Chase Utley is on a legendary World Series tear and is completely owning the Yankees. From ABC News:
Even in the World Series, Utley doesn’t pause to admire his homers. He’s had plenty of opportunities, too, connecting five times to tie Reggie Jackson’s record set in 1977 with the Yankees.
Another big swing from Utley got the Philadelphia Phillies started, and they broke out of their hitting funk in an 8-6 victory over the New York Yankees in Game 5 on Monday night.
Utley hit a three-run shot off A.J. Burnett in the first inning and a solo homer off Phil Coke in the seventh, becoming the second player to have two multihomer games in a World Series. Willie Aikens did it for Kansas City against the Phillies in 1980.
Pretty amazing, I started thinking about how Chase Utley compares to other great second basemen (there aren’t very many), and I think he’s got a shot to be the best of all time. He’s no worse than third-best, as only Rogers Hornsby and perhaps Joe Morgan were better players than Utley. As Joe Buck pointed out, Utley has the highest career OPS out of any second baseman besides Hornsby. But Hornsby pretty much played a different game (1915-1937), so comparisons between the two are difficult (for what it’s worth, Utley’s career OPS+ is 129, Hornsby’s is 175…but I also doubt that Hornsby played in a league with the level of competition that Utley faces).
Regardless of where he’s ranked, he totally deserves this letter:
That’s the only way I can explain Cliff Lee walking into Yankee Stadium last night and just totally dominating. Lee pitched a complete game, giving up just six hits and striking out 10, and would have had a shutout if not for Rollins’ throwing error in the ninth. But this wasn’t like Josh Beckett in 2003; it seemed like Cliff Lee was going to get guys out even if he was trying to walk them or give up a hit. I mean, did you see his nonchalant catch and behind-the-back snag? It was like Toby Maguire in Pleasantville when he’s playing basketball. Lee could have shoved the baseball in his mouth and spit it toward home plate, and Matsui would hit a liner right into his glove. Clearly the Devil is involved.
No, not this one. I hope not, at least. Mike Freeman over at CBS Sports has written a pro-Phillie anti-Yankee article, and it’s filled with nonsense, cliches, and heaps of bullshit. It’s a shame that the guys from FireJoeMorgan aren’t around anymore, because this is precisely the type of article they’d tear to shreds. That’s not really our thing here at Unathletic, but I couldn’t resist some good ol’ deconstruction on an article as bad as this one. Personal attacks and smarmy comments ahead.
In: MLB
Fox 29’s Mike Jerrick interviews the founding members of the Padilla Flotilla and their feelings on Vincente Padilla pitching for the Dodgers. And somehow, the conversation turns to pussy:
I like how at 0:37, the dude in the white Phillies jersey responds to Mike’s question as if it’s the most obvious, blatant question he’s ever been asked. Of course I can get behind Carlos, what kind of question is that? It’s rhetorical, right?
Awwww…Brett Myers is upset that he didn’t make the Phillies NLCS roster. Boo hoo. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer:
“I’m upset,” the pitcher said before Game 1 against the Los Angeles Dodgers last night.
Myers, 29, had hip surgery June 4. At the time, team officials thought his season was over. The righthander stayed dedicated to a rehabilitation program and made it back in early September. The club hoped Myers could help in the bullpen, but he had a 6.43 ERA in eight games. He pitched just two-thirds of an inning in the division series.
“It’s tough going through all that [rehab],” Myers said. “This is the whole reason I tried to get back, to be in the postseason. Now they took that away.
“They said I wasn’t sharp. I disagree. They told me my curveball was sharp. That contradicts itself. But whatever. I’ll stay around and support my teammates.”
You know what else is tough? Being a woman and assaulted by your 6-foot-4, 240-pound husband, only to see him pitch just 36 hours later. I just can’t muster up any sympathy for Myers, a guy who has proven time and again what a class act he is. It shouldn’t matter from Philly’s end, as they currently hold a 2-1 lead over the Dodgers, thanks in large part to the Cliff Lee acquisition. Lee’s curveball looked great last night, and I know he’s a pretty decent pitcher, but how many more AL pitchers need to come over to the NL and totally dominate before we can acknowledge that the NL really is AAAA? I’m pretty sure Carl Pavano would have finished in the top 3 of Cy Young voting had he pitched for the Dodgers this season. Grienke wouldn’t have given up more than four runs. Hell, I’m pretty sure I could get through an inning relatively unscathed. And I’m drunk as shit right now.
After Ryan Howard’s game-tying double in the top of the 9th inning, Brad Lidge earned the save in the Phillies’ Game 4 win over the Rockies in the NLDS. From Yahoo! Sports:
Brad Lidge, bouncing back from a rugged regular season, earned his second consecutive save by again retiring cleanup batter Troy Tulowitzki with runners on second and first for the final out.
Tulowitzki, who flied out to conclude Game 3, struck out this time and the Phillies celebrated on the infield at chilly Coors Field before retreating to the clubhouse to spray champagne.
For a little while it looked like Lidge had recovered from the moonshot Pujols hit off him in Game 5 of the 2005 NLCS, but he had been atrocious toward the end of this season. You would think that saving back-to-back playoff games would get this guy’s confidence back up, but I doubt it was ever down to begin with. My guess is that his poor pitching could have been attributed to injury or age. Let me explain: I found out not too long ago that a girl friend of my cousin’s wife had hooked up with Lidge at Notre Dame. My cousin had the opportunity to ask about what kind of meat Lidge was twerkin’ with, and the friend replied that it was like a hammer. Lidge had really left an impression. My point is: if you’re packin’ the type of weapon to punish girls the way Lidge does, you’re not losing confidence when your slider doesn’t move the way you want it to. Not for a second.
