In the end, it wasn’t Cliff Lee who saved the Phillies’ season, but second baseman Chase Utley. Okay, so Lee definitely helped. But it was Utley who supplied most of the spark.

Utley hit two home runs and finished with four RBI as the Phillies hung on to beat the Yankees 8-6 in Game 5 of the World Series on Monday night. Utley hit a three-run dinger in the bottom of the first inning to kick the scoring off for Philadelphia, and then later added a solo shot in the seventh to give the Phillies a much-needed scoring cushion. Only Utley and Reggie Jackson have hit five home runs in a single World Series.

This is a game that many expected the Phillies to win with Lee on the mound. The ace wasn’t as dominant as he was in Game 1, as he allowed five runs on seven hits, but he did go seven innings to earn the win and only walked three batters.

With two games left, the Yankees are still in a great position to wrap this series up. It’s hard to beat the same team three times in a row, nevertheless twice on their home field. The pitching matchups also favor the Yankees if the series goes seven games, because CC Sabathia would start Game 7 in New York, while Philadelphia won’t have Lee for that potentially pivotal game.

That said, crazier things have happened and I’m sure the Phillies are taking things one game at a time. They needed three before tonight and now they only need two. Utley and Lee have given them a shot to come back.

The Yankees needed a strong outing from starter A.J. Burnett on Thursday, and that’s exactly what they got.

Burnett held the Phillies to one earned run over seven innings as the Yankees won Game 2 of the World Series, 3-1. Burnett attacked hitters with his fastball and his curve was nearly unhittable as he struck out nine and limited one of the best offenses in baseball to only one run. Closer Mariano Rivera didn’t allow a run in the eighth or ninth innings to earn his 38th career postseason save.

This win was huge for the Yankees on a couple levels. Not only did they tie the series, but they also don’t have to go to Philadelphia down 0-2. While the Phillies accomplished their goal of winning at least one game in New York, the momentum has swung in the Yankees’ favor and now they have confidence heading into Philadelphia.

Phillies’ manager Charlie Manuel will get some heat for allowing Pedro Martinez to start the seventh inning (the Yankees wound up tacking on another run to go up 3-1 after Martinez allowed the first two batters to reach base), but Martinez wanted to go back out and Manuel showed confidence in his starter. If Martinez got through the seventh, Manuel would have been lauded for saving his bullpen and trusting Pedro to work through the inning. Instead, he’ll likely receive criticism for not going to his bullpen.

Either way, Manuel doesn’t deserve blame for that decision considering the offense only produced one run. If Manuel is going to take heat about something, it should be for not sending his runners with two on and one out in the 8th inning when Chase Utley was up. Utley wound up grounding into a double play and Ryan Howard was stuck standing in the on deck circle without having the opportunity to possibly tie the game with one swing.

Of course, Utley was absolutely screwed by the umpires on that play because he was safe. It was a horrible call, but to be fair, the umps also blew a play in which Howard appeared to catch a Johnny Damon line drive and turn a double play in the seventh inning. Replays showed that Howard actually gloved the ball on a short hop, which means he probably wouldn’t have turned the DP.

This series has all the makings of a great finish, but the umpires need to do better. Some of these calls are bush league to say the least.

The Philadelphia Phillies will have the opportunity to defend their World Series title.

Jayson Werth powered the Phils past the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday night by hitting two of the club’s four home runs in a 10-4 victory. Pedro Feliz and Shane Victorino also homered for Philly, as they easily disposed of L.A. in five games.

The Phillies’ offense shined in the NLCS, racking up 35 runs in seven games. Thus far, Werth has five dingers in the postseason, while Victorino has three. Philadelphia will now await the winner of the Yankees-Angels series to see who will oppose them in the World Series.

A potential Phillies-Yankees matchup would be entertaining considering how well both clubs are hitting the ball right now. Watching CC Sabathia take on Werth, Victorino, Ryan Howard and Chase Utley would be incredibly fun to watch and should draw decent ratings given how big of a market the Yankees play in.

It’s amazing how the Phillies were overlooked before the season. While everyone talked about the Mets, Dodgers and Cubs, the Phillies flew under the radar for the most part and then once again took care of business once the series started.

The Dodgers must be praying they never have to face the Phillies after these last two years.

With their 10-3 win over the Astros on Wednesday night, the Phillies clinched their third straight division title. Raul Ibanez went 1 for 2 with a two-run homer, two runs scored and three RBI in the victory.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

On the third time around, the familiar white towels snapped in the seats and the same joyous roar rose high. The Phillies beat the Astros, clinching the division again, and the fireworks and the champagne were the same. The picture that will remain, after everything, was the charge of Phillies players out to the sign on the leftfield wall.

It is the sign with the microphone and the big red letters, the omnipresent reminder of Harry Kalas, the voice and the soul of the franchise who died in April. They gathered around the sign, all of them, jumping and joyfully pounding against it, showering it and the nearby fans with every available beverage.

You do not script these kinds of moments. They just happen if the stars are aligned just right. You do not script life, either. And here we all are again.

What a special moment for the Phillies and a great tribute to Kalas to win the division yet again. He was one of the greatest play-by-play announcers in baseball history and it was cool to see the players gather around the sign in the outfield to honor him.

The Phillies have the best offense in the National League and the sixth best team ERA. Their lineup consists of five guys who have 20 home runs or more, including Ryan Howard (43), Jayson Werth (35), Raul Ibanez (34), Chase Utley (31) and Jimmy Rollins (21).

A Dodgers-Phillies matchup would be fun to watch seeing as how L.A. boasts the lowest team ERA in the league and Philly can score runs in bunches.

Joe Posnanski put together a ranking of who he believes are the top 100 current MLB players at this moment (as in right now – not over the past two years, three years, etc).

Here is his top 10:

1. Albert Pujols, 1B, Cardinals
“Every hitter is human,” says pitcher Zack Greinke (No. 4). “Except Pujols.”

2. Joe Mauer, C, Twins
Could win his third batting title this year … no other American League catcher ever has won even one in history.

3. Hanley Ramirez, SS, Marlins
Advanced stats suggest he’s better defensively than people think. Offensively, he leads the league in hitting and might have another 30-30 season.

4. Zack Greinke, SP, Royals
Throws four plus pitches, all for strikes, leads the league with a 2.08 ERA, and has won 10 games for a team that has scored the fewest runs in the AL.

5. Chase Utley, 2B, Phillies
Crushes the ball, plays outstanding defense and, just as a fun side note, has led the league in hit-by-pitch three years running.

6. Alex Rodriguez, 3B, Yankees
Disastrous first half splattered with injuries, rumors and a low batting average … and the guy STILL has a 145 OPS+, good for seventh in the AL.

7. Tim Lincecum, SP, Giants
The Freak is pitching even better this year (10-2, 2.27 ERA, league-leading 159 K’s) than last year, when he won the Cy Young.

8. Dan Haren, SP, Diamondbacks
League is hitting .187 against him and he has a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 137-18. Baseball hasn’t seen anything like that since the heyday of Pedro.

9. Johan Santana, SP, Mets
He was 2-4 with a 6.19 ERA in six June starts and people screamed that he was done. But Santana is a demon in the second half … and sure enough he has not allowed a run in his last two starts.

10. Roy Halladay, SP, Blue Jays
Not sure where he will be pitching … but he will dominate. A handful of the people in the world can throw 93-mph fastballs that sink. A handful of people can pitch with pinpoint control. One man can do both.

It’s hard to argue Pujols being in the top spot and with how good Mauer has been this season (especially considering how there were huge concerns about his back in spring training) I’m not going to debate Posanski about his second slot either.

But I guess I’m a little confused about his ranking system overall. He says that he’s doing a top 100 of players RIGHT NOW (to use his exact phrasing of the words “RIGHT NOW”), but what does that mean? Over the past two weeks? Over the past couple days? Over the entire course of the season – what?

Because if it’s over the entire course of the season, he’s got A-Rod way too high and I don’t think Johan Santana should be ranked ahead of Roy Halladay either. Also, and I know I might catch some flack for this, but I think Lincecum is the best pitcher in baseball right now. Greinke has been absolutely phenomenal, but Lincecum just recently went 29 innings without giving up an earned run and could easily have 13 or 14 wins if it weren’t for the Giants’ pathetic use for an offense.

But hey, as with any ranking, you can debate every slot 1 through 100 and I like the feature on a whole.

First base
Leader: Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
Mike’s pick: Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals. Well, this one is a no-brainer. Is it possible that Albert gets better with age? Yes, and his numbers border on staggering. 81 games in, he’s batting .336 with 31 homers and 82 RBI and a slugging percentage of .748. That projects to 62 homers and 164 runs batted in. What’s more, dude has a .993 fielding percentage. There is little doubt Pujols is the best player in the game, and he gets to flaunt it in front of his hometown crowd a week from Tuesday.

Second base
Leader: Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies
Mike’s pick: Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies. This one is also a no-brainer that the voters got correct, though as a Mets fan it pains me to say that. Utley has 17 homers, 54 RBI, he’s batting .303 with 16 doubles and a .980 OPS—all unbelievable numbers for a second baseman. This guy is a gamer.

Shortstop
Leader: Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins
Mike’s pick: Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins. This is getting to be a trend, but the numbers in the National League don’t seem to lie, do they? Hanley is batting .344 with 13 homers and 58 RBI, 26 doubles, 12 stolen bases and a .972 OPS. By comparison, he is hitting 119 points higher than JJ Hardy and 132 points higher than the slumping Jimmy Rollins. Case closed.

Third base
Leader: David Wright, New York Mets
Mike’s pick: Mark Reynolds, Arizona Diamondbacks. Wright was leading the league in batting for quite a while, and he’s currently hitting .333 but with just 5 homers and 42 RBI. By comparison, Reynolds has clubbed 22 home runs with 57 RBI while batting a respectable .271. At a power position, I’m giving the nod to the guy barely anyone gets to see play.

Catcher:
Leader: Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals
Mike’s pick: Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves. This is close, because Yadier’s brother Bengie has 10 homers and 46 RBI for the Giants, but McCann is batting .311 with 8 home runs and 33 driven in, with 15 doubles and a respectable .988 fielding percentage.

Outfield
Leaders: Raul Ibanez, Philadelphia Phillies
Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers
Carlos Beltran, New York Mets
Mike’s picks: Raul Ibanez, Philadelphia Phillies
Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers
Brad Hawpe, Colorado RockiesIbanez is having a career season, batting .312 with 22 homers and 59 RBI, and Braun just continues to rake, with 16 home runs, 58 driven in and a .326 average. But Beltran, while he plays in the biggest media market and makes mega-bucks, is not going to get my all-star nod over Brad Hawpe. Beltran is hitting .336, but has just 8 homers and 40 RBI. Hawpe is hitting .328 with 13 homers and 56 runs batted in, 25 doubles and a stunning .993 OPS. If Manny Ramirez was playing most of the season, he’d probably be on this list, but I can’t consider a guy who’s only played 28 games, regardless of why he missed all that time.

Starting pitcher
As you all know, pitchers are chosen by the managers and will be announced this Sunday.
Mike’s pick: Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants. Last year’s NL Cy Young winner got off to a slow start, but has been mowing hitters down lately, to the tune of 8-2 with a 2.37 ERA and league-leading 132 strikeouts with just 28 walks in 114 innings. Arizona’s Dan Haren is a close runner-up, with a 7-5 record for a crappy D-Backs’ team, and a league low 2.19 ERA with 113 K’s and 0.81 WHIP.

Relief pitcher
Mike’s pick: Heath Bell, San Diego Padres. When this former Met helped christen Citi Field by mowing down his ex-teammates in April, I thought it was just a phase. But dude leads the NL in saves with 22, and is 3-1 with a 1.34 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 33 innings of work. And here’s the best stat of all—Bell has saved or won 74% of his team’s wins. If he keeps that up, Bell will contend for the NL Cy Young and even garner some MVP votes.

Click Here to see Previews of all 30 MLB Teams

Offseason Movement: The defending World Series champs added 2B Miguel Cairo, OF Raul Ibanez, C Ronny Paulino and pitchers Gary Majewski and Chan Ho Park this offseason. Philly also parted with OF Pat Burrell, OF So Taguchi and pitchers Adam Eaton, Tom Gordon and Rudy Seanez.

Top Prospect: Carlos Carrasco, RHP
Carrasco enters 2009 as one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball and if Chan Ho Park struggles as the fifth starter, there’s a chance that Carrasco might make an appearance at some point this season. He appears to have a very high ceiling and while he’s still a bit erratic at times, Carrasco will likely smooth out his rough spots in Triple-A before making the big league roster.

The Big Question: Is the starting rotation good enough to repeat?
Cole Hamels is one of baseball’s best young arms, but he had to receive an anti-inflammatory injection in his left elbow in mid-March and there’s some concern that the injury could flair up again. If he shows no ill effects, then he’ll once again head a pretty solid starting rotation, but one that once again won’t be overpowering. Brett Myers struggled last year, while Jamie Moyer was outstanding but at 46 years old can he produce another 16-win season? Joe Blanton turned out to be a solid addition at the trade deadline last year, but don’t forget his career ERA is 4.24 and he’s liable to lose as many games as he wins. Chan Ho Park has had a decent spring but he hasn’t won more than nine games since 2002. (Of course, a 9-win season from a fifth starter would be pretty damn good.) The Phillies could do incredibly worse than this starting rotation, but will it be enough to get them back to the Series?

Outlook: The Phils’ lineup is absolutely stacked and there might not be a better 1 through 4 of Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard in the NL. But despite winning it all last year, Philly doesn’t come without its question marks. Utley and starting 3B Pedro Feliz each had offseason surgery and although they haven’t suffered any setbacks to this point, you just never know how the effects of a full season can have on an injury. As previously mentioned, the starting rotation is pretty solid but the law of averages suggests that Jamie Moyer won’t win 16 games again this season and Joe Blanton’s ceiling seems about maxed. Is Cole Hamels healthy? Can Brett Myers rebound? Some feel as though the Phillies are destined for another NL East crown, but the Mets are stacked and the Braves and Marlins should give opponents fits this year, too. Philly is going to win some games this year and probably make another postseason appearance. But back-to-back World Series titles will be tough.

Projection: 2nd NL East