Tag: Philadelphia Phillies (Page 26 of 31)

      World Series Game 4: What others are saying

      October 27, 2008 /

      – Bob Ford writes that the Phillies are just one win away from glory. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

      – Martin Fennelly notes that the Rays’ dream is losing steam fast as they fall behind 3-1 in the series. (Tampa Tribune)

      – Paul Hagen says that pitching, pitching, pitching is the key to postseason bliss. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

      – Ted Keith can’t help but rag on rookie Evan Longoria’s brutal series. (Sports Illustrated)

      – John Romano says that Phillies fans are living down to their reputation. (St. Petersburg Times)

      MLB

      Game 4 was a must win for Rays

      October 26, 2008 /

      Joe BlantonMy title is stupid – all wins in the World Series are “must wins.” But surely you catch my drift – the Rays dropping Game 4 to the Phillies was incredibly detrimental to them winning a championship.

      Even though Tampa isn’t used to the weather they’ve seen the past two games, the cold had nothing to do with why they lost 10-2 Sunday night. Philadelphia was just better and Joe Blanton (a castoff in Oakland before he was traded at the deadline) deserves a ton of credit for mixing up his pitches and keeping the Rays’ hitters off balance the entire night. Tampa just has to tip their hats to the Phils tonight for knocking around Andy Sonnanstine, who is a young, developing pitcher who had won each of his previous two postseason starts.

      There’s no other way to put it – the Rays are in major trouble. Not only are they down 3-1 in the series, but they also have to face Cole Hamels – who has been nothing short of sensational – on Monday night. Crazier things have happened, but playing at home and with Hamels on the hill, the Phillies seem destined to close this thing out.

      MLB

      Young Rays show resiliency in Game 2

      October 23, 2008 /

      James ShieldsThere’s a pretty damning stat out there for teams that drop the opening game of the World Series. The team that was victorious in Game 1 has gone on to capture 63 of the last 103 Series, including 10 of the last 11.

      So following their 3-2 loss in Game 1 Wednesday night, one could understand why the Rays would feel pressure to come away with a win over the Phillies in Game 2 on Thursday. Not only were they battling history, but also major inexperience considering their roster is filled with youngsters who have never played in the postseason, nevertheless the World Series.

      Not that it was necessarily a must win, but Tampa Bay did come out of Game 2 with a win as they held on to beat Philadelphia 4-2 after mounting a 4-0 lead after the fourth inning. B.J. Upton went 2 for 4 with a run scored and an RBI to lead the Rays, while starter James Shields pitched 5.2 innings of shutout ball, allowing seven hits and striking out four.

      Considering there aren’t any significant stats that apply to Game 2 victories, the Rays’ win might not attract much attention outside of the fact that they have now tied the best of seven series at one game apiece. But being down 0-2 would have been incredibly difficult to overcome, especially when you factor in that Tampa isn’t used to playing in Philly in October.

      After losing Game 1 to the more experienced Red Sox in the ALDS, the Rays rattled off three in a row before squandering a 7-0 lead in Game 5 and then dropping Game 6 at home. Coming back after losing Game 1 was impressive, as well as showing the guts to win in Game 7 when they had lost all of the momentum. So it’ll be interesting to see if the young Rays can continue to show how resilient they are this postseason after facing some adversity. Their Game 2 victory Thursday night was huge.

      MLB

      What others are saying: World Series Game 1

      October 23, 2008 /

      – Bob Ford sings the praises of a very calm Cole Hamels. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

      – John Romano urges the Rays not to panic (St. Petersburg Times)

      – Jeff Passan writes that the Rays might be too cool for own good. (Yahoo! Sports)

      – Should Fox dread Rays/Phillies? (Sports Media Watch)

      – Phillies prove that there’s another team playing in World Series. (Some fool who doesn’t know what he’s talking about)

      MLB

      Phillies prove that there is another team playing in World Series

      October 22, 2008 /

      Philadelphia PhilliesFor good reason, the Tampa Bay Rays have been the talk of the 2008 MLB Season. Not only are they a rags-to-riches story, but they also are a young, likeable club and one hat is easy to root for. We love pulling for the underdog and the Rays certainly fit the bill.

      Of course, they’re not the underdogs anymore. As soon as they beat the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS, they instantly became World Series favorites because they’ve created the best storyline. Not to mention, they come from a better conference, arguably have better overall talent and they’re the hotter team, as well.

      But as they proved in their 3-2 win in Game 1 of the World Series, the Philadelphia Phillies are competing for a title, too. Nobody outside of Philly is talking about this club and for those who missed Game 1, it might have come as a surprise that the Phillies have thrown the first punch in this series.

      The media (and I’m throwing myself into the mix here too considering I dedicated my column to the Rays this week) needs to start paying attention to the Fightin’ Phils or else we might wind up missing an even better story than the 2008 Rays. Philly has been a long-suffering sports city that is craving a title as much as anyone. And with phenomenal ace Cole Hamels (7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 5 Ks) and a solid lineup that features all-everything 2B Chase Utley (2 for 4, 2 RBI, 1 R), the Phillies might just close in on that title. (Although they’re going to need Ryan Howard to start hitting because Tampa won’t be held to just two runs every night.)

      It’ll be exciting to watch the Rays’ magical season continue to play out, but ignoring the Phillies’ story would be a mistake.

      MLB

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