It Will be the Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays wrapped up the American League Championship Series last night, with a 3-1 win in Game 7. They will be taking on our-beloved Phils in the World Series. The Red Sox, after being down 3-1 in the series, won two consecutive games to force this decisive seventh game.

I didn't know who to root for last night. I thought both teams had good pitching and good hittting. I knew both would be a tough test for the Phils. I wanted to root for the Rays, because I didn't want the Red Sox to win three straight games coming into the World Series. But the Rays have really been hitting the ball (mostly out of the park), so I'm a little nervous.

It will be a tough series for sure for the Phillies. Cole Hamels needs to come out strong in Game 1 on Wednesday. I will do a comprehensive preview on either Tuesday or Wednesday.

Baseball's Final Four

The League Championship Series will start tomorrow, with the Dodgers taking the on the Phillies. In the American League, the Boston Red Sox will be taking on division rival Tampa Bay. Here is a preview of both series:

Red Sox vs. Rays

Boston Red Sox

This is a very intriguing series between two very good teams from the AL East. Boston pitching depth is probably unmatched in the majors, but Tampa's is a close second. Daisuke Matsuzaka and Jon Lester are two of the most dominating pitchers in the game. Josh Beckett isn't 100% but he will start at least one game in this series.

Boston's lineup has a great mix of veteran players and blossoming stars. Everyone knows Big Papi (above) is their power hitter, but he is suffering from a wrist injury. He hasn't been hitting all that well. Jason Bay has been a great run producer since coming from Pittsburgh. Second baseman Dustin Pedroia batted .326 with 17 homers and 83 RBIs. That .326 average was good for second in the American League. He should be the AL MVP. The rest of the lineup is stacked.

One major loss for the Red Sox is veteran third basemen Mike Lowell. Lowell was last year's World Series MVP, and a real leader. Lowell is certain that he will not play in any remaining playoff games.

Tampa Bay Rays

I have to confess that I thought the Rays would crumble in the second half. They sure showed me. The Rays young pitchers have really pitched well in big games this season (and in the playoffs). James Shields pitched well during the season, and had a nice outing against the White Sox last week. Scott Kazmir didn't have his best season this year, but he still a feared lefty.

The Rays seem to have great teamwork in a sport that significantly lacks real teamwork. Their young (and loaded-with-talent) players score runs with ease. Evan Longoria is a all-around player at third base. He homered in his first two postseason at-bats. Not bad for a rookie. Carlos Pena is the only player on the Rays with 100+ RBIs. He also knocked 31 balls over the fence during the season.

My Prediction: Rays in 7

Phillies vs. Dodgers

Philadelphia Phillies

Everyone knows about the Phillies prolific offense. I don't think I need to give you the stats of guys like Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, and Pat Burrell. But a lot of the Phils' role players have been stepping up in the postseason. Shane Victorino has been terrific in October, knocking in five runs in four games. Jayson Werth has been a player that has created opportunities. His speed and timely hitting helped carry the Phils to the playoffs.

The starting pitching for the Phillies has been rather inconsistent. Cole Hamels is the team's ace. And he pitched a gem in the Game 1 of the NLCS, throwing eight shutout innings. Brett Myers looked very good in Game 2, but he has a tendency to blow up. Jamie Moyer pitched poorly in Game 3, but he usually is money. The Phillies bullpen is shaky if the starters don't go at least six innings.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Manny Ramirez is absolutely dominant in the playoffs. The Phils cannot pitch to him. He hit two homers in the Cub debacle. He has 26 dingers in the playoffs in his career. The Dodgers power ends with Manny. Andre Eithier is second on the team in homers with a parsley 20 (Note: Eithier would be fifth on the Phillies). Matt Kemp, James Loney, and Russell Martin are the fuel that drives the Dodger offense.

The Dodger pitching isn't all that great either. Manager Joe Torre will start Dereck Lowe, who was 14-11 with a 3.24 ERA during the regular season. Chad Billingsley is the team's best starter, going 16-10 with a 3.12 earned run average.

My Prediction: Phillies in 6

Comment on your predictions

Two Former Phillies' Pitchers Moved

Yesterday's Adam Dunn trade really surprised me, but today's moves were a bit more predictable. Paul Byrd was acquired by the Boston Red Sox and Freddy Garcia was picked up by the Detroit Tigers.

Let's start off with the Byrd move. The Red Sox traded for Byrd because they are down a starter now that Tim Wakefield is on the DL. Byrd is 7-10 with a 4.53 earned run average. Not bad numbers for the 37-year old former Phillie. Byrd had some good years for the bad Phillies' teams.

Freddy "nightmare" Garcia will be pitching for the pitching-starved Tigers. Garcia was a bigger waste of money than an "official" Major League Baseball (c'mon, 15 bucks for a baseball) for the Phillies last season. Anyone who's a Phillies' fan knows how the worst 1-2 combo in the National League (Garcia-Adam Eaton) tried to derail the Phillies last season. Garcia, hailed as the biggest offseason signing for the Phillies last season, went 1-5 with a 5+ ERA, before promptly going on the disabled list for the rest of the year (too bad Eation couldn't follow him.)

Gary Sheffield is reportedly on the market. The Tigers' outfielder/DH has complained about playing time in recent days. Does he really deserve more playing time? He's batting .219 with ten four-baggers, not nearly as good as the Sheff of old. He'll probably be moved very shortly, though.

Sunday's Legend- Ted Williams

Ted Williams was born August 30, 1918 in San Diego, California. Williams joined the Major League Boston Red Sox in 1939. He was one of the tallest guys on the team. In his rookie season he led the league in RBIs. He was 4th in MVP voting, not a bad way to start off. In 1941 he hit .406, most players today don't come close to that mark. In that season he also set a Major League record in on-base percentage at .551. Ted Williams is the only Major League player to steal a base in 4 decades (30's, 40's, 50's, and 60's) even though he wasn't a good base stealer. He hit .344 for his career and had 522 home runs. He was the MVP in 1946 and 1949. Why wasn't the MVP in 1941 when he hit .406? That was because Joe DiMaggio had his 56-game hitting streak and won it that year. He won the triple crown in 1942 and 1946. The triple crown is when a player leads the league in batting average, homers, and RBIs. He was an All-Star 17 times. He homered in the last at bat of his career. The stats go on and on. After his playing career he did manage the Wasington Senators from 1969 to 1971 and the Texas Rangers in 1972. He was selected as a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 1966, getting 93.38% of the vote.
Ted was also a war hero. He was a Marine pilot in World War 2 and in the Korean War. He had to crash land his plane one time after being hit in the wing. After his service, Williams remained in the reserves.
Williams had a bad relationship with the Boston media and fans. He spit at the fans one time after he was getting booed a lot. He could not understand why the fans would boo him if he made a error in left field then cheer for him the next inning after he hit a home run. The Boston media was known for critizing him and insulting his personal life on a daily basis. Williams would have verbal fights with these media members all the time. His relationship improved with the fans after he retired and kept getting better.
Ted Williams was known to curse a lot all of his life. He was known to have mood swings. When he retired he went fishing most of the time. He loved fly fishing.
Ted Williams is one of (if not the best) hitters the game of baseball has ever seen. Ted died July 5, 2002.