As it turns out, it wasn’t too difficult of a decision for the Rays. Last year, the 28-year-old left fielder had arguably his best season. He finished with a .305 batting average to go along with 15 homers, 68 RBIs, 96 runs and 60 steals. The 60 steals were a new career-high and he also posted a career-high on-base percentage of .364.

Crawford is a fan favorite in Tampa Bay and is arguably the best player in franchise history. He tops the Rays record books in games, hits, triples, RBIs, runs and stolen bases.

The Yankees owe a bit of their World Series title to Crawford since Crawford was the MVP of the All-Star Game. The American League winning the game gave New York home field advantage and that proved important in the series against the Phillies.

Carl Crawford - Tampa Bay Rays (Image: Zuma Press)

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Crawford, who was named the MVP of the All-Star game, says his catch was a first.

Said Crawford: “He hit it pretty good off the bat and I didn’t think it was going to carry that far. I don’t think I’ve ever robbed a home run before, so I picked a good time to do it tonight.”

Jonathan Papelbon of the Boston Red Sox was on the mound when Hawpe smashed the would-be home run. Papelbon agreed with Crawford being honored.

“Obviously, it was a game-changing play,” said Papelbon. “He won MVP because of that play and deservedly so.”

On the season, Crawford is hitting .309 with eight homers, 39 RBIs and 58 runs. Most impressively, Crawford is leading all of baseball with his 44 stolen bases.

Even Crawford’s own manager was impressed with the catch.

“I’ve never seen him do that,” said Joe Maddon, who was the coach of the American League All-Star. “The way he got to the position on the ball was great. And the catch, obviously, was fantastic.”

Here is a video of Carl Crawford’s catch in the All-Star game:

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Crawford, who now has 17 steals on the season, finished the game 4-for-4 with two runs, one RBI and one walk as the Rays beat the Red Sox by a final score of 5-3. The other hitting star for the Rays was Jason Bartlett, who was 3-for-4 with one run and one RBI.

James Shields went 7.1 innings while allowing two earned runs to pick up his third win of the season. Troy Percival picked up a save by pitching a perfect inning in the ninth.

For the Red Sox, Kevin Youkilis hit his sixth homer of the season and finished 2-for-4 with one run and two RBI. On the mound, Brad Penny got the loss despite pitching a decent game. He had eight strikeouts while allowing three earned runs on six hits in six innings.

The win lifted the Rays to 11-15 on the season and the loss lowered the Red Sox to 15-10.

Here’s the video of Carl Crawford’s six stolen bases:

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Ryan Howard showed in Game 4 why he is such a feared hitter.

The Philadelphia Phillies, after their 10-2 win, are now one win away from winning the 2008 World Series and being declared the 2008 baseball champions. Leading in the series 2-1 coming into Game 4, the Phillies dominated in Game 4 to take a 3-1 lead in the best out of seven series.

The big star on Sunday night was none other than Ryan Howard, the slugging first baseman for the Phillies. Howard hit two home runs and finished the game 3-4 with walk and five RBIs.

Howard wasn’t the only hitting star for the Phillies on this night. Right fielder Jayson Werth had a home run of his own. Starting pitcher Joe Blanton was not only dominant on the mound, he also helped his own cause by hitting a home run in the fifth inning. On the mound, Blanton went six innings and gave up two runs while striking out seven batters.

The Rays could never get things going. Their only two runs of the game were courtesy of solo homers by Carl Crawford and Eric Hinske. Starting pitcher Andy Sonnanstine struggled, but he wasn’t alone. All four pitchers who pitched for Tampa Bay gave up at least one run.

The Phillies will go for the 2008 World Series championship on Monday. The Rays, on the other hand, will try to win the game and send the series back to Tampa Bay. The pitchers in Game 5 will be Scott Kazmir for the Rays and Cole Hamels for the Phillies. Game 5 of the World Series starts at 8PM eastern and will be shown on Fox.

Photo: Newscom

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Philadelphia Phillies take the lead in the 2008 World Series.

The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Tampa Bay Rays on an infield hit in the bottom on the ninth inning to win Game 3 of the 2008 World Series. With the win, the Phillies lead the Rays two games to one in the best of seven series.

With the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the ninth, Carlos Ruiz hit a slow roller to third base and the throw home was not in time. The run made it 5-4 and gave the Phillies the win.

Earlier in the game, Ruiz hit a home run in the second inning off of Matt Garza. Chase Utley and Ryan Howard also hit homers for the Phillies. 45-year-old starting pitcher Jaime Moyer went 6.1 innings in which he gave up three earned runs and struck out five.

For the Rays, BJ Upton was again the star. Upton went 2-4 with a run and an American League World Series record three stolen bases. Carl Crawford also went 2-4 for Tampa Bay and scored two runs. Garza, the starter for the Rays, struck out seven batters but gave up four earned runs in six innings.

Game 4 will be on Monday night in Philadelphia. If the Phillies can win, they will be one win away from being the champions of baseball in 2008. If the Rays win, they will tie the series at 2-2 and have two of the final three games at home. The game will start at 8PM eastern and will be shown on television on Fox.

Photo: Newscom

Post from: Knuckle Curve