Fall Classic Preview
They came here for this.
Despite the massive contracts that each of them signed, C.C. Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and A.J. Burnett came to New York to compete for and win a World Series. They are now only four wins away from accomplishing that feat. Said Sabathia during his introductory news conference in December 2008:
“I think this is the best place for me to try to win a championship. Everybody had speculated about me staying in California. I had always talked about winning a championship, and you look at the Yankees, it’s something they contend for just about every year.”
While the money is always the first thing that people look at when a player signs a massive deal, the ability to compete for a championship is ultimately what keeps players working hard and striving to be the best well after the ink has dried on their contracts. The Yankees always have the highest payroll in baseball, but year-in and year-out they compete until the 162nd game to qualify for the playoffs, at which point anything can happen. And this year, the fans are desperate for something to happen.
It’s been nine years since the Yankees won their last World Series title. After earning championship rings in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000, fans became accustomed to seeing their team in the World Series and doing enough to earn another trip down the Canyon of Heroes in downtown New York. But after those four winning years, the Yankees have struggled. They made two additional trips to the World Series this decade, 2001 and 2003, but have come up empty. Then things got even worse when the team failed to qualify for the playoffs last year, the last year in the old Yankee Stadium and the first year in the tenure of Joe Girardi as manager. What did his predecessor do in his first year? Win the World Series, of course. Girardi was already on the hot seat.
With the additions of Sabathia, Teixeira and Burnett via free agency, and Nick Swisher by trade, the Yankees became something different. While analysts and pundits throughout baseball were screaming about the gobs of money that the Yankees were spending, the team actually reduced its payroll from 2008. I am not about to start arguing that this team is now dominant with a small budget, especially considering Sabathia, Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter all have contracts worth in excess of $100 million each, but the team was becoming smarter with its money. It’s one thing to throw money at a problem, it’s another to throw it at a solution; and that’s what the Yankees did in 2009.
The Yankees finished the regular season with a 103-59 record, the best in baseball. They won the American League East by eight full games, which becomes even more impressive when you realize the second place team, the Boston Red Socks, won the American League Wild Card. After losing the first game in the new Yankee Stadium, the team went on to win 57 of its 81 home games, the best record for any team in either league in their home ballpark. Their new first baseman Teixeira lead the American League in home runs and RBI and their Captain, who many had written off as over-the-hill, hit .334, better than anyone else in the American League other than Joe Mauer and Ichiro Suzuki. Their new ace, Sabathia, won 19 games and struck out 197, while Mariano Rivera had one of the most dominating seasons of his career with 44 saves and a 1.76 ERA, with 72 strikeouts in 66.1 innings.
If there was ever a team built to make the World Series, this was it. They dispatched the Minnesota Twins in a first round sweep thanks to elite pitching and some clutch hitting from the previous post-season goat Alex Rodriguez. The ALCS matched them up against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, who had been a playoff nemesis for the Yankees in the second half of this decade. In six games, the series was over and the Yankees were back in the Fall Classic.
Their next opponent is very similar in build to the Yankees, but very different in the wallet. With a 2009 payroll of $113 million, the Phillies trail the Yankees by $88 million in the salary department. But they don’t trail the Yankees in many other facets of the game. While the Yankees had the best home record in 2009, the Phillies tied for the best road record, finishing at 48-33 when they travel. Their hard hitting first baseman, Ryan Howard, had a monster season, clubbing 45 home runs and knocking in 141 RBI. With Howard leading the charge, the Phillies had a number of players who could slug with the best teams in baseball (overall they were second in total home runs, trailing only the Yankees). Outfielder Jayson Werth, who was a part time player most of his career, finally got a chance to play every day and rewarded the decision by hitting 36 home runs and driving in 99, all while also stealing 20 bases. Newcomer Raul Ibanez, who many people argued was a bad fit for the team before the season started because they were adding another left-handed bat to a lefty-dominated lineup, made himself felt early and often and finished the season with 34 home runs and 94 RBI in only 134 games. Second baseman Chase Utley was the fourth player to hit at least 30 home runs by hitting 31 with 93 RBI; oh, and he stole 23 bases. Add in shortstop Jimmy Rollins’ 21 home runs and 31 stolen bases and you can see why this team will be able to hit with the Yankees.
But the biggest key to the 2009 World Series is most certainly pitching. While the Yankees went out and got C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett in the offseason, the biggest move by the Phillies came during the year when they traded for the 2008 American League Cy Young winner Cliff Lee. After working hard to try to obtain Toronto ace Roy Halladay, Lee became a more than satisfactory consolation prize by going 7-4 with a 3.39 ERA. While the stats don’t scream out at you, Lee threw three complete games and had one shutout in his 12 starts. He has been even better in the postseason, going into the Fall Classic with a 2-0 record and an 0.74 ERA, with 20 strikeouts in 24.1 innings.
Lee is slated to pitch games 1, 4, and 7 in order to have him go up against the Yankees top starter Sabathia in every game. Cleveland Indians’ fans will most likely want to stay away from those games after having both of these pitchers on their roster at the beginning of last season. The Yankees are planning to send A.J. Burnett to the mound in games 2 and 5, with Andy Pettitte (who will be playing in his EIGHTH World Series) will take games 3 and 6. The Yankees used a three-man rotation against the Angels in the ALCS and manager Joe Girardi was more than pleased with the outcome to repeat it in the Fall Classic.
The most interesting call so far is Phillies manager Charlie Manuel’s decision to pitch Pedro Martinez in game 2. Martinez was a mid-season pickup by Philadelphia after some pitching woes required some type of move. While there was instantly turmoil due to Martinez taking Jamie Moyer’s spot in the rotation, things settled when Moyer went down with a season-ending injury. Martinez is coming off a fantastic start in the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers where he pitched seven innings of two-hit shut out ball in a game the Phillies eventually lost. While Pedro has been throwing well these days, one has to question the decision to pitch him in game two at Yankee Stadium instead of 2008 World Series MVP Cole Hamels. Granted, Hamels has been struggling as of late (although the criticism may be overblown), throwing a lefty in a stadium with a short right field porch might be the better move. If the Phillies are dreaming they are getting the 2004 version of Pedro Martinez at Yankee Stadium, they may be rudely awakened.
The Phillies game 6 starter is up in the air, with many expecting that Hamels would pitch, although with a past of refusing to pitch on short rest, the assignment could go to either Joe Blanton or J.A. Happ, both of which have been pitching well enough for the Phillies to win.
With the rosters and playing styles very similar between the two teams, fans of each should be treated to a wonderful Fall Classic. It has been quite some time since the World Series has gone a full seven games, but with two teams that seemingly play so much alike, one can only expect that it would go the distance.
Prediction: Yankees in seven.
