Top 12 Consolations for Phillies Fans

12) Red Sox Fan will hear about this much more than you will

11) A-Rod got hit a lot

10) It’s not like your laundry hasn’t won recently

9) New York Fan is still bent over that Giants game

8) With any luck, you won’t have to watch Brad Lidge ever again

7) It was getting kind of hard to never second-guess Charlie Manuel anyway

6) Cole Hamels wanted the year to be over anyway

5) While the millennium is no longer free of Yankee championships, it still doesn’t have a single Cowboys playoff win

4) Harry Kalas didn’t have to watch it

3) Judging from the crowd noise at games in Philadephia, many of you made out like bandits by selling your tickets to Yankee Fans

2) By any measure, there has never been a period in the 120-year history of the franchise where it’s been a better time to be a fan

1) Mets Fan still has his head in the oven

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Phillies-Yankees: Game Six Notes, Watching the Guillotine

Coming into tonight’s game, despite my love for Pedro Martinez, I knew that a win was going to be all on the offense. They weren’t ever going to win a 2-1 game in New York, not against this offense, and not with this bullpen.

There was hope that they could slug their way to a win, of course; the Yankee starters weren’t used to working on three days rest, and the bullpen wasn’t airtight.

It’s still a disconcerting way to start a game.

I tuned in a little late, as part of my continuing effort to avoid Fox’s pregame programming, and wound up only seeing the Utley double play to end the first. Not an auspicious start to what felt like a coronation anyway.

At no point was I seeing how Pedro Martinez’s last meaningful start against the Yankees would end in happiness. Anyhoo, eight pitches. Way to make Old Man Pettite extend himself on short rest, guys.

After one pitch, Pedro needed a conference and a new ball. Considering how often Jorge Posada has been out there this series, I’d like to see that happen after every pitch. Let’s just go all the way towards killing the sport with delays.

On a 2-2 count to Damon, Pedro turned, spit violently, then threw a 77 mph change-up to strike the man out; when you are hacking up stuff between pitches, you are officially getting them out with guile.

Fox later informed us that Martinez didn’t break 85 on the gun in the second inning. The man doesn’t look well; HD is doing him no favors.

I’m pretty sure he’s not over the illness he had in Game Two. Either that, or he’s fantastically old, which is what we were sure of before the year started.

Pedro got a little squeezed to start the A-Rod at bat, and it went to 2-0 on a near HBP. The 3-0 pitch was low and away, and McCarver was all over Martinez’s lack of velocity; one had to wonder how fast Charlie Manuel’s hook would come.

A four-pitch walk ended A-Rod’s at bat. Here we go…Matsui up, Pedro not paying any attention to Rodriguez, who used to be a threat to run before the hip problem. He got ahead of Matsui on a loud foul off of an 86 mph fastball, then got it up to 88 on a high fastball.

After ripping a 2-2 pitch just foul, Matsui took ball three inside.

Suddenly watching this game is like waiting for the guillotine.

Matsui fouled off a 3-2 change-up, then served up a home run to right, down the line, for the 2-0 lead. Yeah, that was unexpected.

Just a batting practice fastball there, and if I were Charlie Manuel, I’d be warming-up pitchers. Pedro’s got nothing, and that’s two straight at bats where Matsui has gone deep against him.

Pedro recovered with a sad little strikeout of Posada, a high 80 mph fastball that the catcher looked disgusted to have missed.

A moment of Not Happiness for Yankee Fans: Posada will make a ridiculous amount of money over the next two years to be the second coming of Jason Varitek.

Anyway, back to the game…Cano followed with a first pitch line drive at Utley, and the inning ended with a five-pitch fly ball to Francisco in left. After two innings, it’s 2-0 Yankees, and if the offense doesn’t answer fast, this will get out of hand.

Francisco started the third with a fast ground out, and Pettite worked with very few pitches to that point. Chooch Ruiz then did what he’s been doing his entire postseason, which is hit balls hard into the left field gap, slamming one off the wall. Brett Gardner misjudged the hit, which gave Ruiz the opportunity for his fourth career triple.

Huge.

Rollins’ at bat quickly went to a 2-0 count, and the shortstop flied out to right, scoring Ruiz. The inning ended on a first-pitch pop up from Victorino, and that’s really not helpful on the pitch count, but at least they are on the board.  The score was 2-1 Yankees after 2.5 innings.

Martinez started Gardner with pitches on the corners for an 0-2 count, and finished him off with an up-and-away 86 mph fastball.

Jeter then used his Jedi skills to get Victorino to take a bad route to a sinking liner for a single, and that’s just a big damn deal. Really. Especially with Jeter a threat to steal.

Damon worked the count to 3-2 as part of Pedro’s game-long problem of not being able to finish off hitters, then drew a walk.

That was Pedro’s 51st pitch.

The Phillies called to the bullpen to get J.A. Happ warm.

With the kill shot opportunity on the first pitch, Pedro drilled Teixeira square on the leg, near the knee.

Good grief. Bases loaded for A-Rod, and, while you can’t bring in anyone but Happ here, he’s not ready. Considering the importance of the hitter and situation, you could argue for Chan Ho Park or Ryan Madson, but that’s not how baseball works.

Guillotine time again with the bases loaded and one out.

First pitch is 82 and on the black, and A-Rod misses it. Second is bounced, and Ruiz keeps it in front of him. Third is up and 82 again, but A-Rod misses it as well, and the called strikeout is on the outside.

Rodriguez and West get into each other, but the third basemen isn’t ejected. A man can dream.

Of course now Matsui, who has owned Pedro, is up. A first-pitch fastball is fouled off. A second-pitch fastball is crushed down the line and foul. Fox tells us the last pitch was 90 mph, a game high. The 0-2 pitch is a high fastball that’s lined to center for a two-run single, and Matsui now has all four RBI for the game.

The Japanese DH is now hitting .636 for the Series, and he just might have won it.

Posada ends the inning on a fly ball to right, and it’s 4-1 Yankees after three.

The fact that they couldn’t even waste a pitch to Matsui and see if he’d get himself out is telling.

Damon came out of left field on a pulled muscle and was replaced by Jerry Hairston, which might help if the Series goes to nine or ten games. The Yankees might be short some outfielders.

With Fox touting his 1-for-11 lifetime mark against Pettite, Chase Utley whiffs on seven pitches to start the fourth. Howard followed with a soft line drive to second.

With Pettite at just 47 pitches, we’re getting fairly close to counting outs until Rivera territory.

Werth drew his second walk of the game and advanced on a rare passed-ball swinging strike before Raul Ibanez drew a walk.

Balls one and two to Feliz continued a squeeze play by West, and strike one was in more or less the same place. Strike two was a no-doubter with late movement. Ball three was in the same place, and ye-gads, Pettite’s sharp on the black here.

The drama ends with a ground ball to third, because you only get one huge hero moment from Pedro Feliz in a series.

Martinez started the fourth, and I’m not sure why. Chad Durbin warmed up in the bullpen, and Cano sent Francisco to the track in left. Have I mentioned how Pedro’s got nothing in this game? It might be relevant.

Martinez picks up his fifth strikeout of the night up and away against Swisher. A line drive by Gardner to Utley ends the inning, and you’d think that four innings, five base runners, and five strikeouts would be better than this.

Score is 4-1 Yankees after four.

How many outs until Rivera? Probably not enough, really. Francisco goes down on three pitches, and wow, he’s been useless. Ruiz drew a five-pitch walk to improve matters.

Durbin appears to have the bottom of the fifth, and at least we’ll be spared a farewell chant for Pedro.

Pettite got ahead of Rollins, then induced a 2-2 double play, his second of the game, and that’s a fast and awful end to the fifth inning.

Six outs to Rivera, 12 outs to elimination.

Chad Durbin was in for the sixth and the top of the order, with Happ getting warm in the pen. Why not Park? One more run makes this game just about impossible, and Park’s been your best reliever in this series, but what the hey, he’s got to work the seventh, I suppose.

Jeter greets Durbin with a ground-rule double to left that’s just out of reach of the cursed Francisco, and I swear, every one of Jeter’s hits in this series has been a foot from being caught. It’s what he does.

Hairston, batting for Damon, sac bunts Jeter to third perfectly on the first pitch, nearly beating it out himself.

Teixeira, against a drawn-in infield, and the guillotine feeling is back. Shrugging off his 2-for-20 streak, Teixeira laces a single to first for the RBI, and it’s 5-1, Yankees.

This one’s just about over, with a 93 percent expected Yankee win on the ever-annoying ESPN app that I’m using to track pitch counts.

Durbin loses A-Rod inside on a one out walk to end his evening, and I’m struggling to pay attention. There’s laundry to do, and other posts to write, and a million better ways to spend the next hour…

Poor J.A. Happ gets to face Matsui for the kill shot, and he continues his postseason habit of falling behind the first hitter, because he’s really not a reliever, he’s a starter.

On a 3-1 count, Matsui sews up his MVP with a double off the wall, and it’s 7-1 Yankees.

I kind of hate that I have to watch the rest of this game.

Posada whiffs, Cano whiffs, and they might be the only people in the building who care.

Twelve outs to over.

In the sixth, Joe Buck starts to fellate the Yankees for signing Pettite to a trivial $10.5 million contract for this year, ignoring the fact that no other team in baseball had money to spend.

On cue, Victorino grounded out to start the inning, and the next hour of my life would be better spent on mute. Utley, with a loud foul on a 3-1 pitch, then drew Pettite’s fifth walk of the night.

Howard then shrugged off the goat horns to muscle a ball out to left for a two-run Yankee Stadium-special homer, as hope crept into the conversation. Werth can’t keep up the momentum, however, on a called third strike with Pettite on the black again.

Ibanez hit a two-out double, and that’s the end of Pettite’s night: 94 pitches and a very likely season-ending win.

Joba Chamberlain in to face Game Four nemesis Pedro Feliz, but really not counting on repeat lightning here. On a 2-1 count, Chamberlain reared back and threw it by the hitter, then induced the inning-ending groundout to third. Nine outs to over, and the Yankee pen has been, even independent of Rivera, better than advertised.

This is the point in the game when the Phillies give back any momentum with weak relief pitching. Happ goes 2-0 to Swisher, then fights back to 2-2 with a foul ball that The Cursed Francisco just barely misses in the stands. The at-bat ends in a lead-off walk, because the Yankee offense never takes an inning off, really.

With McCarver in full fellate mode over his bunting skills, Gardner fails to get it down on two of the first three pitches, and winds up getting rung up on a nice low fastball from Happ.

That ends his night, as Phillies manager Charlier Manuel goes to Chan Ho Park. Park got Jeter on a ground ball to Howard for the second out, and Hairston on a soft fly to right. Had Manueal gone to him earlier, this game might not be out of reach. A man can dream.

Joe Buck lobbied for a pinch hitter for Francisco, and the only problem with that strategy is that I’m not sure who else on the bench can play left field. The cursed one whiffs for the first out, and Chamberlain looks like his old seventh inning self again.

Ruiz continues the magic with a single to center, the third time he’s been on base tonight. Rollins watches a hanging slider for strike one, then grounds out weakly to second for the second out of the inning.

The leadoff hitter has been less then helpful, really. I’d have Rollins try to steal second here, just to see if it could rattle Chamberlain a little, and he just made it on a perfect throw from Posada. A four pitch walk to Victorino puts two men on for Utley, and that’s it for Chamberlain.

It’ll be Damaso Marte to try to keep the game locked down.

Utley against Marte in the last actually dramatic moment of the Series. Marte has retired his last 10 hitters. First pitch strike on the outside black, or just off. A slider with movement for strike two. And a called third strike on a checked swing.

And that’s your ball game, Utley’s MVP award, and the series, decided by pitchers that appeared to be a weakness before the Series, and were not when the game was on the line.

After the 9/11 Hootenanny, Park whiffed Teixeira, then got A-Rod to duck on a breaking ball that was almost a strike. If I were Park, I think I’d hit him with the next pitch on general principle, but instead, he gives up a bleeding eye single to left, and that’s his night; Scott Eyre in to face the most valuable porn enthusiast.

Rodriguez stole second on a checked swing strikeout of Matsui, setting up an intentional walk to Posada, and an inning-ending Cano whiff. It’s amazing to me how the Yankees are going to win this Series with auto-outs all over the lineup, but that’s the nature of baseball.

Marte to start the eighth against Howard, and he merely strikes the man out on three pitches, which means he’s gone through Utley and Howard on six pitches. Girardi over-manages and goes to Rivera now for the final five outs, because heaven knows that Marte was so ineffective, really.

It’s not going to matter, but if Rivera is actually ineffective here and the Yankees somehow blow the game, the over-managing will be the reason why. Honestly, there was no reason to replace Marte here; you let him pitch until someone reaches base.

Hey, it’s not a real save opportunity! That means Rivera’s gonna stink. Or, um, not. Werth whiffs, four outs to finish. A shattered bat from Ibanez as the rain suddenly falls, not that anyone in New York seems to care.

A Yankee fan screams for a punch-out on a pitch that’s a foot outside. Ibanez battles to a nine pitch at bat and double to center, and why Gardner was playing shallow, I’ve no idea. Rivera gets Feliz to pop up, and that’s the eighth.

Feliz with a great play on Swisher to start the bottom of the eighth, just one of those bare-hand do-or-die plays that the third basemen makes maybe one try out of ten. After Gardner grounds out to Utley, Manuel brings in Madson just to make sure he works every possible game, and to ensure that the game doesn’t end before midnight.

Oh, MLB. My grandkids will wonder what the big deal was, really. Jeter greets him with his usual inside-out single to right, and the man now has 175 post-season hits. Ridiculous. Madson gets Hairston to pop out to shallow left, and that’s eight innings.

Matt Stairs in to star the ninth, because this just always works— ignore the 1-for-11 postseason to date. A tiny shred of hope on a 3-1 count, and Stairs hits an upper deck foul to make the count full. A line drive to Jeter ends the at bat, and all semblance of hope, given how Rivera is already up to 20-plus pitches from the ridiculously early move away from Marte.

Ruiz is smart enough to see a lot of pitches, and even draws a one out walk; I can’t say enough about his postseason. Rollins, the true goat of the lineup, has a chance to redeem a little, but anyone who has watched him all year knows that won’t happen; he flies out to the track in right for the second out.

Victorino tries to avoid the history at bat, and falls behind 1-2 on a cutter at his ankles. Victorino battles to a full count and nine pitches, but eventually dribbles out to Cano.

And that’s your ball game; Pettite beats Martinez, and the Yankees are the champions of baseball. My team tried hard, but the New Yorkers were just better, and not by a little.

Congratulations, you humble and plucky people, you.

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Phillies-Yankees Game 5 Notes

> And we’re back, because this has gone so well the last two times I’ve tried this. Stout heart! Firm belief! Cliff Lee! I might also still be drunk.

> In that all important portion of the game where I’m not really watching due to being a less than totally worthless Dad, the Phils took a big early lead on the continued relentless awesomeness of Chase Utley. Has there ever been an MVP from a team that lost in five games? Chase could be the first. From looking at the play by play track, the continuing troubles of vast portions of the Yankee lineup—really, it’s been more timely hitting and fortunate bloops than blasts—kept them taking a big early lead.

> In the fifth inning, the Yankees used Eric Hinske as a pinch hitter, who Philly fans remember fondly for his series-ending at bat as a Ray last year. Unfortunately for fans of history and/or nice memories, former Phillies OF Greg Luzinski exists and has a barbecue stand, which trumps such matters for Fox. Somehow, I’m thinking that if things were reversed, we’d have heard about this.

> Brett Gardner got his full Aaron Rowand on with a wall-slamming catch to open the fifth on a 400-plus foot out by Jayson Werth. For no good reason, Jayson decided to circle the bases on the out, which is one of those goofy moments that seem to endear the Phillies to Tim McCarver. Then again, McCarver seems to amuse easily.

> In the sixth, Lee stranded a runner with just his second strikeout of the night, and his pitch count is getting high enough that we all know that he’s not working nine tonight. Besides, a theoretical Game 7 would happen on his throwing day. So, um, more runs would be nice. Besides, you’re playing against a freaking bomb squad. A two-out single and advance by Rollins dies there, and it’s 6-2 Phillies after six.

> Hey, America! Did you know that you can get a cheese steak in Philadelphia? If you did, did you enjoy the federally mandated video of a guy making a cheese steak?

One fine year, I swear, some video team for some sports network is going to show someone making a soft pretzel. Or a Tastykake. Or a hoagie. Honestly, America, we eat all kinds of food that tastes awesome, but will make you obese and/or dead. I know, seems impossible, and yet IT’S TRUE. There is also, I am sure you will be amazed to hear this, more to see in town than an old cracked bell. Really.

> In the seventh, Posada tried to step out and waste more time, the way that he’s been doing all series long on both offense and defense, and the umpire had none of it. Lee with the three-pitch strikeout, and the only way that could have made Philly Fan happier was if Jorge had gotten ejected, and then gone insane with rage, killing The Centaur and Brad Lidge in his accidental fury. But the strikeout was nice, too. Jerry Hairston swung on a 3-1 pitch (thank you), popping it up for the out (even more thanks). Lee then shafted Jeter on a pop up to second, and we’re six outs away from Game 6.

> Phil Coke entered the game in the seventh, and Chase Utley treated him like just about every other pitcher in this series by crushing a home run to right. In five games, he’s got five home runs, and is now tied Reggie Jackson for the most home runs in a World Series. It’s just crazy to me that anyone is throwing him anything close to the plate right now, and I know Yankee fans that are just begging for someone, anyone, to hit him with a pitch to get him off the hot streak. In the very next at bat on the other side of the coin, Howard fans for his Series-tying record of the most whiffs. It’s a funny game. Watch it long enough, you see some things… including Raul Ibanez just destroying a ball to right. Not exactly the best night of Phil Coke’s life. 8-2, home team.

> Positives for the Yanks tonight: Phil Hughes looked good. They are very likely to not face Cliff Lee again. Jeter and Damon are continuing to set the table. That’s about it.

> Manuel pulled Victorino in the top of the eighth, to the visible consternation of Shane, who I think was expecting Ben Francisco to be coming in for Ibanez, which is the usual defensive substitution. I get that Victorino could use the time off given the earlier HBP, but I’m not sure thirty minutes would make that much difference. And if you are paranoid enough to send Lee out there with the six run lead…well, I’m not the manager. And the inevitable Teixeira double to left, which Francisco might have kept to a single…gahhh. Ibanez then fails to catch a line drive to left for an A-Rod double, scoring two. GAHHHHH. Lee’s night ends, it’s 8-4 Phils, and it’ll be Chan Ho Park time. The Yankees never make it easy.

> Park gets Swisher to ground out to Utley, moving A-Rod to third. Cano pops up to shallow center and the throw from Francisco is weak and late, and good grief, is that really three runs in this inning from the failure to put Francisco in left? I’m having Danny Ozark flashbacks here, and that was over 30 years ago. I blame Fox for the Luzinski footage. Park does the job with a third out, and if the Yankees are going to rally in the ninth, they’ll have to do it from the 8-9-1 slot. And yes, I’d leave Park out there.

> Chooch Ruiz led off the eighth with a single in his bid for a drama-free ninth, but Matt Stairs had to continue to be a guy that really needs to retire with a dribbler for a double play. A quick ground out by Rollins, and that’s eight innings. Manuel then heard the prayers of every Phillies fan by not bringing in Brad Lidge; hopefully, Madson finishes the deal by actually throwing strikes, despite Tim McCarver’s ultimate whammy jinx of saying he won’t walk guys like Lidge does. Of course, he then went 3-1 on the leadoff hitter (Posada), before giving up a near home run to right for a double. GAHHH.

> Fox ups the ante on the collapse by saying how no team in Series history has ever come back from 3 down in the ninth. Matsui came on to pinch hit. I think I’d rather be watching the MNF game. Madson wild inside to go to 2-1; he looks like he’s overthrowing to me, and Matsui promptly singles to left to bring up Jeter as the tying run. Just Kill Me.

> Lidge up with Scott Eyre. Madson throws ball one to Jeter, low. McCarver goes for even bigger jinx by pointing out that Howard is holding the runner on, leaving a hole open. 2-0, then a get over fastball that Jeter watches for 2-1. And holy hell, Jeter actually grounds into a double play, and we’re an out away from this being over. That won’t go on his Cooperstown reel.

> Damon again, just like last night. Strike one is nice on the inside corner. Strike two is electric and better. Crowd feeling it. An excuse me nick for a foul. Another wasted low and away. Up and away, Damon doesn’t chase, ball one. Inside for ball two, and dammit, I’ve seen this movie before, especially the part where the SOB gets to first base on a single. And to think the guy’s worst year as a pro was his only year in Oakland.

> Teixeira up, and I’m a little surprised Madson is still in there; you could go to Eyre here, but no. Madson gets ahead 0-2 as Damon takes second on indifference. Second time this inning that the home team is a strike away…and this time, it ends. Madson gets Teixeira to chase, and for the first time in forever, the Series will go (at least) six games.

> I’m not going to look a Yankee loss in the mouth, but this one just didn’t have the feel of a World Series game to me. It’s stretching the point to say that the Yanks rolled over or didn’t want to close it out tonight; no team has the hubris to prolong a series to win in front of their own fans. But they certainly didn’t seem to be the relentless team of Game 3 or Game 4. Then again, Cliff Lee has that effect on people.

> Lee goes to 4-0 in the post-season, 2-0 in the Series. Madson with the ugly save, Utley with the heroics, and yet I can’t help but feel that this was more of a survive than a win. Game Six is Wednesday, and looks like Pettite on three days rest versus Pedro Martinez. Oh, The Hype.

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Phillies-Yankees: Game Four Notes

> In the first, Joe Blanton had no movement on his pitches, not that he’s usually drowning in it, and wound up surrendering two runs after the first two men reached base. Adding to the interest was watching A-Rod get hit, the third time that’s happened in the last two games, leading to a warning to both dugouts.

That’s always good fun, really, when you are rooting for the team that’s been doing the plunking, but A-Rod’s pointed stare into his dugout more or less gave up any chance that he was going to see vengeance. As always with The Centaur, it’s all about A-Rod.

> In the bottom of the first, the home team got a break with a bloop double to left from Shane Victorino, followed by a hammered double to right for Chase Utley. Unfortunately, CC Sabathia owned Ryan Howard, getting him on nasty stuff with a full count, and Howard is on path towards a World Series record for whiffs.

Ceec then pitched around Jayson Werth, walking him intentionally, and that’s not a sentence I’d ever thought I’d write. Three strikes set down Ibanez and kept the lead with New York, but at least they made the starter throw 24 pitches and gave me the hope of seeing the Yankee pen. But not getting the run home from second is kind of deadly against this offense; the Yankees are too good to leave opportunities uncashed.

> Joe Buck’s a fan of the Philadelphia quarantine of sports venues, which is nice and all, but until there’s actually some places to go after the game is over, the locals actually find it lacking. Supposedly, that’s what is going to happen when the Spectrum is gone, but it might take some time.

> Blanton started the second with a borderline strikeout looking call on Nick Swisher, who decided to laugh it off. Realistically, kind of a better reaction than screaming, though I’m not sure it buys you a better call next time up. A semi-hard fly ball to right was followed by a called third strike on the competent with a bat Sabathia, and there’s some mild encouragement.

> Pedro Feliz is an auto out these days, and someone that probably needs to be replaced next year, given his age and utter fungibility. It’ll be curious to see how strongly GM Ruben Amaro goes after that. I’m unaware of any obvious farm system prospect to replace him. And now that I’ve insulted him, Pedro comes back with the tying RBI to score Howard in the fourth.

> The tying run in the fourth was made in large part by Howard, who rifled a single to center and then stole a base that shocked the Fox heads almost as much as it did Sabathia. The secret of Howard running well has been slowly coming out all summer, and had he not lost weight and started moving better, there’s no way he would have scored on the single to left.

Also noteworthy was that the Phils ran at Johnny Damon’s noodle arm, which means they’ve seen Damon throw before; a good and stronger throw might have had the runner. (And for the umpire baiters among us, Howard clearly didn’t tag home plate.)

> The first two Yankees reached in the fourth, on a four-pitch walk and an infield single that Utley couldn’t convert. Sabathia looked much less comfortable trying to bunt than trying to hit, and he wound making a gift out for Blanton’s improbable sixth strikeout.

Jeter then converted on another of those bleeding little singles that the Yankees keep seeming to get, and Rollins probably keeps it in the infield had they not been playing for the double play. Damon then blooped yet another seeing-eye ball to shallow right, scoring Cabrera, and dammit, if the Yankees are going to score consistently, it’d be nice if they actually had a well-hit ball to do it. Cabrera ran through a stop sign and didn’t slide, but it didn’t matter; such are the blessings of speed.

> The next hitter was Teixeira, and he did the home team a favor by flying out on a 3-1 count to fairly deep left. Philly Fan gave A-Rod a quick “You Took Steroids” chant, and he responded by looking uncomfortable on an inside curveball before flying out to center. Blanton has been gutty, but he’s also behind, and he’s showing the world why No. 4 starters aren’t usually big World Series heroes.

> A small point from the fourth: Since Feliz took second on the overthrow and the Yankees walked Ruiz to face Blanton, they started the fifth with Rollins, not Blanton. On average, that means up to a third of a run of difference on average, and Rollins made the numbers look good with a leadoff single.

Seven base runners now in four innings, and 70 pitches; some hope with that, especially with some squeezes from the home plate umpire. Victorino waited out a five-pitch walk to bring up Utley, who looked terrible on a four-pitch pop up to short, and Howard looked no better on a two-pitch pop up of his own. Fah.

Werth needed to pick up the others, but Sabathia was tougher, and the rally died. So much for the value of starting with the leadoff man.

> Blanton worked a mostly calm sixth, getting the third out on a nifty flip from Howard off a shattered bat ground out. He’s worked six innings with seven base runners and seven strikeouts, and there’s only been one extra base hit, but he’s pitched in a little bit of bad luck, all things considered. Four earned runs in six innings against this lineup really isn’t that bad. It’s just not enough, at least so far. Park for the seventh.

> Melky Cabrera auto-ejected on a pulled hamstring for Brett Gardner, which probably won’t make that big of a difference. Ibanez continued to look helpless, but Feliz stung a ball to right to bring up the tying run, and advanced on a ground out by Ruiz. Ben Francisco hit for Blanton and flied out to center on his first pitch, and irritatingly, that’s a real fast inning for Sabathia. Pitch counts, people. Pitch counts.

> Park works the closest we can seemingly get with this offense to a clean inning, which is to say one base runner and no runs. I was starting to count outs and work on the early part of the notes when Utley took Sabathia out for the third time in the series, ending his evening and waking up the locals. Huge hit. Marte entered for Howard, and continued his irritating late-season renaissance, retiring the slugger on a middling fly ball to left. At some point, a lead would be nice.

> Madson for the eighth, and this is the third straight game he’s worked. The familiarity didn’t help The Centaur, and he’s now at .077 for the Series, with Teixeira at .071. You’d think the Yankees would be losing with numbers like that, really.

Cano reached on a bloop pop up to left, and does this offense really need luck along with everything else? Madson freezes Swisher for a called strikeout, then gets Gardner on a pop up, and we’re into the bottom of the eighth—aka, The Last Inning That Isn’t Absolutely Rivera. No time like the present, gentlemen.

> Chamberlain in for the Yanks to face Werth. You’d think Joba could afford a clean hat, but 96 mph gas up and in made that hat look good. He then rang up Ibanez up and away, and looked like Old Time Joba…and then Pedro Feliz just crushed a ball to left for the tying home run. Unbelievable. Who’s the a-hole that called Feliz an auto out?

> Brad Lidge in for the ninth, and he hasn’t worked in 10 days, while still remaining Brad Lidge. To say I’m a little nervous as he came in would be understating the point, but what the hey, bygones, right? A four-pitch out got Matsui on a pop up to short. He got ahead of the first two men with good sliders, then threw a fastball past Jeter to get ahead in the count. Big Nerves Time. Ball two doesn’t miss by much, low, and after the count goes full, the closer got Jeet to flail at a low slider. Two away.

Damon made Lidge throw nine pitches before singling to right, and ye gads, there’s some law about the Yankees ever giving you an easy inning. Then, not shockingly, Damon steals second, since Lidge is terrible holding runners on…and much worse, just takes third since the shift meant no one was covering third. GAHHHH. Lidge then continued the torment by hitting Teixeira on a 1-1 count, putting runners on the corners for Rodriguez.

Series in the balance here, along with, well, A-Rod’s career rep. No pressure. Strike one at the knees, second pitch is crushed to the wall in left. Yup, that bad feeling about Brad Lidge paid off. Won’t miss him as closer next year. Just a straight line fastball, and short of a Rivera wipeout, the Yankees have clinched the Series tonight. I was trying not to feel the Mitch Williams deja vu there, but, well, I was.

With first base open and Lidge closing in on 30 pitches, Manuel (a) leaves him in, and (b) watches the Yankee catcher end all drama with a two-run double to left. Well, what the hell, we might as well make sure that the bed isn’t only crapped in, it’s set on fire. Posada mercifully runs into the out at second, one suspects just to give Rivera the save opportunity.

Clear air turbulence rally, all with two outs and no one on, a Lidge special for 2009. On the bright side, there’s a reasonable chance that Lidge won’t ever work for the team again. Please? Pretty please?

A wag on Twitter points out that Lidge still hasn’t blown a save this post-season. Gallows humor, folks, you can’t beat it. But at least we got to see Joba Chamberlain win a game. The Phillies go meekly to Rivera in the ninth, and it’s up to Cliff Lee tomorrow night to see if the Yankees clinch in Pennsylvania or New York. Happy happy, joy joy.

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Philadephia Phillies-New York Yankees Game Three World Series Notes

10) Well, that was fun. If you like the Yankees, or rectal pain. Otherwise, not so much.

9) One of the reasons why baseball will never be football: hitting The Centaur, Alex Rodriguez, with a pitch might make you feel good, but not nearly enough, since it’s really not a help for your team. And he’s potentially just two games away from having a World Championship. I think I should be drinking more, really.

8) Jayson Werth’s second inning home run looked downright effortless, and his bomb in the sixth had beverage service. It’s been a long slow climb for this guy to be a pretty great player, but that’s really what he is; without him, this game would have lacked drama for a lot longer than it did.

7) With a 3-0 count and first base open with one out in the second, Chooch Ruiz swung 3-0 and fouled it off, then took the walk. The next hitter, Cole Hamels, bunted to third for a hit. Stunning lapse by the Yankees on an admittedly great bunt, and if you want to notice how A-Rod was nowhere near it, and how so Un-Jeet Like That Is, feel free.

Oh, and nice to see Chooch finally muscle a ball out in the ninth, if for no other reason than it made Joe Girardi use Rivera for an oh-so-taxing five pitches. I’m hoping Mariano will just wear out and explode. That’d be nice.

6) The next hitter, Rollins, went 3-0 as well, and eventually drew the bases loaded walk to make it 2-0. You could make the case that Pettite was getting a little squeezed in this inning, but not on the at-bat to Rollins.

He also showed bad control to Victorino to leave a pitch in the strike zone on 0-2, allowing Shane to reach the outfield for the sac fly. Unfortunately for the Phils, Pettite got out of further difficulty, rather than having the game blown open.

5) The Yankees scored two runs in the fourth on a borderline walk call, and an A-Rod home run that went the bare 330 feet and was ruled out after instant replay review.

And that, really, is the difference between this year and last for Hamels; when staked to a lead and looking good, he suddenly hits clear air turbulence, and then compounds the problem by throwing a curveball to Pettite to allow the tying run, then giving up back to back hits to Jeter and Damon and lose the lead.

Seriously, if the man hadn’t earned his bona fides last year, Philly Fan would have been screaming for J.A. Happ to start the game. And they would have been right.

And if this somehow gets to a seventh game, and Hamels gets the start in New York? Let’s just say that there should be guys up before the first pitch.

4) The director’s cut of the Chase ad where the woman has spent all of the points on the dress? Not pretty. But kind of arousing.

3) With one out in the sixth, Nick Swisher joined the ranks of Yankee hitters who joined their party by hitting an absolute bomb to right, and “Let’s Go Yankees” are heard in the stadium. Not a good moment on any level for the home team. Yankee offense is officially out of the cage and threatening to take over the series, and Yankee Fan can also be heard singing “Hey Hey Hey, Good Bye.”

Kind of premature for Game Three, and a bit of an insult to the Baseball Gods. But really, Yankee Fan does not believe in the Baseball Gods, or at least, they know that the deity has been bought and paid for, like everyone else…

2) After Werth’s second bomb, Pettite put Ruiz on with a walk, and the Phils were unable to do anything in the pinch hit for Happ, because Eric Bruntlett really isn’t a major league player. It does not speak well for the organization that they needed that from Bruntlett…

1) Or that they couldn’t get a clean inning from the third through the (gulp) eighth, with Chad Durbin continuing the bleeding, or from Brett Myers in the eighth, who also gave up an opposite field bomb to Hideki Matsui.

Say good bye to Brett, Phillies Fan; you really won’t miss him. The Yankee Offense is officially out of the cage, and if you’re feeling scared for Joe Blanton and his career 8.66 ERA agains the Yankees tomorrow, um, I’m with you.

In a best of seven, the team that wins Game Three usually wins the series. It’s never wise to count the defending champions out, but if they didn’t lose the Series tonight, I’ll be surprised.

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Yankees-Phillies: Game Two World Series Notes

> For 17 innings, the Phillies had played nearly mistake-free baseball (the exception: Jimmy Rollins’ ninth inning error last night), refusing to cede to the pressure that took out the Twins and Angels.

Down two in the eighth and facing Mariano Rivera in his bid for a six-out save, Rollins and Shane Victorino did exactly what you’d want them to do there—made the pitcher throw a lot of pitches and get on base.

Chase Utley then battled to a full count, and drama was brewing.

And then the runners inexplicably didn’t go as Utley got sawed off on a dribbler to second, and just as fast as you can say Missed Opportunity, that was a double play to get Rivera off the hook.

(Ed. Note: Charlie Manuel specifically didn’t send the runners, citing Utley’s contact tendencies and his desire to see Ryan Howard hit in that inning. Um, OK. So put the brainlock on the manager instead.)

You can’t overstate the magnitude of that play, really. Had Victorino gotten to second, you have Rivera likely pitching around Howard to load the bases and facing Jayson Werth with the bases loaded. He’s also doing it on his 27th pitch of his inning, and damage is usually done after a pitcher has thrown a couple of dozen pitches.

I’m not saying that Werth does damage and the Phillies come back to win the game; he is, after all, facing Mariano Freaking Rivera. Maybe Werth just makes an out. Then again, maybe he gets a hit and ties the game. You just have to send the runners there; even in the event of a strikeout, Rollins and Victorino are extremely good at stealing bases.

Oh, and it’s also all kinds of fun that the umpires blew the call at first to call Utley out. Gah.

> Pet peeve: Guys with filthy batting helmets. I get the need for luck and familiarity and all, but it still looks gross and bush league to me. At least no one in this game is taking it to true Manny-ish extremes.

> Matt Stairs, of all people, with the early RBI. It’s not exactly encouraging for the NL team when your DHs are hitting less than .200 for the year, but so long as they produce, I suppose.

> In the bottom of the seventh, Jerry Hairston fought off a little bleeder to get on base, and then Melky Cabrera delivered a clear single to right. That ended Pedro Martinez’s night and let Yankee Fan get their full “Who’s Your Daddy” on. The man actually smiled as he left, even though the game now goes eight times out of nine for the home team from here in.

If the man ever needs money after baseball, he can work forever as a wrestling heel manager to New York audiences; I suspect they would never tire of paying for the privilege of screaming for his blood.

Martinez’s night ended with 107 pitches, six-plus innings, six hits, two ER (eventually, three), two walks, eight strikeouts, and two HRs. He’s in the same exact place that CC Sabathia was last night—a good start, some bad luck, and the loss.

But I still hope he’s back next year, and I can’t imagine that Yankee Fan really wants him gone either. In a world of forgettable pitchers, you can’t deny that he’s genuinely fun to watch and/or hate.

> Chan Ho Park came in, threw hard, got ahead, and then made a two-strike mistake for the Jorge Posada insurance RBI single. Park’s just one of those guys with great stuff that I don’t trust, regardless of the numbers.

> Derek Jeter then kept the game close with an utterly inexplicable bunt strikeout. Kind of breathtaking there, really. Even if it works, you’re setting up the ice-cold Johnny Damon against a lefty; hardly something you would hope for.

Yankee Fan will explain that by blaming Joe Girardi for flashing the sign, and it didn’t come back to haunt them. But that’s besides the point. If Girardi did call for it with two strikes, Jeter should have walked into the dugout and shoved the bat up his overmanaging ass. Just inexcusable, really.

And then the inning ends with badly called double play, with the umps missing a call on a liner that Ryan Howard short-hopped. (Oh, and on the DP, the Internet broke from angry Yankee Fan tweets. Baseball Fan, I get why you want instant reply, especially when the call goes against your laundry. But honestly, isn’t the game delayed enough?)

> Ryan Howard: four ABs, four Ks, the last of which was a pretty terrible call by the umpire…but Rivera’s just getting that call in this stadium, in this point of his life. A soft line drive from Werth, but Raul Ibanez refuses to be the last out tonight.

Stairs, a 2-for-15 lifetime hitter against Rivera, for the hope against a man who has thrown 35 pitches already…but Rivera immediately jumps out to an 0-2 count and then backs the older man off the plate for ball one. Stairs waits out a diving breaking ball for ball two, but the next one catches him fishing, and that’s that.

There’s a reason why Rivera’s a first ballot Hall of Famer and Matt Stairs is, well, Matt Stairs.

> What is it about teams self-destructing against the pinstripes? Yankee Fan doesn’t want to hear this, but it’s actually what happens in most games, really. The Dodgers self-destructed against the Phillies with weak pitching. The Rockies did it with an utter inability to hit left-handed pitching.

But when you do it against the most famous franchise on the planet, Voodoo Magic Pinstripes have to be the cause. (And if “self-destruct” is defined as not sending the runners, that’s a pretty small threshold for self-destruct.)

> Encouraging for the Phillies: Alex Rodriguez stayed down tonight, and as the past two nights have shown, you can pitch to this team when he’s firing up blanks. Discouraging: The same is true for the Yankees when Howard isn’t hitting. It’s not as if he’s likely to break out in the next game either, because…

> Andy Pettitte gets the ball for New York in Game Three in Philadelphia against Cole Hamels, and, um, Pettitte’s left-handed. I know that the Phils have been aces at home, but I can’t see this series ending there. (Happy to be wrong, of course.)

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Top 13 Little Known Facts About Philadelphia Phillies Pitcher Cliff Lee

13) Baseballs are attracted to Cliff Lee’s gravitational well of awesomeness.

12) When it rains, Cliff Lee does not get wet.

11) Tonight, Cliff Lee is the #1 topic on Twitter, but only because he has allowed it.

10) His middle name is “Phifer”, which is Latin for “Much, Much, Much Cooler Than You.”

9) The Dos Equis guy feels insecure in his presence.

8) He has solved pi, but is too modest to share the information with anyone else.

7) When his son and daughter were born, he did not feel nervous. Neither did the children, or his wife.

6) He allowed his down 2007 season to give his Cooperstown plaque some variety, and to give his autobiographers a story arc.

5) Lee can throw a baseball over 150 miles per hour, but chooses not to, because it would eliminate all drama from his starts.

4) He beaned Sammy Sosa on the night that he was honored for hitting his 600th home run, because Cliff Lee knows what Sammy Sosa did.

3) It has been said that this is Cliff Lee’s world, and we’re all just living in it. But the fact is that we are all merely figments of Cliff Lee’s imagination.

2) Steroid abuse in baseball exists because of the hitters’ fear of Cliff Lee.

1) Next year, Cliff Lee will lead the Phillies in stolen bases, just to master something new.

(Feel free to add your own in the comments…)

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Top 10 Notes About Game One of the Phillies-Yankees World Series

10) Writing a notes column on a game and night like this is downright tricky. Do you refuse to write the lede ahead of time, knowing that baseball has no clock and if it turns, you will blame yourself for the jinx? Or do you wallow in the good fortune and trust that the man who has taken you this far, all the while looking like he’s working against minor leaguers in Florida in March, will just close it out, and have a little freaking faith?

The answer, of course, is the former, because you are a Philly Fan, and Philly Fan has seen much that has been unfortunate. But the temptation was immense, and the Man Crush on Cliff Lee has reached Can’t Be Believed levels. The man’s making Schilling ’93 and Hamels ’08 look like batting practice.

9) Here’s the problem with baseball in a nutshell. Tonight, we had two pitchers who had a minimum of baserunners and worked quickly. The game didn’t ever get out of hand, and the offense was mostly contained to a few innings. One team never changed its starting pitcher. And yet, at the start of the eighth inning, we were still more than 2:20 into the game, which is to say, what it should take to play nine, not seven — and the whole thing didn’t wrap until 3:30.

Don’t blame the players; blame the networks, for just jamming in tons of extra ads — nearly twice as many as a normal game. If there’s a short term gain to be made from long term damage, MLB will always, always make that trade.

8) With one out in the sixth, Lee caught a pop up from Johnny Damon with less interest than you might show in scratching your nose. The next hitter (Mark Teixiera, who usually involves a little more worry from the pitcher) then dribbled out to Utley at second to close the inning. With one out in the seventh, he got Jorge Posada to tap out to the mound, and tagged him on the ass. With nobody on in the eighth, he retired Robinson Cano on a comebacker behind his back.

Has a starting pitcher ever been this good and seemed more bored?

(Oh, and postgame, he’s just standing on the field shrugging, whereas most guys are running for the showers and putting ice on their shoulders. I’m pretty sure he’s going to go celebrate with a nap.)

7) Is anyone else shocked at the sight of back to back nights with baseball games? C’mon, MLB — why so much so soon? We need more off days!

6) I’m not normally a fan of sacrifice bunts, but when you are trying to stretch out the pitch count of a #1 starter, and have a first pitch (not so much) hitter like Pedro Feliz at the plate… well, let’s just say a fast inning wasn’t helpful in the seventh. The bottom of the lineup is going to have to be better than that if the Fightin’s are going to win this series. (But then again, since the Yankees insist on their 7th inning hootenanny, maybe a fast inning actually kept Lee on pace.)

5) With Utley’s two bombs to right and Rollins nearly getting there in the eighth, the thought comes to mind… just how much does this Phillies team enjoy Yankee Stadium? The power is mostly left-handed, and the porch to right is short. Kinda helpful, really.

4) Why do advertisers not realize that high frequency ads during closely watched sporting events drive the audience insane and hurt their brand? I’m looking at you, DirecTV. And you do this every damn year.

3) A very long eighth inning could have ended with real deflation and worry that Lee would have rested too long… but instead, Raul Ibanez bounced a 2-strike single through the hole to right, and suddenly the 2-0 lead was doubled, and Yankee Fan seemed to make for the subway. Just huge, and took things out of the realm of a bloop and a blast. The extra two runs in the ninth were helpful, too.

2) The Phillies really need to stop throwing the ball into the dugout on double play balls. That’s something like the third time this postseason, and it ended the shutout.

1) Lee, on his 118th pitch of the night, struck out Alex Rodriguez, and I’m pretty much assuming that there weren’t enough fans left in the stands to boo him. Fox then had him throwing 99 to Posada, which is of course an error, but hey, it’s Fox — they’re prone to hyperbole. Lee then bent Posada into the ground for the closing strikeout, and my heavens, what a performance. Just complete and utter domination.

Oh, and there was actually some debate on Twitter as to whether Lee should have been allowed to pitch the ninth, given his pitch count. He had the first 10 Ks and 0 walk game in a World Series since, gulp, 1903. Yeah, I’m thinking he deserved to finish.

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The Series Pick: Why the Phillies Will Win in Six

For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been hearing how wonderful it would have been had there been a Dodger-Yankee World Series.

Everyone would have relived their Reggie Jackson childhood, both coasts would be covered in baseball interest, it’s iconic and yada yada yada.

It turned my stomach.

I get that the world hates repeat champions, but honestly? Rooting for Joe Torre and Manny Ramirez (aka, the faces of everlasting Yankee and Red Sox success) while they were wearing the laundry of the team that taught me crushing childhood sadness?

Garry Maddox, sunshine, center field. Greg Luzinski, night, wall, no. Manny Freaking Mota. Crying my eight-year-old eyes out while wondering why God hated my team, and vowing never to care this much about a team ever, ever, ever again.

Why, the Eagles are much more worthy of my devotion! They’re sure to win this playoff game against Atlanta…

Anyway, the Dodgers got pounded over the head and shoulders and lost for the second straight year in five short games, and I really hope there’s some eight-year-old in SoCal that’s learned a good and painful lesson about life and will grow up thinking the same bitter thoughts that I did.

On the other hand, he’s probably a Lakers fan. Crap.

Now, is it attractive to savor the tears of a theoretical child? Of course not. But let me speak frankly on the behalf of my hometown, Philadelphia, to the rest of the nation.

We get it. We understand that you don’t like us. As a matter of fact, we’re completely comfortable with that and respect your opinion. Most of the time, we don’t like ourselves that much, either, mostly because we keep hearing our fellow fans on the radio making a complete ass out of themselves.

I’ve been a Philly Fan living in Philly, Northern California, and now central New Jersey. It’s easier in Jersey, and a hell of a lot easier in NoCal.

And for the next four to seven baseball games, a very large chunk of America will be waving the red flag, wishing with all of their hearts for Ryan Howard to be clutch, and rooting for our laundry as if it were their own, simply because we’re The Not Yankees.

It’s deeply unsettling, really.

This is not how it’s supposed to be for a defending champion. You’re supposed to be enjoying your Us Against The World status, waist-deep in the glow from last year’s triumph. So long as you aren’t Boston Fan, you don’t write books about it. You just accept the rare respite from disappointment and try to remember as much of the ride as possible, because this is so much better than what normally happens.

Having all of these new people—especially, pah, Boston Fan—on the bandwagon is just wrong. It’s our bandwagon. We know you’re not going to be on it long. So go screw. (And you thought I was kidding about the Not Liking thing.)

For Philadelphia, this Series is perfectly/awfully designed to legitimize last year’s title, not that anyone ever throws these things back. No one outside of town will think any less of this team if they fail to repeat. Having left Jonathan Broxton’s career in a dumper, as well as denying TorreManny twice, is more than enough joy for the Hangover Year.

(And oh, Dodger Fan? You just keep sucking on that until it turns sweet. Thirty-year-old revenge is sweet.)

Last year, the Rays fell in five close games that no one outside of Philadelphia watched. This year, they get The Billion Dollar Beasts with the most famous baseball players in the world, and they’ll also have the road field disadvantage, thanks to MLB’s continued insistence on giving the All-Star Game undue weight.

And yet…I still want to pick them.

The real problem for the Phillies in this series isn’t a hitter. It’s Yankee ace CC Sabathia, who presents the very first dominant left-handed SP that the Fightins will face in this postseason. As the numbers show, southpaws with stuff turn Ryan Howard into something much less than helpful, and they also don’t do wonderful things for Raul Ibanez, Chase Utley, and the two switch hitters at the top of the lineup.

I could easily see Sabathia starting three games in this series and putting his team in a great position to win all of them. Cliff Lee, God bless him, just doesn’t have the same vibe. When they were both Indians, no one ever thought of giving Lee the top spot in the rotation, even when he was having the Cy Young year in the AL.

But here’s the dirty little secret about both of these guys: The opposing team has smacked them both around. In three lifetime games against the Phils, Big Ceec is 1-1 with a 4.35 ERA. In less happy news, Cliff Lee is 4-4 with a 5.04 ERA against NY. No one else on the starting staffs has a huge chance at dominance, though a lot of competence is likely.

There’s also this: New York didn’t exactly steamroll through the first two series. They were tight against a Twins team that gave away games and had a spent (hurt) closer. They needed six games and sweat to take out an Angels team with more defense and baserunning issues.

There’s no doubt that the Fightins are the best team New York will face this postseason, and maybe they catch the Beasts in a bit of a paper tiger moment here.

The fun part about this Series, at least for those without undue emotional investment, is that it should actually be fun to watch. I don’t know about you, but when every single game in October is a four-hour stomach wrecker where the announcers can tell me how a single base hit is indicative of Character, Guts, and Greatness that mortal men rarely achieve, I kinda want to break the television.

In this series, where both teams have pitching staffs that can be had and hitters that don’t shrink in the spotlight, we should have 50-plus runs scored between the two teams over the course of the series. It won’t be pinball, but it won’t be soccer either.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, continuing his run of gutsy decisions that we all hope will continue to turn out aces, is going to go with Pedro Martinez instead of Cole Hamels in Game Two in New York. I love this move, if only for the theater of it; if Pedro can summon the old magic for this start, I think we’d have the perfect walk away moment for the man.

(Don’t count on that, BTW. Pedro likes money, and his lifetime win total could use another 20 to 30 more to make his Cooperstown plaque more impressive.)

Speaking of the managers, keep an eye on Yankee skipper Joe Girardi, who has shown a predilection for the overmanage this playoff with his shaky setup men. Luckily for Joe, Yankee Fan is just happy to be here and will cheerfully accept a Series loss so long as the team plays hard.

(I’m just receiving word that, actually, no, this isn’t the case. If they lose, Girardi gets vilified as Not Torre forever and ever. No pressure, Joe. Just make a few extra moves with the pitchers and try harder. Much harder.)

I hate the 2-3-2 format as well (what, New York and Philly are too far away? I freaking commute this on a daily basis), which means that the following pick is downright insane to make. But so is this year, where the team with better defense, a deeper bullpen, a much more productive outfield, and a defending championship is a strong underdog.

Phillies in six.

Now, go on out there and win it for Harry Kalas, men. We need to hear him sing some more.

http://fivetooltool.blogspot.com – The Sports Blog That Loves You Back!

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Top 10 Dodgers-Phillies Game Five Questions

10) Was the TBS crew contractually unable to mention that the fans were chanting “You Took Steroids” and “Hit the Showers” at Manny Ramirez?

9) Is it really worth a tongue-lashing from the people inside your television if you are lacking avocado, or should we just move straight to capital punishment?

8) Will the Phillies throw at the Dodgers in their first game against them in 2010 for all of the hit batsmen in Wednesday’s clinching game?

7) After 1,500 regular season games, how long will it take for Raul Ibanez to calm down enough to actually play in a World Series game?

6) Why is Ryan Madson only able to bear down after a run scores and people are starting to lose their fudge?

5) Did Brad Lidge find another soul to sell for the 2009 postseason, or is his 2009 to date just part of the same deal?

4) Can someone please use the 30+ years of media library to have Harry Kalas call the ninth?

3) Will the Phillies vote for a partial share to ex-teammates and welcome sights Randy Wolf and Vicente Padilla?

2) Do the Dodgers take some comfort in finally holding Ryan Howard without an RBI?

1) If they finish the job in the World Series and become the first repeat winner in the NL in 30 years, will that be enough to make Philadelphia a baseball town?

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