It is not the Mets or Yankees and their mounds of money, nor the Red Sox and their boisterous nation. It is not the Angels and their perfection of execution nor the Cubs and their abundance of talent. It is not the Dodgers and Manny-mania nor the Brewers and their C.C. Ride. It is not the Tampa Bay Rays and their worst to first very good young team. “We” are the 2008 champions of MLB Baseball, the “World” Champions of the game!! “We” are the Phillies which is not just purely defined as the core baseball team. “We” represents the players, coaches and front office, the ticket takers, concessionaires and announcers……….. the writers, sports talk hosts and security guards…….. the janitors, traffic cops and police. “We” are the fans both those who are life long die hards like myself and yes even those who have jumped onto the bandwagon with the success of a winner! “We”, baseball world, the Philadelphia Phillies are the 2008 World Series Baseball Champions!!!!!

The players of this team will live forever in our area as being recognized for their championship efforts. Charlie Manuel will be forever the man who led us to our second “World” title in history, J-Roll, Utley, Howard, Burrell, Hamels, Lidge, Moyer and the other members of this team will be forever heroes in this city regardless of where they might go in their remaining careers! Pat Gillick will be forever remembered as the GM who put us over the top! By becoming champions these boys have become immortal and lodged in the memories of “Phillies” young and old forever in time!

Pedro Feliz is forever the guy who got the winning hit! Geoff Jenkins is forever the guy who led off the sixth with a double! Pat Burrell is forever the guy who got the key double to stage the winning run! Brad Lidge is forever perfect as was this team when leading after eight innings! God Bless the Phillies………all of us, we are the “Phreakin” Champions!!!!!

As a long standing Phillie fan I have seen my share of disappointment, comes with the territory when you cheer for the losingest franchise in pro sports history………..but for this year and this off-season there is no sadness in “Phillie-vile” because …………one more time baseball world……………… “We”, the Philadelphia Phillies are the 2008 “World” Champions of baseball…………..sounds so sweet!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh by the way if you didn’t figure it out…………. Phillies won game five by a four to three count!

The blundering Bud Selig administration added another to their long list as World Series game number five was suspended after five and one half innings of play.  The game was started at 8:30 and by all local weather accounts it was well known that rain would be constant and in fact heavy at times albeit the heavy stuff was predicted for closer to midnight.

Once the game started though the issue was at hand.  The Fightins scored two runs in the first as Shane Victorino singled with the bases loaded to score two runs.  Starter Cole Hamels was cruising early on until Carlos Pena doubled off the right field wall and was plated by Evan (Eva) Longoria in the fourth inning.  The rains continued to get heavier as the game went on, the game became official after four and 1/2 with the Phillies leading and MLB was indeed in a quandry.  NO ONE  wanted to win a World Series with a rainout yet that was the predicament we were in!

MLB hoped and prayed the Rays would score so that the thing could be suspended, those prayers were answered in the top of the sixth as Carlos Pena singled with two outs to score B.J. Upton.  Shortly thereafter the game was called.  I truly believe they would have kept playing till the Rays either scored to tie it or it went nine!  Conditions were deplorable and with modern day radar capabilities there was no excuse why this one was allowed to start!

The shame of the matter is that the game was indeed allowed to start, don’t tell me TV revenue streams did not sway why play begant!  Fox has a big TV lineup scheduled for Tuesday night and has constantly been promoting it throughout the series, they did not want to give that up!   Somehow this baseball administration was hoping these two teams could play thru the rain!  As a result both teams best pitchers are done with nothing decided!  

The game is scheduled to resume tommorrow night but high winds are forecast and god forbid that “House” isn’t shown on Fox !  Watch for the thing to be pushed to Wednesday night!  Disappointed at best tonite but still hopeful and anticipating a Phillies trophy! 

Lets Go Phils! 

Joe Blanton is a very unassuming young man. He stepped into a very assuming role however as he took the ball for game four of the 2008 World Series. Blanton stepped up big time by pitching six plus strong innings only allowing two runs and even belting a home run to earn his first world series win!

Jimmy Rollins got things started offensively for the Fightins as he usually does when they succeed with a lead off double in the first inning. Rollins advanced to third on a ground out and was actually out in a run down on a ball hit back to the mound by Ryan Howard but was called safe by the ump! Rollins scored on a bases loaded walk by Pat Burrell. The Phillies went up two to zero as Pedro Feliz stroked a two out single to plate a run. The Rays scored their first run on a Carl Crawford solo home run in the third inning.

Ryan Howard put the Phillies up by four with a three run home run in the fourth inning. The big man took a curve ball out to the left field seats! Pinch hitter Eric Hinske took a Blanton fastball out to center field in the fifth to make the score 5-2 but Joe Blanton the hitter got it back by turning a Edwin Jackson 95 mph fast ball into a left field tater in the Phillies fifth ! It was Blanton’s first ever major league home run!

The Rays threatened in the seventh putting two runners on but skipper Charlie Manuel played bullpen shuffle bringing in Chad Durbin, Scott Eyre and Ryan Madson in to get out of the inning with no damage. Madson pitched a perfect eighth striking out both Carlos Pena and Evan (Eva) Longoria in the midst.

Jimmy Rollins got his third hit of the game in the eighth as he doubled off the wall. He could have been credited with four but the official scorer gave the Rays second sacker an error on a ground ball in the hole earlier in the game. Pretty simple equation for the Fightins, J-Roll gets on they win!! Jayson Werth belted a home run to score Rollins and put the Fightins up by six! Ryan Howard belted another bomb after teammate Chase Utley reached to make it 10-2 Fightins. Howard ended up with five RBI’s in the game! J.C. Romero pitched the ninth to finish the game.

Chatter

Cole Hamels goes in game five in a rematch of game one as Scott Kazmir throws for the Rays. Jamie Moyer’s performance in game three was even more remarkable considering he was battling a three day stomach virus that had kept him up most of the prior night! The man is a real pro! One win away boys from being known as the best of 2008 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By the way, kudos to the Phillies advance scouts in supplying the team with a great advance plan on these young Ray hitters. The game plan has been perfect thus far……….one more big one to go !

Jimmy Rollins started game three in a different way, he stroked a single to center! Rollins advanced to second on a walk to Jayson Werth, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a ground out by Chase Utley to put the Fightins up by one. The Rays tied the score in the top of the second as Carl Crawford scored.

Carlos Ruiz hit a solo home run in the Phillies second to put the home team back ahead. That score held till the bottom of the sixth when Chase Utley and Ryan Howard hit back to back home runs to make the count 4 to 1.

The Rays scored two in the seventh to chase Phililes starter Jamie Moyer. Moyer was outstanding and gave the young Rays a schooling by hitting spots consistently. He actually made a great play on a bunt by Carl Crawford in the seventh but the first base umpire blew the call. Crawford would score one of the runs.

Ryan Madson was touched for one run in the eighth as the speed of B.J. Upton scored the tieing run. Upton beat out an infield hit, stole second and third and scored on a errant throw to third by Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz.

The Phillies won the game in the bottom of the ninth as Eric Bruntlett was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Shane Victorino was attempting to bunt Bruntlett to second but a wild pitch did it for him as Bruntlett went to second and even advanced to third as the Rays catcher threw the ball into center field! Rays skipper Joe Maddon then elected to walk both Victorino and pinch hitter Greg Dobbs to load the bases. He brought his right fielder in behind second base and dared hitter Carlos Ruiz to be able to hit a fly ball! Ruiz hit a squibber down the third base line and Bruntlett scored the winning run!

Chatter

Jamie Moyer was outstanding in this game and showed how a true professional plays the game. The game did not start till after 10 pm EDT due to heavy rains in the Philadelphia area all day and early evening Saturday. The game concluded around 1:30 AM!! Philly fans stayed thru the whole thing though and showed their faith in the Fightins! Joe Blanton will go for the Fightins on the mound Sunday night. Give the Rays credit, they are a very good team and have alot of fight in them………sounds like our Phililes! All three games thus far could have went either way, these two teams are matched very well!

Tampa Bay jumped out early in game two of the series as they plated two runs in the first inning. Akinora Iwamura led off with a walk, B.J. Upton then singled to right field and Jayson Werth kicked the grounder allowing Iwamura and Upton to advance an extra base. Two consecutive ground ball outs scored the two runs for the Rays. Tampa added the third run in the second frame on an RBI single by Upton. The Phillies continued to squander chances to score in the first four frames as they put leadoff runners on in both the second and third frames and two runners on in the fourth but could not score. The Rays added another run in the fourth on a safety squeeze by shortstop Jason Bartlett.

The Phillies made some bonehead plays early in the game, twice following walks by swinging at the first pitch to make outs, getting picked off first base on a fly ball to right field and making two fielding/throwing errors! Not playing smart usually leads to getting beat. Thru seven offensive innings the Fightins had left eleven runners on base without scoring. Brett Myers didy not pitch that badly and completed seven innings but with no support offensively was in a losing spot.

The Phillies finally scored in the top of the eighth as pinch hitter Eric Bruntlett slammed a solo home run off of David Price. Carlos Ruiz scored in the ninth as he led off the inning with a double, Jayson Werth knocked him in with what was scored an error on the Rays third sacker. Jimmy Rollins was hit by a pitch in the ninth but the home plate umpire missed the call which hurt as he would eventually fly out to shortstop. The Phillies can attribute this loss to too many squandered chances, hopefully in game three things turn around.

Carlos Ruiz had a very good game offensively as he belted two doubles down the left field line and also worked two walks.

Chatter

I believe there is a major adjustment for hitters in thier first at bats in the Dome that the Rays play in regarding the hitting background, the reason I say that is Phillies contact hitters like Greg Dobbs looked feeble in early swings almost as if they did not see the ball! I know that the Rays have some great young hurlers but I don’t believe that hitters that normally make contact would look so bad on thier hacks! The series shifts to Philadelphia for game 3, rain is forecast for Saturday night when the game is scheduled that puts it in doubt of being played, if rained out the series would finish on consecutive nights without a travel date allowance. Might actually be an advantage for the Fightins as Cole Hamels could go in game four on four days rest or in game 5 with an extra day of rest. He seems to thrive on the extra day off.

B.J. Upton dogged running out a ground ball again in the seventh inning as he hit into a 6-4-3 double play, the young man has alot of talent but needs to get the cadilac image out of his head!

Chase Utley set the tone early as he belted a two run home run in his very first World Series at bat to plate Jayson Werth in front of him in the first inning. It would be a lead that young Phils ace Cole Hamels would not relinquish as the Fightins won game one of the 2008 World Series.

Carlos Ruiz plated the Phillies third run in the fourth inning as he grounded out to score Shane Victorino who had led off the inning with a single and had advanced to third base. Carl Crawford scored the Rays first run on a home run to right field off a hanging curve by Hamels, the only mistake pitch he made in the entire game! The Rays second run was scored on a double off the bat of Rays second baseman Akinora Iwamura. Iwamura had three of the five hits that Hamels allowed in his seven innings of work.

Ryan Madson pitched a perfect eighth for the Fightins flashing a couple 97 mph fastballs! Madson has really stepped it up in the playoffs and is throwing as hard as I have ever seen him! Super closer Brad Lidge was lights out in the ninth to earn the save. Lidge struck out two of the three batters he faced in a dominating appearance. He got the Rays 3-4-5 hitters out without even a loud foul ball!

Big win for the Fightins to get the first one on the road. Back at them tommorrow with Brett Myers taking the ball. Brett is a big game guy so I expect a huge effort from the right hander! Cole Hamels is earning that “Hollywood” nickname of his as he is indeed performing like a star!

Chatter

Jimmy Rollins said this past offseason that this team would win 100 or more games this season, with this win the Philies have won 100 games! They captured 92 in the regular season and 8 thus far in the post season! Rollins struggled at the plate going 0 for 5 and looked bad in his last two at bats swinging at high pitches above his head to strike out. J-Roll just needs to calm down a bit and lead our team! Ryan Howard was punked by Rays skipper Joe Maddon as Maddon intentionally walked Chase Utley in the top of the ninth with one out after Jayson Werth had doubled to get to Howard. The big guy had a poor at bat as he struck out looking against left hander Trevor Miller on two pitches down the heart of the plate. Howard and Rollins will make the Jays pay at some point in this series, mark my word! No worries so far as the Phillies found a way to win but we need these two big guns to step up at some point in this series before we have our parade!

Was it just me or did B.J. Upton dog it a bit on the two ground ball double plays he hit into to. I think if he had ran hard on the first one he may have beaten it out! The World Series stage is not the place to show lack of hustle!

When the Tampa Bay Rays recorded the last out against the Boston Red Sox to claim the ALCS title one could argue it set up a “Home and Home” world series for the Phillies! The Phillies train in Clearwater, Florida in the spring which is only a short distance from St. Petersburg and the home of the Rays. If they want the Fightins can use thier own facilities to work out for the games hosted by the Rays.

Lets take a look at how I think this series breaks out and who has the ultimate edge. The Rays starting pitchers Scott Kazmir, Matt Garza, James Shields and Andy Sonnnastine are all young as is most of their team. Kazmir is the only lefty amongst the group. I believe this plays into the strength of the Phillies from the perspective that they are heavy on left handed bats and are a very good fastball hitting team. Kazmir and Garza are primary fastball pitchers. The Rays bullpen has been worked alot in the playoffs, folks like Grant Balfour, J.P. Howell, Chad Bradford, Dan Wheeler and David Price have logged many innings. I think that the Phillies offense can do damage against that crew. Look for Jayson Werth and Ryan Howard to have big series, in fact I predict one of those two will emerge as series MVP.

The Phillies starters will be Cole Hamels, Brett Myers, Jamie Moyer and Joe Blanton. I think the inexperience of the young Ray hitters will play into the hands of both Hamels and Moyer. I also think that Myers is a big game guy and on the biggest baseball stage there is will excel. The Phillies bullpen has proven itself over the stretch run and the playoffs to be this years best. Ryan Madson, Scott Eyre, J.C. Romero and Chad Durbin have all excelled in setting up premier closer Brad Lidge. Any lead the offense turns over to that crew should be safe!

Defensively I think the Phillies are much better than the Rays, in fact the Rays defense has hurt them in the playoffs thus far. Offensively I think the Phillies are much more balanced but Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino must set the table for core sluggers Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, Chase Utley and Pat Burrell. With the DH in play in Tampa look for Matt Stairs, Greg Dobbs and perhaps Chris Coste to have impact as well.

The managers are equals in my opinion. Charlie Manuel provides the calm stablility that has enabled the Phillies to get this far while Joe Maddon has built into the young Rays the confidence they needed to excel.

This series matches two franchises that have had minimal success in thier history, the Fightins are the losingest team in history while the Rays first winning season ever was this year! Someone has to succeed in 2008!

When the Rays beat the Red Sox for the AL title I get a sense that they feel they have succeeded already and that anything beyond is gravy. I saw that in thier eyes as they celebrated thier victory. I do not think the Phillies have that same feeling, I think they are the hungrier crew and have more urgency to win it all! With that in mind I think that the Phillies will prevail in this series by winning in five games, six max. I think a parade is in the midst for Philadelphia and that the 2008 Fightins will join the ranks of the 1980 world series champs forever in Philly baseball lore! Just a feeling.

The Philadelphia Phillies are headed back to the World Series for the first time since 1993 as they clinched the National League pennant on Wednesday night! Cole Hamels led the Phillies past the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 as the Phillies took four of the five games against the Dodgers.

Hamels picked up his second win of th series after tossing seven strong innings where he allowed just five hits and one run. The one run came in the sixth inning when Manny Ramirez hit a high fastball for a solo home run. When Hamels got into jams, he was able to get double plays turned without allowing any runs to score.

Jimmy Rollings got the game started off with a bang with a solo home run in the first inning off of Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley. Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell both added rbi singles in the third inning as the Phillies jumped out to a 3-0 lead. In the fourth, it was Chase Utley and Carlos Ruiz both scoring on an errors by Rafael Furcal. That was enough offense for the Phillies as the pitching staff was great!

Now the Phillies will come back home to Philly and see who they will play in the World Series. The Tampa Bay Rays need one more win against the Boston Red Sox to seal their World Series bid and the two teams will be playing Thursday night.

So now the question is this. Who would you rather play? The Red Sox or the Rays?

Even from Shanghai China which is where I am at this week the news has spread, the Fightin Phils are NL champs!!!!!!

Cole Hamels pitched a gem and won the NLCS MVP award. I will let my buddy Cliff write the game recap but could not resist displaying my joy! In the class I am teaching here I was following the score via the internet, I clapped really loud on the last out as recorded by the super closer Brad Lidge!!!!!! My chinese audience thought I was nuts.

Can’t wait to get back to the states and see the series………great job Fightins!!!!! My book of the season also now has some real value! Now the boys just have to win four more and we are the WS champs!!!!!!!

Hey everyone, I’m filling in for Spotter as he is 12 hours ahead of us over in China for the week. Hopefully he is able to catch the games over there. He sure didn’t miss much in game three however as the Phillies were blown out 7-2.

Jamie Moyer only lasted one and a third innings as the Dodgers scored five runs in the first inning to jump out to a 5-0 lead. Old man Moyer simply didn’t have his pitches working for him and he was hit hard. He was taken out of the game in the second inning after he gave up his sixth run of the game on a Rafael Furcal solo home run.

The only offense for the Phillies was two rbi singles. Pedro Feliz scored Ryan Howard in the second inning on a single to shallow left field and then in the seventh inning, Pat Burrell singled in Chase Utley.

The Phils will now send Joe Blanton to the mound in game four of the series. If the Phillies can pull out a win, I like their chances of winning the series and moving onto the World Series. The Dodgers will be countering back with their ace as Derek Lowe will get the start.

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