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The Phillies didn’t do anything I recommended in my World Series blog posts–and they won in five games.

Here are three things I’ll remember about Chase Utley:

1. The amazing tag-the-runner and throw to first double play
2. The dazzling fake throw to first that made the runner on 3rd base think he could score, followed by the strike thrown home and the tag at the plate by Carlos Ruiz
3. Getting up on live television in the stadium ceremony and, without any delays or beeps, saying, “World Champions. World Fucking Champions!”

Chase hit a 35 bombs and dropped two televised F-bombs this season.

Top fan questions about the resumed Game 5 that is starting in the bottom of the 6th inning tonight at 8:37pm:

1. Do I have to park in the same parking space? What if I want to park in the same space (it’s my lucky Phillies space)?
2. Will my half-full plastic bottle of Bud Light still be in the cup holder in my seat? I wanted to finish it.
3. How can it be that I can’t buy a beer after the seventh inning but the players can pour Moet & Chandon over their heads when the game is over?
4.  Will the umpire say “Play Ball” (He’s only supposed to say it at the beginning of the game)?
5. Do the players have to get their uniforms dirty “before” the game?
6. Will the MLB cut the trophy into two pieces this year?
7. Did the umpire who said the game never reached the “comical” state actually watch the game?
8. When Bud Selig finally does celebrate Thanksgiving, will he eat his turkey and stuffing on Thursday, then have the cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie on Saturday?
9. If baseball gets really popular in China, will Fox start games at 8:30am to allow the largest number of users to watch in prime time?
10. Is there anyone who can make sense of MLB’s rules regarding suspended games?

Topic  #1: Fox Broadcasting Weasels

Joe Buck and Tim McCarver were unbelievably biased in their commentary while the game was proceeding in the middle of an East Coast cold-weather monsoon. McCarver at one point said something like, “The pitcher has a dry ball and the batter has a wet bat” and went on about how the pitcher had a huge advantage. How does McCarver explain how the ball stays dry when the catcher has to throw it 60 feet back to the pitcher. Ruiz is accurate, but I don’t think he can throw balls that dodge raindrops in a dogs-and-cats downpour. After the game, Cole Hamels said he could not grip the ball and had no choice but to throw fastballs. McCarver then suggested that it would be impossible for B.J. Upton to steal second base with all the mud and puddles in the basepaths. One of them asked, “How do you slide into that?” About two seconds later, Upton stole second and executed a perfect slide. A few seconds after that, the “disadvantaged” Carlos Pena hit a single into left center with his wet bat (Impossible! How can a batter possibly get a hit with a wet bat? The batter is at such a huge disadvantage!) that scored Upton to tie the game. If those broadcasters had any objectivity and credibility, they would have been talking about how the game should have been stopped in the 4th inning at the latest (the truth is that the game should have never been started). Of course, the MLB has made them rich and fat and they’re not going to bite the hand that feeds them. McCarver of all people, as a former catcher (and a Phillies catcher at that) should know better.

Topic #2: Pitching

I suppose it’s decided. Both managers have already said that they’re going with their bullpens for the continuation of the game. Mitch Williams also said this morning on 610 WIP Sports Radio that the teams should treat this game exactly like a regular game that is in the 6th inning. I beg to differ. It cannot be just like any other game in the middle of the sixth. The players will be in clean uniforms. This is a new 3-inning game. The Phillies have the advantage because they get to bat first and last (this is probably why McCarver said that the entire game should be replayed–that’s a pro-Tampa position). If it were me, I would hand the ball to Brett Myers and ask for three good innings at home, in front of a frenzied, wild Philly crowd. He eats that stuff up. Three innings and you get the glory, Brett. Who is the first player you think of when you think of the 1980 Phillies? Tug McGraw, of course. That final pitch is always memorable. I think Brett would take that over the insult of not being able to start in a possible Game 6. It would be beautiful symmetry. Myers was the opening day pitcher. He had to go back to the minors for a stretch go get his head together. He did it. Why not let it come full circle and have the guy who threw the first pitch of the season prove that he’s all the way back by pitching for the final out in the clinching World Series game.

If it goes back to Tampa, I don’t want to pitch Myers there. He already lost once. He stinks on the road. By then Moyer is rested. Moyer starts game 6 if necessary and Hamels goes in game 7.

But like I said, it’s not happening. We’ll see Chad Durbin, Ryan Madsen and Brad Lidge. As I’ve said before, I don’t care how they do it, as long as the Phillies win, I’ll be happy.

Topic #3: John Bolaris is also a Weasel

During the initial delay of the original game 5, the local Fox affiliate cuts to FOX-29 Meteorology Guru John Bolaris and he hems and haws his way through a phony explanation that the rain came about a half hour later than everyone expected. Well, everyone except a real weather guru like Joe Bastardi of Accu-Weather who demanded at 6:30pm (two hours  before the game), “Cancel the game.” Bolaris says he was not approached by Fox or the MLB.   More proof that Bed Selig is as dumb as a bag of diamond dust. How can you not check with the local weather experts at the affiliate of the network that is broadcasting the game? MLB says it uses WeatherBug. I note that WeatherBug’s copyright statement says “2007.” I think their forecasts are also off by more than a year.

The Phillies got screwed royally by Fox Television and Major League Baseball last night.

Jayson Werth made two costly mistakes in Game 2. His fielding error in the first inning put two Tampa runners in scoring position. Later, Werth strayed too far from first base during a shallow fly ball to center field and was doubled off. On top of that, Werth leads the Phillies in strikeouts this postseason.

As I write this, it is the 8th inning of game 3. The score is tied 4-4. Werth just got picked off of second base.

I would have benched him for this game and put Jenkins in right field against right-handed Matt Garza. Charlie Manuel has the option again tomorrow with the Rays sending right-handed Andy Sonnanstine to the hill. It’s one thing for a manager to have a player’s back, but it’s quite another to keep sending a guy out there whose head is in the wrong place.

Let’s hope the Phillies can pull this one out tonight after the gutty start they got from Jamie Moyer tonight. Let’s hope as well that Geoff Jenkins name is on the lineup card at right field tomorrow night (er, make that tonight).

The Phillies lost Game 2 of the world series to the Rays, 4-2. While I don’t think Brett Myers pitched poorly, he did put the two runners on base in the first inning who scored what proved to be the decisive runs in the game (he walked Iwamura and gave up a single to Upton). Myers is shaky on the road. This season he was 3-8 on the road with a 6.21 ERA. Moyer, on the other hand, was 10-3 on the road with a 2.92 ERA. In the Tropicowbell Dome, I think the wily veteran would have fared better. Sure, the Phils would have been going lefty-lefty, then righty-righty. I know it’s ideal to mix it up and make the other manager tweak his lineup and not let hitters get too comfortable, but Myers is the one looked uncomfortable last night. He wasn’t terrible, but he’s a guy who thrives on positive energy. He loves the crowd in Philly. He gets pumped up and that perks up the general attitude in the dugout and when that happens, the bats tend to come to life. I’m hoping for a rainout on Saturday. The Phillies could pitch Myers at home on Tuesday and go back with Hamels in game 6 in Tampa (a little extra rest for Cole, who is a guy who refuses to pitch on short rest–so more rest shouldn’t bother him; it would give him more quality time with his chiropractor). I’m OK with starting Moyer in Game 7 in Tampa. This is his first World Series after 22 years in the majors. People are talking about the Phillies signing him for an additional two years (he’ll be 47 years old in two years). If he were to win Game 7 of the World Series, he could retire and go out on top.

After watching Dobbs strike out for the second time, I would have benched him and put in Stairs at DH. I was shocked at how badly Dobbs missed strike three in his second strikeout. He didn’t have it last night.  Apparently, it’s quite a visual adjustment for batters to see the pitches in the Trop. Dobbs clearly didn’t make the adjustment.

Of course, hindsight is 20-20 (a visual adjustment that everyone tends to make).  Everyone knows (or should have known) that the Phillies were not going to sweep Tampa Bay. The Rays are too good a team to be swept. They won 97 games. Look at how they came back against the Red Sox after that humiliating game where they blew the 7-0 lead. They have a lot of moxie. The Phillies were fortunate to win the first game in Tampa and they should be satisfied that they got away with a 1-1 split on the road.  I don’t see them beating Tampa three times in a row–even at home. I expect that if the Phillies are going to win it, they’re going to have to close it out on the road. What sweet justice it could be to see Brad Lidge close out the World Series on the road. After all, the reason that Tampa got home field advantage is that the American League won the all-star game. Lidge gave up the winning run in the all-star game in the bottom of the 14th inning and was tagged with the loss (after warming up six times). I like the idea of Moyer getting the win and Lidge getting save and the Phillies getting their second-ever World Series victory and Philadelphia getting its first major pro sports title in 25 years–all in Game 7 in Tampa. It probably won’t play out that way, but if the Phillies win it, it doesn’t matter to me how it plays out.

Matt Stairs blasts the game-winning home run for the Phillies, leading them to a 3-1 lead over the Dodgers in the NLCS.

Welcome to Citizen’s Bank Park. We want to remind our audience that August 5th is Motrin IB Ladies’ Night, so take your menstrual cramps out to the ballgame and keep your eyes on the Jumbotron while we hear the Phlailin’ Phils describe in their own words exactly how they plan to secure the disappointing third place spot in the National League East.

• Jimmy Rollins: “As the leadoff hitter, it all starts with me. I’m gonna keep swinging at first pitches. I won’t get on base too often and that’s just the fizzle we need to get off to a bad start. “
• Brett Myers: “Everything’s great. I’m very happy with my performance.”
• Ryan Madson: “I think I speak for the entire bullpen when I say that we’re going to give up more homers and big hits, especially when we have a lead.”
• Kyle Kendrick: “I’ll just keep throwing my limited repertoire of poorly located pitches with predictable velocity and make sure no batters feel intimidated when they step in against me. All I can do is put us in a position to lose. If the team can score less than three runs, I’m pretty sure I’ll be a bust the rest of the way out.”
• Pat Gillick: “I’ve set up the pitching rotation with a bunch of guys who are either too young or too old. 40-year-old perpetually injured Tom Gordon is the key to our bullpen. We’re always depending on 45-year-old Jamie Moyer to give us seven innings. Hamels’ chiropractor(who gets paid more than Hamels, HA HA HA!) says his astrological chart looks pretty bad for August, so that helps us lose. Enough of the duct tape and pocket lint have fallen off of this B-list staff that we’re headed for the bottom of the division. You won’t hear anybody saying ‘Cy Young’ and ‘Phillies’ in the same sentence, thanks to me.”
• Ryan Howard: “You’d think 55 homers and 150 RBI would help us win, but if I can keep up my throwing errors in crucial situations, we’ll probably lose enough to just miss the wild card. “
• Charlie Manuel: “If you’re a player, I used to be your best buddy. Rasslin’ and jokin’ around. Now I’m General George S. Patton. They used to have fun, but now our clubhouse is like a bunch a long-tailed cats in a room full of rockin’ chairs. Just gotta keep ‘em real tense like a drought waitin’ for the lady rain. Heck, the Phil’s will probably drop the club option next year and I’ll be back makin’ La-Z-Boys in Virginny.”
• Adam Eaton: “I either pitch great or I’m horrible. I can’t seem to get right in the middle. See, that’s what we need from me: a mediocre start that keeps me from getting yanked early. If the guys help me out by keeping their bats real quiet, I can turn my ‘quality starts’ into losses. I don’t want to pitch too well, you know. It’s not like I’m getting A-Rod money or anything. If I pull a Burrell next year and win 20 in the final year of my contract, somebody’s gonna throw $14 mil or so my way, and it’s not gonna be these cheapskate Phillies owners.”
• Chris Wheeler: “Hoo, baby! Did you see that pitch? He got right up in his kitchen. I mean the guy’s lookin’ for a pitch to hit, you know, something right in his wheelhouse, so he could just turn on that baby and rip a laser into the gap. But instead, he’s on his back chokin’ on dust. That pitch was in his outhouse, maybe even in his powder room and it broke the mirror and knocked the air freshener right into the trash can. Then he throws the next pitch right up into his home theater entertainment room and it ended up stuck in his Miele stackable washer and dryer. Yeah, he was trying to go middle-in with that hard slider and have it tail in on the hands of the lefty and he just left it up belt-high and I mean it got crushed. That ball was surf and turf served up on a gold platter with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert. He had to put on a bib and a pair of cufflinks to hit that baby.”
• Harry Kalas: “Wheels is going to go into the back room and hyperventilate for a few minutes. I give the Phillies two chances to win the division: slim and none–and slim just left town. Watch this season go….outta here!”
• Carlos Ruiz: “Mas pagas doble”

Last night at Van Colln memorial fields where the Fairmount Sports Association baseball games are played, there was lots of discussion about a thread on Phillyblog regarding controversy in the championship of the boys 6-9 little league. I was hoping to read the thread on PhillyBlog, but found that PhillyBlog was down this morning when I visited. I did a search and found that there is a pattern of this site being down in the morning.

My son plays on one of the teams that played for the championship and I’m hoping I can contribute some of my observations to the discussion.

PhillyBlog is back online and it feels good to get this off my chest.