Jim Mulry, my good sports talk sidekick, says the series doesn't end tonight. I wish we could have done a sports talk show tonight but he can't make it. I wanted to tell him on the show that this is the night for the Phillies to sip champagne and smoke a cigar because they will win a World Championship tonight in Philadelphia!
The chilly weather will be just fine for the end of this one, I think the Phillies are rested enough now with the rain over and conditions here are good enough to play.
Join me at my Phillies blog:
www.fightinphillies.com
Read more about all of the latest on the Game 5 pfodder!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Phillies on the brink of World Championship
The Phillies have to find themselves just one more win and they've got a World Championship. Is this team the luckiest of any of the Phillies playoff teams? Charlie Manuel seems to have said that the team is a 'little' lucky. The Phillies, with the exception of a power display last night in Game 4, have been winning on the edge with just getting that key hit or homerun and having the pitching hold the game for the team.
Come on over to my Phillies site at:
and vote for Mr. October for the Phillies:
www.fightinphillies.com
Come on over to my Phillies site at:
and vote for Mr. October for the Phillies:
www.fightinphillies.com
Friday, October 24, 2008
Rays even series 1-1
Tampa came back and played almost the same game the Phillies did in the first World Series game. That was get on the board and score early. The Phillies have had loads of chances to score runs in this series already but can't seem to put the puzzle together to do it. If you followed the Phillies all season, this is no surprise. They've had this issue before, they get men on base but can't score at times. A lot of the players on the team just don't seem comfortable in the big spotlight. Jimmy Rollins has been one of them. He's just not that happy go lucky type guy at times, it shows he's tense in the first two games. Perhaps the shift in the series to Philadelphia will do him justice and allow him to play his game.
Ryan Howard did get on base a few times in Game 2 after his terrible performance in Game 1 where he struck out three times and got a walk. Ryan has yet to show us that power, and homerun prowess. He didn't have a home run yet this postseason and this is a concern. I didn't expect the Phillies to take game 2, the Rays are way to hungry to let that happen. Tampa has shown a will to win the whole season by taking the ALCS and even the Eastern AL division from the power stocked NY Yankees and Boston Red Sox. This team isn't a push over for sure.
Down here in Tampa, I was listening to the ESPN local radio sports show called the Killer B's. They droned on and on yesterday about the fact that Clearwater, Florida which is where the Phillies train in the Spring, shouldn't be rooting for the Phillies at all and this was 'Rays Country'. They needed something to talk about and this was their topic for damn near the whole show. What a waste of radio time, they even had the mayor of Clearwater on the show and he said he supported the Phillies but at the same time he was rooting for the Rays. Fine, but these guys on ESPN radio belabored this subject and beat it to death like a dead horse. You can root for who you want to Killer B's whether you live just outside of the Tropicana Field and like the Phillies or you live in Center City Philly and like the Rays. This is what America is all about!
The series shifts to Philly for three games now, it is even raining down here in normally sun drenched Florida, hopefully we can get the games in on time in Philly without too much of a problem due to weather. I think you see a different Phillies team for game 1 in Philly and a Phillies victory.
Rich Baxter
FightinPhillies.com
Phillywebcast.com
Ryan Howard did get on base a few times in Game 2 after his terrible performance in Game 1 where he struck out three times and got a walk. Ryan has yet to show us that power, and homerun prowess. He didn't have a home run yet this postseason and this is a concern. I didn't expect the Phillies to take game 2, the Rays are way to hungry to let that happen. Tampa has shown a will to win the whole season by taking the ALCS and even the Eastern AL division from the power stocked NY Yankees and Boston Red Sox. This team isn't a push over for sure.
Down here in Tampa, I was listening to the ESPN local radio sports show called the Killer B's. They droned on and on yesterday about the fact that Clearwater, Florida which is where the Phillies train in the Spring, shouldn't be rooting for the Phillies at all and this was 'Rays Country'. They needed something to talk about and this was their topic for damn near the whole show. What a waste of radio time, they even had the mayor of Clearwater on the show and he said he supported the Phillies but at the same time he was rooting for the Rays. Fine, but these guys on ESPN radio belabored this subject and beat it to death like a dead horse. You can root for who you want to Killer B's whether you live just outside of the Tropicana Field and like the Phillies or you live in Center City Philly and like the Rays. This is what America is all about!
The series shifts to Philly for three games now, it is even raining down here in normally sun drenched Florida, hopefully we can get the games in on time in Philly without too much of a problem due to weather. I think you see a different Phillies team for game 1 in Philly and a Phillies victory.
Rich Baxter
FightinPhillies.com
Phillywebcast.com
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Phils strand plenty, but win Game 1
The Phillies didn't lose a step last night in Game 1 in St. Petersburg, Florida for the first win in World Series history for the Phillies since 1993. Cole Hamels pitched a great game and the early offense by the Phils was good enough to carry the win in the land of the cowbell. Chase Utley came through in a big way and deposited a big home run into the right field seats to give the fightin's the lead early.
The Phillies continued to get a lot of hits off of Tampa starter, Scott Kazmir, but they couldn't score any of them. They had an incredible 24 LOB in this game and they really shouldn't have won this game just based on that. The Phillies have done this all year, get runners on and then not score them. The combination of Rollins, Howard, and Coste left 14 players stranded on the bases between the three of them. Pitching was the key to this victory, because without the stellar performances by Cole Hamels, Ryan Madson, and Brad Lidge, the Phillies probably would have ended up losing this one.
Ryan Howard got no respect from the Rays, and he ended up striking out 3 times and drew one walk. Ryan didn't look that good at all when he was flailing at balls as he's done against left handed pitching all season long. He'll come around possibly tonight with a right handed pitcher now going for the Rays in James Shields.
The sold out crowd of over 40,000 in the Tropicana Field had little to cheer about except a home run by Carl Crawford. The Rays fans looked like they needed a rally towel instead of those terrible cowbells. I think a lot of the crowd noise is even drowned out by those cowbells, so they probably work against the notion that it is helping the team win. Phillies fans will be just plain loud when the series returns to Philly over the weekend.
This victory silences a lot of the 'experts' that picked the Rays to win, they have to be double thinking their choice today, but this series is a best of seven series so the Phillies really haven't won anything other than Game 1 for now. The series will undoubtebly take a twist and turn here or there. My original pick was Phillies in 5, so that still looks good. We'll see tonight if Brett Myers can continue where Cole left off, and the Phillies offense can finally score some of those stranded runners if they have that many tonight.
Rich Baxter -
FightinPhillies.com
Phillywebcast.com
The Phillies continued to get a lot of hits off of Tampa starter, Scott Kazmir, but they couldn't score any of them. They had an incredible 24 LOB in this game and they really shouldn't have won this game just based on that. The Phillies have done this all year, get runners on and then not score them. The combination of Rollins, Howard, and Coste left 14 players stranded on the bases between the three of them. Pitching was the key to this victory, because without the stellar performances by Cole Hamels, Ryan Madson, and Brad Lidge, the Phillies probably would have ended up losing this one.
Ryan Howard got no respect from the Rays, and he ended up striking out 3 times and drew one walk. Ryan didn't look that good at all when he was flailing at balls as he's done against left handed pitching all season long. He'll come around possibly tonight with a right handed pitcher now going for the Rays in James Shields.
The sold out crowd of over 40,000 in the Tropicana Field had little to cheer about except a home run by Carl Crawford. The Rays fans looked like they needed a rally towel instead of those terrible cowbells. I think a lot of the crowd noise is even drowned out by those cowbells, so they probably work against the notion that it is helping the team win. Phillies fans will be just plain loud when the series returns to Philly over the weekend.
This victory silences a lot of the 'experts' that picked the Rays to win, they have to be double thinking their choice today, but this series is a best of seven series so the Phillies really haven't won anything other than Game 1 for now. The series will undoubtebly take a twist and turn here or there. My original pick was Phillies in 5, so that still looks good. We'll see tonight if Brett Myers can continue where Cole left off, and the Phillies offense can finally score some of those stranded runners if they have that many tonight.
Rich Baxter -
FightinPhillies.com
Phillywebcast.com
Monday, October 20, 2008
The Phillies fan descend on the Rays Town...
I wore my Phillies jersey down here in Tampa today. I expected to talk baseball with people and my expectations weren't disappointed. The desk clerk was first as when we started talking baseball he told me the Rays barely attracted 20,000 people a night up to the All Star break and now everyone is a Rays fan. That is so true, both Florida teams seem to be that way. The whole season the hometown fans don't seem to support them, look at the Florida Marlins for instance, but if they make the playoffs and World Series the fans come crawling out of the wood work.
Everywhere I went down here, I encountered people who were finally happy to see a guy with a Phillies shirt on! I heard that many times during the day, and most people were very polite when they didn't think much of my Phillies shirt or choice of team. I even went down to St.Petersburg to the stadium in a vain attempt to get tickets to Game 1 at the ticket window at the stadium. I was told there will be a sale of seats, and any remaining seats would go onsale at the Rays site if there were any left. The actual sale of the tickets will be on Tuesday with the game on Wednesday. I encountered some real die hard Rays fans waiting for the players to arrive, they treated myself and my Mrs. like one of their own, they knew we had come to get a glimpse of our heroes from Philadelphia, just as they were waiting for their local Tampa heroes.
I also went to the Clearwater Bright House Network Phillies stadium where they have a gift shop that is open all year round, I looked at some nice branded hats with the World Series logo on them, and some nice shirts among other things. If you're coming down to the games, go there for your merchandise. It's all in a nice gift shop right at the stadium.
Rich Baxter - Fightin Phillies blog and Phillywebcast.com
Everywhere I went down here, I encountered people who were finally happy to see a guy with a Phillies shirt on! I heard that many times during the day, and most people were very polite when they didn't think much of my Phillies shirt or choice of team. I even went down to St.Petersburg to the stadium in a vain attempt to get tickets to Game 1 at the ticket window at the stadium. I was told there will be a sale of seats, and any remaining seats would go onsale at the Rays site if there were any left. The actual sale of the tickets will be on Tuesday with the game on Wednesday. I encountered some real die hard Rays fans waiting for the players to arrive, they treated myself and my Mrs. like one of their own, they knew we had come to get a glimpse of our heroes from Philadelphia, just as they were waiting for their local Tampa heroes.
I also went to the Clearwater Bright House Network Phillies stadium where they have a gift shop that is open all year round, I looked at some nice branded hats with the World Series logo on them, and some nice shirts among other things. If you're coming down to the games, go there for your merchandise. It's all in a nice gift shop right at the stadium.
Rich Baxter - Fightin Phillies blog and Phillywebcast.com
Sunday, October 19, 2008
So it's off to Tampa? Or will it be Boston?
Well today I am down in Tampa, not to see Game 7 but I am on vacation down here and I figured it was worth a post to tell you what is going on down here.
Firstly, I was in Clearwater to see the Phillies Spring Training home, Bright House Field earlier today. The stadium looked great! A sign was on the light banners at the front entrance of the ballpark, "Go Phillies! World Series 2008" is what the signs read. That looked good, even though the stadium is closed at this time, just some cleaners were around the ballpark, cleaning the grounds and outside areas. I did get some photos and I'll be able to post them next week sometime on the blog here.
Well, Tampa is abuzz with baseball that is for sure. The Rays have crumbled their big lead in their ALCS Championship and now the Red Sox have forced the Game 7 for all the marbles tonight from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. The game is currently underway, I am watching from my hotel in Clearwater and I can feel the energy just down the road in St. Petersburg. The first jersey I saw today was a Boston jersey though, at breakfast this morning. Red Sox fans are here in force, we even overheard some of the Red Sox fans heading down for Game 6 on our flight on Saturday morning.
I assumed the Phillies would play the Rays for the World Series, this is in great doubt, and a Red Sox / Phillies matchup could easily happen as well. I would rather the Phils play the Rays, as the Red Sox have a massive following and plenty of postseason experience. The Red Sox Nation is a group of rabid fans that follow every move of the team. Not that I am worried that the Phillies would lose against the Sox, but I just don't want that "Sox Nation" to invade the Citizens Bank Park, but if the Red Sox get in, I am sure they will want to.
The Rays have been the untold story of baseball in 2008, they played awesome baseball and have finally contended with the juggernaut and the titanic known as the New York Yankees, and the equally as bloated Boston Red Sox. The Rays have given baseball fans in another part of the country a reason to love baseball, and the big juggernaut teams with their overpaid payrolls have to take a second look at what is going on with the upstart Tampa Rays. The Rays suffer a little brand confusion down here in Tampa, they used to be the Devil Rays and they don't play in Tampa, but they play in St. Petersburg. So this is a little baggage that makes some baseball fans a little confused. It would be like the Phillies playing in Chester PA but still called the Philadelphia Phillies. It works for this team though, but I don't see why the city of Tampa wouldn't have a world class facility for the team that bears the city's name.
Game 7 is up for grabs and the winner goes on to the World Series and the loser just goes home to watch, so a lot is at stake here tonight in Florida. Well, back to my vacation and what else, I am going back to watch game 7 it's Tampa down by 1 in the second inning at the time of this post.
Firstly, I was in Clearwater to see the Phillies Spring Training home, Bright House Field earlier today. The stadium looked great! A sign was on the light banners at the front entrance of the ballpark, "Go Phillies! World Series 2008" is what the signs read. That looked good, even though the stadium is closed at this time, just some cleaners were around the ballpark, cleaning the grounds and outside areas. I did get some photos and I'll be able to post them next week sometime on the blog here.
Well, Tampa is abuzz with baseball that is for sure. The Rays have crumbled their big lead in their ALCS Championship and now the Red Sox have forced the Game 7 for all the marbles tonight from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. The game is currently underway, I am watching from my hotel in Clearwater and I can feel the energy just down the road in St. Petersburg. The first jersey I saw today was a Boston jersey though, at breakfast this morning. Red Sox fans are here in force, we even overheard some of the Red Sox fans heading down for Game 6 on our flight on Saturday morning.
I assumed the Phillies would play the Rays for the World Series, this is in great doubt, and a Red Sox / Phillies matchup could easily happen as well. I would rather the Phils play the Rays, as the Red Sox have a massive following and plenty of postseason experience. The Red Sox Nation is a group of rabid fans that follow every move of the team. Not that I am worried that the Phillies would lose against the Sox, but I just don't want that "Sox Nation" to invade the Citizens Bank Park, but if the Red Sox get in, I am sure they will want to.
The Rays have been the untold story of baseball in 2008, they played awesome baseball and have finally contended with the juggernaut and the titanic known as the New York Yankees, and the equally as bloated Boston Red Sox. The Rays have given baseball fans in another part of the country a reason to love baseball, and the big juggernaut teams with their overpaid payrolls have to take a second look at what is going on with the upstart Tampa Rays. The Rays suffer a little brand confusion down here in Tampa, they used to be the Devil Rays and they don't play in Tampa, but they play in St. Petersburg. So this is a little baggage that makes some baseball fans a little confused. It would be like the Phillies playing in Chester PA but still called the Philadelphia Phillies. It works for this team though, but I don't see why the city of Tampa wouldn't have a world class facility for the team that bears the city's name.
Game 7 is up for grabs and the winner goes on to the World Series and the loser just goes home to watch, so a lot is at stake here tonight in Florida. Well, back to my vacation and what else, I am going back to watch game 7 it's Tampa down by 1 in the second inning at the time of this post.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Burrell is poised to go yard in World Series
Pat the Bat is a lifelong Phillie. He's going to show that to the fans this series with some long ball that Pat is famous for!
Here is his classic swing I captured at the NLCS in Game 2
Enjoy,
Rich Baxter
Postseason leads to World Series for Phillies
I took this photo of the "POSTSEASON 2008" Fox banner at the NLCS game, and really soon this sign will reflect "WORLDSERIES 2008" for the Phillies....
This isn't a dream.... This isn't a dream.......
Yes We Will !!!!!!
this is my slogan for the 2008 Philadelphia Phillies
This isn't a dream.... This isn't a dream.......
Yes We Will !!!!!!
this is my slogan for the 2008 Philadelphia Phillies
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Dodgers are down, as the Phillies look like a World Series team
Long faces tell the tale of Dodger woeLA Times photo
The Dodgers are on the brink of losing the NLCS all of a sudden. They were up in Game 4 for a lot of game, but so how managed to blow the lead and ended up losing this game that if Stairs struck out, the Dodgers would have probably won. What a difference a pitch makes.
We will talk about this, and though it may be premature, we will look ahead to the World Series, and how this may play out for the Phillies should they make it to the big games!
Tune in on Wednesday night with Rich Baxter and Jim 'Sports Dogg' Mulry as we bring you another edition of Philly Sports Talk Now!
Rich Baxter - Philly Sports Talk Now~
We will talk about this, and though it may be premature, we will look ahead to the World Series, and how this may play out for the Phillies should they make it to the big games!
Tune in on Wednesday night with Rich Baxter and Jim 'Sports Dogg' Mulry as we bring you another edition of Philly Sports Talk Now!
Rich Baxter - Philly Sports Talk Now~
Monday, October 06, 2008
Show 104 - Philly Sports Talk Now! (Oct 6 2008)
The Phillies make it to the NLCS! The last show we did it was unclear how far the Phils would go, but now into October, we talk about the team and what it will take to beat the Dodgers for the National League Championship series.
The Eagles lose, but we hardly care about that now, it's Phillies fever baby on the show this week... we'll talk a lot about the Eagles soon, but for now we are trying to see the Phillies make it into the World Series.
Tune in here, or download the show on iTunes!
Rich Baxter and Jim 'Sports Dog' Mulry on the Philly Sports Talk Now! show..
The Eagles lose, but we hardly care about that now, it's Phillies fever baby on the show this week... we'll talk a lot about the Eagles soon, but for now we are trying to see the Phillies make it into the World Series.
Tune in here, or download the show on iTunes!
Rich Baxter and Jim 'Sports Dog' Mulry on the Philly Sports Talk Now! show..
Friday, October 03, 2008
CB Park with new '2008' Division Champs sign
This is the new sign for the Division winning Philadelphia Phillies at Citizen's Bank Park - I took this one from behind homeplate on the concourse.
The Phillies made a great run this year to win the division and they look hungry for more!
The Phillies made a great run this year to win the division and they look hungry for more!
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
October baseball starts today for the Phillies!
The first day of the postseason is upon us and the Phillies are raring to go. A lot of talk of going deeper into the playoffs this year was the topic of several of the players after the Phils clinched the division for the second straight year.
The games begin today, and I hope the Phillies bring their "A" game to the field this afternoon at Citizens Bank Park. The pitching staff still concerns me for the playoffs. They haven't been a pitching staff that is easily compared to World Series caliber staffs by any means. Cole Hamels has been strong all year, but he hasn't exactly been Cy Young and has been prone to being close to imploding a couple times during games down the stretch. He's not Steve Carlton that is for sure, not yet anyway.
That being said, the Phillies do have what it takes to win this series, the Brewers are no team to be taken lightly though. They have a dangerous line up of players that aren't household names but they get the job done on the baseball field. The Brewers have their 'unsecret' weapon in CC Sabathia, and the Phils need to do all they can do to win both home games so they go into Milwaukee without too many worries.
The Phillies offense is more than capable to do the job, yes we've seen them even get into a fog and it seemed at times that the team couldn't hit their way out of a paper bag, but this is all behind them now, and they need to let the legend of this team shine through and take a piece of the pie in this postseason.
I'll be rooting for the Phils all the way today, so let's hope the Phillies end up on the winning side of today's game and hopefully the team is well on it's way to the NLCS next!
Rich Baxter - Philly Sports Talk Now!
The games begin today, and I hope the Phillies bring their "A" game to the field this afternoon at Citizens Bank Park. The pitching staff still concerns me for the playoffs. They haven't been a pitching staff that is easily compared to World Series caliber staffs by any means. Cole Hamels has been strong all year, but he hasn't exactly been Cy Young and has been prone to being close to imploding a couple times during games down the stretch. He's not Steve Carlton that is for sure, not yet anyway.
That being said, the Phillies do have what it takes to win this series, the Brewers are no team to be taken lightly though. They have a dangerous line up of players that aren't household names but they get the job done on the baseball field. The Brewers have their 'unsecret' weapon in CC Sabathia, and the Phils need to do all they can do to win both home games so they go into Milwaukee without too many worries.
The Phillies offense is more than capable to do the job, yes we've seen them even get into a fog and it seemed at times that the team couldn't hit their way out of a paper bag, but this is all behind them now, and they need to let the legend of this team shine through and take a piece of the pie in this postseason.
I'll be rooting for the Phils all the way today, so let's hope the Phillies end up on the winning side of today's game and hopefully the team is well on it's way to the NLCS next!
Rich Baxter - Philly Sports Talk Now!
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