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[Tim Bert]

As if last year wasn't enough...

Go Phillies!!!

PS - all you Philly guys with spare tickets please give me a call before you sell them!  I was at game 3 last year and would love to make it back to watch the Evil Empire go down!!

[Michael Blake]

Yanks win tonight then SWEEP the Sillies.

[archie_struthers]

 

the Yanks might win but ain't going to be no sweep....you can book that one!

Having no respect for the defending World Champs is pretty endemic to haughty NY fans

I'm sure you misspoke  !

[Steve Lapper]

Anyone want to make a "friendly" wager on this?
I'll take a substantial Yankees position (upon completion of the ALCS) against all comers....



PS. Don't waste my time with begging for odds or spot of games.....even up for those with conviction and spine.

[Michael Blake]

the Yanks might win but ain't going to be no sweep....you can book that one!

O.K.  Cliff Lee might get their only win.  The other pitchers, Hammels this year especially, are head cases.  And that's the ONE thing pitchers cannot be.

Archie, I grew up in Northern New Jersey a Yankees fan, but have lived in the Phila area my adult life, since 1991.  I certainly respect and root for the Phils (when they're not playing the Yanks in the W.S. of course) but good pitching beats good hitting and the Yanks have a distinct advantage with their starters and especially their bullpen.  And the Yanks bats are equally as exciting as the Phils.

I'm sure it'll be an exciting series when the Yanks get there, hopefully tonight.

[mike_malone]

 The Phillies are a very good baseball team, so the Yankees will need to be a great team to beat them. We will see soon.

   Although I agree that Hamels is struggling right now , I believe the starters are better than last year. So, the Phillies are clearly better than last year.    I paid attention when they played the Yankees in interleague play this year. I don't have the results handy but my recollection was that they felt comfortable in NYC.

   I just checked the results----they were quite comfortable; they won the series 2/1.

[Dan Boerger]

We have Phillies season's tickets through my company ... I am a die-hard Yankees fan ... my kids and wife are die-hard Phillies fans ... I'm in a no win/no lose situation!

Assuming it's the Yanks, it should be a terrific series.

[Dan Herrmann]

Dan - feel free to send your tickets my way if you have trouble attending due to your conflicts

[archie_struthers]

 


Michael B   ...apololgy accepted....I've been a Phillies ...Eagles  Flyers fan   since 1961  ouch   ....this is the best team and group of guys ever in PHILLY  .... they are overachievers with talent  ... very unusual chemistry to this team ..including DR Charlie Manuel    (I apologize to my two favorite Sixers teams  '67 and '83 for making this Phillies team #1)  

I'll take a golf wager of some sort on the series with Yankee fans (and I do hope they make it to the Series) we'll discuss later

Phillies starting pitching is underated and they probably win a match-up with the Yankees  only A-Rod and Posada are obvious wins for the Yanks   ..... every Philly outfielder is better .. it;s pretty significant ...and to my Yankee friend who thinks first base goes to the BOMBERS  ...are you kidding me ?     Second and Short are coin flips ...all excellent players   Phils win 4-2  2 ties position players     

this team can really hit and is starting to play a little small ball  they are very very good and I dare say under rated

Rave on Yankee fans and good luck!

[tlavin]

It's nice to see Philly make it back to the Series two years in a row, but I don't give them much chance against the Yankees.  I say it goes only five games.

[mike_malone]

Dan Boerger  could you contact me

[Doug Wright]

I'm from Denver so I unfortunately no longer have a dog in this hunt but...

I watched all four games in the NLDS (including the Game 4 comeback by the Phillies in Denver  ) as well as the NLCS. I am really impressed with the Phillies. A solid hitting lineup from 1-8, with each player capable of contributing game to game. The 1-5 hitters are excellent. Rollins did very little vs. the Rockies but came up big vs. LA. The patience at the plate of Utley/Howard/Werth, who rank in the top 5 in pitches faced, is really important. Cliff Lee has been the best pitcher in the playoffs. If he's close to what he's done so far the Yankees are in trouble. The other Phillies starters are certainly as good as the Yankees after Sabathia. Bullpens are comparable until you get to Mariano; Lidge could implode at any time but I don't think it will come to that. I see no reason the Phillies can't continue their run through the Yankees. Phils in 5.

[Alex Miller]

I'm an Angels fan and seeing the Yankees destroy my team hurts. I still have hope, but if the Yanks do meet the Phils expect the outcome to be similar to what you've seen so far from the Yankees. They are back, which makes being a Yankee-hater a little more fun . Go Angels!!!

[Tim Pitner]

Doug,

I mostly agree with your analysis but they were fortunate to get past the Rockies (at least in 4) who were missing one of their starting pitchers and some key Rockies bats were struggling. 

I see the Phillies as a team with very good hitting, good starting pitching and an average defense and bullpen.  I'm not that familiar with the Yankees, other than some of their marquee hitters.  To me, American League baseball is equivalent to cart-ball--it resembles baseball but isn't quite the same thing. 

[Carl Nichols]

I'm having a very hard time deciding which team I want to lose.

--Red Sox fan. 

[Kyle Harris]

Odd, this Phillies team's record against both the Yankees this past season, and CC Sabathia in the playoffs is exemplary.

"Knute Rockne isn't going to crawl out of the grave and beat you."
-Joe Paterno

[jonathan_becker]

The Indians have been my team forever.  

The Indians are also the best farm system for the entire mlb.  So, when philly eventually squares off with the yankees in a few days, remember that Lee and Sabathia won back-to-back Cy Young awards while pitching for the Tribe.  And what a f'ing showdown it will be.    I'm just sick and tired of Cleveland never spending money on anyone and watching talent go out the door (i.e.  Carter, Man-Ram, Thome, Lee, Sabathia, etc.).  The list of players is never ending....

[Kalen Braley]

The MLB and its so called champion was turned into a joke long ago based on their lack of instituting a salary cap or something similar.  Here are some stats numbers to consider.

In 2009 of the 8 teams in the playoffs, 5 of 8 teams were all in the top 10 for team payrolls, and only 1 team in the bottom 10.
In 2008 of the 8 teams, 5 of 8 again are in top 10 payroll, and only 1 team comes from the bottom half of the league..yes thats bottom half!
In 2007 of the 8 teams, 4 of 8 are in top 10, with 3 teams coming from bottom 10....at least this is a somewhat respectable balance, even if it is a stastical rarity.
In 2006 of the 8 teams, 3 of 8 are in top 10, with only 1 team coming from bottom 10, just barely though at #21.
In 2005 of the 8 teams,  5 of the 8 teams are in top 10, with only 1 coming from bottom half at #16...none in the bottom 10.
And it goes on and on previous to this....

I understand everyone loves to root for thier team, and the Devil Rays were a nice exception that actually went to the World Series.  But rooting for teams in the MLB "playoffs" is like going to Vegas and cheering for the house to win.

Its beyond a joke and until they can implement some mechanisms to allow all 30 markets to be able to compete on a level playing field, they may as well just call it the BMBL - Big Market Baseball league.

[Dan Herrmann]

Kalen - be careful - the NFL may be cap-free next year too.

[Ian Larson]

Odd, this Phillies team's record against both the Yankees this past season, and CC Sabathia in the playoffs is exemplary.

"Knute Rockne isn't going to crawl out of the grave and beat you."
-Joe Paterno

This is a stat that most Yankee fans will ignore. A few months ago the Phightin Phils took the Yankees 2-1 in their interleague series....at Yankee Stadium. To say that it's certain the Yankees will win the World Series is a crock of s**t. Hamels may be struggling but Cliff Lee has picked up the slack to the nth degree. The Yankees will be tough and a huge battle but it won't be a lopsided matchup. They are going to batttle it out pitch for pitch and hit for hit. The Phillies are the wrong team to underestimate right, especially since their even stronger than last year.

[Rich Goodale]

I'm old enough to remember "The Phold" in 1964 which, ironically, was probably responsible for the Dark Ages of Yankee history (by pholding, the phillies let the Cardinals into the series and Bob Gibson and Co. drove the Bombers into the Dantean circle of hell which was CBS....).

I hope it rains and then snows over the next week or so, so that the ALCS doesn't finish until early November (with the Yankees winning, of course), and that the Series itself can only play every 3-5 days due to weather which will mean that the person who is the Series hero in Game 7 can forever be called the first "Mr. December"...........

[Doug Wright]

A note of caution Phillies fans. After winning nearly all their games in September 2007 and then sweeping the Phillies and Dbacks in the 2007 playoffs, the Rockies had to wait 8 days before starting the World Series vs. Boston. It killed their momentum, timing and everything else, and the Red Sox swept them in the Series. The Phillies also have a week to wait till game 1. May be an issue.

[Sean Leary]

Anybody but the Yankees. Although this Yankee team is less hateable than others.

[Alex Miller]

They MIGHT not play the yankees!!!  -A

[Kyle Harris]

A note of caution Phillies fans. After winning nearly all their games in September 2007 and then sweeping the Phillies and Dbacks in the 2007 playoffs, the Rockies had to wait 8 days before starting the World Series vs. Boston. It killed their momentum, timing and everything else, and the Red Sox swept them in the Series. The Phillies also have a week to wait till game 1. May be an issue.

It wasn't last year against the Rays.

[archie_struthers]

 


Kyle no worries mate ....we are in the World Series again...as a long suffering Philadelphia fan the sun is shining brightly on all our faces right now ....as they say in the poker room ..all you need is a chip and a chair ...we've got a chair  and HOward and Utley and Lee and Victorino ...Werth  ...Rollins  ...not so bad   !!!!

[Jason Mandel]

It continues to amaze me how much the national media and public in general (you guys included) continue to underestimate this Phillies team.  They have the bats to compete with ANYONE.  Our line up is just a hitting maching from Rollins through Ibanez and Ruiz and Feliz have both made meaningful contributions at the plate in the playoffs. 

The numbers Ryan Howard are putting up not only in the playoffs but in the regular season are just astounding.  The man is playing at such an extrordinary level right now that he has to be compared to some of the great hitters of all time.  He can literally carry a team through a series though he doesn't need to.

Cliff Lee is a bonafide ACE.  Hamels hasn't been great in the playoffs this year but I agree with Charlie Manuel when he says the guy is capable of throwing a complete game shutout every time he steps on the mound.  Pedro has been better than anyone has expected and Blanton is a solid 3/4 starter.

Yeh, the bullpen hasn't been great but they've been servicable, and when you get run support like these guys do that is often times ok.

I've been saying this for the past few days and I'll say it again.  I want the YANKEES.  I want all the hype as bs that goes with the Evil Empire.  These Phillies are playing with such a high level of confidence right now that they will not back down from anyone.

Jason

[Doug Braunsdorf]

I'm a Yankees fan, but was rooting for Philadelphia both last year as well as in this year's NLCS series.   Phillies are a good team, they're exciting to watch, they play aggressively.  It's going to be a good series--NY better dispatch of the Angels tonight. 

[Tim Bert]

I will take a long wait any day over the prospect of possibly having to go to game 7 and having my rotation out of whack.

I'd love to see Lee vs Burnett in game 1 and Pedro vs CC on short rest in game 2.

Advantage Phllies in that scenario. I am rooting for a rain out tonight, Angels win game 6 and Yankees win game 7.

A note of caution Phillies fans. After winning nearly all their games in September 2007 and then sweeping the Phillies and Dbacks in the 2007 playoffs, the Rockies had to wait 8 days before starting the World Series vs. Boston. It killed their momentum, timing and everything else, and the Red Sox swept them in the Series. The Phillies also have a week to wait till game 1. May be an issue.

[Tim Bert]

Part one - rainout - check.

[Brad Fleischer]

Tim,

You have to start on here to !!!  It's bad enough I have to read your emails and hear my lady friend (south philly girl) talk smack, now I can't
even read my beloved golf forum without seeing philly crap. Thanks ;p

Brad

[Tim Bert]

Brad - now you know how the rest of the world feels about the Yankees!

[Brad Fleischer]

There's a world outside of NY ??  Now that we are officially in let the sh@t talking start !!!  Shall we place a friendly bet ?

Brad

PS

For all the rest of the yankee haters the friendly bet is open to all.

[Jay Flemma]

[Dan Boerger]

Good to see things are back to normal -- the World Series is supposed to be played between the Yankees and the second best team in baseball.