SirKodiak
10-13-2009, 06:25 PM
Contenders for Team of the Decade (http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/DF4BBC86B5C158568625764700808D71?OpenDocument) wrote 10/07/2009
NEW YORK YANKEES
The record — 965-651
The highlights
1 World Series championship
3 American League pennants
8 AL East titles
1 Wild-card berth
The lowlights — Had American League's fourth-best record in 2008 at 89-73 but missed the playoffs for the first time since 1993.
The payroll — $1.67 billion.
The stat — Closer Mariano Rivera has not had a save opportunity in their last eight postseason games.
The case for — Another championship would strengthen the argument for the Yankees, but to do that they must break the powerful Curse of Alex Rodriguez. Seattle lost all four postseason series in which Rodriguez appeared. Since Rodriguez joined the Yankees in 2004, they are 1-4 in postseason series with a .333 winning percentage for 21 games. Rodriguez has been noticeable for his failures in that span. He has hit .245 with four homers and nine RBIs in 94 at-bats overall and .100 for 20 at-bats with runners in scoring position. Rodriguez will again carry the burden of having to produce, or watch the Yankees perish.
BOSTON RED SOX
The record — 920-709
The highlights
2 World Series championships
2 American League pennants
1 AL East title
5 Wild-card berths
The lowlights — On Aug. 15, 2001, the Red Sox were 65-53 and trailed the Yankees by five games in the AL East and Oakland by one game in the wild-card race. That was not good enough for general manager Dan Duquette. He fired manager Jimy Williams, replacing him with pitching coach Joe Kerrigan. The Red Sox went 17-26 under Kerrigan and missed the playoffs.
The payroll — $1.17 billion.
The stat — In this decade, the Red Sox are 13-3 for postseason games in which a loss would end their season.
The case for — The Red Sox, who had a winning record in every season during the decade, would end all debate on the subject by winning a third World Series championship. That would make Boston the third franchise since the 1960s to win three World Series in a single decade. The others were the Yankees in the 1990s and Oakland in the 1970s. The black mark against the Red Sox is they finished ahead of the Yankees in the regular season only twice during this decade, in 2007 and 2008.
LOS ANGELES ANGELS
The record — 900-720
The highlights
1 World Series championship
1 American League pennant
5 AL West titles
1 Wild-card berth
The lowlights — The Angels of 2001 could not keep up with a pair of high-powered 100-win teams out of the AL West — Oakland and Seattle — and faded badly. The Angels lost 30 of their final 40 games to finish at 75-87, their worst record of the decade.
The payroll — $883.7 million
The stat — The Angels have lost 10 of their last 11 postseason games. In that span, they have scored a total of 25 runs.
The case for — The Angels closed the decade with a rush, winning the AL West title in five of the last six seasons. Since the surge began in 2004, the Angels are 567-405, in the same neighborhood as the Yankees at 579-393. Boston has kept the Angels from having a more impressive postseason résumé. In this decade, the Angels have lost three postseason series against Boston, going 1-9 in games. The Angels are 4-1 in all other postseason series by a margin of 15-11.
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
The record — 850-769
The highlights
1 World Series championship
1 National League pennant
3 National League East titles
The lowlights — The Phillies started the decade at the bottom, going 65-97 in 2000 to tie the Chicago Cubs for the worst record in the majors. Because of the format in place at the time, the Phillies received only the fourth overall pick in the 2001 draft. With slugging infielder Mark Teixeira available, the Phillies selected his neighbor: righthander Gavin Floyd of Severna Park, Md.
The payroll — $795.1 million
The stat — The Phillies have won at least 85 games in seven consecutive seasons, the longest current streak in the NL. The Cardinals are second with two consecutive 85-win seasons.
The case for — For the Phillies to stake a realistic claim to the title, they must repeat as World Series champions. Cincinnati's "Big Red Machine" is the last NL club to win consecutive World Series, in 1975-76. The Phillies could earn style points with decisive series wins. They were 11-3 in the postseason last season. Boston went 22-6 in winning the World Series in 2004 and '06.
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
The record — 913-707
The highlights
1 World Series championship
2 National League pennants
6 NL Central titles
1 Wild-card berth
The lowlights — A year after their World Series triumph, the Cardinals stumbled badly in 2007 and had their only losing record (78-84) of the decade. They joined the Angels (2002-03), Florida (2003-04), the Chicago White Sox (2005-06) and Tampa Bay (2008-09) as world champions who did not make it to the playoffs in the following season.
The payroll — $831.6 million
The stat — The Cardinals have won eight postseason series in the decade, most among NL teams, and tying them with Boston and the Yankees for the major-league lead.
The case for — The Cardinals need three things to happen: No. 1: Win the World Series. The Cardinals would join Boston as the only multiple winners in the decade. No. 2: Have Boston eliminated in the AL playoffs. The Red Sox would finish the decade with fewer World Series appearances than the Cardinals. No. 3: Have the Yankees eliminated in the AL playoffs. They would finish with as many World Series appearances (3) as the Cardinals but one fewer championship for the decade.
NEW YORK YANKEES
The record — 965-651
The highlights
1 World Series championship
3 American League pennants
8 AL East titles
1 Wild-card berth
The lowlights — Had American League's fourth-best record in 2008 at 89-73 but missed the playoffs for the first time since 1993.
The payroll — $1.67 billion.
The stat — Closer Mariano Rivera has not had a save opportunity in their last eight postseason games.
The case for — Another championship would strengthen the argument for the Yankees, but to do that they must break the powerful Curse of Alex Rodriguez. Seattle lost all four postseason series in which Rodriguez appeared. Since Rodriguez joined the Yankees in 2004, they are 1-4 in postseason series with a .333 winning percentage for 21 games. Rodriguez has been noticeable for his failures in that span. He has hit .245 with four homers and nine RBIs in 94 at-bats overall and .100 for 20 at-bats with runners in scoring position. Rodriguez will again carry the burden of having to produce, or watch the Yankees perish.
BOSTON RED SOX
The record — 920-709
The highlights
2 World Series championships
2 American League pennants
1 AL East title
5 Wild-card berths
The lowlights — On Aug. 15, 2001, the Red Sox were 65-53 and trailed the Yankees by five games in the AL East and Oakland by one game in the wild-card race. That was not good enough for general manager Dan Duquette. He fired manager Jimy Williams, replacing him with pitching coach Joe Kerrigan. The Red Sox went 17-26 under Kerrigan and missed the playoffs.
The payroll — $1.17 billion.
The stat — In this decade, the Red Sox are 13-3 for postseason games in which a loss would end their season.
The case for — The Red Sox, who had a winning record in every season during the decade, would end all debate on the subject by winning a third World Series championship. That would make Boston the third franchise since the 1960s to win three World Series in a single decade. The others were the Yankees in the 1990s and Oakland in the 1970s. The black mark against the Red Sox is they finished ahead of the Yankees in the regular season only twice during this decade, in 2007 and 2008.
LOS ANGELES ANGELS
The record — 900-720
The highlights
1 World Series championship
1 American League pennant
5 AL West titles
1 Wild-card berth
The lowlights — The Angels of 2001 could not keep up with a pair of high-powered 100-win teams out of the AL West — Oakland and Seattle — and faded badly. The Angels lost 30 of their final 40 games to finish at 75-87, their worst record of the decade.
The payroll — $883.7 million
The stat — The Angels have lost 10 of their last 11 postseason games. In that span, they have scored a total of 25 runs.
The case for — The Angels closed the decade with a rush, winning the AL West title in five of the last six seasons. Since the surge began in 2004, the Angels are 567-405, in the same neighborhood as the Yankees at 579-393. Boston has kept the Angels from having a more impressive postseason résumé. In this decade, the Angels have lost three postseason series against Boston, going 1-9 in games. The Angels are 4-1 in all other postseason series by a margin of 15-11.
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
The record — 850-769
The highlights
1 World Series championship
1 National League pennant
3 National League East titles
The lowlights — The Phillies started the decade at the bottom, going 65-97 in 2000 to tie the Chicago Cubs for the worst record in the majors. Because of the format in place at the time, the Phillies received only the fourth overall pick in the 2001 draft. With slugging infielder Mark Teixeira available, the Phillies selected his neighbor: righthander Gavin Floyd of Severna Park, Md.
The payroll — $795.1 million
The stat — The Phillies have won at least 85 games in seven consecutive seasons, the longest current streak in the NL. The Cardinals are second with two consecutive 85-win seasons.
The case for — For the Phillies to stake a realistic claim to the title, they must repeat as World Series champions. Cincinnati's "Big Red Machine" is the last NL club to win consecutive World Series, in 1975-76. The Phillies could earn style points with decisive series wins. They were 11-3 in the postseason last season. Boston went 22-6 in winning the World Series in 2004 and '06.
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
The record — 913-707
The highlights
1 World Series championship
2 National League pennants
6 NL Central titles
1 Wild-card berth
The lowlights — A year after their World Series triumph, the Cardinals stumbled badly in 2007 and had their only losing record (78-84) of the decade. They joined the Angels (2002-03), Florida (2003-04), the Chicago White Sox (2005-06) and Tampa Bay (2008-09) as world champions who did not make it to the playoffs in the following season.
The payroll — $831.6 million
The stat — The Cardinals have won eight postseason series in the decade, most among NL teams, and tying them with Boston and the Yankees for the major-league lead.
The case for — The Cardinals need three things to happen: No. 1: Win the World Series. The Cardinals would join Boston as the only multiple winners in the decade. No. 2: Have Boston eliminated in the AL playoffs. The Red Sox would finish the decade with fewer World Series appearances than the Cardinals. No. 3: Have the Yankees eliminated in the AL playoffs. They would finish with as many World Series appearances (3) as the Cardinals but one fewer championship for the decade.