The lineup cards are listed with no surprises on the Phillies' end.
The National League East champions go like this: Rollins SS, Utley 2B, Pence RF, Howard 1B, Victorino CF, Ibanez LF, Polanco 3B, Ruiz C, Halladay P. The Wild Card representative, without Matt Holliday, lines up like this: Furcal SS, Craig RF, Pujols 1B, Berkman LF, Freese 3B, Molina C, Schumaker 2B, Jay CF, Lohse P.
Is it 5 o'clock yet?
The Phils needed the two off days after the grueling schedule they just played but I'm getting itchy for some baseball.
Posted by: Bubba | Saturday, October 01, 2011 at 02:48 PM
Does this count as the, "opposing team pictured in game thread reverse jinx", or is it dismissed because it is a *pregame* chat?
Posted by: Kegel_C | Saturday, October 01, 2011 at 02:58 PM
about to head to the stadium, can't wait to see doc back up his smack talk
Posted by: agroupofletters | Saturday, October 01, 2011 at 02:58 PM
Reposting from end of last thread. Let's go, Phillies!!
From Terence Moore of mlb.com. Some good Rollins quotes:
* * *
(Rollins)"It's tough when you're competing, and when you're trying to win a world championship, because to win a world championship, one, you've got be good. Two, you've got to be extremely lucky, because the guys on the other side of those white lines, they're pretty good, too. And then you have a team with a lot of determination.
"Get those three things, and the sky's the limit."
....
Rollins said the Phillies are peaking along the way to handling all challenges. Consider that after an eight-game losing streak that didn't end until last Sunday, they currently are surging into the playoffs with a four-game winning streak.
The Phillies' last three victories came in Atlanta, where they performed like the desperate team that the Braves really were.
"Everybody's got energy now, because before that, I don't know, we were 12 or 14 games away from the postseason after clinching, and it was like, 'Oh. We still got this,'" Rollins said of the Phillies' mindset during their recent slide. "But after a while, it started getting embarrassing. Then we started getting mad. Then when you start getting mad, you start getting determined, and things start happening again.
"We're back on the right track."
Rollins wasn't just referring to this season, but to several seasons after this one, adding, "When you look at our potential, we've got the team that can make a consistent run at world championships like the Yankees did in the late 1990s. Like us, they kept everybody there. Nobody ever took anything for granted with those Yankees. Nobody does here."
* * *
Link to whole article: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110930&content_id=25401388&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb
* * ** * *
Go, Doc! Bury 'em! Go Phils!
Posted by: GBrettfan | Saturday, October 01, 2011 at 03:02 PM
Anybody see the headline on the front page at USAToday?
"Are the Phillies the new evil empire?"
http://www.usatoday.com/?refresh=1
Here's a link to the actual article:
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/nl/phillies/story/2011-09-27/phillies-have-built-playoff-power/50610310/1
Posted by: Bigotto | Saturday, October 01, 2011 at 03:06 PM
I'm slow to the party.
Charlie Manuel's managerial record of 646 - 488 equates to an average of 92 wins per season.
Not. Too. Shabby.
Posted by: Bigotto | Saturday, October 01, 2011 at 03:14 PM
Not sure how the jinx is affected with a pre-game thread pic of the opposing player. JW is playing with fire, IMHO.
Posted by: SLO Phan | Saturday, October 01, 2011 at 03:20 PM
For what it's worth: WSJ and NPR sports guys are usually decent except Frank DeFord's column pieces on the air suck.
Posted by: Rauls grandpa | Saturday, October 01, 2011 at 03:23 PM
Bigotto, that's a great piece! Thanks for the link!
RG, I often enjoy DeFord's on-air essays. To each his own.
Posted by: GBrettfan | Saturday, October 01, 2011 at 03:34 PM
Probably old news to some,but from Larry Shenk's Phillies Insider column:
Delivering the first ball to the mound will be a 9-year-old Phillies fan from Bucks County, Ryan White, who was in San Francisco to watch a Phillies game in August. Following the game he was injured in a hit-and-run accident. Several Phillies visited him in the San Francisco hospital and, at that time, his prognosis was not good.. After being transferred to Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia last month, Ryan is improving daily. Joining Ryan will be his brother Kevin.
Then, throwing out the first ball is a three-time All-Star second baseman with the Phillies who coined the phrase “Yes We Can” back in 1974, Dave Cash. His 213 hits in 1975 led the majors and are the most for a Phillies player in the last 53 seasons.
Posted by: Bubba | Saturday, October 01, 2011 at 03:43 PM
Yo, new thread
Posted by: EastFallowfield | Saturday, October 01, 2011 at 03:58 PM
No chance at a no hitter...but I'd happily settle for a one hit shutout about now.
Posted by: bigmyc | Saturday, October 01, 2011 at 05:14 PM