The New York Yankees are the World Champions for 2009, their 27th World Series win. Yup, they were the best team money could buy all right. Congrats to Jerry Hairston, Jr. at any rate.

With the 2009 season officially over we can now turn our attention to the Hot Stove and what Andy MacPhail will do to improve the Orioles for the 2010 season. I find the off season to be great and frustrating at the same time. The idea of trades and free agents and building a team is exciting, but sometimes it all seems so slow as we wait for Spring Training.

2010 is going to be a very big year for the Orioles development into a contender. The youngsters will have to show improvement and the front office will have to find ways to fill the holes. Next year is the time for getting better. Much better.

So let's get started! There are just 152 days until Opening Day.

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Per Joel Sherman (NY Post) on Twitter, tonight's ALCS game between the Angels and Yankees has been postponed. 

Game 6 is now scheduled for 8:20pm EDT tomorrow (Sunday). 

Game 7, if necessary, will be at 7:57pm EDT on Monday.

The Angels are probably psyched, because they can now start Lackey on short rest Monday if they so desire. 

Georgie has allowed 2 ER in 25.2 IP for the Dodgers. His ERA+ is a smoking 594.

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American League

The Yankees clinched the AL East and home field advantage in the playoffs with their sweep of the Red Sox on Sunday. They're easily the best team in baseball right now, which isn't too hard to do when your GM's entire strategy is to overpay for every talented free agent athlete so they can't possibly turn it down. If that sounds bitter, it's because I am bitter. The Yankees 2009 starting infield makes more than the entire 25 man rosters of 13 other major league teams and is roughly equivalent to 3 more. That's half of the teams in major league baseball. I've always tried very hard to stay positive about a team's chance to compete if they're built the right way no matter their payroll, but the evidence against that grows stronger every  year. Anyway, they clinched and while I know the playoffs can be a crapshoot, I don't see how they don't make it to the World Series. In the first round of the playoffs they will play either Detroit or Minnesota, two teams that will barely be over .500 at seasons end. They'll then play either the Red Sox or the Angels, both of whom they've manhandled in the 2nd half.

The Angels clinched the AL West last night with an 11-0 victory over the Rangers. I don't really have much of an opinion on the Angels, probably because I don't hear about them too much. They don't seem to have much of a personality, but again that could be because I don't know enough. I do know that no one would have blamed them if they had crumbled this year after the Nick Adenhart tragedy. But they didn't, and they're going to their 6th postseason since 2002.

The Red Sox magic number to clinch the wild card is just 1, so they'll probably clinch tonight. The Red Sox had a great first half but are just 37-31 since the AS break. Josh Beckett had to be scratched last night due to back spasms. They are a very good baseball team, but not as solid as I thought they'd be at the beginning of the year. They'll be playing the Angels in the first round. In the past several years the Red Sox have beaten up on the Angels, but they are 4-5 against them in '09.

The only real race left in the AL is in the central. The Twins are two games back of the Tigers with 7 games to play. 4 of those games are head-to-head and start with a double header this afternoon. That'd be pretty exciting if I thought either of these teams had an inkling of a chance in the postseason. Still, I thought the Yankees would demolish the Tigers back in 2006 and they didn't, so stranger things have happened.

National League

The St. Louis Cardinals clinched their division last Saturday night, but with the collapse of the Cubs it's been inevitable for most of the season. Albert Pujols, who is always awesome, has been just otherworldly this year, and Matt Holliday has been on fire since being traded. Unfortunately for the Cards other than that their lineup isn't very intimidating. They do have very good starting pitching.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have clinched a playoff berth and with one more win will clinch the AL West as well. The Dodgers also have good pitching. Randy Wolf is having a career year and Clayton Kershaw is blossoming into the beast we all know he would be. Their bullpen is just sick with Flat Breezy and Jonathan Broxton working the 8th and 9th innings.

The Phillies are doing their best Mets impression in the NL East. On September 20th they had an 8 game lead that is now down to 4. Cole Hamels got knocked around last night and the bullpen is a hot mess. Pedro Martinez, who looked like their savior for awhile, had to be scratched from his last start with a a stiff neck. The defending champs have a magic number of 3 and are 4 games ahead of the red hot Braves. I can't imagine they won't make the postseason, but who knows.

The Rockies are still in the NL wild card lead, but are just two games ahead of the Braves with six to play. It's their spot to lose but the Braves aren't giving them any breathing room. They've won 16 of their last 18 and seven in a row to seemingly come out of nowhere. The Giants, who had been in the race, have fallen down the stretch.

I mentioned in an earlier post that the races have been boring this year, and here's your proof. The Yankees have been in first place in the AL East for 85 days straight. The Angels have been in first place for 95 days. The Tigers, who could fall to second place this week, have been in first place for a whopping 156 consecutive days. Over in the NL, the Phillies come in at 135 consecutive days in first place, the Cardinals 141, and the Dodgers 170.

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

about 1 month ago: Seattle Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki of Japan acknowledges cheers from fans after hitting an RBI single off of Texas Rangers' Derek Holland that scored Josh Wilson in the second inning of the second baseball game of a doubleheader in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009. The hit gave Suzuki his ninth consecutive 200-hit season. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

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Yesterday, in the 2nd inning of the 2nd game of a double header, the Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki's RBI single was his 200th hit of the year, making him the first person in modern baseball history to have 200 hits for 9 consecutive years. What makes it even more amazing is that he's had at least 200 hits EVERY year that he's played in the majors. To put 200 hits in a season in perspective, here are some facts:

• Since 1901, there have been 470 two hundred hit seasons. That comes out to just over 4 players per year with 200 hits.
  
• 95 players have more than one season with 200 hits. Almost half of those (42) did it twice. 18 players (including Babe Ruth) did it three times. Only 35 have ever done it more than three times.
  
• With his 9th 200 hit season, Ichiro is tied for 2nd most ever with Ty Cobb. Only Pete Rose has more 200 hit seasons, with 10.
  
• Since 2001, the American League has had 32 two hundred hit seasons. 20 of those have been by Ichiro (9), Michael Young (5), Derek Jeter (3), and Miguel Tejada (3). With about 20 games left in 2009 for most teams, Jeter (192) will almost certainly reach 200 for the 7th time in his career. Other possibles in '09 are Robinson Cano (183), Miguel Cabrera (177), and Nick Markakis (174). If any of those three do get there, it'll be the first time in their careers. 
• The Orioles have had less 200 hit seasons in their history than Ichiro has had in the past 9 years: Miguel Tejada (2004, 2006), Cal Ripken (1983, 1991), B.J. Surhoff (1999), and Al Bumbry (1980). If you add in the franchises' 200 hit seasons with the Browns they manage to pass him, but the same can't be said for the Angels, Royals, Brewers/Pilots, Rays, Blue Jays, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Marlins, Astros/Colt .45s, Mets, Padres, and Nats/Expos.
  

The more I think about it, the more amazing it is, really. And the craziest part is that Ichiro didn't start playing in the United States until he was 27 years old. He played 7 full seasons and 2 partial seasons (split time in the minors) in Japan. He never had a down year in transitioning, either. His first year in the MLB he led the majors with 242. There's no reason to believe that if he had started in the US earlier that he wouldn't have had the same success. Ichiro has 2005 hits in his major league career and if he'd started in the US instead of Japan it's entirely possible that he'd have about 3500 career hits. That's sick.

So congratulations to Ichiro. I look forward to watching him get his 10th consecutive 200 hit year in 2010 (just not against the Orioles).

More photos » by Rob Carr - AP

Get better soon, Adam! Don't worry, Felix will hold it down until you return. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)

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From Roch Kubtako:

Though the swelling in Adam Jones' left ankle has been reduced, it's still possible that he's played his last game in 2009.

Jones suffered a bad sprain while scrambling back to first base last night. He's projected to miss two-to-three weeks, but it could be longer.

"Jones is going to be out indefinitely," manager Dave Trembley said. "I couldn't tell you when or if he'll come back.

"It's not a pleasant feeling to lose a player the caliber of Jones going down the stretch. There's no one who's made as much improvement from one year to the next as Jones. I think everybody can attest to that. And you lose a guy like that in the middle of your lineup and the middle of your diamond and the middle of your clubhouse, that's a major blow. Major."

Read the rest of the gruesome details on Roch's blog.

Well, this sucks. Adam had been slumping and I really wanted him to have a chance to turn it on for the rest of the year. This effectively makes Pie the everyday CF and Jeff Fiorentino the 4th OF. I guess the bright side is that in another lost year, at least Felix Pie will be given a chance to be properly evaluated.

I think we are all going to have to accept that Adam Jones is the type of player that gets hurt a lot, although at least a few of his injuries are of the freak variety (foul ball on the foot, twisted ankle on a base).

I'm bummed, though. I love watching that kid play, even when he does frustrate me to no end with his silly strikeouts.

Adam's thoughts on his injury, as transcribed by Roch:

Jones wants to be optimistic. The first words out of his mouth were, "It's a tough injury, but to me, I see myself playing. It's a matter of when. It's a joint. You really can't determine when."

Jones said his entire foot is swollen now, as opposed to only the ankle last night. He's receiving ice treatments, but there isn't much more that the training staff can do for him at this point. The swelling will have to go down. The ankle obviously is sore to the touch.

"Sucks. It just sucks, to me," Jones said. "It's something you can't control. Your playing, everything's going so fast, you never know what could happen. It was just unfortunate, something I'll have to deal with."

I'll assume that grammatical error belongs to Roch, not Adam :-)

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Baltimore Orioles' Aubrey Huff walks to the dugout after the final out in the Orioles 4-2 loss to the Detroit Tigers in a baseball game Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2009 in Detroit. Now he gets to switch dugouts. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

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So far, only WNST.net has it, which makes me a tad bit leery, but they seem pretty sure:

The Orioles today announced that they have acquired minor league RHP BRETT JACOBSON from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for INF AUBREY HUFF and will assign him to Class-A Frederick.

Jacobson, 22, went 1-3 with 6 saves, a 3.74 ERA (55.1IP, 23ER) and 44 strikeouts in 35 games with Class-A Lakeland this season.  The 6’6", 205-pound righthander was the Tigers’ 4th round selection in the 2008 First Year Player Draft out of Vanderbilt University.

Jacobson went 2-2 with a 1.52 ERA (29.2IP, 5ER) and 31 strikeouts in 21 games with Class-A West Michigan in 2008 and was named Detroit’s #10 prospect by Baseball America.

Huff, 32, batted .253 (109-430) with 13 home runs and 72 RBI in 110 games for the Orioles this season.  He hit his 200th career home run on July 31 off of John Smoltz.  Huff signed a three-year contract with the Orioles on January 3, 2007 as a free agent.  He was voted Most Valuable Oriole in 2008, batting .304 with 32 home runs and 108 RBI.

Time doesn't permit me to do a full retrospective on Aubrey Huff's career in Baltimore. That's what the comments are for. Have at it!

[Note by Stacey, 08/17/09 5:01 PM EDT ] Quotes from Aubrey on his trade, courtesy of Roch.

"I've grown close to a lot of staff, and especially a lot of players on this team. It's definitely emotional. I've seen all these young guys come up and I've had a great time with all these young guys. To be able to see them finish out the year and grow....it's a little hard. But at the same time for me, it's really exciting to be able to go to a team that's in contention. For me, my whole career I've been in last place, so this is going to be a very exciting time for me."

"I want to thank Andy for the opportunity to come here and play all these years, and the whole staff," said Huff, who batted .253 with 13 homers and 72 RBIs in 110 games. "Dave's been great, all the players have been awesome, and I'm really going to miss it, despite what happened back in '07 with all the Baltimore talk. I really enjoyed my time here."

Asked if the group he's leaving behind can win one day, Huff said, "No doubt in my mind. This is probably some of the best young talent I've ever been around, and I've been around some young talent with my days in Tampa. I always said those guys were some of the best young players coming up with Carl Crawford, Baldelli and Kazmir, but if you ask me, these guys are more talented. It's a very exciting time here, and Baltimore should have a lot to look forward to."

More photos » by Ron Frehm - AP

5 months ago: FILE - In this March 27, 1995 file photo, Bud Selig, acting Baseball Commissioner, and Len Coleman, National League president, leave a news conference in New York City, following a meeting between the players and the owners. Baseball players found a friend in Sonia Sotomayor in 1995. The federal district judge tapped for the Supreme Court ruled against the sport's owners in a strike that had led to the cancellation of the World Series. She issued an injunction to keep work rules in place from the expired labor agreement. (AP Photo/Ron Frehm, File)

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The Orioles were a brief subject of conversation in Washington, D.C. yesterday, only it was much more lighthearted than when Mr. Palmeiro took his trip to see Congress. During the Sonia Sotomayor's senate confirmation hearing, Maryland senator Ben Cardin reminded everyone of Ms. Sotomayor's role in the 1994 baseball strike:

"You're a hero to the Baltimore baseball fan.  During the Major League baseball strike, you allowed the season to continue so Cal Ripken could become the Iron Man in September 1995," Cardin said. "We want to invite you to an Oriole's game."

"That's a great invitation," Sotomayor replied.  "You can assure your Baltimore fans that I have been to Camden Yards.  It's a beautiful stadium."

Being only 15 years old when the strike occurred in 1994, I remember being annoyed at the whole thing but not really interested in the details. I have vague memories of people complaining about greed of both the owners and the players and how bizarre it was that there was no World Series. I remember the talk of replacement players, with Peter Angelos being one of the only to speak up against using the "scabs." What I didn't know until now was that current Supreme Court appointee Sonia Sotomayor was the federal judge who stopped the owners from going forth with the use of replacement players. Thanks to her injunction against the owners, the 1995 season was played with major leaguers despite no collective bargaining agreement having been reached.

As referenced by Senator Cardin, the injunction kept Cal Ripken's consecutive games played streak alive, allowing him to break Lou Gerhig's record that year. Is that why Peter Angelos opposed replacement players in the first place? I certainly don't know. I'd imagine it factored in. It's funny that Cal's streak and the festivities that went along with it were heralded by some as the event that brought fans back to baseball after the strike, and they almost didn't happen.

(via blog.cleveland.com)

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The Orioles have picked up minor league first baseman Michael Aubrey from the Cleveland Indians in exchange for a player to be named later. Aubrey was the 11th pick in the 2003 draft, now 27 years old.

At Triple-A this season, Aubrey was hitting .292/.322/.448 with five home runs, so it's not like this is a deal being made to make room for an Aubrey Huff trade or anything, or at least that doesn't seem likely. Given his age, production, and status in the Indians system, this looks like nothing more than a deal made to reinforce the roster at Norfolk.

In 397 career minor league games, Aubrey has hit .295/.356/.475. He doesn't walk much, but he rarely strikes out. He was a college star at Tulsa, hitting .420/.505/.733 with 18 homers in 63 games in his final season there, and has never matched that home run total in a single minor league season. His high came in 2004, when he hit 15 between Kinston (High-A) and Akron (AA).

Nothing to get all excited about, nothing to read into. Just a minor move for an available player that hopefully helps Norfolk out.