Posted:
#1
Congrats to the Rays and their Cinderfella story. There's no doubt they deserve to be in this World Series and they've shown they have a legitimate chance to win it all. And the drama that went down in the Boston series would only add on to make it an even more epic year for this upstart Tampa Bay squad.
But that's the problem; the series with the Red Sox was too interesting. Instead of shutting the door on them in Game 5 as they should've, the Rays allowed a monumental comeback and exhausted themselves to a Game 7, where even there Boston was only a couple of base hits away from taking that one as well.
The last time I recall a playoff team letting a team hang around for too long in a series, it involved another Boston team in the Celtics in their series with the Atlanta Hawks. Following two blowout home wins against the sub-.500 Hawks, they proceeded to lose 3 of the next 4 games and finally wound up ending it in 7. They advanced into the next round against the Cleveland Cavaliers, a team who also failed to close out their series against the Washington Wizards. After building a 3-1 lead in the series, they proceeded to give up a late lead in Game 5 at home and Lebron James missed a gimme layup at the buzzer to win it. They finally won the series in 6.
What does that have to do with anything? Well, look at Game 1 of the playoff series between the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers, where both teams were just coming off extended series. In an incredibly sloppy and low-scoring game, the two teams combined for an ugly 148 points in a 76-72 game. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen combined for 2-18 shooting and 10 turnovers, and Lebron James by himself also went 2-18 from the field and committed 10 turnovers. Lebron missed game-tying shots in the closing seconds in that game and went on to 6-24 with 7 turnovers in Game 2 of the series in what turned out to be the worst two-game stretch of his basketball career.
These may be two different sports we're talking about but this isn't X's and O's that I'm talking about here, I'm talking about human emotion. Less than 72 hours after popping corks and celebrating their victory as the indomitable underdogs, these young Rays are now being heralded as the favorites to win it all. While they've shown a maturity and poise throughout the regular season and postseason that no one expected from them, they're still human and they are prone for a letdown, even in this high-stakes situation.
So here we are. Cole Hamels has been, by far, the best pitcher of this postseason going 3-0 and only giving up a total of 5 earned runs in 22 innings pitched. He is the Phillies' ace and he's going up against Kazmir, a guy who could've been considered an ace in the regular season, but who now could arguably be Tampa Bays' worst starting pitcher.
After Garza's Messianic ALCS performance, Shields' standout starts and even Sonnanstine's solid pitching this postseason, you may be able to figure out why Maddon has chosen Kazmir to start Game 1. He was the only starter to choke in the Boston series, giving up 5 earned runs and two homers before being pulled after only 4-and-a-third innings. His shutout in the infamous Game 5 should not be discounted, but it was clear that Boston's heads were not in the game at all to start. And any enthusiasm about that start was tempered by the fact that they ended up losing that game.
Philadelphia on the road? Not a problem. They had the best road record in the NL (second in the major leagues after the White Sox) with a 44-37 mark. Tampa Bay hitting dingers all day at Tropicana Field? The Phillies are familiar with that as they were first in the NL in home runs (second in the major leagues after the Angels). Bullpens? Philadelphia's has been absolutely stellar. Playoff experience? Big-time hitters? I could go on.
There is one major advantage in this series in favor of Tampa Bay and of course it's starting pitching. Their Games 2, 3 and -4 starters are collectively much stronger on paper than their Phillies' counterparts. That by itself is a big reason why so many like the Rays to win it all. But I'm not talking about the series right now. I'm talking about Game 1. It can be said that this relatively long layoff could hurt Philadelphia's pitching, but not Hamels. While guys like Myers, Moyer and Blanton would have 12+ days off between starts, Cole Hamels is coming into Game 1 with just six days of rest, enough to recharge him and not enough for any rust to show.
And bottom line: If the Phillies lose Game 1, they have little chance to win the World Series. They will never admit to it, but I think we all realize that if they cannot capitalize on their ace's starts, their outmatched rotation will most likely not be able to hold off the upstart Rays. There's a reason that Kazmir is out there for Game 1. Remember, there was a reason that Kazmir was out there last series in Game 5. In the end, the outcome was no surprise and it should be no surprise what happens in the opening game of the World Series.
GAME 1
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
We got this. 
0
That is the first time I have seen a basketball comparison for a baseball game. 
Hot Forum Topics
