Phillies-Dodgers NLCS Preview

The Phillies are riding high after scoring 3 in the 9th Monday to beat premiere closer Huston Street and eliminate the impressive Rockies 3 games-to-1.

The series was a great and memorable battle and so was the final game. Scott Eyre called it his favorite game ever.

"I'd rank this one at No. 2," differed shortstop Jimmy Rollins, but not without good reason. "Because World Series Game 5, that was No. 1 for me."

Rollins talked about the specialness of this team:

“We will never give up. We never think the game is over. It’s a team of stars, but not as in I’m better than you and will take your place. It’s as in, if you do your job, I’ll do my job. We put it all together, we do it together. It’s not about me and it’s not about them. That’s the good thing—egos are put aside. There are no egos in the way of what we do and we all understand that. That’s a testament to drafting and the guys coming up together. We don’t go out and get a whole bunch of superstars and drop them in and say, ‘Here, go do it.’ We actually like each other. We know each other so I think that’s what goes on in the clubhouse.”

The Phils are only the 3rd NL team since 1922 to win a post-season series after winning the World Series the year before.

Still, winning the NLCS in 2009 appears to be a giant hurdle for them. After all, this is the mighty and favored Dodgers, the team with the NL's best record in 2009. How could the Phillies hope to beat them, right? These Dodgers just swept highly regarded St. Louis-- swept them!

To accurately assess the Phillies chances, one must hearken back to 2008, when the Dodgers were everybody's pick to go to the World Series at the start of the playoffs. L.A. began true to form in round 1 by sweeping the Cubs, who had the best record in the NL. The Phillies should have been shaking in their cleats if they believed the nations sports journalists. How could they beat Manny and co.? Well, while Manny (then steroid-fueled but yet undetected) got his licks, the Phils trounced his team 4-games-to-1 to shock the world. The only people who weren't surprised were the Phillies themselves, who never stop seeing themselves as winners.

"I always thought we could win the World Series," said Charlie Manuel moments after the Phillies did just that. I know it really happened, because I was there. "I knew we could beat anybody in our league. And when I look and I see my guys, I see our chemistry and our attitude and our makeup and how much we like to play and how much the Philadelphia fans back us, I knew we could win the World Series." Manuel hoisted the trophy in front of us, the home crowd: "Hold on, this is for Philadelphia, this is for our fans. And listen around here, who's the World Champions?!" and we replied with raucous cheers.

The Phillies organization had 1 winning season from 1918 to 1948. The current Phillies team won their division in 2009 for the 3rd year in a row, something only 1 other Phillies team had ever done. If they win the NL East next year, they will be the 1st Phils team to do it and possibly then the indisputably best Phillies team of all time. As it is, they make a very valid argument in that regard.

"We don’t play this game to walk away in October and say, ‘Well, it was a great season. See ya in spring training.’ We have something to prove on this team. We want to be known as winners. We want that legacy. We want to be known the way everyone knows New York and Boston." -- Jimmy Rollins, 10.12.09

In 1977 and 1978 the Phillies and Dodgers battled for the NL crown and a trip to the World Series. In 2008 and 2009 they're at it again. The Dodgers won 'em back-to-back in the '70's before Schmidt and co. took it all in 1980.

The Phils whipped the favored Dodgers in 2008 in a thrifty 5 games and the Dodgers and their fans will be out for bloody revenge this time around. Last year's postseason bench clearer between the 2 teams (I was there) was a preview of what we can expect when the rematch begins Thursday. That won't heat up these cool Phillies, though. They will go about their business like professionals and hit the Dodgers where it counts-- on the field, with the long ball, hopefully early in the series and often, throughout. The Phils hit just 3 HRs against the Rockies in round 1 of the playoffs, but in the 4 games they hit .296 as a team and posted 20 runs, an average of 5 runs per game, showing they can play situational offense and 'small ball' with the best of them.

"We never use the word 'repeat,' because you get caught up in the fact that it should happen the same way. You think it just should happen, right? Noooooo. You have to make it happen. Every pitch, every at-bat, you have to find a way." -- Rollins, 10.12.09

The Dodgers are 45-38 since July 1st, the Phillies are 54-33. The Phils are a MLB-best 50-33 on the road in '09. The Dodgers will have home field advantage in their NLCS series, but ask the Rockies-- who couldn't beat the Phils once in Colorado in round 1-- if that is a decisive blow against this resolute Phillies team.

ESPN commentators said Tuesday that Hamels had a bad finish to the year. They didn't do their homework. Hamels entire season was inconsistent and filled with disappointment. Contrarily, his finish was extremely promising. In September, Hamels went 3-2 with a 3.32 ERA. It was easily his best month of 2009. He also recorded a season-high 40 S.O. (to 8 walks). That is a key stat for Hamels, a strikeout pitcher. His June 4th 9-inning gem against the Dodgers proves that he can emerge the dominant pitcher of a year ago in Game 1 in L.A. on Thursday.

In two career regular-season starts in L.A., he has allowed only 2 runs in 16 innings. Last NLCS, he surrendered 1 run in 7 innings in the Phillies' closeout 5-1 win in Game 5 at Dodger Stadium.

"If you strive to be the best in the league, the success will be there, and that's one thing I can say about our club." --Charlie Manuel, 10.12.09

DODGER KILLER... ?

Utley vs. Dodgers: .304 career ave., which was .338 before 2009, when his average mysteriously plummeted to .154 against L.A.

Did the Dodgers get Utley's number or is he poised to repeat last year's postseason magic against them? In the 2008 NLCS, Utley reached base 12 times in 23 at-bats against the Dodgers (a .522 OBP).

SEASON SERIES

Charlie Manuel selected Joe Torre as his NL Assistant Manager for this year's All-Star game, so there's plenty of admiration there. The Dodgers nipped the Phils in the season series 4-games-to-3. However, in their most recent meeting in L.A. in June, the Phils nearly swept:

1) Phils won game 1 on June 4th, 3-0 behind an invincible Cole Hamels. Hamels threw his best game of 2009 that night. I was there. It was total dominance. Hamels went 9-full innings, allowing 5 hits, no walks and no runs. He finished the Dodgers in a thrifty 97 pitches. Manuel hopes he'll do it again when he starts Game 1 of the NLCS Thursday night. I'll be there again.

2) June 5th, they lost 4-3 when Brad Lidge blew a 9th-inning save, his 5th en route to a MLB-high 11 on the season. The Dodger starter in that game was none other than former Phil Eric Milton.

3) June 6th, they lost 3-2 in 12 innings on another 9th-inning blown save by Lidge.

4) On June 7th, the Phils didn't give Lidge room to implode, they pounded former Phil Randy Wolf and the Dodgers, 7-2. Ruiz, Victorino and Howard all homered. I was there. It was all fun for Phils fans.

DOUBLE AGENTS

Phillies legend Larry Bowa will bring former Phillies' All-Stars LHP Randy Wolf and RHP Vicente Padilla against the Phils in this series. How weird is that? Maybe Bowa will steal some signs for us, but don't count on it from the fiercest of competitors that he is. Former Phillie Jim Thome now plays for the Dodgers and Dodger manager Joe Torre's older brother played for them in '62.

The Phils boast an astounding number of Southern Californians on their roster: Utley and Victorino were originally Dodger draft picks. Dobbs, Hamels, Eyre, Madson, even newcomer Ben Fransisco (from Long Beach, like Utley) and lauded 3rd base coach Davey Lopes (a famed Dodger player in his time) hail from SoCal. Jimmy Rollins is from Oakland, CA and Lidge was born in Sacramento, CA. Chan Ho Park lived his glory days in L.A., where he was a Dodger pitcher. All-Star right-fielder Jayson Werth was an oft-injured Dodger from 2004-05 before joining the Phils, where he has found a home:

"To land here in Philadelphia with my teammates and the guys that I got who play with me everyday, I can't say enough about those guys, and I can't really see myself anywhere else other than Philly," said Werth after his game-winning 9th-inning RBI single Monday.

Victorious Phils Return to NLCS

The Phils looked finished in this one when they allowed the Rockies to score 3 runs in the bottom of the 8th-inning to take a 4-2 lead. The Champs were on the ropes, playing away from home, the Colorado crowd mounting behind its resurgent Rockies team in their dazzling comeback on a night when runs were a precious commodity. However, these Champs excel with their backs to the wall.

"The Phillies showed the heart of a lion," spun ESPN commentator & Hall-of-Famer Dave Winfield after the game.

For the 2nd-straight night it was Jimmy Rollins getting things started in the 9th-inning. This time, the Phils trailed 4-2 when, with 1 out, the Phils' captain singled off of Colorado's impeccable closer Huston Street. For the 2nd game in a row, Rollins' clutch hitting paved the way and the Phillies played situational offense, rather than their calling card the long ball, to win it.

They were down to their last out when Utley stepped to the plate. He had already made an incredibly athletic double-play to preserve the lead in the 6th, followed by a remarkably poised throw under a hurdling base-runner in the 8th (which Rollins uncharacteristically couldn't catch, an error that cost 2 runs). Now, it was Utley's turn to keep the rally and the team alive with the bat. He had already reached base safely 3-out-of-4 times on the night. "I think he is absolutely recognized as the gamer in our game," Phils president David Montgomery has said. "I don't think there's any question about that."

Utley finds a way to get on base and to win games. In Game 3, Utley sold a foul off his leg as a base hit that led to the game's winning run. Teammate and fellow All-Star Shane Victorino, who homered in the 1st-inning of Game 4, said of Utley's clever way on base in Game 3: "With Chase, he's that kind of guy. He's going to play the game hard. He probably felt it but he said, 'Hey, I'm going to take off, nobody is saying anything.' And it turned into a pivotal play in the game."

Back to Game 4: 9th-inning, Victorino at 1st with 2 out.

Utley takes ball 1. Victorino moves to 2nd on 'fielder's indifference.' Utley looks at ball 2. Patience is his strength. It's what made him the team leader in On-Base Percentage (OBP) at .397 (10th in the NL) in 2009. Utley fouls one off. It's now 2 balls and 2 strikes. Utley is down to his and the Phillies' last strike of the game. It suddenly seems an impossible dream to win 2 in Colorado, where the Rockies compiled a 51-30 record during the regular season, the 2nd best home record in the NL.

The play-by-play announcer on ESPN radio counts the Phillies out in this one. After all, they're down by 2 runs in the 9th against one of the game's best closers in a contest where runs were a precious commodity. The Phillies had managed only 2 through 8 2/3 innings. The announcer begins talking about Game 5 in Philadelphia, which now seems inevitable. He admires the Rockies comeback in the 8th-inning to take the lead in front of the home crowd, recognizes the momentum in the fans' cheers and Rockies' faces. He underestimates the Fightin' Phils. He adds, obligatorily, as an afterthought, "Of course, this one isn't over yet."

Utley remains patient at the plate, playing his game: focus and baseball smarts. He takes ball 3, a full count. Suddenly, it's interesting. Utley looks at ball 4. He's aboard to make it 1st and 2nd with 2-out. His walk represents the tying run at 1st and enables Ryan Howard a chance to take the lead with one swing of the bat.

Utley finished the NLDS with a .556 OBP and .429 batting average, both team-leading. Utley, who hit .204 in September and went hitless in 2 October regular season games, is as responsible as anyone on the team that the Phillies are returning to the NLCS for the 2nd-year in a row. And so is the Big Man:

It was at this point that someone in the room turned to me and said, "Howard could win it with 1 swing." "A double would be good," I replied. "That would plate 2." It felt, somehow, more reasonable, not asking for too much. Yet, it was asking a lot. The count ran to 2-1. Ryan Howard of 2007 might have struck out in the at-bat. The struggling Howard of 2008's 1st 11 playoff games might have grounded out in frustrating defeat.

This was title-defending Ryan Howard, the ideal cleanup man who finished the series with a .375 Ave. and 6 team-leading RBIs. Utley's walk with 2-out in the 9th allowed Ryan Howard to answer the call, once again. Howard was not content to go back to Philly to finish it. He roped a double off the right field wall to tie the game at 4-4. "There's pressure, I guess, but I don't mind it," Howard said. "I wanted to be in that situation."

Next, it was up to Jayson Werth. Werth had already homered in the 6th-inning. In this 2-out 9th-inning tie game, he did what he has done all postseason, for that matter all season long: Werth came through and enabled his team to retake the lead on a single to right field, a perfect piece of situational hitting. It was something the Phillies did so well in this series, showed another side in perfect execution small-ball to win games.

Werth's exuberant reaction, clapping his hands and calling out to his teammates in a strong show of emotion after driving in Howard for the winning run said it all: This Phillies team would not quit, would not settle, they have too much fire. They aren't the Phillies of yesteryear. These are the defending World Champions. As hard as it is to remember for Philly fans, they will gladly remind us until it's burned into our consciousness. Even then, when we doubt them, they will show it once again. They are winners. Even against the Rockies, even in Colorado's freezing hostile confines.

"We talk about it all the time," said Werth. "One day at a time. One game at a time. One pitch at a time. That's the mentality of this team... We're very calm and very loose, all at the same time. So the mood in the dugout was very calm, very professional. We knew what we had to do. We had a job to do in the 9th... We always feel like we're in the game. We just keep grinding it out."

The Rockies were 83-1 when leading after 8-innings during 2009. The Phillies didn't mind. They were happy to win it in the 9th. They were willing to do it against Huston Street, who was 35-37 in saves in 2009, but who finished the NLDS series against the Phils with an 0-2 record.

Meanwhile, Brad Lidge did it again. Where Huston Street and Ryan Franklin, 2 of the NL's best closers in 2009, failed in the postseason, Lidge has thus far shined. Inconceivably, impossibly, against every odd and statistic there is, Lidge has "Turned Back the Clock" to 2008's magic, wrote Phila. Inquirer turned ESPN.com analyst Jayson Stark of his Game 3 save. How could it be?

Stark writes: "He stood on the mound, waiting for the signal that the TV commercial break was over and it was time to pitch, Jimmy Rollins looked him right in the eyeballs and said, "You're going to get them out." "Yeah," Lidge replied. "What's that mean?" Rollins retorted.

And for a moment, Lidge seemed startled by the challenge. Then he looked Rollins back in his own eyeballs and told him: "You're right. We're going to get this done right here, right now."

And then -- whaddayaknow -- he did exactly that."

Less than 20 hours later, Lidge did it again, worked out of a jam to record his 2nd 9th-inning save in as many nights.

"That might be my favorite game ever," said reliever Scott Eyre, who contributed by getting the 1st 2 Rockies outs in the bottom of the 9th for the Fightin'. Then it was, what else? 'Lights Out' Lidge time. Lidge came in for a 1-out save, a strikeout of Tulowitzki to end the game and the series in the same fashion he ended the World Series a year ago.

In Game 4, it was a team effort. It was Cliff Lee silencing the Rockies for 1 earned run in 7 1/3 innings (he allowed just 2 ER in 16 1/3 innings in the series). It was Jimmy Rollins providing the 9th-inning spark, Chase Utley playing offensive setup man for Ryan Howard's timely heroics, which we've come to expect. Then, finally, it was Jayson Werth-- All-Star Jayson Werth-- coming through in the clutchest of clutch. Werth led the Phils with a .929 Slugging Percentage, a .500 OBP and 2 HRs in the 4-games. Lastly, it was Brad Lidge emerging from a storybook to finish it. In all, it was a team effort. A World Champion team effort.

It was just the 2nd time since 1903 that a team trailing by multiple runs with 1 out left in the game came back to both win that game and clinch a series. It was another amazing game in a truly incredible series between these 2 teams. You gotta give the Rockies credit for challenging the Champs in every inning of every game after Game 1, which the Phils won 5-1. Game 2: Rockies 5-4. Game 3: Phillies 6-5. Game 4: Phillies 5-4. Several lead changes and plenty of spectacular execution by both clubs and superb moves by both exceptional managers made for a series much better than its 3-games-to-1 outcome would suggest.

Rockies manager Jim Tracy, who will be NL Manager of the Year after leading the Rockies to an unlikely playoff birth and a 74-42 record since taking over on May 29th, when they were 10 games under .500, said this after the game:

"We lost to the defending world champions, and they did it in a way, down to their last strike and scoring 3 runs that shows why they're the defending world champions."

In my post, "Preview of Phillies-Rockies Series" on Oct. 5th, I predicted the Phillies would win the NLDS in 4 games. I was right. However, if I'd known then what I know now, I might have seen it differently. I respect those Rockies differently today, when I realize how good they really are. I also admire the Phils more than ever for playing small ball, situational hitting, for batting around .500 with runners in scoring position in this series and are for beating the resilient Rockies twice in their home stadium and beating them 3-games-to-1.

"These couple of games have been kind of character builders," Howard said after the game. "This is just step 2 of where we're trying to get to."

"We've got a lot of swagger on this team," added Lidge. "And these guys don't just want to be known as one-time World Series winners. We want to be in the same sentence as some of the great teams that have ever played."

Professional Phils Play Big, Take Game 3

It was Charlie Manuel's managerial masterpiece as he painted each stroke with precision and excellence. His unorthodox meeting on the mound (normally it is the pitching coach) with Brad Lidge with 2 out in the 9th led to success for his flammable, fragile closer. Manuel's 9th-inning substitute Ben Fransisco caught the left field fly ball for the final out. With each unexpected turn, Manuel proved a mastermind in full-control of his Championship roster and hungry newcomers.

Even the sudden and unlikely injury to a key pitcher for the 2nd-straight game couldn't spoil Manuel's lock on this game. He merely shuffled his game plan, inserted Ryan Madson for an uncharacteristic 7th inning appearance and watched the pieces fall into place. Madson dominated ala October '08, Chad Durbin (of all people) recorded the 1st Phillies 1-2-3 inning in the 8th and then Brad 'Wild Thing' Lidge converted the 'don't look now' save as only he can to seal the win.

In Game 2 it was Happ struck on the knee by a line drive who needed an emergency replacement. This time it was Scott Eyre crumpled around his turned ankle in the 7th forcing Phils current closer Ryan Madson on early. Madson shined, rekindling his brilliance from last year's postseason, recording 1 inning with 2 big strikeouts.

Raul Ibanez was down 1 ball to 2 strikes in the top of the 4th with the bases loaded and the Phillies down 3-2. A strikeout would be a rally killer with nobody out at the time. It appeared headed that way, when Ibanez fouled one off, then another. Still alive, seeing more pitches from Colorado's starter Hammel, a hitter's advantage. Ball 2. Ok, progress, hanging tough. Ball 3. Wow, he worked it full, now he's seen 7 pitches and shifted the pressure to the pitcher, who once had Ibanez in a 1-2 hole. Ball 4. Tie game. Just like that. He didn't have to put the ball in play. Without swinging, Ibanez tied the game and neutralized a 3-1 lead and silenced the home crowd. It was the biggest at-bat of the game and it was all veteran. 14 years of professional baseball culminated in that at-bat in this, Ibanez's 1st-ever postseason stage. It was a great baseball story and showed the greatness of the game, that the tying run could advance without contact in a chess match moment of battle and resilience.

Carlos Ruiz, whose injuries to both wrists in September nearly sidelined him for the rest of the season, came up as big as he ever has. 'Chooch' was a hero last postseason, when he came out off of a career-worst .219 regular season to record game-winning hits and a .346 playoff OBP with 4 doubles and a HR. This year, he batted .255, but is 3-9 in this NLDS vs. Colorado, just as he was in 2007 in the NLDS against the Rockies. He was 2-4 with 2 RBIs in this crucial Game 3. It was gigantic. His 2-out RBI in the 4th after Feliz had grounded into a double-play put the Phils ahead 4-3 and lifted their spirits, willing them to victory.

In the 5th, Colorado failed to score for only the 2nd-time to that point in the game. It looked like more trouble when Todd Helton led off with a single, but then Joe Blanton got Tulowitzki to ground into a double play. It was a familiar sight as Rollins turned to Utley, who relayed to Howard at 1st to complete the 2nd out. It was clockwork because, like an Olympic basketball roster out of Europe, these guys have done it together so many times these past few years. It was a moment for a fan to take pause and delight at quite possibly the greatest all-around fielding infield in Phillies' history.

In the 9th inning, Huston Street came on in relief for Colorado. Street was 4-1 in 2009 with 35 saves in 37 tries. Like his counterpart in St. Louis, Ryan Franklin, who was beat in the 1st round of the playoffs by the Dodgers after a season of near perfection, Street lost the game, while 2009's least reliable closer Brad Lidge recorded his 1st save in his 1st postseason attempt. It was redemption and an ironic contrast to both his season and his NL closer counterpart's playoff performances.

The Phillies led off the top of the 9th with Jimmy Rollins, 0-4 with 2 strikeouts on the night. Rollins against Street. A year of career-lows for J-Roll vs. a career-high year for Street. Against the odds, Jimmy won the contest. As he has been countless times, team captain Rollins was the spark the Phillies needed. His leadoff single up the middle led to the winning run. It was Charlie Manuel's move next and he stunningly took the bat out of Victorino's hands. Victorino, who set an all time Phillies' record in single-season playoff RBIs in 2008, laid down an impeccable bunt between the 3rd base line and the pitcher's mound, which advanced Rollins to 2nd (scoring position) and took away the possibility of a double play. It was textbook baseball. No glory, all execution. Kudos the 'Flyin' Hawaiian.' Manuel the Maestro strikes again.

Next, it was Chase Utley's turn and what transpired calls to mind the lanky 2nd-baseman's heroics from last year's World Series. That fateful play in the final game against Tampa Bay, when Utley faked to 1st (something rarely seen in baseball, although 'pump fakes' in basketball are common) , then threw home to record the out on the lead runner and prevent a run from scoring. It was a pivotal play that will live on in Phils' folklore with Matt Stairs' storybook Home run.

Don't ever play poker with Chase Utley. Utley sold a foul ball off his leg as a base hit, ran hard without pause and nobody questioned it. It was ruled an infield single, a questionable call on a bang-bang play at 1st that went the gambler's way. The ball hit Utley's right leg while he was still in the batter's box and should have been ruled a foul ball, but home plate umpire Jerry Meals didn't call the ball dead.

"Chase Utley took off like it was nothing," Meals said after the game. "He gave no indication to us that it hit him. Whatever percent of the time, you're going to get a guy that's going to stop if it hits him." Utley said, "The ball might have caught me. Nobody said anything, so I ran hard. I check swung. The ball checked up in front of me. It might have hit my leg. But nobody made a call." That's half the story. The other half is that this team's Charlie Hustle sold it-- and good. It was that single which moved Rollins to 3rd and enabled him to score the winning run. Once again, Utley showed why he is baseball smarts, grit and diamonds all in one sweet hand of Texas Hold 'Em. Utley finished the day 3-4 with a walk and a 1st-inning HR [see picture], silent MVP of a crucial win for the Phils.

Finally, it was up to Ryan Howard, the cleanup man, the man Manuel said he'd most want to bat in such a situation. Howard has shown his poise this postseason. He has matured into everything you want out of your cleanup hitter. He hit a textbook sac. fly to left-center. Just as Victorino had shown perfect execution in his sacrifice for out #1 to advance Rollins to scoring position, Howard did the same for out #2 to score him. That was the winning run, as it put the Phillies ahead for good, 6-5.

The Phillies were league leaders in comeback wins again this year, as they were in 2008. "With this team, we're never out of it," Howard said. "We have the type of hitters from top to bottom in our lineup who can produce. We're never out of a game."

"I feel really blessed to be a part of this club," Ibanez said. "It's easily the most resilient club I've ever been a part of. We have no quit in us. We work well together."

“It was just an amazing game," said Shane Victorino. "And I was glad to be a part of it." 4 hours & 6 minutes of 9-inning baseball, the longest 9-inning NL postseason game ever. All-time MLB record postseason bad weather: 27 degrees on the field. "At one point," remarked Jimmy Rollins, "My fingers went numb." Enough drama between Eyre's injury and Lidge's 9th-inning save to fill a feature-length movie. The defending Champs came out on top and reclaimed home field advantage, which they had surrendered by losing 1 in Philly. Their road record prowess paid off and they now need to win only 1-- either Game 4 in Colorado or Game 5 in Philly-- to advance to Thursday's NLCS in Los Angeles. True, the Dodgers will have more rest, by several days, but the cooled off team doesn't always find it an advantage to be rested and rusty.

These Rockies are better than anyone expected. They are, as has been baseball's recent trend, the hot team that wins the wild card via momentum. They are toe-to-toe with the Champs in this round. Sunday's win, in the freezing cold (ala the tundra of World Series '08), via grit, execution and managerial genius, showed the true colors of our reigning heroes. They did exactly what needed to be done and now control their own fate from here to L.A.

Game #2: "Surprise!"

Thursday, the Phillies continued their quest to become the 1st NL team since the '75-'76 Reds and the 2nd since the 1921-22 Giants to win back-to-back World Series.

"Finally," Rollins said, "We're here. Finally, the wins actually count for something. "Now it's 1 down and 10 more to go."

April 10th, 2009 Hamels debuted for the season against the Rockies. He was pounded that night for 7 runs on 11 hits in just 3 2/3 innings. "I'm concerned about him," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said then. "He had a hard time locating pitches. He had a problem with his command, locating the ball where he wanted it."

Thursday, in his 2009 postseason debut, Hamels was unreliable, as he was all year. He struck out 5, including 3-in-a-row at one point, but yielded 4 runs on 7 hits in just 5 innings. As in his debut game for 2009, Hamels location was sloppy, his command questionable. In the 4th, Hamels surrendered a home run to Torrealba on a hanging curveball right over the middle of the plate. It was a big blow. It made the score 3-0 at the time, and the Phillies never recovered. With 1 out in the 5th, Colorado pitcher Aaron Cook singled off of Hamels by just sticking his bat out on a ball right down the center of the plate. That one seemed particularly irksome, like Hamels had decided to take a batter-off break between good pitches. It hurt the Phils, too, cost them the game, which was decided by 1 run, the same 1 run Cook scored when he crossed the plate later in the inning.

Torrealba hit 2 HRs in the regular season and none after May 6th. Cook batted .114 this year. Thursday, Mr. Hollywood made them heros at the plate. Where is his harem of trigger-happy fans shooting him past Steve 'Lefty' Carlton in the Phillies Hall-of-Fame now? Game 2's disappointing defeat unnervingly mirrored Hamels' regular season as truly as it contrasted with his potential, as witnessed by the world in October, 2008. If it was foreshadowing, it was damning.

More than a win, the Phillies needed the glorious Hamels of postseason '08 to show up in order to think seriously about contending for a Championship in 2009. A splendid Cliff Lee will not suffice for that goal. While Mr. Hollywood was early-exiting in the 5th en route to the labor room of his 1st child's birth (hopefully his wife gave birth better than he pitched), the true Hollywood display unfolded out West. Thursday in Los Angeles, Matt Holliday (the former Rockies MVP) all but handed the Dodgers their 2nd-straight NLCS birth when he dropped a routine fly ball in the 9th-inning to convert St. Louis' win into a Dodgers deciding 2-0 advantage in their best-of-five series.

No such handout from the Rockies, who turned pivotal double-plays, jammed the bases and generally dominated the Phillies all game long. If it weren't for Charlie Manuel's bizarre game of shuffle that starting pitcher, the Phillies might have been well out of the game. Who knows? Maybe it was worth burning up 8 pitchers in a Game 2 loss, when you're going for postseason broke.

"We were kind of taken aback a little bit when both starters got used," said lefthander Scott Eyre, who took over when Happ was injured and had to leave the game. "That just means that Pedro's starting Game 3, I guess. Or Blanton could come back. Or Happ got hit on the shin; he could come back. You just don't know."

The Phils Jack-in-the-Box starting rotation this season culminated in postseason schizophrenia for manager Charlie Manuel in Game 2 of the NLDS. You half-expected Manuel to shout "Surprise!" each time another starting pitcher came out of the bullpen. There was talk of his using starting pitchers in relief in the payoffs, but nobody knew he'd use 6 starters-- in 4 innings of 1 game.

When asked if he thought he'd be selected to start Game 3 in Colorado, unused starting pitcher Pedro Martinez replied, "I guess I'm the only one standing."

After almost 50 consecutive questions about his Game 2 pitching decisions, Manuel finally told the press: "You can write whatever you want to write, and you can voice your opinion and everything. But yeah, it can be done, and sometimes, those are chances you have to take. That's part of the game. Funny game. That's how you've got to play it sometimes."

"Hey, that's what makes the game great," said one of the Phillies starters-turned-relievers, Joe Blanton. "The chess match within the game."

When Blanton came out to start the 6th, you thought, 'OK, now we know, Happ, another lefty (the Rockies kryptonite) will be the Game 3 starter on Saturday'-- guess again. Happ came out in the 7th and all bets were off. Then, he was promptly struck-- and hard-- on the knee and left the game injured, without ever having recorded a 2009 postseason out. Worst case scenario? Only if he is unable to promptly return to his season-long dominance. From the looks of Hamels tonight, they'll need Happ as that supreme 2nd-starter to return to the World Series. Brett Myers and Antonio Bastardo were used Thursday, as well, but even that wasn't enough starters for the Phillies skipper. He wanted to surround himself with them.

Not only did Game 3's probable starters Blanton and Happ appear, but Game 1 star Cliff Lee was brought in-- to pinch run. I guess that stolen base the day before left an impression in the manager's mind. Some managers would covet and protect their Ace in the playoffs, especially if he had pitched 9 innings the day before. However, Charlie Manuel threw Lee on the base-paths like he was a minor league September call up. Even Happ's injury didn't back Charlie down from putting Lee in harm's way.

The last time 6 multi-start starters had appeared for 1 team in a postseason game was 1977. It was unique, it was flashy, eccentric, bold. Who dropped something funny in Chuck's drink? Prime suspect J-Roll gave a knowing grin after the game: "It was the beauty of October," he said with a laugh. "Or something like that."

What's not so pretty is the weather in Colorado, where the forecast for Game 3 reads:

High: 36 °F RealFeel®: 30 °F

Rather cloudy and much colder with a little snow, accumulating a coating to an inch.

And that says nothing of the reception the Fightin' will receive from the Colorado home crowd, before whom the Rockies are 51-30. Luckily, the Phils lead all of MLB with a 48-33 record on the road, because if they lose both weekend games in Colorado, they go home with last year's cake and icicles on their noses.

Phils Custom Order Win #1

The champs did just what they needed to do. In Hollywood, they couldn't have scripted it better for the Phils. Thursday, it will by "Hollywood" Hamels taking the ball from current staff Ace Cliff Lee, who showed what he was made of and gave fans every reason to believe Wednesday. Lee shutdown the Rockies in a 9-inning, 1-run gem, striking out 5, while walking none. If this is the Cliff Lee we are going to see throughout the playoffs, the one we saw when he 1st joined the Phils, then the reigning AL Cy Young winner may fulfill his dream to pitch in the World Series for the defending World Series Champions.

Jayson Werth picked up where he left off last October when he led all position players by hitting .309 in the playoffs. Wednesday, he led the Phillies in more ways than one. He gunned out Colorado's Torrealba at 3rd Base in the 2nd, then got the Phils 1st hit. By the end of the day, Werth had gone 2-3 with 2 runs, an rbi and a triple that would have been a HR if not for titanic winds blowing in. (In fact, Werth's trot to 1st cost him an inside-the-park HR).

Somehow, though, everything came up roses. Howard's botched play in the 1st, Ruiz's base-running blunder in the 5th, none of the mistakes added up, because the man on the mound was in complete control. Lee, in his 1st-ever playoff game, retired 16-straight batters at one point. Every aspect of the game went right for the Phils, even 2 questionable calls. Charlie Manuel couldn't have drawn it up more ideally: each player on his lineup card got at least one hit, including pitcher Cliff Lee. Werth, Howard and Ibanez each had 2. It was Champions Day at Citizens Bank Park.
Jimmy Rollins flashed defensive brilliance all day and raced to near left field for a foul catch in the 3rd. If Hamels pitches like Lee did today, which is to say like Hamels did last October, the Rockies will be fodder and the next opponent irrelevant. With 12 hits in Game 1, the Phillies wrecking crew of a batting order made their voices heard. More importantly, Lee's total dominance left the door open for another run at the title. Now, the baton passes to Mr. Hollywood. This is his stage. Like riding a bicycle, all he has to do is get back on and find that groove, once again. If he can, there will be every reason to hope.

Preview of Phillies-Rockies Series

Ryan Howard hit no HRs in the 1st 11 playoff games of 2008. Then in the bottom of the 6th in Game 3 of the World Series, Chase Utley sparked the Phils to a 3-1 lead with a leadoff homer against the Rays' Matt Garza. The next batter was Ryan Howard, who connected for a back-to-back HR to right. The next day, he would hit 2 more and drive in 5 runs.

This year they will need the Big Man to get going a little earlier. With Utley hurting, Howard will be more relied upon than ever from the 4-spot.

Meanwhile, Jayson Werth could be the Phils X-Factor. Werth's 36 HRs and 99 RBIs defied most everyone's expectations. He is capable of going on a tear and proved it by hitting .309 during last year's victorious postseason. The Phillies hit 19 HRs in 14 playoff games in 2008. This year, they have four 30 HR hitters: Utley, Ibanez, Werth and Howard (the most for any team since the 1977 Dodgers team had five). Colorado will have to ride its late-season Rocky High to prevent getting rocked early and often. That will be harder to do without their hottest starting pitcher, injured Jorge De La Rosa (7-1 in his last 8 decisions).

This Phillies-Rockies League Divisional Series is a rematch from 2007, when the Phils got swept. Of course, in the year between, the Phils won the World Series while the Rockies missed the playoffs-- and lost their star player, Matt Holiday. With the title on their backs and NL RBI king Ryan Howard cleaning up, the Phils have a great chance of enjoying an energizing pounding of Colorado that could propel them to more October winning. They couldn't find their groove at the end of the season, but the playoffs could light their fire and rekindle 2008's glory ride. The additions of Lee and Ibanez, all-stars who are hungry for their 1st taste of Championship champagne, can only help:

"It's definitely a winning atmosphere," said starting pitcher Cliff Lee. "These guys, they know how to play the game and they know how to have fun off the field, in between games and stuff. It's loose. It's a comfortable atmosphere.

"It's the defending world champions. They've got a core group here already that's done some things. They know what it takes to win and they do things the right way. You can see it in the game and I can see it in between, off the field. It's a good thing to be a part of . . . "

The NL East-winning Phils won only 4 of their last 10, but were in good company. The NL West-winning Dodgers lost 6 of their last 10 (including 5-out-of-6 against S.D. & Pittsburgh), while St. Louis, the trendy favorite to win the NL, lost 8-of-10 to finish the year. Colorado, meanwhile, finished 20-11. However, they have been ruled by streaks and can appear very good or extremely bad, not unlike the Phillies, but lacking the Championship to prove their metal. The Rockies lost 5-straight to end Aug., then won 8-in-a-row and 10-of-11 to start September.

The Phillies won the season series 4-games-to-2, and should overtake the Rockies in 4 games beginning Wednesday. A Phils 3-game sweep would do a lot to bolster confidence and team morale, especially if driven by excellent starts by Lee and Hamels, which would be exactly what the Phillies need right now. It may not be Doc (Halladay) in the playoffs, but it would be just what the doctor ordered for a rerun at the Championship.

Notes:

No one had more RBIs in the NL than Ryan Howard in '06, '08 or '09. Then Colorado's/presently St. Louis' Matt Holiday tallied 1 more than Howard to lead the NL in '07.

Game 1

Ubaldo Jimenez W-L: 15-12, 3.47 ERA, 198 S.O.
vs.
C. Lee W-L: 14-13, 3.22 ERA, 181 S.O.

Game 2

A. Cook W-L: 11-6, 4.16 ERA, 78 S.O.
vs.
C. Hamels W-L: 10-11, 4.32 ERA, 168 S.O.

Startling Slumps Cloud Playoff Hopes

The good news for the Phillies as they head to the playoffs for the 3rd straight year is that they won't have to play the Florida Marlins anymore. The bad news is more elaborate and jarring.

On Wednesday, as Roy Halladay completed a 9-inning shutout vs. the Red Sox to end another glorious season in his Hall-of-Fame career, Phillies fans everywhere were cringing, knowing he might have been on the mound for us against them in this year's World Series had we closed the deal in July. Halladay finished the season strong, with 2-straight 9-inning shutouts and went 4-2 with a 1.47 ERA in September (17-10, 2.79 for the year).

Still, if Cliff Lee hadn't allowing 11 runs in his final 11 2/3 innings of 2009, the sting wouldn't resonate with quite the same bite. There is no doubt that if the Cliff Lee of September (5.59 ERA) takes the mound for the Fightin' in round 1 of the playoffs this week, it will be an abbreviated postseason. Since going 5-0 with a 0.68 ERA in his first 5 starts with the team, Lee is 2-4 with a 6.13 ERA in his last 7. Likewise, if Cole Hamels-- 13 runs in his last 16 2/3 innings-- doesn't magically regain 2008 postseason form, they will have a gaping void at the front of their rotation. 10-11 with a 4.32 ERA can't possibly be thought of as a successful season for Hamels, nor one that meets any reasonable expectations for the lefty who entered 2009 regarded as one of baseball's best.

Even Mr. reliable himself, Joe Blanton, who anchored the staff throughout 2009, allowed 10 runs in his final 11 2/3 innings and posted a 4.91 ERA for the month of September, while recording a 7.50 ERA in 1 October game, his latest outing. So the concerns about the starting rotation are not only founded, but resounding. Perhaps J.A. Happ, the rookie, the guy who ESPN is now saying will never again match his success this season (did they forget his 2008 postseason dominance out of the 'Pen?), the player Amaro Jr. tried to get rid of at mid-season, is the only guy you now expect to pitch into the 6th and allow 3 runs or less in each playoff start. There's always the chance the Phils will yank him from the rotation, yet again, but I hope they've learned not to 'fix' his unbroken stride as a starter.

There is also much talk that Brad Lidge is still the Phils closer. Philly journalists Andy Martino and Phil Sheridan think that he deserves that role. What planet are they on?! They obviously need to turn off their dvd players and stop watching last season's highlights. I am and will forever be a Lidge fan. However, if '3 strikes means you're out,' Lidge has used up more than his 9 lives. It's 'closer by committee' (or whatever you want to call it) from here on out. To put it another way, how would you feel if the Phils go home early because he implodes in the 9th inning-- yet again? Would you feel pretty bad or more frustrated than ever before, even for a Phillies fan?

"For me, it's like a new season," Lidge said. "Whatever happened in the regular season, happened in the regular season. Here we are in the postseason. If we hadn't made the playoffs, I'd be pretty frustrated right now. But we did, and I have a chance to right the ship here and hope everything goes well."

"I feel better about Lidge, yeah," Manuel said. "I think he can get people out. I still have confidence in him, like I said."

If these quotes send shivers up your spine and threaten to keep you up tonight, then I'd say you have followed Lidge's colossal, horrific record-breaking 2009, which is the antithesis of his record-setting 2008 perfection. Anyone who now wants to see him on the mound in the 9th is delusional. That doesn't mean he won't contribute or even shine. I will be the 1st to applaud this miracle if it happens. However, it should be recognized by all that there is no logical reason for it to occur. Nor should it be counted on simply for lack of a better alternative. Not finding that solve during the months of 1st place cushion the Phillies had remains their biggest managerial mistake of 2009 and may be their ultimate undoing. They might have given Madson an extended look at closer or acquired Wagner or Sherrill to fill the role mysteriously vacated in mind and spirit by Lidge. Instead, they kept unsuccessfully banging their heads against the wall by throwing him out there.

Ultimately, the Phillies under-appreciated and famously tattered bullpen has been an unsung hero this season. The bullpen, Lidge aside, has been stellar of late, and they've done it despite injuries to Myers, Condrey, Park, Eyre, Romero, etc. There's no reason to think these guys can't put it together for the playoff-run, whether or not they have the strength. It hasn't stopped them so far, why should it now? Especially when you consider how expertly Manuel deploys them (with the exception of Durbin and Lidge, who he relies upon to a fault).

An acute source of concern is Chase Utley, an anchor and spark-plug for the Phils, who hit a season-worst .204 in September with only 2 HRs. He finished the year 0-for his last-16, hitless so far in October. You have to question if he's playing injured, as he has countless times, often not revealing and even adamantly denying injuries until after the conclusion of a game or season, while leaving even his manager in the dark.

On Sep. 4th, Utley fouled a ball off his right foot and reacted in characteristic fashion, keeping the pain and swelling to himself. After a necessary X-ray came back negative, manager Charlie Manuel said Utley's foot is "swollen up. He's going to be out today. We'll see how it is tomorrow. Hit it right off his bone, man. If he'd have told me during the game, I might have done something about it. . . . It's hurting today."

On May 1, the New York Mets' Mike Pelfrey hit Utley on the same foot with a pitch. Utley tried to play through the injury, but when the foot did not heal quickly, he rested on May 4 and went on to hit a season-worst .253 in May, denying that his foot was the reason.

Healthy, Utley rebounded to bat .320 in June, .307 in July and .301 in August. When he sat out Sept. 5th for the re-injury to his foot, his average was team-leading .298. He finished the year at .282, his all-time career low as a full-time position player and has hit a worrisome .193 since August.

Do the Phillies have the offense to make up for his deficit? Probably against the Rockies. However, Utley bats 3rd for a reason. He leads the team in OBP and is a perennial leader in batting average, as well. His home runs in game 1 against Milwaukee, to begin the postseason, and Tampa Bay in the World Series set the tone for the 2008 Championship. It's unlikely they can repeat without Utley at full-strength or at least contributing in his unique way. He played through the 2008 postseason with a busted hip and we all know how that turned out, so don't count him out.