From this point on the progress of all teams that participated in this postseason are discussed.
9.29: Honorable Mentions�White Sox Brought into Subject
Although the MLB season was already over for most teams, it wasn�t over yet for the Detroit Tigers and the Chicago White Sox.
ESPN2 televised their make-up game in U.S. Cellular Field at 5:05pm ET, three hours after it was originally scheduled to begin. I was watching it. If Chicago were to have beaten Detroit, he and Minnesota would host the rare one-game �Tiebreaker� playoff the following day. Did the White Sox win? Yes!! Their success owes much to Alexei�s record-breaking grand slam, which took him past Shane Spencer for most grand slams hit in a rookie season with his fourth. Con las bases llenas Alexei molest� a los Tigres. (With the bases loaded Alexei molested the Tigers.)
The following night�s A.L. Central Tiebreaker would decide whether the White Sox or Minnesota would face Tampa Bay in her part of the ALDS.
Total for MLB attendance in �08 was 78,584,286. That�s close to 2007�s attendance of 79,447,312!
The St. Louis Cardinals site told me that Kyle Lohse would remain with the Cardinals Crew for the next four years, for some $41 million. Meanwhile, Mariano Rivera was to have shoulder surgery, but would be ready come Spring Training time.
Anaheim hosted an amazing postseason rally at her Angel Stadium, which featured a live band and everything.
Powerhouse ALEXEI RAMIREZ Making Grand Slam
9.30: The American League Central Winner is Decided.
As it happened in 2007, TBS again started her MLB Postseason broadcasts one day prematurely at 7:30pm ET with Minnesota vs. White Sox in the A.L. Central Tiebreaker. Who won this one? The White Sox! Jim Thome decided it all with his game-winning solo home run in the 7th inning to send Minnesota crying all the way back to the Metrodome for the offseason.
Carlos Quentin or no Carlos Quentin, those White Sox had something appealing about them.
Just as the Yankees were signing Brian Cashman for three more seasons of service, Cliff Lee and Brad Lidge were named American and National League Comeback Player of the Year, respectively.
10.1: Now the Action Begins !
It sure did.
Milwaukee vs. Philadelphia came first in TBS� bloated tripleheader. Philly had no trouble beating out the Brewers to take Game 1 of their NLDS. Nor did Dodger Blue over the Cubs in their own house. Mark DeRosa made a 2-run home run, but James Loney answered that with a grand slam in the 5th inning.
Boston? Anaheim was leading him in their ALDS Game 1, but Jason Bay�s first postseason home run propelled Boston to his 10th straight postseason victory.
Omar Minaya was signed for four more seasons with the Mets.
10.2: Bats of Thunder
Evan Longoria became part of MLB history as the key contributor to their defeat of the White Sox in Tropicana Field. His first two postseason home runs were in his first two at bats, making him the first person to do so since Gary Gaetti of Minnesota 21 years before. And speaking of thunderous bats, Shane Victorino made his first ever grand slam in the 2nd inning of Milwaukee vs. Philly, Game 2 of NLDS, frightening Sabathia and Company. Those Philly Phanatics didn�t wave their Phillies towels like crazy for nothing, either!
Powerhouse SHANE VICTORINO Making First Grand Slam
Dodger Blue was a pain in �Big Z�s� butt during Game 2 of their NLDS. The Carlos Zambrano that pitched an amazing no-hitter in September was now turning into an object of horror. No wonder�Manny hit his 26th postseason home run after he�d made one the night before! �The Next Mr. October?� Sounds clever!
All Philly and L.A. needed was one more win, and they�d advance to the NLCS.
10.3: Falling Angels; Soaring Rays
Did Anaheim strike back at the Red Sox Nation? No. �Dice-K� was pitching for the BoSox, and Jason Bay�s 1st inning 3-run home run (his second in this ALDS) empowered Boston to a good start. However, it was J.D. Drew who scored Boston the winning home run in the 9th inning, off of Francisco Rodriguez, and Papelbon got the win. Boston now had a 2-0 series lead over the now falling Angels.
Oh, �K-Rod,� how could you?
Akinori Iwamura held his own key to Tampa Bay�s success in Game 2 of her ALDS with Chicago. And speaking of 2-0 series leads, TB won. Like Boston, she now needed one more win to advance to the ALCS.
�Ooh, Desert Storm�you Rays never played so well before��
10.4: Dodger True Blue
Just as the Mets signed Jerry Manuel to a 2-year contract extension, it was Phillies vs. Brewers in Milwaukee, and Cubs vs. Dodgers in Dodger Stadium. The Brew Crew stopped Philly from performing a sweep on them, and forced Game 4 for their NLDS. Meanwhile, in L.A., it was a clean sweep for Dodger Blue. She completed her sweep on the Cubs, telling them: �Oh, yeah? You thought this year would be the end of your curse, didn�t you? Well, sorry, but wait �til next year!�
You tell them, Dodger Blue! Alfonso Soriano was trash; �Big Z� was of little help; and the rest of the Cubs lineup went from N.L. Central Champions of two consecutive seasons to �same old, same old.� On top of all that, MLB.com told me that Tribune Company had every intention to sell the Cubs and their Wrigley Field home, but so far I�ve found no confirmation of it.
Anyway, this whole Cubs being eliminated thing leaves me wondering: What about the Philadelphia Phillies?
10.5: Philadelphia Freedom
Did Philly stop Milwaukee from forcing the deciding Game 5 for their NLDS? Yes! Jimmy Rollins� solo home run started it all, and Burrell�s homer also contributed. With this, Philly threw Milwaukee out of the playoffs in his own house, and she would face the L.A. Dodgers for the NLCS on FOX Broadcasting.
In Chicago, the White Sox started their Game 3 of their ALDS with Tampa Bay 25 minutes late due to rain, and they told TB: �Not so fast!� That is, the ChiSox won, and forced Game 4.
Anaheim and Boston were at war in Fenway Park for Game 3 of their ALDS. Ellsbury made a pop up that produced a 3-run single for Boston in the 2nd inning, and that was what started it off for Boston. However, Napoli�s 2-run home run off of [whee-wheew] Beckett tied up the score for Anaheim, 3-3. Napoli made another home run; Youkilis tied the score up; Anaheim won in the 12th. Kudos to �K-Rod� for getting himself out of another jam, and to Jered Weaver for getting the win!
10.6: Ray-Zor Burn in the Red Sox Nation
B.J. Upton made two home runs, and other contributions propelled Tampa Bay to ALDS-winning success. TB, in fact, was the sixth expansion era team to get there.
Meanwhile, in Game 4 of the Anaheim/Boston ALDS, three cheers for Jed Lowrie for making the walk-off RBI single that gave Boston his second straight ALDS win over Anaheim!
10.9: The Once Unlikely Philly Gets Her Way�and Manny, You Are No Derek Jeter.
How do you like that? Even though Manny made an RBI single in the 1st inning for the L.A. Dodgers, Philly took this NLCS Game #1 thanks to some late-in-game work.
10.10: Dice Good; Dodgers Bad
In Game 2 of Dodger Blue vs. Philly�s NLCS, Philly stole the 1-0 lead from L.A. thanks to Shane Victorino�s 2-run single and other stuff. While Shane later scored two more RBI, Philly�s Starting Pitcher, Brett Myers, did well, too. Shane�s grandmother and Charlie Manuel�s mother both passed away, but this win was for them.
Powerhouse SHANE VICTORINO Getting Lucky
As for �Dice-K,� he took Game 1 of Boston and Tampa Bay�s ALCS as Boston won on a 2-0 score in Tropicana Field.
Tyrus van Burkleo would return to the A�s coaching staff for 2009.
10.11: #19 Takes the Stage
A lot must have gone on during Game 2 of Boston and TB�s ALCS. I didn�t see most of it, but when I got home from a concert, I tuned in to TBS to see what was going on. The score was tied 5-5 in the 5th inning, and Jason Bay made a home run, but Tampa Bay ended up kicking Beckett�s butt. The teams made 7 home runs total.
Although Dustin Pedroia scored on Wheeler�s wild pitch in the 8th inning to tie up the score 8-8, an 11th inning sac fly from Upton won the game for Tampa Bay.
10:12: As Tensions Rise, L.A. Takes the Cake
Kuroda hit Shane Victorino with a pitch during Game 3 of Philly and L.A.�s NLCS in Dodger Stadium, but all was well for Dodger Blue: she got the win.
Pujols had elbow surgery, but wouldn�t miss Spring Training. I read the story here.
10.??: It�s A-Rays-Ing! Let�s Hear It for the �Magnificent Seven!�
Talk about �Seventh Heaven!�
10.27-29: The Voice of Freedom is Finally Heard.
Whoa! Philly won her second World Series in franchise history! It happened after three days of prolonged delay by rain (making this the first time that a World Series game had ever been suspended by rain) starting in the 5th inning on October 27, when Philly was tied up with Tampa Bay. (???) provided the winning score. That meant he, Charlie Manuel, Jimmy Rollins, Shane �Flyin� Hawaiian� Victorino, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Cole Hamels (who took the win and the World Series MVP trophy along with a Chevy), Jamie Moyer, the �Phillie Phanatic� himself, and the rest of the gang put an end to their 28-year championship drought. You deserved it, boys.
Hardcore �Phillie Phanatics� went berserk in downtown Philadelphia once the Phillies won. Some of the fans even started riots and were arrested!
Final Season Evaluations
Hey, Yanks! Your name, which stood for �the Greatest Team in the World� all these decades, is now becoming synonymous with the term �Fading Stars.� Your All-Star Week and the Final Game were great, but little else was. With all the high hopes your fans had for you after the All-Star Game in your house, something ruined your playoff hopes more than the lack of effective Starting Pitchers ever did. You could have had Johan Santana or Brandon Webb instead of Philip Hughes and Ian Kennedy. You could have even had Tim Hudson or Russell Martin instead of a 36-year-old former Detroit Tigers catcher who might be the greatest catcher since Yogi Berra, but didn�t live up to expectations after donning the pinstripes. The only good acquisition you had after the All-Star Break was Xavier Nady. Jeter is good but getting old; Pettitte is over the mill; Mussina doesn�t always live up to the hype, good as they say he is; and pretty soon it will be time for Mariano to hang up the glove, too. You did it 26 times all those decades ago, and now that you�re gonna be living across the street from your old house, I�m sure you can do it again�but until then, good luck. Final grade: C-.
Boston, you spent the whole season fighting with Tampa Bay for the A.L. East title
Yo, Mets! You squander $137 million for Johan Santana, and none of your players were able to support that? Even after Willie Randolph was fired, your team was absolute garbage during the season. Their defense was blech; their offense was [groans], and the bullpen was the worst. 2 home runs given up on a day where you could have very easily had another go at making the postseason? Get serious, Jerry Manuel! The only good thing about you was that you did no worse than the Yanks standings-wise. Still, you could have done better with the garbage in your old house, which you killed! Good luck in Citi Field, boys, but let any other team have Francisco Rodriguez. You don�t deserve him. And don�t even bother getting Huston Street. He�s not good enough for your so-called �Amazin�� behinds. Final grade: C.
Atlanta, honey, you were trash when the season began and had been trash ever since. Bobby Cox is not what he was in the past; Frenchy is good but not quite Brian Jordan; Chipper is aging, good as he is; and except for Yunel Escobar, some of your players are completely two-dimensional. Tim Hudson was your best pitcher, but he couldn�t save you. You lost him, Smoltz, Glavine, and others to injuries, and nobody did anything to revive you. You have almost nothing left except your few true talents. Oh, and calling upon Jake Peavy isn�t sufficient to get your butts back on track. Poor, poor, poor. Final grade: F.
Oakland, for all this talk about 2008 being a �rebuilding� year, you played much worse than I thought. The fact that most of your players are young never concealed your pitiful progress starting with the Opening Day in Tokyo. Remember when you had the Tim Hudsons or the Rollie Fingers? Instead of them, you�d had the Giovany Gonz�lezes and the Huston Streets, neither of who are the Mariano Riveras or the Dan Harens or even the Brandon Webbs of the baseball world. Huston must be traded, as much as I love him to death. At least Harden and Gaudin were doing better with the Cubs. Get back the Marco Scutaroes and the Hiram Bocachicas. Get rid of that Billy Beane dude I keep hearing about. Nay, even get rid of Bob Geren or your dreams of winning another World Series won�t come true for a long time to come. Final grade: D+.
And as for you, St. Louis�Rick Ankiel or no Rick Ankiel, Albert Pujols or no Albert Pujols. you just weren�t good enough. That�s all I have to say. Final grade: D.
And the biggest salute of the year goes to the Philadelphia Phillies. Let�s face it: these men had �homegrown� written all over their faces, and �power surge� written all over their uniforms. Say what you must, David Wright, but Philly deserved it. Now, where�s that MLB Network?