Pandemonium breaks out in the streets after the Phils clinch the series...
It's been 15 years...we're not sure what to do when our team makes the World Series.
It's an awesome feeling. Go Phils!
Showing posts with label NLCS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NLCS. Show all posts
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Saturday, October 11, 2008
View from 302 - Phillies Playoff Baseball
The year was 1993. The Phillies, through an improbable run, had made the playoffs for the first time since 1983. And there I was, a junior at Ithaca College, imprisoned in upstate New York, over 200 miles away. I could only keep up with the team on the television. During the NLCS, I remember skipping plenty of classes to watch games with my Braves' fan roommate. Winning the pennant that year couldn't have been sweeter.
But then here came the Blue Jays, with at the time a Murderers' Row of a lineup. I remember worrying before the start of the series, where the outs were going to come.
Flash forward to game 6...the Blue Jays were up 3 games to 2, but the Phillies had some momentum, after Curt Schilling pitched an absolute gem to keep the Phillies alive, and force the series back to Toronto.
And there I was, sitting on a couch in upstate New York, in my friend's apartment. Though not a Phillies fan, he had no love for the Blue Jays (really, outside of Toronto, who does?) and so possibly out of deference for my fandom, not only was he rooting for the Phillies, he decided to throw a party. About 30 or so people showed up, and the game got underway, with most of the partygoers only occasionally throwing glances at the television.
I of course, sat in rapt attention, oblivious to everything else, living and dying on every pitch. Around the 4th inning, I noticed another guy doing the same thing. Obviously a Phillies fan like myself, we struck up a conversation. Turns out he too was from Philly, and not only that, was planning to head up to Toronto the next day (game 7) with some friends, as he heard there were tickets to be had (at the time I believe he said tickets were being scalped for around $75 a pop. I have no idea if this were true). He had room in his car, and asked if I wanted to come.
Realizing the trip would cost probably over $100, (a fortune for a college student) I didn't give it a second thought before of course saying yes. Game 7 of a world series. It's not a tough decision.
So at least for about 4 innings or so, I was the happiest person on the planet. And then came the ninth inning.
Who knew I would have to wait fifteen more years to come close to witnessing another post season for the Phillies? But that's what happened. And in 2007, I blinked before I could get my hands on tickets, and missed out.
2008 rolled around, and I was determined not to make the same mistake. So last week when my friend called me up with an extra for Game 1 of the NLDS, I jumped at it. The experience was cathartic. My eyes misted up when they introduced the trainers. Playoff baseball is like no other beast. Hanging on every pitch, in the rain, I realized it almost wasn't enjoyable. No lead is safe. No play is ever automatic.
But I'd never trade the experience for anything.
Luckily, my wife got her hands on a pair of tickets for Game 2 of the NLCS, so I could experience playoff baseball again in person. Getting ready for Friday's 4:35 start (yuck), we met up with friends who had tickets as well, and made the trek down to Citizens Bank Ball Park...
It could not have been a nicer day. Blue skies, no clouds, mid seventies. We headed down early and pulled into a lot by 2:00 - plenty of time to eat our hoagies, drink a few beverages, enjoy some tastykakes and nosh on chips (I only mention this because a pizza place near us ran a Phillies post season special: 4 hoagies, 2 six packs of beer, 4 tastykakes and a large bag of chips for $24. This steal almost overshadowed the day).
The DirecTV made an early appearance as well, displaying its discounted offers and minor barbs against Comcast, whose city we obviously were in. I only include this picture in hopes that some DirecTV exec stumbles upon the post with an offer for free satellite for me. Actually, I'm including it because I like the shot a lot.
Around 4:00 we headed in and made our way up to section 302, 3 levels up in right/center field. Not great, as it didn't give us a good view of right field, but we weren't complaining. We were inside, and not many people could brag about that. The players were still warming up on the field, and I saw another photo opportunity I couldn't pass up; Howard, Utley, Victorino, Rollins and Worth, chatting it up on the first base line in shallow right field. I may have been high up, but it still made for a good photo.
The first surprise of the day came when they announced who was throwing out the first pitch - none other than fan favorite Jim Eisenreich of the 1993 Phillies. Nicknamed "Dahmer" by his teammates for his supposed resemblance of the serial killer, Eisenreich had always been a fan favorite for his ability to get deliver a key hit and his no nonsense approach to the game.Now, even though earlier in the morning I had heard the song, Beds Are Burning by Midnight Oil, a harbinger of a Phillies loss for my friends and I that dates back to the early 90s (seriously, the data we have on Phillies losses when myself or one of my friends hears that song before the game is uncanny), the good karma Eisenreich brought to the game should have been more than enough to calm my nerves. And during a regular season game it probably would have. But the playoffs are different, as anyone will attest.
Chad Billingsley, the Dodgers pitcher scared me. The Dodgers lineup scared me. The lack of run production by the Phillies to this point in the playoffs scared me. Seriously, it was difficult to enjoy the game, and neither team had taken the field yet. Luckily, it seemed the rest of the fans did not share my concerns, or hid them better than me. The place was packed, the towels spinning, the lint was flying (these rally towels are not of the best quality) and the people were on their feet. Despite the pit in my stomach, it felt good to be in this environment.
The Dodgers scored first, the Phils came roaring back. The Dodgers clawed back a bit, the Phils opened it up. 8 runs, no homers...not typical of the home team. Brett Myers got into the action with three hits of his own to help his cause.
Howard didn't look great at the plate, and Utley got nothing to hit (taking 4 walks on the day) but it didn't matter as Werth, Victorino, Ruiz, et al made up the difference. I don't care where the runs come from as long as the Phillies have more than their opponents by the end of the game. It felt good to get so many two out runs as well.And of course it wouldn't be exciting without a little drama to keep everyone on their toes. With two outs Furcal whiffed on a nasty pitch from Myers, but scampered down to first when Ruiz couldn't block it. Russell Martin then hit a seeing eye single through the left side to bring Ramirez up to the plate. Obviously he hit a home run. It shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone. The Phils 6 run lead, was cut in half. And we weren't even out of the fourth.
Making the Dodgers bullpen look like Cy Young clones, the Phillies remained scoreless for the rest of the game. But not to be outdone, the Dodgers had trouble with the Phillies bullpen as well. Luckily, in the top of the 8th, Casey Blake hit the ball to the deepest part of the park, and Victorino had just enough room to leap up and steal a double from him, or the ninth may have been even more exciting (in a bad way).
In the end, the sun did set, and so did the Dodgers chances. Lidge came in and, in between a couple of walks, managed to strike out the side. If I were Torre I think I'd call Nomar into my office and go over a little more of the gameplan, as he went up there swinging and really made for a quicker and less tense ninth. But I'll take it. While I have an inside track on game 6 tickets, nothing would please me more if there were no need to use them, and have the Phillies take care of business in LA. I love the playoff atmosphere and would be tickled pink to do it all over again, but a sweep would be lovely and I would have no qualms not seeing the Dodgers again this year.
Here's hoping to that scenario plays out.
Friday, October 10, 2008
NFL Picks Week #6 (Cline) - I Miss Mariano Duncan
Apparently, Phillies fans are a bit touchy. After my commentary here last week, a couple of them threatened me with bodily harm if I were to be in the same room with them during Game 3 of the Milwaukee series. Mind you, we were all staying in the same hotel.
Even up 2-0, they were, to paraphrase a line from Shawshank, so high-strung, they’d cut a loud fart and jump three feet in the air.
I am here to explain why you, a casual good-looking fan such as yourself, should be rooting for the Dodgers in the NLCS. Not everyone has the same deep-seated enmity I have for the Phillies and their Phans, so you need to be persuaded. Since I can't visit all of our readers and pour a Rusty Roofie down their throat, words on a page will have to suffice.
Reason 1: Rooting for the Dodgers is a more subtle and more informed way to prove you’re not racist than a 100 Obama signs in your lawn.
A win for the Dodgers is a win for racial harmony. Everyone knows that the Dodgers broke the color barrier by signing Jackie Robinson in 1947, and they are to be commended for that.
What is less widely known is that the Phillies took 10 years before they signed their first black player (last NL team and 3rd-last overall).
Hell, someone even wrote a book about how hard it was to integrate the Phillies.
Ooh... Almost forgot. Charlie Manual owns slaves. They are free-range but still that's borderline racist.
Reason 2: Rooting for the Dodgers confirms your heterosexuality and your support of Roe v. Wade.
Most famous Dodger fan: Alyssa Milano
She is a die-hard fan (see pictorial evidence below) who not only started a line of clothing for female baseball fans, but she maintains a semi-coherent blog over on MLB.com (http://alyssa.mlblogs.com).
And her career dipped at the perfect time to make some lesbian-tinged vampire erotic films (links are NSFW)
Most famous Phillies fan: Chief Justice Samuel Alito
While he cuts a striking figure and those black robes are slimming, I’m going to say he’s (at best) 80% as hot as Alyssa.
Reason 3: As good as Harry Kalas is, Vin Scully wins the battle of announcers.
A small sub-section of the landmark games that Scully has called.
Reason 4: You want to see the Red Sox vs. Dodgers in the World Series
The Manny/Red Sox dynamic will be overhyped but still thoroughly enjoyable. If nothing else, The Sports Guy’s columns should be legendary. A few samples from his picks column this week:
“…if and when Manny hits his first World Series home run at Fenway, he will unveil the slowest home run trot in the history of baseball unless Kirk Douglas or John Wooden happens to go deep in a celebrity softball game within the next five years.…”
The best the Phillies could do is this CB-centric weak does of 70s funk, recycled with a photo montage of the current team:
The Dodgers? They’re pegging the meter on awkwardness. Does it get better than color-coded satin jackets, Jheri curls, and Orel Hershiser’s humping air?
Well, yes, actually it does. Take some awesome choreography, a pinch of scripted banter between Andy Gibb & Marilyn McCoo and a whole lot of Madam (sans Wayland Flowers). What do you get? Solid Gold.
To be fair, I have to give the Phillies the advantage on a couple of things.
The aforementioned Harry Kalas & the not-mentioned-till-now Phanatic:
Also, you have to criticize the LA fans’ compulsion to arrive late to and leave early from games. But in their defense, if you knew there was a greater than 0% chance that they could have sex with someone famous later that night, you wouldn’t be hanging around the park either.
And finally, I do hate Tommy Lasorda:
But those aren't nearly enough reasons to overcome my anti-Phillies lean. But are they enough reasons for a rational person such as yourself to bleed Dodger blue for the next week or so?
If so, can I watch the games with you? Please?
Now, let’s go BLUE!
Now on to my picks (in CAPS) for Week 6 in the league where they play...
...FOR PAY!
Records through Week 5:
Cline -- 6-7-1 (-$240)
Goose -- 3-10-1 (-$840)
Overall Records:
Cline -- 24-18-1 (.571) +$170
Goose -- 19-23-1 (.452) -$830
My Lock of the Week & Big Dog Cover Specials –- 0-4
BALTIMORE at Indy (-1.5)
I'm finally hopping off the Indy gravy train (what's the opposite of gravy? broth? gazpacho? droool?). I'm not saying they can't turn it around, but I don't see it happening against the Ravens.
Detroit at MINNESOTA (-11)
I wanted to man up and take the Lions and the points. I'm skeptical that the Vikings can put a big win on anyone, even the lions. And yes, I avoided capitalizing their name on purpose.
In an effort to man up, I even watched the following Japanese TV adds starring Charles Bronson:
Playing the harmonica by the fire:
Drinking water from his hat:
Catching a fish with his hands, cooking it, and then do a crazy card trick:
Chopping wood and getting ready to rescue David Morse:
Roughhousing with a youth which isn't homo-erotic. Not even a little bit:
If you made it this far without masturbating, then you're dead inside. Especially dead inside your wang. There's a few more on YouTube, but you get the drift.
Oh yeah, I got too distracted with these to change my pick.
OAKLAND at New Orleans (-7.5)
I like Oakland's ground game to get rolling against a bad NO run defense. They keep it under a touchdown.
Cincinnati at NY JETS (-6.5)
The Bengals have covered on the road against 2 pretty good teams (Dallas & NYG), but I feel like they're due to have a stinker in the Bruce Coslet Bowl.
Chicago (-5.5) at ATLANTA
Do I think Atlanta's as good as their record? No. Do I think Chicago's as good as theirs? See Atlanta. So I'm taking the home team and the points.
CAROLINA (-2) at Tampa Bay
Tampa stinks.
ST. LOUIS at Washington (-13)
Washington's been reading their headlines and thinking about how easy their schedule is. The Rams keep it close.
Miami (-1.5) at HOUSTON
OK, so Miami's better than people think. Like some of my other picks, I'm going against that trend.
Jacksonville at DENVER (-2)
When in doubt, take the team that's used to playing at high altitude.
PHILLY (-3) at San Francisco
C'mon Eagles. If you can't beat the Niners, what's the fricking point? And I know I'm probably killing whatever chance they had to win this game, but I'm also making it my LOCK OF THE WEEK!
GREEN BAY (-7) at Seattle
Seattle stinks.
DALLAS (-3.5) at Arizona
Even on the road, this line looks low. Dangerously low. It reeks of the old Howard Eskin "This line's telling me something", but I think the Cowboys are due to either (a) put a whooping on someone or (b) win a 41-37 shootout. I'm rooting for (b) because I own most of the skill players on these 2 teams.
New England at SAN DIEGO (-3)
The Tricky Dolphins' 2 latest victioms face off in what will undoubtedly be San Diego's 2734th consecutive day of beautiful weather. Still feels weird picking against NE, but I think the Chargers have too much talent to lose to Cassel, et al.
NY Giants (-7.5) at CLEVELAND
BIG DOG COVER SPECIAL!
Home team coming off a bye, getting over a touchdown, playing in front of a rabid home crowd on Monday night, needing this win to save their season? Sign me up.
Also sign me up for the Monkey Butler, as soon as the boys in the lab make the leap from Monkey Waiter:
Enjoy yourself.
Even up 2-0, they were, to paraphrase a line from Shawshank, so high-strung, they’d cut a loud fart and jump three feet in the air.
I am here to explain why you, a casual good-looking fan such as yourself, should be rooting for the Dodgers in the NLCS. Not everyone has the same deep-seated enmity I have for the Phillies and their Phans, so you need to be persuaded. Since I can't visit all of our readers and pour a Rusty Roofie down their throat, words on a page will have to suffice.
Reason 1: Rooting for the Dodgers is a more subtle and more informed way to prove you’re not racist than a 100 Obama signs in your lawn.
A win for the Dodgers is a win for racial harmony. Everyone knows that the Dodgers broke the color barrier by signing Jackie Robinson in 1947, and they are to be commended for that.
What is less widely known is that the Phillies took 10 years before they signed their first black player (last NL team and 3rd-last overall).
Hell, someone even wrote a book about how hard it was to integrate the Phillies.
Ooh... Almost forgot. Charlie Manual owns slaves. They are free-range but still that's borderline racist.
Reason 2: Rooting for the Dodgers confirms your heterosexuality and your support of Roe v. Wade.
Most famous Dodger fan: Alyssa Milano
She is a die-hard fan (see pictorial evidence below) who not only started a line of clothing for female baseball fans, but she maintains a semi-coherent blog over on MLB.com (http://alyssa.mlblogs.com).
And her career dipped at the perfect time to make some lesbian-tinged vampire erotic films (links are NSFW)
 |  |  |
Most famous Phillies fan: Chief Justice Samuel Alito
While he cuts a striking figure and those black robes are slimming, I’m going to say he’s (at best) 80% as hot as Alyssa.
 |  |  |
Reason 3: As good as Harry Kalas is, Vin Scully wins the battle of announcers.
A small sub-section of the landmark games that Scully has called.
- Henry Aaron's 715th career home run
- Dwight Clark's "catch" agains Dallas
- The legendary 1986 World Series
- Kirk Gibson’s HR in the 88 World Series
- Fernando Valenzuela's 1990 no-hitter (“If you have a sombrero, throw it to the sky!”)
Reason 4: You want to see the Red Sox vs. Dodgers in the World Series
The Manny/Red Sox dynamic will be overhyped but still thoroughly enjoyable. If nothing else, The Sports Guy’s columns should be legendary. A few samples from his picks column this week:
“…if and when Manny hits his first World Series home run at Fenway, he will unveil the slowest home run trot in the history of baseball unless Kirk Douglas or John Wooden happens to go deep in a celebrity softball game within the next five years.…”
Reason 5: You enjoy Unintentional Comedy.
The best the Phillies could do is this CB-centric weak does of 70s funk, recycled with a photo montage of the current team:
Well, yes, actually it does. Take some awesome choreography, a pinch of scripted banter between Andy Gibb & Marilyn McCoo and a whole lot of Madam (sans Wayland Flowers). What do you get? Solid Gold.
To be fair, I have to give the Phillies the advantage on a couple of things.
The aforementioned Harry Kalas & the not-mentioned-till-now Phanatic:
Also, you have to criticize the LA fans’ compulsion to arrive late to and leave early from games. But in their defense, if you knew there was a greater than 0% chance that they could have sex with someone famous later that night, you wouldn’t be hanging around the park either.
And finally, I do hate Tommy Lasorda:
But those aren't nearly enough reasons to overcome my anti-Phillies lean. But are they enough reasons for a rational person such as yourself to bleed Dodger blue for the next week or so?
If so, can I watch the games with you? Please?
Now, let’s go BLUE!
Now on to my picks (in CAPS) for Week 6 in the league where they play...
...FOR PAY!
Records through Week 5:
Cline -- 6-7-1 (-$240)
Goose -- 3-10-1 (-$840)
Overall Records:
Cline -- 24-18-1 (.571) +$170
Goose -- 19-23-1 (.452) -$830
My Lock of the Week & Big Dog Cover Specials –- 0-4
BALTIMORE at Indy (-1.5)
I'm finally hopping off the Indy gravy train (what's the opposite of gravy? broth? gazpacho? droool?). I'm not saying they can't turn it around, but I don't see it happening against the Ravens.
Detroit at MINNESOTA (-11)
I wanted to man up and take the Lions and the points. I'm skeptical that the Vikings can put a big win on anyone, even the lions. And yes, I avoided capitalizing their name on purpose.
In an effort to man up, I even watched the following Japanese TV adds starring Charles Bronson:
Playing the harmonica by the fire:
Drinking water from his hat:
Catching a fish with his hands, cooking it, and then do a crazy card trick:
Chopping wood and getting ready to rescue David Morse:
Roughhousing with a youth which isn't homo-erotic. Not even a little bit:
If you made it this far without masturbating, then you're dead inside. Especially dead inside your wang. There's a few more on YouTube, but you get the drift.
Oh yeah, I got too distracted with these to change my pick.
OAKLAND at New Orleans (-7.5)
I like Oakland's ground game to get rolling against a bad NO run defense. They keep it under a touchdown.
Cincinnati at NY JETS (-6.5)
The Bengals have covered on the road against 2 pretty good teams (Dallas & NYG), but I feel like they're due to have a stinker in the Bruce Coslet Bowl.
Chicago (-5.5) at ATLANTA
Do I think Atlanta's as good as their record? No. Do I think Chicago's as good as theirs? See Atlanta. So I'm taking the home team and the points.
CAROLINA (-2) at Tampa Bay
Tampa stinks.
ST. LOUIS at Washington (-13)
Washington's been reading their headlines and thinking about how easy their schedule is. The Rams keep it close.
Miami (-1.5) at HOUSTON
OK, so Miami's better than people think. Like some of my other picks, I'm going against that trend.
Jacksonville at DENVER (-2)
When in doubt, take the team that's used to playing at high altitude.
PHILLY (-3) at San Francisco
C'mon Eagles. If you can't beat the Niners, what's the fricking point? And I know I'm probably killing whatever chance they had to win this game, but I'm also making it my LOCK OF THE WEEK!
GREEN BAY (-7) at Seattle
Seattle stinks.
DALLAS (-3.5) at Arizona
Even on the road, this line looks low. Dangerously low. It reeks of the old Howard Eskin "This line's telling me something", but I think the Cowboys are due to either (a) put a whooping on someone or (b) win a 41-37 shootout. I'm rooting for (b) because I own most of the skill players on these 2 teams.
New England at SAN DIEGO (-3)
The Tricky Dolphins' 2 latest victioms face off in what will undoubtedly be San Diego's 2734th consecutive day of beautiful weather. Still feels weird picking against NE, but I think the Chargers have too much talent to lose to Cassel, et al.
NY Giants (-7.5) at CLEVELAND
BIG DOG COVER SPECIAL!
Home team coming off a bye, getting over a touchdown, playing in front of a rabid home crowd on Monday night, needing this win to save their season? Sign me up.
Also sign me up for the Monkey Butler, as soon as the boys in the lab make the leap from Monkey Waiter:
Enjoy yourself.
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