Ace Rothstein wrote:im still pretty calm about all this , i guess i need to see kazmir throw that 1st pitch tomorrow night to get crazy

mozartpc27 wrote:I can't believe he thinks the Rays are THAT much better. The Phillies had the better run differential. Even if you grant that the AL is "harder" than the NL, and that adjusting for the league/schedule difference would show the Rays to be the better team (which they probably are, fine), are they really 90-72 better than the Phillies? That seems absurd.

Ace Rothstein wrote:im still pretty calm about all this , i guess i need to see Rollins hit that 1st pitch for a home run tomorrow night to get crazy

TenuredVulture wrote:

Ace Rothstein wrote:im still pretty calm about all this , i guess i need to see kazmir throw that 1st pitch tomorrow night to get crazy

You need to watch some of those inspiring videos.

BigEd76 wrote:more from that article:

The Rays' rotation of Scott Kazmir (24), James Shields (26), Matt Garza (24) and Andy Sonnanstine (25) is the youngest Series rotation since that of the '69 Mets, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

....and the "oh **** I feel old" moment:

the Rays have 15 players who weren't even born the last time the Phillies clinched a World Series title on Oct. 21, 1980. Longoria was just 8 years old the last time the Phils were in the Series, in 1993, and Upton was 9.

MattS wrote:I did a couple of posts on TGP that were pretty extensive. They are in my signature. The team previews talks about the odds, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd order wins, and my adjustment for BABIP and comparisons. The player by player splits are a report on all 50 players on the playoff rosters, and their tendencies and splits-- everything from how frequently they swing at strikes vs. balls to lefty/righty splits. It's probably useful during a game if anyone is curious about a particular matchup.

MattS wrote:I did a couple of posts on TGP that were pretty extensive. They are in my signature. The team previews talks about the odds, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd order wins, and my adjustment for BABIP and comparisons. The player by player splits are a report on all 50 players on the playoff rosters, and their tendencies and splits-- everything from how frequently they swing at strikes vs. balls to lefty/righty splits. It's probably useful during a game if anyone is curious about a particular matchup.

From the World Series Prospectus:

[The Rays] have more talent, 1 through 25, than the Phillies do.

Compare the rosters, and while the Phillies have their share of frontline talent, perhaps even more than the Rays have, the Rays have almost no dead spots on the roster, and are much stronger towards the bottom of the lineup, the back of the rotation, the bullpen, and the bench.

These aren't throwaway lines, but there seemed to be a lightness to them, the air of assertion without evidence. In search of that evidence, we came up with an idea. Throw the two teams' rosters into a pool and have a draft. If there was some kind of disparity in talent, it should show up in the process of picking teams.

All of the details are below, but let's cut to the conclusion: the Rays' talent matches the Phillies through about the first nine roster spots, then obliterates it through the rest of the roster. In the draft, six of the first nine picks were Rays, though you could argue that the ninth pick (Carl Crawford) was a mistake. Even at that, it was even through the first 19 picks: ten Rays, nine Phillies. That's the top of a roster, more or less: a lineup, a starter, a high-leverage reliever.

Fourteen of the next 21 selections were Rays. The entire middle of the draft was Rays. By the time we got through 40 picks, the remaining pool consisted of nine Phillies and Michel Hernandez, who hasn't played yet this postseason. As Jay put it, "Even into the bench and the deeper bullpen, the Rays' players generally wound up getting chosen before their Philly counterparts."

That's the reason to pick the Rays in six, if not sooner. They simply have more talent than the other guys do.

Each of the Phillies’ players have rubber ducks in their lockers, compliments of Manuel, who was inspired by a brief conversation he had with second baseman Chase Utley after the Game 3 loss to the Brewers in the NLDS at Miller Park. Utley thought Manuel had been too tight in that game.
“He said to get that rubber duck out of my (backside),” Manuel said. “So when we clinched over the Dodgers, I figured coming into the World Series that I wanted our players to be loose and play like they always have. So I bought them rubber ducks. Every time before they go out on the field and they lock up in their lockers, they’ll see that duck and it’ll remind to play like they always have.”

VoxOrion wrote:1210 is running ads claiming they'll be synched up to the World Series TV broadcast.

CalvinBall wrote:

VoxOrion wrote:1210 is running ads claiming they'll be synched up to the World Series TV broadcast.

Seriously?! If true, that is awesome.

Vote for Kalas wrote:

mozartpc27 wrote:I can't believe he thinks the Rays are THAT much better. The Phillies had the better run differential. Even if you grant that the AL is "harder" than the NL, and that adjusting for the league/schedule difference would show the Rays to be the better team (which they probably are, fine), are they really 90-72 better than the Phillies? That seems absurd.

The Rays beat his beloved nation so of course he is going to think they are much better. Neyer has really become a joke.