Phils Cut Own Throat

Thanks for the memories, Phillies. I appreciate your thrilling run at a return title, unprecedented for our team. For all you did in 2009, you will be remembered and appreciated for all time [special mention: Chase Utley, see: Utley Plunked, Phils Win.]

I hear Yankees' fans and the nation's journalists (who overwhelmingly predicted the Phils would lose in 6 again and this time were right) condescending, "Well, they gave it their best, how could they possibly be expected to beat the superior Yankees."

The 2009 World Series will go down as a better than average (6 Game) Series which was inevitably won by the "better" team, the Yankees. That just isn't true, as I will substantiate.

The 2009 Phillies weren't allowed to 'give it their best' due to the choices made, with all due respect, by Charlie Manuel, whose mismanagement of the pitching staff cost the Phils the World Series in 2009:

1) Cole Hamels
2) Brad Lidge
3) Chad Durbin
4) J.A. Happ
5) Clay Condrey
6) Pedro Martinez

1) Hamels was not a good pitcher during 2009. Nonetheless, he was given a start in round 1 of the playoffs by Manuel. No one could fault him for this, as Hamels had been the pitching hero for his World Series winning team the year before. However, once Hamels got clobbered by Colorado for the team's only 1st round loss, Manuel should have backed off him, despite Hamels' overblown ego and marquee reputation. Then, Manuel gave Hamels a 2nd postseason shot against L.A., where Hamels was swiftly pounded into oblivion. Manuel, therefore, can certainly be faulted for giving Hamels the ball yet again in the World Series, allowing him to 'strike out' (go 0-for-3 in this postseason's outings), which cost the Phillies 1 World Series game.

2) Brad Lidge. What else can I say about Lidge? I said it in posts on: 8/12, 8/16, 8/26, 9/23, etc. Charlie Manuel is beloved, rightfully, for his small town 'gut' approach to managing baseball. It is endearing and impressive to see his consistent success with his self-proclaimed 'manage by instinct' modus operandi. Similarly, his loyalty to his players is legend. In the case of Brad Lidge in Game 4, the game that buried the Phils, the pivotal game and turning point of the series, Manuel went too far. He had a very successful Chan Ho Park and extremely effective Scott Eyre, among others, available in the bullpen. Instead, in a non-save tie game in which the Phils had miraculously picked themselves up from the mat to even the score and shift all momentum, Manuel trusted Lidge, against all reason and statistics to disastrous results for the team. (At the very least, he should have deployed the Eyre for 1-2 outs, Lidge for 1-2 approach, which had previously worked). Result? A 2nd Series loss.

3) Chad Durbin. On 8.7.09, I wrote:

"Am I the only one who has noticed that Chad Durbin hasn't pitched well enough to be in our bullpen? Durbin has walked 33 in 48 innings. More troubling, Durbin hasn't been reliably effective since July of 2008, over a year ago. In Aug. '08, his ERA was 4.32. In September, it was 6.94."

On 8.31.09, I wrote:

"Durbin finished August with a 10.13 ERA, after posting a 6.75 ERA in July. There is no upward trend for him, having allowed 4 ER in his last 2 innings of work."

This was my argument against the Phillies carrying Durbin on their regular season roster. How could they rely on him in an elimination game in the World Series, where, in Game 6, Durbin turned a 1 run deficit into a 4 run closeout game?! It was total insanity, which I forecasted on 10.5.09 re. Manuel's use of his bullpenners:

"...how expertly Manuel deploys them (with the exception of Durbin and Lidge, who he relies upon to a fault)..."

To put Hamels, Lidge and finally Durbin in a position to self destruct in the World Series was insulting to anyone who had watched them pitch in 2009 and ultimately cost the Phils the title.

4) J.A. Happ -- When is the last time a MLB team had that year's Rookie-of-the-Year, a starting pitcher who was healthy enough to play, on their team and elected not to use him in even a single start during the playoffs? Probably never. When in baseball history has a team chosen not to give a single postseason start to the starting pitcher who led the team in wins and ERA during the regular season? I'm certain never. Yet, while the MLB Players Association voted Happ Rookie-of-the-Year, the Phils never trusted him enough to secure him a starting job. This prejudice and mismanagement continued in the playoffs and helped cost them the title. Had Lee or Happ been picked to start Game 4, the other would have been available in relief and would have still been available on regular rest for a Game 7.

5) Clay Condrey-- The Phillies most consistent bullpenner during the '09 season was castoff of a team famously starved for relief arms, despite the fact he hadn't allowed an earned run since 6/18! Why were Condrey and Happ rejected, while Durbin and Martinez relied upon to a fault, despite all statistics and logic?! Of course, the argument would be Happ's "inexperience;" however, again, statistics would prove that false. In 2008, Happ shined in the NLCS vs. L.A. and he S.O. 3 of 4 Yankees he faced in Game 6 (his lone Series appearance), when he was brought in as relief for Pedro-- too little, too late.

6) Pedro Martinez-- A lot has been made of Manuel's leaving Pedro in for too long in Game 6 when Martinez was clearly ineffective from his 1st pitch. I am including his name in my argument of mismanaged pitchers, but actually have less conviction about him than I do about the previously mentioned 5, whose sum total of mishandling led directly to the Yankees' 27th World Series title.

Ultimately, all of the Yankees' modern era titles mean less then the Phillies' 2008 championship and even 2009 NL title, because the Yankees bought their wins, while the Phillies earned theirs playing a team game. In 127 years of team history, the 2008-2009 Phillies accomplished something none other could. They gave us something we can always remember, memories unique for our team. After 125 years, we went to the World Series twice in a row for the 1st time these past 2 years. For that, we must always remember this team in glory and thanks.

Fightin' Phils Make it a Fight

Utley's sweet swing enabled the Phils to fight back and save face on their home turf. Utley hit his 4th and 5th HRs in this World Series to tie the 1977 record set by Yankees' October legend Reggie Jackson (It took Jackson 6 games, Utley only 5).

As in 1977's "Star Wars," the Phils are the Rebel Force that must fly low and hit the Evil Empire Yankees where they least expect it to disrupt their system and destroy their base.

Yankee helmsman Joe Girardi, ala Darth Vadar, has decided to go with 3 pitchers on 3 days rest each, rather than the more conventional 4 man rotation on the standard 4 days rest, respectively. Now, Joe Girardi's decision is in question as the visible chink in the armor has led to Yankee bloodshed. A.J. Burnett handled short rest poorly Monday night, as the Phillies swatted him like an obstructive fly for 6 runs in 2 innings.

Johnny Damon showed what he was made of, once again in Game 5, never saying die a day after single-handedly crushing the Phils with a feisty 2-out hit, followed by stealing 2nd and 3rd base, then scoring the winning run in the 9th inning of Game 4.

In that game, it was Chase Utley who gave the Phillies life when he cut their deficit to 1 run, at 4-3 in the 8th, by pounding a HR off Sabathia for the 3rd time in this World Series.

Monday, it was Utley again with 2 HRs and 4 RBI to lead the "more fight left in us" charge. Utley, the Phillies' consummate gamer, stepped into the shoes of legends in Game 5, appearing a dominant slugger on baseball's biggest stage like few before him.

"He's the first guy that comes to the ballpark every day," Manuel said. "If you walk in there and you want to go eat lunch with him, he's going to tell you to go take a hike -- that he's going to do his work. I love that part about him."

"Anything that doesn't involve getting better is like background noise to him," said Phillies reliever Chad Durbin. "You can almost see him thinking, 'I have to eat -- crap. I'm not going to get that extra five minutes of video because I have to throw down this peanut butter and jelly sandwich.'"

"Chase -- he's just Superman," said Rollins with a chuckle. "He really is."

The Phils may come back to pull off a miracle in this one, they may not. One thing is for sure: they have made their mark and they won't go down without a fight. Utley, among others, are making sure of that.

After self-sabotage of Games 3 and 4, where '09's proven losers Cole Hamels (who has spent more time preparing his hair than his pitches this year) and Brad Lidge were asked to secure wins, but predictably failed, Cliff Lee was handed the ball and asked to save the team's season in Game 5.

He was able to, but not as convincingly as he had in Game 2. After 7 solid innings, Manuel brought him back in the 8th, seemingly tipping his hand that Lee won't start a potential Game 7, only to see the lanky lefty nearly give the game away. The Phils held on-- barely-- by utilizing every run their early offensive onslaught had provided when they built an 8-2 lead, which eventually shrunk to 8-6, but held up.

The Phils accomplishment is clearly greater than the Yankees. The Yankees' payroll could swallow the Phillies' for breakfast, lunch and dinner and still have change. The Phils have home grown their talent, added just the right spice here and there to compliment the dish and serve it with heart and soul, every day. They are the polar opposite of a Yankees team built on dollar signs and compiled like self-respect-less prostitutes bought and sold to the highest bidder. The Phillies hope that Pedro Martinez is the Yankees 'daddy' when he takes the mound in familiar-to-him NY for Game 6 on Wednesday.

The Phils are trying to become the 4th team in the history of the World Series to overcome a 3-1 hole and win Games 6 and 7 on the road. Still, if anyone can do it, this team, with their abundant heart, just may play the hero:

"How hard is it to kill this team? Hopefully it's like trying to run over an armadillo," said Jimmy Rollins, after the Phils survived Game 5 to return to the Bronx. "Just roll up and put our shells on. And after the car goes over us, we unfold and walk away."

notes:

In the same game as Utley's HR accomplishment, Ryan Howard tied Willie Wilson's all-time S.O. record for a single World Series, set by Phillies' pitchers in the 1980 World Series.

Cole Hamels conundrum:

Last year's World Series and NL Championship Series MVP is 1-2 with a 7.58 ERA in 4 starts this postseason after going 10-11 in the regular season.

"I can't wait for it to end," Hamels was quoted as saying after Game 3. "It's been mentally draining. At year's end, you just can't wait for a fresh start."

That prompted a telling article in the Phila. Inquirer on Cole not fitting in with Phils: click here.