Posts tagged CarlosPena at FanHouse

The big baseball news of the day was the announcement the Dustin Pedroia was named the American League MVP. A minor footnote to that story, though, was the fact that Pedroia won despite being completely left off the ballot by one of the voters.

For what it's worth, voters seem to be getting better at this: they rightly recognized Tim Lincecum as NL Cy Young and Albert Pujols as the NL MVP despite the fact that neither one played on a team that even resembled a playoff contender, which in the past would have disqualified as serious candidates by a lot of voters.

But on the other hand, you're telling me there's someone out there who actually watched the games and didn't walk away thinking that Pedroia was one of the 10 best players in the game? That's not quite as bad as thinking Edison Volquez was still eligible for the NL Rookie of the Year award (which three voters did), but it certainly reeks of a backlash against the Red Sox ... right?

In the Playoff Pulse series, our MLB editor takes on a hot October topic.

Over the next few hours and days, sports fans are going to be inundated with every possible take on the way Bud Selig handled the events of Game 5. Some of it will be fair and some of it will not be.

My quick take: Selig was dealt a tough hand and played things very poorly. He made a bad situation worse by not invoking his powers as commissioner and suspending the game immediately when it began to rain heavily in the fifth inning. It was not an easy situation, and because Selig is uncharismatic -- because he and the sport he presides over make for an easy target (just ask Congress!) -- he'll take more of a beating than he deserves. Be wary of who you listen to and read on the topic. Many of the columnists and pundits who rip baseball for every single flaw it has, will overlook the very same flaws in other sports, particularly in the NFL.

All that aside, let's not forget that there's still a series to be finished, a championship to be won, anywhere from three innings to two games (and change) left to be played in the 2008 season.

So how are the actual parties involved in this series going to be affected by the weird, wild suspension of Game 5? The answer to that question seems pretty obvious: Everybody except the Phillies and their die-hard fans is a big winner.

Rightfully so, the only thing baseball fans are talking about right now is the weather in Philadelphia, but don't forget why the Rays were able to overcome the hole Scott Kazmir put them in the first inning: the middle of their order finally woke up.

Carlos Pena (pictured) and Evan Longoria opened the World Series by going a combined 0-for-29 in the first four games, and at least early on, it didn't look like their luck was going to change in Game 5. After being dropped one spot in the lineup before the game, Pena opened the second inning by grounding out to first base on an ill-advised bunt attempt. One pitch later, Longoria followed by flying out to center. Two pitches, two outs. It was ugly.

With the Phillies and Rays tied at two after 5 1/2 innings in Game 5 of the World Series, the decision was made to suspend the game until tomorrow night due to pouring rain and near-freezing temperatures. In reality, baseball rules forced the decision to come an inning too late, but a late decision is better than deciding the World Series in a driving rainstorm on a field made of mud.

Playoff baseball games are played under the same rules as regular season games, which means all games after five innings are considered complete (to the last full inning) if they have to end before the ninth inning (UPDATE: In his post-game presser, Bud Selig claimed he was going to suspend the game until tomorrow regardless of the score). The only exception is a tie game, which is allowed to be suspended at any point and resumed at a later date. This forced the game to press on an inning and a half too long, as the Phillies held a 2-1 lead after the top of the sixth and delaying the game at that point would mean it would be possible for them to clinch the World Series in the clubhouse after five innings. Everyone caught a break when Carlos Pena signled B.J. Upton home from second base, tying the game at two and giving baseball the chance to suspend the game should they be unable to resume tonight.

The fifth and top of the sixth innings were an absolute embarrassment for baseball tonight. Between the cold weather and driving rain, the pitchers and fielders were obviously strugging to play any sport that actually resembled baseball. Upton reached first on a weather-aided single, then scored on Pena's hit with a slide on base paths so muddy they might as well have been a slip 'n slide. I don't really understand why there isn't a rule that all post-season games must consist of nine innings and they're otherwise suspended until they can be completed, no matter what the score is, but I'm not Bud Selig. That's a good thing.

It's never a good time for both your No. 3 and cleanup hitter to enter a prolonged slump, let alone the first four games of the World Series. But that's the predicament the Rays are in with Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria, who've combined to go 0-for-29 at the plate with 15 strikeouts. (Like you needed me to rattle off those stats -- Joe Buck and Tim McCarver have repeated them so much I hear them when I sleep ...)

Needless to say, with the entire season on the line, Joe Maddon can no longer cross his fingers and hope for the best. Instead, he'll shake up his lineup tonight, bumping Carl Crawford from fifth to second and moving everybody else down a spot.

In hindsight, this is probably something Maddon should have tried earlier: Crawford has been one of the team's hottest hitters the entire postseason, and now he'll be hitting one spot in front of B.J. Upton, who already has seven home runs so far in the postseason. Plus, they're both extremely dangerous on the basepaths, meaning Longoria and Pena can simply focus on making contact instead of trying to launch every pitch out of the ballpark.

Or something like that. In the end, it may not make a difference: Cole Hamels can make even the best hitters look foolish, and this may be too little, too late. But at the very least I'll give credit to Maddon for trying.

I think it's pretty safe to say that last night was the greatest start in Joe Blanton's career. Sure, he's had a few games where his stat line looked better than the six-inning, seven-strikeout, four-hit two-run performance on Sunday night, but none of them came in a game as important as a World Series affair. Oh, and I'm sure the home run didn't hurt either.

Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon noticed Blanton's performance last night as well, and given the dark spot on the brim of Blanton's cap, he can't help but wonder if Blanton had a little help.

After the game, Maddon addressed the issue with the media. Asked if he noticed a dark spot on Blanton's cap, Maddon said: "We did notice, it was rather dark. I did bring it to their [umpires'] attention. I asked them to just watch it and be vigilant about it, and nothing happened. But I was concerned about it early on."

Too bad he wasn't concerned enough with Andy Sonnanstine to pull him for a lefty before Ryan Howard came to the plate in the fourth inning. As for the hat, Blanton says there was nothing illegal on the brim of his cap.

In the Playoff Pulse series, our MLB editor takes on a hot October topic.

On the precipice of their first World Series title in 28 years, the Phillies deserve a world of credit for the way they have executed in October. They have played to their strengths all month long, and as it turns out, those strengths are enough to win a title.

They have a dominant ace in Cole Hamels who may very well close the Fall Classic out Monday night. He's 4-0 in October and he gives the opposing pitcher very little room for error. The rest of their rotation has flown under the radar in part because of Hamels' excellence and in part because of a ballpark that inflates ERAs, but it's proven to be very capable, too, behind the southpaw ace.

They have a lights-out bullpen that finishes with Brad Lidge, but also features top-notch flame-thrower Ryan Madson as the bridge to Lidge and a number of useful situational guys like Scott Eyre and Chad Durbin.

And they have a power-laden offense that has much more balance than the Rays -- one that is capable of putting crooked numbers up on the board as it did in Game 4, but also capable of staying in the game even when it struggles with runners in scoring position because of the home run ball.

If Monday is a coronation, it will have been well earned indeed.

In the Playoff Pulse series, our MLB editor takes on a hot October topic.

The Rays pulled out all the stops in Game 2 of the World Series to get even with the Phillies. They scratched out a victory on the offensive side, scoring three of their four runs on a pair of ground ball outs and a safety squeeze.

Much will probably be made of manager Joe Maddon's willingness to play small ball in a critical postseason game because, hey, let's face it, the mainstream media and baseball old-timers love it when the little things play a big factor in crucial postseason games.

But that might be missing the forest for the trees. The Rays are headed to Philadelphia knotted at 1-all in the World Series and ready to go on a roll similar to the one they went on in the ALCS. And the reason they look poised to reel off a few wins, and maybe just run off with the World Series trophy in the process, is because of their almost surreal pitching depth.

Look, Evan Longoria and B.J. Upton are terrific young players. Whatever is brewing in Tampa Bay -- whether it's a dynasty or an annual contender in the AL East -- both are going to be a big part of something special. But neither has done much so far in this series. Longoria is hitless, Upton grounded into two key double plays in Game 1 and their partner in the middle of the order, Carlos Pena, is also 0-for-the-Fall-Classic.

In staving off what would have been one of the most unlikely comebacks ever, the Rays beat the odds themselves, as a team that had never won 70 games before increased their franchise high by 27, finishing first in the best division in baseball.

That clearly wasn't enough, so they then dispatched the streaking White Sox and perennially powerful Red Sox to reach the World Series. Although surprising to many, Tampa Bay's ascension was no fluke -- this is the fifth-youngest roster in the league, it is absolutely loaded with emerging talent, and there is even more on the way from their excellent farm system. The rise of the Rays may have been fast, but their stay at the top will be sustained.

Two of the best young hitters in the game hit second and fourth in the lineup, and they certainly haven't disappointed thus far in the postseason. Except for a month missed due to injury in August, Evan Longoria has been a force since making his major league debut back on April 12th. He hit just .259 against the Red Sox, but seven of his hits went for extra bases, with three doubles and four homers. His six playoff homers are just two away from the postseason record of eight.

The problem is that his teammate, B.J. Upton, is one long-ball ahead of him. After a shoulder injury sapped his power during the regular season, Upton has really come on this month, with a ridiculous .826 slugging percentage in the postseason.

From the Windup is FanHouse's daily, extended look at a particular portion of America's pastime.

The World Series cannot possibly live up the ALCS.

Please don't misconstrue the above statement and assume I'm being negative. It's actually the complete opposite. That was one incredible ALCS. If you are a baseball fan, but a fan of neither the Rays nor the Phillies, you are bound to be disappointed by the World Series. Don't expect an encore. Obviously, I can't accurately predict the future and tell you who is going to win and in how many games. I can tell you that while this upcoming series excites me, I also realize it just can't reach the lofty bar which was set over the past week by the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays.

Let's just revisit some of the drama we witnessed over the course of seven stellar games.