The Phillies turned in a dispiriting showing against the Rockies in the NLDS. Three games, three losses, zero offense.
But hey. I didn't truly think the Phillies would make the playoffs until the last weekend of the season. Their pitching was a mess. It's hard to believe that they could not only get to the playoffs with that pitching, but also manage to pitch better than they hit once they got there.
I'm proud of the team for a brilliant final two weeks of September and a hard-fought season the whole way. Hopefully, with a few offseason additions and subtractions, they can go a little farther next year.
That's the reality of being a fan. Unless your team wins the World Series, everybody gets around to saying "Wait til next year" at some point in October. I'm glad I got a one-week reprieve this year.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Sinking like a stone
Ugh. The Phillies are really testing the limits of my willingness to accept merely a playoff berth.
I don't think I'll be watching Game 3 tonight. But if they win Game 3, I will watch the idiotically timed 10 p.m.-Sunday Game 4.
I don't think I'll be watching Game 3 tonight. But if they win Game 3, I will watch the idiotically timed 10 p.m.-Sunday Game 4.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
How it happened
I stalled before the games started Sunday, watching Silence of the Lambs.
Lovely stuff: "His pulse never got above 85, not even when he ate her tongue."
My pulse was closer to 4,000, and I was ready to eat my own tongue. The Phillies and Mets were tied for the division lead with one game to play each.
I commandeered my lovely, understanding fiancee's computer, watching the video feed of the Phillies on my laptop and following the progress of the Mets on the other.
Though I hadn't had breakfast, all I could eat during the games was two bites of fried chicken. It's like it was when I ran track and XC ... too nervous to get anything down.
As both games went in a positive direction, I began to count half-innings ... three at-bats left for the Mets, four for the Nationals. I left the couch maybe twice. And when the last pitch buckled Wily Mo Pena's knees, I bellowed a few ohmygods, high-fived, hugged and kissed my girl, and then, um ...
OK, I cried. Pretty enthusiastically. But only for 15 to 30 seconds.
Then it was time to place a few phone calls and texts to fellow long-suffering Phillies fans. Dad, Mom, Joel and Duc and Stew.
I also got a congratulatory message from a guy who had a lousy day: my brother-in-law, Brian, the classiest Mets fan in the business. And I don't mean that in a damning-with-faint-praise manner. Mets in '06, Phils in '07 ... one of these years, we'll both be there, man.
Now on to baseball-nerd business: the postseason roster. The Phillies can bring 25 players to the Division Series. If they make the LCS, they can tinker with the roster to bring another 25, and same with the World Series. Here's who I'd take:
Starters: Cole Hamels, Jamie Moyer, Kyle Kendrick, Kyle Lohse.
(No surprises here. You only need four starters in the postseason, and Adam Eaton is the obvious odd man out. I wouldn't even want him around as an innings-eater if one of the four starters does an Adam Eaton impression and stinks up the joint.)
Relievers: Brett Myers, Tom Gordon, J.C. Romero, Geoff Geary, Clay Condrey, Jose Mesa, Fabio Castro.
(The first three are obvious. The next two pitched brilliantly in September: Geary 2.65 in 17 IP, Condrey 0.73 in 12 1/3. Mesa was at 3.72 this month, and he's a former closer, whatever you think about him now, so he's in there. Castro's the wild card, a lefty with potential, though his stats have been nothing to write home about. Maybe Antonio Alfonseca or J.D. Durbin takes this spot instead. But I think the other six have to be a lock.)
Catchers: Carlos Ruiz, Chris Coste.
(I haven't heard anything about how badly Ruiz was hurt on the HBP that knocked him out of the game. Rod Barajas only makes this roster if Ruiz absolutely cannot play anymore this year.)
Infielders: Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Tadahito Iguchi, Jimmy Rollins, Greg Dobbs, Abraham Nunez.
(Enough with Wes Helms. I don't see him making a positive contribution.)
Outfielders: Pat Burrell, Michael Bourn, Aaron Rowand, Shane Victorino, Jayson Werth, Chris Roberson.
(Roberson not Helms? Yeah. This team has enough hitting ... pinch-runners and defensive replacements are more important in the playoffs than in the regular season.)
4 starters
7 relievers
2 catchers
6 infielders
6 outfielders
= 25
Maybe that roster is sort of the one I WANT them to use. I think it'll be hard for them to leave Alfonseca and Helms off the roster in favor of Castro and Roberson, and maybe Barajas squeezes on even if Chucha Ruiz can still go.
I guess we'll see Monday or Tuesday. Can't wait. And can't wait to relax Monday night while our two prospective opponents fight each other.
Best of all, the Padres throw Jake Peavy, the best pitcher in the National League, Monday night, and the Division Series games are Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday.
That means if the Padres win, they'd have to throw Peavy on two days' rest at least once to start him in two games. Thursday, then Tuesday? More likely they save him for Saturday on four days' rest, pitching Game 3 in San Diego. But regardless, the fact that the Padres saved Peavy for Monday rather than throwing him today to sew things up was a huge miscalculation.
OK, enough blogging for tonight. Enjoy the playoffs, those of you who are so inclined. As court jester extraordinaire Dane Cook says, "There's only one postseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeason!"
Lovely stuff: "His pulse never got above 85, not even when he ate her tongue."
My pulse was closer to 4,000, and I was ready to eat my own tongue. The Phillies and Mets were tied for the division lead with one game to play each.
I commandeered my lovely, understanding fiancee's computer, watching the video feed of the Phillies on my laptop and following the progress of the Mets on the other.
Though I hadn't had breakfast, all I could eat during the games was two bites of fried chicken. It's like it was when I ran track and XC ... too nervous to get anything down.
As both games went in a positive direction, I began to count half-innings ... three at-bats left for the Mets, four for the Nationals. I left the couch maybe twice. And when the last pitch buckled Wily Mo Pena's knees, I bellowed a few ohmygods, high-fived, hugged and kissed my girl, and then, um ...
OK, I cried. Pretty enthusiastically. But only for 15 to 30 seconds.
Then it was time to place a few phone calls and texts to fellow long-suffering Phillies fans. Dad, Mom, Joel and Duc and Stew.
I also got a congratulatory message from a guy who had a lousy day: my brother-in-law, Brian, the classiest Mets fan in the business. And I don't mean that in a damning-with-faint-praise manner. Mets in '06, Phils in '07 ... one of these years, we'll both be there, man.
Now on to baseball-nerd business: the postseason roster. The Phillies can bring 25 players to the Division Series. If they make the LCS, they can tinker with the roster to bring another 25, and same with the World Series. Here's who I'd take:
Starters: Cole Hamels, Jamie Moyer, Kyle Kendrick, Kyle Lohse.
(No surprises here. You only need four starters in the postseason, and Adam Eaton is the obvious odd man out. I wouldn't even want him around as an innings-eater if one of the four starters does an Adam Eaton impression and stinks up the joint.)
Relievers: Brett Myers, Tom Gordon, J.C. Romero, Geoff Geary, Clay Condrey, Jose Mesa, Fabio Castro.
(The first three are obvious. The next two pitched brilliantly in September: Geary 2.65 in 17 IP, Condrey 0.73 in 12 1/3. Mesa was at 3.72 this month, and he's a former closer, whatever you think about him now, so he's in there. Castro's the wild card, a lefty with potential, though his stats have been nothing to write home about. Maybe Antonio Alfonseca or J.D. Durbin takes this spot instead. But I think the other six have to be a lock.)
Catchers: Carlos Ruiz, Chris Coste.
(I haven't heard anything about how badly Ruiz was hurt on the HBP that knocked him out of the game. Rod Barajas only makes this roster if Ruiz absolutely cannot play anymore this year.)
Infielders: Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Tadahito Iguchi, Jimmy Rollins, Greg Dobbs, Abraham Nunez.
(Enough with Wes Helms. I don't see him making a positive contribution.)
Outfielders: Pat Burrell, Michael Bourn, Aaron Rowand, Shane Victorino, Jayson Werth, Chris Roberson.
(Roberson not Helms? Yeah. This team has enough hitting ... pinch-runners and defensive replacements are more important in the playoffs than in the regular season.)
4 starters
7 relievers
2 catchers
6 infielders
6 outfielders
= 25
Maybe that roster is sort of the one I WANT them to use. I think it'll be hard for them to leave Alfonseca and Helms off the roster in favor of Castro and Roberson, and maybe Barajas squeezes on even if Chucha Ruiz can still go.
I guess we'll see Monday or Tuesday. Can't wait. And can't wait to relax Monday night while our two prospective opponents fight each other.
Best of all, the Padres throw Jake Peavy, the best pitcher in the National League, Monday night, and the Division Series games are Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday.
That means if the Padres win, they'd have to throw Peavy on two days' rest at least once to start him in two games. Thursday, then Tuesday? More likely they save him for Saturday on four days' rest, pitching Game 3 in San Diego. But regardless, the fact that the Padres saved Peavy for Monday rather than throwing him today to sew things up was a huge miscalculation.
OK, enough blogging for tonight. Enjoy the playoffs, those of you who are so inclined. As court jester extraordinaire Dane Cook says, "There's only one postseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeason!"
...
The Phillies are in the playoffs. They did it.
That's all I got, my brains are mush. What a phenomenal feeling.
That's all I got, my brains are mush. What a phenomenal feeling.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
I can't come up with a post headline to save my life
The last few days have been dizzying to Phillies fans. With a cruise-control win last night and the Mets' death-by-a-thousand-HBPs loss, the team suddenly controls its destiny.
Regardless of what the Mets do this afternoon, if Adam Eaton can throw five innings of three-run ball or less in the later game, I think the Phillies will win the division. Joel Hanrahan gives the Phillies hitters fits, but they're hitting too well in the clutch right now to choke, I think. I hope.
Last night, I watched both games in a bar with my friend Shea, an Astros fan and mercenary Phillies supporter this week. If this post reads like I'm tired, well, you can thank the Blue Moons and White Russians that were part of my balanced diet last night.
Quite a mix, actually - Blue Moons and White Russians. I call that diet Cerulean Sputnik.
Nothing? Bah. OK, fine, I'll get some more sleep. Go Phillies.
Regardless of what the Mets do this afternoon, if Adam Eaton can throw five innings of three-run ball or less in the later game, I think the Phillies will win the division. Joel Hanrahan gives the Phillies hitters fits, but they're hitting too well in the clutch right now to choke, I think. I hope.
Last night, I watched both games in a bar with my friend Shea, an Astros fan and mercenary Phillies supporter this week. If this post reads like I'm tired, well, you can thank the Blue Moons and White Russians that were part of my balanced diet last night.
Quite a mix, actually - Blue Moons and White Russians. I call that diet Cerulean Sputnik.
Nothing? Bah. OK, fine, I'll get some more sleep. Go Phillies.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
There were two beers left in the fridge.
At 7:05 p.m., I drink the first one to calm my nerves.
Holly's already asleep, set to wake up around 4 a.m. to start a 27- to 30-hour surgery shift. I'm in the next room, the living room, sitting on the leftmost of the three couch cushions, crouched over looking at my laptop screen.
The computer video feed is flawless, even at full screen. The computer provides the only light in the apartment -- and the only sound, apart from the occasional AC kicking on.
Well, and apart from my occasional strangled cheers and groans, and my punching the air with every strikeout and double play.
The game was quite an experience, and it started as well as a game possibly could.
First pitch: Rollins slaps a single through the box.
Second pitch: Batting left, Victorino drops a gorgeous bunt down the third-base line as Rollins steams into second. Smoltz grabs it bare-handed and fires it wide of Teixeira at first. The ball smacks into the rolled-tarp at an angle and kicks into right field as Rollins chugs home and Victorino streaks to third.
Utley works a late count, then knocks an average grounder to Teixeira as Victorino takes a few tentative jab-steps toward home. Whether Teixeira was truly distracted by Victy (as Philly announcers surmised) or not, I don't know, but he booted the grounder, Shane walked home and Utley made first safely.
And then Howard came up. And I swear to you, I knew what was coming next.
Howard has struck out so much, SO much, this year that I no longer get those occasional pangs of "uh oh, here he comes, I'll bet he hits one a mile" like I did last August and early September. That's no knock against Howard, but ... OK, maybe it is a knock. But regardless, when he came up against a rattled Smoltz in the first tonight, it was the first time in a while that I really thought, "Smoltz doesn't have a chance here."
And he didn't. It looked like somebody had put the ball on a tee, lined up a fire hose, set it on "STUN" and flipped the switch. Kalas could barely get a mouthful of words out before the ball was in the right-field seats.
Four batters. Four runs. No outs. At least one fan having a silent, slack-jawed seizure. (I'm sure it was more than one, but as a reporter, I don't want to speculate.)
Kendrick was a wizard for five innings, scattering three hits and a walk or two. He left two balls over the plate that Chipper and Teixeira hit out for three runs combined, so he couldn't make it into the seventh. Myers left a ball up for Francoeur to pound out in the ninth, too.
The difference ended up being Burrell, who broke through against a guy who has terrorized him. He came in with two hits in two dozen at-bats against Smoltz, and he left with a two-run dinger that eked into the left-field seats.
There were a few tense moments, but I've seen tenser this year. In the end, I treated myself to another seizure, then popped open the other beer.
And oh yeah, the Mets lost. To Joel Pineiro, who did his best impression of a healthy Chris Carpenter.
So now the Mets and Phillies are tied for the lead of the National League East. The Phillies haven't had a meaningful lead (or share of one) for any potential playoff spot since the last week of 2003, when they proceeded to drop seven of their last eight to the Reds, eventual world champion Marlins and the Braves.
And that was it for Veterans Stadium -- simply a brutal way to end the stadium's life. (The NFC title-game loss to Tampa Bay a few months later managed to top that.)
Now, the Phillies are at home, the Mets are at home. The Phillies are 87-72, the Mets are 87-72. The Phillies play a losing team that has terrorized contenders this fall, and the Mets? Yeah, they do that, too.
Phils v. Nats. Mets v. Fish. Three games each.
If there's still a tie when the weekend's done, the Phils and Mets will meet at Citizens Bank Park for one game. The Phillies would throw Kyle Lohse. The Mets? It'd be Philip Humber's turn in the rotation, but I'll go ahead and guess they'd use Pedro, who threw tonight, instead.
Accckkkkkkkkkkk. Stay tuned.
Holly's already asleep, set to wake up around 4 a.m. to start a 27- to 30-hour surgery shift. I'm in the next room, the living room, sitting on the leftmost of the three couch cushions, crouched over looking at my laptop screen.
The computer video feed is flawless, even at full screen. The computer provides the only light in the apartment -- and the only sound, apart from the occasional AC kicking on.
Well, and apart from my occasional strangled cheers and groans, and my punching the air with every strikeout and double play.
The game was quite an experience, and it started as well as a game possibly could.
First pitch: Rollins slaps a single through the box.
Second pitch: Batting left, Victorino drops a gorgeous bunt down the third-base line as Rollins steams into second. Smoltz grabs it bare-handed and fires it wide of Teixeira at first. The ball smacks into the rolled-tarp at an angle and kicks into right field as Rollins chugs home and Victorino streaks to third.
Utley works a late count, then knocks an average grounder to Teixeira as Victorino takes a few tentative jab-steps toward home. Whether Teixeira was truly distracted by Victy (as Philly announcers surmised) or not, I don't know, but he booted the grounder, Shane walked home and Utley made first safely.
And then Howard came up. And I swear to you, I knew what was coming next.
Howard has struck out so much, SO much, this year that I no longer get those occasional pangs of "uh oh, here he comes, I'll bet he hits one a mile" like I did last August and early September. That's no knock against Howard, but ... OK, maybe it is a knock. But regardless, when he came up against a rattled Smoltz in the first tonight, it was the first time in a while that I really thought, "Smoltz doesn't have a chance here."
And he didn't. It looked like somebody had put the ball on a tee, lined up a fire hose, set it on "STUN" and flipped the switch. Kalas could barely get a mouthful of words out before the ball was in the right-field seats.
Four batters. Four runs. No outs. At least one fan having a silent, slack-jawed seizure. (I'm sure it was more than one, but as a reporter, I don't want to speculate.)
Kendrick was a wizard for five innings, scattering three hits and a walk or two. He left two balls over the plate that Chipper and Teixeira hit out for three runs combined, so he couldn't make it into the seventh. Myers left a ball up for Francoeur to pound out in the ninth, too.
The difference ended up being Burrell, who broke through against a guy who has terrorized him. He came in with two hits in two dozen at-bats against Smoltz, and he left with a two-run dinger that eked into the left-field seats.
There were a few tense moments, but I've seen tenser this year. In the end, I treated myself to another seizure, then popped open the other beer.
And oh yeah, the Mets lost. To Joel Pineiro, who did his best impression of a healthy Chris Carpenter.
So now the Mets and Phillies are tied for the lead of the National League East. The Phillies haven't had a meaningful lead (or share of one) for any potential playoff spot since the last week of 2003, when they proceeded to drop seven of their last eight to the Reds, eventual world champion Marlins and the Braves.
And that was it for Veterans Stadium -- simply a brutal way to end the stadium's life. (The NFC title-game loss to Tampa Bay a few months later managed to top that.)
Now, the Phillies are at home, the Mets are at home. The Phillies are 87-72, the Mets are 87-72. The Phillies play a losing team that has terrorized contenders this fall, and the Mets? Yeah, they do that, too.
Phils v. Nats. Mets v. Fish. Three games each.
If there's still a tie when the weekend's done, the Phils and Mets will meet at Citizens Bank Park for one game. The Phillies would throw Kyle Lohse. The Mets? It'd be Philip Humber's turn in the rotation, but I'll go ahead and guess they'd use Pedro, who threw tonight, instead.
Accckkkkkkkkkkk. Stay tuned.
Here we go
The biggest game of the season is tonight for the Phillies. They face John Smoltz, the Braves' best pitcher, while they throw Kyle Kendrick, their youngest.
The Phillies absolutely, positively need to win this game to still have a realistic chance of making the playoffs. And the game starts in 18 minutes, and I'm nervous.
Will the Phillies' hitters be loose enough? Will they watch Smoltz closely enough to have better luck against him the second time through the order? Will they take enough pitches to make him work? And will Kendrick shut down the Braves' hitters, who will be hacking with impunity knowing that they have nothing to play for and nothing to lose?
Let's find out. And let's feel like we want to vomit. Hooray!
The Phillies absolutely, positively need to win this game to still have a realistic chance of making the playoffs. And the game starts in 18 minutes, and I'm nervous.
Will the Phillies' hitters be loose enough? Will they watch Smoltz closely enough to have better luck against him the second time through the order? Will they take enough pitches to make him work? And will Kendrick shut down the Braves' hitters, who will be hacking with impunity knowing that they have nothing to play for and nothing to lose?
Let's find out. And let's feel like we want to vomit. Hooray!
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