Re: C'MON PHILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by HarleyGirlFLA

Posted by davenjess

Posted by HarleyGirlFLA

Posted by QuoteTheRaven424

baseball's still on?

At least for another day.

Suspension of the game due to rain.

This is one crazy world series

SERIOUSLY...i couldn't believe they played through that top half of the 6th!!!!

They had too. If they called the game then the Phillies would have won. By playing until the 6th it became an official game. This series is driving me nuts

Re: C'MON PHILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And it's suppose to pour again tonight

I think they should just send them to Tampa and play at Trop field. They wont have to worry about being rained out

Re: C'MON PHILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know 5 and 1/2 innings is an official game, but with a 2-1 lead for the Phils, they never would have called it

They would have still done exactly what they did. Too much room for controversy

Re: C'MON PHILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: C'MON PHILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Phils, Rays to resume Game 5 on Wednesday night

PHILADELPHIA – In the middle of all this World Series chaos, Joe Maddon sounded rather calm.

Bumped to a hotel in Delaware until Game 5 resumes Wednesday night — if the weather cooperates — the Tampa Bay manager and his young team rode out the storm together.

"I referred to it as kind of like getting snowed in, if I could go back to my roots," said Maddon, raised in nearby Hazleton, Pa.

Rain put the Series on hold Monday night, with the Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays suspended in the sixth inning with the score 2-all.

More rain and possible snow showers were expected Tuesday, so commissioner Bud Selig said Game 5 was tentatively set to resume at 8:37 p.m. Wednesday night.

"While obviously we want to finish Game 5 as soon as possible, the forecast for today does not allow for us to continue the game this evening," Selig said. "We are closely monitoring tomorrow's forecast and will continue to monitor the weather on an hourly basis. We will advise fans as soon as we are able to make any final decisions with respect to tomorrow's schedule."

The forecast for Wednesday called for clearing skies by the early afternoon, with temperatures in the upper 30s by night.

The Phillies lead three games to one, needing one more win for their first championship since 1980. There has never been a rain-shortened game in Series history, and this was the first suspension.

"I can't tell you tonight when we'll resume," Selig said Monday night when the suspension was announced. "We'll stay here if we have to celebrate Thanksgiving here."

By the time Carlos Pena hit a tying, two-out single in the sixth for the Rays, every pitch and every hit had become an adventure.

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

A puddle formed on home plate and umpire Jeff Kellogg resorted to using a towel rather than the usual whisk broom to wipe it clean.

Batters kept blinking back the rain drops and pitchers struggled with their footing. Strong gusts dropped the wind-chill factor into the 30s, and fielders covered their bare hands between pitches.

All-Star shortstop Jimmy Rollins of the Phillies chased a popup all over and dropped it for a tough error in the fifth. There were pools of water at every base and the Phillie Phanatic wore a rain slicker for his routine.

"The infield was tough. The ball would do funny things," Phillies second baseman Chase Utley said. "It was in bad shape. It was not playable."

Whenever this one resumes, it will pick up where it left off, with the Phillies about to bat in the bottom of the sixth.

Ace pitcher Cole Hamels is set to lead off for the Phils. For sure, the Phillies will send up a pinch-hitter against Grant Balfour, who'd previously relieved starter Scott Kazmir.

Then what? Do the Rays counter with another pitcher, and immediately pull Balfour?

If Pena had not tied it, Selig said he would not have let the Phillies win with a game that was called after six innings.

"It's not a way to end a World Series," he said. "I would not have allowed a World Series to end this way."

Fine by the Rays.

"The World Series always should be decided by nine innings with somebody making the final out, not the weather or natural disasters or whatever," reliever Trever Miller said. "That's what fans pay to see. That's what we work hard for all year."

Tuesday was supposed to be a travel day, if necessary. Instead, the teams will stay in the area and then head back to Tropicana Field if the Rays win.

The delay, however, forced the Rays to find a comfortable hotel in Wilmington, Del., about 25 miles away.

About 10 minutes after the game was officially suspended, an announcement was made telling fans wrapped in plastic sheets they were done for the night.

By then, many had left their seats and streamed into the concourses. They crowded six or seven deep, trying to see any of the game before the umps signaled for the tarp.

Because it was only lightly raining when the game started, MLB hoped it could play a full nine innings. It quickly became apparent this rain wouldn't quit.

By the middle innings, the grounds crew was running shuttles onto the field, carrying bags of a drying agent — baseball's version of cat litter — to absorb the water.

No luck.

"A lot of guys couldn't believe we were still playing," Rays shortstop Jason Bartlett said.

B.J. Upton beat out an infield hit with two outs in the sixth on a ball that Rollins bobbled. Upton stole second and made an impressive dash home on Pena's hit, navigating the slippery basepaths and sliding in when left fielder Pat Burrell's throw plopped into a puddle.

Fans showed up hoping they'd be witnesses to a World Series championship. Shane Victorino got them cheering with bases-loaded single in the first for a 2-0 lead off Kazmir.

Maddon tinkered with his lineup, dropping the slumping Pena and Longoria one spot each — they were a combined 0-for-29 with 15 strikeouts after four games.

The Tampa Bay stars ended their hitless ruts in the fourth when Pena doubled off the right-field wall and Longoria followed with an RBI single up the middle that made it 2-1.

A few innings later, it was time to go.

"You couldn't do anything you normally do out there," Rays outfielder Carl Crawford said.

Re: C'MON PHILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: C'MON PHILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm not invested in a winner either way- just DH is cuz he likes the Phills...
but right now I'm feeling HORRIBLE for those poor Rays!!! They look in over their heads right now. I thought what they did this season was remarkable...they deserved to at least make this series go 7 games and right now it doesn't look good.

but we still got a couple innings to go!

Okay I take that back now that Baldelli hit that HR.... This could be the longest 3 inning game in history!

Message edited 10/29/2008 9:01:07 PM.

Re: C'MON PHILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Phu-- the Phillies!!!

Sorry, nothing against the Philly fans, but I really didn't want them to win!

I feel badly for the Rays. They had such a great season.

Re: C'MON PHILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by Jax430

Phu-- the Phillies!!!

Sorry, nothing against the Philly fans, but I really didn't want them to win!

I feel badly for the Rays. They had such a great season.

Re: C'MON PHILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats Phillies.

But I am pretty sad for the Rays. I really thought they had somewhat of a shot but they didn't show it with only one win. I felt bad for those poor kids.

on a side note - wasn't it nice to see the end of the World Series at 10pm instead of close to midnight? Freaking TV ruling baseball schedule. The games need to start at 7.

Re: C'MON PHILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: C'MON PHILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yea yea go Phils, blah!

J/k Congrats to them!

Re: C'MON PHILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was watching the news this morning and they said even though they didnt win the World Series they are still coming home winners. They showed fans already lining up at the airport to great the Rays and congratulate them. Tampa is planning a little celebration for them

Re: C'MON PHILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fans proud of Rays championship season

ST. PETERSBURG – The Tampa Bay Rays may have lost the World Series, but most fans aren’t too disappointed.

In fact, many say it’s just the beginning. Dozens of Rays fans showed up at Tampa International Airport for the team’s arrival just after midnight, and then rushed over to cheer for the players at Tropicana Field.

Fans said win or lose, they couldn’t be more proud of the Rays, and they wanted to be the first to tell them.

“It doesn’t matter. We went to the World Series. We went to the World Series,” said Justin Calhoun. “I’m so happy.”

Rays first baseman Aki Iwamura even stopped to sign a few autographs.

The Rays lost to the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 Wednesday night after the longest World Series game in the Fall Classic’s history.

"It's powerful what we got done this year," manager Joe Maddon said after the AL champions bowed out of the World Series in five games Wednesday night. "And I know, from my perspective, this is just the beginning."

A year after finishing with the worst record in baseball, the young Rays pulled off one of the most improbable turnarounds in major league history. On the way to a franchise-best 97 wins, Maddon's bunch showed it doesn't take a large payroll to field a winner.

Including the playoffs, Tampa Bay won 39 more games than in 2007.

Not only did they outlast the big-spending Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees to win the division, but they belied their inexperience to continue prospering in October, long after skeptics figured they'd run out of gas.

"They kept believing in themselves to the point they were disappointed they didn't win this thing," principal owner Stuart Sternberg said.

J.P. Howell, 0-2 in the Series, gave up the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, and Philadelphia's bullpen closed out Game 5, which picked up in the bottom of the sixth following a two-day suspension because of rain.

"They never counted themselves out at any time from the month of February on," Sternberg said. "They really believed, even down three games to one, playing with three less outs, giving up the homefield advantage -- they felt extraordinarily confident that they were going to bring this back to St. Petersburg ... and win this thing."

The Rays did not play as well as they expected in the World Series, however they didn't make excuses for the shoddy defense, shaky pitching and lack of timely hitting.

Instead, Maddon focused on what they did well, and how that ties into a promising future.

In Games 2 and 3, the Rays scored eight runs, just one of them on a hit. Pushing four runs home on ground outs and scoring one each on a sacrifice fly, safety squeeze bunt and throwing error delighted the manager.

"We need to continue to grow. There are a lot of things we have to do better," Maddon said. "I'm into the little things. ... This series really validates a lot of the concepts we have put out there."

The city of St. Petersburg wants to throw a party to celebrate the Rays success. Details are still being worked out.

Re: C'MON PHILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!