Tampa Bay’s Matt Garza allowed just one run on 2 hits while striking out 9 batters over 7 innings to finally put a stop to the Boston surge and lead the Rays to their first ever World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.
 
Final score - Rays 3, Red Sox 1

And…Matt Garza was named the ALCS MVP!
 
More at www.baseballdigestdaily.com later!

With the World Series on the horizon, BDD Live returned this Saturday with plenty of talk about the National League champion Philadelphia Phillies, while Boston and Tampa battle for the right to represent the junior circuit. Join host Eric SanInocencio for an hour’s worth of talk about October’s key players.
 
After a two week hiatus, great division action and heroic performances take center stage. Along with a panel of distinguished guests, BDD Live will take a look at the matchups that could decide the next World Series Champion.
 
The first guest in studio is Fox’s Ken Rosenthal. The noted journalist and reporter had a bird’s eye view for the Phillies victory in Los Angeles, and he shares his thoughts on what Philadelphia did to move on. Rosenthal also sheds some light on the Jake Peavy situation, with news and notes regarding some prominent free agents.
 
Next up is CBS Sports columnists Larry Dobrow who writes the Sports Schizophrenia section for the popular sports website. Dobrow comments on the Red Sox historical comeback, and how the AL winner shapes up the World Series.
 
Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Daily News is the next to stop by. Since we know one team involved in the Fall Classic, Hayes gives some historical perspective on this Philly run, and what to expect from the fighting Phils once the Fall Classic opens up next week.

And finally, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick rounds out the show with his always insightful viewpoint and analysis.
 
To listen to this star-studded broadcast, jump over to http://www.blogtalkradio.com/baseballdigestdaily. 
 
Or, to download this and all other podcast archives via iTunes, just do the following:
1) Open iTunes.
2) Click on the Advanced menu at the top.
3) Then click on Subscribe to Podcast.
4) Enter this URL http://www.blogtalkradio.com/baseballdigestdaily/feed and click ok.
 

Ah young romance.

Have you ever wondered how a high school romance with Bud Selig must have looked like in the late 1940’s-early 1950’s?

I’ve always imagined a couple of kids that looked like Alfred E. Neuman and Ethel Dinklehof sneaking glances at each other during remedial sex ed. She finds young Bud to be interesting–not many other boys at school spend their spare time trying to convince the various school bullies to donate some of their lunch money to the chess club while he dreams of what her tusks might fetch on the black market–there’s enough ivory there to finance his dream of selling second hand cars to unsuspecting consumers or selling second hand baseball to unsuspecting fans.

Well, ol’ Ethel is ready to make her move–she decides to sit down and write a love letter to the boy of her dreams; one that will get his attention and assure him of her eternal devotion.

What do you suppose how such a letter would read? Wonder no more, for, while I do not have the actual letter in my hand, I have the next best thing–a message of love to the current commissioner of baseball. Who is Selig’s secret admirer? None other than Mike Lupica.

Let’s check out how Mr. Lupica confesses his everlasting love. Initially I was leery about writing about this train wreck since–believe it or not–my first feeling upon reading it was embarrassment for Lupica. To have an article like this permanently imbedded in cyberspace would feel like losing your swimming trunks at a pool full of Victoria Secret models that end up pointing and laughing at your teensy package and it all ends up on YouTube only to be picked up by the network televising the Super Bowl and aired repeatedly during the telecast.

You feel bad enough for the poor guy that you’re loath to add to his misery.

Still, it is what it is and he should be called on it. Let’s begin…

It was announced this week with bad intentions, look out, that the Major League Baseball Players Association was going to come after baseball on a big collusion charge because nobody wanted to give Barry Bonds a job this past season. That was the first part of the announcement, anyway. The second was that the grievance wouldn’t be filed right away, but rather in an “indeterminate period.”

This is the equivalent of walking up to somebody, smacking him in the face and then saying, “Meet me back here in an indeterminate period because then we are going to have some fight.”

Here Lupica focuses on a non issue–the timing of the grievance. What he conveniently ignores is that there is a basis for it. Someone reading this article would come under the impression that Don Fehr simply woke up one day and said “Hey, nobody hired Barry Bonds this year–let’s complain!” He completely ignores Fehr’s entire history regarding such matters. One baseball executive described his approach as a (Erwin) “Rommel” in that he doesn’t move on anything until he’s absolutely certain the ground under him is secure and all the troops are in place. Fehr is not given to impulse and hates to lose. Unless he is absolutely convinced he has the goods he doesn’t act. The fact that he feels comfortable proceeding with the grievance indicates that he’s sure of his case.

Bonds is 44 years old, runs like he is carrying an ottoman on his back, was a legendary steroids user unless you think his trainer was just sprinkling him with pixie dust, has been indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice, could be facing jail time if convicted. Who wouldn’t want to make somebody like that the first pick in a free agent draft?

The free agent draft? What is this–1979? Of course, none of these issues were relevant in 2008–the period the grievance covers. There was no trial or jail time slated for last season and as to his age and physical condition … Moises Alou anyone?

His 44th birthday came last season and his 45th birthday comes next season, but still the union is going to wait to file official charges against Major League Baseball, as if they have all the time in the world with this guy. You wonder what the union will do if nobody calls old Roger Clemens, everybody’s All-America, this winter. Will the union say baseball is colluding against The Rocket, or just indicating that they think he’s every bit as toxic right now as Bonds has been for a long time?

Um … when were the collusion hearings for 1986 held? Does he believe that even happened? First the free agent draft line and now this–he needs a history lesson and to be brought up to date on how the business and labour aspects of the game are handled. As to Clemens, Bonds was actively looking for work last season, Clemens wasn’t–big difference. The collusion charge isn’t a means to find him a job in 2009, it’s about his inability to find work in 2008 so why is the timing so important?

This story is about nothing and will remain about nothing. Mostly it is just the last dying grab from Bonds and his agent, Jeff Borris, for Bonds to make the kind of money he still thinks baseball owes him.

Ah yes–the “players are greedy” line; a sentiment designed to ensure Selig has a nice afterglow. Owners are never greedy–right? In fact, they felt so strongly about getting rid of Bonds they forwent the revenue from the home run chase and ate the remainder of Bonds’ last contract so he wouldn’t sully the game any further. Better to lose money than besmirch the sport.

What was that? They waited until after they wrung every last nickel out of Bonds and 756 before they found a conscience? Wow … gotta love management’s altruistic concern for the game’s integrity.

“There were numerous things that occurred that made me believe that clubs were acting in concert,” Borris was quoted as saying this week. “When I testify as a witness in the case I will delineate each and every one of them.”

A nation waits.

Borris and the guys from the union can all send up a flare if this ever actually does end up in front of an arbitrator. More likely, this will all just go away the way Bonds has, the way he could officially go away, as Marion Jones did, after his day in court.

Does Lupica know the difference between arbitration and court? I love how he knows how all this will work out even though he hasn’t seen any of the evidence. Somebody ought to dig up all his writing from 1986-collusion settlement to see if he wrote this kind of commissioner-porn for Peter Ueberroth.

Between now and then, though, ask a question:

Were the San Francisco Giants colluding with anything besides common sense when they announced they didn’t want Bonds back for the 2008 season? Did they have to call somebody from baseball to figure out what they wanted to do with Bonds, or do you think Peter Magowan, the Giants’ owner, and Brian Sabean, the team’s general manager, figured out on their own that they didn’t want Bonds working for them?

“Common sense” … again, it would be interesting to see how many times Lupica invoked the phrase “fiscal responsibility” and “financial restraint” in describing clubs’ actions during Collusion I, II, and III. He loves the code words. As to Sabean and Magowan–do you think if Bonds finished with 754 HR in 2007 that they might have wanted him to return in 2008? The thing is, Bonds was no different in 2005 and 2006 but the Giants welcomed him back.

Why?

There was big money to be made off the home run chase–once that was wrapped up now suddenly Bonds is a liability? Sorry, the time to make a credible statement is when there’s money still on the table. If you wait to cash all the checks then you’re no more honourable than Bonds … a point Lupica conveniently forgets or ignores.

Maybe Jeff Borris, who couldn’t get his client a job and now wants that to be baseball’s fault, who maybe is holding out hope that he can get some kind of commission on the collusion damages, can explain that away in front of an arbitrator if he ever gets that far. Borris can explain at the same time how if there is a big conspiracy against Bonds no owner even called baseball this season to indicate he was even thinking about signing Bonds to a contract.

Uh Mike, if they get collusion damages it’s BECAUSE THE OWNERS WERE GUILTY OF COLLUSION!! Any chance you can wait and see the evidence before you publicly soil yourself in print? Further, it’s not Borris filing the grievance–it’s the MLBPA and Borris will be a witness offering testimony–no more and no less. If collusion is proven all you’ve done here is demonstrate why they keep trying it–they know they can rely on corporate spunk rags like yourself to have their backs.

I read this drivel and wonder if he even believes baseball colluded under Ueberroth or it was merely “common sense” that blacks couldn’t compete in the big leagues before Jackie Robinson.

But then Borris wants all this to be anybody’s fault except Barry Bonds’. The same as Bonds does. Bonds wants it to be somebody else who took all the drugs and then lied about it in front of a grand jury, maybe wants it to be somebody else’s fault that he got old and began to finally break down this way.

Jeff Borris has nothing, nothing other than an unemployable home run king of baseball, one who made so much money hitting home runs and now needs more. A lot more. So he says baseball had a conspiracy against him.

Uh huh … Barry Bonds is the only player to ever take drugs–right Mike? Or get old? No comments about Miguel Tejada possibly lying before a Grand Jury yet still finds work? Of course, another blown kiss to Selig in that the only reason Bonds is doing this is for the money. Of course you again forget that the MLBPA is involved as well and they’re doing what they should be doing–making sure the clubs adhere to the collective bargaining agreement; something they have a long and notorious history of trying to avoid doing.

So, let’s see: we see that Lupica is ignorant of history, the business setup of MLB, the labour/management structure and role of collective bargaining and labour contracts as well as what has gone on regarding players that are older, injured, have used drugs, have possibly lied to a Grand Jury .

Truly love is blind and Lupica demonstrates his that he is desperately in love with all that ol’ Buddy holds dear.

Baseball probably thinks it’s the other way around.

No–they’re just grateful that they have folks like you disseminating their propaganda to the masses. It makes collusion so much easier.

Best Regards

John

Josh Beckett wasn’t great but he was good enough.  Now, the Red Sox are one win away from a repeat performance of their comebacks in ‘86, ‘04 and ‘07.

Even though B.J. Upton continued his Ruthian performance with a solo shot in the first, the defending champion Sox returned with a Kevin Youkilis solo homer in the second and an RBI ground out by Youkilis in the third that plated a second run.

Tampa Bay’s Jason Bartlett tied the game with another solo blast off of Beckett in the fifth but immediately Boston responded with a solo home run by Jason Varitek and a David Ortiz RBI single in the sixth.

The bullpen trio of Hideki Okajima, Justin Masterson and Jonathan Papelbon shut down the usually resilient Rays to push the series to a do-or-die Game 7 for the young Rays and experienced Red Sox.

As for Game 7, both managers weighed in on the showdown.

“It’s going to come down to who plays better,” said Red Sox manager Terry Francona.  “It’s probably pretty appropriate.  We come down to the last game, and whoever plays better gets to move on.  We have a lot of respect for how good they’ve played, but we also really like our ballclub.  Like I said, it’s probably pretty appropriate.”

“We’ve got to get ready to play that game tomorrow,” said Rays manager Joe Maddon.  “We’ve got Garza ready to pitch and we’re going to go out and play our game, and that’s basically how I’m going to look at it.  It has nothing to do with what happened over the last couple days.”

Game 7 starts at 8:07 PM on Sunday with Jon Lester on the hill for the Red Sox and Matt Garza for the Rays.

———————-

RED SOX’ THREE KEYS

• Safely Get From Starter to Papelbon

Forget about Jonathan Papelbon’s shut down inning in the ninth, that’s expected the way he pitches in the postseason.  Hideki Okajima’s two innings and Justin Masterson’s one inning were quick and painless, too.  Okajima especially was dominant in his performance.

• Get a Quality Start From Beckett or Wakefield

Beckett’s five inning, two-run performance was not a traditional quality start but five innings and two runs is historically a winner more often than six innings and three runs.  Beckett wasn’t spectacular but he got the job done on his end.

• Make Rays’ Starters Work

Not only did James Shields work — 109 pitches in 5-2/3 innings — a delay in the game due to an injury to umpire Derryl Cousins delayed the game and a crew change may have also impacted both pitchers with Shields affected more based on the results.

RAYS’ THREE KEYS

• Manufactured Runs

The Rays hit two solo home runs and failed to produce a run any other way.  There weren’t many base runners to move around but they had a shot here and there and didn’t take advantage.

• Have Wheeler Step Up

The relievers for the Rays were successful in their job but Wheeler was saved and hopefully ready for Game 7 if needed.

• Play Beyond Their Experience

A key fielding error in the sixth cost the Rays a run and their lineup failed to hit.  Hard to chalk it up to inexperience but many of the Red Sox are used to this situation and the Rays are not, simple as that.

STAR OF THE GAME

Hideki Okajima, Boston Red Sox

Okajima stepped in for Beckett in the sixth and made another multiple inning outing.  Okajima threw 32 pitches — 20 for strikes — and allowed only one base runner and looked trouble free in two innings of work.  Those two innings were pivotal in moving the game along to Masterson and Papelbon.  In Okajima’s two innings, the air practically came out of domed Tropicana Field and Okajima looked practically unhittable.