World Series Game 4 LiveBlog/Chat

- Cliff Lee thinks he could have started Game 4, but Charlie Manuel says he didn’t have to think very long before going with Joe Blanton. – Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse reports that MLB has made sure that Fox will move the right field camera back so we won’t have a repeat of Alex…

With Game 4 of the World Series just a few hours from first pitch, here’s a few items of interest from around baseball: – John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle thinks the “desperate-for-pop Giants” would consider outbidding the Red Sox for Jason Bay. Jon Heyman of SI.com reported last week that the Red Sox…

Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe wonders why a right-handed power hitter like the Mets covet — i.e., Jason Bay or Matt Holliday — would want to play in Citi Field, calling it a “death valley for righthanded hitters.” Cafardo is surely using David Wright as his case-and-point, which is just lazy journalism when you…

With the offseason just days away, Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune is back with his latest batch of rumors to preheat the Hot Stove. Among them, he floats Javier Vazquez as a possible trade candidate now that Tim Hudson is expected to finalize an extension with the Braves this week. Vazquez had one of…

The Phillies are down 2-1 with CC Sabathia awaiting them in Game 4 on Sunday night. Sounds pretty ominous, right? Not if you’re Charlie Manuel. He still plans on sticking with Joe Blanton. The Yankees are no-doubt licking their chops to face Blanton, who hasn’t appeared in a game since October 19. Here’s just a…

Much has been made of Alex Rodriguez’s World Series struggles, but after his two-run blast on Saturday night, the focus has now shifted to Ryan Howard, who is just 2-for-13 with nine strikeouts over the first three games of the series. Howard struck out in six straight at-bats between Game 2 and Game 3. He…

“I can’t wait until it’s over. It’s been mentally draining.” – Cole Hamels can’t wait for the season to be over. If the Yankees grab a 3-1 lead after Game 4, he might just get his wish. “Because we cannot control what the [Fox] camera man does with the camera, one of the specific ground…

It seems like the story has been repeated several times this year. Cole Hamels came out firing again Saturday, keeping the Yankees hitless through three innings. The only one of the first 11 hitters to reach did so on a HBP. And then it all fell apart, too quickly for Charlie Manuel to do much…

World Series Game 3 LiveBlog/Chat

While addressing the media before Game 3, manager Joe Girardi named CC Sabathia as his Game 4 starter. Sabathia would be starting on three day’s rest, but the decision doesn’t come as a huge surprise, since it would allow him to start a possible Game 7, if necessary, also on three day’s rest. Girardi hinted…

Cole Hamels was 10-11 with a 4.32 ERA during the regular season. His 6.75 ERA over three starts during the postseason was enough for Charlie Manuel to opt for Pedro Martinez in Thursday’s Game 2 rather than last season’s World Series MVP, prompting many to wonder, “What’s wrong with King Cole?” The truth? Not as…

- Poor Alex Rodriguez. The usual (and unusual) suspects are already piling on after his punchless start to the World Series. From the unusual department, on Friday we learned that he supposedly has two paintings depicting himself as a centaur above his bed. – Orioles international scouting director John Stockstill met with Cuban left-hander Aroldis Chapman…

David Wells is a real renaissance man. First, he was cast as the “Charles Barkley-type” for MLB coverage on TBS. Now, he’s a guest columnist for the New York Post during the World Series. In his newest piece entitled “City of Brotherly Love? My Butt!”, the former Yankee southpaw has Philadelphia in his crosshairs: They…

The awful umpiring during the postseason has been discussed ad nauseam here, most recently during the World Series, with a curious double play call in Game 1 and a missed double play call in Game 2. So, who’s the biggest culprit for the added scrutiny? Technology, says Joe Lemire of SI.com: It’s hard to quantify…

Quiet mornings like this one can see rumors take on a life of their own. Hence the Cubs quickly coming out to address rumors of a possible Milton Bradley-for-Vernon Wells trade, saying discussions of a potential swap have “no legs at all.” With five years remaining on his deal, Vernon Wells has one of the…

Cito Gaston announced that that next season will be his last as manager of the Blue Jays. The Toronto staff have some big changes in store, as hitting coach Gene Tenace will retire and as mentioned in the previous post, pitching coach Brad Arnsberg has left to join Brad Mills in Houston. Bruce Walton will…

While the Blue Jays lost pitching coach Brad Arnsberg to the Astros on Friday night, things are looking up with the rumors of a possible Vernon Wells-for-Milton Bradley trade. According to the Toronto Sun, Chicago would be willing to split the difference on the monies owed to the two players — Wells’ $107 million and…

Joe Girardi confirmed that Johnny Damon will start in left field for Game 3. While he didn’t make it official, this all but guarantees that Hideki Matsui will be sitting on the bench to start Saturday’s game in Philadelphia. While Nick Swisher and Damon have batted a combined .176 with two home runs and six…

Uh-oh. This weekend’s New York-Philadelphia showdown might be impacted by rain. According to Weather.com, there’s a 40 percent chance of rain for first pitch on Saturday. But no worries, Bill Conlin of the Philadelphia Daily News has some advice: My take? Enjoy temperatures in the 70s tomorrow. At game time, a humid breeze from the…