Philadelphia Phillies
World Champion Phillies Cheered on at Parade
Friday, October 31st, 2008 | MLB, Sports | No Comments
The Philadelphia Phillies rode flatbed trucks through the streets of Philadelphia, celebrating their first World Series title in 28 years with thousands of crazed Phillies fans. Halloween took a back seat this October 31st in the city of Philadelphia, as Phillies left fielder Pat Burrell “led off” the parade riding on a horse-drawn carriage and pumping his fists in the air in jubilation. This was the city’s first chance to celebrate a professional sports world championship since the 76ers won the NBA Championship in 1983. Fans watched from rooftops, hung out windows and even climbed step stools to get a better view of their World Champion Phils.
The parade was scheduled to go through the streets of Philadelphia and end at the sports complex in South Philly. Thousands of fans were allowed to watch the procession on the big screens in Lincoln Financial Field where the Eagles play and in Citizens Bank Ballpark, the home of the Phillies. The Phillies players were scheduled to attend a rally at the ballpark and then make a brief appearance for the fans in Lincoln Financial Field.
The Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in 5 games of the 2008 World Series. Phillies ace Cole Hamels was named the World Series MVP. Manager Charlie Manuel hoisted the World Series Trophy throughout the procession through the streets of Philadelphia.
Phillies Win World Series
Thursday, October 30th, 2008 | MLB, Sports | No Comments
The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 in World Series Game 5 to capture the World Series crown. It was the first World Series win for the Phillies since 1980. The teams were finally able to resume Game 5 48 hours after it started on Monday, October 27th. Game 5 had been suspended because of inclement weather with the score tied at 2 in the middle of the 6th inning. The resumption of the game got off with a bang as Geoff Jenkins pinch-hit for Cole Hamels and delivered a lead-off double to right center field. Jimmy Rollins sacrificed Jenkins to 3rd base and Jayson Werth drove in Jenkins with the go-ahead run with a bloop single to shallow center field that Akinori Iwamura could not hold onto. The Rays prevented further damage in the bottom of the 6th inning by getting out the Phillies 2 best hitters – Chase Utley and Ryan Howard.
The Rays struck right back in the top of the 7th inning. After reliever Ryan Madsen struck out Dioner Navarro to lead off the inning, Rays right fielder crushed a Madsen pitch deep to left field for a solo home run that tied the game at 3. After a single by Jason Bartlett and a sacrifice by the pitcher J.P. Howell that moved Bartlett to 3rd base, Chase Utley made a great fielding play to stave off anymore Rays runs. Iwamura hit an infield single behind the 2nd base bag, and instead of throwing an off-balance throw to 1st base to try to get the speedy Iwamura, Utley held onto the ball. Once Utley saw Bartlett round 3rd base and head for home, Utley made a perfect skip throw to the plate where Ruiz tagged out Bartlett to the end the threat and keep the score tied at 3.
The Phillies took advantage of the momentum swing when Pat Burrell led off the bottom of the 7th inning with a long double to deep left center field. Burrell thought he had hit it out of the park and was leisurely jogging around 1st base while he admired his swing. But the ball ventured more to center field than to left field where the outfield wall is 10 feet higher, and the ball hit the top of the wall and bounced back into the field of play. If Burrell had been hustling from the start, he may have had a triple, so with Burrell at 2nd base, Manager Charlie Manuel elected to pinch-run for the power-hitting Burrell. The move paid off as Shane Victorino moved the pinch-runner Eric Bruntlett over to 3rd base on a groundout to the right side and Pedro Feliz drove in the game-winning run with an RBI single to center field.
Now all the Phillies needed to do was record 6 more outs. After Carl Crawford singled to lead off the 8th inning, Phillies reliever J.C. Romero induced a B.J. Upton double-play groundout and then a Carlos Pena flyout to left field. The Phillies brought in Closer Brad Lidge to start the 9th inning. Brad Lidge had been perfect all season long – 47 saves in 47 save opportunities. But Lidge is most-often remembered for giving up a monster Grand Slam to Albert Pujols in Game 5 of the 2005 NLCS that forced the Astros to go back to St. Louis to win 1 more game on the road to advance to the 2005 World Series. And although the Houston Astros did win that Game 6 in St. Louis, the Astros were swept in the World Series by the Chicago White Sox and Lidge’s career turned south following confidence problems that he couldn’t shake for the last 2 years.
So here we were – Lidge had all the weight of the city of Philadelphia on his shoulders, and he didn’t disappoint. He got the all-important 1st out on an Evan Longoria pop out to shallow center field. Dioner Navarro singled and pinch-runner Fernando Perez stole 2nd base, giving the Rays a golden scoring chance with a man on 2nd base with only 1 out. In an interesting move, Rays Manager Joe Maddon elected to pinch-hit Ben Zobrist for Rocco Baldelli to get the righty-lefty match-up (Maddon had let the right-handed hitting Baldelli hit against right-handed throwing Madsen in the 7th inning and Baldelli came through with the game-tying home run). Lidge got Zobrist to line out to right field and then he closed out the magical night by striking out pinch-hitter Eric Hinske on 3 pitches to preserve the World Series win.
J.C. Romero picked up the win – his 2nd win of the World Series. Brad Lidge picked up the save – his 2nd save of the World Series. Cole Hamels was named the World Series MVP, going 1-0 in 2 starts and keeping the Rays hot hitters in check in each start.
After that final pitch, Lidge fell down to his knees with his arms outstretched in celebration. Catcher Ruiz ran out to celebrate with him. And then the real party was on – with towel-waving fans going berserk as they experienced the joy of a World Series Championship for the city of Philadelphia.
Hamels, Phils Set To Bring World Series Title to Philly
Monday, October 27th, 2008 | MLB, Sports | No Comments
The Philadelphia Phillies are 1 game away from bringing the 2nd World Series title to the city of brotherly love. The Philadelphia Phillies lead the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 in the World Series and will send ace Cole Hamels to the mound to finish off the job and bring home the first World Series Championship to Philadelphia in 28 years. 42 teams have led 3 games to 1 in the World Series, and 36 of those teams have gone on to win the Championship. After losing World Series in 1983 and 1993, however, Phillies fans aren’t taking anything for granted.
Cole Hamels has been as close to perfect as you can expect during the 2008 post-season. Hamels has gone at least 7 innings in each of his 4 post-season starts this year. He has not given up more than 6 hits or 2 earned runs in any of those starts. He beat the Rays 3-2 in World Series Game 1, striking out 5 while only walking 2 Rays’ batters. Hamels will go up against the Game 1 loser Scott Kazmir. Kazmir did not have the best command of his pitches in Game 1, but was able to work out of jams to keep the Rays in the game. Kazmir gave up 6 hits and 4 walks in only 6 innings of work, but yielded only 3 earned runs. His performance made it possible for the Rays to work a comeback, but the Phillies pitching was just too good.
If the Rays have any chance in Game 5, Kazmir will have to be at the top of his game. The Phillies’ bats exploded for 12 hits and 10 runs in World Series Game 4. Ryan Howard blasted his first 2 home runs of the World Series and Jayson Werth and Joe Blanton also hit home runs. The Phillies’ batters were also patient at the plate, drawing a total of 5 walks from 4 Rays’ pitchers. Kazmir will have to keep the Phillies’ batter off-balance and utilize his off-speed pitches to keep Howard and the rest of the wrecking crew in the ballpark.
At this point, it will be hard to imagine this Series going back to the cowbell heaven of Tropicana Field, but anything is possible. All season long, when critics started to write off the young, upstart Rays, that’s when they would go off on one of their long winning streaks. It would take an almost-perfect performance from both the Rays’ batters and pitchers in order to pull off the improbable, but that’s why they play the games. Hamels took home the NLCS MVP honors for his 2 victories against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and I’m thinking adds the World Series MVP trophy to his mantel with his 2nd win over the Rays tonight.
Phils Crush Rays 10-2, 1 Game Away From World Series Championship
Monday, October 27th, 2008 | MLB, Sports | No Comments
The Philadelphia Phillies crushed the Tampa Bay Rays 10-2 in World Series Game 4 to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the World Series. Phillies starter Joe Blanton limited the Rays to only 4 hits and 2 earned runs on 2 harmless solo home runs by Eric Hinske and Carl Crawford to earn the victory. Blanton pitched 6 strong innings, striking out 7 and walking only 2 Rays batters. Phillies relievers Chad Durbin, Scott Eyre, Ryan Madsen and J.C. Romero pitched the final 3 innings, allowing only 1 hit and striking out 5. The lethal pitching combination shut down one of baseball’s best hitting lineups and put the Phils in a great position to close out the World Series at home at Citizens Bank Ballpark on Monday, October 27th.
The Phillies bats finally came to life, making it all that much more difficult for the Rays to mount any sort of comeback. The Phils took a 1-0 first inning lead on a walk to Pat Burrell with the bases loaded. Pedro Feliz’s RBI single in the 3rd inning increased the lead to 2-0. The final 10 runs of the game (2 for the Rays) came courtesy of the long ball. Ryan Howard crushed a 3-run home run to deep left field in the 4th inning which put the Phils up for good with a 5-1 lead. After Blanton served up an Eric Hinske solo home run in the top of the 5th inning, he helped his own cause in the bottom of the inning with a monster shot to deep left field. The Phillies put the game out of reach for good in the 8th inning – Jayson Werth drove in Jimmy Rollins with a deep home run to left field, and then Ryan Howard hit his 2nd home run of the game – a 2-run shot to deep right field that scored Chase Utley. That closed out the scoring and put the Phillies up 10-2.
The Rays pitching was atrocious on Sunday night – 8 earned runs; 12 hits, 4 home runs, 5 walks and only 4 strikeouts. The Rays defense hasn’t helped either – they have now committed an errors in each World Series game and have a total of 5 errors for the series. The hot bats have also deserted the Rays – Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria are a combined 0 for 29 in the series. Only one regular is hitting above .300 for the series – catcher Dioner Navarro.
Things do not look good for the Rays – with Phillies ace Cole Hamels set to start World Series Game 5 on full days’ rest. Things don’t look good for my predictions either:
Rays in 7 – not gonna happen.
B.J. Upton MVP – his .250 average doesn’t help and unless he hits several home runs and leads the team in a comeback World Series win, it’s not gonna happen.
Cole Hamels – winning both of his starts – looks good right now and I like his match-up tonight. The Rays have their backs up against the walls, it will be a cool night in Philadelphia and the Rays’ youngsters will be playing tight.
At least we won’t have to hear anymore cowbell – hooray for that!
Phils, Rays – World Series Game 4 Battle
Sunday, October 26th, 2008 | MLB, Sports | No Comments
On Saturday, October 25th, the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 5-4 in World Series Game 3 to take a 2-1 advantage over the Rays. Game 4 is set for 8:07 PM EST on Sunday, October 26th. The Rays have their backs up to the wall. If they lose Game 4, they will have to face the Phillies ace Cole Hamels on his home turf at Citizens Bank Ballpark in an elimination game on Monday, October 27th. The Rays will send Andy Sonnanstine to the mound in Game 4. Sonnanstine has won both of his 2008 post-season starts – over the White Sox and Red Sox – and has only allowed 5 earned runs combined in both starts. The Phillies will counter with Joe Blanton. Blanton has only allowed 4 earned runs in his 11 innings of 2008 post-season work. He defeated the Milwaukee Brewers in the decisive Game 4 of the NLDS, but took a no-decision against the Los Angeles Dodgers in his only NLCS start. If ever there was a pivotal game to a series, this would be it. Let’s see if the Rays bats can come back to life – thereby tying the series at 2 and forcing a return to St. Petersburg, where everyone will be happy to be able to hear those crazy cowbells for at least one more time in 2008.
Phils Top Rays 5-4, Lead Series 2 Games To 1
Sunday, October 26th, 2008 | MLB, Sports | No Comments
The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 5-4 in World Series Game 3 to take a 2-1 advantage and maintain home field advantage. If the Phillies can win the next 2 games at Citizens Bank Ballpark, the Phillies will bring the 1st World Series Championship to Philadelphia in 25 years. After blowing an early 4-1 lead, the needed some quirky plays in the 9th inning to secure the 5-4 win. In the 9th inning, Eric Bruntlett led off with a walk. Bruntlett went to 3rd base when Rays reliever Grant Balfour threw a wild pitch that caromed back to Catcher Dioner Navarro. Navarro’s throw to 2nd base sailed into center field, and Bruntlett was able to take 3rd base on the error. The Rays then walked Shane Victorino and Greg Dobbs, bringing up Carlos Ruiz who was hoping to make up for his throwing error in the 8th inning that allowed the Rays to tie the game. Ruiz hit a slow dribbler up the 3rd base line that Evan Longoria tried to flip to home plate to force Bruntlett out, but his throw was not in time, and the Ruiz ended the game with his “perfectly placed” single.
After the Phillies took a 1st inning lead on an RBI groundout by Chase Utley, the Rays tied the game in the top of the 2nd inning with a sacrifice fly by Gabe Gross. Carlos Ruiz gave the Phils a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the inning with a solo home run to deep left. The Phils extended the lead to 4-1 in the 6th inning with back-to-back home runs by Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. The Rays didn’t go down without a fight however, scoring on RBI ground outs by Gabe Gross and Jason Bartlett in the 7th inning to cut the lead to 4-3. In the 8th inning, B.J. Upton led off with a single and stole second base with 1 out. Upton then stole second base and was able to score the tying run on Ruiz’s throwing error to 3rd base. Then came the 9th inning craziness.
Both starting pitchers kept their teams in the game that was delayed at the start by 90 minutes because of rain. The Rays Matt Garza pitched 6 innings giving up 4 earned runs on 6 hits, while striking out 7. The Phils Jamie Moyer pitched into the 7th inning giving up only 3 earned runs on 5 hits, while striking out 5. Each team’s bull pen gave up 1 run.
It was an exciting game if you were a disinterested baseball fan. Each team played well and each team had chances to register big innings. But the pitchers really buckled down all game long to keep within striking distance of the other team. The Phillies are in a great position right now. If the Phillies can win Game 4 on Sunday night, they will have Cole Hamels pitching on 4 days rest in Game 5 of the World Series, looking to bring that elusive World Series Championship home to the city of brotherly love.
Rays, Phils World Series Game 3 Tonight – Weather Permitting
Saturday, October 25th, 2008 | MLB, Sports | No Comments
Game 3 of the World Series is scheduled for Saturday, October 25th at 8:07PM EST, weather permitting. Rain is expected in the Philadelphia area for much of the day on Saturday. The rain should taper off towards the evening and night hours, but it is unclear what shape the field will be in after the steady rain. If the game is played, the Rays will send Matt Garza to the mound, hoping to continue to build off his ALCS success and his ALCS MVP honors. During the ALCS against the Red Sox, Garza won Game 3 and Game 7 limiting the Red Sox to only 1 earned run in each of his starts. He allowed only a combined 8 hits in both games and struck out 14. The Phillies will counter with 45-year old Jamie Moyer. Mayer is a tenured-verteran, but has never pitched on the World Series stage. Moyer has not had a good 2008 post-season run. He lasted only 4 innings in a 4-1 loss to the Brewers in Game 3 of the NLDS and he lasted only 1 1/3 innings in a 7-2 loss to the Dodgers in Game 3 of the NLCS. Manuel once again has faith in his trusted veteran to make a good appearance in Game 3 of the World Series, but I’m not so sure of the decision. With the Series tied at 1-1, I would start Joe Blanton in Game 3 to try to get that lead back.
If Game 3 does get rained out, the teams will play the last 5 games of the World Series on consecutive days – Games 3-5 on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday at Citizens Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia and Games 6 and 7 on Wednesday and Thursday at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. If that happens, I would go with Cole Hamels to Start Game 3 on Sunday night in Philly. If you wait to start Hamels on Monday with his full 4-days rest, then if the World Series does go to a 7th game, Hamels would have to pitch on only 2 days’s rest or come out of the bullpen in relief if needed. If he pitches on Sunday on 3 days’ rest, then he could also come back on 3 days’ rest in a Game 7 on Thursday, if necessary. Hamels only needed 104 pitches in his 7-inning win in Game 1 of the World Series and with the Phillies reliable bullpen, even if Hamels only gives you 6 or 7 solid innings on Sunday, Manuel could turn the ball over to Romero, Madsen and Lidge to finish off the job. It will be interesting to see what the managers’ choose to do if World Series Game 3 is rained out tonight.
Rays Beats Phils 4-2, World Series Even at 1 Game Apiece
Friday, October 24th, 2008 | General, MLB, NFL, Sports | No Comments
The Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 in Game 2 of the World Series. The World Series is now tied at 1 game a piece, and Games 3, 4 and 5 will be played at Citizen’s Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia. The Rays struck early taking advantage of a Jayson Werth error on B.J. Upton’s single in the 1st inning, to set the Rays up with 2nd and 3rd with nobody out. Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria each delivered RBI ground outs to Jimmy Rollins and the Rays opened up a 2-0 lead, a lead they would never relinquish. The Rays increased the lead to 3-0 on an RBI-single by B.J. Upton in the 2nd inning, but the damage could have been worse. Jayson Werth gunned down Rocco Baldelli at the plate on the Upton single to end any further threat. The Rays scored their 4th and final run on a safety squeeze in the 4th inning. The Phillies added a run in the 8th on a solo home run by Eric Bruntlett and a run in the 9th on a fielding error by Evan Longoria which allowed Carlos Ruiz to score, but the late innings were not all that tense. The Phillies had their chances earlier in the game against Rays starter James Shields, but they never came through in the clutch. The Phillies had 9 hits in all, and had at least 2 runners on each of the 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th innings – but the team didn’t score in any of those innings. Shields allowed 9 batters to reach base against him in only 5 2/3 innings, but he was always able to avoid that big inning. Dan Wheeler pitched one inning of scoreless relief and rookie David Price closed out the final 2 1/3 innings. Although Price did give up 2 runs during that span, he was never really in any serious trouble. Despite taking the loss, Bret Myers pitched better than expected. He needed only 85 pitches through his 7 innings and only gave up 3 earned runs on 7 hits and 3 walks. He didn’t have his best stuff, but he was able to minimize the damage in certain situations.
As for my predictions – I was definitely wrong about the high-scoring affair. If the teams had come through in the clutch when they had opportunities, I think I would have been spot on, but neither team has responded when it matters (the Phillies 0-for-19 stretch with runners in scoring position was the 2nd longest drought to start a World Series).
Rays in 7 – still a strong possibility.
B.J. Upton – MVP – Upton helped me out in a big way with his 2-for-4 performance. He scored the 2nd run of the game, drove in the 3rd run of the game with 2 outs in the inning, and played solid defense. He’ll need to step it up with some home runs in order to solidify the MVP award, however.
It looks like the Rays have found a “temporary” closer for the rest of the World Series. David Price has one of the fastest fastballs in the game and a nasty slider, and because he was just called up in September, there’s not a lot of scouting information out there on the young kid. Look for Price to play a key role in late inning wins as the series progresses.
World Series Game 2 – Expect High Scoring Affair Tonight
Thursday, October 23rd, 2008 | MLB, Sports | No Comments
Just when you think we’re going to see more pitching duels in the 2008 World Series, I am feeling a high-scoring, home-run crushing, offensive explosion contest tonight in Game 2 of the World Series. That means bad news for Phillies starter Bret Myers and Rays starter James Shields.
Myers was effective in his start against the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLDS, but that came against a team that had run out of steam having pulled out all the stops to even qualify for post-season play. In Game 2 of the NLCS against the Dodgers, Myers lasted only 5 inning, giving up 5 earned runs on 6 hits, but also walking 4 batters. That is the Myers I expect to see at Tropicana Field in World Series Game 2 tonight.
Shields has allowed at least 8 batters to reach base in all 3 of his 2008 post-season starts, but was able to limit the damage done by the White Sox in the ALDS and the Red Sox in the ALCS thereby keeping his ERA below 4.00. Shields is not a strikeout pitcher and the Phillies won’t be so kind, as they usually take advantage of scoring opportunities.
Sharpen your pencils and get ready to add some columns to your scorecard as one team will bat around the order with a big run-scoring inning. Rays and Phils will be tied 1-1 heading up to Philadelphia, where Games 4, 5 and 6 will be played outdoors in Citizens Bank Ballpark on some cool fall nights.
Rays Need More Cowbell!
Thursday, October 23rd, 2008 | MLB, Sports | No Comments
Rays Cowbell
The Rays will definitely need more cowbell if they expect to win the franchise’s first ever World Series Championship. The Phillies defeated the Rays 3-2 in Game 1 of the World Series at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Phillies got off to a quick start with a first inning walk to Jayson Werth and a 2-run home run by Chase Utley off Rays starter Scott Kazmir to give the Phils an early 2-0 lead. After an RBI-groundout by Carlos Ruiz in the 4th inning, the Phils rode the arm of ace Cole Hamels en route to the Game 1 victory. Hamels pitched 7 innings of 2-run, 5-hit ball and then turned the ball over to his trusty bullpen to do the rest. 8th inning specialist Ryan Madson and Closer Brad Lidge didn’t disappoint – 2 scoreless innings of no-hit relief, striking out 3 batters. They did not allow a single player to reach base in protecting a delicate 1 run lead late in the ball game in the opposing team’s park.
The Rays hot bats didn’t faze the Phils pitchers at all. B.J. Upton, Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria combined for no hits in 12 at-bats, including 5 strikeouts (3 by Longoria). Carl Crawford hit a solo home run in the 4th inning. Akinori Iwamura had 3 of the Rays 5 hits, including an RBI-double in the 5th inning that cut the lead to 3-2. But the Rays wouldn’t get any closer than that. Even the Rays fans and their annoying cowbells couldn’t bring life to the Rays bats. Rays management should consider inviting Christopher Walken to throw out the 1st pitch with a giant cowbell attached around his neck. Maybe America’s favorite cowbell critic will be able to light a fire in the bats of the Rays hitters for World Series Game 2 on Thursday, October 23rd.
So far my prediction is right on track:
Rays in 7 – still a posibility – the Rays went down to the Red Sox 1-0 in the ALCS and ended up winning in 7 games to advance to the World Series.
Cole Hamels winning both of his starts – so far so good.
B.J. Upton MVP – well, the 0 for 4 start Game 1 showing doesn’t help, but 2 home runs in Game 2 against Bret Myers will turn the tide in my favor…
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