After witnessing a thrilling game one win in person and seeing a game two that wasn't quite so fun on TV, I am flying back to Philadelphia for game four. If tomorrow night gets rained out, then there's the potential that I won't see a game at all. Since I don't feel like doing my Econ homework, how about I do a live blog about my trip home?
11:42- I've been sitting at gate F87 at TPA for about twenty minutes now. My flight for Pittsburgh leaves at 1:30, and it looks like the weather will clear up enough to get out of here on time. I just realized that I forgot my Underarmour in my room, which will make for a chilly night Sunday. How do you forget the one thing you need to remember most?
12:05- I guess I just arrived at a different terminal last time I was here, but there is literally nothing to eat here. There's a Chili's to go, but I don't want to spend that much money on lunch at an airport. Why do you put all of your restaurants in the plaza thing? You know we can't get there after we go through security.
12:23- The Phillies just made it official. If game three does in fact get rained out, those tickets will be honored on Sunday. That means I will be flying up for absolutely nothing because I can't stay through Monday. Unbelievable. How much sense does that make? Now, three sets of people are going to have to adjust their plans instead of just one if they made the game three people go on Tuesday.
12:53- I should likely take out my headphones while that attendant is talking. Hopefully I didn't miss anything important. I'm going to see if I can squeeze in last night's Office before we take off.
12:56- NBC informs me that I can't watch the video from my current location. Huge blow.
1:00- Sounds like we're starting to board. I'll be back in Pittsburgh. I'm hoping for some nice food.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
This One
This World Series berth is for Pat Burrell and Jimmy Rollins. This is their 9th season in town, and for Pat, it might be his last. They've seen the worst, and hopefully best, days of the Phillies. For their entire careers, they have worked hard to make this team enjoyable to watch. They did not complain even a second, and they had every reason to for a number of years. Now they have a chance to make this city a winner again.
This one's for Jamie Moyer and Matt Stairs. These two are a combined 85 years old and have nearly 40 years of ML experience between them. However, neither has played in a World Series. Now this opportunity is here for them. Moyer hasn't had his best stuff in the postseason, but I bet he still has something up his sleeve for the greatest stage in the game.
This one's for the fans; the old fans that have had to put up with a lot of bad baseball from this organization for a lot of decades; the young fans who have never seen a Philadelphia team win a championship; the youngest fans who have never seen the Phillies appear in a World Series; the fans that are far away, all around the world, who couldn't be in town to celebrate, and of course the fans who filled the streets of Philadelphia last night.
This one's for Charlie Manuel and the coaching staff. Charlie's fought a lot of battles in his life, and now he's being rewarded with a chance to win it all. From health problems to unfair criticism from fans and radio hosts, Manuel has led this team to a place that in 100 years, we haven't seen very much. This one's for Davey Lopes for battling cancer and still helping the Phillies become the best baserunning team in the majors. This one's for Jimy Williams getting another taste of the World Series.
This one's for Harry Kalas and the broadcasters. No one knows how much time Harry has left in the booth, but everyone wants to hear one last magical call. LA and Sarge have experience playing in these games, but this will be their first in the booth. This one's for Scott Franzke, who has to take a backseat to the greatest for all big moments this postseason. He'll get his chance someday soon.
This one's for Brad Lidge. One could make a serious case for him being team MVP. After enduring a season in which the bullpen was horrendous and a major weak point, Lidge came in here and flat out dominated. He overcame a devastating loss, the loss of his mechanics and stuff to re-emerge as a dominant pitcher.
This one's for Brett Myers. Despite a couple of infamous incidents and an awful first half, the fans have really gotten behind him. He's had his ups and downs the past few seasons, including two major role changes within months of each other. When all hope appeared to be lost in June, he swallowed his pride, went to the minor leagues and came back re-focused. He's been huge.
This one's for all the homegrown guys, including Cole Hamels, J.A. Happ, Ryan Madson, Carlos Ruiz, Ryan Howard and Chase Utley. They came through our system, and they've all made contributions this year, ranging from a lot to a little. Hamels gave this pitching staff a jolt it hasn't seen since Schilling departed. Howard and Utley carried this team from mediocrity to new heights. Carlos Ruiz handles this pitching staff about as well as any other catcher handles theirs. Ryan Madson is a great middle reliever and is bringing the heat when the team needs it most. J.A. Happ dealt with being the swing guy with ease and has pitched a few innings when the team needed him. This one is also for Ed Wade, Pat Gillick, Mike Arbuckle, Ruben Amaro, and anyone in the front office or minor league staffs that drafted these guys, helped them along and put them int he positions they are now.
This one's for Geoff Jenkins. It's clear that Geoff is not the player the Phillies signed, but he doesn't complain about a loss in at bats. This is his first time in the playoffs, and he's not pouting because he's not participating. He's pumped to be on a team this good, and he's happy he's a part of it. Congratulations on the birth of another child.
This one's for the guys who didn't always have it in their careers, such as Chad Durbin, J.C. Romero, Chris Coste, Shane Victorino and Jayson Werth. The World Series is much different from the Indy leagues in North Dakota. Shane Victorino and Jayson Werth got to celebrate this win on the field of the team that didn't think they could make it anymore. They've overcome serious injuries that nearly ended their careers, and some were waived for poor performance. No matter what the problems were, they are behind these guys, and they are contributing.
This one's for the guys that got here just in time, like Pedro Feliz, Joe Blanton and Scott Eyre. Feliz didn't get much of a chance to show what he could do against Anaheim, and it certainly wasn't Eyre's fault the Giants couldn't get it done. Feliz and Blanton draw the ire of many fans, but these guys helped get the team to where they are.
Finally, this one's for those last few guys: Clay Condrey, Eric Bruntlett and So Taguchi. It takes 25 guys to make a baseball roster, and they were on that roster just like everyone else. They accepted their roles and did what they could to help the team.
This one's not over though. This one has been a great ride, but there's still some business to take care of. This one needs four more wins, or this one will be like all the other ones.
This one's for Jamie Moyer and Matt Stairs. These two are a combined 85 years old and have nearly 40 years of ML experience between them. However, neither has played in a World Series. Now this opportunity is here for them. Moyer hasn't had his best stuff in the postseason, but I bet he still has something up his sleeve for the greatest stage in the game.
This one's for the fans; the old fans that have had to put up with a lot of bad baseball from this organization for a lot of decades; the young fans who have never seen a Philadelphia team win a championship; the youngest fans who have never seen the Phillies appear in a World Series; the fans that are far away, all around the world, who couldn't be in town to celebrate, and of course the fans who filled the streets of Philadelphia last night.
This one's for Charlie Manuel and the coaching staff. Charlie's fought a lot of battles in his life, and now he's being rewarded with a chance to win it all. From health problems to unfair criticism from fans and radio hosts, Manuel has led this team to a place that in 100 years, we haven't seen very much. This one's for Davey Lopes for battling cancer and still helping the Phillies become the best baserunning team in the majors. This one's for Jimy Williams getting another taste of the World Series.
This one's for Harry Kalas and the broadcasters. No one knows how much time Harry has left in the booth, but everyone wants to hear one last magical call. LA and Sarge have experience playing in these games, but this will be their first in the booth. This one's for Scott Franzke, who has to take a backseat to the greatest for all big moments this postseason. He'll get his chance someday soon.
This one's for Brad Lidge. One could make a serious case for him being team MVP. After enduring a season in which the bullpen was horrendous and a major weak point, Lidge came in here and flat out dominated. He overcame a devastating loss, the loss of his mechanics and stuff to re-emerge as a dominant pitcher.
This one's for Brett Myers. Despite a couple of infamous incidents and an awful first half, the fans have really gotten behind him. He's had his ups and downs the past few seasons, including two major role changes within months of each other. When all hope appeared to be lost in June, he swallowed his pride, went to the minor leagues and came back re-focused. He's been huge.
This one's for all the homegrown guys, including Cole Hamels, J.A. Happ, Ryan Madson, Carlos Ruiz, Ryan Howard and Chase Utley. They came through our system, and they've all made contributions this year, ranging from a lot to a little. Hamels gave this pitching staff a jolt it hasn't seen since Schilling departed. Howard and Utley carried this team from mediocrity to new heights. Carlos Ruiz handles this pitching staff about as well as any other catcher handles theirs. Ryan Madson is a great middle reliever and is bringing the heat when the team needs it most. J.A. Happ dealt with being the swing guy with ease and has pitched a few innings when the team needed him. This one is also for Ed Wade, Pat Gillick, Mike Arbuckle, Ruben Amaro, and anyone in the front office or minor league staffs that drafted these guys, helped them along and put them int he positions they are now.
This one's for Geoff Jenkins. It's clear that Geoff is not the player the Phillies signed, but he doesn't complain about a loss in at bats. This is his first time in the playoffs, and he's not pouting because he's not participating. He's pumped to be on a team this good, and he's happy he's a part of it. Congratulations on the birth of another child.
This one's for the guys who didn't always have it in their careers, such as Chad Durbin, J.C. Romero, Chris Coste, Shane Victorino and Jayson Werth. The World Series is much different from the Indy leagues in North Dakota. Shane Victorino and Jayson Werth got to celebrate this win on the field of the team that didn't think they could make it anymore. They've overcome serious injuries that nearly ended their careers, and some were waived for poor performance. No matter what the problems were, they are behind these guys, and they are contributing.
This one's for the guys that got here just in time, like Pedro Feliz, Joe Blanton and Scott Eyre. Feliz didn't get much of a chance to show what he could do against Anaheim, and it certainly wasn't Eyre's fault the Giants couldn't get it done. Feliz and Blanton draw the ire of many fans, but these guys helped get the team to where they are.
Finally, this one's for those last few guys: Clay Condrey, Eric Bruntlett and So Taguchi. It takes 25 guys to make a baseball roster, and they were on that roster just like everyone else. They accepted their roles and did what they could to help the team.
This one's not over though. This one has been a great ride, but there's still some business to take care of. This one needs four more wins, or this one will be like all the other ones.
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