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The Yankees, my friends, are truly blessed! Holy hell, I can't believe they won the game! Here's to two more wins!

I've never believed in God, but if there is one.... he must be a Yankee fan.

At 10/18/09 01:13 AM, MultiCanimefan wrote: The Yankees, my friends, are truly blessed! Holy hell, I can't believe they won the game! Here's to two more wins!

A-Rod's having his best postseason ever - 3HR and 8RBI so far, matching his previous best (in 11 games). Considering he's matched it in 5 games, he's on a tear that I hope he can continue in Anaheim for at least two games.

But the Angels' fielding has been pretty poor, when the defence has sprung leaks and has basically gifted the Yanks the win yesterday in the 13th. Pressure tells, to be honest and I remember when it was the other way around and the Yanks were crumbling. We shall see.

5/11

At 10/18/09 01:13 AM, MultiCanimefan wrote: The Yankees, my friends, are truly blessed! Holy hell, I can't believe they won the game! Here's to two more wins!

Man, that was a hell of a game last night...the bombers never cease to amaze me with how well they persist and follow through...

At 10/18/09 05:07 AM, Coop83 wrote: A-Rod's having his best postseason ever - 3HR and 8RBI so far, matching his previous best (in 11 games). Considering he's matched it in 5 games, he's on a tear that I hope he can continue in Anaheim for at least two games.

A-Rod is finally coming through in postseason like he should. I was never an A-Rod hater, but I must admit I'm finally glad to see him producing some golden hits in postseason like he has been!

But the Angels' fielding has been pretty poor, when the defence has sprung leaks and has basically gifted the Yanks the win yesterday in the 13th. Pressure tells, to be honest and I remember when it was the other way around and the Yanks were crumbling. We shall see.

Well, to be perfectly fair, the Angels didn't do too bad considering the conditions. Even when the rain stopped, the ball was getting so wet so easily that it was causing people to error left and right. The Yanks had some really bad errors even early on which were just NO excuse (fifth inning, anyone?). But the game had me riveted the whole time and I really think the Angels and Yanks are making a good show of it!

Hey Los Angeles, tell me how my ass taste!

11-0. Fucking rape.

In other news, Cliff Lee is STILL a fucking beast.

At 10/18/09 04:59 PM, EagleRock wrote:

At 10/18/09 05:07 AM, Coop83 wrote: A-Rod's having his best postseason ever - 3HR and 8RBI so far, matching his previous best (in 11 games). Considering he's matched it in 5 games, he's on a tear that I hope he can continue in Anaheim for at least two games.

A-Rod is finally coming through in postseason like he should. I was never an A-Rod hater, but I must admit I'm finally glad to see him producing some golden hits in postseason like he has been!

Now that he's got that monkey off his back, perhaps he can lead the team to the World Series. One step at a time and that still means win number 6 tonight, followed by win number 7, to actually get to the series itself ;)

At 10/18/09 11:18 PM, Buddhist wrote: Hey Los Angeles, tell me how my ass taste!

11-0. Fucking rape.

In other news, Cliff Lee is STILL a fucking beast.

I wonder if this means that we're looking at a Yanks / Phils series?

Drugs or not L.A still won't have a team in the world series,lolsoutherncal GO NORTHEAST! ^_^

At 10/18/09 11:18 PM, Buddhist wrote: Hey Los Angeles, tell me how my ass taste!

Uh-oh, bringing out the Shaq-isms are we?
How'd you get so many Q's? - Don't worry about it.

11-0. Fucking rape.

Ya, but the Phils can throw up 11 and then find a way to only score 1-2 the next game. So I'm hoping that doesn't happen tonight. And since they only scored 1 run in game 2, maybe they reversed the trend, and scored few, then a ton, and then continue to score a ton or at least enough to win.

In other news, Cliff Lee is STILL a fucking beast.

Ya, but Joe Blanton isn't. He needs to really step up tonight and be on his game. Dodgers will want to erase last nights poor offensive performance in a hurry. Dodgers have good numbers against Joe too.

I wonder if this means that we're looking at a Yanks / Phils series?

I don't know. Phils could still tank with a couple bad outings by their Starting Pitchers (I'm looking at you two Joe and Cole!) or blow it in the bullpen. They still have 2 to play at home, with only 2 needed for the series win, but I'm not counting out the Dodgers.

At 10/19/09 01:05 PM, phileeguy wrote:

I wonder if this means that we're looking at a Yanks / Phils series?

I don't know. Phils could still tank with a couple bad outings by their Starting Pitchers (I'm looking at you two Joe and Cole!) or blow it in the bullpen. They still have 2 to play at home, with only 2 needed for the series win, but I'm not counting out the Dodgers.

Also I still remember what happened in 2004 so anything can happen.

I also remember when the newspaper opinion section were infested by those douchebags from Boston, where do they come from?

Honestly more concerned with Cole than anyone else on our staff. I think Blanton will be serviceable if not pretty solid tonight. No real qualms, but then again we shall see how things go. I feel like with Blanton, you can figure out the high-water mark of what you'll get out of him, and that's 6-8 solid innings, with generally moderate K totals and a low to fair amount of walks. With Cole, he tends to be all over the map one game and locked in the next, then rinse and repeat.

Offensively I have my concerns, of course, but playing at CBP is much easier offensively for our lineup than trying to hit the ball into Chavez Ravine, na mean?

Randy Wolf is pretty much average overall, and straight-up mediocre pitching in CBP. Career line @ the Bank looks like this:

27 starts, 9-7 record, 4.30 ERA / 1.40 WHIP / .272 BAA, 2.15 K:BB, 23 ER in 161.0 IP

He pitched once there this year, and had 6 innings of one-run ball. However, iirc that was during our couple-month-long hitting slumber, so I don't think that accurately reflects Wolf's control over our lineup. Plus, his only postseason start this year was very weak, look it up.

Blanton has been serviceable as per the norm at CBP this year. 3.77 ERA, .252 BAA, roughly the same peripherals as Wolf outside of that. However, he also has been working out of the pen recently, so I could see how going from short innings to a full start could affect him. I am more than willing to bet that he probably replicates last year's NLCS start vs LA (5 IP, 3 ER, ND).

Ultimately it'll likely come down to the bullpens once again, and all I can say to that is that I hope Chan Ho Park got his rest, because we'll be calling on him for an inning or two tonight. At this point I'm wondering who would be more erratic out of the pen in the waning innings, JA Happ or Chan Ho Park.

I want to mount a full scale verbal assault towards Joba, but because I won't really mean it, I have no idea how to react.

Dodgers never cease to give me laughs this postseason.

Phillies all the way. =P

Well, it's Deja Vu, all over again.

Last year the Phils vs Dodgers went something like this: Cole Hamels gets the win along with the Phillies in Game 1. After 3 games the Phils lead the series 2-1. In Game 4 Joe Blanton pitches okay, but gets a no decision and Broxton came out to do his thing, but gave up 2 runs that ended up costing the Dodgers a possible 2-2 tie going into game 4, but instead go into game 5 down 3-1 vs. Cole Hamels again.

Okay, granted they've sort of got to this situation this year in a somewhat different fashion, but it sure is eerily similar. Now for the part I'm having trouble typing. Last year at this stage of the series I felt that the Phils were a lock to win the series. This year I'm not as certain. Last year, even if they lost game 5 they still had 2 more at home, whereas they go on the road for any possible game 6 and 7. Cole Hamels has still yet to show that he can reclaim his position as a big game postseason pitcher, and that worries me. The resurgence of Brad Lidge aside, the bullpen was better last year, and this year they let the Dodgers back in it a bit in game 1 and lost game 2 for Pedro.

Now do I like the Phils chances of getting back to the dance this year? Well we've got 3 tries to win just 1 game, and we've got Hamels, Martinez and Lee as starting pitchers to try and get the job done along with a red-hot Ryan Howard. So yes, I do like the chances, but I wouldn't bet something expensive on it. Winning 3 games in a row isn't out of the question for a good team like the Dodgers.

At 10/19/09 11:42 AM, Molotov wrote: Drugs or not L.A still won't have a team in the world series,lolsoutherncal GO NORTHEAST! ^_^

I may be in that camp tomorrow morning. If CC comes up with the good stuff and we get the win, for a 3-1 lead, I'll be less pensive over it all.

I've got to make sure that my booking of the World Series off work is going to be used properly after all :P

I think that watching A-Rod smack another Home Run was about the highlight for the Yanks yesterday, but at the end of the day, we lost, which has me downbeat.

Still, the Phils had another good run yesterday, so I'd think that they're pretty much a lock for the World Series.

Yeah, I just jinxed them ;)

At 10/20/09 03:17 AM, Coop83 wrote:

I think that watching A-Rod smack another Home Run was about the highlight for the Yanks yesterday, but at the end of the day, we lost, which has me downbeat.

Found out what A-Rod rubs for luck.

So yeah. Jimmy Rollins is my hero right now. That was just a straight-up CLUTCH base knock. Down to their last strike or two of the game, and JRoll, who has played mediocre thus far in the playoffs, just RIPS a 99 mph Broxton fastball to deep center.

Honestly, I can't say I didn't see it coming. I had an eerie feeling that JRoll would nail down a hit to tie the game...but I didn't expect him to win it for us.

Cole is up in the next game, and I would imagine the adrenaline of starting the potential LCS-clinching game should have him at peak performance again.

At 10/20/09 02:48 PM, Buddhist wrote: Cole is up in the next game, and I would imagine the adrenaline of starting the potential LCS-clinching game should have him at peak performance again.

Well we can only hope. I mean he's coming off two sub-par (and not in the good golf way) outings, so maybe he actually gets around to pitching a good game, just by the law of averages. Conversely, Padilla is coming off 2 great outings, and maybe the Phillies home-field gets into his head and he's off his game.

Here's where I could see the Phils having an advantage in game 5:
1. They're at home, 'nuff said.
2. Cole Hamels is on an extra days rest compared to Padilla.
3. The pressure is on Padilla and the Dodgers, Cole is free to do his thing without getting the idea that he HAS to win.

What a game. Not only did the Yankees win, but the Angels caught Posada and Cano sleeping, the throw home by the Angles was high, Swisher was robbed, and A-Rod fought for home plate and won.

Just exciting overall.

At 10/20/09 11:35 AM, Molotov wrote: Found out what A-Rod rubs for luck.

I can't complain about that - Jeter's been there and done that. He's still ahead of A-Rod for postseason Jacks, with 20, compared to A-Rod's 12. Give it time and maybe he'll get his man.

At 10/21/09 12:18 AM, MultiCanimefan wrote: What a game. Not only did the Yankees win, but the Angels caught Posada and Cano sleeping, the throw home by the Angles was high, Swisher was robbed, and A-Rod fought for home plate and won.

To be honest, the umpires are only human and they did blow some calls that could have turned the game in the Angels' favour. The "make up call" for Swisher left me feeling a little hard done by, as two wrongs don't make a right.

Don't get me wrong, the home plate umpire made a spectacular call to rule Cano safe in the fourth - the angle was brilliant and for a split second decision, it was right on the money. The calls that were for Swisher and then Cano / Posada were ballsed up big time. Cano made a silly mistake, trying to ensure that Posada got back, while sacrificing himself. Surely, he should have gone for the bag, to save himself.

Fortunately, this is a small error that will be forgotten about pretty soon afterwards, I'm sure.

CC pitched pretty well for a guy on 3 days rest. Now he can have a whole 4 days rest before pitching in a potential game 7 or 7 days of rest before pitching game 1 of the World Series, whichever suits better. Either way, so long as he gets to pitch in an NL stadium, so we can see him hit at #9, I'll be happy.

Phils to close out tonight? Howard to extend the record RBI streak for A-Rod to chase down? Worth watching, I'll bet :)

At 10/21/09 08:08 AM, Coop83 wrote: Phils to close out tonight? Howard to extend the record RBI streak for A-Rod to chase down? Worth watching, I'll bet :)

Oh happy day. Well I was hoping Padilla would get shelled, and he did. So that was nice. Unfortunately Howard went 0-2 with 2 walks, so no RBI streak extension. Problem was that he was pitched around for the most part, and he could've had a chance in the 8th but Chase couldn't come through to extend the inning. Still, he got the Series MVP which was justified.

Really though, I honestly thought this series would've went 6 or 7. We see that Cole version '09 is clearly not as dominant as last year's version. And after that game 2 gem that Pedro pitched went the wayside with a loss and all the talk about a Phillies bullpen that wasn't as good as the Dodgers, well I just figured it would've worked itself out to 6 or 7 games.

If the Phils play the Yankees, I guess it'll be the I-95 series with us Phils fans chanting "Avenge the Whiz Kids!" If the Angels somehow pull off a 3 game winning streak to take the AL pennant it will be a more somber battle with both teams having a close member of their respective families dying earlier this year in Adenhart and Kalas.

Personally I think it should be a very competitive series. Two powerhouse offenses, dangerous really from top to bottom on either side, both with plus bench players readily available, both with aces who were coincidentally former teammates (CC, Lee), etc.

I'm already tired of the bandwagon Yankees fans that are out in full force talking about the Phillies. I especially love it when people that know nothing about baseball come out to talk shit about the Phils now. Funny.

Obviously the Yanks will be the favorite here, but whatever. Dodgers were the favorites the past two years, Rockies were split favorites with the Phils in the NLDS, Rays were supposed to dominate us in the WS last year, so I say all bets are off in this one. If there's any team that can keep with the Yankees this year, any team that can come back from being down late in the game, it's these Phils.

At 10/22/09 01:13 AM, phileeguy wrote: Oh happy day. Well I was hoping Padilla would get shelled, and he did. So that was nice.

And then there were three.

Unfortunately Howard went 0-2 with 2 walks, so no RBI streak extension. Problem was that he was pitched around for the most part, and he could've had a chance in the 8th but Chase couldn't come through to extend the inning. Still, he got the Series MVP which was justified.

Definately - he was setting Ks records a few years ago and now he's really developing into a quality power hitter.

Really though, I honestly thought this series would've went 6 or 7. We see that Cole version '09 is clearly not as dominant as last year's version. And after that game 2 gem that Pedro pitched went the wayside with a loss and all the talk about a Phillies bullpen that wasn't as good as the Dodgers, well I just figured it would've worked itself out to 6 or 7 games.

Yeah, you could say that for both of the Championship Series, since they are supposed to be the two best teams in the National and American Leagues. But that's the thing about baseball - it only takes a hot pitcher to derail a whole lineup and it only takes one good swing to blow a scoreless tie open.

If the Angels somehow pull off a 3 game winning streak to take the AL pennant it will be a more somber battle with both teams having a close member of their respective families dying earlier this year in Adenhart and Kalas.

No offence meant to any of the Phillies family, but Nick Adenhart was much more tragic than Harry Kalas - at least Kalas lived a long and fulfilling life, after all. I don't think the series would be a sombre one, to be honest, as both teams will play hard to win, which I'm sure we will see of the Angels tonight, when they host the Yanks in Game 5.

Burnett comes off a wild no decision in game 2, while Lackey comes off his game 1 appearance in what could be his last appearance in an Angels uniform. We'll see. I think that it's going to be one hell of a game :)

At 10/22/09 04:21 AM, Buddhist wrote: Obviously the Yanks will be the favorite here, but whatever. Dodgers were the favorites the past two years, Rockies were split favorites with the Phils in the NLDS, Rays were supposed to dominate us in the WS last year, so I say all bets are off in this one. If there's any team that can keep with the Yankees this year, any team that can come back from being down late in the game, it's these Phils.

Yeah I would agree with the whole "favorite (favourite for you Coop!)" notion you bring up. Last year pretty much everyone took the Dodgers and then the upstart Rays because they won the tough AL East and then knocked off the Defending WS champs Sox. No respect for a hot Philadelphia team, or perhaps they just wanted to see a Dodgers/Sox series so much they picked with their hearts over their heads. But just about everyone in Philly knew last year there was something magical with that team, and that they'd prevail.

But this year is different. New York isn't the Rays. They've won the most games in baseball this season and have a monster line-up with great starting pitching along with Rivera. And you just know that after their failure in the 2001 and 2003 series they've come to that point where the collective team hunger of a juggernaut franchise could just will them to win. Now I'm not saying that they'll win, but I feel that their status as the favorite is justified, even with losing 2 of 3 to the Phils in the Bronx with the one win coming off a Brad Lidge blown save.

The Yankees have reclaimed their status as the premier team in the AL and possibly the MLB. I'm hoping for at least a good showing by the Phils if they can't win. And if they can't, it won't sting as much seeing that they won last year and that they're going up against the powerhouse that is the Yankees.

At 10/22/09 08:51 AM, Coop83 wrote: No offence meant to any of the Phillies family, but Nick Adenhart was much more tragic than Harry Kalas - at least Kalas lived a long and fulfilling life, after all. I don't think the series would be a sombre one, to be honest, as both teams will play hard to win, which I'm sure we will see of the Angels tonight, when they host the Yanks in Game 5.

No offense (have you noticed we use the S here across the pond, dunno why) taken. I won't argue that the death of Nick was more tragic due to the circumstances and his age and his potential. But I think the impacts of their respective deaths are somewhat different. I don't live in the L.A./Anaheim area and don't want to make assumptions (yet it would seem I'll be doing just that), but I would think that the death of Nick - although tragically sad to the fans of the area - didn't really affect many lives outside the team, and Nick's friends and family.

Speaking as a fan of the Phillies, the death of Harry cut deep into the hearts of the community as we thought of him as not so much a part of the team, but one of us. He was that guy watching the team along with us through good and bad and was always friendly, no matter the outcome. If you were a Phils fan born in the late '60's or thereafter all you knew was the comforting voice of Harry (and Whitey). Like I said, I can't speak for Angels fans, but us Philly fans lost a friend.

Tim Wakefield says he has no plans to retire, meaning we will still have a knuckleballer left in the game come next season.

There are some other players that throw the knuckler, but none that have it as an effective main pitch. It truly is a dying art, in a world where everyone wants to see the knee-buckling 12-6, the 99mph Strasburg/Ubaldo Jimenez/Joba/Aroldis Chapman/Neftali Feliz fastball. Knuckleball pitching when learned effectively can not only turn around a pitcher's career, as evidenced by Wakefield himself, but lengthen it to far longer than most professional athletes can play, primarily because it leads to less stress on the upper body. Plus, it's just a nasty pitch, especially when it's on.

I hope someone takes on the trend when Wakefield decides to hang it up, even if it just becomes a generational talent, kind of like Valenzuela with the screwball in the 80s. Easy to imitate, hard to duplicate.

Pitches seem to come and go, like styles. Lately it's been the change-up and cut fastball as popular pitches it would seem, with some sliders/curves thrown in. Knuckleballs, Fork balls, and splitters seem to be out of the limelight about now apart from a few pitchers' specialties, but they may come back.

6 runs!?

In the words of Jack Buck: "I don't believe what I just saw!"

At 10/22/09 08:19 PM, Buddhist wrote: Tim Wakefield says he has no plans to retire, meaning we will still have a knuckleballer left in the game come next season.

Although Wakefield pitches for a team I hated, he's a type of player you would respect along with the fact that he didn't seemed to come across as the type of person Manny would be. Dude got heart and also the Pirates gave up on him too early. That's as far as I know since none of us know about his private life where he could be a menacing psychopath plotting world domination like Gehrig...

So yeah, I ran across a couple funny videos on Youtube after the Phils clinched the pennant.

The first one you'll enjoy if you remember the movie "Goodfellas."
video 1

The second one is a bit more raunchy - but still funny - from a fan who may have had a few too many interacting with a live feed from a reporter doing a piece about "having fun and being safe." I'm sure the guy is having fun.
video 2

Shows you that anything can happen.

At 10/22/09 11:15 PM, phileeguy wrote: The first one you'll enjoy if you remember the movie "Goodfellas."
video 1
video 2

haha. Those were pretty good; this gave me a few chuckles too.

The VICTORINOOOOOOOOOOOO! guy made me lol so hard.

Crazy game tonight too, though LA seems to be doing their best to hand the Yankees the series on a silver platter, anything can happen when you start to get into game 6's and 7's.