NakamuraQ&A: World Series Part 1 featuring Daniel
Throughout the World Series, I had a little "debate" with my friend "Dangerous" Dan. We're also polar opposites and never agree on anything, so these conversations either get violent or interesting. These are some of the questions that were asked as well as the answers. Also,
this was done at the time the events were happening, so we had no idea what the outcomes would be. I'll leave it to you to compare and contrast and decide who the better baseball analyst is.
Question #1: Was Charlie Manuel’s decision to start Pedro Martinez in Game 2 of the 2009 World Series a good idea?
Nakamura:
Before the Game:
I think this move is purely genius. Sure, if you look simply at the names and match ups, you automatically go “What is he thinking?” but there is plenty of good reasons to do so. The normal number two pitcher could be JA Happ, who is very young. He’s come through big, but he’s never pitched in a stadium with a crowd like the home of the Bronx Bombers. It would make much more sense to have him pitch in a friendly
crowd that he’s familiar in. The other possibility would be Cole Hamels. Unlike Happ, he’s no rookie. He’s a big time that’ll go and do his job. But, he’s lost his flair that carried him through last year’s October. Pedro, on the other hand, was nothing short of stellar in his NLCS outing. And the opponent is the Yankees. The “I’m your daddy” hype combined with Pedro’s competitiveness is a perfect match.
After the Game:
I stick to my choice. It was a good move and Pedro pitched well enough to give the Phillies a chance to win. I think his performance was similar to CC’s in game one. Sure, it was an effort shown by nothing but a loss. But he fell nowhere short of expectations. Pedro did his job and the Phillies are going to go home for 3 games.
Daniel:
Before the Game: The decision by Charlie Manuel to go with Pedro Martinez in game two is a terrible idea. What the heck is Manuel thinking? He reminds me more of Jerry than Charlie Manuel with all that faith in Martinez. Hamels deserves the opportunity to pitch at Yankee Stadium. After all, he was the World Series Most Valuable Player last season. With the Yankees against the ropes you have to throw your best hook. In this case it should have been a left hook because the Yankees lineup have struggled mightily against lefties.
After the Game:
Pedro did good, no doubt, and he deserved all eight of his strike outs.
But Hamels would have dominated the game. Now the Phillies are stuck with Hamels having to go against Pettitte who is less erratic than AJ Burnett when he knows he has to face a big opponent. Manuel didn't get "burned" by his decision but it was one I highly disagree with.
Question #2: Going into Game 3, who has the advantage?
Nakamura:
Philadelphia. Sure, the series is tied, but their bullpen is fresh. I know they both got an off day, but having Mariano Rivera throw over 35 pitches in two innings can’t be good. Cliff Lee’s outing was amazing. He was the Cy Young award winner we saw a couple years ago. The only problem I had with his performance was the pitch limit. The 122 pitches obviously contributed to the decision for Blanton to start game 4. But even Pedro went deep into the game and nobody threw more than an inning. In fact, Madson threw the most pitches from the bullpen for the Phillies with 18 pitches. With the day off, they’ll be fresh and ready. As good as Mariano is, he threw 39 pitches over two innings. Even for a starter, 40 pitches for 2 innings is unacceptable. If Girardi needs him in game 3 for a four out save, he might not get it.
Daniel:
Going into Game 3 the advantage, believe it or not, goes to ... the Yankees. They're playing in Philadelphia, yes, but they have the winningest playoff pitcher on the mound in Andy Pettitte. On top of that, they are facing the erratic Cole Hamels. You're going to hear a lot of people say that Hamels has the advantage because of he was the World Series MVP last season. Yeah, don't buy into the that crap. Baseball is a game of the here and now we can't rely on the past glory of players, as shown by Pedro's defeat in game two. My prediction is that Hamels dominates but Pettitte matches him stride for stride. Pettitte may be the first to falter but Hamels like always will have that one very long and tedious inning which will push the game into the Yankees favor. Its the Yankees pen from there out and for the most part with Mo as a huge security blanket it means ... GAME OVER
Question #3: Blanton in Game 4 over Cliff Lee?
Nakamura:
Interesting move. After thinking about it for a very long time, I don’t think this is because of the amount of pitches that Lee threw in Game 1. I think Manuel is trying to play the role of God here. Hold on a second, allow me to explain myself. Two of the games in this World Series have been delayed due to rain. Both times, they were pouring at one point in the day and had a chance in getting postponed. If any game other than Game 5 gets postponed, then Manuel gets a chance to pitch Cliff Lee the usual three times on FULL REST. This isn't a decision to help win game 4 or 5. It's a decision to try and win game 6 and 7. It is a very risky move and a high price will be paid if the series goes to seven games and Lee cannot start.
As for Blanton, I have nothing to say. If Lee didn't pitch, it was him. He got the start by default. He's up against CC on short rest. It seems like the mismatch of the century, but Blanton isn't exactly an easy pitcher to beat. The Yankees offense will have to get their money's worth. Three bullpen pitchers threw a ball off of a mound in Game 3, four including JA Happ. The Phillies should be going all in for Game 5 when Cliff Lee pitches, so Blanton needs to give innings as well as a chance to win. 6 innings should be enough, but against a Yankees lineup that has been recently awoken, its tougher than it sounds. Game 4 goes to the Yankees, but Game 5 is a definite Phillies Win.
Daniel:
Charlie, Charlie, Charlie ... Joe Blanton... Joe Blanton's the guy you want to oppose CC Sabathia in a game four match up!?!?! Are you kidding me? Yes, Sabathia is on three days rest, but we all know that he has done it before. This will be a total mismatch. If you want Lee rested for the matchup against Burnett
I understand that but you have to match ace for ace here Charlie. Expect the Yankees to score early the Phillies tend to score their runs later in the game. I do think that Howard will take CC deep tonight, but ultimately Sabathia will be in Cruse Control for the other eight hitters in the lineup. Yes his pitch count may get up there and his innings will get long and dull at times, but nonetheless ,he'll have one of those games where you know its over after that 95 MPH hits the glove of Jorge Posada on his first pitch.
That's it for Part 1 of the World Series Q&A. Special Thanks to "Dangerous" Dan for participating in this interview. If you have any questions that you would like to see us answer, please leave a comment. You can also suggest the next player for "Over and Under".
-Written by: Nakamura. This article is copyrighted © by Nakamura and may not be reproduced, recopied, or used in any form without permission from Nakamura.
Its time for the 2009 World Series
Question #1: Was Charlie Manuel’s decision to start Pedro Martinez in Game 2 of the 2009 World Series a good idea?
Nakamura:
Before the Game:
I think this move is purely genius. Sure, if you look simply at the names and match ups, you automatically go “What is he thinking?” but there is plenty of good reasons to do so. The normal number two pitcher could be JA Happ, who is very young. He’s come through big, but he’s never pitched in a stadium with a crowd like the home of the Bronx Bombers. It would make much more sense to have him pitch in a friendly
You remember this right?
After the Game:
I stick to my choice. It was a good move and Pedro pitched well enough to give the Phillies a chance to win. I think his performance was similar to CC’s in game one. Sure, it was an effort shown by nothing but a loss. But he fell nowhere short of expectations. Pedro did his job and the Phillies are going to go home for 3 games.
Daniel:
Before the Game: The decision by Charlie Manuel to go with Pedro Martinez in game two is a terrible idea. What the heck is Manuel thinking? He reminds me more of Jerry than Charlie Manuel with all that faith in Martinez. Hamels deserves the opportunity to pitch at Yankee Stadium. After all, he was the World Series Most Valuable Player last season. With the Yankees against the ropes you have to throw your best hook. In this case it should have been a left hook because the Yankees lineup have struggled mightily against lefties.
After the Game:
Pedro did good, no doubt, and he deserved all eight of his strike outs.
That was him only 1 year ago...
Question #2: Going into Game 3, who has the advantage?
Nakamura:
Philadelphia. Sure, the series is tied, but their bullpen is fresh. I know they both got an off day, but having Mariano Rivera throw over 35 pitches in two innings can’t be good. Cliff Lee’s outing was amazing. He was the Cy Young award winner we saw a couple years ago. The only problem I had with his performance was the pitch limit. The 122 pitches obviously contributed to the decision for Blanton to start game 4. But even Pedro went deep into the game and nobody threw more than an inning. In fact, Madson threw the most pitches from the bullpen for the Phillies with 18 pitches. With the day off, they’ll be fresh and ready. As good as Mariano is, he threw 39 pitches over two innings. Even for a starter, 40 pitches for 2 innings is unacceptable. If Girardi needs him in game 3 for a four out save, he might not get it.
Daniel:
Going into Game 3 the advantage, believe it or not, goes to ... the Yankees. They're playing in Philadelphia, yes, but they have the winningest playoff pitcher on the mound in Andy Pettitte. On top of that, they are facing the erratic Cole Hamels. You're going to hear a lot of people say that Hamels has the advantage because of he was the World Series MVP last season. Yeah, don't buy into the that crap. Baseball is a game of the here and now we can't rely on the past glory of players, as shown by Pedro's defeat in game two. My prediction is that Hamels dominates but Pettitte matches him stride for stride. Pettitte may be the first to falter but Hamels like always will have that one very long and tedious inning which will push the game into the Yankees favor. Its the Yankees pen from there out and for the most part with Mo as a huge security blanket it means ... GAME OVER
Question #3: Blanton in Game 4 over Cliff Lee?
Nakamura:
Interesting move. After thinking about it for a very long time, I don’t think this is because of the amount of pitches that Lee threw in Game 1. I think Manuel is trying to play the role of God here. Hold on a second, allow me to explain myself. Two of the games in this World Series have been delayed due to rain. Both times, they were pouring at one point in the day and had a chance in getting postponed. If any game other than Game 5 gets postponed, then Manuel gets a chance to pitch Cliff Lee the usual three times on FULL REST. This isn't a decision to help win game 4 or 5. It's a decision to try and win game 6 and 7. It is a very risky move and a high price will be paid if the series goes to seven games and Lee cannot start.
Two of the best lefties in the game... will NOT be facing each other in Game 4
As for Blanton, I have nothing to say. If Lee didn't pitch, it was him. He got the start by default. He's up against CC on short rest. It seems like the mismatch of the century, but Blanton isn't exactly an easy pitcher to beat. The Yankees offense will have to get their money's worth. Three bullpen pitchers threw a ball off of a mound in Game 3, four including JA Happ. The Phillies should be going all in for Game 5 when Cliff Lee pitches, so Blanton needs to give innings as well as a chance to win. 6 innings should be enough, but against a Yankees lineup that has been recently awoken, its tougher than it sounds. Game 4 goes to the Yankees, but Game 5 is a definite Phillies Win.
Daniel:
Charlie, Charlie, Charlie ... Joe Blanton... Joe Blanton's the guy you want to oppose CC Sabathia in a game four match up!?!?! Are you kidding me? Yes, Sabathia is on three days rest, but we all know that he has done it before. This will be a total mismatch. If you want Lee rested for the matchup against Burnett
Even on short rest, he's been known to dominate
That's it for Part 1 of the World Series Q&A. Special Thanks to "Dangerous" Dan for participating in this interview. If you have any questions that you would like to see us answer, please leave a comment. You can also suggest the next player for "Over and Under".
-Written by: Nakamura. This article is copyrighted © by Nakamura and may not be reproduced, recopied, or used in any form without permission from Nakamura.
