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Well, here we are…the WORLD SERIES.\u00a0 What a year, what a year!\u00a0 I’m back from the two-week wedding\/honeymoon extravaganza, and now I get Phillies World Series games to stress about…ugh.<\/p>\nWell, here we are…the WORLD SERIES.\u00a0 What a year, what a year!\u00a0 I’m back from the two-week wedding\/honeymoon extravaganza, and now I get Phillies World Series games to stress about…ugh.<\/p>\n
Well, I was rooting for the Rays because I thought that the Phils matched up better with Tampa than the Sox, but the old adage, “be careful what you wish for because you just might get it” is now on a loop in my brain.\u00a0 The Rays are immensely talented, and they seem simply too young to even be nervous.\u00a0 The way they blew Game 5 and then lost Game 6 at home with their ace on the mound, it looked like the moment was finally too big for these guys.\u00a0 But, then they go down 2 batters into Game 7, but Matt Garza dug in and Joe Maddon coached batter-by-batter only to call on a guy with 5 major league appearances to win a Game 7 and here we are–and I’m terrified.\u00a0 But, the Phils have looked phenomenal in this postseason, so I guess all 12 Rays fans are probably just as nervous as we are.<\/p>\n
Anyway, here are the BSB Keys to Winning the 2008 World Series:<\/p>\n
1). Get ’em early:\u00a0 <\/strong>No matter how “experienced” they may play, other than Dan Wheeler’s minor setup role for the Angels in ’02, not one Ray has ever played in a World Series game.\u00a0 They are led by 24-year olds like Upton and Kazmir and 23-year old Longoria.\u00a0 I think if the Phillies can jump on them early (either early in Game 1 or by taking Game 1), the pressure may actually mount a little in “Cinderella’s” dugout.\u00a0 (NOTE:\u00a0the Phillies don’t exactly have extensive WS experience, either, as only Brad Lidge (3.2 IP), So Taguchi (15 ABs), Pedro Feliz (5 ABs), and Eric Bruntlett\u00a0(2\u00a0Gs, 0 ABs)\u00a0have even appeared in a WS game).<\/p>\n 2).\u00a0Manage\u00a0“shortened” games:\u00a0 <\/strong>Madsen, Romero, and Lidge have been lights out all year, and especially in the postseason.\u00a0 Durbin is struggling, but still reliable.\u00a0 Scott Eyre is a solid left-hander.\u00a0 Uncle Charlie can manage 6-inning games.\u00a0 Get the lead after six and turn it over to these guys to come in a end it.\u00a0 What a luxury…I hope I didn’t jinx this.<\/p>\n 4). Keep them in the yard:\u00a0 <\/strong>One of the more underrated things about this team all year has been their power up and down the order.\u00a0 People talk about their pitching, defense, and speed, but they were 4th in the league in home runs.\u00a0 And that is with #2-hitter, B.J. Upton, only hitting 9 all year (he is now healthy and has 7 in the postseason alone), #3-hitter,\u00a0Carlos Pena,\u00a0with an incredibly slow start, #4-hitter,\u00a0Evan Longoria, spending the first month of the season\u00a0in the minors, and #5-hitter, Carl Crawford, missing almost 60 games due to injury.\u00a0 The Phillies pitchers have to keep these guys in the yard.<\/p>\n 5). Get the Rays to chase:\u00a0 <\/strong>The one big flaw in the Rays deep lineup is that they do not draw many walks.\u00a0 This is why I like Jamie Moyer against the Rays–he will get them to chase bad pitches.\u00a0 Hamels, Myers, and Blanton should do the same thing because they are prone to it.\u00a0 Furthermore, this team eats up fastballs, so the Cole Hamels change-up, the Brett Myers curveball, and the Brad Lidge\u00a0slider may the difference in this series.<\/p>\n 7). Pile on if up, Keep fighting if down:\u00a0 <\/strong>One of the major lessons from both League Championship Series is that no lead is safe, regardless of how good you think your bullpen is.\u00a0 As reference by Doogan, Chase Utley’s unassisted double-play kept the Dodges at 5 runs in the pivotal Game 4, allowing the Victorino\/Stairs heroics to be game-winners.\u00a0 And, everyone knows what happened to Tampa with a 7-0 lead in the 7th inning–Papelbon put out a seemingly meaningless fire in the top of the 7th, the Red Sox got 4 in the bottom of the 7th, 2 more in the 8th, and 2 more in the 9th to win it.\u00a0 No lead is safe, so if the Phillies are up, they need to pile on the runs, and if they’re down, they need to keep it as manageable as possible because their offense is potent enough to make it up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Well, here we are…the WORLD SERIES.\u00a0 What a year, what a year!\u00a0 I’m back from the two-week wedding\/honeymoon extravaganza, and now I get Phillies World Series games to stress about…ugh. Well, I was rooting for the Rays because I thought … Continue reading ![](\"http:\/\/www.baseballlibrary.com\/baseballlibrary\/photos\/Schmidt_Mike011000.jpg\")
3). Keep the line moving – trust the whole order:\u00a0 <\/strong>The whole Michael Jack Schmidt message, “keep the line moving,” has been adopted by this year’s Phillies team.\u00a0 Though they have clear “RBI guys,” the Phillies have to trust the whole lineup to produce.\u00a0 Utley and Howard have to be patient and pick their pitches to try and drive in runs.\u00a0 Taking walks, forcing high pitch counts, and\u00a0trusting the Victorinos, Werths and Ruizs of the lineup win games\u00a0may be the answers to solving this talented, but young Rays staff.<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/www.rotorob.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/Jamie_Moyer.jpg\")
6). Trust Moyer and Blanton, but don’t be afraid of long relief:\u00a0 <\/strong>I really trust Moyer and Blanton in this series, and I think that they are going to be the difference in a series that will probably go 6 or 7 games.\u00a0 But, I also have trust in Clay Condrey and J.A. Happ, so if either Moyer or Blanton get in trouble in Games 3 & 4, Charlie should not be scared to cut the cord and go to the ‘pen early, especially considering what I believe to be the most important key to this series…<\/p>\n