Lee, Sabathia bring Indians connection to Phillies, Yankees World Series
After three weeks of LDS and LCS games, the World Series is finally upon us. Or is it? Rain is once again in the New York forecast just in time for the opener.
In addition to being a fine fielder and spark plug atop his team’s lineup, Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins is becoming quite the soothsayer.
Shortstop, Slugger, Base Stealer
and Fortune Teller
“How great would that be? A World Series here, us against the Yankees?” Rollins commented after the Phils took two of three from the Yankees back in a May interleague series played in New York.
Whether you call it the Turnpike Series or the Liberty Series, the 2009 World Series has arrived with the Philadelphia Phillies taking on the New York Yankees beginning Wednesday night. Playing the role of the prohibitive favorites are the players in pinstripes, drawing -220 chalk for the Series at The Greek and -165 for Game 1.
The total for Wednesday’s opener opened at 8 offshore but dropped to 7½ at most shops.
When the two teams met in May, the Yankees were just beginning to come out of their early season funk and had built a nine-game winning streak at home. Alex Rodriguez only had a couple of weeks of play under his belt after early season hip woes, and the new Park That George (And A Lot Of Taxpayers) Built was already in full home run mode. In fact, in Game 1 of their series at Yankee Stadium on May 22, the two teams combined for seven round-trippers, four by the Phillies who took a 7-3 win. The bullpens would figure in the next two games, a 5-4 Yankees win in Game 2 when A-Rod homered in the ninth to tie it off Brad Lidge, and a 4-3, 11-inning win in the series finale for the Phils.
A lot has changed since that series, of course, and at the same time not much changed. New York exited the interleague matchup in May with a 25-19 record; Philadelphia was 24-18. The Yankees went 78-40 the rest of the way while Philly was 69-51. Both teams enter 7-2 in the postseason and both will hand the ball of to former Cleveland Indians teammates to start with on the mound.
Cliff Lee, Philadelphia's starter on Wednesday, was not even with the Phillies though he did see the Yankees twice this season while in a Cleveland jersey (1-1, 3.00 ERA, 12 IP). In recent outings against the Yankees the past few years, in both parks, Clifton Phifer Lee has not been in awe of the Yankees in somewhat limited experience.
New York's C.C. Sabathia started Game 3 of the May set, tossing eight and allowing three in a no-decision. Like Lee, Carsten Charles, aka Crooked Cap, has been unbeatable so far in the postseason in three starts. After the past couple of postseasons in which Sabathia basically threw BP in the playoffs for the Indians and Brewers, C.C. has silenced a lot of his critics and plain old-fashioned Yankees haters that had him folding come playoff time on the big stage with the Big Apple's finest franchise.
While I want to take Cliff Lee and the Phillies in this one, the total intrigues me more. Here you have the top-scoring teams in their respective leagues, with the Yankees No. 1 overall (5.65 RPG) and Philadelphia No. 4 (5.06), and the opening total has dropped to 7½? Yes, the idea of neither team scoring the first six, seven eight innings did cross my mind given how well Sabathia and Lee have pitched.
I like the idea of a crooked number being put up early by one team if not both, and I like the notion of a rain delay at some point, if not a delay to start, with the offenses putting up more runs against some of the relievers. Gimme' a 5-3, 6-3 game for this one with the Over 7½.
STARTING PITCHERS
Game 1, Wed, Oct 28, 7:57 p.m. (ET): Cliff Lee (16-18, 3.22 ERA overall regular season / 3-0, 0.74 ERA postseason) vs. C.C. Sabathia (22-12, 3.37 regular season / 3-0, 1.19 ERA postseason)
"Yeah Sam, this is Joe West. How many
SBR points for an extra large meat lovers?"
UMPIRE
Country Joe West got the snub in this one as Gerry Davis has been given the nod in this veteran crew to serve as chief, meaning he's behind the plate for Game 1 as well as Game 7 if the umpire rotation holds. Jeff Nelson will begin at 1B in Game 1 with Brian Gorman at 2B, Mike Everitt at third, Dana DeMuth down the LF line and the longest-tenured veteran of the group, West, on the RF line.
All six of these umps worked in the LDS round, and I believe that is a first in expanded postseason history. Davis also headed up the crew in the Rockies, Phillies NLDS and was behind the plate in Lee's complete game, 5-1 win to open that series. An MLB umpire since 1982, Davis is in his 20th postseason series and fourth World Series with this his second plate appearance in a Fall Classic contest. His only other World Series game behind the plate? That was a clinching Game 6 in 1996 for the Yankees at home in New York.
Davis was 20-16 Home/Visitor in his 36 HP games in 2009, counting the recent NLDS, with a 13-19-4 O/U record. If my records are correct, he's 4-10 O/U in 14 playoff assignments behind the mask with six of the games seeing eight runs or more scored.
WEATHER
Rain. Yes, rain is in the forecast once again for a postseason game in New York. Forecasters are calling for a 70% chance during the day on Wednesday, tapering off to 50% chance in the early evening. Look for a temperature in the low-50s at first pitch, and NNE winds in the 10-20 MPH range (in from left field towards the NY dugout).
After three weeks of LDS and LCS games, the World Series is finally upon us. Or is it? Rain is once again in the New York forecast just in time for the opener.
In addition to being a fine fielder and spark plug atop his team’s lineup, Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins is becoming quite the soothsayer.
Shortstop, Slugger, Base Stealer
and Fortune Teller
“How great would that be? A World Series here, us against the Yankees?” Rollins commented after the Phils took two of three from the Yankees back in a May interleague series played in New York.
Whether you call it the Turnpike Series or the Liberty Series, the 2009 World Series has arrived with the Philadelphia Phillies taking on the New York Yankees beginning Wednesday night. Playing the role of the prohibitive favorites are the players in pinstripes, drawing -220 chalk for the Series at The Greek and -165 for Game 1.
The total for Wednesday’s opener opened at 8 offshore but dropped to 7½ at most shops.
When the two teams met in May, the Yankees were just beginning to come out of their early season funk and had built a nine-game winning streak at home. Alex Rodriguez only had a couple of weeks of play under his belt after early season hip woes, and the new Park That George (And A Lot Of Taxpayers) Built was already in full home run mode. In fact, in Game 1 of their series at Yankee Stadium on May 22, the two teams combined for seven round-trippers, four by the Phillies who took a 7-3 win. The bullpens would figure in the next two games, a 5-4 Yankees win in Game 2 when A-Rod homered in the ninth to tie it off Brad Lidge, and a 4-3, 11-inning win in the series finale for the Phils.
A lot has changed since that series, of course, and at the same time not much changed. New York exited the interleague matchup in May with a 25-19 record; Philadelphia was 24-18. The Yankees went 78-40 the rest of the way while Philly was 69-51. Both teams enter 7-2 in the postseason and both will hand the ball of to former Cleveland Indians teammates to start with on the mound.
Cliff Lee, Philadelphia's starter on Wednesday, was not even with the Phillies though he did see the Yankees twice this season while in a Cleveland jersey (1-1, 3.00 ERA, 12 IP). In recent outings against the Yankees the past few years, in both parks, Clifton Phifer Lee has not been in awe of the Yankees in somewhat limited experience.
New York's C.C. Sabathia started Game 3 of the May set, tossing eight and allowing three in a no-decision. Like Lee, Carsten Charles, aka Crooked Cap, has been unbeatable so far in the postseason in three starts. After the past couple of postseasons in which Sabathia basically threw BP in the playoffs for the Indians and Brewers, C.C. has silenced a lot of his critics and plain old-fashioned Yankees haters that had him folding come playoff time on the big stage with the Big Apple's finest franchise.
While I want to take Cliff Lee and the Phillies in this one, the total intrigues me more. Here you have the top-scoring teams in their respective leagues, with the Yankees No. 1 overall (5.65 RPG) and Philadelphia No. 4 (5.06), and the opening total has dropped to 7½? Yes, the idea of neither team scoring the first six, seven eight innings did cross my mind given how well Sabathia and Lee have pitched.
I like the idea of a crooked number being put up early by one team if not both, and I like the notion of a rain delay at some point, if not a delay to start, with the offenses putting up more runs against some of the relievers. Gimme' a 5-3, 6-3 game for this one with the Over 7½.
STARTING PITCHERS
Game 1, Wed, Oct 28, 7:57 p.m. (ET): Cliff Lee (16-18, 3.22 ERA overall regular season / 3-0, 0.74 ERA postseason) vs. C.C. Sabathia (22-12, 3.37 regular season / 3-0, 1.19 ERA postseason)
"Yeah Sam, this is Joe West. How many
SBR points for an extra large meat lovers?"
UMPIRE
Country Joe West got the snub in this one as Gerry Davis has been given the nod in this veteran crew to serve as chief, meaning he's behind the plate for Game 1 as well as Game 7 if the umpire rotation holds. Jeff Nelson will begin at 1B in Game 1 with Brian Gorman at 2B, Mike Everitt at third, Dana DeMuth down the LF line and the longest-tenured veteran of the group, West, on the RF line.
All six of these umps worked in the LDS round, and I believe that is a first in expanded postseason history. Davis also headed up the crew in the Rockies, Phillies NLDS and was behind the plate in Lee's complete game, 5-1 win to open that series. An MLB umpire since 1982, Davis is in his 20th postseason series and fourth World Series with this his second plate appearance in a Fall Classic contest. His only other World Series game behind the plate? That was a clinching Game 6 in 1996 for the Yankees at home in New York.
Davis was 20-16 Home/Visitor in his 36 HP games in 2009, counting the recent NLDS, with a 13-19-4 O/U record. If my records are correct, he's 4-10 O/U in 14 playoff assignments behind the mask with six of the games seeing eight runs or more scored.
WEATHER
Rain. Yes, rain is in the forecast once again for a postseason game in New York. Forecasters are calling for a 70% chance during the day on Wednesday, tapering off to 50% chance in the early evening. Look for a temperature in the low-50s at first pitch, and NNE winds in the 10-20 MPH range (in from left field towards the NY dugout).