On Baseball A Postseason Field Rich in Experience
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The man who built the last baseball dynasty stayed on his feet for hours at Tropicana Field on Sunday. Gene Michael, now a special adviser to Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman, did not want to sit. He was happy to roam the back of the press box, with one eye on his team and the other on the Detroit Tigers’ game on television. “Scouts’ heaven,” Michael said, smiling.
October is here, for real. This is when scouts can shine, with golden nuggets sprinkled into the volumes of information they compile on every team.
What will Dennis Eckersley throw with a full count? When will Matt Holliday try to steal? The answers to those questions, and countless others, have been pivotal in winning the World Series. The chase is under way again ... almost.
For the second year in a row, the American League Central is tied after 162 games, and the East champion stands by for a winner. The Tigers and the Minnesota Twins both won Sunday and stand at 86-76.
Last fall, the Tampa Bay Rays waited a day until the Chicago White Sox eliminated Minnesota in a playoff. Now, the Yankees will wait two days. The Metrodome is booked for a Vikings game against the Packers on Monday, so this year’s tie breaker starts Tuesday at 5 p.m.
The Yankees’ preseries workout will be over by then. Manager Joe Girardi said he might stay at Yankee Stadium to watch the game and then start reviewing scouting reports. With Game 1 likely to start at 6:07 p.m. on Wednesday, the burden is on the scouts, Girardi and the coaches to filter only the vital details to players.
“We’ll have plenty of time Wednesday,” Girardi said. “The clubhouse is closed, so you have more time, in a sense. And we’re not going to information overload. That’s the thing that you don’t want to do. What we’ve been doing has worked pretty well.”
The Yankees would be heavy favorites against either opponent, because they won 103 games in the regular season. The frenetic end to the regular season would also seem to hinder the Central champ.
Then again, two of the last three teams to win a one-game playoff — the 1999 Mets and the 2007 Colorado Rockies — won their division series opener and advanced to the next round. Teams play in different cities on successive days all season, and the adrenaline rush of the postseason can stir a weary traveler.
“Be careful what you ask for,” Alex Rodriguez said. “I think we’re going to be ready no matter who it is.”
Four times under Joe Torre, the Yankees lost a division series opener at home, only to recover and capture the series. They can count on their opponent to be energized, not intimidated.
“That’s the postseason; that’s the Yankees,” Johnny Damon said. “The bull’s-eye’s always on us, especially with what we did this past free-agent year. We spent a lot of money to get back to the playoffs. Everyone knows that, and everyone’s always going to be gunning for us.”
In truth, there will be no true underdogs this postseason, no party crashers like the Rays last October. The Twins would come closest, because of their low payroll, but they have reached the playoffs four times this decade. The Tigers beat the Yankees in 2006 en route to the A.L. pennant.
The Los Angeles Angels and the Boston Red Sox will meet in the other A.L. division series, both with recent success. The Angels won the World Series under Mike Scioscia in 2002, and Boston has won twice under Terry Francona.
In the National League, the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies play the Rockies, who lost the World Series in 2007. In the other series, the St. Louis Cardinals, who won the 2006 World Series, face the Los Angeles Dodgers, who reached the N.L. championship series last fall.
Compared with most of those teams, the Yankees have reason for envy. They have not won a pennant since 2003, when they lost the World Series to the Florida Marlins. This could be their best chance to return, because of dominant pitching and an opportunistic offense.
The Yankees set a club record for homers this season, with 244, and ranked first in the league. Yet they were hardly a group of free swingers. The Yankees generally put the bat on the ball, ranking 12th of 14 A.L. teams in strikeouts. They also have many more stolen bases than the Twins or the Tigers.
“Hopefully that plays out and factors into wins,” the hitting coach Kevin Long said. “I think, one through nine, we’re a complete offense. There’s not an easy out. You’d think that a pitcher would have to grind on every hitter. If we can grind him down, hopefully we can break through.”
Wearing down the other team’s starter has been a sound strategy. Opposing relievers were 16-40 with a 5.82 earned run average against the Yankees this season. The Twins’ bullpen E.R.A. is 3.88; the Tigers’ is 4.32.
The Yankees have not played either team since July. Detroit has added Aubrey Huff to its lineup since then, and the Twins have added Orlando Cabrera. The teams are about to become much more familiar with each other, with everything on the line.
“We’ve seen this coming now for two weeks,” Rodriguez said. “It’s going to be fun to watch. That’s what’s great about baseball. You play 162 and you still need one more game.”
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The man who built the last baseball dynasty stayed on his feet for hours at Tropicana Field on Sunday. Gene Michael, now a special adviser to Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman, did not want to sit. He was happy to roam the back of the press box, with one eye on his team and the other on the Detroit Tigers’ game on television. “Scouts’ heaven,” Michael said, smiling.
October is here, for real. This is when scouts can shine, with golden nuggets sprinkled into the volumes of information they compile on every team.
What will Dennis Eckersley throw with a full count? When will Matt Holliday try to steal? The answers to those questions, and countless others, have been pivotal in winning the World Series. The chase is under way again ... almost.
For the second year in a row, the American League Central is tied after 162 games, and the East champion stands by for a winner. The Tigers and the Minnesota Twins both won Sunday and stand at 86-76.
Last fall, the Tampa Bay Rays waited a day until the Chicago White Sox eliminated Minnesota in a playoff. Now, the Yankees will wait two days. The Metrodome is booked for a Vikings game against the Packers on Monday, so this year’s tie breaker starts Tuesday at 5 p.m.
The Yankees’ preseries workout will be over by then. Manager Joe Girardi said he might stay at Yankee Stadium to watch the game and then start reviewing scouting reports. With Game 1 likely to start at 6:07 p.m. on Wednesday, the burden is on the scouts, Girardi and the coaches to filter only the vital details to players.
“We’ll have plenty of time Wednesday,” Girardi said. “The clubhouse is closed, so you have more time, in a sense. And we’re not going to information overload. That’s the thing that you don’t want to do. What we’ve been doing has worked pretty well.”
The Yankees would be heavy favorites against either opponent, because they won 103 games in the regular season. The frenetic end to the regular season would also seem to hinder the Central champ.
Then again, two of the last three teams to win a one-game playoff — the 1999 Mets and the 2007 Colorado Rockies — won their division series opener and advanced to the next round. Teams play in different cities on successive days all season, and the adrenaline rush of the postseason can stir a weary traveler.
“Be careful what you ask for,” Alex Rodriguez said. “I think we’re going to be ready no matter who it is.”
Four times under Joe Torre, the Yankees lost a division series opener at home, only to recover and capture the series. They can count on their opponent to be energized, not intimidated.
“That’s the postseason; that’s the Yankees,” Johnny Damon said. “The bull’s-eye’s always on us, especially with what we did this past free-agent year. We spent a lot of money to get back to the playoffs. Everyone knows that, and everyone’s always going to be gunning for us.”
In truth, there will be no true underdogs this postseason, no party crashers like the Rays last October. The Twins would come closest, because of their low payroll, but they have reached the playoffs four times this decade. The Tigers beat the Yankees in 2006 en route to the A.L. pennant.
The Los Angeles Angels and the Boston Red Sox will meet in the other A.L. division series, both with recent success. The Angels won the World Series under Mike Scioscia in 2002, and Boston has won twice under Terry Francona.
In the National League, the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies play the Rockies, who lost the World Series in 2007. In the other series, the St. Louis Cardinals, who won the 2006 World Series, face the Los Angeles Dodgers, who reached the N.L. championship series last fall.
Compared with most of those teams, the Yankees have reason for envy. They have not won a pennant since 2003, when they lost the World Series to the Florida Marlins. This could be their best chance to return, because of dominant pitching and an opportunistic offense.
The Yankees set a club record for homers this season, with 244, and ranked first in the league. Yet they were hardly a group of free swingers. The Yankees generally put the bat on the ball, ranking 12th of 14 A.L. teams in strikeouts. They also have many more stolen bases than the Twins or the Tigers.
“Hopefully that plays out and factors into wins,” the hitting coach Kevin Long said. “I think, one through nine, we’re a complete offense. There’s not an easy out. You’d think that a pitcher would have to grind on every hitter. If we can grind him down, hopefully we can break through.”
Wearing down the other team’s starter has been a sound strategy. Opposing relievers were 16-40 with a 5.82 earned run average against the Yankees this season. The Twins’ bullpen E.R.A. is 3.88; the Tigers’ is 4.32.
The Yankees have not played either team since July. Detroit has added Aubrey Huff to its lineup since then, and the Twins have added Orlando Cabrera. The teams are about to become much more familiar with each other, with everything on the line.
“We’ve seen this coming now for two weeks,” Rodriguez said. “It’s going to be fun to watch. That’s what’s great about baseball. You play 162 and you still need one more game.”
Source: New York Times
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