PHILLIES BEAT LA DODGERS IN 5

Well they did it...

The Philadelphia Phillies beat the LA Dodgers 10 - 4 to in the NLCS 4 -1!

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The last time a Philadelphia baseball team had back to back world series appearances was way back in 1929 and 1930 when Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics beat the Chicago Cubs in '29 and the St. Louis Cardinals in 1930.

This was the fifth time the Philadelphia Phillies met the LA Dodgers in a NLCS matchup

So I am pleased the Phillies won.

I have a bad taste left in my mouth from the vile Dodgers fans that permeated my section at Petco Park this season and the fact that they have that non- team player Manny Ramirez their team.

You know that I was proudly waving around my "BEAT LA" towel when we got those this past season!



As far as the Angels go...

Well the Yankees don't want to get too cocky- although it is an uphill climb to win one at the Big A and then the next two at Yankee Stadium we have to remember last year's ALCS between the Red Sox and the D Rays.

After blowing a 7–0 lead late in a potential series-clinching Game 5 and a 3–1 series lead, they almost didn't make it to their world series and Boston played hard enough to get it to game 7 which the Ray's eventually won.

So the Angels have a choice tomorrow- play like they really want to go to the World Series or let the team that George bought go to another world championship...their last being in 2003.

If the Yanks do win the ALCS then you know I will be rooting for the Phillies to repeat.

Partly because San Diego is a National League town, but mostly because I have never been a Yankee fan. As a kid I always was a Mets fan...don't ask me why...I just loved that team and even Shea Stadium as a kid!

Congrats to the ...



...and good luck Angels tomorrow night!


Click here to see who won past NLCS contests!


Click here to see VIDEO highlights of tonight's game!

ANGELS WIN IN 11

Finally the Angels get timely hitting after another extra inning game.



SERIES SO FAR- YANKEES 2 wins - ANGELS 1 win



But us Angel fans cannot breath easy yet.

It is almost imperative that they win the next two games at home. Otherwise they will have to win game 6 or 7 back in the Bronx at Yankee Stadium.

GO



Click here for the game wrap up in the LA Times.

CAN THE PHILL'S REPEAT?

While I am rooting for the....



it might be fun to see Philly repeat...something that has not been done since 2000 when the Yankees bear my childhood team...the Mets...giving them the third consecutive World Series win.

Certainly the people of Philly were happy last year after the Philadelphia Phillies broke the 25 year drought!

So I guess if I am rooting for a National League Team, since my Padres are not in it, I would go with Philly! At least because of the name...Philip...Phillies...Philly! LOL

Here is a recap video I found from last year.

Game Times

Series begins Friday
Game	Matchup	Day	Date	Time ET	TV
Gm 1	LAA @ NYY	Fri	Oct. 16	TBD	FOX
Gm 2	LAA @ NYY	Sat	Oct. 17	TBD	FOX
Gm 3	NYY @ LAA	Mon	Oct. 19	TBD	FOX
Gm 4	NYY @ LAA	Tue	Oct. 20	TBD	FOX
Gm 5*	NYY @ LAA	Thu	Oct. 22	TBD	FOX
Gm 6*	LAA @ NYY	Sat	Oct. 24	TBD	FOX
Gm 7*	LAA @ NYY	Sun	Oct. 25	TBD	FOX

Series begins Thursday
Game	Matchup	Day	Date	Time ET	TV
Gm 1	PHI @ LAD	Thu	Oct. 15	TBD	TBS
Gm 2	PHI @ LAD	Fri	Oct. 16	TBD	TBS
Gm 3	LAD @ PHI	Sun	Oct. 18	TBD	TBS
Gm 4	LAD @ PHI	Mon	Oct. 19	TBD	TBS
Gm 5*	LAD @ PHI	Wed	Oct. 21	TBD	TBS
Gm 6*	PHI @ LAD	Fri	Oct. 23	TBD	TBS
Gm 7*	PHI @ LAD	Sat	Oct. 24	TBD	TBS

• League Championship Series are best of seven games.

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/schedule/ps.jsp?y=09

ANGELS MAKE MISTAKES TOO

Game 2 of the ALCS is still going in the 12th inning.

The big mistake tonight in my opinion...



...not walking A. Rod in the bottom of the 11th...

He hit a home ruin that just cleared the wall and re-tied the game 3-3.

This may be the first game in post season, in a very long time that gets suspended because of rain...we will see what happens!

Now in the top of the 12th we have a man on base with two outs and the Angels best clutch hitter up...and of course the Skankies intentionally walk him....my fingers are crossed...

Go....

WILL REPLAYS BRING BACK FAIR PLAY?

DENVER- Home plate umpire Jerry Meals says he missed a key call that helped the Phillies beat the Rockies early Monday morning. Brad Lidge closed out a 6-5 win at 2:13 a.m. ET to help the Phillies take a 2-1 lead over Colorado in their best-of-five National League Division Series.

But Home plate umpire Jerry Meals says he missed a key call that helped the Phillies beat the Rockies early Monday morning.

Meals told The Associated Press after the game that he missed a call in the ninth inning that allowed Chase Utley to reach base and Jimmy Rollins to take third base.

Ryan Howard's sacrifice fly on the next play off Huston Street broke a 5-5 tie and gave the Phillies the go-ahead run in the game.

Utley's check-swing infield single that should have been ruled a foul ball because it hit him while he was in the batter's box before rolling fair.

Crew chief Gerry Davis said blown calls like this one bother the umpires as much as they do everyone else.

"We're judged not by excellence, but by perfection," he said. "Our job is to get every call correct. That's what we aspire to do. Perfection is very tough. That's a tough aspiration."

Utley had little to say after the game ended well after 2 a.m. in Philadelphia.

Street said Utley knew he was hit by the ball.

"He told 'Tulo when he got to second it hit him," Street said. "You can see on the replay it clearly hit him. It was a close play at first. On the replay Todd's foot is pretty clearly on the base.”

You can click here to read the rest of the story.

Revenge At Last

After taking a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning the Colorado Rockies closer blew yet another save. The Phillies scored 3 runs in the top of the 9th and now have a chance to defend their world championship against them bums- the LA Dodgers.

This felt good today.

Not because I am a Phillies fan but because I still remember October 2007 and the one game playoff between the Padres and the Rockies and the same heartbreak us Padres fans were feeling then as the fans in Denver are at this moment.

I was watching on the big screen at the park in the park at PETCO PARK..that's a hell of a sentence. Anyhow here is what happened...according to a wikipedia page.

San Diego took an 8-6 lead in the top of the 13th on a two-run homer by left fielder Scott Hairston off Rockies' relief pitcher Jorge Julio. Julio was immediately replaced by Ramón Ortiz who finished the inning. Baseball's all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman was then called in to close the game and nail down a playoff spot.

In the bottom of the 13th, Hoffman gave up extra-base hits to the first three batters. Colorado second baseman Kazuo Matsui began the inning with a double. Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki followed with a double of his own, scoring Matsui. Holliday then hit a triple, scoring Tulowitzki. The score was now tied 8-8 with no outs. The Padres then intentionally walked first baseman Todd Helton.

Jamey Carroll then came up to bat, having replaced third baseman Garrett Atkins earlier in the game. Carroll flied out to shallow right field, prompting Holliday to tag up from third. Holliday slid into home plate head-first and to the outside of Padres backup catcher Michael Barrett, whose left leg extended across the plate. Barrett could not hold on to the throw from right fielder Brian Giles, and the ball dribbled toward the backstop. During the slide, Holliday's right hand wedged under Barrett’s foot, his face hit the dirt hard, and he lay stunned on the ground.

After pausing momentarily, home plate umpire Tim McClelland slowly and emphatically gave the "safe" signal, indicating Holliday had scored the game-winning run. Hoffman (4-5) was credited with his 5th loss of the season, and Ortiz (1-0) with his only win.

Some viewers and sportswriters questioned whether Holliday actually touched home plate. If he had not, then arguably Barrett could have retrieved the ball and tagged him out. The Rockies would then have had two outs with Helton still safe on base, and right fielder Brad Hawpe coming to bat.

Long after the game ended, a heated debate lingered regarding the final call at home plate. The passion of several fans regarding the correctness of the call eventually led to the creation of entire web sites, such as the now defunct www.hollidaynevertouchedtheplate.com, and online forums dedicated to proving that video replay of the slide either shows Holliday was clearly out, clearly safe, or that the video is inconclusive.

From an official standpoint, the video is inconsequential, as Major League Baseball had no provision for instant replay review at the time, and even under the system implemented at the end of the 2008 season (which was partially prompted by Atkins' near-home run in the seventh inning), close calls at home plate or at any base cannot be reviewed.

SO APOLOGIES TO ANY COLORADO ROCKIES FANS THAT FINDS THIS PAGE BUT JUSTICE HAS FINALLY BEEN SOMEWHAT SERVED.

A SURE WIN WAS RIPPED AWAY AND IN THIS GAME THERE WAS YET ANOTHER BLOWN UMPIRE CALL THAT MAY HAVE JUST MADE THE DIFFERENCE IN THE GAME!

I will do another post during the week about who I want to win in each league.

PADRES 2009 SEASON MEMORIES

I forgot that I gad this blog and I will probably use it duruing the playoffs and when baseball seasson starts in the spromg of 2010. While ythe Padres finished next to last this year, if everyone stays pit and injury free I think we are going to have a contending team in the National League west next year.

There are two memories from this season that were really special...


The first involves the guy I have my arm around. I was just stopping by Petco to drop something off for a friend and this kid asked if I had a cigarette. I gave him one and about five minutes later he hands me a ticket to the game. His name was Trevor and he was three weeks away frpm going to boot camp in the Marines.

The attitide of this guy was great and it was a real cool thing for him to do. He is the type of young man- who does things for the right reasons that I am proud to having serving in the US Marines.

On another day I spent an aftrernon in the XX1090 am suite at Petco...


...what can I say...beer on tap and lots of snacks...the perfect way to weatch a game...



...and the best part is the fact that we won against the Oakland A's that Sunday.

But now the season is over and I always get sad...I miss hearing Andy Masur and Jerry Coleman on the tradio...sorrty don't miss Ted Lightner lol...but at least my favorite American League team...the Angels are in the ALCS.

The game between the NY Yankees and the Minnesota Twins is in the lst of the 9th so it looks like the Angels are gouing to play the Yankees. I want the Angels to whup the collective asses of the Yankees to once again show Steinbrenner that a $423 million dollar payroll does not also gusarentee a world championship.

That is probably the most discouraging thing about baseball for me...it's changed so much from when I was a kid in the late 60's and 70's. these days the biggest payroll teams tend to win the prizes...

...but watch out for the San Diego Padres next year...we just may surprise everyone!