Wait until next year

November 2, 2009

MLB play-offs braindump #12 – A bad day at the office for Brad Lidge

And so, the end is near…

Last night the Yankees went 3-1 up in the series, meaning they only need to win one more game to clinch the World Series.

And how they did it. Going into the ninth inning, the Phillies had all the momentum, scoring runs in successive innings to pull the score back from 4-2 to four apiece. And then the Phillies’ closing pitcher, Brad Lidge, stepped up. Lidge was perfect last year – he didn’t lose one game for the Phillies. This year, he hasn’t been so consistent. He retired the first two, but just couldn’t get the last out. Johnny Damon audaciously stole two bases and the Yankees went on to score three runs. The Phillies couldn’t reply, and the Yankees won 7-4.

Throughout the post-season the Yankees have looked like they are going to win, no matter what the situation. You just can’t count them out. They keep playing, and pushing, until the very end. They are clearly the best team in baseball now, and it’s going to take a gargantuan effort from the Phillies to stop the Yankees winning the World Series.

The Phillies might just keep the Yankee Champagne on ice for a little while, though. Tonight, Cliff Lee pitches for them, and he has been awesome so far. The Yankees have AJ Burnett on the mound, who hasn’t been shabby, either. We’re in for a treat, in what may well be the final game of the 2009 season.

October 30, 2009

MLB play-offs braindump #11 – World Series!

Finally. After 2,430 regular games, one ‘play-in’ game and 24 play-off games, the 2009 major league baseball season is down to two teams to see who is the best team in baseball. Wednesday night was the start of the World Series, with the New York Yankees facing last year’s winners, the Philadelphia Phillies.

Now we’re two games in, and the seven game series is tied one-apiece, and is now heading to Philadelphia after the first two games at Yankee Stadium.

The Phillies looked very strong in game one, winning 6-1. Cliff Lee pitched a dream and Chase Utley hit two home runs. It was quite the statement of intent. As much as many (including me sometimes!) would love to count out the Yankees, you just can’t. And last night proved that, with them getting a 3-1 win, and this time AJ Burnett was the pitching star of the evening.

The memorable moments of the post-season, prior to the World Series, had been mistakes, from fielding and running errors to pitching meltdowns and questionable umpiring. What has been so good about the World Series, so far, is that the games have been all about great performances, not players (or umpires) having a nightmare. In particular, every starting pitcher has put on a great show.

For any major sporting final this is ideal, this is how it should be. Probably the two best teams in the sport, finding out who is really the best, not the least worst. If that makes sense? Long may the series continue!

October 30, 2009

Man Crush Friday – Liverpool Edition

Apologies to all my avid readers for the lack of new posts this week – I had a brief holiday, with no access to the internet. But here I am, back with a vengeance, with another one of those annoying filler posts!

This week, following Liverpool’s big win against Manchester United last Sunday, here’s a classic goal from that fixture in 1985, this week’s Man Crush – Jan Molby…look at him move!

And while we’re raiding YouTube for clips, here’s regular commenter Steven Harris‘ crush from last week, King Kenny himself…

I’ll be back into the swing of proper posts sooner rather than later, but hopefully this should keep you all going for now!

2 Comments

October 23, 2009

The return of Man Crush Friday

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While perusing my stats, like every blogger secretly does, hour by hour, day by day, I realised that despite my insightful analysis and witty asides on the state of sport, one of the most popular posts was all about having a man crush on a particular sportsman.

And so, much like Lazarus from the flames, here comes another Man Crush Friday, where we look at the sportsmen we idolise, adore, or just think are all-round swell guys.

My Man Crushes this week are Jenson Button and Tom Brady (see above for dreamy pics). Button has done a fantastic job winning the Formula 1 championship with a rookie team, while Tom Brady, one of the best quarterbacks ever, is in London this week, for the annual NFL game at Wembley.

So, who are your sporting Man Crushes this week?

8 Comments

October 23, 2009

MLB play-offs braindump #10 – Angels stay alive

Being a responsible citizen and employee, I didn’t stay up for last night’s Angels/Yankees game, and frustratingly, the condensed game wasn’t ready on mlb.com as I wolfed down my breakfast this morning. So, I’ll keep this post cheap and cheerful, and rely on the couple of clips I did see.

The Angels managed to stay alive in the series with a 7-6 win. The series is now 3-2 in the Yankees favour, as it returns to New York. So, I’m not so sure the Angels will be staying in this for long, as they need to win twice in New York to make the World Series.

It looks to have been quite a game, with a particular flurry of runs in the seventh inning, in a real seesaw outing. The Angels got the perfect start, scoring four runs in the first. The Yankees came back with a vengeance in the aforementioned seventh, scoring six. The Angels’ seventh inning was a pretty good fightback in itself, with three runs putting them back in the lead. They then held on, despite the Yankees loading the bases in the ninth.

So…the series isn’t dead yet. And the Yankees are looking just a tiny bit more human and fallible. At least until the next game, tomorrow night, that is.