Tuesday, October 14, 2008

And That Happened

Before I provide some brief comments about last night's games, please join me in a moment of silence for the FOX executives who had totally banked on a ratings-driving Sox-Dodgers World Series that now looks all but impossible.

Rays 9, Red Sox 1: Bad day to be a champ, as both the Red Sox and the New York Giants got rocked. B.J. Upton (2-5, HR, 3 RBI) is certainly having a coming out party this postseason. And after years in the Tampa Bay wilderness followed by most of a year with a strange, strength-sapping illness, it was really good to see Rocco Baldelli contribute like that.

Phillies 7, Dodgers 5: A big schlub of a guy comes in and hits the game winning homer for the Phillies like its 1993 all over again or something. And remember when I said before the series that Shane Victorino can't carry them forever? Well, I suppose I was wrong about that. As for the Dodgers? This had to have been nearly back-breaking.

Note: I realize that these recaps have been a tad superficial for postseason games, but the fact is that unlike a mid-June tilt between two mediocre clubs, there is more in-depth coverage available elsewhere for playoff games than I could ever hope to provide here, so it's probably not worth trying in this format. If you're looking for more than this, allow me to suggest the contributions from my FanHouse compadres, who break down each playoff game before, during and after, in the form of previews, live chats, and post-facto analysis.

3 comments:

Alex Brissette said...

I haven't seen much of Broxton, but watching him finish game three made me doubt him. He's good, for sure, but doesn't seem unhittable and has trouble controlling his fastball. I really needed someone around last night to yell at that I was right.

Across the diamond, I'm still betting on Lidge to blow a save in epic fashion this postseason.

Anonymous said...

APBA Guy-

I'm ok with the abbreviated snark, but only if the snark quality remains high.

It was great to see the Wonder Hamster hit the winner for the Phitins. When he was in Oakland, he was always professional, even on family photo day. He'd pose with every spoiled Bay Area Brat, smile, shake hands with dad, and move on. We got a great shot of him and Mark Mulder side by side. They both got thhe humor in the shot and had a good laugh. I've always pilled for him since.

Daniel said...

Matt Stairs crushed that ball. Absolutely crushed it. It was not unlike Pujols's shot of Lidge in 2005. The Astros won the next game to put that series away, but I'm not sure I see the Dodger's winning the next three in a row.

Man that ball was hit hard.