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.