Philadelphia Phillies

This is a preview of the 2009 World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Yankees. Game 1 starts the series off on Wednesday, October 28, 2009. The article will break down every position including the bullpen, bench, and x-factors. The article will conclude with a prediction on the series.

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As I watch the New York Yankees fight the Los Angeles Angels and Mother Nature for the chance to win the American League pennant and advance to the World Series, I realize something, albeit elementary.

This Phillies team knows how to win. More succinctly, the find another gear when playing in postseason baseball.

During the past two years, the Phillies have gone 18-5 in postseason play.

Carlos Ruiz, a .255 regular season eight-hole hitter for the Phillies, is batting .385 in the postseason with one home run and 4 RBI.

They don’t win championships in Philadelphia. If they do, it’s a fluke—something that someone pulled over on God.

Every three decades or so, one of the teams will screw up the ecosystem and snatch a title out from under fate’s nose.

What’s happening now is a travesty. The Phillies are in the World Series for the second year in a row. What’s worse, they actually won it last year.

This is all wrong. Philadelphia is a city full of miscreants and crabapples, with a fan base so jaded and tormented that it makes John McEnroe look like Dale Carnegie.

Last week the lady behind the counter at Wawa told me people are always nice when the sun shines and the Phillies win.

Well, it’s a great time to work at Wawa.

Despite the Philadelphia Phillies seemingly ending the National League Championship Series in a brief and dominant five games, TBS is pushing Los Angeles Dodger manager Joe Torre to name a Game Six starting pitcher.  

"You really never know. The Dodgers are such a fantastic team and have come back so many times this year, " TBS play-by-play man and legacy hire Chip Caray said, "it would make a lot of baseball sense to do it." 

It's the clinching game for the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2009 National League Championship Series, and their 2008 ace takes the mound.

With two outs in the first inning, Andre Ethier stands in.

Hamels gets the sign from catcher Carlos Ruiz.

Fastball, away.

Hamels shakes him off.

TBS's cameras zoom in to show Ruiz again, dropping his index finger, pressed against his left leg.

Fastball, away.

Cut back to reveal Hamels, dropping his chin in disgust, sighing, and stepping off the mound.

I bet you can remember your first kiss. It’s likely that you can remember your first car. And I’m sure you can remember your first drink, right? …right?

How about that second kiss? What car did you drive after your first lemon? And after that first drink, well, it’s all down hill from there.

The point is familiarity begins to set in. That first kiss created a feeling unlike anything you had ever felt before. The first time you revved your engine etched a memory forever in your consciousness. And the first drink, actually, never mind.

You practically can feel the loving wealth, spreading around the streets of Philly. At a point when Philly cheese steaks aren’t as tasty or lovable as the Philadelphia Phillies, the rabid town has again gone nuts, not over the Eagles or Michael Vick’s craze, not over the Sixers season-opener next week, and definitely not over the Flyers.

The fighting Philadelphia Phillies eliminated the Dodgers in the NLCS 4 Games to 1 and await the winner of the Yankees and Angels in the ALCS.

The Yankees currently lead the Angels 3-1 and could wrap it up tonight. Let’s not count the Angels out just yet, but with some some heartbreaking extra inning defeats to the Yankees early in the series, I think the Angels can not recover.

So that leaves us with the heavyweight showdown between the Yankees and the Phillies in the World Series. Let’s look at some of the points of interest for the possible upcoming World Series.