Like that tree falling in the forest: who cares unless you’re that squirrel living in it. Can the Rays come back; sure, like Herm says, “that’s why we play the games”. I think most people have written it off and have crowned Philly World Series champs. I was thrilled the game was postponed last night, so the new episode of “House” was not interrupted. “House” was outstanding and it only took an hour and promptly ended at 9PM. 3 innings of baseball with bad weather could have lasted a couple of hours. The 8:30 (EST) start times don’t even make it worth starting to watch the game. I can wake up and catch highlights on SportsCenter in a couple of minutes. Baseball is slow enough; the games are too long and the spacing between the series blows. There’s a 7th inning stretch for a reason, it’s for the fans to shake out the cramps in the legs and get the blood moving again.

Just a couple of thoughts:
1.Start the games earlier, we only care how it ends and I’m sure people on the west coast won’t mind missing the first few innings.
2.Cut down on TV commercial times, networks can just charge advertisers more per second, so no money lost.
3.Stop with fixed game date starts, if a series ends early, start the next and keep the playoffs moving along, so it ends in October.
4.Selig should stop screwing with the rules or let everyone clearly know what he intends to do.

Let me know if you agree or disagree or don’t care.

It’s like walking in on your parents getting it on: 5 infielders, Boston fans whining, or being down 3-1 in the World Series. Some things you just don’t want to see, or hear for that matter, ever. There are many fun ideas that turn bad over time. Although cool at the moment, when we look back on them we shake our heads with disapproval; like the Chicago Bears Superbowl Shuffle: horrible. Remember when Mark Madsen broke it down during the Lakers downtown victory celebration? Also horrible. One day we will look back at the Rally Monkey and shake our heads, too.

I can’t get down on fans or people getting excited about a team even if they didn’t like or know them in the beginning of the year. My only call out is that shirts, hats and jerseys can be stored and not worn. If you’re confused, look at how Boston fan does it. Also, face and body paint washes off, so if you were the letter “R” in Rays no problem. During the next thunderstorm: lather up and rinse it off.

The way Hamels is throwing the ball the series may be over tonight, and the Rayhawk will look like some un-groomed European woman you wish you had never seen and everyone will cringe, shake their head and say “Bad idea.”

So far, the Phillies are surprising the hell out of me. I predicted the Rays in 5. . . I didn’t think the Phillies had what it took to give the best team in the AL a real series. And as of Game 3, I am proven dead wrong.

Both teams are scrappy, and fight back under pressure. My initial take on the Series would be that the Rays had fought off the Red Sox, and would come into Philly and flatten that team like fresh pressed corn tortilla.  The Phillies are no push over team. After last night’s phenomenal ninth inning, with Maddon (who I still don’t like) putting in 5 infielders, and STILL losing on a wild play up the 3rd base line, I think the World Series is a lot closer than I gave the Phillies credit for.

The Rays absolutely need tonight’s Game 4. . . Hamels is salivating like a fat kid over a pork chop to finish them off in Game 5 in Philadelphia.

As a side note, I’d love to know how many of you are watching the World Series, even if you’re not a Rays or Phillies fan. Its tough to go from following your team all season, to wanting to watch a World Series with teams that you have no knowledge of. . . and with two smaller markets playing, I’m anxious to see who is watching and for what reason. Feel free to leave comments and let us know!

Great contest last night, Philly goes into Brian’s favorite ballpark and takes game 1.

I just want to say Hamels is the man. I would argue he’s having a bigger impact on his team than Manny had on the Dodgers. With that said Hamels is not slated to pitch till game 5 and by then the Phillies will be down 3 to 1. I can only hope Maddon pulls Kazmir and puts Price in the rotation for Game 5.

If there was a game Philly should have won, it was game 1 and they did it. But looking ahead the Rays have an opportunity to get to the Philly bullpen earlier in the game, which is key for them, because Philly is lights out with its closers.

• Game 2 @TB Myers is 2-0 with a 5.25 ERA vs. Shield 1-2 with a 3.72 ERA
• Game 3 @PHI Moyer is 0-2 with a 13.50 ERA vs. Garza is 2-1 with a 3.32 ERA
• Game 4 @PHI Blanton is 1-0 with a 3.27 ERA vs. Sonnanstine is 2.0 with a 3.46 ERA - Going against the numbers and picking the Rays.
• Game 5 @PHI Hamels is 4-0 with a 1.55 ERA vs. Kazmir is 1-1 with a 4.15 ERA – Maddon inserts Price into Game 5? Could be over.

Unlike Buster Onley, I will not waffle, more like Dr. Dre:  “Still things ain’t changed…still rock my khakis with a cuff and a crease”

Still Rays in 6.

I got Tampa Bay in 6. Here’s why:

The Phillies and Rays have very similar lineups. Both teams hit for power and have several players that run the bases well. The Phillies bullpen has performed better this year, but I do not think they are that much better. If Brad Lidge blows a save early in the Series, I foresee a collapse similar to what happened to him in Houston a few seasons ago. Tampa’s pen struggled in Game 5 and 6, but really did a nice job in the rest of the series against the Red Sox. The place where the Rays have a huge advantage is their starting position. Other than Cole Hamels, the Phillies do not have any really good starters. Brett Myers has been pitching well but he is still unreliable; and they will be lucky to get one win out of Blanton’s or Moyer’s start. The Phillies should slate Hamels to start three games in this series, Myers two, and hope they could eek out a win in one of Moyers or Blantons starts. That will be difficult when the Rays are throwing Kazmir, Shields, and Garza out there, with Sonnastine getting a start in between.

Another reason why the Phillies do not have a good chance at winning the Series is their long layover. We’ve seen in the past how winning quickly in the LCS can hurt your team in the World Series (most notably the Tigers in 2006). The Phillies will have a week off in between their Game 5 win of the NLCS and Game 1 of the World Series. When a team is playing as well as the Phillies were playing against the Brewers and Dodgers, a lay over like this can really be a momentum killer.

The Rays have played better teams to get where they are; not only in the post-season, but during the regular season as well. As a Mets fan this hurts for me to say, but there’s no use pretending that the NL and AL are evenly matched. The Rays had to battle the Red Sox, Yankees, and Blue Jays all season. None of these teams are slouches. I don’t think the White Sox really belonged in the playoffs, but to beat Boston in a playoff series is a very impressive achievement. The Phillies, on the other hand, beat the Brewers who had only made the playoffs because they threw CC Sabathia every three days for the last month of the season. The Dodgers deserved to be in the playoffs but were not that great of a team. They had one dangerous bat in Manny with a couple other decent hitters in the lineup and their pitching numbers were inflated because of a very weak NL West this year. Even during the season, the NL only had maybe three teams, in my opinion, that would have a chance to make the playoffs in the AL (I would say that the three teams are the Phillies, Cubs, and Mets). The Dodgers and Brewers are definitely not part of that group.

I’m not going to pretend, either, that my complete loathing of everything Philadelphia sports related does not come into play here, but I think that these are three pretty legit reasons why the Phillies will not win. I think they’re good enough to make it a series, but the Rays win this one in 6.

I wrote recently about some questionable actions on the part of the Umpire Crew during Game 7 of the ALCS, and I said I had an idea about cutting down on flagrant human error calling MLB games, and particularly big games.

Here’s the disclaimer: I can’t take full credit for this idea. Some guy in a Dodgers jersey at the bar where I was watching the Sox-Angels ALDS brought this up. The ump called a swiging strike on a Sox batter who didn’t even swing. . . it was ridiculous. Dodger Jersey leaned over and said, “That guy should get fined for that”. I humbly dedicate this post to him.

On the eve of the World Series, I’d like to introduce the idea of fining umpires who make ridiculously inept calls. . . like making a batter take 5 balls before a walk. Players get fined or ejected for inappropriate behavior: throwing equipment in range of the batter’s box, shoving elderly travel secretaries, etc.

But at the same time, I want to keep the purity of the game.

So here’s how it would work:

- Following a completed game, managers could submit a play or a call for review to MLB. If that call is ruled flagrant human error, i.e. checking Kevin Youkilis on his way to catching a pop up in foul territory, that umpire is fined. And the fine increases with the importance of the game. No big deal during exhibition games, get ready to take out a mortgage during the World Series. No game can be effected as it’s being played, but umpires will think twice about injecting themselves into game play.

And here’s my reasoning. The game is about the players. I want my team to win or lose based on what the plays they make, and not called out by guys like this.

In the interest of fairness, I think umpiring is an under appreciated and much maligned job, and this guy just rules.

What does everybody think? Fair or Foul?

A lot has already been written on the Sox-Rays finale last night, but I’ve got to put in my two cents.

First, what can I say about Tampa Bay’s toughness? I thought coming into the postseason that they may have had the most talent, but that their inexperience would be too much to overcome. They’re such a young team and I was certain that, at some point, their nerves would overcome their poise.

But I can’t remember a team that showed more resilience than the Rays over this past week. That loss in Game 5 may have been the most crushing defeat I have ever seen a team in any sport suffer. Not only do they lose that game, though, but the Sox ride their new found momentum to another win in Game 6. I know I was not alone in thinking (Dave wrote about Buster Olney’s flip-flop) that these two loses were just too demoralizing for any team to overcome, especially such a young team like the Rays. But they persevered and won a tough game, and series, against a very good Red Sox team.

I have one problem with how the game ended, though. Why did Terry Francona let Jason Varitek hit in the ninth inning? I know he had that home run in Game 6, but he was one of the worst everyday hitters in the major leagues this year (.220 BA/.672 OPS). Francona had two other catchers sitting on his bench and a much more capable threat to bat in Jacoby Ellsbury. Now, I understand, that with Ellsbury that you sacrifice the rightly-lefty matchup (Varitek switch-hits while Ellsbury is a lefty), but I think that it would have been worth it in this case. Ellsbury should have went up and bunted. That would have moved Bay to second and force David Price to make a play in the field. If the speedy Ellsbury puts down a decent bunt, that’s a tough play for any pitcher; much less a 21 year old with less than two months of Major League experience, pitching in the biggest game of his life. At the worst, the Sox would have had Bay in scoring position with one out with Jed Lowrie, followed by the top of the order, coming up. This would have given the Sox a better chance to score than letting Varitek pathetically swing away.

That said, I can’t take any credit away from the Tampa Bay Rays. They hit for power, ran the bases very well, have very good starting pitching, and decent enough relief. They are a fun team to watch and are easy to cheer for. I think that they will win the World Series but I have a feeling that the Phils are going to put up a tough fight. I’ll take the Rays in 6.

On paper it’s a no brainer, the Philly fan should crush the Rays fan.

Philly fan comes from a long history of pedigree and suffering. Rays fan is new at this, the suffering hasn’t been endured as long and the fans really haven’t been around that long either. Most Rays fans didn’t believe in the team till the end of the season with one exception, that I know of: my Realtor, Bob. He did call out that the Rays look like a young Atlanta Braves club right before they went on a their run. Philly fan wants to win so badly and feel good they waited in line to watch Rocky V and that’s fictional.

So let’s take a moment to reflect on the fans. We’ll start with Philly:

- In 1999, Eagles fans jeer Dallas Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin as he lay on the field for 20 minutes, suffering from a neck injury that finished his career.

- Phillies fans threw D batteries at St. Louis Cardinals outfielder J.D. Drew, who held out for a year after the Phillies drafted him.

- Matthew Scott, received a hand transplant, was asked by the Phillies to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at the team’s home opener in 1999. The pitch, from his ”new” hand, dribbled over the plate. The fans booed.

- Eagles fans famously blasted Santa with a shower of snowballs at halftime of a game as St. Nick circled helplessly around the field before stadium officials rescued him.

- My personal all time favorite fan moment, Flyer fan goes over the glass into the penalty box, so he can get pounded by Tie Domi. Not everyone follows NHL, but I can assure everyone Domi was a bad, bad man and even most hockey players would dread having to drop the gloves with him.

Now it’s the Rays turn:

Like I said it’s no contest, Rays fan taps out before he steps in the cage.

- The Tampa fan is passionate about their sports, but it’s not life or death. For the most part, no one jumps off the Skyway bridge. Football rules all in Florida, no question, no contest.  A Bucs, Gators, FSU, Canes, USF, Dolphins, Jaguars championship is far more important than World Series. Like gang factions, or the Capulets and Montagues, you may hate someone just based on colors and blood lines.

- The Rayhawk is about as “radical” as the Rays get here in the south.

- Tampa loves dressing up the ride with car magnets, bumper stickers, and car flags. (Side note – flags are a very popular way to express the past down here. Some not so good as others)

- You must sport your basic apparel gear, which includes jackets, jerseys, hats, and shirts; FYI - sleeves are optional.

Thankfully for the (Rays) fans, it’s played on the field.

Rays in 6.

Part One: The Sour Grapes

Boston lost and I’ll get to the reason why, but first, a couple of  whiny observations:

There were a couple of instances in last night’s game where the officiating crew had. . . questionable behavior. In the bottom of the 4th, crew chief Tim McClelland looked like he got in the way of Kevin Youkilis trying to catch a pop up in foul territory. In the ninth, home plate umpire Brian Gorman called a strike on a ball that was obviously about 8″ off home plate on Sox first baseman Mark Kotsay. I am not saying either one of these instances would change the outcome of the game, or that the element of human error in umpiring should be removed from the game. I am saying MLB should consider some kind of oversight practice for flagrant human error, especially in a playoff game. I have an idea, and I’ll post an article about it before the World Series.

TBS can blow me. Their coverage is awful. Their commentators are awful. And thank you for the endless cuts to Joe Maddon’s enormous head, looking both wistful and self-entitled as he peered out onto the field. It reminds me of past seasons, with the never ending cuts over to A-Rod contemplating his chewing gum in the dugout. And speaking of bad camera choices, did we really need to see Matt Garza spitting up his cud for the umpteenth time in the dugout?

Now that that’s out of the way:

Part Two: The Truth

The Sox got out played. That’s all there is to it. It was an epic ALCS, and I am not disappointed in my team in the slightest. Here’s a quote from Pedroia taken from BostonHerald.com:

“We played as hard as we could, we just kind of ran out of magic,” said second baseman Dustin Pedroia in a tear-free clubhouse. “I’m very proud of everyone, we played hard all year long.”

“We battled with (the Rays) all season long - they ended up beating us. They outplayed us. In October, the best team always wins. They move on. Good luck to them, they will represent the American League well.”

And that’s exactly how I feel. The Sox got beaten by a better team Sunday night. Garza was a beast, and the Red Sox didn’t hit in the clutch moments that they needed to. I console myself by saying its almost impossible for a team to win the World Series twice in a row. . . but it doesn’t help much.

As Dave loves to say, “Scoreboard does not lie”.

Part Three: For Rays Fans

For the Rays fans who jumped on the band wagon as the season wound down, who went out and bought a cowbell, shaved their head, and jumped up and down at the Trop last night, without really knowing the players on their own team: I hope this championship brings you an appreciation for baseball, that you will stick with the team even if the coming years aren’t as glorious as this one, because the sport has zero room for the childish hypocrisy of the bandwagon fan, in any town.

For the Rays fans who have stuck it out for all the miserable seasons of below 70 wins, who hung in there through the shitty games, who stayed with the team through ownership changes, and went to see empty games in that god-awful Tropicana stadium: my sincere congratulations. The Rays are the best team in baseball right now, no doubt. And for me, this was the World Series. . . the Phillies have no idea what’s in store for them.

Part Four: The Epilogue

There is a decent sized part of me that is glad the Sox are out. Heresy, I know. . . but I don’t have any choice. That part of me is my liver, and I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am to give up drinking for a while.

Rays in 5.