Tagged: u30ws
Halfway There
It’s the World Series and anything can happen. It’s the territory of two-hour rain delays, playing in puddles, pitching match-ups for the ages, tie games late at night, close calls at the bases, and quirky little singles that lead to infield celebrations.
It’s the ninth inning, it’s the bases loaded, it’s up at the plate just hoping for a fly ball deep into the outfield, it’s trying to handle a slippery ball in slippery fingers shaking from excitement. It’s the 2008 World Series, and the Phillies have a 2-1 lead.
No matter what the math says, tonight is a must-win game for the Rays. If they have to face Cole Hamels in an elimination Game 5, the Rays will have more than a mountain to climb in order to grasp that trophy. Andy Sonnanstine must take that mound with every bit of composure he can muster, he must pitch his heart out, and the Rays must play their best game yet.
On the other side, the Phillies cannot let their series lead get away. If they want the Rays in a chokehold, they must win tonight. The offense has to light up the scoreboard to give Joe Blanton every ounce of security he needs. They cannot let the game even get close, cannot let the Rays start whispering in hope, cannot let the Rays tie the series.
It is Game 4 tonight. The lights turn on at 8 PM. Be there.
Grampa is pitching tonight.
The World Series heads to Philadelphia tonight, and the starting pitcher for the Phillies is almost as old as the Liberty Bell.
Jamie Moyer will stand above everyone on the field tonight both literally and figuratively. Matt Garza, who will be opposing Moyer, was two years-old when Moyer made his big league debut. This guy may be over the hill in age, but he still owns the mound on the baseball field. Moyer led the Phillies with 16 wins this season and only 7 losses.
Now, Moyer’s last game did not go too well. He struggled (to put it kindly) against the LA Dodgers, giving up six runs through 1 1/3 innings. In the NLDS, Moyer was not terrible against the Brewers and lasted four innings, giving up 2 runs on 4 hits, but the Phillies failed to provide any offense and Moyer ended up losing that game as well.
He takes the mound tonight with a 13.50 ERA against a team that has been crushing baseballs out of the park all postseason, but there are four very important things to remember about Jamie Moyer.
1. He is an entire decade older than the oldest player on the Rays. Age = experience in baseball, so those extra years could mean a lot on a big stage. Where others may feel shaky and nervous, Moyer’s veteran status should help keep things in perspective for him.
2. He doesn’t shy away from advice from anyone. At 45, he could be older than some of his coaches, but he still acknowledges that they know best. He’ll trust in his team tonight. He’ll do his best to give them a chance to win. (Moyer is taking advice in this picture, Myers is giving advice.)
3. He is so old that he looks like a manager. Thus, if all goes wrong, Moyer could just pretend he’s Charlie Manuel, not the starting pitcher. The blame would be directed towards someone else. (Just sayin’ he could do that, not that he will)
4. It’s close to Halloween. If he doesn’t want to pretend to be the manager of the team should something bad happen, he could always dress up in some costume and run away. Halloween is one of the many benefits to having the postseason stretch late into October. It provides players/managers with a chance to disguise themselves if need be without looking suspicious.
Let’s just hope the rain abates and this game gets under way!
Gettin Even
You didn’t think the Rays would sit back all series and be overrun by the Phillies, did you?
Last night the Phillies had Ryan Howard hitting again, but that couldn’t save them from a powerful and overwhelming performance by James Shields, who, by the way, happens to be a member of the u30 team.
In fact, all of the big players for the Rays last night (with the exception of the umpire) were members of the u30 team. 23 year-old David Price ran into a few jams last night, but he was able to get himself out of trouble and hold on to the win. As previously mentioned, Jason Bartlett, the taco winner, is 29. Longoria, Pena and Upton, who all knocked in runs for the Rays last night, are 23, 30 (we’ll forgive Carlos, he’s borderline u30 club) and 24 respectively.
How big was Kerwin Danley’s half-out call in the second inning? On a 3-2 count to Rocco Baldelli, Danley raised his arm as if to call Baldelli out on a borderline pitch that Baldelli may or may not have swung at, but then proceeded to either check with the first base umpire or award Baldelli first base. The Rays were able to load the bases and knock in an insurance run in what ended up as a 4-2 game.
Did that call (or non-call) change the pace of the game, or did it just expedite the inevitable?
Strikeouts or no strikeouts, this series goes to Philly knotted at 1 game apiece. Rays in 5? Phillies in 5? Will the series stretch to 6 games or will it end in a do-or-die Game 7?
Leave your predictions here!
Picture from Tampa Tribune.
Gettin’ Even
You didn’t think the Rays would sit back all series and be overrun by the Phillies, did you?
Last night the Phillies had Ryan Howard hitting again, but that couldn’t save them from a powerful and overwhelming performance by James Shields, who, by the way, happens to be a member of the u30 team.Â
In fact, all of the big players for the Rays last night (with the exception of the umpire) were members of the u30 team. 23 year-old David Price ran into a few jams last night, but he was able to get himself out of trouble and hold on to the win. As previously mentioned, Jason Bartlett, the taco winner, is 29. Longoria, Pena and Upton, who all knocked in runs for the Rays last night, are 23, 30 (we’ll forgive Carlos, he’s borderline u30 club) and 24 respectively.Â
How big was Kerwin Danley’s half-out call in the second inning? On a 3-2 count to Rocco Baldelli, Danley raised his arm as if to call Baldelli out on a borderline pitch that Baldelli may or may not have swung at, but then proceeded to either check with the first base umpire or award Baldelli first base. The Rays were able to load the bases and knock in an insurance run in what ended up as a 4-2 game.Â
Did that call (or non-call) change the pace of the game, or did it just expedite the inevitable?
Strikeouts or no strikeouts, this series goes to Philly knotted at 1 game apiece. Rays in 5? Phillies in 5? Will the series stretch to 6 games or will it end in a do-or-die Game 7?Â
Leave your predictions here!
Picture from Tampa Tribune.
Bringing it to the Youth
Edit: Because the entire world is now on facebook, we have a facebook group going. Join now and meet all sorts of people who all love baseball. Comment and keep this blog rocking like the Trop tonight during the game!
This is Arielle from over at Dispatches from Red Sox Teen Nation and I’ll be taking over this blog. We simply can’t have a guy who graduated from college in the same year that Game 2 starter James Shields was born cover an under-30 World Series blog.
Anyways, back to the Series.
Ideally, Josh Beckett would be facing off against Brett Myers in Game 2, but the Red Sox ran into some mishaps in the ALCS, so the Tampa Bay Rays are representing the American League.
(Beckett ran into some arm troubles, Rays represented by Arthur, King of the Britons.)
Tampa Bay was beat in every aspect of the game last night by the Phillies, but don’t be fooled. The Rays are here to make some noise. This team is not only young in age, but also young in experience, so forgive them if they were a little intimidated last night. The World Series is kind of a big deal.
And how ’bout them Phillies? Cole Hamels pwned last night (pwned = pitched really well, for you older folks out there). He wasn’t even alive the last time the Phillies won the World Series, but he pitched last night as if he’d been on the mound for a lot more than his three years in the big leagues.
Then there’s “Lights-Out” Lidge. For all the competition in the American League over which closer is the best, the National League probably has the answer to that. He was 41-41 in saves in the regular season and is six for six in the postseason. At almost 32 years-old, he’s a little bit of a grandpa in this series, but Phillies fans will probably take it.
Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard have not even gotten started in this series yet, and the Rays will probably show up in Game 2 now that they have gotten the big game skittishness out of their systems. Tonight at 8 PM (ET of course), Big Game James faces off against Big Bat Brett in a battle at the Trop.
Will the Rays leave Tampa tied? Or will Philly return home with a dominating 2 game lead? It’s all on FOX tonight.
P.S. Thanks for the taco, Jason.
Youth is served
Two teams with rosters full of twenty-somethings battle for a World
Championship. The Rays youngsters have led one of the most remarkable
one-year turnarounds in baseball history, while Phillies’ young nucleus
has been groomed for this moment.
Rays fans have never been
witness to anything like this, and most Phillies fans under 30 weren’t
alive the last time their team won it all. This is a place for the
under-30 crowd to gather and talk about the Fall Classic and their
fellow youngsters on display on the field.
The u30ws Blog 