World Series Final Thoughts

HOWARD MEGDAL: To me, the biggest takeaway from the 2009 series is what we’re likely to see in 2010. The Yankees won, but the Phillies sure look like the favorites next year.

With the Yankees and Phillies the two best teams this season, it is worth considering what one can expect from each in 2010. In Philadelphia’s case, One can expect better seasons from Jimmy Rollins, Brad Lidge and Cole Hamels. This is not insignificant- Rollins is a former MVP, Hamels an ace, and Lidge a top closer. All three may not return to 2007-2008 form, but all are likely to improve on extremely difficult 2009 seasons.

As for the rest of the team, no one is likely to precipitously drop, with the possible exceptions of Raul Ibanez, if he finally ages, or Jayson Werth, is 2009 didn’t truly represent a new level of ability. In Ibanez’s case, the 2010 season is likely to be far better than his productino from June on, when he was playing through an injury.

Add a full season of Cliff Lee, and the Phils may be the best they ever were in 2010.

The Yankees, meanwhile, are unlikely to bring both Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui back; even if they do, both are unlikely to play as well at age 37 as they did at age 36. Derek Jeter will be a 36-year-old shortstop, Jorge Posada a 38-year-old catcher. Granted, they both were terrific at 35 and 37, respectively; the smart money still isn’t on a player that age at that position. Even Mariano Rivera is turning 40- Andy Pettitte, should he return, will turn 38. To bet on them to match their peak norms- to ALL match them- is foolish two years in a row. After all, it certainly didn’t happen in 2008, and hasn’t really happened to any other group that age in baseball history.

As for players likely to improve, there’s Joba Chamberlain, free from the Joba Rules at last, and Phil Hughes in the rotation. That leads to bullpen questions, of course. Melky Cabrera could improve. And you’re likelier to have a full season of A-Rod, though he’ll now be 34. Even if the Yankees bring in Matt Holliday, he’s got a career OPS+ of 133- not a great improvement over Damon’s 2009 of 123.

All of this is to say everything went right for the Yankees- absolutely everything- and they outlasted the Phillies in six tough games. The smart money is on Philadelphia to be the best team in baseball next year, not the Yankees.

DAVE TOMAR:   This off-season is not an extraordinary one.  Going by history, the baseball world should be accustomed to a condition in which the Phillies are not World Champions and in which the Yankees are.  And as I shaved my playoff beard and pondered the moves the Phillies might make in the off-season, I considered that this would not be the last time these two teams would meet in the cold of October.

It also occurred to me that though it was over, we had witnessed the longest championship reign in Phillies history, stretching from October 29^th , 2008 to this past Wednesday, November 4^th, 2009.  This milestone won’t impress the Yankees, who were World Champions for most of the Truman Administration, but for us, this is truly a great time to be a fan.

That said, I would have given my left nut to see the Yankees lose.  Whatever resentment or distaste I had for the New York Yankees, their fans and the universe of slimy sycophants who gravitate to them, I feel it tenfold after this series.

Let me get the objective crap out of the way first.  The Phillies were beat, plain and simple.  Our ace of last year, Cole Hamels was a flop in the playoffs as he had been throughout the regular season.  A young pitcher with a bright future, he must learn at least one more pitch, spend some time with a therapist and seriously reevaluate the implications of being married to a reality television narcissist who stated in a recent interview that, “we’re in the process of adopting an AIDS orphan from Ethiopia. Maybe two. I’m so pumped. I’d adopt six if I could. When I was five years old—I grew up in a very rural town in Missouri, and I had never even seen a black person—they asked us to draw a picture of ourselves in the future, and I drew myself holding hands with a line of tiny black stick figures. I’ve always wanted this.”  And Cole, if you must do television commercials, please just pitch in them.  No talking.  You sound like fucking Urkel.

Obviously, Hamels isn’t alone in blame.  Ryan Howard set an all-time mark with 13 strikeouts in a single World Series, following his NLCS MVP garnering performance with a sorrowful 4 for 21 with 2 walks.  The table-setters were anemic as well, with Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino combining for only 9 hits in the series.  And fitting to the course of the season, closer Brad Lidge  reversed the hard work of his teammates by blowing up Game 4 with a gut-wrenching 2 out, 2 strike meltdown.

Throw in a few questionable bullpen decisions on the part of manager Charlie Manuel—including the critical under-use of Sporting News Rookie of the Year J.A. Happ and too long a leash on starters like Hamels and Pedro Martinez—and the Phillies were straight outmatched.

As a steadfast Yankee-hater, I could still not muster a bad word about Derek Jeter and Hideki Matsui, two players who were brilliant throughout this series and generally function as examples of how the game is to be played.  And the three-man rotation of Sabathia/Burnett/Pettite might only have been bested if Cliff Lee pitched for the Phillies every night.  Mariano Rivera is so effective it makes me bitter.

So now you know that when I say this series and the Yankees in general make me sick to my ass, it’s not just because we lost.  It really is because the Yankees are a bunch of arrogant pricks who bitch and moan about calls that don’t go their way; who laze about in the outfield incapable of a spectacular play; who couldn’t field a ball up the middle to save their lives; who play with the grit of a Perry Como record.  Do these guys get fined for dirtying their uniforms?  The Phillies plunked A-Rod four times, at least three of them on purpose and he did nothing but cry to the umpire.  Charge the mound, take a swing, act like you give a shit.

Alex Rodriguez . . . what can I say about this guy?  He reminds me of Ricky Martin for some reason.  I don’t know if anybody could have better wallowed in his own bullshit to come out clean on the other side.  A season that began with revelations of steroid use ended in a heroic sendoff, where A-Rod wore a really stupid looking hat at a parade.  Check it out here: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/sports/We-Dont-Have-Alex-Rodriguez-to-Kick-Around-Anymore-69406432.html He may be dating Kate Hudson but he looks like he’s dancing backup for Madonna.

I also don’t think there’s a more unpleasant player in the game than Jorge Posada.  The constantly complaining, frequently wrong, boiled-celery armed catcher interrupted games as frequently as those goddamn Geico commercial with the eyeball money.  Nick Swisher needs a swift kick to the jaw to right that constant I-just-came-in-my-pants smirk and Johnny Damon is a sellout to his old fans and his own hair.  No scruples.

A side note to Fox; you could replace Tim McCarver with a stuffed cabbage and it would be an upgrade.  Joe Buck; there’s a special place in Hell for people who make a living on the talent and legacy of their fathers.  Enjoy an eternity with Paris Hilton and George W. Bush.  After their tenth consecutive year babbling over the October Classic, it is seriously time to consider revoking Fox’s broadcasting license.

All of these things said, this was a great season, and this was a great series.  The fans here in Philly remain inextricably tied to this team in heart and soul.  The trophy will spend another year in the cold hugeness of Yankee stadium, surrounded by other trophies now taken for granted.  May it be returned to the warm intimate confines of the Bank next year.  The Evil Empire has—as Empires are bound to do—ruthlessly financed its way to the top.  But as history teaches us, all Empires are bound to crumble under their own disgusting largess.  Until then, New York can suck my sour grapes.

Tags: New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies

This entry was posted on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 11:01 am and is filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.