Ken Davidoff's baseball insider

1. Here is my column from the final game of the 2008 season. Joe Maddon is clearly a bright, affable guy who connects with his players, and he'll deserve the AL Manager of the Year award he'll receive in a couple of weeks. But in the name of Mercury, how could he sleep last night knowing that he didn't put David Price in the game until it was too late?

You have a pitcher who has the stuff of a starter, the bulldog mentality of a reliever, and the arm strength to pitch for a long time. With your season on the line, how does he not take the mound the minute Charlie Manuel summons Geoff Jenkins to pinch hit for Cole Hamels?

When you throw in the other mistakes Maddon made in the three innings, you have to really wonder if he'll take the winter to re-evaluate his game managing. That marked the second game of this postseason, the other one being this, in which his managing appalled the senses.

He's a contrarian, and his big line after ALCS Game 5 - when he botched a number of matchups - was, "This is how we've done it all year." I didn't see enough Rays games to speak to that. But Maddon sure ignored common sense a lot. And it sure backfired on him, a lot.

2. That written, congratulations to the Rays for a truly remarkable season. I don't buy the idea that they're some sort of dynasty waiting to happen; unexpected stuff happens in this great game. But with their talent base and their dynamic front office, they figure to be a factor for many, many years to come.

3. Okay, now, the Phillies. There are three people who should really enjoy this moment. One is Pat Gillick, who came out of retirement three years ago to replace Ed Wade as Philadelphia's GM. Wade did a better job than people realized, setting up a nuecleus by drafting/acquiring and developing players like World Series MVP Cole Hamels, Brett Myers, Pat Burrell, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Shane Victorino (a Rule 5 selection), not to mention hiring manager Charlie Manuel.

But Gillick rounded out the roster with guys like Jayson Werth, Jamie Moyer, Matt Stairs, J.C. Romero and, last winter, Brad Lidge. He made the call to trade Jim Thome to clear room for Howard. And he had the humility to NOT rearrange the furniture just for the sake of proving that you can do so.

Gillick is an all-time, legendary GM: Three World Series titles and 11 playoff appearances in 30 years. If you eliminate the first seven years he ran the Blue Jays (1978-84), when he was building up an expansion team from scratch, he made the playoffs 11 times in 23 years. He doesn't get all warm and fuzzy with the media, which is why he doesn't get more coverage - and don't get me wrong, I loves me some warm and fuzzy. But to end his career on such a high note gives him a spotlight he richly deserves.

4. Charlie Manuel. I remember ripping Wade for hiring Manuel, wondering why such a country bumpkin would be brought in. Boy, was I wrong. Charlie proved to be a perfect fit for this tough city. He establishes such a positive environment in the clubhouse, every day, that the players have only themselves to blame if they get caught up in the negativity.

If you watched the post-game celebration on the field, and Manuel's interview with Fox, you saw how fired up he was. He deserved it, at age 64. He'll never be mocked again (or, at least until he botches a game decision next year).

5. Lidge, pictured above. I discussed him here. What I neglected to mention was that, the night Lidge served up that tape-measure shot to Albert Pujols, he was the first person at his locker after the game. He took full accountability for what happened, in multiple cyles with the large media contingent. Since then, I always have admired Lidge.

While Lidge might have maintained his strong stuff after '05, there's no doubt his subsequent two years with the Astros were a struggle. Everything he did was viewed through the prism of his '05 postseason. Now, he has rewritten his own biography. Good for him.

6. Philly. Good for them. As Dave Lennon and I left Citizens Bank Park at about 12:20 this morning, the crowd was rowdy but not violent. Apparently, hanging out of cars and dancing on top of cars is the cool thing to do there. They deserve it. Twenty-five years without a sports parade is a long time. They'll have theirs tomorrow. I also loved the booing of Bud Selig, even after they had won it all. I think Bud will look fondly upon it, too, eventually.

7. So now it's offseason time. Less running around for me means more blog entries. Thanks for the enthusiasm of the past week. And here is my final World Series Insider, focusing on Mark Teixeira's future.

SELF-PROMOTION UPDATE: I will be on XM Satellite Radio, Channel 175, with Charlie Steiner at 1:45 this afternoon.

As discussed here before, I always work myself into a frenzy in the rare instances that I listen to sports radio. Today was no exception.

As I drove down the New Jersey Turnpike, I listened to Dennis' pal Francesa, and he took a caller who referenced the third item in this story by Jon Heyman, which in turn credits this story by Bill Madden.

The caller then declared that the Mets had "no fight," and that they needed to change their clubhouse culture.

"They're great dancers," the caller said of the Mets' players, clearly a veiled reference to Jose Reyes.

I want to start asking these Mets fans, who hate their own team, what they thought of the 1986 Mets. They had to be one of the more hated teams in recent times, didn't they? The difference, of course, is they got it done when they had to. I thought the '08 Mets displayed plenty of character until the bitter end. They just couldn't overcome their horrid bullpen.

Did those '86 Mets have a toughess that the '07-'08 Mets lacked? Absolutely. But they also had better talent. They had two second basemen who contributed, as opposed to zero. An incredible bench. Two guys who could close.

I don't know, maybe this is the fatigue talking. But I think the Mets are smart to target relief help this winter. If they just protect more of the leads they get, they can play with all of the swagger in the world.

Thanks to this site for the Lenny Dykstra photo.

What a wacky turn of events. I headed home yesterday, once it became apparent that he would have no baseball, and will drive back down to Philly tonight.

The forecast looks better this morning - just clouds, no rain. As we've learned, however, these meteorologists are not quite perfect.

Maybe Jim Baumbach is right with his column: Maybe the suspended game, and the accompanying drama, will raise the interest level tonight. On the other hand, maybe casual fans will have moved onto the NBA and Halloween.

Greetings from Plymouth Meeting, PA! Turned out that Lennon and I were overly optimistic in checking out of our respective hotels yesterday afternoon, with the intention of driving back to The Big Apple last night. When this happened, we both had to scramble for rooms. So I'm out here, about 20 miles from Citizens Bank Park. I think Dave is staying at the Governor's Mansion in New Jersey.

(BTW, these sort of "media travel details" drive Rieber nuts. I'm just sayin'.)

So, instead of pursuing the producers of this show, and roughing them up, let's dissect what happened at the ballpark.

1. Here is my column. To break it down further:

a. No objections to starting the game. At first pitch, the weather.com forecast indicated that a light rain would persist but get no worse. The conditions were playable at the game's beginning.

b. It started to get really bad in the fifth - horrific timing. If the game had dragged longer early, and they put on the tarp before the contest became official, then they could've banged the game and started from scratch. An unpalatable denouement, no doubt, since the Phillies would've blown a Cole Hamels start, but what are you gonna do?

But once it became clear that the conditions made the game unplayable, the game was already official, with the Phillies up, 2-1. Bud Selig should've just admitted afterward that the score absolutely influenced their decision-making. Once the Rays tied it, they could throw on the tarp knowing that they could pick the game up whenever weather permits.

You know that, when B.J. Upton scored on Carlos Pena's sixth-inning single, beating Pat Burrell's throw home, Selig let out a "Woo hoo!"

How bad would a rain-shortened World Series finale have been? Not real good, obviously, both in terms of fan satisfaction and future marketing - you want to be able to put a photo of the team pile-up on DVDs, etc. But there would've been some integrity to it: "We play our game outdoors in many cities. We're not football. We're not meant to play in any and all conditions. We're sorry the Rays didn't get a full nine innings, but the rules are the rules, whether it's April 27 or October 27."

The alternatives were horrible. To keep playing last night would have been a grand injustice; the Rays probably wouldn't have tied the game in the first place if not for the weather. And for Selig to invoke his "best interests of the game" power to put the game on indefinite delay, that would've been an abuse of his power, IMHO.

So, Selig should personally thank the Rays for tying this up. Because they did, all we're really ripping the commisioner on is theoreticals.

c. "This is the price they pay for starting so late at night." I guess, if you apply that only to last night. I mean, what if first pitch was 7:05, and then the rain turned really bad at 8:30, as opposed to starting at 8:30 and turning really bad at 10?

I used to be all over baseball for the late starting times, thinking that they were inflicting damage on their future audience because kids didn't get to see a full World Series game. But my 5-year-old son has become a passionate baseball fan (I swear, I didn't force it upon him), and he doesn't seem to care that he misses the games. He calls me every morning at 7 and asks me, "Who won?"

d. "This is the price they pay for extending the postseason so late." And it's gonna be even later next year. But again...not sure what can/should be done. How much would they have to move it up to avoid a scenario like last night's? A week? Two weeks? Do you cut down the number of playoff games? They did move back Game 1 four days last year, to avoid starting the Series on the weekend, which I thought was smart.

2. Anyway, about the game itself: Right now, it feels like the Rays won back some momentum. Pena and Evan Longoria are both finally on the board with hits. Grant Balfour came up huge in relief of Scott Kazmir, escaping a first-and-second, none-out situation in the fifth. And now the Phillies have to complete this game without Hamels.

3. It seemed like home-plate ump Jeff Kellogg was all over the map. But no, I'm not going to advocate replay for balls and strikes.

4. If we somehow can finish the game tonight - and right now, it is pouring outside - and the Rays extend this to seven, we'd be looking at playing six straight days, switching sites with no rest for travel. It'll be interesting to see how the players hold up. At least all of the relievers except Balfour got last night off.

5. Here is my World Series Insider, which discusses the Mets' willingness to trade youngsters for a closer. It sounds like Seattle's J.J. Putz, a Richie G. favorite, won't be made available. But you can count on Omar Minaya asking new Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik about that issue at next week's GM meetings. Assuming those GM meetings aren't delayed by an unresolved World Series.

All right, I'll post an update as soon as we know something more.

UPDATE, 7:07 P.M. Hey, did you hear they pushed back the World Series? Sorry, I wound up driving back to NYC (so no local exploring, Sandy). Thanks for keeping things running in my absence. I'm writing a column for tomorrow's Newsday, but to give you a sneak preview, the more I think about what transpired, the more I think the Phillies got jobbed. I think, however, they have the perfect manager to forget about what happened and just move forward. Charlie Manuel is not one to sweat the small stuff.

I was flashing back this morning to the last time the Phillies won the World Series, and what stands out the most is the game's second-to-last play, when Pete Rose somehow caught the foul ball - hit by Frank White - that hit Bob Boone's glove first.

Rose could easily win a mayoral election in Cincinnati, but he's pretty popular here, too, understandably so. Wouldn't it have been cool to have Rose throw out the ceremonial first pitch for tonight's World Series Game 5?

I'm no Rose apologist. While the BBWAA never had a chance to vote on Rose's Hall of Fame candidacy - Fay Vincent created a rule specifically designed to keep Rose off the ballot - I would say no forever. There is no greater sin than betting on games when you're a participant in the game. Even if you're only the manager. Even if you bet on your own team.

But is it really necessary to keep him out of the game altogether? Couldn't he at least show up at ballparks and get applauded?

Bud Selig has been hypocritical on this issue. He allowed Rose to show up for a 1999 event in Atlanta, before Game 2 of that World Series, because he made the All-Century team and the sponsor wanted him there. The same thing happened in 2002, when Rose appeared at an event prior to one of the games (I would guess Game 4, but can't remember for certain) in San Francisco.

So why not let him be honored for his great playing career? You still wouldn't be giving him what he really wants - the chance to work again in baseball. And the Veterans Committee would never vote in Rose, even if he did appear on the ballot.

Just a thought, as we get ready for Game 5...

Thanks to this site for the photo.

My hotel refuses to pick up Newsday's Web site, so no links to my stuff this morning, you lucky dogs. I'll update later.

1. The Rays look cooked, don't they? Offense, defense, starting pitching, relief pitching - they all look like they're ready to go home.

The manager, too. Why Andy Sonnanstine was still in the game to pitch to Ryan Howard in the fourth inning, with Trever Miller warming up, only Joe Maddon knows.

No matter what goes down tonight, it will have been a remarkable season for the Rays. But those 1969 Mets comparisons will probably die down some, if the Rays go home without the title.

All this said, the Rays have the right person on the mound tonight in Scott Kazmir. Even with Cole Hamels going for the Phillies, it wouldn't surprise me if Kazmir brought the season back home to Tropicana Field. That said, I'll be checking out of my hotel this afternoon, ready to hop on I-95 back home with Newsday teammate David Lennon, in case the Phils get 'er done.

2. Yet another blown umpire's call, as Evan Longoria clearly tagged Jimmy Rollins when the Phillies' shortstop got caught in a first-inning rundown. Did you see how long it took Fox to come up with the conclusive replay? About 30 seconds, right? Throw in the 45 seconds or so it would take the crew chief to get to the replay area, and you're talking about something that would take two minutes, tops, to dramatically alter - for the better - the game's course.

3. Joe Blanton. Wow. Was it the smudge on his hat? Maybe, although the umpires didn't act upon Joe Maddon's alert. If you look at Blanton's career numbers, you'll see a league-average innings-eater. The guy who could, conceivably, come up with a game like this one.

You'll also see that Blanton was part of Billy Beane's notorious, Moneyball draft class of 2002. The A's did all right for themselves, despite the highly publicized failure of Jeremy Brown. Blanton and Nick Swisher contributed to the A's 2006 playoff run, and Blanton, Swisher and Mark Teahen all brought back interesting pieces in trades.

4. Howard. You know the tables have turned for him when, earlier in the Series, the Rays were pitching around Chase Utley to get to Howard. Last night, with a runner on second and none out in the sixth, Edwin Jackson struck out Utley and then intentionally walked Howard to go after the ice-cold Pat Burrell, who hit into a double play.

5. Finally, the city of Philly and their fans, as pictured. Can you imagine going 25 years since any of your sports teams won it all?

The passion here has been tremendous, notably Saturday night, when the fans patiently waited out a 91-minute rain delay and stayed for the whole game, even as it ended at 1:47 in the morning. Here's hoping that, if they get what they want, they behave themselves.

Have a great day.

UPDATE: 1:26 P.M. Here is my column off the game. Here is my World Series Insider, which leads with an update on Rays senior baseball advisor Don Zimmer.

Figure I might as well blog while my thoughts are fresh, and while there's still some traffic outside the ballpark. What a game.

1. The late start. What did you think? I have mixed feelings, as I discussed in the column I wrote for Newsday's first edition; unfortunately, as I write this, it's not on our Web site yet. Baseball officials thought that the storm would stop in time for a 9:30 first pitch; they proved to be overly optimistic by 36 minutes. Should they have postponed the game earlier in the day, or did they do the right thing?

I'll say this: You didn't see an empty seat here, and the fans behaved no differently than if it had been an 8:35 first pitch. And in the bottom of the ninth inning, you still couldn't see an empty seat. So ultimately, who represents your top priority? The paying fans who are there in person, or the fans watching on TV and watching the advertisements?

2. The ninth inning. So many decisions. Let's break them up.

a. A scenario we've discussed here plenty: Phillies get a runner on third with none out, 90 feet away from victory. The Rays respond by intentionally walking Shane Victorino and pinch-hitter Greg Dobbs, loading the bases for a Grant-Balfour-Carlos Ruiz matchup.

A reporter asked Tampa Bay manager Joe Madeon afterward, "Did you think at all about maybe letting Balfour strike his way out of the situation? Or is that too much to ask in that situation, in the bottom of the ninth?"

Maddon responded that he viewed Victorino as so dangerous - he could have bunted, he could have squeezed - to let hit. Then, when Dobbs pinch hit for Pedro Feliz, Maddon cited Dobbs' success as a pinch hitterr; Dobbs led all major leaguers with 22 regular-season pinch hits in 2008. So it was Ruiz, and then it would've been Matt Stairs pinch-hitting for J.C. Romero.

You can disagree with Maddon. But I thought his explanations made some sense. Ruiz is slow-footed, and he could've easily hit into a "throw to home, then to first" double play.

b. Ben Zobrist became the fifth infielder, coming in from rightfield, putting on an infielder's glove and playing behind second base for the Ruiz at-bat. The last time I remember seeing that tactic was in this game; the Red Sox tried it, and if I remember correctly, it didn't play a factor. Likewise, it made no difference in this World Series game. But it was still cool.

c. Should Evan Longoria have let Ruiz's game-ending, swinging bunt go foul? At first glance I thought so. Longoria had virtually no chance to get Bruntlett at home. He might as well have let it go and prayed for the best.

But the Rays violently disagreed with that analysis.

"I have to try and make a play," Longoria said.

"It would've stayed fair," Balfour said. "The grass is pretty thick there."

"I have no qualms with him picking it up and doing what he did," Joe Maddon said. "Actually, if he had been able to flip it without the extra height, he would have been out at the plate."

3. First-base umpire Tom Hallion admitted, after the game, that he blew the seventh-inning call on Carl Crawford. The speedy Rays outfielder hit a soft grounder down the first-base line, and Phillies pitcher Jamie Moyer dove, snared the ball in his glove, and, in one motion, used his glove to shovel the ball to Ryan Howard at first base. Howard managed to barehand the ball with his left hand, and replays conclusively showed that the throw beat Crawford.

Instead, because Hallion ruled Crawford safe, the Rays proceeded to score two runs.

How easy would it have been there to look at the replay and overrule Hallion? Eventually, baseball must add replay for everything besides balls and strikes. It won't take as long as you fear, and they'll get the calls right.

I had to laugh when Longoria complained afterwards, "It was one of those days when the baseball gods were on their side." Longoria was upset because he thought he hit a sixth-inning homer off Moyer to leftfield, only to see it die on the warning track and get caught by Pat Burrell.

I started to say, "What about the break you guys got in the play at first base?" But given how tired I was at that point, it's possible I might have posed the question in Portuguese. I'm pretty sure Longoria didn't fully comprehend what I was asking, and some other eager questioner quickly got his attention.

4. Moyer. How amazing was he? He missed out on getting the victory, but he redeemed himself, proving he still had something left, after a miserable NLCS outing against the Dodgers. It's fascinating in that there's absolutely no one else out there like him, who would try to get away with winning games by throwing no faster than 82 mph. I hope he keeps it going for another five years. I wrote about Moyer in Newsday's second edition last night.

5. So it's not a great World Series. But it is an exciting one, and it'd be surprising if the Phillies could finish the job here at home. It would be nice to have a Fall Classic that lasts longer than Shark Week.

6. Here is my Sunday Insider, which discusses Alex Rodriguez's potential participation (or potential lack thereof) in next year's World Baseball Classic.

OK, time to head back to the hotel. I'll check in (much) later in the day.

UPDATE, 3:32 p.m.: Here is my Moyer column. Here is my column on Selig and the rain delay. Here is the Seventh-Inning Stretch.

Here is my column from the off day between Games 2 and 3 of the World Series. I was kind of all talked out on the strategy/theme front, and David Lennon covered the Phillies' offensive struggles, so I checked in with former Met Cliff Floyd, one of the nicest guys and best quotes in the business.

I had to link to the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel site because my hotel Internet service steadfastly refuses to pick up the Newsday site. I can't explain.

In other news, since I can't link to the stories...