Off Base
Top Ten Reasons it's Good the Yankees Won the World Series

November 6 , 2009, 9:00 p.m.

1. They got it out of their system. And what a relief that is for the rest of us.

2. A Yankees win is good for the stock market. So is a Phillies loss. If you believe in this sort of thing. And there does seem to be some pretty convincing evidence. Here's a good summary of what Standard & Poor's Capital IQ came up with, in the Chicago Sun-Times.

3. Could be good for the economy as a whole too. Proving that if you spend enough money, $200 million-plus anyway, you can succeed in business while really trying, and the Yanks might just shell out more dollars in 2010.

Then, well, you know, trickle down. And voila, another big stimulus package for America, this one out of the Bronx.

4. Baseball ended on November 4, instead of November 5, as Game Seven would have necessitated. Which leads to number five, below.

5. The hot stove heats up one day earlier. Hallelujah. And we've much to discuss, starting with the first batch of IBWAA end-of-season awards, to be announced Tuesday.

6. Celebrating Derek Jeter, Hideki Matsui, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera. Not drug-cheat Alex Rodriguez, and not he-of-the-ill-conceived-post-game-comments, Mark Teixeira. Did you see this: "To the rich go the spoils. George Steinbrenner built an empire. He really did. He deserves to build a great stadium. He deserves to have the best team money can buy."

Uh, can we get some media training over here, please? Memo to Mark Teixeira: You're a boob.

7. The team with the wife beater lost. You know me, any chance I get to make sure the wife beater label stays stuck wherever it may have come unglued, even if only temporarily. I'm good for a Bobby Cox calling-out at least a couple of times a season, and I'm happy to grab the opportunity with Phils right-hander Brett Myers. He's a wife beater first, a mediocre pitcher second. Never let that be forgotten.

I'll give Charlie Manuel a pass this one time, but his explanation of the Myers-Cole Hamels clubhouse flap, and the use of the word "jab," is just unfortunate: "They're friends and that was more 'Brett being Brett.' He likes to throw a jab at you. People hear that sometimes, they don't know how to take it."

Right, Charlie. That's it. We don't know how to take it.

8. The Yankees win dispels the you-absolutely-must-have-an-ace-to-win the-Series talk. Kind of.

It's not that the Yanks don't have an ace. Obviously, with CC Sabathia, they do. But, as I've been laboring to communicate for months, there's no telling which pitchers are going to shine in the postseason. Sometimes the aces deal, other times not so much.

More importantly, the sport's best pitchers give up two to four runs per game, not zero, which means they can be beat. Any time, by any team, and most certainly by any team good enough to play in October.

Sabathia pitched well in the World Series, but did he shut anyone down or out? No. Was he untouchable? No. And New York went with three starters throughout the postseason, with one man, CC, serving as the ace; one man, Andy Pettitte, in the role of the savvy veteran of 37; and one man, A.J. Burnett, typically looking like a stud one night, a forgettable mess the next. Hardly textbook practice, and yet, they're champions.

Philadelphia had the best arm in the tournament by far, in Cliff Lee, and he went home without a trophy.

Hopefully, the Dodgers will have a true ace to lead them down the stretch and beyond in 2010, if for no other reason than so we won't have to endure another season of ace-speak from nearly every other media outlet besides this one. Of course, even if the Dodger do get their ace, either from within or by acquisition, it guarantees them nothing.

9. No new championship franchise and city to break in. Better to have an experienced winner, rather than another entry from, say, Florida or Canada, neither of which, one might argue, should even have a team.

10. And finally, the Bombers win gives us an excuse to go off on a tangent, and plug a cool company, Ebbets Field Flannels, and an even cooler Flannel of the Month "Imagine - A John Lennon Jersey" in honor of New York's adopted favorite son. Got a Beatles slash baseball fan to Christmas shop for? There's your answer…

Talkback: Your comments are always encouraged…

Media Savvy: Several of my friends, and one (initials DG) in particular, are going to be aghast, but I need to come clean here. I like Tim McCarver.

Sure, he's capable of blathering on more often that is required, and during the season he, like most network announcers, concentrates his efforts on the teams and geographic regions he cares about, with little attention paid to the rest, but come October, McCarver knows his stuff. He really does.

He's smart, he communicates the baseball language well, and has an uncanny knack for pointing out a trend, only to have an example of what he's talking about occur the moment the words are out of his mouth.

Joe Buck is great too, with the one exception of his call of every fly ball, no matter how deep it's hit, being tabbed a "pop" of some kind. "Rodriguez pops it into left field," on a ball hit to the track. Buck's done that since his debut with Fox, way back in 1996, and it's time to make the correction already.

But all in all, Fox does a wonderful job on baseball. They always have, and the coverage continues to improve, which is all you can ask. Those dozen camera angles, that series of shots, each with a different look at the Yankees in the same moment of winning the World Series, was Emmy-worthy all by itself…

Late Nights: Regarding the whining about the start times, it's interesting to note that it's the East Coasterners doing the complaining on this one.

Look people, the prime time start has always – always – been for the benefit of the big Northeast cities. In other words, you. And I'm no genius or anything, but it stands to reason, I'm quite sure, that if you're starting late, you're going to end late. You can't have it both ways.

More importantly, it's the bleeping World Series, quite possibly the single most wonderfully American cultural event there is. C'mon, can't you let the kids stay up late two or three school nights out of the entire year?! What better reason could there possibly be?

More Media Savvy: Major props to the LAT for its fine work throughout the postseason. Print media is still vital in some parts, and we appreciate the coverage from the local treasure, even when our team isn't in the World Series.

Special shout-outs to Kevin Baxter, Mike DiGiovanna, Dylan Hernandez and Bill Shaikin. Primary baseball columnist Shaikin does double-duty whenever there's a big court case, and as you might've heard, we've got one cooking here at the moment. If you haven't seen it, here's one of the best and most important articles of 2009

Manny to Return in 2010? Not so fast. Just because Manny says he's coming back doesn't mean he's coming back. Just because it comes from Scott Boras' mouth doesn't make it so.

And just because Ned Colletti shoots down a rumor the first chance he gets, a trade to the American League is a possibility. Cross your fingers and keep the faith, as Jim Hill would say. Manny is not necessarily returning…

Statue for Sandy: The Koufax in bronze campaign continues. Please Vote “Yes on 32.” And tell a friend…

Walk for a Cure: Don't forget, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) Los Angeles Walk to Cure Diabetes is Sunday morning. I'll be there to support the cause, and to support the Main Squeeze in her big work event of the year. And to see what Dodger Stadium looks like in November. Join us…

And remember, glove conquers all….

 

 

 

 

 

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