The old man and the Rays
There's been a lot of internet chatter about 45-year-old Jamie Moyer (right) being the weak link in the Phillies' World Series rotation, so I guess I'm a little more worried than most about the effect he might have on the young Tampa Bay Rays lineup.
When Jamie is on, he only needs seven innings to drive some guys crazy for a week. The Rays have a lot of inexperienced hitters and a few overly-aggressive hitters, which are just the kind of guys that Moyer drives to distraction. Look for Carlos Pena to end up with a sore neck from shaking his head so much tonight.
Every odd-numbered game in a postseason series is pivotal, but this one is more pivotal for the Phillies. If they lose, the Rays only need to split the remaining two at Citizens Bank Park to go home in great position to win their first world title. Rays pitcher Matt Garza is coming off an MVP performance in the ALCS, so the Phillies also will have some work to do to get back out in front of this series.
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Comments
Not that your Pena prediction won't come true b/c anything can happen and Moyer might be fired up but Pena is 10/20 against Moyer w/ 2 HRs. I think that will be an important matchup. No ABs for Longoria vs. Moyer though.
Posted by: mike | October 25, 2008 10:58 AM
Hey I think the fact that Moyer is still pitching effectively at his age is another reason why this is such a great Series. I don't understand why the ratings are so low just because the so-called media darlings aren't in it. I'm a die-hard baseball fan and rarely miss a Series no matter who's playing but I guess there aren't too many of us left these days.
Posted by: TerryP | October 25, 2008 3:38 PM