Dirty Lee

I have never understood how Cliff Lee does it. This lefty is not intimidating but seems to find his way through tough and almost impossible lineups without breaking a sweat.

Game 1 of the World Series was dominated by Cliff Lee. Throwing a complete game to lead his Phillies over the Bronx Bombers. Lee had 10Ks, 7 from the Yanks' 3-4-5 hitters.

Lee throws nothing more than a low 90's fastball and the Yanks couldn't find a run until the bottom of the ninth, which was unearned. If the Yanks are going to take the series they have to find a way to solve Lee because if everything goes as planned, Lee might be pitching game 4 and a decisive game 7 if it goes that far.

Anyone think A-Rod and Big Tex were a little nervous hitting on the big stage? Jeter, his usual self, had 3 hits and seemed comfortable playing in front of the world. I have a feeling if A-Rod and Big Tex don't find a way to contribute tomorrow in game 2, they are going to struggle for the rest of the World Series. Once the pressure is on and their names are all over the sports pages they will squeeze that bat a little tighter which will make things worse.

Why the hell is Swisher still starting? I know the Yanks don't have a talented backup but who ever they put in RF would contribute no worse than Swisher. Guy is hitting .144 with 12 freaking strikeouts. Bench his ass now. Bring Hinske in and see what he can do.

Time to Sweep

It seems the broom is out in force after the Angels ousted the Red Sox, in Fenway, after the Yanks and the surprising guys out in La La land completed 3 game sweeps themselves.

The Yanks 3 game sweep wasn't all too surprising because of how the Twins finished the final 2-3 weeks of the season. The Twins were battling and fighting every night while the Yanks were resting and enjoying their cushion in the AL East grow. I knew the Yanks would take the series but I was a little shocked it was a sweep. Thought the momentum the Twins had would carry into at least a victory in the division series. A-Rod hits another HR and is batting .455 after three games. Pretty impressive considering his past post-season greatness. Let's see if he can carry that into the next round. Derek Jeter. You know the rest.

The Dodgers were a team I thought had nothing but a first round exit given to them but they proved me wrong. The Dodgers took it to Carpenter, Wainwright (more Franklin), and Pineiro. Andre Ethier seems legit. Fantasy note for 2010, check! Scary thought, what if Manny comes back and goes on one of his runs. Add in Ethier, Kemp, and Furcal and you have a pretty deadly lineup.

Now, to the most shocking series. What the hell happened in Boston? They let one slip through their fingers. With the experience in the Red Sox dugout, I thought they for sure would be sitting in the opposite dugout to the Yanks come the ALCS. The Angels just came out and took it to them from game 1 and didn't stop until they finished the sweep. Papelbon missing a save opportunity? Not being able to convert and allowing ER's? I wonder what the Red Sox Nation is going to do now that their beloved Red Sox are heading into hibernation. You think Epstein is going to go ape shit and buy up some free agents. In my opinion, not likely. They have some core guys that should compete for years to come. Too bad the Yanks do too.

MLB Playoffs

Straight up the man

The 2009 baseball playoffs have started and it looks as if the Phillies are extremely happy to have traded for Cliff Lee instead of pursuing Roy Halladay. Halladay might have given the Phillies a complete game shutout instead of a complete game 1 earned run performance. Seriously though, I think the Phillies grabbing Lee instead of Halladay was a better deal. The asking price for Halladay was out of this world, which it should be considering Halladay’s stats, and grabbing Lee from the Indians was worth it. Being a die-hard fantasy player, I am happy to see Ibanez is out of his funk after landing on the DL a few months back. What a start to the season he had.

Derek Jeter is the man, PERIOD. After a great 2009 season he goes out and shows he is the true leader of the Yankees. Look at this line, 3Rs, 2RBIs, 2BBs, and 1HR. What else can you ask for in a lead-off hitter? The Yankees scored 7 runs and Jeter accounted for 3 of them. Man love baby! Man looooovvvveeee!!!


PS. Lee stole a base too. Not sure Halladay would have done that but you never know, he's not human.

First or Bust

Fantasy baseball is over for another year and I can finally say I am a champion. After playing years of fantasy baseball I have never touched the top. Years of 2nd/3rd place finishes left me with a bitter taste in my mouth. Year after year, I build a strong team that always spends time in first place and competes against every team but year after year, there is an owner who has career years from all his players.

Some of the guys I participate with always say I should be happy that I am placing in the top 3 year in and year out but who gives a rats ass if you finish top 3 every year. It is first or bust man!

Fantasy baseball is all about drafting the right players and filling in the holes when DL stints occur and making sure to find rookies or guys having career years to add to your team before someone else picks them off the waiver wire. After a 162 game season, it was all worth it. The time spent sitting in front of the computer clicking and browsing through numbers trying to find some player who is breaking out was fun and now rewarding. Even with the injuries to Beltran, Ibanez, Torii Hunter, and the 50 game suspension of Manny I found a way to take the league. Yes, I had a pretty stacked team. Keepers/draft is where it happens. That is how great of a year I had. Finding McCutchen, Jeter being the old Jeter, Fielder coming into his own, Lincecum throwing smoke, finding Asdrubal Cabrera on the wire, Kurt Suzuki pitching (funny huh?) in from behind the plate, and one of my underrated but not under appreciated staple on my fantasy keeper list Carlos Lee.

At one point in the season, I was thinking I would never finish first especially with all the injuries and “other” things happening. But it all came together and I am glad it did. Now is the time to celebrate a little and rub it into some of my buddy’s faces but in a few weeks I will need to turn my attention to something important, scouting for next year. Yes, I am already preparing for a repeat in 2010. I don’t go hardcore into numbers and spend hours everyday in front of the computer for baseball stats but I do spend some time looking at winter baseball stats and making sure to take note of young guys who are producing. A great league to look at is the Arizona Fall League. Ever heard of a guy named Tommy Hanson? He was MVP of the league last year and we all know what he did this year in the bigs.

The season is over and everything worked out. If anyone is interested in fantasy baseball please leave a comment and if you have a competitive/serious league with owners who actual stay active through the long 162 game season, please leave me a comment and hopefully we can get a league together. March is not so far away, draft time is slowly coming.

Man Love - Derek Jeter

I love Derek Jeter. Plain and simple man love, man crush, what ever you want to call it.

Growing up as one of the smaller guys on the diamond I was always positioned in the middle infield and guess who I tried to mimic, number two Mr. Derek Jeter. The man love is so intense that I always have to have him on all my fantasy teams too. A guy who can just anchor my infield and give me the numbers that aren't mind boggling or first round worthy but numbers that seem to place me on the podium every year.

Over the past few years his stats have fallen across the board. After his great 2006 season he followed, in 07/08, with marginal stats. Yes, they were nice numbers but for Jeter, it was a little hard for me to watch and swallow. With all his critics, NYC is known to have a few, Jeter seems to always go about his day but I know he had some push this year to prove everyone wrong. Come on, just look at his 2009 stats! Seriously, take a look.

There is one thing that has kind of slipped into the back of my mind. What if Jeter was one of those guys who used some sort of "extra juice". I would literally cry if he was one of "those guys" who had to use something extra besides blood, sweat, and tears to get them somewhere in the bigs. I would ball as if I was just kicked in the family jewels.

I guess everyone in the steroid era is always going to go through the scrutiny of critics/fans when ever they produce great numbers. I believe in Jeter and I always will. He was the one who got me hooked on Rawlings, something no one in the world even cares about. To this day, I will only use a Rawlings glove when I step on any baseball field. Anyways, I can't imagine what would happen to the baseball world is Jeter was one of those guys. Luckily, I have fallen for the right man so we all don't have to worry about any of that crap ruining my man crush.

On a side note, just finished a little article over on ESPN.com listing 10 girls he's been with. Some of the names on this list...holy crap!!! Jessica Alba and Adriana Lima?!?!

I do have one sad point to share with the world...currently, I don't own a Jeter jersey. Don't hate. I will have #2 on my back in due time.

UPDATE 9/7/09: After posting this, guy goes 0-8 in a double-header with the Rays.

Welcome Back

Welcome back to Fenway Nomar

Who is the better shortstop Nomar, A-Rod, Jeter, or Tejada?

Remember when this was the topic of discussion on every sports page and fantasy column. Every day those 4 shortstops battled it out by filling out the stats sheet while reinventing the shortstop position. Looking back I always had Jeter, still do, on all my fantasy teams. I never had a chance at the other 3 and I was always in search of finding ways to trade for them but it never happened.

Who was the better shortstop, it was a debate that seemed to burn on and on.

Now that the great equalizer (time) has played it's hand I think the winner has finally emerged. Out of the 4 players, we have two steroid users, a DL magnet, and one of the most popular players of all time. Derek Jeter in my opinion is the best shortstop out of the 4. He played in the biggest market with the New York media all over him, he won titles, he stayed clean, and most importantly he acted like a true professional through thick and thin.

I would consider Nomar in this conversation but injuries have hobbled him since he left Boston. Since the trade in 2004, he's been a shell of what he was in Boston. He showed a promising return in 2006 but that was only him teasing us with a reminder of how great he once was. I usually don't bother with the speculation that a player is on steroids unless a test proves otherwise but did steroids play a role in him going from a hall of famer to a "only if he stayed healthy" guy? If it is true, which I hope it isn't, Nomar was just another baseball player who fell into the steroid trap. Nothing has come out with a positive test so I will assume he is clean.

I really have been spoiled in sports to see such great athletes play and I hope it continues into the future. Without these great battles between who is the greatest, sports would just be another filler in our lives.

Closing this post, I just have to say, time seems to stand for no one.

Lame

Can anyone honestly say this was a good commercial. Clicked on a link which I thought was going to lead me to a funny commercial starring Woods, Jeter, and Federer but instead it gave me this piece of crap. More like an intro to an 80's porn.

Bruuuuuuuuccccceeeeee

Ever look at a player and think he was born in that colour, that logo, and it would never ever change? This is how I felt about one of the deadliest WRs in NFL history, Isaac Bruce.

When the Greatest Show on Turf was tearing up yards and racking up points, Bruce and Holt were the two WRs that made everything happen. They were one of the greatest tandems in NFL history. With the likes of Mike Martz as the offensive coordinator and then head coach and QB Kurt Warner, the Rams put fear in defenses around the NFL.

Things have changed and I can't seem to wonder if it was for the better. Okay, Bruce was getting old and the Rams needed to get under the strict and sometimes restricting NFL salary cap. So, the Rams released Bruce and he eventually found a new home with the 49ers and old offensive coordinator/coach Mike Martz. I know it was a money move but it just seemed like Holt and Bruce still had the one two punch that Bulger could use to ignite the Rams offense.

Now, mid-way through the season the Rams and Bruce will finally meet again when the Rams visit the 49ers this Sunday. Just having Bruce and Holt on seperate sidelines just weirds me out.

Would it be the same if Derek Jeter was in anything other than pinstripes. What about Roy Halladay in anything but a Blue Jays uniform. What about Steve Yzerman in something other than a Red Wings jersey. And what about Brett Favre in a uniform...ok, I'll stop there.

Seeing some of these guys in a new colour and new logo just seems a little off.

I am a Rams fan first but Bruce, in my eyes, you will always be apart of the Greatest Show on Turf.


Photo Courtesy of Yahoo! Sports.