Phils Falter, Now Must Win

What was initially championed as a breakthrough, when the Phils slumbering bats finally awakened for 6 runs in game 2 of the NLCS, may come to be seen as a flicker in the fading light of a dynasty.

The Phillies will have 2 more chances in S.F. this week to prove that they deserve a return trip to the World Series, that Fall Classic that this time of year has become their 2nd home.

Ultimately, Cole Hamels could've given up 2 hits, no runs, which he did against the Reds in the NLDS, or he could have surrendered 2,000 hits and 200 runs. At the end of the day, it didn't matter one bit, because the Phillies couldn't muster a single run. More disconcerting than that, as the day wore on, they looked less and less capable of it.

"If you don't hit, it doesn't matter how good the pitching is," Shane Victorino said. "We scored nothing. I don't know why we're not hitting. We're not going to sit here and worry about why we're not hitting. We're going to think about when we're going to hit."

Although their 2-year defending NL title hung in the balance, the Phils failed to capitalize on 26-year-old Matt 'Big Daddy' Cain's mistakes, like hit batsmen and walks. They failed to succeed despite the fact that Cain, one of MLB's best, had never beaten them before. They failed with runners on, they failed when Cain got high in the pitch count and wild from the mound. They even failed against the bullpen, when he was taken out.

It was a demoralizing, deflated, empty effort by the Phillies. Even Hamels, who cannot be blamed for the ongoing offensive outage that has overshadowed this postseason and much of the 2010 regular season, failed to do his job. Hamels had to shine, he had to step-up, had to be what Halladay could not in game 1 against these Giants: a stopper, a dominator, an ace. In short, everything he has been most of this year. Tuesday, as was the case all season, Hamels received no run support. Still, in the season where he posted a career-best 3.06 ERA, Hamels started with a bang and ended with a puzzling 4.50 ERA for the day. He walked 1 while striking out 8, but managed to give up key hits to Edgar Renteria, who came in with no postseason hits, and Aaron Rowand, who batted .230 this season.

It wasn't until Jose Contreras came in and allowed 0 base-runners in 2 innings of relief, making the Giants look as woeful offensively as they are infamous for, that Hamels mediocre outing was put in perspective.

Changing of the Guard?
Meanwhile, the Giants looked as galvanizing as the 2008 Phils. Their fans couldn't have been more energized or appreciative of their beloved team that squeaked into the playoffs in the waning days of the season. Their charismatic players, like Lincecum, Posy, Huff and of course Cody 'Babe Ruth' Ross have brought the city alive to the beat of a team marching victoriously with no end in sight.

“Cody has carried us this whole postseason, to be honest. We've all seen a few good pitches to hit, but he's hitting 'em. He's been amazing.” - Giants' 1B Aubrey Huff on OF Cody Ross, who hit 3 HRs against former Cy Young winners Halladay and Oswalt in the 1st 2 NLCS games.

The Giants, who possess the best pitching in all of baseball, who led the Major Leagues in ERA and BAA this year, have now recorded 6 shutouts this postseason and have the better of the Phillies 2-games-to-1. The Giants are 2 wins away from the World Series, which they have never won since relocating to S.F. from New York.

Wait a minute, hold the presses, you mean the experts who forecast a 2nd Philly parade in 3 years may have been premature? Perhaps they erred when they saw Aaron Rowand and Pat Burrell in their crystal ball. Put a cork in the champagne, stop the T-shirt printing, it turns out there's still baseball left to play. Championships aren't made on paper, they're earned by gutsy gamers who 'lock-in' with something to prove, like Cody Ross, who got released by the Marlins less than 2 months ago, Pat Burrell, who was sent packing by the Phils and Rays until the Giants rescued him from the trash heap and Matt Cain, who had never beaten the Phillies in his life. How can the experts' predictions let us down? Ask Pat Burrell and Cody Ross. Ask Raul Ibanez.

Ibanez, the position player with the shortest tenure and least history with the team, ended the game with a feeble double-play ground-out. Ibanez is now 3-for-23, a .130 batting average, with 2 walks & 7 S.O. He is 0 for 11 in this NLCS with 5 strikeouts & 0 for his last 15 at-bats.

When asked what he was thinking during Halladay's Oct. 6th postseason no-hitter, LF Raul Ibanez stated that by the 7th inning, he felt Halladay was going to complete one. "At the same time," he added, "As a player, what you're really thinking is: 'Catch the freakin' ball if it's hit to you.' "

Pat Burrell, who was so often mocked for not being able to catch the ball-- or get to it, for that matter-- in his tenure with the Phils, that his manager made it a routine defensive move late in games to pull him for a replacement in left field, despite Burrell's public disdain for the policy.

On Saturday in Philadelphia, it was Burrell, the former Phils left fielder, who hit a ball to left field that his replacement there, Raul Ibanez, couldn't freakin' catch. Ibanez misread it and got a late start going back on it, then leapt right past it, when he should have glided into it on the ground. The ball dropped between his arms and his legs, sailing right past his torso, allowing Burrell to become a hero against his former team and in front of the fans who once loathed, then adored, now loathe him [Watch play by clicking here].

It was the beginning of the end, both for the Phils, who lost the 1st game of a series for the 1st time during their 2008-2010 World Series run and for Burrell as the butt of left-field fielding jokes at Citizens Bank Park. When the smoke cleared, it was Burrell and fellow newbie Giant Cody Ross, who were smiling. Burrell, now hitting .364 with 2 2b, 1 HR and 4 RBIs and Ross, .348, 4 HR, 7 RBI & a .913 SLG, 2 mid-season castoffs salvaged by the Giants, are besting the Phillie superstars at the plate. Ross has more postseason HRs than the entire Phillies team.

Roy Oswalt took the mound Sunday, following his 5-inning, 4-run clobbering by the Reds in game 2 of the NLDS. Oswalt sought the kind of redemption once reserved for Cole Hamels in reference to his 2009 postseason. The whole team would do well to take a page from his book, now. They must take the attitude that they have something left to prove. Being entitled to a title won't get you one.

The Giants are hungry. They've made it perfectly clear that they will not make 1,000 unforced errors, like the Reds did to sweep themselves out of the NLDS. The Giants will not be overtaken by the Phillies' auroa, despite the fact that the sports world at-large claimed the Phils' opponents might as well throw in the towel and form a bridge for the Phils to cross, that the remaining playoff teams ought to collectively serenade the great Phillies team for its historic superiority. This Giants team defies the notion that these games are a formality to forgone conclusion. Contrarily, it uses the best pitching in the majors, as well as timely hitting by scrappy, unsung players, castoff and then collected here, to mount enthusiasm into momentum, like those homegrown 2008 Phillies of the pre-Halladay, Ibanez, Lee and Oswalt era.

The Phillies can still play to their potential and win this series. They can do it by playing small ball, by seeking walks and singles, opportune stolen bases and hit by pitches, which is how they beat Sanchez in game 2. It doesn't matter how few runs they surrender, the Phillies will still need to score. If they can't rely on the long ball, their once choice weapon, they will need to use their heads, their legs and their hearts, all of which have been MIA much of this season and postseason.

Halladay, like every great competitor, like Roy Oswalt did with his outstanding game 2 win, will take his game 1 loss and improve upon his mistakes in game 5 Thursday. Meanwhile, Wednesday, it will be Joe Blanton vs. Madison Bumgarner in the fight of the Phillies life. Lose, and all but guarantee a long offseason of what-ifs, finishing one step from the World Series. Win and even the series at 2, guarantee a trip home for games 6 and 7 (if needed) in front of the Philly crowd, that intangible 'X' factor, in the ballpark where the Phils have gone 15-4 the past 3 postseasons (7-0 in '08, 5-3 in '09 and 3-1 thus far in '10).

3B Placido Polanco embodies his team. He is a patient veteran hitter and superb fielder, like so many of his peers. In 2006, he was the ALCS MVP. However, he's playing hurt, and it's getting harder to ignore. 'Polly' is scheduled for offseason surgery to repair his elbow and is now 3-for-20 with no walks for a .150 batting/on-base ave. this playoffs, despite a 13-year career batting average of .303. Polanco hit .341 in '07. That year, the Phils led the NL in runs scored, RBI, OBP and SLG.

This year's version? Not so much. The 2010 Phils were overall 7th in runs scored, 12th in batting average, 11th in OBP and 12th in SLG. This version is a pitching team, and they're proving it daily. In this series, they are now 2-17 with RISP (runners-in-scoring-position). If they can't prove they can still hit-- and fast, like Wednesday's Game 4, against the best pitching team in the majors, no less-- they are going to find themselves wondering if age has caught up with them and if the glory days are now behind.