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-Digger's Daily-

MLB Playoffs bring back memories of yesteryear. Sitting here this afternoon watching the Yankees trying to keep the ALCS alive vs Texas gave me inspiration for putting together a list of all time lineups.

The following teams are composed by level of personal preferences based on a wide range of criteria. Players have been selected not necessarily by whether or not they were the best. A few qualify as fan favorites from platoon players to one year wonders. A large portion made the grade based on my generation (1965+) so get ready for a few classic slugging old timers, fire-ballers or juicers to be left off. By the same token, a few old timers I never had the privilege of watching could sneak in too. Hundreds of possibilities have been condensed into 30 player teams.

Since we're in baseball's version of the final four... let's begin with teams currently playing in the Championship Series.

New York Yankees
1B- Lou Gehrig
2B- Robinson Cano
3B- Craig Nettles
SS- Derek Jeter
LF- Roy White
CF- Bernie Williams, Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio.
RF- Babe Ruth
C - Thurman Munson
DH- Don Mattingly, Reggie Jackson.
PH- Bobby Murcer
Bench: Reggie Jackson, Yogi Berra, Paul O'Neill, Hideki Matsui, Jorge Posada, Tino Martinez.
Rotation: Andy Pettitte, Whitey Ford, Ron Guidry, Mel Stottlemyre, Mike Mussina.
Relievers: Dick Tidrow, Graham Lloyd, Jeff Nelson.
Set Up: Sparky Lyle, Jeff Wetteland
Closer: Mariano Rivera

Texas Rangers
1B- Rafael Palmeiro
2B- Julio Franco
3B- Buddy Bell
SS- Toby Harrah
LF- Al Oliver
CF- Josh Hamilton
RF- Jeff Burroughs, Richie Zisk.
C - Ivan Rodriguez
DH- Larry Parrish, Frank Howard
PH- Billy Sample
Bench: Jim Sundberg, Michael Young, Ian Kinsler, Claudell Washington, Tom Grieve, Bump Wills, Pete O'Brien.
Rotation: Nolan Ryan, Ferguson Jenkins, Cliff Lee, Charlie Hough, Kenny Rogers.
Relievers: Jeff Russell, Steve Comer, Darren Oliver.
Set Up: Jeff Zimmerman, Paul Linblad
Closer: John Wetteland

Philadelphia Phillies
1B- Dick Allen, Ryan Howard
2B- Chase Utley
3B- Mike Schmidt
SS- Jimmy Rollins
LF- Greg Luzinski,
CF- Richie Ashburn, Shane Victorino
RF- Chuck Klein
C - Bob Boone, Carlos Ruiz.
PH- Jay Johnstone
Bench: Juan Samuel, Johnny Callison, Tony Taylor, Bake McBride, Pete Rose, Greg Gross.
Rotation: Robin Roberts, Jim Bunning, Steve Carlton, Jim Lonborg, Curt Schilling.
Relievers: Jim Konstanty, Warren Brusstar, Don Carmen, Gene Garber.
Set Up: Ron Reed, Brad Lidge.
Closer: Tug McGraw

San Francisco (New York) Giants
1B- Willie McCovey
2B- Jeff Kent
3B- Darrell Evans
SS- Rich Aurilia
LF- Kevin Mitchell
CF- Willie Mays
RF- Mel Ott
C - Bob Brenley, Buster Posey.
PH- J.T. Snow
Bench: Chris Speier, Gary Thomasson, Bobby Thomson, Jack Clark, Will Clark, Bobby Bonds, Matt Williams.
Rotation: Juan Marichal, Carl Hubbell, Tim Lincecum, Gaylord Perry, Jason Schmidt.
Relievers: Scott Garrelts, Tim Worrell, Gary Lavelle, Greg Minton, Rod Beck.
Set Up: Randy Moffitt, Brian Wilson.
Closer: Rob Nenn

I have a few more teams in mind for the coming days. A lot of great 70's players from Baltimore to Cincinnati to Oakland. Let me know some of yours. Might have to send away for Strat-o-Matic baseball game sets or hunt down a good online old timers simulation game. Stay tuned... more to follow...

(www.allworldallsports.com)

Check Out "All World All Sports"

-Digger's Daily-

Question of the day... Did or didn't ESPN instruct Monday Night Football refs to encourage Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars head coaches to call time outs late in the game to secure additional advertising revenues?

You've got to be kidding? NFL Commissioners Office really needs to cut this practice off. Tennessee was leading 23-3 and attempting to run out the clock after the 2:00 warning. Supposedly, the refs first went to Titans coach Fisher asking him to call timeouts so the networks can go to commercial. Fisher rightfully refused. His team was up by 20 and looking to run out the clock. If the story is true, refs then approached Jags head coach Del Rio. Jags called timeouts, down by 20 with under 2:00 remaining. Titans proceeded to score the games final td on a Chris Johnson 35 yard run.

Quoting from the "TitanInsider", coach Fisher joked after the game....

"“Jack used his timeouts,” Fisher said. “My understanding is they needed network timeouts, and that's why Jack used his timeouts. They came over and asked me to do it, but I said, 'I was hoping to get a first down and kneel on it.'

“At the end of the game like that, you don't kick a long field goal, you don't, you hand it off.”

So, why are networks now allowed to interfere with game play? NFL protocol incorporates official time outs (commercial breaks). Allowing a network to dictate closing moments opens the potential for a can of worms in need of discussion.

First off, networks are not the NFL. Who sent word to refs asking them to approach NFL coaches? ESPN or NFL executive(s)? There's a big problem here if ESPN has the juice to contact refs directly during a game. Bigger problem presents itself when refs actually listen! If the word came from the league then how does the NFL justify arm twisting coaches to call time outs by way of referee messengers?

Second. NFL already has broadcasting policies. They need to move swiftly to negate this sort of activity. Obviously, revenues are very important. So, why not just add a 15 or 30 second spot to the 2:00 minute warning? At the end of a quarter? Halftime? After opening kickoff? Don't stall a game in closing moments.

Third. Allowing networks to influence games can open doors to further disturbances. Officiating could easily attract those looking to unjustly influence games for whatever reason. What would stop a powerful network from applying pressure on refs to throw a flag here or there so a team generating greater viewership won games? Perhaps reaching a bit far here? Perhaps not. We're living in challenging times. Individual households are spending more than ever for less and saving fewer and fewer dollars thanks to Washington bureaucrats. During challenging times some might take actions never thought of during good times. It's something to be considered and all appropriate precautions taken so this situation never comes to light.

Give the fans a break. Give the players their due. Show the game some respect. Do not cheapen professional football by letting television network time outs factor into how games are played in the closing minutes. It's a no brainer.

(www.allworldallsports.com)