Live Blog World Series Game 1 Phillies-Rays

I'm BAAAACCKK!

Well, I didn't really go anywhere. I took a break from the live blogs but with the World Series starting, I'll be here to put in my two cents. I, or one of my colleagues, hope to add a more convenient live blog system some time soon if not for the World Series some other day.

I know you are all ready. :D

Live Graph!

Gameday

- I've been waiting to say this: Beautiful weather under the dome!

- Ooo, montage. I'm a sucker for these "through time" pieces. When you add baseball to it and you just sock it to me right there.

- Again, they may not have predicted a playoff spot, let alone a World Series appearance, but a couple of systems did forsee nearly 90 wins from these Rays. Stop saying as though they were going to win 75.

- Mark Grace was not one of those systems. ;)

- Haha, the return of the Taco Bell promo.

- Mini-rant: you know what I can't stand more than anything? Media types who complain about certain teams being in the championship game/series because they aren't sexy enough or they haven't heard of most of the players or the fact that they won't get good enough ratings. Screw them!

- Hmm, I heard that music before. They played that during the '82 World Series recap montage (don't know what I'm talking about? check out Game 7 of the '82 Series on MLB.TV if you have a subscription)

- *stands up*

- The Backstreet Boys are still around? The hell?

- Is this just my TV or does Joe Buck look kind of...pasty?

- Woot, Michael Jack Schmidt! (and he just killed it by mentioning "Ryan Howard" and "MVP" in the sentence without saying "was in 2006")

- Honestly, I did not know the Simpsons were up to TOH 19.

- Keys to the game : WIN! I think most of the ones FOX have could be summed up like that.

- At least the scouting report is decent. Once again, if anyone at the YES Network is watching, that is how you do a scouting report. SCOUT THE PLAYER!! It isn't that hard.

- New Kids on the Block, Backstreet Boys. Did we get sent to the '90s?

- Um, huh?

- That is why you don't bunt, Chase! (91.9 mph fastball down the middle, 3.8'' break [distance from top of arc and the chord connecting release point and breaking the strike zone], 16.1'' pFX [distance between location of pitch and same pitch thrown with no spin]) 2-0 Phils

- Kashmir? edit: he said it again!

- Camera is that way, Crawford.

- Phillies fans just about had a heart attack right there.

- I know a certain someone who is shocked that Feliz has taken 5 straight pitches (my comrades would know who ;) ).

- Victorino sure wants some of that taco.

- Not a great sequence by Kazmir. Last thing he needed was the bases loaded with Rollins up. If they steal, so what?

- The arm of Bossman Junior strikes!

- MLB Network, FTW!

- Before I was enlightened to the fact that making a huge deal about small sample sizes is a fool's errand, I got googlyeyed with Willy Aybar's cup of coffee for the Dodgers. Though he hasn't come close to matching that, he seems to be a pretty solid player.

- Stop denying us free tacos!!

- The mother of all holes, ladies and gentelmen.

- In the bottom of the third in the 3rd inning, FOX has mentioned Sternberg and Friedman more often than TBS did their entire postseason broadcast schedule.

- Bases loaded for teh Bossman. GIDP again for teh Bossman.

- A low forehand lob from Feliz. Oops, wrong sport. 0_o

- 3-nil Phils on the groundout. *smacks self again*

- I wish those were box seats so I can make an apropos joke there. ;)

- "You reach it with your arms and not your legs." Quoi?

- That was awful even by your standards, Tim. "Ray-naissance man"?

- Famous instance of people getting out of the way on a timeout: '93 World Series Game 6 when time was called and Rickey, Darren Daulton, and the ump all got out of the way as if Mitch Williams were about to throw a grenade.

- So it has nothing to do with Myers but there's a dropoff between Hamels and the rest of the staff? That does kind of imply an indictment on Myers, et al.

- FREE TACOS!!!! probably not going to get any but I just like saying "taco".

- Aki in the gap. 3-2 Phils

- LOOK AT HIM GLIDE!! Sorry. *blush*

- Clank by Howard followed by redemption on the throw to pick off Pena.

- Looks as though Longoria has legitimate beef (according to Pitch F/X). I'll have to re-check to see if Welke has been calling that pitch all night.

- Lefties make Howard cringe. :/ Interesting that his platoon split has gotten more lopsided over time. (edit: since he played a full season in '06: Howard v. Lefties)

- Bowl cut alert!

- Heh, a slider and a curve from Balfour that inning. Sometimes, it seems to slip under the radar whenever he throws one.

- Sick stuff from Madson. Upton had a decent pitch to drive on 0-1 but nearly screwed himself into the ground.

- Time for TEH LOOGY!!

- Lidge vs. TB's 3-4-5 hitters. Should be fun to watch. :D

- Lidge ownership. Phillies lead the series 1-0. Join us for Game 2.