Cheesesteaks for Everyone

The Philadelphia Phillies captured their second ever World Series title, and first since 1980, by downing the Tampa Rays tonight, 4-3. The game picked up where it left off on Monday, with the Phillies batting in the bottom of the sixth. With the score tied 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh, Pedro Feliz singled home pinch-runner Eric Bruntlett with the go ahead run. Then it was up to Brad Lidge to close things out in the ninth. After allowing a broken bat single to Dioner Navarro, Lidge retired pinch-hitter Ben Zobrist on a line drive and struck out pinch-hitter Eric Hinske before dropping to his knees in celebration. The win closed out the series in five games as the Phillies won all three home games.

Pat Burrell led off the bottom of the seventh with a double that nearly left the yard off of J.P. Howell. With Chad Bradford on in relief, Shane Victorino failed in two attempts to get a sacrifice bunt down, but then pulled a Bradford delivery on the ground to first baseman Carlos Pena to move Bruntlett to third base. (Bradford was an odd choice by Joe Maddon since he's a ground ball pitcher and the Phillies needed a bunt or pulled groundball.) With the infield in, Feliz singled back through the middle to put the Phils up 4-3. A great diving stop by Aki Iwamura prevented a possible bigger rally.

The Phillies had taken an immediate lead when play resumed. Geoff Jenkins doubled to lead off the sixth against Grant Balfour and moved to third on Jimmy Rollins sac bunt. Jayson Werth brought Jenkins home with a single to shallow center.

The Rays came right back in the top of the seventh on Rocco Baldelli's game tying home run off of Ryan Madson. But this was not to be the Tampa Rays night.

We chose the Rays to win the series in six games due to their starting pitching, but we did say the Phillies had an advantage in the bullpen and that certainly played out.

Congratulations to the Phillies, especially manager Charlie Manuel.

Is is Spring Training yet?

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The Daily Yankeeland - 10/28

Needless to say the conclusion of the World Series was put off until Wednesday night due to more crappy weather in Philly. And even that is in doubt, with a 20-30% chance of rain all day and a game time temperature expected to be 33 degrees.

Yahoo's Jeff Passan takes Bud Selig and MLB to task.


Meanwhile back on the Yankees, and ex-Yankees beat...

Brian Cashman spoke to MLB's Anthony DiComo about Joba Chamberlain's DUI arrest.

Ken Davidoff sat down with former Yankees coach Don Zimmer to discuss the surprising success of the Rays.

Mike Mussina's agent Arn Tellem says his client still has not decided whether or not to continue his career.


And around the rest of MLB:

The Cubs hot corner man Aramis Ramirez has won the Hank Aaron Award.

Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols garnered the Roberto Clemente Award.

The Angels picked up their 2009 options on Vlad Guerrero and John Lackey.

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It Shall Rain for 40 Hours and 40 Minutes

And then the voice said, "Take 2 each: outfielders, pitchers, catchers, and infielders, unto the ark."

Okay, really the umpires just said to put the tarp on the field last night, suspending game 5 of the World Series. The series isn't still on because the Rays forced a game 6, but instead because a deluge of precipitation fell on Citizen's Bank Park causing so much water pooling that Greg Louganis could have landed in one puddle off the high dive.

Play stopped in the middle of the sixth inning after the Rays had tied the game 2-2 on Carlos Pena's RBI single. It was clear that MLB was praying for the Rays to either tie the game or go ahead so that a possibly decisive game wouldn't be decided in part due to the weather. But it was clear, despite the protestations of MLB COO Bob Dupuy to Fox's Chris Myers, that the game would have continued had the Rays not tied the score.

The game likely won't be completed until Wednesday night, because tonight's forecast in Philly is calling for even worse weather than last night. The game could have been called prior to the fifth inning, but MLB was going to do everything they could to get the game in and they didn't want to get negative feedback from Phillies fans for calling the game with the Phils leading. Obviously no consideration was given to the health and well being of highly paid athletes who aren't used to playing baseball in a mud pit filled with water hazards. On top of everything else we had to listen to Joe Buck and Tim McCarver use the word "hydroplane" countless times.

The stoppage has to favor the Rays since it means there's no way that Cole Hamels will continue in the contest. Though he wasn't as dominant as he had been in his prior post-season starts, he had still limited the Rays to just 5 hits over 6 innings and those 2 runs. On the other hand, Rays starter Scott Kazmir was awful, the weather notwithstanding. He lasted only four innings, walking 6 hitters and only gave up 2 runs due to the Phillies' continuing inefficiency with runners in scoring position.

There was good news in the game for the Rays as Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria finally broke out of their O-fers. Pena had a pair of hits, scored the Rays' first run and drove in the second. Longoria's fourth inning single broke his shneid and brought home Pena.

The Phillies took advantage of Kazmir's control problems to take a quick 2-0 lead in the first inning. Kazmir put two men on with one out by walking Jayson Werth and plunking Chase Utley. But after blowing a 94-mph strike three fastball past Ryan Howard, Kazmir walked Pat Burrell to load the bases, and then gave up a 2-run single to Shane Victorino. Pedro Feliz' single loaded the bases again, but Kazmir escaped further trouble by retiring Carlos Ruiz on an inning ending fly out.

Pena's one-out-double in the fourth brought some life to the Rays bench and Longoria capitalized with with his first hit and RBI of the series with a single to left. Hamels came right back though, getting Dioner Navarro to bounce into a double play.

Kazmir was in trouble again in the home half of the fourth, issuing back-to-back 2-out walks to Jimmy Rollins and Werth to load the bases. But Utley grounded out to second baseman Aki Iwamura to strand all three runners.

Rollin's error on a wind-blown pop-up in the fifth gave the Rays a lead off man on base, but Hamels, with a big assist from Utley, got Jason Bartlett to hit into a double play. Utley tagged runner Rocco Baldelli as he went by and then spun around to throw out Bartlett at first.

Joe Maddon finally went to his pen in the fifth when Kazmir walked Howard and Pat Burrell to start the inning. Grant Balfour did the job, retiring all three men he faced to strand the runners. Then it was the Rays' turn to come back and in the process halt play. B.J. Upton reached on a 2-out infield single, and despite the sloppy turf, stole second base. It paid off when Pena singled to left and Upton just beat the throw home from Burrell to tie the score. Pena moved to second base on a passed ball, but Longoria flied to deep center to end the inning and the night's play.

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Home Runs Put Title Within Reach

Chicks dig the long ball, so chicks have to dig the Phillies. Led by Ryan Howard's 48 regular season bombs, the Phillies hit a National League-leading 214 home runs. Only the Chicago White Sox (235) hit more home runs this season. Last night the Tampa Rays felt the full brunt of Howard and the Phillies power.

The Phillies blasted their way to a 10-2 victory to take a commanding 3 games to 1 lead in the World Series. Howard hit a pair of blasts, and pitcher Joe Blanton and right fielder Jayson Werth each hit one as the Phillies knocked around Rays starter Andy Sonnanstine and the Tampa bullpen.

Blanton, meanwhile was marvelous. He limited the Rays to four hits over six innings, allowing a pair of runs. But the biggest ovation he received on the night was when he hit his first major league home run, a solo shot off of Edwin Jackson in the fifth inning that extended the Phillies lead to 6-2. At his teammates insistence, Blanton took a curtain call for the raucous crowd of over 45,000.

The Phillies put the game away in the eighth when Werth followed a double by Jimmy Rollins with a 2-run shot to left-center off of Dan Wheeler. Lefty specialist Trever Miller came on, but he walked Chase Utley and then Howard unloaded his second home run, a tremendous shot to right field.

Sonnanstine was shaky from the start, walking Pat Burrell with the bases loaded to put the Phillies on the board first. The Phillies again failed to break an inning open though, as both Shane Victorino and Pedro Feliz couldn't get another run in.

Moments after Fox praised Aki Iwamura's transition from third to second base, the Japanese veteran booted Utley's grounder to start the third. Howard's single put runners on the corners with no one out, but it appeared the Phillies would fail in the clutch again when Burrell and Victorino both flied out to shallow left. Feliz came through with a big 2-out hit though, singling to left for a 2-0 lead. Carlos Ruiz also singled, but Blanton fouled out to end the threat.

The Rays got on the board in the fourth when Carl Crawford went deep for the second time in the series. But Iwamura's second error, in the bottom of the inning, set the wheels in motion for the game changing play. Utley drew a walk to put two aboard, but Sonnanstine struck out Werth for the first out. With the Rays hoping to turn an inning ending double play, Howard crushed a pitch into the left field seats for a 3-run home run and a 5-1 Phillies lead.

Eric Hinske, who replaced an injured Cliff Floyd on the roster earlier in the day, took Blanton deep in the fourth to cut the margin to 5-2. But Blanton and his teammates continued to impress the chicks and the Phillies fans with their long ball display.


News and Notes

Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria are now a combined 0-29 in the series with 15 strikeouts.

Joe Blanton became the first pitcher in 34 years, since Ken Holtzman in 1974, to hit a home run in the series. He also became the first player to hit his first major league home run in the World Series.

The Phillies were actually 4-14 (.286) with runners in scoring position last night. For the series they are 6-47.

Ryan Howard joined Len Dykstra (1993) as the only Phillies with a multi-HR game in the series.

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Here in Citizen's Park

(To the Tune of "Gilligan's Island")

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,
A tale of a fateful trip
That started with this tropic team
Aboard the AL ship.

The Rays were a mighty playing team,
Their skipper brave and sure.
Twenty-Five Tampa Rays set sail
To take three of four, to take three of four.

The weather started getting rough,
The Rays pitchers got rocked,
If not for the bats of a fearless few
The series could be lost, the series could be lost.

The Rays set ground on the shore of this uncharted series time
With Longoria,
The Skipper too,
Carl Crawford and Kaz-mir,
The Upton star
Carlos Pena and Dioner,
Here in Citizen's Park.

So this is the tale of the Tampa Rays,
Who won't be here for too long,
They'll have to make the best of things,
It's an uphill climb.

The Tampa Rays and the Skipper too,
Will do their very best,
To make an amazing come back,
In the Phillies home nest.

No runs, no hits, no errant throws,
Not a single misplay to see,
Like little David Eckstein
As scrappy as can be.

So join Tim and Buck tonight my friends,
And you will get to see,
What 25 desperate Rays can do,
Here in Citizen's Park.

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Line Drive in the Paper Lifts Phils

It wasn't pretty, but the Phillies will take it. Tied 4-4 in the bottom of the ninth, the Phillies didn't hit one ball out of the infield - actually they only put one ball into play - in scoring the winning run to take a 2 games to 1 advantage in the World Series. Last night's game ended about 1:47 a.m. EDT after a one hour-thirty one minute rain delay caused the first pitch to be thrown at 10:14 p.m., the latest start in World Series history.

The Rays had rallied from a 4-1 deficit, tying the game with a run in the eighth inning. But Rays reliver J.P. Howell hit Eric Bruntlett to start the home half of the ninth inning. Grant Balfour replaced Howell, and with Shane Victorino batting, immediately threw a wild pitch. Catcher Dioner Navarro quickly retrieved the ball and fired to second to try to gun down Bruntlett, but his throw sailed wide to the right side of second base and into center field, allowing Bruntlett to reach third base. Victorino was intentionally walked and Joe Maddon came out to discuss strategy with his pitcher and infielders.

Those infielders were increased by one when right fielder Ben Zobrist, a natural infielder, moved behind second base to give the Rays a 5-man infield. An intentional walk to Gary Dobbs loaded the bases for catcher Carlos Ruiz. With the infield and outfield playing in, Ruiz chopped a high Balfour fastball that a charging Evan Longoria could only whip home with an underhand, off-balance throw. The ball sailed high and wide and the Phillies had themselves a victory.

Though the game came down to the bottom of the ninth Jamie Moyer was the story of this game. The 45-yr old had struggled in his first two post-season starts, allowing 8 runs in 5.1 innings pitched. But his manager Charlie Manuel stuck by him, saying in his Friday news conference that Moyer had earned his World Series start. Now he's earned a second one, which would be a deciding seventh game if necessary.

Moyer pitch into the seventh inning, leaving with a 4-2 lead and one out. A third run was charged to him after an inherited runners scored on a ground out, but this was clearly Moyer's night. He kept the Rays off balance with his mixture of slow, slower, and slowest pitches. He quickly gave up a 1-0 lead in the second inning and Phillies fans had to be concerned. But after Ruiz's solo home run off Matt Garza in the bottom of the second gave the Phillies the lead back, Moyer took control. He allowed just two more hits through the sixth inning.

Moyer's counterpart, Garza, had been dominant in the first two rounds of the post-season, but struggled last night. Maddon had to come out in the first inning to settle him down after allowing a lead off single to Jimmy Rollins, a walk to Jayson Werth, and a wild pitch that moved both runners into scoring position. He allowed just one run, but was tagged for three solo home runs on the night.

Meanwhile the Phillies extended their lead when their two big men, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard hit back to back home runs in the bottom of the sixth for a 4-1 lead. The Rays big men continued not to deliver. Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria, who has to endure the asinine chant of "Eva" from the Phillies faithful, both went hitless last night and are hitless for the series. Their teammates did pick them up last night though.

Carl Crawford began the seventh with a bunt single and Navarro followed with a double to left to bring the tying run to the plate. The Rays seem to be specializing on RBI ground outs in the series and that trend continued when Gabe Gross' bouncer to Howard to cut the lead to 4-2 and moved Navarro to third. Chad Durbin replaced Moyer and got Jason Bartlett to bounce into another run scoring ground out that made it a 4-3 game, but prevented a bigger inning.

In the eighth, with Ryan Madson on the mound, B.J. Upton stroked a lead off single and stole second base with one away. The Rays aggressive play on the basepaths paid off when Upton stole third and scored on Ruiz's throwing error. But Ruiz would have the last laugh.


News and Notes

Pena and Longoria are now a combined 0-22 in the series.

Ruiz's game winner made the Phillies 2-33 with runners in scoring position.

Steve Carlton threw out the first pitch, which was made ironic since Moyer beat him for his major league win in 1986.

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NFL Picks - Week 8

We bounced back beautifully from our 5-9 Week 6 debacle to put together a 10-4 Week 7. That puts us at 57-42-3. The big Giants-Steelers, 4:15 pm EDT battle on Sunday culminates a big Pittsburgh-Metro area weekend showdown. It starts today with Rutgers going against Top 25 ranked Pitt. This evening the Rangers and Penguins go at it in an NHL intra-division game, and the NFL counterparts smack each other around tomorrow.

This should be a good one and it will be a real test for the Giants, who have struggled offensively the last two weeks. It's a road game, which actually might help the Giants, since they've won 12 of 13 on the road. It's a game they could easily lose, but we'll go with Big Blue in this one.
Giants +3 at Steelers Prediction: Giants 20 Steelers 17

Jets -14 vs. Chiefs
This could be some really ugly football, but the Jets are still the better team. Could be a blow out.

Ravens -7.5 vs. Raiders
We're not letting that Raiders win last week go anywhere near our heads. They stink. Actually they aren't the only ones. Most of the NFL stinks.

Chargers -3 vs. Saints in London
Blimey! We were thinking this could be an old AFL high scoring game. We know neither of these teams is doing much on the defensive side of the ball. With Reggie Bush already out of the Saints lineup, word is that running back Deuce McAllister has tested positive for steroids and could be suspended. Chargers in a blow out.

Bills -1 at Dolphins
We're surprised the Buffalonians are only favored by a point.

Bucs +2 at Cowboys
We're going out on a bit of a limb here. Even without Romo, could the Cowboys really lose three straight? We're thinking the Bucs defense can make it a reality.

Falcons +9 at Eagles
We're surprised the Eagles are favored by that much. Matt Ryan is playing well and this should be closer than 9 points.

Patriots -7.5 vs. Rams
Rams may be without Stephen Jackson. Can't see the Rams winning three straight.

Panthers -4 vs. Cardinals
You never know with these things, but the Panthers 'D' is the difference maker.

Redskins -8 at Lions
Blow out city.

Browns +7 vs. Jaguars
This is the "what are we thinking pick". It worked out well with the Ravens last week.

Seahawks +5.5 at 49ers
Two teams in disarray.

Bengals +9 at Texans
The Bungles are bad, but the Texans have no business being favored by 9 over anyone.

Titans -4 vs. Colts
What has happened to this Colts team?...besides poor play, injuries, etc.

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The Daily Yankeeland - 10/25

Time to catch up a little on our favorite band of underachievers. You can end the speculation that Larry Bowa might return to the Yankees as third base coach. He'll be staying on in with Joe Torre in LA as will Don Mattingly and the rest of the staff. There's still talk about Milwaukee's interim manager Dale Sveum taking the job, but as we have pointed out before, Sveum held the position and Boston and did not do a good job in the eyes of Red Sox fans.

Speaking of Milwaukee, rumors has it that Willie Randolph is interviewing for the job. Good luck Willie!

Darryl Strawberry had some sage words of advice for Joba Chamberlain after the latter's DUI arrest. If anyone has learned from experienced, it's the Straw man.

Congress is reviewing allegations that the Yankees improperly received funding for additional expenses in building the new Stadium. Randy Levine told Congress that the Yankees would have left town if not for the funding they received. Sure, Randy, go work on your perm.

It may just be rumor, but word is that the Yankees and Cubs may play an exhibition game in the new Stadium before the official opener.

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Rays Shields from Philly Sweep

The World Series resumes in Philadelphia tonight, and thanks to James Shields and the Rays pen, the series is all even at a game apiece after Tampa's 4-2 win. Shields picked up the win in great part because of the Phillies failure to produce with runners in scoring position.

The Phillies had runners on first and second with no one out in the second inning, a lead off man on second in the third, men on the corners with one out in both the fourth and fifth innings, and two on with two outs in both the six and seventh innings. And they left them all on base. The Phillies are now 1-28 with runners in scoring position in the series.

Tampa got a quick jump on Brett Myers in the first inning, taking advantage of Jayson's Werth's error. Aki Iwamura led the game off with a walk and B.J. Upton shook off his game 1 woes with a single to right field. Werth then misplayed the ball allowing both runners to move up a spot. Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria brought both runners home with a pair of RBI ground outs.

Upton came through again in the second with a bases loaded single to increase the Rays lead to 3-0. Werth tried to make up for his error by throwing out Rocco Baldelli at home plate to end the inning. The Rays added another big insurance run in the fourth when Jason Bartlett squeezed home Cliff Floyd.

The rest of the game was about the Phillies failures. They finally got on the board in eighth inning on Eric Bruntlett's home run and made the game interesting in the ninth against David Price. The prized rookie has been shown a lot of confidence by manager Joe Maddon, who brought him in the game in the seventh inning. He walked the first batter he faced, but then struck out Ryan Howard to strand two runners. In the ninth he faced the tying run after an Evan Longoria error allowed a run to score and cut the lead in half. But Price struck out Chase Utley and retired Howard on a game ending ground out.

News and Notes

Game 3 this evening matches up veteran Jamie Moyer against the playoffs hottest pitcher, Matt Garza.

Chase Utley and Ryan Howard are a combined 4-17 through the first two games and Jimmy Rollins is hitless.

There is a possibility that tonight's game could be rained out.

Big League Stew's David Brown discusses the merits and dislikes of the Buck-McCarver duo.

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Hamels the Hero Again

If game 1 is any indication, the 2008 World Series should be a good one. But the Rays won't win it unless they can either solve Cole Hamels or beat up on the rest of the Phillies rotation. Hamels put in another masterful post-season performance, holding the Rays to 5 hits over 7 innings, as the Phillies edged the Rays 3-2 to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

Hamels is now 4-0, 1.55 in four post-season appearances. He's limited hitters to a .178 average and struck out 27 batters in 29 innings. He got an immediate boost in last night's game when Chase Utley followed Jayson Werth's first inning walk with a 2-run home run to right field off of Scott Kazmir.

The Rays biggest threat came in the third inning when they loaded the bases on singles by Ben Zobrist and Aki Iwamura sandwiched around a Jason Bartlett walk. The Rays had their hottest hitter up in B.J. Upton, and Upton did hit a scorcher. But it was right at third baseman Pedro Feliz who started an inning ending 5-4-3 double play.

The Phillies added a run in the fourth inning that would be the difference in the ball game. Shane Victorino and Feliz stroked back to back singles off of Kazmir to start the inning, and moved up a base on Chris Coste's ground out. With the infield playing back to stop a big inning, Carlos Ruiz grounded to Bartlett for an RBI ground out. Kazmir got out of further trouble by striking out Jimmy Rollins to end the threat.

Carl Crawford got the Rays back in the ball game when he went yard against Hamels in the bottom of the fourth to cut the Phillies lead to 3-1. One inning later the Rays mounted a 2-out threat after Bartlett walked and stole second base. Iwamura came through with a big 2-out hit, doubling to left-center field to cut the margin to 3-2. But Hamels got Upton to foul out to end the inning.

The Phillies had a chance to increase their lead in a wild seventh inning. J.P. Howell came on to replace Kazmir and struck out Werth to start the inning. Chase Utley then singled, stole second base, and moved to third on Howell's wild pitch. But Howell bounced back and struck out Ryan Howard before issuing an unintentional intentional walk to Pat Burell. Joe Maddon sent for Grant Balfour, who made the move pay off by striking out Victorino to end the inning.

Ryan Madson was overpowering out of the Phils pen in the eighth, striking out Upton to punctuate a 1-2-3 inning. Then it was up to Brad Lidge who was perfect in 46 save chances during the regular season. No problem. He K'd Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria and then retired Crawford on a foul out to end the game.


News and Notes

The heart of the Rays order, Evan Longoria, Carlos Pena, and B.J. Upton, went a combined 0-12. Upton hit into two double plays in addition to a strike out and foul out.

Chase Utley joined a litany of players to homer in their first World Series at-bat.

Aki Iwamura had 3 of the 5 hits allowed by Cole Hamels.

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The Better Late Than Never World Series Preview

With the start of Game 1 of the 2008 World Series less than an hour away, though the actual start will depend on how long FOX can drag things out, here is our much anticipated World Series preview.

Joe Maddon and Charlie Manuel are both managing their first World Series, and of course this is the first for the Tampa Bay Rays. But the Philadelphia Phillies don't have much more experience. They've only been to the series five times previously, and have just one title, won in 1980.

Lets take a look at the position by position match ups to see who has the edge.

First Base

Ryan Howard vs. Carlos Pena

There is no question that Howard is the superior hitter, putting monstrous numbers up year after year in his young career (Averaging 51 home runs and 143 RBI over the last three seasons). Pena had a huge contract year (.282-46-121, all career highs) last season and struggled early on with injuries. But he still led the team with 30 home runs and 103 RBI in '08. Howard's a liability defensively, so Manuel could DH him on the road.

Pena is clearly the better defender, an underrated gold glove caliber first baseman. But the edge has to go to Howard for his ability to be a game changer. He has not hit for power in the post-season and the Rays better hope that trend continues.
ADVANTAGE - Howard, PHI

Second Base

Chase Utley vs. Aki Iwamura

You know how good Chase Utley is. He's the guy you wish Robinson Cano was like. Utley has been a model of consistency at the plate, averaging 28 home runs and 103 RBI over the last four seasons. Like Howard, he's looking to bust out after hitting just .250 with one home run so far in the post-season.

Iwamura is an outstanding defender. He made a smooth transition from third base to second base this season. The Rays lead off man may have a swing similar to his fellow countryman, Ichiro Suzuki, but that's where the similarity ends. Iwamura led the Rays in average with just a .274 mark. He did hit .295 at home, but the advantage here easily goes to the Rays.
ADVANTAGE - Utley, PHI


SHORTSTOP

Jimmy Rollins vs. Jason Bartlett

Rollins is the heart and soul of this team and its vocal leader. He won the NL MVP last year after boasting the Phillies would win the NL East and then backed it up with his play. Injuries caused him to miss 25 games and his production was down considerably from his 2007 career best numbers. He did still manage to swipe a career high 47 bases and committed just 7 errors.

Jason Bartlett was acquired, along with Matt Garza, from the Twins during the off-season for Delmon Young. Bartlett provides speed (20 stolen bases during the regular season), but doesn't have much pop in his bat. He hit just one home run in 454 at-bats this season. However, Bartlett crushed right handed pitching to the tune of a .379 mark. Bartlett is a decent defender (16 errors, .970 FPCT in '08) who made a costly error in game 6 of the ALCS and nearly had another in game 7. The Phillies get another one.
ADVANTAGE - Rollins, PHI


Third Base

Pedro Feliz vs. Evan Longoria

Feliz won't hit much for average (.252 lifetime), but he does have an underrated power stick. He averaged 21 home runs over the prior four seasons and then hit 14 in 133 games in his first year in Philadelphia. Feliz is also a pretty good defender, having made only 19 errors over the last two seasons.

What can you say about the AL's rookie of the year (in our opinion) that hasn't been said already. The numbers don't lie. Longoria started the season in the minors then missed a load of games down the stretch with a broken arm. He still managed 27 home runs and 85 RBI in 122 games, with 31 doubles and an .874 OPS. He made 12 errors this season while compiling a .963 fielding pct., but he's got the goods to be a solid hot corner man. Any guess who gets the edge here?
ADVANTAGE - Longoria, TB


Left Field

Pat Burrell vs. Carl Crawford

Wow, this is a good one. You've got one of the better power guys in the game against one of the best all around players and athletes in the game. Burrell heard trade rumors during the season, but it didn't seem to effect him. He hit slightly below his career average, .250., but the rest of his numbers were comparable to his prior years - 33 home runs, 86 RBI, and 102 walks. Burrell has been big thus far in the post-season, hitting .300 with 3 home runs and 7 RBI.

Like Longoria, Crawford missed a big chunk of time due to injury, playing in 109 games, the least since his rookie season in 2002. Everyone talks about Crawford's speed, but he's also got power and has a .293 career average. He matched his career high for errors this season with....just 4! You won't see too many balls fall between him and B.J. Upton in center field. Crawford's all around play gets the edge here.
ADVANTAGE - Crawford, TB


Center Field

Shane Victorino vs. B.J. Upton

Another good match up of a pair of spark plugs. Victorino's emergence allowed the Phillies to let Aaron Rowand wander off to the bay area. The Hawaiian native set career marks with a .293 (team high) average, 14 home runs, 58 RBI, 102 runs scored, 167 hits, and had one less steal (36) than 2009. He's also done a very good job replacing the gold gloved Rowand in the outfield.

Upton emerged last season as the player the Rays organization was counting on. Though in comparison to last season (.300-24-82, 22 SB), his '08 numbers (.273-9-67, 44 SB) don't look very good, and he had some discipline problems, the 24-yr old can still be counted on. He's been on fire in the playoffs, hitting .304 with 7 home runs, 15 RBI, and a whopping 1.191 OPS. Though he's still learning the position, Upton put together a .983 FPCT. These two mean so much to their teams, that we really can't separate them.
ADVANTAGE - DRAW


Right Field

Jayson Werth vs. Gabe Gross/Rocco Baldelli

The 29-yr old Werth had a break out season with 24 home runs and 67 RBI, and made only 2 errors in playing all three outfield positions, primarily right field. Though he has hit in 7 of 9 playoff games, he's just .243 with 1 home run and that one lone RBI.

Rocco Baldelli came back from the brink of going nowhere to playing a significant role down the stretch for Tampa. Fighting off a mitochondrial disease that zaps his strength, Baldelli hit .263-4-13 with 12 run scored in 28 games. He has struggled (3 for 14) in the post-season, and played in just two games in the ALCS, but did have a big 3-run home run in game 5.

Gross came over from Milwaukee in an in-season deal, and hit .242-13-38 in 127 games. He's a decent right fielder, though nothing that legends are made of. As of this writing, there was talk Eric Hinske could replace him on the roster.
ADVANTAGE - Werth, PHI


Catcher

Carlos Ruiz vs. Dioner Navarro

Ruiz was impress at all with his bat, .219-4-31, but he calls a good game and plays a strong all-around defensive game. The Phillies will benefit from road games when they won't have both Ruiz and the pitcher batting in the bottom of the order.

Navarro has emerged as the type of catcher the Yankees were hoping they would see, except not with another team. A first time All-Star, Navarro, still just 24-yrs of age, hit .295-7-43 in 120 games. He also become one of the best defensive catchers in baseball and clearly gets the edge in this head to head match up.
ADVANTAGE - Navarro, TB


Starting Pitching

Cole Hamels, Brett Myers, Jamie Moyer, Joe Blanton
vs.
Scott Kazmir, James Shields, Matt Garza, Andy Sonnanstine

Hamels is clearly the best of the lot and could be a series changer, especially if he were to go three times. He could even have an impact out of the pen like Randy Johnson had for Arizona. Though Hamels is the best of this lot, the Rays staff is deeper. Garza is the hottest pitcher on the staff right now, Kazmir is still a borderline stud, and Shields emerging as a top notch young pitcher. Sonnanstine is nothing to sneeze at either even if his name is hard to pronounce.
ADVANTAGE - TB

Probable Pitchers

Game 1 - Hamels vs. Kazmir
Game 2 - Myers vs. Shields
Game 3 - Garza vs. Moyer
Game 4 - Sonnanstine vs. Blanton
Game 5 - Kazmir vs. Hamels
Game 6 - Myers vs. Shields
Game 7 - Moyer vs. Garza

Bullpens

The pen, always a horror for Tampa in the past, was a strength this season. But injuries to closer Troy Percival has put more pressure on a team that now has no true closer. Joe Maddon mixed and matched to perfection in game 7 of the ALCS, but will it always work out so well?

Brad Lidge and Ryan Madson have formed a formidable 1-2 punch out of the Phillies pen, though we still don't trust Lidge (46-46 in save situations during the regular season). Though we don't trust him, we still will give Philly a slight edge in their ability to close out a game.
ADVANTAGE - PHI


And the winner is........in 6 games, the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays starting pitching is the difference maker here, especially if it were to come down to a game 7. Matt Garza is on fire right now and Jamie Moyer is looking like he's 85 not 45. It should be an entertaining series, but the Rays will take it. Who the "Devil" would have thought it? ;)

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An Unholy Alliance

We just read this on Peter Abraham's LoHud site and we're not liking it. The Yankees have gone into a partnership with the hated Dallas Cowboys in a scheme to, well, make more money. The greatest team in MLB history, and the team that thinks they are the greatest NFL franchise, are working with Goldman Sachs and CIC Partners to form Legends Hospitality Management, LLC.

Legends’ initial focus will be on operating catering, concessions, retail merchandising and other facility management enterprises for major sports and entertainment facilities.

Click here to read more

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A Ray of Sunshine

If you didn't get to see last night's game 7 of the ALCS, you missed out on a tense, well played nail-biter. The Rays emerged with a 3-1 victory to gain their first shot at a World Series title and in the process prevented the Red Sox from a possible World Series repeat.

Some big game performers emerged last night, both in victory and defeat. Matt Garza garnered the ALCS MVP after he won his second game of the series to go along with a 1.38 ERA. He allowed a first inning home run to Dustin Pedroia, but only allowed one more hit through 7 innings plus a batter in the eighth.

Then Joe Maddon mixed and matched his way through the final two innings. Jason Bartlett, who made a crucial error in game 6, committed another misplay on Alex Cora's grounder to start the eighth. Joe Maddon sent for Dan Wheeler, who gave up a single to Coco Crisp before getting Pedroia to pop out to left for the inning's first out. J.P. Howell came on to get David Ortiz to bounce into a force out for the second out, but Chad Bradford issued a walk to Kevin Youkilis to load the bases. Maddon then went to his stud rookie prospect, David Price, to go up against left-hander J.D. Drew. After mixing off-speed pitches with 96-mph fastballs, Price got Drew on a check swing strike three for the final out of the inning.

Price walked Jason Bay to start the ninth, but struck out Mark Kotsay and Jason Varitek, and induced a game ending ground out from Jed Lowrie. Second baseman Aki Iwamura snared the grounder and took it to the bag himself to send the Rays into celebration.

Lost in the game was another outstanding performance by Jon Lester, who was arguably the Red Sox best starter this season. He scattered six hits over seven powerful innings. But with Carlos Pena on first and two out in the third, he hung a pitch to Evan Longoria who smacked into the right field corner. It bounced around enough to get Pena home just ahead of the relay from J.D. Drew to tie the game at one apiece.

Willy Aybar led off the fifth inning with a double and Dionner Navarro reached on an infield single in the hole at shortstop. A field good story was then in the making when Rocco Baldelli singled in what proved to be the game winner. Lester beautifully worked out of a possible bigger inning to keep it a one run game.

Aybar struck again with a huge home run in the seventh that provided a much needed insurance run. Then it was all down to the bullpen, and unlike game 6, they were up to the task.

* * * * *

Don Zimmer threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the game.

There were 40,000 plus fans last night. We wonder where they were all year.

Now we can relax while watching the WS. Don't really care who wins, though we will probably root for the Rays.

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Joba's Blood Alcohol Level Nearly Twice Legal Limit

Word out of Lincoln, Nebraska today is that Joba Chamberlain's blood alcohol level was 0.134 at the time of his arrest early Saturday morning, nearly double the state's legal limit of 0.08. A court date of December 17 has been set for the right-hander, who apologized over the weekend.

"I want to apologize to the New York Yankees and the fans for an error in judgment and for putting myself in a difficult situation," said Chamberlain in a statement released by his agent, Randy Hendricks. "I intend to properly resolve this situation, and do not intend to be in such a situation again. My goal is to focus on pitching for the Yankees in the 2009 season."

Perhaps Joba should be concentrating on driving drunk or having an open container in his car. You would think after seeing the Jim Leyritz tragedy unfold earlier this year, some brains would be used.

Hank Steinbrenner, for one, is behind is star pitcher.

“He knows he made a mistake, and he’s come out and said that,” Steinbrenner said Monday in New York. “We’ve always said we’re an extended family, the Yankee family, and will support him 100 percent.”

Wonder if Hank would feel the same way if it were Melky Cabrera or Cody Ransom.

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Calling on the Ghost of the Bambino to Smote the Red Sox

Seriously, can we get a little help here? The Rays were seven outs away on Thursday night of reaching their first World Series. We already had the Red Sox obituary 90% written when Boston came back from a 7-0 deficit to force a game 5.

Then it was Josh Beckett last night, fighting off a strained oblique, to hold the Rays to two runs on four hits in five innings. Let us make this clear- we don't like Beckett, but he's gained our respect. Something his big mouthed teammate with the ketchupy sock will never get from us. Beckett says he's not hurt, but he clearly is. He doesn't have to point out to the media how much he aches and what he has to do to compensate for it or how big his bowel movement was that morning. He just goes and pitches, and he's become one of the best big game pitchers in baseball.

Another big veteran on this Sox team, which is John Sterling's words, "gutty" and "gritty", is catcher Jason Varitek. The Sox captain could very well be playing his last days in a Red Sox uniform. He's a free agent to be and wants a Jorge Posada like contract (5 years). But Varitek hasn't hit in a month of Sundays. He still calls a great game, but swings a wiffle ball bat against 95-mph fastballs. But last night Varitek reached into the past and hit a James Shields delivery into the seats in right field to put the Sox ahead for good 3-2.

A Jason Bartlett throwing error contributed to an insurance run and then the biggest difference, besides experience, between these two teams came to the forefront. The Red Sox were able to send out Hideki Okajima, Justin Masterson, and Jon Papelbon to combine for four hitless, scorelss innings to even the series up at three games apiece.

The finale is tonight at the Trop with Jon Lester facing Matt Garza. We don't have to tell you who we think will win tonight's game. Now if some spectral force could have an impact...

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NFL Picks - Week 7

We had a miserable week last Sunday, topped off the giant crap Big Blue took on Monday night. A 5-9 week puts us at 47-38-3 overall.

This week the Giants should be back on the ball against an inferior 49ers team. It definitely helps that it is a home game. The Giants will be without Antonio Pierce and his backup, Chase Blackburn, is a big banged up himself. Eli Manning has a bruised chest, but will play.
Giants -10.5 vs. 49ers Prediction: Giants 33 49ers 16

Jets -3 at Raiders
A decent playing Jets team has a good stretch of the schedule, including today's road game against a Raiders team that is in as much disarray as ever. Jets should romp.

Titans -9 at Chiefs
That's a big spread for a road team, but the Titans are unbeaten. Unlike the Giants-Browns game on Monday night, there will be no sudden turnaround for the Chiefs. They just plain stink.

Bills -1 vs. Chargers
The Chargers are completely unpredictable, especially when LT2 is banged up, but Tomlinson did take part in full practices on Thursday and Friday. That being said, the Bills defense should be the difference maker in this one.

Steelers -9.5 at Bengals
Another big road spread, but another feeble opponent. Carson Palmer is still sitting, as is Willie Parker, but the Steelers have enough weapons to make for another miserable day for Marvin Lewis.

Ravens +3 at Dolphins
Wildcat offense or not, the difference in this game will be Joe Flacco. We were going to go with the Dolphins and then switched. A choice we will probably regret.

Cowboys -7 at Rams
Not having Tony Romo shouldn't stop the Cowboys from blasting the Rams. Cowboys will bounce back from last week's upset at the hands of the Cardinals, and there is no way the Rams will beat an NFC East opponent two weeks in a row.

Bears -3 vs. Vikings
Should be a pretty good game, but the Bears are the better team.

Panthers -3 vs. Saints
Going with another favorite here. The Panthers defense should be a good match for the Saints offense. If Jake Delhomme is on, he should be able to pick apart the Saints secondary.

Lions +9.5 at Texans
Okay, this pick is crazy. Completely. But we'll commit point spread suicide.

Browns +7.5 at Redskins
No, we're not reading too much into last week's Browns win. They won't win this one, but we think they can keep it close...we hope.

Colts -1 at Packers
Peyton Manning looked healthy last week in throwing 3 TD's. He should replicate that feat this week.

Bucs -10.5 vs. Seahawks
We really don't like laying that many points with the Bucs, but we really don't like this Seattle team.

Patriots -3 vs. Broncos
This game could probably be a PK, but with the lack of Broncos defense, we'll go with the Pats.

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Joba Busted for DUI

Word came down late last night that Joba Chamberlain was busted on suspicion of driving under the influence, as well as having an open container in his car, early Saturday morning in his native Nebraska. According to the Omaha World-Herald, Chamberlain was driving south on US highway 77 in Lincoln, Nebraska around 1 a.m. when he was pulled over in 2006 BMW 750i.

A Nebraska state trooper smelled alcohol and then saw the open container in the car. Police spokesperson Deb Collins said formal charges would be filed on Monday.

Note - Throwing 98 mph doesn't make you smart.

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Hank: Joba to Start

The Yankees began their annual post-season meetings today and the big news out of it wasn't really that big. Joba Chamberlain will probably start the 2009 season in the starting rotation. That per Hank Steinbrenner:

“The plan as of right now is Chamberlain is going to be a starter,” the Yankees co-chairman said Thursday after five hours of organizational meetings at the team’s spring training complex. “Everybody’s pretty much in agreement with that.”

“It was a productive day,” Hank Steinbrenner said. “We didn’t make any decisions today. We just covered all the things we need to fix. Everything is open. We’re willing to do anything that will improve us. It was more of a summary and quite a lot of discussion.”

In addition to the Steinbrenner boys and Brian Cashman, the meetings were also attended by Jean Afterman, Mark Newman, Lon Trost, Randy Levine, Gene Michael, Felix Lopez, Reggie Jackson, and Tino Martinez.

Why no Joe Girardi?

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Tom Tresh, Gone at 71

Former Yankee and AL Rookie of the Year Tom Tresh died on Wednesday of an apparent heart attack. Tresh, who garnered the rookie honors in 1962, was 71 years old.

Tresh grabbed the Yankees starting shortstop position in '62 when incumbent Tony Kubek went into the army. He hit .286-20-93 and helped lead the Yankees to their final World Series title until 1977. He was also a member of the '63-'64 teams that reached the World Series.

“Tommy was a great teammate,” Yankees great Yogi Berra said in a statement. “He did everything well as a ballplayer and was an easy guy to manage.”

“This hurts. He was my roommate for six years of my life, my hitting instructor and my best friend. He let me be me, but he was also the guy who kept me in at night,” longtime teammate Joe Pepitone said.

“Tommy was a constant in my life and a calming influence. He was always there for me and stuck up for me. He was like my brother. When I had personal issues, he was always the person on the team I would turn to. During some rain delays, he would take out his guitar and we’d sing and dance,” he said.

Tresh played with the Yankees until 1969 when he was dealt to the Detroit Tigers for Ronnie Woods. He was a three time All-Star and won a gold glove playing outfield in 1965. He also hit .321 in the '62 World Series. We send out our thoughts and prayers to his family.

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Booing Suspended in City of Brotherly Love

Philadelphia fans love to boo their teams as much as they love to cheer them, but there will be no booing tonight. The Phillies have advanced to the World Series for the first time since 1993 by defeating the Dodgers tonight, 5-1. The Phillies won their sixth National League pennant in five games, taking the series 4 games to 1.

Jimmy Rollins got the Phillies rolling right off the bat, leading off the ball game with a solo home run off of Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley. The Phillies added two more in the third inning, knocking out Billingsley after 2.2 innings. Billingsley, who won 16 regular season games and beat the Cubs in the NLDS, lasted on 2.1 innings in his prior NLCS start in game 2.

Phillies starter Cole Hamels on the other hand was outstanding once again, winning his second game of the series. Hamels, who allowed just 3 runs in the 14 innings, picked up the series MVP award.

Rollins ignited things again in the third with a one out walk and a stolen base. Billingsley struck out Jayson Werth, but walked Chase Utley. Ryan Howard, who had been 2-19 in the series before finishing 6 for his last 12, picked up his first of three hits, an RBI single to right. Pat Burrell added an RBI single for a 3-o lead.

A shoddy Dodgers defense helped put the game out of reach in the fifth. Singles by Werth and Howard put runners on the first and second with one out. Greg Maddux got Burrell to hit a potential double play ball grounder to short, but Rafael Furcal kicked the ball into left field to allow a run to score. After an intentional walk to Shane Victorino loaded the bases, Maddux struck out Pedro Feliz, but Furcal threw away Carlos Ruiz's grounder for a fifth run.

The Dodgers picked up their only run in the sixth on Manny Ramirez's solo home run, his first of the series. Phils' manager Charlie Manuel went to his usual bullpen men to close things out, using Ryan Madson in the 8th and Brad Lidge in the 9th. Nomar Garciaparra fouled out to Ruiz for the final out.

Box Score

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Rays Sting Red Sox to the Brink

Joe Maddon knows the history. He has seen what the Red Sox have done in the past. A comeback from a 3-0 deficit to the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS that led to a World Series championship. A comeback from a 3-1 deficit to the Indians in last year's ALCS that led to another title. After last night's Rays 13-4 blow out of the Red Sox, Maddon's Tampa squad is in the same position. An American League pennant is in their grasp. Now they have to finish it off.

Carl Crawford (5) and Willy Aybar (4) combined to out hit the Red Sox (7) last night as Tim Wakefield knuckled under. For the second straight game the Rays scored early and often, and didn't let up. Wakefield didn't make it out of the third inning and was charged with five earned runs. Manny DelCarmen gave up the same amount in just a third of an inning. Meanwhile, Andy Sonnanstine gave the bullpen a rest with a solid 7.1 innings pitched.

Carlos Pena ignited the Rays attack with a 2-run home run in the first and Evan Longoria added a solo shot. Aybar, who drove in 5 runs, also homered.

Box Score

But beware Rays. The Yankees won game 3 of the 2004 ALCS, 19-8. Getting that last victory is not a given.

James Shields was originally slated to start game 5, but Joe Maddon has switched to Scott Kazmir instead. Kazmir was hammered in game 2, and all season, by the Sox, but we understand the thinking here. If Kazmir loses, Maddon will still have Shields, who pitched very well in losing game 1, to try to close things out at home in game 6.

The Red Sox will be without third baseman Mike Lowell for the rest of the season. Last year's WS MVP has opted for season ending hip surgery on Monday.

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Yankees Shake up the Staff

Bobby Meacham stunk as a player and we didn't think much of him as a third base coach. Apparently, the Steinbrenner boys didn't think much of him either. Meacham, along with special pitching instructor Rich Monteleone, were let go from the organization this afternoon.

It was thought that the S boys and Brian Cashman didn't like how much Girardi leaned on Meacham and bullpen coach Mike Harkey for advise and strategy, while ignoring the experienced Tony Pena. Word is they also felt players like Robinson Cano were not getting enough individual attention as they had when Larry Bowa was on the coaching staff.

"Whenever you lose a friend on your staff it's going to be tough," Girardi said in a statement. "However, as an organization, it was time to make a change. Bobby is a good baseball man, but moving forward we realize changes are going to have to be made in various areas of the club." Si.com

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Commissioner Bans Giants from MNF

NEW YORK (AP)

In a stunning press release this afternoon, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has banned the New York football Giants from playing on Monday Night Football for the foreseeable future. Goodell is said to have acted on a request from the website, "My Pinstripes".

Okay, it's just wishful thinking. How many Monday night's must we waste watching the Giants, no matter how good or bad, play horrendous football? The same goes for those Sunday prime time appearances too. It's driving us absolutely crazy (perhaps crazier).

The Giants were 8 point favorites over the Browns last night, based on their tremendous start and the Browns awful start. Someone forgot to tell the Giants. The defense gave up 454 total yards of offense and that old, interception prone, Eli Manning showed up on offense. The result was an embarrassing 35-14 loss to Cleveland.

Now there's nothing wrong with losing, but there are different ways to lose and this one was a stinker. The Giants running game was good. Derek Ward topped 100 yards, and with Brandon Jacobs, and Ahmad Bradshaw, the Giants gained 181 on the ground. But Manning was erratic and under more pressure than he's seen in a while. With the Giants down 27-14, he threw the back breaking pick to seal the deal.

The Giants had driven to the Browns 15, but Eric Wright intercepted Manning's pass and returned it 94 yards for a back breaking touchdown.

The Browns did everything they could to help the Giants out, committing 10 penalties, including what seemed like an endless number of false starts.

No Gonzo

The Giants won't be adding to their offensive arsenal as had been rumored. Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez was on the block and the Giants were extremely interested. But today's trade deadline passed and Gonzalez is still a member of the Chiefs.

Goodell Chomps PacMan

Roger Goodell may not have bounced the Giants from MNF, but he did suspend Adam "Pacman" Jones indefinitely for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy. Jones got in a scuffle with one of his bodyguards outside of a club on October 7.

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Dodgers Get their Fight on

Payback's a Bitch

The Dodgers didn't show a whole lot of life in the first two games of the NLCS, but last night they showed plenty of fire in a 7-1 win over the Phillies in Los Angeles. It was anticipated there would be retaliation last night after Brett Myers threw a pitch behind Manny Ramirez in game 2. Myers said the pitch slipped, but none of the Dodgers were buying it. When catcher Russell Martin was hit on the hand by a Jamie Moyer pitch last night and later was buzzed by a Clay Condrey fastball, there was no doubt what was going to happen. With a big lead and two out in the seventh, Hiroki Kuroda got retribution by going head hunting for Shane Victorino.

The benches emptied, and although there was plenty of yelling, finger pointing, and shoving, no fights came from it. The benches emptied again when the inning ended and Victorino had some choice words for Kuroda. This was a statement game for the Dodgers and in more ways than one.

LA took care of business early, making 45-yr old Jamie Moyer look twice his age. Already leading 2-0 in the first, Blake DeWitt delivered a bases loaded double to break the game open. Moyer was gone after retiring just one batter in the second inning. Charlie Manuel has to seriously reconsider his decision to have Moyer slated for a possible game 7 should the series go that long.

Once LA took care of their game, they went on the offense to let the Phillies know they will not be pushovers in the series. LA is back in this thing.

Box Score

Manny Being Manny

Evan Roberts of WFAN had some more amusing lines from Manny this morning. According to Manny, he's not likely to sign with the Mets in the off-season, because Shea is not a good hitter's park. Only thing is, Manny forgot the Mets will no longer be playing at Shea.

Manny also said he's looking for a six year deal. One would think that means he wants guaranteed money for those six years and not a shorter deal with options. One would think Manny is nuts and they would be right.

Games 3 and 4

Joe Blanton goes against Derek Lowe tonight as the Dodgers try to even the series. Meanwhile in Boston, the Rays and Red Sox resume their series with game 3. The 4:37 EDT start has Matt Garza going up against Jon Lester.

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Shake Up in the NFC East

Three of the four teams in the NFC East played on Sunday and only one of them came out with a victory. The Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins both dropped their second games of the season in a pair of surprising shockers. Meanwhile, the Eagles fought off a stubborn 49ers team to even their record at 3-3.

Washington had seemingly turned their season around after their horrible showing in the season opener against the Giants. But after winning four games in a row, they fell to the previous winless St. Louis Rams, 19-17, when Josh Brown kicked his fourth field goal of the game as time expired.

The Redskins had trailed since the second quarter, but went ahead with 3:47 remaining on Clinton Portis' two yard touchdown run. The Rams, who forced three fumbles, managed just 200 yards of offense, almost a third of it on the game's final drive. The big play was a 43-yard completion from Marc Bulger to Donnie Avery that put the ball on the Redskins' 16 with 38 seconds remaining. Offensive lineman Richie Incognito nearly blew the game for the Rams when some choice words to an official resulted in a 15-yard penalty. But Brown's boot from 49-yards out saved Incognito from being very well known.

The Cardinals were coming off a blow out of the Buffalo Bills last week, but the team that gave up 56 points to the Jets in week three, had no business beating the Dallas Cowboys this afternoon. Only they did thanks to their special teams.

The Cardinals' J.J. Arrington started things off with a 93-yd opening kick return for a touchdown and Sean Morey blocked Mat McBriar's punt in overtime to give the Cardinals the win. Monty Beisel picked up the loose ball and ran it three yards for the game winning touchdown.

The Cardinals looked like they might win it in regulation after building a 24-14 lead with just 3:17 to go in regulation. It only took Dallas 1:12 to score though when Tony Romo and Marion Barber III hooked up on a 70-yard scoring play. The Cowboys defense then came up big with a quick three and out. Using their time outs, only 1:06 expired, giving Dallas the ball at their own 32-yard line with 50 ticks left on the clock.

On 3rd-and-11, Romo hit tight end Jason Witten for a 30-yd pick up to the Cardinals' 39. A 5-yd penalty moved the Cowboys a little closer and Nick Falk kicked a game tying 49-yd field goal to tie the game.

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Live and Die in LA

Dodgers Prepare to Batten Down the Hatches.

Joe Torre knows what pressure situations are like. He was in plenty of them in New York, going to battle in the playoffs for 12 straight seasons. One of Torre's worst times came in the 2004 ALCS when the Yankees blew a 3-0 lead to the Red Sox and saw Boston go on to end their 86-year world championship drought. Now Torre is on the other side of the ledger.

With Philadelphia's 8-5 win on Tuesday, the Phillies took a commanding 2-0 lead in the best of seven NLCS series. Of course a Dodger win tonight could turn the momentum in the completely opposite direction. Torre has experience in this situation as well. Down 2-0 to the Braves in the 1996 World Series, the Yankees won three straight games on the road before wrapping up the series at home in game 6.

Torre will have to make better decisions tonight though then he did in game 2. Already trailing 4-2, Torre rolled the dice by sending starter Chad Billingsley back out to start the third inning. The move backfired and the Phillies put four more runs on the board and put the game virtually out of reach.

Hiroki Kuroda gets the call for LA tonight. The Japanese native was 9-10, 3.73 in the regular season and finished off the Cubs in game 3 of the NLDS with 6.1 scoreless innings. Kuroda has allowed just two earned runs in 13 career innings against the Phillies, going 1-0, 1.38 in two starts.

The Phillies will counter with oldest player in Major League Baseball, 45-year old Jamie Moyer. The soon to be 46-year old, went 16-7, 3.71 during the regular season, but took the lone Philly loss to Milwaukee. He allowed two earned runs in four innings and walked three batters. Moyer is just 3-4, 4.80 in 10 career starts against the Dodgers.

The Phillies have the two games to none lead despite the lack of production from potential NL MVP Ryan Howard. The big first baseman is 0-8 in the series and just 2-19 in the post-season.

Manny Ramirez continues to rake for the Dodgers. He's 3-8 in the first two games with a home run and four RBI. The performance comes on the heels of the NLDS where hit .500 (5-10) with a pair of home runs three RBI. He also drew four walks.

"Michael Kay is bashing Torre on the radio today..."

Just a little spoof of the TMKS theme song. For some reason Michael Kay continues to rant against Torre (he blasted for weeks after turning down the Yankees contract offer last off-season), unable, or unwilling, to understand why callers are rooting for Torre in the post-season.

He quickly dismisses any talk that the Yankees disgraced Torre with their offer and continues to point out that Torre is no saint. Okay, Michael...what is it that Torre did to you? Wouldn't come on your radio show (he had a deal with WFAN), blew you off your interviews, kicked your cat? What?

Kay also couldn't understand how fans would root for Torre's Dodgers if they played in the World Series against the Red Sox. "The Red Sox are an American League team. If you root for the Yankees, you're an American League fan. How can you not root for the American League? On top of that how can you root for the Dodgers?"

We paraphrased a bit, but that is the basic lo-down. Kay can't understand that while those listeners who are contemporaries, myself included, still hate the Dodgers (those Garvey-Lopes-Sutton teams in particular), we hate the Red Sox right now a whole lot more. Even when Don La Greca pointed out that the Red Sox would be building a potential dynasty with three championships in five seasons, Kay still didn't get it. "What's the difference? The curse is dead!"

Some people just don't get it, even when they're smacked upside the head with it.

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