A few Random Thoughts from this season:

1. Joe Torre is a Great Manager.

• All I heard last year from the New York Yankees is it time for Joe Torre to go. For 13 straight seasons Torre was a key piece of the Yankees making the playoffs every year. A year after Torre left New York for the LA Dodgers, he continued his streak and made the playoffs for the 14th year in a row while the Yankees missed the playoffs in their first season post Joe Torre. Granted Torre greatly benefit from the economical resources the Yankees have but at the same time there could be something said for a manager who continues to make the playoffs year after year.

2. AROD is the real curse.

• I’m beginning to think that Alex Rodriguez is a baseball curse. He may well go down as arguably the most talented baseball player ever, but one thing is certain up to this point in his career. Any team he plays for doesn’t win. For example, let’s look at his Yankee career. AROD has been a New York Yankee since 2004 and to be frank, the team has got worse every single year. ARODs first year as a Yankee saw the Boston RedSox come back from a 3-0 lead in the playoffs and completely reverse the curse and they have not looked back since while on the other hand the Yankees have not got past the first round of the playoffs.

3. The Tampa Bay Rays are here to stay.

• While their luck ran out in the World Series, I think it’s safe to say that the Tampa Bay Rays are not going away anytime soon. The Rays are one of the youngest teams in baseball and have one of the best pitching staffs in the game. Everyone in baseball kept expecting them to fade away at some point throughout the season and they never did. The Rays have served notice to the New York Yankees and the Boston Redsox that the NL East is not a two team race anymore.

4. Heart and Hustle > Talent

• As a New York Mets fan, this comment hurts but its the truth. Heart and Hustle Trump Talent any day of the week. I think if you stack the Philadephia Phillies vs the New York Mets roster, pound for pound the Mets have a much more talented roster but there are two reasons why the Phillies are baseball champions and the Mets choked for the second straight year: 1) Heart and 2) Hustle. Two qualities the Phillies are full of and the Mets have absolutely none. In 2009 the Mets need to focus more on being a team with a killer instinct and less about creating new handshakes and dances.

5. Fan Cost Index

• Dispite the country in an economic recession, the cost to go to a baseball game will continue to climb. According to Team Marketing Research, if some average guy out there wants to take his family of four to a game it would have cost him about $112 in 2008. And that is just for four tickets (upper deck) and parking. That’s not factoring in food, drinks and beer. Your looking at $200 easily to enjoy a saturday afternoon at the ball park with your family. While I go to my fair share of games every year I have to wonder if the prices will level off sooner or later. I mean things are going to get to a point where people are going to have to start decide, do I go to a few games this year or take my family on vacation, no?

 VS

So here we are for the 2008 Baseball World Series, Phillies vs Rays. My post season predictions were totally wrong. I stink but I got a good feeling about this one. I am picking the Rays to win in 6 and here are five reasons why:

1. Home Field Advantage: Thanks to the All-Star Game, Tampa Bay has home field advantage and the Rays were an MLB best 57-24 at home during the regular season and 4-2 in the playoffs.
2. Rust Factor: The Phillies have been sitting at home for a week now with nothing to do. We saw what happened to the Colorado Rockies last year when they had a lot of time off. I think the Rays will jump out to an early 1 or 2 game lead and by the time the Phillies shake off the rust it will be too late.
3. Fearless: I think we have seen all season long that this young Tampa Bay team is not afraid of anything and time and time again they continue to fight back. They won the tough AL East, beat the battle tested Whitesox’s and Redsox’s in the playoffs. I don’t see why they can’t finish it off and beat the Phillies too.
4. Game Management: I think at some point in this series Charlie Manuel will either make a critical mistake or just flat out get out managed by Joe Maddon. This is always a concern of Phillies fans and at some point Manuel will cost them.
5. X-Factor: As he did in the ALCS, I think David Price will play an important role for the Rays. If there was one question mark going into the play-offs about this team it was late inning pitching. Price has shown he can come into a game and be that stopper the Rays so desperately need.

World Series MVP: B.J. Upton

There are plenty of great World Series moments. In no particular order, here are five that come to top of mind when I think about the World Series. Note: These are moments that I have actually seen (watched on TV) in my 32 years of existence.

Joe Carter:

“Touch em all Joe. You’ll Never hit a bigger homerun in your life!” — Tom Cheek 

Joe Carters game winning, series winning homerun in game 6 of the 1993 World Series. A moment that every kid dreams of growing up as a baseball fan. Joe Carter made his dream a reality in 1993.

Kirk Gibson:

“I don’t believe what I just saw” — Jack Buck
Kirk Gibson’s game winning homerun in game one of the 1988 World Series helped the LA Dodgers to one of the biggest upsets in World Series History. They went on the beat the mighty Oakland A’s four games to one.

Jesse Orosco: 

As a New York Mets fan, there aren’t too many more memorable moments that you can put ahead of the Mets winning the series in 1986 over the Boston Redsox’s. And for all Mets fans, the lasting memory is that final out when Jesse Orosco throws his glove high in the air!

Josh Beckett:

One of the best single game World Series pitching performances ever. 2003, game six and Josh Beckett goes out there and throws a complete game, five hit shutout in Yankee Stadium, helping the Florida Marlins win the championship.

Kirby Puckett:

“And we’ll see you tomorrow night!” — Jack Buck. 

Puckett’s 11th inning homerun helped the Minnesota Twins win the 1991 World Series over the Atlanta Braves in seven games.

What are some of your memorable moments?