Just gotta text from a non-baseball fan friend, who wanted to know: is it me or do the Rays look sloppy? Perhaps, but I think they look listless.
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End 4th: Gay men just showed up, late, and with chicken. And Crawford hits one out. There' the mojo we were looking for.
Bottom 4: Heroics anyone. Apparently not Carlos
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middle 4: Anybody have any mojo ideas? Rally caps? Rays look befuddled. They looked more confident against Boston, probably 'cause they saw them so much during the season.
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End third: Uh oh. Stuff is lining up the Phillies way. I said this out loud when Upton was up — "anything but a strikeout or double play" — wish I hadn't. This game really isn't going as I envisioned it. No more false confidence. I repudiate my former confidence.
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Pop ups won't get it done
Middle third: That's a little better, Kaz. He's fighting through it, keeping it to two runs. Needed the strikeout against Howard, and got it. He looks in rhythm now, and facing the lower part of the order. Can only hope that the early 2-0 lead Philllies won't hold. Now the bats need to pick him up.
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End second: Cole Hamels: Pretty AND unhittable. Please Kazmir, bring some game. The opposing starter is making you look bad in your own house. Time to sack up.
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middle of the second: Hey Upton haters, of which I am not one, check THAT out. Kazmir: officially rattled. Concentrating on base runners instead of the hitter. Nice way to get out of a jam, though, with big ups to Upton.
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Pickoff: Fucker was OUT
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Uh, lemme see … there's a lot of baseball left to play? Cole Hamels looks hittable to me, but then again, I'm not up there hitting against him. I hope this doesn't turn into one of those inning-after-inning affairs where we wait for the Rays bats to get in gear. Let's hope Kaz is settled down. He didn't look too rattled after the HR
Ahh, a nice little hug between Pretty Cole and Ryan Howard
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A shame. Kazmir actually looked pretty good except for the one pitch he grooved to the Phillies' best hitter. Let's hope Pretty Cole Hamels isn't as unhittable as everyone says he is. Let's hope this is shades of the early part of the GAme 7 with Boston. I always wonder: OK, dude, give up a double, just not the HR in the first. I guess that's easier said than done.
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The GOOD Kazmir to Rollins, then the BAD Kazmir to Utley.
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Here we go:
First pitch to Jimmy Rollins, STRIKE ONE
You know what would be real neat? If the game started. I mean, I knew we were going to have the first pitch after 8:30, but that does not make it easier.
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"They're one of the biggest recording artists in the world"
You mean, they WERE one of the biggest recording artists in the world." T.his is anthem is horrific, sorry. Bust out some high school sax player.
Two obvious keys tonight: We need the GOOD Kazmir. We need the bats not to end up befuddled by Pretty Cole Hamels
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8:10: Could this be a mercifully short pregame show? Wait, there's still the player intros and such. By the way, ain't Cole Hamels pretty? I've got some chicks and a couple of gay guys coming to the house. We'll see if we can get them to comment
8:04: Heyyyyyy, Jeanie Zelasko just introduced the pregame show from ST. PETERSBURG. This is the woman, you might remember, who always said the Rays played in Tampa — until Tom Jones from the St. Pete Times dogged her so bad that she had to apologize to the citizens of Tampa Bay.
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7:59: The Rays are favored in the series, according to Vegas odds. But I'll be damned if I can understand how favored they are. Check this supposed explanation out, if you still need to put down a bet. In a more understandable context, the Rays are even money and the Phillies are 3/2 underdogs.
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7:48: Live blog starts … why not now?
I'm a little worried. I'm too confident that the Rays are going to win this thing, and that makes me nervous. Can't wait to get it going. In the meantime, I can't wait for the Fox pregame to start. This local Ch. 13 pregame special is brutal, mostly because John Wilson is the most insufferable blowhard I can think of. What a pompous, self-important ass clown.
I can't help it, I'm still trying to process the idea that the Tampa Bay Rays are in the World Series. Wow.
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Hey sports fan (and johnny-come-lately Rays fans), you know how you're sitting in front of your TV during a big game and you blurt out all kinds of stuff to either yourself or friends who are only half-listening?
Y'know, stuff, like "Joe, Joe, don't put in Balfour! He's in a funk!." I'll be doing the online equivalent of that, live-blogging tonight's opening game of the World Series. Sign in, people, get in on the fun, post comments and let's get into some good back-and-forth. Or just check out my expert and erudite commentary.
I'm starting at 8. You should too.
Does it need to be said? Go Raysssssssssssssss!
This article appears in Oct 22-28, 2008.