Re-live September 28, 2011 In One Awesome 12-Minute Video

Has there ever been a more dramatic, chaotic, and improbable 20 minutes in the history of sports?  There have been classic games in the past, but what happened last night, was not just one classic game.  It was the finale of a 162-game season like no finale ever before.  The chaos of last night was more than just one game, it was the frantic switching back and forth between stations ultimately culminating with two historic collapses coming complete in the span of twenty minutes and two walkoffs literally separated by three minutes.  There are few times where it feels like time just stops.  Last night was one of those nights.

Last night was an Fredi Gonzalez incredibly allowing Scott Linebrink to pitch to Hunter Pence who would ultimately hit the game-winning RBI with Michael Martinez on deck.  Last night was a last place Baltimore Orioles going nowhere way too fast celebrating like they won the World Series.  Last night was Dan Johnson, he of the .119/.187/.202 slash line in 31 games in 2011 hitting the game-tying home run with the Rays down to their last out and their last strike.  Last night was Evan Longoria.  Last night was the mathematically improbable coming to fruition.

And this is last night, condensed into one 12-minute, 5-second video.



Given the numbers in the above link, to say this was the most improbable night in sports history is not that much of a stretch.  In fact, it may be a reality.  For the Cardinals and the Rays, it is a comeback they will always remember.  And for the Braves and the Red Sox, it is a collapse they will never be able to forget.

MLB Last Day Of The Season Live Blog

Has there ever been a last day of the MLB Season better than this?  Two races, both tied up, with both the Braves and the Red Sox trying to survive a collapse of Mets-ian proportions.  If not on your regional sportsnet, all these games can be seen on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNJIP, ESPNThe17th, and I am pretty sure ESPN Français will pick up some exclusive footage as well.  Join us for the fun!

Jibber Your Jabber- Sunday Night Style!

Who's up for some exhibition preseason NFL action tonight? Or maybe it's ESPN's 100th broadcast this season of Yanks/Sawx. Who does Al Michaels have tonight? Will Joe Morgan take credit for the building of New Yankee Stadium? Is Don Draper going to regret banging the new secretary? Leave comments and enjoy the mayhem!

Dallas Cowboys vs Cincinnati Bengals 8:00 (NBC- Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth SR: Andrea Kremer)

Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees 8:00 (ESPN- Jon Miller, Joe Morgan, Orel Hershiser)

Comparing The Phillies To The Mets And Yankees

The Philadelphia Phillies just acquired yet another ace in Roy Oswalt, thus giving them a top 3 rotation of Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, and Roy Oswalt. Naturally, given that, the fact they have won the NLCS in the past 2 years, made the playoffs the last 3, and have a bunch of big names on their team now, the comparisons are going to come that the Phillies are the next, Mets and Yankees, at least in the mind of the casual fan. But the question remains, are the comparisons valid? Are the Phillies the 2nd coming of teams most casual fans hate?

I will answer this by comparing how the Phillies acquired the top players and starting pitchers and closer on their current roster in comparison to the top players and starting pitchers and closer on the other teams' current roster. Up first, how the Phillies acquired their players (yes, I am aware that there are more players than this on the teams; this piece concerns the big names and the regular starters when everyone is healthy, not the role players, bench players and the fill-ins for injury, i.e. Wilson Valdez).

Phillies
Carlos Ruiz: Signed as an amateur free agent in 1998.
Ryan Howard: Drafted in the 5th round of the 2001 draft.
Chase Utley: Drafted in the 1st round of the 2000 draft.
Jimmy Rollins: Drafted in the 1st round of the 1996 draft.
Placido Polanco: Signed as a free agent (for the 2nd time) in 2009.
Raul Ibanez: Signed as a free agent in 2008.
Shane Victorino: Drafted by the Phillies in the 2004 Rule 5 Draft.
Jayson Werth: Signed as a free agent in 2006.
Roy Halladay: Traded by Toronto to Philadelphia in 2009.
Cole Hamels: Drafted in the 1st round 2002 draft.
Roy Oswalt: Traded by Houston to Philadelphia in 2010.
Joe Blanton: Traded by Oakland to Philadelphia in 2008.
Kyle Kendrick: Drafted in the 7th round of the 2003 draft.
Brad Lidge: Traded by Houston to Philadelphia in 2007.

Phillies totals
Amateur Draft: 5
Amateur Free Agents: 1
Rule 5 Draft: 1
Free Agency: 3
Trades: 4

New York Mets
Rod Barajas: Signed as a free agent in 2010.
Ike Davis: Drafted by in the 2008 draft.
Luis Castillo: Signed as a free agent in 2007.
Jose Reyes: Signed as an amateur free agent in 1999.
David Wright: Drafted in the 2001 draft.
Jason Bay: Signed as a free agent in 2009
Angel Pagan: Traded by Chicago Cubs to New York Mets in 2008.
Jeff Francoeur: Traded by Atlanta to New York Mets in 2009.
Carlos Beltran: Signed as a free agent in 2005.
Johan Santana: Traded by Minnesota to New York Mets
Jonathon Niese: Drafted in 7th round of the 2005 draft.
Mike Pelfrey: Drafted in the 1st round of the 2005 draft.
R.A. Dickey: Signed as a free agent in 2010.
Hisanori Takahashi: Signed as a free agent in 2010.
Francisco Rodriguez: Signed as a free agent in 2008.

Mets totals
Amateur Draft: 4
Amateur Free Agents: 1
Rule 5 Draft: 0
Free Agency: 6
Trades: 3

New York Yankees
Francisco Cervelli: Signed as an amateur free agent in 2003.
Mark Teixeira: Signed as a free agent in 2009.
Robinson Cano: Signed as an amateur free agent in 2001.
Derek Jeter: Drafted in the 1st round of the 1992 draft.
Alex Rodriguez: Signed as a free agent in 2007.
Brett Garnder: Drafted by Yankees in 3rd round of 2005 draft.
Curtis Granderson: Traded by Detroit to New York Yankees in 2009.
Nick Swisher: Traded by Chicago White Sox to New York Yankees in 2008.
Jorge Posada: Drafted by the New York Yankees in the 20th round of the 1990 draft.
Andy Pettitte: Signed as a free agent in 2006.
Javier Vazquez: Traded by Atlanta to New York Yankees in 2009.
CC Sabathia: Signed as a free agent in 2008.
A.J. Burnett: Signed as a free agent in 2008.
Phil Hughes: Drafted by the Yankees in the 2004 draft.
Mariano Rivera: Signed as an amateur free agent in 1990.

Yankees totals
Amateur Draft: 4
Amateur Free Agents: 3
Rule 5 Draft: 0
Free Agency: 5
Trades: 3

I wanted to add the Red Sox in here, but frankly, I need to get up at 6 AM, and it is getting late and I am running out of time. Maybe sometime tomorrow after Oswalt's debut I will add them in here.

But as far as the straight up comparisons with the New York teams, I think the numbers speak for themselves. The Phillies main core of players consist of 3 free agents whereas the Mets have 6 and the Yankees have 5. Halladay and Oswalt were both acquired through trade, whereas Burnett and Sabathia were both signed directly through the dollar-dollar bills (though in fairness, the sticking point of the Halladay trade was the immediate contract extension the Phillies were able to offer him). And while it kind of looks like egg on the face of the Phillies that they got Jayson Werth through free agency, it should be known that when they signed him, no one knew he would end up being such a star that he is. Heck, in 2008 he started the season platooning with Geoff Jenkins in right field before winning the job outright towards the end of the season.

It should be noted that in addition to less free agents, the Phillies have more trades than each of the 2 New York teams and more draft picks than each of the 2 New York teams, though credit must be given as the Yankees really know how to score with the undrafted amateur free agents.

Again, hopefully I will be able to do the Red Sox tomorrow, but I am out of gas and in need of sleep before waking up at 6 AM to go to work for the whole day (I can taste the coffee from here). Unrelated to the Phillies and baseball, but the Eagles have signed their 1st round draft pick Brandon Graham late this evening. Just thought I should let you know before I go to bed.

Chan Ho Park Gives Only The Honest Answers

I miss Chan Ho Park already. I really really do. He is a straight shooter that gives only honest reasons and answers. Take for instance when he was asked about his poor performance on opening night against the Red Sox, there was a perfectly legitimate (if not disgusting) explanation as to why Chan Ho performed below expectations. Instead of telling you what it is, I'll let Chan Ho Park explain you why himself.



I seriously can't stop watching and laughing. I have no idea who that is laughing in the background but whomever he/they is/are, it totally makes the video that much better. Good times for Chan Ho Park's digestive system.....actually, come to think of it, I don't think his digestive system had that good a time on last Sunday night.

MLB Playoffs Day 5 Open Thread/Live Blog

I'll have a Phillies live blog up later today.

Game 3: Angels @ Red Sox 12:07 (Kazmir, vs. 10-9 vs. Buchholz, 7-4) (TBS - Don Orsillo and Buck Martinez, SR: Tom Verducci)

Game 3: Yankees @ Twins 7:07 (Pettitte, 14-8 vs. Pavano, 14-12) (TBS - Chip Caray and Ron Darling, SR: Craig Sager)

Game 3: Phillies @ Rockies 10:07 (Happ, 12-4 vs. Hammel, 10-8) (TBS - Brian Anderson and Joe Simpson, SR: David Aldridge)

MLB Playoffs Day 3 Open Thread...

Is once again at Keith's Sports Journal. So don't be shy. Head on over!

Game 2: Twins @ Yankees 6:07 (Blackburn, 11-11 vs. Burnett, 13-9) (TBS: Chip Caray and Ron Darling, SR: Craig Sager

Game 2: Red Sox @ Angels 9:37 (Beckett, 17-6 vs. Weaver, 16-8) (TBS: Don Orsillo and Buck Martinez, SR: Marc Fein)

I probably won't be around much, but regardless, I'll still chat with ya there!

MLB Playoffs Day 2 Open Thread/Live Blog

Once again, we're over at Keith's Sports Journal. So go on. Don't be shy. Head on over there.

Game 2: Rockies @ Phillies 2:37 (Cook, 11-6 vs. Hamels, 10-11) (TBS - Brian Anderson and Joe Simpson, SR: David Aldridge)

Game 2: Cardinals @ Dodgers 6:07 (Wainwright, 19-8 vs. Kershaw, 8-8) (TBS - Dick Stockton and Bob Brenly, SR: Tom Verducci)

Game 1: Red Sox @ Angels 9:37 (Lester, 15-8 vs. Lackey, 11-8) (TBS - Don Orsillo and Buck Martinez, SR: Marc Fein)

Chat with ya there!

Now Who's Getting Doc Halladay?

With the Phillies getting Cliff Lee, the matter of Roy Halladay is still getting some attention. With the Phils out of the picture, the front-runners appear to be the Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox. From Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports

In the wake of the Philadelphia Phillies’ acquisition of starting pitcher Cliff Lee(notes), the Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox have become the frontrunners to acquire Toronto Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay(notes), according to baseball sources.

While other clubs – the Yankees, notably – remained peripherally engaged, there appeared to be a two-team race for Halladay with a little more than 24 hours left to the non-waiver trading deadline.

Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi has asked for as many as a half-dozen prospects in return for Halladay, the former Cy Young Award winner who would lead the Dodgers’ rotation and join Josh Beckett(notes) atop the Red Sox’s.

The Dodgers’ offer is believed to be all minor league prospects except right-handed pitcher James McDonald(notes), who has pitched 38 major league innings. Starters Chad Billingsley(notes) and Clayton Kershaw(notes) have not been offered, and neither have any of the team’s starting position players.

The Red Sox’s offer includes top pitching prospect Clay Buchholz(notes), as Yahoo! Sports reported Wednesday. The Blue Jays also have been given the choice of reliever Justin Masterson(notes), Triple-A pitcher Michael Bowden(notes) or Double-A first baseman Lars Anderson(notes), with lesser prospects from the farm system filling out the Boston offer. The Red Sox from the beginning have included Buchholz because the Blue Jays made it clear he would have to be the starting point of any deal.

After weeks of believing that the Jays would indeed trade Halladay, I am definitley leaning the other way now. The bottom line is is that not a whole lot of words have been coming out of JP Ricciardi's mouth in order to get this deal done. Pretty much everything that he has said for the past few weeks has come straight out his ass and that is not going to get things done. It also does not help them that they want half of a team for Halladay either. It seems more and more that in the long run, Cliff Lee was the better option for the Phillies than Halladay would have been.

And just a little FYI for those that like to stay up late on the east coast, I will be over at Keith's Sports Journal tonight live blogging the Phillies-Giants game. He's a Giants fan. I'm a Phillies fan. Come on, you just know that this is going to be a good time!

Dennis Eckersly Really Should Not Try To Read Lips On-Air

Sometimes in the spur of the moment, when something happens we tend to read people's lips and we instantaneously repeat what we said. This is not a novel concept that we are dealing with here. But when such an occurance happens on air and the word uttered by Youk who just got hit with a pitch is "shit!" and Dennis Eckersly instantaneously repeats that on the air on NESN, the result is pure awkward hilarity!



Absolutely hilarious! It was not necessarily the fact that Eck said "shit" that made that video (although it was hilarious) it's the complete 25 seconds of awkwardness that followed where they did everything but say, "Oh shit! We're so screwed!". Too funny!

(Hat tip to mandb97 for pointing this out in the comments section at AA)