Oct 29th 2008 10:28PM by Pat Lackey (author feed)

After a 46-hour rain delay, the Philadelphia Phillies finally finished off the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 5 of the World Series with a 4-3 win to clinch the 2008 World Series. They got lead off doubles from Geoff Jenkins in the sixth and Pat Burrell in the seventh and both runs came home to score, which gave them the edge after the restart in the sixth inning at 2-2.

It’s their first World Championship since the 1980 World Series and Philly’s first title in any sports since 1983. It’s likely that Phillies’ fans could care less if Peter Gammons thinks the rainout made this the worst World Series ever. Cole Hamels didn’t get the win, but he did pick up the MVP award for the Series thanks to his two solid starts in Games 1 and 5.

As for the Rays, well, every key player should be back from their 97-win team that came awfully close to winning the World Series. They’re incredibly young and the sky is the limit for many of their players. They’re in an awfully tough division, but they’re not going back to the punchline that they used to be.

Oct 29th 2008 11:45PM by Pat Lackey (author feed)
In a game that boils down to 3 1/2 innings, even the smallest mistake can cost either team. The team that gets fewer at-bats has even less margin for error. That was the situation that the Rays found themselves in tonight and in the end, it was probably their mistakes that kept them from extending this World Series. First, Joe Maddon left J.P. Howell in the game to bunt Jason Bartlett from first to second with one out in the seventh. Bartlett then crazily tried to score from second on a grounder up the middle to Chase Utley and was thrown out by a wide margin at the plate. In the bottom of the inning, Howell, the lefty, gave up a double to Pat Burrell, which resulted in the winning run.

We can quibble with details (Maddon wanted the lefty to throw breaking pitches to Burrell, but Burrell had been struggling with everything in this series), but the fact is this: the Rays came tantalizingly close to winning the World Series this year and they didn’t. The team that had never won more than 70 games, grew up, won 97 during the season, eight more in the playoffs, and fell three wins short of the ultimate goal. It may not be the ending they wanted, but it was one helluva run nonetheless .

That’s likely no consolation for Tampa tonight, but I’m not going to be the first or last person to tell you that the Rays are not the Rockies or Tigers. This is a team that’s built for at least another year and probably two more before the payroll starts to run high enough for them to have to start trading away good talent. Even when that happens, they’re a very well run team with Andrew Friedman at the helm. They’re sad tonight, but they’ve got every reason to think that they’re going to get another chance at this.

Oct 30th 2008 9:00AM by Matt Snyder (author feed)

You’ve hopefully heard the news by now. The Philadelphia Phillies are the World Series champions of baseball after knocking off the heavily favored Tampa Bay Rays.

The other night, during a live chat, I mentioned something about how the die-hard Phillies fans deserve this more than the Rays fans. It’s a slippery slope to be sure, and likely just a bad choice of words, to say something like this. Frankly, no fan deserves anything. We spend our time and money on these teams, and probably care way too much about them — if you ask the majority of Americans. That’s the thing, though, we die-hards know this and embrace it.

You want to know why I said the fans of Philly deserve it more? Because they’ve had more suffering. The only reason a fan puts himself/herself through the ringer for six months every season is the hope that there will eventually be some sort of payoff. The fans of Philadelphia had been waiting for another one since 1980. The Rays didn’t even come into existence until 1998.Continue Reading

Oct 28th 2008 11:00AM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
The infield fly rule is used in baseball all the way from youth leagues to the majors. During a pivotal part of the World Series game last night, however, it was ignored by the umpires. Why? Let’s sort this out.

Last night, the Phillies had runners on first and second with one out, and a pop-up was hit to Carlos Pena at first base. The umpires, as I said earlier, chose not to call the infield fly rule in this instance.

We were told over the air by Joe Buck the reason for the no-call. The umpires have claimed that, because of the conditions, catching the ball required more than an “ordinary effort.” I can’t disagree that it was taking an extraordinary effort to catch the pop-ups in those conditions.

By definition of the rule, this is a textbook infield fly rule case.

Before we go any further, let’s review the rule, via MLB themselves:Continue Reading

Oct 28th 2008 11:24AM by Tom Fornelli (author feed)
Yesterday I told you about Joe Maddon and the Tampa Bay Rays wondering what the dark patch on the brim of Phillies pitcher Joe Blanton’s hat was on Sunday night in Philadelphia. Maddon and the Rays thought that Blanton had an illegal substance on his hat, and Blanton explained after the game that the mark on his hat was just “dirt from the ball” that had accumulated there over time.

Well, that explanation didn’t quite cut it for Maddon, who was still talking about it before the debacle that was Game 5 last night.”Umm, I don’t think so,” Maddon said Monday. “That’s very unusual. How many guys have that mark on their hat?” Uh, Joe? A lot of players have that mark on their hat. Hell, have that mark on White Sox hat, and I’ve never played a Major League game with that hat on. You see, Joe, while wearing a hat a person often adjusts the cap while wearing it. He takes it off to scratch his head, or just to let his head breathe, and when he does that he usually touches the hat in the center of the brim.

Are you wearing a hat right now, Joe? Take it off. Okay, where did you grab it with your hand? Ever notice how you always grab it in the same place? Well, when you’re playing baseball on a mound of dirt it tends to get on your hands from time to time. Then when you use your hands to adjust or remove your hat, guess where the dirt rubs off?

Oct 28th 2008 11:30AM by Will Brinson (author feed)
If you took a large sum of money to Las Vegas and placed it on the Phillies to win last night, well, life is looking pretty good for you. Actually, it’s looking pretty good no matter what the sum you bet, because Las Vegas is paying out all of the bets that were placed on Philadelphia (most of them at -170).

Confused? Of course you are. Fortunately, we have a sports book director to explain.
Las Vegas sports books are paying off Game 5 side bets on Philadelphia, which was about a minus-170 favorite. Wagers on totals and run-line bets are being refunded because rules stipulate that at least 8 1/2 innings must be played.

“We’re just following the regular baseball rules. This is a very common rule,” Las Vegas Hilton sports book director Jay Kornegay said. “We can’t make exceptions.
And, as Kornegay said, if the Rays come back and win and you put money on them, well, it’s one of the “worst bad beats” in the history of sports.

And he’s dead on, too. The reality is that the Rays could win the game (although the entire series has already been tainted by Bud Selig’s stink) and whatever money various gamblers put on them to cover simply won’t pay off.Continue Reading

Oct 28th 2008 1:35PM by Josh Alper (author feed)
Score another World Series win for Mother Nature. Game 5 won’t be picked up this evening because of the inclement weather currently pelting Philadelphia. A mixture of rain and snow is falling at the moment and forecasts aren’t looking any better as the day goes on so there won’t be any baseball tonight.

Bud Selig issued a press release announcing the postponement about a half hour ago.
“While obviously we want to finish Game Five as soon as possible, the forecast for today does not allow for us to continue the game this evening. We are closely monitoring tomorrow’s forecast and will continue to monitor the weather on an hourly basis. We will advise fans as soon as we are able to make any final decisions with respect to tomorrow’s schedule.”
The weather report isn’t much better for Wednesday, so it may be some time yet before we crown a champion for the 2008 baseball season.

MLB earned much of the criticism they got for the handling of last night’s game, but they deserve credit for getting the word out well ahead of time today. It’s an imperfect solution but keeps people from making a futile trip to the ballpark and stops them from trying to force the finish of the game on an unplayable field.

Oct 28th 2008 3:20PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Ok, Bud. You are America’s whipping boy today. We can fix that, though. Hop into my DeLorean, and we’re setting time circuits to 4:00 pm EST, October 27, 2008.

So you have another chance to not be caught in the middle of yet another self-inflicted debacle. Just follow these few steps, and everything will be fine …

1. Check the freaking radar. I know you have the ability, because it’s already been announced Game 5 won’t be finished tonight.

2. Realize what is coming, and be proactive instead of reactive, for once. The weather is going to get nasty at some point during the game, so you need to figure out how this game and series can be salvaged. Go meet with front office personnel of both teams, including the managers, and the umpires. Tell them that you are issuing an executive order that the game will not be over until nine innings are completed. Notify the umpires to stop play the second they believe the conditions merit it, and when play resumes — whether it’s Halloween or Thanksgiving — the game will pick up from the point it left off.

3. Hold a press conference and notify everyone else.Continue Reading

Oct 28th 2008 3:30PM by Tom Fornelli (author feed)
Hey, what do you know, it turns out it isn’t just bloggers, the media, and the fans who can’t stand commissioner Bud Selig. Apparently the players do too. Just like the rest of us watching the game at home last night, the players on the Phillies and Rays had no idea what was going to happen either, and they all watched Selig’s impromptu press conference as well.

Also, just like you were cursing Selig during the press conference, so were a couple members of the Phillies.”That (expletive deleted) guy,” one pitcher said as he saw commissioner Bud Selig before walking out the back door of the clubhouse. “I wouldn’t let him supervise one of my (bowel movements). He has no clue. Not one (expletive deleted) clue.”

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

“No, no, no, that’s all wrong! You’re stressing too much, you just need to relax. Hey, you know, I just got an idea. That toilet of yours isn’t very big. If you really want to maximize the amount of feces you can fit in there in one sitting, you’re going to need to build a new toilet. The added fecal capacity will help you compete with larger market toilets. Let’s just suspend this bowel movement until I deem your bathroom ready to handle it. I’m not letting a wonderful crap end like this.”

Oct 28th 2008 7:30PM by Andrew Johnson (author feed)
In a way, the furor over the suspension of Game 5, and indeed the moral outrage over every one of its flaws, is flattering to baseball. People really care about the game — the history, the way it’s played and so on. Even though the NFL has surpassed it in popularity, controversies like these, and the indignation they inspire, are a reminder that baseball holds a special place in the American consciousness.

Look, Bud Selig deserves a tremendous amount of criticism for the way he handled the events of Game 5.

He deserves it because he either made up a rule on the fly that should have already been on the books or because he didn’t inform enough people, including apparently the players(!), that every World Series game would go the full nine innings. And he deserves it because he or the umpires should have halted play before the fateful top of the sixth inning.

The problem is that the criticism is going to get way out of hand because bashing Bud Selig and baseball has just about replaced the national pastime as the national pastime.Continue Reading