Wakefield Surgery News...Phillies World Series-Bound...Yankees Try To Join Them Tonight

Tim Wakefield had successful back surgery to remove a herniated disc that was split into many fragments. Some of those tiny pieces were pinching the sciatic nerve, causing intense leg pain and weakness. I speak from personal experience. Back in the good old days, a bunch of us were playing volleyball on a half sand, half harder than sand backyard. I lunged to make a shot and hit the ground (not sand) hard on my right side. As I dusted myself off, I knew I had hurt myself in some way, but I felt fine and resumed play. Flash forward about two weeks. It was in the morning and I had to get up for work. NO WAY. The most tremendous pain was traveling from my rear all the way down the right leg. It was the worst pain I had ever experienced, accompanied by weakness in that leg. Holy you know what! After many examinations which didn't show where the disc was hitting that same nerve, they decided to open me up (gulp!) and remove it. Like Timmy's, it was shattered into many pieces, most the size of REALLY big peas. When the anesthesia wore off (a local from the waist down), the first sense I had was NO PAIN. It sounds like our Mr. Wakefield went through the same thing...no wonder he had so much trouble pitching. The man is a bundle of courage and I love him. He is rehabilitating now and I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the number five rotation spot. Good for him. Here's Theo...

"Wake is someone that is in our plans," general manager Theo Epstein said after the Sox lost to the Angels in the ALDS. "We hope he makes starts for us next year as well and is a member of the rotation. We haven’t sat down and finalized anything. We obviously want to wait and see how the surgery goes and then both sides will sit down and talk."

It went well, thank God. Over in the National League, the Philadelphia Phillies completed their five game whupping as they eliminated the LA Dodgers with a 10-4 victory last night. Their offensive star was Ryan Howard, and here he is...

"I think it was just everybody's mindset," said Ryan Howard, who was named MVP of the NLCS. "It was that little underlying expectation that we had for ourselves that, hey, we know we can get back there and try and win it again. The AL is supposed to be a slugging league, but this offense fits right in. Playing AL-style won't be too tough for us, but it might be tougher for an AL team being without the DH."

True. Once again, the better team won. The same thing will happen tonight as the Yankees, with AJ Burnett, face off against the LA Angels, who will put first game starter John Lackey on the mound. Look for the pinstripers to win and play the Phillies in what should be a great World Series. The two best teams in MLB in a seven game series? It doesn't get any better. The difference-maker could be CC Sabathia. We'll see but first NY must win one more game. When, and I said when, they do, I'll be rooting for the team from the City of Brotherly Love. Hey, I'm a Red Sox fan!!

I hope your Thursday will be a terrific one and you can click on this post's title for more coverage of the Phillies' clincher. As always, be well.