Broad Street Believers

Well, here we go again.  After one much-needed day off (for the fans), we are right back to the heart attacks that are involved in being a fan of either of these World Series teams tonight with Game Six.  Andy Pettitte, on short rest, versus Pedro Martinez in an epic game that has everything in place as “one for the ages.”  I think it’s pretty safe to say that neither pitcher will be dominant, the way Cliff Lee and A.J. Burnett were in the first two games of the series.  And, there are some absolutely red-hot hitters on both sides of the diamond right now, so it’s safe to say that there will be quite a few runs scored tonight, and the bullpens may be in play rather early.  All of this adds up to a brutal, brutal game for the fans tonight.  Think about these factors, and how they will probably take years of the lives of Phillies fans tonight:

•  Game 6 of the World Series
• At Yankee Stadium
• Do-or-die
• A 37-year old starting pitcher who probably won’t pitch more than 7 innings, no matter what
• A very, VERY shaky bullpen, consisting of exactly ZERO pitchers in which we can have a lot of confidence
• Lots of runs scored, so it should be close throughout, with no one ever out of it
• A potent Yankees lineup, featuring two first-ballot Hall of Famers who are red-hot, hitting 1st and 4th
• The best relief pitcher of all-time, who probably comes into play as early as the 7th inning
• Cole Hamels (who probably doesn’t even instill confidence in his own mother, at this point) scheduled as tomorrow’s starting pitcher, if we can even get there

So, let us think about what has to be done for this Phillies team to repeat as champs.  As, I often like to do when watching a baseball game–especially in the playoffs–is to start “counting outs.”  I talk about it all the time when I do live blogs because it’s usually reserved for once a game gets underway and you start to surmise who each manager is going to use his bullpen.  But, with the Phils needing two wins to win the title, it might be relevant to start doing so already. 

The Yankees, in all intents and purposes, need 21 outs.  You can safely assume that Mariano Rivera is available for 2 innings…at least.  I heard Girardi say that he’s looking at 35-40 pitches from Mo, which, he feels, does put him in play possibly as early as the middle of a Phillies’ 7th inning.  But, let’s say, for argument’s sake that Mo is going to give the Yanks a two-inning save to win the title.  And, let’s also say that, chances are, the Phillies do not get to the best reliever of all-time.  So, the Yankees need 21 outs from either Pettitte + middle relief OR Sabathia + middle relief.

Doogan started this discussion in yesterday’s post, when he talked about how the Phillies were going to piece together the 54 outs they need to take this series.  54 outs.  That is what is staring at the Phils right now.  And, to be honest, it’s hard to imagine that they have the horses to get 54 outs right now, period–let alone the daunting task of doing it in Yankee Stadium against the AL’s best lineup.

But, let’s do some math.  Absolute best-case scenario over the next two nights from the starting pitchers is about 40 of the 54 outs needed.  Pedro will not go more than 7 innings tonight, and realistically, if you go into the 7th with Hamels (or Happ or a combination of the two) in Game 7, you’ve gotta be pretty happy.  Yes, Hamels can throw a gem, but he can also struggle to get out of the 4th.  Getting 6+ from him is probably the most we can hope for. 

This leaves the Phillies, in the absolute best-case scenario, needing 14 outs from the bullpen.  It’s definitely realistic to think that Scott Eyre will get a big out against a left-hander in each of the two games.  In fact, I could see him getting back-to-back hitters, since Posada and Tex are much better left-handed, so you could get a Damon-Tex combo or a Posada-Matsui combo, at some point in the later innings.  So, let’s give Scott Eyre 3 outs.  That leaves 11, with 6 of those outs, most likely, having to be 9th-inning outs in Yankee Stadium. 

If we’re operating under the assumption that both starters have good outings, J.A. Happ is not going to be a long man (and if he is, his outs in that role will be counted above).  Can we say that some combination of situational appearances from LH Happ and RH Durbin will get three more outs?  I think that’s fair. 

This leaves eight.  Eight big outs in the 8th or 9th innings in World Series games in Yankee Stadium.  If all of the above goes as described above (and, again, that’s a HUGE “if”), we need eight outs, in some combination, from Brad Lidge, Ryan Madson, Chan-Ho Park, Brett Myers, and dare-I-say-it Cliff Lee.  That’s what this season may come down to–can that motley quintet of a head-case closer, a head-case former front-line starter, a former big-dollar starter turned budget reliever, a great setup man who has never shown the guts to close, and an elite starting pitcher on TWO DAYS’ REST get eight outs in the next two nights???

Can they?

I just may be-LEE-ve in miracles…

A big Game 5 win is behind the Phillies and they now have today to catch their breaths and prepare for what is still an uphill climb to another title.  From the very start of this postseason, there have been two big questions with the Phils: how will they use their starting pitchers?  And, is the bullpen good enough?  So, it’s fitting that, with a maximum of two games left, those are still the questions that need to be answered.

The good news is that if they can pull this off, if they can go into Yankee Stadium and win Games 6 and 7 of the World Series, their legacy will be written in stone.  They will go down as one of the most clutch teams in the history of the sport.  And Charlie Manuel, given the magic act he’s had to perform with his pitching staff, will have done as much as any manager I’ve ever seen to earn a championship.  This is the opportunity the team is faced with in the next couple of days and, knowing this team, I’m guessing they couldn’t be happier about it.  Teams like this aren’t just “not afraid” of pressure-packed situations, they look forward to them and thrive in them.

That being said, this sport comes down to getting people out, and it will be endlessly interesting to see how the Phillies go about getting the 54 outs that they’ll need to win the next two games.  The one thing we know for sure is that Pedro Martinez will get the ball to start Game 6.  He’s looked great in his two postseason starts so far, and I don’t see any reason why we can’t expect another solid outing.  Also, I don’t see any reason why we can’t expect the Phils to put up some runs on Andy Pettitte.  He didn’t shut them down in Game 3 (6 innings, 4 runs) and he’ll be going on three days rest, for the first time in three years, at the age of 37 (and sans steroids, let’s just add).

But what does Charlie do in the late-innings of a close game?  Is it time, in Game 6 of the World Series, for a major overhaul of the bullpen?  I have very little confidence right now in Brad Lidge and Ryan Madson.  Chan Ho Park and Chad Durbin have looked better than them in the last few weeks, but do you decide to throw one of them out there in the 8th or 9th inning of a one-run game in Yankee Stadium? I really don’t know.  One thing I do know, though, is that Charlie needs to go back to using Scott Eyre.  Eyre definitely should have started the 9th inning last night (with Posada and Matsui coming up) and he definitely should have finished it (with Damon batting, after Madson had nearly imploded).  The Yankees got two pretty big hits by left-handed hitters, while Eyre sat and watched in the pen.  Why?  Either way, Charlie will have some very tough decisions to make if the Phils have a small lead in the late-innings tomorrow night.

Of course, the final big question surrounding Phillie pitching is who would get the Game 7 start.  Now, I’m not going to jump in on the Cole Hamels psycho-analysis.  Let’s just say that everything I said in the second paragraph about “teams like this”, simply don’t apply to Hamels.  And so, yes, it’s pretty scary to imagine handing him the ball in Game 7 in Yankee Stadium.  The only alternative, J.A. Happ, is a rookie, who would be making his first start in weeks, and would be doing it in the most pressure-packed situation possible.   But, Happ did pitch well in Yankee Stadium in May (6 innings, 2 runs) and, is he really that much bigger of a question mark than Hamels at this point?  It would be a tough call, and I have to think Charlie would go with Hamels, but if the Phils can pull off a win on Wednesday, we’ll just have to wait and see what they do.

The good news for Phillie fans: Chase Utley and Jayson Werth are red-hot.  Jimmy Rollins is starting to get on-base.  Shane Victorino should benefit from the day of rest today after the injury to his hand.  And, oh yeah, you’re two wins away from a world championship!

So, as The Greatest Baseball Writer on the Planet describes in his ESPN story today, unless something crazy happens over the next three days, the 2009 World Series’s signature moment may have been The Damon Play last night in Game Four.  For those of you who didn’t see it (what the hell else could you have been doing?), Johnny Damon stole second and third on the same pitch.  The Phillies incorporated “The Shift” against left-handed hitting Mark Teixeira, which meant that Pedro Feliz was the only guy on the left-side of the infield, so when Damon, who had reached on a base-hit after an epic battle with Brad Lidge, tried to steal second, it was Feliz there to cover…and no one to cover third base.  So, when Damon slid past Feliz, he simply got up and start running towards third, knowing that the only way he would be out is if Feliz ran him down–no chance of that, even at 35 years old, because Damon can still run.

Now, I see the great baserunning ability.  Trust me, I really appreciate good baserunning, and Damon has always been very intelligent on the bases.  And, unlike seemingly every over-intelligent announcer, I do not fault the Damon Play for the hits to Rodriguez or Posada.  Lidge has total confidence in Ruiz to block the slider, he just made two bad pitches to two good hitters.  I also don’t blame Pedro Feliz or Jimmy Rollins, at all, on the play.  The only one who made a bad defensive play was Lidge, but, trust me, you can’t trust pitchers to do anything other than throw the ball.  This play just opened up, on the grandest of stages, one thing that I Just Don’t Get about the strategic choices of managers surrounding The Shift.  Maybe someone out there smarter than me (which is not difficult to be) can explain it to me.

When incorporating The Shift (and, let us leave the “to or not to shift” debate out of this for the time being), WHY do managers put the shortstop on the right-side of the infield and not the thirdbaseman???

In fact, I have only seen one manager that does what I am suggesting, in moving the thirdbaseman over and keeping the shortstop on the left-side by himself, and that manager is Fredi Gonzalez (I’m sure there are others, but he is the only I that I have seen do it consistently).  When the “shift-worthy” lefties come to the plate against the Marlins, Gonzalez keeps Hanley Ramirez on the left side and sends the thirdbaseman (be it Jorge Cantu or whomever) over to the right side to play just to the right of the secondbase bag–where Charlie plays Rollins.  

This strategy seems to make a lot of sense to me because the shortstop is usually the better athlete and there is a lot more ground to cover when you’re the only one on the left side.  Plus, this move keeps the SS in his regular position on the diamond, where he is presumably most comfortable.  You only have to have one guy (the 3B) out of position, instead of two.  BUT…it seems to make EVEN MORE sense to do when there is a guy on first, because otherwise, you have your 3B covering second on a steal attempt (which is exactly what happened Sunday). 

Now, I’m not ripping Charlie Manuel here, at all because it seems like 28 other managers in the league would have done the same thing, but I am saying that if Jimmy Rollins had taken that throw, he would have (a) known more what to do on a steal attempt of second and (b) would have had the athleticism/footspeed to run down Damon if he tried to head for third.

Honestly, I just don’t get it.

6:40 PM:  We’re about 90 minutes from the start of Game 5, and the champagne and ice have already been shipped to Citizens Bank Park in anticipation of the Phillies winning their second straight National League Championship.  Joe Torre’s Dodgers have their backs against the wall in an elimination game on the road, while the Phillies confidence must be at an all-time high following yet another how’d-they-do-that win in Game 4 on Monday night.

The Phils will send Cole Hamels to the mound, just as they did in the Game 5 clincher of last year’s NLCS against these Dodgers.  That’s about where the similarities end for Hamels.  Last year at this time, he was the most dominant pitcher on the planet.  So far this October, he’s probably been the Phils’ least reliable starter, coming into tonight’s game with a 6.97 ERA in his first two games.  This is definitely the least-crucial game the Phils have had in the playoffs, but if Hamels could come out and dominate the Dodgers, it would not only end this series, but would be a fantastic boost for the pitching staff heading into the Fall Classic.  In last year’s Game 5, Hamels allowed one run in seven innings.  Let’s hope for a repeat performance.

The Dodgers counter with Vicente Padilla, who dominated the Phillies in the Dodgers’ Game 2 win last week.  It’s well-documented that Padilla is not the most mentally stable person in the world, so it will be interesting to see how he reacts to adversity on enemy territory in Philly.  The Phillie hitters all know exactly what to expect from him now, so maybe they can put some runs on the board early.  Maybe there will be a repeat of last year’s Game 5, when Jimmy Rollins led off the game with a home run.

8:08 PM:  OK, a note on superstitions here as the game gets started.  First off, I’ve worn the same Phillies t-shirt for every playoff game over the last two years.  At this point, I’m not sure how much money someone would have to offer me just to have me NOT wear this shirt during a game.  I’m pretty sure it would be quadruple-digits.  Second, I’m enjoying some Dogfish Head “Punkin Ale” with the game tonight.  I also had this beer on Sunday night during the 11-0 win, so that’s a good sign.  I made a small misstep though at the start here.  I poured the beer into a regular pint glass, instead of my Phillies mug given to me as a groomsman gift for Bry’s wedding last year.  I’ve made the switch to that mug now, and we’re all set-up for victory in my apartment.

8:19 PM:  The Dodgers stick with the same lineup they used in Game 4 and Andre Ethier comes through with a first-inning homer.  Buck Martinez said that Hamels had “good command” of his fastball one pitch after he clearly missed his spot and one pitch before he gave up the homer on a 1-2 fastball in the middle of the plate.  Hamels didn’t want to throw the change-up to Ethier for some reason.  Ethier kept fouling off fastballs before finally hitting one out.

8:25 PM:  I guess it’s a bad sign for the Dodgers that when the cameras showed Padilla in the dugout during the top of the 1st, my girlfriend asked, “Who’s that sweaty, fat guy in their dugout?”

8:34 PM:  I guess it was a bad sign!  The Dodgers decided they don’t want to pitch to Ryan Howard anymore, but that’s not gonna work against this offense.  Padilla ran a deep count against Jayson Werth, then put a series of fastballs in the middle of the plate, before Werth finally pounded one over the right-field fence for a three-run bomb!  Now we need Hamels to get the job done.

8:41 PM:  Hamels gives up another solo shot to a left-hander in the 2nd.  As the announcers said, lefties are now 9-14 with 3 homers against him in the playoffs.  I wonder if it’s because he’s not throwing enough change-ups to them.  A lot of times, lefties are hesitant throw change-ups to left-handed batters, but Cole has to be an exception.  That pitch is what makes him so great, and if he makes himself just a fastball-curveball pitcher, he’s going to get hit.

8:50 PM:  Pedro “Pete Happy” Feliz leads off the 2nd with a homer!  Looks like we could be headed for a shoot-out in this one.  When they show the close-up of the Dodgers’ right-handed hitters, there’s a fan over their shoulder with a sign that says, “This guy stinks”.  Pretty funny.

8:58 PM:  Hamels ends a 1-2-3 3rd inning by striking out Ethier on a…change-up.  He needs to keep going to it like that.

9:17 PM:  Heading to the bottom of the 4th, and maybe it won’t be a shoot-out.  Neither pitcher has allowed a hit since Feliz led off the 2nd with that homer.  Though with Hamels already at 76 pitches, the bullpen will be in there before too long.

9:28 PM:  A single and double from Werth and Raul Ibanez to start the 4th put the Phils up 5-2 and chase Padilla from the game.  You could argue that the Dodgers made a mistake leaving Padilla in the game after the 2nd inning.  It was pretty obvious that he didn’t have it tonight and in an elimination game when you have “all hands on deck” in the pen, you can’t afford to see if the guy will pull it together.  I’m a big fan of quick hooks in the playoffs, especially when your facing elimination.

9:50 PM:  Joe Torre may have left Padilla in the game too long, but he managed the 4th inning in a pull-out-all-the-stops manner, bringing in his main set-up man, George Sherrill.  Sherrill couldn’t prevent further damage though, hitting Shane Victorino with the bases loaded, stretching the lead to 6-2.  Rick Honeycutt has really been wearing out the phone to the bullpen already.  And speaking of Honeycutt, seeing him makes me feel really old.  I vividly remember watching him pitch, and now he’s pretty damn old looking.

10:00 PM:  Another underwhelming outing from Hamels comes to an end, as he gives up a pinch-hit homer to Orlando Hudson and a double to Rafael Furcal.  Hamels goes just 4.1 innings, gives up 3 runs (and is responsible for the runner on 2nd), and will get a no-decision for his efforts.  J.A. Happ is on in relief.

10:17 PM:  Clayton Kershaw, the scheduled Game 6 starter, is on in relief for the Dodgers.  Win or lose now, the Phillies have accomplished something.  The Dodgers will most likely be left choosing between Hiroki Kuroda and Chad Billingsley for the Game 6 start, if they manage to get there.

10:21 PM:  In response to Bry’s comment below (#5):  After Manny didn’t run out of the box on that play, I was left wondering if he’s really worth all of the money you have to pay him.  I know when he’s producing like he did last year, he is worth it, but he can’t be that dangerous with the bat all the time.  He’s a total liability defensively, he can’t run, he doesn’t care in the least about winning.  I think the guy’s pretty hilarious, but I wouldn’t want him on my team.

10:37 PM:  Helluva job by Chad Durbin for 1.1 innings.  He hasn’t given up a run in his 5 appearances now in the post-season.  We’ll take everything we can get from this bullpen.

10:45 PM:  Not that he’s the only guy on this team you could say this about, but the legend of Shane Victorino grows a bit more with big 2-run homer to put the Phils up by 5 through 6 innings.  For the Dodgers, facing elimination and a 3-1 deficit in the series, that had to be such a deflating hit.  A five run hole feels incredibly different than three.  The Phils can taste that NL pennant now.  But still 9 outs to get.

10:47 PM:  And, not to get ahead of ourselves, but the Phillie bullpen is STILL not completely settled and figured out, so how these guys perform in the rest of this game could determine how they’re used in the World Series, you know, if we get there.  The way Park has been pitching, he could move into a more important role next week.

11:07 PM:  Ho hum, just another LONG home run by Jayson Werth.  9-3 Phils heading to the 8th.  Interesting that Charlie is sticking with Park here in the 8th.  Hard to argue with that.  I’d honestly like to see Lidge pitch the 9th no matter what.  I just want another look at him pitching a whole inning before we head into the next series.

11:18 PM:  OK, this is pretty much what I was talking about with the bullpen.  Madson comes in and inexplicably walks Manny, with a 6 run lead, then gives up a single to Kemp to score a run.  If we win this game (I’ll keep saying ‘if’), Park should move past Madson as our main set-up man.  He’s clearly out-pitched him throughout this series.

11:29 PM:  Madson pulls it together and gets out of the 8th with a 9-4 lead.  3 OUTS from the pennant.  I’m sure the Yankees and their fans, after a 103-win regular season and cruising through the playoffs so far, are feeling very confident right now.  But they have to be fearing this Phillie team a bit.  There will be plenty of time to ponder that series if it ends up coming, but no team can have too much confidence going against these Phillies in a playoff series.  Or at least they shouldn’t.

11:52 PM:  NL CHAMPIONS!!!!! AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!! YES!!!

12:03 AM:  I said coming into this series that I wasn’t going to make the mistake of underestimating the Phillies again, so I picked them to win the series, in 7 games.  Well, I underestimated them again it seems, as they take out the Dodgers 4-1, outscoring them 35-16 and, put simply, dominating this series.  The ridiculous thing is, they’ve dominated EVERY team they’ve gone up against in these 5 playoff series over the last two years.  The Phillies are now 18-5 in the last two post-seasons.  Come on, that’s unbelievable.  As the great Charlie Manuel just said, “We have one more step to go, and we’re gonna get it!!”

All I have to say is “Wow!”  Let us all just sit back, for a second, and take in what we have been witnessing in these past two postseasons.  If it were another team, somewhere else, we might see posts on BSB about it.  But, it is our team.  This is spectacular.  Let us not lose the perspective that this may only happen once in a lifetime–if you’re lucky.  This team combines just about everything you would want in a team for which you are rooting on a daily basis.  Win or lose this year, we are witnessing something special.  Think about the components of this team:

• A never-say-die attitude that makes them so much better when the game/season is on the line.
• An affable, but underappreciated manager who is a true baseball “lifer” and seems to be enjoying this ride as much as anyone.  As Doogan mentioned the other day, he really is a guy that you want to succeed.  And, they’re not doing it “despite” him or even “for” him; this team succeeds “because” of Charlie Manuel.
• An incredible work ethic, personified by its best players.  The old sports adage that says that a good team is one where their best players are also their hardest workers.  Chase Utley and Ryan Howard are absolute workaholics.  It’s well-documented that Utley is among the most prepared hitters in baseball.  His film study routine rivals Peyton Manning’s.  And, think about Ryan Howard.  He was the MVP in 2007 and the runner-up in 2008.  He has earned himself back-to-back record-setting arbitration contracts.  His offensive prowess, alone, will make him more money than he can fathom spending in his lifetime.  And, then last October, he leads his team to a World Series championship.  So, what does he do to celebrate this offseason?  He is already a World Champion, an MVP, and a ridiculously wealthy man.  He has the best power numbers to start a career of anyone who has ever played.  But, instead of saying “I’ve made it; I’m at the top of my profession,” he decides to use the offseason to improve the only two things anyone has ever questioned about his game–his weight and his defense.  That is the sign of a true professional.
• And, not only do we fans want to see the best players working the hardest, but we also need an attitude.  This team has that, too.  Other teams hate Shane Victorino, and for all the right reasons.  Jimmy Rollins has the ultimate “F-you” attitude.  Even Utley, who is quiet and seemingly mild-mannered, has an intensity that manifests itself when he is challenged.  Plus, you throw the wild-card of Pedro Martinez into the mix, and this team has the perfect combination of “good guys” and “hell-raisers” to be both professional and unintimidated, at the same time.
• They have character.  The only guy who has even aroused any steroid discussion is injured relief pitcher, J.C. Romero–who was never caught for anything related to steroids.  He was suspended for taking something on the banned substances list, but it was not anything that is even remotely linked to a steroid of any kind.  This team is clean.  And, they are just good.
• And, finally, they have fun, and they really band together.  Most of the team is home-grown, from the farm system.  Again, as Doogan, mentioned, I thought the same thing about Howard talking about Ruiz running faster than he’s seen since Rookie Ball in Clearwater.  These guys have been together every step of the way.  They are not hired mercenaries.  They are brothers.  Even Chan-Ho Park has said that on all the teams he has even been on since coming to the States from Korea, he has never actually felt like a part of the team…until now.  He felt like he belonged from Day One.

So, now, we are one win away from a World Series date, probably with the notorious Bronx Bombers.  The “Best Team that Money Can Buy,” the team with, by far, the largest steroid cloud over the past decade.  The team that fired their manager after TWELVE consecutive playoff appearances.  The team that spent a half-a-billion dollars this offseason.  This could be a lot of fun…if we get there.

Yes, both series are 3-1, but let us not get ahead of ourselves.  And, let us look at a couple notes about the NLCS, and possibly, moving forward.  These are just random notes about a lot of things Phillies-related:

• Okay, I really do not understand the fact that Pedro looks like he will be the Game Six starter.  Maybe it’s not a final decision because, obviously, the Phillies are hoping there won’t a Game Six, but it makes absolutely no sense to throw Pedro and not Cliff Lee.  We all know that anything can happen in a Game Seven, so you have to do everything in your power to avoid one.  And, Lee, having pitched Sunday, would be on regular rest for Friday’s Game Six.  PLUS (and this is a big one), IF the Phillies do win this NLCS, the World Series starts on Wednesday night.  This means that if Lee pitches Friday in Game Six, he will be ready, on regular rest for Game One.  But, if the Phils throw Pedro and lost, and need Lee on Saturday for Game Seven, he won’t be ready until Game Two on Thursday.  Again, I haven’t found anything from the Phillies brass saying that it won’t be Lee, so I hope that they see the logic as well.  Plus, wouldn’t you rather have Lee in a Game Six, when saving the bullpen is important and then throw Pedro in a Game Seven when it’s “all-hands-on-deck?”  I know I would.  But, let’s not think about any games back in LA (unless it’s in Anaheim), especially a Game Seven.
• I think it’s funny that the Dodgers are going with Vicente Padilla in Game Five.  Is Torre desperate?  And, if so, is Vicente Padilla really the answer to desperation?
• How good has Carlos Ruiz been?  To get that kind of production out of the bottom of the lineup, with this STACKED order, is invaluable.
• All through these playoffs, I have heard all the pundits talking about Brad Lidge, and I have never, ever bought into the “Lidge is Back” theory…until Monday night.  I did not see what the “experts” were seeing.  Yes, he was three-for-three in save opportunities, but I thought all three were shaky…until Monday.  His performance, albeit against just two hitters, was STARKLY reminiscent of the 2008 version.  Both hitters were fooled by slider and unable to hit fastballs.  He looked dominant.
• I am sick of Phillies fans complaining about the “bias” of the national announcers.  And, I am just as sick of non-Phillies fans feeling they have to defend Chip Caray and Ron Darling.  They are not biased, they are just really, really bad.  I know I said this before, but I thought Brian Anderson and Joe Simpson were terrific in the first round, am I crazy?
• But, this is pretty funny.  Apparently, MLB.com posted a “Dodgers Tie Series” headline a bit early.
• If you are a Phillies fan, and you haven’t read this article, by the best baseball writer on the planet, then you need to.

Head on over to http://broadstreetbelievers.podbean.com to stream or download the new BSB Podcast, in which we preview the Phillies-Dodgers NLCS.

Bry and Doogan discuss the formidable Dodger bullpen, the ongoing questions/decisions surrounding the Phillie pitching staff, and give predictions for the series.

And, check in on BSB Thursday night during Game 1 for a live blog.

LATEST NEWS: Chan Ho Park and Eric Bruntlett are ON the NLCS roster, replacing Brett Myers and Kyle Kendrick, as the team goes with 11 pitchers instead of 12.  Park over Kendrick was a no-brainer, as Park has been on the Phils’ best relievers this season. Bruntlett back on is a bit surprising, but 11 pitchers is probably all that’s really needed in a post-season series.  The team probably decided they wanted an extra position player, and even though Bruntlett isn’t very good, at least he can play every position, can run the bases well,  and has been here before.

ALSO, all indications are that Pedro Martinez will get the Game 2 start tomorrow afternoon.  Again, I would go with Joe Blanton, but I have enough trust in Charlie at this point to believe he knows what he’s doing.  Interesting article about it on phillies.com though, in which Charlie and Rich Dubee say Pedro threw the ball well in a simulated game on Tuesday, but Pedro sounds anything but pleased with how he did. 

The Dodgers have made an even bigger surprise move with their Game 2 starter, announcing that our old friend Vicente Padilla will take the hill, followed by Hiroki Kuroda in Game 3, and Randy Wolf in Game 4.  This seems like a mistake to me, and a break for the Phils.  I know Wolf isn’t great, but he’s better than Padilla, especially against this line-up.  The book on Padilla has always been that he can’t get lefties out, and he’ll be facing a fierce line-up in which 5 of the best 6 hitters will be swinging from the left-side of the plate.

To heed all you Royals fans and Orioles fans out there.  Every 8-year old kid in the DC-metro area, pay attention.  Please do not give up, all you diehards in Western Pennsylvania.  Trust me when I say, “stick with your team, it is SO worth it.”  There will be a time when all of what you are investing in your teams will pay you back.  We Philadelphia die-hards have invested so many nights, so much hope, and so much heartache into our red-pinstriped team over the past countless number of years, and now is when we reap our dividends–and it was all SO worth it.  You all will get your chances.  Trust me.

Last night, when the Phils scored three two-out runs in the 9th innings to win a game that they looked to have blown an inning prior, we officially entered the “sit back and enjoy” phase of this epic Phillies team.  They have put in their time, gained the maturity required to reach this pinnacle of their sport, and now they just have to go out and play, and they will continue to make history.  And, we, as fans, get to sit back and let the joy of it all just seep in…especially because we have been there and seen the other side.

We were there in the 90’s when the team was basically a laughingstock and the doormat of the NL East.  Back then, we were just looking for one young player to jump up and make us think, “Is this the guy around which we can build a ballclub?”  Is Pat Combs a future ace?  Is Kevin Stocker an all-star shortstop?  Do we hold on to Curt Schilling or trade him off for a bundle of prospects?

We were there from 2001 to 2006, when there were six consecutive winning seasons, but no playoff appearances.  We had to question if this team was “good,” but not “great.”  What pieces have to go?  What pieces should stay?  Can a team led by Bobby Abreu ever win anything?  Is Scott Rolen’s incredibly thin skin going to derail his whole career or is it ridiculous to think that someone’s “sensitivity” can impact an otherwise immensely talented player?  Can a pitching staff built around Randy Wolf and Vicente Padilla ever really come through when it matters?  (These two, by the way, are pretty interesting questions again, come 2009, huh?  But that is for another conversation.)  Do we really trade away our best player and best teammate for a big, potential flash-in-the-pan firstbaseman, who has spent six years in the minor leagues?  Will this Utley character ever field well enough to play 2B every day, and if not, will he hit well enough to play LF every day?  Can Larry Bowa ever get buy-in from his players?  Will Jimmy Rollins EVER take a pitch???

We were there in 2007 when this team of question marks answered all the current questions in one unbelievable month of September, before raising a whole fleet of new questions in four forgettable October days.  Yes, this team got over the hump, but did the Mets just choke?  Will Utley and Howard ever hit in postseason situations?  Are Victorino, Werth, and Ruiz really every day players?  Can we stake our future postseasons on the eccentricities of Cole Hamels?  Can Charlie Manuel manage the game or will he always just be “Uncle Charlie?”

We were there in 2008, when it all came together in one magical season.  The championship that we have all been dying for.  The strikeout…the greatest sports moment of my life.  And, everything was great.  Nothing else mattered.  All the suffering was justified.  All the heartache was repaid, in spades.  And, though it didn’t matter (and still doesn’t matter), the questions arose again.  How can you expect a closer to go 48-for-48?  How lucky was this team in avoiding the Cubs in the NLCS and the Red Sox in the ALCS?  Again, it didn’t, and doesn’t, matter.  No one and nothing can take away the unbridled joy of October 29, 2008.  That night paid back all of our investments; now, we are getting the icing on the cake.  And, it is fantastic!

Just as last October was the ultimate accomplishment for a great team, this October may be the culmination of the journey of a historic team.  And, never will it be better shown than in the ninth inning of last night’s series-clincher.  They had given up a lead that had enjoyed since the game’s second hitter when the Rockies scored 3 two-out runs in the bottom of the 8th.  The crowd was electric.  The young Rockies were pumped.  But, the veteran, professional Phillies were unconcerned; they were unrattled. 

With one out, Jimmy Rollins (the guy who wouldn’t ever take a pitch) battled to a 3-2 count and then beat out an infield single up the middle.  Victorino bounced into what could have been a game-ending double-play, but hustled the entire way to keep the game alive.  And, though, hustle was the reason that these two hitters did not end the game, it was not the typical David Eckstein-type hustle that you see as “Wow, this team is ‘playing hard,’ good for them.”  It was the Derek Jeter-type hustle that you see as “Well, that is just what winning players do at times like this.”  I don’t know how to better explain it, but it seemed to me to be different.  It wasn’t hustle out of desperation or a feeling of inferiority.  But, it also wasn’t cocky or brash.  It was hustle for a reason–almost a confident swagger–even though neither ball left the infield. 

Now, with two outs, Chase Utley came up, with Ryan Howard on-deck.  I have never felt as confident in such a dire situation.  Maybe it was foolish to be so confident, as even the Ruth and Gehrig in 1927 would have long odds to pull out a game with 2 outs and a runner on first.  But, I felt confident.  Utley worked an incredible at-bat, laying off a 3-2 pitch down and in, at which 99% of MLB players would have swung.  Huston Street should have had the save right there.  In fact, I think that even the 2008-version of Chase Utley strikes out on that pitch.  But, this team is calm and poised.  This team has become a team of professional winners.

Now, it was the next “professional winner’s” turn to get it done.  Ryan Howard laid off a pitch that was close, took a big man’s hack at a hittable pitch, and then laid off another close pitch to get the count in his favor.  He is just, as Doogan always says, “dialed in.”  He then got the pitch he wanted and hammered it to rightfield.  An earlier version of Ryan Howard may have tried to put that ball in the seats, but this one knew what was needed to WIN.  A two-run double later and the game was tied.  It wasn’t Huston Street’s fault.  He was just up against professional winners, doing what they are paid to do.

Finally, Jayson Werth steps in to finish the offense’s job.  And, what does he do?  Belt a hanging curveball over the fence?  No.  Because you don’t always get hanging curveballs, do you?  He took exactly what Street gave him–a good pitch on the outside corner and blooped it into right-center, for the winning run.  And, it had to be Werth because Ibanez was out of the game, and the pitcher’s spot was on-deck.  It had to be…so, it was.

Eventually, they turned it over to the bullpen and, now that Brad Lidge is not Mr. Perfect, what did they do?  They ded exactly what they needed to do to win.  Uncle Charlie pushes every right button, in an absolute geniusly managed series (he outmanages YET another “brilliant” manager in a playoff series–adding NL MOY, Jim Tracy, to a list that already includes future HOFer Joe Torre and “genius” Joe Madden).  Scott Eyre gets a couple outs, but gives up a couple of baserunners.  No problem, if it’s needed to win, I’m sure that Lidge can fire up a couple of those nasty sliders that he used to throw with regularity.  And, he did.  And, the Phillies won. 

Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t “ho-hum, another victory.”  But, it was INCREDIBLY impressive how they did it.  They were not handed that game last night.  They were not handed either of those games in a ballpark in which it is exceptionally difficult to win.  But, they did it.  They were professional, seasoned, and just flat-out impressive.

Now, I have no idea if they are going to repeat as World Champions.  In fact, I don’t even know if they’ll get past Bowa, Wolf, Padilla, and company in the NLCS.  But, what I do know is that I am certainly not betting against them.  They have figured it out, whatever “it” is, and this is so incredible to watch, as a fan. 

So, fans in Kansas City, fans in Pittsburgh, please stick with your teams.  Even if Zack Greinke doesn’t ever pitch in the postseason or Andrew McCutcheon never makes an All-Star game, stick with them.  Because every heartache, every crushed dream will turn into unbridled joy in moments like the ones we are experiencing right now.  And, unlike some of the “priviledged” franchises out there, we will never, ever take this for granted.  Because of that, days like today are places that only us “long-time investors” can appreciate.

Being a fan of a baseball team that’s still playing October is still a fairly new experience for me, and I’m starting to understand that certain games in a post-season run will be the ones that you remember and that stay with you.  Last year, there was Game 2 of the NLDS against the Brewers, with the Victorino grand slam and the epic Brett Myers walk against CC Sabathia.  There was also Game 1 of the NLCS, which I watched at Bry’s rehearsal dinner in North Carolina, and, of course, the Matt Stairs Homerun Game later that series.

Last night will probably be one of those games for 2009, whether or not the Phils win it all again.  It stinks that the game was played at 10PM, ending after 2AM, and that so many fans couldn’t get to see it.  That being said, years from now, I’ll be talking to one of the people I watched it with and we’ll be saying, “Remember that game against the Rockies in ‘09, when it was like 20 degrees in Denver and the game ended at quarter after 2 in the morning?”  Neither the weather nor the game time were ideal, but it was unique and the game was a great one.

Charlie Manuel had to make a ton of decisions in the game, here’s what me and the people I was watching the game with were thinking during key spots in the game:

-As soon as J.A. Happ walked the Rockie pitcher in the 2nd, I would’ve had Joe Blanton warming up.  Happ had given up 2 runs in the first, it was clear he just didn’t have his command, and now the top of the Rockie order was coming up.  In a playoff game, you need to have a quick hook when your starter clearly doesn’t have it.

-Charlie should’ve hit for Blanton in the 6th inning, with 2 on and a 5-4 lead.  Blanton couldn’t get a sacrifice bunt down, then was taken out before he finished the next inning. That move was basically Charlie saying, “I don’t have any trust in my relievers.”  They had a fully rested pen, you have to think they could give you the four innings you needed at that point.

-When Eyre went down with the injury, I thought the right call was bringing in Antonio Bastardo to face Todd Helton with runners on 1st and 3rd and no outs.  Charlie went with Ryan Madson, and I think he made the right call.  Madson gave up the tying run on a sac fly, but his strike out of Helton was maybe the key out of the game for the Phils.  In a spot like that, you want the best guy you have, and that’s Madson.  Nice call by Charlie.

-And, of course, there’s Brad Lidge.  Given what they had available going into that 9th inning, I guess Lidge was the right call.  I’ve rooted for some shaky closers in my day, but I’ve never been more scared going into the bottom of the 9th than I was last night.  Lidge was the right guy in that spot, but I hope Charlie realizes that Madson is, by far, the best reliever he has right now, and he should use him accordingly.

There were maybe 7 Phillies that could be considered Player of the Game last night:

-Carlos Ruiz: 2 HUGE RBI singles, one in the 4th and one in the 6th, both giving the Phils a one-run lead at the time. 

-Chase Utley: 3-4 with a big 1st inning homer and the heads-up play in the 9th, where he busted it out of the box to beat out an infield single, even though the ball hit him in the box and probably should’ve been called foul.

-Ryan Howard: An RBI single in the 4th and the game-winning RBI on a sac fly in the 9th.  Howard looks like he’s seeing the ball well, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him put one over the wall in Coors Field tonight.

-Raul Ibanez: He was hitless, but walked three times, including an amazing at-bat to draw a bases-loaded walk in the 4th.  And he made a great running catch on a Garrett Atkins drive in the 6th.

-Joe Blanton: He gave up the Carlos Gonzalez homer, but he settled things down after Happ was all over the place.  Blanton ended up going 2.2 solid innings.

-Ryan Madson: The aforementioned huge K of Helton that helped him put out a fire in the 7th.

-Chad Durbin: 3 up and 3 down in the 8th inning.  Granted, Atkins, Spilborghs, and Barmes are not a Murderers’ Row of hitters, but it was the ONLY 1-2-3 inning by a Phillies pitcher all night, and it came at a great time.

Now, can someone please remind Carlos Gonzalez that he’s not Ted Williams?