Kick off the playoffs with a live chat
Posted by: Sam Borden - Posted in Misc on Oct 05, 2009 
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Even though we don’t yet know who the Yankees are playing, we do know this: There will be a live video chat with me and Chad Jennings at 12:30 p.m. on the day of Game 1. Here’s the link to the chat.
Chad and I will take your questions on everything – rosters, starting pitchers, best playoff game food (no one wants heartburn in extra innings) and whatever else you can come up with for us. Assuming the Yanks take the longer series, that means we’ll be live on Wednesday at 12:30, though you can post questions a little bit ahead of time as usual. We’ll be doing live chats frequently throughout the postseason.
Also, don’t forget our LoHud Yankees Blog exclusive insight from YES analyst John Flaherty, who will be breaking down the pitching match-ups before every postseason game. We’ll have that up on the blog each afternoon to get you ready for that night’s game.
mel – Buster’s award picks:
Envelopes, please
My own award ballots would look like this:
NL MVP
Albert Pujols (of course)
Hanley Ramirez
Prince Fielder
Chase Utley
Troy Tulowitzki
Ryan Howard
Adrian Gonzalez
Derrek Lee
Ryan Zimmerman
Pablo Sandoval
Pujols was at his best this year when the Cardinals needed him most, writes Joe Strauss.
AL MVP:
Joe Mauer (of course)
Miguel Cabrera
Mark Teixeira
Kevin Youkilis
Derek Jeter
Kendry Morales
Adam Lind
Chone Figgins
Justin Verlander
Mariano Rivera
NL Cy Young (and I feel as if you can’t come up with a right or a wrong answer among the top 3):
Tim Lincecum
Chris Carpenter
Adam Wainwright
AL Cy Young Award:
Zack Greinke
Felix Hernandez
CC Sabathia
Greinke faces tough competition.
NL Rookie of the Year (again, no right or wrong answer):
Chris Coghlan, who closed out his rookie season with 113 second-half hits
J.A. Happ
Tommy Hanson
AL Rookie of the Year:
Elvis Andrus
Rick Porcello
Andrew Bailey
NL Manager of the Year:
Jim Tracy
Tony La Russa
Bud Black
AL Manager of the Year
Mike Scioscia
Joe Girardi
Ron Gardenhire
King for the decade
As Jeremy Lundblad of ESPN Stats & Information notes, Pujols accomplished a Decade Triple Crown: Pujols is just the fourth player to accomplish a “Decade Triple Crown” — that is, leading a league (AL or NL) in home runs, RBIs and batting average over the course of an entire decade. In doing so, he joins a trio of Hall-of-Fame legends. Ted Williams took the crown for the AL in the 1940s (though he missed a good portion of time while fighting in WWII), Rogers Hornsby in the NL in the 1920s and Honus Wagner in the NL in the 1900s. (Note: RBIs did not become an official stat until 1920, so Honus Wagner’s inclusion is somewhat unofficial.)
http://insider.espn.go.com/esp.....ney_buster
Sam..you guys are doing a great job of keeping the fans informed! Thank you for that! I can’t wait until Wednesday! these next two days are going to drag!!
m
October 5th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Anyway, nothing is etched in stone until first pitch of game 2 or 3. Girardi could be trying to foil the GTLU participants.
****
That lousy Girardi does like to cheat at GTLU
Guys, doing a great job on the blog but what is with the mug shots. Is it really nessesary to put a picture up with every post. For some reason its driving me nuts. When I think of october 5th I now see a picture of Sam slightly above it.
Great Job Sam.
Rishi,
Thanks for that.
Erica,
It’s not cheating. It’s strategizing. I can tell Olney didn’t do his research. Because if he did that surely would’ve pushed him over the top for MOY over Scioscia.
“I can tell Olney didn’t do his research. Because if he did that surely would’ve pushed him over the top for MOY over Scioscia.”
Would have had Washington in his Top 3 too. I can buy Scioscia as the MOY. Got nothing out of Guerrero, was given an iffy bullpen, and had some pretty heavy pitching casualties, especially early on. Not an easy season.
The Captain’s new digs ….
http://www.tampabay.com/news/b.....ks/1041539
next ST, the whole team can stay at Jeet’s place
Rex,
lol. I was making a joke. If only Olney knew how much strategizing Girardi did to outsmart the opponents…at LoHud.
Gardenhire will actually have earned it if they make the postseason. As long as he credits the Tigers for the award.
Washington blew the chance of MOY by not being even competitive in September. You don’t go on an extended losing streak after being tied for the wild card and get consideration for being a great manager.
Scioscia will probably get it due to Adenhart’s death and how he was able to hold that club together.
“Washington blew the chance of MOY by not being even competitive in September. You don’t go on an extended losing streak after being tied for the wild card and get consideration for being a great manager.”
They gave it to Joe Girardi in 2006 for doing exactly the same thing. That should have been Willie Randolph’s trophy though.
The aerial view really shows how small a lot that big a house is on.
“I think the problems started the day that AJ was wild and full of wild pitches/passed balls.”
m-
posada is pretty good on balls in the dirt when he wants to be. i think the difference between the two of them on balls in the dirt is negligible. posada can sometimes get lazy when he’s over worked and molina “ole’s” ball in the dirt too much for my taste.
i didn’t see that game, but any tipping point can start something. that’s why it’s a tipping point right?
i’m really watching what girardi is going to do here with burnett. it’ll tell us a lot of what he’s thinking . if he simply thought molina’s overall abilities outweighed posada’s he’d have molina in there every game.
if in fact he’s in there only with burnett, i read that to mean girardi thinks burnett is the problem and not posada.
RiverAveBlues RT: @mlbCoz: Umps for #Yankees series – CC: Tim Tschida, Chuck Meriwether, Mark Wegner, Paul Emmel, Jim Joyce and Phil Cuzzi
http://espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs/2009/halloffall
ESPN voting through the playoffs…
randy l,
No, I’m not placing any blame on Posada. AJ was brutally bad that day, but maybe there was some transferrance of blame that day. And wrong as it was, the seed of distrust could possibly have been planted that day.
I think he feels better about throwing the hook with Molina back there. I’m not saying that Molina doesn’t make mistakes. We’ve seen some, the second run scored yesterday because of it.
That’s why I said it’s on AJ. But if he feels the hook’s his putaway pitch, he may feel more comfortable with a particular backstop.
I was mentally prepared for Posada to catch every game in the playoffs. But somewhere there was a u-turn on Girardi’s part, if he’s even entertaining any different scenario.
So, to reiterate. Posada’s not to blame. But for whatever reason it “appears” that AJ is more comfortable with Molina and I personally feel it has something to do with his hook.
Pete’s first blog post is up on boston.com.
Off to a great start Sam!
A little off topic, but I went to boston.com out of curiosity and some guy named Pete has a post up on the Red Sux blog.
anything interesting in newPete’s first blog post?
Not really off topic…Pete’s first post is about the umpires…wow, really? Come on Pete, you’ve got to teach Sully and Sully something about baseball…
Pete’s 1st blog post:
Let those without sin cast the first comment!
http://www.boston.com/sports/b.....tra_bases/
One guy made a joke about vinny, scully, and drunk sox fans. Says that’s what he saw on the other blog that won’t be mentioned. But he’s been here enough to see the jokes about vinny, scully, and drunk sox fans.
I’d love to go over there and say, “They don’t deserve you, Pete!” But, I’m more mature than that.
Statement From George M. Steinbrenner
Tampa, FL (NY Yankees) — “This has been a tremendous year for our team as we have settled into our new home. The New York Yankees are proud of our rich history of outstanding players and this year’s team has worked hard to prove that they are worthy of the great distinction of calling themselves Yankees.
“We look forward to finishing what we started this season and never losing sight of our goal – to bring another championship to the best fans in the world and the great city of New York.”
http://www.wfan.com/Statement-.....er/5369098
lol. is that supposed to be “sully”?
A pretty lame post by Pete about umpires for the Boston/LA series. Funny thing is, as lame as it was, he’d have had at least 100 comments by now if it were on lohud. But on boston.com, he’s got only two comments so far.
Who will be the first over there to get a stern warning about swearing, impersonating, etc?
You know, since Sam and Josh took over I have seen much naughty behavior here.
did Pete block out the proper spelling of No Maaaas. orrg on his boston blog?
oops. totally not what I meant.
Since Sam and Josh took over I haven’t seen much naughty behavior here.
Way off topic, but when I saw Vin and Sully all I can think of are Biff and Sully from Sesame Street.
What’s my equivalent username in Boston?
Is it Back Bay Jeers?
At http://www.coolstandings.com
They give their breakdown of the Tigers/Twins,and favor the Twins for 56.8% to the Tigers 43.2% to win the division.
They were accurate on all the other races.
What’s my equivalent username in Boston?
Is it Back Bay Jeers?
================
Mattapan Jeers.
i dont believe this one game playoff helps the yankees at all. they cannot plan which pitchers they will be facing until they know who they are playing.
Erin
October 5th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
Way off topic, but when I saw Vin and Sully all I can think of are Biff and Sully from Sesame Street.
****
They don’t even show Biff and Sully anymore!! They are lost muppets
braden
October 5th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
At http://www.coolstandings.com
They give their breakdown of the Tigers/Twins,and favor the Twins for 56.8% to the Tigers 43.2% to win the division.
They were accurate on all the other races.
————————————————————
Pretty hard for most people to screw up the percentages of the other 5 races after they’ve been decided. There are a few on here that can, though.
Joe October 5th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
did Pete block out the proper spelling of No Maaaas. orrg on his boston blog?
******
I think a fairer question would be did he block the proper spelling of Boston Dirt Dogs.
Erica, I used to love Biff and Sully. It’s too bad they’re never on anymore. There are a lot of lost muppets these days-I’m always on the lookout for Scooter. I’m a bit of a muppet fan if you couldn’t tell!!
Erin
October 5th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Erica, I used to love Biff and Sully. It’s too bad they’re never on anymore. There are a lot of lost muppets these days-I’m always on the lookout for Scooter. I’m a bit of a muppet fan if you couldn’t tell!!
****
I understand. Ernie was the first love of my life
Detroit Tigers star Miguel Cabrera invovled in a domestic squable
Last Friday night after going 0-4 and stranding four runners on base, in a game his team needed to win, Detroit Tigers first baseman decided to go out to the bar with members of the Chicago White Sox. The Tigers were in the final series against this team and needed to win two of the final three games to insure a Central Division title and a trip to the post season. After drinking to a point where his blood alcohol level was higher than .26 he went home and was then involved in a domestic squabble with his wife. There are also some reports that Tigers President and General Manger, Dave Dombrowski was the person to pick up Cabrera from the drunk tank and take him home.
I wonder why Pete would wants to compete on a blog with other contributers,when this was his alone?
No, ‘Hi, I’m Pete Abe, I’m here to rock this house!’ introductory post? No tales of the horrors he had to endure to make it back to Massachusetts?
At this moment there are 10 comments and 2 of them are by Pete Abe (and one is by the great MaineYanksFan). But from this humble start an empire may be made.
Erica – always OPPC
October 5th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
I understand. Ernie was the first love of my life
********
Bert and Ernie are my favorites to this day. I could never choose between the two. LOL
By the way, in case there was any question, the Daily News reported that CC Sabathia was told by Joe Girardi that he would be starting on Wednesday. So, as we’ve been expecting, that would mean that the Sox and Angels would have Series B, the Thursday-Friday series in Anaheim.
From the Extra Bases Blog.
Never thought of that. The inconvenience of the one game playoff and Joe Girardi’s subsequent decision has impacted Boston/LAA, too. BWAAHAAHAA…
Coolstandings is a site Pete gave on this very blog.They did not just put those figures up after the fact.
I privately emailed Pete about them early on,he sourced them here TOO.
Or the extra day gives Papi additional time to find his own personal Jamba Juice in Orange County.
mel, it appears that it’s okay to mention Posada, Molina, and AJ today without getting spanked. To that end I am going to add that from day one my wanting Molina catching more had to do with the fact that his defense is superior to Posada’s. I always said that the conundrum had to do with the need for Posada’s bat in the lineup.
Before Nick feels the need to fly in and correct me, yes I will say that I felt Posada was part of the problem when the Yankees weren’t winning. (It didn’t matter that Posada himself said he needed to do some things different and the media and players were questioning Posada vs. Molina behind the dish. I was considered an idiot for thinking it anyway.)
I seldom agree with much that Randy has to say these days but I was happy to see him stand up for the right to discuss something that is entirely relevant.
If Molina ends up catching in the postseason I know I will feel personally vindicated if only because (and you know this cold) I shouldered a ton of abuse this season from posters who were unable to separate themselves enough from their love of Posada to actually see what case different posters were attempting to make for wanting Molina in there and tended to paint everyone with a broad brush.
And we all know that Pete’s opinion on any subject had the ability to cause the forum to run in directions it may not have had he not called people delerious or accused them or being idiots, drinking, or other things when he disagreed with his opinion. He often led the charge regarding Posada.
Thought I would post this because the entire thing has been bugging me since we were chided yesterday about what should and should not be talked about on the last day of the season.
That would be the ulimate rope-a-dope. Girardi choosing to take the shorter series, but only telling Scioscia about it.
Erin
October 5th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
Erica – always OPPC
October 5th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
I understand. Ernie was the first love of my life
********
Bert and Ernie are my favorites to this day. I could never choose between the two. LOL
*****
Really funny story-
1995 I am 14 and watching the ALDS with my dad and Grandma Bernice. Bernie Williams does something awesome and I announce if I ever have children, I am going to name them all Bernie.
So my dad asks- Am I doing that after Bernie Williams? I say no. My Grandma Bernice asks- Are you naming them after me? I say no. So my dad asks why then I want to name all of my children Bernie
I told them I wanted to name all of my children Bernie, because it was the perfect combination of Ernie and Bert
When I say players were questioning it, I actually mean former players, i.e., those who have now become commentators.
Thought I would post this because the entire thing has been bugging me since we were chided yesterday about what should and should not be talked about on the last day of the season.
****
I never chided anyone. I just said it was happy day and we shouldn’t fight
Did I forget to add trisha to my ledger?
It’s okay, trisha. We’re all proud, stubborn people here.
But I figured that since randy l has opened up on the topic it’s safe to wade in the waters.
Let’s hope that things work out like they’re supposed to, and we are one big happy family in November.
One game at a time, which is how I suspect Girardi will approach the playoffs. (Even though the engineer in him has accounted for every problem!)
Erica, that’s hilarious-I’m getting strange looks from my co-workers for bursting out laughing.
My friends still pick on me because I’m in my twenties and never grew out of my muppet phase.
“At this moment there are 10 comments and 2 of them are by Pete Abe (and one is by the great MaineYanksFan). But from this humble start an empire may be made.”
nick in sf-
i typed ” hopefully the red sox will only have to deal with this crew for three games”, but i couldn’t pull the trigger.
there’s something slimy about trash talking on a rival blog.
that format over there is really minimalist.
for pete to do anything there he’s going to need his own blog.
Fair enough, Trisha, but can you name any posters who “were unable to separate themselves enough from their love of Posada to actually see what case different posters were attempting to make for wanting Molina in there” or is that just a speculative and accusatory characterization painted with a “broad brush”?
Erica, I know that people who suggested we stay away from that topic meant well. I admit I am pretty sensitive about the subject because it is one about which I felt pretty passionate his season and was committed to my opinion, but those who agreed with that opinion were either dismissed out of hand or worse were called every name in the book, were condescended to, and were called “truthers”.
Again I know I am sensitive when it comes to that topic.
“Did I forget to add trisha to my ledger?
”
Uh oh, what’s your ledger?
Last thread…
Erin
October 5th, 2009 at 4:49 pm
Erica, that’s hilarious-I’m getting strange looks from my co-workers for bursting out laughing.
My friends still pick on me because I’m in my twenties and never grew out of my muppet phase.
****
Glad you liked my story. Don’t feel bad about still loving the muppets. I might have muppets decorating my cube at work myself. In fact, just two weeks ago a coworker gave me an Ernie doll for my desk because her 7 year old daughter out grew it and she thought I would appreciate it more. The sad part is, I saw nothing wrong with that
Erica a married couple,(friends) of mine last name is Glover.
She tells people to think of Glove with an R when spelling.
Her husband tells people Lover with a G.It’s all a matter of perspective isn’t it?
“Fair enough, Trisha, but can you name any posters who “were unable to separate themselves enough from their love of Posada to actually see what case different posters were attempting to make for wanting Molina in there” or is that just a speculative and accusatory characterization painted with a “broad brush”?”
You (at times you would say you could see certain arguments but more often than not you would dismiss the entire thing as “silly arguments”); CB I believe; Pete for sure; RConn or whomever it was that came up with the term “Posada truthers”. Those are the ones I remember most immediately. MaineYankee also.
trisha – OPPC lifetime member and a believer in baseball karma
October 5th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
Erica, I know that people who suggested we stay away from that topic meant well. I admit I am pretty sensitive about the subject because it is one about which I felt pretty passionate his season and was committed to my opinion, but those who agreed with that opinion were either dismissed out of hand or worse were called every name in the book, were condescended to, and were called “truthers”.
****
I always respect people who remain committed to their opinions. If you can argue that the sun is green and have have facts to back it up, then more power to you. And I understand free speech. But personally, its a topic I choose to not get involved in and am rather sick of scrolling over. But if you want to keep debating it, thats your thing
Thanks Erica. Glad to hear the Ernie doll could be put to good use!
mel, yes I would be on that ledger.
Erica, all I can say about that is I absolutely respect your feeling that way. I don’t have as much difficulty with topics I don’t care about or got sick of (Joba to the pen/ Joba in the starting lineup). I just scroll on by. But not everyone wants to have to do it that way. To each her or his own.
Anyway, I am leaving work!!! Catch you all later
“If you can argue that the sun is green and have have facts to back it up”
But there’s the rub, isn’t it? Not many facts to argue that the sun is green or that Molina is preferable to Jorge…
Does anyone know when the final rosters for the ALDS have to be finalized? I heard Girardi say on the postgame yesterday that he and Cashman were meeting today.
Anyway that’s all I wanted to say on that. I’m happy I got the opportunity based on one of Sam’s lead ins.
Fran (the original) and OPPC member
October 5th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Does anyone know when the final rosters for the ALDS have to be finalized? I heard Girardi say on the postgame yesterday that he and Cashman were meeting today.
****
I was wondering the same thing myself earlier. I would like to award winners for “Guess the Postseason Roster”
Okay NOW I am leaving work
So rconn23, CB, MaineYankee, and I were all “unable to separate [our]selves enough from [our] love of Posada to actually see what case different posters were attempting to make for wanting Molina in there…”
So the four of us — among others — were not rational enough to recognize the superior logic of your position and let our emotional attachment to and love of Jorge Posada cloud our thinking?
And you were offended because you felt condescneded to?
Oh my.
Trisha
As I said to m earlier today, the only opinions that count are Girardi and Cashman’s.
Therefore, no one elses opinion can be right or wrong except theirs.
New——>
New Post….
“So the four of us — among others — were not rational enough to recognize the superior logic of your position and let our emotional attachment to and love of Jorge Posada cloud our thinking?”
The condescension is not necessary Nick. It had nothing to do with superior logic, it had to do with considering what posters may have been talking about rather than automatically dismissing it out of hand.
“Pete’s 1st blog post:
Let those without sin cast the first comment!
http://www.boston.com/sports/b…..tra_bases/
”
I went over and wished Pete well. He could use all the help he can get. Including mine, there a total of 12 comments in response to Pete’s post about the umpires for the Sox/Angels series. Needless to say, it aint like it is in here. We get more posts from folks second guessing Girardi’s lineup against the Royals in July than Pete’s getting about the umpires for their playoff series lol.
Nick.
“Oh my.”
Ah, but you have just condescended to us, Trisha. You don’t see that? You just insulted us. You don’t see that? You just said we couldn’t get past our love for Jorge. You don’t know what that means?
“As I said to m earlier today, the only opinions that count are Girardi and Cashman’s.
Therefore, no one elses opinion can be right or wrong except theirs.”
Without question Pat. As I said I will feel vindication only in terms of those who sh*t all over my head and called me an idiot, silly, dead wrong, and every other thing and dismissed my opinion out of hand as being wrong.
I realize and have said often that we are all laypeople here offering opinions. I realize that includes me. But it doesn’t mean that if I offer something that is contrary to either wideheld belief or the belief of certain posters here that it is unequivocally “wrong”. And that’s certainly the way I was made to feel on the Posada/Molina debate.
“Ah, but you have just condescended to us, Trisha. You don’t see that? You just insulted us. You don’t see that? You just said we couldn’t get past our love for Jorge. You don’t know what that means?”
Fair enough.
Fair enough but you stand by those remarks or fair enough and they were unfair?
Fair enough that those remarks were interpreted as condescension.
Is it ever enough for you Nick? Ever?
Within the context of this stupid blog debate, of course it’s not enough. Either you meant what you said or you didn’t.
Do you want people who read your comments to think you mean all the things you say in them or not?
If everyone picked apart every word or phrase that every poster used in every article, nobody would be posting. On a blog people take a lot of liberties in posts and and don’t take the time to think out every word or every phrase. But other posters tend to understand and go by those and don’t ask for explanations of words and phrases. I know I do it often because I get the general gist and that’s good enough for me.
You called me on something and I agreed that it could have sounded like condescension. It was not intended to.
I am comfortable that the majority of posters don’t nitpick on every word or phrase in every post and are willing to look past certain things. When they feel the need to bring someone up on a phrase or word or ask about it, then they do I guess. I don’t see it happen much, and certainly not often.
So I shouldn’t nitpick when you insulted and condescended to myself, rconn23, CB, and MaineYankee? You were just taking normal blog liberties and didn’t take the time to think out every word or phrase as you did so?
How about this: stand by what you post and don’t try to hide behind psuedo-legalistic mumbo-jumbo like you just did.
In your 4:43 post, you insulted and condescended to several of us. And you complained about feeling insulted and condescended to.
It’s a very elemental concept and question: you said it; did you mean it?
i’m excited for the flaherty stuff!
“In your 4:43 post, you insulted and condescended to several of us.”
nick in sf-
i actually feel insulted to not have been included in the group that was insulted by trisha i really deserve to be in that group
randy, I think you’re in your own special category.
That said, it’s all in the next thread now.
Somebody plug her up. Will y’er please?