YANKEES LEAD WORLD SERIES, 2-1

Think it's appropriate that the first time television video footage was ever used in a World Series for a review, the play involved a ball hitting a television camera.

I'm a good sport, so I'll go ahead and say: Way to go, Alex... 6 HRs this post-season. And you, Pettitte? That was Playoff Win Number 553 or so, yes? Sheesh.

Werth has joined Utley as the 2nd Phillie this Series to have a multi-HR game...

  in Game 4, look for some fireworks from Howard & Rollins. Phillies are gonna win Sunday night, by three runs (though it might be tied thru six... that's called dramma)

WORLD SERIES EVEN AT 1-1

Awesome games so far, but both teams have gotta wonder...

PHILLIES: That's twice now in the post-season wherein a brilliant performance by Pedro has been wasted because Philadelphia bats went to sleep.

YANKEES: Though he was amazing against Minn & LAA, Alex is now 0-for-8 in the World Series. Is that the Mariners and Rangers I hear chuckling?

GAME 3 PREDICTIONS: I have no goddamned idea... that's what makes this Series so great!!

2009 PLAYOFFS - VOLUME 8

PHILLIES TAKE GAME ONE!!

THINK LEE & UTLEY ARE HAPPY TO SHARE

MVP HONORS

...C'MON, YANKS:

LET'S MAKE IT A SERIES, HUH?

[succulence]

2009 PLAYOFFS - VOLUME 7

Good job, Yanks... PENNANT NUMBER 40

A bit of history, brought to you by Frozen Fountains:

>> The New York [Giants] and Philadelphia [Athletics]

       met three times in the World Series

         ...in 1905, 1911 & 1913

>> The Yankees swept the Phillies

         ...to win the 1950 World Series

And now, the prediction you've been waiting for:

THE 2009 WORLD SERIES WILL GO 

SEVEN GAMES,

AND THE WINNER WILL BE THE((admin error reboot sys))

2009 PLAYOFFS - VOLUME 6

If there's any team that can choke in the Playoffs, it's the post-2001 Yankees... the Angels are a decent team, but this year's ALCS has nothing to do with a rally monkey or armadillo or any other creature. Thanks to NY's 2004 world headlines-making meltdown, people are already talking about the Game 7 matchup!! Not to contradict my earlier cynicism, but shouldn't we tackle Game 6 first?! Well, blah. It's nap time for us Phillies fans until next week.

BY THE WAY: Frozen Fountains has gone from Autobiography to Cartoons to Baseball... come November 2009, the latest theme will be UPDATES ABOUT MY FIRST NOVEL.

2009 PLAYOFFS - VOLUME 5

BACK-TO-BACK WORLD SERIES

FOR THE PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES!!

2009 PLAYOFFS [INTERLUDE]

Cheers fading, or tears drying, the only thing to ponder until tomorrow is why the two series

aren't 4-0, 4-0 instead of 3-1, 3-1.

My parents are in town, and while watching a player in the on deck circle with a big white weight on the barrel of his bat (that looked to be made of a sort of dense marshmallow) my Mom observed that, unlike a corked bat (cheating that's not readily visible), this guy was going to step into the batter's box and use the tubular object as a bunting aid. Even 101mph heat would thud dully, and send the ball a few paltry feet back toward the pitcher, moving along any baserunner with a decent lead. Can't you just see the manager of the fielding team rushing out to argue? The Ump might reply:

"Well, it's not like the batter was hiding his marshmallow thing..."

2009 PLAYOFFS - VOLUME 4

Glad to live on the West Coast, because it'd be a little hard to start writing a post at 1:10am; as opposed to being in New York, say, where ALCS Game 2 has just gone final. When it was 2-2 in the 7th, I told Havala: "Yanks are either going to win via a home run in the bottom of the 9th, or the Angels will win it in 11." With the Halos up 3-2 in the top of the 11th, I was feeling quite smug... but then Alex hits one out to tie! Classic stuff. Game 1 was kind of business-as-usual for the Bombers... let's move on to the NLCS.

My Game 1 prediction-- ask Chris, he can verify-- was 9-7, Phillies. They beat the Dodgers, all right, by a score of 8-6. Not bad, huh? Never mind what I thought would happen in Game 2. Damned bullpen. I can only imagine the ulcers in Fish Town. Game 3 (if it's not rained out) should be close. Look for more clutch offense from the usual suspects in red & blue, and at least five strong from Mr. Lee.

PHILS TAKE IT, 6-2.

...And yes, I'm aware that's a picture of AT&T Park at the top of this post. After all, I was the photographer!

2009 PLAYOFFS - VOLUME 3

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

ON REACHING THE NLCS TWO SEASONS IN A ROW!!

2009 PLAYOFFS - VOLUME 2

Ya blink, and three fucking teams are eliminated?! Nothing like trying to keep a blog up to date to make a guy demand Best-of-7's for all three stages. Hard to feel bad for the Red Sox or Cards (both with very recent titles) ...but it's a shame about the Twins. Now what am I supposed to do-- root for the Angels? I'd say this whole post-season was a complete puke fest, but as I type: PHILLIES SCORE 2 TO TIE THE ROCKIES!!!!

This one's great... Game 4 is gonna be even better.

BREAKING NEWS: PHILLIES GO UP 4-3!!!!

How's that for a current post?

2009 PLAYOFFS - VOLUME 1

What's this? The Post-Season Train has left the station! And it sure as hell looks as though the Cardinals missed their connection. Told ya not to bet against Joe Torre. The other NL series is, in my opinion, the most interesting so far... the Phillies play in Denver on Saturday, and the latest forecast calls for snow. PHI will start Pedro! Can't wait to see him strike out Tulowitzki. In the AL, I think everyone's still a little stunned that the Red Sox were blanked... look for them to put 11 or 12 runs on the board in Game 2. And finally: Yankees / Twins.

We'll see ya at Target Field in 2010, guys... NY will sweep.

POST-SEASON PREVIEW!!!

Three exclamation points, so we must be getting serious...

Here are some quick notes about the first four series:

CARDINALS / DODGERS -- Ah, St. Louis. Been to your airport once. Think your big Arch would make a great hoop for bubble soap. But seriously, this is the club whose AAA team, the Memphis Redbirds, just prevented my beloved SACRAMENTO RIVERCATS from winning a 3rd consecutive Pacific Coast League title. And who's this 'Pujols' character everyone keeps talking about? Cards should sweep, but if you're wondering: no, I would not wager hard-earned money against a Joe Torre team in October. He'll wring greatness out of ass-head Manny like Phil Jackson has out of fellow ass-head Kobe Bryant.

PHILLIES / ROCKIES -- Please. The Liberty Bells haven't chosen their Game 1 starter yet, so I don't want to jinx anything; in general, don't think there's much chance of another Colorado vs. Boston World Series.

RED SOX / ANGELS -- Speaking of the 2004, 2007 [& many before our time] Champs... only in the AL East could a team this impressive finish 8 games back. This series should go the full five games (Los Angeles de Los Angeles have some powerful hitters, for sure), but ultimately, they're facing boys who really, really know how to win. Boston wins, 3-2, which only moves them out of the frying pan...

YANKEES / TWINS or TIGERS -- Yay, tiebreaker! A Game 163 to decide, once and for all, which AL Central team will be beaten by 20+ total runs over the course of three ugly games.

HOW ACCURATE WERE MY MARCH PREDICTIONS?

Eric's Major League Numerical Stat Predictions, 

March 2009, versus Reality--

NUMBER OF REGULAR SEASON GIANTS WINS

PREDICTION: 82

REALITY: 88

DEGREE OF ACCURACY: 93.2%

NUMBER OF 20-GAME WINNING PITCHERS

PREDICTION: ZERO

REALITY: ZERO

DEGREE OF ACCURACY: Exactly right!

NUMBER OF 100-OR-MORE GAME WINNING TEAMS

PREDICTION: ZERO

REALITY: ONE (YANKEES FINISHED 103-59)

DEGREE OF ACCURACY: Wrong!

HOME RUN TOTAL BY MAJORS-LEADER

PREDICTION: 60

REALITY: 47 (ALBERT PUJOLS)

DEGREE OF ACCURACY: 78.3%

Way to go, me.

John Prine, ladies and gentlemen.

October 2009, San Francisco, CA

No more Splash Hits until 2010

Very last ball game I attended this year-- Giants top the Snakes 7-3 in SF. Just inside the gates, a man was hawking programs. Everyone says that newspapers are doomed because of the internet... why hasn't anyone mentioned how absurd it is to purchase day or two old hard copies of stats that are updated in real time on the scoreboard, or everyone's damned phone? Because it's nice to hear some old guy yelling "Getcher programs!" that's why-- like it will always be nicer to hold a book than an 'electronic reader.' Besides, fans of Rich Aurelia can take away a souvenir that doesn't include his 0 for 4 finale.
  The win was the Giants' 86th of the season, that means it was the highest NL team win number I ever saw in-person (back in Seattle, have watched a victory Number 100+ by both the M's and perhaps the A's, which seems like ancient history now.)
  Lincecum was lights-out as usual... 15th win of the season; 8 innings, 100 pitches, 7 K's. Didn't give up his first hit until the FIFTH.
  Something I've never seen before: in the 4th, the Diamondbacks held an extended meeting at the mound, though there was no apparent injury or pitching change. The ump walked out to break it up, and on the way back was talking to the Diamondbacks' manager, who either didn't like the strike zone and/or had some choice things to say about the ump's mother. He was tossed, and when the bench coach came out, he was tossed too! The whole delay took about ten minutes, and it began as an attempt to speed up the game. Have never seen two coaches tossed in a situation that didn't involve a call.
  Last, and perhaps least: the Giants Faithful were treated to our local Fall Sideshow-- trotting out the novelty of a post-injury, elderly Randy Johnson for a non-save relief appearance. Throws a dozen pitches, gave a up a hit, got his pop-ups. Yawn.

SEE YOU IN APRIL, GUYS. PLEASE GIVE TIM AND PABLO LOTS OF MONEY.
OH... AND MAYBE REPLACE ZITO AND THE TWO RANDY'S.
AND... AH, NEVER MIND. LET'S JUST START WITH BACK-TO-BACK WINNING SEASONS. THAT'D BE NICE!