World Series MVP Hideki Matsui was an absolute monster (Godzilla?) in the 2009 Fall Classic. In 13 at-bats, he pounded eight hits -- including a double and three home runs -- eight RBI and three runs scored. His OPS for the series was an obscene 2.027.
As he was accepting the MVP trophy, there were many items swirling around in my head (there always are, it's a burden, I tell ya!). He's a free agent, the Yankees likely can't justify bringing back both him and Johnny Damon if they want to shore up their starting pitching, etc. There were several more ... and then I arrived at this one: man, he's really gonna be overrated in fantasy baseball drafts next season.
Blanton gave up four runs, three earned, in six innings in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series against the Dodgers. He was behind when he left, but the Phillies won that game on Jimmy Rollins' double in the bottom of the ninth against Jonathan Broxton. Blanton has a 4.66 ERA in three games this postseason. In his career, he is 2-0 with a 3.45 ERA in the playoffs.
"I think Blanton fits for us," Manuel said, "because I think we want to keep [J.A.] Happ right now in the bullpen, especially kind of in the middle where he could do some innings, and also Joe pitched last year in the World Series, and he's got a little bit more experience."
You can look at Cliff Lee's pitching line from Wednesday night's Game 1 win against the Yankees and know that he pitched well. During the game, though, you didn't need to do anything more than catch a closeup of Lee's face to know that he was in a serious groove. All game he wore the look of the guy who knew that he had his best stuff working and that he wasn't afraid who knew it.
If the look on the face or the darts he was throwing didn't convince you, there was always this play:
After the Philadelphia Phillies won the 2008 World Series championship, highly respected general manager Pat Gillick decided to step down. A few days later, the reins of the franchise were handed to rookie general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr., who had been serving as Gillick's right-hand man for the past three seasons.
Needless to say, Amaro wasn't exactly heading into an easy gig. He was taking over a team that had nowhere to go but down, he was succeeding someone considered one of the best in the business and he was doing it in the unforgiving city of Philadelphia. The deck was already stacked against him, but Amaro appeared to make matters worse when his first big move drew the skepticism of many: he signed Raul Ibanez instead of retaining the services of Pat Burrell.
In Advanced Scouting, MLB FanHouse's professional talent evaluator breaks down the playoffs from a scouting perspective.
There is one lesson that we learn year in and year out as the postseason unfolds. The team that has their bullpen clicking is often the team that wins. Game 4 on Monday night was a microcosm of the series between the Phillies and Rockies. While they were not dominant out of the 'pen, the Phillies were able to slam the door where Colorado could not.
In the final two innings of Monday's game, the Philadelphia bullpen surrendered just one walk against Colorado's four. As close as the Rockies came to winning the game, it is unrealistic to feel confident in winning a contest in which your bullpen surrenders that many free passes to a lineup that hardly needs the help.
In Advanced Scouting, MLB FanHouse's professional talent evaluator breaks down the playoffs from a scouting perspective.
Early on during the first day of the 2009 playoffs, it looked like Ubaldo Jimenez and his 100 mph fastball would rule the day. But it turned out that the experienced Phillies' lineup came back to punish Jimenez for some poor pitch selection, and from the middle innings on it was clear that the day in fact belonged to Cliff Lee.
In the early innings, Jimenez was downright electric, pounding the fastball at 98-100 mph. Somewhere along the line, however, he seemed to lose faith in his heater, which may be the best in baseball. Looking at the damage done, be it the Raul Ibanez double down the line in the sixth inning or the Jayson Werth triple in the ninth, Jimenez was repeatedly hurt on the second and third pitches in his arsenal.
Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
There was reason for concern with Cliff Lee. After storming out of the proverbial gates upon his entrance to the so-called Senior Circuit, he stumbled. Lee's first five outings yielded a 5-0 record with a 0.68 ERA and a 39:6 K:BB in 40 innings. His next three? Ugly. He got a win (going 1-2), but his ERA in 15 innings was 9.60, after allowing 29 hits, 16 earned runs and 4 home runs.
Tuesday night, Lee re-announced his presence with authority.
From the Windup is Matt Snyder's weekly, extended look at some aspect of America's pastime.
As I look ahead to the MLB playoffs, I'm faced with the fact that my beloved Cubbies aren't going to be competing. Being a devout baseball fan, though, there's no way I'm not watching the postseason. Without a horse in the race, I'm forced to focus instead on individuals, and there are always plenty of reasons to watch certain players. Thus, I'm going to list 10 players I'm looking forward to watching and five players I wish I could come October.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
For the second consecutive year, the Indians have given a playoff contender a huge boost. For the second consecutive year, they traded the previous season's AL Cy Young award winner. And for the second consecutive year, he's absolutely dealing in the National League.
Through five starts, Cliff Lee is 5-0 with a 0.68 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 2 complete games and 39 strikeouts (with only 6 walks) in 40 innings. Sound familiar?
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That most of you probably missed one of the biggest, most entertaining baseball games of the season late Monday night. The Rockies and Giants, the top two teams in the NL wild-card race, played deep into the night, with the Rockies scoring five runs in the bottom of the 14th to win 6-4. Ryan Spilborghs' walk-off grand slam -- the first in Rockies history -- came just after Giants reliever Justin Miller had walked pitcher Adam Eaton with the bases loaded.
With the victory, the Rockies took a four-game lead in the wild-card race, their biggest of the season, and also pulled within three of the first-place Dodgers, just before Los Angeles comes to Denver to start a three-game set on Tuesday.
World Series MVP Hideki Matsui was an absolute monster (Godzilla?) in the 2009 Fall Classic. In 13 at-bats, he pounded eight hits -- including a double and three home runs -- eight RBI and three runs scored. His OPS for the series was an obscene 2.027. 
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