Results tagged “losangelesdodgers”

First of all, this is NOT the Curse of Billy Penn rearing its ugly head. There may have never been such a thing to begin with. The Phillies still enjoy a 3-1 lead in the World Series and will still be at home when the Series resumes play (supposedly) on Wednesday.

I was eight years old when my dad woke me up in the middle of the night to watch Mitch Williams strike out Bill Pecota and send the Phillies to the 1993 World Series. The following week in school, I taught myself to draw the Phillies’ logo for the construction-paper pennants we hung in the windows. To this day, it’s the only thing I can still successfully draw aside from a rather pathetic looking Dachshund.

The last successful invasion of Los Angeles was in 1990 when West Philadelphian (born and raised) Will Smith conquered Bel-Air and ruled for six years as its Fresh Prince alongside his loyal friend, Duke of Silver Spoons, Carlton Banks.

Things got hot in LA this weekend and it looks like we may have a real series on our hands. A few head-seeking fastballs, a little bench-clearing, and a whole lot of jawing just turned this NLCS into a tense and competitive slugfest. Game 4 is tonight. Joe Blanton is winless in Chavez Ravine this season. Derek Lowe is pitching on 3-days rest. Gear up, Philly, this could get good as the Phils try to take control in a 3-1 series, or allow the Dodgers to knot it up at 2-2.

You gotta give Derek Lowe some credit for taking it like a man. After his sinkerball silenced the Phillies’ bats for five innings, he hung a few up in the zone and suddenly the Dodgers were trailing the game. Even though those homers were just over the wall, he didn’t blame the ballpark. Even though Shane Victorino only got on base in the sixth because of a botched play by Rafael Furcal, Lowe didn’t fume and call out his players like John Lackey did in the Angels-Red Sox series.

We hate to mention the guy’s name at all, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the recent T.J. Simers piece in the LA Times lambasting Philadelphia and it’s fans, but giving only a cursory glance at the actual baseball that is scheduled to be played over the next week. We will not link this failure’s column because that is exactly what he wants, and in all fairness, we were conflicted on even giving this ass more publicity, but he needs to be called out.

What else is there to say after the Phillies ousted the Milwaukee Brewers and are now heading to the National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers? What else is there to say after Pat Burrell lifted the team on his back to become the hero we all knew he could be? What else is there to say now that excitement has reached a fever pitch in Philadelphia with a Pennant win in sight?

Showtime continues as the Phillies put a little mustard on their mustard last night and sent CC Sabathia packing in the 4th.

What long, strange game it was at RFK last night. What matters most is the results: after 14 innings, the Phillies topped the Washington Nationals, 8-7 in 14 innings.

It was like a tennis match: Astros up, Phillies up, Astros up, Phillies up. But when the innings ran out, the Astros held onto the lead to beat the Phils, 5-4, dropping the Phils into a first place tie with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

WIP is reporting that Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins and Phillies closer Billy Wagner will join the National League's 2005 All-Star Team. The two are expected to join as replacements for Los Angeles Dodgers SS Cesar Izturis and New York Mets P Pedro Martinez. Rollins, who was recently inked to a contract extension by the Phils, is actually having a subpar year, especially compared to his career-year last season. His fielding is still strong, but he has struggled to get on-base as the Phillies' leadoff hitter. Rollins, however, finished second in the players and coaches voting. Typically, the runner-up replaces an injured All-Star. Wagner placed fourth in the MLB's "Final Ballot," where fans get to vote one of five players onto the team as its final, 32nd player. Brett Myers, a Phillies starter, was also on the ballot. He finished in last place. With 3 representatives (RF Bobby Abreu was voted as a starting outfielder by the fans), the struggling Phils probably won't see any more All-Star additions. There may be further changes and additions to the team, but it's unlikely that the team will be tapped for any more players. If, by chance, that does happen, likely additions are Myers and OF Pat Burrell.