Message Sent

For a long time I have been of the thought that a baseball player should be hard-nosed, tough as nails, and just generally a mean sonofabitch. Lenny Dykstra comes to mind as the person who made me think this was the type of ballplayer I liked. Chase Utley has come around and done the same thing, this time with class. What guys like Lenny and Chase do on the field exemplifies the characteristics you need to win baseball games. They send messages to their opponents as well as their teammates by never letting off the gas during a marathon season.

Pitchers used to send messages too. Guys like Bob Gibson and Nolan Ryan sent messages. If a player was out of line or a statement needed to be made Ryan and Gibson never had an issue coming inside with a little chin music or even plunking a guy. Until yesterday I did not think “Hollywood” Cole had that kind of demeanor. I’m glad I was wrong.

For a long time now the Phillies have dominated the Washington Nationals. They have walked all over them to the tune of a 59-31 record since 2007. Every one of those years the Nationals finished in last place and the Phillies finished in first. The scale has been tipped in the Phils favor for some time now. It has showed with Nationals Park often getting referred to as “Citizen’s Bank Park South” because of the legions of Phillies fans that invade the stadium during each trip South.

Last year the Nats acquired Jayson Werth for an ungodly some of money they probably regretted before the ink dried where he signed. Nevertheless, his signing along with a healthy Steven Strasburg, a sometimes healthy Ryan Zimmerman, and of course the Chosen One Bryce Harper’s arrival have given Nats fans a glimmer of hope for the first time since they arrived from Montreal.

If you haven’t heard of Bryce Harper, and since you’re reading an obscure baseball blog I’d like to think you have but anyway let me fill you in a bit. He was the number 1 overall pick by the Nats in June 2010 and has scorched his way through the minor leagues while making the transition from catcher to the outfield. They say the kid has all the tools, charisma, attitude, and talent to be the next big thing. He made his Major League debut on April 28^th this year and is hitting over .300 after a week in the majors. In his first few games ESPN would cut away from whatever they had on to show "live look-ins" at his at bats. Its safe to say ESPN is more than a little aroused by the possibility of a new phenom. Oh yeah, dude was born in ‘92. He is 19 years old and living the dream.

So naturally I sent a text out to my buddies that Kyle Kendrick needed to put one in this kids ribs during his first at bat just to make a statement. What kind of a statement is that you ask? It’s the kind of statement that lets Harper and the upstart Nationals know that this team and in particular this player is on the Phillies radar. They realize the talent and the product on the field, and they want to let this team know that they are going to have to knock them from the top of the mountain.

What happened? The Phils pitched to Harper and lost the first two games of the series to fall 5.5 games back of the first place Nationals.  Cole Hamels took the ball on national television for ESPN’s Sunday Night baseball trying to avoid what would be a manhood sapping sweep at the hands of a new division rival.

What happened? Hamels drilled Harper in the small of the back with a fastball in the first inning. Harper winced a bit and trotted down to first base without so much of a look at Hamels. Harper may have come around to score (after stealing home!) but the message was delivered loud and clear. The Phillies seemed to respond to the beaning as well, scoring 9 runs and avoiding an embarrassing loss. Hamels pitched 8 strong innings and the run Harper scored was the only one he allowed. Hamels was then hit in the shin later in the game as possible retaliation but the umpires issued warnings and the situation never escalated further.

Cole talked about it after the game. "I was trying to hit him. I'm not going to deny it. I'm not trying to injure the guy. They're probably not going to like me for it, but I'm not going to say I wasn't trying to do it. I think they understood the message, and they threw it right back. That's the way, and I respect it."

If you want to talk about respect, Hamels just earned a ton more of it from me. Not only did he have the balls to hit Harper without provocation, but he manned up and gave the people what they wanted to hear when he didn’t say “it slipped” with a wink and a smile. You have to love the candor, I know I do.

Unfortunately, the MLB did not think too much of Hamels honesty and they have slapped him with a 5 game suspension for the intentional hit by pitch. If he does not come out and say that you can almost guarantee he doesn’t get suspended.

The Nationals are certainly not too happy about it, that’s for sure.

Let the rivalry begin.

Werth Watch:  In the very same game Jayson Werth broke his wrist diving to catch a Placido Polanco fly ball. It looked awful right away and you could tell it was bad. I feel bad for Werth. He has had wrist issues in the past but hopefully he can come back healthy. I never like to see players go down like that. He is out a minimum of 12 weeks according to team doctors.

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

The Phillies are 13 games into the season and in last place for the first time since 2007. That is the least of their worries. They are 6-7 and only 3.5 games back of the upstart Washington Nationals for first place. After losing a handful of series for the entire season last year, the Phillies are 1-3 in their first 4 series this year (they took 2 out of 3 from the Marlins at home), and they can’t seem to find any rhythm in the early going.

To put it bluntly, they can’t hit the goddamn ball. The season has gone pretty much how most people have expected it to so far, but that doesn’t make it any easier to deal with as a fan. Take a look at the breakdown for their runs scored so far this season. In their losses they have scored: 1, 4, 2, 2, 0, 2, and 0. Shut out twice in the first 13 games, and they have won games with run totals of: 1, 3, and 2. They have managed to score 5 or more 3 times and they are 3-0 in those games.

It only gets uglier as you climb deeper into the stats. Mind you, it is early but man it’s been ugly when the Phils are at the plate. They are 15th out of 16 National League teams with 37 runs. Sorry Pirates fans, it must be rough having your team score only 26 through their first 12 games. I know it’s been rough to watch the Phillies (not) hit the ball, so you must want to cry watching Andrew McCutcheon flailing away as your only valid hitter. Okay, brace yourself. The Phillies are also 15th out of 16 teams in the National League in home runs with 6! 6!!! Curtis Granderson hit 3 in his first 3 at bats last night! Matt Kemp has 6! (Somehow the Cubs only have 5, the wind must be blowing in at Wrigley.) Remember when the Phillies had power in spades? I do. In 2009 they had 4 guys in the top 13 in home runs; Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, Raul Ibanez, and Chase Utley all had over 30 that year. This year they’ll be lucky to get one guy to 30 or in the top 13. I’d take either at this point. They are also 15th in slugging percentage and 14th in on base percentage. Their best offensive category is batting average, where they are hitting a collective .243 and are 10th in the National League. But of course, they are a singles hitting team at this point so even the batting average is weak.

Let’s take Wednesday night’s game as an example of why it’s discouraging to be a Phillies fan right now. First of all, we have been spoiled to the likes of which we’ve never been accustomed to as baseball fans for the last 5 years. In the beginning of our run, it was our juggernaut offense that drove us to the postseason. Since the addition of Roy Halladay the team has been much more reliant on pitching to win ballgames. You see a lot more 3-1 wins than you do 9-7 wins. Whatever, a win is a win. So when Cliff Lee came back into the fold in 2011 we became even more of a pitching oriented team.

When Cliff goes out on the mound you pretty much expect him to dominate, and that is exactly what he did Wednesday night. Unfortunately, this was a west coast game and I fell asleep right at the beginning of the game and did not wake up until 1245 AM to see that the game was no longer on my TV. A game ending in just over 2 hours has been nothing out of the norm this season, so I grabbed my iPhone and brought up the Sportacular Ap and saw that the Phillies lost 1-0 in 11 innings. My heart sank. I flipped over to the stats section to see what Cliff did. THE DUDE PITCHED 10 SCORELESS INNINGS AND GOT A NO-DECISION!! 10 scoreless! 10! Not only did he pitch 10, but he only needed 102 pitches (81 for strikes!!) to get that done. What must that feel like for Cliff Lee? I hope he can handle that kind of frustration because I’m not sure if I can and I’m only a fan. Antonio Bastardo came in in the 11th (not Jonathan Papelbon?) and quickly gave up the losing run.

Like I said, I did not see any of this game but I caught the highlights in the morning. The Phils had a man on 3rd with one-out in the 11th and Charlie Manuel pinch-hit Jim Thome. Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy countered by bringing in a lefty to face the amiable galoot that is Jim Thome. Not wanting to disrespect the future Hall-of-Fame slugger, Charlie left him in to go down swinging against Giants reliever Javier Lopez (not to be confused with former Braves catcher). I can’t say I agree with this move by Charlie. It’s not like this was a 6-6 ball game in the 11th and the Phils had been hitting. That run was basically the Phils’ only chance to win the game. Pull Thome and pinch-hit a righty there. Get that run in. Win the ball game.

So, the next night Vance Worley goes out on the bump in San Diego and once again dominates the competition. The Phils squeaked one across in the first inning, and it turned out to be all that Vance and the bullpen would need. They added one more for good measure and won the ballgame 2-0. This is how most of the Phillies games are going to go this season, so be ready for it.

This season, we as fans, are going to have to do a lot of waiting. Waiting in all aspects. Each night I watch the game I sit around waiting for somebody to come through with an important hit. I’m waiting for Hunter Pence to go on a tear. I’m waiting for Jimmy Rollins to hit his first home run of the season. I’m waiting for Juan Pierre to ignite a rally. I’m waiting for Jim Thome to put the ball in play. I’m waiting for somebody to hit a home run in back-to-back games. I’m waiting for John Mayberry to hit the ball the way he did at the end of last season, rather than pop everything up the way he has been. But most of all, I’m waiting for Ryan Howard and Chase Utley to get back in this lineup so the Earth can spin on its axis properly again.

Werth Watch:

Well, I have to start out the Werth watch by saying that the Washington Nationals have been playing great baseball. They lost last night, but are still in first place at 10-4. The Bearded One has been showing signs of life in the early going this season, after submitting load of crap last year under the pressure of his gigantic contract. Werth is hitting .327 and his 8 walks are in the top 10 in the NL. He has yet to hit a home run, but he has 3 doubles, a triple, and 2 stolen bases after two weeks.


I leave with you with some brilliant advice from one of my favorite baseball movies... 

The Phils Are Back!

So here we are again in early April, awaiting the start of a brand new Phillies season. The Phillies have been the overwhelming favorite to win their division each year, and to a lesser degree, the World Series since they won it all back in 2008. This year is no different according to the Vegas Bookmakers. While the Phils may be the favorites according to the sharps, this season has taken on a whole different feel from the fan’s perspective.

The excitement at the beginning of last season, even with no timetable for a Chase Utley return, was palpable. Cliff Lee was back in red pinstripes and we had Roy Oswalt for a full season to pair with Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels. Of course, this year we still boast the best top of the rotation starters in Major League Baseball with Halladay, Lee, and Hamels. But a giant question mark surrounds the rest of the team. Trepidation might be the best word used to describe how most Phillies fans are feeling these days as we head into the marathon 162 game season.

For the first time since 2005, Ryan Howard will not be starting at first base on opening day. For the second season in a row Chase Utley will not be starting at second base on opening day. Raul Ibanez will not be patrolling left field. Jayson Werth will start his second season with the Nationals. Brad Lidge will start his first season with the Nationals. Ryan Madson will be closing for the – scratch that, Ryan Madson is out for the season requiring Tommy John surgery for torn ligaments in his elbow and is no longer employed by the Phillies. Wilson Valdez will not be around to be a stop gap for our injured infielders. At this time, there is no definitive date of return for the Phillies two most important offensive players.

If these were normal injuries, we could possibly say “4-6 weeks” or some sort of timeframe that you always see scroll across the bottom line of ESPN when they are projecting these sorts of things. These are not ordinary injuries. Howard’s is a bit more stable, a torn Achillies tendon. Apparently the wound from a surgery like this does not heal (pun intended) well, and Howard ran into a set back with an infection to the incision on his repaired foot. Before that, it was thought that he was ahead of schedule and could return in May, but at this point nobody is saying when Ryan Howard will step into the batter’s box for the Phillies this season.

Chase Utley’s situation is worse, much worse. I don’t care what Ruben Amaro did or did not say about this injury during spring training. It doesn’t matter does it? The bottom line is that Chase Utley’s condition is chronic and degenerative. Two words you don’t ever want to hear about the franchise’s best ever 2nd baseman. He is 33 years old and all signs point to Utley never regaining his “sure fire lock for the Hall-of-Fame if he doesn’t have degenerative knees” form. Considering my last blog post, I will now go turn on my oven and put my head in. Just kidding, but man I just don’t know what to think about Chase? It pains me to think he’ll never be the same, and at this point I think we all have to accept that as a reality. Even 75% of Chase Utley is better than 75% of the second baseman in this league. And you know his work ethic, demeanor, and overall badassness will rub off on the rest of the team the way it always has. He just needs to man up and play through the pain, which I’m sure he has been doing for the past few years, so let’s just hope he figures it out. I feel like Morgan Freeman in Shawshank.. I hope. I hope Citizen’s Bank Park’s grass is as green as it is in my dreams..

Despite all this turmoil, like I said before, the Phillies are still the favorites in Vegas to win the World Series this year. That is pretty unbelievable at first thought, but then when you do think about it a little bit more: It is completely believable. I mean, come on! Do you think the Pirates are looking forward to their first series this year? They are going to have to face Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and Cole Hamels in their first three games this season. All three of these men finished in the top 5 of the Cy Young vote last year. Read that sentence again. Now how about this. Look at all these categories that all three of them were in the top 10 for last year. Get ready for your mind to be boggled.

WAR – Wins Above Replacement (This is one of those advanced metric statistics that statheads rely heavily on. It basically calculates how many wins a player creates for their team. So a “replacement player” is the most average ballplayer there can be and he would not create any wins for your team)

WAR for pitchers.

1. Halladay 7.4
3. Lee 6.9
5. Hamels 5.4

To put WAR in perspective, Cy Young Winner Clayton Kershaw had 7.0 and “juiced up” MVP Ryan Braun had 7.0 as well.

ERA

2. Halladay 2.38
3. Lee 2.40
6. Hamels 2.79

Wins

3. Halladay 19
4. Lee 17
9. Hamels 14

WHIP (walks and hits per inning)

2. Hamels .986
3. Lee 1.027
4. Halladay 1.040

Innings Pitched

2. Halladay 233.2
4. Lee 232.2
9. Hamels 216.0

Strikeouts

2. Lee 238
3. Halladay 220
9. Hamels 194

Sorry, sometimes I get a little carried away when it comes to baseball stats, but I felt it incumbent upon me as the guy who’s blog you read when you’re bored to make sure you knew that the Phillies are still the World Series favorites because pitching is what dominates this sport. And the Phillies have it in spades.

Hallady, Lee, and Hamels will make over $40 million combined this year, and that number is only going to go up (read - skyrocket once Hamels signs and Lee’s bigger money years start kicking in) in the next few years. This year, however, these guys need to earn every last penny of their paychecks, possibly more than any future year due to the current injuries. There is almost no doubt that the Phillies offense will be stagnant at times this year. Even with a full (somewhat) healthy roster in the playoffs last year the Phils managed 3 hits and put up a big fat goose egg in the deciding game 5 of the NLDS. Let’s not get into that, but you all remember it. So, these pitchers know that this offense is more than capable of sinking faster than the Titanic, and that it will be on the big 3 to make 3 or 4 runs stand up as a win every night.

I have to assume that the drive behind these pitchers should propel them to continue their stretch of greatness. Halladay has never pitched in a World Series, let alone won one. Lee lost back-to-back World Series in 2009 with the Philles and 2010 with the Rangers. He also BLEW game two of the NLDS last year with the Phillies leading 4-0 in the second inning. I hope these things make him angry. I hope when he gets angry he dominates. Cole Hamels is the third banana on this team, when he would be the top guy on more than half of the teams in the majors. He also is in a contract year, so he is pitching for what should be one of the most lucrative contracts ever signed. I hope his desire to be recognized as as good as his two All-Star teammates drives him to continue his dominance. I hope.

The Man - Chase Utley

Well, here we are at the end of February and the beginning of spring training. It has been five long months since Ryan Howard snapped his achilles tendon as well as the Phillies three year streak of making it to the NLCS. We have said goodbye to some familiar faces; Ryan Madson (is a Red), Raul Ibanez (is a Yankee), and Brad Lidge (is a National). New and familiar faces have joined the team; Jim Thome, Jonathan Papelbon, Ty Wigginton, and Laynce Nix. Papelbon is certainly the biggest acquisition for the Phillies. He will take over the closer role that Ryan Madson performed so well in last year. While Papelbon and Madson are the same age (and boast the same amount of World Series rings), I am of the opinion that Madson’s career was trending up after last season, while Papelbon seemed to be trending down. I certainly do not follow the Red Sox with the same fervor I do the Phillies, but I was watching on the last game of the season when Papelbon blew a save and the Red Sox opportunity to make the playoffs. Hopefully, a new team and a new league will rejuvenate the quirky closer.

While Papelbon will certainly be key to the Phillies chances this year; I believe that the season hinges on The Man, as Harry Kalas liked to call him. As much as it pains me to say it, Chase Utley’s legacy and career are in limbo this season. Ryan Howard has long been my favorite player on this Phillies team. I gravitated towards Howard because he seemed flawed. He did not play great defense. He strikes out. A lot. He was visibly overweight in his early days. Aside from hitting home runs, things just did not seem to come all that naturally to him. Chase Utley was the opposite. I never worried about Chase. His baseball instincts and skills seemed so innate I started taking it for granted. He certainly put up numbers in 2007-2009 but it seemed as if he was always a bit dinged up while still displaying serious power at 2nd base.

2007: 132 G | 104 R | 176 H | 48 2B | 22 HR | 103 RBI | .332 AVG | .410 OB | .566 SLG |
2008: 159 G | 113 R | 177 H | 41 2B | 33 HR | 104 RBI | .292 AVG | .380 OB | .535 SLG |
2009: 156 G | 112 R | 161 H | 28 2B | 31 HR | 93 RBI | .282 AVG | .397 OB | .508 SLG |

The numbers he put up in 2006 were even more astronomical than these three stellar years, but it has been hard times for Chase of late. Obviously, since he was hurt for a large portion of both 2010 and 2011 the aggregate numbers he put up were way down. But look at the last three columns. Those are all averages, so we can judge his performance based on those a lot better than total numbers that are skewed by the amount of games he played.

2010: 115 G | 75 R | 117 H | 20 2B | 16 HR | 65 RBI | .275 AVG | .387 OB | .445 SLG |
2011: 103 G | 54 R | 103 H | 21 2B | 11 HR | 44 RBI | .259 AVG | .344 OB | .425 SLG |

As an everyday player, Chase set back-to-back career-lows in every category besides doubles. Like I said, the total numbers are way down for obvious reasons, but the last three columns are what are really troubling. Even when he is playing, he is not driving the ball for extra base hits, nor is he hitting for the average that he once did. Chase is 33 years old this season and the steroid era as we know it, is over in baseball (ask Manny Ramirez). The days of guys like Barry Bonds seemingly getting better as they enter their mid-30s should be over. It is reasonable to believe that Chase will never put up the kind of numbers he was once capable of putting up. In my head I can believe that, in my heart I can’t.

Chase Utley is not your every day average ball player. I have watched the guy play baseball day in and day out every summer for 7 years. Nobody is more intense and dedicated to what he is trying to accomplish than this man. You don’t see him smile. You don’t catch him sleeping. He doesn’t get picked off first base. He doesn’t make mental mistakes. I think the best way to describe Chase Utley on the diamond is that he does not have to think. In every single scenario he knows what he is going to do before he does it.

Situation: Slow grounder up the middle.
Chase’s Inner-Monologue: Catcher running, take your time.

Situation: Chase hits a gapper to right-center.
Chase’s Inner-Monologue: That’s Jeff Franceour and his cannon for an arm in right, pull up at 2nd.

It’s not only that this is what happens in his head. It is the fact that it comes so quickly and so naturally to him that he does things on the baseball field that most players are just not capable of doing.

I think the best play to describe the innate way Chase plays baseball occurred in the most pressure-packed situation. It was the second half of game five of the 2008 World Series, you know, when the Phillies and Rays started a tie game in the 6th inning due to a two day ran delay.

The score was tied at three in the 7th inning with 2 outs and a man on second. A slow roller was hit up the middle, Chase got to the ball but realized he did not have a play at first base. Knowing that the Rays would try anything to score the run from second, he faked the throw to first and held on to the ball. The runner on second rounded third and headed for home, Chase quickly flipped the ball home and nailed the runner easily at the plate. This was a game-changing play in a decisive World Series game. Check it out here.

This is the first full season in Chase’s career that he will start without Ryan Howard standing a few feet to his left in the infield. Howard’s injury places a large burden on Utley to carry this team while the Big Piece recuperates. Chase knows this. Charlie knows this. Jimmy knows this, and certainly the media will play it up as well. This is also the first season in years that he was healthy when the prior season ended, so he was able to do a full offseason training regimen. Barring anything unforeseen, he should be able to get his timing down at the plate in spring training and be ready to go come early April. Given his track record and overall demeanor, I believe Chase Utley is ready to have a monster bounce back season. Now he just has to go out and do it, so we can all take a day off work in late October and hear him say this again.

An Open Letter to Jimmy Rollins

Jimmy,

I have so many things to say I’m not sure where to start. So let me start by showing my gratitude for what you have done for this team and this city, and in particular, me. I am in my mid 20s these days and I have been an avid follower of this team long before you left Oakland to come play in that concrete donut they called Veteran’s Stadium. Obviously, the team was lingering between terrible and mediocre when you arrived on the scene, but it was great to see young talent on the field (you and Scott Rolen). I remember your rookie season and thinking to myself this has to be a rookie of the year campaign, but you had the misfortune of being a rookie the same year as Albert Pujols (funny you actually came in 3rd that year behind teammate Roy Oswalt). In the National League, I don’t know if there has been a more important player for their team other than Pujols during the past 11 years.

For the first half of your career, it was all about changing the culture of the team. This did not just mean the record of the ballclub, which for the most part hovered around .500 in the first half of the 2000s. It was about believing that you could win. It was about hating to lose. It was about coming to the ballpark everyday with a smile on your face because you knew your team was headed in the right direction. I remember vividly a late September game in 2005 I attended against the Mets. Man, remember when the Mets were a decent team? You were somewhere around 30 games into that hitting streak. The Phils had been eliminated from competition but everybody was there to see you get a hit. I could be wrong, but I believe it was the 8th inning when you came through that night. It was pandemonium when that ball got through the infield. It was just a cool thing to be a part of and I thank you for that. I remember the next spring I was sitting in a computer lab class in college on opening day, and once again I might be wrong, but I believe you hit a triple late in the game to extend the hitting streak. I freaked out and jumped out of my seat celebrating your accomplishment while following the action on gamecast. It was quite the scene; nobody knew what I was doing.

Of course, I remember when you came into the 2007 season declaring “We are the team to beat this year.” What a statement Jimmy! It was clear you were ready to take this team to another level. Not only did you talk the talk that season, but goddamnit if you didn’t walk the walk too. I get nostalgic just thinking about that season. It was the year we finally broke through, and you were the number one cause for that. Those numbers you put up that year speak for themselves, but to come through the way you did after making such a brash statement just amazes me. The Phillies literally were, and have been since, the team to beat.

In 2008, well you know what happened in 2008. You, Cole, Chase, Ryan, Pat(!), Jayson, Shane, Joe, Jamie, Chooch, Brad, and the rest of that team will hold a special place in the minds and hearts of every Philadelphia Phillies fan for as long as we live. That was a magical ride that season, and it changed the mindset of Phillies fans all over the area. In 2009, the Phils were back and ready for more. When you got this hit, it may have been the most I have ever freaked out about a sporting event in my life. Are you serious Jimmy? Down a run with 2 outs in the 9th and you smoke a 99 mph fastball into the gap for a game winning 2 run triple to go up 3-1 in the NLCS?!? God, I hope you think about that hit every day. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen.

Sadly, you guys fell short to the Yankees shortly after that hit, but it was still a fun season. I’m sure 2010 was pretty rough for you with all the injuries and of course falling short again in the postseason was tough. I was very happy to see you healthy and for all intents and purposes, back to your old self again this year. I’m sure you were pretty happy about it too, because with the decent season you put together this past year it means you are due to get paid. And that is what brings me to the point of this letter Jimmy.

I looked it up. You have made $53,780,000 as a professional ballplayer. I have to assume that number is closer to 70 million when you account for endorsements/incentives/promotional appearances. You make more money in a year than the majority of people will make in a lifetime, and you play a game every day (for 6 months). I’m pleading with you to not make your decision on who you sign with about money this year. I know there is not a lot of talent at shortstop these days, so you should be due to make a boatload of money from some team that is willing to give it to you. You have earned it. I’m sure you want a 5 year deal because that will bring you the most money and most security. If the Giants come in with a Godfather offer of 5 years 50 million (I’m just throwing numbers around here), would it be worth it to take it if the Phillies are offering 3-4 years for 8 million a season? I just don’t see how it could be. You have built a relationship with this fan base. You have built a championship team with the help of your teammates, manager, and front office. You have built a legacy in this city that is borderline Hall-of-Fame. Is one extra year and a few extra million worth giving up on all the goodwill you have stockpiled in this town? You have been here over ten years, you know how this town works. If you bolt for more money and spite the Phillies, it will be hard for these people to forgive and forget.

I cannot pretend to know the inner-workings of Ruben Amaro’s head, but I have to believe he is going to offer you something fair. In my opinion Jimmy, you need to jump at it. The main reason is not the money, or the town, don't get me wrong, those are strong reasons and part of my argument, but the main reason is simple. Winning. Where are you going to go that is going to give you a better chance of winning than right here in this city? One World Series is not enough for this nucleus Jimmy, and you know that. Look at the talent on this team. How can you walk away from that just for more money, when you should have more than enough sitting in your bank account? It is a bold statement, but you are the Derek Jeter of the National League. If you win another World Series or two with the Phillies, that comparison will start to creep up more and more. He stayed, why shouldn’t you? So Jimmy, when you make your decision this off-season, please weigh all your options carefully. Think about what staying would mean, and what leaving would mean. If you get a fair contract offer from the Phillies, you need to sign it.

In Mourning: The 2011 Philadelphia Phillies - It Wasn't Supposed to be This Way

I was in Manhattan at a friend’s apartment Friday night, October 7th. The Phillies were playing in their first decisive playoff game in my lifetime. They were playing at home. They had the best pitcher in baseball on the mound. We all know how it ended. I sat on the couch in silence staring at nothing for at least a half hour. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. I shook it off eventually and continued with my weekend, but I knew the inner turmoil/anguish/depression and most of all an insane amount of disappointment, had yet to set in for real. It finally came when I was driving to my night class early Monday evening. I was listening to the end of the Mike Missanelli show on ESPN radio, which runs right into “Talking Baseball with Dutch.” The Eagles had lost their 4th straight game the day before, and each mounting loss seems to be more pathetic than the last, but that is not what was on the mind of the sports radio scene. The mighty 102-60 Philadelphia Phillies were on everybody’s mind. In four short games (the first one was pretty good) the Phillies offense went kaput, and so did all the hopes and dreams of the seemingly endless legion of red-wearing Phillies fans.

As I cruised down City Ave I felt serious pain for Dutch, Darren Daulton, the former Phillies catcher and heart of the 1993 NL Champion Phillies. It was Monday night, and the second game of the NLCS was being played, but the Phillies were not there. This entire season was a crescendo to the playoffs, and before we even knew what hit us, the dream was snatched away like the Lindbergh baby. The whole (Phillies) nation is in mourning. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Instead of talking about how Cole Hamels was going to dominate a Brewers lineup with his changeup, Dutch had to talk about how the offense resembled a dead fish (and even that is putting it lightly) and every single person on the team (except Cole Hamels and Doc) coming up small. How.. could this have happened? I have had my trepidations about the Phillies offense for some time now, but when we picked up Hunter Pence in late July and finally got the entire offense back on the field for the end of the season I thought we would be fine, just fine. Man! Was I was wrong.

There are a litany of observations and questions I have about this series. I just need to get some things off my chest about how I feel about this debacle/collapse/performance.

I am not sure where everybody else stands on this, and I know the entire offense is the main goat of this series, but Cliff Lee f__ked up. He f__ked up bad. There we were in game two up 4-0 after two innings; Ryan Howard was clicking and so was the offense, to the tune of 15 runs in 11 innings. Howard had accounted for 8 of them with 6 RBI and 2 runs scored. I was at this game. The crowd was going wild in the first inning and the Phillies had every ounce of momentum in this series. Lee had basically been unhittable since July and the Phils were ready to rip Albert Pujols’ heart out of his chest, but it was not to be. You have to give the Cardinals and (I hate to say it) their manager Tony La Russa a serious amount of credit for clawing their way back for a game 2 win. In the top of the 4th inning, an inning in which La Russa pinch-hit for his starter, the Cardinals turned it into a game with 3 runs, 1 with 2 outs. No big deal I thought, the Phils will score more and Cliff will shut the door from here. Logic would have you think that the Phillies would win this game with the Cardinals needing 18 outs from their bullpen and Cliff Lee being Cliff Lee. Some how the offense took a nose-dive and managed to get two men on base in the next 6 innings, which was a serious foreshadowing of things to come. Lee continued to struggle and gave up the tying run in the 6th and the go-ahead run in the 7th. That was all she wrote for game 2. Brutal, absolutely brutal, the Phillies lost a game they led by 4 runs with a man on the mound that had not allowed more than 2 runs in his previous 10 starts, and in 5 of those 10 he did not allow a single run. It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

How much pain was Placido Polanco playing in? We could talk about the other guys who straight up choked in this series (Ruiz, Ibanez, Pence) but think about Polanco here for a minute. Polly is a career .301 hitter. He hit .105 in the series and hasn’t driven a ball past an outfielder’s head since before Labor Day it seems. Apparently he was playing with a double (a double!) sports hernia. Has anybody ever had a hernia? Good God, they are painful, doubly painful in this case. Polanco is a gamer, I will give him that, but could Mike Martinez or Wilson Valdez have provided some sort of spark for this team? Polanco had two hits in the series. There was not much to lose by starting somebody else at third base in game 5. Just saying.

How hurt was Ryan Howard? After hitting one of the most impressive and important home runs of his career in game 1, and stroking a bases loaded single in the first inning of game 2, Ryan Howard forgot how to hit a baseball. How clueless is this guy against left-handed pitching? So clueless that Hunter Pence was intentionally walked in game 3 to get to Howard with men on first and second. So clueless that he (seemingly) likes to swing at balls and look at strikes. So clueless that my dad is constantly in my ear that Howard should be in a platoon for left-handed starters (he is due to make $125 million the next 5 years). So clueless you could switch him with this guy, and he would fit right in this movie. Having said all that, he had to have been playing in some serious pain right? For the second season in a row Ryan Howard was up with 2 outs and the season on the line. For the second season in a row, he did not come through. He hit a routine groundball into the shift and SNAPPED his Achilles tendon. What was up with his foot/heel/ankle problems over the last month of the season? I don’t think your Achilles tendon can just snap on a whim. He was playing baseball when he probably should not have been, and it is going to cost him the beginning of next season most likely. I cannot fault Ryan Howard for going Oh Ferrr his last however many at bats in this series. He had two of the three biggest hits in it, and that is a whole lot more than you can say for the rest of the position players.

How pathetic is the Phillies approach at the plate? Announcers, pundits, writers, and people who know the nuances of this game must sit there and shake their heads at the at-bats the Phillies offense puts together. There is obviously no strategy being employed with this offense, and I am not sure if it is lack of direction from the coaching staff, or a lack of discipline from the hitters, but I could have used a few Jayson Werth 13-pitch at bats in this series. For years and years Jimmy Rollins has been a professional about popping up foul during the second pitch of an at-bat. It is hard to say anything bad about Jimmy in this series, he had 9 hits (none in game 5), but why does he continue to not work counts? I am little tired of defending him by saying, “That’s just the way he is.” Obviously the approach the team had was not working so it would have been worth trying to work some counts for a change. Cardinals pitchers were virtually never threatened after the second inning of game 2. The Phils threw up 1-2-3 inning after 1-2-3 inning. In the final 34 innings of the series, the Phils went in order 19 times. 19 times!! You don’t need a calculator to know that Cardinals pitchers didn’t break a sweat during an inning more than 50% of the time. Not only did they go in order a lot, but it just seemed like at bats were over before they started. Cards pitchers got ahead early and the at bats rarely would go longer than 3 pitches. A lot of baseball is making the opposing team’s starter work hard to earn his outs, so that he will wear down and you can score runs because he cannot possibly stay sharp while constantly battling the hitters. I saw way too many innings pass where the pitcher threw less than 10 pitches. Pathetic!

On the flip side of this scenario, the Cardinals hitters were up to the task. The Cardinals were faced with a much more daunting task offensively than the Phillies but they took the Phils best punch and are still standing. They started the series with Lance Berkman crushing a 3 run home run in the first inning off Roy Halladay. This was the first 3 run home run Halladay had given up since 2008. You kiddin me? Regardless of the outcome of that game, the Cardinals could walk away from that game knowing they got to Roy Halladay. Serious confidence boost. One thing that stood out to me was the Cardinals hitters’ ability to continuously foul off 2 strike pitches. Halladay, Lee, and Hamels all know how to put hitters away. If not for Hamels missing a few starts, all three would have had 200 strikeouts this year. They may have eventually gotten their strikeouts, but the Cards hitters made them work by constantly fouling off two strike pitches. The Phillies, on the other hand, did not seem to know how 2 strike foul balls work. They give you another chance for the pitcher to make a mistake. If you keep giving yourself the opportunity to come through, chances are you will be able to. I can’t come up with a word that will clearly describe my thoughts on this matter. It is a combination of words that emit emotion: Pathetic. Sad. Maddening. Frustrating. Insane. Gross. Awful. Yikes. Put those all together, close your eyes, and put your head down in shame. After being the better team in every series they played all year, the Phils were not the best team in this series.

What does this terrible outcome mean to a passionate fan? The bottom line about sports is that they do not really matter. If your job sucked on Friday when you left, then your job probably will still suck when you get in on Monday (and vice versa). The difference is when the Phillies win a game, or a postseason series, your job, or your girlfriend/boyfriend trouble, or your daddy issues, or your relationship with your sister, or your credit card debt, or your school loans, just do not seem like as much of a burden, or less of a burden anyway. There is no tangible effect that the Phillies have on your life per se. What they do have is the ability to make you forget about all the bullshit in your life and concentrate on something that you care about that makes you happy. The load you are carrying around in your head seems a little bit lighter when Cliff Lee is on the mound. You expect good things to happen when Cole Hamels comes out in the first inning and makes hitters look foolish flailing away at his changeup. Your heart skips a beat when you see the ball rocket out of your television screen as Ryan Howard drops his bat, dips his shoulder, and admires a moon-shot home run. You are happy for a 3 hour-distraction that can make everybody else around you feel good too. You were happy looking forward to meaningful baseball games. You always want something good to look forward to; it makes life worth living. Of course, all of the opposite is true for this when they lose. The insane amount of build up and expectation for this postseason was not like anything we as fans have experienced with a baseball team (see the Eagles from 2002-2004 for a Philadelphia team to have this kind of experience). So we got up and went to work on Monday morning. When I go over the events in my life of the past few days and my mind lands on the Phils, wow, it just makes my heart sink. So, as much as I can I just try to not think about this carbuncle. It took me 5 days to even have the gumption to start writing this piece. It hurts, not physically, but in every possible way mentally.

I feel the same way Bill does at the end of this scene.

I just keep thinking to myself. It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

Game 3 2011 NLDS Philadelphia Phillies vs. St. Louis Cardinals

4:23 PM EST: Hello and welcome to my running diary for the pivotal game three of the National League Division Series. Cole Hamels will be starting for the Phillies, while Jamie Garcia, pronounced Himey (this is how he will be referred to for the rest of the day), will take the mound for the Cardinals. The series is tied at 1 game a piece entering tonight's matchup that will start at 5:07 PM EST.

Check back soon for more insight before the game!

4:36 PM EST: I was at the game Sunday night. It was my birthday. Cliff Lee gave me the equivalent of Santa getting you coal. 4-0 in the first inning with Cliff on the hill and the Phillies lose? If you had gamecast up at the time I'll bet it gave the Phillies a 93% chance of winning, and that does not even factor in who is pitching the damn game.

If you are like me then you did your best to avoid sportscenter and any articles relating to the Phillies over the last two days. I did check out espn.com baseball writer Jayson Stark's article previewing today's game though. Everybody seems to be scared shitless of Himey shutting down the erratic Phils offense considering he has a 1.20 ERA in 30 career innings against the Phils. I have to say it is not the best stat to see before the game.

I feel like Owen Wilson's character in Armageddon right before the spaceship takes off.

"I'm really excited right now, well 98 % excited and 2 % scared, or 98 % scared and 2 % excited, but that's what makes it so exciting!!"


4:44 PM EST: Text from my buddy Jaindl: Tickets for tonight's game on stubhub for $19. Good job Cards fans! There's probably a higher cover at McFaddens at CBP than that..

4:53 PM EST: As expected. John Mayberry will be starting today in left field. That is the only lineup change for the Phils and he takes the same spot in the order as Raul Ibanez.

1. J. Rollins, SS
2. C. Utley, 2B
3. H. Pence, RF
4. R. Howard, 1B
5. S. Victorino, CF
6. J. Mayberry Jr., LF
7. P. Polanco, 3B
8. C. Ruiz, C
9. C. Hamels, P

1. R. Furcal, SS
2. A. Craig, LF
3. A. Pujols, 1B
4. L. Berkman, RF
5. D. Freese, 3B
6. Y. Molina, C
7. R. Theriot, 2B
8. J. Jay, CF
9. J. Garcia, P

5:08 PM EST: Jimmy Rollins does a solid job of working the count and pops out foul on 2 pitches. Chase stepping to the plate.. Jimmy has had a great series so far, but feel like he just does not understand baseball situations way too often. Chase grounds out meekly to Pujols at first..

5:10 PM EST: I really wanted to see Ryan Howard bat in the first inning because that guarantees that a man is on base, but Hunter Pence lined out sharply to shortstop on the first pitch. I can't fault Pence for first pitch swinging because he does it more than anybody else in the league it seems, but I am horrified at the lack of working counts. It is like they look at the Yankees approach and insist it does not work? 6 pitches for Garcia in the first. Gimme a break!

5:14 PM EST: Hamels gets the first out on the second pitch of the game. This game is a 4:07 start in St. Louis and the shadows are creeping around between the mound and home plate. It could prove to be very difficult for hitters in the early going. At least that's what they always say..

5:19 PM EST: Pujols doubles in the gap on a 2-2 pitch that was down and away. He hit the ball a good 320 feet with one hand. He is a man amongst men. The camera angle we are experiencing on tv is different than usual. It is from straight away center field rather than just a little off center. It is an interesting perspective. Hamels clips Berkman with a cutter on the foot. 1st and 2nd 2 outs for David Freese.

5:20 PM EST: My only guess is that Cole Hamels straight fell asleep and the two slowest guys you can think of pull off a double steal. Pujols and Berkman get in scoring position but Hamels strikes out Freese on 3 pitches.

5:26 PM EST: Garcia willingly throws fastballs to Howard in his at bat. But he threw them up and Howard refused to let them go. Everybody seems to be swinging and missing at this point. Howard ks swinging and missing at a ball at his shoulders. Never seen that before.

5:29 PM EST: A solid 1-2-3 inning for Garcia that included at least 5 swings and misses. For some reason the announcer said it was a 7 pitch inning, but the Phils did make him claw through 13 stress free pitches.

5:34 PM EST: Tony La Russa is celebrating his 67th birthday today. I can't tell if he has looked 35 for the last 20 years or 67 for last 20 years but his appearance hasn't changed. Jose Molina just put a ball in the upper deck foul but he flew out to right after working the count full.

5:36 PM EST: Normal TNT basketball analyst Craig Sager is thrust into sideline coverage at baseball games. He is wearing a trademark hideous suit. This time a lime green jacket with a ridiculous multi-colored shirt.

5:39 PM EST: 32 pitches. 4 outs so far for Cole. Sitting in the corner barely able to watch. Jay has fouled off at least 5 pitches in this at bat. On a fairly borderline call Hamels gets Jay looking with a changeup on the corner. Regardless that was a great at bat for Jay.

5:42 PM EST: Hamels is out of the second with 39 pitches and two hits given up. If you told me Deion Sanders would agree to dress up for a commercial and look like an All-Pro Tinkerbell I would tell you DirecTV paid him a shit ton of money. I have to say that commercial is way better than dealing with Gus, the second most famous groudhog in Pennsylvania. Shut Up Gus!

5:46 PM EST: Polanco bounces out meekly on the second pitch of his at bat. Ohhh for 9 so far this series. Shaking my head in silence..

5:48 PM EST: Good God! After a Ruiz single Hamels pops up the (first pitch!!) bunt attempt to Molina. The announcers quip that he probably has not bunted that much this season. Which is not the case. Rollins promptly singles and Ruiz can only advance to 2nd.

5:51 PM EST: Utley grounds out meekly to end the inning. It was nice to see two hits on the board though. WIth the camera angle where it is, you can really see Garcia's ball dart away from right handed batters. Serious movement.

5:58 PM EST: Walks are never good. Especially when Hamels was up on Allen Craig 0-2 before Craig worked the count full and fouled one pitch off. Especially when Albert Pujols is the next man up.

6:01 PM EST: Hamels shakes off the walk and get Pujols to fly out and Berkman to fly to center. Victorino made the play on Pujols while showing off his baseball shades. Everybody out there is wearing them. Here is Lance Berkaman.

6:05 PM EST: After Pence flew out to deep right center they showed the Rangers celebrating winning their series against the Rays. They were spraying champagne everywhere. Somebody keep an eye on Josh Hamilton. Meanwhile Howard is batting and they just mentioned that Garcia had yet to run a 2 ball count. A 2 ball count!! It is the 4th inning! Howard manages to get 2 balls, oh my! But then strikes out looking on another borderline outside corner pitch. Howard is 2-2 if you want to count strikeouts as hits.

6:07 PM EST: Our 2-3-4 hitters go down 1-2-3 in less than 10 pitches. I would like to cry if it were manly.

6:12 PM EST: When Hamels misses he misses so far. The balls are not close and the Cardinals have been fouling everything off. The Cardinals at bats have been the opposite of the Phillies at bats so far, but thankfully for the Phils, the results have been the same. Hamels strikes out David Freese on a 3-2 count after several foul balls.

6:22 PM EST: The score is tied 0-0 after four. I'm sitting here with 3 of my friends. Even though it is tied, we all agree we feel like crap inside about this game right now. It's like when the Eagles go up and down the field but call a run pass option up the middle to Ronnie Brown on the goaline that results in the most horrible reprehensible turnover you have ever seen. One team is dominating, but not capitalizing. In this case, that team is the Cardinals. Luckily, one swing can turn things around for the Phils right now.

6:25 PM EST: I'm sure the Phillies aren't as nervous as I am. But I'm celebrating at bats that go over 3 pitches before they are even over right now. It just looks ugly. Chooch gets the first 3 ball count of the game (celebrating) and smokes a gounder in the hole, but Furcal made a nice back hand stab. I'm also celebrating hard hit balls even when they are not hits. That's where we're at with this game right now. Nothin nothin - mid 5.

6:33 PM EST: After a 2 out Pujols double, Lance Berkman chopped a grounder to Ryan Howard at first. He managed to make it out of the batter's box, but not much further. Nice hustle bro.

6:39 PM EST: Caught on tape: Dave Duncan, Cards pitching coach, sharpening his pencil by biting it. Rollins has possibly the best "at-bat" I have seen all game, but pops out to left on a full count.

6:40 PM EST:
"So Garcia looks good"
"We just make him look good"

Conversations happening at my house right now.

6:44 PM EST: Wow! Serious disrespect! After an Utley single and wild pitch to advance him to 2nd they intentionally walk Hunter Pence for Ryan Howard!! See if this pays off for La Russa...

6:46 PM EST: Well, at least he did not K after immediately falling behind 0-2. Howard grounds out to Pujols in a somewhat close play at first. He hustled more than Berkman, that's for sure. At least the Phils showed a little life in that inning.

6:48 PM EST: Sample texts I received after the slap in the face from La Russa to Howard and the subsequent out Howard produced.

"I would be mad if i didn't know that was going to happen"
"That was embarrassing. I am embarrassed for Ryan"

6:50 PM EST: Talk about embarrassing. Jon Jay just Ked for the 3rd time today. 2nd looking.

6:52 PM EST: I have to laugh. Jose Molina swung and violently missed at a 3-0 change up from Hamels. 2 pitches later he struck out. That was the definition of a green light.

6:54 PM EST: The camera catches a squirrel running around on the field. He ran next to the stands and in an effort to be "the dumbest fan in the stadium" a fan reached down as if he was going to pick up the damn thing. Get a clue buddy, that squirrel would literally bite your finger off.

6:56 PM EST: Talking about the Phillies great arms and Dick Stockton says, "That's why they call them stoppers, they stop losing streaks."

Thanks man.

6:59 PM EST: After getting the first 2 outs, Hamels gives up a single and a full count walk after an 0-2 count. You have the feeling this is his last batter regardless of what happens. 111 pitches. Himey at the plate. Worley up in the pen.

7:02 PM EST: Hamels gets through 6 innings without giving up a run. I expect to see Worley out there next inning. This game is all but officially out of Cole Hamels hands and he did everything the Phillies needed him to do, and more. The offense has to do its part.

7:04 PM EST: "I feed my lawn in the fall. Because that's when it likes to be fed." Scotts is such a great sponsor.

7:07 PM EST: Clueless announcers talking about sacrifice bunting John Mayberry after a leadoff single from Victorino. Mayberry is 3rd in slugging in the NL since his call up in July. The two guys ahead of him are Ryan Braun and Troy Tulowitzki. Do those guys sac bunt?

7:13 PM EST: DIck Stockton "You metioned how ineffective Ben Francisco had been as a pinch hitter this season" Well. Benny turned into Matt Stairs and just hit a 3 RUN PINCH HIT HOME RUN!! 3-0 Phillies. The stadium went quiet, like Lloyd Christmas just killed an owl quiet. In one of the better second guesses we will ever have for Tony La Russa, he chose to intentionally walk Carlos Ruiz to get to Franciso. 3-0 Phillies. Rollins follows with a double over John Jay's head in center. Top 7.

7:21 PM EST: Is it me or are the "Education Connection" (sing it like you know how!) commercials, the cheesiest most corny, and did I mention basically useless? commercials you have ever seen. Vance Worley is on the mound to start the bottom of the 7th.

7:26 PM EST: Pujols cannot be stopped. A bloop piece of &#* fell in between Utley and Pence to put runners on 1st and 2nd after a 1 out walk. Berkman up. Tense at bat. Rich Dubee comes out to talk to the rookie. Berkman has a serious look at the plate. I'm not sure what he is doing with that M.I.T. (Mullet In Training) look going.

7:32 PM EST: After Berkman grounded into a first pitch fielder's choice, David Freese singled up the middle to give the Cards their first run of the game. Worley retired Yadier Molina on a fly ball to right and the game is headed to the 8th with the Phils sending Pence, Howard, Victorino to the plate. As you can imagine, the mood has lightened considerably but this game is (to get as cliche as possible) far from over.

7:35 PM EST: I put the last post up at 7:32 directly at the beginning of the top of the 8th. I post this at 7:35. 1-2-3, yet again for the Phils offense.

7:43: Antonio Bastardo is on the mound for Vance Worley. Worley gave up a leadoff single to Ryan Theriot who is 4-4 and yet to hit a ball hard. Bastardo was having one of the most dominant season a reliever could have until the last month when he struggled. This could get interesting.

7:48 PM EST: The chess match is on between Charlie Manuel and La Russa. Bastardo did his job and got John Jay to fly out. La Russa sends up pinch-hitter Matt Holliday who has been sidelined with a finger injury. Manuel counters with former closer Brad Lidge. Unfortunately for Charlie, Lidge gives up a single to Holliday. First and second for the Cardinals with 1 out in the 8th. Lidge has had an up and down history to say the least, but has been good for the most part this season. He is no stranger to these pressure situations.

7:55 PM EST: Hard to handle these situations. Lidge gives up back-to-back base hits to load the bases. Stomach is in knots. Manuel is going to Ryan Madson for a 5 out save. Something we haven't seen all year, so you know, it is probably a good idea right? Trying to concentrate on breathing...

7:59 PM EST: 2 pitches. 2 outs. Madson spins a pair and gets Allen Craig to ground into a 4-6--, make that an unconventional 4-3 double play. For some reason Chase did not want to make a 10 foot flip to Rollins and he ran the hard-hit ball over to 2nd and fired to Howard. Inning over. Pujols strraaaannnndddeeeedddd on deck, left to lead off the 9th inning. 3-1 Phillies top 9. If you are a Phillies fan, it doesn't get much better.

6-7-8 up for the Phils in the 9th. Madson will have to bat if the Phils can manage to not go in order.

8:02 PM EST: TBS showed the double play replay when the broadcast came back on. Bob Brenly comments "We mentioned the Cardinals led the wwwoooorrrrlllddd in double plays at the beginning of the telecast." Good stuff. Pujols has led the league in GIDPs for years now. That happens when you pepper infielders with scorched ground balls and you are not that fleet afoot.

8:08 PM EST: Madson got his chance to strike out and he came through. Now he has a chance to save the game, let's see if he can come through on that as well. Due up in the bottom of the 9th for the Cards: Pujols, Berkman, Freese. It's go time.

8:11 PM EST: My God Pujols is a machine. First pitch of the 9th inning he lines a double into the corner in left. Is he human? 4 hits today. 3 doubles. Berkman stands in as the guy who can tie the game with one swing. Had to be a tense 9th right?

8:16 PM EST: Berkman flies out to center. Freese grounds out to second. Pujols at third. Yadier "I love me a neck-tat" Molina stands between the Phils and a 2-1 series lead. Fans are chanting but have a glazed look for the most part.

8:18 PM EST: I just threw up a little in my mouth. Molina singles to center. 3-2 Phillies. Kyle Lohse in to run for Molina. Ha! Ryan "luckies hits all day" Theriot stands in to try and extend the game.

8:21 PM EST: Theriot grounds out to Chase Utley. Phils win 3-2. Good night. Game over. Drive home safely.

8:25 PM EST: I have to say that I did not approve of sending Madson out for a 5 out save when he has not done it all season, but it managed to work out anyway. Hamels and Francisco get it done. 2-1 Phils in the series with Little Roy on the mound tomorrow. Let's gooo!

8:37 PM EST: Watching the Charlie Manuel press conference. It is going something like this. "We played good. He played good" You have to love Charlie Manuel, I know I do.