World Series Game 4: The End

Tonight, for the first time in this World Series, we got some action throughout the game and drama at the end, an extra inning's worth, even. Each league's probable MVP hit a home run, while another star continued to have one of the worst World Series I can remember. San Francisco struck first, as they have all series, but Detroit managed to fight back and take the lead for the first time all series. Of course, they didn't keep it. And with the Giants winning 4-3 in the 10th though, there's now no baseball for months... So many months... Too many months... I guess I'll have plenty of time to brood about that later, for now let's just look back at Game 4 and the 2012 World Series.

The first inning was uneventful. Miguel Cabrera walked, but Prince Fielder struck out. Fielder had probably the worst World Series by anyone since at least 2008 (when Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria had his own nightmare series), going just 1 for 14, with 4 strikeouts, 2 double plays. He reached base just twice (on a single and a HBP), and after the HBP he wound up getting thrown out at the plate when he slid to the wrong side of the plate.

In the second inning the Giants got a ground rule double from Hunter Pence, followed by a triple from Brandon Belt, and took the lead. In the third they threatened again, putting two runners on, but didn't score. In the bottom of the inning, Detroit's Austin Jackson drew a walk, then Miguel Cabrera hit a high fly ball to right field. There was just enough oomph and just enough wind to carry it over the wall. Detroit had its first lead of the series.

The fourth and fifth innings passed without incident, but in the top of the sixth Buster Posey gave the lead back to San Francisco with a two-run homer of his own. Delmon Young didn't want to let GOOD players have all the fun though, so he hit a home run of his own a few minutes later and the game was again tied. Young now has 8 postseason home runs for Detroit, a franchise record. That's somewhat due to the extra rounds that Tiger greats like Hank Greenberg didn't have, but even so, Delmon clearly made some sort of deal at the crossroads.

The seventh, eighth, and ninth innings were quiet, aside from a bunch of strikeouts. By game's end, there'd been a combined 25 strikeouts, tying the World Series record (also held by the 1963 Dodgers and Yankees, the 1973 A's and Mets, the 2000 Yankees and Mets, and the 2005 White Sox and Astros).

After nine innings it remained unclear whether there'd be another ballgame or not this year, but there would be at least one more inning. Actually, exactly one more inning.

Unlikely designated hitter Ryan Theriot led the tenth off with a single, was bunted over the 2nd, and scored on a single by NLCS hero Marco Scutaro. In the bottom half of the tenth, San Francisco's closer, Sergio Romo didn't mess around. He struck out Austin Jackson swinging, struck out Don Kelly swinging (no, I don't know why Don Kelly was batting with the season on the line either), and finally, struck out Miguel Cabrera looking.

(I wonder if Tigers fans will block out everything else he's done for them team and focus on that, the way many Mets fans have with Carlos Beltran's watched strike three that ended the 2006 NLCS... I'm guessing they won't, because they're not New Yorkers)

With that, it was over, a 4-3 victory for the Giants. Sergio Romo and Buster Posey celebrated and were soon joined by their teammates near the mound. San Francisco has now won two of the last three World Series. Since the introduction of wildcards into the playoffs in 1995, the Yankees are the only other team to win multiple championships so close together.

In my Game 3 recap, I wrote about Detroit's scoring futility. They managed to score three runs in tonight's finale, but still finished with just six total. That's the fewest by any World Series team in 46 years.

Here is a reprint of the list I researched and put together, updated to include this year's Tigers:

#8.  8 runs - 1990 Oakland Athletics (lost 4-0)
#8.  8 runs - 1976 New York Yankees (lost 4-0)
#8.  8 runs - 1939 Cincinnati Reds (lost 4-0)
#8.  8 runs - 1922 New York Yankees (lost 4-0*)
#8.  8 runs - 1920 Brooklyn Robins (lost 5-2**)
#6.  6 runs - 2012 Detroit Tigers (lost 4-0)
#6.  6 runs - 1914 Philadelphia Athletics (lost 4-0)
#5.  5 runs - 1950 Philadelphia Phillies (lost 4-0)
#3.  4 runs - 1963 New York Yankees (lost 4-0)
#2.  3 runs - 1907 Detroit Tigers (lost 4-0*)
#2.  3 runs - 1905 Philadelphia Athletics (lost 4-1)
#1.  2 runs - 1966 Los Angeles Dodgers (lost 4-0)

* - Both the 1907 and 1922 World Series featured a game that ended in a 3-3 tie which was replayed entirely from the start, nullifying those three runs for each team.

** - The World Series was played as a best of 9 from 1919 to 1921. Scoring just 8 runs over seven games probably means that Brooklyn team (not yet known as the Dodgers) probably rates 3rd "best" on a more subjective look at the weakest scoring World Series teams.

Two other quick notes:

- Those 1905 Philadelphia Athletics are the only team in history to be shutout four times in the World Series.

- The 1918 Boston Red Sox hold the record for fewest runs by the WINNING team, having scored just 9 in their four games to two win over the Chicago Cubs that season.

The 2012 World Series will not go down in history is a very good one. Pablo Sandoval's three home runs in Game 1 were certainly the most memorable element of the series, and were plenty good enough to win him the World Series MVP Award. Beyond that, I'm not sure what will stick with me when I think back to this series. Detroit's inability to score, I suppose, and Fielder's special role in that ineptitude. Barry Zito getting a touch of redemption after many rocky years with the Giants is a nice story, especially as it came at the expense of baseball's best pitcher. Verlander's quest for his own postseason redemption will certainly be a popular story line the next time he finds himself in the playoffs.

Baseball's off-season brings its own interests and excitements, but none of it is the same as an actual game. I congratulate the San Francisco Giants on a tremendous season. Coming back from down 3-1 against St. Louis and then dominating Detroit the way they did, it's one hell of an accomplishment. At the same time, I'm reminded of something Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby once said: "People ask me what I do in the winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring."

If you need me, you can find me at the window.

World Series Game 3: Futile Resistance

Not all World Series are created equal. In 2011 we were treated to close games, including an all-time classic in Game 6, while the 2012 edition is ready to go down as a clunker. San Francisco's 2-0 win last night leaves them one win away from a sweep, great news for Giants fans, but not so exciting for the rest of us. In the 2004 ALCS, the Red Sox proved that a team CAN come back from down three games to none, but that's the lone example in baseball history. In fact, of the twenty three World Series that have begun 3-0, twenty ended in a sweep and none went farther than a fifth game. The Giants are on the verge of their second championship in three years, and the Tigers don't seem interested in doing much about it.

In my Game 2 recap, I mentioned how much I enjoy a good pitching performance. Game 3 served as a good reminder that not every low scoring game is the result of strong pitching though. The Giants managed a second consecutive shutout, making them the first team since the 1966 Orioles to pull that off (more on those Orioles in a minute), but it wasn't because their starting pitcher was tremendous, or even particularly good. Ryan Vogelsong didn't allow a run, but he allowed multiple base runners in three of the first five innings, and didn't make it through his sixth.

In the 1st inning the Tigers had runners on first and second with one out, but Prince Fielder rolled into an easy double play. In the last two games, Fielder is 0 for 6 with 2 strikeouts, 2 double plays, and 1 horrible slide at the plate. That's about as bad as it gets, without having a ball bounce off your head to become a home run or something.

In the 3rd inning Detroit again had two runners on with one out, and again they hit into a double play (Quintin Berry this time). Then in the 5th, the Tigers managed to load the bases with only one out, but Berry struck out and then soon to be A.L. MVP Miguel Cabrea hit a weak infield fly to end the inning.

This wasn't a good pitching performance by Vogelsong, it was an escape act, aided by a complete inability to take advantage of numerous chances on Detroit's part.

The Tigers' Anibal Sanchez was arguably the better pitcher, despite taking the loss. He had a rough 2nd inning, allowing a walk, a wild pitch, a ball that was crushed to deep right-center field for a triple, and in the end, two runs. But in his six other innings, he allowed just four singles. The best pitching of the night came from San Francisco's bullpen, with Tim Lincecum dominating for multiple innings for the second time this series, and closer Sergio Romo making quick work of the 9th to end things. Neither of them allowed a hit.

The Tigers have now scored just three runs in the first three games of this series. I found myself wondering where that ranks, in terms of scoring futility in a World Series. I dug around and discovered that the last team to finish a a World Series with fewer than ten runs was the 1999 Atlanta Braves, who scored just nine while being swept by the Yankees. The Tigers could certainly score seven runs tonight (or win a game or two) and avoid that fate, but if tonight is anything like the first three games, Detroit is going to join this list:

FEWEST RUNS IN A WORLD SERIES:

#7.  8 runs - 1990 Oakland Athletics (lost 4-0)
#7.  8 runs - 1976 New York Yankees (lost 4-0)
#7.  8 runs - 1939 Cincinnati Reds (lost 4-0)
#7.  8 runs - 1922 New York Yankees (lost 4-0*)
#7.  8 runs - 1920 Brooklyn Robins (lost 5-2**)
#6.  6 runs - 1914 Philadelphia Athletics (lost 4-0)
#5.  5 runs - 1950 Philadelphia Phillies (lost 4-0)
#3.  4 runs - 1963 New York Yankees (lost 4-0)
#2.  3 runs - 1907 Detroit Tigers (lost 4-0*)
#2.  3 runs - 1905 Philadelphia Athletics (lost 4-1)
#1.  2 runs - 1966 Los Angeles Dodgers (lost 4-0)

* - Both the 1907 and 1922 World Series featured a game that ended in a 3-3 tie which was replayed entirely from the start, nullifying those three runs for each team.

** - The World Series was played as a best of 9 from 1919 to 1921. Scoring just 8 runs over seven games probably means that Brooklyn team (not yet known as the Dodgers) probably rates 3rd "best" on a more subjective look at the weakest scoring World Series teams.

Two other random notes:

- That 1905 Philadelphia team was shutout in all four of their losses, which is a record.

- The 1918 Boston Red Sox hold the record for fewest runs scored by a WINNING team, having scored just 9 when they beat the Cubs in six games that year.

Unless the Tigers manage at least five runs between now and whenever the World Series ends, they're going to have scored the fewest runs in a World Series in 46 years. Almost any chance of winning the World Series is now gone for them, what remains to be seen is if they lose it in historically inept fashion.

World Series Game 2: Running to Defeat

I know from dozens of trips to ball games, and from watching on TV with countless people over the years, that the vast majority of baseball viewers want to see a whole lot of scoring. Home runs are preferable, but in their absence, ground rule doubles, bloop singles, or horrific defense will all suffice. Whatever gets someone across home plate. I have a confession... I prefer pitching duels. That isn't to say I don't enjoy a good slug fest, but the games that make me happiest are the ones when both starting pitchers it going and the late innings approach with a sense that the first side to break will be going home empty-handed.

In Game 2, San Francisco's Madison Bumgarner   (or "Mad Bum," as FOX's Tim McCarver kept pretending was a thing) and Detroit's Doug Fister traded zeros for most of the night. Bumgarner). For different reasons, neither of them could go the distance last night, but they both pitched wonderfully* and I enjoyed it a great deal. Frankly, a high scoring game would have been just fine too, I just wanted competitive baseball. Game 1 wasn't close, and neither were the last few games of the LCS round. The last time the score had been withing three runs in the 7th inning or later was last Wednesday, in Game 3 of the NLCS. Hooray for a little drama!

* In my Game 1 recap, I talked about the insistence by so many of forcing narratives onto events after they've happened. One such narrative was that Verlander didn't pitch well because he was rusty after a long layoff, but Fister and Bumgarner were both on the shelf longer than Verlander, so how were they able to succeed??? It's almost like a long layoff DOESN'T necessarily mean anything for a pitcher, and sometimes shit just happen...

Fister exited with no outs in the 7th, having thrown 114 pitches and walked the lead off man. That Fister was able to last til the 7th, much less pitch as well as he did, is somewhat shocking, given what happened to him the the 2nd. San Francisco's Gregor Blanco hit a screaming line drive back up the middle, and while McCarver initially said it had deflected off Fister's glove into center field, it was soon clear the ball had actually struck Fister's head. Fister never dropped to the ground, or seemed to be in much pain, but that sort of thing is awfully scary. Given how hard it is to gauge the severity of head injuries without serious tests though, I question whether it was an appropriate decision. Oakland's Brandon McCarthy was similarly struck by a line drive recently, and hours later they discovered he needed emergency brain surgery. Thankfully, Fister seems okay.

After Fister was pulled with no outs and a runner on 1st in the 7th, the Giants worked a walk and then got a great (lucky) bunt from Blanco that loaded the bases with nobody out. Brandon Crawford hit into a double play next, but the game's first run still scored, and it was the kind of night where one run seemed likely to be enough.

Why? Because after a couple shaky starts in the postseason and a poor last few weeks of the regular season, San Francisco's Madison Bumgarner pitched his best game since August. Only once all night did a Detroit get a serious scoring opportunity. It was the 2nd inning and Bumgarner had started things off by hitting Detroit's Prince Fielder with a pitch. The next batter, Delmon Young lined a double down the left field line, putting runners on 2nd and 3rd with nobody out. At least that's what WOULD have happened, if Tigers third-base coach Gene Lamont weren't out of his mind!

One of the cardinal rules of baseball is "Don't make the first out of an inning at home plate." Why? Because there are plenty of chances to get the runner in from third. Yet Gene Lamont chose to send Prince Fielder, nobody's idea of fast, instead of relying on one of the next three batters to collect a hit, or hit a long fly ball, or a slow grounder... It took a great throw, a wonderful play by catcher Buster Posey, and a horrible slide from Fielder, but he was correctly called out at the play. Detroit never got another runner to second base all night. Heck, they only got three runners as far as first after that.

Omar Infante reached in the 4th inning, but got himself picked off, Austin Jackson got there in the 6th inning but was stranded, and Miguel Cabrera got there in the 7th inning, but was immediately wiped away when Fielder hit into a double play (not his best night).

Detroit is not hitting the ball well right now, but they made matters even worse by shooting themselves in the foot in Game 2. Lamont sending Fielder in that situation was an awful decision (one Lamont said he "regretted" after the game). Fielder would have been safe at home though, if he'd been smart enough to slide to the proper side of the plate, away from Posey. Infante getting picked off was careless, but he would have been safe at second after the pick off throw to first with a better slide. Would Young have come through with another hit to drive him in? There's no way to know, but when you're getting so few opportunities, squandering them in such senseless fashion is a crime.

Bumgarner left after pitching seven scoreless frames, when he was pinch hit for in the bottom of that inning. It's possible Bruce Bochy would have gone to the bullpen for the last two innings anyway, but  Bumgarner had thrown just 86 pitches and still looked strong (to my eyes, anyway). I would love to have seen him go back out for the 8th and 9th. It's one of the reasons that after holding an anti-DH stance for many years, I've come to prefer the American League's way of doing things. As I said, Bochy may have gone to the pen anyway, certainly Bumgarner would have been lifted if anyone reached base, but if there'd been a designated hitter in play, Bumgarner might have had the chance to go for the shutout, which is my favorite thing to see in a ballgame.

Alas...

As it was, two San Francisco relievers instead made quick work of the 8th and 9th and the Giants took a commanding 2-0 lead. Without any real rooting interest between these two teams, I'm just hoping for close games and a long series. If the Tigers are to have any chance of making that happen, they're going to have to wake up their bats and clear the cobwebs from their heads as Halloween approaches and the series moves to the Motor City.

World Series Game 1: When Pandas Attack

Babe Ruth and Albert Pujols, two of the greatest players in history, each of them hit three home runs in a single World Series game (Ruth did it twice, in fact). Most famously, Reggie Jackson did it too. He got his nickname on account of that accomplishment. Pablo Sandoval got his nickname from a cartoon panda bear. But last night, in Game 1 of the 2012 World Series, Sandoval became the fourth member of this exclusive club. It's been said before and it will be said again: You can't predict baseball.

Because baseball cannot be predicted, but people have an innate need to find order in the world and love a good story, there is a strong tendency to look at events, after they've happened, and attempt create a narrative that explains why they happened, even though there is often so little rhyme or reason (this is true not just of baseball, but life in general).

A player who by appearances is less talented finds success, and we are told it is because they have such heart and an incredible work ethic, as if the majority of Major League players got there through indifference and sloth. A star player strikes outs in a key moment or has a bad showing in a big game, and we are told it is because they cannot handle the pressure, as though somehow their prior achievements all came when there was nothing on the line.

If a team filled with what seems to be a collection of oddballs and pranksters wins, it is because they were loose, relaxed, carefree. If a team filled with that seems to be a collection of oddballs and pranksters loses, it is because they weren't focused and didn't care enough. The cart is put before the horse, because many people have such a hard time accepting randomness, luck, and coincidence.

Justin Verlander is the best pitcher on the planet, so who could have predicted that he would last just four innings in Game 1, in a pitchers' park no less, against a lineup with a reputation for mediocrity? Certainly not me. Yet, there it was, happening before our very eyes. Quickly, there was talk online about how Verlander isn't a good big game pitcher, after all, he didn't pitch well in Game 1 of the 2006 World Series, was only so so in the 2011 playoffs (after having one of the best regular seasons by a pitcher in recent memory that year), and he got shelled in the All-Star Game this summer. Gee, that's a mountain of evidence, I guess it's true, he doesn't pitch well in big games.

Except, with the Tigers trailing Chicago almost the entire year, just about every start he made in the season's last three weeks was a big one and he went 4-0 with a 0.64 ERA. And oh yeah, he gave up just 1 run while striking out 11 in Game 1 against Oakland then pitched a complete game shutout against them in the do-or-die Game 5 five days later, then gave up just one run against the Yankees last week.

Perhaps Verlander, like just about every pitcher in just about every start, missed his spot a few times, and this time the other team put good swings on those pitches. Maybe the Giants offense has actually been a lot better this season than in recent years and maybe they've been especially effective after acquiring new players at the trade deadline. Maybe sometimes shit just happens!

On the opposite of things, was a pitcher no one would have been surprised to see last just four innings, San Francisco's Barry Zito. Zito signed a huge contract with the Giants before the 2007 season, and has been almost completely a bust for them since then, average in his best seasons, among the least effective starters in baseball in his worst. He wasn't even included on the team's playoff roster in 2010, when the Giants won the World Series.

Last night's contest was billed by FOX as a duel between Cy Young winners (Zito took home the award in 2002, while with the A's). but knowledgeable baseball fans had to laugh, knowing there are probably not two Cy Young winners in baseball who were further apart in 2011 and 2012 than Verlander and Zito. So, to further prove you can't predict baseball, Zito allowed just one run while lasting 5.2 innings, and left to a roar of applause from the San Francisco faithful.

When Zito exited, he was replaced by another former Cy Young winner, Tim Lincecum (who won the award in both 2008 and 2009). Lincecum had a rough season and has been pitching mostly out of the bullpen during these playoffs. He's been successful in that role, and last night was no different. He pitched 2.1 shutout innings and looked great. I wonder though, was it wise to use their potentially most dominating reliever in a game they were already leading by five runs? Perhaps a bird in the hand is worth two and the bush, and it was better to lock down Game 1 than to worry about the future, but if San Francisco's Game 2 starter Madison Bumgarner struggles tonight (as he has recently), the Giants may regret not having Lincecum available.

You know who else won't be available? Detroit's Jose Valverde. Valverde was a great success in 2011, collecting 49 saves without blowing a single opportunity. He was far shakier in 2012 and in the playoffs he's been an utter disaster. Against Oakland he came apart in the 9th inning of Game 4, costing the Tigers the game (and putting their season in jeopardy, saved only by the grace of infamous playoff hack, Justin Verlander's complete game shutout in Game 5). In Game 1 of the ALCS against the Yankees, Valverde let a 4-run lead get away in the 9th, giving up home runs to noted titans of power, Ichiro Suzuki and Raul Ibanez.

He hadn't pitched since then, as Detroit skipper Jim Leyland felt he needed some time off to get his head and mechanics in better shape. Last night, with the Tigers already down five runs and likely behind to stay, was seen as an opportunity to let him build his confidence back up, so that he could be used in important situations later in the series. Instead, after striking out Lincecum, Valverde gave up four consecutive hits, allowing another two runs to score, and was pulled. Valverde is completely lost at the moment, his velocity and control both a mess. The next time he pitches in a Major League game had better be next spring, or Leyland should be drawn and quartered.

The ups and downs of various pitchers are important story lines to keep an eye on during the rest of the series, but Pablo Sandoval, the King Fu Panda, is the big story for now. His was probably the most unlikely 3 HR game in playoff history, when you consider that Sandoval hit just 12 home runs all season, there'd only been one 3 HR game in AT&T Park history (way back in 2000), and the home runs came against Verlander and Al Alburquerque (who hadn't allowed a home run in 56.2 innings over the last two years).

He had the best game of his life on the biggest stage there is. His name goes into the record books and he will now be mentioned with those of Ruth, Jackson, and Pujols, every time a player hits two home runs in a World Series game and steps to the plate, looking for a third. A performance like that (his third home run was a real "no effing way!" moment) is part of what makes baseball such a great game to follow.

Game 2 is tonight. Doug Fister will look to keep the Kung Fu Panda at bay, but the Tigers' bats are going to have to wake up if they're going to head back to Detroit with a win.

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Alex Rodriguez in the Playoffs

I did not expect to find myself in the position of standing up for one of my least favorite players, but that's what it's come to. I'm basking in the glow of the Yankees being swept in a best-of-seven series for the first time since I was born, but the amount of blame being sent Rodriguez' way is far out of proportion and the way his entire career has been downgraded by some in the last few days is ridiculous. Rodriguez is one of the twenty or so best players in MLB history and during his time with the Yankees he's been the best player in the American League. He's had some bad postseason series, but so has just about everyone who's played in more than a handful of them.

Rodriguez has played in 75 postseason games in his career and has an .833 OPS over those games. That's not as good as his regular season figure of .945, but playoff games generally come against better teams, with better pitching, so it should be no surprise that the vast majority of players have lower offensive numbers in the playoffs.

Rodriguez is constantly being compared to Derek Jeter, whose postseason reputation is sterling, yet Jeter's postseason OPS is .838, almost identical to Rodriguez's. I certainly understand why Jeter is far more revered by Yankee fans, because he's played his entire career for them, has accomplished more in a Yankees uniform, and has been a key member of five World Series winning teams (compared to just one for Rodriguez). Still, the notion that Jeter has been an incredible playoff performer while Rodriguez has been a donkey is simply inaccurate.

Rodriguez's figure includes postseason appearances with the Mariners, and his OPS does drop to .807 if you only look at his time with the Yankees, but it's still not a dramatic difference. The Yankees of course have played in far more playoff games than any other team, there are 16 different players who've gotten at least 100 PA in the postseason with the Yankees in the last twenty years. Here they are, ranked by their postseason OPS:

1. Hideki Matsui          .933
2. Jason Giambi           .919
3. Bernie Williams        .850
4. Derek Jeter              .838
5. Paul O'Neill             .815
6. Alex Rodriguez        .807
7. Johnny Damon         .775
8. Jorge Posada           .745
9. David Justice            .721
10. Tino Martinez           .698
11. Scott Brosius            .696
12. Robinson Cano         .686 
13. Chuck Knoblauch     .631
14. Alfonso Soriano        .622
15. Mark Teixeira           .617
16. Nick Swisher            .559

Cano is the Yankees' best player now, and has been for at least a couple years. Mark Teixeira has a massive contract. Why aren't they vilified the way Rodriguez is, when they've been far worse? Why is Tino Martinez held up as a "true" Yankee, when his postseason resume is so weak? 

It has often been said that Rodriguez only plays well when the pressure is off, his home runs come late in blowouts, while he strikes out when the game is on the line. WPA (win probability added) is a statistic that measures the impact of every plate appearance and determines how much it increased or decreased a team's chances of winning. A home run hit when a team is already ahead by 8 runs adds very little, but a home run late in a close game has a big impact. A strikeout late in a close game has a big impact too, in the opposite direction. A player with a WPA of .20 for a game can be said to have added 20% of a win for that game. The higher a player's WPA, the more he's done to improve his team's chances of winning that game.

Among the 50 best single postseason games for the Yankees since they returned to consistent success in 1995, Alex Rodriguez has five of them, the most of any player. Bernie Williams has four of them. Derek Jeter has three (as do Tino Martinez and Ruben Sierra). Keep in mind, Jeter has played in far more playoff games as a Yankee, yet Rodriguez has had more of the "best" games.

Here are the top ten WPA scores by a Yankee in a playoff game since 1995:

1) .828 - Raul Ibanez - Game 3, 2012 ALDS (home run to tie it in the 9th, another to win in the 12th)
2) .684 - Alex Rodriguez - Game 2, 2004 ALDS (4 hits, including a HR and game-tying double in the 12th)
3) .624 - Scott Brosius - Game 3, 1998 World Series (3 hits, including 2 home runs)
4) .614 - Alex Rodriguez - Game 4, 2004 ALDS (2 doubles, stole third and scored winning run in the 9th)
5) .587 - Jose Vizcaino - Game 1, 2000 World Series (4 hits, including game-winning single in the 12th)
6) .578 - Alex Rodriguez - Game 2, 2009 ALDS (2 hits, including game-tying home run in the 9th)
7) .567 - Raul Ibanez - Game 1, 2012 ALCS (2 hits, including game-tying home run in the 9th)
8) .530 - Tino Martinez - Game 4, 2001 World Series (game-tying home run with two outs in the 9th)
9) .505 - Bernie Williams - Game 1, 1996 ALCS (2 hits, including game-winning home run in the 9th)
10) .444 - Luis Sojo - Game 5, 2000 World Series (pinch-hit single in the 9th that scored the winning run)

Also, no Yankee during these last eighteen years has had as good a postseason as Rodriguez did in 2009. The Yankees' only championship in the last twelve years owes more to Rodriguez than any other player.

None of this is meant to degrade Jeter's postseason performance. He's been a very good player over his postseason career and has had some huge games in the playoffs over the year. Rodriguez has too though. If you're looking for someone to blame for the Yankees being swept from the ALCS, you need to widen your search and accept that there's plenty of blame to go around.

Ruth and Gehrig both had great World Series numbers. Joe DiMaggio did not. Carlos Beltran and Albert Pujols have been incredible in their postseason careers. George Brett and Paul Molitor were too. Mike Schmidt, Joe Morgan, and Ted Williams all did poorly. Rodriguez is comfortably in the middle, fairly average numbers among great players. All of these figures come in small samples, they matter more to us because the playoffs matter more, but they shouldn't be viewed as some sort of definitive statement on any particular player.

Rodriguez was awful this October, and I enjoyed the heck out of it. He's had other bad playoff runs too. Just like Jeter, just like Bernie Williams, just like just about every player lucky enough to play in more than one or two postseasons. He's had good runs too.

I've spent a lot of years rooting against Rodriguez now, but give the man his due, he's been a tremendous player.

Oh, How I Hate the New York Yankees

Born in 1980, I never really had any reason to care about the Yankees as a kid. Of course I knew many of their players, Ron Guidry, Willie Randolph, Dave Righetti, and Dave Winfield were all familiar names to me, but little more than the Blue Jays, Rangers, or Royals I pulled from packs of Topps trading cards back then. When I began high school in 1994, I'd never seen the Yankees in the playoffs. On my 15th birthday my sister's boyfriend gave me a Yankees hat, saying "I figure either you'll love it or hate it." But I honestly had no real reaction at all. A few days later I quietly exchanged it at a local sporting goods store for a new Indians hat, because mine was getting worn out.

The Yankees weren't quite "just another team" to me, I was aware of their past and knew they'd won many World Series, but that was all quite literally in another lifetime, and to the extent that I had any negative feelings about them at all, it was because they'd been the Indians' rivals in "Major League." Clu Haywood, I hated. Don Mattingly, he played first base for Springfield Nuclear, how could I have anything but love for him? The Yankees' history was nice, but it didn't mean much to me, and neither did they. Soon though, that changed.

I remember watching Game 1 of the 1996 American League Championship, between the Yankees and Orioles. That was the game in which young Jeffrey Maier reached out into the field of play and turned an out into a Derek Jeter home run. It would have made sense for me to be against Baltimore in that series, because they'd just knocked the Indians out of the playoffs, but when the umpires failed to rule correctly that the ball had been an out, I was unhappy about it. For whatever reason, I wanted the Yankees to lose.

The next fall, the Yankees and my beloved Indians played a tense playoff series. New York won the first and third games, then put Cleveland firmly on the ropes by taking a 2-1 lead into the 8th inning of Game 4. I recall feeling that the announcers were favoring the Yankees, like the Indians were just there because the story demanded an opponent for New York. The Tribe went on to win that game and that series, but I'd already learned to dislike the Yankees. When the shoe was placed on the other foot in 1998 and the Yankees knocked Cleveland out of the ALCS, things were made even worse.

Fourteen years later, here I am. I won't recount all the highs and lows of Yankee-hating from over those years, needless to say there have been plenty of each. I'm 32 years old now and I've faced troubles considerably more serious than a baseball season in getting here. Besides, hating is a young man's game.

Yet there I was Wednesday night, watching Game 3 of the Yankees/Orioles series, having already seen the reanimated corpse of Raul Ibanez tie the game on a 9th inning home run. I was at my girlfriend's apartment, so she was there when Ibanez stepped to the plate again in the 12th and I said to no one in particular:

"Go ahead and let him hit another fucking home run... then let someone shoot me in the face."

She was charmed, I'm sure.

I was sickened by the sight of Yankees fans in my feed getting to enjoy the moment, and tweeted something about how unbelievably stupid baseball can be. This lead to some good-natured teasing from a couple others on Twitter, which I handled with all the aplomb and maturity of an eight-year-old. Thursday morning I apologized for being such a baby. One of my Twitter friends asked in all sincerity, "Why so much hate?" It's a fair question, something worth pondering during the hangover after a good hate-induced bender.

I know why of all the teams out there, the Yankees are the one I hate. They've had so much success and have so many advantages bestowed upon them by the simple grace of money, which are obvious and understandable reasons to dislike them. Why does my dislike for them run so deep though? Why has it ruined dozens of my autumn nights over the years?

The hatred began because they played the Indians in consecutive playoffs, but it continued to grow after Cleveland stopped making the postseason every season. Only once in the last eleven years have the Indians made the playoffs, so I've rarely had the opportunity since college to devote my passion to rooting for them in October. I think my Yankee-hating has grown to such unhealthy depths because it's been the only consistent outlet for caring deeply come playoff time.

I was happy to cheer for the Orioles this week, just as I've been happy to cheer for the Twins and Angels and Red Sox at times, because anyone but New York, you know? But I haven't been close to those teams, I haven't felt any real connection with them. The connection is always with the Yankees. Jeter has been there, Rivera has been there. Paul O'Neill and Tino Martinez became Alfonso Soriano and Jason Giambi, who became Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano, but they all wear the pinstripes and the pinstripes are always there.

Does that mean I'd miss the Yankees if they weren't there to hate? I can assure you I enjoyed it in 2008 when for the first time in the life of my hatred, New York missed the playoffs. Perhaps celebrating a regular season demise wouldn't be as sweet if it became a regular occurrence. I haven't had the chance to find out though, and I don't suspect I'll get one anytime soon.

The Tigers and A's were playing at the same time as the Yankees and Orioles on Thursday, so I avoided getting too worked up about things in the Bronx by watching Justin Verlander do his thing. Instead of rejoicing when the Yankees lost though, I just lamented that they hadn't held on the night before, since the series would now be over if they had. Today I watched Game 5, but found some chores to do along the way, usually while the Yankees were batting (they still haven't figured out a way to score from the mound!). I was resigned to an eventual defeat for the Orioles, so at least I wasn't surprised when it happened.

I wish I could tone my feelings about the Yankees down, take pleasure in their failures without the anguish over their success, but if I haven't figured it out by now...

Tomorrow night, I'll be at a going away party for two friends, so maybe I'll be unable to watch any of the game. Maybe I'll just see the score when I get home and sigh. Probably though, I'll find a way to watch, and at some point some schmuck in pinstripes will get a big hit, millions of jerks will celebrate, and I'll quietly fume in the corner, wishing someone would just shoot me in the face.

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Playoff Predictions

It's a fool's errand to try and predict the baseball playoffs, because anything can and will happen during a short series. And hell, before we even get to any short series, there will be two do or die Wildcard Games this evening. You might as well flip a coin at that point. I'd like to think I'm smarter than a nickel though, and I'm nothing if not a fool, so I figure I might as well try my hand at guessing what happens over the next four weeks. I will totally gloat if I'm right about anything, because it will prove just how smart I am, and when I'm not about things, we'll just pretend this never happened.



Wildcard Games:

Atlanta vs. St. Louis
Kris Medlen is pitching for the Braves. He was moved from the bullpen into the rotation at the end of July and he's been on an incredible roll since then, putting together a 0.97 ERA over 83.2 innings. Including his relief work bumps his ERA up, but it was still a shiny 1.57 over 138 innings. ERA+ takes a player's ERA and adjusts it for the parks he's pitched in and the run-scoring environment of that particular season, 100 is average, 110 is 10% better than average, etc. Medlen sports a 256 ERA+, meaning he's been 156 better than average. I was born in 1980. Since then, here are the pitchers who've thrown at least 100 innings in a season with a better ERA+ than that: Greg Maddux and Pedro Martinez. In a single-game crap shoot, I'm not going against a man keeping that kind of company.
MY PICK: ATLANTA

Texas vs. Baltimore
Before the season, I picked the Orioles to be the worst team in the American League. I don't know what sort of sorcery they used to contend in arguably the toughest division in baseball, but it was quite a trick. I dig what they've accomplished and I will be cheering for them for as long as they're in it. It's somewhat surprising to see the Rangers in this game too, but for opposite reasons. Going back to April, they seemed like a lock for the division. The Angels made a mid-season push, but fell back again, and that, it seemed, would be that. Oops. Fortunately for the Rangers, momentum doesn't really carry over from the regular season, at least not in any very meaningful way, and they go into tonight's game with a lot more talent than the Orioles, and in Yu Darvish, the better pitcher.
MY PICK: TEXAS


League Division Series (I'm not sure what that name means):

New York vs. Texas
Probably the two best hitting teams in the American League playoffs, with the Yankees rating as the best lineup in baseball, I'd say. The Rangers make up much of that difference in being a far better base running and fielding team. The pitching strikes me as fairly even, though neither team has looked all that good over the last month or so. By the time this series ends though, September will be a distant memory. The Rangers have won the American League each of the last two seasons, and it certainly wouldn't be a surprise to see them win it a third time, but anyone who knows me knows I expect the worst to happen when the playoffs roll around, and it doesn't get any worse than watching the Yankees win.
MY PICK: NEW YORK

Oakland vs. Detroit
If you picked the A's to win the A.L. West this year... Nope, you're a liar. With a roster younger than many minor league teams, in a division with two big spending powers, Oakland is one of the most surprising division winners in baseball history. Unlike the Orioles, who won a ton of 1-run and extra inning games, the A's have the run differential of a very good team, even though they don't have any real standout players. The Tigers are a different story, they were expected to be here and they've got a bunch of standout players (3 or 4 of the top dozen players in A.L. MVP voting will be Tigers). The A's advancing would be a neat story, but I expect their offense to struggle against Justin Verlander, and in a five game series, that's trouble.
MY PICK: DETROIT

Washington vs. Atlanta
The Nationals were another surprise to a lot of people, but they're a team I expected to do well (not "best record in baseball" well, but I thought they'd be good). They have the best starting rotation in baseball and they outscored the Braves by almost a run a game after the All-Star break (that's a lot). By record and by run differential, Washington was the best team in baseball this year and deserves to be favored in this round. Sometimes it's not just quiet though, it's too quiet. The Braves are no slouches. They allowed the fewest runs in the N.L. after the All-Star break and they're a fantastic fielding team. Plus, I have a crush on Jason Heyward. I'm going to swim against the current on this one.
MY PICK: ATLANTA

Cincinnati vs. San Francisco
The Reds play in a hitters park, have a powerful lineup, and score a ton of runs. The Giants play in a pitchers park, have a fantastic rotation, and don't allow many runs. Well, that's the commonly held wisdom anyway. In reality, the Reds allowed the fewest runs of any team in baseball and scored the fewest of any team in the playoffs, while the Giants had the highest OPS+ in the N.L. and the worst ERA+ of any team in the playoffs. Weird, huh? The Reds had the better record and run differential, but the Giants were ahead of them on both accounts over the last couple months. It's strange to have two teams playing so against their perceived type.
MY PICK: SAN FRANCISCO


League Championship Series:

New York vs. Detroit
I think the A's will have trouble scoring against Detroit's best pitchers, but the Yankees don't have much trouble scoring against anyway. Plus, the advantage of having Justin Verlander (the best pitcher in baseball) go twice in a series isn't as pronounced over seven games as it is over five. The Tigers have a lot of dead spots in their lineup, and while Miguel Cabrera, Austin Jackson, and Prince Fielder are all great, Detroit will be giving many innings away. The Tigers also have a dreadful defense, and in my mind the Yankees are always benefiting from a couple WTF plays in October. I hope I'm wrong, but I see happy Fox execs cheering as the Yankees advance to the World Series.
MY PICK: NEW YORK

San Francisco vs. Atlanta
Buster Posey and Jason Heyward are forever linked in my mind by the tremendous rookie season each of them put up in 2010. I think Heyward had the far better season that year, but Posey had the narrative on his side, and the narrative is a huge part of award voting. In any event, no one in the National League was better than Posey this year, and I predict a couple more big moments from him in this series. Atlanta's Craig Kimbrel became the first pitcher ever to strike out more than half the batters he faced, which is mind-boggling. I'd love to see a Posey/Kimbrel battle with a game on the line!
MY PICK: SAN FRANCISCO


WORLD SERIES

San Francisco vs. New York
It's been 50 years since these two played each other in the World Series, when the Yankees beat San Francisco in a dramatic Game 7. And of course, the two teams played one another in six World Series between 1921 and 1951, when they both played in New York. It would be pretty cool to see their old rivalry renewed. If it comes to that, I expect Posey and Matt Cain will face the same fate as Willie Mays and Mel Ott.
MY PICK: NEW YORK


Here's to being wrong!

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