Tagged: Lidge
UCLA Bruins second (base) to none
Us Bruins (UCLA Class of ’71 here) know how to produce second basemen. Jackie Robinson … Chase Utley. …
Something for Yankees fans to not mull over during a break in the World Series: 100-win teams are 0-for-11 in World Series since the 1998 Bombers’ sweep over the Padres. …
The Phillies’ stolen-base percentage has been pretty good the last few seasons. But what has been their stolen-sign percentage? …
Seriously, some are reading way too much into Yankees catchers’ frequent mound visits to chat strategy and change signs. The only camera that has been a part of this World Series is the one Alex Rodriguez’s Game 3 home run clunked. Since 2007, the Phillies’ hitting at home has been only marginally better than on the road, nothing to support suspicions of sign thievery in Citizens Bank Park. …
Cole Hamels and Brad Lidge: Further proofs that the playoffs aren’t always a Second Season. Sometimes, they’re just extensions of the First Season. …
Here’s my take on the imperfect umpiring we’ve seen this postseason: I didn’t hear Tim McClelland and his colleagues rip into Nick Punto, Bobby Abreu, Scott Kazmir and others for their bonehead mistakes, so let’s cut the arbiters some slack. …
Wait, I do have another take: How would you like to have your job performance evaluated with a battalion of high-tech devices picked up at James Bond’s garage sale? …
I get the feeling that the more interviews he undergoes for managerial openings, the less Bobby Valentine is interested in resuming his Major League managerial career. He seems disenchanted about the game’s evolution to increased dependency on statistical analysis. He has fielded questions in those interviews that frankly have floored him. …
How do the Pittsburgh Pirates get into any World Series conversation? Easy. Of all the teams with at least three historical appearances in the Fall Classic, those lovable recent losers have been the best at closing the deal, winning five of their seven Series. …
Actually, a good beating is the best revenge
Vengeance continues as the dominant theme of this postseason. And no one is entitled to more of it than are the Yankees, who for a decade had been dissed by the Angels. …
It’s tough not to root for Brad Lidge, whatever your team allegiance. The guy is extremely down-to-earth, level-headed and unassuming. And the list of pitchers who would have been terminally eaten up by what he underwent during the regular season is longer than Bernie Madoff’s IOU list. Yet here’s Lidge, flipping the switch in October …
Congrats to Tim Lincecum and Zack Greinke for winning the 2009 NL and AL Cy Young Awards. No, those haven’t yet been officially awarded. But they received comparable honors from The Sporting News, baseball’s version of Hollywood’s Golden Globes. Whoever gets those in January usually gets the Oscars in March. …
Incidentally, for a rare insight into what makes Greinke tick, be sure to check out his cool sit-down with MLB.com’s Dick Kaegel. …
You already knew that Bengie Molina couldn’t run. But did you also know he can’t walk, either? This season, the free-agent catcher had 10 unintentional walks in 520 plate appearances. …
The next time the conversation turns to unbreakable records, inject Bobby Cox’s 150 ejections. The Braves manager has been tossed from more games than a scuffed-up baseball. …
Umpire Tim McClelland had to feel “in my heart” that Nick Swisher had left the bag too soon. Because he couldn’t see it in his eyes, since they were focused on center fielder Torii Hunter. …
But know what? If Joe Girardi could feel in his heart that Alfredo Aceves better matched up with Howie Kendrick and Jeff Mathis than did David Robinson, then McClelland is entitled to his own gut feelings. …
Change for a Nickel 