Kuzul

How many Major League Baseball pitchers can claim they own the New York Yankees?

Tonight, in Game 3 of the ALDS, the Bronx Bombers face crafty lefty Cliff Lee, who for the most part has shut them down over the last two seasons.

With the confidence that Andy Pettitte’s many successful postseason appearances afford, manager Joe Girardi is scheduled to start his wily southpaw in a bounce-back game.

Yankees’ left-handed ace CC Sabathia lasted only four innings in Game 1, but New York came back to win as it does quite often.

Mariano Rivera sealed the victory that left Yankees fans in high spirits.

But the Rangers bats gnashed their wooden teeth again early in Game 2 on Saturday in Arlington, as the team bounced back to tie the series.

Manager Ron Washington feels confident that his team will be more than competitive in the friendly confines of the Bronx in Game 3.

Why wouldn’t he be?

He has a pitcher who is on the short list of those who can claim they own the Yankees.

One of the names on that short list is current Philadelphia Phillies’ ace Roy Halladay, who pitched a no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds in the first game of this year’s NLDS.

Last year Cliff Lee, the current Rangers’ ace, was the ace of the Phillies. He pitched a complete game victory for Philly in Game 1 of the 2009 World Series against the Yankees. Lee won Game 5 in the World Series as well.

This year he has had an outstanding postseason, and he is riding his hottest streak yet. 

Cliff pitched the first game of the ALDS against Tampa Bay on Oct. 6 and threw seven innings, gave up one run, no walks and struck out 10.

Incredibly there have been eight postseason pitching performances of at least 10 strikeouts and zero walks in MLB history. Lee pitched the last four of them, including the two against the Rays.

In Game 5 against Tampa, he set the ALDS strikeout record and tied the MLB record with 21 in two starts.  The Rays have a potent lineup, but they are known for going lame at times.

They were no-hit this last regular season.

Lee has no-hit stuff: a knuckle curve, circle change, two-seam fastball and a cut fastball. 

In three starts this season he is 2-0 against the Yankees.  One of those two victories came at Yankee Stadium, with another Lee complete game.

His 3.09 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and .209 batting average against the Yankees this year has been remarkable.

Those numbers are slightly better than his overall ERA and WHIP on the season.

Lefties are batting .288 against him this season.  He is always around the zone and the Yankees hitters will have to step up tonight.

Bryan Gardner, Nick Swisher, Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, Lance Berkman and Curtis Granderson will be the players to watch in the Yankees lineup.

Lee sealed a Rangers three-game sweep in Arlington on Sept. 12 by defeating New York, 4-1 in over eight innings.

Andy Pettitte is 1-0 against Texas this season, posting a 2.25 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and a .154 batting average against the Rangers, lasting eight strong innings. 

The Yankees swept the Rangers then, back in April, when AJ Burnett was pitching well and Rich Harden was the Rangers’ ace.

But the Rangers scooped Lee up in a trade with the Seattle Mariners in July after a deal with the Yankees fell through.

Lee had cursed the New Yorkers in a different way this time by adding to their angst in the light of their pitching woes around that time.

The Yankees pitching staff appeared to be in danger after a spate of injuries and poor performances, but they find themselves three wins away from yet another World Series.

Lee solidified the Rangers’ staff by providing guidance and a good example on the field for lefty CJ Wilson, who performed admirably in the first game of this series.

By all rights, Texas should have won the first two games.

Now they face Pettitte, who is widely underrated even though he is usually money in the playoffs.

This season he has even more incentive to win the championship for former owner George Steinbrenner, who passed away earlier this season.

The Boss’ sons run the club now and the Steinbrenner family wants a championship even more than ever.  Derek Jeter is one of the family, and he will make sure it happens starting tonight.

Prediction: The Yankees will lift the curse and defeat Cliff Lee tonight, 5-2.

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Acclaimed actor Sidney Poitier starred with Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn in the hit movie Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.

Guess which team will show up hungrier in this year’s American League Championship Series?

The actors in this year’s Major League Baseball saga may not win any Oscars or Golden Globes, but they have a chance to have their names etched in eternity as stars and winners nonetheless.

Starring for the defending World Series champion New York Yankees will be Joe Girardi, with co-stars Robinson Cano, Curtis Granderson, C.C. Sabathia and Derek Jeter.

Statistics aside, the Yankees may have the best batting lineup since the 1934 St. Louis Cardinals—the Gas House Gang.

The Gang featured five .300 hitters, including mammoth slugger Ripper Collins.

Which hitter will rip the opposing pitching staff apart? I predict it will be Josh Hamilton.

Playing the lead role for the Texas Rangers will be their once-beleaguered manager Ron Washington.  His supporting cast includes Josh Hamilton, Nelson Cruz, Michael Young, David Murphy, Ian Kinsler, Vladimir Guerrero and Cliff Lee.

The Rangers are no slobs themselves when it comes to hitting.

The first African-American manager in the 49-year history of the Texas Rangers, “Wash” is on the cusp of becoming the first black manager to hit the AL pennant lotto since 1993.

Clarence “Cito” Gaston was the last to do it. 

Born in San Antonio and raised in Corpus Christi, Texas, Gaston was also the first African-American to win the World Series (1992).

He was also once with the Atlanta Braves, and roommates with “Hammering” Hank Aaron.

Gaston has been quoted as saying that Mr. Aaron taught him “how to be a man, how to stand on my own.” 

Wash stood on his own for a little while during the 2010 MLB preseason, when he admitted to cocaine use. 

But team president Nolan Ryan provided his manager with some much needed company by predicting a 95-win season.

“We will win,” the former flame-throwing pitcher declared.

Now a part-owner of the Rangers, Ryan almost hit a bulls-eye with his bold prediction. 

His team finished the regular season at 90-72, and won the AL West division by nine games. 

This will be Wash’s first appearance as a manager in the ALCS, and Texas’ fourth postseason run ever.  The franchise has only won four playoff games entering into this year’s pennant series.

Needless to say, this will be the first time the Rangers have played in baseball’s version of the Final Four.

Their lone playoff victory before beating Tampa Bay 3-2 in a five-game series came in Game 1 of the ALDS against the New York Yankees.

The Yankees have pummeled the Rangers in every one of their four postseason series.

Which team is hungrier? It seems to me that they both are ready to gorge on equal amounts of home runs and extra base hits.

What will separate these two offensive juggernauts is pitching. 

Enter stage right Mr. Lee. 

The Yankees wanted to acquire him from the Seattle Mariners, but Ryan was widely viewed as winning a victory over the vaunted Yankee front office in sealing the deal.

The Rangers have dealt with 23 different managers in their history, and the only other one to guide them to the playoffs was the late Johnny Oates. 

As a result, he was named the 1996 Co-American League Manager of the Year. 

Joe Torre of the Yankees shared the award with Oates.

Oates and current Baltimore Orioles manager, Buck Showalter, were very close friends.  The Rangers retired Oates’ uniform number 26 in 2005.

Washington replaced Showalter as manager of the Rangers in 2007.

Showalter sported jersey number 26 as an Oriole this season in honor of Oates.

Washington had a mediocre career as a former shortstop and second baseman with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Minnesota Twins, the Baltimore Orioles, the Cleveland Indians, and the Houston Astros.

His main claim to fame was breaking up Odell Jones’ May 28, 1988 no-hitter with one out in the ninth inning.

Washington was sent in to pinch-hit for Jay Bell, batting ninth. 

After he hung up his cleats for good in 1989, his former Astros manager, Art Howe hired him as the A’s first base coach in 1996.

He was then promoted to third base and infield coach, and he served in that role from 1997-2006.

His players adored him to the point of handing him some of their official MLB accolades.

Washington helped to develop six-time Gold Glove recipient Eric Chavez, and shortstop Miguel Tejada.  Chavez gave Washington a Gold Glove trophy, signed “Wash, not without you.”

That sentiment was shared by Ranger’s general manager Jon Daniels after the Game 5 win against Tampa Bay.

 “Manager of the Year, right here boys,” Daniels proclaimed to reporters in the ALDS celebratory club house.

Hero Cliff Lee won’t pitch until Game 3 in the ALDS, and hopefully in Game 7 for the Rangers.

Ron Washington and current Yankee first baseman Mark Teixeira had a rift over their different approaches to batting. 

Teixeira was traded three months later to the Atlanta Braves in July 2007, but he was reportedly being shopped before the rift.

I believe the Rangers pitchers will send a text message to their former star. 

It could read something like: “Tex, without you.”

I predict the so-called “Evil Empire” will fall in seven games to the Rangers, and that Ron Washington will be named 2010 AL Manager of the Year.

His boldest move was perhaps slotting SS Elvis Andrus in the lead-off spot.  Wash’s base-running aggression against the Rays helped to get his team to this point.

Considered plodders on the base paths, New York may play possum in the running department.

The Yankees may have played possum to finish second to the Rays, but possum is a delicacy in certain parts of Texas—so I hear.

The Rangers swept the Yankees in September. 

Texas will clean the New York house with an ALDS triumph in seven games.

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A wise-ruling emperor will step down from his throne if it is better for his royal subjects to be governed by a more respected successor.  On the contrary, a stubborn emperor will be forced out.

The Yankees, to me, fall into the stubborn emperor category: they are the long-time personification of the Evil Empire in the Empire State.

In their American League Division Series match, the Minnesota Twins are the more respected rulers this season, and it is time for the Evils to stand down.

The Twins will challenge the Yankees’ attempt at back-to-back World Series titles with the tried and trusty weapons of home-field advantage and a lineup braced with boppers. 

I’ve heard that Minnesota’s former governor, Jesse “the Body” Ventura, will make a special plate appearance dressed as Conan the Conqueror, just to scare the living fastball out of opposing behemoth CC Sabathia.

Minnesota’s team batting average of .273 was third in Major League Baseball, behind only the Texas Rangers and the Kansas City Royals. 

The Yankees team batting average (.267) was good enough for eighth-place in MLB. In just about the same number of plate appearances, the Twins had thirty-six more hits than the Yankees, although the Yankees hit more home runs (201-142) and drove in more runs (823-749).    

By stealing a lot more bases (103-68) and slugging at a higher percentage (.436-422), New York has a better overall offense, but Minnesota’s pitching staff is better than New York’s, by the numbers. 

The numbered days for the Yankees begins with this Twins invasion at home. Their offense will strike the first blow, but Minnesota’s pitching staff will be the end of the conquest.

The Yankees struck out over 1,100 times, while the Twins fanned less than 1,000 times.

The Yankees collapsed from their stranglehold on home-field advantage by choking in September.  When they were supposed to be crisp in their play on the baseball diamond, instead they went soggy. This year ain’t last year, people.

It’s a newly open restaurant, and the younger Minnesota Twins want to eat, too.  And they would love nothing more than to eat the Yankees’ breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late night snack.

Snack on this, my friends:

Minnesota has far better team pitching.  While they pitched nine complete games, the Yankees only pitched three for the season.

The Twins have the advantage in shutouts, saves, innings pitched, batters hit, home runs allowed, earned runs allowed, and walks allowed.

The Twins finished fifth in the AL in team ERA (3.95), while the Yankees finished seventh (4.06).

New York swept Minnesota last year in the American League Division Series (ALDS) at the old Metrodome, but the Twins have a new home this season, where they racked a 53-28 record—the best home record in the AL. 

While Yankee home fans hope their squad will “win it for the Gipper,” former team owner George Steinbrenner, who died this past July, I can’t see it happening.

All the intangibles considered, the Twins’ determination to dethrone the Evil Empire will make this series a conquest for Minnesota.

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The Cardinals came into this season expecting to challenge the Philadelphia Phillies for the National League pennant and to dethrone the New York Yankees in the World Series.

Yet they were out of contention by the middle of September, in the clutches of a collapse from a first-place tie with their longtime rival, the Cincinnati Reds, and were far removed from being the hottest Redbirds team in three seasons.

Collapse is a more powerful word than the phrase “second-half swoon,” but collapse is more appropriate in this situation, without question.

Redbird Nation is baffled:

How a team expected to swim deep into the playoffs needed CPR, personal oxygen tanks, and a breathing apparatus by the beginning of September is beyond us.

Instead of challenging the Phillies in the playoffs, the Cardinals were eliminated by the Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates with a week remaining in the regular season.

Watching their barroom-brawling rivals run away with the division crown this particular season is a James Bond movie-like bitter and poison pill for diehard Cardinals fans to swallow.

They were 12-6 against the Reds, but their record was an ugly 26-33 against the rest of the division, and 46-50 against teams with a losing record.

Again this year, thanks to a second-half swoon that has become the norm over the last three Redbirds seasons, the Gateway City’s Gas House Gang’s gritty baseball team flavor lost its savor under their now-embattled tragic Cardinal of a manager: Tony LaRussa.

The Cardinals were playing like the best team in baseball from the first pitch after the 81^st All-Star Game.  Starting on July 15, their first eight games after the break were played in St. Louis against two of the top NL teams: the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies.

Eight revenge games to start the second half: The Dodgers had swept the Cardinals out of the playoffs in 2009, and the Phillies were the defending NL Champions.

After the infield dust settled, Major League Baseball eyes watched in admiration at the Redbirds’ sizzling performance.

First, the Birds swept the Dodgers by outscoring them 22-9 in the four-game series.  In July, Joe Torre’s squad was still considered the front-runner to win the NL West.

Then, the Cardinals bopped the Phillies in three straight games, taking the series 3-1, and outscoring Philadelphia 23-8 in the four contests. 

Then, in the very next series, in Chicago against their top rivals (the woefully struggling Cubs), the Cardinals were dismantled by yet another team that owned a losing overall record.

The Cardinals’ August began in Houston against the cellar-dwelling Astros.  Houston shoved an 18-4 loss down the Cardinals’ throat; an embarrassing effort that drew the ire of Cardinals fans who experienced the bitter commentary of MLB analysts as well as those from other team’s fans.

But the Redbirds made up for it a week later, by running Cincinnati red—in Cincinnati.  This was the “Scrap Series,” where the Cardinals swept the clashes but ended up losing the conflict.

Cincinnati’s cocky infielder, Brandon Phillips, a breathing conflict on the diamond, fired the then-second-place Redbirds up with his comments that I will not repeat here.  And when he stepped to the plate, the Cards’ rugged catcher, Yadier Molina, dared Phillips to shine across the line.

Phillips did so and the brawl was on to the Reds’ detriment, or so it seemed.

Being swept by his managerial Mad Hatter in Tony LaRussa, Cincinnati’s skipper Dusty “Batman” Baker’s blood boiled as he was seen bristling in postgame interviews.

The Reds went on a division-clinching run after the series’ infamous summer brawl, while the Cardinals started to swoon.

To end August, the Cardinals got swept by the Pittsburgh Pirates and by the Astros, plus Albert Pujols and the St. Louisans were almost swept by the Washington Nationals.  In the last 10 games of the month, the Cardinals record was 1-9.

The swoon was now lasting way past June.  Even though the Redbirds destroyed the Reds by a score of 6-1 in a game played on national television on the Saturday before Labor Day, for all intents and purposes, the division race was over.

How could a relatively young team with a Cy Young candidate (Adam Wainwright), a first baseman vying for the Triple Crown (Pujols), a $25 million enforcer (Matt Holliday), a top NL closer (Ryan Franklin), and a former Cy Young winner (Chris Carpenter) miss the playoffs? 

Before asking yourself “What just happened?” chew on this:

As you know, I believe that the blame has to fall squarely on the grudge-holding mind of manager Tony LaRussa. 

Both LaRussa and McGwire are pond scum, and now we see them for what they truly are. Hopefully, in this long offseason, consequences and repercussions will be the result. 

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by Lake Cruise, September 26, 2010 

Startled by the news that Joe Torre is vacating the Los Angeles Dodgers’ dugout next season, I started to wonder if Saint Louis Cardinals’ manager Tony La Russa needs to resign.

Torre’s decision resulted in Peter Gammons also questioning Tony La Russa’s future, and Gammons mentioned Saint Louis as a possible destination for Torre if La Russa steps down.

It would be a unique role reversal: Tony relieved Torre as the Cardinals’ skipper in 1996.

It appears that the Dodgers’ young and rising core players outgrew Torre, and it appears to me that Tony La Russa has grown bored with his championship core in St Louis. 

Speculation on La Russa’s future has been almost nonexistent in the St. Louis media until this past week when the Cardinals collapsed to the abyss behind the Cincinnati Reds.

And it was also revealed that Colby Rasmus was on the outs with La Russa and that the Cardinals’ brass had favored Rasmus over La Russa.

In most cases, players lose if they challenge La Russa: the franchise leader in managerial wins.

The question is then:  “Does Rasmus’ challenge mark La Russa’s reversal of fortune?”

La Russa was once untouchable: he’s overcome popularity and power struggles with Major League Hall of Famers and All-Stars Ozzie Smith, Ron Gant, Jose Canseco, and Scott Rolen.

The mighty Cardinals’ offense of the 2004 season, featuring Albert Pujols, Rolen, and Jim Edmonds was one of the most feared Cardinals’ lineups ever.

Rolen challenged La Russa for most of their time together with the Cardinals and by 2007, Scotty was gone.

Cardinals GM John Mozeliak wants a core of Pujols, Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter as future closer, Matt Holliday, David Freese, Yadier Molina, John Jay, and Colby Rasmus.

Pujols, Holliday, and Rasmus could match Pujols, Rolen, and Edmonds for the next few years.

It’s been a historic Cardinal run of division championships for La Russa: in the last 10 seasons, the Cardinals have finished first 7 times:  2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2009.

He guided the ball club through two major tragedies: Darryl Kyle’s and Josh Hancock’s deaths.  And Tony later helped rebuild Mark McGwire’s image.

Trailing only two legends, Connie Mack and John McGraw, for most wins by a Major League manager, La Russa was the first manager to win pennants in both leagues and he is the second of two mangers to win the World Series in both leagues (Sparky Anderson was the first to do it).

In 2004, Tony took the Cardinals to the World Series for the first time since 1987. 

Then with the worst ever regular season record for a Major League championship team, the Redbirds won the World Series 4 – 1 against the Detroit Tigers in 2006.

Quirky moves like batting the pitcher eighth, falling asleep at the wheel of an idling SUV at a green light in Florida, being accused of cleansing the team of African American players, and infighting with his own Hall of Fame caliber players helped to identify his personality.

General opinion on La Russa’s future as Redbirds’ manager is divided in typical St. Louis style: the city may be the largest “de facto segregation” city in America. 

Four unique Italian American influenced surnames enjoy a special affinity among many Redbirds’ fans:  Cary, Garagiola, Berra, and La Russa. 

Former Major League players and sports entertainment legends, Joe Garagiola and Yogi Berra grew up on the same block in St. Louis’ famous Italian American neighborhood:  The Hill.

One truism about the best fans in baseball is that as long any player or coach performs in winning Cardinals’ fashion on the diamond, then Redbirds’ fans will respect him. 

Yet the Cardinals have found few black players rosterable during La Russa’s regime.

This is a franchise that is proud of its minority player record:  Pujols, Cepeda, Brock, Gibson, Flood, Smith, George Hendricks, Lee Smith, Terry Pendleton, and Vince Coleman. 

But these days, Willie McGee ain’t walking through that club house door. 

In 1996, Tony inherited a team that included Ozzie Smith, Ron Gant, Brian Jordan, Dmitri Young, Ray Lankford, and Willie McGee. 

There was only reserve, Randy Winn, and fresh faced rookie John Jay on the roster in 2010.

Cardinals’ purists expressed in private that bringing in Mark McGwire, a hitting coach in disguise of La Russa’s humanitarian hire, was a disgrace: the latter’s biggest PR mistake. 

McGwire enjoyed fan support as the new hitting coach, but he failed promising infielder Brendan Ryan who was mired in the .220’s after batting .292 last season. 

McGwire’s fan support slipped after the team batting average dipped below last year’s (.261)

Turns out Tony’s top PR blunder was allowing the large African American fan base’s discontent to brew by not bringing in star-caliber African American players while other teams were.

La Russa was accused by Ozzie Smith, in 1996, of being a big, fat, and bold liar, and La Russa admitted that he sometimes exchanges heated words with Pujols.

Both players are icons in St. Louis’ black community.

Ron Gant once accused La Russa of having a problem with black players.  But who is Ron Gant?

African American discontent with baseball is old news, but in St. Louis, the American baseball Mecca to some, their waning loyalty is something serious. 

But is this La Russa’s fault?  After all, who was he given to work with? 

Who could the Cardinals have signed instead of Matt Holiday that would satisfy the hunger for a star black player in St. Louis?  No one comes to mind.

To be fair, La Russa boosted the careers of Dave Stewart and Ricky Henderson in Oakland, and Tony clashed with Scott Rolen, Jim Edmonds, Colby Rasmus, and Felipe Lopez. 

The way the Cardinals clashed with much success against the top teams in the NL this season, yet they flopped against lesser squads, leaves Cardinals’ Nation crystal balling for answers.

The Cardinals are 28-22 against Philadelphia, Atlanta, San Diego, San Francisco, and Cincinnati, but they are 39-45 against teams with losing records.

The blame has to go to the manager: it’s obvious that he has lost control of the team.

Felipe Lopez experienced his worst MLB season this year, and he became late, or AWOL on a few occasions as his playing time receded in the last few weeks.

La Russa losing the team makes my stomach feel rotten to the core.

The Cardinals have the core talent to compete for a championship every year for the next five years.  A fresh face at the helm will also reinvigorate the team’s young and rising star players.

Rasmus was the stud of the Cardinals’ farm system before being called up, and he is a fan favorite, and many believe he is on his way to becoming a perennial All Star. 

Then the ugly rumors started to swirl about Rasmus demanding for Mozeliak to trade him due to a shortage of playing time attributed to a strained relationship with Tony La Russa.

But in public, Rasmus made it quite clear that he wants to stay in St. Louis and that his relationship with La Russa is fine. 

Mozeliak went on record to say that Rasmus’ frustration with playing time had been brewing. 

Déjà vu all over again: Scott Rolen’s saga had the same flavor.

The Cardinals’ GMs official statement showed Cardinals’ fans that Rasmus was the Kobe of the Cardinals and that La Russa was Redbirds’ Shaq.

All of a sudden, Rasmus’ playing time increased, and he went on a tear after he was set free: he was in specific productive while hitting in the third spot for the ailing Pujols.

The Cardinals have Rasmus, 24, under contract for four more years, and Redbirds’ brass realizes it would be foolish to risk another Scott Rolen like drama. 

Rolen’s new manager, Dusty Baker, got the most production out of Scotty this year since Scott was a Cardinal, and Dusty out coached Tony down the season’s stretch starting after the infamous brawl and subsequent series sweep with and by the Cardinals in August. 

Who knew that Rolen and his brash teammate, 2B Brandon Phillips, would get the last laugh on La Russa this season?

For these reasons, Mr. La Russa, please, take one for the team.

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