Sorry for the lack of posts this week, I’ve been under the weather, but feeling better with the playoffs getting going.
The Cards were the team I least preferred to play in the first round, and I think if we are going to lose before the the World Series it is more likely to happen in the best-of-5 format than best-of-7, where our pitching depth will be more of a factor. All that being said, I’m still fairly confident going into this series.
Let’s take a look at how the Phils and Cardinals match-up. The highlighted player holds the advantage on the corresponding player.
The Line-Up
Both line-ups are relatively deep. The Phils have the advantage at the top of the order, but the Cardinals boast the best 3-4-5 in the National League. That might not matter so much if our pitching can keep Furcal and Jay off the base paths. I think a big part of the series will be whether or not Freese, Molina and Shumaker can come up with big hits with the Cards big-3 on base.
The Phillies have not lost a game all season with their “full” line-up in tact (including Pence). I believe they are something like 8-0. Overall though, I’d say the Cardinals hold a slight advantage with the bats.
Though, that might change depending on the health of Rafael Furcal and Matt Holiday.
The Rotations
Tony LaRussa is going with the interesting tactic of keeping Phillie-killer Jaime Garcia in his back pocket until Game 4, when he could have started Game 1 or 2. I believe he is simply hoping to split the first 2 games, and then is hopeful that Carpenter/Garcia in STL evens out the pitching a little more.
Regardless, the Phillies hold advantages in each of these 4 spots, as they probably will in most series. Garcia/Oswalt is a toss-up given Garcia’s numbers against the Phils, but I’m not sure Pence and Mayberry were around in those starts.
Bullpen
The Cardinals bullpen has been much maligned, but Motte and Salas have been pretty good in the back-end. Obviously the Phillies plan is to only use Madson for the 9th, but is that doesn’t work out, Bastardo and Stutes both looked a lot better in their last appearances. A weak spot for the Cardinals in the middle of the bullpen, so if we get their starters out early, we could do some damage.
Defense/Bench/Baserunning/Manager
The Phillies hold considerably advantages over the Cardinals in defense (especially if Mayberry is in over Ibanez) and baserunning.
We know our bench is nothing like it was a couple years back, and the Cardinals bench is significantly better there.
I’ll take Charlie over LaRussa because I’ve seen LaRussa over-manage too many times, though it’s probably a draw.
Biggest match-ups and predictions…
Here are the particular match-up that I think will decide the series
1. Halladay/Lee/Hamels/Oswalt vs. The next Cody Ross
I think that our pitchers will handle the top of the order and Pujols/Holiday/Berkman will get on base a bit. This means that big AB’s will come from the bottom of the order. Every year, we see someone like a Cody Ross take advantage of these situations for some team – and it’s our job to make sure that player isn’t on the Cardinals.
2. Chase Utley and Ryan Howard vs. the righties
In a line-up that used to be able to kill right-handed pitching, Utley and Howard had down offensive years, and guys like Hunter Pence, Shane Victorino and John Mayberry helped us be a lot more formidable against lefties. Can Chase and Ryan turn back the clock and get some work done against Lohse/Jackson/Carpenter?
3. Antonio Bastardo vs. himself
In our 2008 run, Madson and Lidge were lights out the entire post-season. Bastardo is being thrust into a seriously pressure-packed situation and hopefully the sometimes-wild Bastardo can recapture his early season form and give us minimal heartburn, along with Madson, in the 8th and 9th.
Brief Prediction
This is a tough series and as I said above, if it was a best-of-7 I would be a lot more confident. I think that the Cards manage to split in Philly and then Cole Hamels outduels Chris Carpenter in a huge Game 3 win. Jaime Garcia beats Oswalt, and then Halladay takes home Game 5. Phils win in 5.
A Cardinals’ fan’s take
Below is from a fellow ND alum, James “Jimmy Jimmy” Heisner who is from St. Louis and is an avid Cardinals (and baseball) fan, and ate roughly 16 pieces of cake (no joke) at my wedding last year.
“The Phillies had the best record in baseball this year. The Cardinals stormed back from an 8.5 game deficit to overtake the Braves and had the second best record in September, behind only the Detroit Tigers. The Cardinals were 6-3 against the Phillies this year, including taking three of four in a series two weeks ago crucial to the Cardinals (though not so important to the Phillies, who had just clinched). Now it is the postseason, and none of that matters.
This series will likely hinge on the Phillies’ pitching versus the Cardinals’ hitting. The Cardinals scored the most runs in the National League this season, while the Phillies surrendered the least. The Cardinals put the ball in play a lot (no one on the team struck out more than a hundred times this season). Against a staff like the Phillies’, who throw a lot of strikes, this will benefit the Cardinals.
However, it also means that the Phillies’ pitchers could rack up a lot of quick innings, so we could see a replay of the 2005 World Series, where the White Sox starters went 7+ innings in each game of that series. The longer Halladay, Lee, Oswalt, and Hamels can stay in the game, the better it is for the Phillies. The Cardinals hit into the most double plays in baseball this season by a lot, so the Phillies definitely have the potential to get out of a lot jams very quickly.
Pete asked me to keep this brief, so I won’t ramble on for too much longer, but here are some quick points about the Cardinals to keep in mind while watching what will hopefully be a very exciting series.
- Yadier Molina performs at his best in the postseason. Molina’s batting average/on base percentage/slugging percentage splits are .274/.331/.377 for the regular season and .315/.351/.444 in the postseason.
- The Cardinals’ defense is horrendous. John Jay has performed well in center field, but Matt Holliday and Lance Berkman have little range on the corners. (The Dodgers won Game 2 of the 2009 NLDS when Holliday tried to catch a ball in the groin instead of his glove, leading to the winning runs). In the infield, Rafael Furcal was brought in to strengthen the defense and the top of the order, but his 10 errors and .316 OBP with the club suggest that might not be working out so well. If Furcal’s hamstring keeps hurting him, expect to see a lot of Ryan Theriot paired with a platoon of Skip Schumaker/Nick Punto at second base. For a pitching staff like the Cardinals that depend on getting a lot of ground balls, that up-the-middle combination does not inspire confidence in the hearts of Cardinals fans.
- Speaking of injuries, I fully expect Matt Holliday and his $17 million per year contract to be in the lineup every game, but if not, Allen Craig has played well, batting .327/.364/.692 in September with home runs.
- Ryan Howard loves to hit in his home town of St. Louis. I am terrified of him coming to the plate late in a close game.
- Pitching Coach Dave Duncan has returned to the team after staying with his wife through her health problems. It is unclear how long he will be with them though. Tony LaRussa is 66 years old and has been on the fence about retiring each of the past five seasons. We could see the Cardinals gearing up to send them off in style.
- I really want to do a whole paragraph about how much Corey Patterson stinks.
Prediction: Cardinals in 5″
I think that the Cards manage to split in Philly and then Cole Hamels outduels Chris Carpenter in a huge Game 3 win. >>
I’ll press ya on that to see if there’s something of interest to the thinking. Which game is lost, Doc or Cliff and any visible reason? Certainly doesn’t have to be, but if you feel a viable reason, let her rip.
Don’t have a guess. Could be just a 3-2 game where our offense can’t quite get going.
sensible thinking on the 1st and 2nd games. I’ll just say I feel real good about Doc and Cliff. Like to see Doc not have to show off his damage control skills because of this lineup, smoke some balls that expose and challenge Cardinal defense, same thing with aggressive baserunning.
Calling a Game 5 winner at this point’s beyond my scope. I could envision Phils winning big, like the divvy clincher. But I also could see the Cards loosey goosey, and some bad luck tightening up the crowd, and at least creating a nervous atmosphere for the players to feed off of.
My goal right now is win the first 2, and really demonstrate greatness by competing well in a challenging Game 3. At least get it set up to where the Phils should win, or could and go from there.
For now, Phils in 3.
Officially, I will say Phils in 3. But it wouldn’t surprise me if we lose in 4 or 5. Accuse me of whimping out. But our offense is too inconsistent to have much of any feel. Nationals could be in the playoffs as a 81-81 WC and could sweep us if we are in one of our hitting funks.
But I like the intangible of our ability to win on the road. I think that will be huge. St Louis could actually be a bit overconfident since they just took 3 of 4 from us in our park. I think they are in for a rude awakening.
My biggest concern and what I think is getting a total lack of play, is the closer. We have an unproven closer. That is a big liability going into the playoffs if you are thinking World Title. Madson even gave up the gopher ball last year as the setup guy, failing in that role in a big spot. Now he is in the closer role in the playoffs for the first time. Makes me nervous just thinking about it.
You won’t hear people talk about Madson because the “he doesn’t have a closer’s mentality” argument ended this season when he saved 32 of 34 games in mostly dominant fashion.
As for experience. The 8th inning is just as important as the 9th come playoff time. No room for error. And Madson has a career 2.35 ERA in his playoff career.
His 30 playoff innings are twice as many as any closer in the playoffs except Mariano Rivera….
So skill – check
Experience – check
That’s why no one is talking about it. Could something bad happen? Sure – anything can happen in the playoffs.
After a 162 game regular season, the 5 game opening round series continues to flabbergast me as to why it exists…there is no real advantage to winning 100 games and if the Braves snuck in then Phils would be playing a division winner.
Pointless.
makes no sense.
more games = more money
more games = more likely the best wins
JoeStraussJoe Strauss
Hearing Holliday has NOT received medical clearance for games 1-2. Should learn more w/in hour.>>
Who knows how much this helps or hinders. I mean Matt is a really good player, believe he’d 3-17 off Phils this year, fwiw, but Allen Craig is a good hitter, and an ideal Cody Ross type. Guess it doesn’t hurt.
Yeah, best case would have been he’s able to play, but at 75%
So – LaRussa just changed his rotation to what makes MUCH more sense:
Lohse – Game 1
Carpenter – Game 2
Garcia – Game 3
Jackson – Game 4
Now that makes more sense
it does – BUT Carpenter will be going on 3 days rest for the first time in his entire career. So a bit of a risk there.
I’m in North Carolina this weekend (I will be able to watch both games, don’t worry), but I won’t be able to do a live blog.
I plan to do one for either game 3 or 4 (and certainly 5 if there is one) though.
Any idea who is on/not on the NLDS roster?
FYI – I updated the post with the Cardinals’ fan’s take at the bottom.
I don’t think “Jimmy Jimmy” is gonna cut it as a nickname around here. Like if we were to come up with a good nickname for a guy from the Loo, it has to be something that if we renamed Stan and Biggie’s, would be marketable. Or if we renamed Mike Shannon’s Restaurant. Stan and Jimmy Jimmy’s sounds like McDonald’s would be the choice. Cold greeting for a guy that came on with heart rendering news of Cards in 5, I guess.
Be that as it may I wanna thank TLR for me wasting a good 10 minutes of my life in coming up with this self proclaimed brilliance of a guessed explanation on the logic of his rotation, and a switch to Game 2 for Carp. I leave it to the baseball gods to determine the outcome of that maneuver, and handle any prediction. Thank you baseball gods. Interesting to let him finish the other night, which as the Rays proved was smart, but still back on 3 days.
But on a serious note, I’m glad Blanton got the last spot over Herndon. Why? Because if Herndon did something catestrophic, it would piss me off. If Blanton does, I can at least try to live with it. That might not make any sense, but I’m serious. People familiar with herndon’s work will certainly understand it.
Good stuff from Bernie Miklasz in the Post Dispatch on the Carpenter Game 2 choice.
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/bernie-miklasz/article_2ca6fb8a-eb9c-11e0-a719-001a4bcf6878.html
Pete! Where’s the props for winning the fantasy league?
I think the Phillies have been focusing on October since spring, looked preetty locked in while KO’ing the Braves. I am not saying A complete repeat of last year but I think Doc and Lee step up big to kick off the post season. I hope the Phils are willing to manufacture a run for those guys if neccessary. But the Phils rotation I think is going to dominate
Wow MLB really screwed up with the scheduling not playing the Yankees earlier and now they look retarded.
“Oracle of Omaha” Award for prudential investing goes to the Tampa Bay Rays whose payroll is 29th of 30 teams, a relatively scant 42 million… only the Kansas City Royals committed less in a financial way.
Runner-up for most impressive return on investment dollar: Arizona Diamondbacks, 25th at 54 million.
The remaining market survivors, payroll rankings and expenditures:
Milwaukee Brewers 16th, 86 million
Texas Rangers 13th, 92 million
St. Louis Cardinals 12th, 99 million
Detroit Tigers 10th, 106 million
Philadelphia Phillies 2nd, 173 million
New York Yankees 1st, 197 million
Have to keep Pujols in the yard. I was at Opening Day ’06 and recall his two bombs, one of which flew first class to Harry the Ks for a martini. Prodigal son Scotty also homered on a shot to left in 13-5 Cards win. What’s that you say? Roy Halladay’s pitching, not Jon Lieber and Aaron Fultz. Fair enough. Footnote: Howard took Carpenter downtown. Contestants combined for 31 hits on April 3rd… who could ask for more?
“Friends, Philadelphians, Countrymen, I come to bury Cardinals, not to praise them.”
~ Roy Halladay
We might see a real test, and hopefully demonstration of Doc’s skill today. It’s one thing to pitch at CY levels with his usual cutter, and movement, and great results that he lives off on his usual repetoire. But it’s no secret about this always around the plate so they swing drill that opposing hitters continue to thrive off of with Doc and Cliff, and with a talented, veteran offense most likely to do that to the max, Doc’s ability to mix it up and be successful would add to the mystique. The breakdown on the first 30 pitches should be fascinating. The results should be good. Greatness is greatness, and absolutely usually.
And here we go, Phillies, here we go.
Well he failed the test in the first inning.
that was a grapefruit he threw up there. He is leaving alot up, even in the second inning. Pitching like he is letting the nerves getting the best of him.
The results should be good>>
good grief.
The potentially troubling thing about going down early, and not just by a little (3-0) is the same as the flirtation with trouble. Who you’re playing. This isn’t 6-0 against the Dodgers, and Worley settling down. This isn’t Doc loading the bases against Houston with 0 out. And another leadoff runner. Keep working.
yikes. Remember, this team (since 2007) has never won a playoff series when they lost the first game. We could be done after today.
This is a disaster. Giving a team confidence for the next game. That alone was worth leaving Roy in.
lets get a base runner boys. Walk is as good as a hit. Object is to get into the bullpen by the 7th. Swinigng too early.
I can just imagine how impressive the offensive numbers since the grand slam by Raul in the last what, 7-8 games at home must look right now. Gotta get something clicking.
I smell a complete game shut out from Lohse. Not even 20 pitches through 3 innings…Ouch
23 pitches, 22 sinkers, 1 changeup for Lohse as he heads to the 4th, 11 pitch 3rd was Phils highest count of the 3 innings.
And his pace and rhythm seem very comfortable. See if the Phils can somehow get 2 good things in a row to happen here. Almost rather see that than a homer to cut the deficit. It’s the trned that’s annoying as much as the score.
That’s a professional at bat by Vic. Fight off a few, catch some Cardinal defensive help, and now Kyle finally has to work. Excellent inning, save HP on a crummy K (last picth)
Doc’s fine now. Like maybe 1 ball out of the infield since Lance knocked his. Albert next inning is interesting, because he drew the UIBB first time, and the hit 3 balls hard his next time up (2 fouls). Bats 2nd next inning.
Maybe Chooch can set up a run this half, but at least we’ll flip the order and set up the next inning.
Not too terrible so far. B5.
That first inning just completely kills me. Furcal, and Berkmann. Bitch of an inning.
Top of the lineup, tie this sucker up by the end of the 7th.
EVERYBODY has a PRODUCTIVE at bat.
Patience, Pence, patience.
B6 on deck.
Doc is throwing his brains out right now. He has no-hit stuff. If it weren’t for that 1st.
Gotta make sumthin happen now.
This is good, mess with Kyle’s rhythm. Do it Chase. Right here.
Now batting, number 6, Ryan Howard. Ryan Bleeping Howard. Lets go Piece. Right here.
BIG MAN JACKPOT!!
we got a lead fellas!!
thank you Citizens Bank Park.
motherrfuckers can kiss my ass.
25 cmillion a year and worth every fucking penny.
every fucking cent.
PHILLIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
its on you Doc. And you are the Man. Nail this sucker.
Right now.
God Bless the Big Piece!
hold up, we might not be done yet.
Lohse in coming apart.
or should I say, his pixie dust has worn off.
this is vintage Lohse.
stay away from that changeup Raul.
The dugout must be off the charts right now. Off the charts. I mean they must be PUMPED!
I mean what an at bat by RyHo. Geez, I wish he could do that more often. He fought off pitches, didn’t swing outside the zone. And did he freaking blister that sucker? WHAT AN AT BAT!
AND RAUL!
Lohse is a wealthy man; another deposit in the bank.
RF account. keep him in there TLA.
That was a quick KO.
Sorry fellas – worth every dime of 25 mill. Isn’t not about how many folks, its about when. ANOTHER big hit for Howard to put the team ahead.
A great moment in sports
Doc takes a fresh mentality to the 7th. A LEAD! Build that momentum. Cards will be fresh for Game 2, no doubt, veteran club, been the path, but dwindling their spirit cannot hurt. Every little bit helps. Man, what a game.
The Howard shot was one of the most hard hit balls I have seen in my life.
CG, calling it right now. looks inevitable.
LaRussa over-manages again. HE will lose sleep tonight wondering why he didn’t start Garcia, after handed a 3-run lead.
what are your odds, jkay……..1:1.5 chance for a CG
hehe I’m not a betting man so who knows what the numbers are, but when you factor in the pitcher’s tendencies, the situation and his current rhythm, you gotta be talking something 2:1
9-3 get halladay out now. Save him. Got 5 more starts at least
I’m not a betting man, so I dont know how Vegas lists the odds.
It’ll go forgotten, or buried at least, but as always, credit the setup for RyHo’s blast. Jimmy with a leadoff basehit, Chase, geez, in the middle of that stuff so often reduced to a terrible at bat on chasing a 3rd strike, but HP comes up large with a smash up the middle after he had recorded a K on a bad 3rd strike K. But I cannor get over what a great AB by RyHo. Not even the homer. The pitch selection the entire at bat. Like Eric said, 40k know the low and away slider know is coming, and so often, he chases. Not this time. Best at bat in Phillies history dating back to Shane 2 innings before. Great, great stuff.
Tell ya what. I have no clue what the digits show, but Doc, comfort wise, and appearance seems like 40 per cent better as a hitter since he started batting regularly last year when he came over. he used to look like a pretty easy out. Nexst year, maybe he can win the pitcher’s competition.
like to see Hunter not get overanxious here. No small task in this fired up atmosphrere with the kill at hand.
Now I’m not worried one iota about this, but the object now for RyHo is just maintain thre good habits he had at the plate last time. Good hard hit ball, and lay off the bad pitches. His 1st at bat today was a nice hit to left, too. just stay in the grooveyard.
Just don’t chase a bad 0-2 here. Just to make me feel good.
I’ll take that at bat all night long, and the rest of the millenium, too. Boy it is good to see him swinging well. He can rip 2 dingers in a game, and you don’t know if it’s a 1 nigth stand, but you sure sense it off tonight’s outstanding effort. Grooveyard, stick around.
wow RyHo is seeing and hitting the ball real well. a HUGELY fortuitous harbinger for this postseason.
ok that’s enough now, Doc is beginning to collect dust.
Good point by KLaw as to why Tony didn’t bring a lefty in to face RyHo on the dinger.
Wonder who gets the 9th now. Bastardo might be pretty cool.
Charlie is usually very conservative but a 6 run lead may be persuasion enough for him.
Pointless since he is more likely to let Doc get his CG if Madson is not needed.
james Shield still has a shot at another CG so far. T1 down Rangers Ballpark way. Hard to believe anyone could dwarf the Doc in the category he used to call mines, but Shields is awesome, and would go G5 on normal rest.
Hell, they are all gonna be great series. Different results defining great, of course. 3 G5′s’d be pretty cool.
I’m still like minimally lets say observant, not worried on Cole, but this competitive peer pressure is awesome. No question that Cliff and Cole will feed off the Doc’s effort this evening.
so someone tell me; do you really think Manuel is looking at pitch count now or those beauties Doc is tossing?
effing CG, done.
Bastardo’s gotta get the 9th, I mean its largely Doc’s call, but I’d think he sees getting out as cool, but I almost would like to see KK get it. Prolly silly reason, kind of a reward for his versatility this year, and not making the roster last year. maybe somebody who needs the work. But bottom line is it’s a good time to try to build off Bastardo’s momo from Tuesday night. Whatever, as Cliff says.
so why didn’t he (Bastardo) close on game 162? why Herndon then?
better time than now.
HUGE decibel levels to take Doc home and close the positive feeling at a high for the night with his getting the 9th. Either way is fine. It’s only game 1, round 1, but it’s a good, good feeling, well deserved by The Master.
I wish Jim Jackson good luck choosing the star of the game on this one.
Obviously, it’s being shared on the solo (I assume decision), but if this was like hockey, where they do, or did, and i assume do the 3 stars deal, man, what a choice that’d be if you had to pick 1. I gots to go Ry HO! And I love the Doc.
Mak4e no mistake, rip his season close, but Chase, save for 1 picth, saw the ball real, real well tonight. 3 hits. Great to see.
James Shields remains totally on track for a CG. T2.
I’m sure 1 of the beat guys will compare stats for last year’s Giant series with tonight’s 1 game result.
That’d be D-E-E-P-R-E-S-S-I-N-G.
But it is gooood to snap a 1 game post season losing streak.
He’d deny it forever and a day, but I’d bet 100 dollar bills to bags of Herr’s chips that RyHo’s focus and concentration practically dwarfed his regular season for the most part. I keep screaming how it’s the pitch selection, not the crap those ripping the contract yell about, and for 1 night, all the way through, he gives me reason to believe I’m on the right track.
Oh, well, at least he did it when it counted most.
Charlie gonna have a field day talking about him in the post game.
This, of corse, and to zero surprise is very smart by Charlie and Dubee. Let Stutes get the feel of The Big Game. No question, he’ll be needed in a cha;lenging moment before the post season is through.
truth be told, this could be Clark against Neidenfeuer
gee, what a surprise, sharp hit to center. c’mon Mike. build some confidence
Oh well, it was the right move.
Not working out so well for Stutes though.
Raul going deep tonight is easy to forget. Lotta heroes. Maybe even Stutes. c’mon Michael.
7 runs or not, you can’t chance 1 more hitter. Even with the 7 run lead, this time of year, Madson’s the man. Totally agree with Chuck on the move.
Tony’s a funny guy. Nobody manages straight by the book, nor should they, but in reviewing the log of the game, there’s no question, he has to answer for not pulling Lohse when RyHo banged the homer. Doesn’t mean he might not have a plausible reason, but I look at what Bruce would have done, with what’s that killer lefty in the Giants pen, big guy, anywayI was just focussed on Ryan having a good at bat, so i didn’t even think about it, but it’s a good point by Klaw. We’ll see what TLR’s thinking was. I’m sure he’ll be asked.
103, 5 in a row, and the magic number is 1. One at a time. Cliff, who knows the drill, and knows what he’s following. Carp on 3 days, who knows. Lotsa odds against him, but he’s a terrific pitcher again. Great start.
The positive:
-Halladay’s resilience
-Phillies offense coming alive
-Kept Pujols in check somewhat.
The negative:
-Gotta keep Lance Berkman quiet
-Stutes (he gave the Cards some momentum if any for Game 2)
Anyway, I still think the Phils will win the series in 4. Hopefully, a sweep could be in order.
Question, are the times finally posted for Games 3 and 4? I have to attend a back to school night on Tuesday.
Question, are the times finally posted for Games 3 and 4? I have to attend a back to school night on Tuesday.>>
No, but the Yanks and Tigers are playing, and that will get the prime position. Plan on the Phils getting the late afternoon/early evening 2nd slot. That should insure last few innings availability. Only a 5th, deciding game in the 2 series not mentioned might drop the Phils out of 2nd most primed position, and Tuesday is still too early for that.
That’s a guess, not inside word or public knowledge. But scheduling is a day by day proposition through these series, and I’m probably right.
not sure what momentum they could have picked up. I am positive they (veteran club of NL leading Runs Scored) felt they could hit our bullpen if need be.
If anything it just validated our concern that the bridge to Madson (Lidge, Stutes or Bastardo) are all question marks.
Considering TLR essentially mailed this one in as his gimme, let’s see what they can really bring on tomorrow.
Ho don’t flinch or you might miss it; Cliff Lee just retired the side.
Carpenter-Lee might be a quick one tomorrow.
One thing about baseball. You watch enough of it, and enough in this case carries an infrequent definition, you learn that anything can happen. No truer word ever exsisted than former Cardinal Joauqin Andujar’s profound description of the game when he quipped, “youneverknow.” Lotta syllables, lotta meaning in that word.
That said, in the spirit of honesty, and objectivity, my on a clear day you can see forever vision of tonight’s matchup in Game 2 is the Phillies could, should, and will win this game DECISIVELY.
Last night, I came up with this only semi off the cuff out of character score prediction of 5-1.
An old media cliche is the score was misleading. 5-1 could mean 4 runs in the 9th off a Ross Gload inside the park grand salami. How’s THAT for fantasy baseball. The premise of that comment was to suggest a Phillie domination as in a “real” 5-1 margin on a Doc Halladay standard of excellence.
Tonight, I wouldn’t dare guess a score. But I can feel a forthcoming tempo of Phillie dominance. Be it 4-2, or 10-1, my sense is that the Phils will clearly control the game. Tonight is the second of 3 contestants in a row on the new TBS game show entitled “Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better.” Standard setter, and likely CY winner, Clay Kershaw set the bar, and is now left to enjoy the California beach scene. Contestant number 1, a medical student from the University of Control gave an answer that makes you cry that CY voting ended days ago. Contestant number 2, rock star level hero Clifton Pfifer Lee will play the peer pressure game and one up that Halladay guy. And you’re telling me you’re worried because he walked 6 of these same Redbirds in a game earlier this year? What a fool believes. That’s as comical as thinking the Cardinals have momentum off a fake rally in last night’s waning moments.
The opponent is Chris Carpenter. A once marvelous, and now marvelous pitcher again. On 3 days rest. Take your pick of Koufax, Spahn, Alexander, or Walter Johnson. Twas a time when those greats would have killed for an outing on 3 days rest. Carpenter, of a whole different training schedule will find an extra mile or 2 per hour at critical times as unlikely as this Cardinal post season participation was a month ago. Should they upset the world, and gain a lead again, the first sign of Phillie noise in rally mode can’t help but put the Cards in just look over your shoulders, honey position wondering if they can hold on, as opposed to Crazy Eddie level confidence against Houston.
Yesterday was the 2 week anniversary of the just another day in the life 5th straight division clincher for the Fightin Phils. Fifth = 5. That’s a lot. I was 23 when the Phils won the division for the first time, and now you have kindergartners running around with 5 division ring replicas. The next day, they came out flatter than a G rated post allows me to compare, more interested in watching the Eagles on TV than watching the second team lose the first of 8 in a row. That was then. This is now. The Eagles suck, they are disinteresting, and the day after is a lot more important. Not tomention the clubs play at different times this day. The only question is will it be first degree murder, or classic not as close as the score would indicate.
Crazy Eddie will be closed today. And not just in Paramus. Has been for years. But his confidence level rolls on. As in one way or another, its a setup of the clincher as Cliff Lee takes the lead in “Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better.”
Carpenter, of a whole different training schedule will find an extra mile or 2 per hour at critical times as unlikely >>
really stupid comment.
This is the one that magnetizes me. I mean how do you count the themes worth watching tonight in Game 5. You could dissect every pitch. But the back and forth on this idea of where Carp was and is off the short rest kinda stands out.
Let’s back up.
I made a reasonably common sense assertion in guesstimating Cliff v Carp (Game 2) about losing speed as the game progressed on his 3 day rest start. Seems logical.
Then Brenley studiously reports discussing short rest with Doc, who has 6-7 decisions alone off such ventures, so there’s some direct experience there. It’s the start after that’s the problem, opined the Doc, which really makes sense. Think of the all nighters or short nights of sleep, and how you got by on adrenalin the next day. And how the day after that was really the struggle.
So how does this relate to Carp maybe getting pitches up succumbing to the “messed up” schedule, and less adrenalin that game’s start figures to alter. That, I haven’t the foggiest. But somewhere in his night is a struggle. What themes override that to determine a winner is another story, and way out of my scope.
A David Freese Memphis Redbirds foul pop effort in B4 was the fulcrum point. Until then, the CBP
“faithfuls” were quieter than Mark McGwire at a Congressional hearing. Catch made, Phils stay tighter than U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner at a press conference. Shane, sparkplug – again.
Tonight’s prediction: dark, followed by sunrise. NLDS baseball game: 54 outs.
no time to let up with 2 out after Furcal 3B
time to do a UZR chant.
Gimme a U
Gimme a Z
Gimme an R
whatcha got
how the hell do I know. I just know Polly made the play.
now that, should be the game, set match run. The Raul ribbie. Well, scratch the match, gotta win 3.
Zero letup.
Like this guy pitching ever let up on a baseball field. Well, on a pitcher’s mound.
Ireally don’t even know why I care, but so many times this year, the Phils would get leads, like 3-0, like tonight, and that’d be it for the night. It’d still go down as a W, and I suppose being in a groove is nice going from 1 game to the next, and I guess it applies, but it’s more for self satisfaction I’d like to see more runs than just the 3 so far. But it’d be so typical 2011 Phils to not score again, but win, and not necessarily even being threatened seriously.
Feels like an eternity ago that i wrote this, but the Phillies get their first hit since the 2nd inning, a Rlollins single that goes to waste on a pickoff.
An absolute bitch of a turn since this was originally written.
Lee’s not that sharp tonight. Big Cards catch-up inning possible. Unless they stand there, inert, on 2 strikes like Theriot.
Furcal smack, followed by 2 lousy ABs, Polanco pick.
J-Roll smack, followed by dislocating Carpenter, 3 good ABs – Phils lead.
If Hunter walks here, I’m gonna pop a blood vessel.
okay, he didn’t walk. I’ll pop it if RyHo goes deep into the night.
I’m ahead of reality on this, but I feel for Tony and the Cards. He’ll get ripped again for his rotation, and it’s not like there isn’t credible ripping that’s justified, but here’s Carp, the ultimate pro, or an ultimate pro giving it his best shot, and it’s just not happening. And what rotation would have worked better? So assumptive to think Garcia would have fared well.
Bottom line is without AW, you gotta get creative. That’s a formidable foe with thatr guy in this mix.
But, the series isn’t over, so only extending so much sympathy.
Ball 3 was strike 3 on Utley but umpire likes a happy crowd. TLR, Carpenter appeared to share my viewpoint.
Here’s the pre gamne audio of the meeting between Cliff and Doc to see if anything from last night would be of help.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfHBPusZg6E
If Holliday can’t play tonight, why the heck did LaRussa pinch-hit him last night, risking injury aggravation? Oh yeah, forgot, dire straits.
Do the Molinas have any more children? Phils could use more depth in their catcher pipeline.
Punto K finally is a put away on 2 strikes. That, and 1st pitch contact make for a tough inning.
I am VERY far away from home tonight. “Watching” via computer. Appears that Cliff has pretty poor command from here. Seems to be behind constantly. Anyone able to fill me in?
pretty poor’s a stretch, but it’s not great. The strike zone seems inconsistent, and he’s thrown some bait pitches. He’s pitching pretty well, but not terrific. He was terrific his last inning, he’ll go to the 6th at 78 pitches.
He could go the distance, but Charlie will pull him fast for a PH. We’ll see if he can continue his 5th inning performance here, or if it’s just a not struggle, but close here in the 6th.
Many thanks for the info. From this distance, it looked like Theriot + Jay = Cody Ross last inning. Like is this a re-run of the inning before? I remember watching the NLCS last year and thinking Ross’ second home run was just a replay of his last AB. On a screen with just text, the 4th and 6th looked pretty similar tonight.
Pedestrians beware: Chooch, human fire hydrant.
Kinda get the feeling heading into this T5 the Cardinals are winning by a 1 run deficit. Have to ask what Cliff can do to get back on track that he could have done any time in that 4th. We’ll see.
don’t that figure. Awesome 5th, King Craig and Albert, and Berkman goes down on a 1st pitch popup.
Cards relievers against Phils is 10 plus this year, how skewed by rare bad outings, I don’t know, but lets see if the offense can wake up again.
A video montage would show a changing strike zone from batter to batter tonight. Strange both ways, but if that last pitch to Chase is a strike, well…point made.
Agree.
9 consecutive Phillies retired. Need to break that mojo.
My earlier statement of inconsistent strike zone is totally contradicted by this graph that shows gree are balls, and red are strikes. Looks extremely consistent.
http://www.brooksbaseball.net/pfxVB/cache/zoneplot.php-pitchSel=all&game=gid_2011_10_02_slnmlb_phimlb_1&sp_type=1&s_type=7.gif
Carping from dusted batters and both dugouts contradicts nifty technology.
Cliff not getting it done tonight. And hitters got lax with a 4-run lead and Cliff on the hill. Time to turn on the sense of urgency again.
Few things suck the way watching a playoff game swing a complete 180 degrees sucks. Just kills your spirit. At least I’m at home where it’s warm and the beer is cheaper.
Already intoi the Cards pen, which was fully expected, but it’s becoming very likely that this is headed for the Phils pen as early as next inning. Have to pinch hit for Cliff if the opportunity comes up. Worley? I’d think so.
Cards BABIP tonight is .529. masterful Willie Keeler execution. But they also have hot a good amount of hard outs. But .529, < 1 full game or not is sick.
Three bad playoff starts in a row for Lee…uh oh.
Cards smell blood in the one. Very impressed with them, even though Pujols has been a no-show again.
I think this is the 3rd time this yeqar Cliff will have not held a 4-0 lead, back to back in July, and maybe 1 other. The disappointing thing about that is he’s the sort of guy that when you hand him a lead like that, you expect it to stick. But it’s not like he got clobbered tonight. See if he can finish strong here and keep it tied at least.
9 hits in 6 innings, throw in some walks. That is clobbered.
yikes – Charlie is leaving Lee in for the heart of the order. Ouch! Didn’t you see LaRussa’s mistake last night? Crossing my fingers and toes.
seems like announcers just love saying when the Philies fans get stunned to silence.
What the hell charlie? 110 pitches
I was at the Eagles game today and this Phils game feels very similar. Hopefully a different end result.
If Theriot can bunt, and I assume he can, suicide squeeze would’ve been perfect there.
Bastardo will get the 8th. I assume with a 1 run deficit. But the batting order will be in good shape for the 8th with TLR probably down to 1 lefty.
Jimmy’s earnin’ a new pool table. Red felt has faded, has some divots.
Table placed on back order; completion of sale contingent on S & H Green stamps or smarter baserunning.
So we go B9, and Mayberry is still available, but Chase, HP and RyHo are up. I’m looking forward to hearing the reason behind using Fransisco in the 8th.
I assume Rzepcynski starts the inning. Better assumption is I spelled that wrong.
Tie the game up and the Cardinals won’t have any pitchers for extra innings.
Arthur has worn 9 different uniforms in 20 seasons.
Nice heat there.
Trying to digest the wasted DP breakup by Chase going to waste is 1 of many, many shortcomings tonight.
Chase is nasty.
End of the day Cliff Lee blew this game and Charlie probably left him in one inning too long.
54 outs.
Baseball heaven, here we come.
bad loss
Phillies reverting to mid-season form? One hit after the second (a single with two down). When they were doing this shtick in July, pre-Pence, it was almost always 6 hits. Six hits, that’s all your getting, say the BB gods. Unlike tonight, the pitching often held up.
I don’t see much point to overreacting to tonight. Lots of it already, more to come, no doubt. See if people can pick themselves up, and teammates as fast as Tuesday night, go from there. Fan reaction can drive you nuts if you pay it too much hommage. Too much might well be defined as any, to be honest.
I do kinda wish I could remove my rooting interests enough to appreciate the Cardinals comeback just as a baseball story. It was good, but I can’t appreciate it much as a result of the rooting interest.
Just a tough night that had some knife twisting endurance to it that made it worse. Best to let it go at that.
Hopefully Hamels and Oswalt will get the job done. Great job by the bullpen though, for both teams.
If they don’t, they won’t have the weather to blame … Saint Louis Tues & Wed forecast – sunny, high in low 80s.
Cards’ bullpen has been strengthened by July & Aug additions of Dotel, Rzepczynski and Rhodes. It isn’t great by any measure, but it’s a little better than advertised. Tonight: amalgated 6-inning, 1-hit shutout won it for them in concert with line-up’s frisky, productive bats vs. ”Leaky Boat” Lee. Phils’ ‘pen group, as you said, did a nice job for 3.
excuse the Jerry Meals spelling; correction, A M A L G A M A T E D
Its over and most of us know it. There is something about being an overwhelming favorite in sports, and esp baseball, that just doesn’t work. I think more than anything it has something to do with the human psyche. You never really develop momentum, you only experience a sigh of relief. You could just feel the banding together of the Giants last year, that comraderie of being the underdog, that evolves and carries you to greater things. I sense the same thing in the Cards. For professionals at this level, that can be the deciding factor between wins and losses. Heck, the Phils had that in 2008. They were not suppossed to beat Milw or the Dodgers. Most were picking the Rays.
philly fan: is there any limit to the fickleness of your commentary?
I wonder when people will collectively realize just how stupid he is and stop replying to his posts. That’s become the part that is amazing to me. But everyone has their own values and agenda. And it’s not like my own termination of finding entertainment value in his fickleness necessarily coincided with anyone elses. I guess it’s to each their own, but trying to reason with someone so completely ignorant to what goes on is really an interesting decision.
why say in 100 words what you can say in 10?
Yeah – I stopped responding a long time ago – but he’s come a long way. He can spell Pujols now!
Come on Cole!!!!!! Garcia will be tough, but Hamels can be tougher. Oswalt will follow up. This series is not lost. We are still the better team with the best rotation. Unlike many of the playoff teams, the Phillies know how to win on the road. All year its been about winning series, not sweeps. The series can still be had.
Cole’s a natural born pitcher but he tailed off some in Sept. Tues need, nearly maximum Cole. I’ll take the under. Had good season but 19 gopher balls led staff, lowest total of his career. Difficult trend to buck when standing in ’Sea of Cardinal Red’ while facing Pujols, Berkman, Holliday [?], Craig, Jay, Molina, Freese in hitter’s weather.
Can Missourian Howard, a demonstrably happy guy near the Arch, show them enough, have it his way, lead a successful counter attack? Will Mayberry make a difference (3-16 lifetime vs. Cards, 1-8 at Busch Stadium)? Will Ruiz and Polly find first base?
Stacy, I’m with you in that I think Hamels can get the job done but I wouldn’t exactly call Hamels tough… But I think Hamels has more heart than people give him credit for and I think that’s what we’ll see in St. Louis. Also, one of my pet theories is that there’s always been some discomfort between Hamels and Lee, and now you’re giving Hamels a chance to be able to say, “Who came through for you Philly? Who? The 2008 World Series MVP, that’s who!!!!!”, and you think Hamels is going to pass that up?
Speaking of 2008 guys, Lidge getting out of that jam last night was impressive. I’ve only read about how he’s done this year but he seems to have something left in the proverbial tank.
I only listened to the game – I was wondering if anyone could tell me what happened to Lee? It seemed like it was one of those bad Cliff Lee games where he just doesn’t have it for a couple of innings and gives up batches of hits. This is easy to see when you watch him but I couldn’t tell from the radio broadcast.
Cliff Lee was very human. Didn’t earn a Mt. Olympus address. Wasn’t even Peter Frampton arena rock-like. Made some pitches – at least 4 called 3rd strikes – but threw a lot of junk too as 12 hits, 2 walks, 5 runs in 6 innings, 110 pitches attest. Off night in an On moment. Was his 3rd straight postseason loss. Adoration isn’t cheap… but he can afford it.
I meant tough as in a tough pitcher to hit, lol
Zack,
There was zero to take from this game that should cause concern. I understand the point of curiousity since you didn’t see it, but he had some good pitches hit, and made the turned out catastrophic mistake of walking Berkman to start the 4th. He’s fine. He’ll throw a gem in another meaningful start, and this will all be forgotten. I’d just suggest forgetting about it. If I thought you were pushing for something that was there, I’d tell you, but he just didn’t outsmart the competition. There’s sour grapes about the strike zone, but even that’s not worth dwelling on. He’s fine.
Got a lot of balls up. Ordinary last night. Expectations are rightfully higher for Ace 1A.
“A gem in another meaningful start.” Probably, as he’s mercurial. Which year do you suppose?
Would have a bone to pick with that ump yesterday but we benefited greatly from him kicking Carpenter around. Tough game, Cards played well. Not sure how lax we were after the Carp meltdown; some balls hit hard straight to the OFers. It looks to be something interesting in STL. Maybe Holliday even sees the field. Polanco’s bat is sorta holding us down, maybe he needs to bunt more.
Well this is the reason we have 4 aces, next turn up; Hamels. Hope he left the long balls behind before he boarded the plane. That and we’d be cruising into a 2-1 lead for the Wizard to clinch.
GO Phils.
This was the hardest playoff game I have ever had to watch in my life. I couldn’t even sleep this lost hurt so bad. I’m just now getting it out of my system and looking at what needs to happen in game 3. No doubt game 3 is a must win game for the Phils. Gotta keep adding runs when it comes to the Cards they can hit point blank they hit almost .300 with every batter that comes up. Cole will not shut them out we need to score. Polanco, Ruiz and Vic you have to wake up this is not the time to go cold, not the time to look at strikes. You guys wanted to play the cards you beat the Braves and forced this match up so in reality you got what you asked for. You are a 102 win baseball team start acting like it we dont blow 4 run leads its called killer instinct you showed the Braves no mercy in eliminating them and now its time to show the cards who’s the boss. They are not on your level do not play down to them everybody needs to get on their job stop depending on the next man and do what you have to do. I need quality at bats gentlemen. stellar defense and good pitching. We played 162 games to get to this point were not settleing for a first rounf lost were beter than these guys stop giving them confidence. Game 3 lets go Phillies pick it up remember your first name is Philadelphia. Were all depending on you!!!
Antoine,
Pardon my intrusion on reacting to your post placed on a public message board.
I like your passion, refected in what was truly a bitch of a loss.
Those of a negative mindset and vantage point are different than you. But when you come down to it, there’s a striking similarity to the overreaction, no matter what it is.
The only reaction that matters is that of what takes place in last night’s locker room, the same people going to St. Louis, and the spirit within the Busch Stadium clubhouse of same tomorrow afternoon. Your pleas for greatness tell them nothing they don’t know already. Measure those needs against the factual record of this group of men over the course of the year, and chances are pretty good they respond well to the situation.
What I’m saying is venting is understandable and fine. But for sure, don’t let it be compounded by the stupidity of meaningless opinions that aren’t worth a thing.
Can’t promise you’ll get what you want. But I’m pretty positive you’ll get the reaction in terms of effort, and appraoch you seek. For me, that’s about all I can ask. If it’s different for you, so be it. Hopefully, the results are there and this conversation is moot.
Enjoy games 3 and 4.
Parting shot on game 2…
which I see no point in dwelling on, and see no reason to be concerned about. Has no effect on sustainability of failure to ex3ecute offensively, which, from thre game I watched, was the lead story. I’m not baseball saavy enough to formulate the intracacies of which pitches should have been balls, and strikes that directly effected this fact….
I remain true and strong to my pre series thought that it’d be important, or we’d be looking for the Phils smacking the ball hard enough to challenge the Cardinal defensive deficincies. The exact opposite happened last night. Raul made a nize throw where Chooch sacrificed his life, but also made a poor throw on the lead run. Zero reaction to Shane’s inability to catch the 7th inning triple, which is not to say he should have, but it looked like he at least maybe took a bad route to the ball. Cards hit the ball, and made the Phils play defense. That, I believe is what would help in Game 3.
Zero reason to get down on this club. Some of the reactions around the internet portion of the fan base are what they are, to be polite.
Polite. Hmm. Do ya mean like in your exhortation “[MFers] can kiss my a**.”?
Taking Pete’s content for granted, this exchange right here is the reason I try to come to this website as often as I can.
concerning the issue of over-reaction to the loss, (while I think that might be an exaggeration), I think it is highly important to remind fans that;
1) a playoff baseball game is a challenging one to win
2) that is usually because your opponent is one of the top 4 teams
3) and that means it will most likely be a well fought competition,
4) meaning that there is no absolute guarantee of winning.
So taking that into account, I don’t understand how last night could be a bad loss. Tough fought game or tough loss if you like. In every game I expect the Phils to win because they are a better team and they play hard, but logically speaking I don’t quarantine and section off the possibility that they do lose.
IMO We’ve been spoiled rotten by this team’s success.
Cards are playing good ball. Pujols’ was most pumped up last night when he managed to keep the rundown till 2nd and 3rd were occupied. That’s some semblance of leadership, amidst his embarrassment at the plate by Lee.
So enjoy the game. I did last night, even though we lost.
Go Phils!
just to be clear – our starters in Games 3 and 4 have no advantage in this matchup. Would I rather have Hamels than Garcia for a full season, if course. But Garcia’s history against the PHils gives them the starters advantage. And Game 4 is a toss-up. In addiiton, Hamels definitely has a spotty August.September. There is no way to know what we will get with Oswalt.
We are gonna need major offensive production to stay in this series and get it back to the bank.
philly fan…I dont know who you are and what you do with yourself…but I really think you need something spelled out to you….I’m not one for cliches…..when youre a man, and you tell other men (except for stacy) that the series is lost…phils cant win..they dont have the emotional momentum etc…then it’s over……you might as well retire for the series……if by chance the phils win the series….maybe you can come back with a new outlook or save face somehow…..if the phils lose you may have won whatever argument you created.
I wonder when people will collectively realize just how stupid he is and stop replying to his posts. That’s become the part that is amazing to me. But everyone has their own values and agenda. And it’s not like my own termination of finding entertainment value in his fickleness necessarily coincided with anyone elses. I guess it’s to each their own, but trying to reason with someone so completely ignorant to what goes on is really an interesting decision.
I don’t know “who I am and what I do with myself” has to do with anything, but I do separate being a fan from analyzing a game / athlete / series…whatever. Part of me is also rooting “Go Cole.” with every other fan. Pete said St. Louis was a tough draw. That doesn’t make him off his rocker or a weird person. I have stated opinions with valid reasons for stating those. I was roundly criticized for picking the Giants in 6 also last year, which is fine, but I was correct and the reasons I gave pretty much played out. I am not saying I am always right. I am just saying, “what is so hard about if you disagree with my conclusion, then attack my rationale.” Garcia’s statistics against the Phils is better than Cole’s against the Cards. The Cards offense can match the Phils. Am I wrong? Does that mean the PHils lose tonight? Not necessarily. But does that make me crazy to think they will. No, it makes me logical. I am hoping they win the title. Bu tthis was a bad draw. Yes, I originally said the Phils will win the title and lose a total of three games along the way. I hope I am right, but that was when the Cards were still 2 out with three to play and I thought we were meeting the Dbacks in the first round.
Trips down quotation alley, as we exit Monday, and blend into a special birthday.
There’s always somebody saying you can’t do it, and those people have to be ignored. -Bill Cartwright
When anyone tells me I can’t do anything…I’m just not listening anymore. -Florence Griffith-Joyner
Cole, Roy, and go home.
Ken,
I don’t mind your intrusion as a matter of fact it is invited. I need my brotherhood of fans right now. I don’t know why the team has that affect on me but they do. If I could help them win in anyway I would! If I could distract a Cardinals player and make him drop a foul ball than consider him distracted!! I was raised to love this team and I do!! 2008 was the ultimate high for me and I need that fix again!! I replay Lidge’s last pitch on my DVR all the time the celebration the feeling that night was so great I will never forget it!!! This team can get me back there I need them focused the time to win is now!! We have the talent in place no question it’s about desire when the going gets tough the tough get going!! Let’s go Phils 2011 is our year again!
I am reminded of a time when I started posting on this site. Just a tad, said with the succinctness of strong pronunciation on the word just as in Bob Uecker to Monty Colorman in the greatness of Major League, under 2 years ago. Some guy decided he didn’t like the way I think and informed me that my way of thinking assured him that I was a likely loser in gambling circles on football, baseball and basketball bets because of the way I thought. Belated thanks for informing me that I care about football and hockey. Baseball? Sho nuff. I can easily be talked into thanking Uncle Selig for the quatros fold package unfolding before my eyes this very Tuesday.
But this isn’t about baseball. Directly, anyway. It’s about the biggest mistake fans make. All 2 of the list. Other than that, fans be a perfect species. One is assuming that what’s in the mind of players is what’s in their minds, feeble though they might be. The other is playing the trap of thinking point A leads to point B. Oh, negatory, kind sir. Neagatory, indeed.
Preface in place, and confused portion of the 3 person readership effectively eliminated, lets go to the nuts and bolts. Yesterday, negativity amongst the Philadelphia “faithful” (pardon my while I cough) was in full force. Par exemple…
<<Last nights game killed me, and I may just sit out the rest of the series until if/when the Phillies win another game. Garcia has been a Phillies killer, and Hamels has looked very shaky for the past month or so… it’s hard to have a lot of confidence in them pulling out a win in Game 3. Last nights game was pretty much a must win in my book, especially with both Garcia and Carpenter again coming up if they get to 5 games. While I am deeply saddened by last nights loss, I am reluctantly prepared to accept that this may not be the Phillies year again.
They had a great regular season at least, so this years team should at the very least be remembered for it’s win total and largely excellent pitching. Unfortunately the Phillies aren’t going to get any kind of consolation prize this year unlike last year, since Clayton Kershaw and Matt Kemp are likely to win the Cy Young and MVP respectively, while the Phillies will walk away with nothing besides their win total and the knowledge that we SHOULD HAVE had the Cy Young award. On the bright side at least we MADE the playoffs at all, which is something both the Red Sox and Braves wish they had. The regular season was very enjoyable for me, and i’ll always carry many fond memories of it regardless of what happens next.>>
The funny thing is that while I wasn’t doing no hourly measurements of Phillie “faithful” temperment, there did seem a calm that surfaced as the day prevailed. Far be it from me to fall into the trap of assuming how other fans think, but so it seemed.
Applying that sentiment as safe to dip my toe in the H20, and upset the fools that think this series is over, no matter how it be turning it from here, I’ll dabble in the how dare you think that way and far ahead, and offer the following ideology for future out of space visitors that decide they want to scientificate the human mind.
There might prove to be that old silver lining in Game Dos’s killer loss. Personally, I wasn’t too excited about Roy Oswalt throwing in Game 4 of the LCS on 600 years rest. Usage tomorrow negates the rest of the centuries since he’d pitch a Game 4 of a potential LCS matchup.
As is the case in any series, the hsitorians, who love to appeal to the largely absent of mind by playing the history card, and ignoring focus, execution and matchups will be overwhelmingly out tonight. Maybe it’s a trick or treat warmup amomg said subculture, I dunno. But they’ll tell you about how game 3 losers have lost 88 of the last 44 series, and all that good stuff that makes you wanna skip the next commercial for the next historic tidbit. Let me switch fonts and make this thing real tiny so it stays between us. How many times did the better team lose Game 3? If the better team loses, its no end of no world. The Phils, like the Cards did have a mission. Win a road game. The catastrophic part of a loss tonight, injury aside, would be usage of Da Doc in a actually kind of appealing Game 5, and loss of a potential early series start against the next victim. Did I say victim? Ooooeeeee. So far be it from me to stand up to the wisdom of conventional fan genius and kneel to history by admitting the series is won by the winner tonight, but that’s ain’t the case. The series is won by the winner. Not the luckiest of the crapshooters. Not the hystericalest of the historians. By he who executes. Facts, are facts, are facts. Except for one of those quirks of fate like stones, or umpires, or fate, so lets downgrade that to facts are facts.
Phew! That was an easy read.
Just in case you didn’t see the post – I will be doing a live blog today starting at 5. Hope to see you all there!
Gonna plan to pass on the invite, for my part, but thanks. Certainly as a focus of how I’ll watch the game. If I miss any good opinions or info out of it, so be it. Could well be better without my participation anyway, which is totally cool from my standpoint.
Enjoy the game.
stuck in class with neither the visual nor auditory privilege of tracking the game. my BB can barely keep up with refreshing a severely maladjusted version of ESPN’s Gamecast that is t minus 3.5 mins behind every pitch, let alone a live blog. Woeful is my plight, but enjoy the game fellas.
51 outs today. No, Phils won’t bring Philadelphia the head of Jaime Garcia, Mexican art dealer.
Charlie will say that Phils definitely didn’t win, but, at the same time, the Cardinals didn’t lose, however, he did like the way the postgame spread was ready and pipin’ hot. Rollins will tweet that St. Louis fans didn’t make enough noise.
OR
54 outs today. Hamels disregards John Audubon’s spirit and cooly picks Cardinals off branches, neatly numbered 1 through 9, with sharpshooter’s precision. Howard, comfy and amped in his hometown, continues to lay lumber on ball, then happily pledges after the game to spit into Reggie Jackson’s batting glove for a unique Cooperstown display. LaRussa files a writ of habeus corpus with MLB office regarding home plate umpire while claiming Game 3 procedural improprieties.
Should be fun.
Just saying GO PHILS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cards on points through 2. Garcia looks to have command exactly where he wants it, Cole, not bad, but not great.
Gonna be a good ball game. Heading T3, scoreless.
That’s a big play in a tight game. Cole = failed sac bunt. That stuff multiplies. wasted at bat.
That’s a tough AB for Ut. Little up in the zone, grounds out w/2 on. Walk would have been awesome sedning HP up with em loaded. Cole totally in the shadows now is like a brand new game against top of order.
Now you don’t have to READ the live-blog, but you will probably get more comment discussion over there. Your call though!
nice inning. walk before Albert, who gets a hitters count, but gets under it, and then manhandles Lance. Build a little momentum, and carry it forward.
little chippie with eyes to stay fair, and a smart steal play right into the Cards playing well/smart off breaks, and allow for a lineup flip for next inning.
Fair amount of body punches. Don’t mean much if the Phils can get a lead. Helluva game, and fast.
When I was 17 years old, Fyrcal killed Maddux’s last ever game with like 3 errors in a playoff game. He’s an interesting free agent if the cards don’t sign him, which they will, but he’s like Jimmy, can’t stay healthy.
I’m not especially concerned about the mid 80s pitch count. Long as Cole feels strong, even above 120-130 isn’t a crime. The challenge will be getting him out a pitch before he’s tired.
Now Mr. Garcia is another story. This is not a guy of stamina. But he’s got a low pitch count. And that’s with the Phils takinga good amount of 1st pitches, or so it seems.
I don’t know if he’s walked Jay 2x now on purpose to get to Garcia, but this is it, no matter what. VW is next. Cards really did a good job working the count. Starting Cole the next inning just seems real high risk. Seems pretty obvious.
8 of the 22 innings (36%) the #Phillies have batted in this series have ended in 9 pitches or fewer.>>
That, in a word, sucks.
Serious momemt of opportunity. Hunter after Chase singles.
Not surprising their walking Hunter off the wild pitch. Garcia v RyHo, you make this move in a heartbeat.
Now….does it work out.
Somewhere in this game, maybe the 13th inning is an at bat for RyHo against the right righty reliever, and it’ll be a different story. Important to stay even for now. Need a good inning out of Cole. I’d guess he has 2 innings until his turn comes up w/ 5 6 7 and 8 still ahead of him.
come back from 3-0 count to get yaddie. Zero sign of fatigue. Where’s the thumbs up icon?
I’m shocked to see multiple mentions that TLR maybe should have batted for Garcia. I don’t think he even thought about it, but what do I know.
hmmmmm…
you cannot possibly walk away from this with no run. Not possibly. Vic single, and PB, 1-0 to JMJ
I just have no faith in Bennie here. I think I’d have chanced Valdez in this spot. Not a great choice.
Oops
oops is the understatement of the year. Proud to aid the cause however I can with contrarian indication.
I am more surprise they didn’t walk Chooch AND change pitchers – that would have been the type of over managing Larussa would do.
I’l lsay this for Bennie. I KNOW his teammates love him, and have confidence in him. And it’s just a great, great story for the guys to thrive on and play off of. I’m thrilled for him.
Now…..WIN THE GAME
I must say that in the spirited attempt to calm down, Doc gave up 3 runs the other day, and Cliff, well… don’t even think about it.
And as Joaquin said, yaneverknow.
Da Vanimal. We’ll take it.
I don’t know who gets the 8th. Stay with Vance, or the Lidge to the former Bridge. But Antonio looms for a lefty matchup, and if we get in that situation tomorrow night, Cliff could LOOGY it, but that’s then and this is now.
More insurance would be nice.
So if Antonio walks a guy, its Madson time. Closer in the 8th. Gotta love it. But it is playoff baseball.
Without checking any numbers, I’d be inclined to go madson v Matt here. I’m just thinking in terms of the veteran hitter being more likely to pick up bard’s slider and slaughter it.
Bottom line, I gotta stick by Charlie and Doob’s decision if it doesn’t work, but if it doesn’t, I’ll look forward to the explanation.
I’m as concerned about Ryan having to throw a lot of pitches as I am the entry with em loaded and Albert on deck.
Cardinals work count, and its a pure test of guts. Not a bad position at all the cards are in. But not a bad position at all the Phils are in holding the lead.
Like I said after that washington game…”throw some key pitches in the playoffs”. Now’s the time for Ryan.
Well, that settles that. I do need to make sure my voter registration is up to date. I’ll be voting for Ryan madson for EL PRESIDENTE!
And the joy of it…well, not thee joy, but the 2 pitch act doesn’t challenge the too many pitches by deep in the 9th, and Decline bats NOT representing the tie or lead run.
This is what Jimmy was talking about. if this was at the Bank, I just know the crowd would be fired up, BUT IN ANTICIPATION of the last 3 outs. Truth is, Phillie fans should be fired up NOW to get some extra insurance. The time for the sense of urgency is NOW.
I kinda like baseball.
Schumaker is an idiot. He caught the ball, but who cares. Never argue with the ump when its a pro Phillie call.
Terrible call.
I might vote for Charlie for President, too.
Madson strikes out. What a bum.
I love the position. Albert can’t tie it, but Lance could, so it’s important to get the first out right away. Boy, what a matchup.
I know Ryan will thrive on this, and if he does get in a little trouble, poise and regroup…poise and regroup…poise and regroup…none of that washington noinsense where he went downhill faster and faster.
My man…Ryan Madson.
Harmless. harmful if he lets it be. Welo, or if the cards make it so. 2 way street.
and then there were 2, and this isn’t the crew with RW in the 5 hole, but its still work. get it Ryan, get it.
My body language take is Ryan madson is in the moment.
some 120 year old guy is in the 2nd row with his tie and jacket on. Lighten up, pal. undo the tie. Its a freaking ballgame. With 1 freaking out to go.
still in complete, total command here. no need to be nervous. 3-2 on the Yaddie base hit. ain’t no thang if we stay focussed on the moment.
1 strike. complete command
light grip, no tension
here’s my ballot.
Ryan madson for God.
Final score, the best team in baseball 3, the Cardinal nation, 2. I believe I caught baseball faver.
And as the Hunter man would say……LETS GO EAT!
Wow, some game. Some game …
Benny good man swing. Phils dance tense night away. Clumsy but earnest. More music Friday.
Only a fool would start throwing praise before the 27th out, let alone the discussion of did the ump make the right call. Particularly when even that is still subject to a needed 5th game win against an outstanding Tiger team. And I know it’s fashionable to hate the boys of interlocking NY, but this team, and I mean team is one outstanding story. This core of 4, and other keys from past years that have kept alive this run since 1995 is something else. And Joe Girardi can manage with the best of them. I thought they might win tonight, if they could outslug the Tigers, but here they sit, off a most adequate performance by John Lackey’s pitch alike, and they appear headed back to the Apple for a fifth game. This isn’t Reggie and Thurm. It’s not Paulie and Bernie. It damned sure ain’t Lou and Bambino. But it’s a continued lesson in winning. And a prospective worthy opponent cme Fall Classic time if they can outlast my prediction skills and whip up on the excellent Texas Ranger club. George or not, they are a story of greatness.
Far be it from me to assume self authority and deprive Benny Fresh any and all due and accolades, but by the powers bestowed in me by the magic of self assumedness, I dedicate tonight’s win to my man b.ski. A voice of pensiveness and intellegence not seen in a while that contributed mightily to the discussion of this great franchise that looks to the pleasure of a clincher next.
CLIFF LEE’S NOTES, brought to you by “Time Is Valuable,” one classic after-shave notion
Chapter 1 summary:
Thread’s main character thinks Yankees are great.
Chapter 2 summary:
Thread’s main character misses b.ski, dormant blogger.
Analysis:
Thread’s main character thinks about baseball and people.
b.ski – capable of posts, the lengthiness of which rivaled the above mentioned above.
he is missed by one more person.
We should name that homer the Francisco Treat!!! Way to save the day!!! Man I couldn’t sit down last night!!! Please fellas rap this up tonight so I can relax games 2 and 3 took a lot out of me. Can we touch Jackson up early give Oswalt a lead and he pitches like he pitched in the division clinching game against the Cards.. We need a blow out tonight bring the bats Phils lets get some runs take the crowd out early. 2011 The time is now.. Go Phillies all the way!!!
Considering that Lohse was a default game 1 starter, and that Carpenter and Garcia both had impressive numbers against the Phils, I think tonight is the one where the Phils will really enjoy having a deep rotation. Edwin Jackson, for all his accolades (no-hitter fame and whatever else they may be), is not your favorite choice to start a decisive game. I think this one will be a very comfortable win. Oswalt may give up a solo dinger or two to Berkman or Pujols but I think the Phils will enjoy Jackson, who throws hard. especially RyHo, who will be able to recover from his Garcia nightmares.
Heading into game 5…
In the final analysis, using that word very loosely, there seems more attachment to the themes of Cardinals and confidence and Phillies and pressure catching fire. How can you have Albert Pujols in your lineup, and not feel confidence, no matter who you’re pitching. Obviously, making Doc work is a major battle within the war. From a Cardinal perspective, foul balls are a victory. The Carp 2nd start off short rest seems worth a serious look.
I do know this for certain. All hail the Tigers for scoring early and hanging on against one of the more mash driven offenses the game has produced in memory’s inventory. But as hard as playoff scoring can be at times, even if Carp does give up a lead, even if Doc is in the grooveyard, the Phils have to press forward. I pleaded for insurance for a most capable Madson the other night. Didn’t happen. Hopefully, it does tonight. Get a lead, and keep on jammin. This game, barring a most unlikely Denkinger game 7 reaction back in the day is 27 outs. I wish Cliff had better fate than to teach us that for the upteenth time the other night, but that’s one of only a few things that would make a bitter ending really kill the greatness of this year.
This isn’t about enjoying the game. It’s about winning.