Who Is Your MVP?

The Phillies sent out ace Cliff Lee to toe the rubber last night in game 5 of the World Series on full rest, the Yankees countered with AJ Burnett on short rest. Cliff was old school good and AJ got lit up like the 4th of July. What is interesting on how just the smallest thing can change the outcome or flow of a game of baseball. In game 2 the ump was giving AJ the wide outside strike allowing him to dictate each at bat. Game 5 the ump calls strikes-strikes and balls off the corner as balls. That made Burnett throw his fastball over the plate where he got tagged and was ineffective for the most part.


Chase Utley just keeps mashing and is getting to the point where regardless of who wins the World Series, he may be in a real good position to be named MVP. If the Phillies mange the improbable and do somehow pull the upset then it isn’t an issue but if the Yankees do manage to close things out at home then who is most deserving of the honour? Utley is tearing it up so far and has tied Reggie Jackson’s home run record, his hits are coming in important times and not just meaningless tag on runs. Does Mariano Rivera finally get credit for not only a post season but career of being the best of the best at that position. Does Jeter or Damon get the nod for having some multiple hit games and scoring a few runs? ARod has had a decent series on the whole. He hasn’t lit it up but the 3 or 4 hits that he has got have been big or game changing. As well his overall numbers over the course of the playoffs are very good. An MVP and a World Series win just might finally make him a true Yankee.

Despite the fact that the series has been fairly interesting, which is a change from the last few years of being anti-climactic, there has not been a clear cut dynamic performance by any one person. It is that team effort thing and not the one guy saying ‘jump on my back and i’ll take you there.’ That is what makes it such a tight race for the award. Since this is baseball I guess it is anyone's guess until the ballots are counted.

The October Classic

Last night the New York Yankees finally sealed the fate of the LA Angles of Anaheim. The Yanks put their foot down and killed any chance of a game 7 - 1 game do or die scenario. On paper it probably was closer then it should have been. When you are outspending the team you are playing by about $90M you are expected to win. That being said they have been outspending every other team for years it is just a matter of spending money wisely. of that $90M you are basically talking about 3 players extra, Mark Texteria, AJ Burnett and C.C. Sabathia. Granted those are a pretty good players.

Now we can look forward to what should be a very entertaining World Series and The Yankees from New York take on the Phillies from Philadelphia. As is usually the case it will likely come down to the best run of pitchers and this series has some solid rotations. The Yankees have a bit of an edge as their starters appear to be a bit more consistent but at any given time these guys can shut sown a team. If the Phillies hope to hang they will continue to need good solid performances from Pedro Martinez, AJ Happ Joe Blanton and have Cole Hammels rebound a bit.

Both these teams have lineups that they can throw at you that doesn’t give you a chance to relax 1 thru 8 and 1 thru 9 are jam packed with offence and no one can be taken lightly. That will keep the pitchers defenders and managers on their toes. It will be interesting to see who will see more pitches to hit ARod or Ryan Howard. Both are pretty close to that place where it is a safer bet to just walk the guys an not let them hurt you. Sometimes it is just easier to stomach having Nick Swisher or Shane Victorino beat you.

As much as I don’t want to see the Yankees win since they are still the Evil Empire I also don’t want to see the Phillies do well just out of principle. The Phillies are coming out of the National League East and that is where MY Braves should be. All that being said one of these two teams are going to come out the victors and with the staff that the Yanks have and Mariano Rivera at the back I have to give the edge to NY and they will likely take the series in 6 games. If and when they do win the World Series it will also probably be in spite of and not because of Manager Joe Girardi. I don’t trust his judgement and he has had a bit of a rocky run not only in this years playoffs but over his tenure as team manager. An interesting side note to this series, if the Yankees do win, does that finally make ARod a true Yankee?

Around The Horn

Greg Norman (53, and one of the coolest autographs one will find) is an early leader at the Open Championship.
I didn’t know that there were Sharks in England, good to know

March Madness will have a new voice next year as CBS has parted ways with Billy Packard and replaced him with Clark Kellogg. Packard had that "voice you grew up with" after calling 34 straight Final Fours. Though he was also known to be a little gruff and was forced to make 2 apologies in recent years 1 after being asked to identify himself by two female students checking credentials before a game at Duke."You need to get a life. Since when do we let women control who gets into a men’s basketball game? Why don’t you go find a women’s game to let people into?" and referring to Allen Iverson as a "tough little monkey."
Maybe not as good as Don Imus but not bad. Packard will be missed Calling the Final 4 games and it is unlikely that Corn Flake (Kellogg) will bring the same edge.

Beijing has come out with its list of banned items and restricted items as well as its code of conduct. No spitting, stand in line, and be polite to other nationalities. Banned items include guns, ammunition, crossbows, daggers, fireworks, flammable materials, corrosive chemicals and radioactive materials.
I was going to go and take in the Olympic experience and maybe catch Field hockey or Fencing.
You may not bring in your dagger or crossbow but apparently a walloping mallet/stick or Swords and Foils are ok.

Reggie Jackson was walking down the street in New York with his 17 year old daughter and commented to a photographer to identify the young lady as his daughter. Jackson commented "That’s my daughter, that’s not my girlfriend! I’m not A-Rod here!"
Good line but would have been more fitting if he would have said the he was not Roger Clemens at least A-Rod’s are legal, while we aren’t so sure about Ms. McCready... Allegedly.

The Leafs are going to give away tickets to an added Pre-season game.
Good for them to make an effort to do something for their fans, and ticket giveaway is a fitting thing as they are used to giving things like wins away easier then $5 hooker.

Kirk Radomski found a receipt for HGH he claims is linked to Roger Clemens under his TV.
What happened to the days that we could hide our incriminating evidence under our mattresses? Just another example of how electronics have taken over our lives.

More drug infractions in the Tour de Farce
I guess that it counts for something that they are at least catching people. After like 9 years of multiple expulsions wouldn’t you think to either go in clean or just shut the whole thing down? Steve Howe didn’t even get this many chances