Baseball

Postseason baseball is shaped by the iconography that is baseball itself. In the last 25 years, some of baseball’s most memorable moments played out on what proved to be the biggest stage.

From dramatic home runs (who can forget Kirk Gibson in 1988 or Joe Carter five years later?) to the straight-up weird (we were treated to two in 2003…Steve Bartman in Chicago and the Pedro Martinez throw-down of Don Zimmer), baseball fans have pretty much seen it all.

Well...that was fast. My night of celebration ended about 15 minutes after I posted the last piece . Immediately, my mind started to shift to the new question at hand.

How do the Yankees beat the Phillies this week?

Here's the game plan, in three(-ish) parts:

1. Use the Long Lineup to Tire Out Cliff Lee and the Philly Starters Early. Then, Go to Work on the Bullpen.

"When you become the cheating baseball player, it becomes who you are, and nobody wants to walk around with that." - Steve Phillips

So what about if you're a cheating ex-GM who spouts incredible wisdom to ESPN audiences on a regular basis? Do you become the cheating ex-GM or the cheating ex-ESPN analyst? Inquiring minds want to know, Steve.

Ah, Steve Phillips. Now here's a guy who talks about the impact of cheating in the sport of baseball when, all the while, the moron is cheating on his wife. Nice.

The raging debate that will go on from now until Wednesday (actually, through the end of the series) is really tearing me apart. 

What's a Met fan to do? You've got our current arch nemesis, the Phillies, against the "jerk of a big brother" in the Yankees.

This situation exemplifies that saying, "Between a rock and a hard place."

As if the winter could get any colder.

The Mets will enter the offseason and free agency period with their two biggest rivals, the Yankees and the Phillies, sitting atop the baseball universe. The Phillies clinched their second straight National League pennant on Wednesday, defeating the Dodgers in the NLCS in five games. The Yankees were able to clinch their first American League pennant since 2003 last night, defeating the Angels 5-2 to take the series in six games.

Meanwhile, all the Mets can do is watch.

They haven’t won 26 titles in 40 appearances for nothing, or haven’t spent an outrageous $423.5 million for the series MVP C.C. Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and A.J. Burnett. Even the house Derek Jeter built was invested, confident of reliving glorious celebrations and pennant runs.

Last year alone the dauntless co-chairmen Hank and Hal Steinbrenner, spent $1.5 billion in creations of the immense Yankee Stadium when times were fragile, and battered in economic downturns.

I liken my feeling prior to first pitch of Game Six last night to how Lindsay Lohan must feel on the eve of a mandatory probation hearing.

Unjustly annoyed. Kind of dazed. Quite nervous. Thinking about what can be ingested to take the edge off things.

I was annoyed because I knew the series should already be over. I was dazed because all those maddening off days had turned my apartment into the Overlook Hotel. (All off days and no play make Dan a dull boy.) I was nervous because of 2004. I was thinking about drinking gluttonous amounts of vodka.

This is a preview of the 2009 World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Yankees. Game 1 starts the series off on Wednesday, October 28, 2009. The article will break down every position including the bullpen, bench, and x-factors. The article will conclude with a prediction on the series.

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I wrote a couple of weeks ago that the St. Louis Cardinals are facing a franchise defining off-season . Well, their off-season got off to a great start today.

"I can't push this enough," Mark McGwire said addressing his Cardinals' players.  "Steroids help you hit."

McGwire, former Home Run King, will return to the St. Louis Cardinals as their new hitting coach, and he has a simple slogan: "Get Big...Illegally"

McGwire proceeded to pull a Mike Singletary during his meeting and pull down his pants revealing his testicles had disappeared. 

"Would you rather have big balls or hit the balls big?" McGwire asked.

The Cardinals players seemed to take to the slogan and clearly so did management.