World Series

Boston/Tampa Bay vs. PHILLIES Game 1: Wednesday at AL city

Miami used a superb pitching effort by Fernando Rodriguez and a balanced hitting attack to rout Chino (Calif.), 9-0, and claim the 68th American Legion World Series title last night in Boyertown. Rodriguez, a 19-year-old righthander who recently transferred to Florida International University from Alabama, did not allow an earned run in 32 innings through the Southeast Regional competition and the World Series. Last night, he struck out six, walked just one, and allowed five hits.

The Most Valuable Player of the American League Championship Series struck out 11 times and batted .261. The player of the game last night, who hit a game-winning, series-ending home run, was in the lineup because he accidentally injured his teammate in batting practice. The pitcher who broke postseason strikeout records set by people like Bob Gibson, Tom Seaver and Sandy Koufax, was on the losing team. The team that set the postseason record for striking out most often won. The winning pitcher, Brian Anderson, was almost left off his team's postseason roster.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Boston Red Sox will be back at Citizens Bank Park on Friday night for another interleague series that the Phillies always deem special enough to sell as a separate ticket package. Late last June when the Red Sox came to town, the games were billed by many as a World Series preview: Boston's high-powered offense against the Phillies' star-studded starting rotation. At the time, the Phillies had the best record in baseball, and the Red Sox had recovered from a 2-10 start to move within a half-game of the New York Yankees in the American League East.

Remember the 2009 World Series when Johnny Damon shocked the world, stealing second base in the ninth inning of Game 4, score tied. You thought Johnny Damon couldn't steal second base with a mask and a gun. Then Damon jumped up, saw third base was unprotected, and stole that, too. You looked at your teenage son wearing his Utley jersey and a forlorn expression, and whispered, "The Phillies are dead. " You just knew something mystical was happening. "I was running the bases with Damon," Hart Seely said proudly.

Former Phillies leftfielder Pat Burrell, the first overall pick in the 1998 draft, is going to retire, according to a report on MLBTradeRumors.com. Burrell, 35, has a severe foot injury and was a free agent this offseason after spending last year with his hometown San Francisco Giants. "I talked to him last fall and his foot was killing him," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said Monday night at the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association dinner. "He had a bad arch and trouble with his heel.

They won the World Series fair and square. No one can say that, when their postseason time came, the Minnesota Twins didn't rise to the magnitude of the moment. It is only when you start to call them the best team in baseball that you run into trouble. They won the games they had to win, but the Minnesota Twins got to those games in the most unusual manner of any World Series winner in history. You could look it up. What follows are the eight reasons the Twins are the worst Best Team in Baseball of all time: They won fewer games during the season (85)

Oct. 18, 1980/Royals Stadium ROYALS 5, PHILLIES 3 The Phillies had a chance to take a commanding 3-1 World Series lead, but Kansas City's Willie Aikens homered in each of the first two innings as the Royals evened the series at two games apiece with a 5-3 victory. The Phillies responded, however, by winning the next two games for their only World Series championship. (The Daily News will remember past moments from each date in Phillies postseason history as they continue their 2008 playoff run.)

When West Chester University opens play Saturday in the Division II College Baseball World Series, senior second baseman Joe Wendle will be key to their hopes of winning the title. West Chester (42-10) will play California State-Chico (40-17) at 1 p.m. at the USA Baseball National Training Center in Cary, N.C. The Golden Rams reached Cary by winning the Atlantic Region with Sunday's 6-0 victory over Kutztown. Chico won the West with a 7-3 win over Dixie State (St. George, Utah)

West Chester is headed to the World Series. Righthander Dylan Porter fired a four-hitter to lead the Golden Rams past Kutztown, 6-0, on Sunday, for the championship of the NCAA Division II Atlantic baseball regional. West Chester (42-10) earned a trip to the D-II College World Series in Cary, N.C. this weekend. The Golden Rams will open against Chico State of California (40-17) at 1 p.m. Saturday in the eight-team, double-elimination tournament. Porter (5-1) was masterful right from the first pitch at Owls Field in West Lawn, Pa. The senior from Chesapeake High in Pasadena, Md., scattered four hits over nine innings, walking one and striking out seven.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Boston Red Sox will be back at Citizens Bank Park on Friday night for another interleague series that the Phillies always deem special enough to sell as a separate ticket package. Late last June when the Red Sox came to town, the games were billed by many as a World Series preview: Boston's high-powered offense against the Phillies' star-studded starting rotation. At the time, the Phillies had the best record in baseball, and the Red Sox had recovered from a 2-10 start to move within a half-game of the New York Yankees in the American League East.

Remember the 2009 World Series when Johnny Damon shocked the world, stealing second base in the ninth inning of Game 4, score tied. You thought Johnny Damon couldn't steal second base with a mask and a gun. Then Damon jumped up, saw third base was unprotected, and stole that, too. You looked at your teenage son wearing his Utley jersey and a forlorn expression, and whispered, "The Phillies are dead. " You just knew something mystical was happening. "I was running the bases with Damon," Hart Seely said proudly.

After three weeks of inconsistent play and clubhouse controversy, it finally took an injury to centerfielder Jacoby Ellsbury to spur Boston's front office to action. Outfielder Marlon Byrd told ESPN on Saturday evening that he has been traded from the Chicago Cubs to Boston. With leftfielder Carl Crawford (wrist/elbow) and Ellsbury (shoulder) on the disabled list, the Red Sox are stunningly weak in the outfield. (If you watched Saturday's game against the Yankees, you saw that they are very thin in the bullpen, too)

WHILE TIMES are indeed tough for most of us, it still would take a lot to part with a rare piece of Philadelphia sports history. But that's just what someone attempted to do last week, placing an authentic 2008 Phillies World Series championship ring up for auction on eBay. The ring lasted 5 days on eBay without a single bid being placed. The seller - identified by the user name "nncek" - mandated a 5-day window for bids. An eBay spokeswoman said the item was taken down when the 5 days expired.

You've recently been fired as general manager of the Houston Astros and your cellphone rings. It's Ruben Amaro Jr. calling. He wants to know if you'd be interested in rejoining the Phillies as a special consultant. That's a big step down in title and pay from your previous job with the organization. It means you now report to several people, including Amaro, who used to report to you. What do you do? Ed Wade had to think about it. "I said, 'Let's park it in neutral so I can get my head around a lot of things,' " Wade said.

Former Phillies leftfielder Pat Burrell, the first overall pick in the 1998 draft, is going to retire, according to a report on MLBTradeRumors.com. Burrell, 35, has a severe foot injury and was a free agent this offseason after spending last year with his hometown San Francisco Giants. "I talked to him last fall and his foot was killing him," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said Monday night at the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association dinner. "He had a bad arch and trouble with his heel.

The new TV season has two very clear winners so far: Two and a Half Men and NFL football. Together, they account for the 15 top-rated programs this fall, according to stats released Thursday by the NFL. No. 1 was the Sept. 19 Two and a Half Men premiere on CBS, with Ashton Kutcher replacing the terminated Charlie Sheen. About 28.7 million tuned in for the funeral of Sheen's bad-boy character, who apparently got pushed in front of a train by a peeved lover. A close No. 2, according to the league and the Nielsen Co., was the late-afternoon Fox slot on Oct. 16, with 28.4 million.

ARLINGTON, Texas - Joe Torre, Mr. Integrity, could not believe his ears. The first thing Ron Kulpa asked when he entered the umpires room after Game 3 of the World Series was, "I missed it? Did I miss it?" That wasn't the unbelievable thing Torre heard. Of course, Kulpa would wonder if he blew a tough call that went against the Rangers, and, yes, he did blow it. Kulpa believed first baseman Mike Napoli's tag of Matt Holliday came after Holliday hit the bag in the fourth inning Saturday night.