Red Light

"Depend on me like the first and fifteenth..."

2PAC - All Eyez on Me

It's October and while that means a lot of things to many people...for me it's the month when a World Series champion is crowned. Yesterday I tweeted the following: "Just so I don't look like I jumped on the bandwagon, the @Phillies will win the World Series, and go @Yankees..."

Conflict Resolution

I'm from the City of Brotherly Love...Philadelphia for those who don't know. And while I cheer for the Eagles with fervor, it's my affection for the New York Yankees that confuses everyone. New York City is a place like none other, and yes I lived there for a long time, and one of the things I picked up over the years is a love for baseball. I could never cheer for the Mets, since I'm a Philly native...I knew that much, so I began watching that pinstriped team in the south Bronx.

When the Yankees didn't make the playoffs in 2008, it opened the door for my hometown Phillies to win and bring our championship starved town a winner. I was happy for the Phils in '07, and a year later they did what many thought was impossible...and that made me even happier!

I attend a number of Phillies games because I love baseball, and instead of driving to NYC or Baltimore for the Bronx Bombers, I take a quick trip to South Philly. So here is my moment of honesty...I actually like the Phillies, however the Yankees are my team. I know it makes zero sense, and this post is like covering myself with a security blanket.

Can the Phillies win it all...yes they can. They have 3 Aces in Halladay, Hamels, and Oswalt, and they have an American League style of play with Ryan Howard, Rollins, Utley, Werth, and Ruiz. Pitching is the key to any pennant and World Series...so if the Phils bullpen can hold and save games, it'll be a red October in Philadelphia.

Baseball is tricky and anything can happen, so I wanted to write this ahead of the first game to explain my loyalty to the team everyone loves to hate.

Tomorrow Never Dies

Heart

"Yes this is Philly, you're welcome to come check us..."

Peedi Crakk - Flip side

The New York Yankees jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the 1st, however the Phillies had more to prove in Game 5.

3-2 Full Count

The fans in South Philly have seen their last home game of the season, and for the City of Brotherly Love, it was one to remember.

There will be a Game 6, as the Fightin' Phils fought off elimination on Monday night...defeating the Yankees 8-6. Cliff Lee took to the mound pitching well enough for the win along with an early 3-run home run by Chase Utley in the 1st, and another shot in the 7th for a total of 5HR's in the World Series.

The series gets a little more interesting as the questions have begun to swirl around who will pitch for both teams if this goes to a 7th and final game. Not too get ahead of myself or the World Series for that matter, but as the venue heads back up the interstate, all the pressure falls on the Yankees to win their 27th title in the new Yankee Stadium.

At this point of the season, the game is simple, as the team with the best pitchers on the mound, win ball games.

I spoke with Chase afterward...

AG: You have a very low-key disposition, but can you talk about how you've been able to lead by example throughout this World Series for your team?

Utley: I don't think we really need to be pointed in the right direction. We all have the same mindset, and we all play the game the right way in my belief. You know, you go out there and you play hard. You give it everything you can, and play that game like it's the last.

Photo: Nick Laham/Getty Images

Tale of two Cities

Success

Can and AG. in DC

Teacher and student

"Friends, how many of us have them...friends, before we go any further, let's be friends..."

Whodini - Friends

The Philadelphia Phillies are back in the World Series for the first time since 1993. The City of Philadelphia is drunk with excitement, as the Phillies are on the verge of bringing a major championship to this famished blue-collar town.

Sunday, October 19, 2008. Today is the first day of the week, and within this week the Phillies will play 3 World Series games, and the landscape of this city can change forever with the swings of a bat, and the pitch of a baseball. I was hopeful that the rest of the week can be as good as Sunday. I was not only on BET in the morning, talking sports on Bring that week back...but I was also mentioned in the Philadelphia Inquirer, in a column written by Annette John-Hall, Black and White are red all over.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008. Game 1. I'd been driving around a lot today and from North Philly to West, everyone is wearing Phillies, jackets, and caps. Even the SEPTA buses have a GO PHILLIES message on the route display sign, which is something I have never seen this late in October. Around 4:30pm, I received a call from the hospital saying that my grandmother had been addmitted for shortness of breath. That was a damper on what had turned out to be a good day leading up to the first game of the World Series.

Grandmom, got the attention she needed and was held over night. I later went to Modell's and purchased a Phillies World Series cap. On my drive home, I had an idea to text a good friend and Tampa native, Candice Dupree about her thoughts and feelings on the national pastime.

6:02:19 PM. I text Candice.

"Hey Can. Hope you are well. I wanted to ask you what your thoughts are on Philly playing Tampa in the World Series? Do you have a team that you are cheering 4?"

9:28:22 PM. Candice writes back.

"Now u should already know that I don't get down with baseball like that."

9:29:23 PM. I retort.

"I do know that, but its both of your cities in the World Series. Hometown and college town. Your thoughts?"

9:45:54 PM. Candice says:

"Well the fact that Tampa has a bunch of youngsters and no "famous" players says a lot abt their team. I know absolutely nothing abt the Phillies."

9:46:39 PM. I reply:

"Okay Can, that's a great answer. Thank you."

The Phillies won 3-2 behind the great pitching of Cole Hamels, Brad Lidge, and 2-run homer by Chase Utley.

The Rays however won Game 2 on Thursday night, 4-2 as Ryan Howard was able to finally get involved, but it wasn't enough as Big Game James Shields pitched a gem, and BJ Upton played well with 2 hits and 1 RBI, sending the series to Philadelphia knotted up at 1 game each. By the way, Phillies also had 2 errors, and that didn't help either...and last but not least, the home plate umpire called a terrible game, but I digress, I don't want to turn this into my own personal soap box for poor officiating.

Game 3 is set for 8:00 PM, October 25, 2008, in South Philly. This is the real test not only for the Rays, but also for the Phillies.

Playing at home for this town is both the gift and the curse.