Thursday Take-Twos

The Philadelphia Phillies made it look simple when they got the job done against the desperate Dodgers Wednesday night. Los Angeles failed to push the overpowering Phillies to the brink, losing to the defending World Series champions in five games for the second straight season. The Phillies will return to the ultimate baseball stage beginning next week as the repeat NL representatives. The Dodgers couldn’t wrestle out a win to bring the series back home during the historic homerun haven of Citizen’s Bank Park. The Dodgers dropped the deciding contest 10-4 on three long balls by Andre Ethier, James Loney and Orlando Hudson. The trio of solo shots was rendered meaningless by the seven runs Philadelphia plated on four homeruns. Former Dodger, Jayson Werth, went deep twice for the Phillies, and Ryan Howard was awarded series MVP. Los Angeles starter, Vicente Padilla, a late season pickup, ran out of steam Wednesday against Charlie Manuel’s club. Padilla was charged with six runs in three frames before reliever Ramon Troncoso sent the game spiraling out of Dodger control. The distinct differentiation between the dreary Dodgers and the dashing Phillies was the pitching and clutch hitting. The Dodgers were victimized on the mound by Philadelphia hitting throughout the five games. Starters served up towering homeruns and the L.A. bats never really showed up. When it came to crunch time, all the boys from L.A. did was crouch. This won’t be the year Dodger skipper, Joe Torre, gets a crack at another World Series.
The New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels meet for game five in the Bronx tonight. The Bombers are hoping to bring home an AL pennant and chance to play Philadelphia in the Fall Classic. First, the Yankees must get a decent, quality start from their ace, A.J. Burnett. John Lackey opposes Burnett on the hill as the Halos try to find themselves in time to save their superb season. Lackey looks to extend the series on the road and overcome nearly insurmountable odds this post-season. Only 11 of 69 teams in history have come from a 3-1 deficient to win a seven-game series. The Angels have had a lousy time with the Yankees in New York during this series so far. Los Angeles has held the lead three of the 42 innings against the Bombers and stole just two bases in the ALCS. A team known for getting ahead and getting runners on hasn’t lived up to that status. The situational hitting has been specifically scarce, but credit goes to the Yankee starters for much of the slugging and stealing struggles. The players have a sense of urgency to gain a hint of momentum and a mental edge. It will be awfully difficult in a place like Yankee Stadium to recover from this hole.
There are several stories about the Ohio State quarterback, Terrelle Pryor. One of the most enchanting prospects coming out of high school, Pryor was a sought-after and highly touted recruit. The sophomore is under scrutiny for his recent play, especially in last week’s loss to Purdue. After being called out by one of his friends and teammates, Pryor received advice from superstar NBA figurehead, LeBron James. Pryor is a tremendous talent but his high school coach does not believe the Ohio State coaches are utilizing him properly. LeBron is offering counsel to his comrade from Ohio about how to handle the spotlight. The Cavalier was in Columbus for preseason basketball Wednesday night, along with new teammate, Shaquille O’Neal. Shaq and Cleveland fell to the Boston Celtics, but O’Neal was there to pump and pep up Pryor. The tall man told Terrelle to keep his head up and try to get the Buckeyes back on track. Pryor looked pathetic against Purdue in moving the ball last Saturday. Some believe Jim Tressel is restricting his prized quarterback too much. Others argue Pryor is capable of running a pro-style offense but has play with the team he is given. The current Buckeye offense does not fit his abilities, and Pryor is taking a brutal beating for a bad game. As a Buckeye fan, I don’t know what to think. I think Tressel should take most of the blame for how he operates his offense. Pryor is a well-spoken kid with a chip on his shoulder. The prized pupil was pummeled last week but he has brightened up the Horseshoe in most of his other starts as signal-caller. As a fresh-faced freshman passer, Pryor made OSU fans pretty proud. He is still young enough to improve and learn from his mistakes, but the team around him must also vow to invest in some fine-football tuning. It all starts with a strong core. Without that, Pryor can’t expect to become the true leader of the Big 10’s beloved Buckeyes.

Parting Points: Song of the day- “The Way” by Fastball
Read of the day- “Hank Aaron and the homerun that changed America: by Tom Stanton