The World Series is finally to an end. In a game that, in a sense, lasted more than two days, the Phillies emerged triumphant. The team has finally avenged the ghosts of 1994, when they fell to the Toronto Blue Jays. They hadn’t won a Series since 1980. But now they are the defending World Series champions. The final game, Game 5, got rained out both on Monday and on Tuesday. The fans who came on Monday but couldn’t make it on Wednesday must have been really disappointed, but it was obvious they couldn’t keep playing in that rain. The game stayed, therefore, in the 6th inning for two more days until Wednesday, when they finally pulled it out. The decisive factors were the Rays’ total lack of hitting ability. Their biggest hitters, as I mentioned in a previous post, were unable to get anything much done. The Phillies pitching did an impressive job at keeping the Rays quiet. It was an interesting series, seeing two young teams play one another. And, all in all, it was a fun series to watch as well. Now, the game takes a few months to rest up before spring training begins again!
Two days, two games. The Phillies take two out of two. Are the Rays finished? Or can they come back from 3-1 to take the series? Suddenly, the Rays have dropped down a chute and no one is sure if they will come back out again. What about that pitching? Gone. Their strong bats? Gone? Confidence? They seem to still have it. It’s not like they haven’t faced big challenges already this year. They beat Boston, the defending champions. They beat Chicago, also a strong team, though not as strong. They also won 97 games, which is a very impressive number, especially for a team that wasn’t even on our radar screen last year. But their big bats are silent right now. Pena and Longoria are hitting a grand total of .000. The team as a whole seems to be dropping balls right and left, and they seem to have lost their pitching advantage. The next game’s tonight, so we’ll have to watch and see what happens. But a lot of people seem to think that the Rays are about to be served up on a Monday Fish Fry.
Two games in, one win apiece, the Phillies and the Rays competition is now totally underway. After losing the first game on Wednesday night, the Rays came back on Thursday night with a 4-2 win to even the World Series. In Game 2, the Rays had a great pitching night. Their starter, “Big Game James” Shields, lived up to his name and pitched a shutout through 5 and 2/3 innings. At the end of the game, their closer, David Price, pitched the last 2 1/3 innings and gave up only a solo home run to Phillies pinch-hitter Eric Bruntlett. But even after that homerun, he kept his cool and kept throwing strikes, finishing the game for the Rays. If the Rays can keep this kind of pitching for the rest of the Series, it may be a very good October for Tampa Bay.
And so it’s all ready now. No Manny vs Red Sox dream match like many would’ve liked to have seen. Nope. Now it’s the two teams that wanted it much more. Though the Red Sox bravely marched back to force game 7, they fell just short in last night’s 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay. So now Tampa Bay will host the Philadelphia Phillies this Wednesday Night, Oct. 22 in game 1 of the World Series. With the way each team has been playing throughout the year, and most especially in the postseason, it will be a series filled with the long ball. Each team dismantled their opponents by sending deep homeruns quite consistently. The World Series is absolutely going to be entertaining so you won’t want to miss it. In fact, you can see it live if you purchase World Series tickets from Vividseats.com.
Red Sox fans your hopes aren’t dashed just yet. After a weak outing by Dice-K, the Red Sox rallied with a stellar hitting performance to take game 5 away from the Tampa Bay Rays. In the seventh inning, the situation looked bleak at best for the Red Sox. Down 7-0 and playing very poorly, something happened. Something happened numerous times. They doubled, they singled, and they homered. 7-4 end of the 7th. They doubled, singled, walked, and homered in the 8th. 7-7. Repeat the process in the 9th (minus the homer and add a wild throw by Longoria) and the Red Sox come away with the victory. Get the full picture at mlb.com and see highlights of the amazing comeback.
After winning in a convincing manner last night against the LA Dodgers, the Philadelphia Phillies have taken a 3-1 lead in the NL Championship series. Rallying late in the game and taking the lead off of a two run Matt Stairs home run, the Phillies clutched that lead for dear life and held out for the victory. Only one more win and they’re in the World Series. Check out mlb.com for more World Series News.
The series between the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays series is expected to be exciting, with the first game being played this Friday. It’s like the veterans playing the newbies. The Boston Red Sox are experienced with post-season play. They come into the series with an experienced mind set. They know what to expect. The Tampa Bay Rays, on the other hand, are making a first time visit to the American League Series Championship. As such, the Rays must be feeling varied emotions, from excitement to anxiety. Fans should expect a fun series!
If you’re a Dodgers fan, than you might as well stand tall and proud- at least for the time being. The Dodgers’ victory over the Chicago Cubs was epic. It was a clean sweep. The first two games were extremely high scoring. In addition, the series really showed who came to win; in this case, it obviously was the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers will now be facing off with the Philadelphia Phillies. Way to go Dodgers!
One would think that having home field advantage would be exactly that, an advantage. That notion was clearly dismissed during the first two games of the 2008 National League Division Series between he Chicago Cubs and the L.A. Dodgers. The Cubs were hosting the Dodgers. Even with a full house of desperate and hopeful Cubbies fans, the Chicago Cubs were not able to gain the momentum to beat the opposing team. The two loses were hard to watch on TV, let alone at the stadium.
