12:35 AM Eastern
The Philadelphia Phillies are one win away from bringing the curtain down on the 2008 baseball season, thanks to their pounding of the Rays in Game 4.
This was the first game that featured no late mystery, the only question being would we have our first game of this World Series in which at least one team played clean? The answer, sadly, was no. The Rays had an error on the books by the third, and Akinori Iwamura made his second of the game in the 4th, but the Phillies still had a big, fat zero in the error column going into the final frame. However, Dioner Navarro led off the 9th with a dribbler in front of the mound that J.C. Romero pounced on, then threw low to first and Ryan Howard couldn’t handle the bounce. E-1, and for the fourth straight game, at least one error for each team.
At least the Philbos did some damage with runners in scoring position, though it didn’t look as though they would early on. In the first inning alone, the Phils were 0-for-4 with RISP. You know you’re having a hard time when you manage an 0-for-FOUR in a single inning. That dropped the Phils to 2-for-37 in that situation for the Series, though they did manage to score one run thanks to a brutal call by third-base umpire Tim Welke.
Credit to 680News utilityman Momin Qureshi for this line: Evan Longoria gave Jimmy Rollins a colonoscopy as Rollins dove back to third base trying to avoid a tag, but somehow Welke didn’t see any tag. Another call that once again points out just how bad the umpiring has been in this series.
Still, probe or otherwise, that play shouldn’t even have been an issue, because Andy Sonnanstine should never have thrown to third in the first place. Runners on the corners, one out, first inning of a 0-0 game, and Ryan Howard hits a one-hop comebacker to the mound. It’s textbook – start a double play by throwing to second. Sonnanstine felt the Fall Classic-ic pressure, saw a chance to cut off a run, and decided to come home. Stupid. If he throws to second, it’s a double play and the inning is over.
The mistake didn’t wind up costing the Rays much, because of the 0-for-4. The Phils managed to score just one run despite having the bases loaded and one out, and that came on a walk to Pat Burrell.
The Phillies were 0-for-their-first-6 with RISP tonight, but Pedro Feliz opened the floodgates with a sharp line single to left with two on and two out in the second, scoring Chase Utley to make it 2-0. From that point, the Phils were 3-for-6, including big home runs by Howard (with two on) and Jayson Werth as they turned it into a laugher.
Even Joe Blanton got in on the action, putting every ounce of his 225(?)-pound frame into a huge swing, taking Edwin Jackson deep for his first career home run. He became the first pitcher to go deep in the World Series since Kenny Holtzman (now the director of the St. Louis J.C.C., by the way) went yard for the A’s in Game 4 of the 1974 Series.
Blanton, like Jamie Moyer last night/this morning, stymied the Rays’ big bats, allowing only solo homers to Carl Crawford and Eric Hinske in his six innings of work. Hinske was placed on the roster today because Cliff Floyd hurt his shoulder in Game 2. It was his second World Series at-bat (he struck out as a pinch-hitter in Game 1 last year for the Red Sox).
As much as I’ve dwelt on the Phillies and their incredible inability to get a hit in a big situation this series, they have a commanding three games to one lead, and that’s in large part thanks to the disappearance of the Rays’ two most important hitters. Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria have been non-existent in this World Series. Pena is hitless in 13 at-bats, with three walks, and Longoria is 0-for-16, having struck out nine times. These two have been the bus drivers for T-Bay all season, even with Bossman Junior as hot as he has been throughout the post-season, and without them, the Rays’ task gets that much more difficult. They’re going to have to turn it around now, and they’re going to have to start against Cole Hamels, a daunting task indeed.
Hamels has been fantastic throughout the post-season, and he has a chance to put it away for the Philbos tomorrow night. But don’t forget, the Rays have NEVER lost a playoff game when facing elimination. Never ever. Not once in franchise history.
Though Pena and Longoria have gone missing, Ryan Howard has shown up for the Phils. I mentioned the other day that Howard’s huge double that went over B.J. Upton’s head and short-hopped the centre-field wall at the Trop in Game 2 might have been our signal that his bat was coming around, and boy, has it ever. Going into Game 2, Howard had been 6-for-36 in the playoffs, without a home run. The double came in his first at-bat of Game 2, and since and including that at-bat he’s gone 6-for-13 with a double and three homers, for a nice, tidy mark of .462/.500/1.231. Remember what I said yesterday about Carlos Ruiz having the inside track on the World Series MVP? Not so much.
Howard drove in five runs tonight, the first time a hitter has had a 5 RBI game in the World Series since 1993. No, it wasn’t a Blue Jay. In fact, it was the Phillies’ current hitting coach, Milthon Thompson, who drove in five in the crazy 15-14 Game 4.
So we go into Game 5 with a chance that the baseball season could end tomorrow night. I hate when that happens.
We will have a Blue Jay A Day Pre-Pre-Game Show for you tomorrow night at 7:05 PM Eastern on the Fan590 and this very website, but I have no idea who our guest is going to be. A.J. Burnett is Plan A, but I doubt very much that he’ll be interested, given his contract situation, and I won’t blame him if he says no. I’m thinking Plan B might be Travis Snider. I’ll post the news here on the blerg as soon as I get a player confirmed.
Today, we had a double shot of BJADPPGS. First, John McDonald:
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And second, Jesse Litsch:
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Make sure you tune in tomorrow night, and savour it! It might be our last chance to see this great game until March. If it is, hopefully the players will give the season a good send-off with a tight, exciting game, and maybe even make it error-free!
Rational, reasonable comments are always welcome!
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the fact that the phils could be up 3-1 while having such a horrid avg with risp tells me that they simply are not that good. tampa simply has given these games away. if tbay had simply just avg fielding and avg pitching I think at the very least this series is tied. I am still not impressed with phil. I think they can be easily beat if they can get past hamels. they will need great pitching and no sloppy plays and just a key hit from evan or upton. I still think the world series was tbay vs boston and tbay has run out of gas. I would start hinske and bat him cleanup. move longoria down.
MW: I don’t get this at all. So Philly could have swept this series and you would think they might be a bit good? What do they have to do? What this should tell you, if anything, is that Tampa’s not that good. I also don’t get the love for Hinske, he’s really not that good. I mean, he’s not terrible by any means, but .262/.344/.500 against righties shouldn’t be hitting clean-up in the World Series. Also, the Rays, who have watched him all year, really don’t share your view of Hinske, having given him a grand total of one at-bat so far in the playoffs.
- roccobMike…Nice comeback with that Macbeth quote…I’m impressed. And the heading of your post; “The Penultimate Game” is very “Stephen King-esque” especially around Halloween…again very clever!….I see a Pulitzer in your future..Speaking of futures, I hope it’s not a “winter of discontent” ( Sir Laurence Olivier-Richard III) for our Blue Jays especially with the Yanks rumoured to be after 2 of the 3; Sheets, Burnett and Sabathia…Maybe the Stratford Festival is hiring Shakespeare wannabes…thanks Mike
MW: I appreciate the kind words, but “The Penultimate Game” only means “the next-to-last game”. I don’t see anything eerie about it, but thanks.
- chris m.Cole Hamels will show how he’s become a Top 5 pitcher. Tampa doesn’t have an ACE, they only think they do!
MW: Tampa Bay definitely doesn’t have an ACE, and it certainly appears as though the Phillies do.
- Richard SpackmanWhat are the upsides and downsides of signing Barry Bonds
MW: Upside – he immediately becomes your best hitter. Downside – he may spend a large part of the season in jail.
- Justin JaysFinally; the Tampa Bay Rays we all know and love.
Go Phillies!
MW: Not nice.
- marcok mike,
this brother to brother type bickering we’re engaging in is enough already. known each other way too long for that..
with you making seemingly backhanded accusations implying i’m a racist and me insinuating that you’re a idea stealing, plagiaristic reporter.
none of it’s at all true.
you know it & i know it.
i’m not gonna lie, i love you man. you’re harsh (just a little bit) but that’s ok.
so c’mon bring it in close, we’re gonna hug it up. you & me let’s go.
now that’s what i’m talkin about brother…..
MW: Do we actually have to hug?
- darrell bishopI would tend to believe that the Rays are now done, but they have dodged “coventional wisdom” all season. Coming back from this deficit would be icing on the cake for such an improbable season.
But I think it will be just as equally a heartbreaker if they don’t come back because at this point “believers” have to be expecting it.
MW: So, if they don’t come back, then a few dozen people will be disappointed?
- Jim BAll I’ve heard about J.P. Arencibia is his offensive abilities and offensive upside. Mike, Do you know how good Arencibia’s defense is behind the plate whether it’s average or above average. Is he good at throwing out base stealers or blocking the plate on pitches in the dirt?
MW: I’ve never seen him play defense. His reputation is that he’s an “improving” defender, which is kind of ominous.
- Ian (not Kinsler)I was surprised when Sutcliff started tearing into the Umps, during the broadcast. They even had a little compilation of bad calls. Not sure how i felt about that…bad taste but deserved.
M-Dub,
If the seasons ends tonite how far down on the blog list can we expect your section to be bumped?
Also,
what happens next? you on freaking vacation for 4 months?
MW: The umpiring has been very bad in this series, and there’s no reason why that shouldn’t be pointed out. I have no idea where the blog will be bumped to on the list, and next? Wow, that’s a great idea.
- slobberfaceBJ Ryan and Adam Lind for someone like Tim Lincecum?
Which team is getting a better deal, in your opinion
MW: The Blue Jays, by a whole big bunch.
- JordieIn my/your haste to get through last night’s post-game, Joey Gathright-warp-speed post-game show, I failed to offer up what I thought might be appropriate, reasonable situations to EFFICIENTLY use instant replay starting next year in both reg. and post season play:
1,2) fair/foul; over the fence/in play (already used)
3) tag/no tag (e.g. your “colonoscopy” play)
4) safe/out (esp. at first base – e.g. to me, in the bottom of the 7th last night, Pedro Feliz beat Aki Iwamura’s throw to first on the so-called double play)
Do you think these situations would be sensible for instant replay? Perhaps managers/teams should be given a football-style limited number of challenges so as to not slow down the game.
MW: I was serious last night when I said I wanted robot umpires. I think all those things are fair to use for instant replay, and I think there should be a 5th umpire upstairs checking all the close calls. I don’t like the challenge system.
- Adrian, co-alumnusyou are right mike in that neither of these teams has impressed me in this series. the only thing phil has impressed me with is that they have an ace pitcher in hamels which tbay does not have.
btw if hinske ops is .840+ vs righties that would be better than every blue jay no?
also hinkse has 1 homer in 1 ab in world series. what does gross, zobrist and baldelli have combined? I rest my case.
re your math again. game 1 utley 2 rbis, game 3 utley 2 rbis, howard 1 rbi. that makes 5 rbis not 4.
total runs is not total rbis. utley/howard had 5/9 rbis through game 3
MW: I wouldn’t rest your case on one at-bat. You’re right on Utley, I didn’t see the RBI on his groundout in the first inning of Game 3. Total runs is more important than total RBIs.
- roccobI know the umpiring has been bad. Anybody who has been paying attention knows that. I just dont know why they have to point it out for the people who havent.
And of course, as soon as i question pointing it out, what happens?
Kazmir gets squeezed like a little punk in the 1st.
I felt bad for him. Tampa, facing elimination, best pitcher on the mound, a lefty facing a slew of righties, freezing, wet, and hes being forced to throw it down the middle. I know he got it together afterwards, but still, brutal.
MW: I don’t know why we shouldn’t point out poor umpiring, it’s part of the story.
- slobberfaceFine.
Fair Enough.
Next year i want crap calls and respective replays on the “JumboTron”. Make it happen.
MW: It’ll never happen.
- slobberface