Pedro gets another chance
The World Series will continue even deeper into November.
The Phillies extended the season by beating the Yankees 8-6. Chase Utley homered twice and drove in four runs for the Phillies, who got just enough from Cliff Lee and their battered bullpen to survive.
The A-Rod Redemption Tour continued with two doubles and three more RBI. Has a franchise record 18 RBI in this postseason. The MLB record of 19 is shared by Sandy Alomar Jr. (Cleveland 1997), Scott Spiezio (Anahei, 2002) and David Ortiz (2004).
The scene shifts to New York tomorrow. The Yankees will work out at Yankee Stadium while the Phillies will take the day off. Game 6 will be Wednesday night with Pedro Martinez facing Andy Pettitte, although Girardi claims that decision has not yet been finalized.
As many people expected, this World Series was not going to be a quick one.
(c) 2009 NY Times Co.
Players honor Greinke, Wainwright
Midwest hurlers selected by peers as elite performers in '09.
Dominance comes to mind when you mention the names Zack Greinke and Adam Wainwright.
Among the game's elite, the two right-handers are elite. So much so that they've been touted by their peers as the top pitchers in their respective leagues.
The Major League Baseball Players Association announced on ESPN radio on Wednesday that Greinke and Wainwright are 2009 winners of the Players Choice Awards for each league's Outstanding Pitcher.
Greinke, the ace of the Royals staff, posted a 16-8 record to go along with his MLB-leading 2.16 ERA. The 26-year-old won 25 percent of his team's 65 victories.
Additionally, Greinke struck out 242, which was second in the big leagues only to Detroit's Justin Verlander's 269.
Over the past two years, Greinke is 29-18. He had six complete games this season, second most to Toronto's Roy Halladay's nine.
For the Cardinals, Wainwright paired with Chris Carpenter to form arguably the best one-two starter punch in the big leagues.
Wainwright paced the National League with 19 wins. He ended up going 19-8, turning in 34 starts while compiling 233 innings.
The 29-year-old was a big reason the Cardinals captured the NL Central Division crown.
As the season progressed, Wainwright's numbers improved.
In the second half, he was 9-3 with a 2.10 ERA.
Players Choice Awards are given annually to the best player, pitcher, rookie and comeback player in each league.
The Player of the Year and Marvin Miller Man of the Year awards will each honor one player.
Balloting of all Major League players for the Players Choice Awards was conducted in September under the supervision of accounting firm KPMG.
Each 2009 Players Choice Award winner will recommend the charity of his choice to receive a grant from the Major League Baseball Players Trust. Since 1992, the Players Trust has contributed more than $3.5 million dollars to charities around the world in honor of Players Choice Award winners.
On Monday, the AL and NL Outstanding Rookie winners were Gordon Beckham (American League) and J.A. Happ (National League).
The Comeback Players were named on Tuesday. Aaron Hill won in the AL, and Carpenter as the NL winner.
(c) 2001-2009 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Howard Matches Playoff RBI Mark
PHILADELPHIA -- Sometimes Jayson Werth becomes another of the 45,000-plus Phillies fans who pack Citizens Bank Park on a daily basis.
And for a few moments, anyway, why not?
When he's hitting in the No. 5 hole, Werth has the closest view in the house -- the on-deck circle -- to watch "Historic" Ryan Howard bash his way into baseball's record books.
Like Mike Schmidt before him, every Howard at-bat has become an event, stop-what-you're-doing, must-see TV if you don't happen to have Werth's connections.
"You get a pretty good seat, especially when he hits balls really far," Werth said Monday afternoon before Game 4 of the National
League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. "You don't usually get to see, even when you're on deck and anyone else is hitting -- the ball doesn't come off the bat really like it comes off his.
"I find myself just kind of watching more as a fan sometimes, standing on deck getting ready to hit," he added. "But it's exciting to hit behind him, for sure."
Werth, in the 5-hole again Monday, got another close look as Howard chased history. The first baseman entered Game 4 with at least one RBI in seven straight postseason games. That's a Major League Baseball record for one postseason and one shy of tying Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig, who had eight straight RBI games, spanning the 1928 and 1932 postseasons.
Howard wasted no time tying Gehrig, smashing a 3-1 offering from Randy Wolf into the right-field bleachers for a two-run home run and a 2-0 Phillies lead in the bottom of the first inning.
Pittsburgh's Clyde Barnhart (1925, 1927) and the New York Yankees' Bill Skowron (1958, 1960) had seven straight postseason games with an RBI.
While Howard's postseason legend grows, his regular-season consistency continues. In 2009, he became just the fourth player in big-league history to compile four consecutive 40-home run, 130-RBI seasons. The others on the list: Babe Ruth, Ken Griffey Jr. and Sammy Sosa. Ruth reached the milestone 11 times, including seven straight from 1926-32.
Impressive names, to be sure, but some of the players who didn't do it -- Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Barry Bonds -- puts the accomplishment into a little more perspective.
To add an exclamation point, here are Howard's homer and RBI totals during the streak:
2006 -- 58 HRs, 149 RBIs
2007 -- 47 HRs, 136 RBIs
2008 -- 48 HRs, 146 RBIs
2009 -- 45 HRs, 141 RBIs
"Yeah, Ryan has been swinging real good, of course," Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel understated before Monday's game. "He's seeing the ball good, he looks real relaxed at the plate, and from a mechanics standpoint, he's loading up good and he's staying on the ball.
"If it works, don't mess with it."
(c) 2009, Republican and Herald, Pottsville, Pa.
Familiar foes among MLB's final four
Angels, Yanks meet again in playoffs; NLCS rematch on tap.
Coming up now are a pair of League Championship Series that have Game 7, high drama, confrontation, history, intrigue, emotion, second-guessing, controversy, celebrity stargazing and serious frequent-flyer mileage written all over them.
The NLCS will be a rematch of Phillies vs. Dodgers, and a key difference this time is that the Dodgers have the home-field advantage starting with Game 1 Thursday at 8:07 p.m. ET in Los Angeles and televised by TBS.
The ALCS will begin with the Angels at the Yankees Friday at 7:57 p.m. ET on FOX (the same day the NLCS plays its Game 2 at 4:07 p.m. ET), and it will mark the first time those two teams have met in a best-of-seven series.
This figures to be a loud and long round, one that features the rare distinction of having the two teams with the best regular-season records in each respective league. The Yankees were 103-59 and the Angels 97-65. The Dodgers were 95-67 and the Phillies 93-69.
Don't be surprised to see Cole Hamels for the Phillies against Randy Wolf or Clayton Kershaw for the Dodgers in the NLCS opener. Cliff Lee probably will not start for the Phillies until Game 3 because he just threw the NLDS clincher, and that means there also is a possibility of the Dodgers seeing him in a Game 7 if necessary.
Probables for the ALCS Game 1 are John Lackey for the Angels against CC Sabathia for the Yankees. A start has not been announced yet by the clubs or MLB.
All four clubs easily can make a case for why they should win on paper, in this round and in the Fall Classic. But the bottom line is this: You have to go through the defending champs to win the Commissioner's Trophy sometime in the first week of November.
In the Wild Card era, only the 1999-2000 Yankees accomplished what they'd done the previous season and won the World Series. Two defending champions returned to the Fall Classic and lost (the 2001 Yankees and 1996 Braves), one team lost in the League Championship Series (2008 Red Sox), three bowed out in the Division Series (2005 Red Sox, 2002 D-backs, 1997 Yankees) and five missed the postseason (2007 Cardinals, 2006 White Sox, 2004 Marlins, 2003 Angels and 1998 Marlins).
One of the most promising reasons for Phillies fans to believe is that probably their biggest concern all season long -- 2008 saves lock Brad Lidge turning into 2009 blown-saves leader (11). Lidge, however, was immune from all the closer frustration in the Division Series round. There were six blown saves, including a defining one in each series. Lidge, meanwhile, converted both of his save opportunities, including the clincher.
The last NL team to repeat was Cincinnati, which won its back-to-back titles under Sparky Anderson in 1975-76. On paper, the Phillies are even better than last year's champs. Raul Ibanez had a bigger season this year than departed Pat Burrell had during the 2008 title season, and Cliff Lee's acquisition has been a constant payoff.
"We really believe that we can do it," Lidge said. "We know that if we do, we can form -- I don't want to say legacy -- but some kind of pretty cool thing in this game. It's too early to say legacy, but I think we've got a lot of swagger on this team. The guys just don't want to be known as one-time World Series winners. They want to be in the same sentence as some of the great teams."
These are four "great teams" remaining in the postseason, and now it is time to see which two go on to Game 1 of the World Series on Oct. 28 at either Angel Stadium or Yankee Stadium. Will we go the distance, or will it somehow be more sweeps?
They all have strengths and weaknesses, but you have to look a lot harder than usual to find those weaknesses in this particular LCS round. All four clubs have been labeled with a certain rap, only to debunk it in the Division Series. Consider:
Rap: The Phillies can't play small ball. Reality: They just did it against Colorado.
Rap: The Dodgers don't have starting pitching. Reality: They held their own against the Cy Young candidates, and Vicente Padilla was almost untouchable in the clincher.
Rap: Alex Rodriguez can't produce in the postseason. Reality: A-Rod homered twice in the Division Series to lift the Yanks past the Twins.
Rap: The Angels are just good enough to get into the playoffs. Reality: They just swept the Red Sox to end that hex and they are firing on all cylinders.
There are some remarkable storylines brewing as clubs prepare for off-day workouts leading up to the LCS openers. Consider just some of these:
The Angels can become the first team to knock the Yankees and Red Sox out of a single postseason, having already swept Boston.
A-Rod, Torii Hunter, Manny Ramirez and Ryan Howard are four big-time stars who are just waiting for big moments. Remember when Howard turned it on against the Rays in the last World Series? Ramirez finally caught fire at the end of the NLDS sweep of the Cardinals. Rodriguez and Hunter each had huge Division Series as well.
A Freeway Series is just eight combined victories away from being a reality. Never have both L.A. clubs each been a step away in the same postseason.
The Phillies could be forced to defend their trophy against the team with the best record in baseball, and once again without home-field advantage in a Fall Classic. A lot of people would love to see a Phillies-Yankees World Series, and that would be excluding every single Mets fan. What if it's Pedro vs. the Yankees again like old times?
What if it's Joe Torre and Don Mattingly against the Yankees in a mega-battle of the two biggest markets? And Manny thrown in for good measure? That would be interesting.
"The Yankees had their century," wrote Bill Shaikin in the Los Angeles Times, as the first of "10 reasons why America should be rooting for the Angels to beat the New York Yankees."
Will the Bronx Bombers repeat what Babe Ruth and the 1923 Bombers did and win it all in the first year for Yankee Stadium? Will the Dodgers win their first World Series since the Kirk Gibson days of 1988? Will the Angels or Phillies make it a pair of rings this decade?
It is all fodder for fun conversation. But starting Thursday and Friday, it will be time to play a pair of League Championship Series, and each has all the makings of a distance classic. Get used to Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, Rafael Furcal and the Dodgers. Get used to Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins and the Phillies. Get used to Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Derek Jeter and the Yankees. Get used to Chone Figgins, Kendry Morales, Brian Fuentes and the Angels.
They are the four teams left out of 30 that started the season. They are four explosive teams capable of making some history and a lot of noise. And now they are each just a step away from the prize -- a trip to the World Series.
"This is the culmination of a lot of hard work in a season that has been going up and down for us emotionally," Angels general manager Tony Reagins said after the clincher at Boston. "We've had some clubhouse leaders really step up and Mike Scioscia has been huge. And (owner) Arte Moreno has given me enough to work with and have fun and put this thing together."
Torre, baseball's winningest postseason manager, is back in the LCS round for the second straight year with the Dodgers. He has managed in that round every year this decade except for the three-year stretch from 2005-07. He'd like to move beyond it, naturally, and have a chance to restore winning ways to an elite franchise.
"Last year, it really was something thrust on us very quickly," Torre said. "Our goal coming in last year was to be six or seven over .500. These guys learned, and especially during Manny's absence, they can function. They are good players in their own right. Just getting to the postseason last year and beating the Cubs. And even getting beat [by the Phillies], there's still something to learn and something to take from that."
Veteran catcher Jorge Posada was on the New York clubs that lost twice to the Angels in best-of-five series. Now it will be a best-of-seven and a week or two filled with action and intrigue.
"It's going to come down to who is going to pitch best, who is going to hit in the clutch," Posada said. "You know, home-field advantage is going to help a little bit. I think that's the key to this series, having four games at home is going to change."
(c) 2001-2009 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Cubs sale finally gets MLB's OK
It's hard to call the timing positive after a ridiculously drawn-out, three-season process.
But if Tuesday's approval of the Cubs' sale by Major League Baseball allows the process to conclude by the end of the month, as most predict, then at least the Ricketts family will have the keys to the franchise in time to be full-fledged participants in Jim Hendry's offseason fix-it plan from the start.
Ownership point man Tom Ricketts already was scheduled to attend the annual organization meetings that start Nov. 2 in Arizona.
But according to those who know Ricketts, don't expect the completion of the $845 million sale to mean a sudden jump in payroll from the $140 million budget the Cubs worked with in 2009.
The Ricketts camp is well aware of the extravagant Tribune Co. spending on payroll for franchise curb-appeal leading up to the for-sale sign being posted before the 2007 season and continued for one more winter under Sam Zell -- creating what's now a roster filled with back-loaded contracts for players that look more like a fantasy-league team than legitimate World Series contender.
One source suggested the new owners would take a more deliberate approach looking forward to manager Lou Piniella's final season with an eye toward longer-term strategy.
That could make the first-priority issue of dumping Milton Bradley even more critical if only for the purposes of recouping as much of the $21 million left on the suspended outfielder's contract as possible ($9 million in 2010).
The Cubs hope to add at least one hitter, and their payroll already projects in the low $130-million range to retain all the players they'd like.
While chairman Crane Kenney and the baseball operations staff headed by general manager Hendry would have job security in 2010, a source confirmed what would seem obvious: results are likely to dictate those decisions beyond that, even with Hendry's contract running through 2012.
The Rickettses are said to be looking at the Boston Red Sox model as they enter the final bankruptcy-court steps before taking control.
A group let by John Henry and Tom Werner bought the Red Sox and its regional cable network for the previous MLB purchase-price record of $700 million, taking control as spring training 2002 opened.
The status quo was generally maintained with payroll and baseball operations that season, but in November of that year general manager Theo Epstein was hired. The Red Sox added non-tendered designated hitter David Ortiz a month later, got to Game 7 of the American League Championship Series in '03, then substantially raised the payroll under new management and won the 2004 World Series to end an 85-year championship drought. They won another World Series three years later.
The Cubs were never part of the Tribune Co. bankruptcy filing. But Tribune has agreed to take the team into bankruptcy to assure the Rickettses that the franchise won't be liable for the media company's debts.
The Cubs' bankruptcy is expected to be filed Monday and receive court approval Tuesday. The deal should close late this month.
In a statement, the family said it was pleased with the owners' OK but noted the transaction is incomplete.
Tribune would keep 5 percent of the franchise for tax reasons. It bought the Cubs in 1981 from Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. for $20.5 million. The sale includes Tribune's approximately 25 percent share of regional cable TV network Comcast SportsNet of Chicago.
(c) 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Crawford sets Rays' steals record
ST. PETERSBURG --- There perhaps has never been a faster man in Rays history than Carl Crawford.
So what the speedy left fielder did on Tuesday night didn't prove anything other than what Rays fans already know very well: Crawford is an absolute thief.
With a steal of second base in the first inning against the Orioles' Jeremy Guthrie, Crawford recorded his 60th steal to not only set a new career high, but also surpass his own previous franchise record of 59, set in 2004. In fact, it was the sixth time he's set the season record for steals by a Rays player.
But after Tampa Bay's 3-1 win, Crawford said No. 60 wasn't really a mark he aimed for this season. He just likes to run as much as possible.
"I never have a goal or nothing," he said. "I just try to steal as many as I can and try to help the team out. I never really have a set number that I'm trying to get to."
The 28-year-old came into the game third in the Major Leagues in steals behind the Red Sox's Jacoby Ellsbury (66) and the Astros' Michael Bourn (60), and he was 0-for-2 since picking up No. 59 on Sept. 18
With Tuesday's swipe, Crawford, who reached first base after working a one-out walk, became the third American League player this decade to reach the 60-steal plateau and the fifth player since 1989 to record 60 RBIs and 60 steals in a season. The only others in that class are Rickey Henderson (1990), Marquis Grissom ('92), Kenny Lofton ('96) and Jose Reyes (2006).
Leg issues may have forced Crawford's stolen-base total to plummet to 25 last season, but he feels being banged up actually made him a better base-stealer.
"Being hurt last year and having to play the whole season and try to steal bases with a bad ankle, it kind of makes you pick out the little things on how to get better," Crawford said.
"Just being able to watch last year from the bench helped a lot for me."
Through eight seasons, Crawford has compiled 362 steals -- an average of just over 45 a year -- which easily makes him the franchise leader in that department. The second-place player is B.J. Upton, who's swiped 242 fewer bags.
"He's an unbelievable ballplayer," Upton said. "He's done it year-in and year-out. I think, obviously, he should be an MVP candidate every year. He's a great ballplayer, and he's going to continue to get better."
Crawford, who finished Tuesday 0-for-3 with a run scored in Tampa Bay's third consecutive win, is batting .307 with 14 home runs, 67 RBIs and a career-high 51 walks this season.
Rays manager Joe Maddon believes it's the best he's seen from Crawford.
"He's really grown -- even the drawing of the walks," the skipper said. "I love the fact that he's working a better at-bat also. He's more cognizant of accepting his walks and [has] just an overall better game -- heightened awareness of the game. He wants to be a better baseball player. He's working to be a better baseball player, and I think he's grown nicely."
(c) 2001-2009 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Arizona's Reyonlds breaks his strikeout record
PHOENIX --- Arizona third baseman Mark Reynolds broke his major league strikeout record by fanning three times against San Francisco on Tuesday night.
Reynolds has 206 strikeouts, breaking the record of 204 he set last season.
After doubling in a run for his career-high 100th RBI in the second inning, he struck out in the third, fourth and sixth innings.
"So what?" Reynolds said when asked about the strikeouts. "So what?"
Reynolds is the only player in major league history to strike out at least 200 times in a season.
"Deep down inside, I'm sure it bothers him more than he likes to portray," manager A.J. Hinch said. "At the end of the day, he is 40-plus home runs and 100 RBIs. That's a productive season, for anyone to really focus on the strikeout record being reset. When that production is coming with the strikeouts, it's almost a moot point. We all want him to be a more productive player and strike out less, but when the production follows, it is hard to knock him."
The 26-year-old Reynolds is hitting .268 with 43 homers, second to St. Louis' Albert Pujols, who has 47.
Oakland's Jack Cust set the American League record with 197 last season.
(c) 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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