With the October Classic upon us, its time for SCL’s Fresh Take, ala Baseball! It’s fitting that the New York Yankees with their 26 Championships and the defending World Champion Philadelphia Phillies square off in the World Series; on the flip side, how bad is it to be a Cleveland Indians fan? Past Indian pitchers CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee square off in Game One of the Series, while Indians fans get to wonder what if. Not to mention, if you add in the Championship rounds with Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez and Charlie Manuel, it looked like a Cleveland reunion out there!
The Yankees and Phillies led their respective leagues in runs and home runs and with the right field jet stream in new Yankee Stadium and the short flower beds in Citizens Bank Park, will anyone be surprised if we set an new record for home runs in a World Series this year? The Phillies have 4 guys who hit over thirty home runs while the Yankees counter with 5 who hit more than twenty. Get ready for the shooting gallery!
Is there a cold weather team bias to the World Series now? Everyone talks about the “dog days of summer” and how lousy it is to play in Arlington, TX or Miami, FL in July and August with 100 degree days, but have you noticed that seven of the last ten World Series have been won by cold weather teams? And this year the trend has to continue after Philly and New York spun out the boys from California. As we extend the baseball year later and later, its seems less and less likely to see a team from the South or the West representing their leagues or at least winning the whole thing…
So time for the prediction! It looks like the studs from each team, Ryan Howard and Alex Rodriguez are ready to rumble, but it’s still pitching that wins in the playoffs. Both teams have Aces and Jokers in their rotations, offenses in high gear and this will be a great series to watch. I’m tired about hearing how suspect the Phillies bullpen is, especially after they knocked out the LA Dodgers in five games. I think the Phillies October magic will continue and I’ll take Philadelphia in Six!
In the movie Field of Dreams, James Earl Jones tells Kevin Costner that “the one constant in America has been baseball.” “Baseball has marked the time” as America rolled by, been erased and rolled by again, baseball is a part of our past and is what reminds us all of what once was good. 
Hurry back Alex! New York Yankee fans rejoiced today with the breaking news that Alex Rodriguez took his first slide into a base since his March hip surgery. Playing 0.500 ball at a lackluster 13 and 13 record, things in New York are getting desperate. Generally Yankee fans don’t pay attention this early in a season as the Bombers are traditionally slow starters. But missing the playoffs last year and starting the season 0-5 against the Boston Red Sox has started the faithful grumbling into their beers. 
Curt Schilling retired from baseball today, bringing to an end the career of one of the best big game pitchers of all time. Schilling won three World Series titles with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Boston Red Sox and also led the Philadelphia Phillies to a National League pennant. Schilling’s career numbers don’t scream hall of fame, but his 11-2 post season career mark certainly puts him up for hall consideration. While Schilling sits on the Cooperstown proverbial “Green Monster” for his on the field play, his mouth will skate right into the hall of fame for mouths.
am over Alex Rodriguez. I agree, from a fans perspective, he may be on to something, but as an owner, GM or manager, he is out in left field (no pun intended). For fans, sports are all about memorable moments and not about production (statistics). For owners, GMs and managers, sports are about production. Fans base analysis on emotion while owners base analysis on more tangible things. Without factoring in the “baggage” associated with a player or any negative personality traits, as an owner, GM or manager, I would select Alex Rodriguez.
A buddy of mine and I have a running arguement on who’d you rather have on your team, Derek Jeter or Alex Rodriguez? I take Jeter, he takes A-Rod. And during weeks like this one, looks like the arguement swings my way. Granted A-Rod has all the stats and is an awesome ball player. Its very likely we’ll be discussing his 800 odd home runs in a few years, but then what? Jeter has all the intangibles; four rings, Captain of the New York Yankees and some gaudy stats of his own. What he doesn’t have is all the baggage A-Rod has… Steroids, books calling him A-fraud, Madonna, etc. Rodriguez can’t just keep his name out of the papers. The only time you see Jeter on the TV set is selling Gatorade or on ET with yet another of the 100 most beautiful women. Could Jeter’s name be on the list of 103 steroid abusers yet to be named? Maybe, but I doubt it. On the other hand, were you really surprised when A-Rod’s name came out?
Over the weekend, it was reported that NY Yankee super star Alex Rodriguez, tested positive for steroids in 2003. Today, Alex Rodriguez admitted to using steroids while with the Texas Rangers between the years of 2001 and 2003. The media has jumped all over this, calling it the “story of 2009.” A little presumptuous to me considering it is only the first week of February and while the reality of this admission is huge, the test was really not a test. While A-Rod’s admission is certainly news worthy, let us not lose track of the facts in the media circus that is sure to follow.
