Phantastic Phillies Capture World Title

Finally, the Philadelphia Phillies captured a world championship for the city of Philadelphia again. In one of the most bizarre final games of a baseball season, the Phillies won a three-night extravaganza 4-3 over the Tampa Bay Rays, exuding a mental toughness that they have displayed throughout the postseason. Shrugging off past playoff disappointments, the Phillies won 24 of their final 30 games to close the regular season and continued their stellar play through October, never losing a home playoff game to become the first team since the 1999 Yankees to accomplish the feat. It was the city of Philadelphia's first major championship for any pro sports teams since the 1983 Philadelphia 76ers claimed the NBA crown.

Phillies, Rays Hope to Continue Series Tonight

The Philadelphia Phillies will finally--hopefully--be able to attempt to earn the franchise's second World Series championship in its 125-year history and first since 1980 tonight when they resume their series with the Tampa Bay Rays. The weather is still dreary in Philly with strong, heavy winds, but the teams are expected to be able to continue their game that began on Monday night. The one thing we know for certain is that Cole Hamels and Scott Kazmir will not be returning to the mound to restart the game, though Hamels is due up for the Phils in the bottom of the sixth. In all likelihood, we will see a relief pitcher throw the "first pitch" to a pinch hitter in what has been one of the most unique World Series in recent memory.

By the way, did the NBA season really open up last night?

Hamels Continues Dominance, Phils Up 1-0

Cole Hamels continued to be the best pitcher in the 2008 playoffs and Chase Utley homered in his first World Series at-bat as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 last night to capture Game One of the Fall Classic. Hamels allowed just two runs in seven innings and Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge were perfect in relief as the Phils opened up a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Ten of the last 11 winners of Game One have gone on to win the World Series.

Scott Kazmir found himself in multiple jams during his six innings of work for Tampa, but managed to allow just three runs on six hits and four walks. The Rays' offense could not get untracked, with their best opportunity against Hamels coming in the third. The Rays loaded the bases with one out, but B.J. Upton hit into a double play to end the threat. Upton left five men on base in the game.

The Rays now find themselves down 1-0 as they were after Game 1 of the ALCS, so they certainly have proved before that they can rally under adversity. James Shields will take the hill for the Rays against Philadelphia's Brett Myers tonight in Game Two.

Phillies, Rays Open Fall Classic Tonight

The Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays open the 2008 World Series tonight in St. Petersburg, as red-hot Cole Hamels takes the mound against fellow lefty Scott Kazmir. The Rays own home-field advantage in the Fall Classic due to the American League once again winning the All-Star Game in July. The Rays will host Games One and Two and Games Six and Seven--if necessary.

Both teams are looking to finish storybook seasons on the brightest of notes, as the Rays never had a winning record in their first 10 years of existence, while the Phillies are trying to win their first world championship since 1980 after failing to win in 1983 and 1993. Perhaps Game One is more important for the Phillies, as the squads in '83 and '93 lost Game One while the eventual champs in '80 were able to take Game One en route to the title.

Phillies Best Dodgers, Advance to World Series

The Philadelphia Phillies earned a return ticket to the World Series last night for the first time since 1993, as Cole Hamels turned in another dominant performance in a 5-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Just as he did in the clinching game against the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLDS, Jimmy Rollins led off the game with a homer, and the Phillies were off and running from there. With the NLCS MVP on the mound, it was lights out for the Dodgers. The lefty pitched seven innings of five-hit ball, allowing just one run and striking out five.

The Phillies will be making their sixth appearance in the Fall Classic, and the franchise will be looking for its second championship. A Phillies title would end a 25-year championship drought for the city's four major sports, as no professional team in Philadelphia has won it all since the 76ers won the NBA title in 1983.

The loss ends a great run by a Dodgers team that was not even expected to advance into the playoffs. Aided by a terrible collapse by the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Dodgers won only 88 games en route to capturing the NL West. But they pulled together in September behind a stingy pitching staff and an offensive resurgence led by Manny Ramirez, and the team was able to dominate it series with the Cubs en route to a three-game sweep. The team will now turn its attention to resigning Manny Ramirez, who is reportedly seeking a four-to-five year HUGE deal.

So will the Phillies find out tonight who their opponent will be in the Fall Classic? The Tampa Bay Rays have a chance to close out their ALCS series with the Boston Red Sox tonight in Fenway Park, as Scott Kazmir--not James Shields--will throw against Daisuke Matsuzaka. Something tells me this series is going back to Tampa.

Dodgers Look To Stay Hot in Philly

The National League Championship Series begins tonight, as Derek Lowe takes the mound for the Dodgers against Cole Hamels and the Phillies in Philadelphia. I mentioned the starting pitching of the Dodgers yesterday, but the return of Rafael Furcal to full health has also been crucial to the late-season surge exhibited by L.A. His table-setting presence at the top of the lineup eases pressure on Russell Martin, and we saw just how effective he could be as he gave Carlos Zambrano fits in Game Two of the NLDS series against the Cubs. Besides Furcal, Manny Ramirez's presence has provided not only instant barrages of offense, but has helped Andre Ethier see better pitches and allowed him to find his stroke on his way towards a strong September. I do believe the Phillies will swing the bats better in this series, but Jimmy Rollins must be the catalyst at the top of the lineup because I don't think Charlie Manuel can rely on his big boppers to carry the load.

Starting Pitching Has Dodgers Primed

Twenty-five years later, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies meet again in the National League Championship Series. While the Phillies received some strong starting pitching efforts in their NLDS series with the Brewers, I give the edge slightly to the Dodgers in this series because of their own starting pitching. Derek Lowe is 4-0 in his last six postseason starts. and he was as excellent a pitcher in baseball in August and September. His hard sinker is beautiful and his slider has been on the last few months. Chad Billingsley has a moxy about him that I like, and Hiroki Kuroda was very good against the Phillies this season. And will the Phillies' offense be able to produce--Dodgers starting pitching aside?

Trail Blazers center Greg Oden made his NBA debut last night, playing his first game since the 2007 national championship game with Ohio State. Oden finished with 13 points and 5 rebounds in 20 minutes of play and looks to finally be healthy again. I've had reservations about Oden's chances for NBA success--and I know it was just a preseason NBA game--but the kid looked good. By the way, Rudy Fernandez looked good, too. Kevin Pritchard is building a really nice team in Portland that has a lot of versatility, size and skill.

Sox Survive, Phils Advance

John Danks kept the White Sox season alive--again--pitching 6 2/3 gritty innings to help Chicago stave off elimination against the Tampa Bay Rays in their American League Division Series. Aided by production out of the lower part of the order, Danks handed the ball over to a steady bullpen with a 5-3 lead--and that's exactly where the game ended, forcing a Game Four today. Unheralded veteran journeyman DeWayne Wise once again was an offensive force for the Sox, doubling home two runs during a three-run fourth against Tampa starter Matt Garza to give the White Sox a 4-1 lead and breathing room for Danks. The southpaw was certainly the story once again on Sunday. After tossing eight shutout innings in Tuesday's AL Central tiebreaking win over the Twins, Danks struck out seven and snatched some momentum from the Rays, who will now face Gavin Floyd this afternoon, as the right-hander looks to send the series back to Tampa for a Game Five.

The Philadelphia Phillies, meanwhile, advanced to their first National League Championship Series since 1993 with a 6-2 Game Four victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday. The Phils jumped on veteran Jeff Suppan for five runs in three innings, and will now move on to play the surprising Los Angeles Dodgers, who stunningly swept the Cubs in the other NLDS. Mid-season pickup Joe Blanton was stellar again, allowing just one run in six innings with seven strikeouts, while Pat Burrell hit two home runs and knocked in four.

So the Phillies and Dodgers will have an extended break to rest before opeing their best-of-seven NL Championship Series on Thursday in Philadelphia. I still can't get over the fact that for the second straight postseason, the offense for the Chicago Cubs absolutely failed to show up. The Cubs came into the series with the NL's best average with runners in scoring position during the regular season. However, they batted just .179 (5-for-28) in such situations this series, while the Dodgers hit .333 (11-for-33) after struggling in this category all season long. I've said it before and I'll say it again: The Cubs will never win a postseason series with Alfonso Soriano leading off and Aramis Ramirez being looked upon as a go-to hitter. GM Jim Hendry has some serious tweaking to do to this roster in the offseason, although it'll have to be done with the impending sale of the team.

Mets Collapse Redux?

The New York Mets dropped their second in a row to the Washington Nationals last night while the Philadelphia Phillies won their fifth in a row to overtake first place in the NL East. The Mets have now lost four games in the division standings in the last six days. Shades of last September when the club failed to hold a seven-game lead in the final 17 days of the season? The only saving grace for the Mets is the fact that the Milwaukee Brewers continue to stumble, making the NL wild card spot a viable option for the club if they can't stay with the Phils. Ryan Howard is having an unbelievable September, batting .396 with 8 HR's and 22 RBI to lead the Phillies' surge. Meanwhile, the Mets have stopped hitting and their bullpen continues to be problematic.

The Tampa Bay Rays have now been in first place for 54 consecutive days after a huge 2-1 win last night over the Red Sox. The Rays overcame a dominant performance by Josh Beckett behind a solid performance of his own by Andy Sonnanstine and another great outing by their relief corps. This was the type of game the Rays needed to show that Sawx that the wild card may be their destiny.

On the NFL beat, Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Childress has demoted Tavaris Jackson and made veteran Gus Frerotte his starting quarterback. Perhaps now Bernard Berrian can actually catch a pass. Could Frerotte be a Kerry Collins for the Vikes?