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Better have cable TV in 2007.
New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/v-pfriendly/story/434478p-366046c.html
First round of postseason to go all cable
Wednesday, July 12th, 2006
Baseball announced a new TV deal yesterday that will move all first-round playoff games to cable starting next season. The seven-year contract with Fox and TBS is reportedly worth almost $3 billion.
Fox keeps the World Series, All-Star Game and its exclusive Saturday afternoon telecasts through 2013, as well as rights to one of the League Championship Series. TBS will show all division series games - using TNT as an overlap channel, if necessary - and will also carry 26 regular-season Sunday games starting in 2008, thus requiring those networks to decrease their Braves telecasts. TBS/TNT also will broadcast any wild-card or division-title tiebreaker games beginning this year.
Fox has the ALCS in 2007 and will alternate which LCS it shows from year to year; the rights to the other LCS have not been sold yet.
One other wrinkle in the new agreement is that Game 1 of the World Series - which had previously been on a Saturday - will now be moved to the first Tuesday after the completion of the LCS round.
26,
It's not polite to call someone the "V" word.
lol
susie,
Nothing about HGH?
linchuck,
Maybe this guy should be Cashman's assistant.
Do you think that he could get the Marlin's to trade Willis for a red paper clip? lol
SSKILLZ1,
Yankees came into their own in 1996 on a with Jeter, Rivera, Posada, Williams, Pettite as the foundation.
Mets in 2006 are in a similar situation with Reyes and Wright and Milledge and Pelfrey in the wings.
Mets should have continued success over the next decade.
However, the Mets Front Office has a way of making bad trades that self-destruct any chance of continued success.
The 1969 and 1986 teams should have won more Championships had it not been for bad trades made by their Front Office.
Let's hope that trading Kazmir was the last of their illogical decisions.
SSKILLZ1,
There you go confusing Wagner with Rivera. lol
Considering Willie Randoolph's background it would be safe to say that his goal is to win the WS not just make the playoffs.
Tom Verducci's 1/2 Season Pick for AL MVP ...
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/tom_verducci/07/11/inside.baseball/
The Half-Season Awards
It's old news how the American League, as in European soccer league designations, is a higher league than the National League. But now that we've hit the unofficial halfway mark of the season with the All-Star break, here's one more reason the AL is so much better: the half-season major awards. The AL awards are loaded with much more intrigue and difficult calls.
Can a DH be the MVP? Can a rookie be the Cy Young Award winner, and if so, which one? Is Jonathan Papelbon having a better season than Francisco Liriano? Read on for the answers to those questions and more.
American League
Most Valuable Player
The ballot:
1. Derek Jeter, New York
2. Jermaine Dye, Chicago
3. David Ortiz, Boston
4. Vernon Wells, Toronto
5. Jim Thome, Chicago
6. Magglio Ordoñez, Detroit
7. Joe Mauer, Minnesota
8. Travis Hafner, Cleveland
9. Gary Matthews Jr., Texas
10. Jonathan Papelbon, Boston
The reasons: The value of the DH is once again at the heart of the MVP debate, this time with Thome joining Ortiz as specialists deserving of consideration. Always remember, class, that this is not the most outstanding hitter award, or the who-you-would-most-want-to-bat-with-the-game-on-the-line award. It is extremely difficult, though not impossible, for a guy to win the MVP while giving his team virtually nothing on the defensive side, when any baseball person with a cursory knowledge of the game knows that the lockstep combination of pitching and defense is what mostly wins championships. At least Ortiz and Thome contribute beyond their hitting with leadership and presence in the clubhouse. That's not to be underestimated either.
Thome, though, can't possibly be the MVP when he's a glorified platoon player with no defensive position. He has only six extra-base hits all season against left-handers while slugging an anemic .380. He also has been bad in close-and-late situations (.184). Likewise, Ortiz can be neutralized by left-handers (.235 with a .311 OBP and one strikeout every three at-bats), and though he gets memorable hits, he doesn't get as many as you might think (.250 in close-and-late, .280 with runners in scoring position). Big Papi is devastating, though, because his big hits tend to be game-changing home runs, not just singles that extend rallies.
Dye, however, is a better choice than either DH because he plays right field, has a better OPS and has been money with runners in scoring position and two outs (.382). He's a quality candidate.
I'm picking Jeter, though, because as someone who plays a premium position who contributes in multiple ways offensively and who is the unchallenged leader of the team, he is the single biggest reason that a depleted New York team is only three games behind Boston. When asked to bat third, for instance, all Jeter did was hit .388 with a .500 OBP. He hit .355 in June and July after Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield went on the disabled list.
You want big hits? Guess who has more hits (16) and a better batting average (.364) in close-and-late situations than Thome, Dye and Ortiz? Yep, Jeter. Guess who has more hits with runners in scoring position (30)? Jeter, a .357 hitter in those spots, including .371 with two outs.
vic, Why not Manny for MVP?
He plays both offense and defense.
To much emphasis on pitchers in the twilight of their career and the failure to develop/acquire younger pitching talent (e.g. White Sox, Tigers and Twins) is what could keep the Yankees out of the playoffs.
excel,
A-Rod and Kazmir could have discussed the dysfunctional Met's Front Office ...
for not signing A-Rod and for trading Kazmir.
From wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Ortiz
The 2005 AL MVP was a significant debate among baseball circles as both Rodriguez and Ortiz finished the regular season with impressive offensive statistics. Two sportswriters left Ortiz completely off the ten player ballot, citing Ortiz's position as a designated hitter. Ortiz ultimately finished second in the voting because as a designated hitter, he played very few games defensively and thus many sportswriters argued that Ortiz did not contribute as much as Rodriguez, who played the majority of his games at third base for the New York Yankees.
I don't believe it was editorialized by 26
Susie,
It was nice to see Wright and Ryan eliminate Big Papi from the Final Round.
26,
There being saved for describing how Ortiz fares in the Home Run derby.
26, Rivera's not going there...
Rivera, a deeply religious Christian, maintains that God has a reason for everything that happens. For example, Rivera found his failure in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series much easier to deal with when he learned of the consequences it had on a teammate. Had the Yankees won Game 7 and the World Series, Enrique Wilson would have flown home to the Dominican Republic and been aboard the deadly American Airlines Flight 587. "I am glad we lost the World Series," Rivera told Wilson, "because it means that I still have a friend."
It's All New York: Yankees and Mets - First and Second Favorite Baseball Teams
Sorry vic, Red Sox are number 5.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060710/nym130.html?.v=36
At the midway point of the regular season, the New York Yankees find themselves again on top as the favorite baseball team among those who follow Major League Baseball. However, the New York Mets aren't far behind. They have jumped up three spots and are now at No. 2, while the Atlanta Braves move down one spot to No. 3 on the list. Rounding out the top five on the list are the Chicago Cubs at No. 4 and the Boston Red Sox at No. 5.
vic,
The Blue Jays could be the surprise of the 2nd half.
Should they win the AL East, Boston and New York will be watching the playoffs like the rest of us.
vic,
lol. this coming from someone that has "pet" names for the Yankee players.
The only thing I don't care for about the Devil Rays are their TV announcers they complain about calls and belittle other teams. Just tonight they called Yankee fans "cave dwelling neandrathals" and commented that Manny "didn't have his monthly flea dip". Those kinds of things are just low class.
What you say does make going to a game enjoyable...
great seats, that are comfortable, free parking, tickets for any team that comes to town and a personal ticket rep that can be contacted for extra seats.
I guess the announcers were saying that the "Trop" does not have the ambiance and character of other newer and older ballparks.
vic,
In the Yankee broadcast, the announcers did not have nice things to say about the "Trop" relative to other AL Ballparks, such as Jacobs Field or Camden Yards.
From your perspective how does the D'Rays ballpark compare to Fenway or Yankee Stadium?
How about this for the 2006 "MVP"?
In the 2006 All-Star game NL gets World Series home field advantage as the result of an error by David Ortiz playing first.
In the seventh game of the 2006 World Series Mets defeat Red Sox when with two outs David Wright hits a grounder that goes through Ortiz's legs (circa Bill Buckner 1986) and allows Jose Reyes to score the winning run from first.
26, Have you seen this shirt for sale at or around the Stadium.
At the start of the season, Yankee players were given a pair of T-shirts, gray and black. The gray ones carry the message, "One team, One mission." The other reads "257 days/37 weeks/9 months," and below that, "one team, one goal."
There was also the number 27 screened beneath the text, a reference to the Yanks' pursuit of a 27th World Series victory.
A perfect addition to someone looking to change their alias at the end of October.
With a 10 - 8 record Yankees didn't do too bad in Inter-league play.
Red Sox did play there best baseball of the season during this period. However, no team can sustain that pace forever, as evidenced by Boston's recent woes with D'Rays.
http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/standings/index.jsp
Rockies were only NL team with a winning record against the AL.
vic, Difference is ...
Red Sox are not playing NL teams now.
susie,
Clemens and Mussina on the right are wearing the tops that the starting pitchers wear on their off-days.
http://www.ve1dx.net/Images/pitchers.jpg
Next time you watch a Yankees game notice what the non-starters are wearing on the bench.
vic,
Jeff Weaver is available.
Susie,
Have you also noticed that the Yankee starters wear Navy Blue tops on the day that are not pitching.
This goes back to the days when Clemens and Pettitte were in the Yankee's starting rotation.
Susie,
On Steinbrenner's 76th Birthday, too.
SSKILLZ1, The only consolation is that Mets have the financial resources to get Kazmir back when he becomes a free agent.
Although there will be other teams competing for his services.
Susie,
Yes, Nolan Ryan for Jim Fregosi.
SSKILLZ1
Kazmir is 10 -5 on a last place AL team.
How much better would he be in the NL on a team that is leading their division? And how much better would the Mets be?
In a short playoff series Pedro, Glavine and Kazmir would be difficult to beat.
Could be worse trade in Mets history.
Maybe Mets fans can hire an attorney to get the trade nullifed on the basis that the Met's GM was mentally incompetent at the time the deal was done.
vic,
But then the Red Sox would have taken 2 out of 3 from the Mets last week.
Kazmir is developing a reputation as a Red Sox "Killer".
I wonder if someone in the Bronx is taking notice of that. Kazmir will be a free agent someday.
Then again with that team they will sign him as a free agent when he is 39 years of age or older.
I would take a guess that the Mets wish that had Kazmir pitching for them last night.
SoxFan,
In keeping with WWJDD, would Damon have made that catch?
vic,
I'm writing about some of the Mets fans and not the players.
Mets players are too professional to give up. I'm sure Willie Randolph wants to win against Boston regardless of the uniform he is wearing. He has been part of the rivalry for too many years.
However, more than one Mets fan as called WFAN talk radio to rejoice that the Red Sox sweep of the Mets prevented the Yankees from advancing in the satndings.
vic,
Some Mets fans are stupid enough to express their pleasure in seeing their team get swept by the Red Sox. Since it keeps the Yankees from advancing.
Joke will be on them if Mets collapse and finish three games out.
26,
Only from the neck down.
A-Rod dropped to number 5 today...
J. Damon CF
M. Cabrera LF
D. Jeter SS
J. Giambi DH
A. Rodriguez 3B
B. Williams RF
A. Phillips 1B
M. Cairo 2B
K. Stinnett C
and Bernie's starting a day game after a night game.
Linchuck,
Having Matsui and Sheffield in the lineup last year took a lot of pressure off A-Rod. Result an MVP season.
This year when he is expected to carry the team the mental part of his game is interfering with his natural talent.
Susie,
Next year at this time he will be discussing why Ortiz deserved the MVP award more than Jeter.
I just used my last post of the day on vic. lol