For much of this year’s NLCS, it’s been the Phillies that have made costly fielding errors, timely mistakes, and have not created their own breaks. And it’s been the Giants who have capitalized on those errors and those mistakes to build a lead in the best-of-seven series.
But on Thursday night, it was the Phillies who capitalized on Giants’ miscues in the third inning in order to take Game 5 by a score of 4-2 and stave off elimination.
The game was hardly the pitching match for the ages that most people expected it would be. Roy Halladay (who pitched through a mild groin pull) and Tim Lincecum weren’t their dominant selves and instead of coming down to pitching, the game was won by the team that made the fewest mistakes.
In that pivotal third inning, Raul Ibanez reached base on a weak single off Lincecum, who then hit Carlos Ruiz after building a 0-2 count. Roy Halladay then bunted a ball that was clearly foul, but home plate umpire Jeff Nelson must have forgotten his contacts because he ruled it fair. Buster Posey’s throw to Pablo Sandoval at third was a little off the mark and Sandoval, who isn’t the fleetest of foot at defensive tackle-like size, missed the bag as Ibanez slid in safely. Ruiz went to second on the play and Halladay, who knew the ball was foul and didn’t even run, was thrown out at first.
Shane Victorino then hit a hard ground ball to first baseman Aubrey Huff, who had it ricochet off him into centerfield as if his entire body and glove were made of rubber, and both runners scored. Placido Polanco then singled to center to score Victorino and all of a sudden the Giants’ 1-0 lead (a lead they earned in the first inning) evaporated into a 3-1 deficit.
The Phillies never trailed after that. Cody Ross (the greatest postseason player alive, apparently) hit a double to right to score Pat Burrell in the fourth, but that was all the fight the Giants had in them. Jayson Werth homered to right in the top of the ninth to give the Phillies breathing room and then San Fran quietly went down in order in the bottom half of the inning as Brad Lidge earned the save.
Now the series shifts back to Philadelphia for Game 6 on Saturday and probably a Game 7 on Sunday. I say “probably” because if anyone thinks the Phillies are done then you haven’t been paying attention the past couple of years. Their Game 5 victory has given them new life and while they still trail 3-2 in the series, they’re traveling back home to that Little League Park they call a stadium where a routine fly ball can travel over the wall. They’ll also have Roy Oswalt (Game 2’s winner) and Cole Hamels set to start.
The Giants missed a huge opportunity to let a sleeping dog lie. Now they have to earn a victory in hostile environment against a veteran squad that’s used to winning in October. Strap it up – I can feel a Game 7 coming on.
There’s simply no excuse for a lineup that consists of Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, Raul Ibanez and Shane Victorino to score only 13 runs in 10 games. Yet somehow, it has.
In their last 14 games, the Phillies have scored three or fewer runs 12 times. Howard went deep on Tuesday night in a 7-3 loss to the Braves, but that was the first home run that Philadelphia has hit in 68 innings.
So what’s the problem?
Hitting coach Milt Thompson’s resume speaks for itself. In his first five seasons with the Phillies, the club led the National League in home runs, RBI, runs scored, total bases, and extra-base hits. He suddenly hasn’t forgotten how to coach, yet the Phillies have suddenly forgotten how to hit.
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.
For the second time this postseason, Cliff Lee was dominant.
Lee allowed just one earned run over 7 1/3 innings on Monday, as the Phillies knocked off the Rockies in dramatic fashion to advance to the NLCS where they will face the Dodgers.
After the Rockies had jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the eighth, things looked bleak for Philadelphia heading into the ninth. Huston Street got two quick outs, but then got into trouble after Shane Victorino grounded into a fielder’s choice and then Chase Utley walked. Ryan Howard then doubled to deep right to score both Victorino and Utley, then Jayson Werth singled to center to score Howard.
In the bottom of the ninth, reliever Scott Eyre got two outs but then allowed two runners to get on base with singles. But Brad Lidge managed to strike out Troy Tulowitzki to end the game.
The Phillies will now advance to the NLCS to face a rested Dodgers team that made quick work of the Cardinals. It should be an evenly matched NLCS as both teams have pitching and a solid lineup from top to bottom.
During the Phillies’ 12-5 trouncing of the Cubs at Wrigley Field on Wednesday night, Philadelphia outfielder Shane Victorino received a beer shower from some idiot fan while trying to catch a fly ball on the warning track.
Here’s a complete breakdown of the scene, including how security busted the wrong guy:
Couple thoughts:
1. What concentration shown by Victorino to still make the play while the beer (and cup) was being poured on him. It wasn’t like he caught the ball after the beer bath – he caught it during it.
2. It’s a crime against humanity that the ass clown in the white T-shirt and novelty wristband (did he think if he wore a wristband to the stadium that they would let him into the game or something?) didn’t get tossed from the game, but the innocent bystander to his left did. Gotta love how he allowed someone else to receive blame for the incident while he got to stay and watch the rest of the game.
3. Any fan that intentionally throws something onto the field (save for an opposing team’s home run ball) or touches a ball along the side of the field while it’s still in play deserves to be thrown off the top of the stadium. I can’t for the life of me figure out why you would pay upwards of $75 to go to a game and either throw something at a player or touch a ball while it’s still in play.
4. That fan deserved to watch the Phillies lay the wood to his hapless team. And any time he goes to Wrigley from here on out, may the Cubs lose.
It’s not everyday that you see a player get ejected for arguing balls and strikes from centerfield. But that’s exactly what happened on Sunday when Phillies’ outfielder Shane Victorino was tossed during a loss to the Marlins.
Here’s the umpire’s explanation for ejecting Victorino from the Philadelphia Inquirer:
“The third pitch was called a ball and he was out there waving his arms like this,” said Rapuano, imitating Victorino. “So I stepped out, took my mask off, looked out there and gestured. Again, he went [waving his arms] and I said that’s it. You can’t do that from center field. I gave him the chance to not do it again.”
Wow – great explanation. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a player being ejected for raising his arms in frustration over an umpire’s (brutal) ball and strike calls.
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.
David Wright delivered a game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth to propel Team USA past Puerto Rico and into the semis of the World Baseball Classic.
Talent won out in the end, even though Team USA has constantly stepped on its own feet by trying to get everyone into the game and still not play matchups at all. Down 5-3 in the ninth, Team USA got back-to-back singles from Shane Victorino and Brian Roberts against J.C. Romero. Derek Jeter then grounded out, advancing only the lead runner. However, Roberts stole second base and Jimmy Rollins walked to load them, resulting in Romero’s departure. After Fernando Cabrera came in, Kevin Youkilis, who homered earlier, walked to force in a run, and Wright dumped a ball into right field to score two runs. It was his third hit of the game.
I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t think that USA’s pitching staff would carry them this far. And really, the pitching hasn’t been that great (USA’s team ERA is 6.10) but guys like Wright, Roberts, Victorino, Ryan Braun, Adam Dunn and Jimmy Rollins have been killing the ball. Hopefully the bats stay alive and we can all see a Team USA gold medal.
The great thing about addressing your outfielder positions on draft day is that there are so many to choose from that chances are if you don’t like one facet about a certain player (i.e. age, inexperience, he plays for the Red Sox and you’re a Yankees fan, etc.), you can move on to one of the many other choices available.
Conversely, with so many players to choose from, you’re liable to stick your head in an oven in order to avoid having to decide between which outfielders will explode and which will wind up on your league’s wavier wire after making you suffer for the first couple months of the season.
The nice thing about having so many choices for outfielders is that you can draft certain players to fill certain needs. As your roster starts to take shape on draft day, if you desire more power, then there are plenty of outfielders that can address that specific need. If your team is lacking speed, there are outfielders that you can target to rack up stolen bases. And if you were able to draft for both speed and power in previous rounds, then adding a couple outfielders that can hit for average will only help you in the long run.
That said, if you’re smart, you’ll pinpoint the outfielders that can do it all. Sure, they might not excel in any one area, but over the course of the season if you can land a guy that can spread out his production in home runs, RBIs, runs and average, it will do wonders for your team in the end. After all, balance is key in fantasy baseball and after you land your studs early on, you’re going to need to complete your roster with players that can produce in all areas.
Gregg Doyel of CBS Sportsline.com writes that Joe Torre is having one bad NLCS in the Wake of the Phillies taking a 3-1 series lead after their 7-5 victory in Game 4 Monday night.
Torre is the biggest reason the Dodgers are one game away from being eliminated. You can argue that he has been unlucky in this series, but you can’t argue this: He has been unsuccessful. And isn’t that what it comes down to? Success and failure? Wins … and losses? Torre has had failures. The Dodgers have had losses.
We’ll go in reverse, which means we’ll start with the most recent loss, this 7-5 shot to the solar plexus in Game 4 at Dodger Stadium.
Starting pitcher Derek Lowe came out too early. Yes, Lowe was pitching on three days’ rest. But he had thrown just 74 pitches when he was removed, and after being rocked in the first inning he was cruising when Torre pulled him after the fifth.
Didn’t work. Reliever Clayton Kershaw, nominally a starting pitcher — and a 20-year-old rookie to boot — came in and gave up a walk and a single to the first two batters he faced. One of them scored. Kershaw for Lowe? That backfired.
Go back to the second game of this series, at Philadelphia. Torre, the guy who was too quick to pull ace starter Lowe in Game 4, was way too patient with Chad Billingsley in Game 2.
Even my man Scott Miller, who is most judicious with his criticisms of the men who play this decidedly difficult game, devoted his entire column from that game to Torre’s mismanagement of Billingsley, who was allowed to pitch through a streak that saw nine of 10 batters reach base. Philadelphia scored eight runs off Billingsley in 2 1/3 innings, and that was the game. The Phillies didn’t score again. They didn’t need to. They won 8-5.
Now go back to Game 1.
Lowe on the mound. Again. Torre having to decide whether to leave him in or take him out. Again.
Torre guessing wrong.
Again.
It was the sixth inning. Lowe had a 2-0 lead, and he was cruising. And then, suddenly, he wasn’t. Shane Victorino reached on an error, and Lowe came unglued. The next pitch — the very next pitch — was fat, and Chase Utley hammered it for a game-tying home run. Torre let Lowe stay in the game, and one batter later he fell behind 3-1 to Pat Burrell. Lowe grooved one, and Burrell hammered that one for a 3-2 Phillies lead. The Phillies wouldn’t score again, but again, the Phillies didn’t need to. They won 3-2.
It’s interesting how managers always seem to take more criticisms during the postseason than they do during the regular season. Managers have to take calculated risks in baseball and Torre has been around long enough to know when to take them. Still, the situations Doyel highlights are damaging and it’s too bad Torre has to take some heat because he’s done one hell of a job turning around a once dysfunctional Dodgers club.
