No House Call For Doc This Year

You can blame the economy and you can blame global politics for a lot of things but I didn't think that they would be blamed for not allowing the "Doc" Roy Halladay to make his big return to Toronto. After being traded in the off season to the National League Phillies, by luck of the draw they were scheduled to play an inter-league series versus each other...that unfortunately is not to be.

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig announced that the Phillies-Jays series will be played in Philadelphia because of the G20 Summit. The three-game series scheduled for June 25-27 will be relocated from Toronto's Rogers Centre to Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park because of security issues for the G20 Summit. World leaders will gather at a convention center near the Toronto ballpark.

It is too bad that a) Fans won't be able to give their salute to a player who not only did a lot for the team on the field but maybe just as much of it off it, along with his wife in their charitable work in the community. and b) a chance to draw a very big crowd to the Rogers Center which has seen some of the lowest attendance in the majors and all time low in the stadium's history be lost with this re-location. Having the Doc in town for 3 days would likly been a good shot in the arm for the turn styles at the Rogers Centre.

Maybe the schedule maker will provide a make good next year and have the Phillies come to TO so Doc can get the reception that he deserves.

Around The Horn

Don’t Call It A Comeback, He’s Been Here For Years! Roy Halladay can now be pencilled in as the National League Cy Young winner. Since moving to the Phillies in an off season trade with the Blue Jays he has amassed a record of 5 wins-1 Loss,1.47 ERA in 49 innings - 3 Complete Games and 2 shutouts with 39 strikeouts.
I wouldn’t be shocked to see him get into the 20’s in wins with the lineup he has around him. If only Toronto could have fielded a better team in his time there. His numbers would likely be out of this world. He has even learned how to handle a bat a little bit. After looking awkward and tentative early on he looks a little better in the box and now has managed 4 hits.

The Windsor Spitfires were on a 3 game losing streak going down 0-3 versus the Kitchener Rangers then after an amazing comeback they took the series 4-3. Now in the OHL Final the Spitfires have won the first 3 and are on a 7 game winning streak and are up 3-0 in the series versus The favoured Barrie Colts. They might be a tough team to face should they advance to the Memorial Cup as they look to defend the title they won last year in comeback fashion.

Floyd "Money" Mayweather took down "Sugar" Shane Mosley on the weekend in decisive fashion. Sure he may be pound for pound the best fighter out there, and after this bout it is hard to dispute. All that is left is for Mayweather to take on Manny Pacquiao. Just to put any critics and fans questions to rest this match needs to happen. Either Mayweather needs to drop his demand for a blood and urine test or Pacquiao needs to suck up his "Fear of Needles" and just get this done. Quit the ducking and just fight. Boxing is in enough trouble with MMA on its heals it needs to keep any momentum that has going.

The Thorpedo may be looking to make a comeback in the pool for the 2012 Olympics.
Ian Thorpe was the world’s highest-profile and at the time the best swimmer in the sport until American Michael Phelps came onto the scene, and had a list of lucrative endorsement deals. He admitted in February that he had financial problems after his personal savings were affected by the global economic crisis, This was most likely his motivation for a possible comeback. It was reported that Thorpe talked to several of Australia’s leading sprinters recently about a potential return for the 400-metre freestyle relay. Thorpe retired after the 2006 Olympics and is now 27. It would be interesting to see both he and Phelps in a pool at the same time.

The Evil Amongst Us

Well Baseball is done for another year and the Champions have been crowned, and it is in fact the Evil Empire. The New York Yankees have dismissed the Philadelphia Phillies in 6 games. This was a big win for the already history heavy Yanks. To manage to win the title in the first year in moving into the brand new New Yankee Stadium will be brought up until it is closed and a third version is built. Will it ever live up to the original stadium with all the ghosts? Probably not in the beginning but perhaps over time, knowing how crazy and the blind loyalty fans have for this team that they will make it the shrine that they already believe that it is and should be.
It is now the question who built this stadium ARod, Rivera, Jeter? I just hope that it is not Matsui...granted he had a great game but that is what it was 1 game. I was pretty shocked when they named Matsui as the MVP that was I guess was a convenient cop out in a series that didn’t have a defining player or moments that you could say there was no other choice. Rivera would have been a better choice in my mind but what can you do?

I pose the question is there anyone who is less deserving of any praise in this championship then the duo of Joba "The" Chamberlin and manager Joe Girardi? Maybe it isn’t his fault but if there is one thing that I havn’t been able to understand or tolerate is the "Joba Rules". It is things like that that is ruining pitchers and not allowing them to progress to the level that they could get too. Young pitchers with strong arms are not china dolls. If they are treated like babies that is what they will develop to be. That ties in with Girardi who help enforce that strategy in addition to over managing in game situations with that novel of a stat book that he has on his bench. You ever see a manager pull out a bible like that and make decision after decision based on that? The absence of a "gut" feeling takes away some of his credibility.

I guess that you have to give credit where credit is due. When you pay for starting pitchers like AJ Burnett and CC Sabathia and mix it in with Mark Texteria then add that to the rest of a star studded high priced lineup it is hard not to win it all.

Who Are You Rooting For vs Who Will Win?

It is an interesting question whether you have a vested interest in either team or not. Obviously If you are a Yankees or Phillies fan you will clearly be rooting for your team to pull out the win and for one - close out the series and become 2009 champions or for the other- Prolong the series and brig it to a 1 game do or die showdown.

This is where the managers make their money in deciding what to do with their pitchers. Each manager will have some decisions to make and one and maybe even both will get it wrong but for sure in the long run one will come out on top. It will be interesting to see looking back, which of these 2 managers come out triumphant and will their team have won the World Series because of or in spite of the decisions that they make.

As a casual fan who enjoys the game for what it is or enjoys watching history unfold most will want this to reach a game 7 and hope that the Phillies can pull it out. The interesting thing about baseball is that of all the major team sports, baseball’s game 7 is the greatest in sports. When you look at it, game 7’s in other sports are just a continuation of what you have seen up to that point. The game plans are basically set and the rosters see little or no change. Basketball is what you see is what you get. Hockey is the same. When it comes to baseball the biggest variable is that of the 2 starting pitchers. Who gets the nod, do they go out on full or short rest, do you go all hands on board and every pitcher, starter or otherwise is at the ready? How much does age and experience factor in. It is questions like this that makes the baseball game 7 the most compelling in sports.

In a selfish way I just want to see more baseball and don’t want to wait until next March to see a game. It is an added bonus to have the Yankees lose to force said game 7 but that is not the sole reason to want it to turn out like that.

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.

Aces Wild? Time To Play Ball!!

Former teammates and the last two American League Cy Young Award winners square off this evening in the Brox in the first World Series game to be played at New Yankee Stadium. This will be just the 6th time former Cy Young winners will face off in the World Series and the first time since the1999 World Series when Roger Clemens and John Smoltz faced off. This will be the 105th edition of the World Series and it gets underway tonight in the Bronx. The Yanks are throwing out CC Sabathia and the Phillies are countering with Cliff Lee. The Phillies will be looking to spoil the party in hopes of going Back to Back as the Champions of the World.

It wasn’t that long ago that these 2 pitchers were on the same team in Cleveland and dreaming of being in this game...only together. But as we see in all sports, economics and a bad team in Cleveland has reared its head and forced moves that have landed these 2 aces elsewhere. Cleveland’s misfortune are great gains to the Yanks and Phils. Without these 2 guys these teams probably wouldn’t be in the position they are in. These 2 guys are workhorses - especially CC and it will be interesting to see how the strategy plays out. Depending on each teams position, it will dictate how many times you see these guys in the series. The potential, because of the TV induced off days may allow them to throw games 1-4 and 7. That may not be an ideal setup but I guess at this point you have a lot of time to rest before the start of next season.

Weather will have to be a factor, face it these are 2 Eastern teams and it is the end of October and heading towards November and it is supposed to be cold and wet. CC is well insulated so it shouldn't be an issue for him but the rest of the pitchers will have to stay warm. Maybe it will go the other way, maybe it will become an issue for the bats, will it be them that freeze up. Just like early April days hitting is at a premium when it is cold. What will the threat of rain do? What if there is a delay or postponement and you lose the service of a pitcher, that could sway a series one way or another. Time to brush off the baseball almanac and see if anyone’s parents are mudders. Maybe his mother is a mudder...his father is a mudder.

My question is how good does Alex Rodriguez have to be for Yankee Stadium to be deemed the house that ARod Built or does that designation still fall to George and/or Jeter??

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?