Well, it’s a little too early to answer that.

The fact of the matter is, it’ll be awfully hard for the Philadelphia Phillies to recapture the form they had when they won the National League coming to the 2010 MLB baseball season.

STILL, with the Philadelphia Phillies adding Roy Halladay, you can’t help but accept the fact that these guys are still the team to beat in the NL. They are still serious contenders to go all the way in 2010. Not only does the addition of arguably the best pitcher in baseball enhance their chances, but have you seen their line-up lately?

Aside from the addition of Roy Halladay, the Phillies’ roster this season consists of Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorimo, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez, Jayson Werth, Placido Polanco, and their only real hole besides the pitcher hitting, Carlos Ruiz.

It’s a modern day ”Murderer’s Row.” Halladay and the rest of the Phillies staff will have a lot of run support. If Cole Hamels can get back to his 2008 self, he and Halladay will be one of the best pitching tandems in all of baseball. Switching to the National League should be more advantageous for Halladay since there won’t be a DH. Plus, his experience pitching to teams like the Yankees and the Red Sox should make pitching against any NL team easy.

But if there’s one team who can challenge Philly in the National League, it would have to be the St. Louis Cardinals.

This team flat out knows how to get things done, consistently plugging…

Read More » Who will challenge the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL?

Yes, the Phillies have done it and after having Game 5 postponed, it all came to a fitting end in Philly.

You read it, baseball season finally concluded with the Phillies winning the 2008 MLB World Series. In what was the longest game EVER in World Series history, since Game 5 was the first World Series game ever postponed last Tuesday, the Phillies ended their 25-year championship drought after beating the Rays, 4-3.

The Philadelphia Phillies swept all three games at home to relive 1982, the year when they won their last title before this one. The Phillies were able to go from one of the losingest team in baseball to a world champion and after 50 hours of Game 5, they can now breathe a sigh of relief.

In what has become a three-inning sprint, the Phillies jumped on the Tampa Bay Rays the moment they resumed the 6th inning after the umpires called it at the bottom of the 6th last Tuesday.

The Phillies scored to take a 3-2 lead and although the Rays managed to answer back with a run scored at the top of the 7th, Philadelphia answered right back in the very same inning, proving how determined they were in ending it in five games.

”It was a crazy way to win it with a suspended game but we did and it’s over and we’re very excited,” 45-year-old Phillies pitcher…

Read More » Philadelphia Phillies win 2008 MLB World Series

Delaying the inevitable. Yes, that’s how we see it.

One win away from winning the 2008 MLB World Series, Philadelphia’s celebration with this year’s title was postponed after Game 5 was suspended in the 6th inning with the game tied 2-2.

This is the first time a game in the World Series was suspended and for now, this 25-year championship drought the Philadelphia Phillies have been going through continues for at least one more night. Hopefully, it all ends this Tuesday when this game will HOPEFULLY resume with clear skies.

Unfortunately, even that possibility is being deemed as doubtful. And although the Tampa Bay Rays probably don’t have anything to do with all these delays, (PROBABLY…) the Weather Channel is STILL expecting the bad weather to continue.

For now, Game 5 has tentatively been scheduled for Tuesday 8 p.m. ET.

”It was terrible. The field wasn’t bad, but it was the worst conditions I’ve ever played in,” Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria said.

”The infield was tough. The ball would do funny things,” Philadelphia Phillies second…

Read More » Game 5 of the 2008 MLB World Series was suspended with the Phillies and the Rays tied at 2-2

One win away. Can you imagine? The Phillies are only one win away from winning the World Series.

How about that huh? The Philadelphia Phillies are only one win away from winning the 2008 MLB World Series and be crowned this year’s world champions of baseball. After a 25-year championship drought, it looks like the Phillies are about to end it with a title in 2008. A win in Game 5 this Monday night will do that.

Every spring, the Philadelphia Phillies assemble in Florida to begin what would be an eight-month journey that they hope will end with them playing on the biggest stage of them all. They finally did just that and after only four games into the championship series, the Phillies are only a win away from the big one.

After routing the Tampa Bay Rays last Sunday night, 10-2, in Game 4, Philadelphia has inched a step closer from winning the title. Thanks to Phillies pitcher Joe Blanton, he made sure it was to be Philly’s night before this series shifts back to Tampa.

Blanton became the first pitcher in 34 years to come up with a home run in the World Series, and when Ryan Howard followed up on his homer from the 4th inning with another one in the 8th, the Phillies were already up 10-2, looking to finish things off in Game 5 back in Tampa.

Cole Hamels will try to give the Phillies their second World Series title in franchise history when he goes up against Tampa Bay’s…

Read More » Can the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 5 to win the 2008 MLB World Series?

That’s the match-up everybody loves to see.

You read it, everybody was waiting for this match-up in the 2008 MLB World Series next only to the Yankees and the Mets, the Cubs and the White Sox, the Dodgers and the Angels and basically any other match-up between any two teams OTHER than the Rays and the Phillies.

STILL, the Tampa Bay Rays will still play the Philadelphia Phillies in a best-of-seven World Series everybody will probably just sleep through. After all, nobody thought these two teams will get this far but since they have, the rest of the world (other than Tampa Bay and Philadelphia of course…) still have no idea who to root for.

Game 1 of this best-of-seven series for all the marbles starts Wednesday in Tampa. Who has the edge? (I know most of you probably won’t care anyway but since this IS a gambling guide, we’re asking ourselves the question…)

The Philadelphia Phillies have lost more games than any franchise in professional sports, while the Tampa Bay Rays never finished higher than fourth place during its last ten seasons. These two clubs haven’t played since June 2006, when Tampa Bay took two of the three regular season games in Philadelphia and yes, we don’t know what to expect now.

The Tampa Bay Rays are a surprising 10-5 overall against the Phillies in interleague play. The Phillies, on the other hand, have experience and power from their bench. Including the playoffs, the Phillies are 86-0 this year when leading after eight innings but the Rays are still the guys who dethroned the…

Read More » It’s the Tampa Bay Rays against the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2008 MLB World Series! Yay!

Amazing huh? After 15 long years, Philadelphia is back in the World Series.

You read it, the first entry to the 2008 MLB World Series has been decided and with the NLCS concluding only after five games, we have the Philadelphia Phillies becoming the 2008 NL champions after beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1, in Game 5.

Already having a commanding 3-1 series lead in the NLCS, the Philadelphia Phillies were determined to finish off L.A. heading to Game 5 and after the first three innings of the ballgame, Philly looked just that as they jumped on the Dodgers early with a 3-0 lead.

The Los Angeles Dodgers were held scoreless until the bottom of the 6th, where Philly was already holding a commanding 5-0 lead much to the dismay of the Dodgers fans in attendance. And although the Dodgers, thanks to their new acquisition Manny Ramirez, came up with a homer to make it 5-1, the Californians knew their season was about to come to an end and Manny’s homer was only delaying the inevitable.

Three scoreless innings later and the score remained at 5-1 with Philly heading back to the big dance.

”This is for the city for Philadelphia,” Philadelphia Phillies general manager…

Read More » Philadelphia Phillies are in the 2008 MLB World Series! Play either the Tampa Bay Rays or the Boston Red Sox…

That’s where it’s at people.

The 2008 MLB playoffs just got interesting after the two teams trailing in the two best-of-seven championship series wars were able to win one to make the final two wars before the World Series a little more competitive.

First, let’s start with the ALCS where the Tampa Bay Rays won what has been a shootout in Tampa. B.J. Upton helped his team beat the Red Sox 9-8 last Saturday with a shallow fly ball to tie the AL championship series at one game apiece.

The Boston Red Sox were coming in Tampa looking to take the early 2-0 lead. They never anticipated that the Rays will put up a fight nobody probably anticipated. The Red Sox and the Rays combined for seven home runs, tying a postseason record. And after 1:30 a.m., the Rays won a game that lasted five hours, 27 minutes when Perez beat right fielder J.D. Drew’s throw home.

The series shifts to Fenway Park for Game 3 Monday, with left-hander Jon Lester pitching for Boston against the Rays’ Matt Garza.

In the NLCS, the Los Angeles Dodgers came out early and finished of the Philadelphia Phillies 7-2 to get back into the series, trimming Philly’s lead to 2-1 in the best-of-seven championship series.

The Los Angeles Dodgers started strong courtesy of Blake DeWitt’s bases-loaded…

Read More » Rays tie series with Red Sox 1-1 while Dodgers win Game 3 over Phillies to cut Philly’s lead 2-1

It’s championship series time in baseball people.

You read it, with the 2008 MLB playoffs down to its final two best-of-seven championship series wars, only four teams remain all trying to advance to the biggest stage of them all, the World Series.

Two teams from the National League and another two from the American League will duke it out with a spot at the 2008 MLB World Series at stake. Yes, it only gets better people.

We’ll start with the NLCS as the National League West champions, Los Angeles Dodgers, meet the National League East champions, Philadelphia Phillies in a best-of-seven championship series beginning Thursday.

The Philadelphia Phillies, having the better regular season record, will have the home field advantage for this one. This series marks the first postseason meeting between the Phillies and the Dodgers since the 1983 NLCS, which Philadelphia won 3-1 before losing to Baltimore in the World Series. It also marks the first NLCS for both teams since the Division Series was instituted in 1994.

Overall, this is the fourth time these two teams have met in the postseason. In addition to the 1983 NLCS, the Dodgers defeated…

Read More » The Dodgers – Phillies in the NLCS and Red Sox – Rays in the ALCS are ON in the 2008 MLB Playoffs

Because with the NBA Finals almost over and with football still a few months away, we won’t have much of a choice but to watch baseball.

He he… Yes, with virtually nothing on TV after the NBA Finals conclude, ya’ll probably won’t have much of a choice but to start watching the ever so exciting, (we use the term ‘exciting’ ever so slightly here…) 2008 MLB baseball season.

On that note, let’s take a quick look on what’s been going on around the diamond lately shall we? Hopefully, we’ll find something else to write about other than Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and a whole lot of steroids syringes.

And of course, like last season, everybody’s still so fixated on the American League compared to the National League. While NBA fans favor the Western conference more than the East, baseball has this one.

Defending champions Boston Red Sox lead the pack from the American League East while the Chicago White Sox and the Los Angeles Angels lead the Central and West divisions respectively.

Boston Red Sox are still coming out strong after winning the MLB World Series last season. They have a 43-28 win-loss record, with a decent 7-3 showing in their last 10 games.

In the Central division, the Chicago White Sox, with a 38-30 win-loss mark…

Read More » American League heats up 2008 MLB Baseball Season

The MLB baseball playoff races appear to be coming down to the final day.

Oh the drama. Oh the excitement. It’s official: the best part of the American sports calendar is upon us. MLB playoffs lie just around the corner, the NFL is approaching its quarter-season mark and NCAA football is in full swing.

So for all intents and purposes the remaining intrigue  surrounds three teams: the San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies – all battling for two remaining MLB playoff spots.

These three teams are crossing swords for the final two National League playoff berths, with the Padres leading the NL West by one game over the Dodgers and the Phillies and Dodgers virtually tied in the wild-card race. 

All recent MLB trends point to the Padres making a second consecutive postseason appearance for the first time in franchise history and the Phillies returning to the playoffs for the first time since 1993.

As of Monday morning, Baseball Prospectus gives the Padres an 89.0% chance of making the playoffs, the Phillies a 63.7% chance and Los Angeles a 47.2% chance. That’s about as nip-and-tuck as it gets.

While the Giants have been eliminated from the NL West and all but eliminated from the Wild Card race, they would sure enjoy knocking the Dodgers out of the postseason — just as they did in 1991 on the…

Read More » MLB Playoffs: Padres, Dodgers, Phillies in a gigantic finish