Yeah, that's me rocking a moustache. It has to come off Sunday Night for a Monday interview, but its awesomeness will rule the weekend.Top 1st - If I hear Big Game James one more time this postseason, I think I might throw my MacBook through the TV. Really? Big Game James? A guy who I'm pretty sure lost both of his starts to a Red Sox team put together with fishing line, smoke, mirrors, and chicken wire. I know TV types like McCarver can't wait to give personality to players to make games more watchable, but come on.
- The more I see of Evan Longoria, the more I like him. In fact, outside of the pitching staff of this team, the Rays are a very likeable franchise. For some reason they have a couple of real knuckleheads on that staff.
- Chase Utley comes to the plate. If you asked me to build a team from scratch right now, I promise you I would either have Utley or Pedroia on my team playing second base. I would settle for absolutely no one else. They are just pleasures to watch play the game. I remember the first time I really saw Utley outside of the BoxScore was in the Inaugural World Baseball Classic and I was extremely impressed. He has done nothing to make me any less impressed since. That bomb he hit last night was absolutely gigantic. He flies out here and let the cowbelling begin.
Bottom 1st -
- Myers on the mound tonight for the Phillies. As much as I am cheering for Philly because I believe their fans deserve a world championship, I loathe Myers and can't believe no one brings up the fact that he knocked the shit out of his wife in the streets of Boston just over a year ago. Tim McCarver is busy claiming that Manny disrespects the game, while this guy gets off without mention. It's a little bit disheartening.
- Upton looking like he's so comfy he's in a leather recliner with his feet up drills a hit to right, then takes second on a bobble by Werth. Two men on, no one out and the Trop is ready to explode.
- Pena sees four straight curveballs. 3-1 count. It's interesting, I've been trying to type a pretty long missive about the Red Sox, but haven't been able to finish it because this game is giving me plenty to type about thus far.
- Side note, Kerwin Danley is behind the plate. I remember him as being a super nice guy when I was with the Sox. He's a brotha with freckles, always a crowd pleaser.
- 1-0 Rays on a Pena ground ball to the right side. Upton to third.
- And another ground ball scores another run. Man, you gotta hate just giving two runs to a team on ground balls.
Top 2nd -
- I spent about fifteen minutes with my father last night discussing the end of the Red Sox season and as per usual he spent most of the fifteen minutes blaming Tito Francona. I admitted I didn't like the move to Timlin in Game 2 and thought that cost them, but asked what else Tito could have done. Dad's answer - start someone other than Wakefield in Game 4. When asked WHO? he responded with Justin Masterson. When I explained to him that solution was impossible, he argued that Tito should have made him a starter earlier in the year rather than keep him in the bullpen. That made me step back and really wonder how many Red Sox fans think that Tito has that kind of control. I think I am fairly uniquely qualified to understand how a Major League Baseball organization operates. Between spending two years in an actual, factual clubhouse and the amount of time I spend reading about the Sox, I feel that I have a handle on how they do things. It's pretty simple. Tito is an employee of the Sox who is in charge of gameday and inning to inning operations. Decisions including who is up or down from the minors, who is in the rotation, who is in the bullpen, who makes the postseason roster are made by Theo Epstein and the baseball operations guys. Theo is the boss, Tito the employee. I told my father its a lot like his situation at Longrale Park. Vance Aloupis is the owner and his boss. Dad is the manager of the apartment complex. If a decision on whether or not to buy a new garbage disposal has to be made, Dad has the authority to make it. It's a day-to-day decision. Raising the rent, that's up to Vance. I wonder how many Red Sox fans believe that Tito can raise the rent. Does this have something to do with why so many people complain about Tito? It's a thought.
- Ryan Howard looks like David Ortiz looked all playoffs...wait, scratch that, he totally doubled off the wall.
- My daughter may never play Division 1 football, but we sure have fun throwing the ball in the backyard. She already has less drops than most BC receivers of the last ten years.
- Man, that is how you quickly get out of an inning. Let's put it this way, you manage to have as many runners on base as the Phillies have had and you don't start getting them to score , you are in deep doo doo. Yeah, I said doo doo.
Bottom 2nd - They just had a commercial on for MLBTV. I'm not buying it. Baseball 24/7, REALLY? The only sport that can work in that situation is the NFL and that's for two reasons. 1. Gambling 2. Fantasy Football. I care about what happens to the Tampa Bay QB situation because it could affect my draft and my season and whether or not I bet, if that was legal, on them against the Falcons in Week 5. I don't care at all about the SS situation for the Rays because it has no impact on my life.
- This Rocco Baldelli situation with the mitochondrial disorder is just too odd. He told Ken Rosenthal that his legs shake by the sixth inning and that he takes pills by the handful to try to manage this issue. If I had this blog a few years ago, you would have heard me talking about the fact that Baldelli was going to be the Red Sox Centerfielder in 2009. I suppose you don't worry too much about the guy because he is rich, but I feel for him. He had the chance to be one of the truly great players of our lifetime and a rare disease has made him a platoon player. I only hope that his disorder is something he can spread information about and work towards treatment or a cure of.
- Tampa Bay takes a completely unnecessary chance, sending Baldelli to the plate on a line drive single by Upton with 2 outs and run themselves out of the inning. How do you not give Pena a chance to hit with the bases loaded in a 3-0 ball game. That may come back to haunt them.
Top 3rd - Phillie Phutility continues. This is getting scary for them. Runner on second with nobody out and they can't get the runner home. They are starting to feel like the Red Sox in this series.
Bottom 3rd - I totally missed that inning because I was texting my buddy Travis our plans for world domination. Simply put it involves Bill Simmons and The Talented Mr. Roto aka Matthew Berry leaving ESPN and starting their own website. It needs to happen. I seriously listened to 2 hours worth of SimmonBerry this week talking about entries to their ESPN fantasy basketball league. I didn't do it because I'm unemployed and bored, I did it because I truly enjoyed it. Anyway, the Rays went one two three, so that explains why I missed the inning.
Top 4th - Remember when I called Ryan Howard David Ortiz? Forget that, he hit another laser for a hit. He's obviously over his little slump.
- The Flying Hawaiian, Victorino, has a way better and more realistic nickname than Big Game James and he gets on with an infield single. We have runners on first and third with one out here kids, the Phillies must no longer be Phutile.
- Man, McCarver and Buck rarely bring something up that has any value. Here, they make sense, saying the Phillies hitter (Dobbs?) isn't picking up the ball out of Shields's hand at all. He hit .315 on the year and looks like me at the plate right now.
- Ken Rosenthal is phenomenal as a Sideline Reporter, btw. He always has a unique perspective on what is going on and only talks when there is something to say. On that particular note, he talked about how the Rays have a 1 point better ERA at home this year and the lighting has something to do with that. I can totally understand that having been in the Carrier Dome for a football game. Some domes are lit with a yellowish hue, it has to be disorienting.
- Phutile Phillies continue, two more men left on base. Yuck.
Bottom 5th - Yeah, I skipped a full one and a half innings. Rays lead 4-0 on a safety squeeze in the bottom of the 4th inning. I was busy arguing with my wife about the awesomeness of my moustache.
- Baldelli apparently made a phenomenal play in the Top of the 5th to double off Werth to end the inning with Ryan Howard in the on deck circle. At least that doesn't count as a Left on Base for the Phils.
- Pena walks, a ball gets by first on a pickoff throw by the catcher and he advances. One team can't catch a break, the other team gets them all. Man, the Rays love Game 2.
- The Phutile Phils get out of the inning without giving up a run and I'm paying more attention to the Talented Mr. Roto's Love/Hate column than I am to the game.
Top 6th - A Talented Mr. Roto excerpt..."Cedric Benson, RB Bengals: You think you hate your life? I bet Eric Karabell on today's podcast that Cedric Benson would get more than 100 total yards this week. So now I have to root for Cedric Benson and possibly admit I was wrong. Why don't I just make out with a dude and then kill myself to complete the trifecta." AWESOME!
- Howard leads off for the Phils. The Shift works...Howard crushes the ball to right and Iwamura plays it as a shortfielder.
- Wow, Upton couldn't get to that ball from Dobbs and the Phils have 1st and 3rd with 2 outs. What are the odds they blow this and leave 2 men on base? I'm saying really, really good, especially with Pedro Feliz coming up.
- WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTT - Big Game James exits in the 6th. Seems unreasonable.
- Inning over...gross
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