playoffs

Poker Is A Game Of Skill, Not Luck, Freakonomics Economist Finds

by on May 9, 2011

Huffington Post…

Proving poker is a game of skill, not luck, could be a huge win for the online industry revolving around it. And a new paper could do just that. University of Chicago economics professor Steven Levitt, famous for the best-selling Freakonomics series, has published a working paper alongside fellow University of Chicago professor Thomas Miles entitled “The Role of Skill Versus Luck in Poker: Evidence From the World Series of Poker.” In it, they attempt to answer the central question surrounding the legality of the online poker industry: is it a game of skill or luck? The hugely popular industry of online poker has been controversial for some time now. Despite efforts to curb the industry, most notably the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, still upwards of 10 million Americans play poker online for money. Just last month, three popular online poker sites — Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars and Absolute Poker — were shutdown by the FBI, and the federal government announced plans to recover $3 billion from them, according to the Los Angeles Times . The central question surrounding the legality of the industry, on which Americans consumers spend $6 billion annually, has been whether poker is a game or skill or luck. Despite this, the paper says, “[s]tate courts that have ruled on whether poker is a game of skill-versus-luck generally have done so in the absence of any statistical evidence[.]” To answer the question, Levitt and Miles looked at information made available by the 2010 World Series of Poker. The annual event, held in Las Vegas, includes 57 tournaments, 32,000 participants and $185 million prize money, including the “Main Event,” in which the grand winner earns almost $9 million. The duo found significant evidence that poker requires skill. Players assumed to be skilled earned 30 percent on their investment, compared to all other players, who lost 15 percent. In dollar terms, and even excluding the highly-skilled “Main Event,” high skill players earned an average of $350 per tournament, while other players lost $400 on average. To put that in perspective, Levitt and Miles compare the return on a poker investment with that common from the financial markets. “The observed differences in ROIs [return on investments] are highly statistically significant and far larger in magnitude than those observed in financial markets,” the paper says, “where fees charged by the money managers viewed as being most talented can run as high as three percent of assets under management and thirty percent of annual returns.” In human speak, that means the money of skilled players is better invested in a poker tournament than Wall Street, despite conventional wisdom that would indicate the opposite. In fact, the paper finds, “the high skilled player wins 54.9 percent of the match ups.” That compares more closely to what is witnessed in Major League Baseball than anything on Wall Street: “Since the year 2007, [baseball] teams that made the playoffs the previous season win 55.7 percent of their games in Major League Baseball against teams that failed to make the playoffs in the previous year. Thus, in some crude sense, the predictability of outcomes for pairs of players in a poker tournament is similar to that between teams in Major League Baseball. To the extent that baseball would unquestionably be judged a game of skill, the same conclusion might reasonably be applied to poker in light of the data.”

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Poker Is A Game Of Skill, Not Luck, Freakonomics Economist Finds

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Boris Briskin, Texas Rangers Fan, Quits Job To Watch Playoffs (VIDEO)

by on October 27, 2010

The Texas Rangers have reached their first World Series in franchise history and one fan has done everything he could do to see it, even if that meant quitting his job . Boris Briskin, a longtime Rangers fan, quit his job at a law firm in Los Angeles to go see his team make it to the World Series, according to Fox 4 News . “If I wasn’t here right now I would definitely be at work. And if the Rangers weren’t in the playoffs I would not be in Dallas right now,” he said. “It’s the Rangers. I’ve loved the Rangers for so long. They haven’t been to the playoffs since ’99. They’ve gone through so much since then. I really couldn’t miss this.” Briskin also said he is confident he will find another job. Scroll down to watch the video. WATCH: (Via Big League Stew )

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Boris Briskin, Texas Rangers Fan, Quits Job To Watch Playoffs (VIDEO)

Video: James Set to Be Free Agent as Celtics Eliminate Cavs: Video

May 14, 2010

May 14 (Bloomberg) — Bloomberg’s Gigi Stone reports on the outlook for the Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James, the two-time defending National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player who is set to be an unrestricted free agent on July 1, when teams such as the New York Knicks can try to sign him. The Cavaliers were eliminated from the playoffs last night with a 94-85 loss to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals. (Source: Bloomberg)

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NFL’s Giants to Add Perry Fewell as Defensive Coordinator, ESPN Reports

January 14, 2010

By Erik Matuszewski Jan. 14 (Bloomberg) — Former Buffalo Bills interim coach Perry Fewell will become the New York Giants’ defensive coordinator, ESPN reported , citing an unidentified National Football League source. The Giants fired Bill Sheridan as defensive coordinator after a season in which the team missed the playoffs and allowed 427 points, the second-most in franchise history. Fewell, 47, replaced Dick Jauron as the Bills’ coach in November. He was fired with the rest of the coaching staff two weeks ago after Buffalo completed a 6-10 season. To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Matuszewski in New York at matuszewski@bloomberg.net

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Mike Shanahan Agrees to Coach Washington Redskins, Denver Post Reports

January 5, 2010

By Erik Matuszewski Jan. 5 (Bloomberg) — Mike Shanahan , who won two Super Bowl titles during 14 seasons with the Denver Broncos, reached an agreement in principle to become the coach of the Washington Redskins, the Denver Post reported . Shanahan will receive a five-year contract worth about $7 million a year, the Post said, and may be presented as the new coach tomorrow. He’ll be the seventh coach during Daniel Snyder’s 11-year tenure. Jim Zorn was fired after Washington finished with a 4-12 record this season. Washington spokesman Zach Bolno declined to comment in an e-mail, saying only that a press conference is scheduled for 2 p.m. local time tomorrow. The 57-year-old Shanahan had a 146-98 record in Denver and won National Football League championships after the 1997 and 1998 seasons. He’ll take over a team that has three winning seasons and two playoff victories in the past decade. Shanahan was fired after the 2008 season, when the Broncos lost their final three games to finish 8-8 and miss the playoffs for the third straight year. His appointment will save the Broncos about $7 million, the Post said. Denver will pay about half Shanahan’s salary this year and next, the report said. Shanahan had a losing record twice during his tenure with the Broncos and went to the playoffs seven times. To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Matuszewski in New York at matuszewski@bloomberg.net

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Shanahan Meets With Washington Redskins, May Be Introduced as Coach Today

January 4, 2010

By Erik Matuszewski Jan. 5 (Bloomberg) — Mike Shanahan , who won two Super Bowl titles during 14 seasons at the Denver Broncos, may take over as coach of the Washington Redskins as soon as today. Shanahan met with Redskins owner Daniel Snyder yesterday after Jim Zorn was fired for leading the team to a 4-12 record this season, the Washington Post said , citing unidentified sources in the organization. Shanahan will probably be introduced today as the seventh coach in Snyder’s 11 years as Redskins’ owner, the newspaper said. The 57-year-old Shanahan had a 146-98 record in Denver and won National Football League championships after the 1997 and 1998 seasons. He was fired after the 2008 season, when the Broncos lost their final three games to finish 8-8 and miss the playoffs for the third straight year. Denver this season lost eight of its final 10 games after a 6-0 start under rookie coach Josh McDaniels to again miss the postseason. Shanahan had a losing record twice during his tenure with the Broncos and went to the playoffs seven times. He declined to talk to reporters yesterday when arriving at Dulles International Airport outside Washington. The Redskins have had three winning seasons since Snyder bought the franchise in 1999. Two came during Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs’s second stint with the team from 2004-07. Gibbs’s four-year stay was the longest for a Redskins’ coach under Snyder. Norv Turner , Terry Robiskie , Marty Schottenheimer and Steve Spurrier have also coached the club over the past decade. Losing Record Zorn spent two seasons as coach, compiling a 12-20 record. The Redskins were 0-6 against the other three teams in the National Football Conference’s East Division this season, when Zorn’s leadership was questioned from the early weeks. “What we’re looking for in a head coach is somebody who can lead the men we had in this locker room to levels they haven’t played to before,” Bruce Allen , who was hired as the Redskins’ general manager on Dec. 17, said yesterday during a news conference while declining to discuss coaching candidates. “We’re going to find the type of person who’s a winner, who’s passionate about the Redskins and passionate about football.” Allen’s father, George, coached the Redskins from 1971 to 1977 with a Super Bowl appearance and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002. The Redskins won Super Bowl titles after the 1982, 1987 and 1991 seasons. To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Matuszewski in New York at matuszewski@bloomberg.net

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Browns’ Eric Mangini Is NFL Coach Most Likely to Be Fired, Oddsmakers Say

December 30, 2009

By Erik Matuszewski Dec. 30 (Bloomberg) — Odds are that Eric Mangini won’t be back for a second season as coach of the Cleveland Browns. Mangini is given a 3-2 chance of being fired before the 2010 National Football League season, the shortest listed odds for any coach according to BetUS.com. The online gambling Web site didn’t post numbers for Washington’s Jim Zorn because the Redskins have already conducted interviews for a new coach. Mangini’s fate will be determined by Mike Holmgren , who last week was hired as team president to restore a franchise that’s made the playoffs once in the last decade. The Browns have a 4-11 record under Mangini and Holmgren has said he is undecided on whether he’ll make a change. “I wouldn’t be a big fan of just allowing a guy to coach one year and out, but having said that, I haven’t made any decisions yet,” Holmgren said during a conference call on Dec. 28. Mangini, 38, was among six NFL coaches fired after the 2008 season, when his New York Jets lost four of their final five games to miss the playoffs. There were two head coach firings after the 2007 NFL season and four the previous year. At odds of 3-2, a winning $100 bet on Mangini being fired would return $150 along with the initial stake. Raheem Morris , who has a 3-12 record in his first season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is the second most-likely coach to lose his job at 2-1, according to Costa Rica-based BetUS.com. Behind him is another rookie coach in the St. Louis Rams’ Steve Spagnuolo , who has a league-worst 1-14 record. Vikings’ Childress Jim Mora Jr . of the 5-10 Seattle Seahawks has 7-2 odds of being fired, as does Brad Childress of the Minnesota Vikings. Although Minnesota has an 11-4 record and won the National Football Conference’s North Division title, the Vikings have lost three of four games and Childress had a well-publicized sideline dispute with quarterback Brett Favre . While that incident came after Childress sought to remove the 40-year-old Favre from a game the Vikings were losing, ESPN reported there’s also been tension between the coach and quarterback about play- calling. Childress said this week that the disagreement was behind them and that he has a “good relationship” with Favre. Norv Turner of the San Diego Chargers is among a group of five coaches with 4-1 odds of being dismissed. The Chargers have a 12-3 record and won the division title for the fourth straight year, including a third time under Turner. San Diego has had a 3-3 record in the playoffs during that stretch. Others with 4-1 odds of being fired are Carolina’s John Fox , Jacksonville’s Jack Del Rio , Houston’s Gary Kubiak and Buffalo interim coach Perry Fewell , according to BetUS. Wade Phillips of the Dallas Cowboys follows with odds of 6- 1. Phillips has a 32-15 record in three seasons with the Cowboys but has yet to win a playoff game. Dallas hasn’t won in the postseason since 1996. To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Matuszewski in New York at matuszewski@bloomberg.net .

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Joe Mauer Wins American League MVP Award Over Mark Teixeira, Derek Jeter

November 23, 2009

By Mason Levinson Nov. 23 (Bloomberg) — Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer was named the American League’s Most Valuable Player after winning his second straight batting crown while leading his team to the playoffs. Mauer earned 27 of 28 first-place votes and 387 total points in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Mark Teixeira of the New York Yankees was second with 225 points, followed by teammate Derek Jeter , who had 193. Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers had the only other first- place vote and finished fourth with 171 points. Mauer, 26, who played in 138 games after missing 22 with a lower-back injury, batted .365. He added 28 home runs and 96 runs batted in, both career highs, for the Twins, who won the AL Central Division with an 87-76 record. The Twins were swept by the eventual-champion Yankees in the first round of the playoffs. Voting for the award was done prior to the postseason, where Mauer batted .417. Mauer, 26, won his second straight Gold Glove Award this month as the best fielding catcher in the AL and Silver Slugger Award as the best hitting AL catcher. Jeter, 35, also won a Gold Glove for his play at shortstop last season, batting .334 with 18 homers and 107 runs scored for the Yankees, whose 103-59 record was the best in Major League Baseball. Jeter was a runner-up to Mauer’s teammate Justin Morneau in voting for the 2006 AL MVP . Teixeira, 29, led the AL in RBI with 122 and shared the league lead in homers with 39, tying Tampa Bay’s Carlos Pena . Teixeira, playing his first season with the Yankees, had 107 runs scored, a .292 batting average and a Gold Glove performance at first base. Cabrera, 26, hit .324 with 34 homers and 103 RBI in his second season with the Tigers. To contact the reporter on this story: Mason Levinson in New York at mlevinson@bloomberg.net .

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Rockies’ Jim Tracy, Angels’ Mike Scioscia Win MLB Manager of Year Awards

November 18, 2009

By Erik Matuszewski Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) — Mike Scioscia of the Los Angeles Angels was voted American League Manager of the Year for the second time, while Colorado’s Jim Tracy earned National League honors for turning around a team with a losing record. Scioscia beat out Ron Gardenhire of the Minnesota Twins and Joe Girardi of the New York Yankees in balloting by the Baseball Writers Association of America. He was listed first on 15 of the 28 ballots cast by two writers from each of the AL cities. Tracy received 29 of the 32 first-place votes in the NL to finish ahead of Tony La Russa of the St. Louis Cardinals and Joe Torre of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Scioscia, 50, captured the AL award after the Angels overcame a series of injuries and the death of pitcher Nick Adenhart in an April 9 car accident to win the AL West Division title for the third straight year. The Angels finished Major League Baseball’s regular season with a 97-65 record, the second-best in the majors, to make the postseason for the sixth time in Scioscia’s 10-year tenure. Los Angeles used 14 starting pitchers because of injuries to John Lackey , Joe Saunders , Ervin Santana and Kelvim Escobar , while Torii Hunter and Vladimir Guerrero also spent time on the disabled list. Angels in Playoffs The Angels swept the Boston Red Sox in the opening round of the playoffs before losing to the eventual World Series champion Yankees in the AL Championship Series. Voting for the awards was conducted before the playoffs. Scioscia, who also was honored as the AL’s top manager in 2002, had 106 points. Gardenhire finished second in the voting for a record fifth time, receiving six first-place votes and 72 points. Gardenhire’s Twins won 17 of their final 21 games to win the AL Central title. Girardi, who won the NL award with the Florida Marlins in 2006, received four first-place votes and 34 points after leading the Yankees to a major league-best 103-59 record and their record 27th World Series title. Tracy, 53, helped the Rockies turn around a losing season and set a franchise record with 92 wins after replacing Clint Hurdle on May 29. The Rockies were in last place in the NL West Division with an 18-28 record when Hurdle was fired and Tracy was promoted from bench coach. Colorado went 72-42 the rest of the way to earn the NL’s wild-card playoff berth. In-Season Hire Tracy is just the second manager to win the award after being hired during the season, following Jack McKeon of the Marlins in 2003. Tracy receives the award two years after he was fired by the Pittsburgh Pirates following 94 losses in 2007 and 95 the previous season. He also spent five years as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2001 through 2005 and compiled a 427-383 record. Don Baylor was the only previous Rockies manager to win the NL award, in 1995. La Russa, a four-time winner, received two first-place votes. Torre, a two-time manager of the year in the AL with the Yankees, got one first-place vote. Selected members of the writers’ association vote for their top three choices and managers get five points for first-place votes, three points for second and one point for third. The BBWAA is scheduled to announce the winner of the NL Cy Young Award tomorrow. Zack Greinke of the Kansas City Royals won the AL award as his league’s top pitcher yesterday. To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Matuszewski in New York at matuszewski@bloomberg.net

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Dodgers’ CEO McCourt `Unequivocally’ Wants to Play Yankees in World Series

October 15, 2009

By Michael Buteau and Kathleen Hays Oct. 15 (Bloomberg) — Jamie McCourt has just one opponent in mind for her Los Angeles Dodgers to face if they reach the World Series: the New York Yankees. “Unequivocally,” McCourt, the Dodgers’ chief executive officer, said in an interview on Bloomberg Radio. “That’s who I want to face. They’re the childhood team that I revered.” First, the Dodgers will have to get past the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Championship Series, which begins tonight in Los Angeles. The Phillies beat the Dodgers in last year’s NLCS to advance to the World Series, where they defeated the Tampa Bay Rays for their first Major League Baseball title in 28 years. The winner of the Dodgers-Phillies series faces the winner of the American League Championship Series between the Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels, which begins tomorrow at Yankee Stadium. A Dodgers-Yankees final would draw the most interest, McCourt, 55, said. “It would be fantastic for the entire country from coast to coast,” she said. “It will be great for TV and keep everybody riveted. It would be two centerpiece teams, two icons, two legendary franchises that could have at it. Of course, we will win.” Interest in the playoffs this year helped Time Warner Inc .’s TBS network draw the best one-week ratings in its 33-year history. Almost 4.8 million viewers tuned in for each of 13 division series game, up 11 percent from last year. TBS carries the NLCS, while News Corp .’s Fox has the ALCS as well as the World Series. Last Series The Dodgers last appeared in the World Series in 1988, defeating the Oakland Athletics. The Yankees and Dodgers haven’t faced each other for the championship since 1981, when Los Angeles won in six games. New York beat the Dodgers in six-game series in 1977 and 1978. McCourt, who bought the Dodgers with her husband, Frank McCourt , for $430 million in 2004, grew up in Baltimore and said she mostly followed the Yankees as a kid. She also has other motives for her dream matchup. “It would be so much fun to have Joe Torre get even with the Yankees,” she said of the Dodgers’ manager who joined Los Angeles before the 2008 season after 12 years guiding the Yankees. Torre, 69, led New York to the playoffs in each of his 12 seasons, winning the World Series four times. He rejected the team’s one-year contract offer with incentives linked to postseason success, calling it an “insult,” and later signed with the Dodgers. ‘Greatest Manager’ Torre said this week that he doesn’t plan to manage the Dodgers after his contract expires following the 2010 season. McCourt said she plans to make it hard for him to walk away. “Who wouldn’t want him forever?” she said. “From my vantage point, I’d keep Joe for as long as Joe would stay. I think he’s the greatest manager of all time.” Asked if she would give Torre a front-office job if that’s what it took to keep him, McCourt didn’t hesitate. “I would offer Joe anything that he wanted because I think he’s so important to the game,” she said. To contact the reporter on this story: Michael Buteau in Atlanta at mbuteau@bloomberg.net ; Kathleen Hays in New York at khays4@bloomberg.net .

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What’s Good for Derek Jeter Is Good for Baseball as Yankees Feed Revenue

October 8, 2009

By Michael Buteau Oct. 9 (Bloomberg) — High above Interstate 85 in downtown Atlanta, Derek Jeter peers down from a 3,500 square-foot electronic billboard erected near the headquarters of Turner Broadcasting Systems, signaling the start of Major League Baseball’s postseason. The New York Yankees’ captain first appeared on the billboard Sept. 11, even though Atlanta’s hometown Braves were still in the playoff hunt. While the Braves failed to make the postseason, Jeter and the Yankees did, a year after not qualifying for the first time in 14 seasons. Their return is good news for television networks and the team’s revenue. Their continuing success also may pay off for baseball in the long term after current sponsorship and television contracts expire. “They are probably one of the most recognized sports brands in the world,” TBS President David Levy said in a telephone interview in New York, hours before the Yankees opened their series against the Minnesota Twins with 7-2 victory. “The Yankees have a lot of fans in a lot of places.” While Levy, 47, said the network doesn’t play favorites, there’s no denying the importance of the Yankees, who have won a record 26 championships. First-round playoff ratings fell 24 percent without them in 2008. Fewer Viewers Last year was the first since the players strike in 1994 that the Yankees didn’t reach the playoffs. First-round games drew 4.3 million viewers, compared with 5.7 million in 2007, according to Nielsen Media Research. The Yankees’ opener against the Twins two days ago drew 19 percent higher ratings than the Los Angeles Dodgers-Chicago Cubs game did in the same time slot in 2008. None of last season’s first-round matchups extended to a decisive fifth game. “If you get a Game 5 in the first round, I don’t care who it is, people will tune in,” said Levy, who has been in his current job since 2003. “But as the games go on and the storylines develop, the hope is that even casual fans will watch. And it was proven last year.” Game 7 of last year’s American League Championship Series between the Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays on Time Warner Inc. ’s TBS was watched by almost 13.4 million people in the U.S., the largest cable audience ever for a baseball playoff game, according to Nielsen. TBS and News Corp.’s Fox share television rights for Major League Baseball games through 2013 in contracts that are worth more than $3 billion. TBS will air all first-round games and the National League Championship Series. Fox will carry the American League Championship Series and the World Series. The Yankees play in the American League. Later Years Because advertising prices are set in advance of the playoffs, the likely higher ratings generated by the Yankees won’t have an immediate impact on revenue for the networks. Baseball and the team’s revenue wouldn’t get an immediate effect either, since sponsorship agreements typically are multiyear. Rather, the payoff will come in future years, said Marc Ganis , president of SportsCorp. Ltd., a Chicago-based sports consulting firm who has done work for the Yankees. “Everything sold in the future is based on prior results,” Ganis said. “So if the Yankees do well now, and the interest in them is up, it might not affect this year’s revenues, but the next year and the year after, when sponsorship opens up and TV contracts come up, it will have an affect on the value of those agreements.” Ad Rates Turner is seeking between $70,000 to $80,000 for a 30- second spot in the first round of the playoffs, and between $120,000 and $150,000 for second-round games, Mediaweek reported on its Web site, citing media buyers it didn’t identify. TBS doesn’t disclose what it charges, network spokesman Jeff Pomeroy said in an e-mail, citing company policy. The Yankees averaged $1.93 million in additional revenue for each of 42 home playoff games from 1999-2008, according to an estimate from Bizofbaseball.com, the Web site that focuses on baseball business news. In contrast, the Twins averaged $1.53 million for 10 in that time span. MLB itself generated $6.5 billion of revenue during the 2008 regular season, up from $6.1 billion the prior year. The Yankees’ return to the postseason will have an affect on New York businesses. The city’s Economic Development Corporation released a report this week that said every postseason game at Yankee Stadium generates $6.7 million in direct spending by fans, players and media on hotels, retail transportation and dining. The team could have as many as 11 home games during the postseason. Dominating Jeter Of the seven billboards around Atlanta promoting the start of the playoffs, Jeter, the All-Star shortstop who has been with the Yankees since 1995, is on five of them. Around the country, TBS has similar billboards featuring St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols and Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Russell Martin . Jeter is on 60 percent of them. The Yankees are crucial to getting casual viewers to tune into playoff games in the early rounds, Levy said. There are few teams in professional sports as synonymous with money as the Yankees. Their $210 million opening-day payroll was the biggest in baseball in 2009, the 11th straight year the team spent the most on players among the sport’s 30 teams. Before this season, their second with Joe Girardi as manager, the Yankees lured free-agent pitchers CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett with multiyear contracts worth $243.5 million. New York also gave first baseman Mark Teixeira an eight-year, $180 million deal. Best in Baseball The changes resulted in a 103-59 record this season, the best in baseball. Teixeira tied for the AL lead with 39 home runs and Sabathia’s 19 wins were tied for the most in baseball. At age 34, Jeter hit .334, his best since 2006, with 18 home runs and 30 stolen bases. This is the first season for the team’s new $1.5 billion stadium in the Bronx, built across the street from its former home. While TBS airs 26 Sunday games throughout the regular season, the division series and the National League Championship Series as part of its agreement with baseball, Fox mostly relies on the All-Star Game and the playoffs for revenue. “It’s essential for them to get higher ratings at those events to get the viewership and advertising revenue they want,” Ganis said. “And no team generates the interest and the eyeballs, particularly in the playoffs, that the Yankees do.” To contact the reporter on this story: Michael Buteau in Atlanta at mbuteau@bloomberg.net

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Yankees Beat Twins 7-2 as Derek Jeter Homers in Playoff Opener

October 7, 2009

By Erik Matuszewski Oct. 7 (Bloomberg) — Derek Jeter became the first player to hit a postseason home run at the new $1.5 billion Yankee Stadium as New York beat the Minnesota Twins 7-2 in the opening game of their playoff series. CC Sabathia allowed one earned run over 6 2/3 innings to take the win in his Yankee playoff debut as New York improved to 8-0 against the Twins this season. Jeter, the Yankees’ captain and one of four players remaining from the teams that won four World Series titles from 1996-2000, hit a two-run homer during the third inning in the first playoff game at the stadium. Alex Rodriguez drove in two runs and Hideki Matsui added a two-run homer for the 26-time World Series champions, who missed the Major League Baseball playoffs last season and haven’t won a postseason series since 2004. New York will host Game 2 of the best-of-five first-round series on Oct. 9. Earlier today, Cliff Lee pitched a complete game as the World Series-champion Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Colorado Rockies 5-1 in the opener of their first-round National League playoff series. In the NL’s other first-round playoff series, the St. Louis Cardinals visit the Los Angeles Dodgers tonight. Twins Lead The Yankees fell behind 2-0 in the third inning against the Twins, who made the playoffs yesterday by winning a 12-inning tiebreaker against the Detroit Tigers for the AL Central title. Sabathia, who signed a seven-year, $161 million contract with the Yankees during the offseason, started after tying for the major league-lead with 19 wins. Although he was just 1-3 with a 9.47 earned run average in the playoffs the past two years, Sabathia scattered eight hits and struck out eight to improve to 12-2 for the Yankees since the All-Star break. The Twins’ only runs came with a two-out rally in the third inning. Orlando Cabrera singled, advanced to third on a double by Joe Mauer and scored on a single by Michael Cuddyer . Mauer then scored from third on a passed ball by catcher Jorge Posada who, like Jeter, was on the Yankees’ past four championship teams. Jeter tied it in the bottom of the inning with a homer off Twins starter Brian Duensing just inside the left-field foul pole. It was his 18th career postseason homer, tying him with Mickey Mantle and Reggie Jackson for the third-most in franchise history. Rodriguez The Yankees took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning as Nick Swisher ripped a run-scoring double down the left field line. A three-run fifth pushed the lead to 6-2, as Rodriguez had a run-scoring single with two outs and Matsui greeted reliever Francisco Liriano with a two-run homer. Rodriguez, who drove in just one run for the Yankees over the past three postseasons, knocked in the seventh run with a single off the right-field fence in the seventh inning. At Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Lee allowed six hits and struck out five batters in his playoff debut. It was his 14th complete game and his fourth since joining the Phillies in a July trade with the Cleveland Indians. Raul Ibanez had two runs batted in while Ryan Howard , Jayson Werth and Carlos Ruiz also drove in runs for the Phillies. The Rockies broke up Lee’s chance for a shutout in the top of the ninth inning when Troy Tulowitzki doubled to right-center field, scoring Carlos Gonzalez . Ubaldo Jimenez took the loss for Colorado, allowing five earned runs over as many innings. Game 2 of the best-of-five-game series is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon in Philadelphia. Also tomorrow, the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels begin their AL division series in Anaheim, California. To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Matuszewski in New York at matuszewski@bloomberg.net

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Yankees Hold Playoff Pitching Tryouts in Final Series With Boston Red Sox

September 24, 2009

By Mason Levinson Sept. 25 (Bloomberg) — New York’s final regular-season series with the Boston Red Sox will be both a possible playoff preview and a proving ground for the Yankees’ starting pitchers. With nine games remaining and a playoff berth secured , New York is set to send Joba Chamberlain , CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte to the mound this weekend at Yankee Stadium. Even with baseball’s best record of 97-56, New York’s playoff rotation is anything but set. Chamberlain, 24, is in the worst slump of his career and Pettitte is working through recent arm soreness. A.J. Burnett has had an up-and-down season and never thrown a playoff pitch. Sabathia, the staff’s ace, has a career postseason earned run average of 7.92. While the Yankees have the strongest overall team, their top three starters may not stack up to other postseason staffs, said John Hart , a former general manager for the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers and now an MLB Network analyst. “That starting rotation could be vulnerable,” Hart said in a telephone interview. “There are stronger 1-2-3s with at least maybe five of the clubs that have a chance to get in.” The Yankees open the series tonight behind Chamberlain (8- 6), who has lost four straight decisions for the first time and hasn’t won since beating Boston on Aug. 6. “I let my teammates down,” he told reporters after allowing seven earned runs in three innings of a 7-1 loss to the Seattle Mariners on Sept. 20. “It’s pretty much embarrassing what I did, not being able to pick my team up.” Prove Worth The performance prompted Yankees manager Joe Girardi and General Manager Brian Cashman to say that Chamberlain must prove he’s worthy of pitching in the playoffs. “We’re going to take the 10 best guys,” Cashman told the Record of Bergen County, New Jersey. “There’s no assumptions there.” The Yankees lead baseball with 231 home runs and have the second-best batting average. But the playoffs — where teams usually face an opponent’s top three starters — often comes down to pitching. The Yankees’ ERA of 4.34 is tied for 16th in Major League Baseball. Chamberlain pitched in two games during a 2007 American League Division Series loss to the Indians, allowing two earned runs in 3 2/3 innings. Sabathia is 18-7 with a 3.31 earned run average in his first season with the team. His career regular-season ERA is 3.62, while his postseason ERA is more than double that, at 7.92. Sabathia was 2-2 overall during playoff runs by the Indians in 2001 and 2007, and lost his lone outing last year with the Milwaukee Brewers. Pettitte Pedigree Burnett, 12-9 with a 4.19 ERA, has never pitched in the playoffs, which means the New York pitcher with the best playoff pedigree is Pettitte, who is 14-9 with a 3.96 ERA in 35 postseason starts. The 37-year-old lefthander, whose last playoff victory was in 2005, returned Sept. 21 after a 10-day layoff because of a tired arm. The Yankees lost 5-2 to the Los Angeles Angels as Pettitte struggled early and then pitched well, lasting six innings. “I felt pretty good,” said Pettitte, who is 13-7 this season. “I’m happy I got through it and hopefully I can build off this one and feel better and get deeper in the game my next start.” He may face Paul Byrd on Sept. 27 in the final game of a season series that began with eight straight Red Sox victories before the Yankees took six of the last seven. “If Pettitte is healthy, they’re going with him,” Hart said of the Yankees’ playoff plans. The Red Sox (91-61) need any combination of wins and Texas losses adding up to three to clinch the AL wild card, which goes to the second-place team with the best record. Pitching Matchups Boston will send Jon Lester (14-7) against Chamberlain, while Sabathia is scheduled to pitch against Daisuke Matsuzaka (3-5) tomorrow. The teams wouldn’t meet in the playoffs until the league championship series. Boston likely will meet the Los Angeles Angels in the best-of-five division series, while New York will take on the winner of the AL Central, where the Detroit Tigers hold a three-game lead over the Minnesota Twins. The Yankees missed the playoffs last season for the first time since 1993. The last of their record 26 championships came in 2000, their fourth in five years. Taking the best regular-season records into the postseason is no guarantee of continued success. In the past five seasons, only three squads — the 2007 Red Sox, the 2005 Chicago White Sox and the 2004 St. Louis Cardinals — led their leagues during the regular season and reached the World Series. Hart’s 1997 Indians , who went 86-75, knocked off the defending champion Yankees (96-66) and then beat the Baltimore Orioles (98-64) before losing to the Florida Marlins in the World Series. “The key is just to get in,” Hart said. “It’s not always the best team; it’s the team that plays the best.” To contact the reporter on this story: Mason Levinson in New York at mlevinson@bloomberg.net .

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