now, He Might Get In...He's That Good
I consider Joe Posnanski to be a pretty smart guy. Having said that, anytime you rank the top 10 players under 30 who will make it to the Hall Of Fame, you take some big risks. Posnanski recognizes the risks right away, when he admits that if he made this list in 1985, only 4 of his 10 would currently be in the HOF. Obviously, many factors come into play when you make this type of list. Injuries, ineffectiveness, inability to live up to the hype, and other external factors can derail the careers of some of the best players in the league. Even within the article, Posnanski compares Hanley Ramirez to Nomar Garciaparra and Derek Jeter, two players who probably would have made this same list 10 years ago. You already know the rest of the story, Jeter is still a lock, while Nomar continues to sign one year deals as a super-sub. These were two of the most dynamic players in all of baseball a few years ago…and only one of them is still considered a lock for the Hall. The point is, it’s really hard to be a top player in the MLB for an extended period of time. While Posnanski makes some very good selections, its just as likely that only 4 out of 10 actually make it to the Hall. I can’t stress this enough, Posnanski picks some of the best players in the game right now…and many of them will not go on to the HOF. That’s crazy! Posnanski makes this point when he lists would-be choices from 1985, so while guys on his 2009 list all look like good selections, it’s likely that only half of the players on that list make it to the Hall. Don’t believe me? Let’s take a closer look.
Bats Awaken In Philly, Yanks Take Game 3
Jayson Werth's 2 HR weren't enough for the Phillies in Game 3
After two pitching duels in New York, the first game in Philly provided plenty of fireworks. Home runs by Nick Swisher, Hideki Matsui, Alex Rodriguez (I’ll get to this one in a bit), Jayson Werth (2 times) and Carlos Ruiz gave fans more than enough reason to hang around and watch this one after a hour and 20 minute rain delay.
Game 3 was easily the most exciting game of the series, and the first time both offenses got to the opposing starter. Cole Hamels made it into the 5th inning, but gave up five runs to Yankees hitters. Hamels hasn’t gone six full innings in any of his four postseason starts. And including the regular season, he’s 1-5 with a 7.32 ERA in his last seven starts. Andy Pettitte didn’t pitch great, but did enough to earn the win, 6 innings, 4 runs allowed. Althought, Pettitte did help out his cause in the 5th by driving in Nick Swisher, the first RBI by a Yankee pitcher in a World Series game since 1964 when “Ball Four” author Jim Bouton drove in Tom Tresh.
World Series Heads To Philly Tied At 1
Utley led the Phillies to a Game 1 win.
After two games in the Bronx, what I’m most impressed with was the quality of starting pitching on both sides. All four starters, Cliff Lee, Pedro Martinez, CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett pitched into the 7th inning with success. Pedro and CC gave up solo shots, but neither allowed any significant offensive rally. A.J. pitched strong and fooled Phillies hitters while Cliff Lee pitched one of the best games in World Series history.
CC And A-Rod Bring Yankees To Within 1 Game Of World Series
Alex Rodriguez, celebrates with Mark Teixeira after winning Game 4 of the ALCS
After two emotional extra-inning games, the Yankees made quick work of the Angels in Game 4. CC Sabathia pitched eight strong innings of one-run baseball, while the offense put on a hitting clinic. Johnny Damon and Alex Rodriguez went deep, Melky Cabrera drove in four runs and Jorge Posada stole a base in the biggest blowout in this series, 10-1 New York.
There was some concern entering Game 4 with Yankees starter CC Sabathia coming off 3 days rest and facing an Angels lineup that just saw his last Friday. Well that concern was put to rest as CC pitched a nearly identical game against the Angels.
| CCya Later | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sabathia Vs. Angels | Game 1 | Game 4 | ||||
| Innings Pitched | 8 | 8 | ||||
| Hits | 4 | 5 | ||||
| Earned Runs | 1 | 1 | ||||
| K-BB | 7-1 | 5-1 | ||||
| Decision | W | W | ||||
| *2009 Postseason | ||||||
Angels Take Game 3 On Jeff Mathis Walk-Off Double
Los Angeles Angels' Jeff Mathis is congratulated by teammates after hitting a double to score Howie Kendrick to beat the Yankees 5-4 in the eleventh inning of Game 3
With 2 outs in the bottom of the 11th, Angels backup catcher Jeff Mathis hit a line drive to the gap off Yankees reliever Alfredo Aceves scoring Game 3 MVP Howie Kendrick to give the Angels their first win of the series. Mathis, who hit .211 this season, got the game-winning hit after Joe Girardi, with two outs and nobody on, decides to hand the ball over to his 7th reliever of the game, rookie Alfredo Aceves. Girardi was accused of over managing his bullpen in Game 2 of ALCS, and it burned him in Game 3. Girardi replaced David Robertson, who had allowed one run in his previous 9 outings, with Aceves, who allowed five base runners in his previous two outings. Aceves gave up a hit to Kendrick, and then Mathis drove in the game winning run.
This was the first time consecutive games in a postseason series went extra innings since Boston beat New York in Game 4 and 5 of the 2004 ALCS. Both starters were victims of the long ball in this game. Andy Pettitte gave up a solo shot to Howie Kendrick and a 2-run HR to Vladimir Guerrero, while Jered Weaver had Derek Jeter, Johnny Damon and Alex Rodriguez go deep on him. Both starters pitched ok, but nothing special and once again the game was turned over to the bullpens.
CC and Angels Defense Give Yankees Game 1 Win
CC led the Yankees in a Game 1 victory
The Angels offense led in Batting Average, and each hitter had a wOBA over .339, including four players hitting over 20 Home Runs this season. Despite that impressive hitting resume, the Angels were only able to scratch one run across the plate Friday night in the Yankees 4-1 victory. CC Sabathia dominated Angels’ hitters. He struck out 7 and allowed only 5 base runners in 8 innings. Angels starter John Lackey pitched better than his box score indicated, but his usually stout defense, let him down. The Angels committed 3 errors, and that doesn’t include a pop-up on the infield that dropped between Chone Figgins and Erick Aybar allowing a run to score in the 1st inning.
The Yankees offense led MLB by a sizeable margin in Home Runs this season, but found a way to win this game without use of the long ball. Alex Rodriguez continued his strong postseason going 1-2 with a sac fly RBI and walk, despite being thrown out at home when he blew through a stop sign. Hideki Matsui drove in 2 other runs, with Derek Jeter driving in the 4th run in the 6th inning. The Yanks offense took the first pitch from John Lackey 24 of 28 times and he was pulled from the game in the 6th after throwing 114 pitches. It wasn’t a great day for the Yankees offense, but in the low-40 degree weather, they did enough to win this game.
MLB Playoff Analysis: New York Yankees
Posted by Chris Cwik in Baseball on October 7, 2009
The Yanks Haven't Won It All Since 2000
For years now, the Yankees have been baseball’s most loved and most hated franchise. While fans of the team will point to the number of championships and playoff appearances, those playoffs appearances have not amounted to a World Series victory since 2000. For most fans, this would be acceptable. For Yankees fans, this is a travesty. Rival fans, however, take issue with the ways in which the Yankees build their teams. Owner, George Steinbrenner (assisted now his sons Hank and Hal), has never been afraid to spend money on free agents. For years now, the Yankees have led MLB with the highest payroll. During the 2008-2009 off-season, Steinbrenner once again spent money on three of the premiere talents on the free agent market. While the high payrolls have not led to a Championship in quite some time, this could be the year the Yankees start a new dynasty.
2009 MLB Postseason Picks
Can A-Rod finally win a World Series?
It is here, the playoffs start Today and let’s see what Foul Pole 2 Foul Pole’s bloggers think about who will win it this year. Without further ado, here are the picks…
| Postseason Picks | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blogger | NYY-MIN | LAA-BOS | PHI-COL | LAD-STL | AL Champ | NL Champ | World Series Champ | World Series MVP |
| Matt Montgomery | NYY | BOS | PHI | LAD | NYY | LAD | NYY | Alex Rodriguez |
| Chris Cwik | NYY | BOS | COL | LAD | NYY | LAD | NYY | Mark Teixeira |
| Marco Radenkovich | NYY | BOS | COL | STL | NYY | STL | NYY | Mark Teixeira |
| Mark Cunningham | MIN | BOS | COL | STL | BOS | COL | COL | Troy Tulowitzki |
| Brian Hendricks | NYY | BOS | PHI | STL | NYY | STL | NYY | Mark Teixeira |
| Kevin Tracy | NYY | LAA | PHI | STL | NYY | PHI | NYY | CC Sabathia |
| Rene Delombard | NYY | BOS | PHI | STL | NYY | STL | NYY | CC Sabathia |
| Julia Lopez | NYY | LAA | PHI | STL | LAA | STL | LAA | Chone Figgins |
| Brad Galli | DET | LAA | COL | STL | DET | STL | DET | Justin Verlander |
Zambrano the Ace
Posted by mradenkovich in Baseball on August 10, 2009
When asked what moves I wanted the Cubs to make before the 2009 non-waiver deadline, I said I wanted to DFA all of the Chicago media (Except Bruce Miles).
I’ve commented on my blog enough about Paul Sullivan, but what he said is nowhere near as ignorant as what David Kaplan wrote about today.
“I am so sick of hearing that Carlos Zambrano is the “ace” of the Cubs staff and that he is considered one of the best starters in the baseball. That is such a pile of garbage and it is about time people start to call this guy what he really is, a fraud.”
Wow, before we all go crazy, let’s define the term “ace.” In my eyes, the ace is the best pitcher on a certain staff. The ace is the pitcher you want to have the ball in the toughest situations. So, by my count, there are 30 aces in the league. Sure, Paul Maholm isn’t an “ace” on any other team, but there are teams that have two aces, like the Phillies.
Now, let’s check Zambrano’s resume.
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