trip after 100+ pitches, it is sad to see the curses on Red Sox and Cubs live on.

Yankee won many WSs because Joe Torres is a tough minded manager whose only concern is to win and not be a buddy or a father figure to a player.  Little and Baker followed the script of old time managers - too close to their star pitchers and let them stayed in the game too long.  JMHO, that is the key reason why both of them lost Game 7.

I was surprised to find myself deeply affected by those 2 losses in the last 2 days.  It just once again reminded me that sometimes no matter how hard one tries, there is simply no way to escape the expectations of others and the course of history.  It seems like some results are pre-ordained given the characters of participants.

Just a rant from a mostly hopeless pessimist.  

-- Modified on 10/16/2003 10:15:10 PM

I can just imagine Pedro Martinez insisting that he was fine and that he could finish off the Yankees. I have to admit, if I were in his shoes, I would want to stay in the game to I could have the satisfaction of being on the mound when the Yankees finally go down to the Red Sox. But you're right, Martinez should have gone after the seventh.

As I stated last night, the Yankees are the best team money can buy.  They will wear down anyone.

I agree with you, Spec...those losses were depressing, and it is hard seeing the same team go year after year and then just go out and b players from other teams to restock.  As Margaret Mitchell once wrote, "God damn the Yankees!!!".  Last year was fun, and this year could be if Trader Jack and the Marlins do the unthinkable, but I doubt they will...I think it will be Yanks in five.

It really brightened me up to think the Cubs and Sox could make it, and I think many felt the same way.  These days, it is hard not to root for the underdog, as so many people are in that place themselves.  I think there will be a significant drop off in the TV ratings for the World Series, unless the Marlins win a couple.

Go Marlins!

No inside information or favorites here, just a gut feeling. We'll see.

Cheers,

HPG

All i can say as a lifelong yankee fan..tonight i jumped for joy at the pub and acck,,huged strangers lol..
im soooooo frickin happy i will overlook the lack of providers in la who root for the yanks  

Life long Yankee fan. And the reason they win while others don't isn't always about buying the best players. On paper, Yanks and Boston were pretty evenly matched. In times of pressure or not, the Yanks always play with the same even emotion and always have the right manager for the team. Like most sports, teams beat themselves, ie. Cubs, Red Sox, and teams like the Yanks just wait to pick up the pieces. The psychology of winning. Cubs meltdown after foul ball and give up 17 runs over last 11 innings of series but point the finger at some poor slob. The fans melted down too. Time to give this guy a break.

Red Sox have had some very good teams over the years...time to get a manager of quality.

My personal feeling is that we were out managed.  However, NY won.  They should be congratulated.  I for one will be nice to myself (guess how), go on with my life and cheer the Pats. ... Harry

or a World Series trophy as in this case of baseball(look at the Red Sox and their payroll)but it sure has not hurt as far as the Yanks are concerned....
but by no means a guarantee for a championship...you still have to sign the right GM,players,coaches and manager.Then there is team chemistry.... and of course they have to perform between those white chalk lines.
and that's where the Yanks have excelled, even in front of both the best and the toughest fans in baseball.The Yanks have that rare combination of mental toughness and class...as Von Yogi Ryan says, Baseball is 90% mental -- the other half is both classy behavior and being physical.I said the other day on the NY board that the classiest team would win the series and that statement rings true Today.It was a great Yankee victory.
Oh happy day!

Heres to an outstanding World series!

"The other teams could make trouble for us if they win."(Yankee great,Yogi Berra)


-- Modified on 10/17/2003 10:53:29 AM

-- Modified on 10/17/2003 11:27:57 AM

still cant do the right thing i agree grady should have yanked pedro. Thats what tore did to clemens

the hell with what the pitcher thinks this is and was the most inportant game for the sox
hogan

Dude-  Who was he going to get to pitch?  Its Pedro and "a bunch of guys"- sheesh Wakefield gave up the dinger!

The RS need more pitchers so its not Pedro and pray for a melee so everyone gets tossed. Hard to win in playoffs with ONE GUY!

does buy alot of trophies though.....yeah should be a great series, highest payroll vs. 1 of the lowest..think ill watch leaves fall instead.l
  go davey beat goliath

last year's Game 6 of Giants-Angels.  I had such a sinking feeling when the managers left their starting pitchers in there one out too long.  The disappointments were almost unbearable.

Fortunately, I have been able to secure appointments for 3 beautiful ladies today - 2 of them are my favorites.

Time to get wild and crazy.

-- Modified on 10/17/2003 10:20:05 AM

Lots of things in common with the losses by the Cubs & Red Sox besides both being up by 3 runs with 1 out in the 8th inning.  IMO the most significant was Dusty Baker staying with Woods too long (Baker does that frequently) & Grady Little staying with Martinez too long.  Both of Baker & Little were out-managed by their counterparts & I wasn't the least bit surprised by that. Torre has long been both a solid manager & a class act, & McKeon has been overlooked for the part he played in the turning around the Marlins season.

While I would've like to see a Chicago/Boston WS, but I do think that ultimately the two best teams won.  Neither the Cubs or Red Sox play good defense or have a good bullpen...even though the Sox relievers fared far better in the post-season than I would've imagined.  But why Grady Little didn't use Mike Timlin differently is still a mystery to me...the guy didn't give up a run against either the A's or the Yankees.  

I thought initially that the Cubs, because of Prior & Wood, had a much better chance of winning that the Red Sox with only two respectable starters & shaky bullpen--but I've gotta give the Sox credit for their grit in pushing the Yankees to the limit.

I wonder if anyone else thought Brett Boone was a great addition to the broadcast team?  I really enjoyed his commentary & humor, especially when contrasted to "I'm-right-even-when-I'm-wrong-because-I-know-it-all Tim McCarver."

It should be an interesting WS, & I wouldn't be surprised to see it go 7 games.  The Marlins have enough speed to cause NY fits, play better defense over all, & can just about match the Yankees in hitting.  Any edge the Yankees have in the starting rotation is slight & unless the Marlins are able to get to the bullpen early, the relief pitching is about equal...except Rivera who would be my choice over the Urbina/Looper combo.  Damn, it seems pretty much of a toss-up to me...even down to Zimmer & McKeon both being 72yr old.  LOL  

I'll be rooting for the Marlins only because they're the underdogs, but I'm not taking any bets.    

Last night's trophy was well deserved.(see my revised commentary above) As a life long Yank's fan, I'm happy,content,and hang over free,LOL
and this day after, I'm especially thrilled at the good fortune that there will be more baseball in the house that Ruth built on Saturday.As for "hollow"...that's reserved for Fenway park until next season.

Cheers!

When most managers have needs for replacing starters- they have to pick and hope for the best-  the cupboard is bare of real talent and one holdsones nose and goes with it-

When Joe torre has to go bullpen- he has a plethora of choices- all put there by an avarage plus GM and a limitless pile of cash!

I am not fan of baseball, but its insane how much better the Yankees are than other teams in their league!   It's like Real Madrid or Man U a team stocked with players whose names I know!

It's like the rest of the league is a developmental league for the yankees!  

How about a rule where Yankee fans can only open their pie holes to say anything if they ARE IN POSSESSION OF THE MAJOR LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP (its not a world series- no other countries teams compete{sorry CANADA})  All other times they must preface any remarks with "we absolutely suck as we did not collect our championship this year".  They are the default champions, in effect.  If they DONT win- something went wrong.

I find baseball boring- and the total lack of competition makes it worse- cuz you know the outcome in the spring!

Now hoops season is coming and I do love the Lakers who can be similar- except with the hard salary cap- its a much more even playing field!   Other teams have a real chance to unseat us cuz they have the same access to players we do- and some have more cash(that's you Mr. Cuban)

And I LIKE New York! It's just the Yankee fans that I find annoying- like they have accomplished anything significant!  If there was revenue sharing... and they still won all those rings?  Then they could crow and deserve it! As it is- who cares?

The rules of the game, both on the field and off, are the same for everyone. There are lots of other teams with big money: the Mets, Braves, Orioles, Giants, Cardinals, Phillies, etc. Some spend wisely and others don't.

Then there is homegrown talent. How many teams have developed a collection of stars like Jeter, Williams, Posada, Soriano, Rivera and Pettite. Then there are the countless guys that came up in the Yankee organization that are stars for other teams.

Not every great player is can hack it in NYC. Roberto Alomar proved that. Barry Bonds, Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey, Jr...none would survive the scrutiny in New York. It takes a certain kind of personality. It took Giambi a couple of months after he arrived how to handle it. This year it didn't look like Aaron Boone would ever figure it out. Then last night he became a Yankee.

well put....i (not a huge b-ball fan )  "imho" still wont put alot of respect into whoever (includng sox) wins the trophy untill mlb puts some sanity into the whole payroll side of baseball, meaning a "real" salary cap
    how great is football(not sure if ur a fan ) now that all teams have to do what you mentioned in your  revised post, cept for salary cap?
   its just my opinion, wich as the ole sayin goes, opinions r like cornshoots , every1 has 1
  if the yankees win , great for them, in sports achievments it wont be regarded as much, if the marlins win it will be a sports classic for a long time because of a situation that shouldnt exist to begin with.
 good luck to your team , i wont be watching , but will be rootng for a good series and the underdog, ..marlins  .  :>)

Nice post-  although totally untrue.  Baseball is sick from the inequities of capital-  Georgie poo has more cash and loves to spend it on baseball- other teams have less and like to show profit or attempt it.

I liked the old 49er days when DeBartalo const. owned team and took losses as tax write off.  Niners brought in talent by the carload- the higher losses the better! Our subs were paid more than alot of starters!  We killed the rest of the league.

The hangover when the caps came in was painful and continues to this day. Looking forward to the Yankee hangover- it will come someday when they finally get rev sharing.   Then we can see what level playfield looks like!.

for the team instead of catering to a star player.

That is also one of the reasons why Bill Parcell of NFL is so good at what he is doing.

I can't really root for the Marlins because they ended the WS dream of Giants this year and I don't really care much about the Yankees either, though Giambi did very well last night.

There are MANY teams who spend a lot to win - but don't! To arbitrarily say just limit the salary capis the same thing as saying all doctors and lawyers and indian chiefs, and dishwashers should get the same amount of money! Right? Sound familiar?

FYI - big market business warrants big cash outlays! What a surprise! Why would you expect a KC team to do well when the owner(s) simply pocket the revenue sharing?

Why is it that other teams do well without the high price tag? It's more than money! it's talent, a will to succeed plus many other intangibles.

Boston and the Mets spent a small fortune! Look where each ended up. Money drives this country - and if you don't realize that then you're missing the boat.

To characterize people without having the slightest understanding of the dynamics of sport business is ludicrous, at best.

BTW - the players forced the big money issue many years ago! There aren't too many players who desire to go to a poor market! Have you noticed? (Consider Texas and where all that money got them).

Get the point?

Reude-  Who was he going to get to pitch?

Mike Timlin didn't give up a run in the playoffs and Scott Williamson closed at least 3 of the Sox 6 wins. Little could have used this excuse during the season. However, Timlin, Embree and Williamson were consistently effective during the playoffs.

thirsty

-- Modified on 10/18/2003 8:39:25 AM