Who was the better team?

by LateInningRelief on Nov 5, 2009 4:38 PM EST Comment 20 comments

I just saw this quote from Jimmy Rollins on RAB:

“They were the better team this series,” Rollins said after the game. “Do I think we’re the better team? I really do. They just executed. I think we weren’t playing bad, but they were playing that much better. They got the hits, we didn’t. It’s that simple.”

Classy, right? Which brings up my next question:

Who was the better team: The Angels or the Phillies? I actually think the Phillies were the third best team in baseball this year.

Poll

Who was the better opponent?

The Angels

40 votes

The Phillies

52 votes

92 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | Comment 20 comments

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Comments

I'd put the Phillies 4th at best

The Angels and Red Sox were both better. You can’t overstate the difference between the AL and the NL. While the Phillies beat the Dodgers, the Dodgers were significantly better over the previous 162 games so the two of them fight for 4th in my mind.

by stusviews on Nov 5, 2009 4:52 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

+1

NL is garbage.

This sticker is dangerous and inconvenient, but I do love Fig Newtons.

by Lord Duggan on Nov 5, 2009 7:37 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Jimmy thinks he was the better team?

I don’t get how he thinks. Yankees won 10 more games in the best division in baseball. They had the best record in baseball. And they beat the Phillies in the World Series. Where is the evidence that the Phils are better? I don’t see it Jimmy.

I suppose next is, “I was the better shortstop out of the two teams, but Jeter just got hits and good clutch hits and I didn’t”.

Doesn’t make sense Jimmy.

by nyyrocks29 on Nov 5, 2009 5:09 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Someone should send Rollins a straight jacket.

Either that or put him in a padded room so he can babble to himself all he likes.

"It's only fun if you win, Skip." -- Me.

by Paul O'Neill on Nov 5, 2009 5:16 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

He's got a big mouth

VA Yankee since 93'

by jramey on Nov 5, 2009 5:24 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

well then again, Jeter said if they played the D-backs 99 out of 100 times that last inning they would win in '01

but thats a compliment to Mo

VA Yankee since 93'

by jramey on Nov 5, 2009 5:25 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Jimmy gets a lot of hate...

yet, he’d be a fool to go out and say his team isn’t better. Now, he probably should have kept quiet on the whole 5 games thing, but saying he thinks his team is better is no biggie..he should.

That said, I think the Phillies were just as formiddable an opponent as any AL team. They ARE an AL team.

If the Yanks had to play these guys 19 times a year…that’d be tough.

Hamels is still young and gonna get better. Happ too. Pedro in reality is a good 5th starter (and shouldn’t be starting a game 6….).

They really have an AL lineup too. Ruiz isn;t bad (tho he’s Joe Mauer against the Yanks…), Feliz is a decent hitter and excellent fielder. Ibanez would be a good DH.

If they had the Hamels of last year..this goes 7, easily. You need 2 1/2 pitchers (Yanks had CC Any and Jekyl Burnett) this series, the Phillies one.

The Angels are a scrappy team to say the least. They may have better depth with Lackey, Weaver and Saunders, yet, I don’t think their lineup is as good as the Phillies.

The Red Sox are not the second best team in the game, aside from what Red Sox fans and ESPN will say. They have better pitching overall, yea (tho Cliff Lee>>) but again, the Phillies pitchers aren’t THAT bad, and their lineup is THAT good.

The fact the Yankees didn’t see the real Ryan Howard this series probably is why we don’t think of them as good as they really are.

DO WHAT JERRY HAIRSTON DO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

by FreeBradshaw on Nov 5, 2009 5:27 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Red Sox

Won two more games than the Phillies despite having to pay the Yankees and Rays 18 times each.

by stusviews on Nov 5, 2009 5:41 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

so?

Who’s to say the Phillies wouldn’t do more?

The Angels had the second best record in the AL and they had to face the mighty A’s and M’s. Does that make them any less of a good team?

I know what your saying about the NL. Yet, I don’t see it with the Phillies.

And before you think that the Yanks would go 130-32 in the NL…they lost 2/3 to the Natinals. Not to say that means it would always happens…it just means that ish happens in baseball.

DO WHAT JERRY HAIRSTON DO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

by FreeBradshaw on Nov 5, 2009 5:58 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

the phillies get to play

the pirates and the mets with regularity.

by tombradylikesdudes on Nov 5, 2009 7:38 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

The NL is just a joke

In the steroid and post-steroid era of baseball, it is all about power hitting and power pitching.

Ever notice how the Phillies dominate in the NL because they have an AL style lineup?

NL needs to get a DH if they are ever going to be relevant again.

Yankees, Angels, and Red Sox were all better teams than the Phillies.

This sticker is dangerous and inconvenient, but I do love Fig Newtons.

by Lord Duggan on Nov 5, 2009 7:40 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

The Royals,

Orioles, A’s, and Indians say HI !!

Look, I know what your all saying. The NL is worse…right now.

I get the feeling that the Orioles would at least win 80 games a year in the NL, the Rays would have a chance..whatever.

I just don’t see how the Phillies being the best team from the NL makes them not as good as the Angels and Red Sox.

I think they were capable of beating the Yanks, or at least will be if they add a pitcher/Hamels has a pulse next year. Also they could have beaten the other 2.

Also…the NL has 2 more teams. Not enough can be said how much that makes the league seem “worse”. I know you can say they should be fattening up on them…yet, again..the Natinals vs the Yankees tell you shit happens.

DO WHAT JERRY HAIRSTON DO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

by FreeBradshaw on Nov 5, 2009 7:58 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

No question that shit happens . . .

It’s baseball. The Nationals could beat the Yankees and did. But you’d never predict (or bet money) that they would. The Phillies could have beaten the Yankees but despite what those in the media said, they were definitely underdogs.

Similarly (but much closer) the available evidence suggests that the Angels and Red Sox would beat the Phillies. If they played, it would surprise no one if the Phillies won. However, having better records in the stronger league tells us that the Red Sox and Angels would and should be favored against them.

by stusviews on Nov 5, 2009 8:08 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Ryan Howard doesn't hit lefties.

I think they saw the real Ryan Howard just fine.

by garp on Nov 7, 2009 2:33 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I Loved The Fact That Jeter Took A Shot At Rollins After The Game

Rollins should come play running back for my Jets, he would fit right in with his big mouth.

by YankeesJets on Nov 5, 2009 9:06 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Reading this board I might be in the minority

But one of the reasons I enjoyed this world series so much was the fact that these were the two best teams in baseball. I can’t remember the last time that happened. I don’t hate Rollins for what he said. I mean what’s he supposed to say. The Phillies have a great team they have a good chance to contend for the title next year too.

by bronx joey on Nov 6, 2009 7:32 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

You would say the same...

If a camera was put in your face with a reporter asking what your series prediction would be. Jimmy set himself up for this years ago with his “predictions”, but you can’t fault a guy for being confident, even cocky, that his team could win. If he said no comment, thats an immediate acknowledgement that he didnt think they could win. it was a great series and I hope to see a rematch next year, hopefully with a different outcome.

I think somewhere between second and third is the right spot for my Phils. Angels looked tough, but made alot of mistakes that the yanks capitalized on.

Either way, looking forward to next year at this time, when the Phils are geting the chance to take the title away from the yankees. enjoy the parade.

by ajr142 on Nov 6, 2009 11:06 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Had the top of the lineup for both teams produced, both series would have gone to 7

We gotta give props to both teams for having such potent bottom of the line up guys.

Yankees all day.

"People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring." ~Rogers Hornsby

by Onishadow14 on Nov 6, 2009 10:52 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Exposed weaknesses

Outside of Cliff Lee, they just didn’t have a reliable starter and it got exposed against a loaded team like the Yankees. Heading into the WS, they looked much better than they really were but it’s more of an indictment on how weak the Dodgers and the other NL teams were.

The Angels series gave me more of a heart attack than the World Series to be honest.

by Peppered on Nov 7, 2009 3:29 AM EST reply actions 0 recs