The Sports Idiot

In last night’s Game Four of the 2009 World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Yankees we saw the offensive team finally use the shift to their advantage.  With Mark Teixeira at the plate and Johnny Damon standing on first base, the Phillies put the shift on.  Damon proceeded to do one of the smartest things I have ever seen a baseball player do.  He stole second base, doing a feet first slide and popping right up to his feet.  He then raced to third, where there was no one to cover the bag.  Dude stole two bases on one pitch.  Damon then scored the game winning run when Alex Rodriguez hit a double later in the inning.

In a series that base running figured to be a factor, this may turn out to be the biggest play of them all.  The ironic thing is that most of us figured it would be the speedy Phils who would use their base stealing ability to wreak havoc, not old ass Johnny Freaking Damon.

Wait, what pre-established ground rules?  Umpire crew chief Gerry Davis told Phillies Manager Charlie Manual that when the crew took their tour of the field, they saw the camera and decided then that if any ball were to hit it, it would be a round tripper.  Fair enough, and that makes the correct call on this one a home run.

The problem that Phillie Fan is going to have with this is that the ball did not look like it would have cleared the top of the fence if the camera were not there.  The problem with Phillie Fans’ impending argument about being screwed is that this happened on their home turf.  While we are not sure who determines the location of the cameras and their clearance to the field, we are sure that if Chase Utley had hit this ball they would not have an issue with it. 

That sound you just heard was all of the Phillies Fans that were screaming about disrespect and how their Phils would either sweep on win in five throwing their remotes into their TVs.  I predicted Phils in six, but that prediction is looking shaky right now.  As I said Friday, this series will turn when either Ryan Howard or Alex Rodriguez does something other than generate electricity via the human windmill.  Unfortunately for the Phillies, it was not their guy who showed up first.  Rodriguez reached base four times, the homer, a walk and he was drilled by two pitches.  He also had a throwing error, for what it is worth, but did not strike out a single time. 

Howard, on the other hand, continues to look lost in the batters box while striking out three more times and not reaching base a single time.  Good thing for him the Phillies have a new super star in the mix in Jayson Werth.  The bad news is that it will take much more than Werth to win three more games this series.

Back on track.  Burnett was stellar last night, putting the ball exactly where he wanted it and outsmarting the Phillies lineup.  Pedro was almost just as good, fooling Yankee hitter after Yankee hitter.  There really is not anything bad we can say about what either guy did on the mound last night.

Which brings us to the point of this entry.  Is this going to be one of those epic World Series’, like the previously referenced 1992 slate between the Twins and Braves?  Right now it certainly looks like it has the potential, but there are some key missing pieces.

Where in the hell are Ryan Howard and Alex Rodriguez?  Headed into the WS there was no doubt that these dudes were having statement postseasons.  Through two games in the WS, however, they are a combined  two for 17 with 12 Ks.  Yes, that is correct, and those two lone hits were both Howard doubles, giving him and his monstrous one RBI the edge in the matchup.  If this series is going to be one of legend, then both of these guys are going to have to figure it out.

Another missing piece, and what could be their eventual downfall, is the bully for the Yankees.  Mariano Rivera may be the best closer in the history of ever, but he can not pitch two innings every night.  If the Yankees do not get solid work from at least two more members of the bully, they do not stand a chance at winning this series.

Going into this thing we said Phillies in six.  Hopefully we are wrong, for the mere fact that a Game Seven would be epic.  In order to make that happen, either ARod or Howard are going to have to show up.  Whichever one decides to first, may just be wearing the championship uniform.

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My thoughts?  Sign Hudson now, before he can sniff free agency.  He wants to be in his home state of GA, and pitching in a Braves uniform.  He is only 34 years old, and posted a 3.61 ERA in his seven starts in 2009.  He also posted his best K:9 ration since 2001 with a 6.4.  So sign Huddy now, and try like hell to trade Derek Lowe.  The problem with trading Lowe, however, is that the Braves will have to pick up some of his salary.

Apparently Jennifer Valdivia, a 12 year old girl, caught Ryan Howard’s 200th home run ball in Miami earlier this season.  She was escorted by security to the Phillies’ clubhouse where an equipment manager convinced her to give the ball to the team in exchange for a meet and greet with Howard and a signed ball.  Problem is, Jennifer thought she was getting her ball back, not some random ball.  Another problem was that Howard was a no-show to the meet and greet, and some random “club official” delivered the new ball to 12 year old Valdivia.

So the Valdivias hired a lawyer after speaking with a Miami TV consumers affairs squad and tried to get her ball back.  Here is where it gets even shadier.  Valdivia’s lawyer got a letter from the Phillies’ team lawyer, William Webb, in which he said the team would return the ball to Valdivia but they would not authenticate it and little Jennifer would have to sign a confidentiality agreement.

Sounds to me like the Phillies were going to send her another random ball, and claim it was Howard’s 200th home run ball.  They had already given the ball to Howard and planned on letting him keep the ball.  Why else would they say that they could not authenticate the ball?  Yet when Valdivia’s lawyer rejected the offer from the Phillies and filed a suit, the real ball showed up the same day.  This ball was authenticated by the Phillies.  See why it sounds like they were trying to screw this little girl out of the real “200th” ball?  This is a record setting ball, for the fastest player to ever get to 200 home runs, by the way.

This ball could be worth a lot of money (seriously, 500K would be on the low side of what it could bring at auction if Howard goes on to a Hall of Fame finish) and the Phillies came up really, really small here.  Oh, they did offer her free tickets to a September visit to Miami by the Phillies, which the Valdivias declined to accept, so they have that going for them.  The Phillies front office should be ashamed of itself for their actions back in July, and even more so for their actions after that.

You will notice I am not killing Ryan Howard for any of this.  I have a feeling that he was not aware of what was going on, and would have been pretty ticked off if he had.  Howard, by all indications, is as outstanding of a person as he is a one bagger and slugger.  I just can not see Howard agreeing to the actions of the front office here, and it is my guess that he never knew about the missed meet and greet.

Suspension?  Seriously, it is a joke that this dude is still allowed to walk the sidelines as it is.  You can not punch people, especially at work.  Why this guy was not fired on the spot is beyond me.  I’m guessing Skeletor, er, Al Davis likes a little fire in his head coach.  Hope he also likes the lawsuit that Hanson would be a complete fool for not filing. 

And yes, I would absolutely take a flier on Brett Myers and Ryan Madson.  Brad Lidge is toast for this season, and maybe toast for Philly.  It’s like Houston all over again?