Comments

[Jake]

I've been rooting for the Phils since I was little. I moved to LA in September. I have a ticket to Game 1. And I'm wondering if anyone has any experience at Dodger Stadium. My plan is to leave the game with everyone in my section having fallen in love with the Phils and cheering like crazy as Cole finishes up his complete game, but I realize that might be a little overoptimistic. Are Dodger fans mean or just disinterested?

[Zach Morris]

Jake -- I think that has a ton to do with where your seats are.

[brother]

Kershaw is hard to hit, but he walks a lot of people. If the Phils exploit that by being patient, they will win this game. Force Kershaw to walk you or throw you a good pitch. Go Phils!

[vegas]

Jake- I was last years NLCS game that Moyer and the Phils lost. It was a mellow vibe in the stadium itself but be careful in the parking lots, there seem to be alot of knuckle heads drinking with a ganglike mentality.

[Greg S. in Lanc]

This is cool:

http://www.the700level.com/2009/10/an-open-letter-to.html

[Verdeforce]

I just realized I posted this in the wrong spot - the Rockies series was "REDEMPTION! The wrongs of two years ago have been righted and now it's on to the toughest challenge in sport - repeating. The Phillies remarkably became only the fifth NL team in history to win a playoff series the year after winning it all - let's do it again! Now it's for the pennant!"

This should be a great series and it looks like a 6 or 7 gamer to me, hopefully the grit and determination of our nucleus and our starting pitchers will propel the Phils to only the seventh pennant in our history!!!!!!!

[comatose]

awesome graphic JW

[GBrettfan]

That is cool, Greg, thanks!

And that is a great graphic, JW.

[dlhunter]

Another day, another dollar, another win against the dodgers.

[Joel Goodling]

Having gone to about a dozen Dodger games as a diehard Phils fan (going to Game 2 tomorrow as well) there are couple things you should know.

1) Dodger fans are ignorant and uneducated and they are there to cheer on a team they know little about (depending on where you sit).

2) Manny could be a convicted murderer and they would still root for him. Keep this in mind when you boo him every time he comes to the plate and you get the death stares.

3) You will have food thrown at you. Probably just popcorn, though.

4) It takes 3 hours to get into the park and get seated because there is only one goddamn road that goes into Dodger Stadium.

5) If we win, get out fast.

6) If we lose, get out fast.

7) Have a friend with you, it's a little better if your friend is a Dodger fan.

8) The better your seats, the less hostile it gets.

9) Never sit in the bleachers in RF. No booze and there is a reason for that. (murder)

10) Have fun! GO PHILS!

[Spitz]

Man, it seems like most of the national media is picking LAD. Did anyone on ESPN, SI, or Fox pick the Phils to win this series?

[Tray]

We never had a prediction thread, but Dodgers in 7.

[pblunts]

Spitz-Some writers did pick ups, but who cares? Nobody picked us last year, either. I think we're patient tonight with Kershaw, get to him by the fourth and Hamels returns to 2008 NLCS and WS MVP form and we cruise. And tomorrow, we light Padillia up like a Christmas tree and head back to Philly with a 2-0 lead.

[pblunts]

Meant "pick us" obviously.

[Old Phan]

Jake,I went to thr game last year when Vic and Stairs hit their monster home runs. I've been to a lot of Dodgers games, but never saw a crowd that was so hostile as the playoff game. Be ready, but have a great time.

[Spitz]

pbluts, I agree with you. I think the Phils will win this thing in 6, and the games won't be that close. Yes, having a great BP is an advantage, but having a better starting pitching and a better offense (both of which the Phils have) is more of an advantage.

I'm just surprised the national media is so in love with LAD, thats all.

Lets get it on!

[LA Jeff]

Joel Goodling, I couldn't have said it better myself!!! Everything thing he said I say again. IT-IS-INSANE. Philly gets a bad rap, but LA has the WORST FANS IN THE WORLD.

[Scott]

If Jake accomplishes his goal, I'm guessing he passed around some pretty high quality weed.

[THe Dude]

heard commercial that 1210 will by sync'd up with the tv broadcast

[MG]

Phils in 6.

[Spitz]

Jake - you can be as loud and obnoxious as you want for the first hour of the game. Its true that no one shows up there until the 4th inning. LA is the worst sports town I've lived in - even SF is much much better.

[doubleh]

Contrary to what others said on the last thread my statement was not meant to infer "jumping off of the bandwagon." I truly believe Hamels is the key to this series, much like Lee was the key to the NLDS. We need for him to pitch well tonight and at least keep it close in order to win this series.

I'm sorry if I'm not being rah-rah enough and being too "negative," but my point was valid, I think.

[G-Town Dave]

doubleh: For what it's worth, I agree. It's a bit much to expect Hamels to be the guy he was last season in the playoffs, but he's definitely going to have to show more than he did for most of '09 (NLDS start vs. Colorado included) if the Phillies are to beat L.A. again & advance to the World Series.

[MG]

doubleh - Agreed. Hamels is going to likely pitch at least twice and with Cholly's "fly by the seat of your pants" approach to managing the pitching staff they really only have two set starters right now in Hamels and Lee. They need both of these guys to pitch well and give them at least 6 IP each time out.

Facing Kershaw tonight, Hamels likely needs to give the Phils at 7 IP and 3 R for them to have a really good shot to win. Just don't see the Phils scoring more than 4 runs tonight.

[king myno]

Phils in 6.

[Murgatroid]

I wouldn't be surprised if tonight was more high scoring than people are expecting. Kershaw doesn't scare me in the same sense that Lowe did last year. I agree, I think Hamels is really the key to this series as well as the key to this game.

Pessimism seems to be good luck, so Dodgers in 7.

[vegas]

Good, at least we got Ron Darling to listen to on TBS.

[High Hopes]

Is all this Bon Jovi neccesary...?

[Harris the Mets fan]

Ok so will this be a pitchers dual or a high scoring fest.
Good Luck to you guys but I still want you guys to lose.

You know why. :)

[High Hopes]

Totally awkward sideline reporter totally within earshot criticizing Rollins. Also, worst hairpiece ever...well, when compared to the suit its not so bad...

[Spoilt Victorian Child]

At least this time we get a play-by-play guy who pronounces "Utley" with a "t."

[dlhunter]

Here we go...

[dlhunter]

C'mon gang

[G-Town Dave]

Well, that's an auspicious beginning.

[Harris the mets fan]

That utley hit was close if its cbp its gone and tough luck with victerino

[timr]

Ooh.

I'll give Vic this: he's fast. He fell to the ground, crawled, got up, and still almost beat the tag.

[bay_area_phan]

That kind of stuff NEVER happens to Rollins on the basepaths. He doesn't have as much pure speed as Vic, but he's a much better baserunner.

[doubleh]

Victorino is so stupid sometimes.

[Knight]

Even being in position to be picked off with Howard at the plate is foolish.

[G-Town Dave]

b_a_p: Yeah, but J-Roll has that whole "One, maybe two pitches, & I'm Out" problem, which doesn't leave much opportunity for him to make any kind of base running mistake.

[RSB]

Bon Jovi is never necessary. But even that beats the bilge they incessantly blare on the Dodger Stadium PA.

[GBrettfan]

Speaking of smart baserunners, isn't Howard perfect in basestealing? :) Or did he finally get caught once, can't remember. And then there's Utley, who I am sure is perfect in stolen bases.

[dlhunter]

The crazy thing is Shane almost made it back to the bag.

[joe l]

I thought Howard got caught at the end of the year.

[RSB]

I thought I saw Victorino yelling at someone...should be an interesting series, all right.

[Knight]

Hamels doesn't look sharp so far.

[dlhunter]

Franzke reports Shane and Russell Martin were exchanging words.

[G-Town Dave]

Howard has 8 SB & 1 CS. Utley is a perfect 23 for 23.

[Cory]

They're swinging at every first pitch

[MG]

Wow. Lots of fastballs to Manny early on here and going right at him. Completely different than last year's NLCS.

[G-Town Dave]

Werth has also had a lot of success: 20 SB, 3 CS.

[dlhunter]

Yikes. Cole is getting me a little worried.

[dlhunter]

Apropos of nothing, this postseason.tv thing on mlb.com is pretty awesome. I can watch any part of the game I want: bullpens, dugouts, parts of the field, etc.

[MG]

Sit down dirtbag.

[Spitz]

So much for you better look Chip Carey.

[Knight]

Finally. That AB was starting to worry me.

[G-Town Dave]

Wasn't Manny supposed to cut his hair once he came over to L.A.? Still waiting ...

[Spitz]

Come on Cole - dont let Blake beat you

[Cory]

95 95 95 hamles is jacked for this game

[mal]

geeze...96 mph

[Knight]

Maybe Hamels is just trying the Lee method to postseason pitching, put two guys on in the first while looking kinda iffy, and then obliterate them for the next 8.

I'd take it.

[MG]

Okay 1st for Cole. Don't think I saw one curveball that inning and I wonder how much Hamels uses it tonight.

[dlhunter]

Brett's chilling in the dugout by himself, dressed in warmups. Kinda weird.

[timr]

Have we talked yet about how bad this remake of "All you need is love" is?

TBS plays that commercial between every single inning. So annoying!

[G-Town Dave]

19 Pitches. Curve = M.I.A.

[Cory]

He usually uses his curve for the 8th hitter in the lineup.

[mal]

timr: It makes me want to vomit.

[Spitz]

MG, if his FB is being clocked in the mid 90s and he cna locate, then there is no reason to go to the curve.

[Knight]

Man, two warning track shots already for the Phillies. If only we were in CBP.

[joe l]

timr - the tmobile commercial is pretty annoying too

[Jordan]

FUCKEN ump gives the low pitch to kershaw not hamels

[dlhunter]

Dunno why Jayson watched that in there. Nerves?

[MG]

Kershaw looks like he has a more complete arsenal than Hamels does because his slider is a legit 3rd pitch. Hamels' just doesn't have a legit 3rd pitch.

[timr]

Kershaw looks pretty good.

[petey]

can't win if we never take the bat off our shoulders.

[Cory]

Kershaw looks impressive. fml.

[bay_area_phan]

Kershaw's just throwing everything for strikes. Not a good sign.

[MG]

Worst commericals by far are for the George Lopez. Almost guaranteed to be a variety show that doesn't elicit a single genuine laugh.

[Ribbies]

Lots of empty seats in LA. Won't be in the case in Philly.

[Knight]

Well, Kershaw is officially comfortable. This is going to be a long night for the offense.

[Iceman]

Yeah, Kershaw looks good. Dodgers in 4.

[spitz]

Knight, do you remember how comfortable Jimenez looked in game one the first time through the lineup?

[TTI]

The worst commercial is the guy yelling, "It is on." It will pop up throughout the night I'm sure just to tick me off.

[Bob]

I detest the Dodgers: front running fans who show up late, nasty gangsta fans, unknowledgeable fans, media darlings (already a feature story in SI this past week about the new look Dodgers), Martin seems like a total whining jerk, on and on. Would love nothing better than to see the Phils kick their tails again, and they have the capability to do just that.

I think the first game is huge. Kershaw will be tough but if they break him, I could see the Dodgers going into a funk ("Geez, here we go again, what does it take to beat these guys?"). On the other hand if they pound Hamels, they could really get on a roll and be very tough to beat, although I think the Phils are more battle tested and resilient.

Kershaw looks tough after two, but Utley and Howard both could have been homers in CBP or if they were more toward the lines. He's good, but he can be had. Make him work, grind it out.

[Old Phan]

It is not unusual for the Phils to start slow, especially with a pitcher like Kershaw. They will figure him out.

[Iceman]

spitz, you can't draw on the past to make an impulsive conclusion about this game. Please commence whining or go to some other website with your reasonable points.

[dlhunter]

Harrumph.

[Knight]

Sigh. Stick a fork in him, Hamels is done.

[petey]

ump not giving cole the low strike causes that HR?

[doubleh]

Hamels had a strike on Loney before he popped that out. Hamels isn't getting the same strikezone that Kershaw is.

[timr]

Loney, oh dear.

[MG]

Give up a HR to a guy who hit a SINGLE HR all year at home and only 4 HRs vs. LHP this year?

You can get beat by Ethier or Manny but not by a second-tier guy like Loney.

[Old Phan]

Knight, that was funny!

[85]

Relax.

It's the second inning. Remember how good Jimenez looked at the start of the last Game 1? The Phils have already hit two to the warning track. They'll get after Kershaw too.

[doubleh]

MG: I'm sure that's the same thing the Rockies' fans are saying about Ruiz.

[petey]

cannot do that, cole. cannot.

[Spitz]

*@##!**!!

Come on cole - you need to get Furcal right now.

[Knight]

Excellent Cole, walk the pitcher.

[timr]

It goes without saying I guess, but walking the hitter this early is a really bad sign...

[MG]

Darling is right on - frustration and a lack of concentration.