The World’s Series of Base-Ball: Discuss
Submitted by Sarah D. Bunting on November 1, 2009 – 11:17 PM61 Comments
I went with an olde-timey title because Cliff Lee threw a good old-fashioned CG last night. Can’t say I love the result as a Yankee fan, but I have to give it up for the guy.
You can use this comments thread to vent, celebrate, or analyze.
(Coming shortly: today’s contest harangue; the Vine; prizing updates; and answers to your emails, which I didn’t get to yesterday because of the reading. Anyone waiting on a response from me should give it ’til noon so I can dig out from under this pile o’ work.)
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Tags: Cliff Lee
“Base-ball.” And I just heard James Earl Jones in my head.
Hey, I got here before the Yankees fans! Philadelphia native here, and wow, that Cliff Lee fellow can play ball, yeah? If they’d been playing in an NL stadium, he probably would’ve had a home run on top of everything else. I think Lee just had one of those nights where he couldn’t do anything wrong. The Yankees better hope tonight goes better for them; it’s hard to come back from losing the first two at home.
I admire Pedro’s guts, but I don’t think the Yankee lineup is all that intimidated by the prospect of facing him. Nor should they be; however he does (I don’t really think he’ll get roughed up or anything; I just don’t think he’s lights-out anymore), he’s not going 9. And eventually Lidge is going to return to his season mean.
I’m not trying to talk shit — Philadelphia is an excellent team, and if the Yankees can’t win one before they lose the DH in Philly, this could be over before it started. But even if Philly’s lineup gets the gift of Bad AJ, I’m not all that worried about tonight’s game.
Sigh. And I used to think Cliff Lee was so handsome in his own pointy way. Now I have to hate him, with his little behind the back catches. It’s sad when you have to hate the cute ones.
No trash-talk from me, either…Pedro likely isn’t scaring anybody today, nor should he. He might have one good game in him, though; it happens.
Thing about Lidge is, he really seems to have gotten his control back in the postseason (unlike, say, Hamels). I don’t know why he should suddenly improve just because it’s October, but I’m not going to bet against it, either. I don’t think there’s any way to predict which Brad Lidge we’ll get, and you’re right that eventually he’ll blow one. That requires the series to last long enough for “eventually” to happen, though.
I’d be stunned myself if the Phillies manage to win two in the Bronx. Getting away with a split was the best I’d hoped for. (My own pick is Phillies in 6.) And yes, I know the Yankees came back from two down in ’96. Last night’s performance, though, is a big confidence-booster, especially for Utley.
Cliff Lee is a superstar.
That is all.
Philadelphian in New York here. (My dad, who was born and raised in Philly by two parents who were both born and raised in Philly, was like “If you move to New York and come back a fan of ANY New York teams, we are THROUGH.” My mom’s a Brooklynite living in Philly and likes the Mets, so she has no dog in this fight.) I really wish I were home experiencing Phillies Phever phirsthand. Cliff Lee rocked it last night for sure, but I’m with Brian and Sars – I’m not expecting the Phils to take two in the Bronx. If they do, though, it’ll be tough for the Yankees to come back. Big boost of confidence for the team and the fans, though, and I have enjoyed spotting other Phillies fans around town and exchanging high-fives or thumbs-ups with them.
I think it’s awesome the Indians are in the world series. oh wait….
My opinion based on the 2 players I know the best: Lee is a superstar and CC has held up well to the october pressure. Here’s to a great series!
If I didn’t already want to marry Cliff Lee, I do now.
As for Lidge pitching: I’m trying to not automatically assume that he’ll do poorly if only because he’s handled the whole thing in a very professional way. He knows he was having a rough season but he wasn’t pitching (heh) a big hissy fit about it all, “DON’T QUESTION MAH AUTHORITY, I STILL ROCK, HOW DARE YOU?!,” etc. So even though his pitching was off for most of the season, I’m still hopeful.
Go, Phillies! (Sorry, Sars).
Bet Red!! Go Phillies! I’m happy that Chase, God bless him!!, seems to have shaken off the bad vibes he’s been carrying this post season. He’s such an intense player!! I think he’s going to have a terrific series! Woo-HOO!!
We announced my pregnancy in a baseball inspired facebook status last night (acquiring a player to be named later….) and within minutes someone asked which of the Phillies the child would be named for. At the time, I thought maybe Chase Utley, but by the end of the night we definitely thought Cliff Lee. and Lee is nice and useful whether it’s a boy or girl, so…. :)
@Kate: Congrats! How about Charles Manuel Yourlastname? (Or Charlene Manuela?)
Cliff Lee is a ninja. There is no other way to explain it. And I agree that if he’d gotten to hit, he probably would’ve homered. Remember when he stole a base against the Rockies? That was awesome.
Phillies fan here, but I’m not expecting to take 2 in NY. I’d be happy, of course, but I’m being a realist. Honestly, i think this series goes to 7.
Mac’s love letter to Chase Utley from last week’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia was never more appropriate as it was last night.
@KKP – as a Cleveland fan, I gotta say it’s our fault. We keep saying that we’d like to see “Indians in the World Series”, just failed to specify that it should be the whole goddamned team at once.
@Kate: A lady I work with has a newborn nephew named Shane Victor. My own son is named Carlton, as in Steve. Utley is a great name — especially if you bark it. And then there’s Harry. So many good options.
Bet Red! Go Phillies!!!!!
Even though I am a die-hard Yankees fan, I have to say that Cliff Lee was amazing last night. On FIRE.
That being said – Yankees, you were the number one team in baseball during the regular season. Best record. You finally have an amazing line-up and pitching after years of so-so teams. ACT LIKE IT.
@Robyn: The middle relief is a problem. Hughes has evidently lost the plot; the bullpen that looked pretty rad at season’s end is kind of a crapshoot now. I mean, when I’m relieved to see David Robertson, that just isn’t a good sign.
Fingers crossed for Good AJ tonight.
Speaking of AJ: Cute? Or fetal-alcohol-lookin’? Call it. (Or join the tiny but vocal “a little of both” lobby run by me and Joe R.)
There’s a white-trashiness about the guy that’s just not going away. Call it fetal-alcohol, or meth-lab, or Skoal-scented, or old-man-face, I think we’re all on the right track.
And yet, perversely, in the right light, if you squint … I’m not proud. (Mostly, though, the former sentiment wins out.)
@Sars: I’m firmly with you and Joe R in the “little from column A, little from column B” camp.
I find his disappearing/reappearing chin and his “slightly too small for his body” head distracting. I don’t find him particularly cute, but I don’t think he looks like he stuck his face in the ugly pond, either.
@embees, so THAT’S the problem! Spot on, I’d say. (In that case, I’d like to see the cavs in this year’s championship series before lebron heads east himself!)
Re AJ: Fetal-alcohol, all the way.
I live in Cliff Lee’s hometown, and while I’d like to tell you Yankee fans that he’s a jerk who lives in a gated mansion when he deigns to come back to Arkansas, alas. He’s a very nice young man who loves Arkansas and duck hunting and the high school baseball team (he pays for their unis and cleats every year). I’m also pretty sure he farts rainbows.
But seriously. He’s ‘purt near perfect, as we say in these parts. And we’re awful proud of him.
@Sars, Joe, Ellen: Agreed. He also has that dishwater-blond hair that only seems to fit with the whole meth-head, dirty-fingernails, not-quite-right aesthetic. I think he’d be a lot cuter if he had darker hair and only faced that one direction.
In other news, congrats @Kate! Lee’s a great name.
Cliff Lee’s full name? Clifton Phifer Lee. Named his son Jaxon.
Cole Hamels? Colbert Michael. Just some things to keep in mind. From the girl who would have named a son born in the early-mid 90s “Daulton.” Oy.
I am Jays fan and I’ve always felt that AJ? Is an FASD poster boy. I can’t wait for tonight’s game, though. How will it turn out?!?
Also contributing to the methy vibe: that trashy lanyard/bike chain necklace combo he’s got going on. AND he’s totally got a dip tin in his back pocket (I thought they’d outlawed tobacky in MLB, at least on the field, after Dykstra sickened a nation with his leafy teeth).
He’s nayyyysty. And yet, he’s foxy! Damnedest thing.
Thank you for the meth-labby thing going with AJ. Kinda cute, but in a scrawny way, where you just know something’s not right. And that necklace, please. Surprised it doesn’t clock him in the nose after every pitch.
That all being said, I’m a Red Sox fan, so this is tough. Yankees have not quit this year – just look at the number of walkoff wins they have – so they’ve kinda earned it. But…. Pedro owes us, so take ’em down.
Ooh, I get a bad-trash vibe from AJ. My friends and I think Jayson Werth looks trailer-park, in a “baad boy” sort of way, even though he’s baseball royalty. He just looks like the boy in the pick-up who honks at the end of the driveway, and has you sneaking in hours past curfew.
@Lisa: well, now I just love Cliff Lee even more.
@Kate & Jenno: I’m voting for Harry. Do we get a vote?
He just looks like the boy in the pick-up who honks at the end of the driveway, and has you sneaking in hours past curfew.
I get more of a “plays in a band…at church” vibe from Werth. AJ is that guy who your friends are like, “Okay, what are you doing. Those are prison tats, come on.” Then they come by to pick you up at his place one hot day, and he’s doing some chore or other with his shirt off, and after that they’re full of compliments about how he’s “unpretentious.”
For more olde-timey baseball fun, if any of you use Twitter and do not follow @OldHossRadbourn, you are MISSING OUT. A sample tweet:
“Gad, but they do start these games late. By this time in my day I was already passed out, a whore’s stiletto in my back.”
If you enjoy baseball, moustaches, dissing Cy Young, or preferably all three, you will enjoy Hoss’s tweets from the beyond.
@Sars I think AJ is cuter from afar, or like Joe R said, if you squint. He looks rough, like farmer or trailer park rough. I’d rather be looking at Pettitte. AJ is doing well so far!
Hee.
@Sars – That is fantastic! Still laughing. Going to look at it again.
Hee, indeed.
The only thing that would be worse than the trashy bike chain/lanyard thing? If Burnett went all Turk Wendell on us and started wearing a necklace made of animal claws and teeth. Oy.
And Dykstra’s teeth? Bleargh. Excuse me while I bolt a glass of scotch in the hopes of erasing that image from my brain.
Lisa – that’s super. It’s heartening to hear that he’s one of the truly decent.
Looks like we didn’t get Bad AJ, or even Good AJ, but rather Excellent AJ. I believe he said in an interview that he was inspired by Cliff Lee’s post-game interview about having confidence in his pitches, so while I’m tempted to say that Lee is indirectly responsible for the outcome of Game 2 as well, I think that’s a bit of a stretch.
OK, it’s even; let’s make a series of this. Come on back down here to the ballpark and let’s see how well you guys do without a DH, huh? Rest day? We don’t need no stinkin’ rest day. Both teams are probably here already, let’s get this going tonight!
Aw, Grandpa Andy got a hit! Jeter almost trampling him on the basepaths was pretty hilare (since it worked out).
@Amanda, you weren’t kidding. That guy is hilarious.
@Amanda: Thanks for the Hoss referral. I am spitting my Egg McMuffin all over my desk over here!
Last night’s game? Wow. A win in true Yankee fashion, in the 9th with 2 outs then the shut down by Mo.
Frankly, I expect to see a bit of crow eaten by all those Phillies phans who said we couldn’t do anything without a DH. Awfully silent now, aren’t they??
Today it hurts to be a Phillies fan. Lidge was gorgeous for two strike-outs and then gave up three runs, one of which wasn’t entirely his fault because apparently we have two shortstops and no third baseman.
One of the problems with seeing a baseball game on tv is the inability to take in the whole field of action. I mean, forty-leven angles on any given play is nice, but I can’t have been the only human to shriek “Where is he going?!?” when Damon broke for 3rd. I couldn’t see that there was nobody covering, and Joe & Tim didn’t get to explaining what we couldn’t see until four replays had already run.
I know Lidge has had his problems this year, but credit to the Yankees as Closer Killers must be rendered.
No hiding here; I just figured nobody cared about this thread anymore. Yep, Yankees took two (so far) from us at Citizens Bank; didn’t expect that. Watching Lidge pitch these days feels a lot like watching Mitch Williams back in ’93. Not a feeling I wanted to re-experience. Yes, defense wins championships, and the Yankees have definitely done a better job of that the last two days. That said, I’d like to see some more production from our supposed power hitters.
Here’s hoping Cliff “well rested” Lee can save us from total embarrassment tonight. (For the record, Lee said he could go yesterday; Charlie made the call not to use him. I can’t even say I disagree with it.)
In true Philadelphia-Sports-Team fashion, the Phillies lose when they’re supposed to win and win when they’re supposed to lose. Now that the Phillies are the underdogs, expect a thrilling end to the Series in Game 7! Go Phils!! Bet RED!!
P.S. Chase Utley has Sabathia’s number and is using it to play the lottery! Woo and HOO!!
That Damon at bat was just amazing. Say what you want about Lidge but he was looking great there, and then Damon kept fouling off pitches with two outs until he got what he wanted, and there are a whole passel of Yanks who haven’t managed that in this series, Lidge or otherwise, CANO.
@attica I personally loathe Buck and McCarver’s coverage, so I spent the extra bucks to get the Postseason.tv package from MLB, so I can watch it without a time delay (pretty much), from about eight different angles and without the sheer inanity of listening to them wax moronic. Then I flip on my radio station of choice, which may not be faboo either but at least it’s not “blahblahblah TugMcGraw cakes.”
I took my kids to see Cliff Lee throw his 20th win last year, and I asked them if they’d heard about the great game he pitched in the World Series. My sweet little Clevelanders said “I didn’t know the Indians were in the World Series!” If only!
Since neither team is mine, I’m gonna stick with Betting Red. Go Phils!
“Unless I’m mistaken, C. Utley is wearing Doc Tooley’s Action Hair Liniment and Pomade. Dem’ fine stuff.”
I thought it was Dapper Dan. Shows how much I know.
Anyone want to tell me what’s on J.Damon’s necklace? An itty bitty skull? An itty bitty half-skull? A pukka shell in clever disguise?
[quote]I mean, forty-leven angles on any given play is nice, but I can’t have been the only human to shriek “Where is he going?!?” when Damon broke for 3rd.[/quote]
[b]attica[/b], you weren’t. I sat up and shouted, “what is he doing??” and then, “where is the 3rd baseman??”, scaring my dog half to death. The coverage sucks–I think they spend more time mentioning how Budweiser/Chevy/etc. are sponsoring parts of the broadcast than actually showing the game. And I’ve never been able to stand Joe “Can My Head Get Any Larger and Squarer” Buck.
I’m a Yankees fan through and through, but darn if I don’t get the church giggles every time Alex Rodriguez gets hit by a pitch. I live in Texas so I’ve had to put up with his douche baggery for far longer than I’ve wanted. I was so excited when I heard Texas had traded him only to be crushed when he went to my Yankees.
Ahem, Utley uses L.A. Looks. Or so I’ve heard.
Last year, my nephew (then eight) asked my sister, “why are those TV guys [Buck] being so mean to the Phillies?”
Ah, the innocence of children.
My intense dislike of Joe Buck began the first time I heard him announce a football game. Jeez Louise, what a hack!! My friend mentioned that his father was a great baseball announcer. “Bring his dad back then!” “He’s dead.” “So? He can’t be any worse than this $#*(%)@@)#!” He’s just as bad in baseball!!
Still preferring Joe Buck to Chip Caray, I have to say.
Jessica, I’m with you there. Shame the audio’s not synched with the radio announcers, though.