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BASEBALL MULTIMEDIA PLAYOFF REPORT TUESDAY OCTOBER 13, 2009
BRIAN ” Professer B ” Davis Staff Writer- On Monday at Coors Field in the World Champion Phillies who were down to their final out against the Colorado Rockies rallied for three unanswered runs as the Phillies with a dramatic come from behind win over the Rockies as Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard came through with a two-out game tying double off of Rockies closer Huston Street to tie the game at 4-4 then Jayson Werth RBI single scoring Howard to give the Phillies a come from behind 5-4 win. Phillies closer and Englewood Colorado native a suburb of Denver struck out Rockies shortstop Troy Tuluwitzki to end the divisional playoff series as the Phillies will face the Dodgers in the NLCS for the second straight season a rematch of last year’s NLCS in which the Phillies beat the Dodgers in five games.

This game for the Phillies  was a like a carbon copy of last year’s postseason run and why the Phillies won the World Series last year this playoff win will ranked up there with a game four of last year’s LCS when Shane Victorino hot a game-tying homer off of Dodgers closer Johnathan Broxton and then 40-year old Matt Stairs hit a two-run homer  to give the Phigtin Phils a improbable 6-4 win  or go way back in 1980 in game 5 in that classic National League Championship with the Phillies trailing 5-2 against the Houston Astros when the Phillies jumped on future Hall of Famer and baseball’s all-time strikeout king Nolan Ryan and the Astros bullpen for five runs including series MVP Manny Trillo’s two-run triple gave the Phillies a 7-5 lead but in the bottom half of the eight inning the Astros scored twice to tie up the game at 7-7.

This long marathon game dragged into the top the tenth when after Mike Schmidt struck out for the fourth time of the ball game and then veteran pinch-hitter Del Unser smashed a double down the right-field line and then with two-out outfielder Garry Maddox RBI double scoring Unser to give the Phillies a 8-7 lead and then in the bottom half of the 10th inning Phillies reliever Dick Ruthven retired the Astros in order to give the Phillies a 8-7 win in 10 innings to give the Phillies their first National League Pennett since the Phillies whiz kids team of 1950. The Phillies would go on to beat the Kansas City Royals in six games to win their first of two World Series titles in their 126 year history.

   
Tomorrow baseball multimedia will have a special cover story.This Year will mark the 40-year anniversary of the League Championship Series chroniclizing a two-part cover the first 40 years of league championship series history, fantastic finishes,heartbreak, drama and so much more.

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BASEBALL MULTIMEDIA INQUIER PLAYOFF REPORT FOR THURSDAY OCTOBER 8, 2009
Brian ” Professer B ” Davis  Baseball Staff Writer-  In the first game on the road of their World Series title defense in Philadelphia. Phillies starter Cliff Lee went the distance by throwing 8 2/3 shutout innings giving up one run on six hits with five strikeouts while waking one one Rockies batter as the while the Phillies prolific offense was lead by first baseman Ryan Howard and  outfielder Raul Ibanez who both went 2-for-4 at the plate with a combined two two-run doubles and a pair of RBI’s and outfielder Jayson Werth also help the Phillies cause with a RBI triple and he also scored twice. With the win the Phillies now leads this best of five series 1-0 and game two will be on Thursday for the Phillies it will be World Series & LCS MVP Cole Hammels vs. Rockies Aaron Cook at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia the coverage will begin at 2:30pm est 11:30am pst on TBS announcers for this game is Joe Simpson and Brain Anderson and sideline reporter will be David Aldridge.

NEW STADIUM SAME OLD YANKEES WITH THE SAME RESULTS  

NEW YORK- Last night at the New York Yankees Stadium the Yankees beat the weary Minnesota Twins who came into New York late night/early Wednesday mourning about 3:00am est just finishing off their one-game playoff to win a Thriller over the Detroit Tigers Tuesday night at the Metrodome in Minnenapolis the Twins jumped on Yankees starter C. C. Sabathia for early 2-0 heading into the top half of the third inning but the Yankees exploded for seven unanswered runs in four out of the next five innings to go ahead 7-2. Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez who has been an 0-for-29 playoff slump since the going back to Game 4 the 2004 American League Championship Series went 2-for-4 at the plate with a pair of of RBI singles as the Yankees will have a leg up on the Minnesota Twins 1-0. Game 2 will be at the new big Stadium on Friday night . For the Yankees it will be A.J. Burnett .vs 11-game winner Nick Blackburn coverage of this game will be on TBS announcers for this game will be Chip Carey & Ron Darling and sideline reporter will be Craig Sager.

L.A. LAW SERVES TO THE DODGERS

LOS ANGELES – At Dodger Stadium last night the Dodgers beat Chris Carpenter and the St. Louis Cardinals in  Chavez Ravine at Dodgers Stadium as the Redbirds had an early 1-0 lead then in the bottom half of the second inning Dodgers centerfielder Matt Kemp hit a two-run homer of of Carpenter to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead. Kemp became the first Dodgers centerfielder to hit a postseason homer since Jimmy Wynn known as ” The Toy Cannon”
hit a homer off of Oakland A’s closer Rollie Fingers in Game 1 of the 1974 World Series.
The Dodgers would latter add runs in the bottom of the third inning and shortstop Rafael Furcal would add a RBI  with a sacrifice fly and he also would have three hits at the plate. Dodgers reliever veteran Jeff Weaver pitched 1 1.3 innings giving up no runs with one strikeout while Dodgers closer Johnathan Broxton came in from the bullpen in the top half of the eighth inning to get a six out save and he did just that by going 1 1.3 innings giving up one run on two hits with a pair of strikeouts to pick up a save. The Dodgers and Cardinals both set a Division Series record with a combined 30 runners on base as the Dodgers left 16 runners on base including 12 in scoring position and Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez had a RBI double  and went 1-for-4 at the plate while Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols went 0-for-3 at the plate with two intentional passes. With the win the Dodgers leads the best of five series 1-0 and Game 2 will later today for the Dodgers it will be the 21-year old rookie Clayton Kershaw vs. 19-game winner and Cy Young Award canidate Adam Wainwright the coverage of Game 2 on the N.L.D.S. will start at 6pm est and 3pm pst on TBS the announcers will be Dick Stockton & Bob Brenly and sideline reporter and Sports Illustrated baseball writer Tom Verducci.

And finally in the nightcap in the ALDS it will be the Boston Red Sox  vs. the Los Angeles Angles of Anaheim which is located in Orange County, close to Disneyland, near the Airport, but nowhere near Los Angeles this will mark the fourth time these two teams will face each other in postseason for the fourth time in the last six years and the fifith time since 1986.
For the Red Sox it will be Jon Lester a 15-game winner vs.the Angels John Lackey the Game will start at at 9:30pm est and 6:30pm pst on TBS the announcers will be Don Orsillo & Buck Martinez and sideline reporter will be Marc Fein.

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BASEBALL MULTIMEDIA FOR WEDSNESDAY OCTOBER 7, 2009
BRIAN ” Professer B ” Davis Staff Writer- Well baseball fans in the greater upper midwest over 54,000 baseball fans were treated to one of the great one game playoff games as the Twins who one week ago were a loss away to the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park last Thursday to be eliminated fro the A.L. Central race and give the Tigers their first division title since 1987. The Tigers had a 3.0 game lead with only four to play and you’ve give the Twins despite losing their first baseman Justin Moreneu for the rest of the season with a back injury and players like Michael Cuddyer and catcher Joe Mauer is my American League MVP and has already won become the first catcher ever to win three batting titles and Last but not leat Twins manager Ron Gardenhire in my opinion should get some considerations as American League Manager of the Year as you look at the Twins organization from former General Manager and current Senior Advisor Terry Ryan has give a lot of credit  the way the Twins are traditionally build through the minor league system just like their counterparts  what former Twin manager Tom Kelly and former general manager Andy McPhail the son of former American League President Lee McPhail. An d not to mention Twins infielder Alexi Casilla will now have a place in baseball history of unknown players to come up with the big hit when a the game is on the line i a one-game playoff game like Bucky Dent with the Yankees in 1978 or Luis Sojo with the Mariners in 1995.

As for the Tigers Jim Leyland this is nothing new as a manager back in his days with the Pittsburgh Pirates twice were a game away from reaching the fall classic like in 1991 the Pirates were up 3-games-to-2 needing just one out of the two possible games at Three Rivers Stadium to advanced to the World Series but the Atlanta Braves went on to win game 6 and 7 to crowned National League Champions. Then one year later in game 7 in the 1992 National League Championship Series the two teams met up again this time was at Atlanta’s Fulton County Stadium with the Pirates coming in to this anti-clamatic game the Pirates who were down 3-games-to-1 to the Braves won game 5 in Pittsburgh by a score of 7-1 then as the series switched back to Atlanta for game six the Bucs bounced the Braves by a score of 13-4 setting the stage for game seven. The Pirates headed into the bottom half of the ninth inning with a 2-0 lead the Braves rallies to cut the Pirates lead to 2-1 and then with two outs Braves pinch-hitter Francisco Cabrera  hit a 2-1 fastball for a basehit score both David Justice and Sid Bream who had multiple knee operation scored the winning run to give the Braves a thrilling 3-2 win and as the for the Pirates a agony of defeat.

For the Twins it’s no rest for the weary as the Twins will travel to the new Yankee Stadium to play game 1 of the ALDS . For the Yankees it will be C.C. Sabathia vs. the Twins it will be Brian Duensing  the first pitch will be at 6:35 pm est the broadcast will be on TBS and on ESPN radio.

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BASEBALL MULTIMEDIA ONE-GAME PLAYOFF SPECIAL REPORT
TUESDAY OCTOBER 6, 2009 Brian” Professer B ” Davis Staff Writer-  Well baseball fans it does’nt get any better than this the one-game playoff between the Detroit Tigers and the Minnesota Twins in what could be the final game at the Hubert H. Humphery Metrodome in Minneapolis it will be for the Twins Scott Baker .vs the Tigers Rick Porcello the First pitch will be at 5:07pm est, 4:07pm cst, and 2:07pm pst. The winner of today’s game will take on the New York Yankees in game 1 of the American League Division Series the time and date is still unknown at presstime while the loser will go home for a long winter and soon be forgotten.

In retrospect if there any Tigers fans out there the Tigers who are trying to avoid to becoming only the second team ever since divisional play in 1969 to have a 7.0 game lead heading to  September  only not qualify for the postseason only the Mets who had a 7.0 game lead as of mid-September only to lose 12 out-of-their last 17 games to lose the National League East title to the Phillies by 1.0 game. Tigers fans can remember 22 years ago back on September 26, 1987 the Detroit Tigers losing to a heartbreaking loss to the Toronto Blue Jays at old Exhibition Stadium in Toronto by beating the Tigers by a score of 10-9 on a three-run walk-off double by Juan Beniquez  as the Blue Jays who had extended their lead over the Tigers in the American League East to 3.5 games with just a week to play but the Blue Jays did their part by losing their last seven games their seventh loss came on Sunday October 4, 1987 at Tiger Stadium were it was a A.L. East showdown for the Tigers who now has a 1.0 game over the  Tigers who now needed one one win to wrap up the A.L. East title a Blue Jays win would forced a one-game playoff at Tigers Stadium on Monday. Tigers veteran journeyman starter  Frank Tanana pitched a complete game six-hit shutout  and the Tigers got the only run of the game bottom half of the second inning when Tigers outfielder Larry Herndon hit a solo homer as the Tigers would win over the Blue Jays by a score of 1-0 to send the Blue Jays home to suffer in their own misery after blowing a 3.5 game lead with seven games to play as Tigers would advanced to the American League Championship series to lose to the eventual World Champion Minnesota Twins in five games in the ALCS.

In other baseball news Philadelphia Phillies manager Charlie Mannuel  will start left handed pitcher Cliff Lee in game one of the NLDS against the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday.

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BASEBALL MULTIMEDIA PLAYOFF REPORT FOR MONDAY OCTOBER 5, 2009
BRIAN “PROFESSER B DAVIS” BASEBALL MULTIMEDIA STAFF WRITER-  For the third straight year there will be a one-game playoff game to determine the final playoff spot for the MLB playoff tournament as both the Minnesota Twins and the Detroit Tigers will play on for a one-game playoff for the American League Central title Tuesday night at the Metrodome in Minneapolis first pitch will be at 5:00pmest 4:00pmcst (Minnesota Time) 2:00pm pst on TBS for the Tigers they will send 20 year old rookie Rick Porcello (14-9) on the mound vs the Twins Scott Baker (15-9). Porcello this season for the Tigers posted a (14-9) record with a 4.04 ERA in 30 games started with 81 strikeouts while his counterpart Baker compiled a (15-9) record with a 4.36 ERA in 32 games started with almost 200 innings pitched with 194 with 160 strikeouts.

IIn other baseball news the New Yorks Mets made some coaching staff shake by not retaining Mets first-base coach Luis Alicea and changed the role for Mets third-base coach Razor Shines and they also removed Sandy Alomar Sr. who been on the Mets coaching staff for the past five seasons for a team that finished 70-92 sufffering their first losing season since 2004. This is not the first time when the Mets have the one of baseball’s top payroll like back in the baseball’s winter off-season by signing Pittsburgh Pirates free-agent Bobby Bonilla  for $6 million, Eddie Murray $3 million, and veteran journeyman Frank Tanana 1.5 million  and the big trade and during the 1991 off-season by sending Greg Jefferies and Kevin McReynolds to the Kansas City Royals for Bret Saberhagen. The 1992 campaign did not change things as the Mets  finsihed with a 72-90 and then the following season the Mets went in to a total free-frawl meltdown as the ballclub suffered a 59-103 record as their worst record since 1965 and labled as ” The Worst Team That Money Could Buy” written by long time Mets beat writers Bob Klapisch and Joh Harper. I’ve read the book and a lot of things were disturbing like Mets pitcher Bret Saberhagen spraying bleach at some of the New York Media or Vince Colemen the same man who when he was with the St. Louis Cardinals back in 1986 who charged the mound after being hit by former Giants pitcher and current announcer Mike Krukow threw a firecracker injuring three people while the Mets were on a West Coast road trip would end up facing some serious felony chargers would cost the rest of his playing days with the Mets. 

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BASEBALL MULTIMEDIA PLAYOFF UPDATE FOR FRIDAY OCTOBER 2, 2009
Brian “ProfesserB Davis” STAFF WRITER- On Thursday the Colorado Rockies defeated the Milwaukee Brewers at Coors Field to clinched the at least a wild card playoff spot by a score of 9-2 and it was on the same date Sunday October 1, 1995 when the Rockies beat the San Francisco Giants by a score of 10-9 to win the franchise first ever trip to post season berth in just their third year of play. The Rockies are now 2.0 games behind the Dodgers in the National League west the Dodgers will win the west by winning one of the three games while the Rockies needs to sweep the Dodgers to win the west and then the Dodgers will be the wild card.

And at Comerica Park in Detroit the Minnesota Twins by a score 8-3 to denied the Tigers of wrapping up the A.L. Central the Tigers magic number is 2 a Tigers win combined with Twins loss will give the Tigers the A.L. Central Title and if the Chicago White Sox sweeps the Tigers in Detroit and the Twins sweeps the Royals a one game playoff will be at the Metrodome in Minneapolis on Monday time is TBD and the game will be broadcast on TBS.

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BASEBALL MULTIMEDIA UPDATE FOR THURSDAY OCTOBER 1, 2009

Brian “Professer B” Davis STAFF WRITER-  Last in the city of brotherly love in South Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia the Phillies wrapped up the their third National League East title by beating the Houston Astros  by a score of 10-3 as Phillies outfielder Raul Ibanez hit his  37th homer of the season surpassing his original career best 36 homers when he was with the Seattle Mariners back in 2006. With the win the Phillies for the second time ever win three consecutive N.L. East division titles the first came with the Mike Schmidt Steve Carlton Phillies teams accomplish that feat back in 1976, 1977, and in 1978. The Phillies are making that first step as they hope to become only the second National League team since divisional play begin 1969 to win back-to-back World Series since the Cincinnati Red known as “The Big Red Machine” did it back in 1975-76 seasons.

THE MOST DIVISION TITLES BY ONE TEAM SINCE DIVISIONAL PLAY BEGIN IN 1969.
MINIMUM TO CRACK THE TOP NINE TEAMS IS FIVE NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION TITLES.

1. Atlanta Braves 1969, 1982, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,  2002, 2003, 2004, 2005,
2. Los Angles Dodgers 1974, 1977, 1978, 1981,.1983, 1985, 1988, 1995, 2004, 2008,
3. St. Louis Cardinals   1982, 1985, 1987, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009,
4. Philadelphia Phillies  1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1993, 2007, 2008, 2009
5. Pittsburgh Pirates      1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1979,1990, 1991, 1992,
6.  Cincinnati Reds         1970, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1990, 1995
7. San Francisco Giants  1971, 1987, 1989, 1997, 2000, 2003
8. Houston Astros            1980,1986,  1997, 1998,1999, 2001,
9.Chicago Cubs               1984, 1989,  2003, 2007, 2008,

In other baseball games around in the National League the Colorado Rockies defeated the Milwaukee Brewers at Coors Field by a score of 10-6 as with Rockies win combined with the Atlanta Braves 5-4 loss to the Florida Marlins at Turner Field on Wednesday night reduced  their magic number to clinch is down to 1 a Rockies win over the Brewers today in Denver will give the Rockies the National League wild card berth and despite both the Marlins and the Giants wins including a complete game victory for Brad Penny over the Arizona D-Backs both the Giants and Marlins were both eliminated from playoff contention virtual of the Rockies win over the Brewers.

In the American League in Motown at Comerica Park in Detroit the Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins by a score of 7-2 to reduce their magic number tpo 2 a win over the Twins Today will the Tigers the American League Central title their first divsion title since 1987 and their second postseason berth in four years.

In other baseball news the Cleveland Indians yesterday have fired Eric Wedge effective at the end of the season as the Indians at the moment are only a 0.5 game ahead of the last place Kansas City Royals in the American League Central cellar. Wedge 41, in his seven season with the tribe compiled a 560-568 record including a American League Central Division in 2007 as the Cleveland Indians just two years ago were only one game away from going away from the World Series after having a commanding 3-games-to-1 lead in the American League Championship Series against the Boston Red Sox the Indians who in the past couple of years
have traded some of their best stars like pitchers C.C. Sabathia who was traded to the Brewers and now with the Yankees or Cliff Lee being traded to the Phillies and catcher Victor Martinez being dealt at the trading deadline to the Red Sox  the ballclub are at presstime are 28 games under .500 Cleveland Indians General Manager Mark Shapiro stated at yesterday’s news conference that Wedge will manage the five games of the season and he also stated that the current entire Indians coaching staff will not be retained for next year.

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