Will by NL Central pick be once again a year early?

This September I pointed out that I am not very good at picking who will actually win the NL Central, but I AM good at figuring out that the consensus pick will probably fall short.In 2009 everyone and their cow was picking the Cubs to win.I picked the Reds. The Cardinals won (I picked the Cardinals for the Wild Card.)In 2010 everyone and their moose was picking the Cardinals to win.I picked the

What can I say, Rangers fans? I WAS WRONG!

Lots of people doubted the Texas Rangers.Guess who was one of them?ME!I didn't buy them in the first half...I didn't buy them in the second half...I didn't pick them in the Division Series...I didn't pick them in the ALCS...I didn't think they'd recover from Game 1 of the ALCS...And I wondered if they had fans.And guess what?I was wrong every time.I tip my hat to the Rangers and their fans (who

Sully Baseball Honors Freddy Sez

This has been a rough year for Yankee mainstays.Bob Sheppard passed away.The Boss, George Steinbrenner is gone.And now the Freddie Sez guy is no longer with us.For those of you who don't know who he was, Freddy Schuman was a die hard Yankee fan who was at just about every Yankee game there was.(He was at all of them that I went to, and I went to a lot.)And for those of you too young to remember,

Why should umps have different strike zones?

I'm watching the Giants/Phillies game and already one of my big pet peeves in baseball has reared its ugly head.Dan Iassogna, the home plate umpire, called ball four on Jimmy Rollins to drive in the lone run of the game so far. It looked knee high down the center of the plate.An inning late, he called a pitch lower than the one thrown to Rollins a called third strike on Fontenot to end the

The Yankees are partying like it is 1999

A team that has struggled to get out of the Division Series (and had a sad tendency of getting swept) crawled their way into the ALCS.They had to win the final Division Series on the road and use their ace... but the ace finished the game and the series and it was a sweet victory.But they now had to face the Yankees... a team that had tormented them over the years... and couldn't use their

Don't look for the silver lining, Rangers. It's not there

It's funny. In a strange way, nothing unusual happened tonight.Sabathia is the Yankees best pitcher and everyone on the planet expected the Yankees to win Game 1.And they did.So why does this feel like a watershed moment of devastation for the Rangers?Because it was all falling into place so wonderfully.A win in Game 1.Knocking Sabathia out early.Taking control of the game and knowing the WORST

Texas Dragonslayers

You want to slay dragons this off season, Texas… then there’s no better way to do it than this.When my Red Sox slew their many dragons in 2004, they had to go through New York to do it… facing down fears and demons that brought down the franchise for so many generations.Well, so far the Rangers have reached heights that the franchise has never scaled before. They are in the ALCS.They still haven’

How did we do with our picks? (And how did the fish do?)

Before the playoffs began, I made my post season picks… and compared them to the picks of my wife Lisa, my sister in law Debbie, my sons Matty and Aidan, a coin toss and which direction my fish Red swam.With the Division Series over, let’s see how we all did.SULLY’S PICKSPHILLIES over REDSGIANTS over BRAVESYANKEES over TWINSRAYS over RANGERS3 out of 4SULLY’S WIFE LISA’S PICKSREDS over

COMPLETE GAME VICTORIES TO CLINCH DIVISION SERIES (Updated with Cliff Lee)

A few days ago I wrote a post about pitchers who threw a complete game victory to clinch the Division Series.I felt it was such a rare occurrence that it was worth noting.Now it has happened twice in three days and Cliff Lee has added his name to the list. It just goes to show you, I shouldn't write lists like this until the round is OVER!Let's update it.Complete Game Division Series

Updating the No Hitter Post

Earlier this year, I wrote up a list of each teams most recent no hitter... and I should update it each time a new no hitter is thrown.And I forgot to when Roy Halladay threw his last week.So dutifully, here is the updated list of each team's most recent no hitter.THE MOST RECENT NO HITTERSFOR EACH FRANCHISEPHILADELPHIA PHILLIESRoy Halladay - October 6, 20104-0 over Cincinnati. (Playoff Game)

Once again, I feel badly for Cleveland

Cliff Lee was the Cy Young winner for Cleveland in 2008.Cliff Lee was the post season pitching stud for Philadelphia in 2009.Cliff Lee has pitched the Rangers into the ALCS with a dominating performance against the Rays this year.You can't ask for more from him... but could you imagine if the Cliff Lee of '08, '09 and '10 was even 75% there in '07?The Indians nearly made it to the World Series

THE DIVISION SERIES MVP... Updated for 2010

If there is one thing that makes less sense than having no instant replay in baseball, it is the fact that there is NO MVP for the Division Series.It's bonkers. The announce the player of the game for spring training games, but a player who has some post season heroics can't get some hardware?Well, in 2008 I had the honor of awarding THE DIVISION SERIES MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS..Last year I did it

Am I high or did Bengie Molina just steal a base?

I SWEAR I've never used a hallucinogenic... but I my eyes are telling me that Bengie Molina stole a base... and my brain can't handle that.Maybe I dropped acid earlier today and didn't know it.If he did steal that base, it takes the sting out of the triple he hit against the Red Sox last July.Then again, maybe I'm high.I'll ask the dragon I am sitting next to if he saw it too.

SULLY vs. A FISH

Earlier this month made my picks for the post season series... as did my wife.When I made MY picks, I compared them to the picks of my kids (who just liked the sounds of certain teams) my sister in law (who was more interested in which players were vegans) a coin flip (always reliable) and my fish, Red.When Red made his choices, I held up a picture of the logo of each team playing in the series

The Bobby Cox Post Season Home Grown vs. Acquired Roster

I've never been a big Bobby Cox fan. In fact other than their World Series trips against the Yankees, I have always rooted against the Atlanta Braves in the playoffs. I can't explain why.But I have tons of respect for Bobby Cox for putting so many winners on the field.Yeah he has had critics... most of them morons."He only won one World Series!" That's as many as Leo Durocher won... that's as

The Braves couldn't sell out the game

Think about that for a second...This is a potential elimination playoff game.The first three games in this series have been down to the wire nail biters with late lead changes.It is could be the FINAL GAME of the Bobby Cox era, the greatest run in the history of Atlanta sports.And if you wanted to go to the game, just go up to the ticket window before the game and say "One Please."That, my dear

GET A HIT, GIANTS!

I love you Derek Lowe... but I do NOT want you throwing a no hitter tonight.The way the Giants bats have been all year, it is almost startling to realize that they haven't been no hit yet.It's a clinching game, Giants.Bat on the ball... let's go!I am getting in my car to go home now. By the time I get home, I expect to see a few hits on the board.

Brooks had a very bad day

Yeah yeah yeah... three errors including 2 that produced runs in a 3-2 game.Lest we forget he ALSO screwed up a sacrifice bunt in the 8th inning.I feel very bad for him.9 years in the minors... he scrapped and clawed his way to the big leagues.... he played 5 different positions in the minors trying to get a big league shot... He gets to the big leagues... hits a dramatic walk off grand slam

Complete Game Victories to Clinch the Division Series

Cole Hamels gave the Division Series a wonderful exclamation point and helped the Phillies continue to serve notice:They intend to roll over the National League.Last night, Hamels gave the Phillies their second complete game shutout in 3 games. (Granted, Halladay’s was more impressive.)But a clinching complete game shutout is nonetheless pretty dang cool.And RARE.In this day and age of high paid

Yet another inning for Bobby Cox to regret

Back in 2007, I wrote about the post season innings that Bobby Cox must grumble and grind his teeth over.Whether it was Lonnie Smith not scoring on Terry Pendleton's double or Leyritz's homer or the Astros come back in 2005... there have been many innings where if the breaks went slightly differently, Bobby Cox might have more than one World Series ring.Well throw tonight's top of the 9th on the