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Before we put this thing to bed...

... a few thoughts to end the year:

* The Philadelphia Phillies are a deserving champion, and at a time when weather reports and economic woes dominated news headlines, the Phillies gave us a reason to watch the World Series and a reason to be intrigued by the game. They have been a club of tough achievers and undying believers. The Phillies began to change the landscape of the NL East last season by chasing down the New York Mets and stealing the division title in the last two weeks. That magnificent run was capped by a swift sweep at the hands of the National League Champion Colorado Rockies. This year was to be different, they said in spring training. Jimmy Rollins still believed the Phillies were the team to beat in the NL East and Brett Myers said, "Why not us?" when asked whether or not they could win it all. That attitude has been evident throughout the entire season, and it just happened that the rest of the country was able to see seven months of hope come to fruition on a national stage.

This team was so much fun to watch because of the stories and the non-star players involved. Brad Lidge is a star, but he has been under fire and reconstruction ever since the 2005 playoffs when he pitched for the Houston Astros. Many lost belief, but luckily for Philadelphia, General Manager Pat Gillick wasn't one of them. Gillick traded for Lidge in the offseason and the man responded with a perfect season. Forty-eight save opportunities and forty-eight of them converted, with none bigger than the final one on Wednesday evening that ended with a 0-2 slider to Eric Hinske, sending Lidge to his knees, catcher Carlos Ruiz to the mound, and Citizens Bank Park into Happy Holidays. 

The bullpen wasn't all about Mr. Lidge in the ninth inning. Ryan Madson came on in the second half of the season to be the primary set-up man, dominating the eighth inning and sometimes part of the seventh. Madson has great stuff but he struggled in the first half of the season until a veteran Phillies teammate sat him down after a poor outing against the Cubs at Wrigley Field and told him to simply forget it and keep moving forward and keeping believing in his abilities. That was the common denominator on this club. Belief. Madson took the words to heart and now looks ahead to 2009 where he will be a big-time fixture in that bullpen.

J.C. Romero was a lefty picked from the scraps last season. After being released in June by the Boston Red Sox, the Phillies signed him days later and added him to the pen for the final three months of the season. He performed well enough to be asked back this season. For a guy that couldn't seem to fit in with the Red Sox or with the Angels before that, he put on the red pinstripes in Philadelphia and turned into a dominating southpaw. Romero pitched 59 innings in the regular season in 2008, posting a 2.75 ERA with 52 strikeouts. Romero was a valuable piece for the Phillies heading into the post season, but I don't think Charlie Manuel really knew how valuable he would be. Romero was the man to face Prince Fielder in Milwaukee, Andre Ethier and James Loney in L.A., and Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena in Tampa Bay. For a man in his ninth big league season and beginning to bounce around teams, Romero proved to be a remarkably uplifting story this October. Romero was a force in the World Series, pitching 4 2/3 innings with a 0.00 ERA with as many wins as hits given up (2). 

We got to see a group of veterans win a ring with their final days of baseball upon us. Who knows how many more times Jamie Moyer, Matt Stairs, and Geoff Jenkins are going to put on a baseball uniform, but if they decide this is it, they couldn't have ended great careers in a more fantastic fashion. We know Stairs will be able to hit a fastball until the day he decides he is a just a little bored with it; we know Moyer will be able to bait hitters into chasing his pitches until his kids grow tired of playing wiffleball with him in the backyard; we know Jenkins is going to grind through productive at-bats until he says it's time to go home and travel -- how great was that at-bat he had to begin the bottom of the sixth against Tampa's Grant Balfour?

It was refreshing to watch Shane Victorino pester pitchers at the plate and stalk fly balls from center field. The "Flyin' Hawaiian" gave us an October of energy and relentless attitude, attributes that too many players lack and too many clubs need. I can only think of the good a guy or two like that would do for a club like the Yankees. Victorino, I used to think, was 'purely Philadelphia'. But come to think of it, what Victorino is is 'purely baseball'. He is an ambassador of the game and a true sports figure, the type of player that I would pay to go watch play. We all love watching stars, but I would rather watch a pure ballplayer. 

When I think of Pat Burrell, I think of Scott Rolen and Curt Schilling and The Vet. Why? Because both of those men were his teammates at some point, even if he didn't play a full season with Schilling, and the steaming hot summers spent boiling on that green cement called "astroturf" in Veteran's Stadium was where Burrell made his name in Philadelphia. Burrell has been the face of this franchise along with Jimmy Rollins for the entire decade, and yet he has been the target of the Philly wrath in the past couple of seasons. The city cried for his walking papers in 2007 until he responded with 33 home runs this season, lending a big hand to a struggling Ryan Howard in much of the second half.

Burrell now becomes a free agent and may not be back in Philadelphia next season, but he can be on the short list of people thanked for bringing the Phillies first championship since 1980. Burrell did not have a great Series, but his lone hit was arguably the biggest hit of the season -- Pedro Feliz may have something to say about that. Burrell led off the bottom of the seventh inning of Game 5 with a deep double to left center, and Eric Bruntlett came around to score his run (after pinch running for him), which ended up being the Series-clinching run.

* What is the career defining moment for a player? Or, in some cases, is it a collection of moments? This is a question that I ponder when looking back on great careers or projecting the future of young stars when they accomplish something magnificent, if only because it is a fun question to kick around with some friends. This World Series gave us career-defining moments for four players -- Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Cole Hamels. Of course, this championship is much bigger for the city of Philadelphia and for the Phillies organization than it is for any one player, but when the playing days of these four men are done, this could be the summit of their days as a ballplayer. And that's pretty special to witness.

It feels like Rollins has been running around the Philly infield for over a decade with all of his accomplishments and sound bites, but Rollins came up in 2000 with the Phillies and he won't be turning 30 until next month. Rollins seems older and plays older, but he is in the prime of his career and should remain with the Phillies throughout his career. He is a franchise player that would look odd in another uniform. The man has put so much heart and soul into the game and to sticking with losing Phillies' teams and bickering crowds that it feels like this is his sending-off moment. Except for the fact that he should have at least another five good seasons left in him. Rollins may have another chance at a ring, but it is very likely that this will be his only opportunity, and how fulfilling it must be. He can come to spring training in 2009 being the laughing, energetic guy that he is and prepare for another long haul without the weight of winning a championship before he retires on his back. This sense of relief may end up just making him a better player for the next handful of seasons. We'll see.

Utley is in almost the exact same position as Rollins, except for the fact that he debuted in the big leagues three years later than Rollins did. Utley will turn 30 this December and he appears to be only getting better. His prime is now, but he is the type of player that will remain in his prime longer due to the great shape he keeps himself in and his style of play. What do you say about a guy that can do it all, on and off the field? Utley is a better defender than he gets credit for. He makes the routine play and has better range to his right than I initially thought. The thing about Utley is that he is all business on the field, but that doesn't mean he isn't loose and having fun. I haven't witnessed a player more in tune with his "role" and his job than Utley. He hit two home runs in the World Series, but we saw him hit at least that many ground balls to the right side with a runner on second and no outs. He does more things to win than simply the numbers that show up in the box score. It's nice to see the consummate professional experience what it's like to be a champion.

Ryan Howard appears to be a young pup because his first full season in the big leagues wasn't until 2005, and he therefore hasn't reached free agency yet. But Howard will be 29 years old in November and his best years are now. Howard is one of the game's premier sluggers and will continue to be so into his mid-thirties. Howard has two years of arbitration left that will keep him in Philadelphia, but he is a prime candidate to land somewhere else via trade or free agency and get a crack at more titles with another club. That's the business side of baseball. What defines Howard about this championship is that he takes the leap from "young star" to "veteran". He is a leader on the Phillies and will be looked at as a leader on the next club that he plays for given his pedigree and sudden October success. 

The oddball in this group is Cole Hamels. Hamels is only 24 years old and it is rare to be this good this young and be nothing less than The Man on a championship club. With his outstanding performance this post season and with 'World Champion' now tied to his name, Hamels is no longer a rising stud. He has taken the leap to superstar and now will be talked about in the category of the elite pitcher's and he will be viewed as part of the face of baseball. He should have plenty of more chances to reach this level again as the only thing that is stopping him from pitching until he is 40 is injury. More than anything, though, Hamels remained his So Cal self when thrown into the fire of raging Philadelphia. It was fun to watch.

* This is to Charlie Manuel and the job he did given the circumstances in Philly. Manuel has been a fine manager since coming to this club, but due to the Phillies recent inability to claim the NL East title and advance in the playoffs, the fans grew tired and began heckling The Virginian Grandfather and demanding the Phillies find a new skipper. Even this season, Manuel was hearing the boo birds and the jeers. But give it up to him. Manuel kept his head in the dugout and on his ballclub, continuing to keep them moving forward and pushing to win. That was all before Manuel lost his mother a couple of weeks ago.

It wasn't enough that Manuel was facing the biggest challenge, and the most exciting moment, of his managing career. He had never been this deep in the playoffs, or this closer to a World Series title. And then real life happens. But Manuel didn't make excuses, and God knows he didn't leave the dugout. He believed his mother would want him to stay with his club, to go after what every man who dons a uniform dreams of: a World Championship. So he did. Citizens Bank Park erupted with cheers as Manuel stepped to the microphone after clinching Game 5 to thank the fans and the city for sticking with the team and sticking with him as they carried along their October quest. Funny how it goes sometimes. That speech should have been the other way around. The city wouldn't have this without Manuel. 

* We can't wrap up the World Series without giving a nod to the Tampa Bay Rays and the season that they had. It was nice to see a manager "get it". A real man understand baseball and the role it plays in life. Joe Maddon applauded his players after the game and thanked them for everything they gave this season. He couldn't have been prouder of them. But not only did Maddon understand how far they have come on the baseball field, he acknowledged how much they grew as men as well. This was a club of inexperienced kids who became slightly experienced adults over the course of the last seven months. This was a clubhouse of newcomers in March who became poised public figures by October. 

Nobody expected the Rays to do what they did this season. Nobody expected them to win the AL East division that has been held hostage by the Yankees and Red Sox. The talent has been accumulating in Tampa and we knew this day was coming. But maybe in 2009, or more likely in 2010. But 2008? Most would have said you were crazy. But they did it. They won the division, they buried the White Sox, and they snatched the AL pennant from the defending World Champion Red Sox. A nice year's work for a club expected to finish fourth. It is never easy to come this far and go home with as much bling as you had entering it, but this season will benefit this club for the next four or five years to come.

The future couldn't be brighter in Tampa Bay. Evan Longoria and B.J. Upton are going to be forces for a full season in 2009, and Carlos Pena should continue to improve. Dioner Navarro became an All-Star catcher under the eye of Maddon, and he played a monumental role in the transformation of this pitching staff. Carl Crawford will continue to be the Oldest 27 Year Old I have ever seen due to his "veteran" role on a club full of graduate-school aged kids. David Price is expected to step into the starting rotation next spring and join Scott Kazmir and James Shield and Matt Garza to make the Rays the only club in baseball with four Number One starters in the same rotation. The Rays can add another run producer to the mix, most likely a left-handed hitting outfielder, and they can add another piece to the back end of the bullpen. But, even after this post season run, they are still the Rays and will have to continue to be creative with their payroll. Those issues will be handled in the coming weeks and months. Now it is time for them to rest and be thankful for the unexpected experience of a lifetime.

With that, we put the 2008 baseball season to rest. This has been one of the most satisfying and thrilling seasons from start to finish in recent memory. So many great stories. 

Ballpark Banter will take a few days off to regroup and decide how to spend the rainy days until pitchers and catchers report. We will then be back to kickoff the "hot stove" season and have more baseball talk throughout the winter. See you in November. 

Philly left in winter wonder

We have breaking news out of Philadelphia this morning. Game 5 of the World Series that was suspended in the sixth inning on Monday evening and was scheduled to resume tonight at 8 PM Eastern time has now been rescheduled and moved to Wednesday night due to inclement weather. First pitch is expected to be thrown Wednesday evening at 8:37 PM EST, weather permitting of course. So that brings us here, a long day of chilly gridlock and diamond-shaped slip and slides.

The rain is continuing to fall and there are reports of possible snow fall at Citizens Bank Park today, making tomorrow's start time hardly brighter. Whether play resumes Wednesday or not, we will have to wait and see, but Commissioner Bud Selig has said that both teams will remain in the Philadelphia area and this game will be finished, regardless of the ramifications regarding the previously scheduled ball games. The Rays need to win Game 5 in order to take this series back home to Florida. There are plenty of angry people and plenty of happy people alike, and the newest management malfunction has been char-broiled on sports talk radio today.

Bud Selig just simply can't escape controversy, it seems to me. It wasn't his fault that both clubs ran out if pitchers in the 2002 All-Star Game in Milwaukee and an unpopular decision had to be made in order to protect the health of the players and the best interests of the organizations that those players represented. The Mitchell Report and  the steroid scandal business was partially his fault as the Commissioner of the league, but it certainly wasn't only his fault. And now when all the man wants is to put on a great World Series, he gets this. Rain, rain, and more rain. There are some things that should have gone differently, but lets not put all of this on Selig.

It is understandable why the Phillies may not like the way the events unfolded last night. The rain was going to come, everybody knew it, and the game was played regardless. It began pouring around the third inning, and yet the game was allowed to go deep into the sixth inning where all Cole Hamels was missing on the mound was some soap, shampoo, and a shower curtain, and he would have been set for his post-game wash down. But lets get something straight. The only hiccup involved in last night's game was the decision of when to delay the game. The other issues were unavoidable.

Selig had convincing weather reports in the hours leading up to the game, reports that suggested there would be only a little rainfall. Certainly not enough downpour to alter the play on the field. It could be argued that the start time of Game 5 should have been moved up to, say, 7 o'clock instead of the regularly-scheduled 8 o'clock start. But was that really a plausible suggestion? If reports are fairly good in the afternoon leading up to the game, how do you change a start time that quickly? A start time would have to be altered at least a day in advance to make the fans and players aware. Some talk about what a mockery this situation has been because it has hurt the "integrity" of the game, but shifting up a start time on short notice when many players rely on entire afternoons to prepare for the ball game and conduct their pre-game routines would have been much worse.

And I simply can't buy the argument that Selig should have called off the game before it even started. The city of Philadelphia and Phillies fans have been waiting quite a while for this one night, this opportunity to watch their beloved ball club close out a World Series. Do you think thousands of fans would have understood why Game 5 of the World Series is being postponed before rain even began falling from the sky? I wouldn't want to be the one making that decision. So, as good as it sounds today to have not even started the game, I don't think that was possible. Because after all, these decisions were being based off of weather reports that stated the game would be able to be played and completed. Sometimes you just can't fight Mother Nature.

With that being said, the place where Selig displayed poor judgement was when the game was actually delayed. Play should have been stopped long before it was. In reality, the clubs probably shouldn't have finished four innings, let alone slush through the sixth. It was an impossible situation for Hamels on the mound with hardly any grip of the ball, BJ Upton came around to score the tying run after spending an inning of Basepath River Rafting, and then play was halted with the score tied 2-2. The Rays never should have had the opportunity to tie the score until another day when we would no longer be watching slosh ball. Chase Utley couldn't even stand on the dirt at second base because his position looked like Like Michigan, and Jimmy Rollins was playing shortstop on roller blades.

But, make no mistake about it, these decisions have as much to do with FOX as they do with Commissioner Selig and Major League Baseball. FOX wants the games to be played at times when they will have the highest viewer rating, not at a time that is most conducive for competitive baseball. If the standards of the game were really at the forefront, Game 3 would not have started at 10:07 PM, and Game 5 would not have been played into the teeth of a storm. FOX wants appealing baseball, but "appealing baseball" apparently can't be played in the afternoon time. The critics of the World Series complain that "baseball isn't made for late October", but the authorities aren't even doing what they can to make the best out of how the schedule is set up. Instead, the remotes make the decisions and therefore the games are played at the coldest possible time of the day -- late evening.

Look, in a perfect world, the games would start on time at 8 o'clock, good weather would accompany great baseball, and everyone would go to bed happy by 10:30. But that simply isn't going to happen, and now it becomes a question of what is more important: FOX television ratings or giving the Phillies and Rays the best chance to win a championship? One is about money, the other is about integrity. Money will prevail whether we like it or not. If this was about the game, why not have 5 PM start times on the East Coast?

 That would give the game a chance to be played in the fairest conditions possible. But too many people are at work at that time and not enough television sets would be tuned in. That is unfortunate because I would be willing to bet that the people who were planning on attending those games, and the great baseball fans who were planning on watching those games, would still find a way to get their World Series fix. They may have to call in sick or use a vacation day, but that would be worth it for a Philadelphian to witness his or her team win a championship. The folks that can't get out of the office may have to stay off the internet until they could get home to watch on Tivo or tape, but they would still find a way to do it. No, it's not ideal and it is not the best-case scenario, but it's not about those things at this point. It is about cutting viewing losses and keeping the game and its history in tact. Every World Series becomes a part of baseball's history and the games should be treated as such. You do the best you can, and you make no apologies for it. 

Where Bud Selig is right is doing anything and everything to play the entirety of this baseball game, whether that is Wednesday or Saturday or whenever. Selig bucked the rule book and basically said there is no way that he would allow a World Series game, especially a clinching game, to be shortened by rain. That is absolutely the right call. In fact, why doesn't the rule book state that? It should be written in bold print that no playoff game -- any round -- can be shortened by any factor. All twenty seven outs must be recorded or else the game cannot be deemed complete. The Phillies certainly don't want to be remembered as the team who won a championship but "oh yeah, the clinching Game 5 was only six innings." Talk about a blotch of pine tar on a team's history books.

On the baseball side of things, this has to be seen as an advantage for the Rays. It is unfortunate for the Phillies, but they were going to be at a disadvantage regardless of when the game was delayed. If the game was delayed around the fourth inning, Hamels would have already been spent for the evening and for the next couple of days. So the fact that the umpiring crew let the game go to the sixth didn't really affect the Phillies any more than necessary. In fact, they got two more innings out of Hamels than they would have. But with Hamels a non-factor after only 75 pitches, this comes down to a three and a half inning tug-of-war between the bullpens. The Rays caught a break because Grant Balfour is still technically in the game, and he will be back on the mound when play is resumed. This extra day of "rest" wouldn't have mattered as Balfour is a reliever and can work on consecutive days. 

After Balfour, Joe Maddon can turn to David Price or JP Howell or Edwin Jackson or Dan Wheeler. He has many options. The Phillies aren't as deep. Charlie Manuel will probably send Ryan Madson out to the mound to begin the seventh, but then have to rely on JC Romero as their last impact arm before Brad Lidge. After the mess that has been made and the sidestepping around the puddles, Game 5 will be completed sometime and there is still a few intriguing innings left to be had. The shelter of Tropicana Field looks gorgeous now, but this is the situation that we have been dealt and it's not all on FOX or Bud Selig or MLB. Chase Utley was asked about the predicament and he responded, "We have been playing for seven months, so it's not like another day or two is going to hurt us." It's not surprising that one of the toughest and most respected men in the business would provide the most sensible and responsible answer. Many folks share the blame of this, but nature is what it is, and it's time to simply make the best of it with baseball's well-being in mind.

Moyer not to be forgotten after midnight madness

If you didn't spend any of your Saturday tuning in to Game 3 of the World Series, you didn't miss much. Turns out that the action didn't even begin until Sunday morning, a sacred day in Philadelphia reserved for barbecue and beer and Eagles football. But you couldn't convince Chase Utley and the Phillies of that. In the bottom of the sixth inning, just after the stadium clock struck midnight, Utley got an inside fast ball from the Rays' Matt Garza and crushed it through the damp night air into the right field seats to make it a 3-1 ball game. Ryan Howard immediately followed and drove a breaking ball deeper into the same section in right field to push the Phillies' lead to 4-1.

This game couldn't have had more drama, this stadium couldn't have had more energy, and this crowd couldn't have been awake any longer. After a rain delay of around 90 minutes, the first pitch of Game 3 was thrown at 10:07 PM at Citizens Bank Park. Rain had covered the field for hours before, but for the first World Series game in the City of Brotherly Love in 15 years, a little rain and a little wind wasn't going to turn the night sour. To be sure, Jamie Moyer wasn't going to let that happen. He had waited too long for this moment.

This was one of the best nights an October can offer. A veteran coming home for his first World Series appearance and turning in a gem. Moyer has played 22 seasons in the big leagues, dipping his pitches and singeing the corners of the strike zone with the best of them. Until this season, Moyer had never had a crack at the World Series. He never knew what the Fall Classic air felt like on the back of his neck, staring down a hitter with an entire city hanging on every pitch. He never knew what late October baseball looked like in front of  a raucous crowd that put their weekend agendas on hold to help reel in a championship for a city that has had one in their entire existence. 

Moyer grew up in Pennsylvania rooting for the Phillies and dreaming of wearing the same red that Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton wore. He dreamed of dumbfounding hitters a couple more times as fall begins to beckon for winter and  an ice cold champagne shower would be viewed as cruel punishment in any other arena. But here he was, Saturday evening, taking the ball for his Phillies trying to give them a 2-1 series lead. Charlie Manuel was certainly in question giving the ball to Moyer who had been roped in his first two post season starts. The Milwaukee Brewers waited him out and then drilled him. The Dodgers just showed up and drilled him. Slow torture and quick pain -- both had worked. So to give the ball back to the veteran in the biggest game of the season was a bold move. But it couldn't be that bold, could it? Manuel had no other choice. This night had to be Moyer's.

Moyer sat around the clubhouse all afternoon, waiting and relaxing and preparing for the day he has always waited for. He was calm. He knew the opportunity and he relished it. His opponent, Matt Garza, was relying on an iPod and youthful exuberance to get himself ready to hurl mid-90s fast balls through the rain. But I guess 45 years of age and 22 years of The Show and a lifetime of appreciating the gift of a baseball game makes a man calm and mentally methodic. For most, waiting around until 10 PM was agonizing. For Moyer, it was simply one last road block to the performance he had dreamed of delivering.

As dinner time came and went on the West Coast, Moyer strolled out to the mound in his comfortable red regalia and delivered his warm up pitches. Moyer looked ready on the mound, those red Philadelphia pinstripes appearing as if they have always draped his long limbs and limber frame. By the time Akinori Iwamura stepped into the batter's box to lead off, the white rally towels were swirling from four levels of the stadium, the Liberty Bell had nestled up and gone to bed for the night, and Moyer was ready for the graveyard shift.

Moyer didn't give us a sturdy performance before handing it to the bullpen. He gave us an October gem before being persuaded it was time for a hot shower. The southpaw didn't give us four innings of shoddy ball and half a game of bullpen mixing and matching. He gave us 6 1/3 innings of hometown love for the people that had watched him all year, for the mothers and fathers and grandparents and children that stroll through his old neighborhood where he once believed in Philadelphia glory. For nearly seven frames, Moyer gave his World Series coming out and goodbye performance all wrapped into one. A month away from 46 years old, who knows if Moyer will ever get this opportunity again. 

The performance was masterful in its design. It's no secret that Moyer has to be more precise than any other pitcher in order to win. He needs to expand the strike zone and get strikes called a couple of inches off of the plate. He needs the hitters to be a little aggressive and chase pitches that look like grilled ribs slathered with barbecue sauce until they get to the plate and turn out to be nothing more than undercooked poultry. He needed the Tampa Bay Rays to swing and swing and swing as if strikes were going out of style. It's all a tease. Moyer doesn't give you that firm 91-mph fast ball over the heart of the plate that big leaguers feast on. That is what makes his game so beautiful and fulfilling for the fans watching it. We didn't watch Moyer's chuck-and-duck log ride; we walked into Jamie's Butcher Shop and got handed Tampa Bay's remains. Happy Halloween, kids.

Of course, it would be easy to overshadow Moyer's performance given the fact that almost all of the action, all of the plays that create the headlines, happened after the lefty departed from the game in the seventh inning. Moyer's final line says that he gave up 3 earned runs, but the last of the three scored after he was pulled with a runner on third and one out in the seventh inning. For the third consecutive game, an umpire ruling was involved in a big way and this missed call could have turned out to be the one that sent the city into riot mode. Fortunately for the umpiring crew and Major League Baseball, the Phillies won the ball game the botched call that opened the seventh inning didn't impact them.

Carl Crawford led off the top of the seventh with an attempt for a bunt base hit. Moyer raced up the first base line, scooped, flipped, and dove all in one motion with the ball nestling into Ryan Howard's bare paw at first base a half step before Crawford reached the base. All good, except for the small detail that first base umpire Tom Hallion ruled the speedy Crawford safe, giving the Rays an opening to a rally. If he is called out, there is one out and nobody on and the entire dynamic of the inning is changed. It is possible that even if Navarro still doubles, he is stranded at second base and none of those runs score. Instead, two runs scored and it was a one-run ball game going to the Seventh Inning Stretch. And did the ball park ever begin to moan and rumble after that call.

The Rays relied on their speed to generate multiple runs in the past two ball games, and B.J. Upton tied the score practically by himself. Upton led off the top of the eighth with an infield single. After Carlos Pena struck out, Upton took off and swiped second base. With Evan Longoria still at the plate, Upton broke for third and was called safe and then advanced home as the throw from Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz got away from Pedro Feliz at third base. Tie game without the ball even leaving the infield.

The bottom of the ninth was the climax of this ball game as the Phillies walked off on a Carlos Ruiz infield single with the bases loaded and nobody out. The inning was sloppy. Two intentional walks, a wild pitch, an errant throw from Rays catcher Dioner Navarro that allowed Eric Bruntlett to reach third base, prompting the intentional passes and Joe Maddon's strategic five-man infield in order to create a force play at home plate. A nubber up the third base line, an impossible play for Evan Longoria, and Philadelphia goes to sleep happy. A weird night couldn't have ended in a more unpredictable fashion. But maybe that really was fitting after what had transpired before The Biggest Hit In Carlos Ruiz' Life occurred. 

After all, how many people really expected the Phillies to win this game, even given the fact that it was the first home game for them in the World Series and the crowd was certain to be ramped up? How many people thought Matt Garza was going to come out on the losing end and Jamie Moyer was going to pitch like a post season version of vintage Greg Maddux? Did anyone see this coming? Did anyone expect more from Moyer than five innings and 3-4 runs? Probably not.

But that is what makes all of this so compelling and what makes October baseball and the World Series such a special event. Yeah, the Super Bowl is a week long festival and we hear about all of the parties and the celebrities and all of the bells and whistles of the event. By the time Sunday comes, everyone has forgotten about the game and is drained. Not the World Series. Why? Because baseball doesn't put the spotlight on tuxedos and the scanty outfits donned by the finest fans. This sport doesn't work that way. The attention is on the field and the stories that grow there. Heroes like Carlos Ruiz and Jamie Moyer are built on diamonds throughout the country in the middle of October nights. That's why we watch this stuff.

In a series that was billed as a town with a tradition of losing against a young club of hungry kids, the biggest kid of all slung the ball 96 times -- 64 of them for strikes -- towards home plate and pulled the string just before it got there. This game will probably be remembered because of the errant throws and the base running and the gamesmanship played between the managers, but we should never forget the performance that Jamie Moyer turned in on Saturday evening, on a night where a cold Citizens Bank Park was begging to be warmed by the Philadelphia blood that has ever consumed Moyer. The darkest of rain clouds couldn't wash away Moyer's moment. We enjoyed hearing how he dreamed it, but we absolutely loved watching how he lived it. And now he is two Phillies wins away from feeling that bubbly Fall Classic shower.

Three thoughts after two games of The Series

* There is no other pitcher in this series quite like Cole Hamels. Hamels got the Phillies going in this World Series by dominating the Rays in Game 1, a crucial pitching performance considering the Phillies hadn't played for six days and their timing at the plate was certainly to be behind a bit. Hamels has pitched like an ace this season, and now he is taking that status to a post season hero level with his October performances. By winning Game 1, Hamels is now 4-0 this post season with a 2.57 ERA. And he's 24 years old. We knew Hamels was a great pitcher, but I certainly didn't expect him to come out and pitch like the 2007 October version of Josh Beckett.

Hamels tossed seven innings on Wednesday evening, holding the Tampa Bay Rays to 2 runs while striking out five. What transpired with the offense was about what we expected. They got two quick runs off of Scott Kazmir with a Chase Utley home run in the first inning, and then managed one more run the entire ball game -- a ground ball to shortstop in the top of the fourth by Carlos Ruiz scored Shane Victorino. That's it. Kazmir held off the big hitters the rest of the night and the Rays' bullpen threw 3 innings of shutout ball.

But luckily for Philadelphia, 3 runs is plenty when Hamels is on the mound. What we got to see from Cole Hamels was the art of pitching. We didn't see a thrower or an emotional trampoline a la Grant Balfour attempting to throw the ball 200 mph and threw the press box. What makes Hamels so good besides his stuff is that he is so inclined with his strengths that he knows what he can and can't do and he doesn't waver from that game plan. He knows -- and so does every body else -- that his change up is his go-to pitch. He has a good fast ball and curve ball, but it would be foolish for him to challenge guys up in the zone with the four-seamer the entire night. He's not that type of pitcher. If he throws his change up like he is capable of and puts it in a good location, it really doesn't matter who knows that it's coming. 

What makes Hamels so fun to watch -- and so hard to hit -- is that the change up is a pitch he will go to against both right handed and left handed hitters. Lefties have a chance against it because it should tail in to them a little bit allowing them to have a chance at dropping the barrel on it. For righties, tailing and dropping away from them, it is death. But lefties can't hang over the plate and sit on the change because Hamels will just as quickly bust them inside with a good fast ball that reaches the low-90s.

Hamels doesn't become arbitration eligible until the 2010 season and won't hit free agency until the 2013 season, but if this is simply a sneak peak at where his performances are going to be going, he may be in line to break any records for pitcher's contracts. Johan Santana set that bar with his $137.5 million deal with the New York Mets, and there is every indication that CC Sabathia will break that this winter. But if Hamels stays healthy and keeps improving and is truly at the top of the pitching totem pole by the time he reaches free agency, he may break whatever record Sabathia sets given the fact that he will be 28 years old and his body type appears to be more conducive to aging than Sabathia's. Either way, Hamels need to worry after ripping through this post season.

* The depth of the starting rotations may prove to be huge as this series moves to Philadelphia. The Phillies have Hamels, but after him it thins out rather quickly. Brett Myers is certainly capable of a big performance -- he proved that down the stretch against the Mets -- but he was tagged for four runs in Game 2 and never really seemed to find his groove. The ageless Jamie Moyer will take the ball in Game 3 for the Phillies and Joe Blanton will go in Game 4. Moyer is a great story. A hometown kid growing up to play 22 seasons in the major leagues and the only World Series he reaches is with the club he grew up watching. But, to be fair, Moyer is living on the black of the baseball world these days. 

Moyer cannot get by on stuff alone like he once was able to, and now he needs his command to be so sharp or else he the opposing lineup will get to him. The way for Moyer to have success is to bait hitters in to expanding the strike zone. In other words, he needs to execute pitches on the corner early in the game and get the corners called for strikes. Once he gets those calls, he can gradually work a little more off of the plate and see just how far off of it he can get the umpire to call. This is establishing the strike zone. Now the hitter knows how far out a pitch will be called a strike. Once that is established, it is Moyer's job to throw pitches that start on the corner of the strike zone and then tail off of it by the time they get to the hitting zone. This should allow him to force contact more towards the end of the bat rather than the barrel. Moyer could have this accomplished by the third inning. The problem is getting to the third inning if the Rays' hitters come out attacking first pitches over the plate.

For Tampa Bay, the starting rotation is arguably their greatest strength. Scott Kazmir overcame an early home run by Chase Utley in Game 1 to turn in a strong performance, it just happened to be against a better Cole Hamels. That's baseball. James Shields live up to his billing in Game 2 by pitching scoreless ball into the eighth inning, allowing the Rays to build a lead against Brett Myers that their bullpen nailed down. The passionate Matt Garza will go to the mound in Game 3 against Moyer. Much has been made about Garza and his ability to control his sometimes volatile emotions. That has been tabbed as his potential downfall and the one factor that may keep him from reaching his potential as a great major league pitcher.

I think those issues are behind Garza and he should come up big in Game 3 just like he did in Game 7 of the ALCS against the Boston Red Sox. Controlling your emotions is a maturity thing. Every player learns how to do it at some point if they want to be good, whether that be sooner or later. Garza has learned how to deal with failure this season and has been magnificent at simplifying the game to the present pitch. His mind is tuned for one inning at a time, and he no longer allows poor pitches or mistakes to alter his focus on the next pitch. Once we get beyond those concerns, we get to witness one of the best young pitchers in baseball, a guy that can be as exciting as anybody in the sport. A mid-90s fast ball and a sharp slider are his go-to pitches, and those alone are enough to dominate any lineup.

Game 4 will be Joe Blanton against Andy Sonnastine. Blanton is a good pitcher, but his stuff is not the same as it was when he came up with the Oakland A's. Blanton no longer pitches at 93-94 mph. He throws his sinker around 89-91 and mixes in a breaking ball and change up. The promising thing about the sinker is that hitters can know it is coming and it can still be an effective pitch if properly located. And in Citizens Bank Park, a ton of ground balls is exactly what the Phillies need. It comes down to one simply fact, though. The Phillies have one guy (Hamels) that has a legitimate chance at dominating the Rays, while the Rays have three guys (Kazmir, Shields, Garza) who have a legitimate chance at dominating the Phillies.

* The Phillies are lucky to be heading home with this series at 1-1. They are fortunate that Cole Hamels acted like Cole Hamels in Game 1, or else they would be in trouble. The Phillies offense has not been good -- they are hitting .239 with a .333 OBP in the series -- and Ryan Howard appears to be lost at the plate against anything off speed, especially from a left hander. The Rays have actually been far worse at the plate overall as a team -- they are hitting .207 in the series -- but they were able to scratch out a win because they are a multidimensional lineup unlike Philadelphia. The Phillies need the sluggers to drive the ball and hit home runs for them to score runs. The Rays can hit home runs, but as they showed in Game 2, they can also move runners around and make productive outs on the ground. Not to mention manager Joe Maddon putting on a squeeze and then a safety squeeze on successive pitches with Cliff Floyd at third and Dioner Navarro at the plate.

There is still enough baseball to be played in this series for both teams to make or break their championship run. Although that is true, we still must acknowledge the obvious, and that is the fact that there have been a few questionable umpiring calls in the first two games that would be broken down on every major radio station if they happened in, say, Game 6 instead of Game 2. There were two calls that went against the Phillies in Game 2 that they could have a beef about. The Rocco Baldelli check swing was a mystery call. Baldelli surely went around, the home plate umpire raised his hand to ring him up before checking the call down to first base where the first base umpire ruled no swing. That call was blown but didn't really have an outcome on the game.

The call that did effect the outcome of the game was the call against Jimmy Rollins in to the top of the ninth inning. Carlos Ruiz was on first base with no outs when David Price threw an inside fast ball to Rollins that clipped his jersey. Home plate umpire Kerwin Danley ruled that it did not hit Rollins, and instead of being award first and making it runners on first and second with no outs and down by two runs, Rollins ended up popping up and the rally was not nearly what it should have been. That was a mistake that will be extremely overblown if it happens in Philadelphia. I would understand any animosity the Phillies have after not getting that call, but there is a rule in October baseball that you may or may not know about: when a team goes 1-for-28 with runners in scoring position through the first two games of the series, they lose the right to complain about a couple calls not going their way. The Phillies have had their chances. Luckily for them, they enter Game 3 with the chance to go ahead in the series.

A great opportunity for Rays

The clock struck midnight early Friday morning at Fenway Park and the Rays were clinging to what had been a comfortable lead, only to have the ball game ripped from their hands by Coco Crisp, J.D. Drew, and the Boston Red Sox. They were three innings away from heading to the World Series for the first time in franchise history, three innings away from knocking off the defending World Champs and divisional rival. There surely would have been nothing sweeter for the Rays than to party at Fenway Park, the home of the historic club that tried to push them around in May when James Shields and Johnny Gomes and Co. decided that they had had enough. They decided they weren't going to continue to be the welcome mat for Boston's front porch, and they had to make a statement. One bean ball and a nasty brawl later and the Rays had made their sales pitch. This is a different club, a different organization, a different year.

So, yes, allowing Game 5 to slide right through their fingers like ash through a grill was a punch to the gut, the type of haymaker that forces you to grasp for air for a week. It was devastating in the sense that the emotional letdown could be huge and the fact that they were so close they could taste the champagne and smell the Fall Classic air that would ensue upon capturing that ever elusive twenty-seventh out. But it didn't happen that way. Red Sox lore and Fenway tradition happened instead.

All of that makes for compelling theater, but in reality, it has nothing to do with the baseball game that is going to be played tonight at Tropicana Field. Talk radio went wild in Florida, calling this a major collapse for these young Rays, contemplating the ramifications of such a loss. There is validity in those arguments, but that is not the feeling I get from this club. They aren't worried about what they could have done or should have done the other night in Boston. They are mature beyond their roster ages, wise beyond their baseball years. Worrying is for the fans, not for the guys who put the uniform on and play the game.

The Rays return home where they had the best home-record in baseball this season, and they are giving the ball to "Big Game" James Shields. Scott Kazmir pitched like an ace in Game 5 but Shields is the go-to guy on this staff. He is a bulldog with a relentless approach, sticking to his game plan rather than trying to out-think the opponent. He will come at the Red Sox with a low-90's two-seam fast ball with good movement, and he will offset that offering with one of baseball's best change ups. In a game like this, one where the Rays have a chance to meet the Philadelphia Phillies for a chance at the ultimate hardware, we know that Shields will not be afraid of the spotlight and the pressure.

Tampa's bullpen imploded in the late innings of Game 5, but given their attitude and makeup, they should be able to flush that performance and come to the park ready to dominate the end of the game. I don't see Grant Balfour being hesitant to challenge the Red Sox with his fast ball, despite the home run that David Ortiz hit that just may now be landing in Fenway. J.P. Howell has been huge for Joe Maddon out of the bullpen coming from the left side, and he will not shy away from J.D. Drew or other guys he may be matched up against, say Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia. Dan Wheeler has had better days than Thursday evening, but he is a veteran and understands the ups and downs of competition.

The Red Sox are still the ones with the pressure in this series. They need to win Game 6 to live another day, and that test looms large enough. They have Josh Beckett taking the ball and, even with how he has performed this post season dealing with an oblique injury, I don't know if Terry Francona would really want to start anyone else over him, even considering Jon Lester and the performances he has turned in. Beckett hasn't been anything like the power pitcher we have come to know in October, throwing bullets and breaking off hammers that equal double-digit strikeout masterpieces. He has been vulnerable this October, and we know that. But based on who he is and what he has done and his competitive nature, there is a part of me that can never really count him out and restrict expectations.

I predicted Beckett to get back to his old performances in Game 2 against Tampa, and he couldn't make it out of the fifth inning after getting knocked around the yard by Evan Longoria, et al. That's two starts where he has been below average, and so maybe we should expect him to give a good performance, but not a great performance. Maybe we should expect him to battle his way through five or six innings and merely keep the Red Sox in the game. Those sound like reasonable expectations given recent events and his medical reports, but the problem with that is that we just can't think that way. For various reasons, we can never count out that 8 inning, 3-hit, zero runs, 12 strikeout game that could just be awaiting his next start. We have Game 6 of the 2003 World Series in Yankee Stadium burned into our memory. We have Game 5 against the Cleveland Indians in the 2007 ALCS singed into our brains.

For every poor performance that he has had, we can think of at least two good ones. So, sure, he may not be the same guy this season that he was last season. That we can be fairly certain about. But would you really be surprised if he comes out tonight and tosses seven shutout innings and completely overpowers the Rays? I wouldn't. Not at all really. Because that is his reputation, that is what we have come to expect from him, that is his big game pedigree. All of these things are intangibles that may or may not play a part in the ball game tonight. My guess is, still, that they will. But even if we look only at the surface, there is still enough to work with.

Beckett's velocity has been down. He isn't throwing 95-97 mph like he did last October; he is throwing 91-93 mph this year. His breaking ball isn't as sharp and biting as it was last season. But he is still throwing that pitch for strikes and he has introduced his change up. The raw stuff may be a step down, but the fire and will and determination are still there. The key factor for Beckett is not that his stuff has diminished a bit due to his rust or injury, but it's that his command has suffered as well. His fast balls have been over the middle and his breaking balls have hung. If he improves that tonight, the stuff he has is plenty to dominate a game. If he can command his fast ball, we will see the old Beckett results tonight. With fast ball command, he doesn't have to be perfect with his secondary pitches.

Both teams have their question marks, but both teams have a chance to really accomplish something in Game 6. The Red Sox can get this series to Game 7 where we know anything can happen. The Rays can get to the World Series, a great treat for a city that may not be able to keep its baseball team and possibly some incentive for the Rays to make plans for a new ballpark. The thing with new ballparks is that you must have a stable fan base and consistent attendance to support it, something the Rays haven't had yet in their history. Maybe this season will change that. Winning does things like that.

And so it is for the usual contenders and the new scrappers on the block. The papers and sports talk shows want to put the clamp down on the Rays, they want to create a scenario where they have a juicy story to tell should they falter. Red Sox Nation is waiting for their boys to pull through two more times so they will have an opportunity to sing "Sweet Caroline" on their way to a third championship in the last five seasons. The Rays cannot go into tonight's game thinking "we must do this, we must do that", rather they need to look at this ball game the same way they did Game 5. They have a chance to go to the World Series and rewrite the sullied pages of their first decade of existence. Tonight is a great opportunity for the Rays to do something special, not a day for them to recover and try again. And in the event this goes to Game 7, the Rays should look at that game the same way. This isn't panic mode. This is just post season baseball. This is a golden opportunity to accomplish and experience the summit of being a professional athlete.

Don't turn the game off for your winter books just yet

After storming Hollywood and trouncing the Dodgers twice in three games on their own field, the Philadelphia Phillies are heading to the World Series for the first time in fifteen years after trouncing the Dodgers 5-1 Wednesday evening in Game 5 of the NLCS at Dodger Stadium. This series turned into a route after we expected it to be a barn-burner. On paper, Philadelphia and Los Angeles matched up pretty evenly, the Dodgers even taking the edge in most areas. So much for paper predictions and forecasting the post season.

The Phillies were the better team, the tougher team, the more poised team, and the hungrier team. It is really as simple as that, and we can sit around today and point to all of the reasons why the Dodgers failed -- poor pitching, shoddy defense, stranded runners, all the way down to lack of respect in the clubhouse -- but that wouldn't do this Phillies team, or this series, justice. In what began as a sexy series, a series between two teams with great tradition and history, turned out to be a boat race by the team that feeds off of a fan base that expects them to lose. The Dodgers' fan base, well, may just not expect anything of them since there is too much to get caught up in in Hollywood. 

Oh, let the ranting and raving begin today. Will Frank McCourt pony up to keep Manny Ramirez in Los Angeles? Unlikely. Will the Dodgers make an attractive enough offer to bring back Derek Lowe to anchor the rotation for another three years or so? Unlikely. Will they fill their issues at third base with an established bat? Maybe, but most believe that answer won't come in the form of Casey Blake. Will the Dodgers try to reel in CC Sabathia to "compensate" for the disappointment that will undoubtedly ensue when Manny takes his bat to the highest bidder (which won't be the Dodgers)? Probably. The Dodgers have a lot of holes to fill, but they also have a lot to work with. It is time for McCourt to stop hoarding dollars and open up the checkbook in what should be the most active off season for the Los Angeles franchise in some years.

But the Dodgers can begin thinking about those issues today while the Phillies get to fly home and think about when to show up for batting practice on Friday. This story is much more compelling than any non-rabid baseball fan cares to believe. The country wanted to see a Dodgers-Red Sox World Series for the Manny-Boston confrontation, but we may be better off to have the Phillies going to the fall classic. Why? Consider these reasons:

1. Chase Utley is the best player in baseball who you would never hear about because he doesn't say a word. We said that Utley had to show up in the NLCS for the Phillies to have a chance to beat the Dodgers. How did he respond? Utley hit .353 with a .522 on-base percentage, 3 RBI's, 4 runs score, and a momentum-shifting home run off of Derek Lowe in Game 1. He is tougher than nails, and the southern California native embodies the city of Philadelphia and the Phillies organization. He is a superstar without the ego, a leader without the spotlight. All he does is grind out at-bats, spray balls all over the field, and make the routine plays at second base while making more than his share of the great ones. He sets the tone for the entire lineup by complementing the top and bottom halves. Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino are catalysts with a bit of pop, and Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell are the big boppers. Utley fits right in the middle as he can do some of both, stringing together one of baseball's most potent lineups.
2. The Dodgers have exciting home-grown kids beginning to make names for themselves, but the Phillies have two bona-fide home-grown superstars, not including Utley, in Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard. Rollins has been criticized this season for voicing his opinion throughout the media, calling the Philadelphia fans "front-runners" and immediately drawing their wrath. He is the match and gas can for this Phillies club, unafraid to stand up and say what needs to be said, regardless of the consequence. Ball clubs need a guy like that. The New York media laughed at Rollins when he proclaimed the Phillies the "team to beat" in the NL East before the 2007 season. It was Rollins who had the last laugh as the Phillies overcame the Mets in September to steal the division. But this year, the Phils did two better, making it to the World Series after being bounced in the first round by the Colorado Rockies last year. Howard is a gentle giant off the baseball diamond but a menacing warrior on it. He sets up in the batters box, stance slightly open with his bat hovering just above his back shoulder, daring pitchers to challenge him. When they do, he makes them pay more times than not. After having a quiet division series, Howard hit .300 with a .391 OBP and 4 runs scored against the Dodgers in the NLCS.
3. A reborn closer who is taking center stage as one of baseball's elite stoppers and is taking this post season by the throat. Brad Lidge has been to the pedestal of the closer role in his days with the Houston Astros. Then came the 2005 NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals and the hanging slider that Albert Pujols launched halfway to Dallas from Houston's Minute Maid Park. The ball had to be by far the furthest one ever hit off of Lidge -- in his life, probably -- and generated numerous columns and internet-site hits. The Astros went on to win that series, but Lidge began spiraling downward. After losing his closer role in 2006, the Astros traded Lidge to the Phillies in 2007 where he was given the opportunity to begin fresh, albeit it in a rough and tough baseball epicenter. Lidge contests that those people who claim that the Pujols home run sent him into a two-year flunk have the story wrong. The All-Star closer admitted that some mechanical flaws coupled with a failing mental approach led to his demise. Now come to 2008 and Lidge has nailed down all 46 save opportunities, including five in the post season. He will play a huge role in the World Series for the Phillies and what a great story that will be.
4. The Phillies have arguably the best starting pitcher in the post season this year in Cole Hamels, who at 24, is quietly becoming one of the ten best pitchers in the entire sport. During the NLCS, Hamels went 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 14 innings and his wins were the opening and closing acts. Hamels stifled not only the Dodgers' lineup on Wednesday evening, but the Dodger Stadium crowd as well by commanding his fast ball to both sides of the plate and dangling the game's best change up, Johan Santana's offering included. Hamels grew up in San Diego rooting for the Dodgers because the San Diego Padres were lackluster during his youth, and he had the chance to beat his childhood team at a ballpark that he only dreamed of playing in. And he turned in one of the best pitching performances we have seen this October.
5. A great story about a manager and reaching a career milestone that many put out of reach for him. Charlie Manuel has done a great job keeping this Phillies team afloat in previous seasons when the papers and fans were calling for his job and the city was all but counting the days until football season after the All-Star break. As if the pressure of advancing in the post season is not enough, Manuel's mother passed away just days ago. With the extra time off due to their early clinching, Manuel has the opportunity to put his mother to rest and visit with family before he comes back to the park and prepares himself and his club for the World Series. Manuel insisted that he would not leave his ball club during this tough time because his mother cared so much about him and his team that she would demand he be in the dugout this time of year. It's hard not to root for a man overcoming professional odds and personal adversity.

The best thing about playoff baseball is that it is about unsung heroes and surprising teams and great stories more so than it is about the powerhouses and the favorites and the those who are "supposed" to win. There is no such word in baseball like "suppose". October baseball is absolutely about Ryan Madson and Matt Stairs and Shane Victorino and Greg Dobbs. Television ratings are bound to go down during the World Series with the Philadelphia Phillies in it, especially if their opponent ends up being the upstart Tampa Bay Rays. But what we will be frowned upon in the sports entertainment industry will be a remain a jewel for the baseball fans who love to see great match-ups and energetic young players and studs who haven't hit mega-star status quite yet. We won't whine that not enough people are watching these games instead or that Thursday night college football looms larger than Game 2 of the Fall Classic. We will know what lies underneath the label, and it will be everybody else's loss. 

Dodgers follow Kuroda's statement and take first step in series

It was coming and we knew it. Everybody knew it. J.C. Romero sat in in the Phillies bullpen and knew it, Derek Lowe kicked back in the Dodgers dugout and waited, and even the victim himself, Shane Victorino, knew what was coming. So when Hiroki Kuroda fired a fast ball over the head of Victorino in the third inning of Sunday's NLCS Game 3, there was no shock or awe involved. In fact, the only surprise was that it took this long for the Dodgers to make a statement and decide whether or not they were going to show up in this in series. After three hours, nine innings, and numerous angry glares and venomous words later, the Dodgers rode a 7-2 victory into a blue diamond of momentum, pulling the series to 2-1 Philadelphia entering tonight's Game 4.

This game was all about fighting back and deciding whether or not the Dodgers were going to go about their business their way or the Phillies way. The crowd of 56, 800 -- the largest crowd in Dodger Stadium history -- was loud and energized as they packed Chavez Ravine for the first NLCS game for the Dodgers in twenty years. Fifty-six thousand white rally towels swirled through the cool air, calling for strikeouts and high-fiving base hits. From all unidentified accounts, October brings about a new rule: the entire stadium is required to stand when any count of any inning reaches two strikes, or if Manny Ramirez steps to the plate. That is a fact. 

This ball game was adorned with bells and whistles courtesy of retaliation and the benches clearing incident that ensued after Victorino grounded out to first base with Kuroda covering to end the third. Both teams rushed the field when Victorino and Kuroda exchanged words, but the intention was not to fight. Manny Ramirez had to be restrained from presumably seeking out Brett Myers -- Game 2's starting pitcher who threw behind his head -- but Manny wasn't seriously looking to fight either. That was more Hollywood than heavyweight. And even if he did, there was absolutely no way the Dodgers were going to let Ramirez be thrown out or suspended. Down goes Manny, home go the Dodgers.

Victorino, I thought, handled the situation as well as it could be handled. He did not charge the mound, he did not challenge the Dodgers dugout, and he didn't attack Russell Martin right there at home plate. He understood that retaliation was coming and that he might be the target, and he was expecting to be thrown at. That's how the game works. Victorino simply put his hand on Martin's shoulder and told him he understands retaliation, and he is alright with being hit, but it's never appropriate to throw a 94-mph fast ball at someone's head. Victorino wanted Kuroda to understand where he was coming from as well. That's all it was, nothing more, nothing less. 

Although the confrontation immediately made this series more compelling, Joe Torre said after the game that he doesn't believe there is any bad blood. Victorino himself thinks it's over -- "I'll squash it," he said after the game -- and now the two clubs can go back to playing baseball. Kuroda made a statement about protecting his hitters and that will speak volumes towards the Dodgers approach the rest of this series and the attempt to get the momentum back on their side, which they have done. But for all of the commotion, the real story of the game and the series lies underneath the fracas.

The Dodgers have been silent in the first two games, mustering enough offense to be reasonably close without ever coming up with the couple key hits to take a lead late in the ball game. The key for Game 3 was to hit early and often against Jamie Moyer. Torre and his staff wanted the Dodgers to be aggressive at the plate, not allowing Moyer to get the count in his favor and then expand the strike zone by dangling his bait off of the edges of the plate.

The Dodgers didn't wait around, beating Moyer into oblivion in the first inning before knocking him out in the second. Manny Ramirez drilled a first-pitch fast ball to left field to score Rafael Furcal before Martin walked, and Casey Blake came up with one out and singled to right to drive in Ramirez with the Dodgers' second run. After Matt Kemp struck out with the bases loaded for the second out, Blake Dewitt drove a two-strike pitch down into the right field corner to empty the bases and make it 5-0 Dodgers. That hit by DeWitt was a big as it gets -- two outs, two strikes, bases loaded -- and set the tone for the entire ball game. It was a game-changer and a series changer, possibly even more than Kuroda's pitch to Victorino.

Moyer could not recover as he only lasted one out into the second inning before being bounced as Furcal led off the inning with a homer to make it 6-1 Dodgers. There are a lot of "momentum changing" plays in the baseball, especially the post season, but I don't think any one is bigger than the two-out base hit with runners in scoring position. What DeWitt did was drain the Phillies dugout and stomp on Moyer when he was down. If Moyer were to retire DeWitt and escape that jam with only two runs on the scoreboard, he would have felt rejuvenated and refreshed coming out for the second inning. That out would have been a momentum shift for Moyer, but DeWitt snatched that away instead. That single pitch that DeWitt hit may end up being the defining moment of this series and the turning point for the Dodgers. Keep that in mind as this series progresses.

The majority of the talk concerning Kuroda is going to be about the one pitch that stirred the pot, but it was the other 83 pitches of his six-plus innings that defined the moment for the Dodgers. Kuroda has a game plan when he takes the mound, and he executed it to perfection. The righty lives largely off of his hard sinker, but will show a change up to the left handers as well as a slider/cutter that he will throw to any hitter. Kuroda executed his pitches on a night when the Dodgers needed a big pitching performance. Derek Lowe was great in Game 1 until the sixth inning unraveled and Chad Billingsley simply had a rough night in Game 2, and the Dodgers couldn't afford to have either one of those happen in Game 3. They needed Kuroda to be good from his first pitch to his last, and he delivered once again. 

Matt Kemp has struggled this series but he added two hits in Game 3 and Furcal excited us all with his electric play. It appeared as if Furcal was not going to make it back at all this season after opening the season with a stellar April before hurting his back in May, but he returned just in time for October and he hasn't looked like he lost anything. Remember, Furcal didn't have the luxury of going on a minor league rehab assignment because the minor league season had finished by the time he was ready to play. He came straight to Dodger Stadium in the final week of the regular season and proclaimed himself ready to go. After seeing him fly around the bases Sunday, snag ground balls in the hole at short, and making strong throws on the run to first base, it is easy to understand why Furcal was the team's undisputed MVP until he was injured.

All of this adds a little cayenne pepper to the remaining games of this series, and play will resume with Game 4 tonight at Dodger Stadium. The Phillies turn to Joe Blanton to help them keep Los Angeles from evening up the series, and the Dodgers will ask Derek Lowe to help do just that on three-days rest. Lowe is a guy who relies on sink and movement instead of velocity, so he should be his usual self at home tonight. Blanton is a tough, fiery competitor who will look to rise to the occasion and put his stamp on a so-far thrilling series. Hiroki Kuroda did what had to be done Sunday, and the rest of the Dodgers need to follow suit and continue to fight and attack like they actually are being bullied by the NL East champs. Winning and championships don't always come easy with long balls and painted corners; sometimes it takes one knockdown pitch at a time to prevail. 

Dodgers, Phillies provide epic opportunities

It was only a month or two ago when the Los Angeles Dodgers were spiraling downward in the weak National League West and the Philadelphia Phillies were in a tight race with the Mets and Marlins for the NL East title, and the Brewers, Cardinals, and Astros, along with their divisional counterparts, for the wild card. The biggest news in Los Angeles in October was surely going to be the health of Kobe Bryant and a full season of Andrew Bynum in a Lakers' uniform. Philadelphia would surely be well on its way to turning its furious eyes and lively mouths to the Eagles, who happen to be fluttering in the NFC East.

But the things that can change over the course of the final two months of play are tremendous, and here we are left with two historic franchises with discolored canvases, awaiting an opportunity to start anew. Both of these clubs are in the two decade range since their last championship -- 1988 for the Dodgers, and 1983 for the Phillies. Philadelphia has somehow garnered the "loser" label while figuring out a way to escape the "choker" mold. Maybe that's because they never really are in a position to waste away an opportunity. 

The Dodgers have been the lucrative franchise in terms of tradition that hasn't established a consistent winner in years. Their NLDS beating of the Cubs was their first playoff series win since '88, the days of The Bulldog and Gibby making history. For such a historic franchise, it was a shame that, until this season, their only post season win since that series came in 2004 at the hands of a Jose Lima gem. For Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Don Drysdale, Sandy Koufax, and the long list of Dodger greats, Jose Lima has held the title of Biggest Dodger Moment in my lifetime. That's unthinkable.

But all of these memories will be put to rest for one of these clubs as the two franchises open up the NLCS tonight in Philadelphia in Citizen's Bank Park, which may be so loud the Liberty Bell won't be the only thing with a crack once these games are through. Cole Hamles is taking the ball in Game 1 for Philadelphia and he may be as good a bet as anybody in baseball right now to deliver. It is amazing to think that with Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley and Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell, this is the first crack that the Phillies have had at playing in the World Series since those guys entered the ranks of professional baseball.

The Phillies have been a contender for a few years now. It seems like every season they take the division down to the final week with the Mets. With the exception of the past two seasons, it has been the Mets or Braves who have gone onto October, only to be snuffed out. The Phillies earned their first division title of Rollins' career in 2007, but were promptly chopped into cheese steaks by the upstart Colorado Rockies. But it is obvious that this club doesn't compare to last year's.

The biggest difference has come in the bullpen where Brad Lidge has been perfect in all 43 of his opportunities this season. Brett Myers is the typical key to this club as he will start behind Hamels in the rotation. Where he goes, the Phillies go. Luckily for them, Myers returned from his minor league hiatus and has a ERA in the low 3.00's since the beginning of August, a span of twelve starts. Jamie Moyer is the ageless veteran who can dip and dazzle his pitches past any hitter, and the key will be to see if he can take advantage of the anxiety that may or may not consume the Dodgers' young hitters. Moyer needs hitters to lick their chops and chase his pitches for him to be successful. If the Dodgers don't expand the strike zone on their own, they can make him come over the plate and then do some damage. 

Shane Victorino and Jayson Werth have been pivotal parts of this Phillies lineup, and will play a big role in this series as well, depending on which Utley and Howard shows up. Those two prominent sluggers were quiet against the Brewers -- a combined 4-for-26 with zero home runs and 3 RBI's in the series -- and will have to return to their usual ways of driving the ball all over the park if the Phillies are going to have a serious shot against the Dodgers. Jimmy Rollins can't do it all, and Pat Burrell may be in for some trouble against the Dodgers' predominantly right handed pitching staff.

The Dodgers are amidst one of the most remarkable stretches in recent memory. When's the last time you can remember a team going from utterly mediocre in August, to World Series favorite by the second week of October? That is not a misprint; many analysts and talent evaluators think the Dodgers have the best chance of winning it all entering the second round of the playoffs. As much love and fanfare that has been filling Dodger Stadium in the past month, it isn't all euphoria and Uncle Tommy inspirational speeches in Los Angeles. The Dodgers are in this position because they really are that kind of ball club. It just took one Manny Ramirez for them to figure it out.

Since Manny came to the Dodgers, the pitchers have been nearly unbeatable and the plethora of young hitters in the clubhouse learned how to relax and let their talent and preparation carry over into the game. It is not a surprise why Russell Martin and James Loney came up with numerous clutch hits against the Cubs and that Andre Ethier has been hitting everything since September. The ceiling has always been high with this team, they just never completely understood how to reach it. Matt Kemp had a rough time in the NLDS and admitted that it was due to nerves and anxiety, but he should benefit from that experience and be thankful that he has another opportunity this year to make a mark in the playoffs. I expect him to break out in this series.

The starting rotation for the Dodgers couldn't be set up any better. Derek Lowe will go in Game 1, and he has more post season experience than any player in this series, with the exception of maybe Ramirez. It is one thing to say that you love the spotlight and the stage, but it is another thing to back it up and perform. Lowe does both. Chad Billingsley will take the ball in Game 2 in Philadelphia and he could easily be considered among the top 5 pitchers in baseball in the second half -- he went 5-1 with a 3.34 ERA in the final two months of the season, not including his Game 2 gem against the Cubs in the NLDS.

Hiroki Kuroda is slated to start Game 3 after pitching the biggest game of his life in the clincher against the Cubs in the NLDS. Kuroda was tremendous into the seventh inning, commanding his fast ball and repeatedly executing big pitches with runners on base to keep Chicago off the scoreboard. The Dodgers have options in Game 4 while the Phillies will turn to Joe Blanton. The most attractive option for Joe Torre may be to start Lowe on three-days rest and then have the veteran sinker-baller lined up for a Game 7 start on full rest. If Torre doesn't want to go that route, he has the option of handing the ball to Greg Maddux while pitching in the spacious Dodger Stadium, or letting go of the reigns on 20-year-old Clayton Kershaw, a southpaw with possibly the best stuff of anyone on the staff.

All things considered on paper, the Phillies and Dodgers are two fairly even teams that may stretch this series to seven games. I like the Dodger's starting pitching better than the Phillies and even with Brad Lidge, I give the bullpen nod to the Dodgers as well due to the depth. Phillies get the edge when it comes to the lineups, but that is assuming Chase Utley and Ryan Howard join the party. The Dodgers still possess an air of unknown because we are not sure if they youngsters can continue to sustain such a high level play as the pressure mounts and they creep closer to a World Series championship. But if Manny continues to treat the clubhouse like a hometown carnival, the young guys should be loose and their talent should come to the surface. Due to the potentially long-awaited reward for both clubs, this series could turn out to be an instant classic. 

Prediction: Dodgers in 6

Rays, Red Sox come from opposite corners to fight in the same ring

One team was a popular favorite, the other team was a popular dog. One team has years of tradition and record books, the other team has merely a decade of misery and empty crowds. One team has been home to Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Carlton Fisk, Pedro Martinez, et al. The other team has Gerald Williams to go along with their one shining moment -- the 3,000 hit at the very end of Wade Boggs' career.

So how in the world are the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays meeting up in the ALCS beginning Friday at Tropicana Field? It's not as crazy as it seems. The Red Sox were picked by many this spring to repeat as World Champions, barring any catastrophic injuries to key players. Their rotation was to be loaded again, their lineup was to be just as devastating, and the bullpen was expected to dominate the late innings. What was there not to like?

The Rays, on the other hand, weren't expected to climb out of the AL East cellar until 2009, at least. We saw some glimpses from Tampa last year, and we know very well about the deep pools of prospects that have been brewing at different levels in the minor leagues. Their rotation was expected to have talented arms, but unproven arms. Their lineup was going to have talented athletes, but inexperienced ballplayers. And their bullpen? Well, we didn't know much at all about that. A fourth place finish would have been a reasonable finish for this club.

For Boston, Curt Schilling signed a contract extension and then learned that he needed shoulder surgery. David Ortiz missed significant time with a wrist injury, J.D. Drew has been out for much of the stretch drive with back problems, 2007 World Series MVP Mike Lowell is limited in his lateral movement due to a hip ailment that will require off season surgery, and the bullpen was relegated to young kids in big roles. The only sure thing soon became Jonathan Papelbon after Josh Beckett had a Texas-sized scare when he had to go visit Dr. James Andrews in Alabama to get an accurate diagnosis on his elbow. And, oh, lets not forget the Bay-for-Manny swap that led arguably Boston's most influential player out of town.

But here we are, the Red Sox four wins away from going back-to-back and winning third championship in five years, and the foundation is in place. Jon Lester has emerged as an elite pitcher, a fearless kid who is so in tune with himself that he forgets there is even a spotlight that comes with October baseball games at Fenway Park. Josh Beckett battled through one start after a strained oblique and he will go in Game 2 or 3. We should expect the old October Beckett to come out now. Jason Bay has surprised the city with his consistent performance and workman-like approach, a refreshment to the recess-mentality that often accompanied No. 24 in left field. And then there's the Pedroia-Youkilis tandem that grinds at-bats into piles of saw dust and spits on enough balls out of the strike zone as if they are marking home plate as theirs.

The Rays are actually not the overnight sensation that they seem to be. Manager Joe Maddon begun his remaking of this franchise when he took over in 2006, and the organization has done a tremendous job focusing on drafting loads of premium talent and developing their own prospects. General Manager Andrew Friedman made a bold move last winter, trading former number one pick Delmon Young, a five-tool outfielder with a sky-scraper ceiling, to the Minnesota Twins for Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett. Garza has stepped right into the third spot in the rotation with his electric fast ball-slider combo and has become another shut down arm. Bartlett is a scrappy hitter at the bottom of the order and has been such a tremendous glove at shortstop that the local beat writers voted him the MVP of the team.

But it was the underlying significance of this trade that really began to mold this team. Young is a great talent, but he didn't fit the mold mentally of the type of player that Maddon and the front office wanted to build this organization around. Many people thought he carried himself too much like a superstar when he hasn't even established himself yet in the big leagues. On the contrary, the people in Minnesota rave about the kid and his work ethic and his desire to be a great ballplayer. But for whatever reason, it didn't work out in Tampa.

But by bringing in Garza and Bartlett and shipping out Young, the Rays became more consistent in their attitude and their mentality towards competing. They began to assemble young, hungry talent that plays the game hard without fear. Maddon doesn't mind if his team makes mistakes. He wants his prodigies to play hard, play aggressive, and approach the game with confidence. That attitude has engulfed this entire ball club and we could see this clubhouse come together.

The starting rotation is bolstered by fierce competitors who are not going to back down from the Red Sox. James Shields, Scott Kazmir, and Matt Garza will likely go in that order with Andy Sonnastine pitching Game 4. The bullpen has discovered gems in the ultra-intense Grant Balfour and left hander JP Howell. Chad Bradford will be in the ball game to induce late-inning ground balls. 

The lineup can do it all. Carl Crawford is still a dynamic player who utilizes his speed to disrupt the opposing pitcher, and we got a glimpse of what BJ Upton can do against the White Sox with his power-speed combo. Evan Longoria has taken the entire American League by surprise since he came up in April, and he will play a pivotal role in the middle of Tampa's order. The interesting thing about Longoria is that his elder teammates and his manager cannot say enough about how he is approaching his first season and first October as a rookie. The biggest compliment for this kid is simply how much he actually enjoys the moment, and that is a big step in becoming a great post season player. Derek Jeter can attest to that. 

Carlos Pena is the left handed power threat in the middle of the order and is beginning to make a name for himself on a national level. And lets not forget about All-Star catcher Dionner Navarro who has come on as a solid big league catcher after struggling with his short stint with the Dodgers. Navarro is a great leader of the pitching staff and he has become a solid hitter who will stroke balls the other way to drive in runners. I was amazed by his poise and confidence in the ALDS. 

The most intriguing part of this series is the fear-factor, and we know the Rays are not going to be playing with any of that. Remember, part of the Rays resurgence is their commitment to becoming an American League threat and not living as punching dummies from April through September. An organizational wide effort, beginning with Joe Maddon, took place to overhaul the roster and the losing mentality and decide that the Rays were going to win. Period. They are no longer going to be intimidated and they are no longer going to be dictated by their opponent. So what did they do? They fought.

It began in spring training with a brawl with the Yankees. Shelley Duncan came in hard and stuck his spikes into the groin of Akinori Iwamura and before he knew it, Johnny Gomes came flying in from right field swinging like Kimbo Slice. The benches emptied and the brawl was on. And what was beautiful about the moment was that Gomes didn't offer any excuses or any apologies after the game. He stated clearly that the Rays are tired of being pushed around and that was going to end right there on that Florida spring training field. The Rays were going to back their teammates even if that meant suspension. It didn't matter.

I wrote at that exact time that we would look back and recognize that day as the turning point of this franchise because it symbolized a change in attitude, and that was the most important thing. I truly believed then, and am a bigger believer now, that when the Rays decided they had had enough beatings, they would start to emerge as a contending club. And that is exactly what happened. They carried that passion and intensity right over into the regular season and haven't looked back since.

The bad blood between the Rays and Red Sox began during a May ball game at Fenway Park. The night before, Coco Crisp slid late and hard and sure seemed like he was going after Iwamura during a double play. Whether it was a dirty play or not is open for discussion, but the fact that Crisp slid so late, and to the left of the bag, right at Iwamura, infuriated manager Joe Maddon and the rest of the Rays. Something had to be done. The Yankees found out this isn't the losing Rays anymore; now it was Boston's turn.

The next day, Coco Crisp came up to the plate, and James Shields dotted him with a fast ball and Crisp charged the mound, beginning Phase II of the Rays' team-wide statement. Shields didn't back away and slap like most pitchers; he met Crisp half way and took the best swing a pitcher has taken at a head since Nolan Ryan welcomed Robin Ventura to the mound. Now whether that is a good idea or not to have a key pitcher looking to dismantle a nose with his pitching hand is another issue, but the statement was made. The whole Rays team was on the field in seconds and they all went after Crisp. This wasn't Shields vs. Crisp. This was Tampa Bay Rays vs. Crisp. That told us something right there; this ball club had come together.

This ALCS is so compelling because not only are division rivals with history coming together, but these games are the epitome of a clash of identities. The Red sox have all of the lore and experience on their side, and the Rays have the ten years of anger and frustration rolled into one big chip resting on their shoulders. Both clubs understand that a World Series birth is at stake, so we shouldn't see any cheap shots or any brawls. But make no mistake, there will come a point where one team will be the intimidator and the other club will respond. One knock down pitch will deserve another. Of course, words and stare downs and past playoff victories mean nothing when Game 1 comes along on Friday and the home plate umpire rolls the ball out to the mound. At that time, it is game on, and let the most confident group prevail.

Prediction: Rays in 7.

Monday afternoon notes

* The Angels and Red Sox battled deep into the night Sunday evening, and with Game 3 of that series, we got see everything good and everything bad about the playoffs. The environment was the best baseball has to offer. An autumn chill collapsed over Fenway Park as a late-night fog rolled in and the fans were bundled up in early winter layers and the players could see their breath two feet in front of them. Fenway was packed to the brim, of course, and the fans were on their feet for most of the ball game, as if they were trying to throw the pitch or swing the bat themselves. The energy and electricity is palpable in the post season, a sixth sense that we cannot appreciate until championships are on the line.

In the Angels 5-4 victory that last 12 innings last night, we got so see some great pitching and some great competition. Joe Saunders did a heck of a job and his box score line has a blemish because of miscommunication in on a second-inning pop up in shallow center field that allowed three runs to score. Saunders battled the strike zone, the patience of the Red Sox, and his defense to keep his team in the game. 

What Boston was going to get from Josh Beckett nobody really knew. Coming off of a strained oblique muscle, it had been nearly two weeks since Beckett last pitched. If it were anybody else, I would have wondered why they were even pitching, or I would have had low expectations where you simply hope for the best. But because of what Beckett has done in the post season in his young career -- for the 2003 Marlins and 2007 Red Sox -- and what he has meant to the Boston Red Sox organization and the city, I was just waiting for another lights out performance. I was waiting for Beckett to simply rise to the occasion and spin one-run ball over seven innings with nine strikeouts and then be promptly doused with champagne two innings later. 

No, it didn't quite happen like that, but we still got to enjoy watching him compete and watching him battle the rust and continue to execute pitches on the grandest stage. The playoffs is not about one-man shows. October is about each guy giving what he can give to the team each night, and then hoping that all of those collective efforts are good enough to win. Beckett gave what he could give over five innings on Sunday, and although those four runs will be labeled as his "worst" post season start, he kept his team in the game and the Red Sox had multiple chances to win.

One of the best parts of the playoffs is that we get to see unlikely heroes. Mike Napoli had three hits in Game 3 -- his first hits of the series -- and two of those were home runs, the first home runs of the series for the Angels. Eric Aybar had gone hitless until the top of the 12th inning last night when he singled in the go-ahead run for the Angels, the eventual game winning run. We got to see Jered Weaver pitch two innings out of the bullpen -- his first career relief appearance -- and earn the win after the Mike Scioscia had already emptied out all of his experienced bullpen arms. 

The one glaring downfall of October baseball is the length of the games. Game 3 between the Angels and Red Sox lasted over five hours, and that is not because they played 12 innings. Jason Varitek and Mike Napoli combined may have set a modern day record for most trips to the mound to meet with the pitching in one game. Seemingly every other pitch with a runner on base the catcher would go out to the mound to talk pitch sequence, the signs, or anything else, and the game lags and lags. There isn't anything we can really do about this -- unless Major League Baseball decides it wants to create a rule, which is not a bad idea -- but I think part of the reason why some teams feel the pressure of the post season and lock up a little is because of details like this.

Baseball is a game of details and a game of routines. Catchers don't visit the pitching mound five times an inning during the regular season. Are those runs in the regular season less important than the ones in the playoffs? No they are not. The game is simply magnified in October and the players feel that. I can't believe that the pitchers and catchers and middle infielders forget the signs once the regular season ends. They have been doing the same thing since March. They just don't want to make a mistake in the post season like mixing up the signs because they know it will be talked about in all of the papers and that it could prove critical in the outcome of the series. I get that, but at some point the players need to settle on the signs, look in for the pitch, and deliver the baseball. If they do that, the game will continue to flow and the players on the field won't be strapped down by the hiccups in the rhythm of the game this time of year.

* The NLCS is set with the Los Angeles Dodgers visiting the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday to begin the best-of-seven series with the winner representing the National League in the World Series. The Phillies locked their spot with a 6-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday at Miller Park, taking the series in four games. It was really a one-sided series, with a couple of Brewer side plots along the way. But I'm not sure who figured the Brewers would have much in the tank after battling down to the final day with the Mets for the NL wild card.

Brad Lidge is still perfect in save opportunities this year, Cole Hamels is fresh and ready to face the Dodgers in Game 1, Jimmy Rollins is back to the pest that he is swinging the bat well, Pat Burrell launched two home runs in Game 4 on Sunday, and all of this happened with Ryan Howard and Chase Utley having quiet series. Game 4 was a dangerous game for the Phillies. Why? If they failed to take care of the Brewers when they did, they would have been heading back home for a Game 5 with momentum on the Brewers side and they would have had to face a fresh CC Sabathia with their season on the line. A fresh Cole Hamels would have countered Sabathia in what would have been one of the best games of the year, but you never want to mess with a big-game horse in a one-game playoff. That's playing fire and the Phillies knew they had to clinch it in Milwaukee. The Brewers' run to the post season was a joy to watch, but teams can only play so many do-or-die games in a row before coming up short.

Angels face reality check as Boston ices the bubbly

It wasn't supposed to happen like this, not one bit of it. The Angels secured their post season destiny so long ago that it is hard to remember if that clincher was for 2007 or 2008. Did their clinching of the AL West come before spring training? Hard to tell. The Angels accomplished a lot of things this season: best record in baseball, 100 wins for the first time in franchise history, their closer set the single-season save record, two unexpected heroes of the starting rotation make the All-Star team, etc. And yet all of those things would be traded now for three measly wins against a Boston Red Sox team so tough I am slightly expecting Kevin Youkilis to walk up to the plate one of these days and knock a line drive into left field with the back of his palm.

It was always a question of whether or not the Angels would be ready for this series, given the fact that they haven't played many meaningful baseball games since the very first days of September. Could clinching so early actually be a bad thing for the Angels, leaving them with so much time to rest their competitive edge?

"What, are we supposed to try to lose and not clinch early? That's freakin' stupid," Torii Hunter said when asked that exact question recently. And I agree with him. I cannot write that the Angels would have rather won their division by three games and done it in the final weekend of the regular season. The point is to win baseball games -- every one of them if you can -- and to give yourself such a cushion that you can escape to Cabo San Lucas for a couple weekends while everyone else is pulling hair and grinding teeth and draining their pitching staffs with play-in games. But it does make you wonder.

But the Myth of the Early Clinch is about as relevant as the change up Francisco Rodriguez hung to J.D. Drew in the top of ninth inning Friday evening, the pitch that was blasted just over the edge of the high wall in right center field to give the Red Sox a 7-5 lead and hand  the Angels a 2-0 hole to enjoy as they hop on their team charter Saturday morning and head for Massachusetts. Both of them are done and done, and now it comes to simply getting dirty if you are the Angels. 

There are no excuses in sports. Why? Because the rest of the real world is filled with excuses. But the baseball diamond is a place of hope and passion and childish joy, and that needs to be put at the forefront of this series heading to a hostile Fenway Park for the two biggest games of the season. Now isn't the time to not hit or not throw quality pitches or not play sound defense. There are plenty of reasons to explain why the Angels haven't played well against the Red Sox, but that rambling is meaningless. 

It's not as if this team has forgotten to play the game -- you don't win 100 games and then simply choke it away in the playoffs. I don't believe in that and I don't believe that the Red Sox "have their number". It's just baseball. Good performances are countered with better performances and quality at-bats are countered with even better pitches. Game 2 was not like Game 1 on Wednesday. Game 1 was Jon Lester's night, and that was that. There was nothing Mark Teixeira, Mike Scioscia, or the Rally Monkey were going to do about it. What makes playoff baseball so special is that there is always that one indefensible performance than can carry a team. And that is a dominant pitcher. Basketball and football rely on too many other people to come together to win a game. In baseball, like we saw with Lester, one guy can take the ball and take the game at the same time.

The Angels had numerous chances on Friday night against Daisuke Matsuzaka, and we knew that was going to be the case. Matsuzaka put up great numbers this season, but simply by the nature of how he pitches, we knew the Angels would have runners on base and would have chances to take the ball game. And they did. They just didn't come through enough times. Matsuzaka barely made it through five innings, throwing 108 pitches while walking 3 and allowing 3 runs. The Angels waited him out and then pounced on the bullpen.

The problems have been relatively the same for this club. The Angels have failed to come up with the big hits with runners in scoring position, and they have been limited to singles -- Chone Figgin's triple in the eighth inning of Friday's ball game was their first extra-base hit of the series. Jason Bay himself has more home runs than the whole Angles team has extra-base hits. There lies the story. 

But we also cannot complain about not finding the gaps or finding the bleachers, because those things are out of the players' control. The Angels have had plenty of hits in the first two games, they just haven't gone anywhere. But it's the same old criticism -- when you don't hit, you are crucified for it. When you do hit, your hits aren't good enough. The Angels will never be able to fully quiet all of the doubters and quiet the notions that they can't find a way to beat the Red Sox or get the most out of their talent. They are a good team in a weak division according to many people. But the Angels need not worry about those concerns, especially when their backs are against the wall. Here's what the Angels should look at heading into Game 3:

1. Mark Teixeira has been on fire this series, hitting .714 with a .667 OBP and 3 runs scored. And those numbers aren't some fluky post season success. Teixeira sported a .333/.417/.631 line with 5 homers and 15 runs scored in September. Nobody is getting him out right now.
2. The nonexistent Vladimir Guerrero in the playoffs? Not this year. Vlad is Teixeira's partner in crime, hitting .625 against Red Sox pitching this series.
3. The Angels pitching staff as a whole has a 3.60 ERA against Boston this season, and Joe Saunders, the Angels Game 3 starter, has a 3.38 ERA against the Red Sox in almost 19 innings.
4. Josh Beckett is making his post season debut Sunday night in Game 3 coming off a strained oblique muscle. Beckett has a surprising 5.65 ERA at Fenway Park this season and a 7.42 ERA against the Angels in 2008.
   

The Angels know it is not going to be easy going to Boston and having to win two games to bring this series back to Anaheim. Winning in Fenway Park in the post season is nothing short of asking the DMV to operate in an efficient manner. It takes a lot to happen. We get that. But that still should not deter the fact that this Angels club is a couple homers away from rolling. Their big boppers in the middle of the order have been doing the job. The problem is that the guys at the top -- Chone Figgins and Eric Aybar -- haven't been getting on base enough, and that is where the troubles come in. John Lackey pitched well enough to win in Game 1 and Ervin Santana hung around long enough to get to the back end of the bullpen instead of having to summon a long reliever.

But reality is reality. This is a world of second-guessers and sports is no different. Every decision, every at-bat, and every pitch is going to be broken down and relived the morning after the damage is done. If the Angels are worried about living up to the expectations of the fans or the expectations of the media, then they have already lost. They need to worry about living up to the expectations of themselves, and then they will find a way to come out and play the game hard and rise to the occasion.

This is a hole, but how many three game winning streaks did the Angels have this season? Sixteen. Sixteen times this same team won three or more games in a row. And it can't be done again? Not buying that. Ironically, the Angels are playing a team that knows all about overcoming odds and digging out of holes. Mike Scioscia is managing against a man that led the 2004 Red Sox back from a 3-0 deficit against the hated Yankees. That's a 3-0 hole, against the Yankees, in The House That Ruth Built, the Curse Of The Bambino still intact, Project Panic still engulfing Boston. That Boston club did something so amazing that if this were to be pulled off by the Angels, it would be exciting and it would be an accomplishment, but it would only be a neat little trick compared to what the Red Sox did. 

If the Red Sox didn't believe in themselves, if they didn't continue to come to the ballpark and crank up the clubhouse music, how would they ever pull off four straight victories of that magnitude on that stage in that setting with their suffocating fans collapsing from hyperventilation on every pitch? They wouldn't have. But they did because they stuck to their identity and played their game and believed in each other. That's what the Angels need to do now and if anyone says they can't do it, they ought to kick them out of the clubhouse and tell them not to come back. 

The Red Sox are sitting pretty. They have a cushion and they have arguably the best big game picher in Josh Beckett on the mound Sunday evening. It is going to be quite a game because we know Beckett, mysteriously strained oblique and all, is going to show up for the bright lights and the October glory and pitch a brilliant game. It is up for Joe Saunders to match him and for the Angels hitters to get back to their grinding style. The series and their World Series aspirations are still there for the taking, one game at a time. But "take it" is exactly what the Angels are going to have to do. The Red Sox aren't going to get comfortable and fumble away wins. They are too good, too experienced, too humble, too tough. Eighteen singles would look just fine for the Angels Sunday evening. October isn't about the box score nor the headlines. Can you play with confidence and believe in a team concept under the greatest pressure baseball can offer? Boston has showed us how it is done. It's time for the Angels to take that championship step.