Phillies vs. Rays

Philadelphia -162 vs. Tampa Bay

Phillies fans emotional rollercoaster may continue tonight. Midway through Monday’s soggy Game 5, Philadelphia seemed destined to claim their first professional championship in the city since the early 1980’s. Up 2-0 nothing with their ace Cole Hamels on the mound, it seemed celebration was imminent.  Then the Rays tied it putting a stop to a premature celebration and then Mother Nature had her say. Despite raining heavily most of the game, it reached a breaking point when the rain and wind grew to heavy to continue in the 6th inning with the scored tied at 2 all. After a brief rain delay, the game was suspended. The weather was too lousy Tuesday to continue the game on what would have been the off day to travel back to Tampa Bay. Today they will attempt to finish Game 5 on what would have been the time and day for Game 6. Today’s forecast calls for clearing skies by the afternoon with a game time temperature in the high 30’s.

Philadelphia must put Game 5 behind them. The franchise has had plenty of demons over the years that may be weighing on their minds. But its quite simple for the Phillies, manage a run in tonight’s game which will begin in the 6th inning, at 2-2 and hold of Tampa Bay and they are World Champions. If Philadelphia were to lose, its off to Tampa Bay where rain delays will not happen as baseball fans may be thankful a game is being played in the gaudy Tropicana Field for the first time ever.

Games 6 and 7, if they are needed, have not been scheduled yet. One thing is for certain, Cole Hamels who if the Phillies could have scored a run before the rain washed out their Bottom of the 6th, could have been looking at his fifth win of the postseason. Instead his spot which is due up in the inning in which they resume will be removed for a pinch hitter and a new pitcher will take the mound in the Top of the 7th. The pitching matchup for the abbreviated game is uncertain. It appears even if the series is extended back to Florida that Hamels is done for the year. However if the game tonight gets washed out and/or if Major League Baseball decides to have an off day before moving to Tampa, he may have enough time to go on short rest if needed to start, or more likely relieve in Game 7.

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Tampa Bay vs. Philadelphia

Rays -162 vs. Phillies

Bucking the trend of recent LCS victors with long layoffs, the Phillies rode their ace Cole Hamels to draw first blood with the victory in Game 1 of the World Series. The NLCS MVP Hamels continued his October dominance Wednesday night as he shut down the explosive Tampa Bay Rays to win 3-2. This was the lefthander’s fourth victory in the postseason.

On the offensive side, the Phillies were almost equally stymied by Rays starter Scott Kazmir, but were able to push across one more run to win. The bulk of Philadelphia’s offense came in the first inning, one of the few innings that Kazmir seemed to struggle though. Chase Utley made him pay when he parked a changeup deep into the right field stands of Tropicana Field. Utley became a part of an exclusive fraternity of now 34 players who have hit a homerun on their first World Series at bat.

The pressure is clearly on Tampa Bay as they prepare for tonight’s Game 2. A loss tonight would be devastating for the Rays who face the next three games on the road. The Rays are a cool bunch, however, and have weathered any storm that has come their way. Just over a week ago, the Rays lost to the Red Sox in Game 1 of the ALCS at home and still clinched the series in 7, taking 2 out of 3 games in Beantown. And while Citizens’ Bank Park will allow the Philadelphia home town fans to show their love to their National League Champion Phillies as they play at home for the first time since October 10, the Rays may be salivating at the chance to get their offense healthy and tee off in a hitters park, much like they did in Boston.

As much as Philadelphia would love to throw Hamels out on the mound for every game, they will turn to Brett Myers. In turn the Rays will turn to their solid number two starter Steve Shields to be the stopper and gain Tampa Bay a split as they head to Philadelphia for the next three games beginning Saturday night.

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Philadelphia vs. Tampa Bay

Phillies -111 vs. Rays

In a prefect world from a ratings standpoint, these teams would not be playing in the Fall Classic. It was apparent that baseball and its media outlets would have loved a Cubs-Red Sox, a Cubs-White Sox or a Dodgers-Red Sox matchup. Even though Philadelphia is one of the largest television markets in the country, the fact that they are not the national draw Fox had hoped for. Perhaps even worse are the Tampa Bay Rays who just now have a growing fan base in their home town. Either way these are the teams that earned a trip to the World Series and neither team nor their fans should or will apologize for making it.

Both teams are scrambling to be known as the underdog. Most of the year they were. Philadelphia was not picked by most to win their division for the second straight season nor were they given much of a chance in the postseason. Tampa Bay was doubted every step of the way through the regular and postseason. Yet here are both teams.

The best of seven series begins with Game 1 Wednesday night in St. Petersburg. The series will shift to the City of Brotherly Love for the first time since 1993 for Games 3, 4 and, if necessary, 5 Saturday through Monday. If needed, the series will then return to Tropicana Field for Game 6 and 7 on October 29 and 30.

Game 1’s pitching matchup has not yet been set because the Rays are still deciding what their World Series rotation will be.  One thing is clear, however, Phillies’ ace Cole Hamels will take his three postseason victories and 1.23 ERA to the hill. Hamels won the LCS MVP for his excellent work.

Going into the series, both teams are healthy and it is hard to give one of the teams an edge, although the underdog mantra both teams claim actually belongs to Philadelphia as Las Vegas has determined the Rays as the favorite. And with recent history, it is easy to see why this is the case. Last year the Colorado Rockies steamrolled through the end of the regular season and the postseason to win 21 of their last 22 games.  Sweeps of the Phillies and Arizona Diamondbacks kept the Rockies resting while Boston battled back from a 3-1 deficit against Cleveland to win the American League Pennant in 7 games. The Rockies seemed to have lost their edge and momentum while the Red Sox were fresh and won the World Series in four. A similar situation emerged in 2006 when the Detroit Tigers swept Oakland in the ALCS and had a week long wait for the Cardinals to wrap up their series victory over the Mets. The heavily favored Tigers seemed out of synch, committing errors and slumped at the plate as St. Louis topped them in five games. The Phillies took the field last a week ago Wednesday which will give them the same time off as the Tigers and Rockies, while the Rays played Sunday night.

With Hamels taking the mound, the Phillies look to turn the tide on the recent trend and steal at least one game on the road before going home for three games in Philadelphia.

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Red Sox vs. Rays

Boston Red Sox -1 1/2 vs. Tampa Bay Rays

With another win Thursday in Boston, the Tampa Bay Rays will clinch the American League Pennant. Let me repeat that. With another win Thursday in Boston, the Tampa Bay Rays will clinch the American League Pennant. Imagine reading that statement in April without falling on the floor and laughing uncontrollably.

Sure, Tampa Bay was predicted to be better this season, but this much better?  Plus, pundits have been predicting good things for the team formerly known as the Devil Rays for a couple of years now and nothing had happened.

But 2008 has been a totally different year in the Bay area.

And the 2008 ALCS has been totally different than the 2008 regular season for Boston and Tampa Bay. Boston was 1-8 in Tropicana Field this season and Tampa Bay was 2-7 in Fenway Park, but these trends have flipped in the postseason. The Red Sox won Game 1 and nearly stole Game 2 in St. Petersburg, while the Rays have convincingly won both games in Boston thus far.

Every step of the way this season, the Rays have been doubted. They started the season strong, but stumbled shortly after and everyone buried them. They soared in the middle of the season to first place, everyone said it would not last, surely the Red Sox and/or Yankees would catch them. They stumbled down the stretch, letting Boston get back in the race. “That’s it,” pundits said, “the only hope Tampa Bay has is for the wildcard.” They righted the ship and claimed the AL East crown by playing well against the Red Sox in late season head-to-head matchups. Certainly their lack of experience would doom them in the playoffs, especially against the postseason veterans in Boston’s lineup, they all said. Each time there has been doubt, the Rays have answered loudly. Their latest loud response was Tuesday’s clobbering of Boston, 13-4, to step into the driver’s seat of the ALCS by leading 3 games to 1.

Boston is staying calm and saying the right things. After all, everyone knows, the Red Sox overcame a 3-0 deficit in the ALCS just four seasons ago. They were in a similar spot then as well, with the middle games being in Boston and having to stage the improbably comeback primarily on the road.  This will be the case again for the Boston Red Sox as they take it one game at a time, beginning with Game 5 Thursday at Fenway. To get their comeback started, the Red Sox will throw Game 1 starter Dice-K Matsuzaka up against the Rays and hope he will duplicate his success of shutting out Tampa last Friday night to get the series back to sunny Florida.

Meanwhile the Rays hopes of achieving their first ever World Series berth will ride on ace Scott Kazmir, who has been penciled in instead of James Shields, whose turn it was.

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Phillies vs. Dodgers

Philadelphia -1 1/2 vs. Los Angeles

Is there any question that baseball playoffs could be sports’ most exciting? Monday night’s intense and nail biting Game 4 of the National League Championship Series certainly proved the case. Two sources, one somewhat likely, the other not so much, were the heroes of the evening.

First off was Shane Victorino. His two run blast tied the score and set up journeyman Matt Stairs’ heroics as he sent another two run homer into the stunned L.A. faithful’s lap, giving Philadelphia a lead they would not relinquish thus achieving a stranglehold on the series, 3 games to 1.

The theater pauses for a night for both teams to catch their breath. It will remain to see who will benefit from the night off, but one thing appears certain: both teams can not be ecstatic about the day off.  With such a dramatic late inning victory, the Phillies would probably want to play and try to clinch the pennant tonight. By sitting a night, Philadelphia will certainly lose the momentum of Monday’s win. On the other side of Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles probably wants to play ASAP to erase the bitter taste of Monday, while capturing the emotion and stellar play of their Game 3 victory from Sunday night. Neither team will get their way as they wait until Wednesday for the do-or-die Game 5.

Which Dodger team will take the field Wednesday? The pressure is clearly in their corner and this is a team who arguably had the least amount of pressure all season long. Playing in the worst division in baseball, the Dodgers were the best of a sorry bunch and had no real pressure for the division crown late in the season.  In the NLDS, L.A. were monumental underdogs from the first pitch of Game 1 in Wrigley to the sweep-clinching Game 3 victory. Now they face pressure and it will remain to see how they will respond. And before Dodger fans can comfort themselves with the presence of Joe Torre on the bench, know this: with Monday’s loss, L.A.’s skipper has lost seven of his past LCS games.

The Phillies are in a great spot. If they lose Wednesday, they travel back to Philadelphia to attempt to clinch in front of their home fans and are 4-0 in the 2008 playoffs in front of those fans. Of course long time Phillie fans will never accept victory before it is bestowed upon them for the many monumental collapses over the years. If they win Wednesday, they will earn a trip to the Fall Classic for the first time since 1993.

Things won’t be easy for the Dodgers as they throw their ace and Game 1 winner Cole Hamels up against Chad Billingsley, who was shelled in his last start versus the Phils and lasted only 2 1/3 innings.

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Angels vs. Red Sox

Angels -1 1/2 vs Red Sox

This series will be baseball at its best!

On paper, the Angels should just destroy the Red Sox. As of right now, the Angels are arguably the most talented team in baseball. The Angels seem to do no wrong, but if the Red Sox are anything, it is resilient and unrelenting in the post season.

Angels’ manager Mike Scioscia has his boys playing better than ever! From K-Rod being the most dominant closer in baseball right now to Vladimir Guerrero playing like the AL MVP and Mark Teixeira being a gift from God for the offense. It is truly difficult to find fault when it comes to Angels’ baseball. They are just as solid as it comes.

Although the odds are against them, the Red Sox are no stranger to adversity. Whether it is injuries, players in slumps or Manny Ramirez’s of the world causing problems in the clubhouse, the Sox always seem to find a way to keep winning.

With Ramirez being traded to Los Angeles after an ugly divorce with the Sox and JD Drew playing in the Boston lineup still in question for the post season the Red Sox are still an incredibly talented team. The defending champs have it all from quality pitching, David Ortiz’s bat and a lineup full of role players and potential MVP candidates. No matter the circumstance it is hard to count the Red Sox out of contention.

The way the Angels have dominated everyone they have faced this season they should kick Terry Francona’s title defense to the curb with relative ease, but if any team were to end the Angels seemingly destine World Series campaign it is the Boston Red Sox. The boys from Boston can flip the switch at any given moment and turn into an unstoppable force causing all sorts of problems for the Angels.

This series should be a classic! Make sure you get the popcorn ready because these kinds of playoff series are what make baseball worth watching.

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Phillies vs. Brewers

Phillies – 200 vs. Brewers

The MLB season is officially over and the rough road to the Fall Classic is about to get underway with some pretty intriguing post season matchups. The division series that might be one of the best in recent memory will be the battle between a couple National League heavyweights in the Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies.

This five game series should be one of the most entertaining this post season as both teams have seemed to hit their strides coming into the playoffs. Ryan Howard is playing like the MVP of old at the plate and CC Sabathia is at the top of his game as the Brewers ace on the mound.

Although the Brewers have gone through some changes at manager, which happen seemingly only a moment ago, the team is riding an emotional high after rallying to get into the post season on the shoulders of their best acquisition ever in Sabathia.

The Phillies will also be pumped up and ready to go in this division series against Milwaukee as they look to prove that they are as talented as their lineup suggests. The Brewers may have their superstar pitcher playing at a high level, but one could argue that no one has played better in September than Phillies own MVP hopeful Ryan Howard.

This series will be a close one and could quite possibly go the distance if both teams play up to their full potential. The Philadelphia Phillies should pull this one out as the Brewers‘ best players may be a little too fatigued to keep up with a rested Phillies squad, but if history has taught us anything, it is that any thing can happen in the playoffs.

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Cubs vs. Dodgers

Cubs – 160 vs. Dodgers

The playoff matchups don’t get better than this one! The Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs have finally gotten their clubs out of mediocrity into World Series contenders again. The past few seasons have been pretty forgettable for both teams, but they finally look like they are ready to take the next step and make an impact in the post season.

All it takes is a glance at the Cubs payroll and one would think Chicago should take win series hands down (only the Yankees dish out more dough), but with Manny Ramirez putting the Dodgers back on the map by resurrecting the offense and hopes for a championship, Lou Piniella and his Cubbies might be in trouble.

Both teams have huge advantages coming into the NLDS. The Dodgers have Joe Torre who has won 4 World Series rings and has as much post season experience as anyone. Lou Piniella on the other hand also has a ring and his fair share of playoff experience. Each squad looks very promising and when they play at the top of their game they are as good as anyone.

The difference maker in this NL match up will be Manny Ramirez. When Manny is being Manny he is as tough an out as they come. Some say Alex Rodriguez is the best right handed batter today, but many underestimate Manny’s ability at the plate which in my opinion is unmatched in the MLB today.

Along with the rest of the compelling matchups in this year’s playoffs, this one could be the most entertaining. The Dodgers should come out on top in my opinion. They are too talented and lead by two proven winners in Torre and Ramirez. If the Dodgers fall apart early in this series like they have done in the past, then the Cubs might have a chance at breaking that 100 year streak under Piniella.

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Will the Yankees make the Playoffs?

One of the most amazing streaks in baseball history appears likely to end this year. The New York Yankees enter Monday 12.5 games out of first place in the AL East, closer to last than first, and seven games out of a wild-card spot as they attempt to reach the postseason for a 14th consecutive season.

Not what was expected for a team with a $200 million-plus payroll and 14 current or former All-Stars on the roster.

Injuries have decimated New York’s pitching staff this season, with ace Chien Ming-Wang having missed much of the season and youngsters Ian Kennedy, Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain all having stints on the disabled list.

GM Brian Cashman has taken the blame for the Bombers’ slide this year, as it was his decision to not go out and get a Johan Santana-type starter but instead count on those young pitchers who all have disappointed except for Chamberlain.

Asked how much of this is on his shoulders, Cashman accepted full blame and pointed none toward first-year manager Joe Girardi: “All of it. I’m the general manager. So if you want, we can clear this out of the way. This is not a Joe Girardi issue.”

The Yankees led the American League in runs last year with 968, 81 more than the next-highest-scoring team, and brought back basically the same team in terms of position players. But the 2008 drop-off has been severe. The Yankees are on pace to score 783 runs and currently rank eighth in the league.

Second baseman Robinson Cano and outfielder Melky Cabrera have regressed at the plate this year, catcher Jorge Posada was ineffective when healthy (he’s done for the year), outfielder Hideki Matsui missed much of the summer, shortstop Derek Jeter is finally beginning to show his age, and reigning AL MVP Alex Rodriguez can’t get a hit when it matters (.242 with runners in scoring position).

According to coolstandings.com, which simulates the remainder of the regular season 1 million times every day to determine the playoff chances for every MLB team, the Yankees have a 3 percent chance of making the playoffs. New York basically needs a collapse by Boston and either Minnesota or the White Sox to win the AL wild card. Even if the Yankees finish the season 19-7, that gives them 91 wins. That means the Red Sox would have to go 12-24 and the Twins 14-21 just to have identical records.

The problem for New York is the schedule: Among the final series are three games against the AL West-leading Angels, three games against the East-leading Rays, four against the Central-leading White Sox and then a season-ending six-game road trip at Toronto and Boston .

With that schedule, even a 3 percent chance of reaching the playoffs seems high. So you might want to make a trek to Yankee Stadium by Sunday, Sept. 21, if you’ve never been there. Because that matchup against the Orioles will be the final baseball game in the House That Ruth Built.

Dave Johnson, an experienced oddsmaker, had the following to say regarding the Yankees chances, “We expect a large number of the betting public to bet the Yankees to make the playoffs. The odds at =15 to 1 are very attractive. Love them or hate them the Yankees are always one of the heaviest bets teams on a daily basis. AT this price we expect to take alot of action. People never count the Yankees out and we don’t expect this to be any different.”

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