Rants and raves about burning topics that have caught my attention midweek, be it greedy corporate shenanigans, frustration or joy in regards to the Philly sports teams, a movie, show or DVD that has fired up my imagination, an intriguing personality, or my on-going battle to lose weight in our fast food world. — Lori Hoffman, Associate Editor, Atlantic City Weekly

Fox Television is happy. They have the Yankees in the World Series, which means ratings will be up. The Phillies franchise and their fans are happy. They get to go head to head with the most storied and successful franchise in the history of the game.

There are so many storylines in this series. The last times the two teams met on this stage, in the 1950 World Series, the Phillies Whiz Kids with Whitey Ashburn and Robin Roberts were swept in four close games by a Joe DiMaggio-Yogi Berra-led Yankees team.

Ryan Howard

Once they were the Whiz Kids; this Phillies club features the Wallop Kids vs. the Bronx Bombers. We have two offensive juggernauts led by two RBI-producing machines, Ryan Howard and Alex Rodriguez. These teams led their respective leagues in home runs and runs scored, and they both play in cozy, hitter friendly parks, the new Yankee Stadium and Citizens Bank Park.

Still, pitching wins in the World Series, and tonight’s opening night showdown should be a low scoring game that will make Cleveland Indian fans tear their hair out in frustration. Cliff Lee for the Phillies, and C.C. Sabathia for the Yanks are both Cy Young Award winners and former members of the Indians.

Vegas has listed the Yankees as 2 to 1 favorites, a bit high considering the Phils are the defending champs. Between those Vegas odds and the Victorino-in-a-skirt picture on the cover of the New York Post, the Phils have plenty of blackboard material. Meanwhile the Yankees can ponder the confidence of Jimmy Rollins predicting the Phillies in five on The Jay Leno Show.
Here is how the series shapes up.

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It was an incredible game last night, the thriller in Dodger-land with knockdowns and counter punches. There are so many storylines, from Carlos Ruiz as the principle Dodger killer with his three-run blast, Ryan Howard’s two run double off a spooked Clayton Kershaw and Raaauuuul’s three run blast off the Dodger’s lefty specialist, George Sherrill. There was Chan Ho Park looking like a true shutdown pitcher and Ryan Madsen looking out of sorts, followed by Brad “Dim-the-Lights” Lidge getting a Mitch Williams-like save with a couple of hard hit balls and a gift double-play.

However, there is one storyline that really bothers me, and that was Cole Hamels showing up his teammates after Jimmy Rollins had trouble getting a double play grounder out of his glove, which resulted in a hurried throw by Chase Utley that went into the dugout. Hamels threw his hands up in disgust, and then served up three straight change ups to Manny Ramirez, who hit the third one for a two-run homer.

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The Phillies are playoff tested as they head into a second straight National League Championship series with the Dodgers beginning Thursday.
To get there they had to endure a heavyweight brawl with the Colorado Rockies. After a knockdown blow by the Rockies in last night’s eight inning, it looking grim for the Fightins. I had visions of Cole Hamels pitching in a chilly Citizens Bank Park tonight. Admit it, even when Jimmy Rollins got a one-out hit and Shane Victorino hustled to keep from turning his grounder into a double play, you thought it was over. However, in the Phillies dugout, the mindset was different. Ryan Howard told his teammates, “Get me to the plate boys.”
When Chase Utley worked a walk and brought the big fella to the plate, he made good on those words, smacking a majestic double that tied the score at 4-4. Then, when Jayson Werth fought off a couple of pitches to gently flair the ball into right center, Ryan rumbled around the bases to score the eventual winning run.
To make the comeback complete and show the world that the Phils are serious about being the defending World F#@%$&% Champions, Brad Lidge struck out Troy Tulowitzki with two men on to preserve the victory and the series win.
If last year’s version of Lidge is really back, and the Phillies keep hitting like this, the Dodgers will have their hands full.
Red October is back baby and if the Phillies keep it up it will be Red November as well.