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.

The Los Angeles Dodgers made a move today to tighten up their bullpen down the stretch. The Dodgers acquired relief pitcher George Sherrill from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for two minor league prospects. The Dodgers hold a commanding seven game lead in the National League West but knew their bullpen needed to be strengthened up. The Orioles, on the other hand, are eighteen games out of the American League East and decided to part with their closer and pick up some prospects.

George Sherrill has been the Orioles closer since joining the team last season. He has an 0-1 record and has converted 20 saves in 23 chances. He has 55 career saves and was selected to the 2008 American League All Star team. Sherrill will most likely be used in a setup role for closer Jonathon Broxton but can be used in the closer role if needed.

In return for Sherrill, the Orioles are getting third baseman Josh Bell and pitcher Steve Johnson. Bell is batting .296 with 11 home runs and 52 RBI’s in 94 games at the AA level. Johnson, a right-handed pitcher, has a 9-5 record with a 3.61 ERA and 117 strikeouts in 20 games between the A and AA levels this season.

The Dodgers may be making another move before tomorrow’s non-waiver trade deadline. They are still one of the teams rumored to be interested in obtaining Toronto Blue Jays star pitcher Roy Halladay. All eyes will be on the Dodgers and the other teams looking to make moves within the next 24 hours, as one of the most exciting trade seasons comes to a close.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have made another move, after trading shortstop Jack Wilson and pitcher Ian Snell to the Seattle Mariners earlier in the day. This time, the Pirates have traded three-time National League All-Star and 2006 batting champion Freddy Sanchez to the San Francisco Giants for yet another minor league prospect. That prospect is right-hander Tim Alderson.

This move should complete a total makeover for the Pirates, whose focus has been rebuilding their farm system. The Pirates have all but given up on the 2009 season by offloading all of their main talent. They also traded star outfielder Jason Bay to the Boston Red Sox last year at the trade deadline. While this probably won’t sit well with the Pirates fans, if there are even that many left, it sets up a future for the organization. The newest piece to that future is Tim Alderson. Alderson has a 6-1 record with a 3.47 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 13 games at the AA level. The Pirates management is hoping to put together a team for the future to compete in the National League Central Division.

The Giants, on the other hand, have picked up a solid player in Freddy Sanchez. Sanchez is mainly used as a second baseman, but can play the entire infield if needed. He is not a power hitter, hitting only 6 home runs and 34 RBI’s so far this year, but he hits for average and gets on base. He is currently batting .296 with a .334 OBP, which are right around his career numbers of .300 and .306 respectively.

This is yet another move during a busy trade season with the deadline just under 48 hours away. The Pirates have been busy rebuilding and other teams have been able to address their needs by picking up their players. Other teams are also making some key moves, like the Philadelphia Phillies picking up pitcher Cliff Lee from the Cleveland Indians today. All eyes are still on the Roy Halladay front, waiting to see where the star pitcher will end up by the deadline this Friday. You can count the Pirates out, because they would just trade him away like the rest of their talent.

Garko was hitting .285 with 11 homeruns and 39 RBIs in 78 games. Garko spent the past five seasons in Cleveland, hitting .283 overall with 53 homeruns and 235 RBIs. Garko will hopefully provide some much needed pop to a lethargic Giants offense that has gotten excellent pitching performances from Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain all season long.

Barnes was 12-3 with a 2.85 ERA at Single-A San Jose with 99 strikeouts in 98 innings. All 18 games he has pitched in have been starts. The Indians will recall third baseman Andy Marte from Triple-A Columbus to replace Garko on the 25-man roster. Marte was hitting .327 with 18 homeruns and 66 RBIs for the Clippers.

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.

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.

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.

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.