Kuzul

Two perfect games. One near perfect game (How near is near? Blown call on the 27th out “near”).  Three regular season no-hitters. One no-hitter in the playoffs, first since 1956. The 2010 Major League Baseball season has been headlined as “The Return of the Pitcher.” 

Along with 2010 being the year of the pitcher, this year in baseball saw the return of the National League.

In the 80th mid-summer classic in Anaheim, California, the National League came out victorious for the first time since 1996.  National and American league pitchers combined to scatter 13 hits while only giving up a combined four runs. Lineups that consisted of former MVP’s, former batting champions, former Rookie of the Year award winners, future MVP players were limited to only four runs combined.

The 2010 MLB Playoffs were headlined by dominant pitching. Roy Halladay opened up the MLB playoffs by no-hitting the Cincinnati Reds in his first playoff start. Tim Lincecum opened up the NLDS series between the San Francisco Giants and the Atlanta Braves with a complete game shutout. Cliff Lee gave up two runs in three starts in the ALDS and the ALCS and only walked one batter in 24 innings pitched. Colby Lewis who has pitched to a career 5.27 ERA, who found himself pitching for Hiroshima Carp of Japan’s Central League for two seasons, became the seventh pitcher to defeat the New York Yankees twice in a playoff series, pitched to a 1.27 ERA and helped the Texas Rangers reach the World Series for the first time. Matt Cain earned a 0.00 ERA throughout the 2010 postseason in route to winning his first World Series championship.

As soon as the San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers punched their tickets to the Fall Classic, many were quick to write off the Giants and were ready to hand the commissioner’s trophy over to Nolan Ryan and the Texas Rangers. I was part of that group, and as soon as the Rangers took a 2-0 lead in Game 1, I said the Rangers were going to be celebrating last Sunday night as World Series Champions.

I mean, come on; how could you not assume an outcome like that? Texas as a team hit .304, slugged .512 and had an OPS of .890 against the Yankees in the ALCS.

The Giants, on the other hand, beat the heavily favored Phillies. That was no small feat as they took care of Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels.

Still, the Rangers were the favorite in the World Series. The Giants pitching staff held the Rangers unforgiving lineup to a .190 average, .288 slugging, and an OPS of .546. Scan a few lines up and look at the comparisons of the two series for the Rangers. Do we still use the excuse that the team is rusty after not playing for four days?

The mid-summer classic and the playoffs are the two biggest stages for Major League Baseball. The two showcased tremendous pitching and in each of them the National League came out winners.  To me, the resurgence of pitching will in fact take some “fire power” away from the AL as the notorious power hitting league.

The Giants once again proved that good pitching will always beat good hitting. The AL has developed some good young pitching, but if it continues to rely on strong lineups and power hitting stars, the National League will continue to thrive in each of the two “big stages” in the baseball season.

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Cliff Lee has bounced between four different teams in the past two years, making it to the World Series both times.

In 2009 it was a trade to the Phillies where he helped Philadelphia capture a second straight National League pennant before losing the Yankees in six games.

This season, a trade sent him to Texas where he led the Rangers to their first ever American League pennant. 

During this process, he established himself as one of the greatest post-season pitchers of all time; despite a poor outing in Game 1 of the 2010 World Series. 

Lee’s contract has now expired and the pitcher is ready to hit the free agent market. The best option, Lee is set to become one of the highest paid pitchers in baseball; if not the highest. 

WIth all the moving around, it is time for the pitcher to find a permanent home. 

Here are the five most likely places where Cliff Lee will land. 

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Cliff Lee signing with the New York Yankees would be very lucrative, yet very costly to his legacy.

Part of the reason why is perception and image, but another part is the impact joining the Yankees could have on his actual on-the-diamond legacy.

He’ll certainly be the most sought-after player on this year’s “Hot Stove,” and New York is always a contender in that market.

Inside we offer 10 reasons why joining the Yankees would ruin his budding legacy as one of baseball’s elite.

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By Shani Muschel

Do you call yourself a sports fan, especially a New York sports fan? Then unless you’ve been living under a large rock covered by a large building in Timbuktu, you’ve been hearing about Rangers’ owner Chuck Greenberg’s ‘outlandish’ criticism of Yankee fans this week.

Still haven’t got the memo?

Then let me break it down for you. In a guest spot on ESPN radio, Greenberg publicly called out Yankee fans, bashing them for their poor behavior this offseason.

“I thought Yankee fans, frankly, were awful,” Greenberg told ESPN. “They were either violent or apathetic, neither of which is good. So I thought Yankee fans were by far the worst of any I’ve seen in the postseason. I thought they were an embarrassment.”

Greenberg swiftly followed up his statement with a call to Hal Steinbrenner in which he apologized for his remarks (presumably at the behest of one Mr. Bud Selig). Because how dare someone take a swing at the holy Yankee establishment and get away with it.

I can’t help but feel like there is a lot of misplaced outrage over this whole ordeal. Let’s all make sure that we’re thinking logically here. Why the upheaval? Is anyone really surprised by these comments? The only real argument anyone can make is the fact that the comments were made by another team owner on the radio, and that was probably not the smartest thing to do. This can be looked at as slightly surprising and disappointing.

But can any Yankee fan or NY sports fan say that they honestly disagree with what was pointed out by Greenberg?

Let’s face it. The guy was spot on. I’ve been a Mets fan since about 2006, but I spent a large part of my life worshipping the Evil Empire (long story that involves my fanatic Mets fan husband, a panel of wise men also fanatic Mets fans. And the dissolution and swearing off of a particular fandom, not a story for right now).

I’ve gone to many a Yankee game, and while I personally have never witnessed or experienced any violent behavior, I have to say, I can’t really argue with either assessment, violence or apathy. When it comes down to it, the Yankee fan base is made up of three parts apathetic executive/rich guy and one part drunk frat-guy bleacher creature, with maybe a sprinkle of fathers and sons thrown in.

What do I mean by that? Let’s dissect the statement, shall we?

The whole lower bowl of Yankee Stadium is filled with men still in their business suits and ties, coming to the game straight from work, who got the tickets from their company and are either conducting a business meeting with clients in the seats or tapping furiously away at their Blackberry’s.

The Yankees are lucky if they get the faintest of “woos” from these guys. Most likely they have no clue what’s even going on in the game and are using it as a means to escape their wives and kids for another couple of hours. This is the definition of apathy, and the high ticket prices at Yankee stadium will only continue to draw this kind of “fan” to the exclusion of the real, true, hardworking middle class fans who are stuck sitting at home rooting for their team (if they are lucky enough to have a cable provider who actually carries FOX) because they have been priced out.

This is why the Yankees have apathetic fans. It is of their own greedy doing, and the reason why Greenberg’s comments stung so badly is because they know it’s true.

Now let’s examine the “violent” characterization.

Again, if we’re really being honest, can we truly disagree with him? Take recent events for example. Has any team ever had to outlaw certain fan cheers in their stadiums? Yes, actually, come to think of it, another team that plays right across the river, the New York Jets, whose fans equal supplanted Bleacher Creatures during baseball offseason/football season, had to do just that.

Come on, just admit it.

The Bleacher Creatures are awful human beings. They’re rude, obnoxious, elitist, mean and extremely disrespectful, and they truly are an embarrassment to an organization that values pride and class above all else. The Yankee organization has looked the other way for too long.

Maybe instead of all the misplaced outrage and empty apologies in response to Greenberg’s comments, the Yankees should be using this constructive criticism as an impetus to finally take a good look at what goes on in their stadium and work to make some changes to improve fan experience at their games, so that every paying patron, even (Heaven Forbid!) non-Yankee fans, can come away from the game with a good taste in their mouth instead of full of beer.

Clearly, this is not the first time Yankee fans, specifically the Bleacher Creatures, have been called out on their despicable behavior. The only distinction here is who actually did the calling out. And if it takes a public figure in Chuck Greenberg standing up to get the Yankee fans to finally clean up their act, I say good for you Mr. Greenberg, for having the you-know-what to stand up publicly and face off against the almighty Empire. It’s about time.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

This article originally appeared on The NY Sports Digest. If its off-beat and it’s about the Mets, Yankees, Knicks, Giants, Jets, Islanders, or Rangers, than The Digest is the spot to get it. Stop with the mega-sites and get a feel for the true pulse of New York at www.NYSportsDigest.com

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Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Texas Rangers ace Cliff Lee had been as close to superhuman as the baseball world had ever seen heading into the 2010 World Series with a 7-0 record.

MLB players and fans all around the world were in awe of Lee, and the fact that he was fair game after the conclusion of the World Series just added to the dynamic fascination.

With every postseason start, Lee’s worth was climbing at rapid speeds. GM’s were drooling for the second post season in a row watching Lee’s domination batter after batter. From Yankees to Phillies to Rays, no one was safe.

Hence, this World Series was the last stage before the battle for Lee could start. On the path Lee had been on, nothing seemed too grand except the zeros on his contract that were becoming endless.

As Game 1 began, fans watched in utter disbelief, and what nobody thought could ever happen…did. The great Cliff Lee lost. It was so ugly he was pulled in the fourth inning, after giving up six earned runs and only striking out seven.

Lee did not just lose once, but again in Game 5 on the biggest stage in baseball.

Lee’s first loss in Game 1 of the World Series could have easily been forgotten, brushed off as a bad day that is beyond acceptable.

Many are claiming Lee’s Game 5 loss cost the Texas Rangers the World Series.

Why?

Due to an avoidable and selfish choice made by Lee to stick to his motto of “I don’t walk any batters,” that lead to the only hit, a three-run bomb, needed by the Giants to win the World Series.

Should the Yankees be more concerned about Lee’s stubborn attitude than his choking under pressure?

The Rangers needed Lee more than ever to be perfect, and he blew it on one bad pitch. It happens all the time during the season, but this was the World Series and all the Rangers dreams were what were at stake.

It is a fact that Rangers catcher Bengie Molina wanted Lee to walk the hitter and was confused when Lee did the contrary. Considering it was the eighth inning of the World Series and Texas were down 3-1 in games. The Rangers were playing with backs shoved against the wall—with no breathing room in site.

Why would you risk this game with no score on the board for either team?

Did Lee need to prove he could strike out anyone in baseball? Lee had been flawless, but that became untrue five days prior. so why test the waters in Game 5?

Who knows.

Lee did make a grave mistake that will inevitably cost him, either less years or less money. No doubt, Lee exposed a risk that played a major factor in the Rangers World Series loss and the Giants win.

That is two postseasons in a row that Lee wins but the uniform he is wearing doesn’t. Now that has even taken a turn for the worst as both Lee and the team lost in the end this time, which makes you wonder if things are just going to get worse from here.

Questions about Cliff Lee’s worth have arisen—whether he’s too much of a risk or if he can ultimately be a teammate that can help win a title.

Truth remains that Cliff Lee is not just a show pony, the man is as talented as I have yet witnessed as a fan. Lee’s last two starts surely didn’t help his cause, but it did bring him down to earth and nothing wrong with a little humbling.

For now, fans will wait because only time will tell where Cliff Lee will bring his talents next season.

With the Lee bidding about to begin…fans should get ready for some good old baseball offseason drama.

One that I’m hoping ends with Lee’s left arm in pinstripes.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Nov. 1, 2010 in Arlington Texas, the Texas Rangers lost their fight for the World Series against the San Francisco Giants.  The end has left Rangers fans with a huge pain in our guts that we know too well, as we come to terms with the disappointment of losing the final game of our season. 

No one expected the outcome of the last five games, as all the sports writers had Texas to be the victor.  We have to give credit to our opponent. They found a way to silence the Rangers bats, and made our Ace pitchers look like deuces. 

While losing on the world biggest stage in Major League Baseball isn’t the greatest feeling right now, to keep things in perspective, there is a whole lot for Rangers fans to be proud of. 

To be able to lose in the World Series means the Rangers had to win a lot of games, something new for Rangers fans.  They are after all, the American League Champions and Josh Hamilton is our MVP. 

This seasons Rangers gave their fans more to cheer about than any squad before them.  And we will be ready to rally cry the “Claw and Antlers” for them the next season too. 

The changes within the Rangers organization that propelled this club to its new-found heights are only two years old.  A few kinks in the armour can be expected to surface when you’re going places you never been before. 

This was a young team that grew up fast before our eyes, and this postseason was valuable experience that will serve the Rangers in the future. 

We can rest assured that the brain trust of owners Nolan Ryan, Chuck Greenberg and company have put in place are not going to rest doing the shortest season break in Rangers history. 

They will do all they can to ready our “Wonder Boys of Summer” for another run next season. 

“Big Tex” Ryan and General Manager Jon Daniels have a huge uneasy task of keeping the players like pitcher Cliff Lee and others who made a big impact this season together on the Rangers roster.  The front office is crystal clear—they are ready to fight to keep our team intact. 

The team’s notebook of things that works will be extra thick this year, skipper Ron Washington and his crew will review game films to see where the Rangers could have better themselves.  Every position go under the microscope as they look for ways to get the bugs out. 

The whole Rangers management gang will take a long hard look at the Ryan-inspired conditioning program for the pitching staff.  Refinement of the stretching program can be expected, since the Rangers pitchers lack success in the World Series. 

The Rangers scouts will be at their best, ask any team in the League, in finding the best young recruits for the Rangers farm program.  Remember Ryan’s implemented changes reach all the way down to the farm too. 

Big changes are planned for sprucing up the BallPark as well. Greenberg wasn’t on the road trips with the Rangers for nothing.  He was checking out the other teams’ facilities to see what worked there and what changes could be made here to improve the fan experience at Arlington. 

Rumor has it the Rangers organization want to host the mid-season All-Star game in a couple of years, even more for Rangers’ fans to look forward too. 

Some of our players will go home to rest, some to heal, others will opt for winter league play, all will have a short vacation. 

So hold your heads up high Rangers fans and be proud of your team, and take a short rest too, for the 2011 season is just around the bend.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Cliff Lee “Wanted” posters have already begun to be printed up by just about every Major League team there is. Well, at least those that will be able to afford him.

Now that the World Series has come to an end, it’s time for front offices around baseball to saddle back up and look at their roster to see what they can change and what they will need going into the stretch of offseason that will lead into spring training in February.

We all know there’s been talk about the New York Yankees being the favorite to land the left-hander, but the statements Lee made at the end of the World Series seems to point in the direction of the Texas Rangers.

There’s no question team owner Nolan Ryan and general manager Jon Daniels will do everything in their power to bring him back. But, make no mistake about it, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman will pony up as much money as he can to lure Lee to the Bronx.

While the Rangers and Yankees will battle for his services, don’t count out several other teams around baseball from coming out of nowhere and offering a tempting package.

Here are the odds for every team in the MLB on being able to sign Cliff Lee.

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Courtesy of Yankees ‘n More

According to the new free agency rules in Major League Baseball, there are only five days (rather than the previous 15 days) between the end of the World Series and open season on free agents.

That means teams can begin negotiating with free agents at midnight, this Sunday morning. If history is any judge, you can expect to hear about a substantial offer made to Cliff Lee by the New York Yankees sometime on Sunday.

“The free agent market is certainly a big thing we look at,” said owner and managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner when asked about Lee. “And we will have money to spend.”

That’s exactly what New York did two years ago with CC Sabathia, opening with a shock ‘n awe initial offer of six years and $140 million on the first day of free agency. That offer dwarfed the then-record deal for a pitcher, which was just over $120 million for the Mets Johan Santana.

If it’s possible, the Yankees appear to value Lee even more than they did Sabathia. In fact, Lee is the only player for whom GM Brian Cashman has been willing to give up both premium talent and dollars. Cash refused to do so when he had the chance to trade for either Santana or Sabathia.

The idea for such a quick and massive initial offer is to intimidate and immediately eliminate as many teams as possible from the Cliff Lee chase. That’s also why news of this offer will be “leaked,” almost certainly by the Yankees themselves. They WANT this information out there.

The plan worked well with Sabathia, who never received any firm offers from the National League teams on the West Coast he was believed to covet. A big offer from the Yankees might not immediately eliminate the Texas Rangers, but it might send just about every other team scrambling for a white flag.

In the winter of 2008, the Yankees eventually bid against themselves to lock up Sabathia. Increasing their already-best offer by another year and another $21 million, admitting they knew they had to pay a “premium” to get Sabathia to give up on the National League and the West Coast.

Back in the middle of the season, Cashman was more than willing to trade a package of prospects, including his very best in Jesus Montero, to Seattle for Lee, and then to pay top free agent dollars to the pitcher, as well.

And now that prospects like Montero are not needed to get Lee? Now that the Yankees need only write the check? Expect them to be extremely aggressive and decisively quick, and expect them to go to whatever financial lengths are required to land the best pitcher to hit the open market in years.

And Cliff Lee (along with the rest of us) can expect to here from the Yankees this Sunday.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Although there are always references to one, there really isn’t a “baseball handbook.”

There’s nothing that managers use in the dugout to decide which course to go during a game. They can’t say to themselves, “OK, men on second and third, two out, score tied at zero, in a lose and go home game.”

If there was, you can bet Texas Rangers’ manager Ron Washington would have found a very simple explanation: The number four. As in the number of balls Cliff Lee should’ve intentionally thrown to Giants’ shortstop, Edgar Renteria.

In case you missed it, Cliff Lee and Tim Lincecum met last night in Game 5 of the World Series. It was a rematch of Game 1.

In Game 1, Lee was tagged for six runs over 4.2 innings of work. Lincecum wasn’t much better, but got the win. Both starters were solid last night, matching zeros through six innings.

In the top of the seventh inning, with the score still tied at zero, Rangers’ starter Cliff Lee gave up back to back singles to Cody Ross and Juan Uribe. Aubrey Huff  then laid down the first sacrifice bunt of his career to move the runners up to second and third. Lee then came back to strike out Pat Burrell, which brought Renteria to the plate with two outs.

Now, I know what you’re thinking people. Intentional walk, right? After all, Renteria, at that point, was batting .411 in the series with three RBI. He had burned the Rangers in Game 2 and they weren’t going to let that happen again, right?

Wrong.

Instead of checking that baseball handbook, Cliff Lee chose to go after Renteria instead of putting him on to pitch to Aaron Rowand. Well, it didn’t work out, to say the least.

Renteria hit a three-run homer that barely cleared the left-center field wall, but brought the Giants their first world series championship in 56 years and the first since their move to San Francisco.

After the game, Lee said, “I don’t walk people. I go after them.”

Oh really? Well that decision cost your team the game and the World Series.

I understand the incredible numbers that Cliff Lee had put up to that point in the postseason. Other than his Game 1 start in the World Series, Lee was masterful. He had struck out 41 batters and walked only two. But, if Cliff Lee’s 2010 postseason record showed three walks at the end of Game 5, there might have been a Game 6 and there might have been a championship in Arlington.

Lee’s decision may have been the right one as far as his ego is concerned, but it was the wrong one as far as his team was concerned. The best pitchers in the game are fearless. They attack hitters and don’t worry about runners on base, just concentrate on the man in the box. But there is a fine line between being fearless and being reckless.

If Lee had struck Renteria out, maybe we’d be looking at a different box score, but he didn’t. 

I understand that the decision to intentionally walk a batter should come from the manager, and it didn’t. But in his post-game comments, Lee took full responsibility for pitching to Renteria. If Washington says not to walk him, and Lee thinks they should, call time and say something. Otherwise, get the out. Lee did neither.

Cliff Lee is one of the best postseason pitchers we’ve seen in a while, and whether or not you feel his decision to pitch to Renteria was on his shoulders or Ron Washington’s, it was the wrong choice and it cost the Rangers their season.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

It was 1954 when Willie Mays made “The Catch” and propelled the New York Giants to a four game sweep of the Cleveland Indians in the World Series. In 1962, it was a well played Bobby Richardson that broke hearts in San Francisco after he snagged a Willie McCovey liner in the first appearance of the San Francisco Giants in a World Series. It was the Loma Prieta earthquake that stole to show of a four game sweep by the Oakland A’s in the 1989 Battle of the Bay. And it was a game ball given to Russ Ortiz in the 2002 World Series that was the last good moment for San Francisco in a crushing defeat at the hands of the Angels.

But all is forgiven, at least for the next 4 months, because the Giants are sitting on top of the baseball world, propelled by one of the most dominant pitching staffs of all time and a three-run blast by the man with no left bicep, Edgar Renteria.

It was a dominant conclusion to a rather dominant series outing by the Giants as a team. And it was a thrilling conclusion to a thrilling postseason, one that I, nor most Giants’ fans, will ever forget.

Let us take a closer look at the game which lifted the 56 year drought off of a team, a city, and a fan base and which shocked the world.

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