A wild pitch, an errant throw from the catcher and Ruiz’s base-loaded
trickler with no outs in the 9th inning helped the Phils win a wacky
game.

The nubber was just the Phils’ second hit in 33 chances with runners
in scoring position for this Series. Otherwise the Phils got their
runs by resorting to their usual long ball attack, 3 HRs..(2 were SOLO)
in last night’s game.

As so often happens in the postseason, the unexpected performance of
a player who becomes an unsung hero for a team and potential Series` MVP at the moment. Ruiz is now 4-for-8 with two doubles, a HR, three RBIs and four walks against Tampa Bay. That’s a big reason why the Phillies are up two games to one after Saturday night’s 5-4 victory.

Oh, another hero, IMO is the ageless wonder, Jamie Moyer who
reaffirmed my faith and confidence in him with his “small masterpiece”.
A dream came true for him in his first World Series.

Lastly, I’m tired and bored with all the whining that goes on with
missed calls by the umps. That’s for sore losers. Unless it was the
last play of the game, it’s NOT why a team loses a game. Those are
judgment calls and they’re not going to get it right all the time. It
Happens! Get over it. Move on. Ok, so Crawford, leading off the 8th
inning, should have been called out (instant replay shows by a half a
step) and gets on base. If you looked closely at the replay, you will
note that umpire, Tom Hallion was in fair territory BEHIND Howard and
SCREENED on the play. One has to take that into consideration before
berating the ump. What follows, Navarro gets a double; groundouts
drove in Crawford and Navarro. Another example of small ball. Before
Game 2, it had been more than 80 years since a team had drove in a
pair of runs in the same World Series inning with groundball outs.
The Rays have done it in consecutive games. So what that tells me is
the Rays are very good at being opportunistic with “small ball” and are
superior to the Phils in executing with RISP. The Rays can hurt you
in so many ways with pitching, power, defense, aggression and SPEED
(The Rays had four more stolen bases on Saturday, giving them 22 for
the postseason and breaking the mark of 20 held by the 1975 Reds and
1992 Braves.) Note B.J. Upton ‘s aggressive base stealing in the 8th
inning; two bases (for total of 3 in game) and scampering home on an
errant throw from Ruiz. What aggravated me is the Phillies’ response
when Phillies’ runner, Werth on second base with Howard up in the
bottom of the eighth, got picked off on a SECOND pickoff attempt!
This is the second time Werth has been picked off during the Series.

Yes.. It was a wild and wacky win. As Manual said after the
game, “..it’s better to be lucky sometimes than to be good.”

One more thing, a hat tip to those loyal fans who withstood the
weather elements and stayed to the end in the wee hours of the
morning.