Rob Neyer

  (12:37 PM)

Yes, I'm 35 minutes late. No, I don't have a good excuse. And yes, you're still stuck with me again, only 18 hours after my last chat ...

Ben (Seattle, WA)

Rob, with the M's wrapping up interviews this week for GM, who do you see as being the best fit there? Peter Woodfork and Kim Ng seem the best.

Rob Neyer

  (12:37 PM)

I don't have any idea, Ben. Of course I've heard good things about both of them, but I'm not wired in to the point where I can predict which of them would be the right person for that job.

Bryan (Portland, ME)

Rob, any thoughts on the probability of this year's Rays' run compared to the '69 Mets or '87 Twins or '91 Braves?

Rob Neyer

  (12:39 PM)

Well, in terms of probability these Rays might be the most probable, because statistical projections before this season suggested the Rays would be really competitive.

Steve (Fleming Island, FL

I know picking a short series is a crapshoot, but does it give you some satisfaction to be the only ESPN analyst to pick the Phillies?

Rob Neyer

  (12:42 PM)

Some? Sure. It's more fun than being wrong. But I've been wrong plenty of times, too. Being "right" doesn't pay the bills. Trust me.

Adam (Columbus, OH)

Rob, I'm a fan of Victorino (hooray for short guys with big cabooses), but is it possible he's gone from unheralded to over-hyped? He's a nice player, but I'm starting to hear a lot of "winner" comments, which is generally a crutch to elevate an average player to more than he is.

Rob Neyer

  (12:44 PM)

As my friend Jonah Keri points out, Victorino is one of those rare players who is both excellent and obviously hustling all the time. Guys like that will always be overrated, just a little bit. And I'm pretty sure that's OK.

Steven (Brooklyn, NY)

Personally, I don't even think it should be a question of whether or not Pujols should win the MVP. He deserves it and not Howard yet people still think Howard has a great chance. Do you think the terrible postseason by Howard will help people convince that he is not the MVP of the league (or even of his own team)?

Rob Neyer

  (12:46 PM)

I would probably vote for Pujols, too. But Berkman had a great year. So did Carlos Beltran. Notice a running theme here? Right: non-playoff teams. As I've said a few times before, this figures to be the most interesting set of MVP votes ever.

Andy (Tampa)

I know it would seriously rock the boat, but if you were Joe Maddon, would you give any consideration to starting David Price instead of Kazmir in game 6?

Rob Neyer

  (12:49 PM)

Not if Kazmir's healthy. It's been more than three weeks since Price has pitched more than two innings.

Rich (Orlando)

Rob, What are the Rays going to do with six starters next spring? Edwin Jackson looks pretty good as a candidate for the closer's job, especially with Percival there as a willing tutuor.

Rob Neyer

  (12:49 PM)

I do think Jackson's the odd man out, but I don't know that you make him your closer on Day 1. Shouldn't he first establish himself as a reliever, in a lesser role?

Matt (Boston)

Any thoughts on the history of knuckle-ballers pitching in colder weather vs. warmer summertime conditions?

Rob Neyer

  (12:52 PM)

I don't have any particular thoughts, but I'm surprised to find that Wakefield's best months are April and September.

Pahking the Cah (Boston)

What happened to Lester? According to the announcers and press people, he can do no wrong. I'm confused.

Rob Neyer

  (12:54 PM)

Well, you know what they say ... Past performance does not guarantee future success.

Luis, Houston TX

Rob. yesterday you said Lincecum wins the NL Cy Young this year. Do you really think He was a better pitcher than Johan Santana this year? or Were you just saying you thought Lincecum was going to win? Santana had the better ERA and more QS, CG, SHO. Also, Lincecum allowed 5 ER four times, Santana did so once. I know about the Ks and those 2 more wins but How exactly was Lincecum the better pitcher?

Rob Neyer

  (12:57 PM)

I do think that Lincecum's numbers are more impressive than Santana's, at least superficially. I will note that -- as someone helpfully pointed out -- Lincecum's numbers were seriously juiced by a lot of great innings against the Padres. Enough to swing us back to Santana? I haven't checked yet. But at least now it's out there.

Corey (Great Neck, NY)

Why are people saying Lester pitched so poorly yesterday? He gave up a few bombs that he doesn't normally, and now scouts say he has "lost his stuff"? I am willing to bet that he has a shutdown start next time out.

Rob Neyer

  (12:57 PM)

You know what? Me too. He made two or three bad pitches and they got hit. It happens.

Tony (Parsippany, NJ)

A lot of second guessing of Torre today on pulling Lowe out early. I didn't like the move, but the Dodgers were in good position in the 8th inning with Wade and Broxton pitching, isn't it fair to say they let the Dodgers down, not Torre?

Rob Neyer

  (12:59 PM)

Yeah. I wrote about this today in my blog. My only second-guess: Wade had thrown 33 pitches in Sunday's game, and this was the first time all year that Torre asked him to come back a day later.

Joshua (Annapolis, MD)

You mean Lester will be great, if there is a next time, right?

Rob Neyer

  (12:59 PM)

Sure. Could be next April.

Joe, RI

How bad was Jeter at SS this year? He cut down on his errors, but his range still seemed horrible. At 35, how many more years do the Yankees expect him to play there?

Rob Neyer

  (1:00 PM)

He seems to have been less bad than usual, but that's probably just statistical noise.

Chet (LA)

It seems like Scot Kazmir rarely makes it past the 5th inning. Should the Rays consider moving him to the bullpen ala Kerry Wood? Putting Edwin Jackson & Kazmir in the pen would make room for David Price and Wade Davis to be in the rotation. Do you see something like that happening or would starting 2 rookies every 5 days be too much of a risk? it just seems like Kazmir is a long-relief or closer.

Rob Neyer

  (1:02 PM)

Kazmir averaged 6 innings per start in 2007. If he can do that, he's worth keeping in the rotation. If he drops to 5 per start, maybe you think about moving him. But we're not there yet.

Dave (STL)

Is Colby Rasmus still the incredible prospect that everyone thought he was a year ago? Also, any truth to the rumors that the Cardinals might be in on the Peavy talks?

Rob Neyer

  (1:03 PM)

After a weak season in Triple-A, Rasmus' stock is definitely down. But he's just turned 22 and still profiles as a good major leaguer. Don't know about Peavy.

Justin (L.A., CA)

Any predictions on a team that could be next year's Rays? i.e. awful or mediocre for a long time, but now is ready to surprise everyone?

Rob Neyer

  (1:06 PM)

Well, not many teams have been awful or mediocre for so many years, which really limits the candidates. I suppose the Reds are the closest to what you're talking about. But the bottom line is that they're just aren't many teams that do what the Rays have done. It's once or twice per generation, not per year.

Announcer (TBS)

The Rays did a great job of manufacturing runs last night. It's important that teams don't rely on the long ball in the post season because you just can't win that way.

Rob Neyer

  (1:06 PM)

heh heh

Mike, NY

Rob, who is playing first for the yanks next year?

Rob Neyer

  (1:08 PM)

Maybe Teixeira, maybe Posada, maybe Giambi, maybe somebody we haven't thought of yet. I don't think the Yankees know.

John (NY)

Sorry to sound like a bitter Mets fan, but after weeks of reading articles about how the Phillies were just the better team it gets to you. Was there one serious injury the Phillies had to deal with all season? The biggest I can think of is losing Rollins to the 15 day DL early on. Nothing compared to losing Wagner, Church, and Pedro. Even if we all saw Pedro coming.

Rob Neyer

  (1:13 PM)

Well, that's why all the preseason projections showed the Mets winning 90-95 games and the Phillies 85-90.

Alex (Princeton)

What do you think about Buster Olney's idea of the Yankees moving Cano to first and going after Orlando Hudson to play second? Not a bad idea if Derek Lowe is one of their top free agent targets.

Rob Neyer

  (1:17 PM)

I don't think Cano will ever hit enough to play first base. Certainly not in 2009. If Cano can't (or isn't able to) play second base, he doesn't have much value.

Josh (DC)

Is it surprising that Pedro and Wagner got injured?

Rob Neyer

  (1:19 PM)

Pedro, no. Wagner, a little bit. And Church, of course. I don't know that the Mets suffered an unusual amount of injuries. But considering they finished one game out in the WC standings, it's fair to suggest that if they'd been a little luckier they'd have qualified for the tournament. Of course, that's true for lots of teams...

Andy (Philadelphia)

Injuries are part of the game. Even when the Mets had Wagner healthy, didn't he blow like atleast 8 saves? Yeah thought so. You had your core, Wright, Beltran, Delgado, Reyes and Johan healthy all season.

Rob Neyer

  (1:21 PM)

That's true, too.

Jason (Chicago)

A friend of mine, living in Florida, described her boss as a "diehard Rays' fan." This is a 40-something year old man, is it really possible that a franchise that didn't even exist when he turned 30 could mean that much to him? If Portland got a team I know you'd be excited and happy for the city, but could you really have THAT strong an emotional attachment to them?

Rob Neyer

  (1:22 PM)

I'm sure it seems THAT strong to him, because it's all he knows. Does he wake up in January thinking about the Rays? Probably not. But that's not the standard down there.

Ryan: PA

Why not let the Major Networks, who show the LCS, have the local hometown broadcasters do the games locally? There's nothing like having the Harry Kalas call the shots/Vin Scully call for the Dodgers locally.

Rob Neyer

  (1:23 PM)

Why not give us a choice? The technology certainly exists.

Matt (Knoxville, TN)

what do you expect from wakefield and sonnanstine tonight?

Rob Neyer

  (1:24 PM)

I think all the rest will help Wakefield, and I think Sonnanstine will do well if he can just avoid serving any cookies to Papi.

Mark (Tempe, AZ)

Do you think the Mariners will seriously consider trading Ichiro this off-season, or does the ownership group make him a Mariner for life?

Rob Neyer

  (1:25 PM)

I think Ichiro would consider leaving, but I'll be shocked if ownership allows it.

Vince (CA)

Do you think Francona should move Ortiz down in the line-up, considering he doesn't have a hit yet in the series and hasn't homered in his last 53 ABs?

Rob Neyer

  (1:26 PM)

No. I think they'll keep running him out there and hope something good happens. Which is what I would do.

gee

Is Matt Kemp on the Milton Bradley / Tony Phillips train to wacko-ville or what? Why are so many professional athletes so petulant? I mean...just in terms of profession..are they not the luckiest humans on the planet?

Rob Neyer

  (1:31 PM)

I won't address Kemp specifically because I don't know enough about him. But if you're a petulant jerk before you get rich you'll probably still be a petulant jerk after.

Dingo(KC)

You read it here first. Next seasons Tampa suprise will be the KC Royals. HAH!

Rob Neyer

  (1:31 PM)

I wish. Not enough young talent, though. (Plus, Jose Guillen will still be sucking up outs like there's no tomorrow.)

Old Bridge, NJ

When the NLCS MVP is determined do they use the stats from both rounds of the series or just the NLCS?

Rob Neyer

  (1:33 PM)

Just the NLCS, O.B. And for some reason they don't name Division Series MVPs. (If you can explain that one to me, I've got a cookie for you.)

Bob (Denver)

Is Gillick a HOF GM? He's got an impressive body of work and if the Phillies pull this off, it would be quite a finishing statement...

Rob Neyer

  (1:35 PM)

It's funny, I didn't even consider him for the Coop until someone mentioned the possibility in the NYT the other day. I'm sure he's a fine candidate, but the Hall doesn't seem to have much interest in electing executives.

Jeff (Philly)

Is there always an MVP in a series that might only go 3 games?

Rob Neyer

  (1:35 PM)

Sure, why not? Anyway, they used to have LCS MVP's when that was a best-of-five format.

Erich (CT)

Have you heard of anything in the rumor mill suggesting AJ Burnett will accept the Jays extension? Or is Burnett opting out pretty much a 100% done deal?

Rob Neyer

  (1:38 PM)

I have to think he opts out, just to see what's out there. Thanks for all the questions, but I now must devote my full attention to Sarah Palin, who's on Rush Limbaugh's show right now. I need the knowledge. But I'll be back tomorrow night for Game 5, and until then don't forget: "Some things just have to be true, because they have no other choice." -r