Bailey made his Major League debut on April 6, 2009 for the Athletics after struggling during the 2008 season with Double-A Midland of the Double-A Texas League. He went 5-9 with a 4.32 ERA in 37 games. But Bailey made the A’s roster out of Spring Training in 2009 and caught on quickly with the big club. He posted a 6-3 record with a measly 1.84 ERA in the Majors in 2009 in 68 games with 26 saves.

Coghlan debuted with the Florida Marlins on May 8, 2009 and never looked back, tearing through National League pitching staffs. Coghlan recorded a .321 batting average with nine homeruns and 47 RBIs in 128 games for the NL East club. Coghlan primarily was the club’s left fielder for the 2009 season but did play one game (seven innings worth) at second base for the Marlins.

On Tuesday, the American League Cy Young winner will be announced. Wednesday, the American and National League managers of the year will be announced. Thursday, the National League Cy Young winner will be announced. Monday, November 23, the American League MVP will be announced and Tuesday, November 24, the National League MVP will be announced.

Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins is mobbed at third base after hitting a two-run walk-off double against the Dodgers in Game Four of the NLCS on Monday night.

The Braves performed the same feat in 1991-1992 when they lost in the World Series to the Minnesota Twins in seven games in 1991 and lost to the Toronto Blue Jays in six games in 1992. Prior to the Braves, the Los Angeles Dodgers performed this rare feat in 1977-1978 when they lost back to back World Series to the New York Yankees in six games both times. The last National League team to win two straight World Series titles was the 1975-1976 Cincinnati Reds. The Reds defeated the Red Sox in seven games in 1975 and the Yankees in a four game sweep in 1976.

Unless you live under a rock, you know how the Phillies have put themselves in the position they are in right now. With one out in the bottom of the ninth and the bases empty, Pedro Feliz was scheduled to hit for the Phillies Monday night. Feliz, who is hitting .148 in the postseason (.077 in the NLCS), was lifted for pinch hitter Matt Stairs. Stairs has 19 regular season pinch hit homeruns in his career and hit the biggest homerun in Phillies playoff history in game four of the NLCS in 2008 against Jonathan Broxton. Broxton has said often during the 2009 season that he would like to face Stairs again. This time the Phillies were trailing 4-3 in Philly, not tied at 5 in LA. Stairs dug in against Broxton, who did not throw one strike even remotely close to the strike zone. Obviously, the image of the Stairs homerun was still fresh in the mind of Broxton.

The Phillies mob Carlos Ruiz at homeplate after he scores the winning run Monday night in a 5-4 win over the Dodgers.

After Stairs took first, Manuel sent out Eric Bruntlett to pinch run for the power hitter as Carlos Ruiz stepped to the plate. On the first pitch of the at-bat Broxton threw a 96 MPH fastball inside to Ruiz, who took it off his elbow, putting the tying run at second and the winning run at first. The next batter to the plate, Jimmy Rollins, worked a 1-1 count against the overpowering right handed pitcher when lightning struck again in Philadelphia. Rollins laced a two out double into the right centerfield gap scoring Bruntlett as the tying run and Ruiz as the winning run. As Ruiz crossed the plate, the city of Philadelphia celebrated as the clock closed in on midnight.

The Phillies won the game 5-4 and took a 3-1 series lead with Game five slated to be played at 8pm on Wednesday night in Philadelphia. The reigning League and World Champions will send 2008 NLCS and World Series MVP Cole Hamels to the bump against former Phillie Vicente Padilla. Padilla threw 7.1 innings of one run ball in game two in LA for the Dodgers but did not factor in the decision as the Dodgers took the game 2-1. There is still a slight chance that the Dodgers might make a risky decision and throw Clayton Kershaw in game five, who was roughed up by the Phillies in game one, but they need to win this game. You never know what type of pitching decisions will be made with Joe Torre at the helm. As one of my close friends (a lifelong Yankee fan) said in reference to Torre on Sunday night: “It’s not hard to manage when you are up by 7 every night but when you are in a tie ballgame or trailing he is an idiot.”

Rollins Walk Off Double

Jim Vassallo is the creator of JAV Baseball. He also owns his own Internet Content company, JAV Freelancing. Vassallo coached baseball for three years at the high school level in New Jersey and has since joined the prominent D-III program at Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. He can be reached at jim@javbaseball.com for questions and comments.

We aren’t talking about what waiver deals will occur before the end of the month in this article but instead the deals that took place prior to the non-waiver deadline on July 31st. There were some players traded who everyone expected to be traded and some players traded that came as a shock to a lot of people around baseball. One of those surprise moves included Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Scott Rolen.

Rolen was sent to the Cincinnati Reds by the Jays for Edwin Encarnacion, right handed pitcher Josh Roenicke, and minor league right handed pitcher Zachary Stewart. This deal surprised a lot of people around baseball because of all the Blue Jays players Rolen’s name almost never came up in the rumors leading up to the deadline unlike his former teammate Roy Halladay. Halladay, with all the rumors swirling for three weeks, stayed put at the deadline and will continue to pitch for the Jays until at least the end of the 2009 regular season.

The biggest surprise of the deadline came when the San Diego Padres announced that they traded ace Jake Peavy to the Chicago White Sox for four pitchers. The pitchers headed to the Padres include Clayton Richard, Aaron Poreda, Adam Russell, and Dexter Carter. A deal for Peavy between these two teams was agreed upon in May but Peavy would not waive his no-trade clause. The same four pitchers heading to the Padres were agreed upon by the two teams in the original proposal back in May. Poreda was the White Sox’ top pick in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft.

Other deals that went down on July 31st prior to the 4pm EST deadline included the following:

• Athletics trade shortstop Orlando Cabrera to the Twins for Tyler Ladendorf.
• Nationals trade reliever Joe Beimel to the Rockies for right handed pitchers Ryan Mattheus and Robinson Fabian.
• Nationals trade first baseman Nick Johnson to the Marlins for left handed pitcher Aaron Thompson.
• Indians trade cathcer Victor Martinez to the Red Sox for right handed pitcher Justin Masterson, right handed pitcher Bryan Price, and left handed pitcher Nick Hagadone.
• The Reds trade third baseman Jerry Hairston Jr. to the Yankees for catcher Chase Weems.
• The Braves traded first baseman Casey Kotchman to the Red Sox for first baseman Adam LaRoche.
• The Dodgers traded right handed pitcher Claudio Vargas to the Milwaukee Brewers for catcher Vinny Rottino.
• The Mariners traded pitcher Jarrod Washburn to the Detroit Tigers for left handed pitcher Lucas French and left handed pitcher Mauricio Robles.

The 2009 MLB trading deadline was one of the busiest in recent years and waiver trades will more than likely be just as busy as non-waiver trades in the coming weeks. Plenty of top prospects were traded on deadline day or prior to the deadline including deals that involved outfielder Matt Holliday, Cliff Lee, Jack Wilson, Freddy Sanchez, George Sherrill, Kevin Hart, Tom Gorzelanny and John Grabow. Some of the top prospects on the move were Brett Wallace, Dexter Carter, Lou Marson, Carlos Carrasco, Jason Knapp, Jason Donald and Jeff Clement.

The Cleveland Indians have traded their Cy Young pitcher from the previous year for the second year in a row. The Indians traded left-handed pitcher Cliff Lee and outfielder Ben Francisco to the Philadelphia Phillies for four minor league prospects. Those prospects are right-handed pitchers Jason Knapp and Carlos Carrasco, shortstop Jason Donald and catcher Lou Marson. This trade looks to benefit both teams as both team’s needs were addressed in this blockbuster trade.

The Phillies have been looking for starting pitching as of late, and Cliff Lee should fit into the rotation rather nicely. Cliff Lee was last season’s American League Cy Young award winner. He went 22-3 with 2.54 ERA and 170 strikeouts. He pitched 223.1 innings over 31 games with four complete games, two of which were shut outs. This year, Lee is pitching better than his numbers suggest. He is 7-9 with a 3.14 ERA and 107 strikeouts. His win-loss record could be better, had he been pitching for a better team this season. Lee pitches a lot of innings, helping a bullpen rest, which is crucial down the stretch. Lee will give the Phillies four left-handed pitchers in their starting rotation, along with Cole Hamels, Jamie Moyer and J.A. Happ. Right-hander Joe Blanton rounds out the rotation with right-hander Pedro Martinez due to join the club as soon as next week. It is unknown who will be delegated to the bullpen yet.

The Phillies are also getting outfielder Ben Francisco, giving them a right-handed bat off of the bench and an extra outfielder to give the All-Star trio of Raul Ibanez, Shane Victorino and Jayson Werth a break here and there. Francisco is batting .250 with 10 home runs and 33 RBI’s this season.

After turning down an offer to give up three prospects for Toronto Blue Jay ace pitcher Roy Halladay, the Phillies made a move that would give up four prospects. Toronto wanted pitchers Kyle Drabek and J.A. Happ, but the Phillies were not willing to part with both as a package. The package of prospects going to Cleveland includes four players, three of which are almost Major League ready.

Carlos Carrasco, once deemed to be the Phillies star pitcher of the future, may be the highlight of the package. His numbers are down this year with a 6-9 record and a 5.18 ERA in 20 games this season at the AAA level. He was selected to the Futures Game, the minor league All-Star game, in 2006, 2007 and 2008. He is currently Major League Baseball’s 28^th ranked prospect. The other pitcher in this deal is Jason Knapp. Knapp has been pitching at the A level this year. He is 2-7 with an ERA of 4.01 and 111 strikeouts in 85.1 innings pitched over 17 games.

Jason Donald, who recently had knee surgery, is batting .236 with 1 home run and 16 RBI’s in 51 games at the AAA level. He is a young middle infielder that was in an organization with Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins holding down the positions he plays. Lou Marson is batting .294 with 1 home run and 24 RBI’s in 63 games at the AAA level. He appeared in seven games with the Phillies this year and was part of their September call-ups last year.

The Phillies found a front line starting pitcher in Cliff Lee to give them a strong one-two punch with Cole Hamels. The Indians found four prospects, three possibly Major League ready by the end of the season. This has been a very exciting trade season with two days left until the deadline. The biggest question remaining is where, if anywhere, will Roy Halladay end up? It won’t be the Phillies anymore. They picked up a Cy Young caliber pitcher and held on to the prospects that they did not want to part with. This looks like a great move, but only time will tell if it actually is though.

Conversations between Toronto and Philadelphia, said to be the front runner for acquiring Halladay, are in a stalemate because the Phillies will not part with top pitching prospect Kyle Drabek. The Blue Jays have repeatedly asked for Drabek along with J.A. Happ and Dominic Brown. The Phillies countered with a package that would include one or more of the following players; Michael Taylor, Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald and Lou Marson.

Toronto balked at the counter offer from the Phillies and sources claim that both teams are still in negotiations regarding Halladay but that talks turned nasty at one point over the weekend. The second team said to be in the running for Halladay are the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim but Toronto is said to be asking for three players on the Angels’ 25-man roster in return for Halladay.

Halladay, wherever he lands, will make a major impact on his new team if he is traded at all. Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi claims he really doesn’t think that Halladay will be traded by the time the 4pm Friday deadline arrives because he doesn’t believe that any team will want to part with the prospects they are asking for in return. If Halladay does change teams he will likely end up with the Phillies, Dodgers, or Angels. These three teams seem to be the ones that have the talent it will take to pry the Cy Young Award winner from the only team he has ever played for.

So what happens to the rest of the league if Halladay does not get traded or if the Blue Jays decide to hold onto him even if there is time left prior to the deadline? Many teams could turn to the Cleveland Indians and the Seattle Mariners. The Indians haven’t decided yet if they are willing to trade former Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee or hold onto him. The Mariners also aren’t sure if they are ready to part with Jarrod Washburn prior to the deadline. If teams are looking for a plan B then they could possibly turn their attention towards Lee and/or Washburn.

Other pitching options for teams looking for relievers include Baltimore’s George Sherrill, possibly the Reds’ Arthur Rhodes, the Diamondbacks’ Chad Qualls, the Nationals’ Joe Beimel and the Pirates’ John Grabow and Matt Capps. It is still difficult to determine whether or not there will be a flurry of minor trades by week’s end or if the Holliday to St. Louis trade will be the only blockbuster deal of the 2009 regular season.

It has been reported through numerous media outlets that the fight started over some spilled beer. The bachelor party had previously been tossed from the stadium by security for getting out of control so they decided to go to McFadden’s, which has a separate entrance from the ballpark. The two groups were then tossed from the restaurant/bar too. Two men were taken into custody on Monday morning and a third is excpected to turn himself into police. The two men charged were 35-year-old Charles Bowers and 45-year-old James Groves. The third man has been identified as 28-year-old Francis Kirchner. All three men are from Philadelphia and were on the bus tour of bars in the city. The two men in custody have been charged with murder. It was reported that Sale was held down by two men while being punched and kicked repeatedly in the head and face. Even though there were roughly 25-30 involved in the fight the police rounded up around 60 people from the two groups for questioning after the incident.

The 22 runs were the most scored by the Phils since they posted a 26-7 win over the New York Mets on June 11, 1985. The 22 run effort was the fifth highest outburst in Phillies history and the fourth time they scored 10 runs in the first inning of a game in franchise history. The last time the team scored 10 runs in the first inning was against the Montreal Expos (Washington Nationals) in June of the 2002 season.

The Phillies sent 13 batters to the plate in Monday’s game against Dusty Baker’s Reds scoring 10 runs on six hits, three walks, and one hit batter. The Phillies also hit three homeruns in the inning (Shane Victorino, Greg Dobbs, and Chase Utley).

The Phillies then went on to score one run in the second, one run in the third, and four runs in the fourth before the Reds bullpen posted three straight scoreless innings of relief. The Phillies would explode for six more runs in the bottom of the eighth off of backup shortstop Paul Janish. Janish was making his second pitching appearance of the season.

He previously pitched against the Milwaukee Brewers, allowing five runs in one inning of work, his first career appearance on the mound. This time around he allowed an RBI single to Victorino, an RBI single to Eric Bruntlett, and a grand slam to Jayson Werth before the dust settled.

Coming into the game Janish had an ERA of 45.00 and after the outing it ballooned to 49.50. He walked two and struck out one, Pedro Feliz, to end the inning. On the other side of the field Scott Eyre returned to game action after being activated from the disabled list on Sunday.

Eyre got himself into trouble in the top of the ninth inning when he put Reds runners on second and third with none out. He then proceeded to induce a shallow fly out to left field and two straight strikeouts to retire the side and end the game. Eyre had been on the disabled list since June 12 with a strained calf that he suffered running in from the bullpen the previous day against the Mets in New York.

Cole Hamels took the win, his fifth of the season, and his first since June 4 when he threw a five hit shutout against the Los Angeles Dodgers in California. Hamels lowered his ERA to 4.70. The only run he allowed was on a Jonny Gomes homerun, one of only three hits surrendered in the game by the 2008 World Series MVP. Hamels also collected a two run double in the first inning and a single in the fourth inning.

The 21 run loss for the Reds was their worst loss in their 140 year history. Don’t forget that the Reds are the oldest team in the Major Leagues. “That’s the worst beating I can remember on a baseball field,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said on the team’s site. “There’s not a whole bunch to say. We just got slaughtered.”

Reds starter Johnny Cueto didn’t get out of the first inning, recording only two outs, before being lifted for Daniel Ray Herrera. Cueto allowed nine earned runs on five hits, three walks, and allowed two homeruns. The Utley homerun was off of Herrera. Cueto’s ERA jumped from 2.69 to 3.45 after the nine runs allowed in the first inning.

The Phillies continue their four game set with the Reds tonight at 7:05 at Citizens Bank Park. J.A. Happ opposes Aaron Harang of the Reds. Happ is 5-0 and Harang is 5-8. Happ is coming off two superb starts in which he has allowed only two runs in 16 innings pitched. He has also struck out 9 while walking only two hitters and allowing only 12 hits in that span.

Happ pitched a shutout against the Toronto Blue Jays on June 27, a 10-0 win, and allowed only two runs in seven innings against the Atlanta Braves on July 2, a 5-2 Braves win for a series sweep of the Phillies. Happ took the no decision. Happ has lowered his ERA to 2.96 for the 2009 season.

Aside from the steroid controversy surrounding the sport of baseball there have also been some incredibly entertaining, yet embarrassing, blowups by managers and players alike in the Minors and in the Majors throughout the years. We are writing this article on the heels of Carlos Zambrano’s explosion at Wrigley Field on May 27th when his Cubs defeated the Pirates 5-2.

Some of the most famous explosions over the years have included Milton Bradley, Lloyd McClendon, Earl Weaver, George Brett, Phil Wellman and Joe Mikulik just to name a few. Wellman and Mikulik were Minor League managers at the time of their blowups with umpires while the rest of the list experienced their blowups in the Majors.

So, please enjoy the following videos of managers and players flipping out on umpires during Minor League and Major League games.

George Brett, following an important homerun, had his bat examined by the umpires and it was found to have too much pine tar on the barrel. The umpires canceled his homerun and Brett went balistic. Here is the video:

George Brett Pine Tar

Reporters asked Royals coach Hal McRae a stupid question following a game and McRae proceeded to lose his mind during his post-game press conference.

Hal McRae

A Chicago Cub was thrown out at third on a questionable call and manager Lou Piniella loses his mind on the umpire. Check out the classic kick of the hat…a signature Sweet Lou move.

Piniella

This next video has some explicit language in it but no one should be surprised since it involves former Orioles manager Earl Weaver. Weaver was never kind to the umpires and vice versa.

Earl Weaver

John McLaren, when manager of the Seattle Mariners in 2008, drops one bomb after another during his press conference following yet another Mariner loss.

McLaren Rant

One of the most recognizable fights in baseball history happened during the 2003 ALCS between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Pedro Martinez grabbed Don Zimmer’s head and threw him to the ground. Take a look for yourself:

Zimmer vs. Martinez

The name Phil Wellman will never be forgotten in baseball lure, especially within the Minor Leagues. Wellman, a Braves Minor League manager, argued a call and then went nuts after he didn’t get his way.

Phil Wellman

Joe Mikulik is another Minor League manager, for the Asheville Tourists, who lost his mind after arguing with an umpire.

Joe Mikulik

The reason we wrote this article, the Carlos Zambrano ejection from earlier in the 2009 season, is the final video of our collection this time around. Hope you enjoy it. One wonderful fan turned it into a Gatorade commercial. Gotta love it:

Zambrano vs Gatorade Machine

The list of position players that have taken the mound in 2009 are Nick Swisher of the New York Yankees, Cody Ross of the Florida Marlins, Jonathan Van Every of the Boston Red Sox, Paul Janish of the Cincinnati Reds and Josh Wilson of the Arizona Diamondbacks. When a position player takes to the mound during a regular season game it is looked at as a very embarrassing situation for the team but some of the position players that have to pitch take their new assignment in stride.

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The first position player to grab the honors in 2009 was Swisher of the Yankees. Swisher had to pitch against the Tampa Bay Rays on April 13th. Swisher threw one scoreless inning, 22 total pitches, and topped out at 80 MPH on the radar gun. This fad has continued to become popular over the years. There have been 107 position players to pitch in a regular season Major League game since 1979. 55 of the 107 position players to take the mound have left the hill with a 0.00 ERA like Swisher.

The Arizona Diamondbacks fired manager Bob Melvin late at night on May 7th and replaced him with Farm Director and former Major League catcher A.J. Hinch. Hinch used a position player to pitch only six games into his managerial career when Josh Wilson took the mound on May 11th when the Diamondbacks lost to the Cincinnati Reds 13-5. Wilson tossed a scoreless inning of relief in the loss.

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The position player with the most appearances on the mound right now is Aaron Miles of the Chicago Cubs. Miles made three appearances for the St. Louis Cardinals over the past two seasons. Some of the most famous position players to pitch in a Major League game during their career includes Jose Canseco, Wade Boggs, John Russell (manager of the Pirates) and Terry Francona (manager of the Red Sox). Canseco pitched for the Texas Rangers in 1993 and injured his elbow while doing so for manager Kevin Kennedy. Canseco missed the final three months of the season due to the injury.

Some may think it is embarrassing to toe the hill as a position player but others like the challenge of throwing ‘heat’ to Major League hitters since they might never get the chance to do so ever again during their career. Let’s face it folks, with the continued bashing of the baseball throughout the league more and more position players will continue to make pitching appearances for their team to save the rest of the pitching staff.