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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.