Greener Pastures For Jeter?

Derek Jeter has been the main man at SS ever since he arrived on the scene in New York. Yet, without a title to show for it in the past eight seasons Jeter is feeling the heat. He spent the first eight years of his carrer taking a beating from fans and media. The topic of conversation almost nightly on New York talk radio would always spawn the debate of who was the best shortstop in baseball. Through all the frenzy though give Jeter credit, he outlasted them all. Silencing most if not all of his critics. Looking back, any one of those guys would give it all back for Jeter’s resume.

Now, those who were silenced have a new focus which stirs their whispering. Jeter’s demise as a shortstop. In fact the whispering is turning into quite a low roar. It was hard to see at first but if you were baseball savvy you saw the writing on the wall. A revolving door on aging veteran outfielders trying to not so gingerly replace Bernie Williams. A huge albatross in Jason Giambi at first base which ulitmately cost Bernie Williams the chance to write his own ending to his Yankee legacy. Tension, angst and ego’s clashing between Jeter and A-Rod blanketed most of the problems. Compounded by the colossal loss in the 2004 ALCS to the Boston Red Sox.

Although I would not have expected Jeter to step aside at shortstop it would have been a tremendous gesture both as a teammate and as a Yankee. He would not be the first Yankees great to move from the infield to the outfield nor would he be the first Hall Of Fame shortstop to do so. Nevertheless it is a no brainer right now. Jeter plays shortstop like a free safety who is not afraid to tackle a fire hydrant. Perhaps not the most talented, he is clearly the most versatile athlete on the field. The Yankees have themselves a gift that could solve all their outfield problems. Robin Yount a true power hitting shortstop made the move because of a shoulder problem and still took in another MVP in center for the Brewers. Jeter does not have to win the MVP or hit home runs in center or left to prove he is a winner but surely he would play like one.

Make the move Derek! If you want to win another World Series you have to do it like you have done it in the past. Take it on your shoulders. Prove to be worthy of the “C”. Put your ego away and put this team on your back and take them and your career, home!

How About them Tampa Bay Rays!

Of all the surprises this season in Major League Baseball, it is the Rays turn around and unexpected success and their continuation of proving every doubter wrong this entire season thus far. Some may argue that they should have put the Redsox away when they were up three games to one, but I guarantee you that Boston is thinking that they should have never even put themselves in a 1-3 hole to begin with.

The Rays deserve credit and respect. The whole reason they played so well throughout the regular season was to have that home field backdrop in case it came to this. For that reason alone, they are the better team. They earned their advantage and ultimately used it to get into the World Series.

Every time the Redsox were in position to score it was Matt Garza who staved them off gaining strike-outs and especially down the stretch of the game. In fact, the only run that the Redsox got came by the second man up at the top of the first inning when Dustin Pedroia scored a homer.

Other than that, it was all Tampa on their way to the World Series which begins on Wednesday October 22^nd at 8:00pm on Fox in Tampa.

What will we See in ALCS Game Six?

The Redsox are back to their old tricks again; coming back from huge playoff deficits. First the comeback to the Yankees after being down 0-3, and last year’s 1-3 deficit against Cleveland in the ALCS. Well, now they have brought back a 1-3 deficit to a 2-3 deficit.

The only difference from last year’s comeback is that Boston was at home for games six and seven. This year they’ll be on the road in T.B.

This is what the Rays earned all year. They played tough, enthusiastic baseball and earned home field advantage in the ALCS. However, if they want to avoid a game six, their pitching down the stretch is going to have to improve. Thursday night’s game was the second game of the series to feature both clubs scoring runs in bunches; game two ended 9-8 with Tampa Bay on top, and Friday’s game began 7-0 and ended 8-7.

This game is going to be a close one. It’s going to come down to the pitching staff of both teams. But what will we see? A high scoring affair like in games two and five, or defensive dominance like we saw in game 1 (BOS won 2-0), game 2 (TB won 9-1), and game four (TB wins 13-4).

Boston Red Sox – Can they do it again?

Tonight the Boston Red Sox escaped elimination, once again. This is becoming something that they seem to do quite often. My big question is do they have enough gas in the tank to survive two more games? David Ortiz only had 1 hit in the entire game, but he made sure it counted, jacking a Home run with 2 men on and 2 outs in the 7th. JD Drew was the hero of the day, however, with his own two run homer and game winning single in the 9th. It seriously felt like a miracle win. I still can’t believe they won, really I can’t. Boston rallied back from a 0-7 deficit to win this game. It makes you feel like anything is possible and with the Sox you just never can tell. Maybe the Fire, helped the team. (yeah right) But never the less I can see this series going either way. Honestly, with the Sox winning this game tonight they will have a lot of momentum going into the next game and I believe that Boston will win this series.

Slugfest Down in Tampa Bay in ALCS Game 2

Last night’s game two between the Boston Redsox and Tampa Bay Rays was a shootout. Both teams kept trading momentum, and they did so until the end of the 9^th inning, where the two teams hit a stalemate that lasted until the bottom of the eleventh inning.

With the next two games being in Boston, the Rays better take what they used to attain a winning record against the Redsox in their regular season series, and try to at least come out 2-2 heading back to Tampa.

This is where the Rays really have to prove their not just a feel good story, but a team that was in it to win it from the beginning of the season. But they still face an uphill battle going into Boston. The Redsox are not the team searching for a title anymore. They’re the team that now knows how to win one.

The loaded rosters of both the Redsox and the Rays were shooting them out of the park like it was the Derby, and they provided a lot of entertainment last night. However, is this a sign of things to come? If so and the Rays have to match firepower, I would say that doesn’t bode well for them traveling to Boston for the next two games in the series and tied 1-1.

Phillies vs. Dodgers Intriguing Matchup for 2008 MLB Playoffs

There is one big reason I believe that this Series is huge. That is the fact that both teams making it to the World Series would be great stories.

First off, the city of Philadelphia hasn’t had a championship professional team in forever. So the Phillies getting to the World Series on that alone would be a great story. And if they lost, it would be another gut-wrenching blow to the fans of Philadelphia. And although they were good and it wouldn’t be too much of a surprise to see them win based on performance, people would still make a scene about it.

For the Dodgers, it would be a slap in the face to George Steinbrenner and the Yankees if the man they let go, Joe Torre, wins it all. And I don’t know what the Redsox were thinking, but if Manny Ramirez carries this team all the way to the title, then that too would be great to watch. Imagine that! A former Yankee and a former Redsox player may have combined to win a title for another team.

As for the Rays, they are interesting because of their surprising success, but they have no real back stories or drama-filled transactions to talk about. On the other side of the AL, the Redsox already had their story when they finally broke the Curse.

So I wonder what people think of that.