Phightins

Jeff Francoeur.....wow. Must be painful to watch, eh Fish?

Nino Niederreiter has made the Islanders final roster.

Polly out of the lineup today. [expletive].

This is pretty good. Way too much Bill Simmons though.

Yeah it'll be even harder now in a full stadium now that all the Tampa residents remembered that they have a baseball team.

Yes, I can't wait for it. It will be the first one I've seen. I never got around to seeing the Iverson one. Oh, BTW, I still love you Kyle and Waldo.

I agree. Of the 5 in their rotation, Zito is easily the most hittable. It might not even matter though, sounds like Bobby is trying to give them the series. I really don't get the decision to save Hudson for game 3, unless there is something I am missing.

Also, the Giants announced that Barry Zito is not starting in this series. For game 4, they will either go with Madison Bumgarner, or Tim Lincecum on short rest.

It looks that way, yet I am still very nervous for this series. But I am always nervous for the playoffs.

The Braves have their hands tied since they had to use Hudson on Sunday and I guess they don't want to use him on 3 days rest again. I don't understand why he isn't pitching game 2, though. That'd set him up for game 5.

Tomorrow better be good. I am skipping my afternoon class so I can get home in time for this.

I don't understand all the hate for the Reds. Their pitching staff is way better than people are giving them credit for. Volquez missed a lot of time/had a down year, but he is hands down one of the most talented pitchers in the league. As a Phillies fan, the only game I feel very confident about is game 2, just because I have never been an Arroyo fan, and the Phillies generally hit him around. Volquez and Cueto are nasty.

Whoever wins game 1 wins this series, IMO.

The part about the postseason I HATE is the national media presence. I mean, I live and die with my team all year, following every move for all 162 games with all of the local media guys, and then in October the national writers and national broadcasters come in and show their ignorance. Asking the players/managers stupid questions in the press conferences, making ignorant observations on the air, etc. Clearly showing that they know nothing about this team, but we have to deal with them for the biggest games of the year. Kind of feels like a slap in the face. Not sure if anybody else feels that way. But it's better than the alternative, which is sitting at home in October, I guess.

I honestly have no clue what the Reds plan on doing for games 4 and 5. Since this is an 8-day series (the other 3 are 7 days), you can use a 3 man rotation and keep everyone on regular rest, which is what the Phillies are doing. But I am not sure if the Reds want to get Travis Wood a start in game 4 and save Volquez for game 5, or if they will keep everyone on regular rest. We'll see.

Probable Pitching Matchups: Game 1 (10/6, 5:07 PM EST, Citizens Bank Park): Edinson Volquez @ Roy Halladay Game 2 (10/8, 6:07 PM EST, Citizens Bank Park): Bronson Arroyo @ Roy Oswalt Game 3 (10/10, 7:07 PM EST, Great American Ballpark): Cole Hamels @ Johnny Cueto Game 4 (10/11, 5:07 PM EST, Great American Ballpark): Roy Halladay @ Edinson Volquez* Game 5 (10/13, 8:37 PM EST, Citizens Bank Park): Bronson Arroyo @ Roy Oswalt* *= If Necessary Times subject to change All games on TBS

Probable Pitching Matchups: Game 1 (10/6, 8:37 PM EST, Target Field): CC Sabathia @ Francisco Liriano Game 2 (10/7, 6:07 PM EST Target Field): Andy Pettitte @ Carl Pavano Game 3 (10/9, 8:37 PM EST, Yankee Stadium): Brian Duensing @ Phil Hughes Game 4 (10/10, 8:07 PM EST, Yankee Stadium): Nick Blackburn @ CC Sabathia* Game 5 (10/12, 8:37 PM EST, Target Field): Andy Pettitte @ Francisco Liriano* *= If Necessary Times subject to change All games on TBS

It's amazing man. The only times the Sixers sell out are when the Lakers or Celtics come to town (and I am sure the Heat can be added to that list for this year). Not only is the crowd about 80% in favor of the opposing team, but the Sixers team store actually SELLS Kobe/Garnett/Lebron shirts (or whoever is in town that particular night). I find it disgusting, but anything to make an extra buck I guess.

I will have to see this to believe it. I don't usually tend to agree with Bob Cooney anyway.

I'm sure it will be like this everywhere.

I would, but I am already in 2. Which is 2 more than I'd like to be doing, haha. I am generally not a fantasy hockey guy.

Flames sign Brendan Morrison.

Fish... This may sound crazy, but since it looks like the Mets are headed towards a semi-rebuild, if you are the GM, do you consider putting David Wright and Jose Reyes on the trading block? As an outsider, I'd probably make Wright the only untouchable guy on the team and I'd absolutely take offers for Reyes. Thoughts?

Kind of disturbing that so many people are calling the Phillies clear favorites. They have been slight underdogs when they made their runs the past couple years, so I am kind of nervous that the media is jinxing them!

I hear Fedotenko signed.