In an interesting post on Justice Alito's reaction to the Phillies winning the World Series, Tony Mauro includes this tidbit on Alito's having left the cert pool:

"I just wanted to see what it would be like," said Alito, dismissing the theories that were advanced to explain his move. "I wanted to simulate it in my own chambers, but it never worked. So I decided to give it a try." How has it gone so far? "I'm very pleased," he said.