Thursday, September 29, 2011

What a finale

Wow. What a last day of the regular season. Wish I'd been able to stay awake to watch it all live. :)

Rays come from behind 7 runs against the Yankees to win while Red Sox blow a lead against the Orioles almost simultaneously. Rays are in, Sox are out. Carl Crawford is the second most overpaid player in baseball.

In the NL almost the same thing. Braves out Cardinals in on last day!

My Phils have to play St. Louis. Not happy about that since they're hot BUT they have Halladay, Lee et al all ready to go on an extra day's rest. Bring it!

In the AL I *WISH* I could root for the Rays but I have this whole New York thing planned so; mixed feelings.

Gonna be a great first round!

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Travel plan

A lot of people have asked me how I can make travel arrangements when I don't know for sure who's playing.  Well, you can't.  :)

However, thanks to cheap American airlines and our proximity to Maine, I took another gamble. 

As it stands, dad and I plan to drive to Bangor early on Oct. 19 and fly to Philadelphia that day.  We'll spend 2 or 3 nights there and then take a 90 minute train ride from Philly to New York City on Friday or Saturday.  After the game on Saturday, we'll then fly from New York back to Bangor on Sunday Oct. 23 and drive to Saint John to catch game 4 on TV at my house. (with Freddie.  But he'll be pissed that he didn't get to come on the trip!)  Below shows a map of our route.

Phew.  BUT, if my Philles and the Yankees do both make it to the big series I'll have saved some $ by booking in advance and overall will just look pretty smart.  I already have the tickets and hotels booked too.

On the other hand, if the Brewers or Red Sox or Tigers or (yikes) Arizona makes it to the World Series, well, then I've got some major re-planning to do.  We'll make it work somehow...  :)

Greg

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Exciting day today and/or tomorrow!

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Pennant races

All pennant race related games went as I'd hope last night, in terms of keeping the Red Sox and Cardinals out of the playoffs, and of the Phillies starting to play like potential champs again.

Go Phils!

P.S. Happy re Sox cause I don't like them and Cardinals because they're way hotter than Atlanta.

Dad

Told dad on Sunday. Feels really good to have finally told him about it after all this planning. :)

He reacted as I'd hoped - emotional and excited but not mad at me for going so overboard...

Can't wait dad! I know we'll both be watching the division and league championship series games with more interest than usual!

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Phillies (lack of) hitting

Ok. Phillies are looking very shaky this last week. No offense at all. Hopefully they get things going when it matters!

If not, the best two-city option could turn out to be Detroit/Milwaukee!!!

Big weekend

Phillies, Yankees and Red Sox all have double headers today or tomorrow.

Plus tomorrow I tell dad about the whole thing. Yikes!!!

Friday, September 23, 2011

Red Sox disaster

What a collapse. And I feel a little bad admitting how much I'm enjoying watching it. Best quote on the topic the past week:

Boston: The staff is so bad... Here is the stat that best captures the absurdist nature of the Red Sox' September: they are 1-16 when they don't score at least 12 runs.

Tom Verducci, Sports Illustrated

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/tom_verducci/09/23/races.velez/index.html#ixzz1YqDt8M6r

For those not following it's funny because the games they've won have been like 18-6 and 12-7. Score in bunches while the pitching continues to suck.

Great write-up on possible first round match ups

Sizing up potential foes for Yankees, Phillies

Best and worst cases for two league leaders as postseason nears

By Anthony Castrovince / MLB.com
9/23/2011 10:00 AM ET


If we're being romantic, idealistic, maybe even a tad dramatic, we could say that a would-be world champion sports team ought to be able to defeat any challenger that comes between it and the crown.

"You can't be scared, and you can't look to dodge nobody," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "Bring 'em on. Let's get 'em. Line 'em up. Whatever."

That sentiment plays to the heart. But what about the head?

After all, if we're being realistic, we must acknowledge that some playoff scenarios are simply more attractive than others.

That's what makes this final week of regular season games for the Phillies and Yankees strangely captivating.

One might assume the two teams ensured the No. 1 seeds in their respective leagues (the Phillies have locked up home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, while the Yanks are on the verge of doing so through the American League Championship Series) ought to have little else but lining up their postseason rotations on their minds. Yet both of these clubs have an opportunity to be spoilers in the home stretch and, therefore, help determine the playoff field they'll be facing.

The Yankees have already had some say in the AL Wild Card race, taking three of four from the Rays in the Bronx this week. Next on their agenda is a weekend three-game set against the Red Sox, who are clinging to a two-game Wild Card lead over the Rays and a three-game lead on the Angels. And after that series, the Yanks will close out their season with three games in Tampa Bay.

The Phillies will also finish out the year against a division foe desperate for a postseason berth, as they'll play three in Atlanta from Monday through Wednesday. The Braves' Wild Card lead on the Cardinals currently stands at two games.

Let's acknowledge the obvious fact that both the Yankees and Phillies want to win every game on the schedule, no matter the opponent.

"That's just being a grown man and being an athlete," Yankees ace CC Sabathia said. "Any time you step on the field, I don't think there's anybody out there that doesn't play hard."

And let's also acknowledge that there are factors in the two Wild Card races that are out of their control. If the Yankees sweep the Red Sox this weekend, the Rays and/or Angels still have to hold up their end of the bargain. And by the time the Phillies face the Braves on Monday, who knows how much meaning those games will have in the playoff picture by that point? A lot can change in three days.

"I feel like we can't do nothing about it," Manuel said. "If we had beaten St. Louis in some of these games here [last weekend], we could have done something about it, but we didn't. We clinched, and all of a sudden, [the Cardinals] ended up taking three out of four from us. That got them back in the running. If we would've beaten them one more time, it might have been a big difference for them."

All that said, how much difference will a particular playoff opponent make in the Phillies' and Yankees' bids to go the distance?

While understanding that October is a season unto itself, let's attempt to answer that question objectively, based on the regular season stats:

PHILLIES

Playoff possibilities: If the Braves get knocked out of the Wild Card spot, the Cardinals will be the Phillies' first-round foe. If Atlanta makes it, Philly will face either the Brewers or D-backs, depending on who has the worse regular season record. The Phillies and Braves can't meet in the first round because they are in the same division.

Best-case scenario? The Braves hold on, and the Brewers edge the D-backs in the race for the second seed.

Why? While the vaunted Phillies rotation has the potential to outlast anybody, it has been particularly effective against the D-backs this season. Small-sample-size alert, as we're just talking about six games, but Arizona has hit just .189 with a .577 on-base-plus-slugging-percentage off Phillies pitching this season. The Cards, on the other hand, have hit .275 with a .748 OPS in nine games against the Phils. The Brewers have hit .244 with a .673 OPS in seven games, and the Braves have hit .225 with a .625 OPS in 15 games.

On the offensive side, the Phillies have hit .270 with a .777 OPS against the D-backs, .256 with a .706 OPS against the Braves, .229 with a .654 OPS against the Brew Crew, and .233 with a .628 OPS against the Cards.

Bottom line: The Braves are beaten up in their rotation, their bullpen has shown some signs of fatigue, and the Phillies are 9-6 against them this season. The Cardinals, on the other hand, have momentum and showed it in taking three of four in Philly last week. They are a respectable 6-3 against a Phillies team that's likely going to finish with more than 100 wins.

The Phillies, it would appear, are best off avoiding the Cards. But Manuel, of course, would never say such a thing, nor could the Phillies be expected to tank in the season's final series.

"I look at it like Walter Alston used to say," Manuel said, "'Champions can beat anybody.'"

YANKEES

Playoff possibilities: Multiple scenarios exist here. If the Red Sox hold on or the Rays knock off Boston, the Yankees will face either the Tigers or Rangers, depending on who has the worse record. If the Angels win the Wild Card, the Yankees will face them. The Yankees can't face the Rays or Red Sox in the first round.

Best-case scenario? The Rays grab the Wild Card, and the Yanks draw the Rangers in the first round.

Why? As much as Boston is banged up and reeling, the statistical fact is that the Red Sox have had the upper hand on the Yanks this season, to the tune of an 11-4 record. That stems from the Boston offense batting .291 with an .846 OPS against New York pitching (Sabathia is 1-4 with a 6.39 ERA against Boston) and Red Sox pitching limiting the Yankees' potent lineup to a .232 average and .701 OPS.

Compare that to what the Yankees have done against Texas. They have beaten them seven times in nine meetings and outscored them 61-35. They have hit .291 with a .932 OPS against Rangers pitching and limited their hitters to a .238 average and .632 OPS.

Until Bartolo Colon blew up Thursday night, the Yankees had shown they can handle the Rays, beating them in nine of the previous 14 meetings and outscoring them 53-37 along the way. The Yankees are 3-4 against the Tigers but haven't faced them since way back on May 5. They've scored six runs in 12 innings against Justin Verlander, but for our purposes, we'll just assume the longer you can avoid Verlander, the better.

Bottom line: The head and the heart combine here. If statistical incentive isn't enough for the Yanks to want to knock the Sox out of contention, then there's always the pure passion that stems from the game's most storied rivalry.

Yankees catcher Russell Martin acknowledged as much.

"[The Red Sox] are fun to play against, just because they have a quality team and are gritty and play hard and stuff, but I'd love to see them lose," Martin said. "I guess it just comes with the territory, you know? When you wear the pinstripes, you just kind of learn to be that way, I guess."


Anthony Castrovince is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his columns and his blog, CastroTurf , and follow him on Twitter at @Castrovince . Reporters Todd Zolecki, Aaron Taube and Bryan Hoch contributed to this story. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
No good on the Yankees tickets.  I could have bought two standing room only tickets for the ALCS game 1, but at $130 per ticket.  You can buy tickets giving you actual seats on Stubhub for that amount or slightly less than that, so obviously not money-making possibility.  :)

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Yankees tickets

Got a notice that Yankees are selling post season tickets tothe public tomorrow at 10:00 AM Eastern. The Phillies did no such thing - I think they're all spoken for by season ticket holders. I'll see what I can get. May be willing to buy and re-sell a couple tickets to pay off some of my own Stubhub debt. :)

Tickets and Stubhub

Having decided to buy tickets for Phils and Yankees, I've done pretty much all I can to find a way to get some tickets at face value (Generally $175-$350 per ticket in most parks for WS).  No luck. 

So the choices are Stubhub, Craigslist, Kijiji and scalpers.

Well I'm not going to trust this whole deal to someone I don't know.  Fake tickets can get made and sold and people burned.  Screw that.

I'm willing to pay the premium for guaranteed tickets (this is once in a lifetime right?) and Stubhub gives you that.  Not to sound like an ad for them, but it's a great system in the age of digital tickets.  Season tiocket holders and lucky people have tickets, and some want to sell some.  They post them for sale on Stubhub, set their price, and then anyone can buy them.  I buy them, the money I pay goes to Stubhub (they get a 10% cut), and the seller doesn;t get the money until the tickets are confirmed legit and uploaded to my account.  Brilliant.  Guaranteed.  Not cheap.  But at least I can get them. 

If you buy tickets for a game that doesn't happen (team doesn't make it, or game not necessary) you get refunded all of your money.  In theory I could hold tickets for an Oct. 20 for 4 different NL teams and get reimbursed for the ones to teams that don't make it!  But I'm hoping that's not necessary.  :)

Yankees tickets are not bad to get.  There are over 5000 for sale for games 3,4 and 5 of the WS.  I bought 2 tickets for game 3 on October 22, good seats, 300 level, just inside first base, for what I thought was an almost reasonable price.  You can get nosebleed tickets for $300.

Phillies tickets are MUCH worse.  Not entirely sure why.  Probably mostly due to the fact that season tickets completely sold out for the year, leaving very few tickets left over.  There are fewer than 2000 available for games 1 and 2 of the WS, and people want $500 for standing room tickets and $650+ for nosebleeds and bleacher seats.  Ouch.  Bought two on the second level in near right field that were priced less than many in worse sections.  Some people just ask silly prices at first to see of they can get lucky.  Many prices will have tro drop to sell I'm sure.

So as it stands today, I have two tickets for game 2 if in Philadelphia on Oct. 20, and two for game 3 if in New York for October 22.

If the Phillies make it to the World Series, Dad and I will get to Philadelphia early in the afternoon of Oct. 19, the night of game 1.  My plan is to go by the park an hour before game time and check prices from scalpers.  Many online posters tell stories of getting tickets for WS game for really, REALLY cheap as game time nears and the first pitch happens.  If I can get a great deal on two tickets in any seats in there we'll go.  If not, we'll hit a sports bar downtown to watch in on TV.  That'd be fun anyway...

The teams

First up the National League, since going to a game on dad's birthday is essential to the whole deal here.
In the NL, the Philidelphia Phillies look near unbeatable this year. They've been in aan aparent slump the last week, but only after they clinched the NL East, the NL, and thuse have home field advantage for the ENTIRE post season. They have not 1 or 2 or 3 quality starters but FIVE. Their number five starter (Vance Worley) would be a number two on the BoSox or Yankees. Halladay, Lee, Hamels, Oswalt... it's ridiculous. And the have set up and closing power. The offense is inconsistent but they lots of weapons, speed and some power. They have exciting hitters like Howard, Pence, Victorino and Utley. Plus I love the team. Love Halladay. Love what Pat Gillick did there.

The D-Backs and Brewers are legitimate contenders, but are major underdogs in any series with the Phils. The Cardinals are hot. The Braves are not. I took a bet on Philadelphia.

In the American League it's a bit more of a contest I think. The Red Sox might (probably will) limp into the playoffs (limping figuratively and literally). They lack starting pitching (Lester and Wakefield are both MAJOR liabilities this year - so many blown games). Multiple offensive players have nagging injuries. But the potential for big scoring is still there. But I think the Yankees can beat them easily right now. So could Texas or Detroit. Tampa Bay gave them a run but don't have the horses I don't think.. So I bet on the Yankees (as a die hard Jays fan that's tough to swallow. But in addition to looking like the favorites (killer offense/power, and two starting pitchers throwing well) it would be logistically so easy to get back and forth from Philadelphia.

So my pick for the World Series? Phillies and Yankees

Now for tickets...

The logistics

His birthday is October 20. The timing couldn't be be better. For the first time in decades, Major League Baseball has set the dates for the World Series in advance. Games 1 and 2 will be on October 19 and 20. October 20? Yep. Have to go. :)

In addition to setting the dates for all 7 potential games, the All Star game now determines home field advantage for the World Series. 

So with all that in mind, back in July, I felt I could start to make some tentative plans.  I booked the time off.  I considered our location and best flight options for the cities with teams likely to make it. I've joined several message boards, MLB.com, MLB.tv, and some fan clubs.  Go lots of info on teams and post season tickets.  Failed to find an "easy" way to get them.  :(

As the season has reached near the end a few things about potential teams have become clear.  In a series, anyone can beat anybody, but the favorites have clearly emerged and I was willing to take a gamble on a few teams.  Being in the Northeast, there are places that would be easy to go (Eg. Philadelphia, Boston, New York, Detroit), and some that aren't (Eg. Arlington Texas, Tamba Bay Florida)

It would be most fun if we could see games in both cities involved.  Sure it makes it trickier, but how awesome? 

Background

I love baseball.   My son loves baseball.  My dad REALLY loves baseball.  HIS dad loved baseball.  OK, so we all love baseball in this family.  :)

My dad has had a great carreer and is enjoying retirement plenty.  But there's one thing I know he's always wanted to do, and yet I know he'd never make it happen for himself.  He wants to go to the World Series.

Well, the wait is over; this year is the time.  He doesn't know it yet, but I've been planning this for over a year.  I booked the time off, scouted the teams all year, researched for hours the logistics of travel and getting tickets.  And I'll need some luck too! Oh, and some money.

Greg