Friday, October 31, 2008

Happy Halloween from ESPN Radio!

We may not be trick-or-treating tonight for Halloween, but at least we "tried" to get in the spirit of the day!


JE Orozco, BIIF Football Color Commentator, dressed as his man-crush Tony Romo. Someone please do a urine test, because I see some unusually large guns here.


Actually, they are number 3, in their only division. By the way, the costume needs a little addition. Like a pinky brace???
And speaking of the pinky brace...



Mike & Mike in the Morning as Batman (Golic...not to be confused with Fatman..lol) and Robin (Greeny...definitely fits the Boy Wonder mold)


Rocket Rod Pacheco, Play-by-Play guy and ultimate crummy-joke teller (I kid!) as a confused tourist. What he's holding in his right hand is a mini-size box of Milk Duds. I guess that goes along well someone who's confused, right? Sorry for the darkness of the quality. The back hallway in our office is pretty dark.


Aaron Yes-No-Maybe-SoNaka as Dwight Howard


JE didn't Aaron off on where to get the fake roids, apparently.


Just wanted to make sure you saw Aaron's cape to go along with the Howard jersey, circa the 2008 NBA All-Star Game


The Big Island's Famous Mason Souza, dressed up an overweight plumber, maybe Joe the Plumber, and making sure he picks his nose live on the air! Not pictured: The plunger that he brought in.

Coming soon, yours truly as Aaron Rodgers circa 2006!

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Philadelphia Phillies World Champions!



Put aside the mess that was the television ratings of the World Series, the last three innings of the World Series proved to be memorable, especially if you are a fan of the Philadelphia Phillies. In what turned into a shootout of a Game 5 ending, the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Tampa Bay Rays to win the Series 4-1.

This World Series had the local flair, as Shane Victorino of Maui, with Big Island Roots, not only played for the World Series Champs, but was a pivotal contender. The significance of his performance will mean something for his wallet, which I will get to in a second.

The storylines were compelling for this team: A much maligned closer pitching for redemption, who had not blown a save, and would keep it that way, an offense that could not drive in runners to save their lives for the first two games, a city that was so starved for a championship that they were turning from the "City of Brotherly Love" to the "City of Grumpy Whiners."

Now that the series is done, let's look forward:

Thanks to our good friends at the Hawaii Sports Page for passing along a link to a baseball blog which follows contracts of Major League Baseball players called Cot's Baseball Contracts. From that site comes the info they sent me:

Geoff Jenkins 5 Million
So Taguchi $900,000
Pedro Feliz $3 Million
Matt Stairs 1.6 million
Ryan Howard $10 million
Jimmy Rollins 8 million
Chase Utley 7.7 million

PLAYERS WHO MOST LIKELY WON'T BE BACK:

Pat Burrell of
6 years/$50M (2003-08)
6 years/$50M (2003-08)
avoided arbitration with Philadelphia 1/03
$1.5M signing bonus ($1M up front, $0.25M 1/04, $0.25M 1/05)
03:$1M, 04:$4M, 05:$7M, 06:$9.5M, 07:$13M, 08:$14M
full no-trade clause
award bonuses: $0.1M for MVP ($75,000 for 2nd, $50,000 for 3rd), $0.1M for WS MVP, $50,000 each for LCS MVP, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger or All Star selection
5 years/$8M (1998-2002)
$3.15M signing bonus
98:$0.75M, 99:$0.75M, 00:$0.8M, 01:$1.275M, 02:$1.275M
drafted by Philadelphia 1998 (1-1)
agent: Greg Genske
ML service: 7.131

Jamie Moyer lhp
2 years/$10.5M (2007-08)
2 years/$10.5M (2007-08)
signed extension with Philadelphia 10/06
$1M signing bonus
07:$6M, 08:$3.5M
2008 salary increases to:
$4.5M with 170 IP in 2007
$5.5M with 180 IP in 2007 (had 199.3 IP in 2007)
2008 performance bonuses: $0.5M each for 165, 175, 185 IP in 2008
1 year/$5.5M (2006)
re-signed by Seattle as a free agent 12/05
performance bonuses: $0.2M each for 160, 170, 180, 190, 200 IP
acquired by Philadelphia in trade from Seattle 8/06
Phillies added $4.75M 2007 mutual option ($0.5M buyout)
Seattle paid undisclosed amount of cash to Philadelphia
3 years/$15.5M (2003-05)
re-signed 12/02
$1.5M signing bonus
03:$6M, 04:$6.5M, 05:$8M ($1.5M base)
performance bonuses: $6M based on GS, 2003-04)
award bonus: $50,000 for All Star selection
2 years/$12M (2000-01), plus 2002 club option ($2.5M buyout)
Seattle exercised $6.5M 2002 option
agent: negotiated own contract
ML service: 19.126

Add to that players that are likely to get raises before the start of next year:

Cole Hamels $500,000
Shane Victorino $480,000

Who knows what may happen here? Oh, Hawaii Sports Page also sent this little comment along on the Phils for next season:

But they still need a left
fielder.... Manny is your phone on?

Good luck with that.

NBA Star loses to ordinary Joe

I said on Wednesday's edition of "The Josh Pacheco Show" that I would put this up. The New Jersey Nets' Devin Harris was playing one-on-one with some average guy named Stuart Tanner. What you're about to see is Harris get a beatdown:



If you're the NBA, I would pretend that it never happened.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

BIIF Girls Volleyball for the ages

Saturday Night on the campus of Konawaena High School, I was witness to the most exciting high school volleyball action of my life. Two championships were on the line, along with a Division II State Berth:

HONOKAA def. ST. JOSEPH 20-25, 25-17, 25-20, 22-25, 15-12

You had to believe that Honokaa was a tad bit fired up after their upset loss to the hands of the Lady Ka Makani of HPA (more on them in a little bit.)

Meanwhile, looking at St. Joseph for a second, their attack is very predictable. It's Chelbie-Lyn Hanohano, Chelbie-Lyn Hanohano, and more of the same. When she's in the backrow, that is when the team really struggles. Let's give credit to Hanohano for her exceptional play. The volleyball genes have certainly run in the family. But, she can't do it alone, and the longer a match wears on, the more tired she gets, and the less likely she's able to continue to produce at a high level. Shoddy serving did the Cardinals in at key moments as well, but give credit to Honoka'a for a TEAM effort. You may not be able to name a player on that squad, but I'm sure that's just how they like it.

Honoka'a joined Hilo and HPA as representatives of the BIIF at the state volleyball tournament from November 5th thru the 8th.

HILO def. HPA 25-15, 25-19, 14-25, 12-25, 20-18

Which Hilo team will we see when the state tournament comes around? The team who played Games 1, 2, and 5 in a dominating fashion, attacking the middle with success and playing great defense, or the team in Games 3 and 4 that made mental mistakes and couldn't handle the volleyball?

Give credit to Coach Brennan Wong for the Vikings. After Game 4, I was surprised to see how lose the team was. They didn't hang their heads at all, and actually seemed like they were in decent spirits. Coach Wong even told me after the match that the team needed that wake-up call. To blow games 3 and 4 in lop-sided fashion is tough to handle psychologially, and give the Viks credit for overcoming that.

And at the same time, give the same credit to the Ka Makani for not giving up and rallying back. Their confidence was there, they played cleaner volleyball, and did not quit. Coach Sharon Peterson told me that this is the best team she's had there at the private school, and it has showed. It didn't seem like anyone wanted to finish this match. It was a treat to watch this one.

This game will be re-aired Sunday night approximately 6:20 pm after Emily Gail Talks Golf on ESPN Radio. Because of the length of the World Series, the DII Championship didn't get on the air Saturday Night until the end of Game 3. We are re-airing it from beginning to end on Sunday night, and I should also have it online at a later date.

WAIAKEA def. KAMEHAMEHA-HAWAII 20-25, 20-25, 25-16, 28-26, 15-11

Just when you thought you couldn't top the first two distance matches, Waiakea's comeback may have topped it all.

The regular season matchup between these two teams went the distance, with Waiakea winning, thanks in part to a key Kamahemeha player going down to injury. No injuries here, but Waiakea certainly didn't quit after the first couple of games.

Hard to really pinpoint anything that Waiakea did differently, but I would say that their defense was a lot better later on the game, and the battle at the net shifted. Kamehameha won on the front line in the first couple of games, but not when it mattered.

It's amazing what a team has to do in order to stay unbeaten on a season. Both of these teams will represent the BIIF in the Division I State Tournament.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Big Trouble in Big D


Photo Credit: Fort-Worth Star Telegram


Boy, don't you just love the storylines coming from the Ranch after another poor Cowboy performance against the Arizona Cardinals, resulting in an overtime loss? Let's count the ways that the 'Boys are hurting big time:

- Tony Romo is out for 4 weeks due to a broken pinkie finger.

- LB Greg Ellis sounded off, saying, among other things, that he is "disappointed in the organization"

- And we still haven't forgotten about Adam Jones' situation, as the NFL is still investigating the incident, and captain Bradie James warned him not to alienate himself from the team.

Wow, let's shoot a special edition of "As The World Turns" from Valley Ranch. Also scheduled to appear in the Big D drama are the entire offensive line, as Tony Romo was knocked down 19 times in the game (no wonder he got hurt), Terrell Owens chewing out one of the offensive linemen for not doing his job of protecting his quarterback (no tears included, but I actually don't blame TO for being vocal there), Wade Phillips for coaching comparable to a job an Oompa Loompa could do, Jason Garrett as the Offensive Coordinator who makes more than the head coach and is sure to get the job once Wade Phillips is ushered out any time now, and Jerry Jones as the owner who loves it all.

Oh yeah. The Cowboys are only a mere 4-2!

4-2 is a pretty good record in the parity filled National Football League. But, here's why everyone's making a big deal of this:

Over the past three games, they were out-played by Washington, they somehow were playing with Cincinnati all four quarters of the game, when they should've had them beat by Halftime, and they merely woke up late out of bed against Arizona, while the Special Teams was atrocious (opening kickoff returned for TD, field goal blocked but nullified by own coach's timeout, punt block return for game winning touchdown).

They should be better. Now, we'll see if the forty-something Brad Johnson can lead them to victory.

A couple of weeks ago, I said that the cure for the common ailment in the National Football League was the Cincinnati Bengals. That only made them sicker. The St. Louis Rams just got their first win of the season, and they play the Dallas Jerry Jones' this weekend. Don't chalk this one up just yet.

Friday, October 10, 2008

NFL Picks for Week 6

Since we ran out of time on Thursday's program, I figured I'd make up for forgetting to make my Week 6 picks by putting them right here on the ESPNHawaii.com blog:

CAROLINA PANTHERS vs. TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS - 7:00 am

I think it is a huge surprise right now that the Panthers are 4-1 and on top of the NFC South Division. Then again, when you look at the rest of that division:

ATLANTA (3-2)
TAMPA BAY (3-2)
NEW ORLEANS (2-3, easily could be 4-1)

DeAngelo Williams has been a great catalyst for the Panther ground game, helping Jake Delhomme (and helping my fantasy team)to expand this offense. But, being as how these two teams are very close in talent, I'll take the home team, the Bucs, to win by a field goal.

DALLAS COWBOYS vs. ARIZONA CARDINALS - 10:15 am

Cowboys fans beware! Pacman is up to no good again, T.O. is making more headlines for his tears and words than his catches and scores, and maybe more importantly, THEY JUST HAVEN'T PLAYED WELL LATELY! In the past two weeks, they lost at home to the Washington Colt's, er, Redskins and played un-inspired football at home against the Cincinnati Ocho Cinco's, er, Bengals. AT HOME! Imagine how they might play on the road!

With that said, the Cardinals are nice at 3-2, but Anquan Boldin is out because of the nasty hit he took against the Jets. Look for the Cowboys to be comfortable enough to double up Larry Fitzgerald because he is going to be the go-to guy. And, look for Kurt Warner to throw some picks. I'm taking Dallas by 10.

CHICAGO BEARS vs. ATLANTA FALCONS - 7:00 am

To be honest, I'm a little biased. Those damn Falcons beat my Packers last week at Lambeau, so I'm still a little steamed. Outside of that, this will be a fun game to watch. There are a couple of rookies on display that you should be paying attention to. Rookie QB Matt Ryan has been good for the most part, and has a good ground game to compliment his air attack. And speaking of the ground game, Bears rookie runner Matt Forte has been a big surprise (I would say a 'pleasant' surprise, but I'm a Green Bay fan, remember?) for the oft-doubted Windy City offense. And Kyle Orton, speaking of oft-doubted, is coming off of a career game. Chicago by 9.

Can't leave the blog without a bonus pick:

LOUISIANA TECH vs. HAWAII - 5:59 pm Saturday

Again, I can't afford the PPV. Plus, it looks like I'm going to Waikoloa to see Styx at the Grand Ballroom (and take a mini-vacation). I think Hawaii is flat out a better team than La Tech, but we all said it last year when they went up to Rustin, and they needed overtime to beat the team from the Boot State. I think Hawaii wins the homecoming showdown by 7.

TO RECAP

Tampa Bay over Carolina by 3
Dallas beats Arizona by 10
Chicago downs Atlanta by 9

AND THE BONUS...

Hawaii over Louisiana Tech by 7

___________________________________________________________

Show's back on the air on Tuesday due to Major League Baseball...so far, we have lined up the NFL Week 6 Rewind, Daniel Brock of the West Hawaii Today, MMA Talk with Luke Thomas of MMA Blog BloodyElbow.com, and more. I'll leave you today with this...

Friday, October 3, 2008

Just to clear any confusion on the BIIF Football Championship Race

Many of you read the article from Kevin Jakahi in the Big Island Papers on the BIIF Football 1st Half Champions Race. I read from it, and I was wrong because the information was wrong. Thank you to Lyle Crozier, the interim Executive Director of the BIIF for clarifying things for our listeners and for myself on the program.

In case you missed it, here is the procedure on how it would work and the scenarios in play tonight:

Division 1: Kealakehe 3-0, Kea'au 2-1, Honoka'a 2-1

- If Kealakehe wins over Keaau - Kealakehe is first half D1 Champion

- If Keaau wins over Kealakehe, and Honokaa beats Waiakea - First half champion would be determined by a point differential tiebreaker between Kealakehe, Keaau, and Honokaa

- If Keaau wins over Kealakehe, and Waiakea beats Honokaa - Keaau would be First Half champion based on head-to-head tiebreaker with Kealakehe

UPDATE: Honoka'a loses to Waiakea on Friday night 14-0, so they are eliminated from the first-half crown picture. Tonight's Kealakehe / Kea'au game on ESPN Radio will determine the first half champion.

UPDATE #2: As heard on Saturday night here on ESPN Radio, Kealakehe's 27 - 13 win over Kea'au gives the Waveriders the first-half championship, as they finished the first half 4-0, to Kea'au's 2-2 and Honokaa's 2-2.

Division 2: Konawaena 3-0, HPA 2-1, Kohala 3-1

- If Konawaena beats HPA - Konawaena is the First Half D2 Champion

- If HPA beats Konawaena - First half champion would be determined by point differential tiebreaker between HPA, Konawaena, and Kohala

Kohala has a bye week this week, and have decided to not play a game, so they will wait for HPA and Konawaena to duke it out.

UPDATE: HPA beat Konawaena 12-0 on Saturday at HPA, but because of the point differential between the three teams in question (HPA, Konawaena, Kohala), Konawaena takes that tie-breaker to get the first half title. Here's the numbers:

Konawaena: 40-6 W over Kohala, 12-0 Loss to HPA (40 PF, 18 PA = +22 Point Differential)

HPA: 12-7 Loss to Kohala, 12-0 Win over Konawaena (19 PF, 7 PA = +12 Point Differential)

Kohala: 40-6 loss to Konawaena, 12-7 Win over HPA (18 PF, 47 PA = -29 Point Differential)

All that equals a Konawaena first half championship.

That begs the question: Should point spreads be used to determine champions?

Thursday, October 2, 2008

ALDS Live Blog: Chicago vs. Tampa Bay



So many storylines to follow here for this ALDS Series between the Chicago White Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays. Hmm, let's see....Ken Griffey Jr. (pictured above, Thanks to the Chicago Tribune) with his son. He hasn't been to the playoffs for over a decade. What about the entire White Sox team. They did something that had never been done before just to get here. They beat three opponents in three days to earn their spot.

OH, and those pesky Tampa Bay Rays. First playoff appearance in the franchise's 10 year history. And all they did was just take the devil out of the name. How simple! All kidding aside, it was more than just the devil. A good mix of players and a manager who held them all together. And they were only the best in the East division, which also includes the Yankees and Red Sox.

Some storylines, huh?

WHERE: Tropicana Field - St. Petersburg, FL
TBS Television Broadcasters: Don Orsillo and Harold Reynolds
ESPN Radio Announcers: Gary Thorne and Chris Singleton

PREDICTION: I'm not really sure where to go on this one, but I'm someone who looks at pitching as key, especially when you have a team that has never been to the playoffs before. The Rays have James Shields. Not their ace, and not someone with big time playoff experience. Javier Vasquez does have the experience and can be considered one of a group of aces on the White Sox staff. I'm going Chicago in game one.

By the way, management has told me that we are joining the game in-progress on-air at 9 am (Honolulu is joining at 10 am, so I guess it isn't so bad). I'll be keeping the blog updated as the game goes along, however, so you don't miss anything here.

__________________________________________________________

And we are underway! James Shields off to a great start for the Rays, getting his first strikeout of the postseason to DeWayne Wise for the second out after a fly out. Jermaine Dye grounds out, and a 1-2-3 inning for Shields!

Javier Vasquez off to a great start in the opening frame. A couple of quick outs to Iwamura and Upton (I think he hustled) and now the team's best power hitter, Carlos Pena. Vasquez was criticized by his Manager, Ozzie "The Mouth" Guillen after his last start of the regular season. Pena strikes out and the inning is over.

AFTER ONE INNING: Chicago 0, Tampa Bay 0

To the second inning, and the Home Run hero from the AL Central tiebreaker Jim Thome is up first. The 38 year old has set some home-run milestones this year, and whether you believe it is juiced or not, this has been a comeback in regards to numbers. He grounds to short, however, for the first out.

Konerko grounds out on one pitch for the second out. I wonder how much better this team would be if a healthy Carlos Quentin was in the lineup. He had a MVP-like year for Chicago until he went down with a bum wrist. Shields strikes out Griffey on a changeup way out of the strikezone, and we head to the second with no score!

Bottom of the second, and the Rookie of the Year (in my opinion) is at the plate in Evan Longoria. And the first ever playoff homer at the Trop! Evan Longoria knocks one out to left center for the first run of the game. 1-0 Tampa!

Let's see how Javier Vasquez reacts to giving up the homer. Gets Carl Crawford on a foul tip for the strikeout, and then Cliff Floyd flailing away for the second out. Navarro gets a double on a tough pop up for the defense. Give credit to Navarro for hustling out the two-bagger when he easily could've just jogged like he believed it would be an easy out. Gross strikesout to strand Navarro in scoring position, but the damage is done from Evan Longoria!

AFTER TWO INNINGS: Chicago 0, Tampa Bay 1

Our first injury storyline comes here in the third as Carlos Pena leaves the game. Gary Thorne just said that Pena was hit in the throat with a practice ground ball from, of all people, Evan Longoria earlier in the game. Willy Aybar comes in to play at first, and that is a HUGE power bat out of the lineup early on.

ROY Runner-Up Alexei Ramirez with a single, followed up by a Pierzynski single to put a couple of runners on as the White Sox try to answer the Rays homer. Uribe moves both runners into scoring position on the sacrifice bunt, and now Orlando Cabrera with his enormous amount of playoff experience with the Angels and Red Sox steps up. And Shields gets him to pop-up to second! Big at-bat for the Rays starter.

HOME RUN! DeWayne Wise, the fill-in for Carlos Quentin, hits a 3-Run Homer! White Sox go up 3-1 here in the 3rd....what a clutch at-bat! What a way to send Tropicana Field's fans from a frenzy with the Longoria shot to a huge low with Wise's crack. And now, Dye picks up a double to deep left-center. Shields is really shaky right now. Someone might wanna go out and talk to him. And almost on cue, the pitching coach comes out to chat.

Thome grounds out and the inning is finally over. But, DeWayne Wise turns this game around for Chicago to make it 3-1!

***Just an FYI, the live blog takes a break just before 10 am for a little bit. Yours truly is filling in for Jill Taylor on the KBIG-FM Middays. There is a possibility that I may have a guest live blogger for the time being.***

Bartlett bounces one by third to get on base to start the inning, followed by an Iwamura swat to deep center that bounces off the wall! Akinori goes for a triple as Bartlett goes home and the Rays get within one. 3-2 Chicago!

Strikeout on Upton by Vasquez, and Javier has a lot of work to do to keep that tying run from coming in at third. I'm surprised that the infield is coming in here in the 3rd inning. Aybar hitting for the first time and immediately makes a difference with the fly ball deep enough to left field to drive in Iwamura. 3-3 Tie! That was a close play at the plate. Good throw by Wise.

WHAT!?!? Longoria goes out again! Down the left field line and Longoria hits his second home run! 4-3 Tampa Bay!

I have a feeling that Javier Vasquez won't be lasting too much longer for the White Sox. He's been tagged over the past inning plus. Carl Crawford up, hard to top the act that Longoria has put up so far. Crawford flies out and ends the inning, but the Rays answer the 3-Run White Sox inning with three of their own!

AFTER THREE INNINGS: Chicago 3, Tampa Bay 4

USELESS STAT OF THE NIGHT: Evan Longoria is the youngest 3B since 1951 to hit two home runs in his game. Good work.

INJURY UPDATE: Slightly blurred vision in the left eye of Carlos Pena has knocked him out. He suffered the injury at home last night. Yikes. How many times have we heard of injuries suffered outside of the game (a la Monta Ellis moped incident) that has cost players some time? Hope Pena is okay.

Shields starts this half of the inning with a strikeout to Konerko looking and a Griffey grounder, and now working hard against Rookie Alexei Ramirez to try to end this frame. Gets a grounder to first and Shields retires the side!

To the bottom of the frame we go, and this is an important recovery inning for Javier Vasquez. The offense for Chicago will get more runs, I'm sure. But can the pitching staff hold down the Rays attack? Cliff Floyd strikes out for out number one.

Navarro up, and he doubled his first time up, but he pops up here. I didn't realize that Vasquez already has six strikeouts. Maybe the trouble has outweighed the K's so far. He's close to walking Gabe Gross, however. And there it is.

USELESS STAT ALERT: Evan Longoria is the first player in MLB Postseason history to hit home runs in his first two postseason at-bat's

Nice aggressive base running by Gabe Gross to steal 2nd with two down. Bartlett pops up and the inning is over. We're done with four!

AFTER FOUR INNINGS: Chicago 3, Tampa Bay 4

***BREAK TIME: Gotta fill in on the KBIG FM Mid-days. Be back in a little bit!***

Alright, we're back, and what did we miss?

SCORING PLAYS:

5th - Evan Longoria RBI Single followed by a Carl Crawford RBI base knock

AFTER SIX INNINGS: Chicago 3, Tampa Bay 6

James Shields has loaded the bases thanks to a walk, HBP, and a single, and his night is over. Grant Balfour has two outs to keep all of the runners on base, and Juan Uribe is the first man to face him. And Balfour delivers with a key strikeout to keep em loaded with two down!

Uh-oh. Tempers are flaring! Grant Balfour and Orlando Cabrera are kicking dirt and yelling at one another. I'm not sure what may have happened there, but it's the playoffs, and this is the time where emotions come out!

WOW! Balfour strikes out Cabrera! Now Ozzie Guillen is screaming at his players to get control of themselves. Yeah, he should be one to talk, right? Balfour saves the day for Shields and the Rays still lead by 3!

***PROGRAMMING NOTE*** Tomorrow on "The Josh Pacheco Show", BYU-Hawaii Women's Volleyball coach (and Laupahoehoe alum) Wilfred Navalta joins us to preview the matchup against Hawaii-Hilo, and Rosey Rosenthal calls in to talk BIIF Football. We run until 11:35 am as we will have Game 2 of the ALDS between these two teams.

Bottom 7, and BJ Upton goes after a slider in on him, and flies to right. One down. Nice stab by Uribe to get Aybar, and now comes the game's star, Evan Longoria, who's driven in three runs! And, to be expected with a nice sized Rays lead, Longoria gets walked to bring up Carl Crawford.

Also, not to be surprised at this, but Ozzie Guillen jawing at Rays fans. Who doesn't he jaw at?

Longoria nearly caught in a run down, but it's been his night tonight. Konerko could release the ball from first, and Longoria steals second. Crawford grounds out to end the inning and strand Longoria.

AFTER SEVEN INNINGS: Chicago 3, Tampa Bay 6

***One more break on the live blog...gotta go to the bank***

That's it! Dan Wheeler made this one interesting, but Tampa Bay holds on to win 6-4!

Milwaukee and Philadephia coming up in about 15 minutes. Thanks for logging on!

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

NLDS Live Blog: Milwaukee vs. Philadelphia



Photo Credit: Associated Press

We are at that time, everyone! Postseason baseball! We kick off the postseason with an NLDS matchup between the Wild Card Champion Milwaukee Brewers and the NL East Champion Philadelphia Phillies. Here's what you need to know

WHERE: Citizen's Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA
TBS Television Announcers: Brian Anderson, Joe Simpson, and John Smoltz
ESPN Radio Announcers: Michael Kay and Steve Phillips

PREDICTION: Phillies should win game one. I don't like the Brew Crew with Gallardo on the mound, but that's what happens when you have to put your big name pitchers on the mound toward the end of the year to make sure you get in the playoffs first. But, looking at it right now, Yovani Gallardo vs. Cole Hamels? I don't know many people that would pick Gallardo here.

_________________________________________________________
PRE-GAME STUFFS:

In case you need a guide to help you cram for this NLDS Series between the Brew Crew and the Fightin' Phils, The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Tom Haudricourt and Anthony Witrado did a position-by-position breakdown here, and not to my surprise, they aren't biased. If you check out the breakdowns, the Phillies should dominate the series against Milwaukee. But the big key will be pitching. Can anyone else step up besides CC for the Brewers?

BREWERS BATTING ORDER:
1. Mike Cameron, CF (0-3, 2 K's, BB)
2. Bill Hall, 3B (0-3, K)
-----Ray Durham, PH (1-1, 1B, R)
3. Ryan Braun, LF (1-3, 2B, K)
4. Prince Fielder, 1B (0-4, 3 K's)
5. J.J. Hardy, SS (0-3, BB)
6. Corey Hart, RF (1-4, 1B, K)
7. Ricky Weeks, 2B (0-2, 2 K's)
-----Carlos Villanueva, P
-----Tony Gwynn Jr., PH (0-1)
-----Manny Parra, P
8. Jason Kendall, C (0-3, 2 K's)
9. Yovani Gallardo, P (0-1)
-----Mitch Stetter, P
-----Craig Counsell, 2B (1-2, 1B)

BREWERS PITCHING:

Yovani Gallardo (R)- 4 IP, 3 R (0 ER), 3 Hits, 3 K's, 5 Walks
Mitch Stetter (L) - 0.2 IP, 1 Strikeout
Carlos Villanueva (R) - 2.1 IP, 3 Strikeouts
Manny Parra (L) - 0.2 IP, 1 Walk, 1 Hit
Guillermo Mota (R) -

PHILLIES BATTING ORDER:

1. Jimmy Rollins, SS (1-4, 1B, K)
2. Jayson Werth, RF (0-4, 3 K's)
3. Chase Utley, 2B (1-4, 2B, 2 RBI, R)
4. Ryan Howard, 1B (0-1, K, 3 BB)
5. Pat Burrell, LF (0-2, GIDP, BB)
-----Eric Bruntlett, LF (1-1, 1B)
6. Shane Victorino, CF (0-2, 2 BB, RBI, SB)
7. Pedro Feliz, 3B (0-3)
8. Carlos Ruiz, C (1-4, 1B, R)
9. Cole Hamels, P (0-2, Sacrifice Bunt, Reaches on E4, R, 2 K's)

PHILLIES PITCHING:

Cole Hamels (L) - 8 Innings, 2 Hits, 9 K's 1 Walk
Brad Lidge (R)

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Last thing I wanted to hear from Michael Kay is that there's a chance that we could have some kind of weather problem that could affect this game. "Ugly clouds"...as opposed to nice clouds?

Good start for Cole Hamels as he gets the strikeout on Mike Cameron and Ryan Braun to help complete a 1-2-3 inning start the game.

Gallardo up in the Bottom of the inning. He's got a tough assignment with a lot of pressure on him. For a pitcher who hasn't thrown much coming in, this is as big as it is going to get.

And Gallardo responds with a strikeout of his own to help lead to a 1-2-3 inning to keep it nodded at nothing as we quickly move to the 2nd!

END OF FIRST: Milwaukee 0, Philadelphia 0

Cole Hamels is looking fantastic so far. Four strikeouts, including his latest to Prince Fielder. And, maybe more importantly, he is working very quickly. As has been mentioned by Michael Kay, and I'm sure by the TBS guys, 3:00 local time is looking more like it is 6 or 7 pm with the dark clouds and the threat of rain. So, it is very important for Cole to work as quickly as possible. Same for Yovani.

Another 1-2-3 inning for Cole Hamels. He's definitely dialed in with the crowd here in Game 1.

First little mistake made by Gallardo with the walk to Ryan Howard. Then again, that might not be that bad of a mistake, especially because Howard can knock one out if you leave him a mistake pitch.

And Yovani quickly helps erase that mistake as Burrell grouds into a 6-3 douple play. But, he quickly walks Shane Victorino on four pitches to put the base-stealing threat on the basepaths. You think watching Hamels dominate is psyching him out a little bit?

Yovani gets a hard ground out from Pedro Feliz to end the inning without any further trouble. 2 innings complete in 27 minutes. Maybe I might have time to do a quick show before the pre-game of the Dodgers game?

END OF SECOND: Milwaukee 0, Philadelphia 0

We're still looking for our first hit of the game, and it doesn't appear that we are going to get it anytime soon as K-ole Hamels picks up strikeout number 4 with Weeks. Struckout with a pitch out of the strike zone.

Watching TBS Hot Corner along with the radio broadcast (Hot Corner is way behind) and I can see how dark it is. It doesn't look like it is 3:40 pm Eastern Time. I really hope we don't get a rain delay, because my goal is that we get to hear the start of the Dodgers game.

Nearly our first run of the game as the pitcher Gallardo, yes, the pitcher, sends one to the warning track to Burrell before the wind keeps it in the ball park. I have a feeling that the first to two runs will win the game.

8-9-1 hitters up for the Fightin Phils here in the bottom of the third. 26 pitches for Gallardo thus far, and he gives up the first hit of the game to Carlos Ruiz. The great thing about NL baseball is that the strategy comes in with the pitchers spot.

We see the bunt, and we get our first error! Weeks can't hang on and Philly is charging with two on and nobody out. I think we've kinda forgotten how bad the infield has been this year for the Brewers here. Weeks covered first on the bunt defense and thats a tough error to have. Tough for a young pitcher on the mound to work with in a pressure spot.

Rollins up, and you would expect him to bunt, right? Nope...fly ball. Bad at-bat especially with the wind and the lack of offense so far. Just move em over, but he doesn't. Let's see if that comes back to bite Philadelphia.

BIG strikeout by Gallardo getting Werth to make this scoring threat look like less of an issue. Chase Utley is always a tough out, however, and he doesn't strikeout, so he will usually just put one in play.

Line drive to right-center and Mike Cameron can't hold on to the tough flyball. He falls, ball falls, Ruiz and Hamels comes in to score to make it 2-0. Ruled a double for Chase Utley. Intentional walk to Howard to make sure he doesn't extend this lead, and now comes Pat Burrell.

Burrell walks to load the bases and then Gallardo struggles to walk Victorino and walk in a run. The struggles of putting a young guy on the mound in a pressure game. Feliz flies out, nine men to the plate, and finally the inning is over.

END OF THIRD: Milwaukee 0, Philadelphia 3

Rough stretch for Gallardo in the 3rd. He's thrown 61 pitches through 3, 29 for strikes. Add in the 5 walks and the three runs allowed, and you have a recipe for a possible short night for Yovani. And let's also remember that the Brewer bullpen has been less than stellar this year. Uh-oh!

Meanwhile, Cole Hamels is just business as usual. Four perfect innings in 44 pitches, 30 of them for strikes. Pressure back on Gallardo as we head to the bottom of the inning.

BIG regroup inning for Gallardo, and Carlos Ruiz helps out by bunting it right to him. BUNT? The pitcher is on deck, you decide to do something that doesn't play to your strength! Very very questionable.

Gallardo gets the strikeout to his opposite number and now faces Rollins. Rollins can frustrate pitchers, and with Gallardo's expected pitch limit to 85, he might want to be aggressive to Rollins to end this inning quickly.

Rollins gets a single, pitch right over the upper part of the plate. Rollins knows how to handle those, and now we will see how Yovani handles it. Rollins has 47 stolen bases this year in 50 attempts. Pitch count now over 70 and climbing. I don't think he wants this inning to extend with Utley coming up, and he forces a pop up in foul ground.

END OF FOURTH: Milwaukee 0, Philadelphia 3

Cole Hamels continues the hot streak right now as he sets down Prince Fielder for the second time. Changeup right below the zone and a tad away. 5 Stikeouts for Hamels as he is still perfect.

Hamels had to work a little bit against JJ Hardy, but ended up inducing the ground ball to Jimmy Rollins, who is one of the best at the position.

First hit of the game for the Brewers as Corey Hart got a base knock to right field. On 7 days rest, 14 straight retired to start the game for Hamels before that hit. you know we shouldn't have uttered the word "Perfect"...I think that did it. You know my rule. No one should start on perfection until the 7th or 8th inning. But, he recovers with a strikeout and ends the inning.

Mitch Stetter is the new pitcher for the Brew Crew. You can see Gallardo's line in the constantly updated Box Score above. And Stetter gets the first out on Utley with a ground ball.

Watching Stetter's delivery, it's more of a side-arm than a submarine delivery. With Stetter's slider, left handers might be caught off guard. The slider might start out like it's going right at him, and then it will break toward the plate. Stetter's got more of a chance against Lefty hitters than most might think.

Told you the slider was effective. He got the big lefty on the slider, and now he is done. Double switch coming up.

Villanueva comes in and in two pitches, gets the out on Burrell to end the inning. By the way, on the double switch, Craig Counsell goes over to 2nd to replace Weeks.

AFTER FIVE INNINGS: Milwaukee 0, Philadelphia 3

Still working on a quick pace as we go to the sixth, and no better way to start the inning than strikeout number 7 on Jason Kendall on a pitch on the outer half of the plate, maybe a little bit outside.

Double switch is looking good as Counsell gets a base knock, only the second hit for Milwaukee in the game. Let's see if Counsell goes to put pressure on Hamels. Craig is 3-4 on stolen base attempts.

Uh-oh. Hamels is starting to fly open a little bit. Tough walk to Cameron, and now there is two on with one out for the streaky Bill Hall. Ball four to Cameron didn't miss by too much, but the Home plate umpire is holding a tight strike zone right now.

Hamels regroups well to get the strikeout on Hall, who is known to strike out a lot. A Ryan Braun pop-up follows, and Cole Hamels escapes possible trouble to strand the two runners on base.

***REMINDER: Game One of the ALDS is up at 3:35 pm between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Dan Shulman and Dave Campbell have the call. Our own Keith Vachon of KBIG FM is a die-hard Boston Red Sox fan. If you're bored, call up the KBIG request line when he is on the air to tell him the score!***

1-2-3 inning for Villanueva. Good solid inning and a third for Carlos to try to keep Milwaukee in this one with 4-5-6 in the order due up.

AFTER SIX INNINGS: Milwaukee 0, Philadelphia 3

As we start the 7th, and Hamels gets fielder on one pitch, let's see how much longer the Phils go with Hamels. Cole is due up first in the next inning. If Hamels continues his solid performance, I think he will be hitting after the 7th inning stretch.

Nice play by Feliz at 3B with the diving stab and the throw to keep this inning quick. And then Hardy in one pitch. If I'm not mistaken, this was a 4 or 5 pitch inning.

We apologize for the technical difficulties. I don't think it was an US thing. Satellites have issues every once in a while.

The Brewer bullpen has been criticized over the past couple of months, but they have been outstanding thus far. Stetter was good in his 2/3 of an inning, and Villanueva since has been fantastic including strikeouts of the last two hitters and a swinging strikeout to end the inning. 2 1/3 innings for Villanueva and outstanding results.

AFTER SEVEN INNINGS: Milwaukee 0, Philadelphia 3

To the eighth inning, and the Brewers hitters are giving this one away. Great stat by Michael Kay, as they committed four outs in six innings. When you're down by 3, the last thing you should be doing is chasing first pitches and getting desperate.

What's also important here is if the Brewers don't get someone on base, Fielder and Hardy may not get a chance to hit in the 9th.

Yet ANOTHER strikeout by Cole Hamels with a changeup knocking out Jason Kendall. 9 Strikeouts by Hamels to this point, and a groundout will end the inning. 8 in a row set down by Cole!

Back to the bullpen for the bottom of the 8th and the talented, yet sometimes intimidated lefty Manny Parra. The Brewers bullpen so far has worked 3 innings of perfect baseball, but tough time for Parra as he has to face the heart of the order.

Utley grounds out, and it reminds me that the Philly offense hasn't done much tonight outside of the three run third. The Fightin Phils only have three hits in the game and two of those hits came in that third inning.

Walk to Howard, and that's the first baserunner allowed by the bullpen. Meanwhile, an infield single by Eric Bruntlett puts a couple of runners on as the Phillies will try to extend this one.

With Victorino extending the game, the Brewers will go to the pen for their 5th pitcher, Guillermo Mota. If Howard scores, you could put this one in the books and re-focus to game two.

***PROGRAMMING NOTE*** The Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs follow this game on ESPN Radio. We won't be live blogging this one, but you can listen to the game as the middle part of our doubleheader.

Victorino gets the uncontested stolen base as this Feliz at-bat becomes more important. Two in scoring position so a base hit drives them both home. And Feliz pops up, great play by Counsell at 2B to snare it and end the inning. Crunch time coming up for the Brewers!

END OF EIGHTH: Milwaukee 0, Philadelphia 3

To the bullpen we go for the first time and the National League Comeback Player of the Year Brad Lidge. I personally don't think he deserves it, and I think it should go to Fernando Tatis, but that is just me. Lidge has been great, though. 41 for 41 in Save Opportunities this year.

Cameron caught looking at a fastball over the heart of the plate! What are you thinking! Phils' two outs away from taking Game 1.

Veteran Ray Durham pinch hits for Bill Hall and gets on base for Ryan Braun. Big at-bat's coming here because Bruan and Fielder both have power that could tie this game.

Ryan Braun comes through in the clutch with a double down the right field line. Utley has trouble with the throw, Durham scores, and now we have a ball game here at the Bank in Philly. Error charged to Utley, taking away the RBI

Why do you pitch to Prince Fielder? Fielder represents the tying run at the plate here. Who would you rather have beat you? Fielder or JJ Hardy? I would choose Hardy here.

WOW! Fielder strikes out for the third time tonight! So much for second guessing the decision to pitch to the big man. Phils one out away from the win.

Great job by JJ Hardy being patient and forcing the walk, which brings the go-ahead run to the plate in Corey Hart, who is hitless against Lidge.

Oh boy. Could the old Brad Lidge be breaking in to the playoffs? Wild pitch moves both runners into scoring position.

LIDGE RECOVERS! Strikeout on Hart ends the ball game. It was looking real tight for a moment, but the Phils win a playoff game for the first time since 1993!

FINAL SCORE: PHILADELPHIA 3, Milwaukee 1 (PHI leads 1-0)

Thanks for reading the live blog. We're back tomorrow for two here at ESPNHawaii.com!