NLDS Running Diary

3:12:  Cole Hamels goes 1-2-3, looking VERY impressive.  He has the second best change-up in baseball, and the fact that he threw it 3-1 and 3-2 to Cameron was huge!

 3:15:  Never thought I’d say this about a pair of .249 hitters, but thank god Pat Burrell is healthy behind Howard.  I can’t imagine why the Brewers would pitch to Howard if it was anyone other than Burrell behind him.

3:19:  Thank god we have the brilliant analysis of John Smoltz:  “You know it’s really hard to get 3 outs in an inning.”  Thanks, John.  Is that kind of a firm grasp on baseball strategy required to be a Hall of Fame pitcher or is Smoltzy just blessed?

3:22:  When one game could be the season and then they show the black clouds above the stadium, you have to think about what would happen in a rain delay.  Please don’t rain.  Please don’t rain.  It would be a HUGE disadvantage for the Phillies, who have their best pitcher on the mound, as opposed to the Brewers, who have a guy out of whom they don’t really expect more than 5 innings or so.

3:24:  You know for a guy who stayed in the minors an extra year or two because the Phillies weren’t sure if he could ever play the infield in the majors, Chase Utley has become an outstanding defensive secondbaseman.

3:28:  The difference in Howard in late-August through now is that he is not chasing pitches like he did for four and a half months, particularly breaking balls.

3:33:  I am trying to think back to a team that had such a combination of pure speed and pure power as the Phillies do with this lineup.  The first team that came to mind was the late-80s, early-90s Oakland A’s, but I am sure there are other, more recent examples.  Anyone?

3:41:  Is it weird that I’m not sick of those Frank Caliendo commercials?  I wasn’t even sick of them at the end of last year’s postseason.  But, I tried the show, and it’s kind of terrible.

3:43:  Ruiz has been A LOT better over the second half of the season, which is a big reason for the difference in the Phils’ success because the bottom of their order was a wasteland for 4 months.

3:46:  That is TWICE that a pretty big spot in this game already and the Phillie hitter has gone after the first f’ing pitch.  Make the young guy actually feel the pressure.  Rollins and Burrell should know better than that after all these years in the big leagues.  Ps…that is twice that Smoltz said the word “impatientness.”  I let the first one slide.

3:51:  Defense is SOOO important in the postseason, as was obvious in this big 3rd inning (and was obvious with the Rollins double play against Washington on Saturday).  And, I think we are seeing something we are going to see a lot of this series–an intentional walk to Ryan Howard, which goes back to how important Pat Burrell is for this team right now.

3:59:  Another thing that is so incredibly important in baseball games in general, but especially in October, is the half-inning after your team scores.  And, it may be even more important now because of the youth and inexperience of this Brewers team.  Hamels getting through this top of the 4th without much trouble will be a HUGE step towards the Phillies taking a 1-0 lead in this series.  Add to that, the fact that Hamels spent most of the bottom of the 3rd on the bases (which always scares me about the next inning).

4:03:  Notice that I’m back writing FOUR minutes later?!?  Nice work, Cole.  What a difference one game of postseason experience can make.

4:07:  I think I might be so excited about this game that I am hallucinating.  I thought I just saw Carlos Ruiz try to bunt for a hit.  Weird, right?

4:10:  If you were Ned Yost, would you be rooting for the Brewers?

4:19:  Brian Anderson needs to stop mentioning the fact that Hamels has a #*^&$#*  ^&$#  going through 4 2/3 innings.  Honestly, come on…

4:21:  See?  I blame Brian.

4:25:  And, we are now into the Brewers bullpen.  Not to doubt one of my favorite BSB contributors, but Stri said that all 8 playoff teams were in the top 9 in the majors in bullpen ERAs.  Again, I have no numbers, but I was under the impression that the Brewers bullpen was incredibly shaky.  I mean Solomon Torres is the closer and Eric Gagne is the top setup man.  Hell, Eric Gagne is on the postseason roster–doesn’t that tell you something?

4:31:  Here is something I don’t quite understand.  Ryan Howard is one of the best opposite-field power hitters I have ever seen, but teams put this ridiculous shift on him and he never goes the other way with ground balls or line drives.  It just seems weird to me because, like I said, he is SOOO good at going the other way for power.  In fact, now that I think about it, Mike Piazza was the same way, only from the right side.

4:43:  -deep breath-  So, I was watching the Brewers home broadcast last Thursday night against the Pirates, when Braun (who just popped out in a big spot…deep breath…) hit the walk-off grand slam.  The Brewers “sideline reporter” interviewed Braun after the hit and asked him if this hit might help his confidence, since he had been struggling.  And, he answered, with one of the cockiest looks I’ve ever seen with, “The one thing I don’t need help with is self-confidence…” and just kind of walks away.  How cocky do you have to be to make a cocky joke about yourself being cocky?  Uh…wow.  That being said, the guy can flat-out mash.  -deep breath-

4:49:  So, here’s another question that I have always wondered.  Obviously, the vast majority of major league players were utterly dominant in high school.  Like guys like Bill Hall or Shane Victorino were probably the best players their high schools have ever seen–probably big power hitters and everything.  But, what about guys like Craig Counsell, who are slap hitters?  They are very important major league players, but did they hit for power in high school?  Could you ever see a guy like Eric Bruntlett hitting in the 3-spot?

4:52:  Another thing that has changed a lot in the last 6 weeks for the Phillies is the defense of Ryan Howard.  He has been a lot better (which isn’t hard  because he was brutal early)–almost “good” at firstbase.

5:03:  Wow, how different is the feeling right now than if Mike Cameron had come down with that Chase Utley fly ball that should have been caught?  Not that it is “comfortable,” by any means, but the difference in the physical feeling of a 3-0 lead and 0-0 game in the top of the 8th is incredible.  Do we take this stuff too seriously?

5:19:  Okay, Cole Hamels has thrown 99 pitches and has been basically unhittable, why would he not pitch the 9th? 

5:21:  Whether Hamels pitches the 9th or not (and I have been trying to hold out for fear of the jinx), this has all the makings of going down as a performance that we Phillie fans talk about for generations–like when Schilling struck out the first 5 Brave hitters in Game 1 of the 1993 NLCS.

5:37:  I don’t think I’m in shape for this kind of drama…

5:51:  When the Phillies beat the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 5 of the 1993 World Series behind Curt Schilling, I was 14 years old and had been in high school for a month and a half.  I had Algebra homework, had never had a girlfriend, and was nervous about freshman basketball tryouts.  Today, the day after my father’s 60th birthday and 10 days before my Wedding Day, I have a Master’s Degree, a 401-K, and pain in my knee every time it rains.  And now, the Phillies have another playoff win.  It was worth the wait…