Playoffs Disappointing for Top Teams

Jason Budden: Un-Common Sense?

The Cubs and Angels came into the playoffs as the consensus favorites for both leagues, but will have to wait until next year for another shot at the title. As the divisional round of the playoffs come to a close, let’s take a look at each series:

Cubs vs. Dodgers
What happened? The Cubs were the best team in the National League for most of, if not all of the regular season, yet they looked more like the Seattle Mariners during their series against the Dodgers. As a team, they struggled on offense, especially their top players. Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez and Geovany Soto were 5-36 combined in the series. It didn’t help that they committed six errors during the three game sweep, including four errors during Game Two.

On the other hand, the Dodgers are looking more and more like the team to beat. Led by Manny Ramirez, the series never looked in doubt. With arguably the best bullpen left in the playoffs, the Dodgers can see a title getting closer and closer.

Phils vs. Brewers
Not quite as lopsided, the Phils were able to take advantage of a Brewers team that seemed to run out of steam. This time, C.C. Sabathia wasn’t able to deliver on three days rest. He has been a machine during the last month of the season, basically putting the Brewers on his back and carrying them into the playoffs. In the end, pitching performances by Cole Hamels, Brett Myers and Joe Blanton led the Phils into the NLCS. The starting pitchers for the Phils gave up only five runs in 25 innings. Mix in key two out home runs by Shane Victorino and Pat Burrell and the Brewers were overmatched.

Rays vs. White Sox
Similar to the Phils/Brewers series, this one never truly seemed in doubt. The Rays looked very strong in taking games one and two in Tampa. Good performances by the starting pitchers and especially by the bullpen, plus timely hitting from Evan Longoria, Akinori Iwamura and B.J. Upton. The White Sox seemed a bit worn down after battling the Twins for the AL Central crown. They even admitted after the series that they lost to a better team in the Rays.

“They played better than us. There’s no doubt. They pitched better. They execute better. They got big hits,” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. “They really did a tremendous job.”

Whether right or wrong, Guillen is never shy to voice his opinion. This time he got it spot on.

Angels vs. Red Sox
What a great series, especially if you are a Red Sox fan. Each game was close and exciting. Game One was dominated by two aces, Jon Lester for the Red Sox and John Lackey for the Angels. Lackey made one mistake, giving up a two-out home run to Jason Bay. Lester didn’t make a mistake, striking out seven while walking only one. In game two, J.D. Drew returned from injury to hit a two-run game winning home run in the top of the ninth. The home run came off of Francisco Rodriguez, the Angels closer who in 2008 set the single season record for saves in a season with 62.

The Angels pulled out a 12th inning victory over the Red Sox as the series returned to Boston for Game Three, setting up even more suspense for Game Four. Lester and Lackey returned to duel again and once more, Lester got the better of the matchup. Lester went another strong seven innings giving up no runs while striking out four. Lackey again gave up two runs to the Red Sox and left the game behind. The Angels rallied and got two runs off the Red Sox bullpen, but in the bottom of the 9th inning, the Jed Lowrie came through with an RBI single, driving in Bay who had doubled.

Both League Championship Series should provide us with some suspense and fireworks. The Red Sox and Rays are very familiar with each other and there is no love lost. The Dodgers are arguably the hottest team in baseball, but are going up against a team and a city that are anxious for a championship.



Jason Budden is the Vice President of Operations and Marketing at Baseball Factory. Jason joined the Baseball Factory in 1997 while still a junior in high school. After going through the Baseball Factory's college recruiting program he was placed at Johns Hopkins University where he played two years of college baseball before graduating with a degree in Economics. After working part-time at the Factory throughout college, Jason joined the team as a full-time employee in January 2002 when he was promoted to Director of Marketing. He currently oversees all marketing projects and sponsorship opportunities at Baseball Factory. He is also in charge of development and marketing for Baseball University, the leader in online baseball education and a division of Baseball Factory.

C.C. Sabathia - Milwaukee Brewers

Justin Roswell: Where Are They Now?

C.C. Sabathia has been on fire. With his move to the National League, he has put the Brewers in playoff contention. With the Brew Crew, C.C. has kept his earned run average to 1.82 and has a record of 9 – 1 with 107 strikeouts (230 overall). The Brewers are currently second in the Wild Card race, so I’m sure the last couple of weeks of the season will prove to be very exciting.

Coming out of the draft he was the top high school prospect coming out of Northern California according to Baseball America. C.C. was also an all-conference tight end in football at Vallejo High School and had scholarship offers to play college football and had signed a letter of intent to attend the University of Hawaii. He was selected to the 28-man United States Olympic Team Roster in 2000 and appeared in one pre-Olympic tournament game in Sydney, Australia, but was not on the official 24-man, Gold Medal-winning roster.

The 2007 Cy Young winner in the American League with the Cleveland Indians, C.C. is a former Team One Alum, having participated in the 1997 Team One National Showcase.

On a side note, C.C has donated $100 dollars for every batter he has struck out since the 2005 season. This donation goes to Strikeouts For Troops. To date the program has raised $54,200.

We wish C.C. the best of luck down the stretch as he continues to make a push to get the Brewers into the playoffs.



Justin is the Director of Team One Baseball. Justin Roswell joined the Baseball Factory in 2001 serving in the scouting, event coordination, and player development departments. In 2007 he became the Senior Director for Team One Baseball, the showcase division of Baseball Factory. As Senior Director, he leads the player identification process for all Team One Regional Showcases. Justin also runs the Under Armour Tournament Division. Justin graduated from California State University - Fullerton, where he received his degree in Business Administration, with an emphasis on management.

Yost Fired with 12 Games to Play

Jason Budden: Un-Common Sense?

When taking a closer look at the playoff race, there were a lot of factors that I considered. Opponents down the stretch, momentum, home vs. away games, and even the Republican National Convention. But this late in the season, I never thought to consider a coaching change for a contender. On Monday, the Milwaukee Brewers announced the firing of manager Ned Yost. The Brewers currently have an 83-67 record, putting them in second place in the National League Central and tied for the NL wild-card lead.

So what’s the problem? Well, the Brewers have lost 11 of their past 14 games including a four-game sweep at the hand of the Philadelphia Phillies. The Brewers came into the month of September with a 5 ½ game lead in the wild card and entered the series in Philly with a four game lead. But the bats have gone quiet and the young Brewers team is stuck in a tailspin.

So what’s the answer? Firing your manager with 12 games left in the season? Really?

Don’t the players play the game? Is this move really going to make Ryan Braun immediately bounce out of a 2-30 slump? I can’t imagine that he shows up to the ballpark tomorrow and takes a different approach at the plate because Yost is no longer in the dugout.

Was it Yost’s poor management that caused Ben Sheets to put 12 Phillies’ runners on base in six innings pitched, allowing five of them to score? Does Sheets look in the mirror tomorrow and think, “Wow, they fired Ned, I really better start trying harder. They mean business.”

Come on! This is such a desperate move by a franchise that hasn’t been to the playoffs since 1982. What a classic knee-jerk reaction. I understand that Yost might be getting a bit tight as the playoff race heats up, but wouldn’t you? I’d be a bit more nervous and stressed out too if my team started choking.

The owners are so quick to blame the manager when a team goes in a slump.But hey, maybe I’m not getting all the facts. Maybe Yost wasn’t giving good motivational speeches. Maybe he didn’t hold enough closed door meetings to stress the importance of the playoff race. Maybe he forgot to remind the team that when they lost, it actually hurt their chances of making the playoffs.Give me a break!

If they wanted to change the players’ current losing ways, they would have been better suited changing the playlist on the stereo, not the manager in the dugout. They need to adjust the mindset of the players, and just because firing the manager is the “extreme” decision, doesn’t make it the right one, regardless of the outcome.

Jason Budden is the Vice President of Operations and Marketing at Baseball Factory. Jason joined the Baseball Factory in 1997 while still a junior in high school. After going through the Baseball Factory's college recruiting program he was placed at Johns Hopkins University where he played two years of college baseball before graduating with a degree in Economics. After working part-time at the Factory throughout college, Jason joined the team as a full-time employee in January 2002 when he was promoted to Director of Marketing. He currently oversees all marketing projects and sponsorship opportunities at Baseball Factory. He is also in charge of development and marketing for Baseball University, the leader in online baseball education and a division of Baseball Factory.