The Philadelphia Phillies will live to play another day.  The Phightin’ Phils rode two home runs from Chase Utley and a solid outing from Cliff Lee to an 8-6 victory in game 5 that will send the series back to New York.  Lee wasn’t as dominant as we’ve seen him this postseason, but he still pitched very well.  He allowed 5 runs in 7+ innings, but 3 of those came in the 8th inning when he had lost most of his command.  He also struck out 3 and walked 3.  Utley hit a monster 3 run homer in the 1st inning after the Phillies fell behind 1-0 and gave his team a lead that they would not relinquish.  He added a solo shot in the 7th.  Raul Ibanez added a solo home run of his own in that inning and had 2 RBIs.  Jimmy Rollins had 2 hits for the Phillies as well.  Ryan Madson replaced Brad Lidge as the closer tonight, and did his best to make things difficult.  He worked himself out a a big jam by coaxing a double play bouncer from Derek Jeter, and struck out Mark Teixeira to end the rally.  Here are a few thoughts on game 5:

• Cliff Lee was missing his spots early and was clearly out there without his best stuff, but he found a way to settle in and pretty much cruised after allowing a run in the 1st inning, until he kind of blew up in the 8th.  Still if there’s any way the Phillies can get Lee on the mound for game 7 they should do it.  His arm won’t fall off.
• Either the Phillies’ approach to AJ Burnett was much better tonight than in game 2, or the AJ Burnett we know and love to face showed up.  Which ever it was, the Philly hitters were more aggressive with Burnett and got themselves into fastball counts more often.  This was mostly a result of Burnett’s inability to find the strike zone, but the Phillies hitters were able to take advantage.  They chased him from the game before he could record an out in the 3rd inning.
• Speaking of the 3rd inning, the Phillies did a nice job of adding as many runs as they could in that frame, because you kind of had the idea that Chase’s 3 run homer in the 1st wouldn’t be enough.  After Burnett walked Utley and Howard to start the inning, Jayson Werth lined a single up the middle on a nice piece of hitting to drive in a run.  Raul Ibanez followed with an RBI single of his own, and after a Pedro Feliz pop out, Carlos Ruiz drove in another run with a ground out.  It was nice to see the Phillies tack on runs early.  They haven’t been doing a whole lot of that this series.
• Shane Victorino was hit on the hand by a pitch in the 1st inning and eventually had to be removed from the game.  X-Rays showed that the finger wasn’t broken, which is good news.  Losing Shane would be a big blow to the Phillies’ hopes of a comeback in the series.  The defense would suffer a good bit, and even though Shane hasn’t hit a whole lot this series, if Francisco has to take his spot (or Werth could be moved to center with Francisco in right) the Phillies would likely have to use a lefty DH in the AL park against lefties Andy Pettitte and CC Sabathia, which significantly weakens the offense as well.
• Ryan Madson doesn’t inspire much more confidence in me than Brad Lidge does in the 9th inning.  In the 8th inning he’s fine, but the 9th is a different story.  Madson’s velocity didn’t seem to be as good tonight, and his location clearly was off.  Unlike Lidge, Madson’s been used a lot in the playoffs.  That might have something to do with it.  The off day tomorrow will probably be a benefit.

I don’t know what to say either.  I really don’t.  In a sense, game 4 was a tough one to take.  It was a game the Phillies should have won.  But in another sense it was really difficult to be crushed by this one.  If any game was a microcosm of how the Phillies played this season, this was it.  They hung tough, but they failed to capitalize on opportunities.  They had some bad luck.  They came back when it looked like they were dead.  And in the end Brad Lidge blew the game.  It’s not over yet, but if the Phillies are unable to win 3 games in a row and win the series, I think this will be the game we can look back at and say that this was when we knew for sure who the 2009 Phillies were.  The only thing to do now is hope for a miracle and that this team can rewrite an entire season in 3 games…

Normally I have thoughts and things about the game to share with you, but tonight I’m just going to get a few things off my chest stream-of-conscious style, if you don’t mind.  I’m assuming you saw the game and don’t need me to tell you what happened…

It’s easy to blame this one on Brad Lidge, and who knows what would have happened if he entered the game with the lead, but this one is on the offense if you ask me.  CC Sabathia was not good tonight at all, and the Phillies didn’t do anything about it.  They managed 3 runs in 6.2 innings off of him.  They probably should have been able to double that and get into the Yankee bullpen much sooner then they did…I still don’t disagree with the decision to start Joe Blanton tonight.  He pitched well.  He has a mechanical flaw when he has to pitch out of the stretch.  We’ve known about it all season.  If Chase Utley doesn’t slip on the ground ball from Derek Jeter on the first play of the game, things might have gone a lot differently…I saw Pedro Feliz’s home run coming.  I told everyone in the room watching with me.  It wasn’t hard to see that Joba would eventually miss with a fastball and Feliz would crush it.  Believe that if you will…If there was one thing I didn’t agree with in the game, it was Brad Lidge pitching to ARod after he hit Teixeira to put runners on 1st and 3rd.  Why not pitch around ARod and go after Posada with the bases loaded?  Of course, Posada came through with a double anyway, so it might not have mattered…So many what-ifs about this game.  All I can do is shake my head…I don’t have nearly the vitriol for Brad Lidge that I have for Cole Hamels.  In fact, I don’t have any vitriol at all toward Lidge.  Attitude makes a big difference.  I just don’t know what to do with him.  Should he pitch if the Phillies have a lead in the 9th inning of game 5?  Game 6?  Game 7?  Should he throw a pitch for the Phillies ever again?  It’s not that I want him gone, but does he need a change of scenery?  Would anyone take his contract?  Would anyone give us anything of value for him?  Does he just need an offseason to get healthy?  I don’t know.  I don’t know.  I don’t know.

On numerous occasions this season, Charlie Manuel has liked to remind us that it isn’t 2008 anymore.  But for some reason, Cole Hamels keeps getting postseason starts even though he was the worst pitcher in the Phillies rotation once Pedro Martinez took over for Jamie Moyer.  Once again, Hamels fell apart the minute something didn’t go his way, and the Phillies blew a 3-0 lead on their way to losing game 3 8-5.  Hamels lasted just 4.1 innings, giving up 5 runs while striking out 3 and walking 2.  Jayson Werth hit 2 home runs off of Yankees starter Andy Pettitte, and it appeared that the Phillies would get to him early, but they missed some opportunities and allowed Pettitte to settle in, and then they weren’t able to rally when they finally got into what should be a shaky New York bullpen.  Instead, it was the Philly pen that was shaky, allowing the Yankees to tack on runs and keeping the Phillies from mustering much of a rally.  Here are some thoughts on game 3:

• Andy Pettitte actually looked a little rattled early, and the Phillies had an opportunity to get to him.  They did, to a certain extent, but obviously not enough.  It didn’t look like the lefties in the lineup weren’t seeing Pettitte very well as Utley, Howard, and Ibanez went a combined 0 for 12.  As a result, the Phillies had to try to score runs with the bottom of the lineup, and it didn’t work out so well.
• Cole Hamels laid down a perfect bunt in the bottom of the 2nd to load the bases with one out.  Jimmy Rollins walked and Shane Victorino followed with a sacrifice fly, but Utley struck out to end the inning and prevent the Phillies from doing any further damage.  In a way it was a good inning, and Hamels was pitching so well at that point that the 3-0 lead looked really nice.  But Pettitte wasn’t locating his pitches very well at that time and the Phillies probably missed and opportunity to knock him out of the game.
• Hamels appeared to lose his composure when a 3-2 pitch to Mark Teixeira was called a ball (it wasn’t, but that’s beside the point) and he promptly gave up a 2 run homer to the next batter, Alex Rodriguez.  In the following inning, Hamels started messing with his curveball, and things got away from him very quickly from there.  He allowed an RBI single to the pitcher Pettitte that was both inexcusable and back-breaking.  Charlie probably should have lifted him right then, but instead Hamels was allowed to give up 2 more runs in the inning.  I’m not on the side of those who would like to see Cole Hamels run out of town, but I also don’t think that he should throw another pitch for the Phillies this season.  Of course, I thought that before the World Series too, but nobody listened.  I know a train wreck when I see one.
• I’m still a little bitter probably, but it looked to me that it should have take a little more than the 3.2 seconds it took for the umpires to rule on ARod’s home run.  It doesn’t look like a basic knowledge of physics is a pre-requisite for being a major league umpire.  And why is there a camera hanging over the outfield wall in the first place?
• The Phillies bullpen deserves some blame for their inability to hold the Yankees after Hamels exited the game.  It’s tough to piece together a rally when your middle relievers allow a run in each of their appearances.
• Also, the Phillies hitters didn’t put up much of a fight against what should be a vulnerable Yankees bullpen.
• The crowd at CBP was really bad tonight.  If we’re going to criticize the Yankees for building a sterile, lifeless stadium and pricing out the real fans, then we need to show up when the series shifts to Philly.  I know Cole Hamels was a major buzzkill and it was rainy or whatever, but the best fans in baseball did not show up tonight.  Just like their team.  Coincidence?
• As I write this, Joe Blanton is still starting game 4 tomorrow night, and there is no reason to believe that will change.  I think it’s the right move.  Moving up Lee a day on this short notice would be a panic move, and there is no reason to panic right now.  Joe Blanton is a very good pitcher who carried the Phillies at times this season and absolutely could beat CC Sabathia tomorrow night with just a little bit of run support.  Cliff Lee can pitch game 5 on full rest and the Phillies could easily be at 3-2 headed back to New York.  If Charlie announced before the series that Cliff Lee would pitch games 1, 4, and 7 like the Yankees essentially did with Sabathia, I would have supported that as well.  But sticking with Blanton is the right move here.  There is no reason to get desperate at this point.

I don’t know what the Phillies have against game twos, but I am convinced that it has something to do with keeping us fans on our toes.  Especially after watching the first two games of this series, I am convinced that nobody has the love affair with their fans that these Phillies have with us.  As with any relationship worth having, you can’t give everything you’ve got all at once.  You have to keep stringing the other party along.  Actually, let’s stop this metaphor right here.  Suffice to say, the Phillies just don’t win game 2’s.  We have to deal with it.

Pedro Martinez started the game and pitched well enough to win, but the offense couldn’t solve AJ Burnett and the Phillies lost 3-1 and left New York with a split.  Pedro lasted into the 7th, giving up 3 runs while striking out 8 and walking 2.  Matt Stairs drove in the lone Philadelphia run with an RBI single in the 2nd inning.  Raul Ibanez went 2 for 4 with 2 doubles, and Carlos Ruiz added a 2-bagger of his own, but that was as close to a highlight as the offense got in game 2.  Here are my thoughts as the series shifts to Philly:

• Pedro looked pretty sharp in his 2nd start of the playoffs this year.  His curveball and changeup looked very good, especially early, though he didn’t have quite the velocity on his fastball that he’s had at times this season.  The Yankees made him work and elevated his pitch count.  He left without recording an out in the 7th inning after throwing 107 pitches.  There isn’t really a whole lot more you could ask from the guy.  Pitching wasn’t the reason the Phillies lost tonight.
• It kills me that the Phillies weren’t able to get to AJ Burnett tonight.  Just kills me.  Burnett’s basically a two pitch pitcher, even if those two are very good.  He forced the Phillies hitters to chase his curve by getting ahead in the count, and the Phillies are a fastball hitting team.  Burnett did a good job of not getting into fastball counts for the most part, and that is why he won.
• A friend once told me that in baseball, you usually get about 1 pitch to hit per at bat.  You better not miss.  And the more baseball I watch the more I’m convinced he’s right.  Anyway, Ryan Howard missed his pitch to hit in the 3rd inning with runners on 1st and 2nd.  AJ Burnett missed his spot with a 1-0 fastball and Howard fouled it straight back.  If he connects on that, the game is much, much different. Instead, Howard struck out 4 times and wore the goat horns.
• The pitch that Pedro threw to Hideki Matsui hit for a home run in the 6th inning wasn’t a bad pitch at all.  It was only about a foot off the ground and in.  I guess the cliche that lefties crush pitches down and in has some merit.  The short porch in right at the new Yank didn’t do that pitch any favors, either.
• Seeing that Pedro was right around a hundred pitches after the 6th inning, I wasn’t completely on board with Charlie Manuel letting Pedro start the 7th, but I’m not going to criticize it either.  Charlie got ripped by a lot of folks for not allowing Pedro to start the 8th when he hadn’t allowed a run a Dodger Stadium, so I guess he figured he’d try it the other way.  Neither way worked out though, which seems odd.  You’d think he’d be able to go at least .500 on that.
• Jimmy Rollins put together a great at bat with one out against Mariano Rivera in the 8th inning to draw a walk, and Shane Victorino followed with a single to put runners on 1st and 2nd with Chase Utley at the plate.  Utley grounded into a double play.  Inning over.  Ball game over too.
• Cole Hamels pitches game 3 against Andy Pettite.  If you don’t think that makes me nervous, I don’t know what to tell you.

The Phillies took game 1 of the World Series behind two home runs from Chase Utley and a dominating complete game performance from Cliff Lee.  Lee gave up just one unearned run on 6 hits, while striking out 10 and walking none.  Meanwhile, the Phillies put some pretty good at bats together against Yankees starter CC Sabathia, but Utley was the only one who was able to do any damage.  However, they were able to score some important insurance runs on the Yankees bullpen.  Raul Ibanez had a 2- run single in the 8th inning and Ryan Howard had the second of his 2 doubles in the 9th as the Phillies scored 4 runs in the final two innings.  Here are some thoughts on the game:

• I wasn’t a big fan of Jimmy Rollins’ decision to drop down a bunt on the first pitch of the game for 3 reasons: First, it didn’t work.  Second, the leadoff hitter should see more than one pitch in the 1st at bat unless there’s a really good reason.  Third, it seemed a little desperate.  Jimmy never bunts.  It was as if he felt like he needed to do something other than what he’d done all year to get to Sabathia.  Anyway, if he ended up with a single I probably would have thought it was brilliant, but as it was I’m glad it was just an isolated incident and the Phillies didn’t play like that bunt make me fear that they would.
• A possible 4th reason why I didn’t like the bunt is that the Phillies left the bases loaded in the 1st inning without scoring a run.  If Jimmy had put together a decent at bat and reached base, perhaps the Phillies jump out to an early lead.  Instead, Raul Ibanez grounded out on a 3-1 pitch to end the threat.
• It’s the same story we see every time Cliff Lee is dominant.  He commands all of his pitches, keeps hitters off balance, and pounds the strike zone.  It seemed like he had all of his pitches working tonight, and it looked like his cutter was particularly effective.  He was getting outs with that pitch early in the game and then it seemed like he was using his changeup more often as an out pitch as the game moved along.
• Chase Utley looked like he was seeing the lefty Sabathia really well.  He put together 3 great at bats against him, the last 2 resulting in solo home runs that gave the Phillies a 2-0 lead.  I’ve been impressed by the way the Phillies are wearing down pitchers this postseason, as that isn’t something they necessarily did a lot of during the regular season.
• In the 5th inning, with a runner on 1st, Robinson Cano hit a soft pop up to Jimmy Rollins at short.  Rollins looked like he was going to try to let the ball drop and get a double play.  Instead, he scooped the ball before it hit the dirt, stepped on 2nd (unnecessarily) and threw to Ryan Howard at 1st, who tagged out a confused Hideki Matsui.  I don’t know if Jimmy did what he did on purpose or if it just worked out in his favor, but you’ll be surprised to hear I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt.  It was a great play, and a nice job by the umpiring crew to get together and get the call right.
• Raul Ibanez came through with a big 2-run single in the 8th inning when the Phillies finally got into the Yankees bullpen.  Other than Mariano Rivera, there isn’t a single guy that they have out there that scares me even a little bit.  If the Phillies can wear out the New York starters and get into that soft bullpen they ought to be able to put up a lot of runs in this series.
• An unearned run in the 9th inning prevented Cliff Lee from getting a shutout.  I liked that after the run scored on Jimmy Rollins’ throwing error, Lee decided to take matters into his own hands.  He struck out Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada to end the game.  No need to let the hitters put the ball in play.  The shutout would have been nice, but the win was just fine, thank you.
• Pedro Martinez pitches game 2 tomorrow night, which might make me nervous except that New York counters with AJ Burnett.  I’ll probably regret saying this, but Burnett doesn’t really scare me a whole lot either.  He’s the kind of pitcher that the Phillies pound.  He’s got a great fastball, but he doesn’t always command it that well.  If the Phillies can get anything at all out of Pedro tomorrow, I like their chances of going home with a 2-0 lead in the series.

The Philadelphia Phillies are going back to the World Series.  Two days after a stirring 9th inning comeback that gave them a 3-1 lead in the series, the Phillies finished the job with relative ease tonight behind the typically powerful offense and a less-than-typically (at least pre-playoffs) effective bullpen to win the National League pennant in 5 games.  Jayson Werth hit 2 home runs, and Pedro Feliz and Shane Victorino each added a shot of their own.  Cole Hamels started the game and had some trouble keeping the ball in the park, allowing 3 runs (on 3 solo homers) in 4.1 innings.  Chad Durbin picked up the win by pitching 1.1 innings of flawless relief, and Chan Ho Park, Ryan Madson, and Brad Lidge combined to allowed just one run in the final 3 innings to ensure the Dodgers wouldn’t be able to make a game of it.  The Phillies will now have about a week off before playing either the Anaheim Angels or the New York Yankees in the World Series.  Here are some thoughts on the game that sent them back there:

• Slowly but surely, Jayson Werth is winning me over.  I have drastically softened my “Michael Taylor in RF for 2010″ stance for a few reasons.  First, obviously, is the production.  And he hits in big spots too.  For me, he is a lot like Jimmy Rollins in the sense that he does a lot of things that drive me nuts, but ultimately he does more good than bad.  The only difference is that I watched Jimmy grow up as a baseball player, so to speak, and I didn’t get that chance with Werth.  So when Jayson would do things like sail the cutoff man on a needless throw home or drop to a knee to swing at a slider that was a foot and a half outside, I would allow that to could my judgment of him as a player.  Like Jimmy, Jayson will do things that drive me nuts at times, but I am now willing to take the good with the bad.  Second, I think Jayson really likes it in Philly.  He seems to appreciate the opportunities that Pat Gillick (giving him a job after being released by LA) and Charlie Manuel (playing him everyday) gave him.  He embraces the fans and he gets what it takes to be successful in Philly.  I’m happy for him.  And if it so happens that he is our opening day rightfielder next year, you will hear no complaints from me.
• I’ve ripped Cole Hamels pretty hard after his last 2 postseason starts, and there is no point in piling on.  But I don’t trust him at all in the World Series.  If it were up to me, I don’t think I’d even give him a start.  It not up to me though, and that is probably for the best.  However, I really don’t think he should start more than one game in the series.  Maybe game 4, unless Cliff Lee can pitch games 1, 4 and 7.  Then maybe game 3.  I know Cole has had a lot of bad luck this year, and I understand that there are a lot of reasons why he has struggled.  But he has indeed struggled, and I’d prefer to see as little of him as possible in the World Series.
• This game was perhaps a little too close for Phillies fans early, with Hamels insistent on letting the Dodgers back into it after the Phillies scored some runs.  However, Shane Victorino was in the middle of two scoring opportunities that finally but the Dodgers away.  In the 4th inning, he got hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to give the Phillies a 6-2 lead (I’ve never seen anyone so fired up -in a good way- to get drilled in the arm) and then hit a big 2-run homer in the 6th to put the game on ice.  Ryan Howard and Carlos Ruiz got most of the attention so far this postseason (deservedly so), but Shane quietly had a very good series.
• Congratulations to Ryan Howard for winning the NLCS MVP.  I think opponents should keep pitching to him.
• JA Happ seems to have a little trouble with his control when he first enters a game.  Maybe he shouldn’t come on with men on base.
• Chad Durbin was really, really good, getting 4 huge outs in the middle of the game.  I can’t say I saw that coming.
• As far as the rest of the bullpen goes, it seems like Park is fantastic for 1 inning at a time, but maybe can’t go multiple innings at this point.  That is an easy problem to work around.  Ryan Madson still seems a little shaky to me, but a 96-97 mph fastball can make someone un-shaky real quick.  Believe it or not, I have as much confidence in Brad Lidge as I have in any reliever right now.

Down to their final out, the Phillies rallied on a 2-run double by Jimmy Rollins to win the game 5-4 over the Dodgers and take a commanding 3-1 lead in the NLCS. With runners on 1st and 2nd, Rollins drove a fastball from Jonathan Broxton (remember him?) into the right-centerfield gap that chased home Eric Bruntlett and Carlos Ruiz to complete the comeback.  Joe Blanton started the game for Philadelphia and didn’t pitch badly, allowing 4 runs (3 earned) on 6 hits in 6 innings.  He struck out 2 and walked 2.  Chan Ho Park, Ryan Madson, Scott Eyre, and Brad Lidge combined to throw 3 scoreless innings of relief, with Lidge getting the final 2 outs to record the win.  Ryan Howard continued his hot hitting in the playoffs with a 2-run homer in the 1st inning that opened the scoring for the Phillies.  Here are my thoughts on game 4:

• Jimmy Rollins delivered the game winning hit, but he also lead off the game with a single on the first pitch he saw from Randy Wolf.  It’s sort of a perfect symbol for how a lot of people feel about Jimmy: They hate what he does until he does something right.  Of course, I’d like to see my leadoff man work the count too, but I’ve learned to just let Jimmy be Jimmy and take the good with the bad.  It’s nights like tonight that make you realize there will always be more good than bad with Jimmy Rollins.
• I don’t know why the Dodgers pitch to Ryan Howard either, but I hope they keep it up for one more game.
• Joe Blanton pitched very well for the first 3 innings tonight, but he has a tendency to struggle out of the stretch and that’s where he ran into trouble in the 4th inning.   Pedro Feliz’s error in the 6th inning didn’t help matters much either.  A couple of bloops allowed that run to score.  It wasn’t a bad outing for Joe, but we’ve seen him do better.  I don’t know if being shuttled between the rotation and the bullpen has made any difference for him, but I hope that he will be used exclusively as a starter going forward.
• After Shane Victorino’s 1-out triple in the 6th inning, I thought Chase Utley did a nice job hanging in there against Randy Wolf and coming up with an RBI single.  Utley had 2 poor at bats previously, and had fallen behind in the count before driving in the run that cut the LA lead to 4-3.
• The bullpen was really good again tonight.  In fact, I think defense has been a far bigger problem for the Phillies in the postseason than the pen has.  Park was very good again, and while Ryan Madson has been shaky his stuff is so good that you can still trust him in big spots.  Brad Lidge has not allowed a run this postseason.  He isn’t the ‘08 version of himself, but he isn’t the ‘09 regular season version either.  He looks confident on the mound and though his stuff isn’t as dominant, he looks good enough to get by.  However the defense, which should be a strength of this club, needs to get better fast.
• Jimmy Rollins came up with the big hit, but the Phillies were able to rally in the 9th inning because Jonathan Broxton is still afraid of Matt Stairs.  Broxton didn’t even bother to challenge Stairs, which was dumb because Matty hit .194 this year and doesn’t catch up to the heater like he used to.  You’ve got to think the Dodgers had a scouting report that would have told them that.  In fact, if I were Broxton, I would have challenged him with near triple digit fastballs just on the belief that lightning doesn’t strike twice.  Instead, Broxton pitched scared and allowed the Phillies to rally.  Maybe he should be the NLCS MVP.
• Cole Hamels pitches game 5 on Wednesday against Vicente Padilla.  It would really be nice if the Phillies could wrap this series up without having to go back to LA; and it would also be nice if Cole could contribute something other than pretty hair to the effort this season.  Though maybe he gets a pass because of last season.  I don’t know.  I just wish he didn’t give me excuses to not like him.

Cliff Lee dominated as usual, and the Phillies offense jumped all over the Dodgers pitching early and often as Philadelphia took a 2-1 lead in the NLCS with an 11-0 victory Sunday night.  Lee pitched 8 innings of 3 hit ball, not allowing a run or a walk while striking out 10.  Ryan Howard got the scoring started for Philadelphia with a 2-run triple in the 1st inning, which was immediately followed by a 2-run homer off the bat of Jayson Werth.  The Phillies added 2 more runs in the 2nd, 2 in the 5th, and Shane Victorino capped off the game with a monster 3-run shot in the 8th inning.  Victorino, Chase Utley, and Carlos Ruiz each had 2 hits for the Phillies, and every one of the 9 starters scored a run.  Here are a few thoughts on game 3:

• The Phillies took a fantastic approach to LA starter Hiroki Kuroda and knocked him out of the game early.  Kuroda had previously had a lot of success against this Philadelphia lineup, but tonight our hitters were much more patient with him and forced him into favorable counts.  Kuroda was all over the place, like he was trying to be too fine with his pitches, and the Phillies made him pay.  Kuroda left after giving up 6 runs in 1.1 innings.
• Cliff Lee was fantastic, which is becoming old hat at this point.  He was sharp with all of his pitches and pounding the strike zone.  After the Phillies staked him to an early lead, Lee didn’t mess around or try to be too cute.  He just kept throwing strikes and getting outs, eliminating what little hope the Dodgers had of mounting a comeback.  It might seem odd to say, but there isn’t another pitcher you’d want out there with a big lead, because he doesn’t change the way he pitches.  Of course, I’m not sure you’d want another pitcher out there ever other than Cliff Lee.
• The crowd at Citizens Bank Park was raucous early on, and you’d have to think that wasn’t helping Kuroda.  I think there was a lot of angst in the air with the bad loss in game 2 and the ugly Eagles loss to Oakland earlier in the day.  There are some good baseball towns out there, but as far as creating a home field advantage for their team, I don’t know if there is a better place than Philadelphia.
• A steroids PSA played on the jumbotron when Manny Ramirez took the field after striking out in the 7th inning.  I wasn’t there to see it, but that seems like a good time.
• How about that catch Chooch made over the dugout railing to record the final out of the game?  He’s having quite the postseason.  Hopefully he can keep it up for a few more weeks.
• Joe Blanton starts game 4 tomorrow against former Phillie Randy Wolf.  It’d be nice if Big Joe could get the win and the Phillies can grab this series by the throat.

The Philadelphia Phillies blew a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 8th inning and wasted a fantastic performance by Pedro Martinez, losing to the Dodgers 2-1.  Now, instead of bringing a 2-0 lead home to Philly, the series is split 1-1.  Martinez pitched 7 scoreless innings, allowing just 2 hits while striking out 3 and walking none.  Ryan Howard produced the one and only Phillies run with a solo home run off of Vicente Padilla in the 4th inning, and that run stood up until the 8th.  After Martinez was removed (he had only thrown 87 pitches), the Phillies used 5 pitchers in the bottom of the 8th and still weren’t able to record 3 scoreless outs thanks to a killer throwing error by Chase Utley that effectively cost his team the game.  The tying run scored on Utley’s error, and the winning run was walked home by JA Happ.  Here are a few thoughts about the Phillies and their horrible missed opportunity in game 2:

• It really was unbelievable how good Pedro Martinez was this afternoon.  That was as good a performance as we’ve seen from any Phillies pitcher this year, and considering the circumstances, maybe the best.  Pedro had all of his pitches working, and could throw whichever one he wanted in any count.  He seemed to be getting a ton of fly ball outs, but none of them were particularly scary.  I double checked, and that is consistent with the way he’s been recording oust this season, but I just didn’t remember so many fly balls in previous starts.  It was truly a shame that the Phillies wasted his performance today.
• It’s easy to second guess Charlie Manuel’s decision to not send Martinez back out there for the 8th inning.  If Martinez had allowed the runs instead of the bullpen, Charlie would have been ripped for that as well.  All I will say about that is that after last night I’m sure Charlie and everybody else had supreme confidence in Chan Ho Park in that spot.  I know I did.  The single Park gave up deflected off of Pedro Feliz’s glove, and then he allowed a bunt that ended up in no man’s land.  It’s tough to blame anybody for anything that happened in that 8th inning.  Except, of course, for Chase Utley.  And by writing that, a piece of my soul just died.
• The thing about Utley’s throw is that this is not a new thing.  This didn’t just start yesterday.  Chase has been making errant throws for months now, and I have been avoiding the subject because it’s Chase Utley.  I hoped that if I ignored it, the problem would go away.  He hasn’t been necessarily been making errors, but his throws have been off target at times.  Today it killed us, and I just hope that it never happens again.
• Jayson Werth did a good job of letting a long foul ball off the bat of Matt Kemp drop with the bases loaded in the 8th.  The go ahead run would have scored easily if he had caught that.  The go ahead run scored anyway, and I don’t actually know if Werth let the ball drop on purpose or if he just didn’t get to it, but give me some credit for giving Werth some credit for once.
• Cliff Lee starts game 3 on Sunday in Philly.  I would be optimistic, but I’m too pissed off about how today’s game turned out.

Carlos Ruiz and Raul Ibanez each hit 3 run homers and the Phillies got some good relief work out of Chan Ho Park and Brad Lidge as they were able to take game 1 of the NLCS 8-6.  Cole Hamels started the game and pitched well until the 5th inning, when he gave up 3 runs and allowed the Dodgers back into the game after the Phillies had taken a 5-1 lead.  In all, Hamels allowed 4 runs in 5.1 innings of work, striking out 4 and walking 1.  Ryan Howard added a big 2-run double in the 5th to help the Phillies’ cause.  Here are some thoughts on game 1:

• Cole Hamels started out pretty well in this game.  He had good velocity on his fastball, but that isn’t usually what matters with him.  What matters is his command and whether he has the changeup working and for the first 4 innings it appeared that he did.  However, after the Phillies scored 5 runs in the top of the 5th, Hamels imploded.  He allowed a leadoff double and still might have been able to work out of the inning when he induced a double play ball with runners on 1st and 3rd and 1 out.  Unfortunately, Rollins and Utley were unable to turn the double play cleanly and it cost the Phillies a run.  But that wasn’t the problem.  Sure, the play should have been made, but errors happen from time to time and you have to just pick up your teammates and move on.  Somehow, Cole Hamels is unable to do that.  Instead, he pouted, gestured at Utley in disgust, and promptly gave up a 2-run homer to Manny Ramirez that made the game much more interesting than it needed to be.  I struggled to like Cole Hamels even when he was winning us the World Series last year.  Now I think I’ve finally turned on the guy.  He’s not a good pitcher at the moment, and he’s too immature to do the things he needs to do to make himself better.  Instead, he shouts into his glove when he doesn’t get the strike calls that he wants and pouts about things he can’t control.
• Carlos Ruiz got 2 high fastballs in a row in the 5th inning, and the 2nd one he hit out for a 3-run homer to give the Phillies the lead.  Rarely do you get back to back pitches to hit like that in the big leagues, but Chooch got his and took advantage of the opportunity.  However, the bigger hit in the inning might have been Ryan Howard’s 2 run double that (at the time) blew the game open.
• Chan Ho Park was fantastic in his inning of work tonight.  He entered the game in a tough spot, with a runner on 2nd and nobody out, and mowed down Manny Ramirez, Matt Kemp, and Casey Blake.  Chan Ho was hitting 96 with his fastball, and every pitch was exactly here he wanted it to be.  He put on a clinic out there.  Not bad for a guy who hadn’t pitched in a month.
• As good as Park was in the 7th, Ryan Madson was just as bad in the 8th.  Madson’s stuff is so good that it is hard not to trust him, but this now makes back to back shaky outings for him.
• Brad Lidge earned his 3rd save of the postseason by not allowing a run in the 9th.  It wasn’t exactly pretty, but it wasn’t bad either.  I trust Lidge right now.  I think his confidence is back, even if his stuff isn’t quite in ‘08 form.  Frankly, if Jimmy Rollins was 5′10″ instead of 5′8″ that 9th inning is probably much different.
• Pedro Martinez pitches in game 2 tomorrow afternoon, and considering that the old goat hasn’t had a good outing since September 13th, I might be a little nervous.  But then I saw that the Dodgers are starting Vincente Padilla and suddenly I am much less nervous.  I don’t know about you, but I like Pedro in that matchup.