Gander, I think 6 teams (Phils, Yanks, Cards, Boston, Halos, and the Dodgers) were capable of winning it all. I honestly don't think the Rocks n' Twinks had enough pitching. The two teams that are going to meet (Phils n' Yanks) are there for two fundamental reasons. I say fundamental, because people make this stuff way too difficult.

1) Swing at Strikes. Stop swinging at balls. Sounds easy. No, it is evidently not. Look at Casey Blake swing at the low outside pitch last night, and ground to the shortstop. Look at Manny swing on the pitch that Durban threw way inside (that handcuffed him badly.) These 2 people are not paying attention to the fundamentals of this game. To be honest, I think Philly has just collected a smarter group of people. Yes, power is important, but it's this plate discipline that separates them from others in the post. If they were swinging at balls, they couldn't use their power. Well, the Broxton situation is different. That fkn choke was gunna center cut one of them, regardless. The Yanks are also doing well at this, but the Phils are superior at this. They are certainly one of the most plate-disciplined teams we've seen in a while.

2) Throw strikes on the corners, and have command. Well, the Dodgers were certainly abysmal at this, and it's been Mr. Kershaw's problem from day one. I told Cannon that the series depended a lot on how this individual pitched. He failed at command. He does this often, and it keeps him from being an ace. I don't know if this individual will ever gain command. Really, once this guy came up short, I knew they had no shot, and that's why I called the series over after the 5th inning of the 1st game. I knew they would then lay down, and they did. He needed to pitch like he did against the Rocks. He didn't. A great deal of their future depends on managing this guy. They've not done this well. Too much tea drinkin' etc. , and not enough management of players going on. Not nearly enough plate discipline being taught, and a horrible job at getting pitchers like Kershaw to command their pitches. Doesn't help that they refused to get the one ace pitcher available. Philly wanted to win more. Paid the price for him. Colletti etc. did what? -> hem n' haw.. hem n' haw. BTW, the Yanks n' Phils are about even on this starting pitching right now. I'm going to guess the Phils solve C.C. before the Yanks solve Lee. I think the Phils will win it, but it depends so much on the Yanks plate discipline. The Phils plate discipline will be there. If the Yanks have plate discipline, then it will be a very close series. If they don't have that, it's gunna be a very short series.

And you are the greatest of all time too.

At least say you were drunk when you posted that.

LOL. You have a good sense of humor!

And the Phils in 5 was a good prediction.

Who do you like the WS?

Kershaw got squeezed by a bad ump. The first 4 innings he was untouchable until the umps stopped calling strikes.

Stop your whining. The Dodgers have a lot of good players and will be good for awhile.


Dont forget Scuds, Kershaw is 21. The youngest regular starter in baseball. He will get even better. The command will get better as it always does with guys with his stuff.

He led MLB in hits allowed per 9 innings. CK had a 2.78 ERA in 31 starts. in 171 innings he allowed 119 hits. He struckout 185 batters in 171 innings. He only allowed 8 Hr's all year. The guy is one of the two or three top young pitchers in the game. Try being an Astros fan.

Dont know who is in it yet.

I thought Happ got screwed by the umps a few times. He was hitting some tight corners that should have been strikes but were called balls. That walk he gave up yesterday should have been a strike out. TBS shows that strike zone and two of Happs balls were in the corner of the strikezone. The next inning when Kershaw when in relief they called the exact pitch a strike.

The umps really suck and I hope they are better in the series.

The only positive is they sucked for both teams and not just for one team.

The umpires have been stunningly bad

The TBS crew and the umps should all be out of jobs. The Dodgers cheering from the announcers was just gross. They seemed bummed when the Phils clinched.

I LOVED how the Philly fans boo'd that jackass.. think it was Ernie Johnson.

Then the fan had the sign that said"

We hate:

EJ

Santa Claus


good ****.. I LOVE Philly fans :D :{>:

But assuming that NY gets in I think they will beat Philly.
1. The layoff lets the teams set up their rotations which helps NY a bit more because of CC's heavy (no pun intended) workload and Pettite's age. Plus the Yankees are an older team and guys like Damon, Posada, Matsui and even Jeter will appreciate the rest more than the Phils young guys.

2. NY has a huge advantage in the 7th,8th and 9th innings with Chamberlain, Hughes and Rivera. The lack of a quality lefty may bite them in the ass at least once since Utley, Ibanez and Howard are such a big part of Philly's offense.

3. NY is built for their park and it favors old guy offense as does Citizens Bank.

4. NY has a few good options at DH. The Phils do not.


It is stupid that the WS wont start till next Wed even if NY wins tonight.

McCarver still sucks on Fox. He is like the Billy Packer of baseball.

well you suck. I'd never count the Phillies out of anything. I wont make predictions though. One good thing is Philly had NO problem with CC last year in the playoffs. CC is no better or worse this year either. Phillies also played the Yanks real well when they faced them this year.. winning the short series in new york. If Citizens bank looks like a small park.. Yankee's stadium is even smaller. Cliff Lee could hit pop fly's that go for HR's there..

We are a lot younger team, but had a lot of minor injuries at the end of the season and could use the days off.. though I dont like 6 days off.. thats way too many. 3 or 4 would be fine.

I thought the Phils may put Ben Francisco in the outfield and have Ibanez be the DH.. but it looks like the may use Stairs as the DH. A Stairs bunt could be a homer in NY.

I think that CB is going to suit the yankees well, which is the problem. They are a station to station, traditional AL pound the ball team. Philly has some guys like that in Werth, Howard, Stairs but I dont think they can beat the Yankees in a bunch of 10-8 games. The Phil starters have to shutdown the first 7 innings and hope to hold on.

Manuel IMO is a better manager than Girardi.

IF Girardi screws up one game, IF Lee throws a shutout, IF CC reverts to prior play off form and IF Howard launches a late inning game winner since the yankees have no lefty in the bullpen...the Phils can win

lot of ifs

I'm going to have a tough time rooting for either team but I will probably still watch and just hope for a few nail biters. Since so many of my good friends are Yankee fans, I guess we will all go out and get hammered and I'll go with the crowd. Would be different if the Dodgers got in, and or the Angels. But looks like the California little league teams both came up very short. Ugh.

I dont think we need ANY if's. We just need the boys to keep doin what they've been doing. Remember... Dodgers were supposed to have the best bullpen in baseball and the Phillies bullpen blew all year...

I dont think any of our hitters are afraid of ANY pitcher in the whole wide world. I'd take our line-up over the Yankees line-up. I know you'll disagree, but clutch and heart arent measured in stats. Shoot, our #8 guy Ruiz is hitting as well as ANYONE in the playoffs... including Howards and Aroid.

Should be a good series though. No team will sweep thats for sure. Yankee's will be in for a treat in CB.. our crowd will be rockin. Phils also play real well on the road. Just hope A-rod doesnt go take a shower while the yanks are up by 1 in the bottom of the 9th.

come on man.. you are a Sox fan. you cant root for the Yankees. Why not root for the Phillies? What is not to love about this team unless you are a Dodger or Rockie fan?

I cant explain it but I just dont feel the love for the Phillies. I liked the Pete Rose/Mike Schmidt team back in the day but these guys arent doing it for me. I'll only watch the games when going out drinking beer is involved and I wont stay up late (sober).

Why are they waiting so long to start this thing?

I have to admit. I usually can't stomach any team from Philadelphia. But that Phillies team is very easy to root for. They are a hard working bunch. That being said I hope the Yanks (once they get in) maul them.

Who do you think was the best baseball team from this past decade?

Is it this year's NY Yankees?

My vote goes to the 05 White Sox slightly over this year's Yankees.