Jonathan Papelbon is on the cover of Sports Illustrated this week looking like one scary badass. In other words, like he usually looks when he’s pitching.

But this weekend, after the Sox clinched the division, we got to see another side of Papelbon. A side we hadn’t glimpsed before. The side that dances in its underwear in public:

Plus, later, we met the side that runs around inside the clubhouse in its jockstrap. But alas, there’s no video of that floating around YouTube (yet).

The Braves have played their final game on the Turner Broadcasting Network. This is how Skip Caray said goodbye to the fans.

From the AJC:

“The people all over the country who send you Christmas cards every year; the people who when dad passed, 5,000 of them sent notes or condolence cards; when I lost my brother the people all over the country who sent condolence cards as well — how do you thank those people and how do you say goodbye to those people? I don’t know, but I’m trying to do it.

“You all must know how we feel and how I feel about you. You brought me back five years ago when they tried to bury me on television. The executives didn’t [bring me back]; you did.

The Braves were featured on TBS for three decades. People all over the country who lived in areas that didn’t have a team became Braves fans, watching Glavine, Smoltz and Maddux lead the team to the playoffs season after season.

Caray was left off of TBS’s playoff roster. And he was none too happy about it.

“They can do whatever they want to do,” Caray said, “but I’ve done a lot of good work for these people, and it’s hurtful that they apparently don’t think I can do good work anymore.”

…

“I feel like I can do a better job than a tennis announcer or a football-basketball announcer,” Skip Caray said. “I’m not knocking Ted Robinson and Dick Stockton, but point of fact is they don’t do baseball anymore and I’m there every day.”

You tell ‘em, Skip.

According to the AJC, Caray plans to be back in the booth next season, working some games on Turner’s Peachtree TV in Atlanta as well as radio.

Well, they did it. The Phillies overtook the Mets on the final day of the season to win the NL East. So many storylines, so little time. Let’s run through the major ones.

• This Mets collapse was historic. No team had ever lost a seven-game lead with 17 to play. Since Sept. 12, the Mets went 5-12, including losing six of their final seven — all at Shea Stadium against sub-.500 clubs.

• 

  You know who’s most excited about the Mets collapse? The 1964 Phillies. That team held a 6½-game lead on the Cincinnati Reds with 12 games remaining in the season, but collapsed, losing 10 in a row (the first seven played at home). Phillies fans will tell you the ‘64 collapse was worse than this Mets collapse. Let’s just call it a tie.

• Jimmy Rollins might not win the NL MVP. But the man deserves some kind of recognition for the season he’s turned in. He came up big all season. He KILLED the Mets this year. And today, when it mattered most, he was at his best. He walked in the first inning, stole second, stole third and then scored on a sacrifice fly. Later in the game, he hit a triple to become the fourth member of the 20-20-20-20 club. MVP? I dunno. But they should invent a new award for J-Ro. The “Super Badass of the Year Award, maybe.
• The Phillies all of a sudden have three legit arms in their bullpen. J.C. Romero has been tremendous. He’s more or less single-handedly saved the team’s season. Tom Gordon isn’t what he used to be, but he’s still got good stuff. And Brett Myers has been simply unhittable the last few times out. Frankly, there’s almost nobody else I’d rather have coming out of the bullpen at the end of the game. He looks like he’s totally figured out the secret to closing games effectively. He isn’t just striking guys out. He’s striking them out looking. Batters look dumbfounded.
• In the let’s-see-how-much-more-we-can-squeeze-out-of-these-old-dudes contest, featuring Jamie Moyer and Tom Glavine, Moyer won easily. Glavine was awful today, as he tends to be in big games. Will Moyer have anything left for the playoffs? We’ll see. Frankly, I’m not sure I’ve got anything left in the tank. This was a wild season. I’m going to need a nap.

I don’t have a whole lot of time to flesh this out this morning, but I wanted to throw a thought out there. Prior to yesterday’s game, all anybody was talking about was how badly the Mets had choked down the stretch.

It was being called the second greatest collapse of all time (behind the ‘64 Phillies, of course).

People wondered if firing Randolph would be enough. Or would more players and coaches have to go?

But that was before the Mets absolutely demolished the Marlins, 13-0. And the before the Phillies lost to the Nationals.

Now I have to ask, if the Phillies lose today and fall just short of the playoffs AGAIN, will that qualify this season as the biggest tease ever? Will it qualify the Phillies franchise as the most excruciating team to route for?

They came in second place last year. And the year before. And the year before that. In fact, just like this year, the season came down to the last game in 2005. The Phillies won that game, but still missed the playoffs.

Still, you’ve got to love that the guys who are pitching today for the NL East leaders are guys who can appreciate the significance of the moment, Tom Glavine for the Mets and Jamie Moyer for the Phils.

Here’s what the Philadelphia Inquirer has to say about Moyer:

Jamie Moyer knows what a championship parade in Philadelphia looks, feels and sounds like.

He was a senior at Souderton High School in Montgomery County when the Phillies won the World Series in 1980. He got so caught up in the euphoria of his favorite team’s winning it all that he played hooky and headed down to the big city to be part of the victory celebration.

(What’s the statute of limitations on truancy, anyway?)

All these years later, Moyer is still one of you. He’s a Philadelphia sports fan. And today, on fan appreciation day, he holds your sporting dreams - and his - in his left hand.

Pretty cool, right?

Of course, Phillies fans would prefer to have Jamie Moyer circa 2001 pitching this game, instead of the older version, who kind of reminds us of Eddie Harris from the movie Major League.

But whatever. At least it’s not Adam Eaton.

I got hung up at work and didn’t make it home for the start of the Phillies game. When I got in it was the third inning. The Phillies were tied with the Nationals, 0-0.

Since then, the Phillies have taken the lead, 3-0. But the story has been Cole Hamels.

Hamels has faced 13 batters. One singled. One popped up to first on a bunt attempt.

The rest have struck out.

Hamels has 11 strikeouts, and all of them came after the second inning.

That’s 12 outs, 11 of them strikeouts.

Stud.

UPDATE: Hamels just struck out one more. He has a total of 12 strikeouts through seven innings.

The Phils went on to win the game and are now in sole posession of first place.

Before I begin, I’d like to share with you all an artistic rendering of the 7 game lead the Mets had over the Philadelphia Phillies as of September 12, 2007.

Sure, it’s subtle. But I didn’t want to bash you over the head with it.

Back in April, I wrote a post expressing doubt over the solid numbers that the Mets pitching staff (primarily the rotation) was able to post early on in the season. Basically, I thought that they were getting away with far too many mistakes and that the small number of runs they were giving up could not last unless they cut down on the walks and homeruns. But as July rolled around, not much had changed. The pitchers were still performing admirably, and I began to wonder if my projections were off - that they could continue to pitch at this level.

The lesson here? If it looks like a fluke, then chances are, it is a fluke.

The important numbers for the purposes of this post are ERA and Hits Per Nine Innings (H/9). For the first part of the season, those numbers were rising every month but were still digestible. Come July, the Mets were allowing 4.5 earned runs per game, which is getting to be too high. The numbers in August and September are downright abysmal. But here’s the funny thing - they’re not really allowing that many more walks or homeruns than they had been in the better months. Moreover, the strikeouts have been going up. The main culprit here, is the hits allowed. Suddenly, the Mets pitching has become incredibly hittable, especially since September 14th.

During this stretch of twelve games, opponents have posted a .311 AVG and an OPS of .869 (.380 OBP and .489 SLG), which basically means that the Mets have allowed hitters like Alejandro De Aza put up numbers on par with Mike Lowell. The pitchers have a collective ERA of 6.19 and a 1.66 WHIP. But there are those constants again - a good strikeout rate along with a not-too-terrible (but still a bit high) walk and homerun rate. The fact that they’ve allowed more flies than grounders isn’t much of a surprise either when you look at the names in the rotation. We can harp all we want on the terrible defense exhibited of late by the Mets (see the Runs Per Nine - there’s almost a one run difference with ERA), and under normal circumstances, we can criticize that more than anything. But we’re still talking about a pitching staff that’s allowed over six earned runs per game. Sure, they’ve been a bit unlucky as exhibited by a high BABiP, but it’s not so out of the norm that it ought to be highlighted.

During these last twelve games, relievers Aaron Heilman and Pedro Feliciano have combined for 19 appearances. LOOGY Scott Schoeneweis has appeared in eight games and Jorge Sosa and submariner-rookie Joe Smith in seven a piece. Closer Billy Wagner has been day-to-day with back spasms. Plain and simple, the relievers are exhausted and the organization doesn’t have the depth to fill the void. Combined with the fact that 1) Tom Glavine and El Duque are getting on in years; 2) Oliver Perez is always a crapshoot 3) John Maine was defying logic all season long by putting up numbers that rationale would deem improbable; and you have the current situation that the Mets find themselves in - having blown a seven game lead over a span of seventeen days. And this is WITH Pedro Martinez, who has been better in his first five starts than I could have hoped for following surgery.

This is not to say that I don’t think that the Mets are making the postseason, but I’d be lying if I said I feel as secure saying that as I did two weeks ago when it seemed all but a certainty. Starting tonight, the Mets have three games left in the regular season. If the Mets and Phils end up tied, there will be a one-game playoff between the two in Philadelphia (as dictated by a coin toss earlier in the year).

Things should be a lot of fun, baseball fans.

Now that the Braves season is all but over, Atlanta fans can start planning for 2008. And, despite this season’s disappointing finish, there is every reason for fans to be excited about next year.

First of all, Mark Teixeira will be at first base on opening day and, if he can repeat what he’s done over the last two months, he should be a candidate for MVP.

Chipper Jones will be returning after an MVP calliber and (mostly) healthy 2007 season.

Tim Hudson and John Smoltz will be back. Both had solid 2007 seasons.

Kelly Johnson will be a year older and wiser.

And the Braves bullpen should be bolstered by the return of Mike Gonzalez, who missed much of this season with an injury.

Still, there are questions surrounding this team. Will Dotel be back? What about Adruw Jones and Edgar Renteria? Will Mike Hampton be healthy?

Perhaps the most interesting possibility for Braves fans longing for a return to the postseason: will Tom Glavine return to finish his career in Atlanta?

Just about everybody wants Glavine back.

From the Atlanta Journal Constitution:

“I hope so,” Smoltz said of a potential bid for Glavine. “Do you do it just for [public relations]? No. You do it because of two things: He can still pitch; he can still win baseball games. And, this is where he belongs.

And all reports are Glavine wants to finish his career in Atlanta. He wanted the Braves to sign him before this season, so that he could win his 300th game as a Brave. But the Atlanta brass coudn’t scrape together the dough.

What would keep Glavine out of Atlanta next year? Well, for one thing, Glavine has a $13 million player option to pitch for the Mets in 2008. And it’s hard to imagine the Braves offering the veteran pitcher that much money.

The AJC says the Mets may not want to pay Glavine $13 million, either:

Glavine has a player option with the Mets for 2008 worth up to $13 million, but could decline if he retires or wants to return to Atlanta. The Mets reportedly might ask him to take a salary lower than $13 million.

If that’s the case, the Braves might get it done with, say, a one-year, $10 million offer. Smoltz isn’t alone in making a pitch for the pitcher.

Maybe there’s something I’m missing, but I can’t imagine the Mets asking Glavine to take less money than he’s contractually entitled to. I imagine that conversation going something like this:

Mets: Tom, we’d like to pay you less than $13 million to pitch in 2008. Something more like $11 million.

Tom Glavine: No, I’d rather not do that.

Of course, there’s always the chance that Glavine would accept less money just so that he could pitch one last season in Atlanta. But, as John Smoltz points out, he probably won’t accept much less.

“If I’m Tommy,” Smoltz said, “as bad as I want to be here, I’m not going to be an idiot and take a slap in the face [contract]. … “

So the question becomes, do the Braves want Glavine back bad enough to pay him? And does Glavine still eye a return to Atlanta, even after he’s already gotten his 300th win and even after the Braves failed to make him an offer in 2007?

Time will tell.

What is going on with Eric Gagne? My one-woman quest to find out.

Despite arriving in Boston to much fanfare, Eric Gagne has nearly been run out of town by apoplectic fans who have seen him almost singlehandedly cut the team’s division lead over the Yankees. But why? Why does this venerable closer suddenly suck? He didn’t have a stellar start to the season in Texas, but he was solid. So why the sudden suckage north of the border? Is it a mental block because his role is different? Could it be a physical ailment? He’s been injured so often these past couple of years. Is he 31 and past his prime?Is he just tired? After all, his last full season of work was in 2004.

Multiple times now, Gagne has gotten two outs but been unable to get the third. Does he have a third-out problem? Or is it a first-pitch strike problem? He struggled to throw first pitches for strikes last night, but many times he has actually been ahead of the batter when he’s ended up getting rocked. Is he working too slowly? He seems to plod agonizingly around the mound, as if daring the networks to go to commercial between his pitches. The guy sitting next to me at the ballgame last night suggested that Gagne was rattled by the Fenway crowds; but though Gagne looked visibly confused last night when the Fenway Faithful gave a furious roar of joy for no immediately obvious reason (the manual scoreboard had just been updated to show Tampa Bay pulling ahead of New York), I don’t think the closer temperament requires library-type silence to get the job done.

So why, Eric? Why?!

I’ve narrowed it down to five possibilities:

Read the rest of this entry »

Pat Gillick is outta here, baby.

Well, not right away. But the moment his contract expires, you can kiss his pasty, wrinkled butt goodbye.

Gillick says he’ll continue to be the GM of the Philadelphia Phillies through the end of next season, and then he’s going to retire. For good this time.

From the Philadelphia Daily News:

“I’ll fulfill my contract. It’s time to think about doing some other things in life.”

No, those things have nothing to do with heading an ownership group interested in buying the Mariners, as has been rumored, even though Gillick moved his primary residence back to Seattle earlier this year.

This is big news for Phillies fans, but even bigger news for Phillies Assistant GM Ruben Amaro, Jr., who has been mentioned as a favorite to land the Pittsburgh Pirates GM opening, despite the fact that he has yet to interview for the job.

Amaro, who played for the Phillies during the 90’s before joining the team’s front office, has to be considered the favorite to replace Gillick, especially now that Ed Wade is off the market.

Count on Amara to quietly tell the Pirates he’s not interested, then put his feet up on the desk and wait for the 2008 season to end.