I need not recap the past five games too much, since TV ratings, as expected, have been extraordinary.

I think any baseball fan (not of the Yankees, I suppose) is happy we’ll see a World Series Game Six for the first time since 2003, due primarily to AJ Burnett’s ineffectiveness on three days rest, and of course, the magical bat of one Chase Utley.

I picked the Phillies in five, especially after they split in New York, and was wrong.

I find it amazing that, especially coming into the late innings of Game Four, three of the Yanks best players — Teixeira, Cano, Rodriguez — were all hitting under .100 in the series, and yet the Yanks were on their way to a 3-1 lead.

I guess that means New York has outpitched Philly, recorded the outs when needed, caught the balls when necessary, had the key choppers and flares find holes or drop (especially Damon, Posada and Jeter, sans Monday night in the 9th), and that Ryan Howard, MVP of the NLCS, has done nothing offensively — other than tie the World Series record for strikeouts in just five games.

Considering this background, I think Philadelphia will lose the series, because:

1. Their bullpen simply won’t be able to hold late leads on the road. They were awful much of the season, decent in the first two rounds, but reverted backwards in Games Four and Five. If Madson, Lidge and others struggled in front of a supportive crowd, how will they fare in a hostile Bronx versus a delirious crowd hungering for their first world title in a decade? Not well, my friends.

2. Charlie Manuel, who, in 48 hours has gone from genius to moron, then back to genius, won’t bruise Ryan Howard’s ego and rightly hit him 5th or 6th Wednesday night. The big first baseman clearly won’t touch Andy Pettitte or C.C. Sabathia; meanwhile, Jayson Werth hit two homeruns off Pettitte in Game Three, and therefore should hit 4th. Otherwise, Howard will be a liability and extend his record for Ks in a world series/postseason. He has 21 punchouts in 45 lifetime World Series at bats. That’s really, really bad.

Throwing Pedro Martinez in Game Six, considering his mostly-solid work in Game Two, is a no-brainer, as is throwing Andy Pettitte, who won Game Six for New York vs. Anaheim.

But what about Game Seven?

The Yanks will turn to Sabathia, which is hard to argue, but for Philly? Cole Hamels is an emotional wreck, and J.A. Happ has 28 career big league starts.

As for the Yankee bullpen, Damaso Marte will be used as much as possible, plus Mariano Rivera, who, overall, has been his usual self. The rest of the Yankee pen has been underwhelming.

Yanks in…seven.

I think Pettitte loses Game Six, or does not get a decision. Two of his four starts this postseason has been substandard, and three days rest will be difficult for the 37 year old Louisianan. But Sabathia gives New York enough on Thursday night — especially with the impending indecision on Philly’s starter – to give the Yankees their 27th world championship.

Johnny Damon — six hits in the last two games — will keep chugging along, and is named MVP. (Though, naturally, this morning on ESPN radio, Buster Olney and Mike Greenberg mused that if Chase Utley homers tonight — thereby breaking Reggie Jackson’s record for dingers in a Fall Classic — he should get strong consideration for MVP, especially if no one on the Yanks has a big night, and Rivera gets an easy save in a 6-2 or 5-1 victory. I disagree for reasons I need not enumerate.)

**********

* – Charlie Manuel photo credit: Chris Gardner/Getty Images via About.com

In an intriguing matchup of the last two NL pennant winners, many believe Colorado is the favorite in this series again, but seriously, the Phils are the defending champs, winners of 93 games, with a stacked lineup as good as any in baseball, and due to their huge attendance this year, the gross/money to rent proven hurlers like Cliff Lee and Pedro Martinez to make a run at a repeat.

(Yes, Philly fans will angrily attack me for this as you did before, but you guys are nearly as “guilty” as the Yanks or Red Sox of acquiring key free agents to put you over the top — see Lidge, Brad in 2008, Ibanez, Raul this season as well as Werth, Jayson; Lee, Cliff; Martinez, Pedro, etc.)

Here is the TV schedule and the pitching matchups for the Rockies-Phillies LDS series:

Rockies-Phillies NLDS TV Schedule and Pitching Matchups

Harkening back to their magical 2007 run, the Rockies are quite dangerous, but I have major questions about their starting pitching. 

Jorge De La Rosa, their top winner, who pitched suspectly his last few starts, is now ruled out for the series. After he and Ubaldo Jimenez, the Rockies have the 20 million dollar duo of Aaron Cook and Jose Contreras, which shouldn’t exactly instill fear in the hearts of Chase Utley, Raul Ibanez, Jimmy Rollins, Jay Werth and Ryan Howard. 

Philadelphia’s incredible lineup socked nine homers in six games vs Colorado this season as the Phils took four of six. They simply have unparalleled hitting depth. And while so do the Rockies, they hit lefties poorly, and Philly could throw lefties — including 2008 World Series MVP Cole Hamels – in the first three games, definitely the first two at home, beginning with Cliff Lee. Colorado’s lineup, though perhaps not quite as impressive on paper, is still not to be underestimated.

In 2007, the Phils were guilty of that, and judging by their media “introducing” its fan base to Colorado as if they’re some unknown entity, we should hope this is not true again. I doubt it is. The Phils have an Appalachian skipper who is the antithesis of the sheltered northeastern baseball fan that only follow his team and its immediate rivals, and that is a very good thing. The calmness and lack of capriciousness from Charlie Manuel is the best thing to happen to Philadelphia baseball in eons.

And while few will deny the Phillies’ shaky bullpen will be the talk of their postseason, Colorado’s 4.53 bullpen ERA is worst among the eight playoff teams, despite the solid work of Houston Street. Big Ryan Madson or whomever closes in lieu of Brad Lidge , need not be a panacea, but he must be extremely effective if the Phils are to repeat, considering Lidge was literally perfect in 2008.

Two Octobers ago, the Rockies waltzed into Citizens Bank Yard and pummelled the shocked Phillies two afternoons in a row. This year’s version is 74-42 under Jim Tracy, as they arrive in the postseason as the NL’s hottest team. But this 2009 Philly team proved last year they learned from that. They’re not out for revenge, which is always preferred.

For more on the Rockies, go here.

The Phillies blueprint can be located here.

Each team has endured a bumpy road since they met in the 2008 World Series and, while the Rays are climbing toward the top of the AL East, the Phillies’ grasp on the NL East is tenuous. What will happen this week at Tropicana field?

Let’s make some MLB predictions.

Tuesday, June 23, 7:08 p.m. ET
Jamie Moyer (4-6, 6.35) vs David Price (1-1, 3.46)
MLB betting lines: Phillies +155, Rays -175

Is it swan song time for Jamie Moyer? It’s been an amazing run, but he may finally be out of gas, as his 6.35 ERA suggests. However, I have a feeling he helps bust the Phillies out of their six-game skid tonight. He has a somewhat useful 5.40 ERA on the road – good enough with the Phillies bats behind you – and he handled the Rays in the deciding game of the World Series. In fact, he held Evan Longoria and Carlos Pena hitless.

David Price is a special pitcher, so it’s understandable that sportsbooks favor the Rays. However, while many fans love his 30 strikeouts in 26 innings, it’s easy to forget his 18 walks during that time span. That’s simply too high for a major league pitcher, and the Phillies will punish him if he doesn’t hit the plate.

Pick: Phillies

Wednesday, June 24, 7:08 p.m. ET
Joe Blanton (4-3, 5.28) vs Matt Garza (4-5, 3.83)
MLB betting lines: Phillies +145, Rays -165

Time for Tampa to strike back. The Rays have to feel confident sending promising youngster Matt Garza to the hill against the Phillies. He’s quickly establishing himself as a big-game pitcher, having allowed just seven earned runs in 33.2 innings in five starts against the Yankees and Red Sox. Joe Blanton must have nightmares about Tropicana field, as he has a 7.64 ERA there. Carlos Pena has sweet dreams about facing Blanton, hitting .571 off the portly hurler. You have to give the edge to the Rays here.

Pick: Rays

Thursday June 25, 7:08 p.m. ET
Antonio Bastardo (2-2, 5.21) vs Andy Sonnanstine (5-7, 6.60)
MLB betting lines: Not posted yet

Oh, boy. Looks like the home run derby starts early this year. Andy Sonnanstine has been a special kind of bad in 2009 – the kind that usually earns you a ticket to Class-AAA. He’s allowed at least one homer in eight straight starts and 14 in total over that span. Is there any way he can handle a prolific power-hitting team like Philly?

Antonio Bastardo has taken his lumps (though I assume his jersey sales remain strong – what’s the price per head on those at Citizens Bank Park?), but only at home. He’s 2-0 with a 2.45 road ERA in his young career and is a good bet to survive on Thursday.

Pick: Phillies

And that is exactly what Ibanez did tonight, giving the Phillies a 6-3 victory over the New York Mets.

Ibanez went 1-5 with his lone hit, his 21st home run of the season, driving in the winning run plus two extra, giving him 58 RBIs on the season. The hit also extended Ibanez’s current hitting streak to 11 games. Ibanez’s homer also allowed the Phillies to extend their lead in the NL East to four games over the Mets, who lent credence to Cole Hamels’ recent statements that the Mets are choke artists.

(Oh, and because I’m unnecessarily obsessed with my fantasy baseball team for anyone interested, Ibanez led an offensive explosion by my fantasy team tonight, putting me ahead for the week in my current matchup.)

Well done Raul. Despite the oft-perpetrated perception that I’m a hater, I have been and will continue to be in your corner, rooting for your success to continue despite my indefatigable doubts about MLB as a whole. There is nothing you nor any Major League Baseball player can do right now to have my total trust in your accomplishments, except to keep putting up great numbers, be transparent about your testing, steadfast and upfront in your denials of any and all speculation, and never fail a test. And that is what I hope happens.

Because then, like with any process of rebuilding lost trust, it’s just a matter of time. And while that clock has begun, but the long hand still trails the short one by a little too wide a margin — for me at least.

But nothing would make me happier than for the entire situation of the past week to somehow lead to Raul Ibanez being the poster child for fans regaining trust in baseball players. Sure, it’s speculative to assume that he could be that guy, but no more or less speculative than my optimistic initial hypothesis or my speculative non-conclusion conclusion from Monday.

Because here’s one nice thing about speculation: it can cut both ways. And for whatever reason, probably just sheer exhaustion at dwelling on so many negative aspects of baseball — a game I love — this past week, I’m in the mood to be as positive and upbeat as I can be.

And though that evil little whisper of skepticism mercilessly refuses to purge itself from my ear, I’m still going to fight to be optimistic. And I’m still going to root for Raul Ibanez, as I have been all along, to someday prove to be one of the explicit justifications for that optimism and a foundational test case upon which that optimism can endure.

* – Photo Courtesy: Kevin’s Blog

(Stay up to date with latest news on the World Series schedule at http://www.worldseries.com.)

Game 5 of the World Series between the Tampa Bay Rays and Philadelphia Phillies was suspended due to rain in Philadelphia before the bottom half of the 6th inning began.

The game is currently scheduled to resume Tuesday night at 8:00 and according to Commissioner Bud Selig will not be moved to Tampa Bay under any circumstances. Furthermore, regardless of what day the game is ultimately played, it will begin at 8:00 ET.

Tomorrow’s scheduled start time is obviously contingent on the weather. Click here to stay up to date on the latest Philadelphia area weather forecast. As of right now, according to the hour-by-hour forecast, it looks like rain is expected for tomorrow night as well. The 10-day forecast shows sunshine on Thursday.

As for the game, Carlos Pena came up with an RBI in the top of the 6th inning that pretty much bailed Major League Baseball out of a pretty embarrassing situation. Had BJ Upton not beaten out an infield single with 2 out and nobody, and had Pena not subsequently driven in the typing run, the Major League Baseball rulebook would not have allowed for the game to be suspended. The end result would have been a Philadelphia victory, and World Series championship, in the first rain-shortened game in Major League history.

Interestingly, the MLB rulebook was changed in 2007 to allow for suspended tie games in the World Series. Prior to 2007, the game would have been declared a tie and started over from the first inning. Jayson Stark and his crooked mustache do a great job of breaking the whole situation down in his Playoffs Blog on ESPN.com.

Another interesting note from the Stark blog: the Rays already checked out of their hotel rooms, thinking that they would be flying back to Tampa after the game. Apparently they were still scrambling for hotel rooms as of about 11:00pm because their original hotel rooms were booked.

What a wacky night in Philly. But thank goodness for Carlos Pena, because it would have been a real shame had the World Series ended with the score 2-1 because of the rain. Looks like the exorcism of the “devil” from the Rays’ name has paid dividends once again. Major League Baseball should definitely look into changing that rule. The mere chance that such a result could conceivably occur needs to be eliminated from the realm of possibility.

[tags]mlb, world series, game 5 suspended, tampa bay rays, philadelphia phillies[/tags]

Last night, after an hour and a half rain delay, the Philadelphia Phillies took advantage of the Tampa Bay Rays’ late-inning pitching mistakes to claim victory in Game 3 that ended at 1:47 am. The Phillies took a 2-1 advantage in the World Series. According to the SI.com account of the game, the Rays were also treated to the typically brotherly warm chilly reception given to visitors from the notorious Philadelphia fans.

Game 4 is scheduled for tonight, and the NFL does not have a Sunday Night Football game scheduled to accommodate the World Series. According to Weather.com, the projected forecast around Citizens Bank Park is clear for the entire evening. So the game should start on time, giving more people a chance to watch the finish, which many fans (including me), were not able to stay up and do last night.

The pitching matchup for tonight’s World Series Game 4, scheduled to begin at 8:00 on Fox, is as follows:

Tampa Bay Rays: Andy Sonnanstine (13-9), 4.38 ERA during the regular season

Andy Sonnanstine has only faced one batter currently on the Philadelphia Phillies roster: Matt Stairs; and Stairs did have good success in his 12 ABs versus Sonnanstine, going 4-12 with a HR.

Philadelphia Phillies: Joe Blanton (9-12), 4.69 ERA during the regular season

Joe Blanton has had pitched against all of the Rays primary hitters, as he only came over from Oakland this season. Carl Crawford is 7-22 lifetime against Blanton, while Carlos Pena is 4-7 with two bases on balls. This season, Blanton started once against the Rays and went 6 innings while given up four earned runs. He did pitched well at Citizens Bank Park after joining the Phillies, going 2-0 with a 3.55 ERA in 38 innings and 7 starts. In the three seasons prior to 2008, the Rays hit .315 off of Joe Blanton as a team.

It is hard to pick against the Philadelphia Phillies at home, even though I’d like to see the Rays even up the series; but I don’t see it happening. The Phillies’ offense appears to be waking up, and the Rays might have been a little unnerved by the nastiness at Citizens Bank Park last night. Joe Blanton has pitched well at home during his time as a Philly, and this will be the most difficult start of Andy Sonnanstine’s young career — and it comes in a pretty difficult venue to play in as a visitor. The Rays have had success against Joe Blanton, so I think both offenses will have success. But the Rays’ bullpen proved to be leaky last night, while the Phillies have Brad Lidge at the end of the game ready to shut it down.

My prediction: Philadelphia Phillies 8 | Tampa Bay Rays 6

Check out our World Series Preview for the rest of the World Series schedule, as well as the projected pitching matchups.

[tags]world series, tampa bay rays, philadelphia phillies, mlb[/tags]

No, neither of the Chicago teams that we were rooting for here at Midwest Sports Fans made the World Series. But still, as baseball fans, most of us will be taking an interest in the World Series.

I think that Boston-LA would have made for, at least on paper, better storylines and drama; but a Tampa Bay-Philadelphia World Series definitely features two exciting teams with great young players, and it features the best and most positive story in Major League Baseball since all the steroids madness started: the improbable run of the young, perennially down-trodden Tampa Bay Rays to the World Series.

The World Series follows the 2-3-2 format at all of the games are, of course, televised on Fox (Joe Buck! Tim McCarver!) and while MLB.com currently lists the Rays’ pitching rotation as TBD (as of this posting), ESPN.com at least made an educated guess. You may want to check these on a daily basis though, as the Rays getting stretched to 7 games by the Red Sox may necessitate Joe Maddon switching things up a bit.

Here is the schedule:

Game 1 — Wed, October 22nd, 8:00 ET — Philadelphia at Tampa Bay | Cole Hamels v Scott Kazmir

Game 2 — Thu, October 23rd, 8:00 ET — Philadelphia at Tampa Bay | Brett Myers v James Shields

Game 3 — Sat, October 25th, 8:00 ET — Tampa Bay at Philadelphia | Matt Garza v Jaime Moyer

Game 4 — Sun, October 26th, 8:00 ET — Tampa Bay at Philadelphia | Andy Sonnanstine v Joe Blanton

Game 5* — Mon, October 27th, 8:00 ET — Tampa Bay at Philadelphia | Cole Hamels v Scott Kazmir (projected)

Game 6* — Wed, October 29th, 8:00 ET — Philadelphia at Tampa Bay | Brett Myers v James Shields (projected)

Game 7* — Thu, October 30th, 8:00 ET — Philadelphia at Tampa Bay | Matt Garza v Jaime Moyer (projected)

* – if necessary

As far as predictions go, both teams are pretty significant rolls heading into the series. Tampa Bay has been on a magical roll all season long; and as with the White Sox in 2005 I just think that Tampa Bay is destiny’s darling this year.

I was surprised that they were able to beat the Red Sox in Game 7, and I think they will ultimately take the World Series in either Game 6 or Game 7 at Tropicana Field in front of some very deserving home fans. This is based on nothing more than a gut feeling, and in knowing that the Rays now have David Price at the end of games to ensure that Dan Wheeler doesn’t piss away a 9th inning lead.

All in all, it should be a great World Series (despite Joe Buck and Tim McCarver).

What is your prediction?

[tags]world series, mlb, philadelphia phillies, tampa bay rays[/tags]