yankees228

At this point, though, the Red Sox are in a good position. They could probably outbid the Yankees for the big free agents this offseason, because the Yankees would probably be content to go with what they already have, or fall back on guys like Damon, Matsui, and Pettitte. I really don't think you're going to see the Yankees spend money like they did this past offseason for a long time.

If I'm the Mariners, I don't even think about trading Felix. I'm in complete agreement with you on that front. I just don't think the Mariners are close to being a playoff team. That was my sole contention.

^That is also the point I was trying to make. The, "you're not in baseball, so you're not qualified to speak on the matter", argument is pretty ridiculous.

Alabama, in a critical spot, got one break. Just one. You're acting like they've received dozens this year, but they only received one. You're clearly suggesting the possibility of a conspiracy here. Fine. But lets look at this objectively. The officiating has been horrible. Over the course of the entire season, all the teams have been hurt by it. Based on that, in all probability, don't you think the bad officiating is the reason for the missed calls you're referring to, instead of a conspiracy? Don't you think your argument would hold more water if the officiating was good throughout the games, only to see Alabama and Florida receive gifts at the end? Lets take a look at the two possible reasons for the bad calls late in the games. 1. Bad calls have occurred late in the games because the officiating is bad, which has been shown to be the case over the course of the entire season. 2. The bad calls are part of a conspiracy, to help the best teams in the conference. Honestly, which one is more logical and probable?

I'm not taking sides here, but saying someone is wrong, simply on the premise that they're just a fan, is not a fair argument.

Yup, I agree, which is why I give a lot of credit to the Red Sox. Their ability to compete with the Yankees, despite the difference in payroll, is certainly impressive. Look, at this point, there isn't much else I have to say on the matter. The Yankees have an enormous advantage when it comes to money, and it played a large part in this years championship. If a fair system is a legitimate possibility, then I hope it comes to be. My only contention, at this point, is that what they accomplished this year is still impressive, for a variety of different reasons. Winning those eleven games, against the best teams in baseball, is incredibly difficult. People can say that they should win because of their payroll, and it can be difficult to argue that point. But those eleven games are so tough that I don't think it's necessarily fair to say that. With the offseason the Yankees had, I think it's fair to say they should win the division, but the postseason is an entirely different story. I know, to some, this comes off as biased Yankee fan talk, but those are my feelings on the matter. TK, I also enjoy the back and forth.

His career average OPS+ is 140. That's pretty impressive, and worth giving up a lot for.

Right, should be the Yankees year, but, most importantly, you did not think they would win it. Yet you're claiming that they just did what was expected. That doesn't add up. If you're claiming that you didn't really think that would happen, so be it.

His UZR/150 was a -4.1. Not very good, and certainly not gold glove worthy. I do, however, remember seeing him make a couple spectacular plays, which probably explains his selection.

According to the article itself, Alabama got one call this year. One. Hardly grounds for conspiracy allegations. The fact that they are missing calls left and right leads me to believe that the officiating in this conference is simply poor, not that they're helping any particular teams. Your claim would be more valid if the officiating had actually been solid, with the exception of a few, late, game changing calls that went in favor of Alabama (or Florida). Instead, if you look at everything, it just points more to subpar officiating than anything else.

Figured this was interesting enough to post. http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/11/yankees-could-keep-pettitte-damon-matsui.html

Ah, my bad. I should have, and the only reason I didn't was because I had mentioned him earlier. Franklin Guiterrez.

Both are excellent second basemen, but, according to UZR/150, Polanco had the best defensive year for AL second basemen. I don't have an issue with that selection. I just really get a kick out of the fact that the player who led all of MLB in UZR/150, and did so by a wide margin, wasn't rewarded with a gold glove.

Where aren't I giving the Red Sox credit for lowering their payroll? I have to tell you, I've stated many times on this board that I don't have any hate towards the Red Sox. I only root against them because their lack of success benefits the Yankees. The reason I feel this way is because I have an enormous amount of respect for their organization and for their accomplishments. I'm a Yankee fan, by birth, but if I were a Red Sox fan, I would be a proud one. I understand that has no bearing on the debate, but I feel like you're backing me into the biased corner with all the Yankee fans who hate the Red Sox. That couldn't be further from where I am.

That's fine, and, at this point, I'm not going to rebut that. But many people have said that this championship is unimpressive, because it was expected. I have a problem with that, because I feel like that's unfair.

Dipre, do you really think the Mariners are a couple breaks away from making the playoffs? I understand that they won 85 games this year, but they outperformed their PYTH by 10 full games. It would seem like they got a lot of breaks, and they still finished 12 games out of the division, in 3rd place.

Now lets go back to the beginning of the season. On this site 15 people offered up their predictions for what the MLB standings would look like at the end of the year. Only 4 of those people predicted the Yankees would win the division. 5 of those people predicted they wouldn't even make the playoffs. BUT THEY JUST DID WHAT WE ALL EXPECTED!!!!! Source: http://www.talksox.com/forum/general-baseball-forum/12083-predicting-standings.html

Here's the other funny thing. Some of you guys are saying that the Yankees just did what you expected of them. However, the facts speak to the contrary. In the postseason predictions thread, 13 people offered up who they thought would win each round. Only 3 of those 13 said the Yankees would win it. You guys might backtrack, and say you were just being optimistic, but facts are facts. Not to mention that some of the 10 didn't even pick the Red Sox over the Yankees, so it's not like you guys were just picking the Red Sox to win. The one prediction that I really got a kick out of was PC's. Not only didn't he pick the Yankees to win it, but he specifically noted that, if the Angels and Yankees were to play each other, the Angels would win. Well, if I remember correctly, that was the American League Championship Series match up. Source: http://www.talksox.com/forum/general-baseball-forum/13317-playoff-prediction-showdown.html On top of that, we all know that most people were pretty split on who would win the World Series, once it was narrowed down to only two teams remaining.

Can't believe Franklin Guitterez didn't win a gold glove this year. EDIT: Actually, I can, because it's the gold glove.

So what exactly are you suggesting? Do you think the officials are out to help Alabama?

He had hip surgery in March. It was reported at the time that he might miss up to four months. A-Rod has said numerous times that there were many instances where he wasn't too sure he was even going to be able to play this year. One tiny setback, and that might have been it for A-Rod for 2009, and it would have been it for the Yankees in 2009. Considering that enormous question mark, to put up a slash line of .286/.402/.532, coupled with 30 home runs and 100 RBIs, I would say he outperformed general expectations.

Maybe impressed is the wrong word. Expecting them to get to the playoffs is one thing, because you can plan for the large sample size. I understand that. But winning those three postseason series is incredibly difficult. The Yankees had proven that over the past eight years, and the Braves proved that before them. In my opinion, no matter what kind of team you have, winning those eleven games are one of the toughest things to do in all of sports.

You don't acknowledge that all those players (except for maybe Rivera) outperformed their expectations in some ways? Going into the season, especially offensively, there were many people who thought the Yankees were flawed.