Yardbarker: Grant Balfour

Video: Game 5 Rain Delay Haircuts For The Tampa Bay Rays

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:27:12 -0500

LMontro, the barber of choice for Major League Baseball players, was in Philadelphia for the rain suspended Game 5 of the World Series. Sometime during the rain LMontro gave Carl Crawford, Akinori Iwamura, Willy Aybar, and Grant Balfour fresh Rayhawks. The Rays eventually went on to lose Game 5 and the series but at least [...] No related posts.

Plan B - Orlando Cabrera

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 15:45:32 -0500

Dan Graziano the Star Ledger has an excellent article today breaking down the free agent market, on a side note last off-season Graziano was dead on with his analysis including a November prediction of Santana.....

The most of the names discussed are all the usual suspects, however; what I did ...

What Could Have $50 Million Bought Your Team? Part Three

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 00:58:19 -0500

On Monday and Tuesday, you showed how you spent $32.27 million of your $50 million budget on eight position players and five starting pitchers. Today, you are going to detail what is often a team's hardest portion of the payroll to control. At this moment you have $17.73 million ...

World Series, Game 5: Phillies-Rays Re-Start

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 21:44:26 -0500

After a 46 hour rain delay, it's Geoff Jenkins, a mostly useless guy all year, out to hit for Hamels. Ball one is greeted with a thunderous roar. He swings and misses at 95, up and out. Balfour gets strike two, 96 and low; he looks sharp, but he's also breathing hard, and misses outside, even faster. He might be gripping a bit... and he overthrows again, taking the count full. Jenkins then absolutely crushes one to the wall in center right, some 395 feet away. He might have thought third, but that would have been a bad thought, given that Bossman Junior picked up the ball.

Rollins drops a first pitch bunt to third, moving Jenkins to third. Perfect execution, if not the best possible result. It's on Jayson Werth to get the run home.

Ball one, wild high. Rays warming two lefties in the pen. Ball two is away, still 95. Werth watches strike one inside high, and I don't think Balfour has thrown anything that has varied in speed. Another fastball in the same location is fouled back, and Balfour is smelling the strikeout at 2-2. Werth fists off a ball to very shallow center that Iwamura can't control, as the infield was in. That's scored as a hit, Balfour is done, and Howell will come in to face Utley. Who says this team is cursed, or that Charlie Manuel doesn't have the touch? He could have used Dobbs or Stairs; instead, he chose his third-best left-handed pinch-hitter, as if this was, you know, a normal game. Wow. 3-2, Phillies.

We come back from commercial to see Grant Balfour throwing his glove like an angry man. It's a darn shame. Darn shame!

Howell starts his night by throwing to first. Wheeler throwing, presumably for Burrell, assuming the inning gets that far. Strike one is on the outside corner with movement. Ryan Madson starts throwing for the Phillies. Joe Buck apologizes for Maddon using Balfour and Howell instead of Electric David Price, because that's what Fox does -- though the pitcher does hit fourth for the Rays next inning, and it's impossible for American League teams to use double changes. Gosh darn National League rules!

Strike two is on the corner, and strike three is a good curve, getting Utley to flail. Impressive stuff from Howell. Howard on, and since he doesn't have a man in scoring position, this should work out. Werth gets picked off and makes second base anyway, as Howell's move to first wasn't fast enough. Dammit, Jayson, now Howard can't get a hit! And to prove my point, Howard pops up to Longoria to end the inning. It's Ryan Madson time, and the Phillies are nine outs away.

If the Phillies hold the lead... Cole Hamels wins the game. Though to be honest, I never quite got that. Geoff Jenkins pinch-hit for him; he was in pitcher's position when the Phillies scored. Shouldn't he be the winning pitcher? Ok, well, no. Moving on.

Fox shows a ton of commercials, and I'm left to wonder if every post-season baseball telecast has to go 3 hours. Fox is wise to the Hamels win possibility; if he gets it, he's the first to ever start 5 and win 5. Navarro is the first hitter of the seventh, and Madson starts him off with an unhittable tailing fastball. Strike two is a change that's moving down; Navarro fights it off. Ball one misses inside by a little. Romero and Price warming up in opposite bullpens. Strike three is 94, on the inside corner and down, and damn near perfect. Sit down, meat.

Rocco Baldelli is up next... and he fists one to left, carrying nicely and gone. Crap, crap, crap. Tie game. Honestly, he didn't look good on the swing, but Baldelli just got it out anyway. Crap, crap, crap. 3-3 game.

Bartlett rips a base hit to left on an 0-1 pitch, and that looked more comfortable than the Baldelli homer. Bartlett is a stolen base threat, and Howell will stay in the game to bunt. One does wonder how much he's done that. Strike one is missed, but Howell gets it done, and it's two out, man on second, for Iwamura. Manuel has seen enough of Madson, and he's picked a bad time to be human. Romero in after an ungodly amount of commerce.

Fox goes for the Baldelli mouth job, and I guess it's pretty damn warranted. Jerk. Romero looks Bartlett back to second. Strike one is a good fastball on the inside corner. Chad Bradford getting loose. Utley then makes a great play to keep Iwamura's slow roller in the infield, then catches Bartlett getting greedy on the turn; it's a close play at the play, but he's clearly out, and the inning is over. Aggro base running giveth, and aggro base running taketh away. I suspect Fox is quite happy with their evening of programming so far tonight -- this game is crazy tight. 3-3 going into the bottom of the seventh.

Howell starts Burrell with a strike. Two nights ago, Pat the Not Bat took two walks, but he's still 0 for 13 for the Series. Fox is in full goat mode for him, showing the graphic every time he comes up... and Burrell responds with a mashed ball to left that would have been out in the months that God intended baseball to be played. Bruntlett in to run for him. One wonders why he's not on third, but then again, it's Pat Burrell. Chad Bradford on for the Rays to turn Victorino around. If I'm the Rays, I go with Wheeler here, in that Chadford is prone to ground ball singles, but Joe Maddon will do what Joe Maddon will do...

Victorino shows bunt, and watches ball one. Again, this is setting up the bottom of the order, but Manuel has had the touch. Second pitch is bunted foul; Bradford can't be an easy guy to bunt, really. Manuel comes out to talk about something, and McCarver is dreaming of a balk call. Strike two is a whiffed bunt, and so much for that strategy. Bradford doesn't strike out a lot of guys, and he won't get Victorino either, as he pulls the ball to Iwamaura. Man on third, one out, for Feliz.

Rather than go to Dobbs, Manuel leaves in Bradford. I suspect he likes Feliz v. Bradford more than Dobbs v. Electric David Price. Strike one is fouled off... and the third baseman rips a ball up the middle that would have been a single, even if the infield hadn't been up. The Phillies take the lead back, and Charlie Manuel is a genius. 4-3, Phillies.

Carlos Ruiz up as Maddon leaves Bradford in. The sidewinder gets ahead 0-2, with Dobbs on deck. Price warming. Ruiz loops one up the middle, but Iwamura makes a great play to get Feliz. Two outs, and that keeps Romero in the game; he grounds out on the first pitch. Curious.

Romero starts the eighth with a 2-0 count to Crawford, then hits the inside corner for strike one, and misses low for 3-1. Not the man you want to walk. Strike two is a marginal low call, but Fox gives it to him easily. On the full count, Crawford laces it to center, and the Phillies relieves are picking a bad time to be hittable.

Bossman Junior up now, and this is major scary... for all of a pitch, as he taps a perfect double play ball to Rollins. Phew. Monstrously big. Carlos Pena up with 2 outs and nobody one, with Longoria on deck. The lefty will be Romero's last hitter, and he overthrows ball one. Big nerves time for everyone, really. A pinched high fastball makes it 2-0 to the first baseman. Scott Eyre throwing with Lidge, probably just for company. A floater makes it 3-0. 94mph at the letters makes it 3-1, but not a great pitch; if he tries it again, Pena probably jumps on it. The 3-1 pitch is a fastball inside that Pena serves to Bruntlett in left for the first scoreless inning of the re-start. We are three outs away, with Longoria, Navarro and ... Baldelli due in the ninth. Insurance would be Quite Helpful, and the Phillies will have the top of the order to try to provide it.

Price and Aybar in, so Maddon does know how to double-switch; Aybar will hit fourth in the ninth, and replaces Pena. The Electric One is low on the first two pitches to Rollins. Rollins gets under the third pitch and it dies on the track to Crawford in left, and it's time for Fox to show us grainy Philly championship footage.

Up yours, Fox.

Werth dives out of the way of a low cutter -- let it hit you! -- for a 2-1 count, then falls off heat. Strike three is called on the outside corner, and Electric David Price has two outs.

Fox then craps on us with the Billy Penn Hat legend, and we see some dinky statue on top of the Comcast tower. Um, whatever.

Up yours, Fox.

Utley gets to 3-0, then watches 95 mph on the outside corner for 3-1. The Electric One will make a lot of money playing baseball. The 3-1 pitch is about as bad as Utley has ever looked on a fastball, but the 3-2 heater is away, and Chase takes the walk. Insurance is up to Ryan Howard, and maybe he gets a fastball he can handle. A long ball would make many, many Phillies fans relax, maybe for the first time in three days.

Strike one is a high but moving slider at 87. Et tu, Electric One? Give the big man a fastball. Not on the second or third pitches, which miss. Crowd gets into it, and on Yet Another Slider, Utley steals second, more to show that he can, really. Bruntlett on deck, and he did hit a homer in game two. Fouls off strike two, off speed again... and then Price finally gives in and throws a fastball right by Howard. We're into the top of the ninth, with Brad Lidge needing three outs for immortality. 4-3, Phillies.

Well, folks, this is everything that Phillies Fan could have hoped for from this bizarro game -- a lead in the ninth with the closer that hasn't failed all year. Everybody convinced that we're doomed yet? I know that I am. Evan Longoria looks like Albert Pujols. Dioner Navarro looks like a left-handed Albert Pujols. Rocco Baldelli has already homered tonight. We're doomed.

Strike one is a nasty slider that moves all over. Strike two is 94 mph heat that Navarro is late on. Fox tells us about Lidge's last home run allowed. Navarro watches the slider miss, low and away. He also looks at 93 mph heat up and on the hands. Heat outside, on the black, is fouled off. The slider gets him guessing fastball, and he pops it up. Utley squeezes it. One away.

Navarro gets a first-pitch slider strike. Useful pitch, that. A second one is out of the zone, and the catcher goes fishing. Strike two. McCarver warns of wild pitch strike outs. That's another way we're doomed. A broken bat single to right gets the catcher aboard, and we're doomed. Maddon pinch runs Fernando Perez, who scored the winning run in game two of the ALCS; he might as well have a baton. Ben Zobrist in to hit for Baldelli.

First pitch fastball at 92 is a strike. The Rays have stolen more bases in post-season than any other team ever. Ball one is a slider that misses outside. Curious that he hasn't moved on either pitch, but he goes on the second ball of the at bat, a slider that misses. Man on second, 2-1, and Lidge is 180 feet away from his first blown save of the season. Doom Time... and Zobrist's line drive is right at Werth in right. That's justice for Navarro's crappy single. Two outs, and Perez can't advance.

Eric Hinske, who also homered earlier in this series, hits for Bartlett. He's only here because Cliff Floyd got hurt. He has a World Series ring with the Red Sox last year. He's a white, left-handed, Albert Pujols. We're doomed.

A slow roller goes foul to first for strike one. He can't check on the slider for strike two, and Rays Fan, assuming he exists, has another beef with the men in blue. 0-2 count. Crowd huge. And strike three is a slider that Hinske seems to know that he has no chance on in mid-swing. And just like that, it's all over. Phillies 4, Rays 3, in five games.

The Phillies are the world champions.

No one in Philadelphia has to be from the town that hates any more.

Charlie Manuel's mom smiles.

Writing that made me cry.

Pat Gillick retires on top.

Brad Lidge is perfect -- now and forever.

Had 'em all along.

World Series Game 5.5, Vol. 2

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:31:25 -0500

We probably won't get any info from the managers on who will be in the game when the World Series resumes tonight. So in the name of wild speculation, here are my best guesses.Pitching for TB - Grant Balfour is currently pitching for the Rays and I see him as the odds-on favorite to start the ...

Let Them Play! Let Them Play! Game Five Is On!!!

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:55:03 -0500

MLB has just announced that Game Five will be played tonight promptly at 8:37pm and who cares if it's under 40 degrees and winds are upwards of 25mph?! We're getting this thing in! The Phillies will be batting in the Bottom of the Sixth and only do they have the advantage of getting twelve outs to the Rays nine in this thing, but Cole Hamels is the first scheduled batter of Game Five-Version 2.0. Charlie Manuel will obviously get a pitch hitter in the game but it gets interesting from there.

Joe Maddon will go probably "keep" righty Grant Balfour in the game, which will could bring Matt Stairs or another lefty out of the Phillies dugout. Maddon could essentially just walk right out there and bring in any left handed pitcher that he wanted to face Stairs. Manuel also has a big decision for the top of the seventh and that's whether to bring in Brad Lidge, who hasn't played much this Series, right away or save him until the eighth. It's unlikely he would go with him that early, but it's certainly possible. The possibilities for the start of this game are endless!

The more you think about the moves and decisions in this 3.5 inning contest, the more you realize how unprecedented this whole situation is. Bud Selig is a dumbass, but he really lucked out with his decision to delay the game. The ratings should be good, and if the game goes extras, FOX will be kissing his ass for the rest of his days "in office". The Live-Blog picks back up at 8:30pm tonight....BE THERE!

Game Five of the 2008 World Series to be resumed tonight (MLB)

Big Mistake by Joe Maddon

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:42:46 -0500

The conventional wisdom of baseball says win the game being played today and worry about tomorrow's game tomorrow. According to this morning's St. Petersburg Times, Rays manager Joe Maddon is going against this strategy. The newspaper reports that Maddon is planning to use his bullpen to finish the suspended game 5 and save starting pitchers James Shields and Matt Garza to pitch games 6 and 7. Maddon is quoted in the article as saying "we have to win this game [suspended game 5] to get to Garza." By choosing to use his bullpen, Maddon is setting his team up to have their season end Wednesday night in Philadelphia. The Tampa Bay bullpen has been less than stellar in the World Series. Grant Balfour, Chad Bradford, Edwin Jackson, Trever Miller, David Price, Dan Wheeler, and J.P. Howell have combined to pitch 14.2 innings. They have allowed 12 hits, 5 homeruns, walked 8 batters, and allowed 8 runs. In the only game of the Series the Rays have won, starting pitcher James Shields pitched 5+ innings of shut out baseball. In an elimination game, Maddon should use the best pitcher he has available. That pitcher is staff ace James Shields. If Maddon goes through with his plan to use his bullpen the next game Shields or Matt Garza will pitch will in the opening series of the 2009 season.

World Series, Game Five: Phillies-Rays: Washout

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 22:19:44 -0500

A relatively low-key national anthem from John Oates, substituting for Darryl Hall, who Fox tells us was sick. This is followed up by the first dick pill ad of the evening. Somehow, I think I'll live with frequent pissing for the ability to drive a car without, you know, possible death from fainting.

Rays' manager Joe Maddon moves the Longoria-Pena duo down to the 4-5 slots, moving Carl Crawford up to the 2 slot. This means a split of speed threats if they have base runners, since Crawford and Upton are their main base steals. If it's my team, I'm tempted to lead off with Crawford, who has been my best hitter of the series, and bump Iwamura to 9, as a second leadoff hitter. But then again, I'm wacky that way.

Joe Buck feels compelled to tell us that the Rays are resilient. Um, really? I was sure that if you got to the World Series, there's no way that you could have been tested before this.

Rocco Baldelli tells the nation that Carlos Pena is the Rays' spiritual leader. I need to know more. What are his teachings? How does he stand on free will versus determinism? Does he see himself as a new Messiah, or more of an apostle to some previous leader? Don't leave us hanging, Rocco.

First pitch at 8:30, and Hamels gets an up and in call. It's 43 degrees, and the Shooter Eldezt has been banished to the basement after annoying the Shooter Mom. After telling me she wanted to watch the game, she immediately grabs books and begins reading them out loud. As they say in "Rounders," women are the rake. They are the...

Iwamura flies out, and the ball seems to be carrying well to right again. Crawford lines a ball to Rollins, who drops it, but has enough time to get the speedster at first. Rollins then retires Upton early, and the aggressive Rays are out of the inning in 3 minutes and 7 pitches. Useful.

I switch over to MNF in time to see Hank Williams Sr. on my screen. And just that quickly, we're back to Fox...

Donovan McNabb reads off the Phillies lineup tonight, wearing shades and sporting a profound bass voice. Buck tells us that he's wearing the shades due to an eye poke during the Falcons' game, but we all know he's doing it to look cool. S'ok, Don.

Kazmir's first two pitches are wide, and Rollins patiently watches both. His velocity is reasonable, but he doesn't look too comfortable, and Rollins think he's got a walk on 3-1, but the umpire calls him back, correctly. The game gets delayed from there as Dioner Navarro has a mask problem, giving Fox enough time to show us the names of the struggling umpiring crew. A fly ball to Crawford in left ends Rollins, and Kazmir looks better against Werth... but once again, the pitch count creeps up, and we go to a full count. Ball four is borderline outside, but Werth runs to first and the umpire doesn't call him back, so the home team is in business... especially after Kazmir hits Utley on the first pitch. Two on for the red-hot Ryan Howard.

Kazmir goes right at Howard with heat, and gets him on 94 mph gas. There's a reason that Mets Fan cries when they watch him, folks. Burrell, who might be playing in his last game as a Phillie tonight (he's a free agent), has done nothing in the series. Again, Kazmir falls behind, and the umpire does him no favors with a tight strike zone. Burrell takes the walk, and the bases are loaded for Shane Victorino. Major stress inning, right away, for Kazmir, but if he gets Victorino, it's a plus.

First pitch to Shane almost gets the leg; I think he'd had stuck it out had he known it was coming. Second is low and away, and the lefty isn't going to get any calls with that kind of command. The crowd is primed to explode, even in a hitless inning. On 2-1, Shane delivers to left, and the Party Is On. 2-0, Phillies.

Fox flashes a graphic of how Kazmir has allowed 8 first inning runs in the post-season. Can Pedro Feliz make this inning monstrous? Not quite, as his looping single to left gets to Crawford too soon to score Burrell, who runs like a spastic turtle. It's on Carlos Ruiz, hitting a mere .417 in the Series. No action in the Rays' pen, which is a common failing of Maddon, but he gets away with it, as Ruiz flies to right. 29 pitches for Kazmir in the inning, only 14 of them strikes. Well, on the plus side, he'll still have Hamels to lead off the second. Oh, and an umpire that he's giving dirty looks to. That's a good idea.

Carlos Pena leads off with a first pitch bunt out to Howard. Not exactly imposing behavior from the cleanup hitter. On the next pitch, Longoria flies out to Victorino. That's 5 outs on 9 pitches, folks -- hard to do. Navarro works Hamels for a walk, very smart, as Hamels feels a little squeezed by the umpire as well. He gets Baldelli on the second pitch he throws, and King Cole is through two on 17 pitches, having retired 6 of 7 hitters.

You know, when I saw the first ad for "Role Models," I thought, wow, what an odorous little movie. Now that I've seen 30 to 40 ads for it, I'd like the people who made it hunted down and killed. I can't imagine this is a unique reaction.

Kazmir faces Hamels, who hit a little in the regular season, but it's not like he's going to do much with Kazmir throwing strikes and gas; the Rays' lefty gets a 3-pitch strikeout. Fox has mic'ed up Shane Victornio, who seems like a puppy in human form, to see how much he can chatter about the wind. The answer is: a lot. Rollins doesn't look comfy early in the count, but works it full before flying out to Baldelli in right. Another 2-0 count to Werth, as Kazmir seems determined to never have a very easy inning; Werth obliges him by fouling off a bunch of pitches. The Bearded One then lines a 2-out single to left to give Utley something to swing at, but he can't take advantage. Note the Hidden Damage of Extra Pitches: Kazmir threw 19 there,and has 48 through 2. At this pace, the Rays will be going to the pen by the fifth. 2-0 Phils after two, and the Shooter Eldest is off to bed. So much for her World Series fascination.

Why does Sprint think I'm buying a cell phone from a heartfelt black and white testimonial? On second thought, why does anyone buy a cell phone -- don't we all just have them by now?

Hamels starts the third with Bartlett, who works out of a 1-2 hole to push it full. Hamels ends it with a grounder to Rollins, and once again, the Rays' leadoff hitter is out. Cole then treats Kazmir to the same 1-2-3 strikeout good night that Kazmir gave him, and Hamels works quickly to Iwamura; he looks like a man who enjoys being indoors. Iwamura gets the Rays' first hit on a liner up the box that Hamels nearly spears, but Cole's not a hockey goalie. A first pitch ground out from Crawford shows the Rays to continue to not work the pitcher into deep counts, and Hamels is through three with just 33 pitches.

How many years, really, do we need to see a rabbit toy beat a drum to show the worth of a battery? The over-under is, sadly, 30.

Kazmir starts the third with Howard and whiffs him on three pitches; the book of Get Runs Early seems to be holding firm. Burrell still doesn't have a hit in the series, and that's true after a three-pitch at bat and fly out to right. Kazmir gets Victorino on three pitches as well, and that's his first great inning of the night -- and only 9 pitches. He's at 57 through 3, and has the bottom of the lineup coming up.

Hamels back out quickly for the fourth to face the heart of the Rays' order; the game is moving as fast as Fox will allow it, really. Hamels keeps getting strike one, and Rollins gets Upton on a 1-1 grounder that looked like the speedy outfielder could have made it a tougher play, but Fox is too wrapped up in interviewing Maddon to show a replay. The rain picks up as Pena fouls one off his foot, which will probably end his bunting. The first baseman hits one hard to right that Werth misses against the wall, and his first hit of the series is a double with one out. A better right fielder makes the play; a faster or more determined runner gets to third. It doesn't matter as Longoria gets his first hit of the Series as well, a liner past Rollins, and the Rays are on the board. Worry creeps in with the rain, as it's suddenly 2-1, Phillies.

Hamels seems a little shaken, and goes 3-0 to Navarro. He gets a charity high strike to make it 3-1, then a perfect double play ball. Phew. The inning ends, and it's 2-1, Phillies... but facing a Rays' team that has some definite life. Kazmir to face the bottom of the lineup in his bid for the shutdown inning.

All series long, the bottom of the Phillies order has made the Rays work harder than vice versa. Feliz fouls off three in a row before waving at a fourth, and that's Kazmir fifth strikeout, and third of the last four hitters. Ruiz laces a ball into the hole in left, and Hamels is up to bunt. Pitch one hits Hamels in the finger and we're in a big yikes moment, but he gets back in and doesn't look too bad bunting the second pitch. Unfortunately, it's too hard, and Hamels has to run the bases at first. Worrisome. Kazmir works quickly to Rollins, and the count goes full as the crowd makes as much noise as wet and worried people can make. Seriously, the weather here is pretty miserable right now, and while it's good that Rollins is making Kazmir work, it's less useful that Hamels is on the bases. Rollins gets the walk, and it's up to Werth. Something of a stress inning for Kazmir, and the rain is looking like it's coming down in sheets on HD.

Kazmir seems to be having footing issues as he falls behind 2-1, but the count evens up. Phillies are fouling off a lot of pitches this inning, with Werth looking increasingly locked in. Kazmir, sensing this, throws a slider that bounces to take the count full. Pitch number 25 of the inning stays out, and the crowd is starting to get into it. Kazmir at 82 pitches now, and Werth just keeps prolonging it, now getting up to 10. You just hope that Hamels isn't getting gassed on the bases. Ball four is low and away, Werth has reached base three times, and it's loaded with two outs.

Buck and McCarver note that no Rays are up in the bullpen, which is Maddon's common mistake; Electric David Price is starting to jog, but not throw. It's on Utley.

Kazmir's best slider gets Utley chasing. Count evens on a low fastball. A bounced slider makes it 2-1, and Navarro saves further excitement. Ball three is close but high. It's crazy that the Rays don't have people working right now. Strike two is close but on the black inside; quality stuff there. Full count to Utley, and Grant Balfour finally gets up. Utley makes it academic with a groundout to Iwamura; a huge opportunity missed there. The Phillies have loaded the bases 21 times in the post-season, and have scored only 4 runs in those situations. Gahhh. At least they will be rid of Kazmir very soon, who has thrown 90 pitches in 4 innings, and made Ryan Howard look bad in the process.

Hamels to face the 7-8-9 hitters; how will he be after the hit hand? 2-0 to Baldelli in heavy rain doesn't help ease any minds, and then the wind makes a routine pop up to shortstop more or less impossible. Baldelli gets on with an error charged to Rollins, and that might be the first leadoff hitter on for the Rays. Utley then makes a fantastic double play on a tag and spin move; terrible base running by Baldelli, who really should have been more aware of where the ball was, but that's just huge. Maddon lets Kazmir hit for himself, and Hamels handles him on three pitches. That's quick if not terribly easy -- in this weather, nothing is easy -- and Kazmir has to go right back out and work after a high pitch inning. It'll be up to Howard, Burrell and Victorino to make him pay for it.

Say, umps? The game's now official. Why not just call it? Save us all some drama, really.

Kazmir looks shaky against Howard for the first time tonight, and it's a 4-pitch walk. If that's it for Kazmir, you really have to wonder why Maddon didn't hit for him... but he leaves him in to face Burrell. Grady Little, anyone? The forecast says heavy rain and 40 degree weather, and Philly Fan is going to have to earn their good times tonight. Kazmir falls behind Burrell 2-1 as Balfour warms, and Kazmir is having continued footing issues. I really do suspect that if this wasn't a Series game, we'd have been in a rain delay a long time ago. Count evens on a chased slider, and goes full on what should have been a called third strike, at least according to Fox. The Rays are really not loving these umps. Burrell fouls off three more before getting ball four, low. Kazmir's last pitch of the night is also a strike according to Fox, and the Phillies have two on, no outs, for the reliever.

Kazmir certainly has cause for complaint with the umpire, but the simple fact is that when you walk six guys in 5 innings with hit batsmen, you aren't getting any calls. Either that, or this umpire wants everyone to get wildly ill from as much exposure to wind and rain as possible. It winds up being a ferociously long delay as the grounds crew work on the entire field, almost as if Kazmir had left for an injury, but we're finally back to live action. Shane Victorino, the key to all kinds of good moments for the Phils, is up, with the Rays seemingly expecting a bunt. If I'm Charlie Manuel, I'm not doing it; the man has 13 RBIs in the postseason.

Oh well, shows what I know. Strike one is a bunt, foul. Second pitch is a pop up to left, and that's good and useless. Gahhh. Feliz fouls three pitches off to start the at bat as the conditions are really awful now, and Pena manages to corral it for the second out. Fox makes a big deal out of a lack of infield fly rule. Balfour gets up on Ruiz and gets up after a loud liner to right, and the third useless pop up of the inning ends it. Still 2-1, and we're into the sixth.

I know people who are at this game, and no, I'm not jealous of them. Yikes.

The grounds crew comes out again for the infield, and what might have been a quick game has really slowed down dramatically from all of the yardwork. Hamels gets Iwamura on a high and wide strike to lead the sixth, and the umpiring is really getting questioned now. Hamels' third strikeout is backed up by Crawford chopping out to Howard. Hamels is missing more in the bad elements, but he's still working quickly and confidently. On a 2-2 count, Upton manages an infield single on a grounder up the middle to Rollins. Fox thinks Upton won't run in the mud, and the lead he's taking says no. Buck and McCarver are now mutinying on the umpires because Upton is slower in the mud. Waah, Fox, Waah. Upton doesn't seem to be conceding the point, as he draws throws to first... and Upton steals the base anyway. I guess we can keep playing after all!

1-1 to Pena. Temperature down to 39 now. Yeesh. Rays' dugout yapping a lot. Hamels pulls the string on a change, and it's 2-2. Philly Fan does itself proud with noise in misery. Pena makes them hate him even more by calling time. Pena lines a single to left, Upton scores, and the game is tied. Crap, crap, crap. Game's tied, and Pena's the reason why. A passed ball strike to Longoria sends Pena to second. It's nightmare time for Philly Fan. Longoria lines out to Victorino, and that's the sixth inning; 2-2 tie... and that's your rain delay.

Well, on the bright side, Philly Fan... anyone that can throw a post-game riot in this weather has well and truly earned their tipped car. More later if we have game.

Philadelphia is One Win Away from Baseball Euphoria!

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 19:55:17 -0500

After this weekend the Phillies have taken a commanding 3 games to 1 lead over the Rays going into tonight’s game at home at Citizen’s Bank Park.

In game 3, the Phillies 45 year old starter Jamie Moyer pitched better than anyone thought was possible against the Rays Matt Garza (MVP of the ALCS). He pitched 6.1 innings and allowed only 3 runs in a 5-4 9th inning win by the Phillies.

This one wasn’t pretty as each team had late inning errors and bad calls by the umpires once again. This time it was on a bang bang play at 1B where the nearly 46 year old pitcher dove and flipped the ball to Howard at 1B who caught it barehanded before the runner’s foot hit the bag. At least that’’s what the replay clearly showed. By the way, kudos goes out to FOX for their new picture in picture instant replay that showed this call as an error in a freeze frame. This runner came around to score the game tying run at 4 all in the top of the 8th.

In the bottom of the 9th, you saw defensive replacement for LF Pat Burrell, Eric Bruntlett get hit by a pitch, then with the Flyin’ Hawaiian, CF Shane Victorino at bat looking to bunt the runner along only to see the new pitcher Grant Balfour throw a wild pitch inside that almost hits the Hawaiian. Bruntlett scampers to second and then to third on an errant throw by Navarro (Rays catcher) that landed in CF. Victorino is then walked as was pinch hitter Dobbs who hot for 3B Feliz. Then with the bases loaded and no on out, up stepped hot hitting Phillies catcher, Carlos Ruiz. Rays manager Joe Maddon then brings in RF Ben Zobrist (the Rays SS a year ago who became a super utility man in 2008) to play as a 5th infielder directly behind the 2B bag. When play resumes, Ruiz hits a slow chopper half way down 3B that Longoria barehanded, but has no chance to get Bruntlett who scored from 3B. What a finish and a bold and correct move by losing manager Joe Maddon none-the-less.

Game 4 is the only blowout of this series as the Phillies won 10-2. The Rays starter Andy Sonnanstine was just a little off his game, but the Phillies bats came alive with a thunderous series of blasts off the bats of Howard (2), Werth and Blanton (yes, the Phillies starting pitcher). This was Blanton’s first career HR and the first by a pitcher in the World Series since Ken Holtzman of the A’s hit one in 1974. He hit it off of Edwin Jackson who came in after Sonnanstine.

The Rays just haven’t played up to the hype they built for themselves this magical year. BJ Upton has cooled off and their pitching hasn’t been as effective as it was in the LDS or the LCS. Not to mention that the biggest part of the Rays offense, their number 3 and 4 hitters, 1B Carlos Pena and 3B Evan Longoria have yet to get their first hits of the series. At least one of these two has to get hot if they are going to have a chance in beating the determined Phillies. So far, the Rays just haven’t played well enough, all around, to win this series.

Game 5 is tonight in the city of brotherly love and if the Phillies win, it will be their first World Series victory since 1980 and I believe, only the third such victory in franchise history. The match up is a repeat of game 1 between the Rays Scott Kazmir who pitched well, going up against the Phillies Ace of their staff, Cole Hamels. Hamels is 4-0 in the playoffs this year and the Phillies have not lost at home this post season. This may be all she wrote as the fat lady get’s ready to possibly sing tonight in Philadelphia.

Evan Longoria afraid of spiders, snakes, and World Series

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 19:52:28 -0500

PHILADELPHIA, PA — Prior to this week, Evan Longoria had only two major fears: spiders and snakes. However, teammates from the Tampa Bay Rays report that Longoria can safely add a third item to this list of things that give him the jibbly-wibblies — the World Series. “We always knew lil Evan was afraid of spiders [...]

What A Wacky, Bizarre Little Ending There

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 02:52:47 -0500

Back and forth thing going on in Philly last night after they got the tarp up at about 10 PM Eastern, wasn't it? The Phillies built up a 4-1 lead on homers by Carlos Ruiz in the 2nd and Chase Utley and Ryan Howard going back to back in the sixth. In between, the wind denied Evan Longoria a two-run shot in the top of the sixth off Jamie Moyer, the Pennsylvania native, who got the breaks and threw well for his six and a third of work -- and made every announcer joke about possible relation to Gene Simmons after that long fly ball by Longoria.

The seventh and eighth innings got weird.

Carl Crawford bunted his way on in the top of the 7th, followed by a double by catcher Dioner Navarro. Gabe Gross grounded in Crawford, and Jason Bartlett grounded in Navarro to get within one run. The eighth gave us the Bossman Junior Show, as B.J. Upton hustled out an infield hit against Ryan Madsen and then proceeded to steal second and third with amazing jumps. Carlos Ruiz threw past third baseman Pedro Feliz, allowing Upton to score and tying the game.

J.P. Howell came in with Jayson Werth on in the bottom of the eighth with nobody out. Werth stole second with Chase Utley up, but Howell pulled the string on him and got him to whiff. Howell caught Werth leaning towards third and picked him off, then got Ryan Howard looking.

J.C. Romero held the Rays off in the 9th, and in the bottom of the inning, Howell hit Eric Bruntlett with a pitch. Grant Balfour came on, and threw a wild pitch past a bunting Shane Victorino. Bruntlett ran for second, and then headed to third when Navarro's throw went into the outfield.

Joe Maddon then got Ben Zobrist in from right field and played five infielders, walking Victorino and pinch hitter Greg Dobbs to pitch to Ruiz. Ruiz hit a dirty little chopper up the third base line, and Brunlett scored with no one out to finish this one just before 2 AM Eastern....

Wild stuff. Game 4 is tonight in the 8:30 range, and since there's no NFL game this weekend, there will be a live-blog.

Yellow Submarine

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 02:40:46 -0500

Sitting somewhere deep in the Rays bullpen lies a relief pitcher who could be the most vital player on the Rays entire roster. He is half man, half submarine, and is absolutely lethal against right handed hitters. Jayson Werth and Pat Burrell, you both are on notice. I hope you both have fun hitting against a pitcher, who almost underhands the ball to home plate as his right arm swings down to the dirt of mound. Ahhh, the beauty of a 77 MPH fastball, submarine style. Of course, the man I'm talking about is Chad Bradford.

Bradford, who was acquired by the Rays from the Orioles in August, is not a household name. Most casual fans have never heard of him except as "that guy who throws funny." However, there is no one else I would want on the mound against a righty in a big spot if I am the Rays. Sure Dan Wheeler has been good this season and yes, Grant Balfour does throw magnificently hard, but neither of these guys can do what Bradford does. I know because I've watched it.

When Bradford was a Met in 2006, he was part of the specialist twin towers featuring himself and lefty specialist Pedro Feliciano. Bradford quickly became a favorite of Mets manager Willie Randolph and Mets fans alike because of his unique throwing style and dominance against right handed hitters. Once the postseason rolled around, Bradford's role changed from a middle reliever to one of the first guys out of the pen. Willie Randolph had that much faith in Bradford. Against the Cardinals in the NLCS, Bradford became Mr. Reliable out of the pen by routinely getting Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen, David Eckstein, and Yadier Molina out. These guys had no shot against the submarine styles of Chad Bradford. Unfortunately for me, Bradford left the Mets after the 2006 season and quite honestly, my life, and the Mets, have never been the same.

So that's the Bradford I knew. The submariner will go down as one of my favorite relievers of all time and one of the most dependable and reliable against righties. Rays fans, enjoy him while you can. Enjoy watching Bradford submarine a ball over to first base like he did in game 6 of the ALCS. Enjoy watching righties look downright terrible against him. Mr. Maddon, Bradford is golden in a big spot, put him in...have faith. Rays fans will learn to love him like I did.

And trust me, he will come up big in the World Series. Just watch.

Top 11 Takeaways From World Series Game One

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 01:34:58 -0500

by DMtShooter, Five Tool Tool

What's this -- a non-chuckebutt list? Yeah, I'm just as surprised as you are.

11. Surprise hero tonight -- Pedro Feliz. Two for three with a walk and a great stab and start of a 5-4-3 DP that was huge. He'll probably go to the bench with cause in Game Two for Greg Dobbs and Matt Stairs, but he was big for them tonight.

10. The Phillies really think they can steal bases in this series. They were 3-for-3 tonight with a double steal, and were a foul tip or two away from probably having a few more. Keep it in mind for later.

9. As good as Cole Hamels is, this might have been his "worst" start of the postseason, and he's a borderline balk call away from maybe giving up the lead. He's also thrown over 250 innings this season now, and is still under 25 years of age. Unless there's a rainout or some other freaking development, he's not starting three times in this series.

8. BJ Upton's night: 0 for 4, two GIDPs (neither of which looked like he was busting it down the line), and one outfield assist. He's still a ticking time bomb and scary as hell for Philly Fan... but someone might want to let him know he's playing in a World Series, rather than a beer league game.

7. The Phillies left 11 men on base and spent most of the night lacking the one big hit that would have made the game comfortable, rather than a grind. Prime culprits were Jimmy Rollins and (especially) Ryan Howard... and they can't win three more games in this Series until one or both of them start contributing, because Cole Hamels won't pitch every night.

6. For the Rays, Akinori Iwamura was an all-night toothache, with a 3 for 4 night and an RBI and a walk. If the guy simply stole bases, he'd be a monster in fantasy leagues.

5. As good as Brad Lidge has been, Ryan Madson might have better stuff and recent results. Not that the Rays bully looked in any way weak, either.

4. Both teams made errors at first base without damage to their pitchers. The only difference is that when Carlos Pena drops a ball, it's news. For Howard, it's not. Telling.

3. Both managers went for a reach in their starting lineups -- Ben Zobrist in right field for the Rays, and Chad Coste at DH for the Phillies. Neither move worked out really well, but at least Zobrist got a knock. Coste looked outclassed out there, especially against Grant Balfour.

2. A 3-2 game... and it took 3.5 hours, and ended around midnight. Bring back the bullpen car, dammit!

1. NUmber of all-time Phillies World Series wins: Nine. In 125 years in operation. So, um, savor it, Philly Fan...

Building the 2008 Rays

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 19:20:33 -0500

So how exactly did the Rays get their World Series roster? Here's how.

Doin It Through the Draft

You know what sucking for a long time gets you? It gets you a lot of draft picks in the top 5. It gets you the "can't miss" prospects. Start with a core of top 50 draft picks and sprinkle in some late round steals and you've got the biggest building blocks.

David Price 2007 Round 1 Pick 1
BJ Upton 2002 Round 1 Pick 2
Evan Longoria 2006 Round 1 Pick 3
Rocco Baldelli 2000 Round 1 Pick 6
Carl Crawford 1999 Round 2 Pick 52 (1st pick of the 2nd round)
Fernando Perez 2004 Round 7 Pick 195
James Shields 2000 Round 16 Pick 466
Andy Sonnastine 2004 Round 13 375

Tradin Garbage for Gold

What's another step to forming a great team? Pulling off trades in which you completely rip off the other squad.

Scott Kazmir & Joselo Diaz from the Mets for Victor Zambrano & BartolomA(c) Fortunato. Nothing says rip off like 20 year old beast Scott Kazmir in 2004 for Victor Zambrano.

Matt Garza, Jason Bartlett & Eduardo Morlan from the Twins for Delmon Young, Jason Pridie & Brendan Harris. The Rays decided to go with pitching over hitting and traded top prospect Young and a solid shortstop for Top Prospect Garza and a solid shortstop. Not a complete ripoff.

JP Howell from the Royals for Fernando Cortez and Joey Gathright. Joey Gathright is fast that's it.

Edwin Jackson & Chuck Tiffany from the Dodgers for Danys Baez and Lance Carter. The Rays brought in Jackson hoping he would regain the form that made him a top prospect. He's been good at times but not great.

Willy Aybar & Chase Fontaine from the Dodgers for Jeff Ridgway. Never heard of any of these other guys.

Dioner Navarro, Jae Seo and Justin Ruggiano from the Dodgers for Mark Hendrickson & Toby Hall. Navarro was the starter over Russell Martin until he got hurt and when Martin played out of his head in 06 the Dodgers didn't need him anymore.

Grant Balfour from the Brewers for Seth McClung. Seth McClung was ok for the Brewers but I'm sure they would rather have Balfour back.

Ben Zobrist & Mitch Talbot from the Astros for Aubrey Huff. Huff was gonna be a free agent so they spun him off for 2 players. Not a ripoff really just a rebuilding move.

Dan Wheeler from the Astros for Ty Wigginton. Pretty even, but again trading hitting for pitching.

Chad Bradford from the Orioles for John Cass. Beat out other squads for Bradford's services.

Gabe Gross from the Brewers for Josh Butler. Never heard of Butler but I don't think Gross is really good.

Michel Hernandez from the Pirates for Cash. They essentially needed a backup catcher and got Hernandez on August 31st this year.

The Free Agent Market? Really the Rays do that?

Trever Miller 1 year 1.6 Million: They brought back old man Trever Miller and well, he's not that important.

Carlos Pena 1 Year 0.8 Million + 3 Year 24.25 Extension: Pena was signed off the scrap heap of both the Red Sox and Yankees in the 2007 offseason. He was signed to a Minor league contract and because of the great 2007 campaign was given a massive extension in January of this year.

Cliff Floyd 1 Year 3 Million: Clifford is a solid role model for the youngster but his time as a stud is long gone.

Akinori Iwamura 3 Years 7.7 Million: Not a superstar but an all around solid player. Gets the job done at leadoff and has a great glove.

Ryan Rowland-Smith Blogs on His Playoff Thoughts and How You Can Meet Him!

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 16:51:07 -0500

Seattle Mariners pitcher Ryan Rowland-Smith just posted a new blog with his thoughts on the playoffs & World Series, what he's up to during his offseason and invites fans to meet him at DJ's Sports Cards on November 3rd!