World Series I-S-T

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Another reason to prefer the Phillies:

]Multi-platinum pop group Backstreet Boys, with Tampa native Nick Carter, will perform the U.S. National Anthem prior to Game One of the 2008 World Series at Tropicana Field.

Hamels v. Kazmir tonite. Kaz hasn't looked all that great to me this postseason.

[HahnSolo]

Looked pretty good at Fenway last week.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Eh. They let him off the hook.

[metirish]

It's 8:10 , any guesses as to what the time of first pitch will be?

[Zvon]

metirish wrote: It's 8:10 , any guesses as to what the time of first pitch will be?

8:35 according to my local rag (pro Phillies).

[metirish]

So you think it will start on time?None of the pre-game stuff has been on yet so I will say 8:45.

[G-Fafif]

Rays fans boo intro of Backstreet Boys like they were Sarah Palin at a Flyers game.

[metirish]

The Backdoor Boys killing the Anthem.

[Zvon]

metirish wrote: So you think it will start on time?None of the pre-game stuff has been on yet so I will say 8:45.

lol.
The Back Street Boys.
I thought they only appeared on Robot Chicken these days.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Kaz hasn't looked all that great to me this postseason.

WHAM

[Guest cooby]

Go Phillies!

[Zvon]

Well, I'm not surprised.
That pesky Utley gets the Phils on the board with a 2 run blast in the first.
His 1st World Series at bat ever.

[Zvon]

After that opening boo boo on the play at first I thought " this is gonna be a crazy game" but the Phils recover and no damage is done.

[Zvon]

Nice throw by Upton on that play at the plate in the 2nd.
Thought that was a sac fly for sure.

2-0 Phils in the middle of the third.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

Burrell running awfully far inside the baseline on that dribbler. He likely impeded Pena's view of the throw from Kazmir. I wouold have argued that Burrell was out of the baseline for running on the infield grass on his way to first.

[Zvon]

Rockin' Doc wrote: Burrell running awfully far inside the baseline on that dribbler. He likely impeded Pena's view of the throw from Kazmir. I wouold have argued that Burrell was out of the baseline for running on the infield grass on his way to first.

I agree, esp from home to about half way up the line. Then he still stayed to the field side of the baseline.
Doesn't factor into the scoring though.

The Bartlett walk, stolen base, Iwamura double was a nice slice of baseball.

That and Crawford's fourth inning homer make it 3-2 Phils in the middle of the 6th.

[Frayed Knot]

The way you get that call is to plunk the runner with the throw -- if the ball gets to the fielder they're not going to call it.

It's risky in that if you don't get the call he's obviously safe and other runners may move up if the ball bounces away ... but at least you'll get the satisfaction of hitting him, 'specially if you throw it real hard.

[Zvon]

Frayed Knot wrote: The way you get that call is to plunk the runner with the throw -- if the ball gets to the fielder they're not going to call it.

I think you are absolutely correct sir.

lol @ that second part.

[Zvon]

I like how McCarver is trying to predict events and then they dont happen and then he goes "nope!".
lol

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Rough game for Upton.

[Zvon]

You can get away with intentionally walking someone to get to Howard more than half the time, but the times when it doesn't work, it HURTS big time.

Lets see how this plays out.

I would not have wanted to give Chase anything to hit at this time myself.
Might have tried pitching around him tho, cuz at times he does get a lil over anxious.

[Zvon]

Wow.
He never even got the bat off his shoulder.
Shame on you Ryan.
There were 2 pitches to hit there, especially that last one.
Sit down ya bum!

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Phils win!

[Zvon]

Good game.
Kinda yawnyish but its not my fault they have these things running til past midnight these days.

Phils did have to win this game, cuz its true that their pitching drops off a bit after Hamel.
But any of the Phils pitchers, as well as the Rays pitchers, can step up and perform big in any given game.

[Zvon]

[metirish]

Bill Madden had this today , from Pat Gillick.

] Hatred for Mets helped Phillies as entire NL East wanted to beat Amazin's ST. PETERSBURG - It took a half-dozen under-the-radar player moves by Pat Gillick to produce the first Phillies World Series team since 1993, and the Phillie GM characteristically passes off most of the credit to his scouts and assistants. The real credit, Gillick says half-kiddingly, goes to the Mets. "If you want to know the best thing we had going for us this year," said Gillick, "it was the fact that all the other teams in our division hated the Mets' guts. It started with Atlanta and all the hostility they had with the Mets through the years. Then Fredi Gonzalez left Bobby Cox to manage the Marlins and he didn't forget everything that went on between the Braves and Mets. Look what Florida did for us the past two years (beating the Mets two out of the three in each of the last series of the season to prevent them from making the postseason)! "Washington doesn't like them very much either, and all those teams seemed to really get up for the Mets." It's no secret the Mets' dancing after home runs and other histrionics have created animosity between them and opposing teams. As for the 71-year-old Gillick, he insists his plans to retire after the season are firm and irrevocable. If so, his Hall-of-Fame resume is intact. Gillick won two world championships in Toronto, then turned the Seattle Mariners from perennial losers into AL West champions. Now, in three years in Philly, he has gotten the Phillies to the postseason twice after a 13-year drought. His key deal/gamble was acquiring closer Brad Lidge from the Astros, but it was the scrap heap where Gillick did his best work, signing lefty set-up man J.C. Romero as a minor league free agent, right fielder Jayson Werth and righty reliever Chad Durbin as released free agents, and picking up handyman/pinch-hitter deluxe Greg Dobbs on a waiver claim from Seattle. "This is definitely it," Gillick said. "I might stay around in baseball on a consulting basis or something, but a couple of years ago my wife (Doris) and I moved from Toronto to Seattle and she loves it out there and spends most of the time there. I spend the season living in an apartment in Philly and it gets lonely."

[bmfc1]

So Madden thinks that if the Mets acted with more restraint, they wouldn't be "hated" by the opposition even though the team has a high payroll and is from NY, both of which makes other teams jealous. Perhaps if the Mets acted with the class of Shane Victorino, or were solid citizens like Brett Myers, the other teams would lay down during critical September games.

Madden went for the easy story, as usual. Wally Matthews must be kicking himself for not writing this, again, today. There are many reasons that the Mets are home, none of which have to do with the Mets behavior.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Oh, I think there may be an element of truth to this.

Look how happy the Marlins were to beat the Mets in both of the last two season-ending games. I don't know if that's directly because of Jose Reyes' antics, but I'm not so sure they would have been as jubilant at knocking the Milwaukee Brewers out of the playoffs.

[metirish]

I agree that there is a smidgen of truth to it , as Grim points out the Marlins certainly like turning the Mets over. Madden is an asshole though.

Jon Harper yesterday was blaming the yankees and the spring training fight with the Rays as Tampa's inspiration to greatness.

[bmfc1]

I know that there's something to it but the Phillies were better and the Mets should have won more games. Hatred from the other teams didn't stop the Mets from getting Murphy in from 3d with nobody outs.

But what can you do to change this? Is there a better person in the game than David Wright? Reyes tried to curb his enthusiasm and felt that it hampered his game--Carlos Delgado told him to be himself. The Mets aren't going to be subdued, they are always going to be from New York (as far as we know) and they are always going to have a high payroll.