Sports Blog

With a 10-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers Tuesday night, the Philadelphia Phillies have earned a trip to their second consecutive World Series. They scored runs at will against the Dodgers and showed why they are the reigning champions of Major League Baseball.

Their play hasn’t just been good — it has been historically good. They are attempting to become only the fourth National League team to win back to back World Series and the first since the Cincinnati Reds did it in 1975-76.

And what better way to celebrate this tremendous achievement than with your very own Philadelphia Phillies World Series gear! Fastball Fanatics has some great deals on Phillies swag that can be delivered in time for you to show it off while watching game one of this year’s World Series.

This “majestic Philadelphia Phillies red 2009 World Series bound fan favorite hoody sweatshirt” is the perfect piece of Phillie clothing. It will keep you warm if you are lucky enough to tail gate a game and can be worn through the rest of fall and winter. It is on sale for $49.95 and comes in sizes small through double-extra large.

The “Antigua Philadelphia Phillies red 2009 NLCS Champions back to back champs performance polo” allows you to sport your Phillies pride while enjoying a round of golf or a day at the office. It is also on sale for $49.95 and comes in sizes medium through triple-extra large.

One of the most popular ways to share your love of the Phillies is with one of the “Philadelphia Phillies 2009 NLCS Champions red car flags.” They are simple to attach to your car or truck and will show everyone on the road your passion for the Phillies. These 12″ x 15″ car flag comes complete with 21″ pole and are currently on sale for $12.95.

Shop for more affordable Phillies gear at Smarter.com.

One day after the Los Angeles Dodgers lost to the Philadelphia Phillies — giving the Phillies a 3-1 lead in the series — the Los Angeles Angels decided to do the same. They were absolutely shellacked by the New York Yankees, losing at home 10-1 Tuesday night. The blowout put the Yankees up 3-1 in the series and gives them the chance on Thursday to bounce the Angels from the playoffs and return to the World Series for the first time since 2003.

CC Sabathia was dominant once again and picked up his second win of the series. He pitched eight innings of mostly error free ball, allowing only five hits while tossing five strikeouts. His only blemish was allowing a solo home run to Kendry Morales in the fifth inning, but was otherwise untouchable. Alex Rodriguez also had an impressive outing, reaching base on three of his four at-bats and homering in his third consecutive game. Rodriguez has taken a lot of flack the past few years for his post season struggles, but with his recent performances he is making his case to be the next Mr. October.

With the game not close after the third inning, the most interesting part of the contest was the work of the umpires. They incorrectly called Nick Swisher safe at second base in the fourth inning during a pickoff attempt, then later in that same inning incorrectly called him out for leaving third base too early while attempting to tag up on a pop out. In the fifth inning the Angels once again received the shaft, this time when catcher Mike Napoli tagged out Robinson Cano and Jorge Posada but crew chief Tim McClelland declared that only Posada was out.

These three blown calls may get swept under the rug because the game was a runaway, but bad officiating has plagued the MLB playoffs and become a justifiable topic of debate. Don’t believe me? Just ask any Minnesota Twins fans who watched umpires foul up their chances with bad calls during their divisional series against the Yankees.

What do you think? Has officiating been that bad or has the media been over reacting? Is it time for MLB to extend the use replay?

Image Source: News Observer

Baseball’s Championship Series are finally upon us. This year there are 4 legit teams that can win the World Series, so it should make for some exciting games. Here’s how they match up head to head.

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Philadelphia Phillies
Starting Pitching: The Phillies have two aces in Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee that can dominate any series. There is a bit of a mystery of who else will start for the Phillies, but they have some solid capable guys. The Dodgers though they don’t have a clear cut ace pitcher have some great depth. Their Game 1 starter, Clayton Kershaw, is only 21 years but has excellent stuff. The Dodgers’ pitchers are going to have to step up if they want to win the series.

Advantage: Phillies
Lineup: Both lineups are very good but in a head-to-head match up there aren’t very many line ups better than the Phillies. They have power and speed through out and not to mention some MVP’s. The Dodgers are also strong 1-8 but they are a little young and haven’t proved it on this stage yet

Advantage: Phillies
Defense: Like the line ups both are very solid defensively. They are solid around the infield and behind the plate. The key will be the weak links in left, Manny Ramirez and Raul Ibanez. This is a tossup but I will give it to Manny at least hasn’t made any errors.

Advantage: Dodgers
Bullpen: This is the easiest one to call. The Phillies struggles in the Bullpen have been well documented. The Dodgers on the other hand have arm after arm that they can throw at you. This is a huge advantage for the Dodgers.

Advantage: Dodgers
Bench: When you have Orlando Hudson, Juan Pierre, Mark Loretta and Jim Thome I’d say you have a pretty strong bench. Phillies have some solid players too but can’t compare to Dodgers bench.

Advantage: Dodgers
Manager: Who would you rather have Joe Torre or Charlie Manual? Exactly.

Advantage: Dodgers
Verdict: Dodgers in 6 games

ALCS
Los Angeles Angels vs. New York Yankees
Starting Pitching: Yankees paid top dollar for their starting pitching this off-season but only trust 3 for this series. The Angels have quality from top to bottom. This is very close but I give the advantage to the Angels with their depth.

Advantage: Angels
Lineup: Everyone knows the power of the Yankees lineup and from top to bottom it is one of the best ever. The Angels are no slouch either. They are also solid from top to bottom but with a lot less power. Their advantage though is in speed but it isn’t enough to overtake the Yanks line up.

Advantage: Yankees
Defense: Both are great defensively but all around the Angels are slightly better. They have strong arms in the outfield and great range in the infield. I give them the slight advantage.

Advantage: Angels
Bullpen: When you have Mariano Rivera closing out games you are in good hands. The Yankees also have good people in front of him to get the game to Rivera. Angels are pretty good too, but not as solid as the Yanks.

Advantage: Yankees
Bench: The Yankees will have an advantage here when Posada is there for two games during this series other than that it is a tossup. I’m giving to the Yanks based off that

Advantage: Yankees
Manager: Soccia has more experience managing in the playoffs.
Advantage: Angels
Verdict: Angels in 6

Shop for MLB memorabillia at Smarter.com.

The MLB Playoffs were alive and well this weekend. Though three series ended in a sweep, it didn’t take away from the excitement of the games. Well start with the Los Angeles Dodgers vs. St. Louis Cardinals Series. The Dodgers were up 2-0 after an incredible comeback in Thursdays Game 2. You could tell that this was a tough loss for the Cards because they where expecting at least a split in LA and they were one out away before the Dodgers came back. This set up Game 3 in St. Louis where the Dodgers jumped out to a lead and never looked back. Albert Pujols though he had a MVP type season got little to hit in this series and couldn’t really make an impact. The Dodgers won this series with timely hitting and solid pitching especially from their bullpen. We’ll see if they can keep it up for the next series where they await the winner of the Rockies and Phillies.

Right now the Phillies lead 2-1 with Game 4 later today. If the Phillies win it would set up a rematch of last years NLCS with the Dodgers looking for some revenge.

Now in the American League two series were going on between the Angels vs. Red Sox and Yankees vs. Twins. We’ll start with the Angels-Red Sox series were the Angels went into the weekend with a surprising 2-0 lead. The Red Sox had dominated the Angels in years past and many thought that this year would be more of the same. But it wasn’t for the first two games where Angels starting pitching shut down the Sox and the Angels won each of the first two games convincingly. The Red Sox though were going to be at home, where they had one of the best records in the majors and are tough to beat in the playoffs, and had comeback from a big deficit before in past years. This year was different though. It started out great for the Sox as they jumped out to a 5-1 lead.  Usually the Angels would have just folded and conceded the game, but they didn’t. They fought back and got it to 6-4 in the 9th even then it still looked bleak as they were down to their last strike, against a great closer in Jonathan Papelbon, when the rally started. Erick Aybar got a hit up the middle, then Chone Figgins walked, Abreu followed with a double scoring Aybar. With runners on second and third and first base open the Red Sox decided to walk Torii Hunter to get to Vladimir Guerrero. This was a mistake because on the next pitch Vlady lined in to center and the Angels took the lead. The crowd and the Red Sox were stunned and quiet and after the final out was recorded the Angels could finally celebrate for beating the Red Sox.

The other series going on was a mismatch though the Twins hung in and fought till the end. They were leading in Game 3 till Arod and Posada hit homeruns to take the lead. After that it was never close and the Yankees will now play the Angels in what should be a great ALCS. The series will start on Friday.

Image Source: AP Photo

Baseball’s second half is about to begin, and if your not geared up yet with your favorite team’s gear, you need to be.  Or at least buy your team’s baseball cap to show support.  Sports Authority has every team’s authentic on-field cap!  There are also coupons available to get free shipping and 10% off any orders wit no minimums.  Here are some teams:

Los Angeles Dodgers Authentic Game Performance 59FIFTY On-Field Cap - $31.99

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Authentic Game Performance 59FIFTY On-Field Cap - $31.99

New York Yankees Authentic Game Performance 59FIFTY On-Field Cap w/2009 Inaugural Stadium Patch - $35.99

Find at Smarter.com:  Shop for more authentic on-field baseball caps.

And so another one bites the dust.

In case you have been living under a rock for the last 24 hours and/or haven’t had any human contact, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez has tested positive for human chorionic gonadotropin, or hCG, a female fertility drug and banned substance of Major League Baseball.

Ramirez has been suspended for 50 games and will lose more than $7 million dollars in salary after deciding to drop his appeal of the ruling.

Sadly, for those who root for the Dodgers, the savior of their team has joined the likes of other home run hitting heroes who have fallen under the dark cloud of the steroids era.  While Ramirez hasn’t tested positive for steroids — he said he has passed about 15 drug tests over the last five seasons — the tarnish to his image may be too much for even him to overcome.

hCG is, after all, a drug commonly used by steroid users to get their bodies to naturally reproduce testosterone after a steroids cycle.  At best he is guilty of gross negligence when it comes to monitoring drugs he puts into his body.  At worst he is a cheater a la Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco, etc., etc.

We aren’t supposed to be surprised any more when a new name pops up on the list of substance (ab)users, but regardless of whether or not you are a fan of Ramirez it is likely you were at least a bit shocked when you heard the news.  Manny is a lot of things, but until yesterday a cheater wasn’t thought to be one of them.  Ugly exit from Boston aside, Ramirez has been the goofy, eccentric, fan-friendly player that Bonds never was.  For all his shortcomings, Ramirez was the carefree-to-a-fault, clean power hitter baseball desperately needed.

Or so we all thought.

Manny being Manny used to be a nice way of saying Ramirez is a bit of knucklehead.   Now it just feels like the butt of a bad late night joke, the easy way of saying Ramirez’s deception can only be described as Ramirez-like.

McGwire taught us all that chicks dig the long ball, but nobody told him and the players that followed that drug induced potency didn’t count.  Now Ramirez has taught us all a lesson we hopefully won’t soon forget.

Looks can be deceiving. Just because a player doesn’t show the typical signs of steroid use (Bond’s enormous head) doesn’t mean he is above suspicion.  Just because a player is engaging and charismatic doesn’t mean he is beyond doubt.  Just because a man can lift a city doesn’t mean he can evade punishment.

And, apparently, just because you aren’t supposed to be surprised any more doesn’t mean you can’t be.

Image Source: Wbz.com

This week in sports blogs and news:

• Brad Pitt and Steven Soderbergh to make “Moneyball” movie on Billy Beane - Variety
• USA Swimming Suspends Michael Phelps for 3 months - ESPN
• Patriots put the franchise tag on Matt Cassell: $14.65 million -Fox Sports
• Top high school prospect may choose CFL over NCAA - SportsByBrooks
• Anquan Boldin wants out of Arizona - Larry Brown Sports
  

This week on the Smarter Sports Blog we covered:

• “Champions” 
• Santonio Holmes Catch Makes the Steelers Champions
• Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers: No Thanks
• Kevin Costner to Bring Baseball to Illinois Suburbs
• Prank Gone Bad: Peyton’s Joke on Cutler Backfires
  

What’s the logical thing to do when offered a multi-million dollar contract, when there are no other offers on the table?

Turn it down.

That’s exactly what Manny Ramirez did when the Los Angeles Dodgers offered him a one-year deal worth about $25 million. That would have made him the highest paid outfielder in baseball history. And we all know, money is all that Manny wants, so I don’t get why he’s rejecting the offer.

This one-year deal would still allow him to be a free-agent next year and seek that multi-year deal he’s been hoping for. But in Manny and Scott Boras’ dream world, they think they’ll get that four year deal at $20 million or more in today’s economy.

Have fun twisted your dreads in boredom this offseason Manny.

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This week in sports blogs and news:

• Paul Pierce says he’s the “best player in the world - Larry Brown Sports
• Ron Artest is still claims to be “ghetto” - Deadspin
• Top 7: WWF/WWE Tag Teams - Joe Sports Fan
• Manny Ramirez traded to Dodgers, Jason Bay to Beantown - Fox Sports
  
• Play fill the Aaron Rogers fill in the blank game - The Sports Hernia
• Get your Yankees news- Yankees Chick
• Brett Favre just might take Packers bribe - Milwaukee Journal
• Kate Hudson dumps Lance Armstrong for Eric Lindros? - Sports by Brooks

This week on the Smarter Sports Blog we covered:

• “I wonder if she can tell I’m staring”
• Orel Hershiser Brings the Pain to Announcing
• Kwame Brown’s Dead Weight Heads to Detroit
• Houston Rockets Trade Forward/Wrestler Ron Artest

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Well, at least the New York Yankees decided to keep at least one of their stars around.

The Pinstripes and Jorge Posada have agreed to a four-year, $52.4 million contract and everything now is just pending on him passing a physical.

Although Posada is 36-years-old, I think that this was a good move by the Yankees. They bring back one of the best catchers in the league, a strong veteran and even if he falls off a bit in a few years, he can mentor and provide leadership for the younger guys on the team.

With A-Rod now out of reach, lets see if the Yanks try to bring back Mariano Rivera. If not, he said he’d pick up and head out West to join Torre.

Stay tuned.

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