In the Playoff Pulse series, our MLB editor takes on a hot October topic.
On the precipice of their first World Series title in 28 years, the Phillies deserve a world of credit for the way they have executed in October. They have played to their strengths all month long, and as it turns out, those strengths are enough to win a title.
They have a dominant ace in Cole Hamels who may very well close the Fall Classic out Monday night. He's 4-0 in October and he gives the opposing pitcher very little room for error. The rest of their rotation has flown under the radar in part because of Hamels' excellence and in part because of a ballpark that inflates ERAs, but it's proven to be very capable, too, behind the southpaw ace.
They have a lights-out bullpen that finishes with Brad Lidge, but also features top-notch flame-thrower Ryan Madson as the bridge to Lidge and a number of useful situational guys like Scott Eyre and Chad Durbin.
And they have a power-laden offense that has much more balance than the Rays -- one that is capable of putting crooked numbers up on the board as it did in Game 4, but also capable of staying in the game even when it struggles with runners in scoring position because of the home run ball.
If Monday is a coronation, it will have been well earned indeed.
Later today, the Red Sox will stroll out of the visitor's dugout and face the Yankees for the final time at venerable Yankee Stadium. There will be other goodbyes to the House That Ruth Built in the coming weeks, but with the Bronx Bombers a major longshot to play into October, this series seems to have taken on special significance.
Here are a dozen of the finest moments in the best rivalry in American sports, all of which took place at Yankee Stadium. Even Red Sox fans have to be feeling a little nostalgic about their team's final visit. After all, the franchise's finest hour took place there.
1.Oct. 16, 2003: The ghosts strike one last time. After Red Sox manager Grady Little leaves Pedro Martinez in well past the 100-pitch mark with a 5-2 lead in the eighth inning, the Yankees rally to force extra innings. In the 11th, Aaron Boone sends a deep fly into the Bronx night, sending New York to the World Series and crushing Boston's dreams of ending the Curse of the Bambino again.
We knew this was coming, but now it's finally official: the Dodgers formally announced that Joe Torre has replaced Grady Little as the team's manager. He signed a three-year deal that's reportedly worth $14.5 million. From MLB.com:
Torre is expected to have the same input in player personnel matters that Little had, something he apparently did not have in his final years with the Yankees. Little often said that general manager Ned Colletti consulted him on all player moves.
Torre inherits an imperfect roster coming off a fourth-place finish and a clubhouse divided. The split between young and old players could heal itself as some of the unhappy veterans have already declared for free agency. Nonetheless, Torre has enjoyed widespread respect from his players over the years and Dodgers officials are confident his presence will preclude a repeat of last year's turmoil.
While switching leagues and moving from one coast to the other is a drastic change, one thing remains the same: the Dodgers are willing to spend an obscene amount of money to get the job done. Maybe the don't spend as much as the Yankees, but they're one of a small handful of teams willing to spend $100 million plus on its payroll.
Torre should find life a bit more comfortable in California away from the glare of the Big Apple media, but there is still pressure on him to succeed. He hasn't managed in the National League since 1995 and he has a career losing record (894-1,003) outside of his time with the Yankees. No one disputes that he's a future Hall of Famer, but a lot of people will be waiting to see if he can get results from a fourth-place team that's had just two playoff appearances in the last 11 years.
When managerial jobs open up, Major League Baseball usually requires that team interview at least one minority for the position. In the case of the Dodgers, though, they're getting a pass in their quest to hire Joe Torre. From the Los Angeles Times (via SbB)
The Dodgers were allowed to skip the interviews of minorities because of their hiring record. Selig issued a memorandum in 1990 directing teams to notify his office of minority candidates they planned to interview for vacancies in decision-making positions.
Assistant general managers Kim Ng and De Jon Watson are minorities -- Ng is an Asian-American woman and Watson is African American -- and president Jamie McCourt is the highest-ranking female executive in baseball.
While it's true that the Dodgers have one of the most diverse front offices in the game, that's not why they should be given a free pass on this. No, the reason should be because pretending to show interest to another candidate -- no matter what race, gender or creed -- would be an absolute farce. The Dodgers fired Grady Little for one reason and one reason only: to hire Joe Torre. Pausing for a moment so the front office can go through the charade of feigning interest in another guy with a darker complexion would make a mockery of the rule, which is to create opportunities. There is no opportunity, the Dodgers want Torre and that's it.
So you know how earlier today there were those "Joe Torre to Los Angeles" rumors floating around that you probably looked at and figured, "That's gotta be crap, the Dodgers just committed to Grady Little," like I did? Turns out where there's smoke, there's fire. Peter Abraham is now reporting that the the Dodgers are going to fire Little and hire Torre as their skipper, bringing Don Mattingly along with him as his bench coach.
My first thought is that this is a really low blow to Grady Little and a pretty classless move by the Dodgers. Right after the season ended, Frank McCourt committed to him for the 2008 season. Now that someone better is available, they're sending him packing after every team, except the lead-footed Pirates, with an open manager's job has filled the position. I mean, I'd rather have Joe Torre manage my team, too, but it's not like Torre being available wasn't a possibility on October 1st, because we all know it was.
My second thought is that this means that the Dodgers are going to get in on the A-Rod sweepstakes, right? It always seemed to me like A-Rod and Torre got along pretty well in New York. Transporting the coaching staff out there has to be a move made with one eye on bringing him out to Los Angeles, doesn't it? Maybe I'm just reading too much into things.
With his old job all but officially filled, it's only natural to turn our attention back to Joe Torre to see where he lands. According to the New York Post, he may land on the opposite side of the country, as the Dodgers are reportedly thinking about negotiating a buyout with current skipper Grady Little:
Torre, who wants to manage again, is interested in talking to the Dodgers if the job becomes available.
Since none of Little's coaches is signed for next year and he is ($1 million and an undisclosed option for 2009), there has been speculation Little is out. And since the underachieving Dodgers have a dysfunctional clubhouse with veterans and youngsters feuding, Torre is the ideal person to put the room back together.
It's a bitter coincidence for Little, though, as this is the second time that Torre has had a hand in Little losing his job. Following the 2003 playoffs, Little was fired as the Red Sox manager after Torre's Yankees simply abused them in the ALCS.
Of course, it was just a few weeks ago that Dodgers owner Frank McCourt gave Little and GM Ned Colletti a vote of confidence, saying they'd both return in 2008. But perhaps Colletti is still feeling the pressure and decided the best way to save his job beyond this year is to bring in a manager that'd be immune to pressure or criticism (at least for a few seasons), and a guy like Torre fits that description perfectly.
Right around the time the season ended, the Dodgers announced they were bringing back GM Ned Colletti, and manager Grady Little. Though Frank McCourt made it seem like it was a done deal, I've never been completely sold that it was a lock for the pair to be back next year, especially with some good baseball people available on the market. One such person, is Joe Girardi, who is interviewing for the Yankees vacancy. Buster Olney of ESPN suggests that the Dodgers could be interested in hiring Girardi if he doesn't get the Yankees job:
Officials familiar with Girardi's job prospects said Thursday if the Yankees do not hire him to succeed Joe Torre, then Girardi could have a developing opportunity with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The agent for Girardi, Steve Mandel, was asked if Girardi had been approached about a job opportunity with the Dodgers, and Mandel would not comment. ... Girardi and Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti have known each other for almost two decades. Colletti came to know the former catcher as media relations director for the Cubs; Girardi was selected by Chicago out of Northwestern as a fifth-round pick in the 1986 amateur draft.
Even without Girardi's ties to Colletti, I felt that Girardi could be a good fit in Los Angeles. Like I said, though McCourt has expressed confidence in Little by picking up his option for '08, I still think he'd make a change if the opportunity arose.
Babe Ruth, Bucky Dent, Bill Buckner, Calvin Schiraldi: names synonymous with the painful history of the Boston Red Sox and their championship drought. In 2003, another name was added to the list: Grady Little. For many fans, Grady became the face of failure in Boston. Maybe because it was against the Yankees. Maybe because it was the most recent in fans' memories. Maybe because the 2003 Red Sox had a team capable of winning the World Series. But more likely it is because Grady had so many chances to make the right move. It wasn't just one under-the-gun, could-go-either-way decision. It was several chances to make the right decision with all of the statistical facts backing him. Yet in the end, his inability to pull the trigger on Pedro Martinez catapulted him to the Red Sox Hall of Shame. Heck, he even got a website and a book named after him!
Pick it up Grady's follies in the bottom of the seventh with the Red Sox leading 4-1 and two outs.
Giambi homered to right center, Enrique Wilson reached on infield single, Karim Garcia singled to right sending Wilson to second.
Pedro was able to strike out the free-swinging Soriano to avoid further damage. After seven, Boston was leading 4-2.
Clearly, Pedro was done. It took everything he had to get Soriano, and his pitch count was over 100. Timlin and Williamson had been outstanding in the post-season in the set-up and closer roles respectively. In each of the 3 wins the Sox had in this series, Timlin pitched the eighth, Williamson the ninth. Why should the clincher be any different?
There was speculation around LA that heads were going to roll following the Dodgers' collapse. Many people blamed Grady Little for failing to properly manage the personalities on the team. Others blamed Ned Colletti for making poor signings (e.g. Juan Pierre, Jason Schmidt), and failing to acquire a big bat when one was needed. Well, good thing for both Little and Colletti -- owner Frank McCourt says they'll both be back next year:
Frank McCourt characterized the Dodgers' season as a "disappointment" Sunday but said General Manager Ned Colletti and Manager Grady Little would be back in 2008. ... McCourt, Colletti and Little agreed that the organization should remain committed to building around its young players.
"We put a foundation in place that will serve the organization well for years and years to come," McCourt said. "We need to stick with the plan and not be impulsive because we're getting closer."
You can pinpoint many different problems for the Dodgers this year. I would say the injury to Schmidt, lack of offense from Nomar Garciaparra and Rafael Furcal, as well as the organizational impatience with Wilson Betemit, were the primary reasons for the season's failure. Take those four problems and attribute them however you like, and that's where you can direct the blame. I guess Schmidt is on Colletti, Furcal likely underachieved because he was playing hurt, and Nomar simply underperformed (there was pressure from the fans to re-sign him), and I don't know who's to blame for the impatience with Betemit. Add it all up, and really, I don't think much of the season's failure was attributable to Little or Colletti. On paper, the pieces were in place -- it just didn't play out the way it was expected to.
"I'm angry and disappointed and perplexed. Bitter," Kent said after the Dodgers fell for the fifth straight time, losing, 9-4, to the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.
Asked whether those curious and perplexing things included Manager Grady Little's daily lineups and the coaching staff's game strategy, Kent responded: "Everything."
"I don't know what it is, especially when you have a lot" of young players, said Kent, whose double Thursday raised his average to .298 to go along with a team-high 20 home runs and 78 runs batted in. "It's hard to influence a big group. We've got some good kids on the team. Don't get me wrong, please don't misinterpret my impressions. [But] it's hard to translate experience.
"I don't know why they don't get it."
Asked what they don't get, Kent said: "A lot of things. Professionalism. How to manufacture a run. How to keep your emotions in it. There's just a lot of things that go on with playing 162 games.
It goes on like that. I suppose I understand Kent's anger; who hasn't felt frustrated with their coworkers before? Who hasn't thought a younger generation was screwing everything up? (OK, I haven't ... but I'm sure you old farts have.) Still, for all his talk about professionalism, I would argue that Kent venting to the media about anything and everything is hugely unprofessional, too ... but that's just me.
In the Playoff Pulse series, our MLB editor takes on a hot October topic.
We knew this was coming, but now it's finally official: the Dodgers formally announced that 
When managerial jobs open up, Major League Baseball usually requires that team interview at least one minority for the position. In the case of the Dodgers, though, they're getting a pass in their quest to hire 
So you know how earlier today there were those 
With 
Right around the time the season ended, the 
There was speculation around LA that heads were going to roll following the Dodgers' collapse. Many people blamed 
