BDD: Cause and Effect
by Bill Baer on Friday, November 6th, 2009Posted in 2009 Playoffs, Baseball Daily Digest, MLB | 1 Comment »
At Baseball Daily Digest, I argue that the Yankees' unlimited amount of money isn't the cause of baseball's financial inequalities; it is an effect. Any fan would love to have George Steinbrenner as the owner of his or her favorite team. ...
Share Your Favorite Moments of 2009
by Bill Baer on Thursday, November 5th, 2009Posted in 2009 Playoffs, MLB, Philadelphia Phillies | 12 Comments »
With the 2009 season in the books, there's nothing left to do -- for a little while -- except look back and reflect. I'd like to share my favorite Phillies moment of 2009 and then I'll open up the dialogue ...
Exeunt Phillies
by Bill Baer on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009Posted in 2009 Playoffs, MLB, Philadelphia Phillies | 17 Comments »
Congratulations to the 2009 World Series champion New York Yankees. It was a great, hard-fought series and they deserve their success, no matter how much money they spent on C.C. Sabathia, Mark Teixiera, and A.J. Burnett. In the end, it ...
A Harrowing Escape
by Bill Baer on Monday, November 2nd, 2009Posted in 2009 Playoffs, MLB, Philadelphia Phillies | 22 Comments »
Remember the position James Bond was in in Goldfinger, when he was tied up with the laser ready to -- what do lasers do again? slice? buzz? -- him into two pieces? "You expect me to talk?" "No, Mr. Bond, I expect ...
Curtains
by Bill Baer on Monday, November 2nd, 2009Posted in 2009 Playoffs, MLB, Philadelphia Phillies | 53 Comments »
Game Four was a microcosm of the Phillies' 2009 season. Starter not named Cliff Lee gives up too many runs in too few innings, middle relief does a decent job of keeping the game close, the Phillies catch up, Brad ...
Someone Had to Do It
by Bill Baer on Sunday, November 1st, 2009Posted in 2009 Playoffs, MLB, Philadelphia Phillies | 2 Comments »
Four singles, four doubles, a triple, two home runs, and 14 RBI. That's how productive Ryan Howard was in 39 plate appearances in the NLDS against the Colorado Rockies and in the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers. His performance ...
Southpaws Gone Fishin’
by Bill Baer on Sunday, November 1st, 2009Posted in 2009 Playoffs, MLB, Philadelphia Phillies | 17 Comments »
The top of the Phillies lineup went 1-for-14. One for fourteen. Aside from Jayson Werth, the Phillies offense couldn't figure out Andy Pettitte after the second inning, as he kept the Fightins' left-handed hitters silent and collectively 0-for-12 with seven strikeouts. ...
What to Expect from Andy Pettitte
by Bill Baer on Saturday, October 31st, 2009Posted in 2009 Playoffs, MLB, Philadelphia Phillies | 3 Comments »
World Series Game 3 in Philadelphia will feature a match-up between two southpaws, Cole Hamels and Andy Pettitte. A fair assessment of the pitchers reveals that Hamels has been much better than his statistics have shown and Pettitte has been ...
Called Third Strike
by Bill Baer on Thursday, October 29th, 2009Posted in 2009 Playoffs, MLB, Philadelphia Phillies | 1 Comment »
The theme of A.J. Burnett's start was the strikeout, particularly the called third strike with his curveball towards the end of his outing. His last three strikeouts were of the backwards-K variety. All we could talk about before the series was ...
Cliff Lee Is Mr. October
by Bill Baer on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009Posted in 2009 Playoffs, MLB, Philadelphia Phillies | 8 Comments »
It is usually the hitters who become ingrained in our collective memory when it comes to post-season heroics. Cue montages of Reggie Jackson, Carlton Fisk, and Kirk Gibson. Even for the Phillies, Ryan Howard and Carlos Ruiz have been receiving ...
