Tale of the Tape (So Far)

Yeah sure, the World Series is tied at 1 game as the series heads back to Philly. I'm actually quite satisfied because the series has been well played and the games have been exciting so far. As a fan of neither squad, that is honestly all I can hope for...besides the Phillies losing! But one thing has stuck out to me more than any so far:
the Phillies are 1 for 28 with runners in scoring position after two games.

Think about that for a second. Now let's digest it.

-Obviously the Phillies are putting runners on base. This is good.
-Obviously the Phillies are failing to bring these runners home. Not so good.
-On the plus side, the Rays pitchers have magically turned into Houdinis. Seriously, every time they needed a big out in game 2, they got it. However, after years of Albie Lopez, Tanyon Sturtze, Doug Waechter, Hideo Nomo, Travis Harper, and Jorge Sosa; I guess they were due.

Yes folks, this is your classic postseason press job. Seen it before many times by my beloved Mets (in September nonetheless) and I know how painful it can be. If this statistic does not improve, then yes, the Phillies will lose. There is no doubt about this.

So to be quite frank, the Phillies are lucky to have split the first two games with the Rays. If it wasn't for the dynamic pitching of Cole Hamels in game 1, the Phils would probably be down 2-0. But now, with the series tied at one a piece, the Phillies need to turn Matt Garza into Dewon Brazelton and Andy Sonnestine into Victor Zambrano. Pateince fellas, remember, you can't hit a five run homer!