Last night, two teams that were a combined 19 games under .500 took the field at Citizens Bank Park, with the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants and their last-place record coming to town to take on the third-place Philadelphia Phillies.
For all intents and purposes, both teams' seasons might as well be over, making this far from a marquee match-up. But after walking around Center City all day and realizing just how beautiful it was outside, I decided to see if silver fox wanted to go to the ballpark and take in a Phillies game. After all, it had been a while since I've been to CBP, though not all that long ago that I saw the Giants play. So we decided to head to the game and enjoy perhaps but probably not the last game in red pinstripes for a few Phillies. You never know, even if it seems like Ruben Amaro Jr. still thinks this core is good enough to win a World Series when healthy. But I digress.
We got down to the stadium, purchased some cheap seats up in section 434, grabbed a couple beers and took our seats on quite literally a perfect summer night. There was no humidity, the sun was setting, it wasn't hot and wasn't cold — perfect conditions for baseball, one of the most comfortable nights of the entire summer.
To top it off, there was room for us to stretch out a little, with so many vacant seats, and the people in our section were quite pleasant actually. In fact, minutes after I sat down, I sneezed, and the guy sitting to the right of me with his son passed me a napkin. Hospitality in Philadelphia — it felt strange but was much appreciated.
As for the game itself, pitcher John Lannan started off on the wrong foot, giving up a run in the first inning, and I kept saying how they should trade everyone. But the Phils got it right back and even took the lead, as Michael Young got things going, Chase Utley followed suit and Delmon Young and John Mayberry drove in runs to give the Phils a 2-1 lead. Moral of the story: Barry Zito is still terrible.
That first inning took forever, and the game just continued to crawl along from there. The Giants tied it up in the third, and it felt like it should have been the sixth. Thankfully, like I said, it was beautiful out and I had nowhere else to be.
Plus, we soon found out it was Italian heritage night, and the Phillies kept playing stereotypical Italian music. Some could argue it's racist, but whatever. I'm half Italian, and I didn't mind.
Again, back to the game. In what could potentially be his last game as a Phillie, Carlos Ruiz homered to left in the fourth, scoring John Mayberry and giving the Phils a 4-2 lead. Chances are Ruiz isn't going anywhere, but just in case that was his last game in Philadelphia, it was a nice way to go out … deriving in the eventual game-winning runs.
Two innings later, Michael Young — the Phil with the best shot at being traded provided he waives his no-trade clause — crushed a two-run bomb himself to left, and the game was pretty much over from there.
Lannan settled down after the third and seven innings to get the win. Ruiz and Young both hit two-run bombs, and Mayberry drove in two runs himself. All in all, it was a good effort from a team that looked like it didn't have another good effort left.
But really, all the game action is secondary to what took place between one of the innings.
Let me start by saying that over the course of my 29-plus years on this planet, I have been to quite literally hundreds of Phillies games. I've been going to games since I was a little kid, and there have been seasons where I've gone to close to 30 games. I've sat pretty much everywhere you can possibly sit in both the Vet and Citizens Bank, from club box to box seats to skybox to every section and row you can think of. And in all those games over all those years, I've never once caught a foul ball or home run ball, nor have I ever gotten a hot dog/sausage/t-shirt shot out of the Phanatic's cannon. Never. Not once.
So when the Phillie Phanatic came out with his hot dog gun shooting Italian sausages, silver fox and I had no delusions that a sausage would come our way. In fact, silver fox literally said, "There's no way he can get one of them up here." I thought the same. While I've seen the Phanatic hit the upper deck with his hot dog gun, I thought the angle we were at in 434, row 5, the last upper deck section lining up near the foul pole in left field, gave us no shot at a sausage.
Then, moments later, the Phanatic cranked up the CO2 and rocketed one right for us. It just kept rising on a line headed literally right toward me. What can only be described as a douchey-looking fellow in front of me wearing a Papelbon shirt tried to nab it, only to see the sausage fly through his hands and land right next to me. I'll be damned. I nabbed the sausage, unwrapped its layers of duct tape and split the sucker with silver fox. Not only did the Phanatic get it up to our level … he shot it right at us.
We considered that a victory in its own right, and we capped off the perfect evening with a cheesesteak and some chilling at my house following the victory for the Phillies and the victory for us. All in all, not a bad night at the ballpark.
Last night, there was an air of excitement at Citizens Bank Park that has been absent pretty much all season long. The return of Chase Utley brought about an anxiousness and bout of raw energy that had been slowly dissipating with the early-season struggles and injuries.
And the decibel level only ratcheted up even more when, almost as if scripted, Utley homered deep to right field in his very first plate appearance of 2012, the prodigal son returned to save the save season.
The place was ready to explode, Wheels and McCarthy were flabbergasted and Twitter was blowing up. Chase is back. Maybe this team isn't dead in the water after all.
Then when Carlos Ruiz, easily this team's MVP this year, followed it up with a homer of his own, there were visions of revitalization and winnings streaks dancing all over Phillies' fans heads.
The juice was back in the lineup, Chase was here to save the day, with Ruiz continuing to lead, and both Ryan Howard and Roy Halladay on their way in the near future. Given all the despair this year for the Phils, fans were ready to embrace anything, ready for some small amount of hope to cling to. Chase provided that, and Chooch gave reassurance that better days were ahead.
Then the bullpen happened. For some insane reason, the Phillies decided to compensate for Sunday's double header screwing up the rotation for yesterday by tossing out a bunch of bullpen pitchers instead of calling up some guy from Lehigh to throw 5 innings. You know, because the Phillies' bullpen has been so awesome this year.
As you can imagine, this did not turn out well. At all. And to make matters worse, the game swung on the stupidest pitch of the season to date. The very next at-bat for the Pirates, Raul Valdez did everything in his power to throw all that momentum and excitement Chase and Chooch had created right out the window.
He began with the ultimate no-no, walking the leadoff batter. Then after Ruiz bailed Valdez out by gunning down Casey McGehee on the base paths, he went and walked Neil Walker. Great start. Still, he managed to strike out Pedro Alvarez because Pedro Alvarez strikes out all the time, two outs. After surrendering a single to Jose Tabata to put two on with two out, up came the 8-hole hitter, Michael McKenry. McKenry worked a full count with the pitcher on deck. Naturally, any pitcher on the planet would know not to throw a strike, hope McKenry chases but if not, the pitcher comes up with the bases loaded and two outs. Any pitcher except Raul Valdez, that is. Because Valdez stupidly threw a meatball, which McKenry crushed for a three-home home run to give Pittsburgh the lead and suck all the life out of Citizens Bank Park.
Fantastic. Valdez quite literally did the only thing you absolutely cannot do in that situation, and it killed the Phillies. From there, the wheels fell off completely, which is to be expected given the game was in the hands of this pathetic bullpen the entire way.
Joe Savery came in and matched Valdez's futility by surrendering a homer to McGehee and even giving up a god damn RBI single to opposing pitcher James McDonald. Savery, with the help of Michael Schwimer, allowed Pittsburgh's lead to balloon to 8-2 in true Phillies fashion. Nothing like having three minor-league pitchers entrusted with the first five innings of the ball game instead of, you know, just one minor leaguer that is actually a starter. I still can't believe that there isn't some guy in Lehigh, some starting pitcher that could have gone out there and given a better effort than this pathetic bunch. But there must not be, because Charlie Manuel and Ruben Amaro made no moves in that department, handing the ball to terrible pitcher after terrible pitcher instead.
However, the game was almost salvaged. Looking a lot more like the team from the past five seasons than the team so far in 2012, the Phillies staged a furious comeback, led of course by Chase and Chooch. Two runs in the 6th gave the Phils life, and in the 7th they made their move. Hector Luna reached on an error to lead things off. Jimmy Rollins followed with a triple to make it 8-5. Juan Pierre followed with a single to plate Rollins, 8-6. Chase made it back-to-back singles, putting runners on first and third with no outs, and Chooch came through yet again, making it three singles in a row and four straight hits to plate Pierre, 8-7 Phils with runners on fist and second and no one out. This was the prime opportunity to tie it up or take the lead and have something to build on.
So of course, Hunter Pence struck out with what can only be described as a horrendous at-bat, flailing at balls nowhere near the strike zone because he is a painfully undisciplined hitter.
I mean, it was just a brutal at-bat in a huge spot. Listen, I know everyone in Philadelphia was clamoring for Pence last season and instantly fell in love with the guy due to his quirkiness, his catchphrase and the way he hammered the baseball for the Phillies last year. And he's a good player, no doubt. But he is just a stupid, stupid player. A guy who has absolutely no clue about situational baseball, no clue about the strike zone and no clue how to play the outfield. He's incredibly talented and aggressive, and he's most certainly a good player, but he drives me fucking crazy. Last night was exhibit A.
That at-bat single-handedly killed the rally, as Shane Victorino continued to be worthless from the left side of the plate with a fly out and Jim Thome striking out to end the threat. Runners on second and first with no outs in a one-run game in the 7th, and Utley and Ruiz never even moved a base. Situational baseball, the Phillies suck at it.
That sequence was pretty much the game at that point, because the Phillies then handed the ball to Chad Qualls, also known as the worst free-agent bullpen signing in Phillies history, and that includes Ryan Franklin.
Qualls predictably got hit around, surrendering three runs to put the game out of reach, including a bomb by Andrew McCutchen. McCutchen also made an absolutely ridiculous catch to top off his night. As I was watching, I concluded that I'd trade the entire everyday Phillies roster for McCutchen. That guy is good.
The Phillies, well, they are not. With that predictable but nonetheless disheartening loss, the Phillies are once again 9 games out of first and 7.5 games out of the wild card. Their bullpen is a collection of minor-league talent and washed-up veterans, plus Jonathan Papelbon. They still are horrible at situational hitting, and their defense is shoddy anymore.
Now, there's still time to right the ship, still reinforcements on the way, but let's be real, this team cannot do a damn thing with a bullpen this pathetic and a lineup with so many limited players. Ruben simply didn't do enough to fill out the roster from top to bottom. This team still has the starting pitching with Hamels and Lee and Halladay on the way. It still has players who can hit. But it is a flawed team, one that doesn't instill a lot of hope here in 2012 given the way things have gone so far.
Last night, we briefly had a glimpse of that elusive hope. Chase and Chooch led a furious charge and a furious comeback. But they couldn't overcome a terrible bullpen and flawed roster, and it's going to take a lot for the Phillies to compensate for those things the remainder of the season.
It has been a strange two months in baseball, and no team has represented this odd start than the Philadelphia Phillies.
Everyone knew scoring runs in the early season would be an issue with the team's two highest-paid and most talented offensive players on the shelf.
Putting even more pressure on an aging and injured Phils squad, many thought, would be an improved division basically from top to bottom. The Braves were already a good club, now with a full year of Michael Bourn to build on. The Nationals brought in Gio Gonzalez to team with Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmerman, not to mention the eventual call-up of Bryce Harper to infuse the lineup. Miami hired Ozzie Guillen, inked Jose Reyes and nabbed the reliable Mark Buehrle and talented - albeit insane - Carlos Zambrano. And the Mets, well, they couldn't get any worse.
Things weren't going to be easy for the Phillies at the start. And they weren't. As expected, Philadelphia struggled early on to score runs. Jimmy Rollins couldn't get going. Shane Victorino was his streaky self. Hunter Pence tried to make up for the absence of Utley and Howard every at-bat. Placido Polanco continued to age. John Mayberry took a step back. Utley's replacement, Freddy Galvis, was fantastic in the field but nothing to write home about with the stick. The only players doing any sort of consistent hitting were Carlos Ruiz and Juan Pierre, a career eight-hole hitter and a slap hitter.
To make matters worse, the starting pitching was not quite as great as it has been. Roy Halladay, while still better than 90 percent of the pitchers out there, didn't look as dominant as he has. Cliff Lee is awesome, but the man still is winless. Though Cole Hamels has elevated his game yet again, pitching at a Cy Young level.
Still, it wasn't enough. The losses were piling up, the Phils fading, and even more injury has begotten the Fightins. Vance Worley was shelved. Laynce Nix hurt. Cliff Lee had his issue. Cole Hamels got suspended. Now Roy Halladay's shoulder is falling apart and the Phillies are dead last. The sky is falling on Ruben Amaro's grand experiment.
That's how it feels anyway. Then you look at the standings this morning, following the Phils' 10-6 victory over the Mets last night, and you realize this depleted, struggling team is just three games back from first place.
Judging by the way both fans and media alike have many times left this team for dead, you'd think they were already looking at a 9, 10, 11 game hole. I have to admit, it certainly feels that way. Watching the 2012 version of the Phillies is painful. They aren't cruising by people with either insane pitching completely neutering the opposing offense or a slew of home runs carrying them to a power surge. Many of the games are close, low-scoring and utterly agonizing to witness. Yet they are two games over .500 and just three games out of first with plenty of games to play and potentially some reinforcements coming in.
How have they done it? Well, two men have carried this club more than any others. The first is the man this franchise desperately needs to find a way to sign, the left-handed former World Series MVP who only gets better with every passing season.
Cole Hamels has been nothing short of phenomenal. Where Halladay and Lee have had hiccups, Cole has been brilliant. This is now his staff, at least for this year, and his team. He's among the league leaders in damn near every pitching category, and now with Halladay on the shelf, he's the man who will be tasked with leading the rotation. Judging by the way he's been going and the resolve he's developed the past few years learning from the likes of Halladay and Lee, the Phils are in good hands there.
The other man helping keep this team afloat is the man Hamels chucks the ball to, the one and only Carlos Ruiz. I've already written about Chooch and what he's been doing this season. Simply put, he is right there with Yadier Molina as the best catcher in baseball right now. The man has continued to handle the pitching staff magnificently, and now he's become the team's most lethal and reliable hitter. Hell, even when he doesn't start, he's coming in and turning the game around like he did last night. It's frightening to think where this offense would be without him, and where this team would be without Ruiz and Hamels.
Thankfully, behind the strength of those two, the development of Galvis and some strong play from the likes of Juan Pierre and Ty Wigginton, the Phils are well within striking distance, even if no one realizes it.
Of course, they still are in last place. And now, they are without Roy Halladay for 6-8 weeks, yet another injury to one of the team's aging stars. It makes it all feel like this is a lost season for the Phillies, like they are dead in the water.
But then you look up and see those standings, see how close they really are, and you wonder if maybe they are in a better position than it seems. Yes, Halladay is out. That is a huge blow. And the timetables on the return of Utley and Howard are still unknown. But at some point, they will be back, giving a boost to the offense. The rotation still has Lee and Hamels as a dynamic 1-2 punch, not to mention a closer who remains perfect in save opportunities. If they can hold it together and keep within striking distance, the second half could be their time to strike.
Still, it's hard not to wonder where exactly the team is right now. No Halladay, no Utley, no Howard. A shaky bullpen, inconsistent offense. It's not inconceivable to envision this season becoming a lost cause.
But it's not lost yet. Not by a long shot. Just look at the standings. It feels like the Phillies are dead, but they are very much alive.
It wasn't that long ago that this stocky catcher who grounded into a ton of double plays and wasn't much of a threat at the dish came up to split to time with a cache of unimpressive catchers for the Philadelphia Phillies.
As two-time all-star and 1999 Gold Glove winner Mike Lieberthal's career was winding down, Phillies fans were falling in love with the underdog story of Chris Coste and the absurd mustache of Sal Fasano. That was the summer of 2006, and that same season, one Carlos Ruiz, a former infielder with little catching experience, came up and made his Major League debut in limited action.
Not much was made of the then-27-year-old backstop from Panama. The Phillies certainly weren't overly impressed with him, otherwise they would not have gone out and signed Rod Barajas in 2007 to be the starting catcher, with Coste as the backup. But pitchers notoriously hated throwing to Coste, and Barajas was a colossal bust. As in arguably the worst catcher in Phillies history. He's certainly the worst one I remember.
That opened the door for Ruiz, who played in 115 games and became the starter, mainly because the pitching staff absolutely loved throwing to him. In just his second year in the majors, Ruiz was already becoming excellent at calling a game. At the same time, he hit a respectable .259 with 54 RBI.
With that breakout performance, the starting catcher job was Ruiz's in 2008. But while he continued to be stellar behind the plate, he had an atrocious season in the batter's box. Ruiz, or Chooch as his teammates began calling him, hit a dismal .219, had a dreadful .320 on-base percentage and an even more dismal .300 slugging percentage. He hit just 4 home runs and drove in just 31 RBI in 117 games, while grounding into an absurd 14 double plays. The man just couldn't get the job done with the stick. But his defense was so stellar and his backup, still Coste, was losing his short-lived MLB talents. Thus, Ruiz was the man tabbed to handle the staff in the 2008 postseason.
Then a funny thing happened during that 2008 postseason. Not only did Ruiz help Cole Hamels become a household name and NLCS and World Series MVP, Brett Myers become stable, Jamie Moyer continue to defy age and Joe Blanton become unbeatable, but he began to come through with huge, clutch hits. Who will ever forget his walkoff swinging bunt to win game 3 of the World Series? Philadelphia fell in love with Chooch, who was integral to the Phillies becoming World Fucking Champions.
From that moment on, Ruiz has owned the catcher position here in Philadelphia and has done nothing to lose that spot. In 2009, he returned to his rookie year form at the dish - still not a great hitter, but respectable for No. 8, especially one who handled the pitching staff so well. And he continued to be clutch in the playoffs, earning the nickname El Senor Octubre. Cliff Lee came to Philadelphia via trade and turned in a couple of his most impressive streaks of his career throwing to Chooch, including his absurdly dominant 2009 postseason run.
Lee gave Ruiz a ton of credit for his success, and he wasn't the last star pitcher to do so. The following season, the Phillies brought in the great Roy Halladay. Pitching to Ruiz, Halladay, who had already won a Cy Young in Toronto, did a couple things he'd never done. First, he threw a perfect game against the Marlins. Then he made the playoffs for the first time, and in his postseason debut tossed a no-hitter against the Reds, giving a Chooch a huge hug.
Halladay took home the NL Cy Young in his first season in Philadelphia, and he gave a ton of the credit to Ruiz, a catcher he said he rarely ever has to shake off. The bond grew strong between the two. Real strong.
That same season, Ruiz did something no one expected. He became a disciplined hitter, one who stopped swinging at everything and started working counts. And what a difference it made. Ruiz incoceivably became a .302 hitter and quite literally became as difficult an out as the Phils had on their roster, a huge luxury for the 8-hole hitter.
Last seaosn, he continued to impress, batting .283 while still doing a marvelous job with the talented Phillies pitching staff.
And so far in 2012, with the Phillies desperately needing someone to step up offensively due to the absence of Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, Ruiz is turning in his best season yet at the age of 33. As of today, Chooch is leading the Phillies by a large margin with a .363 average, .405 OBP, .619 slugging percentage and 1.024 OPS, blowing his career marks out of the water in the early going. He leads the team in hits and RBI, truly flourishing at the plate and behind it. So much so that there isn't a catcher on the planet having a better season.
Ruiz leads all MLB catchers in average, slugging, OPS, hits and RBI. He's second in home runs and on-base percentage. And his defense hasn't dropped off a lick. The man has gone from an afterthought, late-season call-up, a guy who wasn't supposed to amount to much, into the best catcher in 2012 thus far. He's transformed from an unknown to the most beloved player on the team. He's gone from a good defensive catcher with little offensive game to an excellent hitter capable of winning a Gold Glove at the same time.
All of the sudden, the Philadelphia Phillies are Carlos Ruiz's team. He's the one keeping this team afloat and giving fans a reason to still tune in. He's the one leading the way. Who would have ever thought that just a few short seasons ago?
If you happened to watch game 4 between the Phillies and Cardinals, you undoubtedly noticed how many times Bob Brenly — who I actually think has done a fine job calling this series — mentioned that the St. Louis hitters were "hunting fastballs" last night.
The Phillies began the game doing the exact same thing, attacking Edwin Jackson right out of the gate and not waiting around for him to unveil his slider. That strategy worked extremely well in the first inning, with Jimmy Rollins mashing a leadoff ground-rule double — with a little help from the sun and John Jay's lack of vision — that bounced off the warning track, Chase Utley ripping a triple down the line and Hunter Pence driving Chase home with an RBI single. Sadly, that was the end of the Phillies hunting fastballs.
Despite scoring those two runs on three hits to start the game, the offense essentially shut down after that. Ryan Howard and Pence combined for a strike-em-out, throw-em-out double play to relieve the first-inning pressure, and the Phils stopped attacking balls in the strike zone after that. No one outside of Rollins and Utley took notice as to what Edwin Jackson was doing on the mound. Maybe they needed Joe Blanton out there.
To Jackson's credit, he adjusted by throwing more sliders to start hitters off, but it was almost as if the Phillies stopped looking for fastballs early in the count to hit. And that's been the case all series long actually. In game 3, Jaime Garcia was making a habit of throwing first-pitch fastballs, no harder than 89 mph, right down the middle of the plate to get ahead, yet time and time again, the Phillies were taking for strike one. It took a pinch hitter in the 7th inning to finally attack on the first pitch, and it turned into the game-winning home run.
The Cardinals, on the other hand, have been showing exactly why they were the top hitting club in the NL. In a lineup full of smart hitters, the Cardinals have been attacking any and all gimme fastballs early in the count, and then laying off the low pitches just waiting for the pitcher to make a mistake and elevate the ball. That's why they have so many hits in this series.
I don't think anyone would dispute that heading into the series the Phillies had the better team on paper, particularly with the starting rotation. Yes, St. Louis has a potent lineup, but the Phils have guys who can hit as well. But what has been the biggest difference is the Cardinals are playing smarter baseball all across the board — smarter at-bats, smarter in-game decisions, smarter plays in the field.
Just look at the at-bats put together by the Cards last night. If they saw a meatball, they went right after it. Roy Oswalt left some pitches up and over the plate, and they made him pay, just as they did with Roy Halladay in the first inning of the series, like they did the entire game against Cliff Lee, and like they did early in making Hamels earn every out he got in game 3.
They've been running the bases extremely well, like Matt Holliday of all people scoring from first on a double to left field. And they've been making the smart defensive plays, like somehow holding a runner on second on a grounder hit to the right side, and a guy like Albert Pujols wisely coming off the bag to nail Chase Utley at third.
Meanwhile, you have Roy Oswalt leading off an inning by walking the first batter and hitting the second before leaving a meatball out over the plate for David Freese, or hanging an 0-2 pitch to Matt Holliday for a hit instead of burying one in the dirt.
You have Chase Utley making an absolutely boneheaded, indefensible base-running gaff, one that took the air out of the balloon for a rally, though probably wouldn't have mattered given how god-awful Ryan Howard has been in his home town. And don't give me the bullshit line that Chase was just trying to make something happen on that play. It was stupid, infinitely more stupid when you consider Rafael Furcal has a gun at short, meaning the ball is getting to the first baseman very quickly, and that Albert Pujols easily has the best arm of any first baseman in the league, one so strong that Tony La Russa didn't hesitate to put him at third, the position he used to play back in the day, this year when David Freese was hurt. The chances of making it there are not very good. It was a dumb play, plain and simple, like the time Chase hurt himself trying to stretch a single into a double even though there was absolutely no chance he could. There's a difference between aggressive and stupid. Normally, Chase toes that line really well. Last night he did not.
Though it's hard to get on Chase too much, because even if he stayed at second, Pence would have been thrown out at first for out 1. Then Howard flew out for out two, and Victorino got out as well. Still, he would have been on second as the tying run in the 6th, with RBI-machine Howard up. It could have changed the complexion of the inning. Instead Chase killed a rally before it started.
Though to be fair, at least Utley is hitting the ball. He and Rollins have been the two guys consistently putting together quality at-bats and getting on base. It's the rest of the lineup that is killing them. Howard has two huge hits in this series, but that's it. Since coming to St. Louis, his hometown where he usually mashes, Howard has been invisible. Literally. The guy did not get a single hit or even reach base once in games 3 or 4, going a combined 0-for-8 with 5 strikeouts. That's not going to cut it if the Phillies expect to win.
And Howard has hardly been alone. Pence has gotten some hits, but he's yet to be close to the hitter he was closing out the regular season in the red pinstripes. The 7-8-9 hole has been just that, a black hole. Where the Cards have given the Phils problems at the bottom of the order, whether it be good at-bats by John Jay, soul-crushing hits by Ryan Theriot or last night David Freese mashing a double and the basically game-clinching home run for a 4-RBI night, the 7 and 8 hitters for St. Louis have been excellent. For the Phillies, Placido Polanco and Carlos Ruiz haven't done shit. Polanco is so anemic at the plate right now that I wouldn't even mind seeing Wilson Valdez or Michael Martinez get a start, which speaks volumes considering those two can't hit for shit. And Ruiz, who finished the regular season with an impressive .283 batting average, has been anything but El Senor Octubre.
The good news is that the Phillies have their man on the mound tomorrow night, the guy they brought in exactly for this moment. It's hard to feel anything but confident with Roy Halladay taking the ball. Though it certainly won't be an easy task. The Cards have their ace on the hill as well, this time on full rest, and if it comes down to the bullpen, well, the Cardinals have had the advantage in the series to everyone's surprise. It may take a complete-game shutout by Doc to advance, and honestly, there's no one I'd rather have out there to do just that.
On a side note, what's up with the squirrels in St. Louis?
Seriously, someone tell those jerks to stay off the field.
Basically from the moment I was brought into this world, I was a Phillies fan, watching, listening and taking in every pitch I could. And since my birth some 27-plus years ago, the majority of fellow Phillies fans I've come across all have one thing above all else in common: their dislike of Chris Wheeler.
To be perfectly honest with you, I've never really been a part of that contingent. Don't get me wrong, the guy certainly can be grating, but I've never really had a problem with Wheels. Maybe it's because he's a Penn State grad, I don't know. To me, he's far and away the best guy on the TV broadcast these days, since we've gone nearly a decade and a half without Whitey and now sadly with no Harry.
Tom McCarthy is the one who draws my ire the most, mainly because he's absolutely terrible at his job and feigns what feels like forced excitement over just about everything. And as much as I like Sarge as a person, he adds absolutely nothing of substance to a broadcast. I often find myself wondering what the hell the Phillies brass was thinking putting that guy on TV.
OK, that was pretty awesome
I've never really felt that way about Chris Wheeler. The man certainly knows his baseball. He's been around the game forever and you can truly sense his love for baseball. However, I completely understand why he annoys so many people. His insistence on explaining the no-doubles defense every single time a team employs it. His often smug, know-it-all attitude. His irrational "old man" hate of Brandon Phillips. His embarrassingly horrible rug. Hell, even the late, great Harry Kalas notoriously didn't get along with Wheels. The man certainly can wear on you, and the entire Philadelphia Phillies fan base can and will attest to that.
Last night he went into one of those annoying, beat-you-over-the-head-with-it type of rants, and it really began to annoy the hell out of me. If you watched the Phils' 10-2 victory last night in St. Louis, you should know exactly what part of the game I'm talking about.
In the top of the 7th inning, the Phillies trailed 1-0 with Roy Halladay throwing yet another excellent game (though he got himself in trouble with the run he gave up by getting the ball up) but the bats completely silent. How silent? To that point, the Phils only had two hits in the game off Kyle McLellan, and only had one runner even get as far as second base.
Placido Polanco, who really, really is struggling in the five hole ever since his grand slam a couple weeks ago, grounded out. Then Raul Ibanez walked, followed by a fly out to center by Domonic Brown. Here's where I began to get extremely annoyed with Wheels and Tom McCarthy.
When Brown flied out, Charlie Manuel got Michael Stutes up in the bullpen, just as he should have. Carlos Ruiz was up with 2 outs, with the pitcher spot on deck. If Manuel didn't get anyone up and have a pitcher ready, McClellan would have no reason at all to pitch to Ruiz, leaving it up to the very light-hitting Roy Halladay to get a two-out hit to tie it. You can't do that. The Phillies, as I said, had only had one player all game reach second base and had only two hits on the night. If Ruiz got on, the Phils absolutely had to pinch-hit for Halladay. This was a no-brainer. It was the 7th inning, the Phils were down a run, and the offense had been dormant all night. They couldn't let an RBI opportunity slip through their fingers. They just couldn't. 100 times out of 100, no matter how well your pitcher is doing, you must have someone ready so you can pinch-hit if the pitcher spot comes up.
Despite that all, Wheeler made a huge, huge stink about it, saying this is a really tough decision, saying he didn't think Charlie would pinch-hit for Halladay, almost exacerbated that Manuel would dare take out Roy Halladay after only going 6 innigns and surrendering just 1 run. He did qualify that by saying "sometimes managers will do this on the road trailing in the 7th." No, not sometimes. All the time. 100 percent of the time. Unless the pitcher is Carlos Zambrano or CC Sabathia or maybe even Cliff Lee, a guy who can actually handle the bat. Roy Halladay is not one of those guys. He's a terrible hitter.
Yet McCarthy and especially Wheels kept going on about, making a big deal about it as if there was a real decision to be made, almost questioning Charlie's decision. And it continued when Ruiz ripped a single up the middle to put runners on second and first with 2 outs, and Manuel rightfully sent out Ross Gload in Halladay's place. I honestly couldn't believe they were beating this dead horse into the ground, especially when Charlie made the absolutely correct, no-brainer decision. That is exactly why people in this city despise Chris Wheeler. He was so smug that even when he was wrong and probably knew he was wrong, he kept pushing his point home. Just shut the fuck up about it already!
Oh, by the way, Gload came through big time, smoking a single to left to score Raul Ibanez and tie the game — though we know that was even close. For some bizarre reason, Ruiz kept running from second toward third before checking where the cutoff was, and he got tagged out so quickly that I wasn't quite sure he had given Ibanez enough time to score. Luckily he did, but it was an awful base-running play by Chooch. Not only did he nearly cost the Phils the tying run and cost Gload an RBI, but he ended the inning, not giving Rollins a chance to put the Phils ahead. Jimmy would have had another late-inning RBI chance with Ruiz on second and most like Michael Martinez pinch-running for Gload on first.
Regardless, the Phils tied the game with Manuel doing exactly what every manager on the planet would do, because it's the right thing to do. Though it didn't help to quiet Wheels and McCarthy when Michael Stutes came in and had one of his ugliest outings since being called up. Stutes struggled with his command, missing high with just about everything, and gave the lead right back. Though he limited the damage, and we all saw what happened in the 8th.
Shane Victorino got things going with a one-out single, and then the wheels came completely off for the Cardinals and Tony La Russa. La Russa went to veteran lefty Trevor Miller to start the 8th with the top of the order up for the Phils. Miller got Rollins to fly out, then surrendered the single to Victorino and walked Chase Utley. Then Tony La Russa did something only Tony La Russa would do, because Tony La Russa is an asshole.
Presumably, La Russa brought in the left-handed Miller mainly to face Utley and Ryan Howard. Or so it seemed. Because after Miller walked Utley, La Russa yanked him … for a hard-throwing righthander named Jason Motte. This time Wheels and McCarthy were rightly baffled, as was everyone else watching the game. And the move wound up backfiring big time, to say the least.
Motte hit Howard with a pitch to load the bases, then hit Polanco with a pitch to force in the tying run. But it didn't just force in the tying run, it hit Polanco right on the hand, forcing him to leave the game. Not good. Hopefully he'll be OK.
That was it for Motte, but not for the Phils. The St. Louis relievers just completely imploded, undoing all the brilliant work starter Kyle McLellan had done in keeping the Phils' offense down. After Ibanez struck out for out No. 2 when La Russa brought in his other lefty (seriously, he had another lefty but put in a righty to face Howard), Charlie pinch-hit for Dom Brown with Ben Francisco. This is where we thought the inning would end, and by we I mean myself and Adam EatShit.
Right when Francisco was sent in, I received this text from Adam:
Let dom hit. This is fruitless
I agreed. Then all Francisco did was single to left, plating Utley to give the Phils the lead. From there, the carousel was on. Miguel Batista came in to relieve the lefty, and he walked Curbball to bring in Howard. Michael Martinez came in to hit for Stutes and Batista walked him as well, making it 5-2. Then Jimmy singled to plate Francisco and Ruiz. Out went Batista, in came the hard-throwing youngster Cleto … who proceeded to walk to Victorino. Then Utley followed with a single to plate Martinez and Jimmy, and Howard singled to plate Victorino before it was all said and done.
The Phils plated 9 in the 8th, as the genius Tony La Russa's genius move backfired like a motherfucker. Honestly, who the hell lifts a left-handed specialist in favor of a hard-throwing righty to face Ryan Howard? An idiot, that's who. You got what you deserved La Russa.
That's the thing Chris Wheeler should have been harping on last night. And while he did mention it, he seemed to be much more conflicted on Charlie's wise decision in the 7th. That's a prime example of why Chris Wheeler annoys Phillies fans.
Though he's not nearly as annoying as Tony La Russa.
OK, show of hands … if I told you before the first pitch was thrown yesterday that one of the two starters for the Phils in their day/night double header with Florida would surrender just 1 run and 1 extra-base hit in 7 innings and pick up the win while the other would give up 4 extra-base hits, 4 runs and leave with his team trailing, how many of you would have guessed pitcher No. 1 was Kyle Kendrick and pitcher No. 2 was Roy Halladay?
Not me, that's for damn sure. Yet that's exactly what transpired yesterday here in the City of Brotherly Love. And I missed practically all of it due to work and life getting the way … though I did manage to see the best parts of game 2.
You see, late Tuesday night Paul "lil' Jon" Runyan texted me that he had an extra ticket to the day game Wednesday. Due to stupid work obligations and no notice, I really couldn't ditch out and go to the game even though I desperately wanted to. Then around midnight, he texted me again, waking me from my sleep, trying to convince me to go. But I really had to go to work yesterday morning, though I held out hope I could maybe take a half day and meet him and silver fox down there. Didn't happen. The work piled up and deadlines were fast-approaching. I had to stay put.
As disappointed as I was, I at least had the comfort of knowing I was missing out on a Kyle Kendrick game. I should have known better. I mean, so far this season I've been in attendance for one of Cole Hamels' two losses this season and one of Roy Halladay's three losses — unquestionably the worst outings for each of them — not to mention another shitty loss on a shitty night. So of course if I had gone I would have seen Kyle Kendrick, easily the worst pitcher in this star-studded rotation, throw a gem. It only makes sense, and by that I mean it makes absolutely no sense.
By the time I checked in on the score, the Phillies had an 8-1 lead, the weather was insanely nice and I was stuck in a freakin cubicle with neon lights and hating my life. Being an adult sucks so hard.
In my work mode, I missed out on Jimmy Rollins turning his swag on high with a three-run homer and two-hit, four-RBI game, Wilson Valdez going 3-for-4 at the dish including a bases-loaded, bases-clearing triple and Kyle Kendrick unfathomably pitching a 7-inning, 5-hit, 1-run, 5-strikeout gem to pick up the win. Oh, AND J.C. Romero and Danys Baez finished it off with allowing just one base-runner between the two of them. Unbelievable.
Later, right when the Phillies were about to start the nightcap, I had to leave for my softball game. So basically I missed everything in the game for the first 6 innings. But after our team managed to get a victory despite having just 9 guys to the opposition's full squad of 10, the team headed to the bar where we saw the final innings unfold.
Before we got there, we missed Roy Halladay uncharacteristically give up two runs in the first and two more in the fourth, and also Chase Utley driving in both Phillies runs with a double and a triple.
The good news is, the Phillies were saving their best for last, and we were able to see it. The Phils still trailed 4-2 going into the 9th, and in came Florida's closer Leo Nunez. He immediately got Dom Brown to ground out, but then Carlos Ruiz singled, followed by Ross Gload (I know, I thought he was dead too) getting a pinch-hit single right behind him. Gload was then replaced by Michael Martinez on the base paths, and up came Jimmy. Suddenly, there was life again in Citizens Bank Park. These are the spots that Rollins thrives on, and he looked like he was about to come through again. J-Roll absolutely smoked a ball right back up the middle. Off the bat, it looked like a sure single to center, possibly plating Ruiz but definitely getting Rollins on. Only he smoked it so hard that Nunez didn't have time to get out of the way of it, it bounced off his leg all the way to first base, and Rollins was out on an incredibly unfortunate ground out.
The good news was Ruiz and Martinez were able to advance, so any type of hit that left the infield would tie the game. The bad news was the Phils were down to their final out. However, right then and there, as Shane Victorino was stepping into the box, my buddy said he was definitely getting a hit and the Phils were definitely going to win, proclaiming that he could see into the future. He's an idiot, though Shane made him look like a genius, ripping a single back up the middle to tie the game. I have to admit, I'm as baffled as everyone else that the Phillies decided to keep Michael Martinez in the bigs seeing as he doesn't hit and really doesn't play, but dear god was he flying around the base paths. Sure, pretty much anyone would have scored on that hit from second with two outs, going right on contact, but still, he was flying. Michael Martinez is fast.
With the way Utley was swinging the bat last night and the game now tied, I'm pretty sure everyone within a 50-mile radius of Philadelphia thought the Phils were going to win this thing right then and there. Adam EatShit said immediately that Chase should take one and let Shane steal, which everyone in the bar agreed with. Best-case scenario, you have Victorino in scoring position, meaning a hit wins the game. Worst-case scenario, Shane gets thrown out and the Phils go into the 10th with Utley, Ryan Howard and Placido Polanco coming up. The Phils thought the exact same thing, as Victorino easily swiped second. Then Chase hit a tracer to left, but unfortunately right at Logan Morrison. On to extras.
Ryan Madson worked around a leadoff walk to put up a 0 for the Marlins, and everyone was hanging on to every pitch. To lead off the bottom of the 10th, Ryan Howard got hit by a pitch. But then Polanco flew out and Raul struck out. That put the game on the shoulders of the youngster Dom Brown.
Though Brown's numbers aren't overly impressive, the kid has looked really good. You can tell he belongs, and it's evident why he has been so highly touted. But at home so far this year, he's struggled more than he has on the road. And in that spot, in a tie game in the 10th with a chance to be a hero, it would be perfectly understandable if Dom tried to do too much, tried to hit a walkoff, didn't have the most patient approach. Instead, Brown worked an incredible at-bat, finally walking on 7 pitches after fouling off a slider with two strikes. It was one of the best pure at-bats for anyone on this team all season. That is an awesome sign for his development, that in that spot he can have an at-bat like that.
That brought up Curbball, and everyone knew he was going to come through. Chooch is as clutch as anyone on this team. And he was clutch yet again, smoking another single up the middle to plate Howard easily and walk away with a 5-4 victory. The bar was overtaken with cheers, we drank ourselves until closing and then it was off to bed.
In a bizarre day that saw Roy Halladay have a worse outing than Kyle Kendrick, the Phillies found a way to win both games. They've now won six games in a row, have a 5 game lead over the Braves in the division, and at 43-26 have the best record in all of baseball. Not bad for a team that "hasn't put it all together yet."
Don't look now, but the bats are waking up, and the pitching staff isn't going anywhere. The Phillies are who we thought they were. The best team in the National League, and right now, the best team in baseball.
Uh, yeah, that just happened. For real. Utility infielder/most time second baseman this season Wilson Valdez came in to pitch in the 19th inning, set down the heart of the incredibly explosive Cincinnati Reds' offense and picked up a win thanks to some small ball from Jimmy Rollins, Domonic Brown, Placido Polanco and Raul Ibanez. Seriously. That happened.
Of course it brought back memories of Tomas Perez, the original Phillies pie-in-the-face gansta, taking the mound in relief back in the day during another insanely long game. Except Wilson got the win. Awesome.
Games like last night are what make baseball so great. No clock. No time limit. The chance to see something you've absolutely never seen before. And something you'd never expect in a million years.
In fact, the last thing my friends and I expected as we left the house to grab some drinks with the Phillies up 2-0 and Roy Halladay on the mound was an extra-inning game, let alone a 19-inning marathon that forced a position player onto the mound. Yet that's exactly what happened.
Shortly after Ben Francisco smoked his two-run home run to left, we set off to the bar down the street, certain the game was all but over, even though it was just the first inning. I mean, Roy Halladay was on the mound, the same Roy Halladay who threw a freakin no-hitter against these very same Reds in his first career playoff start. And when John Mayberry singled home Carlos Ruiz in the 2nd, we knew the game was over.
Still, we wanted to watch, so we headed down to Druid's Keep to get a little projector action out back. And we watched as Roy, who was getting slapped around but had only surrendered one run through 6, did a very un-Roy like thing. With a two-run lead in the 7th, he gave up back-to-back hits to start the inning, kick-started by Miguel freakin Cairo of all people. A sacrifice bunt by Brandon Phillips put runners on 2nd and 3rd with just one out, bringing up Joey Votto. Walking him was a no-brainer, and it looked even more genius when Halladay struck out Scott Rolen for out number 2.
But he couldn't get Jay Bruce, who is just torching pitchers right now, as Bruce singled to center to plate Cairo and Drew Stubbs, tying the game. Roy did strike out Hernandez to end the inning, but the damage was done. So was Halladay, who was far from his no-hit self. In fact, he gave up 11 hits in 7 innings and a walk — way more baserunners than we're accustomed to seeing from him.
Michael Stutes came in and did a fine job in the 8th, as did Ryan Madson in the 9th, but the Phillies couldn't score themselves, blowing a huge opportunity in the 9th to end the game and go home at a reasonable hour. Mayberry led off with a single. Valdez bunted him to second. Chase Utley came in to pinch-hit for Madson and was promptly intentionally walked. Then Mayberry and Utley advanced on a wild pitch, prompting an intentional walk to Jimmy Rollins to load the bases with one out. All the Phils needed was a ball hit out of the infield and the game would most likely be over. What they got was a pathetic foul out by Dom Brown and a ground out by Polanco to end the inning and send this thing to extras.
As frustrating as it was, at least it was a nice night out, we were downing some beers and enjoying the outdoor viewing. But that enjoyment didn't last long, as Antonio Bastardo came in to start the 10th and immediately gave up a homer to Bruce. He did recover to get the next two batters, but he already surrendered the crushing blow, and after he yielded a double to the ageless Edgar Renteria, that was it for Bastardo. Not his best outing to say the least.
But a funny thing happened from there. Kyle Kendrick entered and struck out the next batter. And taking a cue from Bruce, Ryan Howard greeted the newly entered Francisco Cordero with a leadoff home run, crushing one to deep center to tie the game right back up. We were pumped, and the few folks outside let out some pretty emphatic cheers. After Cordero settled down and got the next three Phils, we knew it was now a battle of attrition. We just didn't realize how much attrition was about to take place.
Kendrick struck out Stubbs to start the 11th, unbelievably facing two batters and striking them both out. I have no idea how this happened, but it did. But after Kendrick hit Brandon Phillips, that was it for him. J.C. Romero entered, walked Joey Votto, and all I could envision was either Scott Rolen playing hero or Jay Bruce killing the Phillies yet again.
Something even stranger happened. Romero picked off Phillips at 2nd. For real. I'm not making this up. Of course, then he walked Rolen and Bruce to load the bases, because J.C. has no fucking clue where his pitches are going.
That was it for him. Unfortunately, all the Phillies had left in the bullpen were David Herndon and Danys Baez, a lose-lose situation. It was simply a matter of who Charlie wanted to get pinned with the loss. He opted for Herndon, and I fully expected him to either walk Ramon Hernandez or give up a hit to him. Shockingly, he did not. He got Hernandez to harmlessly ground out right back to him, keeping the score tied. I was stunned.
And I was even more stunned when he got a 1-2-3 inning in the 12th, then another 1-2-3 inning in the 13th. That's right, David Herndon pitched 2 and 1/3 of perfect baseball. I'm as stunned as you are.
Still, when Danys Baez came in in the 14th, I was all but certain the Philies were going to lose. Mainly because Baez is a terrible pitcher. Only somehow last night he wasn't. No joking. He picked up right where Herndon left off, setting down Rolen, Bruce and Hernandez in order. Of course, the Phillies still couldn't get going.
Somewhere along the way, I believe right after the 14th inning, with Phillies' offense quiet again and the game just going and going and going, we left the bar and I headed home.
When I got there, the game was still going on. In fact, I only missed about a half inning, stunned that Baez survived the 15th without giving up a run. Then I watched and watched, popping on South Park and Workaholics on the top TV as I watched the Phils on the larger bottom TV.
At that point, all I wanted to do was go to bed, but I couldn't. I had to see how this thing would end. Plus, it gave me a good excuse to watch those two aforementioned shows. So I stayed up. And stayed up. And stayed up.
Baez incredibly made it through the 18th, pitching 5 scoreless innings and only yielding two baserunners the entire time, a hit and a walk. He even struck out three guys and struck out himself at the dish. But he couldn't go on any longer, so Manuel pinch-hit for him in the 18th. Still nothing doing. On to the 19th. But, uh, who the hell was going to pitch? Manuel had just used up all his arms in the bullpen, and I didn't see Cole or Cliff or the other Roy out there.
Nope. Because out came Wilson Valdez, a la Tomas Perez back in my high school graduation year of 2002.
To accommodate Valdez on the mound, Polanco moved to second … and Carlos Ruiz went to third. As we all know, it's not the first time Carlos Ruiz has made a cameo at third.
Crazy Curbball even went diving for a foul ball and almost made a spectacular catch. It was unreal. But not as unreal as what was happening on the mound. Wilson Valdez, the infielder, was on the hill in the 19th inning of a tie game to face the heart of the Reds' order. And I mean the heart, the 3-4-5 hitters — reigning NL MVP Joey Votto, Scott Rolen and the scorching hot Jay Bruce.
No way this could go well, right? Wrong. Valdez, out there throwing 86-90 mph, got Votto to fly out to center. Then he freakin tried to throw a breaking ball and hit Scott Rolen. I'm not even sure how he knew how to grip a breaking ball. It was insanity.
Unsurprisingly, that was the last breaking ball Valdez attempted. From then on, it was all 86-89 mph heaters. And it worked. He got Bruce to fly out, and capped it off with another pop out against the opposing pitcher. Wilson Valdez got Joey Votto and Jay Bruce out in a scoreless, hitless inning of pitching. You can't make this kind of stuff up.
As the crowd was going wild and Valdez was pitching his version of a gem, you could just sense something was going to happen. Feeding off that energy, the Phils were determined to reward their newest pitcher for his efforts. Rollins, who had made a habit all night of frustratingly hitting into the Jimmy, led off with a single on a great piece of hitting the other way, shooting it through the hole between third and short. Then Dom Brown, who had failed miserably with bases loaded and one out in the 9th, worked a very patient walk.
Up came Polanco, and my roommate and I debated on whether or not he should bunt right away. Cincinnati pitcher Carlos Fisher had thrown close to 90 pitches over five-plus innings and just walked Brown, struggling to find the strike zone. We agreed that Polanco shouldn't square to bunt until he saw a strike, which I know is crazy because if he bunts it foul, you have to take the bunt off with two strikes. However, Polanco is the team's best hitter, and when it got to 2-0 on him, I thought Manuel should have taken the bunt off. I mean, a 2-0 hitter's count for your best hitter? I say let him swing away.
Of course, bunting is the by-the-book move, and it is the smart, safe thing to do. You never know what could happen if you let Placido swing. He could get a hit and be the hero, or he could ground into a devastating double play, pop out or even strike out, though he rarely does that. So the bunt was on, smartly, and Polanco did the job, getting it down and moving both runners.
Fisher naturally intentionally walked Ryan Howard to set up the force at home and potential double play. But that wouldn't happen. Because Raul Ibanez, who everyone under the sun was killing a month ago and couldn't wait for him to be gone, continued his recent stretch of clutchness, smoking a deep sacrifice fly to center to plate Rollins and mercifully end this epic, epic game.
It was a game of unsung heroes. Ryan Howard with his game-tying home run. Rollins with his two hits and two runs scored. Polanco with his bunt. Ruiz for playing third. Ibanez with his sac fly and game-winning RBI. Franciso with his two-run shot. Everyone in the bullpen, from Stutes and Madson early, to Kendrick and especially Herndon and Baez. I mean, I can't give Herndon and Baez, two pitchers I hate and think suck and don't ever want to really see on the mound again, enough credit. Last night, they were awesome.
And of course, there was the hero of all heroes, Wilson Valdez, who not only pitched, got out the heart of the Cincinnati order and incredibly picked up the freakin win, but also went 3-for-6 at the dish.
(Disclaimer: All images Internet-borrowed from The700Level and The Fightins because they are awesome.)
Quite an eventful weekend for Philadelphia this weekend. It began with three of the four major sports teams in this city in action on Friday night and ended with a career day for Carlos Ruiz, a division title for the Flyers and yet another series win — and nice bounceback game from Cole Hamels — for the Phillies.
Friday night was the perfect time to have a relaxing, stay-at-home Friday night. The Flyers, Phillies and Sixers were all in action. The Flyers took on potential (and as it turns out eventual) first-round opponent Buffalo in a huge game for both teams — the Sabres needed a point to clinch a playoff berth, and the Flyers needed a point to stay ahead of the Penguins and two points to have any hope of catching the Capitals. The Phillies opened their third series of the year against their toughest division opponent, traveling down to Atlanta for their first road series of 2011. And the Sixers hosted the Raptors in their third-to-last game of the season, needing a victory to keep within reach of the Knicks.
So instead of going out, we got a case of beer and some food and watched the games on our two-TV setup.
Early on, things were going perfectly. The Flyers jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first on a goal by Scott Hartnell and outshot the Sabres 13-10. At the same time, the Phillies scored three quick runs off of Tim Hudson in the first two innings, giving ace number 2 Cliff Lee a 3-0 lead right out of the gate. And the Sixers, who tipped off the earliest, outscored the Raptors by 10 in the first quarter and took a 12-point lead into half.
It was roughly around that time when Adam EatShit said, "So, 3-for-3 tonight? We went 0-for-3 the other night, so looks like 3-for-3 tonight."
And with that, the jinx was on. After being spotted a 3-0 lead after two, Cliff Lee began to unravel. He couldn't locate his pitches for the life of him, lethal for any pitcher but especially for Lee, an ace that relies on location much, much more than stuff. Damn near every pitch Lee threw either caught too much of the plate or was up in the zone. Immediately in the bottom of the 2nd, he gave all three runs back, giving up three straight hits to start the inning — a triple by Jason Heyward, double by Alex Gonzalez and single by Freddie Freeman — followed by another double by Martin Prado.
From that moment on, Tim Hudson calmed himself down and shut down the Phils, while Lee couldn't right himself. Just two innings later, Lee continued with his struggles, hitting a batter to lead off the inning and getting tagged for three more runs before his night was through.
Lee lasted just three and a third innings, getting shelled for 10 hits and six runs. It was kind of funny that the night before, my roommates and I were talking about how Roy Halladay never really gets shelled, while Cliff will get smacked around a couple times a season. Same with Cole and Oswalt and most pitchers. But Halladay always seems to give up 4 runs or fewer, typically only surrendering more than that a couple times year. Even when Halladay is fighting himself, he finds a way to have a decent outing at worst. Lee, like every other pitcher in the world, has a night like he did Friday when he's fighting himself. That's baseball.
But even with Lee's clunker, the Phillies still had a chance in the game and a huge opportunity to get to Hudson again. In the 5th inning, right after Lee gave up his final three runs, the Phils answered. Kyle Kendrick of all people started the rally by leading off with a single. Then Shane Victorino — who has made a career of killing the Braves (I mean, who can forget the walkoff throw to preserve Brad Lidge's perfect 2008 season?) — made it back-to-back singles. After Placido Polanco grounded into a fielder's choice, Jimmy Rollins reached on an error, loading the bases with just one out for the red-hot Ryan Howard.
Howard has been absolutely smashing the ball early on, putting together great at-bats and making solid contact all year long. Down three runs in the 5th, the Phillies needed to at the very least get one run home and get some momentum. That meant all Howard needed to do was put a decent swing on the ball — worst-case scenario with a good at-bat he gets a sac fly at makes it a two-run game, best-case he gets a hit and scores a couple runs or more, making it a one-run game, tie game or even taking the lead with a grand slam. But instead, on a freakin 1-0 pitch, Howard check-swings and makes contact, softly hitting it right back to Hudson. Disaster. Hudson calmly begins the painfully easy 1-2-3 double play to end the inning. It was the biggest at-bat of the game, and Howard made a completely boneheaded play.
Why was it boneheaded? For starters, he was up 1-0 in the count with the bases loaded. In that spot, the pitcher has to come to you, or you don't swing. He has nowhere to put you, and you're ahead in the count. You look for your pitch to drive there, simple as that. If it's not that pitch, you leave the bat on your shoulder. Howard didn't do that. After laying off a low slider — the pitch that has given him trouble in his career but the same pitch he's been so disciplined at laying off of this year — Hudson threw another, not wanting to give in to Howard with a fastball. Only this time, when the only he should not have done in that spot is swing at a low slider, Howard began his swing at a pitch that clearly he didn't want to hit. Dumb. And to make matters worse, he stopped his swing, practically bunting the ball right back to Hudson to start the easy double play. Here's the thing: If you're going to go ahead and swing in that spot, then just swing. Don't try to stop it. Even chasing a bad pitch, if Howard just lets loose, he has a chance to hit it hard somewhere and potentially score a run. Maybe he grounds into a double play anyway, but at least he gives himself a shot at a hit. By checking his swing, he simply made the entire thing easier for Atlanta, and he did it in a spot where it is insanely stupid to check your swing: up 1-0 in the count with the bases loaded. That's just bad baseball. Stupid baseball. And it derailed any chance at a comeback right there because Hudson cruised the rest of the way before handing it over to the young, flame-throwing duo of Jonny Venters and Craig Kimbrel. Venters struck out the only batter he faced, Raul Ibanez, and Kimbrel had a 1-2-3 ninth for the save.
Not exactly the way you want to start a series, with your prized offseason acquisition getting knocked around and your cleanup hitter having a miserable at-bat with the bases loaded.
As all that was going on, the Flyers saw their 1-0 lead vanish just 25 seconds into the second period, then found themselves behind a goal less than four minutes later.
There's nothing more dangerous than a desperate team just trying to get into the playoffs, and the Flyers saw that firsthand. Suddenly, a once promising night looked much more bleak. And to pull the trifecta of disappointment, the Raptors came roaring out of the locker room in the second half to outscore the Sixers 30-19 in the third quarter, all but erasing that 12-point lead. Just like that, it was a one-point game, thanks largely to Jerryd Bayless inexplicably going off.
Thankfully things turned around a bit. The Phillies couldn't come back, but the Sixers and Flyers responded. Thaddeus Young continued his monstrous stretch of play, scoring 20 points of the bench, and Elton Brand continued what has been and for some reason still is a quietly excellent season. Brand led the Sixers with 22 points and added 8 rebounds in the 98-93 victory, a win that showcased team basketball coming out on top over great individual performances.
As I mentioned, Jerryd Bayless had a career night, dropping 24 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals, and he was complemented by fellow youngster DeMar DeRozan, who added 27 points and went 11-12 from the line. DeRozan and Bayless really did have nice games, but they simply didn't get quite enough help. Ed Davis was the only other Raptor to score in double digits, posting a very respectable 14 and 10 double-double. But other than that, the Raptors got very little from anyone else besides Reggie Evans and his usual gritty play. The former Sixers power forward, by the way, had a game-high 15 rebounds.
Conversely, Brand and Young had plenty of help from all over the lineup. Four other 76ers netted double-digit points, with Andre Iguodala getting 16, Jrue Holiday with 13, and Jodie Meeks and Evan Turner each putting up a 10 spot. Jrue also had an all-around good floor game, dishing out a game-high 11 assists to go along with 4 rebounds, 4 steals and a block. And even though Meeks continued to struggle mightily with his shot, shooting just 2-11 from the field and 2-9 from three, he found other ways to contribute, like getting to the line 6 times and grabbing 7 rebounds from his two-guard position.
That's what makes this Sixers team so fun to watch and what has them back in the playoffs. They get contributions from so many guys, something they have to do with no discernible superstar. Andre Iguodala is playing the best defense of his life and has cut down on his shots. Elton Brand looks nothing like the washed-up, injured player he was before, even if he isn't quite the perennial 20-10 all-star he once was. Thaddeus Young has been the team's best player for a few weeks now, or at least their most energetic. Jrue had taken another step forward in his second season. Jodie Meeks and Spencer Hawes know their roles and perform them admirably. And Lou Williams, who is hoping to be healthy for the playoffs, has combined with Thad to be one of the most potent offensive one-two punches off the bench in the entire NBA.
Then you add Evan Turner's slow development, Andres Nocioni prepared for whatever minutes Doug Collins gives him and the options on offense (Speights) and defense (Battie) at the power forward position. The Sixers won't win a playoff series, and they'll probably have a hard time winning more than a game against either the Celtics or Heat, whichever one they play. But Doug Collins has this team heading in the right direction and playing the type of basketball no one really expected in year one after the debacle that was Eddie Jordan.
As the Sixers were holding off the Raptors, the Flyers also responded themselves, though admittedly, it looked like they were going to squander yet another game and fall into a tie with Pittsburgh. A couple minutes after Buffalo took the lead, Darroll Powe made a rare mistake, the firing a clearing attempt in his own zone over the glass and out of play — a 2-minute penalty. A power-play goal for Buffalo would make it three straight and probably spell death for the Flyers in the game. But instead of letting up a dagger of a goal, they scored one of their own, as Claude Giroux found Kris Versteeg for the shorty, tie game. And less than a minute later, the Flyers found themselves back on top as Danny Briere a one-timer past Jhonas Enroth off a great spinning play to enter the zone and tremendous feed by Scott Hartnell.
Quite a roller-coaster of a period. Up a goal, then down a goal, then up a goal again. Essentially, the Flyers treaded water in the period, but it was incredibly frustrating at first, then incredibly exciting. But the euphoria of getting the lead back wouldn't last. Sensing the urgency of the situation and needing at least one point to clinch a playoff berth, the Sabres sent Ryan Miller out for the third period. Miller stopped all 8 shots he faced in the period. Sergei Bobrovsky did not.
With less than 10 minutes remaining, Nathan Gerber used his speed to enter the zone, cut to the middle of the ice, and as the screen was setting up, he sent a backhander high to Bobrovsky stick side that found its way in. Bob never even saw the shot, and just like that the game was tied.
Luckily for the Flyers, Buffalo ragged the puck for the final minute instead of going for the regulation win. All the Sabres needed was a point to get in the playoffs, so they didn't want to take any chances at losing in regulation. And the Flyers were perfectly content with that, because getting the overtime point meant they would stay ahead of the Penguins. Of course, it would have been nice to get two points, but that didn't happen, as Buffalo made quick work of the Flyers in overtime, scoring just 1:16 in to end the game.
The good news was the Flyers gained that all-important point to stay ahead of the Penguins. But it was hardly the type of statement you wanted to see out of them following Pittsburgh's charge to overtake them. And it was yet another loss in a two-month stretch filled with losses. Point or not, a loss is a loss.
And that made two losses out of three Philadelphia teams in action despite great starts by all of them. What started out as a wonderful Friday night devolved into a drunken malaise that pretty much sapped all the energy out of everyone. There would be no going out and having a good time. It was just finishing up the beer and going to bed. Hopefully Saturday would yield better results.
Unfortunately, Saturday started out a lot like Friday. In their afternoon start in Atlanta, the Phillies again jumped on the Braves early. Shane Victorino continued his assault on Atlanta, leading the game off with a double, and a few batters later Ben Francisco brought him home with an RBI single. But Roy Oswalt looked like he was having the same problem Lee had the night before, albeit to a smaller extent. Roy just didn't seem like he quite had command of his pitches, leaving a lot of them up in the zone. And in the third, it cost him, as the Braves strung together three hits to get two runs before Nate McLouth lined into a double play to thankfully stop the bleeding.
I thought it would be deja vu all over again. The Phillies catchers had other ideas. The very next at-bat for the Phils, Brian Schneider got those two runs right back and gave the Phils the lead again by absolutely destroying a Brandon Beachy meatball after Beachy had just thrown five straight balls — walking Raul and falling behind Schneider 1-0.
I mean, he just absolutely crushed the ball. It was the type of approach that Howard should have had in his bases-loaded at-bat Friday. Schneider got ahead 1-0 and sat dead red for his pitch. When he got it, he made Beachy pay.
Of course, Brian Schneider wasn't the real story on Saturday. No, that distinction belongs to his fellow backstop and teammate Carlos Ruiz. With the day game after a night game, Ruiz was given the day off, or at least supposed to have the day off. But when the Phillies were still only up a run in the 7th inning against a lineup that includes Chipper Jones, Dan Uggla, Brian McCann and Jason Heyward, Charlie was going to do everything he could to get some more runs. Raul helped him out by leading off the 7th with a double. That's when Fredi Gonzalez went to his bullpen, bringing in lefty George Sherrill, who the Philliesknowwell, to face Schneider. That's when things go interesting.
The Phillies had the lead. There was a runner on second with no one out. Brian Schneider had already homered today, he was giving the starting catcher a much needed and much deserved day off, and he's a lefty who could conceivably pull the ball to the right side, even off a lefthanded pitcher, to move Ibanez to third with less than two outs. A lot of managers in that spot would have left Schneider in the game, given his big home run, and let his starting catcher truly have a day off. But Charlie didn't like the lefty on lefty match-up, so he called Schenider back and pinch-hit John Mayberry. Mayberry, who already has a walkoff hit to his credit this season, didn't disappoint, singling to left center to put runners on first and third with no one out. Sherrill, clearly rattled, walked Wilson Valdez.
With the bases loaded and the pitcher spot due up, Manuel didn't hesitate. He called on Ruiz to pinch-hit. Sherrill was lifted for Scott Linebrink, who quickly got ahead of Ruiz 0-2 with two sinkers. Then, inexplicably, Linebrink threw an 0-2 fastball right down the middle, and Chooch turned on it. As soon as he hit it, I started screaming, "CURBBALL!!!!!!!" You just knew it was gone. Ruiz demolished it, hitting his first career grand slam to put the game away.
He added an RBI double before it was all said and done, finishing with a career-high 5 RBIs and hitting his first career grand slam. Not bad for a guy who wasn't even supposed to be playing that day.
Let's face the facts, if you don't like Carlos Ruiz, you can just get the hell out. I love that guy.
So Saturday got off to a good start, and the Flyers decided to keep the good times rolling. Just 16 seconds into their final game of the regular season, Kimmo Timonen gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead. And just 31 seconds later, Ville Leino made a long stretch pass that Scott Hartnell flagged out of the air onsides, burying the breakaway.
Just 47 seconds into the game, the Flyers had a 2-0 lead and it looked like they were going to end the regular season with an emphatic victory. I had a feeling the Flyers, after all their struggles of late, would destroy the Islanders on Saturday. New York was a team the Flyers owned all season, and you know the Flyers were looking to put together a full 60 minutes of hockey before the postseason begins.
But as incredible as the pass was by Leino to spring Hartnell for the goal, the play he made later in the period was just as bad, if not worse. Up 2-0 and needing two points to clinch the Atlantic Division no matter what Pittsburgh did in its finale, Ville Leino made an absolutely inexcusable play. Instead of getting the puck deep on a rush, he tried to make a pass back to the point he was already high near the blue line. Instead of connecting, it sprung Michael Grabner the other way for the breakaway. Grabner made no mistake, easily depositing the puck between Bob's gaping five hole to make it 2-1.
It was exactly the type of play that makes you understand why the Red Wings traded the infinitely talented Leino away. He is an incredible playmaker, a creative scorer, and I'm thrilled he's a Flyer. But then he'll go and make an absolutely crippling, stupid play like that, one that completely changed the momentum of the game. No wonder Leino has been the taking the brunt of Peter Laviolette's ire of late. It's plays like that that drive a coach nuts.
Then the Islanders added a power play goal to tie it after Andrej Meszaros was called for a questionable elbowing call, but one that is defensible for the referee. While the replay showed Meszaros didn't connect with an elbow, he did go in high, making it seem like an elbow.
Just like that, the quick start was erased. But again the Flyers responded as Danny Briere continued to be hot. Birere rushed up the ice and lifted a backhander right past the swiss cheese that Rick DiPietro has become, giving the Flyers the lead again. Of course, the Flyers surrendered the lead before the period was done, because no lead is safe with this team anymore. It was a pretty dumb goal, with Bobrovsky losing sight of the puck as it slid right by him in the crease to a wide open John Tavares. Tavares tapped it in for the tie, and Bob was pulled for surrendering 3 goals on just 10 shots.
After the Islanders took a 4-3 lead in the first minute of the second period, we were completely disgusted. Adam and I discussed how pathetic this team is with the lead, when I said that beyond Chris Pronger's absence, this team really misses guys like Simon Gagne and Ian Laperriere. Gagne and Laperriere were excellent defensive players (an underrated part of Gagne's game), two guys who rarely made mistakes and knew to always make the smart, simple play with the lead. These Flyers, for all the talent they have assembled, just don't make the game simple for themselves when they get the lead. Damn near everyone tries to do too much entering the zone. They make stupid, ill-adivsed cross-ice passes. They try to dump the puck back or juke someone coming out of their own zone instead of just chipping the puck out of the zone and living to fight another shift. They turn the puck over at the blue lines and in the neutral zone. It's maddening. When you have the lead, you get the puck out and get the puck deep, then work and win battles. That's how you close out games, not by trying to make the cute, perfect pass or highlight-reel goal. Yet most of these guys just don't seem to grasp that a lot of the time.
Thankfully, the Flyers did wake up, thanks largely to Andrej Meszaros.
Meszaros was named the Barry Ashbee Award winner this year, given to the Flyers' best defenseman, and Saturday night he showed just why. For starters, Meszaros was flying all over the place, laying out Islanders with big checks, standing people up at the blue line and joining in on the rush offensively. And with the Flyers trailing, he tied the game in the second, then assisted on the go-ahead goal by Scott Hartnell — his second assist of the game and Hartnell's second goal. Then he made it a two-goal lead with a power-play goal in the third, as the Flyers added an empty-netter by Darroll Powe to win 7-4 and clinch the second seed in the East as the Atlantic Division champions.
Meszaros, easily the best offseason addition for the Flyers, was far and away the player of the game. He has come to Philadelphia and put the struggles of the past two seasons in Tampa behind him. Playing on a team with defensive stalwarts like Chris Pronger and Kimmo Timonen (and Matt Carle and Braydon Coburn), Meszaros has been the most impactful all season long. He was no different Saturday night, literally willing the Flyers to the division crown.
He got some help from Hartnell and Briere, as that line is getting hot again going into the postseason. And Brian Boucher was oustanding in relieving Bobrovsky, stopping 24 of the 25 shots he faced and giving Flyers fans confidence that he will do a great job, just as he did last year, if Bobrovsky should stumble in the playoffs.
When it was all said and done, it was an odd game. The Flyers surrendered a two-goal lead and then coughed up another lead, ultimately finding themselves behind before scoring four unanswered goals. It was hardly the statement type of game we all wanted to see, but it did garner two points and prevent a huge collapse.
The Flyers are the Atlantic Division champions, the second seed in the East, and they take on the very same Buffalo team they lost to ini overtime Friday night in the first round.
So Saturday was infinitely better than Friday, and I celebrated accordingly, drinking more than enough drinks with a few of my friends. And the weekend culminated with Cole Hamels throwing a gem yesterday to make up for his god-awful performance in his season debut. Cole responded with 7 innings of shutout ball, striking out 8 will giving up just 4 hits and a walk. It was a great outing, finishing off with ease by Ryan Madson and Jose Contreras, with the offense using a solo home run by Shane and small ball to win 3-0 and improve to 7-2 on the season, winning all three series thus far.
Curbball provided the biggest single-game highlight with his pinch-hit grand slam and five-RBI, three-inning day, but it was Shane Victorino that had the best series. Shane continued to be a Brave-killer going 9-for-13 with a double, homer, five runs, three RBIs and two stolen bases in the series. I'd say he's enjoying the leadoff spot thus far.
Sixers take on the Magic tonight without Andre Iguodala, trailing the Knicks by a game for the sixth seed, and the Flyers being the postseason at home on Thursday against the Sabres. The Phils begin a three-game set down in Washington to take on Jayson Werth and the Nationals.
Less than three short weeks ago, some (incredibly stupid) people were concocting reasons why not to start Roy Halladay in game 1 of the NLDS. Charlie Manuel takes no interest in these type of things. He goes with his guys no matter what, and ever since the Phillies traded Kyle Drabek and company for the big righthander, Roy Halladay has Charlie Manuel's No. 1 guy.
Last night, he showed everyone in the world exactly why: 9 innings pitches, no hits, no runs, one measly walk, eight face-breaking strikeouts. In his first career playoff appearance, one he waited 12 long years for despite his individual brilliance. It was only the second time in the history of our nation's pastime that a pitcher threw a no-hitter in the playoffs. And the first time anyone has ever done it in his playoff debut. You hear time and again that certain guys look unhittable on this night or that night. Often, it is just a cliche for a good performance. But last night, on one of the most memorable nights ever, Roy Halladay literally was unhittable.
It's almost impossible to put into words what it was like watching this masterpiece — and make no mistake about it, this was a masterpiece. You would think it'd be hard to be amazed or surprised by a guy who already had thrown a perfect game, a guy who led the majors in wins, complete games, shutouts, innings, a guy with 219 strikeouts to just 30 walks, a guy with a 2.44 ERA and 1.04 WHIP, a guy who is the clear front-runner and almost certainly the National League Cy Young winner. But damn if he didn't amaze us all once again.
I watched every single pitch from the moment he took the mound until the moment Carlos Ruiz and company were swarming him on the diamond. I can't remember a single pitch that was even remotely hittable. It wasn't a matter of the Reds just missing the hittable ones. There were no hittable ones. Every pitch had nasty movement. Each ball landed pretty much right where Ruiz wanted. It was like watching a magician perform the perfect trick. With each pitch, the Reds were wondering how in the world Halladay made the ball do that. And the scary thing was, Halladay knew exactly what he was doing with every pitch, save for a couple in the 5th inning when he walked Jay Bruce on a tremendous at-bat by the young Reds rightfielder.
No matter what type of hyperbole you might hear, just know that it is all 100 percent deserved. I watched Halladay's perfect game. I saw Kevin Millwood's no-hitter. I witnessed everylastthingCliffLeedid last year and everybrilliantperformanceby Cole Hamels as the World Fucking Champions MVP in 2008. And none of those performances were as incredible, as dominant as Halladay's last night.
He no-hit the Cincinnati Reds. The same Cincinnati Reds who led the National League in batting average, runs, hits, home runs, RBIs and slugging, not to mention second only to Atlanta in on-base percentage. He no-hit a lineup that includes NL MVP favorite Joey Votto. A lineup that includes perennial all-star Brandon Phillips, and tough, professional hitters like Scott Rolen, Jay Bruce and Drew Stubbs. Not only that, he made every single Cincinnati Red look incompetent. Rolen had no idea what was going on. Votto didn't put one good swing on a ball. Phillips' best contact dribbled a few feet in front of the plate. The closest things to a hit came on a check swing by Votto that found the hole, where Jimmy Rollins made a tremendous backhanded stab and fired a strike to first to get him, and a pinch-hit appearance by Juan Francisco, who chopped one past Halladay right up the middle, but not sharp enough to get by Rollins, who again ranged over and threw him out easily.
The hardest hit ball of the night by the Reds came off the bat of Travis Wood, the pitcher who replaced Edison Volquez after the Phils chased him in the 2nd inning. Wood hit a sharp liner to right, but Jayson Werth was there to make the catch. Other than that, the Reds didn't even threaten for a hit, didn't even remotely put a swing on a ball that made you think it was only a matter of time. It was unreal. Truly unreal.
Of course, no one expected Roy Halladay to throw a no-hitter last night. That would just be crazy, given that it's only happened once before during the playoffs in the history of the game. And with Edison Volquez on the hill for the Reds, this game had the makings of a tight one — Volquez has given the Phillies problems over his short career. That's what made the start of the game so exciting.
I left work an hour early, got home and settled in. Then right as the game was starting, my asshole roommate comes through the door with some fatass friend of his. Great. Just what I needed. Luckily, he left me to my own devices and then got the hell out of the house. If he had stayed, I probably would have murdered him. Definitely would have murdered him. It would have been necessary. I had to be distraction-free for Doc's first playoff start because lord knows Halladay wasn't going to let anything distract him.
After Roy wet the Reds down in order to start things off, I jumped for joy when Shane got a one-out double a truly great piece of hitting. Victorino worked a great at-bat, never giving in to Volquez, and stayed with a tremendous changeup on the outside corner, slapping down the leftfield line for a double. The hit was Victorino's 34th career postseason hit, surpassing Mike Schmidt as the franchise leader in postseason hits. Shane will drive you nuts every once in a while with a boneheaded play, but the man is clutch. When the bright lights shine in October, he plays his best baseball. Last night was no different, as he was the catalyst that got the Phils offense going right out of the gate.
Then, with Chase ahead in the count 1-0, Victorino was dancing off second. Volquez looked at him for a moment, but not nearly long enough. Shane got a huge walking lead, took off and stole third with ease, even with a ball 2 that was high and outside, a ball that Ramon Hernandez could get rid of easily. Ahead 2-0, Chase did what any good hitter is supposed to do, looking for a pitch to drive. He found one, hitting a deep fly ball to right to score Victorino on the sac fly, 1-0 Phils. I will say this, that was one hell of a throw by Jay Bruce. On a deep fly ball, Victorino felt inclined to slide headfirst just to make it, and he's the fastest guy on the team. Bruce threw a rope. It was impressive.
But not as impressive as what the Phils did the next inning. With Roy again cruising through Rolen, Gomes and Bruce, up came the Phils. Jayson Werth grounded out to lead things off, though he did make Volquez work. Then Ibanez lined out to Drew Stubbs. Two quick outs, the bottom of the order up. The best I was hoping for was for Ruiz and Wilson Valdez to get on and turn the lineup over the 2nd. The Phillies expected more.
Ruiz walked. Then Valdez hit one up the middle. Orlando Cabrera made a good play to get there, but instead of going to first, where his body momentum was taking him, and throwing out Valdez to end the inning, he tried to flip it to second to get Ruiz. The play stood no chance, as Cabrera couldn't get anything on the toss, Ruiz was hustling and the throw was nowhere near the bag. It was ruled an infield single, but truthfully, seeing as Valdez is not speed burner the way Victorino and a healthy Jimmy Rollins are, Cabrera probably should have made the play, simply going to first. But Cabrera seemed a whole lot more interested in complaining about the home plate umpire and refusing to give the great Roy Halladay credit than actually doing anything remotely good on the baseball field. Orlando Cabrera is whiny bitch, and I hope he tears his ACL tomorrow night.
After Cabrera's bitch play, up came Roy with two on and two outs. I fully expected Halladay to strike out, but I was muttering to myself, "Come on, Roy. Come on." Volquez had thrown a lot of pitches already, getting himself in some trouble for later in the game, but every Reds fan alive had to think he'd escape with the Reds still trailing by just a run. That thought would be perfectly understandable … and 100 percent wrong. Because on the very first pitch Volquez threw, Roy Halladay jumped on it, ripping a fastball to left for an RBI single, as Jonny Gomes couldn't get there, the ball scooted away from him ever-so-slightly, and Ruiz scored easily.
Right then and there, you knew the game was over. A two-run lead for Halladay, with Halladay himself driving in the second run? Forget it. I don't care who Cincinnati has on its team, when Roy is locked in like that, you know he's gonna be on. We just didn't know how on he'd actually be.
That hit completely scarred Volquez. He followed it up by walking Jimmy Rollins, and Shane stepped to the plate again. All he did there was worked another incredible at-bat, fighting off some nasty pitches, before finally dropping a two-run single to center. Like I said, the guy is clutch. That put the Phils up 4-0, chased Volquez after just an inning and two-thirds, and took any pressure that may have been in the air out of Citizens Bank Park. Well, at least for the time being.
Travis Wood, the same Travis Wood who almost pitched a perfect game in Citizens Bank Park yet still lost to Roy Halladay, came in and got Chase, then did a great job along with the rest of the Reds bullpen to shut out the Phils the rest of the way. But it didn't matter. Roy had a four-run lead to work with, and that would be more than enough.
The announcers, Joe Simpson and Brian Anderson — who I think did a pretty good job calling the game last night — said a four-run lead isn't typically safe in Citizens Bank Park, a stadium known as hitter-friendly. But then Simpson said, "Then again, you'd never know it by the way the Phillies pitchers have thrown this year." If only he knew how right he was with that caveat.
When the game began, it was still sorta light out and not very dark in my house. As a result, I didn't turn on any lights. And as the game progressed, I watched alone in total darkness, refusing to get up and refusing to turn on the lights. I couldn't miss a thing. Not the way Roy was dealing. Not the way each inning passed with yet another run of zeros across the board. Not with the crowd going wild and getting louder and louder and louder with each and every inning.
So I sat in darkness, amazed and in awe. At some point, I thought, man, he's going to do it. He was making everyone look sick, especially Scott Rolen, who was getting booed every time he stepped to the plate. And after one of his strikeouts, when Rolen was complaining to the ump, TBS cut to a fan that was making the crying motion, pretending to rub his eyes and he yelled, "WAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" It was hilarious.
After four, still a perfect game. Then Roy struck out Rolen. Then Gomes. When he walked Jay Bruce, I actually got a sinking feeling in my stomach. The perfect game was over, and I was saddened by that — in the fifth inning. Do you know how ridiculous it is to think someone could throw a perfect game when it's just the fifth inning? Yet that's what I was feeling at the time, because Halladay had been so dominant, looked so good that it was hard to imagine Cincinnati getting a hit. HIs pitches were mesmerizing.
As the game wore on, the crescendo just kept getting louder and louder. When Roy came to the plate, he received the largest cheers. When he took the mound, the crowd was going crazy. And on every two-strike count, it was deafening. Roy was making the Philadelphia fans get louder than they ever have been, and they kept topping it inning after inning after inning. Through six, still no hits. Same thing through seven. And eight. Holy fucking shit, Roy Halladay is going to throw a no-hitter. Everyone in Philadelphia could feel it. He got Ramon Hernandez to pop out to Chase, two outs away. This was really going to happen. I just know it … and then Miguel Cairo came in to pinch-hit.
Now, I don't think every Phillies fan was worried, but I certainly thought, "If there's one fucker who's going to break this up, of course it would be Miguel fucking Cairo." I was not alone. I know I wasn't. But he didn't. Roy got him to foul out to third, and then just to add a little bit more drama to an already incredibly dramatic scene, Brandon Phillips topped a ball in front of the plate, a ball that got deadened by his bat again in the field of play, forcing Carlos Ruiz to reach back, go to a knee and fire to first. Thankfully, Ruiz made the play no problem, completing the no-hitter, as my eyes welled up with tears.
This is beautiful. The Rangers got off early, and now, Cliff is going nuts.
As in Cliff Lee, who pitched brilliantly for the Rangers yesterday, going 7 innings, striking out 10 while giving up just one run as Texas beat the Rays. Hours later, I sent him a text:
Roy one-upped Lee
It was unreal. The texts came flying in. The calls were plentiful. No one could believe what they just saw. It was the greatest pitching performance I have ever seen. It really was. To do that, in your first playoff game, against the best-hitting team in your league, it's just amazing. There really are no words. Roy Halladay threw a no-hitter in the playoffs. It really happened. I saw it. And I'll never forget it.
He really is the best. There is no disputing it. I just wish Harry were alive to see this. Something tells me he did. Un-fucking-real.
