1901

There was talk about Sabathia and Verlander possibly coming back to pitch Sunday’s game. I don’t know what the Yankees will do with CC, but Leyland has announced his plan.

Tigers manager Jim Leyland said after the game was suspended that Justin Verlander – who started Friday’s game – will pitch Game 3 on Monday in Detroit.

I should add that Girardi did say Nova will start (continue) Game 1a Saturday, Garcia would start Game 2 on Sunday, and then he didn’t know what he’d do after that. My suspicion is that Girardi will wait and see how games 1 and 2 go before deciding what to do with CC.

1902

And keep in mind that since this round is five games, that means Verlander and Sabathia are going to basically be used once. So that wipes out the idea of mazimizing use of your ace.

1903

In post (mid?) game interviews, CC said he was going to lobby Girardi to pitch Sunday so he’d be available for a possible Game 5. But Girardi said his plan was to use Garcia on Sunday and that they brought such a big bullpen – both Burnett and Hughes are on the roster for long term relief, in what may turn out to be a spectacular display of foresight – that he didn’t want to do it.

If I were Girardi, if the Yankees were to win the first 2 games, I’d save CC for game 5, so if the Yankees clinched early, CC would be all set up to start game 1 of the ALCS. But if they split the first 2 games, then I think it’s a tossup whether he pitches game 3 or 4.

1904

Even if thats true, I don’t know where they go from here. If the idea is that Boston needs someone who is not going to be “soft” on the players (or whatever the argument is), then you pretty much have to be looking for guys with some experience and that reputation. A bench coach, especially one that was already there, isn’t going to be that guy. And Boston’s arguably too high profile a job to give to a first timer now anyway. Meanwhile there are already rumors about Wakamatsu floating around, which would seem like the opposite of the guy you’d want.

Outside of the always mentioned Valentine, who else fits the bill?

1905

Brewers looked pretty comfortable today – which I guess is expected, given how good they’ve been at home.

1906

CANO!!!

1907

Definitely his night.

1908

A good article discussing why Matt Kemp won’t win the MVP and how their reasoning is wrong. In another LA Times article, the writer points out that the Cardinals were 10.5 games out of a playoff spot at one point in the season and are in the playoffs now. The Dodgers were 10.5 games out of first place in the NL West at about the same time. The reason that the Cardinals are in and the Dodgers are not basically comes down to a Braves collapse and the failure of the D-backs to collapse.

National League standings after August 24
1t) .719 23-9 Arizona
1t) .719 23-9 St. Louis
3) .688 22-10 Los Angeles
4) .600 18-12 Milwaukee
…
13t) .355 11-20 Atlanta

It’s also pointed out that the Brewers had their playoff spot locked up by the end of August, so Braun didn’t play any ‘meaningful’ games down the stretch either.

There apparently is also an underlying political current not to give the Dodgers anything because of the ownership situation. While I obviously deplore the ownership situation, the fans really appreciate these awards and to deprive the players of the Cy Young or the MVP just because the owner is an idiot seems unfair. And speaking of the CY Young, that’s the other problem. It seems ‘wrong’ to give both the MVP and the Cy Young award to players on a team that didn’t make the playoffs. But if the awards are supposed to be about individual performance, I don’t see the issue.

But that’s OK really. Kemp doesn’t need the MVP to validate his performance, particularly considering how badly he performed last year.

In other Dodger news, Mattingly called out both Ethier and Billingsley. (I lost the link, dammit). Ethier for losing focus at the plate and allowing pitchers to frustrate him, and Billingsley for being a placeholder in the lineup (not really; he called him out for not improving in the slightest). Look for a Billingsley trade if they can get someone decent. And if the Dodgers re-sign Kuroda and see a Ruby-like minor league prospect, I think Billingsley may go back to the bullpen.

1909

I’m not sure how you can come to that conclusion. Sure, a Diamondbacks collapse obviously helps the Dodgers, but the wildcard is seperate from the Diamondbacks or any divisional leader. Once the Braves went into freefall, the door was open for anyone to step-up. The Cardinals, as your quoted records show, played better then the Dodgers so they won the wildcard.

There apparently is also an underlying political current not to give the Dodgers anything because of the ownership situation. While I obviously deplore the ownership situation, the fans really appreciate these awards and to deprive the players of the Cy Young or the MVP just because the owner is an idiot seems unfair. And speaking of the CY Young, that’s the other problem. It seems ‘wrong’ to give both the MVP and the Cy Young award to players on a team that didn’t make the playoffs. But if the awards are supposed to be about individual performance, I don’t see the issue.

The Cy Young is pretty clearly defined as the best individual pitching performance, but the MVP is not defined that way about hitters. Its not necessarily always given to hitters either. Many voters also view the MVP as more then just a statistical award, with team performance usually playing a role when one player is not overwhelmingly better then everyone else, so that is going to factor in when voters compare Kemp to Braun.

That said I do think Kemp deserves the NL MVP over Braun, mainly because Braun had Fielder in the same lineup and Kemp did not have anyone of that level to protect him.

1910

The Cardinals played one game better than the Dodgers. They of course started from a better position otherwise the Dodgers would have been competing til the end. At the same time, the Dodgers did compete on the field as their 23 wins since August 24th shows, hoping that the D-backs would fail. They didn’t so the Dodgers are at home, paying lawyers (which by the way MLB is trying to stop them from doing).

Well we’ll see. I seriously doubt that Matt Kemp, even had he had a 40-40 would get the MVP. I’ve not seen Braun nor have I paid attention to him, so no opinion there, I just think Matt’s had a great year in a turbulent season.

1911

To be fair, the Dodgers were 15 games out of the Wild Card at that point (Aug. 24th) and 10.5 out of first in the NL West. The Cards were 10.5 out of the WC.

1912

I realize that but Lorini’s original phrasing was vague, at least to me. Re-reading it I can now see what I assume was her intent, which was to suggest that the Dodgers were only playing for the division and needed the Diamondbacks to collapse, while the Cardinals were playing for the wildcard and therefore needed the Braves to collapse. As I read it originally, it seemed like she was somehow suggesting that had the Diamondbacks collapsed it would have helped the Dodgers with the wildcard.

None of which really matters, since those kind of 10+ game collapses are so rare. We saw two this year, but most of the time its not worth even hoping for if your team is the one trailing. As Sluggo’s chart above shows, you can’t afford to have bad months and still expect to make the playoffs because the hole is too deep to get out of. Of all the playoff teams, none of them had a month worse then -4 and they all had at least one +8 or more month. The Dodgers had a -6 month, which pretty much killed their chances in the end as it turned out.

1913

Yes, this is what I was saying. No, the article never implied that the Dodgers were playing for the wildcard.

1914

What a fucked up awesome ending this Yankees game is turning out to be.

1915

Man, this rain is killer. Phillies/Cardinals might be a mess tonight.

1916

GIGJEKWELKIJEWEOZMNFSKLJKLUKLI!!!

1917

I did say it would be a mess.

1918

I’d still put money on the Phillies to win the series, but when you’re the underdog you have to love the short series!

1919

The Rays, trailing 4-1 in the 7th, have loaded the bases with 1 out and the bullpen shenanigans have begun. This should be fun. :)

1920

For the second time in four days, the Yankees have tagged Verlander for a run in the first inning. In fact, they had 2 hits and a run after V’s first two pitches, which calmed the Detroit crowd down quickly.

I’m worried about CC tonight, tho. I don’t know how he’ll handle the weird turnaround time, and I think the Yankees will need a lot more than 1 run tonight.