World Series Game 4: Rays @ Phils
By
Tonight’s game promises to be less … chaotic, than last night’s. The weather is nice and clear, so there will be no 10pm first pitch tonight, and you have to imagine we won’t see the two teams be so self-destructive in the later innings again.
I’ve watched the replay of Carlos Ruiz’s walk-off “hit” a few times, and I can’t say for sure that the ball would have gone foul. It looks like it might have, but it was far enough from the line to make me think it would have stayed fair. Oh, by the way, that was the Phillies’ first hit with RISP that actually scored a run in the series. They’re up 2-1 in the series, but you can only rely on the long ball so much.
Cupcakes Blanton will be facing his first American League club since his midsummer trade to the land of cheesesteaks. He was 5-12 with a 4.96 ERA & 1.42 WHIP with Oakland this year, and then better, but not great after the trade, going 4-0, 4.20, 1.37 with the Phightin’s. His strikeout rate has never been good, so he’ll have to hope they don’t hit them where they ain’t.
Needless to say this is a big game for Tampa, who certainly doesn’t want to go down 3-1 in the series with Cole Hamels looming in Game 5. Andy Sonnanstine is the Rays’ version of Ian Kennedy – fringy stuff with excellent command – except he’s already mastered the art of keeping the ball in the lower third of the zone, which is what he’ll have to do tonight to keep the Phillies in check.
The game doesn’t start until 8, so feel free to use this as an open thread to discuss today’s NFL action.
Tampa Bay
1. Akinori Iwamura, 2B
2. BJ Upton, CF
3. Carlos Pena, 1B
4. Evan Longoria, 3B
5. Carl Crawford, LF
6. Dioner Navarro, C
7. Ben Zobrist, RF
8. Jason Bartlett, SS
9. Andy Sonnanstine, P (13-9, 4.38)
Philadelphia
1. Jimmy Rollins, SS
2. Jayson Werth, RF
3. Chase Utley, 2B
4. Ryan Howard, 1B
5. Pat Burrel, LF
6. Shane Victorino, CF
7. Pedro Feliz, 3B
8. Carlos Ruiz, C
9. Joe Blanton, P (9-12, 4.69)
Site note: No DotF tonight, the Arizona Fall League is off and Hawaii Winter Baseball was rained. Yes, apparently it does rain in Hawaii.
197 Comments»
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Great win if ya a Giant fan. coming back and just makin Big Ben day miserable (and boy they miss Fanaca more than I thought)
And if Thigpen doesn’t throw that int in the 4th QT, that would have been a potentially awful lost and Mangini seat would of have been blazing.
Steelers long-snapping: Epic Fail.
http://pics.ipostr.com/pics/pic_12047688966944.jpg
And yo, Did anybody saw the confrotation between Singletary and Davis? And Singletary calling out Davis, saying that he in concern with Davis was better helping the team on the bench than on the field.
Yeah, I just saw the press conference.
Davis has blown since getting drafted
Taking a TE in the top 10 picks is generally a horrible idea. Even if they’re outstanding, they’re just not that essential of a player. As a Jets fan, I was so happy that we passed on him.
Wow, people are really, really, really freakin’ stupid: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/articl.....8;c_id=mlb
Albert Pujols might go on a murderous rampage is he gets shafted with the MVP vote.
That’s putting it mildly.
How the Fuck did Ramirez won that award over Pujols.
The Big Puma had a better year than Ramirez.
RBI’s are the greatest, most important stat in the history of all stats. Whomever has a lot of RBI’s should be the MVP of each league, as well as of the NBA and NFL. There is no other way to calculate greatness and clutchitude other than RBI’s, and possibly batting average and sacrifice bunts.
dont forget about that a players team MUST go to the playoffs for them to even be in MVP consideration
what about the panthers?
smitty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i dont think so pujols is sure to win even if he doesnt he will prob win atleast 3 more in the weak national league
I cant stand the Fox world series music. I keep waiting for it to transition into a Disney commercial.
I never thought I’d see Carlos Ruiz become the World Series MVP.
Well, it’s possible anyway.
If Howard & Utley are hot, wont matter what cupcakes does
Which NFL Press conference Tirade was better:
Jim Mora’s “Playoffs” or Dennis Green’s “They are who we thought they were”
“I’m a man, I’m 40!!!” was better than both of those. College football FTW.
That line finds its way into nearly all mock confrontations in my life. Classic.
Who said that?
I remember that one. That was damn good. The thing about it, was that the shit he was saying had nothing to do with Football.
Fun Fact: the kid he was defending was actually interviewed on ESPN. He told the reporter how he and his mom thought that whole display was a phony act by the coach. Apparently the kid was benched by the coach and the damn coach didn’t even like the kid.
And he (Bobby Reid) transfered to Texas State after the season. He claims the whole thing was disingenuous and he still resents Gundy.
Nope to all of the above.
Jim Mora’s “diddly-poo” was still the best ever.
Rays dropped Cliff Floyd off the roster, added Eric Hinke in his place.
Something else Fox is incredible at doing – thinking they can draw creative parallels between sporting events and film/television sponsors… in an era when the “See PC Richard” whistle plays after every Yankee pitcher’s strikeout, FOX stands above the rest in shameless commercialization.
Relatedly, I love Jennifer Connelly
Taylor Swift is hotter than the chick singing the National Anthem tonight.
If Taylor was as drunk as Patty Labelle appears to be, might have had a shot with her after the game
But Patti LaBelle had that TV show “Up All Night” that had a young Vivica A. Fox, back when she was cute and her face didn’t look like a leather handbag.
That’s gotta count for something.
And her titties were not saggin either.
What did that woman just do to the anthem?!
Torture? Butcher? Maim?
It was nice of Ms. LaBelle to honor America with her own version of the anthem.
I hope it doesn’t cost Barack the election.
Do they ever plan on starting the game?
Wait, there’s a game tonight?
Joe Blanton only throws 90mph. He’ll obviously never be a successful big leaguer.
STOP SWINGING AT THE FIRST PITCH!!11!1!
By the way, congrads for Pujols winning the Clemente Award. At least he does win something.
By you gotta love the voice of Harry Kalas.
Andy Sonnanstine hasn’t pitched in 12 days.
Sonnanstine throws 87MPH. He has NOOOOOOOOO chance.
88 MPH FASTBALL BUT HE SUCKS ZOMG!!!!1!!!1!!1!!!
Oh man, E-Long got him.
Easily. Who’s at third, Don Denkinger?
Instant Replay anyone?
If the umps are going to be this freaking bad, then yeah, start using replay for everything.
Seriously. I never got that. Replay should be available in every sport on every play, and the umps should be man enough to go look at it. If you’re not sure on the call, go check. Have the stones to admit that you fucked up, and then your judgement will be questioned less on the plays where you didn’t fuck up.
This has been a botchmania of a WS.
That close-up was priceless
I’m surprised they didn’t call Utley safe at the plate there.
Man, the Phils are worse with RISP than the Yanks.
and yet somehow they are in the WS
Just some bad hacks by the Rays
This has been one of the more odd WS I,ve seen. The Umps have been horrible, both managers have made some bad decisions and the offense of both teams specifically in RISP have been putrid.
http://i69.photobucket.com/alb.....office.gif
I don’t get it.
What’s to get? It’s just bad-ass.
This makes me feel like I need to accomplish something great in my life just to have the privilege of hanging this outside of my future office door.
Oh. I thought there was some underlying meaning or a movie reference or something I wasn’t getting.
That dude look like Italian version of Superman.
Supermanicotti?
Supermancello.
You friggin’ ump.
Navarro rocking the Erstad.
Joe Buck: This guy just flat out makes this team go.
[long pause]
Tim McCarver: He’s an eye-opener.
Imaginary Joe Buck in my head: Dynamite drop in, Monty. Those broadcast classes are really paying off!
They are just making shit up now. Memo FOX: get a new broadcast team.
4th inning, ground ball gets by the TB 2b.
Buck: “it’s either a hit or an error”
WHAT ELSE COULD IT BE, JOE? Fill us in.
Then….
McCarver: If the ball stays close to the ground it’s a hit, if it takes a hop then its an error.
IT’S THE EXACT OPPOSITE, TIM!
This is why I prefer to watch with the sound on mute.
(Didn’t mean to double post. I did not know this thread was going)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZp03qKj-WE
that ball did look like it was going foul
Wow talk about a kick in the nuts.
The Phils can’t get a hit in RISP to save their lives.
Or not.
Tim McCarver: Look at that hanging slider. It’s just hanging there, begging to be hit hard. Pleading.
Joe Buck: Talk about a downhill lie…
Good play Aki
Anyone notice that dark spot on Blanton’s cap?
Pena-Longoria-Crawford are 0-25 Yikes.
Oof. And as I write that, Crawford goes deep.
1-26
Classic CBP homer. Little pop-up one row back.
“It hasn’t affected the effectiveness of Sonnanstine, it’s affected his control.”
McCarver gold right there.
control has nothing to do with effectiveness dont you know
I was going to type that, but I thought it was just too to do so.
MVP..MVP..MVP
I had a good feeling Howard would hit a homer there.
Andy Sonnanstine is a winner.
You throw him enough breaking balls sooner or later he’ll hit one out. Still have to mix in the fastball.
That’s why I didn’t like that match up.
Nice play by Feliz.
Big hit by Shitske.
Pinch hit blast
This ump has the tightest strike zone known to man.
Yet somehow Blanton was getting that call. The umpiring in baseball is terrible these days.
Holy crap moly.
R u serious!!!??? Cupcakes gotta homerun. Bananas! No pun intended.
It’s just not your night when you give up a homer to a pitcher in the WS.
Blanton’s last AB as a Phillie?
What is McCarver talking about?
Yeah I heard it too. Not sure what that was about.
vintage mccarver
There’s something you don’t see every day
I know it’s early, but TB is playin like a bunch pussies right now.
It’s the 6th inning of Game 4, it’s not early anymore.
think they got any fight left in ‘em after the alcs?
Well the difference is that Pena, Longoria, Crawford and etc haven’t hit at all so far.
Evan Longoria is obviously not clutch.
Evan Longoria is playin like Eva Longoria right
no, he’s playing like arod
LMAO
Joe Blanton a strike out machine?
C’mon Pudgito.
This ump needs to puff puff pass.
This Ump must be Stevie Wonder.
That has to be the worst swing of the entire WS by Navarro right there. He pretty much gave up in that AB when he swung at a ball above his head.
Feliz has had some swings much worst than that. Nevertheless, not a good a-bat by Navarro.
Howard has swung at some shit too, but Navarro looked real bad there
If he didn’t swing, the ump probably would have called it a strike.
You know what Edwin Jackson and Martin Lawrence have in common? Both are born in Franfurt Germany.
Emphatic strikeout call by the ump. He really put his elbow into that one.
“the only games that philly will win are the games Hamels starts, the other games wont even be close”–who am i ?
Me. Smartass.
I told you
I’m pretty sure you said the Red Sox would win the WS after they came back in Game 5.
Na that was’nt me. I said Lester would go 6 and give up 3 in game 7 but it would’nt be enough.
Check the tapes!!
A lot of people said that
You are actually a ton of people, not just Mike A.
Moyer was wetting the bed according to his wife before he pitched in that game. hahaha
Burrell is slow as hell.
Buck: “Those are the details that you only get is from Rosenthal”
Aside from the bad sources and made up trade proposals and etc. he’s reliable.
I love the videos Rosenthal does from his house like in his kitchen talking bout trade rumors, etc… I find it funny
Im surprise he didn’t call that a strike. That pitch was better than the rest he called k’s.
Cupcakes is out of the game. Time for Tampa to make a move.
There’s not a lot that would make me ashamed of my family, but for the love of God: http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10.....d4-player/
Only white people.
It’s only a game. The game kept him out of trouble. So he’s not a social butterfly. Big deal!
I guess his parents would rather him go out and drink, do drugs and have unprotected sex with people he barely knows. You know, the fun stuff.
…have unprotected sex with people he barely knows. You know, the fun stuff.
Whoah, whoah, whoah. Let’s not get too crazy now.
It looks like the Rays lost their stingers if ya know what I mean
We will be here next year, don’t ya’ll worry
I hope so.
Figures he throws the change up on 3-2.
Man, a 3-2 change in that spot is not fair.
These military women singing God Bless America keep getting uglier and uglier.
Is that really a surprise?
I bet you $10 that guy does not blink or laugh.
Carlos Pena has balls of steel.
How the fuck did Pena catch that?
That was absolutely ridiculous. No way could he see the ball, plus he had to worry about the runner coming back in and snapping his arm ala Cliff Floyd.
Pena has had a miserable WS so far.
At the plate, anyway.
Man, if your 3-4 hitters go 0 for 29 in the first 4 games of the series, you just can’t win. Brutal.
This WS is sorta reminiscent of the 06 WS.
Except for the fact that, you know, the Phillies are actually kinda good and the Cardinals sucked balls.
If The Phils win this game, is this series over considering that Hamels starts game 5? After all, the only games their gonna win are the one Hamels starts right?
No way the Rays beat Cole Hamels twice (I’ll assume for argument’s sake that Hamels will start on short rest in Game 7) in this series. If this 8-2 score holds up, the Phils will be champs.
Hamels won game 1.
No way he starts Game 7. He’ll be on 2 days rest.
Oh crap, you’re right. Mental lapse, mental lapse.
Dan Wheeler gives up a Home Run? Shocking. Absolutely shocking.
Only Mo Saw that coming.
That is the only thing Dan Wheeler is good for.
Phillies bats woke up tonight.
Holy crap.
Man, the Rays look fried. The Sox wore them out nice and good.
That game 5 kinda fuck them up.
Reminiscent of the 2003 WS unfortunately.
I’d say more 06 WS. Yanks did led that series 2-1 in 03.
God Damn Howard. Shit.
Brutal. Just brutal.
God damn.
Wow, a lefty specialist walking a lefty. Yeah, the Rays are just falling apart right now.
Howard 5 Rays 2; that pretty much sums it up.
Who would of thought the Phils would be beating up on the Rays like this.
One question? If the Sox were in the WS, would the results be the same for the Phils?
You know what sucks? If/when the Phils win the WS, everyone’s going to be like “it was only a matter of time before the Rays came back to earth.” No one’s going to give them any credit.
Nah, I may be naive, but I think the MSM has moved past that notion. I don’t think they’ve been waiting for the shoe to drop, so to speak. I really think the story will be the Phillies winning a title for the city of Philly, and the Rays enjoying a great season that came to an all too sudden end.
I really can’t wait for Resistance 2.
Resistance: Anybody ever played it?
Hells yes. Beat that game on all four difficulties: easy, medium, hard, and superhuman. Awesome game.
Cool, I’ve been planning to get this and SOCOM.
You got PS3 or 360?
PS3.
The one bright side is this, if they do find a way to beat Hamels, they are in solid shape with Shields and Garza at home.
Yeah. One game at a time, one inning at a time. I wonder if Maddon tinkers with the lineup tomorrow, split up Pena and Longoria.
Aki
Longoria
Upton
Pena
Crawford
Navarro
misc
Forgot about Baldelli vs the lefty. Maybe
Aki
Longoria
Upton
Baldelli
Pena
Crawford
Navarro
misc
Is there something I’m missing with Akinori Iwamura? Does he have to be the lead-off hitter?
Crawford
Baldelli
Long-Gone
Upton
Pena
Aki
Navarro
Heh, did we both forget to list Jason Bartlett or was it just assumed his sucky ass would bat eighth?
I wrote “misc,” I figured that would cover it.
I’d switch Crawford and Aki.
One win away from the Title.
“Um … excuse me … um … Mr. Howard.”
[Ryan Howard looks around]
“What the hell…”
“Um … Mr. Howard … down here Mr. Howard”
[Howard looks down, see Ken Rosenthal beneath him]
“AHHHHHHHH!!!”
Actually, Chris Myers, the best moment of Joe Blanton’s life was when he bought that new tractor with his signing bonus.
“And here’s the announcer who sounds like a man with a firm handshake.”
Heh, that’s too funny.
Well Im gonna watch True Blood on HBO. First time watching it as well.
i hope tb has a post-alcs hangover