World Series Game 4 Preview

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New York Yankees (2-1) at Philadelphia Phillies (1-2)

CC Sabathia, LHP, vs. Joe Blanton, RHP

The Phillies must even up the series after dropping last night's game. Joe Blanton and the Phillies need to do whatever it takes to avoid falling to a 3-1 deficit.

Instead of throwing out Cliff Lee on three day's of rest, Charlie Manuel opted to go with Blanton. Blanton last started in the National League Championship series and he allowed three earned runs in six innings. Blanton has struggled mightily against the Yankees throughout his career, but has not faced them since last season. The Phillies are in desperate need of a solid outing from Blanton, especially with Cole Hamels' poor performance last night.

For the second time this postseason, CC Sabathia will pitch on short rest. The 280-pound left-hander threw 113 pitches in game one of the World Series. Sabathia pitched well, but was out-dueled by Lee and could not find a way to get Chase Utley out.

The offense is a big reason why the Phillies are in the World Series, but they are also a big reason why they are trailing 2-1. They have faced great pitching, but the Phillies are more than capable of putting up crooked numbers. Other than Utley in game one, the only players who are doing well are Jayson Werth (.400) and Carlos Ruiz (.333).

World Series Preview: Pitching

Two of the best teams in baseball will face head to head for their chance to win the Commissioner’s Trophy. The Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees have two of the top offenses in baseball, but pitching will play a factor in who becomes the 2009 World Champions.

The Yankees pitching staff can be praised with the numbers they’ve put up in the American League. The pitching staffs match up closely. During the regular season, the Phillies posted a 4.16 earned run average. The Yankees had a team ERA of 4.26, but right now they have some hot hands; the Yankees posted a 2.46 ERA during the playoffs. The two teams have an identical WHIP: 1.35. Both bullpens have posted a 3.91 ERA.

Lee vs. CC

Former Cleveland Indians and Cy Young winners Cliff Lee and CC Sabathia will duel in game one. Unlike the 2008 NLDS, Sabathia will not be pitching on three days of rest. Like Alex Rodriguez, Sabathia has been a much better player during this postseason than in the past. CC is 3-0 with a 1.13 ERA this postseason. Either way, CC vs. Shane: Part II, will be exciting.

Lee’s 0.74 ERA this postseason is self-explanatory. However, he is 4-4 with a 5.02 ERA against New York.

The Other Starters

After CC, the Yankees rotation is set for A.J Burnett followed by Andy Pettitte. Burnett struggled in the ALCS, giving up eight runs in 12.1 innings against the Angels. Burnett, an offseason acquisition, will allow a lot of base runners (1.40 WHIP). Pettitte has a 2.37 ERA this postseason.

Pedro Martinez, the Yankees’ “daddy,” will start game two. Cole Hamels gets pushed back to game three after an inconsistent season. Joe Blanton or J.A Happ could start, but look for them in the bullpen.

Closer

Is there even an argument here? Mariano Rivera is one of the best closers of all time. Brad Lidge has improved during the postseason, but he is no Mo.

Set-Up Man

Joe Girardi put Rivera in for a six-out save in the final game of the ALCS. That shows his lack of confidence in his bullpen. Girardi said that he was going to stick with Phil Hughes, despite his struggles. The 23-year old has given up 3 runs and allowed eleven base runners in 4.2 innings during the playoffs.

Ryan Madson has struggled at times, but his changeup accompanies his high-velocity fastball nicely. We may see others in the eighth, but right now Madson is the go-to guy.

The Rest of the Bullpen

Joba Chamberlin has been shuffled from starter to reliever, but the bullpen is the place he is most effective. The ‘pen is also anchored by Phil Coke who has yet to allow a run in the postseason.

Chad Guadin, Damaso Marte, Alfredo Aceves and David Robertson will also be in the ‘pen.

Chan Ho Park has pitched well since his return from a hamstring injury. Brett Myers is back after being left off the NLCS roster, but Myers likes to use his struggles as motivation.

Chad Durbin, Scott Eyre and Antonio Bastardo will also be in the ‘pen, but also having a few starters gives the Phils an advantage.

Prediction

In 2007, I predicted that the Phillies would beat the Rockies in the NLDS. I haven’t made a playoff prediction since. It worked out in 2008, and so far in 2009, so why change that? Cliche? Superstition? You bet – but also take it as a favor. That’s what a fan does: stick with what is working.

With that being said, I’ll be sitting in the same seat. I will make one exception: the series goes six games.

Phillies Overcome BS

The Philadelphia Phillies overcame Brad Lidge's BS- blown save. Lidge blew his second straight save, and fourth of the season.

Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino and Raul Ibanez each had RBI hits. Mark Teixiera homered and Johnny Damon had a RBI for the Yankees, making it 3-2 heading into the bottom of the ninth.

Cole Hamels and CC Sabathia dominated the game. Hamels pitched six innings allowing just the two runs on eight hits. He struck out five and did not walk a batter. Sabathia struck out four in eight innings, allowing three runs on nine hits.

Melky Cabrera, the hero of Saturday's game, drove in the tying run off Lidge in the ninth. Lidge managed to get out of the inning without further damage, but he still blew the save.

With two outs, Chase Utley, who did not start the game, drew a walk and stole second. Carlos Ruiz doubled to score Utley and the Phillies took a 4-3 lead in the 11th inning. Three of the four runs the Phillies scored came on two outs.

Earlier in the game, Ruiz blocked the plate perfectly and Damon was thrown out at the plate for the second time of the series.

The Phillies took two out of three from the Yankees, who won nine in a row coming into the series.

7 Down, 1 To Go; Other Updates

The Phillies avoided arbitration with reliever Chad Durbin on Wednesday, signing him to a one year, $1.635 deal.

For Durbin, a little over $1.5 million is reasonable. Durbin made just $900,000 in 2008, but his due to his performance, he deserved a raise. Giving Durbin too much money would not make much sense since 2008 was a career year for Durbin. He still has a high career ERA over 5. In 87.2 IP, Durbin was 5-4 with a 2.87 ERA during the 2008 season. The deal was just right. Not to high, not to low.

Toward the end of the season, Durbin faced a "dead arm" period and started to struggle. He managed to pitch through it.
The Phillies signed all their arbitration eligible players but one: Ryan Howard, who is still pushing for $18 million.

Prince Fielder is a similar player to Howard. Both have extreme power. The Milwaukee Brewers are close to signing the arbitration eligible Fielder to a 2 year deal that would be worth at least $18 million. Hear that Howard? Fielder is getting two years out of $18M.

Cole Hamels threw 3,914 pitches in 2008, leading the Majors. CC Sabathia, who was the 2007 leader (3,892), threw 3,912 pitches, finishing second. Brett Myers (3,718) was third. Joe Blanton (3,547) was 11th. The number of pitches includes the postseason, and for Myers, Minor Leagues.

Throwing as many pitches as these guys, it increases risk of injury. 10 out of 18 pitchers who reached the 3,400 pitch mark in 2007 had a serious injury in 2008.

Remember Freddy Garcia? Remember the hype around him when the Phillies got him?Remember how he made just 7 starts with the Phillies in 2007? Remember his ERA was over 5 in those starts? Remember how the Phillies gave him $10 million for one year?

Well, both New York teams are interested in him. The Mets and Yankees are the top front runners for him.

The Texas Rangers are close to signing Omar Vizquel. He agreed to a Minor League contract with a base salary of $1 million. The 41 year old is an 11 time Gold Glove Winner, and has played the most games at shortstop than anybody in MLB history.

Jeff Kent officially announced his retirement today. In 17 Major League seasons, Kent batted .290 with 377 homeruns. He had a career OPS of .856.

Year In Review: NLDS

The Philadelphia Phillies had unfinished business to finish. They'd start out by taking on the Milwaukee Brewers, who made the playoffs for the first time since 1982, in round one of the playoffs, the National League Division Series.

Since the Phillies clinched the NL East a day prior to the end of the season, the Phillies had a chance to rest their ace, Cole Hamels. Hamels would be opposed by the young Yovani Gallardo, who missed almost the entire season due to injury.

A double off the bat of Chase Utley, and over the glove of center fielder Mike Cameron would be all Cole Hamels needed, shutting the Brewers out over 8 innings.

In game 2, the Phillies faced the hottest pitcher in all of baseball, CC Sabathia... that was until Brett Myers stepped up to the plate.

Myers escaped a 1-0 jam, exiting the first inning. A self proclaimed "terrible hitter," Myers fouled pitch after pitch off Sabathia, eventually drawing a walk in the second inning. The crowd roared after each foul ball, but erupted when Myers reached first. It got louder. Much louder. Shane Victorino hit a grand slam homerun off Sabathia. The Phillies won the game 5-2.

After Jamie Moyer was roughed up in game 3, the Phillies came out quickly in game 4. Jimmy Rollins led off the game with a solo homerun.

Pat Burrell chipped in with 2 homeruns of his own. Jason Kendall grounded out to Rollins as Brad Lidge nailed down the save.

The Phillies were headed to the National League Championship Series for the first time since 1993. The Phillies would face an old NLCS nemesis, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Yankees Sign Teixeira

The New York Yankees certainly are not afraid to spend money. After spending big bucks on CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, the Yankees added first baseman Mark Teixeira.

Teixeira was expected to decide on a team today, receiving offers from multiple teams. The Yankees and Teixeira agreed to an 8 year $180 million deal.

The Yankees will have a very large payroll in 2009. Sabathia is set to make millions before he throws out the first pitch. Burnett received a very large contract. Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez are among Yankees players who are have contracts worth over $100 million.

Teixeira spent most of his career with the Texas Rangers before being traded to the Atlanta Braves. Tex was traded before the trade deadline in 2008 to the Los Angeles Angels.

Teixeira, a switch hitter, is a career .290 hitter in 6 seasons in the Major Leagues. He also provides power from both sides of the plate. With 203 career homeruns, Tex has a career .541 SLG. Tex has a career .378 OBP and .919 OPS. To go along with his bat, Tex provides Gold Glove defense at first base.

This offseason alone the Yankees stacked up big time by adding Teixeira and Sabathia alone. With Chien Ming-Wang returning, and even the addition of Burnett, the Yankees improved their rotation. Their lineup is also much stronger with the addition of Teixeira. It's still to early to judge, but the Yankees have made themselves early World Series favorites.

Sabathia Signs with Yankees; Other Updates

CC Sabathia and the New York Yankees agreed to a 7 year deal reportedly worth $161 million which includes an opt-out clause after 3 years.

Sabathia won the 2007 American League Cy Young with the Cleveland Indians. In mid-2008, he was traded to the Brewers. Overall, Sabathia pitched 241 innings with a 2.70 ERA, and 251 SO in 2008.

The Yankees may not be done adding big name pitchers, if nothing else is new. The Yankees extended their offer to A.J. Burnett to 5 years, $60 million. The Yankees must really like pitchers with an abbreviation as their first name. In a 10 year career, Burnett has posted a 3.81 lifetime ERA.

The Washington Nationals are even getting in on the big spending fun. The Nationals proposed an 8 year $160 million offer to free agent Mark Teixeira. Teixeira has a career .290 AVG, .919 OPS and provides great defense.

A small trade similar to the Greg Golson/John Mayberry Jr. trade was made. The Phillies have acquired Ronnie Paulio in exchanged for catcher Jason Jarmaillo. The Phillies would also like to trade Adam Eaton, buying out his contract if necessary.

Not only could a small trade fall through, but a big trade could as well for the Phillies. The deal would involve Jake Peavy going to the Cubs, Mark DeRosa coming to the Phillies in exchange for Carlos Carrasco, J.A. Happ or the most talked about prospect during the Winter Meetings, Jason Donald.

That is the latest from the Winter Meetings.