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The Fall Classic is set to get underway on Friday with the Phillies opening on the road to take on the Astros in a best-of-seven series. This year marks 75 years since the first time a World Series was televised and this year each game will be broadcast on the FOX television network.  ESPN will have the radio broadcast and that feed can be streamed by using this link . Game 1 Friday, 8:03pm Eastern....in Houston.  RHP Aaron Nola (11-13, 3.25 ERA) vs. RHP Justin Verlander (18-4, 1.75 ERA).  In 16 road starts during the regular season this year, Nola notched a 5-9 record with a 3.00 ERA.  Nola has struck out 18 and walked three in 17 1/3 innings pitched this postseason.  Earlier this month, Nola tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings at Houston.  In 15 home starts during the regular season, Verlander sported a 10-1 record with a 1.64 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP.  Verlander has a 5.68 ERA and has not recorded a win in seven career World Series starts.  Verlander has...

As the Dodgers and Astros worked their way to the Fall Classic, it became very clear that they were two of the best teams of the last twenty years. These aren’t the 2011 Cardinals or the 2014 Giants – Wild Card teams that got hot at the right time and rode that momentum to a title. These are complete teams set up for long-term success, and much of the league, Phillies included, have a long way to go to catch them. To put it in perspective, the Astros, who pair a dominant starting rotation led by Justin Verlander and Dallas Keuchel with a historically good offense  that led the league in runs, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, are 5/4 underdogs against LA, according to mytopsportsbooks.com. ( Click here for odds and essays on the 2017 World Series .) That’s just how good the 104-win Dodgers are. Heading into 2018, the hope from the Phillies front-office likely isn’t a World Series appearance, or even a playoff berth next year. T...

On the 45th edition of the PhoulBallz Podcast, Tug and Jay are joined by former Phillies infielder Desi Relaford , who talks about his time in the minors, being part of a forgettable time in Phils history, John Vukovich being a hard guy to play for, hip hop music, his ventures away from the baseball diamond and much more.  The guys also talk about the World Series, Shane Victorino , Terry Mulholland as well as other topics. Use the media player below to stream the full episode, or simply download it by clicking HERE . You can also check out previous episodes and subscribe on iTunes .

George Chalmers was a pitcher with the Phillies from 1910-1916. Chalmers, born in Scotland, joined the Phillies late in 1910 after winning 25 games for Scranton. He made three starts in the last month of the season, including a 6-1 win over the Giants to earn his first Major League victory. In 1911, Chalmers shut out Brooklyn in his first start. His season stayed solid through much of the summer, when he blanked the Cardinals 2-0 and then shut down the Giants three weeks later by a score of 2-0 also. Things cooled down for Chalmers after that as he won only 2 more starts, finishing the season with a 13-10 record. His season ERA was 3.11. One big plus for Chalmers was that he threw over 200 innings, but he walked as many as he struck out. This was a negative aspect of his game that would stick with him throughout his career. After making 22 starts in 1911, Chalmers would make just 23 starts over the following 3 seasons combined. The dramatic drop in innings led to an increase in losses ...

In the annual Best Phillies YouTube Videos of the Year Countdown that we do every Hanukkah, we've reached this year's #2 video...which is actually a pair of clips honoring the Phillies' second straight World Series berth. The first of two here is the post game celebration from the TBS television broadcast of game 5 of the National League Championship Series, when the Phillies clinched a return to the World Series. Obviously, the game is more important than this content but, considering we always run into the issue of MLB being stingy with their game footage, we use the post game celebration instead. There are great moments here, including speeches by team president David Montgomery and series MVP Ryan Howard as well as a perfect moment as Philly phaithful boo broadcaster Ernie Johnson. As an extension to that video, we have the Ron Browz/Jim Jones "Pop Champagne" music video remix featuring Chan Hooooo Park celebrating the NLCS win. It was a tremendous run goin...

The Phillies came up short in the World Series this time around. However, players and phans alike should all still feel as though 2009 was a hugely succesful year. I got the hate out of the way with my previous post , so, looking back, here are my top '09 reasons that Phillies phans should be pleased with the season that ended 2 wins shy of a World Series repeat... '09- The Phillies won the National League pennant. That is still a big deal. 8- Brad Lidge and Cole Hamels will bounce back. (Right? Won't they...?!) 7- Ruben Amaro Jr. knows what he is doing. Raul Ibanez, Cliff Lee and still having Michael Taylor, Kyle Drabek and Dom Brown intact in the Phillies' system are certainly enough proof. 6- Ryan Howard developed himself into a better player. Showing up in Clearwater, the Phillies' spring training facility, slimmer, to work on his defense and focus on being a better hitter, early this year was where it all started. Howard's defense was visably improved in 20...

Remember when Phillies phans would have been fully satisfied with a run like this? Remember how the Phillies franchise used to be...with no post season appearances for periods that seemed like lifetimes? Remember that 14 year playoff drought? In 2007, Phillies phaithful were just happy to get into October and, "So what?", when they got swept by the Rockies. That state of mind doesn't exist any longer. After a 2008 run where the Phillies just couldn't be stopped, once they got hot in September, and the team brought home a World Championship, no Philadelphia baseball lover is pleased with anything short of being number 1! But, coming in second isn't that bad. The Phillies were runners up to a cheating performance enhancing drug user (Alex Rodriguez), that other performance enhancing drug user (Andy Pettitte), that "legend" who was shown on camera this postseason making sure the umpire wasn't looking when he wanted to add spit to the baseball he was ab...

Trying to extend the World Series to a 7th game for the first time since the 2001 postseason, when the Yankees lost to the Diamondbacks, the Phillies head to New York. The Yankees lead the series 3-2 and still stand just 27 outs from their 27th World Series Championship. The pitching match up pits two pitching greats, as Andy Pettitte and Pedro Martinez look to add to their legendary resumes. Read ahead for pitching match ups and other details from this game. Wednesday, 7:57pm. Pedro Martinez (0-1, 2.08 ERA in postseason) vs. Andy Pettitte (3-0, 3.24 ERA in postseason). On the road this season, Pedro was 3-1 in 4 starts with a 5.66 ERA. Martinez is 11-11 with a 3.20 ERA in 32 career starts against the Yankees. In his lone home start this postseason, Pettitte allowed 1 run over 6 1/3 innings to Anaheim. During the regular season, Pettitte was 6-4 with a 4.59 ERA in 16 road starts. Ryan Howard tied the all time record of 12 strikeouts in a single World Series, matching the record by Wil...

The Phillies bounced back in the World Series to force a return to the Bronx with an 8-6 victory at Citizens Bank Park on Monday night. Cliff Lee started the game and held the Yankees to just 2 runs through 7 innings, before running into some problems in the eight and being charged with 3 more runs. Lee's final line was 7 innings, 3 walks, 3 strike outs, 5 earned runs. Those numbers are misleading, as Lee really ran the show for the defending World Champions, and truly settled in after giving up a run on an Alex Rodriguez double in the first inning. Chase Utley was the offensive star for the Phillies. Utley blasted two homeruns, bringing his series total to a World Series record tying 5, and drove in 4 runs. Chase pounded the first homer off AJ Burnett in the first inning with 2 runners on, and the Phillies had a 3-1 lead after just 8 pitches in the bottom of the first inning. The second homer was a solo shot that came off of Phil Coke in the 7th inning. Utley is batting .333 in th...

It wasn't a save situation, but it was definitely the spot in the game where the home teams uses its closer, because at that stage of the game, the home team can't have a lead without the game ending, so there's no longer a chance for a save situation. Tie score, top of the ninth inning, the Phillies used their guy who locked it down for them all of last year...the same guy who has really struggled this season. Brad Lidge entered the game in the ninth inning and quickly retired the first two batters he faced, with the game tied 4-4. Up came Johnny Damon, who battled and drew pitch after pitch, before working a 2 out single. With Mark Teixeira batting, the Phillies shifted their infield toward the right side. Damon stole second, and third baseman Pedro Feliz fielded the throw from catcher Carlos Ruiz at second base. An alert Damon noticed that no Phillie was covering the third base bag that Feliz abandoned when he shifted, so Damon quickly broke for third, stealing TWO bases...

Jack Sanford was a pitcher with the Phillies from 1956-1958. After debuting in 1956, appearing in 3 games, Sanford spent the full 1957 season as a member of the Phillies' starting rotation. That season, he won 19 games and was named National League Rookie of the Year. Sanford matured late, as he spent nearly 10 years in the minor leagues before he made the majors at the age of 27. In his ROY campaign season, Sanford was strong...striking out 10 batters in back to back victories over the Cubs and Pirates in May. The next month, Sanford shut out the Dodgers on 2 hits, and followed that up with a 1-0 win against the Cubs in which he allowed only 3 hits and struck out 13. On July 11th, he took a perfect game into the 8th inning against the Cubs before he gave up a hit, eventually winning 3-1. Sanford's early season success got him named to the NL all star team and by late July, his record was 13-3. Sanford finished the 1957 season with a record of 19-8, an ERA of 3.08 and his 188 s...

Just like last year, the World Series arrives in Philadelphia tied 1-1. Wet weather threatens the start time of game 3. Rain is expected from 4pm Saturday throughout the evening. Game 3 was delayed by weather last year also. Read ahead for reviews of the upcoing pitching match ups and other key details... Saturday, 7:57pm. Andy Pettitte (14-8, 4.16 ERA in regular season) vs. Cole Hamels (10-11, 4.32 ERA in regular season). Pettitte has 16 career postseason wins. Pettitte is 4-2 with a 3.89 ERA over his last 8 starts. In 7 career games against the Phillies, Pettitte is 2-2 with a 3.67 ERA. On the road this year, Pettitte was 8-4 with a 3.71 ERA and a .230 batting avg. against. Jayson Werth, Matt Stairs, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard are a combined 3-for-38 (.079 avg.) against Pettitte in their careers, with just 2 RBI. Colbert is 3-3 with a 5.09 ERA over his last 8 starts. Hamels at home this season was 7-5 with a 3.76 ERA in 17 starts. Derek Jeter, Melky Cabrera and Johnny Damon are a c...

Reed Tucker plays video games with 50 Cent and is a top notch human If you're unfamiliar with the verbal stylings of Reed Tucker of the New York Post, you should take a moment to familiarize yourself with this truly grand chap. The wondrous wordsmith coined the term "City of Brotherly Duh" this week, when he displayed astounding investigative reporting by declaring Philadelphia's fandom as being "feeble". In his article, Tucker sited a full FOUR people and used ALL OF THEM to build his strong case that Philadelphia phans are lesser beings than Yankees fans. The first phan that Tucker spoke of was reality dad Jon Gosselin, who is from some non-Philadelphia town called Wyomissing, PA. Gosselin is disliked because of his failed marriage and public persona so he must not be a good Phillies phan. Tucker then wrote of a die hard Phillies phan, that he encountered, who wore a Yankees jersey because he liked the design of it. Then there's the patron of Jim'...

The story of the night, leading into game 2, was certainly Pedro Martinez facing his long time enemies, the Yankees. Much was made of Martinez's history against New York. Pedro was excited for the big stage, saying this is why he chose to sign with Philadelphia...so he could pitch in the World Series. Martinez was on point in game 2 using a slower, crafty approach to keep the Yankees' lumber in check. Martinez was strong, despite not lighting up any speed guns. His fastballs usually hung around the mid-80's, but who needs velocity, when you've got MARVELocity, like Pedro has? The only damage the Yankees did for the first five innings was a solo homerun by Mark Teixeira in the 4th inning, which tied the game. Phillie Matt Stairs had driven home Raul Ibanez in the 2nd inning to give Philadelphia the lead. With 2 outs in the 6th inning, Pedro allowed the Yankees to take the lead in game 2 when Hideki Matsui hit a homerun to right field. Matsui drove a low pitch out of the...

It's how they get down. The Phillies won game 1 of another series. Between the 2008 & 2009 postseasons, the Phillies have not had to play catch up in any of the series they've played. They've won the first game of every series, none of the series have gone more than 5 games, and they've won each of the series. The duo of Ut-Lee was really all Philadelphia needed to secure a victory over the Yankees, as Chase Utley and Cliff Lee starred for the Phillies. Utley smashed two homers off of Yankee starter CC Sabathia. Utley's first homer of the gave scored the Phillies' first 3rd inning run of the '09 post season. His second homer made history. Utley become just the second lefty hitter, all time, to hit two homers off a lefty pitcher in a World Series game. That other hitter was Babe Ruth in 1928. Lee shut down New York, allowing only 1 unearned run while tossing a complete game. Lee's mixture of pitches dazzled the New York hitters as he struck out 10. Le...

Stop ice grillin' the Phillies players, bat boy. I am watching YOU. I don't know what is on your mind, bat boy, but don't even think about doing something slick. You might wear the Phillies' uniform, but it is clear that you are a Yankees fan. It's all over your pale little "I wanna grow up to be like the Robert De Niro character in The Fan " face. The World Champs should be cautious around this kid. He could be dangerous. ------------------------------------------- Follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter HERE !

Finally, the World Series has come back to New York City! The Phillies are in New York to defend their World Championship against a new challenger, the Yankees. Read on for pitching match ups and other key notes from this series. Wednesday, 7:57pm. Cliff Lee (7-4, 3.39 in the National League this regular season) vs. CC Sabathia (19-8, 3.37 ERA in regular season). Lee is 2-0 with a 0.74 ERA in 3 starts this post season. In 2 starts against the Yankees this year, Lee is 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA in 12 innings pitched. Lee is 3-2 with a 4.94 ERA in 5 career starts in New York. Derek Jeter is 11-for-27 (.407 avg) with 3 doubles against Lee in his career. Sabathia is 3-0 with a 1.19 ERA in 3 post season starts this year. Last year, in the division series, Sabathia lasted just 3 2/3 innings, giving up 5 earned runs to the Phillies while with the Brewers, including a grand slam to Shane Victorino. In Yankee Stadium this year, including the post season, Sabathia is 9-2 with a 2.93 ERA. Thursday, 7:...

The World Series is almost here. Check out this Phillies montage I created. As if you weren't jazzed up enough already, here's something else to get you feelin' it and ready to play ball! ----------------------------- Follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter HERE !

The story line that I was rooting for, Team Nick Adenhart vs. Team Harry Kalas in the World Series, didn't come to pass. The story line that MLB wanted, Joe Torre vs. his former employer in the World Series, also didn't happen. However, there are still some solid story lines that will appeal to many in this year's Fall Classic. Liberty Series: The Statue vs. The Bell...The Turnpike Series...Broad St. vs. Broadway... whatever you choose to call it, there's sure to be some aspect to interest baseball fans from coast to coast. There is the ex-NDN factor, as the last two American League Cy Young Award winners and Cleveland castoffs, Cliff Lee and CC Sabathia, go head to head in game 1. Each pitcher is looking better each time out. Lee is 2-0 in 3 post season starts with a 0.74 ERA and 20 K's in 24 1/3 innings. Sabathia is 3-0 with a 1.19 ERA in 3 games this post season with 20 K's in 22 2/3 innings. There is Pedro Martinez likely getting a shot at starting a game in...

Ladies and gentlemen, I happily introduce you to rapper NeeKo! He's on YouTube and it seems that this remake of Jay Z's Empire State of Mind is about to blow up. It's an instant classic for Philadelphia! NeeKo's lyrics in this track are dynamic...metaphors and punchlines that are chuckle inducing with assertions that spark pride. I thought this song was necessary last week when I heard post game locker room interviews with Phillies players, while the original Jay Z homage to NYC played in the back ground. Philadelphia, here is your anthem. With the Phillies continuing to make their run at a championship repeat, city and regional pride is growing, so pass this track on to anyone who will enjoy it. They call him NeeKo. This is for my people! Ill state of mind everywhere that we go! ------------------------- Follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter HERE !