2009 World Series Game Three Tonight

The World Series begins again with game three from Philadelphia, home of the Philadelphia Phillies and cheesesteaks. If you're going to one of the games and want to try one, hop over to either Geno's or Pat's (I like Genos but I've tried both). They're known for their delectable and cheesy concoctions that melt in your mouth with greasy greatness. The fries ain't bad, either. Oops, I guess I went off on a tangent. Tonight's starting pitchers will be Andy Pettitte ( 14-8 4.14...2-0 2.37 postseason) versus Cole Hamels ( 10-11 4.32...1-1 6.75 postseason). We all know about Sir Andy, the MLB leader in post season victories. Hamels has not been the go-to-guy he was last October when he recorded a post season ERA of 1.80. So far this October, he's 1-1 with a bulging ERA of 6.75. He has allowed 20 base hits and six taters. Opponents have batted .328 against him. Those kind of numbers will put your team behind really quickly. He was last year's World Series MVP, by the way, and the Phillies would love to see him return to that form. His problem, or at least one of them, is that he relies on just two pitches, the fastball and the change. His coaches and manager wants him to develop a third pitch for 2010, a pitch to keep the hitters guessing, maybe a cutter or a slider. Still, the Philly manager has all the faith in the world. Here he is...

"I expect him to pitch a good game,'' Manuel said. "He's still very capable of beating people.''

The first pitch will be thrown at 7:57pm EDT, the evening before we turn the clocks back and begin eastern standard time, but weather in the form of rain might be a factor. I'll have more on that later with a link to the live radar from the city of brotherly love. Look for the festivities on FOX and FOX HD with pregame coverage beginning at 7:30pm EDT. Enjoy, and as always, BE WELL. Click on the title of this post for more Series coverage from SI. Have a terrific weekend. Thanks for popping in. See ya.