Forgot About Ben

It must have been strange to be Ben Fracisco in 2011. Think about it. The guy went from the opening-day starting right fielder for the National League favorites, a guy both the Phillies and fans hoped would fill the considerable shoes of the recently departed Jayson Werth.



After a nice start in the first couple series, Francisco started to slump and slump hard. Just like that he went from starting right fielder to goat. Fans were all over him, and everyone under the sun wanted Domonic Brown to take his place. Eventually, he did. And even when Brown adjusted slowly to the majors, no one was calling for Francisco to return to the lineup — they were calling for a new right fielder. Enter Hunter Pence, all but banishing Francisco to a few at-bats a month.

In seemingly a blink of an eye he went from potential breakout star to whipping boy to afterthought. But a funny thing happened to Francisco as his playing time decreased. He became a better player. He started to get consistent hits either in spot starts or a pinch-hitting role. And by the time September was through, Francisco was on a hot streak at the plate.

And boy, did the Phillies ever need Ben Francisco and his bat last night.



It was quite a strange game given its ebb and flow. Right out of the shoot, you could tell the Phils were in trouble at the plate. Not only was Jaime Garcia throwing strikes, but he was throwing nasty strikes. The ball was darting out of his hand, with pitches either running one way or the other or dropping off the table. His stuff was good. Real good. And he was breezing through the Phillies lineup, to the point that it looked completely effortless.

On the flip side, Cole Hamels wasn't his sharpest. He, too, was throwing strikes, but he just couldn't put anyone away. Give the Cardinals credit, they were laying off many of Cole's disappearing changeups, fouling off and spoiling good pitches and just making him work every at bat. Great approach by the Cards.

The way it started out, you got an uneasy feeling if you were a Phillies fan. Especially since once again the bottom of the St. Louis order proved to be a nuisance, particularly Ryan Theriot.



Every playoff series that your favorite team plays in, there will inevitably be a guy on the opposing team that emerges as the guy you absolutely start to hate. Through three games in this series, it's not even close regarding the Cardinals. I hate Ryan Theriot and his stupid face. This guy didn't even start in game 1, and now the Phillies can't get him out as if he's Albert Pujols. For god's sake, the guy had four hits last night and is batting .667 in the series. Read that again, .667, from a guy who hit .271 this year. God I hate him so very much.

Anyway, through five innings, Garcia had barely broken a sweat while Hamels was already approaching 100 pitches. But a funny thing happened. Around the 4th or 5th, the Phillies, even though they weren't getting results, started to work better at-bats, while Hamels, who threw a shit ton of pitches in the first few frames, began to look sharper and throw fewer pitches per inning. You could kind of feel the tide starting to shift.

And in the 6th, the momentum really began to sway in Philadelphia's favor. Hamels led off the inning by absolutely smoking a ball to left field, the hardest hit ball since Hunter Pence's one-pitch laser line out in the first. Unfortunately, Allen Craig made a nice catch on it, but the pitch by Garcia was a sign of things to come. Two batters later, Chase Utley singled, and Hunter Pence was intentionally walked after Utley advanced to second on a wild pitch. Jaime did get Howard to ground out and end the threat, but he labored through the inning and showed some vulnerability.

Cole came out in the bottom half and struck out the side, though he had to work too as that little shit Theriot got a two-out single and John Jay walked. But still, really nice job by Cole, who after laboring a bit early really bore down and pitched a great game.

By the way, my roommate and I have been wondering why the Phillies are not pitching Theriot inside at all. The guy has absolutely no power and never even remotely tries to pull the ball. He looks to go the other way all the time. To us, it seems like pitching him outside is exactly what he wants the Phillies to do. And that's what they've been doing. As a result, they can't get the fucker out. Why not start pounding him inside, either with fastballs or even soft stuff, to make it more difficult for him to go the other way? It's been bothering us that they just keep working him outside. Clearly it's not working. Time to try something different.

Back to the game. The 6th inning proved to be the one that gave the Phils confidence against Garcia, and it carried over immediately in the 7th. For the first time all game, a leadoff batter reached base, as Shane Victorino singled to begin the 7th. He quickly moved to second on an extremely lazy and uncharacteristic passed ball by Yadier Molina, but John Mayberry, despite his best efforts to hit the ball to the right side, could not move Victorino to third, popping out to shallow right. Then Placido Polanco, who has been absolutely nonexistent at the plate, grounded out to third. So a runner at second with no one out turned into a runner at second with two outs. Not good.

Up stepped Carlos Ruiz, who had been struggling almost as much as Polanco at the dish. Earlier in the game, he got his first hit of the series on a high chopper that got over David Freese's head, but it was hardly an intimidating hit. Where Theriot and John Jay were killing the Phillies at the bottom of the order, Polanco and Ruiz were not making St. Louis pay. Despite that, La Russa and Garcia decided to intentionally walk Ruiz to get to pinch-hitter Ben Francisco.

It was a curious decision for sure, but I'd be lying if I said I thought it was a dumb decision. Let's face it, even with Francisco's impressive numbers at the end of the regular season, no one really expects much out of him. Honestly, when he was announced as the hitter, I said I'd almost rather have Raul Ibanez pinch hit against the lefty in an RBI spot than have Francisco in there. Raul has had some pretty clutch hits for this team this year, whereas Francisco hasn't done much at all. And Adam EatShit said there's absolutely no pressure on Francisco here because no one actually expects him to get a hit.

Then just like that, boom, 3-0 Phils.



When he hit it, it was more of a stunned excitement than the normal pure and utter joy from us. I mean, we were pumped and jumping and thrilled, but it was more quiet, more watching in disbelief than exploding with rowdiness. Without a shadow of a doubt, it was the biggest hit of Ben Francisco's career. From potential hero, to goat, to afterthought, to the hero we were all hoping for, albeit in an unexpected capacity. Unreal.

However, the game was hardly over. Vance Worley came in for the bottom of the 7th and after getting Rafael Furcal to ground out, he lost Craig and walked him, an absolute no-no. It was the second time on the night that the Phillies walked Craig ahead of Pujols. You cannot do that. Ever. I don't care if you have to throw the ball right down the middle of the plate to Craig, you do not walk him in front of Pujols. That's just asking for trouble.

Of course Pujols followed with a single, his third hit of the night after doubling twice off Hamels, and Freese wound up singling him home to make it 3-1. Still, Vance got out of it, and we all expected Charlie to turn to either Brad Lidge or Antonio Bastardo in the 8th. With Theriot scheduled to lead off, we thought it would be Lidge in to start the inning with Bastardo warming up and ready to go at the drop of a hat.

Manuel went a different, surprising route. Worley, who gave up two hits and a walk, went back out there to start the 8th. None of us knew what the hell was going on, and it backfired. Of course it did, because Worley had to face Theriot. Naturally that fucking guy got his fourth hit of the night, and Worley's night was done. In came Bastardo, who did his job by getting Nick Punto to fly out. And here's where Charlie did another strange thing.

After Bastardo got Punto out, Matt Holliday was introduced as the pinch hitter. Holliday has an injured hand and hasn't started because he says it's too painful and not strong enough to allow him to hit with his hands. With that in mind, it would make sense to pound Holliday inside with a pitcher who throws hard and has a heavy fastball. Bastardo is that guy. And even though he's lefthanded, he's been great against righties and seemed like the perfect guy to attack the injured Holliday. So of course Charlie takes out Bastardo and turns to Brad Lidge, a guy who basically throws 80 percent sliders these days. Baffling decision, and again it did not work.

Lidge gave up a single to Holliday on a looping slider, followed by another single to shallow left that dropped in front of Mayberry, loading the bases. Fuck.

That was it for Lidge, as closer Ryan Madson came in, but the situation was precarious to say the least. We were sitting on pins and needles. But no need, because Madson, who really has been nothing short of awesome this year, got Craig to ground into the inning-ending double play, 3-1 lead still in tact. Holy shit.



It was huge for two reasons. Number one, it got the Phils out of the inning without surrendering a run. And number two, it ensured that Albert Pujols could not come to the plate as the tying run, because he was left sitting in the on-deck circle.

And it's a good thing, because Pujols led off with his fourth hit and third double of the game and wound up scoring. But it didn't matter. Madson shut the door and finished off the five-out save for the 3-2 win, and the Phils are up 2-1 with a favorable pitching matchup of Roy Oswalt taking on Edwin Jackson tonight with a chance to advance.

All thanks to Ben Francisco, the most unlikeliest of heros, a guy many of us forgot about a long time ago.



P.S. Go check me out at Ed the Sports Fan, where I'll be taking over writing duties on Wednesdays.

Why Can Closers Only Close?

I'm not entirely sure what being a pitcher is like psychologically. I pitched a grand total of one season in Little League, so I'm completely unqualified to speak on what goes on in a pitcher's head. And also am pretty sure what I'm about to say isn't entirely accurate.

Having said that, why does it seem that Major League closers can only close out games, struggling in virtually all other situations?

Certainly, that isn't the case all the time. Many closer, hell probably all of them, have been successful coming into games that are not save situations or close-out situations. But it sure as hell feels like closer struggle in non-save situations virtually all the time. That was certainly the case last night for the Phillies, as Ryan Madson came in during a tie game in the 9th and proceeded to surrender three runs as the Phils lost for the first time in forever against the Reds, 6-3.



It truly is a mystery to me. I understand that a closer has to have a certain mind-set to be able to handle the pressure of getting the final three outs to secure a victory. But why does that mentality seem to change when a closer is thrust into a different situation? Suddenly, it seems like they aren't themselves unless a save is in order. It's really baffling to me. It seems like if closers approached every situation like a save, it would do them good. But like I said, I've never been a pitcher, so I don't know what's going through their heads and how messing with their routines affects them.

What I do know is that Ryan Madson is the type of guy who should be able to adapt, him being a set-up man the past few seasons and all. And I'm sure he can, actually. Madson has been brilliant this year, and he was bound to have a bad outing. Chalk it up to one bad game and move on.

Yet I still kind of question bringing in the closer in that situation last night. Not because it's the wrong move — as Chris Wheeler pointed out, lots of managers bring in their closer in the 9th in a tie game at home — but because of what transpired the inning before.

Antonio Bastardo took the mound in the 9th for the Phils and pitched an easy, effortless 1-2-3 inning, getting two weak pop-outs and a strike out against the bottom of Cincinnati's order. All three batters were right-handed.

When the Phils failed to score, I figured Charlie Manuel would be wise to leave Bastardo in the game and save Madson in case this thing went to extras. Or at least let Bastardo start the inning and bring in Madson in case he got in trouble.



I know the Reds brought in the right-handed Edgar Renteria to lead off the 9th, who was to be followed by Drew Stubbs and Brandon Phillips at the top of the order, both right-handed bats. So going to Madson wasn't the wrong move by the numbers at all. But I just liked the way Bastardo was throwing, he just three righties out, and right-handers are batting just .167 off him this season. I would have kept Bastardo in.

Manuel didn't, and his move certainly made sense. Madson was fresh, having not pitched the night before, the game was tied, he's been fantastic, and the Reds had plenty of right-handers up. It was a good move to make. But it wasn't a save situation, and the Phillies' newest closer struggled.

After getting Renteria, Drew Stubbs laid down a bunt. It wasn't that good of a bunt, bunting it a bit too hard toward third. I thought for sure Placido Polanco was going to come in and make the play. And he would have, except that Madson made the mistake of trying to field it himself instead of letting his third baseman, with all his momentum going toward first, field it and make a relatively easy throw. Conversely, Madson was moving away from first, couldn't get his footing and had to make a difficult throw across his body with no momentum. That turned into a bunt single and a throwing error by Madson, putting the winning run in scoring position.

It was a mental lapse by Madson. A hundred times out of a hundred, with the ball bunted that hard, you want the third baseman fielding that ball, not the pitcher. Polanco would have gotten Stubbs, or at least would have had a much better shot at getting him. And at worst, Stubbs is on first, not at second.

Still, Madson composed himself and got Brandon Phillips to line out, and then he intentionally walked reigning NL MVP Joey Votto to get to Scott Rolen, a no-brainer. But Rolen singled to load the bases to bring up the red-hot and dangerous Jay Bruce. Had Madson let Polanco field Stubbs' bunt, the inning would have already been over had Polly made that play, or Madson would not have intentionally walked Votto, because Stubbs would have been on first.

Now Madson had to face the left-handed power-hitting Bruce, a player who came into this series on a tear. And while Bruce was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts on the night prior to this at-bat, he's not exactly the guy you want to see in that spot. And Bruce delivered, tattooing a mistake by Madson to the wall to clear the bases.

That was all she wrote.

Another situation where a closer came in in a non-save situation and couldn't get the job done. And all I'm left to wonder is why? Why can closer seemingly only close in the majors? I just don't get it. I really don't.

P.S. Raul was awesome again, going 3-for-4 with a double, two runs and an RBI. Suddenly, he has a higher batting average than Ryan Howard and is creeping up on Carlos Ruiz. Rumors of his demise were vastly overstated. Raul is a streaky hitter. That's the facts. Oh, and Ryan Madson is still awesome. Just a bad outing.

The Pulled gROYn Game

Through six innings of baseball, I was growing increasingly annoyed at Roy Halladay. The man who had given up just 30 walks in 33 starts during the regular season walked the leadoff batter Andres Torres, a player who has not hit whatsoever in these playoffs. It was the first time Halladay had walked the leadoff batter of a game all season long. What a horrible time to finally do it. Of course that asshole scored, and Roy never quite looked right.



He managed to go just 6 innings, an anomaly for the man who led the majors in innings pitched, having to throw well over a hundred pitches and fighting his command all night. He walked two batters, something he rarely ever does. He was missing his spots left and right, especially in the strike zone, resulting in six hits and some really, really poor pitches. It was so uncharacteristic of Roy. He's made a habit of hitting Carlos Ruiz's glove with such regularity that seeing Curbball having to reach and move his glove on almost every pitch was startling. Doc just didn't look good, and I was really disappointed.

Then this morning I find out the guy was pitching with a freakin pulled groin, an injury he sustained in the second inning, and still managed to gut it out and get the win, keeping the Phils alive while staring down the competition.







It wasn't perfect game Roy Halladay or no-hitter Roy Halladay. It was tough, fearless, badass Roy Halladay. He managed to ever-so-slightly outduel Tim Lincecum, the way Lincecum had slightly outpitched Halladay in game 1. And finally, it was the Phillies who took advantage of the mistakes the Giants made, and not vice versa.

Down 1-0 after two and the first six batters looking helpless against Lincecum, Raul Ibanez finally decided to join the series by leading off the third with a bloop single to right. Ruiz followed by getting hit by a pitch, and suddenly the Phillies had life. And then for what feels like the first time this series, the Phils caught a break. With two on and no out, Roy Halladay went to the plate with the sole objective of advancing the runners on a bunt. Halladay, pulled groin and all, tried to lay one down. It bounced off the plate and never went out in front of it, but Buster Posey quickly snatched it, fired to third … and the morbidly obese Pablo Sandoval couldn't find the bag, reaching around with his foot but finding nothing but dirt, as Raul Ibanez slid in safely, with Ruiz following to second. Halladay, seeing that the ball hit the plate, never moved. He assumed it was foul because, well, it was. But home plate umpire Jeff Nelson called it fair. Sandoval, after failing to get the out at third, did throw out Halladay at first, but the sacrifice was successful, job accomplished. Even if he did get some help from the umpire. It turned out to be the foul sacrifice bunt that helped save the season.

That was the first break, and the second came right afterward. Shane Victorino hit a grounder right to Aubrey Huff at first, but Huff misplayed it so badly that it bounced off his hand, then his knee and ricocheted into the outfield, allowing Raul and Ruiz to score, and allowing Shane to end up on second, 2-1 Phils. Polanco followed with an RBI single, and suddenly the Phillies had a two-run cushion. When Utley followed with another single to put runners on first and third with one out, it looked like the Phils were going to bust it open. But then LIncecum struck out Howard, and Werth flied out. Another run would have been nice, but still, the damage had been done. The Phils finally capitalized on a good break and two huge San Francisco mistakes.



Of course, this wouldn't be an NLCS game without Cody Fucking Ross driving in a run, which he did in the 4th to make it a 3-2 game, following up Pat Burrell's one-out double with a double of his own to plate the former Phillie. The good news is that was it for the Giants. Pitching four-plus innings with a pulled groin, Halladay surrendered just one run, two overall. He got through six innings on one leg, leaving with a one-run lead.

This time, facing elimination, the bullpen did what it could not the night before. Jose Contreras, who has done his job and done it well all postseason, and J.C. Romero worked through a scoreless 7th, with Contreras giving up a hit in his two-thirds and Romero retiring his only batter. Then it was on to how Charlie Manuel would like to draw it up, the Phils leading heading into the 8th for Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge.



Madson was literally perfect in the 8th, striking out all three batters he faced. Then the Phils added an insurance run on an opposite-field laser home run by Jayson Werth, a guy who already had a huge play earlier in the game when he threw out Cody Fucking Ross, who was trying to tag up and get to third.



Then Lidge came in and had a perfect night, punctuated by striking out Travis Ishikawa to end the game and force a game 6 back in Philadelphia.

Now the Phils come back home with their two other aces slated to start, both of them looking to redeem themselves after being tagged with losses. Oswalt was brilliant in game 2, picking up the win, but then lost game 4 in relief. Hamels was slightly off but really just got no runs support, nothing new for Cole, in game 3. Now it's time for both of them to make sure neither loses two in a row.

It may have come one game too late, but Doc did his job. He got the Phils to their second win of the series. Got them to a game 6. And he did it all on basically one leg. It wasn't pretty, but it sure as shit was effective. Hopefully the pulled gROYn game will ignite this team and propel the Phils to six more victories.

LET'S GO PHILS!!!!!

How Sweep It Is

The Phillies entered Monday's series with the Atlanta Braves three games up in a division that Atlanta had led most of the season. It was, without question, the most important series of the year to date. With a sweep, the Braves could pull back dead even with the Phillies to all but ensure the final series of the season, down in Atlanta, would determine the whole thing. A series win for either team would put the heat on the other. And a sweep by the Phils would all but bury the Braves, making the division title a moot point and forcing the Atlant to hang on for dear life in the Wild Card race.



Well, the Phillies took the first two games behind a brilliant performance by Cole Hamels and some clutch hitting in in game 1 and Roy Halladay picking up his 20th win of the season with some help from Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez in game 2. A win last night would be the final nail in the coffin for Atlanta, and Roy Oswalt was determined to bring his hammer out to the mound with him.

That is exactly what he did, pitching perhaps his best game since coming to Philadelphia, which is saying something considering just how dominant he has been. Oswalt went 7 innings last night, giving up just one hit and no runs while striking out eight Atlanta Braves. He made Derek Lee look like a lost little boy. Ditto Rick Ankiel. And all the rest of the Braves. He could sense the importance of this game, knowing full well he had the chance to complete the sweep and annihilate the Braves, and he wasn't about to let down after watching his fellow aces, Cole and Doc, get the job done.



Oswalt sure did his part. But Atlanta, sensing the desperation, kept pace. Tommy Hanson matched Oswalt nearly pitch for pitch, giving up just two hits in six innings and working out of some jams created by some control issues (he walked 3). He combined with Peter Moylan and Craig Kimbrel to equal Oswalt's seven innings of shutout ball. The Braves would not go quietly into the night. So the Phillies decided they'd just have to put them away kicking and screaming.

Ryan Madson came in for the 8th and continued to completely dominate in September, pitching a scoreless inning. And for the second straight night, Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez decided to play hero after Ryan Howard grounded into a double play to erase Chase Utley, who was hit by a pitch. Werth walked on a great at-bat to get on, and Raul, who is more than showing he has plenty left in the tank, went with a pitch on the outside corner, ripped it down the leftfield line, just landing on said line, scoring Werth from first, who was off on contact with two outs.



RAAAAAAUUUUUUUUULLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then Brad Lidge came in and nailed down yet another save, getting three weak pop flies to bury the Braves. Suddenly, when it really is getting to crunch time, Lidge and Madson are back in World Fucking Champions form.

The Braves had a golden opportunity to get back in this and still make a push for the division. The Phillies had the chance to really begin to pull away and assert themselves. For all those years, this was where the Braves would step on the throats and take the division, like they did time and time again in the '90s and early in the 21st century. But the script has flipped. The Braves aren't the top dog anymore. That title belongs to the Phillies, winners of the NL East three years running, National Champions two years running. And with an emphatic sweep of the Braves to extend their winning streak to 10 games and lengthen their lead in the division to six games with just nine more to play, their magic number to clinch is now down to four.

The Phillies displayed a championship mentality, even without their emotional leader, Jimmy Rollins, stepping foot on the diamond. Trotting out the best three-headed monster in all of baseball, the Phillies surrendered just four runs in three games to Atlanta, showing any team that gets the unfortunate task of facing the Phillies in the postseason what they're up against. Cole Hamels went 8 innings, giving up just one run. Roy Halladay pitched 7 innings of three-run ball, legitimately a bad outing for him, the type of outing 99 percent of pitchers in baseball would kill to have. Oswalt blanked the Braves in 7 innings of work. And their tremendous efforts did not go unrewarded, as Brad Lidge picked up three saves with little trouble, and Ryan Madson shut the door in the 8th on Tuesday and Wednesday.

This sweep was a statement to the Braves, to the rest of the National League. To the Yankees and Rays and Twins. To all of baseball, in fact. These Phillies aren't content with winning one World Series and going to two straight. They want to get back again, and they want another parade. In fact, with guys like Roy Halladay and Mike Sweeney, two established veterans who have never even sniffed a postseason, not to mention guys like Roy Oswalt and Raul Ibanez, who have come oh so close but remain ringless, this 2010 version of the Phillies may be hungrier than any to come before it. And deeper. And more talented.

Right now, the Phillies have no flaws. They run 8 deep in the lineup, with or without Rollins, as Wilson Valdez has proven invaluable. Shane, Chase, Ryan, Werth and Raul are all on fire in September. Placido and Ruiz have been huge all season. Jimmy will be back at one point or another, and Valdez has been tremendous in the utility role. Add a potent bench that includes Sweeney, Ross Gload, Ben Francisco, Dom Brown, Brian Schneider, et al, and you have an offense that is as frightening as any in the game. And defensively, this team rarely makes mistakes, with Gold-Glove caliber players all over the place.

Then you look at the pitching, and you have to be terrified. Halladay, Hamels and Oswalt, probably the only three starters this team will need. Joe Blanton coming back to form if needed. And a rejuvenated bullpen that looks as unhittable as ever, especially Chad Durbin, Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge.

There's still 9 more games to be played in the regular season. Still a lot that can happen between now and November. But with an MLB-best 92 wins, the most accomplished starting rotation in the game and a team that has proven itself time and time again the past few years, the Phillies are primed to make another push toward November.

I can't wait to see what this team has in store for us this time around.

Flying Like a Hawkins

As you know, the Phillies lost thanks to a blown save by Ryan Madson that was aided by the umpires (Michael Bourn was most definitely out of the base path) and Ryan Howard being a complete idiot. Can anyone explain to me why Howard didn't just the flip the ball to Chase at first instead of trying to tag a guy who he knows — you know, seeing as Bourn was his teammate and all — is incredibly fast and elusive?

That was a tough one to swallow, blowing a lead in the 8th, losing a game in which Joe Blanton miraculously only surrendered one run, and letting Brett Myers stick it to the Phillies, which he did.


Thanks for blowing that save "Mad Dog." I'm so happy I could lick you!

Myers was pretty awesome in his return to Citizens Bank Park, going 7 innings and surrendering just two runs while striking nine of his former teammates to pick up the win thanks to his old buddy Ryan Madson. His ERA is now down to 3.08 on the season. Who knew Brett would finally find the consistency we were all looking for a year after battling injury and two years after being sent down to the minors? Not me.

Anyway, all that shit sucked donkey balls. There's absolutely no way this team, in a heated playoff race, should lose a game to the Astros when Joe Blanton gives you seven innings of one-run ball. But they did.

Luckily, my emotions were somewhat calmed when I saw some guy named Lavelle Hawkins — who apparently played at Cal with DeSean — do this in the Cardinals-Titans preseason game last night.



Hersey Hawkins would be so proud.



The Eagles offensive line sucks.

Familiar Feeling

Don't look now, but your Philadelphia Phillies are suddenly looking every bit like the team we've come to expect over these past few years. The team that has won three straight NL East titles, gone to two straight World Series. The team that became World Fucking Champions.



Great pitching. Clutch hits. Tremendous defense. Explosive innings. Comebacks. Lockdown bullpen. Dramatic finishes. It's all been there since the calendar flipped to August. Since the 8th month of the year began, the Phillies have gone 12-3. They've won every series thus far, including this series with San Francisco that concludes tonight no matter what happens in that game. They've overtaken the Giants for the Wild Card lead, and somehow, despite losing Chase and Jimmy and Howard and Polanco and Victorino and Ruiz — only five all-stars and six starters, including the entire infield — all for extended periods of time, the Phillies are just 2.5 games out of first place. Essentially, they and they alone can determine who finishes first as long as they can stay within three games of the Braves come September. That series in Citizens Bank Park Sept. 20-22 is looming large.

The Braves have to be feeling the pressure. Everyone in the National League has to. The Phillies have been severely banged up all season long, and yet the rest of the league couldn't pull away from them. Now they're getting healthy just in time for the home stretch, with Ryan Howard's return right around the corner. You're getting the feeling that these guys can just taste it, and they're hungry for more. They don't want to rest on their laurels, use the injuries as an excuse. No, they want to get back to the postseason, get back to the World Series. Try to win this whole thing again. Right now, they're beginning to look like a team that's capable of exactly that.

Last night was yet another example. They fell behind early as Joe Blanton surrendered a solo home run to lead off the game, continuing his first-inning struggles. But from there, Blanton settled down, pitched 6 and a third innings of two-run ball, struck out 7.



Between that first and last batter Blanton faced, the Phillies turned a 1-0 deficit into a 5-1 and eventually 5-2 lead, led by the man at the top, the guy who when he's going right at the plate, the Phillies don't lose. Jimmy Rollins hasn't had the kind of year he's capable of. He's been hurt, and frankly, he hasn't hit. But much like this team is turning it on when it matters most, so is Rollins. The guy loves the limelight, lives for it. Sometimes, it's annoying and cocky and a little overboard. But it's what makes Jimmy so great. He lives for the big moments, loves the pressure, and more times than not, he comes through.

With the Phils trailing 1-0 in the 3rd, Rollins led off with a triple, putting a runner on third with no one out. Two batters later, Chase Utley did exactly what an unselfish, smart baseball player should do — he pulled the ball on the ground to the 2nd baseman, who was playing back, allowing Rollins to score easily.

An inning later, Rollins came through again, making the Giants pay dearly for an error to give the Phils extra life. Though it was Carlos Ruiz — the most clutch hitter all season for the Phillies —  who got things going first. Jayson Werth led off with a single. After Shane grounded out, Ross Gload hit a grounder to second, an easy play for Mike Fontenot to record the 2nd out. Only Fontenot booted the ball, putting runners on first and second with one out and Curbball at the dish. Ruiz continued to come up big, smoking a single in the hole between third and short, giving the Phils the lead. This coming after Carlos had already tripled — yeah, I said tripled — in the second. The man is a hitting machine.

And suddenly, so is Rollins again. Because two batters later, Rollins dropped the head on an inside pitch, sending it out to right, 5-2 Phils, game essentially over.



From there, the Phillies cruised. Raul Ibanez hit an RBI triple to plate Chase. Yeah, the Phillies had three triples on the night, including one from lead-foot Raul Ibanez and another from the catcher. I can't make this stuff up. Jayson Werth doubled to score Ibanez. And after Chad Durbin and Ryan Madson — two guys who have suddenly made the weak bullpen look unhittable — pitched flawlessly in relief, Domonic Brown put the exclamation point on the game with a pinch-hit bomb. And I mean bomb.



As in upper deck bomb. Dom absolutely murdered that baseball, something I envision him making a habit of in the very near future. I mean, seriously, damn. Ball go far.

It was a total team effort yet again, though Rollins was the unquestioned star. Jimmy was 3-for-5 with two runs, three RBIs and just a double short of the cycle. Chase got two hits in his second game back, with a swinging bunt base hit giving him the confidence to smoke an RBI double later on. Raul hit a triple and scored a run. Werth was 2-for-4 with a run and RBI. Curbball, same thing, including his surprising triple. Even the guys who didn't get a hit contributed. Ross Gload made a great diving stop. Polanco played flawless third base. And Shane didn't have any "uh-ohs" in centerfield.

For the second straight night, the Phils fell behind a good ball club with great pitching and came back to not only beat them, but destroy them, putting up 9 and 8 runs in the first two games against one of the best pitching staffs — bullpen included — in all of baseball. They go to Barry Zito. And Matt Cain. Might as well get to Jonathan Sanchez tonight.

The way they're going right now, there's a good possibility of that. And more may be in store.

By the good graces of the TV scheduling gods, last night's game was on ESPN and actually not blacked out, due I'm sure to PHL 17 broadcasting the home-town feed last night. Seeing as I can't stand hearing Tom McCarthy's voice, I chose to watch ESPN. Plus, I like hearing what the national broadcasters think about the Phillies and hear what they have to say. After watching last night, I think it's safe to say Aaron Boone, Chris Singleton and Karl Ravech like this Phillies ball club.



Throughout the entire night, Boone and Singleton especially were talking about how hard the Phillies play, singling out Ibanez, a 38-year-old guy, busting his ass for a triple late in the game because that's the atmosphere this team has set. You hustle, you take the extra base, you play as hard as you can. And they were discussing how this team is just starting to sense it, to feel it, and you get the sense the entire league knows it. Their respect for the Phillies emanated through the screen.

And then Boone, who I've really enjoyed listening to in the few games I've heard him broadcast, said something that is truly frightening and quite intuitive at the same time. He said that, considering the Phillies have done this well this far given all the injuries, that this might be the best Phillies team yet if they were to make to postseason play. He went on to talk about how even without all the superstars, they've held pace, and now they're all getting healthy at the right time. Then you throw in a rotation of Halladay, Hamels and Oswalt —  a top three that blows the rotations of the past two World Series years out of the water (Hamels, Myers, Moyer in 2008 and Lee, Hamels, Martinez in 2009) — along with a bullpen that's suddenly looking like its 2008 form and the potential is scary.

Boone makes one hell of a point. And if you take it a step further, with so many bench players playing pivotal roles this season, getting tons of at-bats and playing time due to the injuries, their bench is better than it's ever been under Charlie Manuel too. Think about it — you have this potent lineup, one in which you have Rollins, Polanco, Utley, Howard (when he's back), Werth, Ibanez, Victorino and Ruiz — with Carlos arguably being the most dangerous hitter of them all this season. With Ruiz raking, there isn't a single weak spot in that lineup. Then you have incredible bats off the bench in the form of Mike Sweeney and Ross Gload, both guys who have hit the piss out of the ball. Not to mention Ben Francisco and Domonic Brown as a righty and lefty off the bench to play outfield, and Wilson Valdez to play anywhere defensively, and have virtually no drop-off whatsoever. And then there's the veteran presence of Brian Schneider to relieve Ruiz here and there, not to mention another lefthanded bat.

You can't name a more complete offense than that. And when you're trotting out the likes of Hamels, Halladay and Oswalt, it puts even more pressure on the opposing pitchers. Because you know those three guys aren't going to give up much. Now with the bullpen finally rounding into form, especially Durbin, Madson and Lidge, the late innings aren't as scary anymore. Especially when the offense is punishing the opposition's bullpen the way it has of late.

As ridiculous as it may sound, this Phillies team, as Boone said, just may be the best one yet. Only time will tell, but the fact that this discussion is even being made is remarkable, considering the past two years the Phils have gone to the World Series, won one of them and have faced so many challenges and injuries this year. I can't wait to find out. Because this team is giving us all a familiar feeling, the feeling that they want to have another parade.

The Bat, the Bunt, the Big Head and the Backstop

Last night's game was much anticipated for a few reasons: The return of Pat Burrell, the return of Chase Utley, Roy Oswalt on the hill, the two teams going at it in a virtual tie for the NL Wild Card lead. But more than anything, what made last night's game so interesting was the little things — good and bad.





Of course, the game began with something big. In the very first inning of his very first game back in Citizens Bank Park since that gigantic double he hit that turned into the winning run (in the form of Eric Bruntlett) on the night the Phillies became World Fucking Champions, Pat Burrell launched a solo home run into those familiar left field stands, giving the Giants a 2-0 lead in the first after receiving a great ovation from the Philadelphia faithful.



Unsurprisingly, those cheers turned into boos when he launched that home run, but that's something Burrell has grown accustomed to over the years in this city as well. It was always that way with Burrell, wild cheers and deafening boos. Why would last night be any different? And Burrell couldn't have been happier with the fans.

Chase Utley's return was considerably less memorable. In his first game back since stupidly injuring himself back in June by unnecessarily trying to stretch a single into a double he had no shot at getting, Utley went 0-for-5 and looked every bit as rusty as you'd expect at the plate after missing more than a month. His hustle did cause a Giants error and get a run home in the 8th, but Utley also made another less-than-wise base-running error immediately after that, though one not even close to as bad as that fateful day in June.

With the Phils exploding for five runs in the 8th and holding a comfortable 9-3 lead, Utley was on second with two outs and Jayson Werth at the dish. Any sort of hit that leaves the infield and Chase scores easily. But when a pitch bounced slightly away from rookie catcher Buster Posey, Utley took off for third. The only problem is the ball didn't get that far away, so Posey easily retrieved it and threw out Chase to end the inning. Now, with the Phils up by six and needing just three more outs, it wasn't a huge deal, but it still wasn't a smart base-running play. That's two dumb base-running errors by Utley in his last two games played, one of which cost him 6 weeks on the field.



That's very uncharacteristic of Chase. He's normally a terrific base-runner, one of the best in baseball. So good that he was one of the players featured in an SI article about base-running. He's aggressive on the base paths, puts pressure on the defense. I get that. But perhaps he should pick his spots a little better, especially in his first game back from the disabled list. I know that's probably too much to ask from Chase, a player who goes all out all the time, but maybe he should just think about it. For a second. Or at least not make anymore dumb aggressive attempts. Just those smart ones we've grown accustomed to.

Anyway, back to last night and the little things. After Oswalt gave up those two runs in the first inning, he settled down and really began to get in a zone. However, Barry Zito was in a zone of his own. He seemed to have no trouble getting the Phillies out at all through the first four innings — well, all the Phillies except Placido Polanco, who was 2-for-2 through four. But then Zito got into a little bit of trouble in the 5th. Mike Sweeney led off with the single. I can't say enough about that pickup. What a huge addition, especially in Ryan Howard's (and Ross Gload's — who came back last night) absence.

Zito came back and got Ibanez to pop out, but then Curbball worked an awesome at-bat, eventually earning the walk after fouling off five pitches. With runners on first and second with no one out, it was Roy Oswalt's job to move the runners along and hope Jimmy Rollins could get a hit to tie the game. Considering all night long Tom McCarthy and Chris Wheeler wouldn't shut up about how great Oswalt and Zito were at laying down sacrifice bunts, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Oswalt would do his job and advance the runners.

Then he goes and pops up the first bunt attempt foul. And then fouls off another. Not good. With two strikes on him, I had trepidation that he wouldn't get it down. But then, after seeing two balls, Oswalt laid down a picture-perfect but, deadened in between Zito and Posey, advancing Sweeney and Ruiz with two outs. You couldn't have asked for a better bunt with one or no strikes, but to do it with two strikes on him, damn. That was the biggest little play of the game right there. Because two pitches later, Jimmy Rollins turned his clutch on, fighting off a fastball on his hands and serving into centerfield for a two-run single to tie the game.



That got the Phils rolling, and the little things kept piling up. Like a leadoff single by Polanco in the 6th, his third straight hit of the game. Then a double by Jayson Werth, followed by a two-run double by Shane Victorino to give the Phillies a 4-2 lead and chase Zito from the game. And like an impressive inning by Ryan Madson in the 8th after the Giants drew within one in the 7th. Madson got a ground out, then struck out Torres, who reached on a passed ball strikeout, then getting Buster Posey to ground out and topping it all off by striking out Aubrey Huff to end the inning. Suddenly, Ryan Madson looks like his 2008 stretch run self. His changeup is unhittable once more, and his fastball is firing. Given the way he and Brad Lidge have performed the past week-plus, suddenly the bullpen doesn't look so horrible anymore. That's a terrifying proposition for the rest of the National League.

Especially when the Phillies are doing what they're doing of late. That is, resemble the team of the past three years, the team that abuses the opposition's bullpen and puts up huge innings late in games. It was something this team was devoid of much of the season, but not any longer. No, because as the Phils continue to inch closer and closer to the Braves, their late-inning heroics and late-game confidence just seem to grow with each game. Last night was no different.

With the heart of San Francisco's lineup scheduled to bat in the 9th in the form of Burrell, Pablo Sandoval and Jose Guillen, all home run threats, a one-run lead wasn't necessarily safe, even with Brad Lidge suddenly looking like his once-perfect self. So all the Phils did was go out and destroy the heralded Giants bullpen for five runs in the 8th, highlighted by Carlos Ruiz getting yet another late-game, extremely clutch hit.



Shane led the inning off with a single. Then he stole second. Mike Sweeney followed with a walk, and Ibanez followed that with a sharp single to right, loading the bases for Ruiz. Curbball promptly did what he's done all season, smoking a double down the line to plate Victorino and Sweeney, turning a tense 4-3 game into a much more comfortable 6-3 lead with three outs to go. That chased Ishikawa. Pretty soon, those "Chooooooooooooooooooch!!!!" chants are going to turn into "Cluuuuuuuuuuuuuuutch!!!!" chants.

Ross Gload entered to pinch-hit for Madson and grounded out weakly in his first at-bat since tweaking his groin, but it was good just to see him back in the batter's box. Who knows where the Phillies would be without his contributions this season, especially with the way he was murdering the baseball when Ryan Howard went down.

And Jimmy picked him up anyway, getting his second two-run single of the game, and advancing to 2nd on the throw home, to make it an 8-3 game. After advancing on a wild pitch, Rollins scored on an error by Mike Fontenot to complete the five-run 8th. All those little things led to a big inning, and the Phils cruised to a 9-3 victory as Chad Durbin avoided any drama in the 9th. Now the Phils hold sole possession of the NL Wild Card lead — a full game up on San Fran and 1.5 up on St. Louis — and remain 2.5 behind Atlanta for the division.



The Phils obviously have a fourth straight NL East title on their mind, but it's nice to know the Wild Card is there in their back pocket for the time being. And that's all because of the little things last night. Little things like that two-strike bunt by Oswalt, who went 7 innings, surrendering just three runs. Little things like Ruiz working a walk and getting another late-inning RBI hit. Little things like Placido Polanco getting four hits and Jimmy Rollins driving in three runs with a huge two-out hit to tie the game and a late-game hit to provide extra cushion. Little things like a strong outing from the bullpen. Little things like every starter (pitcher excluded) reaching base, all of them but Chase getting a hit, and four guys having multi-hit nights.

The little things add up. And the Phillies have been doing the little things of late, weather it's moving the runner, guys filling in for injured stars, or turning a double play when needed. Now those little things are paying off, and the Phils look more dangerous than ever. Plus, they're doing this all without Ryan Howard right now. Just wait until he gets back and he and Chase get rolling again.

Everybody Hurts

So there I am, watching Roy Oswalt get shitty run support once again while dealing, hoping the Phillies could find a way to hold on for the victory to keep pace with Atlanta.



They had scored just one run for Oswalt through five, that coming on an RBI groundout by Domonic Brown in the 4th — doing just about everything to not score. They wasted a leadoff triple in the 5th by Wilson Valdez, as Roy himself grounded out to the drawn-in infield, followed by Jimmy Rollins grounding out to the same drawn-in infield, this time to second as opposed to Oswalt going to short, on the first god damn pitch. All they needed was a fly ball to the outfield — sadly, it was Placido who finally got it, with two outs already.

Pathetic. And things were about to get worse before they got better. Because to lead off the 6th, the white-hot Ross Gload ripped a shot down the rightfield line. As he rounded first and headed toward second, he took a glance at Sam Perlozzo at third and came up lame. All sorts of lame, immediately reaching for his groin, painfully trotting into second. Unbelievable. Another one bites the dust.



This is beyond ridiculous at this point. I mean, honestly, what the hell?

This is the exchange I had with Arkansas Fred immediately after this happened:

Me: Now gload, unreal

AF: That looked like it hurt

AF: Who hasn't been hurt yet?

Me: Baez

AF: He is the only guy I wish was hurt

Me: Everybody does. At least raul is good

Anyone who watched the game knows what that last part means. After Gload was lifted for pinch-runner Mike Sweeney, Raul continued to absolutely mash the ball, rocketing a double deep to left-centerfield to score Sweeney and give Oswalt a second run to work with. Of course, the Phillies couldn't get Ibanez home, even after Jayson Werth did his job by moving Raul to third with one out with a grounder to the right side. But after Dom walked, Ruiz flew out to shallow left, giving Ibanez no shot to go home, and Valdez grounded out to end the threat. Annoying. And the Phils wouldn't score another run the rest of the game.

Thankfully, they wouldn't need to. Roy number 2 was excellent in his home debut in red pinstripes, going 7 innings of shutout ball, striking out five while surrendering just five hits and two walks. He did give up a couple of doubles and get some baserunners on, but he never really looked to be in trouble. It was definitely a nice way to endear himself to his new home fans.



Even more encouraging than Oswalt's performance (everyone knows he'll be fine) was the way Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge performed behind him to secure the victory. It's been quite a shaky season for these two, evident by their very pedestrian numbers, but as of late, Madson and Lidge are starting to look like they're in World Fucking Champions form.



After giving up a leadoff double to Scott Podsednik, Madson struck out Ryan Theriot and Andre Ethier, then got James Loney to fly out. And his stuff looked electric, especially his changeup.

Lidge followed with the rarest of rare things for him, a 1-2-3 9th. That's right, Brad Lidge threw a perfect 9th inning, doing it almost exclusively with his slider. He got Casey Blake to ground out, then struck out both Jay Gibbons and Jamey Carroll to end the game. That was reassuring.

What wasn't, of course, was yet another injury to another major contributor. All season long, Ross Gload has been everything Greg Dobbs has not — a reliable, dangerous lefthanded bat off the bench. And since Ryan Howard went down, Gload has been absolutely murdering the baseball, and playing a pretty decent first base for a guy who's not known for his glove. Now he's out for who knows how long. We've all seen just how unpredictable groin injuries can be.

I know lots of teams go through lots of injuries all the time, but man, this season has been absolutely brutal for the Phillies. Considering everyone who's been hurt, it's a minor miracle they're even still in this thing, just 2.5 games behind Atlanta for the division and a game behind the Giants in the Wild Card.

I mean, think about all the players, all the important players, that have been on the DL or hurt in some fashion causing them to miss games for the Phillies. Right now, they have three all-stars on the DL in Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Shane Victorino. The good news is that Victorino is expected back as early as Friday, and he finished a double short of the cycle last night in a rehab start for Lehigh Valley.



But he and his all-star teammates have been out for a decent amount of time now. And those aren't the only all-stars that have been there. Jimmy Rollins was hurt. Placido Polanco was hurt. Brad Lidge started the year on the DL. All three have been all-stars. J.C. Romero and Joe Blanton have been hurt. Carlos Ruiz went on the DL. So did his backup Brian Schneider. Ryan Madson hurt himself and was out for 60 days. J.A. Happ got hurt. So did Chad Durbin. And Jamie Moyer. Not to mention Juan Castro and Raul Ibanez had to miss games due to injury, though avoided the DL. And now Ross Gload is hurt.

Their entire starting infield, catcher included, has been on the DL, and even their backups (Schneider and Gload) have gotten hurt. They've lost their starting centerfielder, three starting pitchers, their closer, their lefty specialist, their setup man, their bullpen MVP (Durbin). Honestly, it seems like everyone but Greg Dobbs, Danys Baez and David Herndon — three players no Phillies fan would mind seeing shelved — are the only ones who haven't been hurt.

Truthfully, the list is longer than that, but I'm almost afraid to mention the few who haven't been hurt for fear that they will. So we'll just leave well enough alone there. Because this season, after being relatively healthy over the past three seasons (minus a couple Utley and Rollins DL stints here and there), everybody on this team hurts, sometimes.



Hopefully they're getting that sometimes out of the way so this team can be healthy and at 100 percent come September, just in time to make another push toward October (and November). But the way things have gone this year, who knows?

What I do know is I'm all sorts of glad the Phillies picked up Mike Sweeney.

The Most Bizarre Final Innings Ever

Last night was game 1 of our three-game slow-pitch softball championship series, so I missed most the Phils game. (We won, by the way.) The last thing we heard, the Phils were up 2-0 and Roy Oswalt was tossing a two-hit gem in his second outing as a Phillie. The next thing we know, we walk in the door and the Phils trailing 4-2 in the top of the 8th. Awesome.

We found out later that J.C. Romero walked in a run as the wheels came off in the 7th, with Oswalt giving up a single and walk to start the inning, then Romero and Contreras blowing it even further from there. Man does this bullpen stink.



Then the 9th inning happened, one of the weirdest, ugliest, unbelievable innings of baseball I've ever seen in my entire life. Down two runs with a flame-throwing youngster on the hill, the Phils had the heart of their order coming up to face a guy that had thrown some 30 pitches the night before. You really couldn't ask for a better setup to try and redeem another choke job from the bullpen. And things got even brighter when Placido Polanco started things off by reaching on an errant throw by Hanley Ramirez. I don't what's worse, the Phillies' bullpen or Florida's defense. Seriously, those guys suck hard at fielding.

That was all the spark the Phils needed. Over the past three seasons, the Phillies have been a team that absolutely punishes opponents late in games, capitalizing on mistakes and coming from behind to win. That's been mostly absent in 2010, but as the Phils get hotter and hotter, even with their two offensive stars and starting centerfielder out of the lineup, you can see these guys beginning to get that come-from-behind confidence back. And that was on full display last night.

Following Ramirez's error, Ross Gload, wearing an 0-for-4 collar on the night before this at-bat, roped a sinlge up the middle. I was beginning to get excited. Then the red-hot Raul Ibanez stepped to the plate and took a mighty hack. When he hit it, I thought for sure it was a fly out. He got so far under it and hit is so high, there was no way it was going out. Except that it almost did. Carrying through the humid Florida air, the ball disappeared against the white of the Goya sign in left-center, and for a moment, I thought it had cleared he wall for the go-ahead three-run homer. It didn't, but it did result in an RBI double, plating Polanco to make it a one-run game with runners on second and third and still no one out.

Jayson Werth followed with a great at-bat himself, singling just past the drawn-in, diving Ramirez, tying the game at 4-4, still no one out and runners at the corners. Sweet.



That's when things really turned screwy. Everyone's favorite late-season rookie sensation Domonic Brown (who had already singled and scored a run on Curbball's two-run double in the 6th) stepped to the plate. I called for his first home run, feeling almost certain he was about to get his first in grand fashion. Instead, he ripped a single to first. Ibanez was off on contact, and got gunned at the plate. No run, runners on 1st and 2nd, one out. With Carlos Ruiz at the dish, a guy who has been absolutely crushing the ball of late, especially against the Marlins, the Phils were still in a great spot, especially considering Chooch had already driven in two runs.

But then, inexplicably, Jayson Werth got picked off of second. It was like he was trying to steal on first movement, and he was a dead duck, with no chance to get back. Two outs. It was unbelievably bad. I understand his thinking, getting to third with less than two outs, giving Ruiz a chance at a sac fly to take the lead, or even scoring on a wild pitch. But if you're gonna go, you have to make it, have to know for sure you're going to make it. Turns out, Werth wasn't even sure that Nunez was going home with the pitch. And he was toast. That right there killed the rally, even if Ruiz was still up with a runner on.

That 9th inning alone was sort of a microcosm of Werth's season this year. He does some great things, then just looks completely awful. He started the season out playing as good as anyone in baseball, tearing the cover off the ball, playing flawless defense. Then he couldn't hit a beachball, flailing and lunging and getting caught looking, while he uncharacteristically made a few bad errors in the field. Then he got hot again, then cooling off this series. And last night, he ties the game with an RBI single in the 9th, then gets picked off of second in the very same inning to all but assure the Phils wouldn't take the lead that looked inevitable.

To put a capper on the weirdness, Domonic Brown got caught stealing to end the inning. Admittedly, with Ruiz already having two strikes on him, I was on the same page as Brown and the Phillies. I send, "They should send Brown now, try to get him in scoring position." Problem is, the Marlins were on the same page too, pitching out and getting Brown easily. Unbelievable. The Phils had just mounted a great comeback, taking advantage of an ill-timed error, to tie the game AND had runners on first and third with no one out. Then they ran into three outs, not getting another run. I honestly don't think I've ever seen that before. Ever. Stunning.

At that point, Adam EatShit said what we were all thinking, that the Phillies were definitely going to lose this game now. Given this team's bullpen and the way it had squandered what could have been a gigantic inning — albeit tying the game in the process —  it seemed like a gut-wrenching loss was on the way. Especially with the top of Florida's lineup due up. Little did we know the inning was about to get even weirder.



Predictably, things started out terribly, as head case Ryan Madson hit Hanley Ramirez with a pitch. He did redeem himself by getting Logan Morrison on strikes, but now he had to deal with Gaby Sanchez. That's when this happened. After Hanley stole second, Sanchez absolutely ripped one down the third-base line, destined to be the game-winning hit. Adam's prediction had come true. Only it didn't, because somehow, some way, third-base umpire Bob Davidson called the ball foul. My roommate and I looked at each other. Immediately, before any replay was shown, he said, "That was a fair ball." I said I thought so too. And upon further review, it absolutely was. No doubt about it. The ball was scalded, hit the third base line before the bag, bounced over it and then landed a good six inches or so in fair territory on the other side of the bag. Unless, as either Wheels or McCarthy put it (I don't remember which one it was), it took a Bugs Bunny turn, that ball, by sheer physics, had to have gone over the bag.



It hit fair and landed fair. But Davidson called it foul. And on the very next pitch, Madson struck Sanchez out. Talk about getting a second chance. Sanchez was rightfully pissed off in the dugout, slamming down his equipment and clearly yelling obscenities. That's when Adam reversed course, and said,"Now we're definitely winning this game." Madson then intentionally walked Dan Uggla, and struck out Cody Ross on three pitches to end the inning.

With a second life and a fresh count thanks to Dom getting caught stealing, Curbball came through yet again, crushing a solo homer run to give the Phils the lead in the 10th. Ruiz must think it's October or something. I love that guy.

You know who I don't love? Greg Dobbs. Not even a little bit. You know why? Because he sucks. Really, really, really sucks. Following Ruiz's awesome home run, Dobbs struck out and didn't even come close to doing anything with pitch. He's now hitting .191 on the season. Seriously, .191. This a year after batting .247. He hasn't had a hit in forever. And he can't field even a little bit. Say what you want about Cody Ransom and his shitty sub-mendoza line average, but at least that guy can field a little bit. Dobbs is worthless, and there's absolutely no reason whatsoever, even with all the injuries, that a guy who is batting .191 with a .254 on-base percentage and cannot field is still on a team and playing for a squad that is in the midst of a tight division race in August. Greg Dobbs shouldn't even be sent to the minors. He should be sent into retirement. He's awful. There is absolutely no way this guy should be on the Phillies anymore. It's not 2008 anymore. Send him packing.

Sorry, got a little off-track there. After Dobbs did what he always does these days, it looked as though Ben Francisco had given the Phils a much-needed insurance run, demolishing a pitch down the left field line. When he hit it, from the angle we were shown live, I was certain it was a home run. But Davidson called it foul, and I thought for sure he had fucked up the call again. However, video replay confirmed that, yes, the ball was indeed foul, no doubt about it. And even if it had been fair, it would be hard to complain, seeing as the Marlins would have won and all if he made the right call in the 9th. So thanks, Bob. We appreciate it. Francisco wound up flying out to center and Jimmy continued his epic season of suck at the plate, striking out to drop his average to .241, which is still 50 points higher than Dobbs.

Of course, this game was still far from over. You know, because Brad Lidge was coming into the game to try and somehow not blow a save. Adam asked us what we thought, and my roommate and I both agreed that we thought Lidge would get the job done, but we also both agreed to set the over/under on base runners at two and both took the over.



When heralded rookie Mike Stanton led off the inning with a scalded single, our bet looked safe, and we all became nervous. But then, even with starting out 1-0 to the next two batters on extremely high fastballs, Lidge looked like a new man. He struck out Wes Helms with filthy slider, then did the same to Brett Hayes. Suddenly the Phils were one out away from an improbable, incredibly victory, with the fast yet not very intimidating Emilio Bonifacio at the dish. Lidge got him to fly out harmlessly to right, as Dom Brown squeezed to close out the game.

It was definitely one of the weirdest endings I had ever seen. The comeback, the base-running blunders, the blown call, everything. But in the end, the Phils came out victorious, finished off the sweep of the Marlins, something this team has not been able to do all that much over the years. Now they've won four in a row, are 8-2 in their last 10 games and remain just 2 games behind the Braves in the division and just a game-and-half behind the Giants in the Wild Card.

Lately, the hero has been Curbball, and last night was no exception. Ruiz continued his hot streak and impressive season, going 3-for-5 last night with two doubles, three RBIs and a run scored, along with that game-winning homer in the 10th. He's now batting .298 on the year. And it's not even October yet. Curbball's doing everything in his power to make sure the Phils get back to the playoffs, where El Senor Octubre can shine.

The Phillies Should Pay Me to Go to Playoff Games

Let's take a walk down memory lane for a moment here. I, the Reverend Paul Revere, have been to a grand total of three Phillies playoff games in my lifetime. Three. The first was game 4 of the 2008 World Series. The Phillies scored 10 runs and won. The second game was game 3 of the NLDS this postseason. The Phillies scored 11 runs and won. And then last night, I was in attendance again. The Phillies scored eight runs and won. That's 3-0 in postseason games I've attended with 29 runs scored, an average of 9.67 runs a game. When I show up in the postseason, the Phillies not only win, but the bats come alive.



The moral of this story is that the Phillies should pay me to go to all of their playoff games. I'm the good luck charm for the team and the offense. At the very least, they should provide me with free tickets to every postseason game. I'm 3-0 and averaging nearly 10 runs a game. The numbers don't lie. Get me to New York Wednesday and Thursday, Phillies, and you'll have yourself another parade down Broad Street. Make it happen.

That's not to say it was all daffodils and dandy lions last night. Far from it. The game started tense and ended even tenser, but the Phils found a way to win, 8-6. They aren't dead yet, even if they almost killed us in the process. Clifton Phifer Lee, who has been nothing short of the greatest man who ever lived, came out fighting himself right off the bat. He struggled with his control all night, and the Yankees wasted no time taking advantage. The suddenly impossible to get out Johnny Damon singled to center, and two batters later, Alex Rodriguez drove him in with a double. 1-0 Yanks, 27 outs from World Series No. 27.

But these Phillies, as they've grown accustomed to doing, weren't about to take this lying down. If they were going to go down, they were going to go down swinging, literally. After Cliff got through that first, the Phils came out and showed they had his back, the way Cliff had had his teammates' backs this entire postseason run. A.J. Burnett, who was damn near unhittable in game 2, had no such luck this time around. Jimmy Rollins got things going with a single. Then Shane squared around to bunt, and Burnett came in high and tight on Victorino, nailing him in the hand. In my biased opinion, A.J. saw Shane square and decided to peg him, a retaliation move for hitting A-Rod three times the previous two games. I was none too pleased with A.J., especially since Shane was taking a while to gather himself. I turned to my roommate and uncle jellyfish and told them, now make him pay with a home run. That's how you make him pay. And wouldn't you know it, Chase Utley, who almost never swings at the first pitch, exploded at the first pitch he saw, sending it deep to right field. 3-1 Phils. Finally, the Phillies hit a home run with runners actually on base this World Series, and it couldn't have come at a better time.



The Phillies never looked back. Sure, they made it interesting, but they simply refused to lose. With the Yankees starting a 7-8-9 of Brett Gardner, Jose Molina and A.J. Burnett, Lee rolled through the 2nd, though he was still fighting himself through the game. He walked Johnny Damon in the 3rd, though luckily handled Teixeira and A-Rod to get his teammates back to the plate. They did not disappoint. Chase walked, then he stole 2nd. Then Howard walked, and the place started to get crazy. Jayson Werth followed with a single to plate Utley, and Raul made it back-to-back RBI hits, singling home Howard. 5-1 Phils. That was all she wrote for A.J. Burnett. The same guy who shut down the Phils in game 2 lasted a grand total of 2 full innings, walking four and surrendering four hits, and after Chooch drove Werth home on a fielder's choice, Burnett's final line read 2 innings pitched, 6 earned runs on four hits and four walks.

With a five-run lead and the best pitcher of the 2009 postseason on the hill, I'm pretty sure everyone in that stadium felt comfortable, felt like this thing was in the bag. But we should have all known better. The Yankees are much like our Phillies, never dead until that 27th out is recorded. They're a resilient bunch, and a dangerous one at that.

With Burnett out, the Yanks pinch-hit Posada in the 5th and left him the game, adding another potent bat. Lee got him the first time around, but then he walked pinch-hitter Eric Hinske with one out and a five-run lead. That's inexcusable. I know Lee was struggling with his command, but damn, you have to attack everyone with a five-run lead, especially the guy who Brad Lidge struck out to win the World Series last year. Jeter followed with a single, and of course, Hinske scored before it was all said and done. A five-run lead suddenly became a four-run lead with a lot of baseball left to play. And Lee did not quite look like himself. But he continued to fight through.



He breezed through the 6th and 7th, and the Phils could sense it. They were headed back to New York. But just to make sure, Chase Utley decided to tie Reggie Jackson for most home runs in one World Series, crushing his fifth homer of this series.



Then Raul emphatically stated that his third-inning single was no fluke, launching one off the Jeep sign to make it 8-2. Raul Ibanez, it's nice to have you back. We missed you, buddy. To add to the excitement, Cliff Lee chipped in with his first career World Series hit, ripping a single. Things were looking good.

At the time, we had no idea just how important those runs would be. Because Cliff Lee was sent back out there in the 8th, and to our surprise, Shane Victorino was not. Ben Francisco was manning center, and I have to call the move puzzling. We were worried that Shane perhaps had broken some fingers or his hand when he got hit in the first, but thankfully X-rays were negative. That means Charlie pulled him simply as a precautionary method to let the swelling go down before game 6. One problem, the Phils still needed six more outs to get there, and taking out your best outfielder, no matter how banged up, is not a good idea. And that unfortunately played out.

Lee, still struggling to hit his spots consistently, gave up a leadoff single to Damon. Teixeira followed with a double, and up came A-Rod with runners on 2nd and 3rd with no outs. I thought Charlie was going to go get Lee. He did not, and A-Rod ripped one to left. Raul made a dive for it, and the ball went right off his glove, 8-4. It was a play Ibanez should have made. He didn't have to go that far to get to it, and it hit right off his glove. Had Charlie simply left Shane in and put Francisco in left, as he has numerous times this season, the play would have been made. I have no doubt Francisco catches that ball. Now the Yanks were within four still with six outs to go and A-Rod on 2nd.

That was it for Lee, and you could feel the tension in the place. I said, "Please don't pitch this thing into a save situation," but that was inevitable. Chan Ho came in and did a great job, getting all three batters he faced, but A-Rod still managed to score somehow on a shallow fly to center. Francisco played it horribly, not backing up and charge it to get his momentum, and he made a horribly weak throw to home. If Shane had been in the game, A-Rod probably wouldn't have even ran, and if he did, he would have been dead to rights. But Shane was out, and suddenly a six-run lead in the 8th turned into a 3-run lead with three outs to play. And the Phils couldn't muster any offense themselves, as Matt Stairs grounded into a double play after Chooch led off with a single, and J-Roll grounded out to end the 8th. It would be nice if Greg Dobbs was still alive. Just saying.

Anyway, after Brad Lidge shit himself on Sunday, there was no way he was getting anywhere near that mound. That meant it was Ryan Madson, he of the equally torture-inducing save situation success. Sadly, Madson came out like a scared child, failing to throw strikes with a 3-run lead. And though he was facing the bottom of the order, this was not longer Gardner, Molina and the pitcher spot. By the 9th inning, the Yankees had transformed the 8 and 9 hole into Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui, followed by Derek Jeter as the first three hitters in the final inning. That doesn't seem fair.

Madson fell behind Jorge and gave up a double. Then he fell behind Matsui, at which point I lost it, screaming at him, "THROW FUCKING STRIKES YOU FUCKING BUM!" Then he gave up a single to Matsui, 1st and 3rd with nobody out, Derek Jeter up as the tying run. I lost it, yelling, "GET HIM OUT, CHARLIE! GET HIM THE FUCK OUT!" Charlie didn't listen. All I could see was impending doom. The Yanks had the tying run at the plate with no one out, and it was in the person of Derek fucking Jeter, the most clutch player I've ever seen. The guy came into the game batting .412 in the World Series. All I could picture was another devastating comeback by New York, this time to win the whole damn thing. I wanted to throw up.



I couldn't even muster up any energy to yell, cheer or anything. I was fuming, silent and waiting for the inevitable. But then, somehow, Madson sawed off the great Derek Jeter, who hit the ball right to Jimmy Rollins, 6-4-3. Damon scored, but suddenly the Phils went from impending doom to up 8-6 with no one on and two out. I couldn't fucking believe it. All I could picture was Jeter sending one to the gap or god forbid, launching one into the left field stands to tie it. But he didn't. Derek Jeter, for the first time this series, failed to come through.

But the game wasn't over yet. Up came that pesky Johnny Damon, and the little fucker worked another great at-bat to single. Fuck. Madson had to get Teixeira, just had to. Because if A-Rod came up again, things were not going to end well. Thankfully, Madson did, striking out the playoff fraud that is Mark Teixeira, sending this thing back to New York. They're still down 3-2, but they aren't dead yet. This team still has a pulse, and as we all know by now, nothing is impossible with these guys. Nothing.

On a side note, I'd like to point out just how much I fucking hate these Yankees. I've always despised Mark Teixeira, and that hasn't changed, but now two new hatred-fueled relationships have developed inside me. I cannot stand Johnny Damon, that Benedict Arnold, and his fucking pesky at-bats. He had sucked all playoffs and in the first two games. Now, the Phillies can't get him out. Fuck that guy. And Jorge Posada. I used to have no problem with this fucking rat, but now I hope he dies a horrible, embarrassing death. He is the most whiny, petulant bitch I've ever seen, especially for a catcher. He complains after ever called strike. The guy is a fucking catcher. That's just stupid. You have to stand in front of that ump and hope he gives you calls as a catcher. Instead you bitch and moan like a little girl. Go fuck yourself, Jorge. Especially after that fucking tantrum you threw after Lee quick-pitched you. Grow the fuck up. You were taking forever and whining after every pitch. Lee got pissed, and he put you in your fucking place. It's not like your pitchers haven't done that. Remember CC's quick pitches in game 4? It's part of baseball. Deal with it. And die, you fucking asshole. Jorge Posada is a fucking rat bastard.

I hate the fucking Yankees. Fuck them. Win two more games, Phils. You got it in you. You really do. Fuck the Yankees.

LET'S GO PHILS!!!!!!!

'You're Gonna Win Those Games. You're Goin to the World Series'

Last season, after the Phillies defeated the Dodgers in Los Angeles to advance to the World Series for the first time in 15 years, Charlie Manuel relayed the story of the final conversation he had with his mother before she passed away during the playoffs. June said, "Charlie, you're gonna win those games. You're going to the World Series." I think Charlie and his team may have thought she meant the Phillies were going to win those games and go to the World Series forever, because that's what they've done ever since, now two years in a row.



This season has been a rocky road to say the least. Then again, so was last year. Yeah, in 2008, Brad Lidge was perfect and the bullpen was awesome, but lest we forget, the No. 2 starter in the postseason was sent down to the minors, the shortstop was injured and the starters were shaky. Oh, and Adam Eaton was on the team. But the Phils put it all together, got on a run and won the World Series. In a season where the shortstop was in a major slump, their No. 2 starter went down to injury, the bullpen imploded, the closer was the opposite of perfect and the ace regressed, the Phillies find themselves four more wins from another parade down Broad Street. These guys just know how to win, and they know how to put teams away. They proved that again last night.

Last postseason's golden boy, Cole Hamels, was on the mound for the second straight year with a chance to eliminate the Dodgers and send his Phillies to the World Series. Unlike last year, Cole didn't didn't dominate. Far from it. In fact, Cole couldn't even get through five innings, and I think it's officially time to state the obvious: the 2009 version of Cole Hamels stinks. I'm tired of hearing about how close he is, how he's just a few pitches off, how unlucky he is. The numbers don't lie, and his numbers aren't good. They haven't been all season. Sometimes you have to call a spade a spade. You are, as they say, what you are. And right now, Cole Hamels is a bad starting pitcher. Even worse, he's a dumb starting pitcher.



The first-inning home run he surrendered to Andre Ethier came on a horrendous pitch — a pitch he should have never thrown. Hamels was ahead of Ethier 1-2. He threw a changeup and a curveball to get those first two strikes. Then he pumped Ethier five straight fastballs. Five. On the fifth, Ethier sent it to the bleachers. Repeatedly in the at-bat, Hamels shook off Ruiz, who I can only assume was calling for that disappearing changeup at least once or twice with two strikes. The changeup is Hamels' putaway pitch, his strikeout pitch, his best pitch. And he refused to throw it. He's refused to throw it ever since Manny hit that three-run bomb in game 1. Instead, he thought it was a good idea to pump fastballs to Andre Ethier. Horrible, horrible pitching.

Then in the second, he gave up another home run on a 1-2 pitch, this time to James Loney. Guess what kind of pitch it was … yeah, a fastball. Instead of, again, going to his strikeout pitch, his swing and miss pitch, Hamels tried to sneak a fastball by Loney high and inside. He did not. Loney was all over it, crushing it to right field. The most maddening part was it was very similar to the pitch Loney hit out against Hamels in game 1. What I'm trying to say is, Cole is stupid and sucks. He went out and got himself a hat trick, giving up a third solo home run to Orlando Hudson in the fifth. And guess what, it was on a fastball up in the zone. All season long, Hamels has been getting burned on fastballs up in the zone, yet he continues to pump his straight, 90-93 mph fastball up and over the plate. Major League batters feast on those pitches, and that's why Cole Hamels has sucked this year. It's why he's sucked in these playoffs. But hey, both games he started, the Phils won. Still, I don't want him anywhere near that Yankees lineup in the World Series (assuming they get there). He better not be the game 2 starter. I think Pedro Martinez has earned that right, while Hamels has squandered it away.

Luckily for Hamels and all of Philadelphia, the offense wouldn't let it bother them. Right after Hamels gave up a run in the 1st inning, the Phils answered. Chase Utley worked a two-out walk to tie Boog Powell's record of reaching base safely in 25 straight postseason games. Then, finally tired of seeing Ryan Howard terrorize LA pitching, Vicente Padilla pitched around Howard, walking him on four pitches to get to Jayson Werth. Not a bad idea, considering Howard has been killing it while Werth, Ibanez and Feliz have struggled. But clearly, Werth was offended. Intentionally walk someone to get to me? Intentionally walk this.



What a great at-bat, and when he hit it, I was trying to will it out. Out it went, and off I went on Padilla, screaming, "YOU FRAUD! I KNEW YOU WERE A FRAUD! FUCK YEAH!" among other things. Boom. Game over. Sure, the Dodgers answered with Loney's home run, but this game was over right then and there. When these Phillies smell blood, they pounce. Sure, Loney answered. So fucking what? Pedro Feliz, who looked more lost at the plate than balloon boy in this postseason, smoked a liner the opposite way and into the right field seats to get that 2-run lead right back. Welcome to the playoffs, Pedro. Nice to have you. After an uneventful third, the Phillies pounced again. Jayson Werth, who simply is the man, led off with a single, and Raul followed with a double to drive him in, putting the Phils up 5-2 and chasing Padilla back to his rightful spot among shitty starting pitchers. You can fool people for a while there, Vicente, but we all knew you couldn't possibly be this good. And you're not. At least not in Philadelphia, in that ballpark.

Before it was all said and done, Shane Victorino was getting hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and before they even knew what hit them, the Dodgers found themselves in a 6-2 hole. After Cole surrendered the home run to Hudson and finally left the game after giving up a double to Rafael Furcal, cutting the lead to 3, the TBS announcers were at it again. A three-run lead is nothing in this ballpark. The Dodgers had gotten to the Phillies bullpen. Now they had a chance. Seriously, have these assholes watched this series? That supposedly weak Phillies bullpen has been pretty damn good. And last night they were awesome.

After Happ walked a guy and got one out, Chad Durbin finished off the 5th. Then the 6th, breezing through all four batters he faced — getting Manny to ground out, Kemp to strike out, and Loney and Martin to ground out. He did a phenomenal, phenomenal job. And how did this great, incredible, unhittable Dodgers bullpen react? The same way this overrated, overhyped set of arms has all series. They wilted under the pressure, showed their fear and gave up runs.

In came the untouchable Clayton Kershaw with his great stuff. Buck Martinez said his stuff was so good, his fastball so good, that Kershaw didn't even have to make great pitches. He just needed to throw it over the plate. The Phillies hitters would have a hard time catching up. Really? Have you watched this team once all season? Hell, have you watched them at all this series? If I recall, some guy named Jimmy Rollins smoked a pretty damn fast fastball the game before:



Really, you think pumping fastballs to a team that absolutely annihilates fastballs is a good idea, Buck? Well, how'd that work out for ya?

Chan Ho Park then came in and pitched a brilliant 7th, and skating around bases loaded trouble caused by Park and his own doing, Ryan Madson regained his dominant form, getting three straight batters with the bases loaded and no out to limit the damage to 1 run. The Phillies relievers, who had to pitch four and two-thirds, gave up one run combined. Meanwhile, the remarkable, outstanding, cannot-be-scored-upon Dodgers bullpen pitchers surrendered four runs by three different pitchers. Yeah, the pen is mightier. The Phillies pen.



Jayson Werth added another home run to his already insanely awesome night, and the Phils tacked on another for good measure in the 8th to go up 10-4. Then Brad LIdge came on for the 9th and showed once again, without a shadow of a doubt, that he is back, striking out Mark Loretta, popping up the eternally overrated Rafael Furcal and getting Ronnie Belliard to fly out to end the game and the series, sending the Phils back to the World Series:



Back-to-back National League Champions. Back-to-back World Series. These guys are good. Really good. I went out and celebrated with silver fox, downing a few beers and closing out the bar while taking it all in. The Phillies are in the World Series. Again. Four more wins from another title.

And Ryan Howard, for the first time all postseason, failed to drive in a run. He won the MVP anyway. Dude is a monster.



The coolest thing for me was watching the interview on Comcast with Ruben Amaro by Michael Barkann and Ricky Bottalico. They asked how Ruben was so calm, so reserved, at least considering. Ruben's response was priceless. He said he was proud of the great accomplishment, reaching the World Series again, but he said, just like the players, he truly believes and they truly believe there's still one more step. That they still need four more wins. Something tells me they'll get them. Four more wins. Four more.

Oh yeah, and did anyone else happen to flip to Fox's coverage after the game for the gathering on Cottman? Well, there was a girl who flashed her tits, and it was right on the live broadcast. And it was awesome. Nice boobs, lady. Nice boobs.

LET'S GO PHILS!!!!!!!!!!!!