Baseball Between Us

The St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Francisco Giants 6-4 Sunday night, to take an early 1-0 lead over the boys in orange and black. The Cards received two-run homers from David Freese and Carlos Beltran:

Beltran Goes Deep

For Beltran it was his 14th postseason homer. In doing so, Beltran joined Babe Ruth and Albert Pujols as the only players with at least 14 homers and a .325 batting average in the postseason.

Beltran has been a beast for three different teams in the postseason.

Beltran Stats

While playing for the Houston Astros in 2004, Beltran hit four homers against the Atlanta Braves in the National League Division Series, then four more against the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Championship Series.

In 2006, as a member of the New York Mets, Beltran hit 3 home runs against St. Louis once again. The Cardinals, tired of seeing him homer against them, added him to their team in 2012 and the investment has paid off big time.

Beltran hit two homers against the Washington Nationals in the NLDS and on Sunday night, homered again, this time against the Giants for a total of 14 postseason dingers.

If he keeps playing like this, Carlos Beltran may become the MVP of the postseason.



Yankee captain Derek Jeter is done for season after breaking his ankle in the 12th inning of a heartbreaking loss to the Detroit Tigers in Game One of the American League Championship Series. Jeter had to be helped off the field after stumbling on a hard hit ball hit up the middle.

Jeter Fractures Ankle

Jeter winced in obvious pain as he fell to the ground after knocking down the ball, but was unable to make a throw. After the play, Jeter was unable to place any weight on his left foot at all, as he limped off the field with the assistance of Yankee manager Joe Girardi and a team trainer.

It was an ugly ending to what had been a magical night in the Bronx for the Yanks, who rallied from four down, to tie the Tigers in the 9th inning on this home run by Raul Ibanez:

Ibanez Does It Again

Ibanez made baseball history by becoming the  first player  to hit three home runs in the ninth inning or later in a single postseason.

The 40-year-old Ibanez also hit a pinch-hit game-tying home run in the ninth inning of Game 3 of the AL Division Series versus the Orioles. The Yankee slugger and DH also hit the game-winner in the 12th vs. the Orioles.

But on Saturday night, the Tigers came back to score two runs in the top of the 12th, when Jeter was injured. The Yanks lost the game 6-4.

But even more troubling is the permanent loss of Jeter, the lead-off hitter and heart and soul of the team. In the second inning, Jeter knocked a single to right and became the first ballplayer to record 200 hits in the postseason:

Jeter Knocks 200th Postseason Hit

Without the veteran Jeter in the lineup, the Yankees have a seemingly insurmountable challenge ahead. The Tigers lead the series 1-0 and the Bronx Bombers must now win four games without their most valuable player.

Jeter At Shortstop

The Oakland A’s are the best bargain in baseball. The boys in green and gold have the second lowest payroll anywhere, but they keep winning against big-money teams like the Tigers. Detroit’s payroll is $132.3 million – that’s 5th highest in Major League Baseball:

MLB Salaries

The Oakland A’s have more fun than any other team it seems – and certainly they get more bang for the buck. Oakland won 94 games during the regular season, with a payroll of $55.3 million. Only San Diego had a lower payroll at $55.2 million.

But unlike the Padres, the A’s actually know how to win – and with great efficiency at $589,000 a win. The Major League average payroll/win is nearly double that amount —  at $1.2 million per win. The New York Yankees won 95 games, just one more than the A’s, but with a payroll of $198 million. That amounts to $2 million in payroll for each win – or looking at it another way – the Yankees are paying nearly 4 times more per victory than the Athletics.

The Philadelphia Phillies rank 29th in efficiency at $2.2 million for their 81 wins, while the Boston Red Sox are the worst investors in the marketplace, paying $2.5 million for their measly 69 wins.

The Least Efficient Teams

The Oakland A’s slogan is Green Collar Baseball. But what’s often overlooked is how much green they are making by being smart but cheap. In Oakland, less is more.

Oakland A's Are Amazing

It’s been a rough weekend for the Giants, who have been thoroughly outscored by the Cincinnati Reds. But there’s still an area where the Giants are #1. Their ballpark is second to none:

Baseball's Crown Jewel: AT&T Park

My buddy Marty Gonzalez invited me to Game 1 on Saturday night. And even though the Giants lost 5-2, I was in love with the most beautiful ballpark in all of Major League Baseball.

Home of the SF Giants

What other ballpark offers vistas like this one of the Bay Bridge?

Bay Bridge

And it’s hard to beat this view of the San Francisco Bay from the upper deck of the ballpark at sunset.

America the Beautiful

And what other park offers fire boats will hoses in full action?

Fireboat

And speaking of action, the view of the game is second to none.

Let's Go Giants

AT&T Park offers the best views along with some of the best food anywhere. Try the garlic fries with your freshly grilled hot dog loaded with sauerkraut. And for fun, sample a Ghirardelli’s hot fudge sundae for dessert.

San Francisco has the only stadium in MLB offering a built-in section for fans to see the game for free. The “knothole” is an arched opening perched inside the right field wall, where up to 100 people can walk up and watch the game from the outside without having to purchase a ticket. The “knothole” provides a close-up view of the right fielder, who is stationed only a few feet away. The “knothole gang” of diehard fans have their own clubby culture with a strict set of rule, which means no dogs, no drinking and a mandatory rotation of new “knotholers” every three innings.

But no matter where you sit or stand you’re likely to see a panoramic view of the San Francisco Bay and the marina surrounding you in a sea of blue water and cobalt skies. AT&T is absolutely my favorite place to watch a baseball game: a classic retro ballpark with natural grass, brick walls and an old-time feel inside of a thoroughly modern park.

So even though Cincinnati is beating up on San Francisco, AT&T Park will always be #1.

I just got home from seeing one of the best ballgames ever! A walk-off win on Saturday by the A’s in the bottom of the 10th inning. See it here:

Walk-Off Home Run

The 3-run homer by Brandon Moss gave the A’s a 7-4, come-from-behind win over the Seattle Mariners. It was Oakland’s 14th walk-off win this season — the most in Major League Baseball.

It was a game the A’s needed to win to keep pace with the surging Baltimore Orioles and stay ahead of the L.A. Angels, who have been nipping at their heels. But it didn’t start well for the boys in green and gold, who were down 4-0 early in the game, following home runs by Kyle Seager and Michael Saunders.

Mariners bullpen celebrate early 4-0 lead.

The A’s scratched a run across the plate in the 4th, then scored another in the 8th to cut the lead to 4-2. And then in the bottom of the 9th, with one out, Josh Donaldson went deep over the center field fence to tie the score. See it here:

Tie Ballgame

Then in the 10th inning, with two runners on base, Brandon Moss hit the shot heard ’round the Bay, that set off this celebration:

A's celebrate walk-off win.

Notice how the Mariners seems a lot more subdued in the picture above.

For the A’s it was their 90th win of the year, in a season when most experts picked them for last place. But this team is so young, with so many rookies, they simply have no fear and play every day for the fun of the game.

Oakland is the team no one wants to play in the post-season because they are so unpredictable and defy expectations. They are loose as can be and truly believe they are the team of destiny this year. After watching this walk-off win today, I would have to agree!

Clint Eastwood’s new movie is fantastic. Baseball fans everywhere will love it. But this film goes far beyond the ballpark. At the heart of the movie is the father/daughter relationship between crusty old baseball scout Gus Lobel (Clint Eastwood) and his estranged daughter Mickey (played by Amy Adams).

Mickey is not short for Michelle. No, Lobel named his daughter after his favorite ballplayer (and mine) Mickey Mantle. Here’s an autographed picture that Mickey Mantle signed when I was a kid. My mom actually got him to sign it when she met him at some conference– I don’t know how — but it’s one of my prized possessions:

Mickey Mantle

But I digress. In this movie, Mickey is a lawyer who’s on the corporate fast track to partnership. The last thing in the world she wants is to take care of her aging dad, who is on the brink of losing everything. Gus may have diamond vision, but he is going blind with macular degeneration, making it nearly impossible for him to scout talent for the Atlanta Braves.

Eastwood plays the cantankerous, mean old man to perfection. He’s bitter about losing his sight and can’t see how his behavior over the years has driven his daughter away. But the chief scout for the Braves (played by John Goodman) trusts Lobel’s instincts and somehow convinces Mickey to go on the road with her dad to check out the top prospect for the baseball draft.

Turns out Mickey knows a lot about baseball and is befriended by a rival scout (played by Justin Timberlake) and together they keep an eye on the man who can’t see. But Gus’s ears still work and he’s able to hear the sound of the bat and knows that something rings hollow with the hot prospect.

I don’t want to give away the ending, but Mickey uses her own baseball instincts and everything Gus has taught her to find “The Natural”. From the opening pitch, this movie plays like the antithesis of Money Ball — in which computers and sabermetrics dominate every baseball decision. In Gus’s world, computers can’t measure heart, desire or love for the game.The only way to truly evaluate a player is to see him in action — if Gus could only see.

Gus is old-school in every way and fails to account for the one element you can’t scout — luck. And that’s where Mickey comes in, by finding the true talent who will change her career and her dad’s life forever. Their troubled relationship unravels in the movie like a baseball that’s lost it’s cover, but emerges newly stitched in a way that will touch every dad and daughter’s heart.

I loved this movie and hope you will too! Check out the trailer for a sneak preview below:

Trailer for Trouble With The Curve

Remember the old joke about Washington?

First in war. First in peace. Last in the American League East.

But that was then – when the Washington Senators mopped up the cellar year after year.

Now there’s the Nationals — and they are the first place team in the National League East.

And on Thursday night D.C. clinched its first post-season slot since 1933.

Nats Are In The Playoffs

Franklin D. Roosevelt was the president then – and Joe Cronin led the Senators to the World Series. Washington lost four games to one to the New York Giants, but hey that was a long time ago.

This year the Nats are in with Bryce Harper, Jason Werth, Jordan Zimmerman and a whole lot of Natitute.

Nationals Park

Nats Players Signing Autographs

Wow, he did it again!

Angels rookie sensation Mike Trout homered in the 1st inning Sunday against the Tigers. It’s his 27th leadoff home run, a record for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Check out the homer here — and watch the great catch made by a fan in the bleachers:

Trout Goes Yard

The Angels are on a tear – having won 10 of their 11 games before Sunday’s contest vs. Detroit.

Of the 15 teams in contention for playoff berths, only 10 will make it to the post season. Sure the Cincinnati Reds and Texas Rangers look like shoo-ins for October, but which teams will be looking in from the outside?

If you consider strength of schedule, then the Oakland A’s definitely have the toughest road to the playoffs.

Oakland (O.co) Coliseum

After this weekend’s series in Seattle, the Green and Gold will be playing the Yankees, Rays and White Sox in the weeks ahead, plus seven games against the Texas Rangers.The A’s opponents have a .548 winning percentage, which is tops in the American League. Add in the likely season-ending injuries to Brandon McCarthy and Brandon Inge — and the Oakland Athletics look like a long-shot to make the playoffs — but these guys have been overperforming all season long, so you can never count them out.

By contrast, the Detroit Tigers have the easiest schedule of all playoff contenders.

Comerica Park, Home of the Detroit Tigers

Their opponents have a winning percentage of just .474, which is significant down the stretch.

In the National League, the Los Angeles Dodgers have the toughest schedule, as their opponents have a .534 winning percentage.

Dodger Stadium

The San Francisco Giants have the fourth toughest schedule ahead, facing teams with a .472 winning percentage.

AT&T Park

By contrast, the St. Louis Cardinals have the easiest schedule, playing 9 straight games vs. the lowly Chicago Cubs and hapless Houston Astros in mid-September.

Busch Stadium

Here’s how Sports Illustrated ranks the playoff contenders in terms of strength of schedule:

American League:
Team    SOS
1. A’s    0.548
2. Angels    0.533
3. Rays    0.525
4. Rangers    0.520
5. Orioles    0.506
6. Yankees    0.485
7. White Sox    0.477
8. Tigers    0.474

National League
Team    SOS
1. Dodgers    0.534
2. Nationals    0.500
3. Braves    0.494
4. Giants    0.472
5. Pirates    0.469
6. Reds    0.467
7. Cardinals    0.464

I’m picking  the  Yankees, Rangers and Tigers to win their divisions and I like the  White Sox chances for the Wild Card in the American League, along with my dark horse pick, the Angels for other slot.

In the National League, I’ll take the Nats, Reds and Giants as division winners, with the Braves and Cardinals for the Wild Card slots.

I’d love to hear your thoughts…

The Pittsburgh Pirates are on a roll downhill. They’ve lost four games in a row and seven out of their last ten. They are in third place in the National League Central and fading fast.

MLB Standings

At one point this season, they seemed destined for the playoffs. Now they’ll be lucky to break .500.

And if they do win at least half their games, it will be significant. You see, the Pirates haven’t had a winning season since 1992, the same year Bill Clinton was elected as president. The 19-year record of futility is the longest ever. Not just in baseball, but add football, basketball and hockey to the mix and you won’t find one team that’s been as consistently bad as the Pirates.

And yet they play in one of the most beautiful parks in Major League Baseball.

PNC Park

In Pittsburgh, you can even kayak to the ballpark or take a water taxi along the Allegheny River, as my son Matt and I did back in 2007. What an experience!

Allegheny River

And with so few people in the park, you can usually get a great view of the action. Here’s a picture showing Jose Bautista at bat, before he became a Blue Jay.

Jose Bautista at the plate

So why are the Pirates so bad year after year? Bad management, bad luck and a below-average payroll are all factors. Consider the loss of Barry Bonds, Jose Bautista and other players who struck it rich with other clubs.

For the sake of competitive balance in Major League Baseball, here’s hoping the Pirates can have a winning season this year and keep their one true star, Andrew McCutchen, happy enough to stick around.