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Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay Officially Traded: Mariners, Phillies Land New Pitchers

2009-12-16T15:04:20Z

PHILADELPHIA — All it took was four teams, $60 million and a swap of Cy Young Award winners to finish off Roy Halladay's long and winding trade saga.

He landed right where he wanted to pitch, with the two-time NL champion Philadelphia Phillies.

Cliff Lee To Seattle Done Deal: Mariners Give Up Prospects

2009-12-16T15:01:43Z

Cliff Lee is indeed headed to the Seattle Mariners in a blockbuster trade involving the Philadelphia Phillies. per the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Rumored for days, the deal became official this afternoon.

The Mariners are giving up three minor-league prospects in the deal -- pitchers Philippe Aumont and Juan Ramirez and outfielder Tyson Gillies.

More to come soon.

Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee Trade Could Be Completed Wednesday

2009-12-15T22:07:25Z

NEW YORK — The blockbuster trade sending Roy Halladay to Philadelphia and Cliff Lee to Seattle could be completed Wednesday, and it's become a four-team swap that involves Toronto shipping a prospect to Oakland.

The Blue Jays would send Halladay and $6 million to the Phillies for three minor leaguers: catcher Travis d'Arnaud, right-hander Kyle Drabek and outfielder Michael Taylor.

Len Berman: Top 5 Sports Stories

2009-12-15T14:28:40Z

Happy Tuesday everyone, here's my Top 5 for December 15, 2009 from Len Berman at www.ThatsSports.com.

1. Quick Hits

* The word is the Phillies are landing the big pitching prize, Roy Halladay, from Toronto. It would be a three team deal sending pitcher Cliff Lee to Seattle.

* The Red Sox dip into the free agent pool grabbing pitcher John Lackey from the Angels, and outfielder Mike Cameron from Milwaukee.

* Godzilla is on the move. The Angels are getting former Yankee Hideki Matsui, the World Series MVP.

* Play Ball! The Red Sox will host the Yankees in the season opener Sunday night April 4th, 2010.

* Make up your mind. First Tag Heuer watches said yesterday they'll continue with Tiger Woods because his personal life isn't their business. Later in the day it apparently became their business as they announced they will now assess their relationship.

2. Guilt by Association

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse for Tiger Woods, now comes word that a Canadian doctor who has treated Woods and many other athletes is suspected of providing athletes with performance enhancing drugs. The doctor himself was arrested with human growth hormone. Dr. Anthony Galea says he has never treated pro athletes with H.G.H. He says he did fly to Orlando 4 times to help Woods in his recovery from knee surgery, but he says Woods' treatment involved blood platelet therapy. As for the H.G.H., the doctor says he takes it himself five days a week to try to live longer since his wife his 22 years younger than he is. It wouldn't be fair to jump to conclusions, but like everything else involving Tiger Woods these days, it just doesn't look good.

3. Another Mark

While talking about the Mark Ingrams yesterday (Jr. won the Heisman, Sr. is in jail), I mentioned the great play Sr. made in Super Bowl 25 to keep a drive alive. Subscriber Guy K. has another memory. "While Mark Ingram Sr. might be remembered for one thing by Giants fans, he is recalled for something entirely different by Jets fans: He was the recipient of Dan Marino's TD pass in the 1994 Fake Spike Game."

----

What else is new? A heartbreaking Jets loss, After that season, Jets coach Pete Carroll was fired and replaced by Rich Kotite. Just another defining moment in a long tortured history for Jets fans. Thanks for remembering Guy!

4. A Full Moon

A couple of items you may have missed from the wacky world of sports. I always wondered about those people who work inside mascot costumes at theme parks. They can grab and paw people at will. Now comes word that a guy who serves as a Patriots mascot was arrested for prostitution in Rhode Island. He's been suspended from his "mascot filling job." And two women basketball players at Missouri were suspended for beating up a male cheerleader. It had something to do with making too much noise. Not at a game, silly, at an apartment!

5. Ouch

The clever wordsmith of the Seattle Times, Dwight Perry, came up with this beaut on Sunday.
"Yes, we realize the PGA Tour has bigger issues to deal with these days, but shouldn't February's Waste Management Phoenix Open be staged in Flushing, N.Y.?"
Hey buddy boy, leave the cheap shots to those who love them most. Local New York Mets fans!

Happy Birthday: Tigers manager Jim Leyland. 65.
Bonus Birthday: Miami Vice actor Don Johnson. 60.

Today in Sports: A's pitcher Catfish Hunter is ruled a free agent. He later signs with the Yankees. 1974.
Bonus Event: Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn. Gone With the Wind premieres in Atlanta. The Governor of Georgia proclaims a state holiday to commemorate the event. 1939.

Jamie Moyer Hospitalized: Groin Surgery Symptoms Land Moyer In Hospital

2009-11-25T18:54:21Z

PHILADELPHIA — Phillies pitcher Jamie Moyer has been hospitalized due to recurring symptoms from groin surgery in September.

The team announced Wednesday that Moyer has been admitted to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital but did not give any more information about his condition.

2009 NL Rookie Of The Year Candidates (PHOTOS)

2009-11-16T14:32:54Z

The votes are in, and the NL Rookie of the Year has been announced. But who deserved to win the award? Check out the candidates below.

Jerry Waxman: No, I'm Not Bitter...Really: A Phillies Fan Laments

2009-11-09T10:01:13Z

About the only thing that George Will and I do agree on is our undying, unyielding, unrequited love of baseball. We're also both at an age where the names in Dave Frishberg's hauntingly beautiful ode to the game, "Van Lingle Mungo," were instantly recognizable and, in some cases, still playing in the major leagues. These were the years just after WWII and prior to baseball's expansion. The Braves were still in Boston and the St. Louis Browns had not yet moved to Baltimore to become the Orioles. The Athletics were languishing in Philadelphia and New York had three major league teams. We Philadelphians hadn't had much to brag about in baseball for close to twenty years--until 1950. That was the year we surviving Philly natives have indelibly burned into our memories as though it were yesterday.

Phillies owner Bob Carpenter, a member of the DuPont family, had been building the team for several years and by 1950 had a good team in place, with three future Hall of Famers on the roster: Robin Roberts, Curt Simmons and Richie Ashburn. Through the farm system they had a good infield with Granny Hamner at shortstop and Willie "Puddin' Head" Jones at third base. Veterans included Eddie Waitkus at first base and Dick Sisler (son of Hall of Famer George Sisler) in left field. Waitkus was the inspiration for Bernard Malamud's novel, The Natural, having been shot in the chest by a deranged female fan in Chicago. Home grown power hitter Del Ennis was the right fielder. Ennis had the career stats to get into the Hall but never made it and today he is virtually unknown by the sports writers. Jim Konstanty, their ace relief pitcher, was so good that year he was voted the National League MVP.

The Whiz Kids were scrappy and were in first place for a large part of the season, but they started to sag in the last week of the season and blew a seven game lead to two games when they met the Dodgers. If the Dodgers took the last series there would be a tie for first place and there would be a three game playoff between them for the NL title. As good as the Phillies were they were facing guys named Don Newcomb, Carl Erskine, Carl Furillo, Pee Wee Reese, Gil Hodges, Roy Campanella and Jackie Robinson. These guys could hurt you at any time. In the final game the score was tied 1-1 in the bottom of the ninth inning. Cal Abrams represented the winning run for Brooklyn, but Center Fielder Richie Ashburn made the throw of his career and got Abrams out at home plate. In the top of the tenth inning Dick Sisler hit a three run home run and the Whiz Kids clinched the pennant. That meant the New York Yankees. If they thought the Dodgers were tough they were now facing Casey Stengel's guys: Joe DiMaggio, Phil Rizzuto, Yogi Berra, Billy Martin, Gene Woodling, Hank Bauer, Allie Reynolds, Vic Raschi, Whitey Ford and others who could hurt you worse. To add another obstacle, Curt Simmons was called up into the military for a tour of duty in Korea and was unavailable for the series. Manager Eddie Sawyer had to put Konstanty into the starting rotation.

When you are eight years old and your team is in the World Series you are in heaven. My prized possessions were an autographed team ball and yearbook, as well as an official Phillies cap. I treasured the signatures, even the ones by Putsy Caballero, Milo Candini, Bill (Swish) Nicholson and Mike Goliat--names lost in the archives. The euphoria didn't last long because the Yankees won in four straight games. That's tragedy for an eight year old.

Watching Robin Roberts and Jim Bunning (yes, that Jim Bunning) throw ceremonial baseballs the other evening brought a lump to my throat and opened up a flood of memories. It's not easy to watch your team play so well and just not be able to beat the Yankees; not after 59 years waiting for your revenge. Here's the tough part. I can't hate the Yankee players from 1950 or 2009. They do their job and they do it well. You can't hate Yogi, or Rizzuto or DiMaggio. Actually, I got to spend some time with Joe DiMaggio as he was a frequent visitor to Downtown Hollywood, Florida and we hung out at the same restaurants in his declining years. He visited my theater on occasion and he was an absolute gentleman to the end. I don't have to like this year's Yankees but I certainly have to respect them.

Here's the difference. The 1950 Whiz Kids never again approached the level of play that they had in that season. It would be 14 agonizing years before the Phillies, with Jim Bunning, would come close only to blow a six game lead in the last week of the season because of Gene Mauch's stupid decision to use Bunning and Chris Short every other start. The Cardinals, with Curt Simmons, went to the series that year. This time the Phillies were the series champs last year and they are going to be a great team for a long time. Wait til next year.

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Robert E. Murphy: At Season's End, Withering Thoughts on November Baseball, Interleague Play and the Designated Hitter

2009-11-05T20:10:24Z

The temperature in New York is 48 degrees as I begin to write this, three hours before the start of the sixth game of the World Series at Yankee Stadium, and the second game of scheduled November evening baseball -- not accidental November baseball, as we experienced after the September 11th attacks delayed the 2001 season.

I am looking forward to this crucial game between two excellent ballclubs, the Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies, whose well-contested series has, in New York, followed a dramatic playoff between the Yanks and an also distinguished squad of Los Angeles Angels. Baseball is still a great game despite what the men who manage and play it have done over the past few decades to diminish it.

I have written here about the corrupting effects of steroid-use and exorbitant salaries and ticket-prices on the elegant sport that is our national game -- and the spectacle of frigid, and possibly damp, November action, following intraleague series that were stretched out to comply with TV scheduling, can be added to the ways that filthy lucre compromises baseball. In my last blog I saluted the old Yankee shortstop Tony Kubek, who walked away from a broadcasting career when he could no longer tolerate the way that money was dominating the sport. Today I raise my glass to Angel Manager Mike Scioscia, who, without fear of whom he might be disturbing, described a scheduled three-day break between the first and second round of league playoffs as "ridiculous."

"Can I say it any clearer than that?", he asked with admirable frankness. "We should have never had a day off last Wednesday. We should never have three days off after the season. You shouldn't even have two days off after the season. It just takes an advantage away for a deep team, which everybody feels very strongly is an asset. It takes that advantage away and I think that's something that Major League Baseball hopefully will consider looking at."

Good luck on that, Mike, for fairness is no longer an abiding principle in baseball. If the game were fair, smaller-market teams from Seattle to Pittsburgh would not be, in effect, serving as feeder squads for the rich organizations. The initial starting pitchers in this year's World Series, Cliff Lee and C.C. Sabathia, would still be toiling for the Cleveland Indians, as they were just over a year ago. And the Pirates of Pittsburgh, a storied franchise in one of this country's most attractive cities, would not just have set a professional-sports record by toting up their 17th consecutive losing season. Moreover, if the people who run the game were sincerely concerned about insuring pennant-races that were fairly contested in each division, they would not have opted for the cheap thrill of interleague play that requires those teams to play uneven schedules, matching them during parts of a season against teams of differing quality in the other league. So the LA Dodgers, for example, might face three games against a tough Angel outfit while the San Francisco Giants take on a weak group of Oakland A's.

This is a particularly sore point for fans of the New York Mets, of which I'm one, because the glossy media and financial attraction of intracity play in baseball-mad New York dictates that they must play six games each year against the Yankees, who are always very good and sometimes great. Meanwhile the Mets' division rivals, such as the Phillies, might have three games scheduled against the Kansas City Royals and three against the Indians. Insignificant? Please note that in both 2007 and 2008 the Mets lost the division championship to Philadelphia on the last day of the season. (Yes, in 2009, it was insignificant.) And it is very likely that interleague-scheduling inequities have influenced the out come of other pennant-races.

One more thing about interleague play: I concede the appeal of games between two teams in the same city and (sometimes) in the same state. But where is the added value of the Florida Marlins playing the Minnesota Twins, or the Arizona Diamondbacks versus the Toronto Blue Jays? In my view, the inclusion of such games on a team's schedule is more likely to have the negative effect of eroding rivalries within a league, as well as fans' familiarity with the players in that league. Again I speak from my own rooting-perch. The arrival of the Dodgers and Giants in New York to engage the Mets has always, because of the New York history of those teams, been a significant event. The fans also look forward to seeing the Chicago Cubs. But each of those teams now plays three games a year here, and in the last two seasons the Cubbies made their only visit in late September. I don't think I'm the only Met fan who admits that he is not nearly as well-acquainted as he once was with the rosters of these teams.

Baseball's original surrender to the lure of the cheap thrill was the American League's adoption the designated-hitter rule in the 1970s. I happened to be living in Boston when the designated hitter arrived in that traditional baseball city, and I remember a Globe columnist - I believe Ray Fitzgerald -- gloomily remarking that the change had rendered the arriving baseball season as the least welcome of his life. I have since prayed, and have been almost astonished to have my prayers answered, that the National League has never fallen to the same temptation. And I say so even though it is now the day after Yankee DH Hideki Matsui has brought the national championship back to New York by driving in six runs against the Phillies. Bully for him; he seems an admirable fellow. Yet, though I understand quite well the claims in favor of the designated-hitter rule, they do not balance its violation of the organic unity that is essential to genuine baseball. The most interesting late innings of any post-season game that I saw this year occurred in Game 3 of the Yankees-Angels series, when New York Manager Joe Girardi gambled to bring in his nonpareil relief-pitcher Mariano Rivera in an uncustomary non-closing situation, then switched his DH, Jerry Hairston, Jr., to left field to replace Johnny Damon. This meant that Girardi had forfeited his designated hitter option, and that Rivera took a place in the batting order - forcing Girardi decide, as all National League managers must, whether to let Rivera bat for himself in order to stay in the game. He put up a pinch-hitter, and the Yanks lost. But the fans of both teams were treated to a rare glimpse of traditional strategic baseball.

I applauded not only the development of a pitcher's coming to bat, but also the manager's willingness to employ that pitcher in a way not dictated by current managerial policy. The general rigidity and predictability of that policy is another dimension of the modern game to which I object. But I see that once again I have not left room enough to work through my full list of complaints. Once again, then - to be continued.

Scalper Tried To Bribe Cop With Fake Yankee Tickets: Police

2009-11-05T16:08:46Z

NEW YORK — New York City police say a scalper arrested for selling fake World Series tickets outside Yankee Stadium tried to win his freedom by bribing an officer with seats.

The 50-year-old man was arrested before the start of Game 2 last week after he was caught allegedly selling a fake ticket. Police say he had three other tickets on him.

Harlan Chamberlain, Joba Chamberlain's Sweet Hug After World Series Win

2009-11-05T15:12:54Z

The throng of media members around the makeshift stage seemed impenetrable, but Harlan Chamberlain motored his way through all of the cameras and notepads anyways. Reaching a blue barrier, he stopped his scooter, strained to look over a crowd of world champion Yankee ballplayers and tried to get a glimpse of his son. When that proved useless, he simply resorted to his considerable vocal chords.

Bruce Tenenbaum: Yanks Spending Money -- The American Way

2009-11-05T14:29:43Z

I was born a few blocks from Yankee Stadium. The first baseball game I ever saw was in The House That Ruth Built and another great Yankee hero, Mickey Mantle won it with a 9th inning home run. I became an instant New York Yankees fan.

Later in my childhood, I also became hooked on The Pittsburgh Pirates. Since the two teams never played each other, there was no conflict. Although, as a lone Pirates fan, surrounded by Yankee and Mets fans, my Pirates fever grew faster than my Yankee fever. If the Pirates did play the Yankees in the World Series, I would have rooted for The Pirates. But that did not occur.

Then something happened. Free agency took hold in baseball. NFL teams share broadcasting revenues with each other. Surprisingly, the tea baggers have yet to protest this little bit of socialism found in the heart of American life. The NFL is run by commies! But MLB is run the good old fashioned American way, the guy with the deepest pockets gets the best toys.

What this means is that a city like Green Bay can compete in football but a city like Pittsburgh has no business having a major league baseball team. They just don't have enough revenue to pay the top players. To be sure, on a rare occasion, a team from a smaller city can rise up and surprise everyone, but this is rare indeed. Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, once regulars on the playoff scene, are all but extinct. The sport's other two smallest cities, Kansas City and Milwaukee have one postseason appearance between them in the last two decades. And, even if a small city team does make it to the top, they will never be able to stay there, as their newly discovered talent gets stripped away.

Fourteen years ago, I saw the light. The Pirates were up for sale and there was the possibility of them moving to a larger city, one that might possibly give them a chance. But they insisted on staying in Pittsburgh. That decision turned me on them. I felt they were turning their back on reality and, in essence, throwing in the towel. They had to know that by staying in Pittsburgh, they were going to remain uncompetitive. Or they were just plain stupid, and neither thought is a happy one. If they were going to turn their back on me, I happily turned my back on them. And, it turned out, to be a good decision. Forget about getting to the World Series, the Pirates have set a sports record with 17 consecutive years of losing more games than they've won.

Now, a fan can put up with a lot. Look at Cubs fans. They haven't won the World Series in 102 years! New York Ranger fans went half a century without a championship. Boston Red Sox fans went 86 years without one. I, myself, am a Miami Dolphins fan. They haven't won the Super Bowl for 35 years. But I stick with them. The point is, these teams try to win every year. And by at least trying, they earn the loyalty of their fans. The Pirates don't even try. The other teams are victims of poor management decisions, poor execution or bad luck. But they are not guilty of giving up. Every year the Pirates hold a fire sale and trade away their best players. The list of players they traded away or lost to free agency, over the years, could make up an all-star team. They are a team undeserving of its fans. Who wants to put their heart and soul into a team that has no heart and soul?

The Yankees, on the other hand, pay up for the best players money can buy. If they produce a Derek Jeter, they keep him. They go shopping every year and try and add the best talent to give them a shot at winning. This is not new. Back in 1919, they bought the best player in the history of baseball, Babe Ruth, for a whole lot of cash, too.

What is new is that people complain about it. People are up in arms. It's unfair! It's un-American. Quite the contrary. Business is the business of America. And the guys with the deepest pockets are best positioned to build their business. Read the sports pages today and you'll find a whole lot of jealous Yankee haters moaning and whining about the Yankees' payroll. Is Apple to be blamed for out-spending smaller computer companies and developing the iPhone? Fox spent $200 million dollars to make the film Titanic. Did people complain that that was unfair to smaller film companies?

Now, there are those of you who will say sports are different. Unlike other businesses, there should be an equal playing field. But that would ignore the reality that sports is still a business, with real economic considerations. MLB could easily have come up with a system like the NFL. But they didn't. To increase competition, a few years back, they put in a weak step sister version of revenue sharing. Teams that have huge payrolls, like The Yankees, pay into a fund and that money is supposed to go to the smaller city teams. But there's still no incentive for smaller town teams to actually use the extra money they get to compete. They can just pocket the cash and not give it to their players. Which is what they do. Unlike the NFL, there is no parity.

The Yankees are not to be chastised for building the "best team money can buy." They are to be praised for it. Here we have a family that is willing to part with its cash to give its fans the best show possible. They break no rules. They play within the rules. And they win by doing it. They are not the only teams playing this way. The Red Sox won a World Series by buying Curt Schilling and Pedro Martinez. Do you think the Phillies will still be at the top in a few years if they don't pay Chase Utley and Ryan Howard?

I am thankful I grew up in the Bronx. I am thankful that borough is home to the greatest franchise in the history of sports. And I am mostly thankful that their ownership is willing to pay whatever it takes to make sure they have the best players. It doesn't guarantee that they'll win it all, but it guarantees they'll be in the mix. You can argue that Major League Baseball should change their structure. But until they do, you can't blame the Yankees for giving their fans the best show money can buy.

Len Berman: Top 5 Sports Stories

2009-11-05T12:23:25Z

Happy Thursday everyone, here's my Top 5 for November 5, 2009 from
www.LenBermanSports.com.

1. Quick Hits

Cue the parade (tomorrow). The Yankees win their 27th world
championship beating the Phillies in 6 games, 7-3.

Hideki Matsui, who drove in 6 runs last night, becomes the first
Japanese born player to win the World Series MVP award. Not a bad
season. It began with the Japanese winning the World Baseball Classic.

Disgraced former NBA referee Tim Donaghy got released from jail
after serving most of his 15 month sentence for taking bribes from
gamblers in return for inside tips

2. By George

The only sadness last night for Yankee fans was that George
Steinbrenner wasn't there. Love him or hate him, he's the one who made
all this possible. Without George's ownership there wouldn't be 11
pennants and 7 championships since he took over, or a new Yankee
Stadium. It's easy to say the Yankees bought a title, but the
landscape is littered with teams, including the Yankees, who spent
tens of millions and came up empty. As for all those Yankee fans who
wanted to string up manager Joe Girardi for only using 3 starting
pitchers, those same fans are crowing today "told ya' they'd win!"
Although it didn't have the feel of a World Series game last night.
The umps didn't blow any calls. And who would have thought that a
season that began with Alex Rodriguez holding a steroid news
conference, would end with A-Rod holding his first championship
trophy. Only in New York.

3. Celebrate Good Times, Come on!

Subscriber R.B. has a simple question. Will the Yankees celebrate
their championship with a parade up lower Broadway or a sail on the
Hudson?

4. Award Season

And this year's Plaxie goes to Dodger pitcher Vicente Padilla.
Stealing a page from Plaxico Burress, Padilla accidentally shot
himself in the leg while hunting in Nicaragua. Reports are sketchy. He
might be OK, it might not have happened hunting, and it might have
been someone else who shot him. If somebody else did the shooting,
he'll be asked to forfeit his Plaxie, and the runner-up will assume
all the rights and responsibilities.

5. And Now This Word...

The Colbert Report on Comedy Central is sponsoring the U.S. Olympic
speedskating team. Not to be outdone the U.S. fencing team will be
sponsored by reruns of Zorro. The equestrian team by Mr. Ed. I've got
millions of 'em.

Happy Birthday (Talk about a party): Yankees outfielder Johnny Damon.
36.

Bonus Birthday: She won an academy award when she was 10 years old.
The former Mrs. John McEnroe. Tatum O'Neal. 46.

Today in Sports: Quite a day for former Mets Manager Davey Johnson.
He quits as Manager of the Baltimore Orioles and within hours he's
voted Manager of the Year. 1997.

Bonus Event: Another Johnson, Walter, was one of the greatest
pitchers of all time. But when he ran for Congress from Maryland, he
posted an "L." 1940.

Av Sinensky: Yankees Buy Another World Series Title

2009-11-05T09:12:00Z

Completing a week that featured a whirlwind of activity and intense negotiations, sources inside the New York Yankees organization revealed late last night that they will be holding a press conference this morning to announce that they have acquired the rights to the Florida Marlins' 2003 World Series Championship. This latest deal marks the latest in a series of acquisitions that now leaves the Yankees with 38 World Championships to their credit.

"Today is a tremendous day for the entire New York Yankees organization," said Yankees Senior Vice President Hank Steinbrenner. "To be able to provide another World Series title for our fans is really what it's all about and is what makes this job truly rewarding."

The deal is said to include a one-time payment of $30 million dollars, which combined with the money the Marlins anticipate they can raise from selling off their 2003 World Series rings, should be able to combat the high deficits the organization is dealing with in the face of a struggling economy. The Yankees, by contrast, believe that they can generate enough revenue from the sale of 2003 Yankees World Champions merchandise to offset a good portion of the payment. Correspondingly, the Marlins front office has issued a press release announcing a recall of all Marlins' championship paraphernalia from 2003.

This purchase is the twelfth such deal the Yankees have struck over the last few months as part of a new campaign to use their massive financial resources to buy World Championships. The idea was spawned in an off-season meeting when Steinbrenner, frustrated that his strategy of doling out hundreds of millions of dollars to sign top players kept backfiring, realized that it made more sense to spend money to secure championships in a way that wouldn't be left to risky propositions such as the bounce of a ball or the swing of a bat. After being turned down by the commissioner's office in their attempt to suspend the rest of the 2009 season and be declared World Champions in exchange for the sum of $150 million, the Yankees turned to past championships, which legally are considered the property of individual teams, who are therefore free to sell them.

The Yankees' spending spree has been met with much controversy across the baseball world. "We simply can't compete with them," said Kansas Royals General Manager Dayton Moore. "They have their own television network, a brand new state of the art stadium, and unparalleled resources with which to buy championships. A small-market team like us doesn't stand a chance."

Not surprisingly, most Yankees fans have lauded the organization's efforts. "My son turned fifteen this past winter. He was too young to remember the 2000 series, so he has had to endure eight insufferable seasons following this team without seeing them win a single championship. That's a tragedy," said Joe Bradley, a lifelong Yankees fan. "We are truly grateful to Mr. Steinbrenner, who with his passion for winning and commitment to spending has enabled my son to attend twelve ticker tape parades in the last 5 months." When asked if the current Yankees' policy was bad for baseball as a whole, Bradley responded, "Other teams are free to do the same thing and invest their money back in the team exactly the same way, but they're too cheap. That's why we have 38 championships and they don't."

The 2003 purchase means that the Yankees now won World Championships in a remarkable nine straight years from 1995-2003, having previously purchased the championships of the 1995 Braves, 1997 Marlins, 2001 Diamondbacks and 2002 Angels. It appears that they will come up empty in their quest for a streak of ten straight championships as the commissioner's office has been steadfast in their position that the Yankees could not be declared the champions of the strike-shortened 1994 season and the refusal of the Boston Red Sox to part with their 2004 title for any amount of money. According to Red Sox President and CEO Larry Lucchino, the 2004 championship was "one prize the Evil Empire will never get its tentacles around."

As part of its Yankees Classics series, the YES network will air the 2003 World Series, with its revised footage, in its entirety this week. "It means more work for me," said Yankees' play-by-play announcer John Sterling, "but that's what being a true Yankee is all about. We work just a little harder and go that extra mile in the spirit of the tremendous Yankee tradition. That's why we have 38 championships."

Still, others around the league are in denial about the Yankees' latest exploitation of their competitive advantage. "I don't care what anyone says. We won that championship," said Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett, who was a member of the 2003 Marlins. "They can buy all the championships they want, but they can't buy heart and they can't buy soul." Steinbrenner would not comment on a rumor that the Yankees were in negotiations to buy Beckett's heart and soul.

This article originally appeared at http://aviousavservations.blogspot.com/2009/04/yankees-buy-another-world-series-title.html

Matsui World Series MVP Ceremony Watched By Millions In Japan

2009-11-05T09:10:22Z

TOKYO — Japan nearly came to a standstill as millions watched on TV while Hideki Matsui, the man they know as Godzilla, stomped around New York to lead the Yankees to the World Series title.

Matsui became the first Japanese-born player to win the MVP trophy for the Most Valuable Player of the World Series with a record-tying six RBIs in the clincher to lead the Yankees over the Philadelphia Phillies 7-3 on Wednesday.

Yankees Win World Series: New York Beats Phillies For Record 27th Championship

2009-11-04T23:52:04Z

NEW YORK — Paint the town in pinstripes! Nearly a decade after their dynasty ended on a blooper in the desert, the New York Yankees are baseball's best again.

Hideki Matsui tied a World Series record with six RBIs, Andy Pettitte won on short rest and New York beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-3 in Game 6 on Wednesday night, finally seizing that elusive 27th title. It was the team's first since winning three straight from 1998-2000.

Billy Altman: Joe Buck's Broken Record and Other Post-Season Delights

2009-11-04T16:59:09Z

I could say that after five games, the Fox network broadcasts of the 2009 World Series are really getting on my nerves -- but that would be dishonest. That's mainly because they reached this goal somewhere around the fifth inning of Game Four when, by my admittedly non-SABRmetric count, Joe Buck established a new career-best mark when he said the word "post-season" for the 237th time, thus beating the 236 mark it took him some five games to reach during last year's Phils-Rays Fall Classic. And unless someone gets me a quick prescription for that anti-depressant drug they keep advertising midway through every game, I may have to shoot my TV, or myself, for truly long-lasting relief from Mr. Buck's incessant yammering. (I'm not much of a conspiracy theorist, but why are they pitching an anti-suicide med during baseball games broadcast by Joe Buck, anyway? Does it go with Budweiser?)

In any event, records do seem to be falling by the wayside during this year's Series, which is now shifting back to the Bronx after the Philadelphians staved off the grim reaper (otherwise known as Mariano Rivera) by actually holding onto the lead in the ninth inning of Game Five and beating the Yankees 8-6, forcing at least one more contest in the year's Fall Classic. For one thing, Chase Utley has tied the record for home runs in a Series with five, and he has a legitimate shot at breaking the record held by Yankees Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson, especially given the Yankee pitching staff's overall difficulties in dealing with him. That's in stark contrast, of course, to his teammate Ryan Howard, who has also tied a record by striking out for the 12th time, thus equaling the number of whiffs the Royals' Willie Wilson had in the 1980 World Series. And as it took Wilson a full seven games to do that, and with his last strikeout having been the very last out of the game, the smart money right now is on Howard regarding which Phillie breaks which record faster.

One record that's already been set is Johnny Damon's spectacular achievement of stealing two bases on one pitch in a World Series, a feet-generated feat that happened in Game Four and is one of the absolutely rarest occurrences ever to happen in a baseball game, post-season or no post-season (did I just write that? Hope I'm not infected!) The Damon Dash, which proved to be the pivotal play in the Yankees' 3-run rally in the ninth inning on the way to their dramatic 7-4 win, was one of those plays that underscore the great bromide about seeing something in any given baseball game that you haven't seen before. If you'll recall, the Phillies had an infield shift on again lefty batter Mark Teixeira, so when Damon took off for second, over-shifted third baseman Pedro Feliz had to take the throw, allowing Damon to continue safely on to the uncovered third base. Now, clearly, pitcher Brad Lidge had never seen that play before, or else he would have been running over to cover third, which was his responsibility on the play. And since no one reminded him of that responsibility, you'd think no one had ever seen that play before. And guess what? You'd be wrong.

Baseball being the wonderfully improbable game it is, there actually was someone in the ballpark who had seen it before and might have, maybe should have, forewarned Lidge -- especially since this person was sitting in their very own dugout. Just two years ago in August 2007, Cincinnati's Brandon Phillips pulled the exact same heads-up play against Washington: with slugger Adam Dunn up at the plate and the Nationals infield pulled all the way over, Phillips took off for second, and when the Washington catcher didn't throw through, he just kept going and beat everyone to third for a double base steal. His manager at the time? None other Pete Mackanin, who's now the Philadelphia Phillies bench coach. Oops. Put that in your post-season pipe and smoke it.

Len Berman: Top 5 Sports Stories

2009-11-04T10:20:57Z

Happy Wednesday everyone, here's my Top 5 for November 4, 2009 from
www.LenBermanSports.com.

1. Quick Hits

Game 6 of the World Series is tonight in the Bronx. The Yankees lead
the Phillies 3 games to 2. 7:57pm ET FOX.

Pedro Martinez will face Andy Pettitte who is pitching on 3 days
rest for the first time in 3 years.

Times are tough. The world's largest automaker, Toyota, is pulling
out of Formula One racing.

You know how college basketball teams schedule those cupcake teams
early in the year? Syracuse played Division II Le Moyne last night at
home, and LOST! It was dubbed an "exhibition" game.

2. I Rest My Case

Wow, so much is made of "rest" for pitchers. Are they that fragile?
What about Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson who won clinching World Series
games on 2 days rest? Gibson scoffs at all this talk of rest, especially with how much money these pitchers make. In the 1964 World
Series Gibson won game 5 against the Yankees by pitching 10 innings on
3 days rest. And then he won game 7, a 9 inning complete game, on two
days rest.

It's an old quote, but apropos. "You rest when you're dead."

3. Daddy-O

How strange a sight to see Pedro Martinez on the mound for the
Phillies in game 6 tonight. He of the legendary, "The Yankees are my
daddy" quote when he pitched for the Red Sox. And Pedro incredulously
said the other day that the media has turned him into "at times the
most influential player that ever stepped in Yankee Stadium." Oh
really? That Babe guy, Joe D. and the Mick might have something to say
about that.

Anyway subscriber Henry K. suggests the Yankees should have Don
Zimmer throw out the first ball tonight. Zimmer of course was famously
thrown to the ground by Pedro during a Yankees/Red Sox fight in 2003.

4. The Real Skin-ny

When in doubt, blame the media. It's a mess in Washington and we're
not talking politics, it's the 2 & 5 Redskins. The organization is
blaming the media for stirring up negative fan reaction. They are also
banning TV crews from talking to tailgating fans. I think the
organization is on the right track. If that damn media would stop
printing the NFL standings, Redskins fans would have no idea that the
team stinks.

5. One Good Turn

So during the Spurs/Kings NBA game on Halloween, a pesky bat kept
flying around the court. Finally, Spurs guard Manu Ginobili swatted it
out of the air to the cheers of the crowd. Sadly, the bat met his
demise. End of story right? Wrong. Ginobili had to take rabies shots,
and now PETA has chimed in. People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals. Their statement: "To bludgeon a 4-ounce animal to death, it
takes either a small man or a totally unthinking one--with no respect
or consideration for lives humbler than his own."

They must be fun people to go hunting with.

Happy Birthday: National League MVP and shortstop for the 1960 World
Champion Pittsburgh Pirates, Dick Groat. 79.

Bonus Birthdays: Puff Daddy, P. Diddy and Sean Combs. They are all
40 today.

Today in Sports: In a game 7 stunner, the Arizona Diamondbacks score
twice in the bottom of the 9th against Mariano Rivera to beat the
Yankees in the World Series. 2001.

Bonus Event: It was so last year. Barack Obama is elected Prez.
2008.

Pedro Martinez, Andy Pettitte Face Off In World Series Game 6

2009-11-04T08:57:48Z

Chase Utley Ties Reggie Jackson's World Series Home Run Record

2009-11-02T23:42:03Z

(AP) PHILADELPHIA -- Chase Utley hit two home runs to raise his World Series total to a record-tying five, Cliff Lee won again and the Philadelphia Phillies staved off elimination with an 8-6 victory over the New York Yankees in Game 5 on Monday night.

The Phillies hung on to close their deficit to 3-2. The Yankees scored three times in the eighth inning and put two runners on in the ninth before Derek Jeter grounded into a double play.

Utley hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the first off A.J. Burnett and added a solo shot in the seventh. Utley joined Reggie Jackson as the only players to hit five home runs in a single World Series.

Game 6 is Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium, with Andy Pettitte pitching for New York against Pedro Martinez.

World Series Game 5: Phillies Beat Yankees 8-6

2009-11-02T15:56:11Z

PHILADELPHIA — Put those parade plans on hold, New York. The Phillies are coming back.

Desperate to hang onto their World Series title and hounded by the Yankees to the very last swing, Philadelphia somehow held on for an 8-6 win Monday night in Game 5.

Paterson Solicitation Of Free Yankees Tickets May Be Ethics Violation

2009-11-02T09:08:19Z

ALBANY -- Gov. Paterson secretly solicited five free tickets to last week's World Series opener, in apparent violation of the state ethics law, even while publicly claiming it was the Yankees who had "invited" him to the game, The Post has learned.

Shayana Kadidal: World Series: One Question about Damon's Dash

2009-11-02T00:40:49Z

Johnny Damon joins Enos Slaughter in the annals of great World Series baserunning plays tonight, stealing second and then third base on one play. One of the first baseball proverbs I recall was "in every game you see one thing you've never seen before," and after thirty years of idling away hours watching baseball games, tonight was the first time I've seen anything like it.

Here's how it happened: After fighting off several potential third strikes with two outs in the 9th inning, Damon slapped a single to left. On the first pitch to Mark Teixeira, Damon took off for second, stealing the bag easily with a stand-up slide. But the Phillies had overshifted their infield defense against pull hitter Teixeira, moving the shortstop over to the right side of the infield and leaving only the third baseman Pedro Feliz on the third-base side of the infield. Feliz fielded the late throw from the catcher, Damon saw no one was at third, and he took off running, stealing two bases on one pitch for what surely is the first time in World Series history.

After the game, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, looking shellshocked, said it was usually the catcher's job to cover third base in that situation. But here's my question: with three infielders on the right side of the infield, why isn't one of them -- second baseman Chase Utley or shortstop Jimmy Rollins -- always covering throws from the catcher on base-stealing attempts? Wasn't the first mistake having the only defender on the left side of the infield cover the bag?

[UPDATE: Damon, speaking in the postgame news conference, notes that he still has a little speed left in his 36-year-old legs, but that if (Angels' third baseman) Chone Figgins had been the one fielding the throw from the catcher, he might not have been able to outrun him to third. Could the same be said of shortstop Jimmy Rollins? Damon's half-joking, but still...]

[UPDATE II: Here's a link to the last time this happened in the majors, Brandon Phillips stealing second and third with the overshift on for Adam Dunn in 2007.

Damon didn't claim to know about this play, instead saying his teammates and he had imagined it and spoken about it earlier in the season, having seen overshifts against Teixeira all year. A similar play I've always imagined happening one day is a runner on third stealing home during an intentional walk to a righthanded batter -- with a usually-immobile catcher stepping the customary several yards to his right, seems like it would be very hard to get a tag on the runner.]

World Series Game 4: Yankees Beat Phillies 7-4

2009-11-02T00:02:49Z

(AP)

PHILADELPHIA - Alex Rodriguez waited all game long for this hit. Heck, he waited his whole life. Rodriguez delivered the biggest hit of his career, a go-ahead, two-out double in the ninth inning off Brad Lidge and the New York Yankees took advantage of Johnny Damon's daring dash to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-4 on Sunday night for a 3-1 lead in the World Series.

Derek Jeter came through again and Mariano Rivera finished it off as the Yankees moved within one win of that elusive 27th championship and first since 2000.

Rodriguez could really savor this victory -- seething after again being hit by a pitch, he struck back with his potent black bat.

"There's no question -- I've never had a bigger hit," Rodriguez said.

The Yankees will try to close out the defending champions Monday night when A.J. Burnett faces October ace Cliff Lee.

Of the 42 teams to take a 3-1 lead in the World Series, 36 went on to win the crown. The last club to overcome such a deficit was Kansas City in 1985.

Chase Utley and Pedro Feliz hit late home runs for the Phillies that tied it at 4. Then it moved to the ninth and Phils brought in Lidge -- a postseason star last year, he had struggled all season before regaining his touch this October.

But November was not so kind to him.

Lidge had been the only closer in the playoffs who hadn't allowed a run until the Yankees tagged him. With two outs, Damon capped a nine-pitch at-bat with a single. The Phillies overshifted their infield to the right side for Mark Teixeira and Damon took off.

Damon beat the one-hop throw to steal second, popped up from his slide and noticed no one was covering third. That's because Feliz had handled the throw, and Damon easily beat the third baseman to the bag for a rare double-steal -- fact is, who'd ever seen it?

Rattled or whatever, Lidge hit Teixeira with a pitch. So up stepped Rodriguez, 1 for 13 to that point in his first World Series and looking nothing like the feared slugger he was earlier in these playoffs.

Putting all his prominent failures behind, Rodriguez lined a solid double into the left-field corner for a 5-4 lead. The three-time AL MVP connected so solidly, the sound echoed throughout Citizens Bank Park. Maybe it wasn't such a surprise -- Rodriguez had homered and doubled in three prior at-bats against Lidge.

"I get a good pitch and put a good swing on it, good things usually happen," Rodriguez said. "Facing Brad Lidge, he's a great competitor. He's had a lot of success late here. Just trying to make contact there."

Rodriguez stood at second with his 15th RBI, tying the Yankees postseason record shared by Bernie Williams and Scott Brosius. A-Rod's other hit this week came in Game 3 when his double was changed to a home run after an instant replay review.

The crowd was silent when Jorge Posada followed with a two-run single. Then it was Rivera's turn and he quickly got three outs for his 11th World Series save. Chamberlain was the winner in his second Series appearance.

Just like that, the Yankees were 27 outs from their record 27th title and the Phillies were on the brink of getting eliminated. Philadelphia faces a daunting task; New York lost three in a row only twice after the All-Star break.

"I think we take a lot of pride on being resilient and the way we bounce back," Phils manager Charlie Manuel said. "I've seen us go through it before. We've blown 22 games from the seventh inning on or something this year. That's got to tell you something about the resilience of our team."

The Yankees' late burst hushed fans who had been festive from the start. Many of them had walked across the street after watching the Philadelphia Eagles rout the New York Giants 40-17.

Feliz rocked Yankees setup man Joba Chamberlain with a two-out, solo home run in the eighth that tied it at 4.

Utley homered again off CC Sabathia, finishing the New York starter in the seventh. It was Utley's third shot off Sabathia in this Series and closed the Phillies to 4-3.

Down all evening, the Phillies kept scrapping. They eventually drew even on the home runs, a common sight at a park where the ball really flies.

Jeter put the Yankees ahead from the get-go, leading off the game with a single and scoring in a two-run first. The inning also included plate umpire Mike Everitt warning both teams after Rodriguez was hit by a pitch for the third time in two days.

Howard barreled home to tie at 2 in the fourth. The big Phillies slugger braced for a collision with Posada and got a piece of the New York catcher -- replays, however, appeared to show Howard never touched the plate, yet another missed call in a shaky postseason for umpires.

Jeter and Damon hit RBI singles in the fifth off Joe Blanton and the crowd grew quiet as Sabathia, working hard on three days' rest, kept working out of trouble in the middle innings.

Then Utley rang the big Liberty Bell in center field with his home run. And after Chamberlain struck out his first two batters in the eighth, Feliz gonged him with a no-doubt drive over the left-field wall.

NOTES: Yankees CF Melky Cabrera hurt his left hamstring running out a grounder to end the sixth. Brett Gardner replaced him. ... Rodriguez and Max Carey (Pittsburgh, 1925) are the only players hit by pitches three times in a Series. ... Philly native Joe Frazier did a routine with the Phillie Phanatic on the field before the sixth inning to the sounds of "Rocky."

Will Bunch: How Philadelphia Got Its Groove Back -- And Why N.Y. Is Jealous

2009-10-31T13:52:09Z

Philadelphia's been a punchline for as long as I can remember -- long before most of us were around, even. After all, it was way back in 1940, in a movie with Mae West called My Little Chickadee, that W.C. Fields famously stood on the gallows and told his executioner, "I'd like to see Paris before I die. Philadelphia will do." Back in Fields' day, the knock on the City of Brotherly Love was just that it was so dull -- closing up at 10 o' clock, second prize is two weeks in Philadelphia, yada yada yada.

Over the next seven decades, as pro sports increasingly became the city's remaining portal into the nation's consciousness, you could add the epithet "boorish" to "boring" -- there were snowballs at Santa Claus (sort of) and catcalls for just about anyone.

Oh, and did I mention that we're fat?

Everyone said the real problem was that Philadelphia -- the nation's sixth largest city and fourth largest TV market, birthplace of both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution -- was a victim of a strange condition: low civic self-esteem. And what brought that on? A lot of things, some of them self-inflicted like our "corrupt and content" political culture -- but there was also a severe case of sibling jealousy, the sibling being our colonial cousin of New York City.

Even at the start of the 19th century, Philadelphia was still the center of the nation's culture and higher learning -- and then the Industrial Revolution hit. Philly plunged right in, manufacturing everything under the sun, from steam locomotives to Stetson hats. New York decided instead to manage -- and occasionally gamble -- the profits. You know how that worked out (when was the last time you wore a Stetson hat -- or were transported by a steam locomotive?).

Just 100 miles to the northeast, New York became a black-hole-like force, sucking the energy from Philadelphia, stealing everything from our talented college grads to foreign tourists who never even saw the nation's founding city as they whizzed down the New Jersey Turnpike from the Statue of Liberty to the Washington Monument. New York got Broadway, the UN, the World's Fair -- and baseball. The Yankees won more World Series than any other team, while the Phillies lost more games than any other franchise in America -- in any sport. Even the Mets, who didn't exist until 1962, won a World Series before the Phillies finally did in 1980.

Bad behavior became the mask for a city's collective anxiety. It wasn't just the notorious 700 Level at the dank, concrete Veterans Stadium, where wearing an opponent's jersey meant maybe sparing your life -- maybe. Here at the Philadelphia Daily News, back when the Eagles became title contenders (but nothing more, of course) in the 2000s, we had a regular feature that inside the newsroom was officially known as "haters' guides" to the cities that the Eagles were playing that week, even if the "city" was actually a Wisconsin Nice burg like Green Bay. You didn't need Sigmund Freud to diagnose the pathology of Philly's "haters' guides."

Then there was a day when everything seemed to change.

It was July 8, 2007. The Phillies, out of the playoffs for nearly 14 long years, having lost an epic 9,999 games, were playing an afternoon game at Coors Field in Denver, when a wind-whipped thunderstorm raced down the Rocky Mountains to stop play in the 7th inning. The grounds crew was struggling so much with the winds that a couple of workers were trapped under the heavy tarp. The Rockies had already retreated to the clubhouse, but a posse of Phillies -- led by centerfielder Shane Victorino -- dashed out into the downpour, pulling back the tarp and freeing the trapped workers. "When it draped over the guys, I was worried that somebody might suffocate," the head groundskeeper said later. "It was really cool the Phillies came out and gave us a hand."

When the game resumed, Victorino hit a home run and the Phillies went on to win. A few days later, they lost their 10,000th game, as expected, but it was no big deal, not to the players and suddenly not to the city. This incarnation of a once-woeful baseball franchise seemed to carry none of the old baggage of the 21st century. Philadelphia began to take a closer look at itself.

In 2007, it was becoming increasingly clear that America's prosperity was a house of cards, built up on easy credit and something called mortgage-backed securities, illusory dollars that flowed down to Wall Street, in the crooked heart of that long-envied New York City. The Phillies seemed to epitomize their home city, where the core values of our once-mocked blue-collar culture -- honest hard work and, as shown that afternoon in Denver, pitching in to help a stranger in need -- were now a source of pride. Philadelphia looked around and realized that maybe its low self-esteem was misplaced. In fact, often now it was New Yorkers -- lured by a walkable and more affordable city with a restaurant scene that W.C. Fields could never have dreamed of -- who showed up to look at our refurbished lofts and rowhouses near Center City.

Good karma moved to the baseball field. By the end of the 2007 season, the Phillies passed the fast-collapsing New York Mets to win the National League East on the season's final day, and in 2008 they did roughly the same thing, only this time the confident yet likable bunch led by Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, Victorino and the rest went on to win the World Series. But there was still one hurdle up I-95. That would be the Yankees, with their 26 rings and their 4-game sweep the only time they'd met the Phillies in the World Series, way back in 1950. And in 2009, Philadelphia and New York were on the ultimate collision course. Would the old self-esteem bugaboo come back, to curse the Cradle of Liberty just when it was back on its feet?

We braced ourselves. Yet here at the Philadelphia newspapers, there was never a second's thought about a "haters' guide" -- for us that just seemed soooo 2002. The focus was on the field, on the Phillies and their amazing professionalism and self-confidence. In the Big Apple, it was a different story. On the eve of the World Series showdown, the New York Post launched a broadside at its cousin, the one with the insecurity complex in remission. "GOTHAM TREMBLES," the New York Post dripped with sarcasm. "The Frillies are coming to town!" Illustrating the front page: Shane Victorino...in a red skirt?

Huh?

"PITY THEM PHILLY PHOOLS," said the inside headline (I guess, uh, because "Rocky" fought Mr. T in one of the movies?). "Their fans are second-rate and so is their city." The story went with predictable and not very funny lambasting of cheesesteaks and hoagies and fans who are animals, relying heavily on cliches from the 1970s and 1980s. And Victorino in a skirt just wasn't based on anything -- it was all so pathetic and sad. Now it was New York doing the "haters' guide." There was no push here in Philly to respond in kind. Why should we? On the playing field, we're already the defending world champs. Philadelphia had once been the most joked-about city in America. Now? They got nothin' on us!

This year, the Yankees moved into the House that Madoff Built, a $1.5 billion sterile replica of the legendary old ballpark across the street, lined with luxury boxes for the inside traders and associated con artists who can afford them, with huge blocks of overpriced seats sitting empty behind home plate -- even during Games 1 and 2 of the World Series. In Philadelphia, raucous Citizens Bank Park is our civic temple, a place where the defining image of the 2009 season didn't involve boos or batteries, but a dad hugging his two-year-old daughter after she threw away a foul ball. No wonder New York is so jealous of a city that is so confident and -- dare we say it -- so happy, that is coming into its own in opening moments of a new millennium. Confident enough as a city that even losing this World Series -- which to paraphrase Clint Eastwood, is not going to happen -- wouldn't change that.

You could say that July 8, 2007 -- with its miracle of the wind-blown tarp rescue, in far-flung Denver -- was the day that changed everything. Or maybe it was just the day that a beaten-down city finally looked in the mirror and simply realized what it had going for itself all along. Either way, it almost makes you feel sorry for New York, and sorry for the Yankees.

Almost.

Eric Trager: A Mets Fan's Lament

2009-10-30T15:18:58Z

This year's Yankees-Phillies World Series has generated much awkwardness for transplanted New York Mets fans living in Philadelphia, such as myself. Long the objects of Yankees fans' gloating and Phillies fans' scorn, we have suddenly become recipients of their sympathies -- with an explicit agenda, of course.

Indeed, the champagne from the Yankees' American League championship was still spritzing when a family friend e-mailed me from New York. "Where do your loyalties lie? Rooting for your hometown team" -- the Yankees -- "or for the arch enemy?" -- the Phillies. "Do the right thing," he urged.

Meanwhile, Phillies fans had been working on me for nearly a week. "If it's the Yankees and the Phillies in the Series, who are you going for?" a friend asked. At that moment, it was a painful prospect -- but not yet a brutal reality. "The Angels," I said, taking the Fifth. "Or, maybe the umpires."

* * *

Well, with a most undesirable World Series match-up now upon us Mets fans, I've had to make some difficult decisions. In this vein, it's important to be clear about two things.

First, I am rooting for the Phillies -- and hard -- because they are the far lesser of the two evils. After all, the Phillies are merely the Mets' divisional rivals, which is to say that the only reason for Mets fans to hate the Phillies is an administrative (and somewhat geographic) coincidence.

By contrast, the Yankees are the Mets' cultural rivals. Whereas the Mets have long embodied an admirable, tough-luck struggle for glory, the Yankees project an obnoxious we-should-always-win-the-World-Series sense of entitlement. The Mets-Yankees divide is one between the little guy who toils for triumph and the executive who buys it -- between the dreamer who longs for victory and the brat who no longer appreciates it. In short, Mets fans are diametrically opposed to baseball's Goliath. We cannot root for the Yankees any more than Christians can cheer on Satan.

Second, this Phillies-Yankees World Series isn't the worst match-up to ever confront Mets fans -- the 1999 Yankees-Braves World Series was much, much worse. In that series, Mets fans had to choose between the much-hated Yankees and a divisional rival that had just defeated the Mets in the National League Championship Series. And the Mets lost that championship series in a most gut-wrenching fashion: two nights after winning Game 5 on Robin Ventura's fifteenth-inning "grand single," the Mets blew two late-inning leads in Game 6 and finally fell when Kenny Rogers walked in the winning run in the bottom of the eleventh inning. I am quite convinced that nothing will ever match that kind of sports-induced pain (though Carlos Beltran's Game 7, ninth-inning strikeout in the 2006 NLCS came awfully close).

Still, I rooted for the Braves.

* * *

So, for the next week or so, I will be donning a Phillies cap -- proudly. I will suddenly develop a love for the "High Hopes" song; convince myself that the Phillie Phanatic is more adorable than annoying; and start referring to some of my least favorite players by their first names, as if I know them personally ("Chase is soooo clutch!"). Indeed, I will endure the shocked -- shocked! -- e-mails from my Yankees-loving friends back in New York, uniting with a rival's fans against a greater common enemy.

But be forewarned, Phillies fans: this love affair will be short-lived. As soon as Shane (please, God!) catches the Series' final out, I intend to reaffirm my vows to the orange-and-blue. There will be no parades in my near future, or officially licensed championship gear in my closet.

Still, we'll have occasional reunions, such as when the Yankees and Phillies meet in regular-season interleague play. Which is to say, yes, we'll always have 2009.