Original Post from giantswin.blogspot.com:
Why Brian Sabean is a dingbat
Readers of this blog may wonder -- did I get beat up by Brian Sabean as a kid? We are about the same age and I've bashed Sabean harder than anyone else. The answer is no, I've never met the man. But he's failed by most standards to do anything resembling a good job -- even though he gets to operate near the top tier of spending. It's not as if he has his hands tied by a cheap owner as in Oakland, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, San Diego or Florida.
I thought of this as I watched the first two games of the World Series between two teams that were assembled by competent GMs, who probably never took the idea of signing Barry Zito to a long term deal seriously. The always astute David Pinto at Baseball Musings has a fine take on all this. I was so impressed that I'm posting his entire post -- In the first two games, both the Yankees and Phillies showed they did a good job acquiring starting pitchers. Sabathia and Burnett, the big free agent pitchers, each went seven innings, allowing three runs combined. Burnett was the star in game two, allowing four hits, and two walks while striking out nine over seven innings. The two hits that led to the run were perfectly placed, missing being foul or out by inches.
The Phillies trotted out their two mid-season pickups, Cliff Lee and Pedro Martinez. They combined for 15 innings and four runs allowed, only three of them earned. Pedro did a great job tonight, but like Sabathia in game one, gave up two big home runs, and that’s all the Yankees needed.
Remember, all this great pitching is coming against the two teams that led their respective leagues in runs per game. Against the best these four pitchers have risen to the occasion and provided us with two good pitching duels. We’ll see if things change down in Philadelphia on Saturday when Andy Pettitte takes on Cole Hamels
I thought of this as I watched the first two games of the World Series between two teams that were assembled by competent GMs, who probably never took the idea of signing Barry Zito to a long term deal seriously. The always astute David Pinto at Baseball Musings has a fine take on all this. I was so impressed that I'm posting his entire post -- In the first two games, both the Yankees and Phillies showed they did a good job acquiring starting pitchers. Sabathia and Burnett, the big free agent pitchers, each went seven innings, allowing three runs combined. Burnett was the star in game two, allowing four hits, and two walks while striking out nine over seven innings. The two hits that led to the run were perfectly placed, missing being foul or out by inches.
The Phillies trotted out their two mid-season pickups, Cliff Lee and Pedro Martinez. They combined for 15 innings and four runs allowed, only three of them earned. Pedro did a great job tonight, but like Sabathia in game one, gave up two big home runs, and that’s all the Yankees needed.
Remember, all this great pitching is coming against the two teams that led their respective leagues in runs per game. Against the best these four pitchers have risen to the occasion and provided us with two good pitching duels. We’ll see if things change down in Philadelphia on Saturday when Andy Pettitte takes on Cole Hamels