Here's what they're saying out in the ether about the whole carnsarned mess ...

• Phillies/Rays World Series Game Five Will Forever Be Remembered As Raingate, Unless . . . . Whoever made the decisions clearly wanted the game to be called without the Phillies in the lead. And even if it wasn't a conscious decision, it sure seemed that way to the 45,000 fans at Citizens Bank Park. Why were we left to drown in 40 degree weather when our team was up at the end of regulation play? Why was our ace forced to take the mound again when no human being could possibly control what happened with the ball? Why wasn't the game called when it was clear that the weather was only getting worse? No doubt 45,000 fans thought it was to make sure that there was no possible argument that the World Series should go to the Phillies since they were leading after regulation. By tomorrow morning, the rage in those fans and the rest of the Phillies Nation will be enormous. Bud Selig better not show his face in any public place in Philadelphia in the near future. [The Good Phight]

• That Just Happened. If there was ever a time for Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria to get their first three combined hits, it was tonight. Despite poor umpiring and awful conditions somehow 3-4-5 in the Rays lineup came through for just enough to push this game back for who knows how long. I don't know how B.J. Upton beat both throws while running on mud, but my goodness he is awesome. [DRays Bay]

• This Ugly Series Is Anything But Classic. Basically the Rays dodged a major bullet. Hamels, who is due up in the sixth when the game resumes, is likely done for the season, his magical run washed out by a freak of Mother Nature. And if anybody doesn’t think the Rays are going to A.) win this game when it resumes and B.) possibly take the whole thing, obviously you’ve never seen a Disney sports movie. [Bugs And Cranks]

• Game 5 Postponed At 2-2 Tie. Frankly, this is a black eye for baseball, and especially for Selig, who has once again proved incompetent as leader of this organization. The game should’ve been stopped before the sixth. Throw out the rulebook. This is the World Series. And it’s ridiculous — absolutely freakin’ ridiculous that this whole charade took place so late. [Phillies Nation]

• Play Called Until Tuesday With Score Knotted 2-2. An unfortunate turn of events, but it needed to be called when it was. Fans may not want to hear it, but with a 3-1 series lead, a great pen and 12 outs to play with, the Phils are still in decent shape to wrap it up in five. That's what this team must remember when they step back on the field tomorrow against a Tampa team that was basically given CPR by Mother Nature and Major League Baseball. But of course, the forecast for tomorrow is even worse. [Beer Leaguer]

• Phillies Fans Prematurely Planning Victory Parade. Sure, after a rather convincing win in game 4, the Phillies are on the verge. And while nothing’s over till it’s over (if the Rays hitters decide to show up, they may come back), the world is already bracing for the (seemingly) inevitable. In fact, people are already making plans for the parade: “phillies parade” is the #6 search term being googled in the country. [UmpBump]

Photo: Philadelphia Daily News

• Evan Longoria Shares An Intimate Moment With Jimmy Rollins. While accentuating another umpire blunder in this series (that’s #5 if you’re keeping track at home), the FOX graphics team put a purdy little frame around a close-up of Evan Longoria’s glove knuckle-deep in Jimmy Rollins’ ass. What a gorgeous painting that would make! You could honestly just crop out the rest of the shot, print that sucker out, and nail it to your living room wall. Thanks for that, FOX. [The Fightins']

• Sleeping Giant. You knew it was going to happen some time: Ryan Howard was going to hit. Someone was going to hang a breaking ball, or feed him a fastball, and he was going to pay for it. It took twelve post-season games in 2008 for Howard to finally break out. [Crashburn Alley]

• X = 0 When X = Pena's H + Longoria's H. Disappointing performance all around. Bad defense, awful offense, questionable pitching. We got our asses beat. For the first time this season a Rays victory simply means living one more day, and not advancing, in an elimination game. [DRays Bay]

• Jimmy Rollins Really Got Tagged On That One. How in the name of David Fisher did they get the glove out? And how the hell did Rollins find the strength to stay in the game and get three hits? If that was Gary Sheffield, it's safe to say the promising, engaging young talent that is Evan Longoria would no longer exist today. [The Sports Hernia]

• Report: Amaro To Be Named GM. According to reports, Ruben Amaro Jr. is expected to replace Pat Gillick as Phillies general manager. An announcement may be made within 24 to 48 hours after the end of the World Series. Amaro has been assisting Gillick since he took over as GM in 2006. Boy, what a great time for the Phils to leak this one. It’s pretty evident Phillie fans aren’t too keen on Amaro, so it makes sense to announce this as the champagne for a world championship gets placed in the locker room. [Phillies Nation]

• World Series Game Four Recap: Delayed "Lost A Contact Lens" Edition. Contact lens wearers should sympathize with me. I lost a contact lens before the game last night. Don't even know what happened, but the dreaded blur-and-PLOP! from my left eyeball occurred around 7 PM. And being the dope that I am, I didn't bring a spare pair of glasses, and I live two hours from the ballpark, so I got to watch the game in a smudgy binocular haze from my otherwise excellent seats. Thankfully I still had my dominant eye, and I saw well enough to know that it was a TREMENDOUS game and that I really, really promise never to call Joe Blanton "Cookies" ever again. [The Good Phight]

• Phillies Parade Gear. Jinx, schminx. I’m thinking win tonight, parade tomorrow or Wednesday. Potential parade pitfall: The weather is looking a little iffy tomorrow (chance of showers), and frosty for Wednesday (high of 49). So if you’re doing the parade thing (I’m going to use all my skills and powers to be there) dress for the elements. [Phils-Ville]

• Rays Hammered 10-2. The Rays look like a group of tired old men sitting on the bench as they bat. The smiles and laughter have faded from their faces. That used to be the hallmark of this team. No matter the situation they had a good time together as a group. That attitude made for many comebacks during the course of the season and the playoffs. Unless the Rays can put the past few games behind them and come out aggressive at the dish this World Series will end Monday night. This is not an easy task no matter their attitude as the Rays will face the best the Phillies have to offer in Cole Hamels. [Rays Homeplate]

• Maddon Signs Phillies Hat, Poses For Picture . Jake Cassidy, 12, was looking for autographs with his dad today at the Rays' hotel. Manager Joe Maddon came through the lobby and agreed to sign his Phillies hat, then patiently waited while Cassidy's dad Mark figured out how to take a picture with his iPhone. "He's nice but he's not Charlie Manuel," Jake said. [The Heater]

• Speed Read: Phillies Not Fanatical About Hitting. Deciding to listen to Tim McCarver blather his way through World Series commentary on TV or turning the sound down and listening to the dulcet, confused tones of Joe Morgan on the radio is like choosing between swallowing broken glass or sliding down a razor blade hill. [Sports By Brooks]

• World Series Game Two Recap: Lost On Base. Despite it all, the Phils might have won, or at least might still be playing, were it not for one of the worst umpiring performances I've ever seen in the World Series turned in by home plate ump Kerwin Danley. With one out and a man on first in the second inning, Myers seemed to have Rays outfielder Rocco Baldelli struck out on a full-count check-swing; Danley raised his hand to punch him out. But without his even asking for an appeal, first-base ump Fieldin Culbreth indicated no swing—and Baldelli took his base despite protests from Myers and Charlie Manuel. Jason Bartlett followed with a slow dribbler up the third base line that Pedro Feliz couldn't handle, and suddenly the bases were loaded. Iwamura skied out to shallow center, but Upton followed with a run-scoring single that made it 3-0. Tampa added another run in the fourth inning on a well-executed Bartlett squeeze bunt. [The Good Phight]

• Offense Shames, Frustration Reigns As Phils Fall. Talk all you want about the horrendous umpiring — and it was horrendous — but you cannot … can not leave that many men on base. It’s bad. And it won’t win you any world championships. [Phillies Nation]

• A Suggestion For Kerwin Danley. [Balls, Sticks And Stuff]

• If Game 2 Was A Dream And I Was Sigmund Freud. Imagine this. Two cars drag racing at 1 AM. One of the drivers is drunk and ahead. All of a sudden the drunk driver hits some mailboxes and is side by side by the sober driver, who is surprisingly tall. Some awesome office boss spikes the drunk guy's tires and they're even more side by side than before. Drunk driver pulls ahead a tiny bit in the later parts of the race, but the sober driver uses Nitrous Oxide to even it back up at the end. [DRays Bay]

• Free Pizza In Lakewood ... If Rays Win Series. For a guy who might have to give away a few thousand one-topping pizzas soon, John Keiley keeps a devilish smile on his face. Bold words painted on the window of his Lakewood restaurant, Johnny's New York Pizza and Pasta, explain why. "Get rid of the devil & good things happen . . . Free pizza if Tampa Bay wins the World Series." ... Next year, on April1, Keiley plans to paint a new sign in the window featuring a new offer for free pizzas. "Guys who come in want me to put the Cubs up there next year," Keiley said. "They've been waiting a while to win the World Series." [Sam Adams' Open Mic]

• All Tied Up. Because we didn't get the job done with runners in scoring position, maybe it seems like you're pressing. I know I'm not. I'm sure a lot of guys in here aren't. Heck, I popped out with two guys on and no one out, and swung at the first pitch. I was trying to get a hit. I'm aggressive. I'm always going to be aggressive. It's not about making excuses. We're just not doing it. They scored early by executing. Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria grounded out and two runs scored. We didn't do that. [Shane Victorino's Postseason Blog]

• Police: 41 Ejections, 8 Arrests From Game 1. Michael D. Long, 52, of Wesley Chapel, was arrested on a charge of DUI. Police say he was found passed out behind the wheel of a 2008 Infiniti in the Trop parking lot around 11:08 p.m. — before Game 1 ended. [The Heater]

• World Series Tidbits. You might be wondering, since there was a stolen base in tonight's game, do we now get 2 free crunchy, spicy beef tacos from Taco Bell? The unfortunate answer to that puzzling question is NO. [Rays Renegade]

• Arms Hold Down Rays. To go into the Orangina SunnyThunderDome ... that stupid bubble, that dumb turf, its monster truck rally lighting, those kickball rules, that Little League World Series camera angle, the "ring your bell if you've been a fan for 15 minutes" crowd ... to go there and stop the buzzsaw the way Hamels, Madson and Lidge did. Unbelievably clutch. Nothing was stopping these pitchers tonight, and I loved Utley's snap homer to get it started. Very quietly, Utley is sneaking past Shane Victorino as the Phils' most valuable hitter this post-season. [Beerleaguer]

• Rays Whiff, Phillies Take Game 1. I was wondering how long the anthem by the Backstreet boys was going to take. Rays flat all night, a whole lot of costly mistakes hurt them big time. Kaz had the rough 1st inning but them clamed down. That’s okay, the Rays lost game one of the ALCS and that turned out okay in the end, didn’t it? [Rays Of Light]

• Fans Pay $400 For Fraudulent Tickets . Mike Gary Jr. and his father, Mike Gary Sr. stood outside Gate 4 of Tropicana Field trying to find a way in after paying $400 for a set of fraudulent tickets. "I'm out 400 bucks. I'm crying. I scraped that money to take my dad to the Rays game for the World Series," as a birthday present, said Gary Jr, of Safety Harbor. His father, 69, is from Brooksville. "I didn't know I was going to get burned." [The Heater]

• World Series Game 1 Recap. Double-digit men left on base, baffling managerial decisions, ineptitude from Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard... and they won it anyway. It's the first World Series victory for the franchise since Curt Schilling's five-hit shutout in Game Five of the 1993 Fall Classic, and it couldn't be appropriate that Schilling's ace successor, Cole Hamels, took the win. [The Good Phight]

• Phillies Present Rays With A Lump Of Coles. With three games in the City of Brotherly Love following tomorrow night’s Game 2, you can almost feel the Phanatics counting down the days until their 28-year title drought is broken. To which I say, “not so fast, cheesesteak heads”; remember, the Rays lost the first game of the ALCS, too, and we all know what happened after that. At least I do. [Bugs And Cranks]

• The Morning Tailgate. The calendar reads late October, so that man could only be Fox's Tim McCarver. With the World Series getting underway last night, we got yet another dose of the most uninformative and yet shockingly arrogant analysis that the baseball broadcast world has to offer. [Joe Sports Fan]

• Was It A Balk? In the bottom of the sixth inning, Carlos Pena hit a grounder to Ryan Howard, who is not known for his great defense. As expected, he had some trouble fielding it and Pena reached base safely. As Hamels was about to deliver his first pitch to the next hitter, Evan Longoria, Pena broke for second base. Hamels, seeing Pena break for second perhaps a moment too soon, threw towards first base, and Howard threw to second base where shortstop Jimmy Rollins applied the tag in time for the out. As soon as Hamels threw over, the entire Rays bench screamed “Balk!” but that alone isn’t enough to hand out a verdict. They’re biased, of course. But my initial reaction was that it was a balk, and the replays seem to agree, though the balk rule is so unclear that we’ll never really know. [Crashburn Alley]

• Feel It Again. And howzabout a little love for Terry Francona. I've happily lobbed hot coals at the guy's nuts for four seasons now, but I appreciate everything he's done to steer the ship and stick to the game plan. He's 8-0 in managing World Series games, has very likely seen DeMarlo Hale without pants and lived to tell about it, and will be leading your American League All-Stars in 2008 at Yankee Stadium. At this point, if news got out that he was secretly banging Jessica Biel would you be surprised? 'Cause I wouldn't. [Surviving Grady]

• Anticipation Nation. I cannot tell a lie—my best friend K and I joined the mass exodus from Gillette Stadium in the fourth quarter this evening. With the score 52-0 for the home team, a crowd that had been crying "We got a baseball game to catch!" since the first half was dropping the Pats like a bad habit. [Cursed To First]

• The End Of Something Special. The hurt is deep now, but it will in no way cheapen what this team accomplished. And the accomplishments, more than the final failure, is what will endure in our minds. It can never compare to winning the ultimate prize, but this season is ours to cherish nonetheless. Because of how long they lasted into the postseason, the Rockies will now have their shortest offseason ever. And yet, it feels like the longest winter of my life has now begun. [Up In The Rockies]

• I Love That Dirty Watah, At Least For 154 Games. I smell like World Series MVP cigar (A.K.A. a Cuban) and cheap champagne, life can't be much better. The Boston Red Sox are the 2007 World Series Champions. They did it with great pitching, timely hitting, and as much as I hate to admit it, perfect managing. [Dirty Watah]

• Goodnight Season. How odd it is to love a baseball team. How strange and tender I feel now... just tired, sad, and relieved, slightly hollowed out, in undeniable pain, in relief to have it end, despair of the offseason and hope for next year. Strangely enough, I love the Rockies more than ever, my devotion to them becomes fierce, my love completely untested and part of me forever. Defeat does not break me. The gloating might bother me (as I may have mentioned, the most annoying person on my campus is a Red Sox fan and I do not think that is by accident). [Sparks Of Dementia]

• An Open Letter To All Sports Journalists. Dear sports media world, I have never dated Josh Beckett nor was he ever an "ex-flame". Please fact check. You are journalists, not bloggers. Thank you, Alyssa Milano. [Touch 'Em All]

• Sweep!. FOX tried to ruin it for Mike, he wins the MVP, the Sox Sweep the World Series and all they can talk about is Arod not signing with the Yankees. Do we care? Not me. We've got Mike and hopefully we will sign him today. Jerry Remy was a little upset with the Fox Commentators too, he went on a bit of a rant about them after the game. Thanks Jerry, you just said all the things we wanted to! [Red Sox Hen]

• Goat of the Day: Josh Fogg. Enter tonight. Faced with the biggest start of his career, Fogg was tracked with keeping the Red Sox mighty lineup in check in the thin air of Coors Field on a cold night. It wouldn't be an enviable task for anyone. Still, Fogg's job was to keep the game close and he gave up six runs in the third inning tonight. That's not keeping things close and that's a recipe for disaster in Game 3 of the World Series when you're facing an 0-2 deficit. [FanHouse]

• Not Getting Ahead of Ourselves. We were up big early then they come back hard, but that showed the resiliency of this team. Those guys come back and score some runs, but we came back with some of our own and showed that we'd do what we needed to do. We did a good job tonight of playing the game the right way. [Yoooooouuuuuukkkkkkk]

• Who Died and Made You Jacoby Ellsbury? For the second time in four seasons, we're on the precipice. And while there's a part of me that would love to see this come back to Boston, to see the final out recorded on that rich Fenway green, I know that the Gods of Baseball (a division of Gammons, Inc.) have Jon Lester starting tonight's game for a reason. Because there's no better way to see the season end than with a Lester win in the deciding game of the World Series. [Surviving Grady]

• I Hate Life. That is all. If these media morons are right, I will flip a wig. I hate it when World Series losses coincide with all the rest of my down feelings. I feel like total shit right now, basically. [Sparks Of Dementia

• That's It I'm Moving To Canada. Via reader WC from Canada comes the most depressing news of the day. They have a better Health Care system than us, and now they've rid themselves of Joe Buck. Seriously.....The International feed uses ESPN's Dave O'Brien and Rick Sutcliffe. I would take them over Tim and Joe in a heartbeat. Plus there's the added bonus that Rick Sutcliffe could do the broadcast hammered. Dammit Canada! As if you couldn't hate those Canucks even more. They've bested us once again. [Awful Announcing]

• Rox Fall 2-1 As Bats Continue To Slumber. The return home should be just what the doctor ordered for the bats. The Rockies hitters really are better than this. If they don't start showing it, it won't matter how deep Rockies starters go, or how well the bullpen pitches (Matt Herges and Brian Fuentes were splendid tonight). This series rests on the shoulders of Colorado's big boppers, and aside from Holliday's 4-for-4, they went AWOL tonight. [Up In The Rockies]

• I'm So Full Of Love Right Now. ... I even kinda like Tim McCarver. [Away Team]

• World Series Game 2. To all Rockies fans, please watch the denigrating names, calling opposing pitchers d——-bags or similar things will get your comments deleted. Second, to all lurking Red Sox fans, be careful to respect this site as a Rockies fan gathering place, and leave your cheering for the Sox on other sites. My fuse is much shorter tonight. Thank you. Go Rockies! [Purple Row]

• The Real World Series Breakdown. 6. Beer. In the Boston area, you have Sam Adams. Nuff said. What's out in Denver? Coors? Do you know how Coors is made? I have a good guess. When people recycle their old Sam Adams bottles, the bottles are taken to a special processing plant and washed out, using fresh water. The bottle-wash, which at this point is a mixture of fresh water and the bottom dregs of beer, are then placed in can and bottles marked "Coors". Sorry, but Coors is, like the old joke goes, like making love in a canoe (e-mail me for further clarification). Advantage: Boston [Up On The Monster]

• World Series Game II Story: Red Sox, Delicious. Oh hell yeah. Taco Bell knows what it is doing. Namely, creating a folk-hero out of Jacoby Ellsbury. Everyone in America gets for free what some wouldn't even consider paying for. Outstanding. Me? I let someone borrow my ID so they could get two. Did it work? Also, baseball was played. Schilling was solid, Oki and Paps were phenomenal at the end. [Over The Monster]

• This Could Be The Last Time. He arrived in a flurry of Dunkin' Donuts and truck commercials, and tonight, as we try to take another step toward our second World Series championship in his four seasons with us, Curt Schilling may be pitching his last game for the Boston Red Sox. It'd be easy to get all melancholy about it, but would Curt want that? Screw that noise. There's no crying in baseball. And certainly no crying when we've got the hard-ass, straight-outta-Medfield, Playoff-time Superman versus 23 year-old rookie Ubaldo Jimenez. [Surviving Grady]

• I Ain't Got My Taco. Got one. Beckett was Beckett, and that was really the key. But the runs were fun. Really fun. Gotta come right back at 'em tomorrow. The most exciting part of the game was when Coco explained the taco giveaway to Royce Clayton, who promptly came up with the theory of going to every Taco Bell in the world and act like you hadn't gotten your taco yet. I'm thinking about the Colorado games, and the three options we have. I figure we do one in each game. Youk sits, and Ellsbury bats leadoff with Dustin second. Lowell sits, with Ellsbury leadoff, Dustin second, and Youk fifth. Ortiz sits, with Ellsbury first, Dustin second, Lowell fourth, Youk fifth. And each time, you've got an awesome bat off the bench. [A Red Sox Fan From Pinstripe Territory]

• Sox Light Up Rox In First Series Game. As much as we'd rather not have admitted it, the eight-day layoff clearly had an effect on the sharpness of Colorado's hitters and pitchers alike. The Rockies lineup as a whole was behind Beckett's heat all night, and every pitch Francis and company threw to Red Sox hitters lacked life and precision. I had figured the Rox would have some rust, but this wasn't rust. This was a sunken cruise liner after a week at the bottom of the ocean. [Up In The Rockies]

• Open Letter To The MLB Execs Who Green-Lighted A Wednesday Night Game One. Game one? On a Wednesday night? Dudes, come on. That's great for hobos and inmates, but what about the working man? The guy who pays your bills? By putting game one on a normal business day, you're cutting into my pre-game preparations. See that bunting on the field and that World Series logo on the Fenway grass? That's the unwritten code for "No work shall be done today, people. Stay home and get yourselves psyched up for baseball." Because in another week, it's all gone, Pete Tong. And it's a long, cold winter before it comes back. Whoever came up with this idea needs a beating, and six hours in a locked sauna with Tim McCarver. And also, a beating. [Surviving Grady]

• Rockies Momentum Hits A Big, Green Wall. Ouch. Maybe I should have pulled for Cleveland a little harder. This was every bit as ugly and one-sided as the 13-1 score would indicate. It was so bad, it made the Cleveland Indians' Game Seven effort look praise worthy. That's bad. [Bugs And Cranks]

• Time To Break Out The Purple Uniforms. Well, it's the World Series. It takes four wins to take the title. And last time I checked Game 1 was just one game — regardless of the score. So let's look at the bright side. The last time the Rockies came into Fenway Park, they lost the first game and then, over the course of the next two days, switched to their purple uniforms and pounded the Red Sox 19-3 to win the series. So, I wouldn't be surprised at all to see the Rockies show up wearing purple on Thursday. In fact, I endorse it. Start Wearing Purple! [On The Rox]

• Ouch. I disdain saying more, except: It has to get better from here. 0-1. Pah. Nothing. We'll go back to Coors 1-1 and it'll be okay. That said, tonight felt like being sodomized with a broken bat and a fistful of tacks. I make no apologies for that mental image. Night all. [Sparks Of Dementia]

• Nate Robertson's Gum Time. We just couldn't hold onto it. Just a couple situations. Grandy slips out there. It's been raining here pretty much for a day and a half straight. Those things happen. Every little thing, it's magnified and it's a huge moment, and it can turn into a huge moment, too. But it can all turn around tomorrow, too. Momentum can totally shift. We know that. I've seen it. And it's certainly happened before in the postseason, so we'll see what happens.

• Mack Avenue Tigers. I'd like to say there's some reason to be optimistic. But really, there's not. I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong. I hope I am. I just don't see any reason to believe this is going to be a repeat of 1968 with three straight victories. Sure, anything is possible. But probable? No.

• Go Crazy Folks!. Baseball sure has a sense of irony, doesn't it? Some of you may remember Game 7 of the '68 series, when Bob Gibson and Lolich faced off in a pitcher's duel of a game. With 2 outs in the 7th, the scored was tied 0-0, and Norm Cash and Willie Horton are on base, both reaching on singles. Gibby gets a fly ball off the bat of Jim Northrup in what should've ended the inning. Curt Flood, the golden standard for center fielders in his day, misjudged the ball and it ended up being a base clearing triple. Now here we are, 38 years later, and there's another Curt in the center, this time Granderson who happens to be a fine center fielder himself with 6.4 defensive win shares (tops in the AL for outfielders). Detroit's up 3-2, bottom of the 7th again. David Eckstein leads it off with a fly ball to center, and Granderson slips and it ends up a double.

• Cardinals Diaspora. Oh baby...one game away. Let's see it on the big board. Maybe its the dense layer of fog from the damp fall day gathering in my head (or, uh, the fog from something else), but I'm having a hard time collecting thoughts on the game. With a nod to the ice, here are my three stars of the game. The Memphis Middle, Kinney and Johnson; Wainwright — La Russa tasked him with getting five outs, six batters later, he had the win; David Eckstein — He gave the Cards their first run of the night with an RBI double, and he gave the Cards their last, winning run of the night on his third double.

• The Hardball Times. For you history buffs, the outcome of the first four games in this series exactly matches the 1968 World Series, when the Tigers and Cardinals faced off. The Tigers went on to win three straight to win it all that year.

NOTE: Planet Haystack contends that MLB's playoff system "is ridiculously flawed." The solution? Pick the national champion like they do in college football.

• Viva El Birdos. No game tonight. I assume this means no travel day on Friday. I can't see Leyland wanting to move up Verlander, and I really can't see Tony wanting to go with anyone but Suppan. It's still kinda amazing to me to say that this team is up in the World Series. A win tonight means that they have a chance to try and win the whole thing at home, in perhaps the most fashionable way possible of bringing in a new ballpark.

• The Detroit Tigers Weblog. It's a washout. They'll try and do this again tomorrow night around 8:30. Don't know if this will hold or not, but as I write this, MLB.com lists Justin Verlander as the starter and TBA for the Cardinals. I hope it's a goof. Skipping Bonderman would be, ummm, there's not even words.

• The FYC. Every day I go into work, I drive by my company's skywalk over I-44 which has glowing letters reading "GO CARDS." And almost everyday of the playoffs, we have been allowed to wear Cardinals jerseys and tees into work. Hell, even The Lady Friends company, which abides by a strict business-business dress code, is letting their employees wear Cards stuff this week. It's as if the entire city of St. Louis is one giant High School and the World Series is cause for one giant pep-rally. I love this fucking town.

• The Daily Fungo. You are probably thinking that tonight's rainout is the worst thing for a team looking for its collective hitting stroke. Not me. I think it's the perfect time. Just call it a hunch. When the Tigers were rained out in Game 2 of the ALDS in New York, I said it could be exactly what the team needed to clear their heads of the Game 1 drubbing. I was right. Or, at the very least, it worked out. P.S. Wondering how Jeremy Bonderman fared against St. Louis this year? Not bad: 0-0, 1.29 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 0 CG, 7.0 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 SO. The Tigers ended up winning that June 25 game 4-1.

• Go Crazy Folks. You wonder how it felt for the St. Louis native Zach Miner to be pitching in the World Series, at Busch of all places and he gets 2 bad swings from Albert Pujols? Probably pretty good, at least before he drilled the big guy. Albert didn't seem amused. 2 wins in the Series feels a lot better then 0 wins. These Tigers can be had, but it ain't gonna be easy going up against Jeremy Bonderman tomorrow.

• Motown Sports Revival. I don't know how the World Series is going to end. The Tigers could easily get wins from Jeremy Bonderman in game four and Kenny Rogers in game six to force a game seven. What I do know is that Jim Leyland "dropped the ball" big-time by limiting Bonderman to one start in the series.

• Bellyitcher. Ever wonder what the big-wigs do the night before the World Series? I hadn't really either, until I got the opportunity to go to the 2006 World Series Gala at the City Museum last night. Free food and booze? I'm there! We arrived after 9:00, so most of the front office types were long gone, but I did hear that I just missed a very trashed Todd Jones. And I saw Dave Campbell and The Strokes. I had hoped that they would be doing the national anthem or God Bless America, but no such luck. I guess they just came for the Bud Light.

• Viva El Birdos. sweet. carpenter couldn't have looked better; the curve was back, and it was unhittable. the bats still aren't there — only 2 rbis tonight (luv ya, edmonds) — but it was good to see eckstein get a coupla hits. preston wilson got on base 3 times, rolen continues to swing it well. . . . they beat a left-handed pitcher. and they had to have that game. excellent win. they're halfway home.

• The Detroit Tigers Weblog. It's not so much the loss that is troubling. I actually expected Detroit to lose this game just based on the pitching match-up. It's that once again they looked so incredibly bad in losing.

• The Detroit Tigers Weblog. Now there will be quite a bit made of the gunk on Rogers hand. He had it there in the other playoff games as well. I don't know what to make of it, and when I say that I don't know what Rogers gains from it. He certainly didn't struggle after it was removed. He also didn't seem to be trying to hide it. But if the Caridnals had a chance to get Rogers out of the game, and perhaps the series, I'm not sure why they wouldn't have tried to do it.

• Viva El Birdos. Going home 1-1 with Carp on the mound Tuesday, I feel good about that. And all I gotta say is if there is a game 6, I'll be mad if Rogers is pitching. Cheat. But I will give him credit, obviously the other 7 innings weren't just pine tar innings. At least I don't think so.

• Roar Of The Tigers. Never been to a world series game before. insane. INSANE. mostly: SO FREAKIN' COLD. also, packed. also, towel waving looks much cooler in person than it does on tv. spotted jeannie zelasko wandering around the sideline before the game, was wondering who the dude with awful hair with her was. then i realized. ha ha, oh eric byrnes, the long black jacket is incapable of classing up that dead echidna on your noggin.

• Redbirds Fun. Kenny Rogers is clearly a liar that's gotten in trouble once and when he gets in trouble again, he gets away with it. He states that it was just a "clump of dirt." Any foreign substance should have been cause for ejection. Why, oh umpires, why did you not eject Kenny Rogers when he CLEARLY cheated it not 1, not 2, but 3 series now!!

• Bless You Boys. I'm afraid that only negative things can come out of that "mysterious substance" on Kenny's hand in the first inning. My question is if it was definitely an illegal substance, why wouldn't the umps have taken action right there? Maybe I missed something. Either way, I'm not liking the fact that this is going to be brought up on a night when, "post-substance", Rogers was pretty dominant.