Jason Plautz

“TBS – Not so hot”

There’s that offense I was looking for. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love a pitcher’s duel as much as the next guy – actually more – but you can’t deny that Thursday’s run-heavy slate of games was just plain fun.

Rockies-Phillies: Somebody has to remind those Rockies how to lose (they’ve only done it once in the last 17 games), but it won’t be the Phillies. The Rox won a pitchers’ game on Wednesday and they cranked a grand slam and homers on back-to-back pitches to take a slugfest on Thursday. And now they’re rolling back home to the mile-high city. I’d say the Phils are going to need a miracle to save this series.

Indians-Yankees: So much for all that talk of the Yankees’ experience. The young Indians lineup adapted to the postseason to the tune of 12 runs on four homers and some timely hitting from playoff vet Kenny Lofton. And C.C. Sabathia managed to keep that vaunted Yankee lineup to three runs on a night when he didn’t even look his best.

Diamondbacks-Cubs: I’m glad I finally got a chance to sit down and watch this D-Backs team; they’re great guys to watch. They’re such a scrappy bunch and they won this game by running aggressively and not giving up on any defensive play. It didn’t hurt that Doug Davis was doing his best Brandon Webb impression or that the Cubs were doing their best, well, Cubs impression. Plus, how great was Ted Lilly’s reaction to that three-run homer he gave up?

Patrick St. Michel

“Remember the Ducks? Stanley Cup champs!”

I’m listening to Nico’s “These Days” while I type this, because the song is eerily appropriate for my Thursday – it was very busy and melancholy, as I couldn’t watch any of the Cubs game, and only caught the end of the Phils-Rockies game. Still, don’t confront me with my failures (oh snap), I saw enough.

Rockies-Phils: I’m feeling pretty good about Colorado – they definitely look like the best playoff team right now, and should be the favorite in the NL. With that said, the Phillies still deserve credit for having the best story heading into the postseason. Shame a good tale doesn’t equal decent pitching.

Yankees-Indians: Did you see those creepy Cleveland fans during the game who painted their faces to resemble Chief Wahoo’s perfectly, with big racist grins intact? They sum the Indians up well – really frightening, and capable of haunting any other team’s dreams. Oh, ps, Yankees suck.

Cubs-Diamondbacks: Yeah, I didn’t see any of this, so no comment. But really, it isn’t like the Cubs are ignored around these parts…

Mindy Zacharjasz

“The Philly Phanatic always is a winner”

Phillies 5, Rockies 10

Well it certainly didn’t play out the way I hoped, but at least a there was some more excitement. Matsui almost hit the cycle, the only thing he missed was a single. There was a lot of power hitting which was missing from game one – a grand slam, home runs, triples and plenty of doubles. Even though they were down by five, the Phillies gave the Rockies a little scare at the end. They created the opportunity to score the five runs they needed (bases loaded in the 8th and two on in the 9th), but couldn’t come through with the clutch hit when they needed it. What’s reassuring about the end of the game is that the big hitters found their bats after going 0-11 in game one. Hopefully they can bring it to Colorado. (Side note: I had to miss the beginning of the game because of class, but the second made it home to watch, the Phillies started to rally. Yep, it’s all me. Don’t worry, I’ll be watching all of game 3.)

Cleveland 12, Yankees 3

When Johnny Damon led off with a homerun, I thought things were going to go much differently (though that’s what I thought after Jimmy Rollin’s leadoff homer too…) but wow! Good for Cleveland!