VoxOrion wrote:Seriously, every single Rays starter has been described as their best starter so far, and every single Rays starter was less gooder than the Phillies starter.

They are good pitchers supported by a really good defense. But none of them are really stud aces like Hamels or Santana or CC or guys like that. The National League, in fact, may have more Ace pitchers than the AL. So these Ray pitchers look better than they are in comparison maybe.

In fact, Moyer was better than Garza this year. Good Myers is better than Big Game (5 inning) James. And Blanton and Sonnastine are kinda a wash.

The Rays bullpen had a good year this year but Balfour and Howell and Trevor Miller are really nothing special. Price gave up a homer to Bruntlett for cryin' out lound and came within a poor call by the home plate umpire on a HBP from getting into real 9th inning trouble. None of these guys are as accomplished as Madson or Lidge or even Romereo and Eyre.

The Rays have a nice team. Their defense is really impressive and they can hit some. Upton is the kinda player the Phils keep hoping to develop when they draft tool sheds like Golson and Hewitt. Longoria is going to be really good and Price might be special.

But Longoria and Pena and company aren't hitting after a scorching ALDS and ALCS -- hitting homers all over the place. That's what happens in baseball a lot I think. Guys go crazy for a while and then slump some.

These are two pretty evenly matched teams. The Keith Laws and Joe Sheehans and Jim Romes were kinda lazy in their analysis of this series I think. The AL being better than the NL overall really doesn't have much to do with this series. Neither does the fact that the guys who aren't playing for the Rays are better than So Taguchi or Clay Condrey.

The Phils have won but once World Series title in well over 100 years. That could be a story line. But the media is going with the "Cinderella Rays" instead. That's OK by me. The Phils are up 2-1 and it's really, really kewl.

phorever wrote:

LongDrive wrote:Go Joe Blanton, Go!

Let's get this victory tonight!!!!!!!!!

hate to say it, but gotta say it (again): i like blanton going forward, but his chances of success today are slim and none, and slim has a bus ticket out of town. he is going to be flame-thrower-in-a-grain-silo torched. the rays absolutely love hitting this guy.

You mean sort of like how the Rays (esp Carlos Pena who was a .500 hitter off Jamie but had zero hits off him last night) were gonna own Jamie?

would have been a good game to start dobbs at 3B against a soft tossing RHP

Does anyone else wonder if the Rays can win with all of the problems they have had with Runners In Scoring Position (RISP)?

They are only batting .210 (4 for 19) for the series. Two of those hits were infield dribblers that didn't score a run. Of the two hits that did score runs, one of them was a double that would have scored the runner had he been on first (he was only on second because he stole one pitch earlier). The other hit scored a run, but also an out, as the other runner (who was also in scoring position when the hit happened) was gunned down at the plate.

I don't know how a team can expect to win anything with such struggles in the clutch.

.210 is actually 10 points higher than their overall average so far. If you take away their infield hits and other flares and dribblers their batting avetrage is about .067.

FTN wrote:would have been a good game to start dobbs at 3B against a soft tossing RHP

I would have liked to have seen that as well. If any game sets up as being a shootout, its this one. I expect at least a dozen more references to 'this park" than usual.

But I think the Phillies will prevail, 8-6 or something.

Jim Thome in the house!

BigEd76 wrote:Jim Thome in the house!

will he get a (Phillies) playoff share ?

since he indirectly brought us Matt Stairs, I guess it's OK

BigEd76 wrote:since he indirectly brought us Matt Stairs, I guess it's OK

Thome=Haigwood=Castro=Stairs.

What a distant, strange chain.

Of course, he, along with his timid handler Gavin Floyd also brought us Freddy Garcia, which I'm just not sure I can forgive him for.

Game 3's late start blows away the previous worst ratings by almost 2 points

28.2 in Philly
21.6 in Tampa
9.7 in Seattle
9.2 in San Francisco :?:

Forgive me if it was previously mentioned, but in addition to the bigger picture, Hamels has a chance to be the first pitcher ever to win five straight starts in one post-season.

BigEd76 wrote:Game 3's late start blows away the previous worst ratings by almost 2 points

28.2 in Philly
21.6 in Tampa
9.7 in Seattle
9.2 in San Francisco :?:

here's a thought - start the games so they end the same day, maybe then someone would watch. ehf it.

phillies now 8-0 in 2008 when i get a rally towel (they were handing out lame generic world series rally towels on citizens bank way before the game)

1 wrote:phillies now 8-0 in 2008 when i get a rally towel (they were handing out lame generic world series rally towels on citizens bank way before the game)

are you working the game tomorrow?

sleeping won't be easy tonight.

tomorrow will be the longest day

meatball wrote:

1 wrote:phillies now 8-0 in 2008 when i get a rally towel (they were handing out lame generic world series rally towels on citizens bank way before the game)

are you working the game tomorrow?

mm hm

Tomorrow! DC folks - Capitol Lounge on the Hill.

I will be there unless somehow I can make the 4-hour trip home to watch with the family (which is unlikely but I wishhhhhh).

Yuengling pitchers. Lots of Phans. Potential tears to be shed (not embarrassed to say it).

Lets do it.

1 wrote:

meatball wrote:

1 wrote:phillies now 8-0 in 2008 when i get a rally towel (they were handing out lame generic world series rally towels on citizens bank way before the game)

are you working the game tomorrow?

mm hm

You are lucky. Any way you can get a bunch of the members of the hottest Phillies MB in?