Alright as much as I hate to admit it the Boston Red Sox were not the best team this year in baseball, there I said it!!! Are you happy now ny fans?!!? They arent even in the top 3 sadly. Moving forward... The Phillies and Yankees are up 3-1 in their respective League Championship Series and seem primed to meet up for the ultimate prize.
Let's start with Philly: did anyone else feel it during the 9th inning on Monday night? I know I certainly did, that moment, a freeze frame moment in time when everything stopped. Dodgers clinging to a 4-3 lead, bottom of the 9th, 2 outs, Ryan Howard, who's been hotter than a sorority girl in church, had just struck out and with 2 runnners on base and all of Philadelphia watching Jimmy Rollins stepped up to the plate. LA all-star closer Jonathan Broxton on the mound, his pitches were being clocked at 98-101mph WOW! My cousin was curled up in a ball on the couch next to me praying, begging for a miracle. And then there it was... with one pitch and swing of the bat, Rollins rifled the ball to the gap in right center field, both runners would cross home plate giving the Phillies a dramatic 5-4 victory, sending the stadium and city of Philadelphia into pandamonium. As I watched the ball fly into the air and find that nice chunk of real estate deep in the outfield I thought to myself: this is the moment that will stand out to me. This is what we will all look back on if indeed the Phils do repeat as World Champs. Everything changes if that ball doesnt fall, the series is tied 2-2 and now the series continues an extra game which would be played on the west coast in LA. But the bal fell, Rollins was the hero, poor Broxton the goat, and now the Dodgers are in a do-or-die game tonight in the heart of Philadelphia. Cole Hamels vs. Vincente Padilla. Should be a great game, Hamels has struggles this year after being MVP in both last year's LCS and WS. Padilla pitched the game of his life in game 2 and now he'll have to do it again if he's to force the Phillies to fly back to LA with his boys for a game 6. I think the Dodgers season ends here and we see the Philly fired up and ready to party tonight!
Ok, this is not easy for me but I have to try to be unbiased, the New York Yankees look unstoppable. ahhhh that was tough! After they steamrolled the Angels last night 10-1 it appears obvious that they are indeed the best team in the AL and are cruising toward the World Series. CC Sabathia is the main reason. He is 3-0 in the playoffs and pitching at such a high level that I don't know if anyone can catch up to him (maybe Rollins/Utley/Howard? just sayin). Granted the umpires have been absolutely awful in the ALCS (we'll get to that later) you have to give the most hated team in my life credit, gosh this whole unbiased thing sucks! They are getting production from Alex Rodriguez in the postseason I can hardly believe it myself. Known as a perennial choker when it came to the playoffs, A-Rod is showing why he is the best player in the game. Not once but TWICE in the playoffs he has helped the Yanks win games that they should have probably lost. Thursday night the Yanks play the Angels in LA and aim for their first WS appearance since 2003 (ny fans don't even get me started on damn aaron boone & tim wakefield, talk about a match made in hell). NY sends AJ Burnett to the mound and the Angels counter with Jon Lackey. Each pitcher has had their ups and downs but one thing we do know is that Burnett has not been very consistent on the road. However, even if Burnett gives up 6 runs the Yanks are very capable of putting up 8 in a single inning. Key to this game with be how efficient Lackey will be and how long he lasts. Once the Angels call upon the bullpen, you have to think advantage NY. My prediction would be Angels find a way to win tomorrow night to push the series back to new york for a game 6 where they ultimately meet their demise. So yes I said it, the Yankees are going to the World Series. I'm not very happy about it, in all honesty I'm actually kinda pissed but what should we Sox fans expect. When they bought the world (Texeira, Sabathia, Burnett) in the offseason we had to know this was coming. It will be very interesting to see what Boston does next to counter the Yanks success this year, but thats a convo for another day!
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