AYO GIMME A MOHAWK 2008 World Series - Philadelphia Philies vs. Tampa Rays

fuck the phillies

rays in 4

AL DOMINANCE

phils 6

rays in 5

no one knows what the fuck their talking about
prediction: this will be a classic series
will go six games minimum

Rays in 6.

rays in 5

Rays in 5

(wau, sanskrit surfaces for sumthin besides a Mets bash)

Man this is tough.

I'm an NL guy, but I can't really stand the Phils. But the Rays are Obama. Rays in 7.

Rays in six

Rays in 5, will be no more competitive than other recent World Series.

rays in 5

I think the Phillies are better than people are giving them credit for -- 13-3 to end the season and 7-2 in the playoffs is impressive (yeah, 2007 Rockies, weaker league and all that). And the Rays offense isn't nearly as good as it looked against Boston.

Rays in 6, but I think the Phillies will surprise a lot of people in this series.

only if Ryan Howard has a September-type week.

obama in six

And the Rays offense isn't nearly as good as it looked against Boston.

elaborate pls.

if the phils win i will boycott baseball forever, no hyperbole.

They hit 16HR in 7G vs Boston, and no team is that good. Same goes for BJ Upton's 8HR/11G in the playoffs so far. They scored 43R against a very good Boston pitching staff, even though they were just 9th in the AL in scoring. They're bound to cool off.

xpost

I disagree with the strength of Boston's pitching staff:

Game 2: Beckett is obv hurt and Timlin sucks.
Game 3: Lester has never pitched 230 innings in his life and was bound to fatigue w/o extra days of rest.
Game 4: Wakefield sucks as do the mop-up guys.

I think Tampa's offense exploited Boston's flaws.

the only phil i like is old man moyer but i don't like him enough to hope for any outcome other than the rays humiliating the phillies. RAYS IN 5!

Pitchers always wear down late in the year, so it's basically a given that a lot of pitching staffs aren't as reliable in the playoffs as they are in the regular season. So saying that "team X's pitchers are tired and team Y exploited that" doesn't really get us anywhere.

Okajima and Papelbon being untouchable more than made up for Timlin sucking (and it's not like Timlin was expected to pitch high leverage innings anyway, extra-inning slugfests excepted).

xpost

The only pitcher i said was fatigued was Lester.

Beckett is straight up injured. There ain't no amount of braided Phiten necklaces gonna heal what he's got going.

Every other pitcher I mentioned is not good.

You say Tampa's offense if overrated, I'm countering that Boston's pitching is overrated. Hey, let's call the whole thing off.

But following that logic, if the Rays offense was so hot vs. the Sox' supposedly vaunted pitching staff, that means that the Rays will decimate the Phils more inferior starting rotation, right? Right?

depends if the phillies pitching staff breaks down as badly as the sox did in games 2-5

Even if the Rays' bats cool significantly, it's not like the Phillies bats tore up the Brewers and Dodgers (40 runs in nine playoff games). Several days off should not help (see recently: '07 Rockies, '06 Tigers).

NPR reported today that 6 members of the Rays joined Obama on stage at his Rally in Tampa. Not sure which 6 it was.

Rad.

I bet they'll get way more shit than Curt Schilling ever did

It was actually 8:

David Price
Fernando Perez
Carl Crawford
Cliff Floyd
Jonny Gomes
B.J. Upton
Edwin Jackson
Jason Bartlett

http://s.wsj.net/media/Tampa_Bay_art_400_20081020135306.jpg

who's third douche from the left?

still, way cooler than joe thomas and brady quinn shilling for mccain

That's Jonny Gomes, motherfucker.

faggy gay-mes

He's probably still high on e and champagne from last night's festivities. They probably all are...

I really have a hard time accepting that yet another cheapskate Florida expansion team is in the WS, though that fact is mitigated by never having beaten the Giants.

the hell? my post vanished!!!

Don't even try it. Don't even think it. Because if you even think it, you're missing the point.

Don't you understand what's happening here?

The Greatest Team Turnaround Story in the History of Modern Sports.

That's what.

(Stark, not Omar Plaschkebom)

that's suprising. i'd definitely have pegged gomes for a mccain guy.

the really little dude has to be bartlett, right?

I really have a hard time accepting that yet another cheapskate Florida expansion team is in the WS, though that fact is mitigated by never having beaten the Giants.

They do have a Giants connection - the Giants were on the verge of going to Tampa Bay in 93 before the deal got cancelled at the last minute. The Rays franchise was a consolation prize in some ways.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Picking Rays in 6.

Vegas Odds:
TBA -$135
PHI +115

can you put that in English

Rays in 5

TBA = you bet $135 to earn $100 if Tampa wins.
PHI = you bet $100 to earn $115 if Philadelphia wins.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2008-10-20-rays08-mets69-chart_N.htm

Brigg (PA): What's your stance on the Phillies "Why Can't Us?" slogan? Stupid; hilarious; something in between?

Rob Neyer: (12:36 PM ET ) Hilarious. And more memorable than "Cowboy Up."

"Why Can't Us?", WHA???

Here are link:

http://www.nowpublic.com/sports/philadelphia-phillies-fans-ask-why-cant-us

On the XM RadioBaseball This Morning: Playoff Edition today, a caller from Delaware chimed in to share his joy for the Fightins. He may have just created the next great new catch phrase, saying, "Boston did it. The White Sox did it. Why can't us? Why can't us."

at least it wasn't Biden.

Rays in 5-6. I picked 6 though. I think the Phillies offense will erupt a few times.

is Burrell still semi-injured?

NYT is reporting that John McCain is ripping President Obama for what he terms switching loyalties between the two World Series teams:

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/21/mccain-hits-obama-on-baseball-loyalities/

WOW. It's like that, huh?

Rays/Biden '08!

“Now, I’m not dumb enough to get mixed up in a World Series between swing states..."

“I guess these are the kinds of attacks you make when your campaign has conceded that if you talk about the economy, you’ll lose,” Mr. Vietor said in a statement.

ZING ZANG ZONG

I'll get Victorino, my friends. I'll get him. I know how to get him. I'll get him no matter what and I know how to do it. But I'm not going to tip my pitches, which is what Senator Obama would do. And I'm going to act responsibly, as I have acted responsibly throughout my military career and throughout my career in the United States Senate.

plz let's not draw gabbneb back to ILBB

Baseball scandals in presidential election campaigns, TS: "John Kerry: did he attend Game 6 or not" vs "Obama's Philly/Tampa flip-flop"

lol @ Andy

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Jayson Stark gets bunchy knickers over the WS not being so competitive as of late:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs2008/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=3655273

I think he's making a BFD over nothing (coughsmallsamplesizescough, disparity between the leagues, etc.), but maybe somebody here can convince me otherwise?

http://www.enviroblog.org/image.jpg

forget it, Jayse, it's a short series.

Perrotto, BP:

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said he still hasn’t decided on who his designated hitter will be in Game 1. The DH is used in games in AL parks during the World Series, presenting a challenge to NL teams.

Though the Phillies’ two best hitters on the bench are left-handed, third baseman Greg Dobbs and outfielder Matt Stairs, Manuel said he will use a right-hander against Kazmir, which means either backup catcher Chris Coste, utility man Eric Bruntlett or outfielder Sot Taguchi will get the nod. Coste easily had the best EqA of the three in the regular season with a .257 mark while Bruntlett’s was .215 and Taguchi’s .193. However, Manuel would leave himself without a backup catcher behind Carlos Ruiz if he starts Coste and would lose the DH if Coste was needed to move behind the plate.

Stairs at the least would have to be a preferable option to Bruntlett and Taguchi.

Besides, there are three lefties in Rays' pen. "Saving" Stairs seems kinda silly.

And of course Stairs will hit a pinch-hit home run off Balfour tonight.

“Now, I’m not dumb enough to get mixed up in a World Series between swing states..."

― Dr Morbius, Tuesday, October 21, 2008 1:30 PM (Yesterday)

OMG the whole McCain attack - Teh funny

I say Lidge finally blows a save here -- it'd be funnier if it happened in Philly, right? BOOOOOOOOOOOO

Rays in 7, Obama takes Pennsylvania and Florida.

OMG @ Heidi Hamels

http://www.wagrankings.com/hottest_wags/phillies_wives_girlfriends/

FLASHBACK:

July 15, 2008
American League 4, National League 3 (15 Innings)

WP: S. Kazmir (1-0)
LP: B. Lidge (0-1)

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/boxscore?gid=280715131

Heidi Hamels was on Survivor:Amazon -- I'd totally forgotten that!

Julianna Zobrist ftw on the rays' side

BATTLE OF THE CHRISTIAN/GOSPEL ARTIST BASEBALL WIVES:

http://www.myspace.com/juliannazobrist

(Did she rip off the first song's production from a Morr release?)

http://www.myspace.com/deleonmuzic

(Her album was number 39 [on the gospel albums chart] with a dying quail)

OMG the whole McCain attack - Teh funny

Especially the part where he thinks Pennsylvania is still a swing state.

xpost It's between her and Kelly Bartlett.

It figures re: Julianna Zobrist because I was getting a strong Evanescence vibe from that picture.

It started with our move down to AAA from the majors. Funny how failure, a little bump in the road, rocked my faith the way it did. It wasn't quite as strong as I thought it was. In fact, it revealed a pride and self-righteousness in me that I hadn't recognized. It scared me to question. It scared me that I had doubts. It scared me, ultimately, that I didn't have it all together.

For it was the devil who engineered the deal that sent Jason Bartlett to Ben's team.

^Book of Scott, 14:6

Kim Myers ;_;

The Rays started off VERY strong with Mrs. Zobrist, but fell off exponentially afterwards. She's probably the hottest from either team, though...Wow. However, I notice that none of the brothers(read: brothas) from either team has a wife included in either list. Wtf? Finally, Hamels' wife is ridiculous in that pic, and blondes bore me.

Again, Rays(aka The Obama Rays) in 7, Obama wins pop. vote by 10% minimum.

Ms Hamels is also hot if you are excited by Owen Wilson

erin romero or michelle burrell are second and third respectively w/mrs moyer and mrs zobrist tied @ #1

Rays dudes are way too young to have wives = unfair. They probably see varying degrees of this level of talent nightly.

jesus what was that gay porn music they were playing under the phillies intros

speaking of gay porn music

lolol christ almighty

I just defected to Russia while watching that national anthem....

the BSB with the crazy facial hair is turning into paul giamatti

Hey look it's Frank TV

heard on the radio today that as of two weeks ago, the odds in Vegas for the Rays winning the series were(was?) 400 to 1. That means that if you put $10 down, you will get $4000 if they win.

No.

phils in 6 - hamels 2Ws

why mr. shasta?

wau utley

YES BOSSMAN

Willy Aybar, DH, batting sixth, my favorite baseball player is Derek Jeter

QUIK POLL:

Which Led Zep album will Buck refer to when he goofs on McCarver's pronunciationn of Kazmir?

LOL Hamels

NO BOSSMAN

"Double plays do that" THANKS TIMBO

In Through the Out Door

sweet christ Buck you're announcing a playoff game not doing your fucking taxes you smug boring fuck

Pedro Feliz: good luck with that!

PICK ME OFF IN THE RIBS NOT THE HEAD

You absolutely CANNOT put Pedro Feliz on. He swings at everything!

Is Manuel carrying a 3rd catcher? DHing your back-up is asking for trouble.

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t226/seriejunkies/Screencaps/twinpeaks_01.jpg

(Coste)

Is that Morrissey as the Log Lady?

It's a baguette with brie and butter

BOSSMAN

Cashmere just lucked the fuck out

Nah -- he had Victorino picked off and the ump blew the call.

heard on the radio today that as of two weeks ago, the odds in Vegas for the Rays winning the series were(was?) 400 to 1. That means that if you put $10 down, you will get $4000 if they win.

I am sure that's what you heard but the person who said it was wrong.

Before the season began, the Rays' WS odds were 200/1. Vegas bookmakers would never increase the odds as the season went on, particularly not as the team advanced.

It's quite possible the odds last week were "+400," which is Vegas sports book terminology for 4/1 -- a $5 bet wins $20, pays out $25.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3280/2308123988_fddb4fe7a1.jpg

Zobrist was a hot hitter the last week of the season because he was facing the TIGERS

Anyway Ben don't fuck it up for Julianna OK?

thanks for clearing that up.

is anyone watching this on channel 5 in the UK?

tracer, goobs?

Goobs? Gooby? Goobarino?

MEANWHILE

Who is the dude next to Maddon? Always asking a lot of questions...

Can we go back to talking about WAGs?

Mrs. Kotsay.

For Maddon, Joe the Plumber Is Family
By ALAN SCHWARZ 2 minutes ago

Joe Maddon, the manager of the Tampa Bay Rays, grew up with a father named Joe, who was a plumber.

free tacos = socialism.

Its taco time!

Dubee? Gooby?

Where's Bartman?

Balk? We the people lost a taco.

Is Tim McCarver's contract up anytime soon? I want him gone.

hay it's FRANK TV I mean FOUR CHRISTMASES

Is this the worst strike zone yet?

FLYIN (tagged out) HAWAIIAN
http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/00Gsb6keIQ8LQ/610x.jpg
http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0bdI1x15Ec1ka/610x.jpg
http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/07jA2R51OO5E2/610x.jpg

Besides, there are three lefties in Rays' pen. "Saving" Stairs seems kinda silly.

I guess Stairs and Dobbs were being saved for a more important situation than two on, two out, facing a RHP in a one-run game.

"if Upton can reach with his legs, his speed, and his ability to steal bases"

Sorry, that was about Crawford, not Upton.

Austin (PA): What is RISP? and WHIP?

ROB NEYER: Runners in Scoring Position. Walks plus Hits per Inning Pitched.

Rob Neyer answers your burning questions with two outs in the ninth inning of a 3-2 game in the WS with a 3-2 count on Carl Crawford.

DaveR just doesn't understand momentum. The worst thing Crawford could have done there is hit a solo homer.

I'm just wondering why Joe The Buck decided to repeat himself, make a redundant observation, and say the same thing again.

Who is the dude next to Maddon? Always asking a lot of questions...

Do you mean Dave Martinez?

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/pics/dave_martinez_autograph.jpg

I pick the Rays to sweep because the American League is that much superior to the National League, which once again got smoked in interleague play and the All-Star Game. It's like the majors versus AAA.

Great insight, Jim Caple.

with all the wasted (Phillie) scoring opportunities and Kazmir's laboring, it was a kinda dull game.

"Double plays do that" THANKS TIMBO

I think this is when I hit Mute. Unfortunately, ESPN Radio is a full 30 SECONDS behind Fox.

oh man, really? 30 seconds? that kind of sucks

also, since it's an AM station the TV adds a loud buzz to the audio.

as long as we're griping, the games are also starting way too fucking late

are you trying to 'disenfranchise' the West Coast?

i'm trying to watch an entire WS game without going zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Is Tim McCarver's contract up anytime soon? I want him gone.

― diamondboxx, Thursday, 23 October 2008 02:47 (12 hours ago)

They are launching MLB Channel next year so I imagine this is the last year of Fox's postseason coverage.

No, MLB is not going to put the World Series on cable. Not yet. I thought the NYT article on the Baseball Network said it was only going to show one game a week, off the home team's feed?

that's kind of lame, i thought they'd at least be showing a game each night since they have the remaining 20 hours for whatever highlights/analysis/interviews they want to do

The remaining programming will consist of MLB 2K8 Nation, Inside MLB 2K8 Nation, Hardball Made Easy, Tom Emanski baseball videos, and This Is Harold Reynolds with Ray Knight and Harold Reynolds.

i have no idea how i'm going to adjust to professional sports viewing when i get back to the mainland. to be able to watch a full sunday of football/ post season baseball and then still make evening plans is something i will miss.

invest in tivo my nig

same to morbz re: radio delay - just pause the game for 30 secs then resume, will be in sync w/the radio broadcast

whoa the los lonely boys fucking OWNE

lol Petraus first pitch

whoa the los lonely boys fucking OWNE

lol stfu

c'mon dude that was an awesome anthem and u know it!

lol @ gruden hamming it up

oh Gruden ffs "tonight, I'm with the Rays"????

ha -- actually, I missed it and am hating purely on principle (& "Heaven") :D

tbh i havent even heard them before, but they killed that shit

YAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH RAYS!!!!!!!!1

that iPhone commercial...anyone here have it and use the mlb widget? is the video really that smooth?

Feliz = inning OVA

^^^

If Feliz was a Yankee, Hank would be lobbying for Designated Fielders.

J. Rollins struck out swinging, C. Ruiz stole second !!!!!!!!

BTW, listening to this on the radio is SO MUCH BETTER (even w/ Joe The Morgan doing his thing).

BTW BTW, Joe Sheehan "fans" should give him a wide berth tomorrow, because he's been harping on Ryan Howard's L/R splits for over a month, going so far as to call him a platoon player. That K against David Price is probably going to inspire a line or 10 about that.

http://i4.tinypic.com/2vdlno1.gif

Pretty gratuitous A-Rod swipe in Kepner's NYTimes piece on last night's game:

In the absence of homers, the Phillies have struggled to bring runners home. With no runners in scoring position, they have been dangerous. In the clutch, they have looked like Alex Rodriguez at his worst — hopeless, in other words.

just pause the game for 30 secs then resume

lol technology (I wouldn't ever get tivo)

Baldelli's check was NOT a swing (even Joe Morgan knew this), fuck the Fox Twins again.

Yeah they kept on saying that it was CLEARLY a swing and I was like huh?!?!?

lol Rollins' jersey tho

x post I agree--still a totally weird series of actions by Kerwin and the second time an appeal to a base umpire hasn't been made in a key situation in this postseason.

The appeal to the 1B ump was made, though.

Er, wait, no? I could swear the 1B ump made the "safe" gesture, but Danley wasn't asking for it?

Really? I thought that Kerwin started to call strikeout, then stopped, pointed to first, and then Baldelli just started jogging. I don't remember seeing the "no swing" at first but I could be wrong.

"You can't let that get in your head," Myers said. "So he missed that one. But maybe he'll get to redeem himself."

Jackass

Game 3 rain looms

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs2008/news/story?id=3658645

lol Rollins' jersey tho

― Dr Morbius, Friday, October 24, 2008 9:40 AM

^^

"He couldn't hear it," Rollins said, somewhat sarcastically. "[With] 46,000 people screaming, it probably would be tough to hear."

"It hit my jersey and I was pretty fortunate, because it was right at the bottom of my rib cage," Rollins said. "I felt it and went, 'Ooh.' The first thing was relief that it did get the jersey, then I was like, 'It hit me.' And [Danley] said, 'No it didn't.' And I was like, 'All right. There's nothing more I can do.'"

PHILADELPHIA -- Game 2 of the World Series was a thud on television.

The Tampa Bays Rays' 4-2 victory Thursday night received an 8.1 fast national rating and 13 share on Fox, the network said Friday. That is the second-lowest rating for a Series game, ahead of only the 8.0 for the St. Louis Cardinals' 7-2 win over the Detroit Tigers in the 2006 opener.

The first two games averaged an 8.7/14, a 19 percent drop from the 10.8/18 for last year's Boston Red Sox-Colorado Rockies series. Philadelphia's 3-2 win in Wednesday's opener received a 9.2/15.

Still, Fox said it was pleased.

"Game 2 came through to give Fox its best Thursday night rating in seven months, and that comes off Game 1 earning us our best Wednesday night in more than five months," Fox Sports president Ed Goren said. "Now, with the series tied at a game apiece, we're looking forward to interest building as the games continue and the drama unfolds."

joe maddon's sister carmen is HOTTT

lol technology (I wouldn't ever get tivo)

why's that, dearest morblsuoiu

Yeah, how weird. My DVR has been so great for me. I watch way less, and the quality of what I do watch is much higher. Very satisfying.

Sitcoms

AYO

morbs is tireda usin technology

are you watching this matt damon thing tracer? matt damon is bothering me.

ah, forget this, i'm going to bed

10pm start time? I just recently moved from the west coast to the EST and this is freakin ridiculous. This game will end at 2am. Will they also shout "last call" in the 8th? Sheesh.

Note Zelasko's hair

ayo phillies get me a fukkin soppin wet tastycake

Why were they playing some "Fishy fish fish" song as the Rays were being announced? How odd.

This is like a baseball rave. all nite long.

Bludclot ORPattack

Dred Base

VORPDRIVE (VIP)

Sonz of a Bloop 'n' a Blast Era

Renegade Flares.

ps: if Joe Buck mentions NFL football another time, I am going to cut a backwards B into my face.

oh I'll do it.

Renegade Flares lol.

Ryan Howard really has me craving a sub.

I hear Brad Lidge and Grant Balfour might be doing a 2x4 morning set.

This game is gonna outlast my high, mannnn.

this game tonight is a buzzkill......

More precious spontaneity untainted by instant replay

I really wanted the Rays to win, damnit.

OMGWTFLOL joe blanton HOMERZ -- doing his brett myers impersonation tonight?!?

and what the hell did the phillies franchise do to get all of this hatred?!? it's not like they're the yankees or the red sox, guys!

I personally have no hatred for the Phillies at all, I just dig the Rays.

baseball is the GAYEST FUCKING SPORT FOR GAY DOUCHEBAGS FUCK THIS GAME

yeah the yankees and the sox have less douchey fans

Adrian, what the goddamn fuck is your problem. Have a yellow card.

same here. but I do have an issue with pedro feliz. wick wick wack.

at least the guy doin god bless america is p. tyte

eat my ass rock hardy u know i'm right

patti labelle singing the national anthem was impressive. I heard LaBelle is back together with a new album, too. Probably why she was out there in the first place.

meanwhile, the umpire crew for this series is trippin'.

and what the hell did the phillies franchise do to get all of this hatred?!? it's not like they're the yankees or the red sox, guys!

yeah the yankees and the sox have less douchey fans

hmmmm, too close to call. (starting w/ Eisbaer)

Did I miss Suck & Dim's first Game 3 self-correction that Ruiz is from Panama? who enlightened them?

Before the Red Sox started winning championships, I couldn't really hate their fans ... they got a free pass from me (even if they were THE MOST ANNOYING PEOPLE IN THE STADIUM when they drove up north to watch Jays vs Sawks in Toronto) for not winning for all those years. Same with Phillie fans -- 10000+ losses, one championship in 130 years, give them a break. I could NEVER feel sorry for a Yankee fan about anything, under any circumstance.

1980 is not 1918 (even if the clothes were worse)

so i see the rays were making them some errors last night. am i allowed to start making tiger comparisons yet?

One of those errors was bullshit. They really only made one error of consequence, and it only led to one run. The rest of those runs were the result of good old-fashioned firepower.

ah. i didn't watch/listen to the game so wasn't sure about all the unearned runs.

Iwamura was trying to track down a ball to his left and tried to get his glove on it, but it didn't bounce and slid just out of his reach. He probably could have dived to keep the ball in front of him, but it would've been tough to get the out.

Those were not even close to Tigers '06 WS-level miscues -- Fox weren't about to play "Oops I Did It Again" or anything.

wet forecast tonight

Joe Sheehan, on-field pre-game ESPN analyst

Eduardo Perez: "I made my living off change-ups." Obviously he didn't see many of them.

Do these caps with ear bits that Maddon and some of the rays outfield are wearing have a name? I like them!

feliz = inning OVA

that's it, isn't it.

I was wrong.

free taco

more like longoria + pena = series over amirite

longoria and pena hit

who's behind the plate tonight? Tim Donaghy???

haha

WOW. Horrible Horrible blue crew for this series. Unreal. Eric Gregg is somewhere, smiling right now.

Balfour has to be one of the great pitching names tho, no?

lol, hadnt even thought of that.....

polygonal-shaped strike zone

rays comfortable in muddy habitats?

upton's slide was very flamenco.

yaow!

I was just about to go to bed

BOSSMAN

nice

this game is gritty. the frozen tundra of citizen's bank park!

earthworms on the outfield!

Why are they playing in this shit?

Why am I asking such a dumb question?

cause it's fun! xpost

is this game stopping?

bud selig is probably freaking out right now. horrible umpires, horrible weather and a tie score in a game that could decide the series.

expect xmillion gay articles pontificating on Q #1

presumably they need another half inning to abandon it with a tie

they will put sarah palin on the tarp and heave her skywards!

abandon major league baseball entirely? xp

they are explaining the scenarios on UK tv and apparently this is possible

(although of course UK tv, so take it with a pinch of salt)

sorry, not abandon to replay, but call it a tie

is the stadium in milwaukee available for a few innings?

oh please delay this shit until wednesday :D

ok, now UK tv is contradicting itself. ignore me.

or till thursday, for obama's shpiel. xp

can someone explain to me what "xp" or "xpost" is for?

if I were a phillies fan, i'd be in absolute agony right now

i've waited 15 years for the phillies to return, and 28 years for them to win it all ... so i can wait another few hours or days ...

still ... ;_; ;_;

someone posted while you were writing your post, so you're replying to the post before the previous one, i.e. cross-posting

like this post, in fact

so, xxp

it's for when you're replying not to the post immediately preceding, but to an earlier one... which happens a lot when someone posts while you're in mid-reply. xxxpost

ah, k thx for that. xp.

hey, i feel left out of your thx!

✓, ✔, ☑

(that was an xp)

it's too bad jacques derrida never got around to writing that essay about cross-posts

selig is an odd old bird, isn't he?

thanks to EVERYONE who enlightened me on the powers of the xpost.

selig is wack.

if the rays had bucked the trend and NOT colluded, they could've gotten BONDS and this thing wouldve been OVA ages ago. imo. no matriculatin' around the diamond, sliding into wet puddles and probably a lot fewer bad calls by the blues.

for phillies fans everywhere ;_;

can i change my vote to rays in 8

http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0foTaGJ39k9fV/610x.jpg

http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/027N9Db5V39f1/340x.jpg

Balfour has to be one of the great pitching names tho, no?

Balfour: Australian for strike three.

(The last time I'll make that joke. I swear.)

Balfour has to be one of the great pitching names tho, no?
gotta include his first name as part of the package

oh, that post-suspension press conference. Best lol was the ump who said the conditions "never became comical."

Beelzebud just couldn't find that rule in the book, could he? And he said even if the score WASN'T tied, "No sir," it would not have ended as a shortened game. Apparently this was a rule B-bud was keeping to himself, cuz Dim & Suck were analyzing the situation in blissful ignorance of it.

OTM on polygonal-shaped strike zone... Worst-umped Series I can recall.

You can bet they're not playing in extreme cold tonight ... cuz it was set to be a travel day, and Fox has a full slate of programming ready to go.

That post-game conf was ridiculous ... first you had Bud laying down THA LAW after the fact by being all "we won't play this game until *I* say the weather is OK" even though he'd been giving the OK for playing the 4th-6th innings in monsoon conditions. Then you had the umps getting thrown in front of a national TV audience probably on five minutes notice after Bud had given them instructions to lie their asses off and back up his interpretation of a) the rulebook, and b) what constitutes bad weather.

At least, I can imagine that's what Bud warned them to say before the conference started ... I definitely don't envy the umps in that situation.

phrase you didn't hear umps utter: "integrity of the pop flies/ basepaths"

"Integrity of the infield fly rule"

lol @ "Dim & Suck"

Steven Goldman (6:03:47 PM PT): I think Arnold Rothstein has gotten to Scott Kazmir.

Steven Goldman (6:06:55 PM PT): Big dumb sliding into first play...

I think Vidkun Quisling has gotten to Carlos Pena.

Steven Goldman (6:11:22 PM PT): I think Darth Sidious has gotten to Rocco Baldelli.

OK, here's the subrule Beelzebud was fumbling to find last night:

"EXCEPTION: Optional Rules 4.12(a)(7), 4.12(a)(8) and 4.12(a)(9) for National Association Leagues will not apply to the last scheduled game between the two teams during the championship season or league playoffs."

what's everyone flipping out about? you can't just cut the final game of the WS short!

I don't think anyone is arguing for that. In fact, if B-bud isn't lying about getting good forecasts, he handled this less ineptly than usual. But if the game was gonna be suspended no matter the score, it should've been stopped in the 4th.

so do we think they'll be able to finish it tonight?

8pm Philly forecast: rain w/ windchill of 29 F

OK, here's the subrule Beelzebud was fumbling to find last night:

Those rules only apply when a suspended game is continued on the day of another scheduled game ... so if yesterday's game was continued today, and if another game in the series was scheduled to be played in Philadelphia today, then that second game would not be a shortened, seven inning game (it's not like they would play two playoff games on the same day, but anyway, that's what's in the rulebook).

Bud was fumbling for 4.10 d, "If a regulation game is called with the score tied, it shall become a suspended game. See Rule 4.12."

so if he had suspended it at 2-1, it would've been under Bud's Best Interests Rule? and if it had stopped in the 4th, would he have wiped it out as an unofficial game or suspended it?

Bud 4.20

If he'd stuck to the rulebook, then if the game had stopped in the 4th then it was "No Game", and would have to be replayed from the start. Who knows if they would have enforced that, or treated it as a suspended game and restarted play in the 4th.

this never woulda happened if the yankees were in the WS--the Steinbrenners would not have stood for it.

Mark (Portland, OR): If Selig made the call before Game 3 that every game will go at least 9 innings with delays if necessary, shouldn't he have told the press and fans? I think it's clearly the right call, but it seems odd that nobody knew until after using the rule (possibly not even the team managers).

Rob Neyer: (12:07 PM ET ) Mark, this is one of the points I made in my blog this morning. Listening on the radio, I kept hearing after the top of the fifth that the game was "now official". But what did that mean, really? Apparently this eventuality was discussed prior to Game 3, and I don't understand why it was a big secret until the sixth inning of Game 5.

But what did that mean, really?

Surely a rhetorical question because I can't believe that Bud's protocol went much beyond "pray that everything goes smoothly and if not, make up the rules as we go along."

Matt (Philadelphia): Someone from MLB told WIP's Howard Eskin that tonight's game is officially off. Announcement at 2 pm.

Rob Neyer: (12:38 PM ET ) Really? That would be big news!

So, if the game's off....what happens now? They can't go back to St. Pete until this game is done, right? The forecast isnt good until Thursday for Philly, in fact weather.com is reporting possible snow showers on Wednesday.

I'm blaming Al Gore for all of this mess.

tomorrow only has 30% chance of precip. so its likely to continue then

Beelzebud got laffs last night saying "We're staying here til Thanksgiving if we have to."

(if there's something besides loony raving pundits to watch on Election Night, fine with me)

Sheehan's key point today:

Tschida made the case that the situation was fair to all: "It turns out we have pretty identical line scores at the end of the day, and it didn’t seem worse for one team or the other. What’s fair is fair."

That is where things fall apart. Tschida is absolutely wrong about this. What happened last night was completely unfair to the Phillies. The line scores are not identical. The Rays have six numbers next to their name, the Phillies five. The Phillies had to pitch and play defense in the worst of the weather, and the Rays didn’t. That aspect of last night, the timing of the decision to call the game in the context of what Selig said afterwards, is the big mistake.

MLB:

Game 5 of the World Series will not resume tonight due to inclement weather. It is now tentatively scheduled to resume tomorrow at 8:37 p.m. ET, weather permitting.

A nation of "House" fans breathes easier.

That's ALL NEW House. Not partially new or mostly old -- ALL NEW.

isn't House just Quincy played by a British guy?

no. he's scottish...and he gest SEXY RESULTS!

It's just Marcus Welby played by a Dr. Morbius guy.

I'm pretty sure Walter Pidgeon never did a medical show

it's like baywatch but without the tits

"The Phillies had to pitch and play defense in the worst of the weather, and the Rays didn’t."

what?

sheehan would rather simulate the game with a 20-sided die anyway

fire joe sheehan

useless to you now that Bonds is done, eh?

"The Phillies had to pitch and play defense in the worst of the weather" ... that is, the top of the 6th was worse than what preceded it.

But the average wind gusts were worse by two mph and the raindrops were slightly heavier during the bottom of the fourth...

http://blogs.zdnet.com/ip-telephony/images/mrwizard.jpg

http://blogs.courierpostonline.com/phillies/2008/10/28/the-angriest-place-on-earth/

“That (expletive deleted) guy,” one pitcher said as he saw commissioner Bud Selig before walking out the back door of the clubhouse. “I wouldn’t let him supervise one of my (bowel movements). He has no clue. Not one (expletive deleted) clue.”

“(Expletive deleted),” one position player said in the direction of one television pausing only for a moment before leaving. “He’s a moron. How stupid can one person be?”

So the writer of that article wanted what, exactly, to happen? Did he not want the game to begin? Or did he want the game to be completed, with no rain delay, so Hamels could continue to pitch?

Wanting the game suspended earlier would kinda deflate the whole bitching about Hamels part.

(Expletive deleted) indeed.

Basically, I imagine they didn't think they should have even gone out for the sixth, and probably hate that the TV contract won't allow them to schedule the game when it isn't raining.

Also they're angry because things didn't work out their way.

9pm Phila forecast: 38 degrees F (30 F wind-chill), 20% chance rain

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=45432629

World Series rap.

"28 teams straight peed in their pants!"

some classic lines in this thing....

If anyone has "Insider" access to Gammons' "worst Series ever" column, I'd like to see.

PHILADELPHIA -- Somewhere in the muck of Monday's episode of "The Perfect Storm Hits the World Series," the astute Julie Kicklighter texted, "the Trop doesn't look so bad right now."

So true. Almost forgiven is all the noise from the megaboard at Tropicana Field. What could have been a fascinating World Series played by two teams with engaging young players has turned into the worst ever, unless you like baseball sprinkled in with ab machine infomercials and a 46-hour half-inning break.

If the Phillies were going to win, it is a shame that the feeling was iced. For baseball, even perfect telecasts can't save ratings or the majesty of a dramatic World Series, which the sport hasn't had since 2002. Say the Rays were to come back and win it with James Shields and Matt Garza pitching in the Trop we miss, there will be a hanging chad feel to the championship.

And as the winds and the rains and even the snowflakes rattled across Pennsylvania, there was no chance they could move the bottom of the sixth inning to St. Pete, similar to what happened in the 1959 Junior World Series between Gene Mauch's Minneapolis Millers and Preston Gomez's Havana Sugar Kings. The first two games were played in Bloomington, Minn., on Sept. 27-28, but the weather turned so miserable that they moved the rest of the series to Havana, where the Cubans beat Carl Yastrzemski and the Millers in seven games. For those who like domes, that was September.

And remember, folks, next year's World Series is going to be a week later.

What happened enabled those who blame Bud Selig for everything this side of global cooling to somehow blame the commissioner again, but he maintained the game's integrity by insisting it will be concluded, one way or another; you can't end the Super Bowl with a college overtime or end the Stanley Cup Final with a shootout. Credit Joe Maddon for praising the Philadelphia grounds crew, his hotel in Wilmington, Del., the Rays' traveling secretary and players on both teams for making the best of a grungy situation.

When this World Series finally ends, there will be a great deal of discussion about how to avoid this sort of misery. The first will be to figure a way to shorten the schedule. Say the schedule was reduced from 162 to 148 games (records or no records; the Steroids Era made too many baseball records meaningless), then the division series and League Championship Series could be played between Sept. 20 and Oct. 6, with the World Series theoretically completed by mid-October. Granted, the loss of the seven home dates would hit teams' revenue streams, but they'll just have to adjust player salaries; CC Sabathia and Manny Ramirez might have to make ends meet on measly $20M salaries.

In the mid-'90s, several owners went to a Miami Super Bowl and discussed the notion of having a 10-day World Series at a neutral site. They'd have to get local fans to buy into destination and vacation packages. There wouldn't be the feel in Anaheim, San Diego or Los Angeles that there is in New York, Chicago, St. Louis or Boston. But then the Cardinals are the only team since the 2002 Angels to win in front of their home fans. It would be a hard sell, but the notion of a World Series week has some advantages.

May I suggest Punta Mita, Mexico? The Four Seasons would be a perfect headquarters hotel. Anguilla would work.

The World Series is, after all, significant television programming, and the good folks at Fox would love predictability. It's better than the official first dud of the fall TV season, "The Perfect Storm Hits the World Series."

There are a lot of questions that will be weighed after this, the worst World Series in memory. The first? With plummeting television ratings and the collapse of the economy, will the free agent market continue to inflate, or will it cool the market? The impact of this World Series may last right through into January.

Say the Rays were to come back and win it with James Shields and Matt Garza pitching in the Trop we miss, there will be a hanging chad feel to the championship.

Unless the umpiring gets even worse, I'm not sure a seven-game World Series would qualify as the worst ever.

I wionder if Gammo remembers the Fisk '75 HR was preceded by 3 days of rain.

Say the schedule was reduced from 162 to 148 games (records or no records; the Steroids Era made too many baseball records meaningless)

SIREN

keep 162 games and schedule 6 doubleheaders a year for each team.

COSIGN

Gammons is just bitter his beloved Sox didnt make it in this year. I've never seen a reporter on that level with a bigger pair of kneepads.

morbs 1000% otm

this is why you don't pull in the infield

this is so fucked up

Way to lob.

ROCCO

^^^^

Boy, this is a horrible World Series.

^^^^^

"I would assume the bunt would be off here and he'll be swinging." (with two strikes)

seriously just fucking kill me already

Buck's "restraint" just makes it worse.

FUCK ONE FELIZ

this guy has had more hits in the WS than he had in entire months as a giant. ugh.

FELIZ 4 MVP

fuck this i'm watching nesn sports comedy all-stars instead

bumpin this thread whenever caliendo makes a randy moss joke

VOTE FOR (channel) CHANGE

WHERE ARE YOUR BASERUNNER'S ADVANTAGE MUD PUDDLES NOW MR UPTON

i heart PEDRO FELIZ

happy pete :-)

Maddon's blank stare that last half-inning reminds me I oughta share w/David this email I got today from the dude who runs the home game I play in:

It's time once again for our annual Halloween Poker Tournament.

This coming Sunday November 2nd at 6:30PM attending players must come dressed as a known professional poker player.

Oh look it's exciting young Rays phenom David Price!

hahaha -- I'll come as Phil Hellmuth's humility.

I was gonna show up three hours late wearing pajamas and say I was Stu Ungar.

this fuckin game

I can't believe how anticlimactic this feels.

We need Bowa & a bottle of Bushmills STAT.

The fans will do a Brett Myers on Lidge if this lead is blown.

....and Maddon brings in a guy with a 69 career OPS+ to pinch-hit.

Jason Bartlett: Series MVP

And now he is pinch-hitting for THE TEAM MVP

xpost

GONNA GO TORCH ME ONE OF NEM WAWAS

2008 World Series: http://www.eunuch.org/vbulletin/images/smilies/handball.gifhttp://www.eunuch.org/vbulletin/images/smilies/emot-dong.gif

brad lidge is gonna replace my tug mcgraw pic now ...

At least we were spared THE HANGING CHAD FEELING amirite

AYO GET ME A FUKKIN TASTYCAKE

i hope to GOD someone got a pic of lidge on his knees after he got the strikeout

i knew no team named after a body of water could ever win the world series

ayo get me some fucking Kaopectate

Three one-run games = worst WS ever

uhhh I'm sure they did xp

also, thank god this fucking season is over

Seemed like a fairly tepid celebration.

itd be pretty compelling if a guy died at the bottom of that pig pile

"I've never been so happy to be hit by a big guy in my life!"

Thank you Joe Maddon for tomorrow's columnar deluge which will probably feature all of the following storylines:

1) Rays = inexperienced, overrated, nervous kids
2) "AL better than NL my ass"
3) Phillies winning playing "small ball" and "doing the little things"

OH YEAH THE ROCKY THEME GETTING RAW EGGS NOW

oh and:

4) Ryan Howard = best Philly ever!!!!1!

LOL Philly booing Selig after winning a championship.

^this is why we root for philadelphia

OH YEAH THE ROCKY THEME GETTING RAW EGGS NOW

i agree -- THERE ARE OTHER PHILLY SONGS OUT THERE, FOX!!

Like the Rocky II theme!

Phils in 5 1

step up, smartypants

or "eye of the tiger," even ...

it would be too much to expect Ween or Schooley-D from Fox, though ;_;

or

http://llnw.image.cbslocal.com/6/2007/02/02/320x240/CIMSB3.jpg

and cause we're corny indie fuXors:

c'mon, "escalator of life" at least

now you dunnit ... time to unleash Smash Police on yo' azz:

smash PALACE, even :-)

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y123/Eisbaer29/102908_win2_600.jpg

2) "AL better than NL my ass"

http://www.smilies.our-local.co.uk/index_files/nodding.gif http://www.smilies.our-local.co.uk/index_files/nodding.gif http://www.smilies.our-local.co.uk/index_files/nodding.gif

lol @ bandwidth-leeching fan of 8th-place pitcher hitting

haha

another year we coulda done 2 outta 3 and been done with it

2008 Philadelphia Phillies Tampa Bay Rays 4-1
2007 Boston Red Sox Colorado Rockies 4-0
2006 St. Louis Cardinals Detroit Tigers 4-1
2005 Chicago White Sox Houston Astros 4-0
2004 Boston Red Sox St. Louis Cardinals 4-0 Bad Dream

[00:15] me: welp, that's it
[00:15] me: never watching baseball again
[00:16] mets fan: what if Los Bravos win it next year?
[00:16] me: hm
[00:16] me: that would prob make up for it
[00:17] me: i was just thinking actually, the only way i care about baseball again is if the front office goes apeshit and spends a billion dollars to create some unholy phillies-destroying machine
[00:17] mets fan: i was hoping a different front office would do exactly that~
[00:18] me: and by phillies-destroying machine i dont mean build up a team, i mean i want them to fill a bus with C4 and drive it into the hotel they're staying at
[00:18] mets fan: hahaha

Homage to "Fire Joe Morgan"

U GUIZE

phuck this Series (and you Maddon, for yr o-so-timely use of Price)

http://phillyfixmycar.blogspot.com/

Shastatacular

"What a year, 2008," said shortstop Jimmy Rollins. "I know a lot of people made a big deal about the numbers '80 and '08, and I think there's something special about that. A lot of things were made in the offseason, we can talk about the New York Mets. They brought in that great pitcher, Johan Santana, but they forgot that it takes more than one player to bring home a championship."

May the Mets disembowel the Phillies next year.

^^^^

this ws was almost too boring for me to be pissed off at that

fuck you, philadelphia

Jimmy Rollins, frontrunner.

We brought in that great reliever, Brad Lidge, but we forgot that we wouldn't have even MADE the playoffs had he blown just four saves that led to losses."

ILOVEBASEBALL

WE R FAIR N BALANCED:

Comments by the Marlins and Phillies since the final weekend of the 2007 regular season have pointed to the Mets' on-field celebrations as factors in their dislike for the Mets.

"When you're the better team and you celebrate every little hit and home run, other teams don't like that," Easley said. And he acknowledged that, "I probably saw some more intensity" from opponents the Mets had offended.

On-field celebrating became an issue during the final week of the 2007 season when the Marlins thought the Mets were excessive. Some Mets had the same sense. They addressed it with Lastings Milledge, who had been a most conspicuous and animated celebrator.

Jose Reyes, often the leader of the Mets' choreographed responses to home runs, said in Spring Training said he would cease and desist with such antics. But, urged by some teammates, he abandoned the lower key in May.

"Jose has to be himself," Easley said, echoing the words Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado spoke after Reyes had reverted. "If that's what he needs to do to get more out of himself, then he should do it. When he did ... I think I saw more vigor in the way we played.