Ok, so I was going to post this before yesterday's game, but blogger was down. But alas, I felt obligated to do it anyway. So folks, here is essentially a preview of Games 3-7.
(check out this interesting Bill Rhoden article about the potential impact of the Rays black players on growing the game in the inner city.)
Now that I’m a grown up, I need to stay in shape. That, plus the ridiculous nature of traffic here in the DMV, usually sends me to the gym after work for at least an hour every night. To make a long story short, these long days of work x the gym usual has me home after 8 pm every night.
That’s not really conducive to getting things done outside of the work place during the week. This week, I’ve avoided the gym in an effort to get things done. After a productive Monday, I had a completely unproductive Tuesday, followed by a Wednesday where I started making headway in a lot of situations I had been stalling with.
But I forgot one major thing. MY WORLD SERIES PREVIEW!
Ok, so Game 1 is in the books (3-2 Phillies Victory), but there’s still six* games to go! Here’s the tale of the tape.
Rays Offense vs. Phillies Pitching and D
The Rays can mash, we’ve all heard that and about what B.J. Upton and Evan Longoria have done in this postseason for weeks. What is an underrated topic is the Phillies pitching. Ok, in my last Phillies related piece, I noted that they finally have good enough pitching to go with their hitting.
However, their arms aren’t good enough to hold down the Rays, except for Cole Hamels (as he showed last night). As I was watching the Phillies play the Dodgers, I noticed about four things about their pitching staff.
1. Brett Meyers is decent. 2. Jamie Moyer is hit or miss. 3. Joe Blanton is miss, miss, hit, miss.
And 4. Brad Lidge is going to blow a save at some point in this series. In Game 5 (I believe) he almost gave up 9th inning homeruns to James Loney and Matt Kemp. In the regular season, he’s definitely walked guys and given up big hits, only to get bailed out by a Shane Victorino throw.
Oh, and Ryan Howard is the worst baseball player on the planet.
Advantage: Rays
Phillies Offense vs. Rays Pitching and D
The ex-factor is really David Price. The Rays starting is decent, although slightly overrated, and their bullpen is hit or miss too. But David Price is a beast. I really hope Maddon unleashes him more in this series.
The Phillies offense is very potent 1-6. After that, unless Brett Meyers is pitching, you can count out the bottom of the lineup. I’m not too hot on Chris Coste at DH either. But since I’m not too sure of what Price’s role in this series will be, I’ll call this even.
Advantage: Even
Managing
Normally, I always take the smarter guy. But lately, the coach you think will win the big game or series loses. Maddon is the thinker, Manuel is Manuel. I can’t call it.
Advantage: Even
Intangibles
The intricacies of “The Trop” vs. the bandbox that is Citizens Bank. The Phillies inevitable choke x The Curse of Billy Penn vs. the Rays inexperience. Old Brad Lidge vs. New Brad Lidge.
Once again, I can’t call it.
Verdict
Rays in 6.
(Sorry this kind of got a little sloppy and short towards the end, “the man” is on to my blogging habits).
Showing posts with label Tampa Bay Rays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tampa Bay Rays. Show all posts
Friday, October 24, 2008
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Elgin Baylor x Sports Guy x LCS Preview
Before I get into it today, I wanted to highlight yet another good article by Bill Simmons on Elgin Baylor. The plight of black athletes during the Jim Crow era has always been fascinating, along with the development of the modern pro sports system and the role various players had in creating the big bucks for everyone scenario we have today.
I was totally oblivious to the real Elgin Baylor story, but now I know and now I won't look at him as that horrible Clippers GM that played back in the day. It was also a good juxtaposition to the asskicking Obama put on McCain, moving us closer to our first black president.
I think that African-American History is taught horribly in this country in general, and it’s so easy to forget how bad things once were. We’re at the point now where when something racist happens, we’re almost surprised. It used to be the norm. Heck, in some places it still is. Anyways, I can talk forever about this subject, but this is a sports blog not a sociology or history blog. Just read the damn article.
Today, I’m going to talk about the upcoming LCS’s in Major League Baseball. This season was a pretty damn good one, but the playoffs have been fairly lackluster. Just several beatdowns going on throughout the opening round, except for the Boston-Anaheim (via LA?) series, which was marred by errors and overmanagement by the Halos.
Now we have the Phillies and Dodgers squaring off in the NL and the Sox and Rays squaring off in the AL. Before the season, this would have been one of the most unlikely pairings. During the season, it was clear that the Rays and Sox were two of the best teams in the AL. In the NL, Philly and LA didn’t distinguish themselves as playoff teams until September, behind the bats of sluggers Ryan Howard and Manny Ramirez.
In the past, I would do a tale of the tape on each, but quite frankly I’m not too confident in what’s going to happen. In both series, there’s a “what should happen,” “what I want to happen,” and “what will probably happen/what the MLB wants to happen.”
Here’s what should happen:
The Phillies have and have had the most potent offense in the NL throughout the season. Their pitching has been up and down, but down the stretch Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton and Jamie Moyer were solid. Their bullpen is stellar, as Brad Lidge’s comeback has been well documented.
The Phillies have had a championship offense for years, but now they seem to have the pitching behind them as well.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers had a weird mix of youth and experience on the mound and in the field. They have Joe Torre guiding the ship, but you would think the team that has been together for so long would ultimately pull it out against the upstart ball club.
What I want to happen:
I want the Phillies to win. I went to school there for five years and Philly really, really needs a winner.
What Will Probably Happen:
Manny will hit like 4 HR’s and drive in a crap load of runs, Brad Lidge will finally self-destruct, and Ryan Howard will hit .125 with one meaningless HR in a 12-2 Dodgers rout, and LA will win in 5 or 6 games.
What should happen:
In the AL, the Rays went from worst to first, and won the AL East. The Red Sox finished right behind them, and probably would have won the division if they didn’t have the injuries. Even going into the playoffs, I’d probably have picked the Rays to win the AL.
However, after watching the Sox, they are in championship mode. All of the bounces are going their way, their big names are stepping up and their no-names are coming through in the clutch.
What I want to happen:
I want the Rays to win. My disdain for the Sox is out there, I hate them and pretty much every Boston team. Nothing personal, but the ubiquitous coverage coupled with the jerks that many of these teams employ (Schilling, Youkilis, Vrabel, etc.) makes me and several others hate them.
The Rays are young and exciting. They have a cool manager and you want to pull for them anyway because of their losing history. And one of their best players, B.J. Upton, is a Tidewater native who was tearing it up at Greenbrier Christian around the time that I was playing baseball at I.C. Norcom High School.
What will probably happen:
The Sox will win, Pedroia will win MVP, Manny will get bashed, Epstein will get sucked off by the media, the LA/Boston rivalry will get run into the ground, etc.
If we can’t get a Phillies/Rays series, lets hope that Manny returns ‘home’ to Boston to bite them in the ass.
I was totally oblivious to the real Elgin Baylor story, but now I know and now I won't look at him as that horrible Clippers GM that played back in the day. It was also a good juxtaposition to the asskicking Obama put on McCain, moving us closer to our first black president.
I think that African-American History is taught horribly in this country in general, and it’s so easy to forget how bad things once were. We’re at the point now where when something racist happens, we’re almost surprised. It used to be the norm. Heck, in some places it still is. Anyways, I can talk forever about this subject, but this is a sports blog not a sociology or history blog. Just read the damn article.
Today, I’m going to talk about the upcoming LCS’s in Major League Baseball. This season was a pretty damn good one, but the playoffs have been fairly lackluster. Just several beatdowns going on throughout the opening round, except for the Boston-Anaheim (via LA?) series, which was marred by errors and overmanagement by the Halos.
Now we have the Phillies and Dodgers squaring off in the NL and the Sox and Rays squaring off in the AL. Before the season, this would have been one of the most unlikely pairings. During the season, it was clear that the Rays and Sox were two of the best teams in the AL. In the NL, Philly and LA didn’t distinguish themselves as playoff teams until September, behind the bats of sluggers Ryan Howard and Manny Ramirez.
In the past, I would do a tale of the tape on each, but quite frankly I’m not too confident in what’s going to happen. In both series, there’s a “what should happen,” “what I want to happen,” and “what will probably happen/what the MLB wants to happen.”
Here’s what should happen:
The Phillies have and have had the most potent offense in the NL throughout the season. Their pitching has been up and down, but down the stretch Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton and Jamie Moyer were solid. Their bullpen is stellar, as Brad Lidge’s comeback has been well documented.
The Phillies have had a championship offense for years, but now they seem to have the pitching behind them as well.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers had a weird mix of youth and experience on the mound and in the field. They have Joe Torre guiding the ship, but you would think the team that has been together for so long would ultimately pull it out against the upstart ball club.
What I want to happen:
I want the Phillies to win. I went to school there for five years and Philly really, really needs a winner.
What Will Probably Happen:
Manny will hit like 4 HR’s and drive in a crap load of runs, Brad Lidge will finally self-destruct, and Ryan Howard will hit .125 with one meaningless HR in a 12-2 Dodgers rout, and LA will win in 5 or 6 games.
What should happen:
In the AL, the Rays went from worst to first, and won the AL East. The Red Sox finished right behind them, and probably would have won the division if they didn’t have the injuries. Even going into the playoffs, I’d probably have picked the Rays to win the AL.
However, after watching the Sox, they are in championship mode. All of the bounces are going their way, their big names are stepping up and their no-names are coming through in the clutch.
What I want to happen:
I want the Rays to win. My disdain for the Sox is out there, I hate them and pretty much every Boston team. Nothing personal, but the ubiquitous coverage coupled with the jerks that many of these teams employ (Schilling, Youkilis, Vrabel, etc.) makes me and several others hate them.
The Rays are young and exciting. They have a cool manager and you want to pull for them anyway because of their losing history. And one of their best players, B.J. Upton, is a Tidewater native who was tearing it up at Greenbrier Christian around the time that I was playing baseball at I.C. Norcom High School.
What will probably happen:
The Sox will win, Pedroia will win MVP, Manny will get bashed, Epstein will get sucked off by the media, the LA/Boston rivalry will get run into the ground, etc.
If we can’t get a Phillies/Rays series, lets hope that Manny returns ‘home’ to Boston to bite them in the ass.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Quick Hits 6/23
NBA
Kudos to Jerry Colangelo and his crew on their picks for this year's USA basketball squad.
Jason Kidd, Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh, Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Michael Redd and Tayshaun Prince have been named to the team.
The only one of those guys who I don't agree with is Jason Kidd, whose best days are far behind him. He could have been replaced with another big man. Besides that, they have a lot of unselfish players and perhaps Kobe will play unselfishly in this setting. Most of them are at least average at defense and most of the wing players, except for Kidd, can shoot with consistency.
I'd be really surprised if they don't come home with the gold this year, unless of course, the weather in Beijing takes them down.
MLB
Not much to say here, but I've watched a lot of the Tampa Bay Rays this year and I have to say I like what I see. They have one of the best, young rosters and are definitely for real.
As it's the only game in town, I'll have more baseball thoughts (finally) throughout the summer.
WNBA
This might be the first and last WNBA post on the blog. Honestly, I'm a big fan of the women's game. My senior project was about the Drexel Women's basketball team.
However, the hype about Candace Parker's dunk and the reaction is part of the reason why the game will never get the same respect. They are in perpetual comparison to the men's game, which regularly features dunks. If they want their game to get a similar level of respect, they need to present themselves as a separate product. And when someone does dunk, act like its happened before, because its happened before.
Kudos to Jerry Colangelo and his crew on their picks for this year's USA basketball squad.
Jason Kidd, Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh, Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Michael Redd and Tayshaun Prince have been named to the team.
The only one of those guys who I don't agree with is Jason Kidd, whose best days are far behind him. He could have been replaced with another big man. Besides that, they have a lot of unselfish players and perhaps Kobe will play unselfishly in this setting. Most of them are at least average at defense and most of the wing players, except for Kidd, can shoot with consistency.
I'd be really surprised if they don't come home with the gold this year, unless of course, the weather in Beijing takes them down.
MLB
Not much to say here, but I've watched a lot of the Tampa Bay Rays this year and I have to say I like what I see. They have one of the best, young rosters and are definitely for real.
As it's the only game in town, I'll have more baseball thoughts (finally) throughout the summer.
WNBA
This might be the first and last WNBA post on the blog. Honestly, I'm a big fan of the women's game. My senior project was about the Drexel Women's basketball team.
However, the hype about Candace Parker's dunk and the reaction is part of the reason why the game will never get the same respect. They are in perpetual comparison to the men's game, which regularly features dunks. If they want their game to get a similar level of respect, they need to present themselves as a separate product. And when someone does dunk, act like its happened before, because its happened before.
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