From the Windup is FanHouse's extended look at a particular portion of America's pastime.
While there is still time left in the Hot Stove season, and there are a few high quality players left on the market -- Ben Sheets, anyone? -- the Yankees have been the team who has made the biggest splash in all of baseball thus far. That splash was seemingly a reaction to missing the playoffs for the first time since the strike-shortened 1994.
They didn't make it easy, but they did it. After letting a seven-run lead slip away late in Game 5, and losing at home in Game 6, the Rays beat Boston's best pitcher to advance to the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.
The star of the game was Matt Garza, who allowed just two hits and one run over seven innings. Garza walked three and struck out nine, giving up only a Dustin Pedroia solo homer in the first. That performance, combined with his Game 3 win, was enough to win him the MVP.
After the Rays went ahead on a Rocco Baldelli single in the fifth, and added an insurance run when Willy Aybar homered in the seventh, the Red Sox had a chance in the eighth. But with two outs and the bases loaded in the eighth, Joe Maddon brought in 23-year-old lefty David Price. The 2007 No. 1 pick out of Vanderbilt, who didn't make his first major league appearance until September 14, struck out J.D. Drew, and then retired the side in the ninth.
Game 1 of the World Series will be Wednesday night, with Scott Kazmir being the likely starter for the Rays. The Phillies have already announced that Cole Hamels will be on the mound in the first game.
Every four years, Major League Baseball's postseason intersects with a presidential election. This is one of those years. In the spirit of the season, we here at MLB FanHouse have divided the playoff teams up for a series of debates. Here Andrew Johnson and Matt Watson discuss the ALDS between the Angels and Red Sox.
Andrew Johnson: Between the Brewers and Rays, the 2008 postseason has a pretty fresh feel. Not so much in this series. For the third time in five years the Angels will face the Red Sox in the first round. The last two meetings haven't gone well for Los Angeles -- both were sweeps in Boston's favor.
I don't anticipate a Red Sox sweep this time around, but it's hard for me to see the outcome being any different for the Halos. But why you ask? The Angels have 100 wins and the best record in baseball you say. They went 8-1 against Boston this season you add.
None of these facts faze me. Why? The Red Sox are simply a better baseball team. Their run differential of plus-151 is a staggering 83 runs better than the Angels. And it's all the more impressive considering Boston played 54 games -- roughly one-third of its schedule -- against the Blue Jays, Rays and Yankees. All three clubs won at least 86 games.
Brandon Moss, the 24-year-old outfielder who replaced JD Drew in two games against the A's in Japan, has been optioned back to AAA Pawtucket. The Sox are reporting that Drew's strained back -- the reason he was benched in Japan -- is feeling better and that he should be ready to rumble by Tuesday, which leaves the team with four viable outfielders and no real need for a fifth.
He may have been sent back down, but that doesn't mean he didn't make an impression. The Sox obviously see talent in him or it would have been Coco Crisp out there instead of Moss in Drew's stead, so Moss shouldn't be too disappointed. JD Drew is bound to get injured again -- don't deny it, Red Sox Nation, you know it's true -- and one would imagine that Moss would be at the top of the list. I'd expect to see him within a month or two when Drew is sipping margaritas poolside with Pavano at the DL-hotel.
After the first five completed series in this post-season saw the losing team in the series win exactly one game, we've finally got a match-up that's living up to the hype. The Indians and Red Sox both won 96 games in the regular season and now they're playing toe-to-toe in the ALCS. Tonight's Game 6 features a guy who will go to the Hall of Fame based on his post-season resume, Curt Schilling, and the young Fausto Carmona, ace #1B in the Indians rotation. Neither pitched well in Game 2, though both were awesome in their respective division series.
Anyways, Fenway will be rocking tonight as the Red Sox try extend their season one more day and the Indians try to avoid the daunting task of playing at Game 7 at Fenway. This is by far the biggest game of this October, so follow along after the jump for the liveblog of the festivities, the McCarverisms, and the game, because games like tonight's are the reason that we all watch baseball all year.
For media and fans alike, it's easy to wake up, rub the big-loss hangover out of your eyes, and wax poetic about what a manager should have done to win a game. In the case of game four of the ALCS, the concerns are legitimate. We are not talking about whether a hit-and-run should have been on, or if a pinch-runner should have been brought in to try a steal at some point. We are talking about starting pitching and most of the line-up.
Starting Tim Wakefield last night, while it looked good for four innings, may go down as being the gamble that cost the Red Sox a shot at a second World Series in four years. Wakefield hasn't pitched since September, and hasn't pitched well since August. Last night was painfully typical of the late-season Wake: looking great one minute, but heading to the showers in the blink of an eye with a crooked number on the board. Putting Wakefield on the hill also meant putting his personal catcher behind the plate. For the record, Jason Varitek has pretty good numbers against Byrd and Dougie is just another hole in the bottom of the order.
J.D. Drew has been notorious for missing games and spending time on the DL with various injuries throughout his career. It's widely known that Drew won't grind through a game if he's not feeling nearly 100%, resulting in his career high in games played being 146 last year. Well, ladies and gentlemen, I introduce you to the new J.D. Drew. His name, is Milton Bradley.
Upon being released by the A's, Bradley said the move was racially motivated. Considering the fact that Bradley has been on the DL four times this year, and is in the middle of a second string of games missed because of an oblique strain, I'd say the issue centers around Bradley's inability to stay healthy. Check this: Milton has been in the bigs since 2000. Now in his eighth season as a major leaguer, Bradley's career high in games played is 141. His next highest total is 101. Bradley has failed to play at least 100 games in six of his eight seasons.
The Royals initially traded for Bradley, but Milton failed the physical. When the Padres completed a trade for him, he missed the first 15 days with San Diego because of a strained left oblique, though he did not go on the DL. Now Bradley's missing games with a strained right oblique. Optimistic reports suggest Milton could be back this weekend. Realistic reports say there is no timetable for Bradley's return. I'm guessing he'll return at a later date rather than earlier. After all, 12 career DL stints agree with me. It's really a shame because he could be such a good player. Maybe he just needs the John Smoltz treatment to figure it out.
And gee, what a shock that would be. The team was at odds with Scott Boras over his client, JD Drew, opting out of his Dodgers contract, and hasn't dealt with him much since then. That is, until now potentially. Boras is reportedly upset with the team for demoting Tony Abreu to the minors when Abreu incurred an abdominal injury. Boras would've preferred the team simply placed him on the DL.
By being put on the disabled list Abreu would continue to draw a big league salary and accrue major league service time, becoming eligible for arbitration and free agency earlier.
A similar dispute between the Marlins and pitcher Anibal Sanchez led to a grievance's being filed by the players' union on behalf of Sanchez, who says he was demoted to the minors despite a shoulder problem that led to season-ending surgery in June. The demotion is costing Sanchez more than $1,400 a day in salary, said union attorney Jeff Fannell, who also said demoting an injured player is a violation of the collective bargaining agreement between baseball and the players' union.
This is certainly a valid complaint for any player and agent to have -- they obviously don't want to get stiffed when it comes to money. And of course all teams will protect their interests at all times by keeping that service time clock from ticking. I'm guessing Boras would have a strong case to make against the team if it came down to that. Meanwhile, the Dodgers have been using the slugging Ramon Martinez in a role Abreu most likely could have filled. Seems pretty fishy to me. Previously at FanHouse: Did the Red Sox Tamper With JD Drew
I remember a while back there was a bunch of Fanhouse discussion on relegation in the MLS. Essentially, the feeling was that relegation would never work in the US because American sports fans are used to a system in which the league rewards poor teams to help them catch up to the good teams in the form of drafts to create parity. That's mostly true, except in Major League Baseball. It's not true in baseball because of people like the guys on the right. You might not recognize him, but you probably hate him. It's Scott Boras.
The most famous example of MLB Draft manipulation is certainly Boras client JD Drew, who refused to play for the Phillies for less than $10 million. The Phillies wouldn't pay that, and Drew re-entered the draft the next year. Drew is famous because he actually held out and didn't play. The #2 pick doesn't do that every year, but that's only because most teams are afraid to draft a player that says they won't sign with them.
Stuff like this happens in every draft, but last year was a great example of this. Every scouting agency and draftnik in the world had UNC's Andrew Miller rated as the top prospect of the 2006 draft. For weeks, he was assumed to be the Royals pick in the top slot of the draft. Suddenly on draft day, Miller dropped to the sixth spot with four college or college level pitchers taken before him. Whispers about his signability had started floating in the couple days before the draft and the Royals, Rockies, Pirates, and Mariners all passed on him before the Tigers grabbed him. One rumor suggested he was trying to force a drop to the Red Sox or Yankees. He did almost as well landing on the Tigers.
I don't like the guy; I think he's one of the biggest lying, scummy, rude, and downright disgusting players in baseball. But I will say this for the man -- he sure has an unparalleled sense of doggedness about him. In a day in age when J.D. Drew misses games when he's less than 100% healthy, and navigating your way through the injury report in baseball will put your scroll finger in a splint, you have Barry Bonds who is determined not to become a casualty despite being held out of the Giants' last two games (save a pinch-hit at-bat Wednesday night).
"Don't count on me seeing the D.L. at all, ever," Bonds said in even tones. "Ever, ever. Like I said, ever. Perfect English?"
How can Bonds make such a pronouncement, especially with his 43rd birthday next month?
"Because I won't let myself," Bonds said. "I'll work hard. I'll do what I have to do to make sure I don't go there, unless I'm hit by a truck or something."
Just look at how powerful those words are. Envision the force with which Barry speaks those words. Other players don't enjoy going on the DL, but they allow themselves to be placed on it should the need arise. Barry on the other hand, has pronounced that he won't let it happen. I'm not a fan of his, and I don't even need to get into his play on the field, attitude towards his teammates and the press, nor rumored involvement with steroids and HGH. But I will say this for the man, that's the type of grit and determination I respect in a player, and that's the mentality I would want from someone on my team. You don't have to like the man, heck, you can hate the person that is Barry Bonds, but respect him for his fortitude.
Sometimes, hitting a go-ahead double followed by a 9th inning game-tying homer just ain't enough. 
For media and fans alike, it's easy to wake up, rub the big-loss hangover out of your eyes, and wax poetic about what a manager should have done to win a game. In the case of game four of the ALCS, the concerns are legitimate. We are not talking about whether a hit-and-run should have been on, or if a pinch-runner should have been brought in to try a steal at some point. We are talking about starting pitching and most of the line-up.
J.D. Drew has been notorious for missing games and spending time on the DL with various injuries throughout his career. It's widely known that Drew won't grind through a game if he's not feeling nearly 100%, resulting in his career high in games played being 146 last year. Well, ladies and gentlemen, I introduce you to the new J.D. Drew. His name, is Milton Bradley.
And gee, what a shock that would be. The team was at odds with Scott Boras over his client, JD Drew, opting out of his Dodgers contract, and hasn't dealt with him much since then. That is, until now potentially. Boras is reportedly upset with the team for demoting Tony Abreu to the minors when Abreu incurred an abdominal injury. Boras would've preferred the team simply placed him on the DL.
I remember a while back there was a bunch of Fanhouse discussion on relegation in the MLS. Essentially, the feeling was that relegation would never work in the US because American sports fans are used to a system in which the league rewards poor teams to help them catch up to the good teams in the form of drafts to create parity. That's mostly true, except in Major League Baseball. It's not true in baseball because of people like the guys on the right. You might not recognize him, but you probably hate him. It's Scott Boras. 
Barry's World is the FanHouse's look into the season that is Barry Bonds.
