As you all know by now, the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies will battle it out for the 2009 World Series title this week. If you are a reader of this site, you probably know that I am a HUGE Yankees fan. What you may not know, is that my fiancé, a native of a southeastern Pennsylvania suburb is a Phillies fan. We should be in for quite the interesting week.

I worry how this series will affect our relationship. Up until this point, we always rooted for each other’s teams. We shared a love for baseball and a hatred for the Mets. I’d take her to Yankee Stadium and she would buy a shirt of whichever Yankee she thought was the hottest at the time. She’d take me to Citizens Bank Park and I’d purchase a Phillies cap and cheer on Chase Utley.

But that all changes from here on out. My Phillies hat will be burned in effigy. I hope Citizens Bank goes bankrupt and Chase Utley breaks an ankle. (more…)

As promised, here is the first post from new contributor Frank Wheeler.

Watching Chase Utley try to bunt for a base hit against the Rockies in Game 2 of the 2009 NLDS reminded me of the type of player this guy is. He’s a fighter. A man’s man. A man who will do absolutely anything to win. Utley can destroy opposing teams with the homer, the two-bagger, or a bunt – doesn’t matter. He’s of the same mold of the type of guys who used to play in the Golden Age, when men would play through a broken finger and indeed, a hangover (e.g. Lou Gehrig and Mickey Mantle, respectively).

Coincidentally, it also reminded me of the 2008 All-Star game in New York when Utley was caught on camera saying “Fuck You!” in response to arrogant fans who booed him when he was introduced. (more…)