The Fall Classic

[Brian]

Watching how the Rays dispatched the Red Sox made me realize that my beloved Dodgers would have been doomed if they had prevailed over the Phillies and gone to the World Series, even without the American League's home field advantage.

The Phillies have an outside chance for the trophy, in my judgment. The big question for me is: Will Obama continue to support the National League entry from Pennsylvania against Florida's finest when he wants to win both states? ;D

[Brian]

Last night, Chris Matthews showed soundbites on MSNBC's "Hardball" of Obama speeches in Pennsylvania and Florida cheering on both teams and reported McCain's expected reaction.

But this is a National League house, so the cat and I are very pleased with the Phillies' 3-2 win in Game 1.

[Brian]

A 45-foot single ended a bizarre victory tonight for the Phillies, who took a 2 to 1 lead in the World Series at 1:47 a.m. Eastern time. Fans will be talking about the bottom of the ninth inning for years, when the only ball that left the infield was thrown by the Rays' catcher, but I'm haunted by another play.

Top of the seventh, Crawford of the Rays chased his bunt up the first base line. The Phillies' pitcher dived on his belly, scooped the ball from his glove into the first baseman's bare hand a step ahead of Crawford. But the umpire called him safe, probably because his cue for calling that play is not the sight, it's the sound of the ball hitting a glove. Crawford went on to score, setting up the weirdness to come.

[Brian]

After putting the Rays away rather convincingly tonight, the Phillies need only one more game to win the World Series. Naturally, I'm conflicted.

While I cannot root for any American League team -- unless they're facing the San Francisco Giants -- I won't mind if the Rays win tomorrow, forcing a Game Six. But then I'd worry that the Phillies could blow it in Tampa Bay, as much as I'd love a seven-game series.

Anni and her cat Il Duce moved into my apartment on Greeley Street on Oct. 23, 1993, the day the Phillies lost the Fall Classic to the Blue Jays. A bird team! Duce became a fan -- and we've waited 15 years for Philadelphia to come back. We'll be biting our claws until the National League regains the trophy.

[Brian]

Geez, how can it be that no World Series game has ever been suspended -- until tonight -- in more than a century? That blows my mind.

Someday, maybe tomorrow or Wednesday, when the rain ceases, the Phillies will bat in the bottom of the sixth, tied 2-2 in Game 5.

If they win, it will mark five years in a row that only four or five games determined the Fall Classic, beating a streak that dates back to World War I.

[anni]

Only Brian (and Vinny) can make the Baseball SO fascinating! Whad a tah!!!

[Brian]

Two nights later, those remaining three and a half innings are in the history books. The Philadelphia Phillies are champions of the world for only the second time in 126 years and the National League is supreme.

All is right with the world -- except baseball is over for five long months.

[Brian]

Oct 29, 2008 22:19:19 GMT -8 Brian said:

Two nights later, those remaining three and a half innings are in the history books. The Philadelphia Phillies are champions of the world for only the second time in 126 years and the National League is supreme.

That was exactly 364 days ago, when the Phillies and Rays finished a rain-delayed Game 5 on what I remember was the scheduled date for a Game 6. Tonight, the Phillies and Yankees played Game 1 of the 2009 Fall Classic. Which shows exactly how long Major League Baseball has extended the postseason for Fox.

Lee could pitch Game 7, if necessary, on Guy Fawkes Day, Nov. 5, if the Yankee bats explode to win three games. I can't root for them yet I can't imagine this year's Yankees being swept -- even by these Phillies, who will be the first National League team to win consecutive World Series since the Cincinnati Reds in 1975-76 if they repeat, as they must.

Anni and I put Fox on mute and watched the last two innings while listening to Jon Miller and Joe Morgan on ESPN Radio AM 710. I counted the delay at six seconds from sound to picture. For once, Anni dug it, probably because Jon's calls were so beautiful that the sights felt like instant replay.

[Brian]

At least I got to see three baseball games in November, the only ones played this year without Daylight Savings Time. And I should be thankful for the first Game 6 of a World Series since 2003.

Instead it is my duty as a Dodger and National League fan to lament that the New York Yankees are the champions of the world. They're an amazing team overpopulated by future Hall of Famers operating at their peak, who earned the best record in baseball after a miserable start. I'm supposed to hate them, but they're too good.

Enough of that. The American League is 6-4 in this decade now passing. Let's hope the 2010 season brings us another gripping seven-game World Series like 2001, when the Yankees lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Unless the Dodgers are in it, when a four-game sweep would suffice.

[Brian]

Yikes, this is my third year in this thread.

And I've never been more conflicted. I consider myself loyal to the National League, but I've hated the Giants even longer than Meg Whitman did not bother to vote. In that time, they've only been in the World Series twice. I had no trouble rooting for the A's in 1989 -- I used to attend games in Oakland Coliseum, where Dave Stewart pitched brilliantly and Dusty Baker went to coach after he retired from the Dodgers. In 2002, Mike Scioscia's Angels were the natural choice here in Southern California.

But I have no goodwill for the Rangers, despite this being the franchise's first appearance in the Fall Classic in my life. And not because George W. Bush used to own part of the team. Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan runs things now. Still, they're in the American League and they come from Texas.

Can I watch each game as a detached observer? The problem is, I love the Hated Ones individually. In particular, Tim Lincecum and Buster Posey wield rare ability, grace and maturity for their age. Let's see how I feel while viewing the proceedings, starting tonight at AT&T Spies on You Park.