What a year

It’s over.

This magical summer ended on a cold Wednesday night in South Philly when the Phillies beat the Rays 4-3 in Game 5 of the World Series.

Forget the ending, it was a wonderful ride.

From the Opening Day win at Baltimore to the Game 2 victory against the Phillies at the Trop, the Rays provided us with memories we won’t soon forget.

Walk-off wins.

The victories at Fenway Park.

Game 7 of the ALCS against Boston.

This team won the American League East title and the American League pennant, incredible achievements for a team with the worst record in baseball the previous two seasons and nine last place-finishes in their first 10 years.

They won 105 games this season, more than the Phillies, more than any team in baseball.

They just came up short in the World Series.

No shame there.

None at all.

Look! Sun!

See the sun on the field? No rain in Philly today.

There are gray clouds over the city, but mostly blue skies over Citizens Bank Park as the Phillies get ready for batting practice.

Both teams are preparing as if this is a regular game with full batting practice for each squads.

The only difference is the first 5 ½ innings are in the books and the score is tied 2-2. With just 3 ½ innings left, there is a strong possibility the team that scores first wins.

It will be like a restart with five laps to go in the Daytona 500.

This should be interesting.

Rain yes, Game probably

The morning rain and snow did not happen here in Philly.

They are now calling for afternoon rain.

Scattered showers are in the forecast from about 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. After that it is suppose to be just windy and cold.

Not the best night for a baseball game, but it doesn’t seem likely commissioner Bud Selig wants to wait another day to finish Game 5 of the World Series.

The suspended game is scheduled to resume at 8:37 p.m. today with the score tied 2-2 and the Phillies batting in the bottom of the sixth inning.

According to weather.com, it will be in the high 30s and very windy with a wind chill in the low 30s.

But no rain.

The forecast for Thursday calls for sun all day with temperatures in the 40s. The evening forecast is much the same as tonight’s, only the wind chill will be in the high-30s.

Take away the afternoon rain and it doesn’t appear as if Thursday night will be much different than Wednesday night.

So, unless this afternoon rain is more than scattered showers or if it hangs around longer than predicted, or Selig decides to not mess with a potentially messy situation, the Rays and Phillies should retake the field at Citizens Bank Park tonight.

Stay tuned …

The forecast calls for brrrrrrr

Turns out Tuesday was a nice night in Philly. Nice night if you like cold, windy nights.

But no rain.

Or snow.

Those are expected for this morning and should be finished by the afternoon, which means Game 5 might actually come to its long-awaited, much-anticipated conclusion, and, perhaps with it, the World Series.

The Phillies lead the Rays 3-1 in the best-of-seven series, which is scheduled to resume tonight (weather permitting) in the bottom of the sixth inning of Game 5 with the score tied 2-2.

Why wasn’t it finished Tuesday?

The answer depends on whom you talk to.

The early forecast called for a rainy, miserable night. That never happened. So, maybe Major League Baseball’s only error was on the side of caution.

Some think the game was never going to be played, because the Citizens Bank Field needed a day to recover from the beating it took during Monday’s rain, which rendered the field unplayable and forced the suspension of the game.

Others lean toward the conspiracy theory that FOX, which is broadcasting the series, did not want a baseball game interfering with its popular show, “House.”

Tuesday was an off day regardless of whether there was a Game 6 or not, and the network wanted it to remain an off day.

Believe what you want.

But believe this: It would have been one cold night at the ball yard had they played Tuesday.

And believe this, too: it’s going to be one cold night at the ball yard if they finish the game tonight.

Game 5 still in limbo

Major League Baseball has yet to make a decision on the status of Game 5 of the World Series, which is supposed to resume at 8 p.m. today in the bottom of the sixth inning and the score tied 2-2.



The Phillies led the Rays three games to one in the best-of-seven series. One more win and they win their first World Series championship since 1980.


It is cold, rainy and windy in Philadelphia, and while the chance for rain is supposed to diminish tonight, the temperature is expected to dip below 40, making for a cold, miserable night.


It won’t exactly be the ideal conditions to resume a World Series game, especially given the circumstances that led to suspending the game Monday.


There’s a good chance a decision will be made early this afternoon.


We’ll keep you posted.

Maddon tweaks lineup

Joe Maddon tweaked his lineup for tonight’s Game 5 of the World Series, moving Carl Crawford up to the No. 2 spot in the batting order and inserting Rocco Baldelli in right field.

By batting Crawford second, he dropped B.J. Upton, Carlos Peña and Evan Longoria down one spot.

“I just wanted to tweak it a click,” Maddon said. “See if Carl can get up there a little bit and just unfreeze Carlos and Longo a bit. They haven’t been hitting, and see if it makes a difference or not. It’s just a minor adjustment.”

Peña and Longoria are a combined 0-for-29 in this series and 1-for-43 since Longoria’s home run in Game 5 of the ALCS.

“I just wanted to do something just to clear their minds,” Maddon said. “It was more to give them a different outlook on the day. That’s all. They’re basically still hitting in their same order, one slot down. Carl has been swinging well. He’s a familiar No. 2 hole hitter. B.J., it looks like he has his RBI swing back.”

Baldelli is in right because Philly is throwing the left-handed Cole Hamels. And because Maddon has another of his hunches.

“Ben (Zobrist has) done a nice job,” Maddon said. “ just wanted to get Rocco out there. I know he’s ready to play. Rocco can do something special, I believe. Not that the other guys can’t, but Rocco’s capable of doing something extraordinary, so I wanted to get him out there.”

It's win or go home for Rays

It’s chilly and windy here at Citizens Bank Park. There is also a chance to rain tonight.

The wind is blowing to right field.

You see a lot of winter jackets and hoods on those walking around the stadium.

It’s not an ideal setting for a baseball game, but the Rays can make the weather irrelevant with a win tonight in Game 5.

If not, well, this amazing season ends in South Philly.

Scott Kazmir is on the hill for the Rays.

He’s had an up and down postseason. The Rays need him to be up tonight.

They need hits from Carlos Peña and Evan Longoria.

Defense from everyone.

These Rays have been resilient all season.

Count them out, and they bounce back.

Cole Hamels is pitching for the Phillies. The lefty is 4-0 in four postseason starts, including Game 1 of the World Series.

The Rays are already counted out.

We’ll see if they can bounce back.