A Little Help From My Friends

Oh Hideki Matsui used to make me wet my pants when he was a member of the Yankees. He was part of the brutal 8th inning rally against Pedro in the 2003 ALCS Game 7. And if Mariano Rivera got the side retired in Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS, Matsui would have won the series MVP.

Then he haunted Pedro again in the 2009 World Series with game winning homers in Games 2 and 6.

But I like him today.
I like that he remembered how to hit in Yankee Stadium.

Go A's!
Go Matsui!

And a Yankee loss along with the Red Sox win means
THE MAGIC NUMBER IS 62!!!!

Keeping the Beatles theme from my earlier post... the Sox got a little help from their friends.

Are the A's teasing me again?

Two seasons ago, I stuck my neck out in my 2009 Divisional picks by going with the Oakland A's to win the West. We had just come off seasons where teams like the Angels, the Marlins, the Tigers, the struggling Cardinals, the Rockies and Rays had won pennants that confounded the experts.

So I thought "Why not go against the grain? If I am right with my pick, then I look like a genius."

Then again, if the pick flops, then I look like a moron.

I had the 2009 Oakland Athletics winning the World Series.
They finished in dead last place, 22 games behind the Angels.

WHOOPS!

But now I am looking at this team, and I can't help but wonder if I should pick them again.

They just added Brian Fuentes to the roster and he should make their bullpen pretty damn deep. Andrew Bailey, Grant Balfour, Brad Ziegler and Brian Fuentes in the pen?

Closing out a rotation of Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez, Dallas Braden and Brett Anderson?

(I am not going to include Rich Harden. Any day he is NOT on the disabled list is a bonus.)

Couple that with Hideki Matsui and a few other bats added to the lineup... Texas losing Cliff Lee and the Angels not being able to sign anyone and Seattle in flux...

Dare I do it?
Dare I make the pick again?

My 2009 picks of Oakland and Cincinnati doesn't look so outlandish for 2011.

But can I pick Oakland?
Or are they teasing me.

Maybe I'll pick the Mariners.

Is this sign about Hideki Matsui racist?

I really don't know.


The sign was clearly written with a lot of love for the player.
And I guess they acknowledge his heritage...

Man, I really don't know.
This isn't cut and dry Chief Wahoo for me.

Tell me what you think.

No offense to Hideki Matsui... but Mariano Rivera was the MVP

Nobody is denying Hideki Matsui had a great Game 6 of the World Series. Heck he drove in 6 runs by himself.

His two run homer off of Pedro Martinez got the scoring started... and when the Phillies answered with a run of their own, Matsui got the 2 out 2 run single that made it clear the Yankees weren't getting caught.

I still don't think he was the MVP of the World Series.

It's not a bad choice. Picking Phil Hughes would have been bad.

Matsui batting .615... he homered 3 times... he drove in 8 runs in the 6 game series...

All terrific.

He wasn't the MVP of the World Series.

Not to be harsh, but in a 6 game Series, the MVP should probably start more than half the games. (Not always... Dusty Rhodes should have been the MVP of the 1954 World Series... but I digress)

In this post season, every single closer blew a must win game for their team...
except one.

In this World Series, the mantra for both teams was get into their vulnerable bullpen. As Hughes and Chamberlain became less and less reliable, the Phillies would be licking their chops when Girardi pulled the starter.

EXCEPT for one pitcher.

The Phillies went into the later part of the Series not sure who would even pitch the 9th.

And yet basically their strategy seemed to be "Make sure Mariano Rivera doesn't pitch."

If Rivera pitched, the game was over.

That's kinda sorta a cut and dry definition of a Series MVP.

I said this to my dad last night and he replied "Yeah, but doesn't Rivera already have one?"

The answer is yes. He won the 1999 World Series MVP and the 2003 ALCS MVP.

He deserved those. And he deserved this one.

I'm sure Rivera isn't losing sleep over this and Matsui has been a great Yankee and it is easy to forget that this is his first World Series ring (doesn't it seem like he belongs with the Riveras, Posadas, Jeters and Pettittes as guys who have won a few?)

But when Rivera came out in the 8th, the roar of the crowd was that of people who knew the game (and the World Series title) was theirs.

They were right.

Because Rivera, the most valuable player of the series, was in the game.