Live Blog: 2009 NLCS, Game One

Well, my friends, it is time–for the second year in a row–for the Phightin’ Phillies to take on the LA Dodgers in the NLCS.  For a quick ridiculous stat, when the Phillies beat the Rockies in the NLDS, they became only the 5th NL team to win any postseason series the year after winning a World Series.  Over the course of the next three weeks, they will try and become the first NL team to repeat as World Champs in MY LIFETIME.  So, as Game One approaches, let us get going with the live blog.

6:28:  I just got home from work, having to deal with MD drivers, who go from being remarkably terrible in dry weather to an absolute monumental level of terribleness with even the slightest precipitation.  But, all is forgotten because the only thing I have left to do today is have some dinner and watch the NLCS.

6:29:  That last post sounded like an awful “tweet” that I would make fun of.  Please forgive me.

6:37:  I mentioned this on the podcast, but I really think that if there is one “key” to this series that might have more weight than others will be how hard the Phillies can hit the Dodgers starting pitchers.  The biggest single component advantage in this series is clearly the Dodgers bullpen advantage.  So, that means that the Phils will need to win the first 6 innings of every game–and maybe even with a cushion.  They cannot rely on come-from-behind wins in this series, and they cannot sit on small leads in the late innings.  It might sound obvious, but they have to score early and continue to pile on.  And, this may have a lot to do with Jimmy Rollins.  I heard a stat earlier that said that when Rollins got on base to leadoff an inning this year, he scored more than SEVENTY PERCENT of the time.  In the Rockies series, Rollins had four hits–all in the 8th or 9th innings.  He has to get on base, and it would be nice to do it early in the game, when the Phils can put together big innings against the Dodgers starters.

6:59:  As everyone knows, the pitching matchup is Cole Hamels for the Phils and Clayton Kershaw for the Dodgers.  Now, I know that a lot of things can happen over the next two decades, but there is a chance that historians look back at this pitching matchup as “one for the ages.”  There is no denying that these two pitchers are as talented as any pitcher of this generation.  Will they become iconic figures in this era?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  But, both pitchers have unlimited potential, so we may be telling our grandkids about the time we saw Hamels vs. Kershaw in the NLCS.

7:05:  The starting lineups have been announced and there is no surprise in the Phillies lineup, with the typical Rollins, Victorino, Utley, Howard, Werth, Ibanez, Feliz, Ruiz, Hamels.  But, the Dodgers lineup which was up in the air, especially facing a left-hander (with several questions that Doogan raised in comments to yesterday’s Question of the Day), is telling.  No surprise in Rafael Furcal leading off, but then they do have Andre Ethier in the lineup and hitting 2nd, despite his .194 batting average against LHs this year.  Matt Kemp slides down to the cleanup spot, with Manny hitting 3rd.  James Loney and Casey Blake have flip-flopped their normal spots, with right-handed hitting Blake in the 5-hole and left-handed Loney hitting 6th.  The red-hot Ronnie Belliard gets another start at secondbase over all-star Orlando Hudson.  Belliard will hit 7th.  Russell Martin is the most annoying (and overrated) catcher in baseball not named Pierzynski.  He is also hitting 8th in the lineup.  The implications of this is that the Dodgers have lumped their right-handed bats, which may be huge in the late innings.  When they go SW Furcal-RH Kemp-LH Ethier-RH Ramirez-LH Loney-RH Blake, they are very tough to pitch to in late innings, but with SW-LH-RH-RH-RH-LH, it’s a bit less tricky in the late innings.

7:19:  Mmmmm, homemade lasagna.

7:33:  As Doogan mentioned on an earlier post, the Phils have made a couple of changes to the roster for this series.  The first change is the addition of Chan-Ho Park, back from injury, at the expense of Kyle Kendrick.  This one was an obvious move.  Kendrick is adding nothing to this staff because you don’t need mop-up innings in the postseason.  Park is now healthy, which is a big addition because he was one of the most reliable relievers for the Phils this year.  And, he is good in just about any situation.  He can get both RHs and LHs out.  He can come in for one tough hitter (Manny or Kemp) or he can give you 2-3 innings, if need be.

7:34:  The other move was worth its own little blurb.  Brett Myers is OFF the roster.  And for whom?  For, Eric Bruntlett?  Okay, I guess I understand pieces of this decision, and I even may agree with it in its entirety.  I definitely think that the Phils can afford to go with 14 hitters and only 11 pitchers, so the move of a hitter for a pitcher makes sense.  And…as much as I hate to admit it, Brett Myers is probably the right choice to be the pitcher to be taken off because he’s not really providing anything that they don’t already have.  I’m just sorry to see it because his stuff is way too good to be left off a roster.  But, he’s just not himself right now.  I think the most curious part of this decision is the addition of Bruntlett.  How many light-hitting, utility infielders does one team need?  Miguel Cairo made it over him because he is hitting a little better right now.  But, do we really need both?  No, they do not really have many better options for that 25th spot, but I think that I would rather have had John Mayberry, Jr.  Yes, Bruntlett is valuable because of all the positions he plays and his baserunning ability, but we already have Cairo.  I would like to see a guy like Mayberry because that might be a bit of a scary RH bat off the bench, if Francisco has to be used early.

7:46:  As reported just five minutes ago on ESPN, Pedro has been officially named the Phillies Game Two starting pitcher.  Interesting…

7:54:  Okay, I have officially started pacing.  At least I have my lucky Bushmills golf towel (for chewing).  The first two games of the Rockies series, I used my Miller Lite towel, but I switched to the Bushmills for Game Three and, since it worked so well, stuck with it for Game Four.  Those were two of the most thrilling Phillies wins of my life, so I think the Bushmills towel has won the starting spot…at least for now.

8:01:  Ugh, I forgot that we get Skip Caray and Ron Darling.  Just awful!  Tell me I’m crazy, but I actually really enjoyed Brian Anderson and, especially, Joe Simpson.  I was actually really impressed by the announcers in the Rockies series.  And, if anyone watched any of the Yankees’ ALDS or the most thrilling game of the year (the one-game playoff between the Tigers and Twins), you know that these guys are not really capable of grasping when to be excited and when not to be.  They actually quite terrible.

8:03:  Okay, I’m getting a bit jumpy, so I’m going to keep typing…..Is there an industry that has more indefensible nepotism than broadcasting?  Jack Buck, Harry Caray, and Harry Kalas are three of the greatest announcers of all-time, no question.  But, does that allow EVERYONE to just ignore just how bad their sons are?  If my dad was the best lawyer in the world, would that enable me to just walk into a law firm and become partner?  Come on, people……

8:06:  Speaking of announcers, I think it’s almost refreshing that Craig Sager knows nothing about baseball, yet he’s doing “sideline” reports.  I think his lack of knowledge (and not caring to show anything) allows him to just report and not add useless opinions, like most sideline reporters, who are trying to justify their being there.

8:10:  All egos and psychology aside, should Victorino be the leadoff hitter?

8:13:  Was Victorino running on the pitch or was he just fooled taking his secondary lead to get picked off there?  And, if he was running, why?  I’m all about aggressive baserunning, especially with the mediocre arm of Martin, but with a red-hot Howard up and two outs, it seems like a bit of a stay-put situation.

8:27:  Despite two hits and a pretty high pitch count, I think Hamels actually looked pretty good in the first (I know that sounds tongue-in-cheek, but it wasn’t).  Although, the one thing that’s been killing him this year came up again, though.  He has had trouble finishing off hitters (which was his strength in the playoffs last year), and he couldn’t do it with Manny for several 1-2 pitches.

8:29:  Like I said earlier, this game (and series) is going to come down to the number of runs the Phils can score in the first 6 innings, so it’s on the offense.  Kershaw gave up a hit and made a big mistake on an 0-2 pitch to Utley that he got lucky with the 400-foot fly out.

8:31:  After Utley’s fly ball in the first and now Howard’s in the second, the Phils would be up 3-0 in The Bank.

8:36:  Okay, Kershaw looked pretty nasty against Werth and Ibanez.  But, the big question is:  Why are there SO MANY empty seats at the ballpark?  That’s pathetic.

8:42:  Have I mentioned how much I despise Russell Martin?  I just want it on the record, so that when he inevitably does something completely d-bagish, my feelings were known beforehand.

8:46:  One of the amazing aspects of this Phillies team is that because they get such great offense out of the first six hitters in their lineup (which include the shortstop, secondbaseman, and centerfielder), they are able to throw in guys like Pedro Feliz and Carlos Ruiz into the lineup, without skipping a beat, and completely shore up those sometimes overlooked defensive positions.

9:08:  I am a Miller man through and through, but that Budweiser commercial about our “national pastime” is just awesome.  There is nothing quite like baseball.

9:15:  It seems like either Kershaw is doing a great job keeping the big bats a bit off-balance or the ball just isn’t carrying that well tonight–or a combination of both–because that’s a couple balls by the big hitters that looked like they were really well hit, but did not leave the yard.

9:19:  Alright, I know it’s still pretty early, but it might be time to starting counting outs.  If I am right that the Phils really want to win the 6-inning game because of the Dodgers bullpen, they have got to get it going.  Due up in the 5th are the 6-7-8 hitters.  If nothing else, I think they have to avoid the 1-2-3 inning in the 5th.  It looks like the most likely inning for the Phillies to win this game is going to be the 6th, so I would really like to see Rollins or Victorino leading off that inning (that is, of course, if we don’t get them up in scoring opportunities in the 5th).

9:30:  No chance of a pinch-hitter for Hamels here in the 5th, right?  Like, absolutely no chance, even though there are probably going to be runners on in a game that looks like a 2-1, 3-2 type game?

9:34:  Oh right, so is this why they say that “experience” matters in the playoffs?  He just might be a bit rattled at this point, huh?  Either way, though, it’s time to get more…NOW!  Pile on, pile on.  Put this team away NOW.  They can win this game right now.

9:46:  Two-out, two-run double for Ryan Howard is big for so many reasons.  (1) It did exactly what I asked 12 minutes ago and continued to pile on, (2) it knocked Kershaw out because of the RH Werth coming up (and his rattled-ness), while being due up second in the bottom of the inning, (3) it avoided a possible momentum gain for the Dodgers if they had gotten Howard in a big spot.  The big part is that the Dodgers either have to double-switch and put the pitcher in the 7-hole or waste a reliever and then a pinch-hitter in the bottom.

9:52:  Lost in that incredibly big, professional 5-run fifth inning was the amazing comment by Buck Martinez, “Full counts lead to high pitch counts.”  Thanks, Buck, it’s a good thing you’re here.

9:54:  I think I’ve said this in every live blog I’ve done for a baseball game, but it is so incredibly important to shut down the opposition in the innings AFTER scoring runs, especially the innings after taking a lead.  It is more than just any other inning.  It is huge for momentum and the flow of the game.  It is these innings where ace pitchers make their bread. 

9:56:  A leadoff double by the “tough guy” 8-hitter is not a good start…

10:01:  1st and 3rd, one out, Ethier at the plate…this is a HUGE spot in this game.

10:03:  Tailor-made double-play ball, and Utley throws the ball into the dugout, scoring a run and prolonging the inning.  As a long-time middle-infielder, that play is all on Rollins.  The error may be on Chase, but the big thing that people don’t realize is that double-plays are almost always a product of the feed.  The pivot, or “turn,” may look good and impressive, but it really is all about the feed.  And, Rollins and Utley are SO good at feeding each other that is it very surprising to see that happen in such a big spot.

10:06:  And, like good teams do, the Dodgers made them pay for the mistake, with a 2-run shot by Manny.  5-4, Phils, and…it looks like I need another drink.

10:09:  Another note on what Doogan mentioned below.  Hamels clearly looked annoyed that the double-play was not made.  I am guessing that that is not the first time that he has been annoyed by a defensive play behind him.  And, there is no doubt in my mind, that pitchers that act like that will get more errors made behind them.  The pitchers, like Cliff Lee, who seem to be behind his fielders and seems wanting to get the ball after an error and pitch his teammate out of the error, will get SIGNIFICANTLY better defense played for them.  So, Cole, shut your mouth and pick up your teammates–it will help your own career, in the long run, believe me.

10:14:  “Time to start playing manager: Does Hamels stay in for the 6th? What reliever if not?”  -Doogan, from below.  Me?  I stick with him and try and get one more inning out of him, especially since he’s due to lead off the 7th.  If they use a reliever here, I think they’ll do it after Loney, and it will depend on the situation.  Park and Durbin are probably the options.  I think we’re past the time for Blanton, and it’s still a bit early for Madson.

10:20:  Belliard may be the last hitter for Hamels if he gets a hit.  And, if so, do you double-switch and for whom?  “I think I’d just bring in Durbin, no double-switch.” -Doogan

10:23:  Well, Belliard did get a sharp line-drive single to left, and Hamels is done.  It would have been nice to get to the 9-spot and force Torre to burn a pinch-hitter and then make the change, but it was time.  Hamels was done.  Somewhat disappointing start, actually, for Mr. Hamels.  He still is in line for the win, but he wasn’t dominant at all.  He was good enough, I guess, but here we go into the ‘pen.

10:26:  You know, we might see Thome this inning…

10:29:  It is.  It’s Jim Thome pinch-hitting against JA Happ.  It’s like Yesterday vs. Tomorrow.

10:50:  Well, if you didn’t understand why I keep saying that the Phillies need to win these games in six innings, I think the answer was just made clear.  Kuo is nasty…….and he’s their seventh-inning guy.  This game is on the ‘pen right now.  And, we need nine more outs out of them. 

10:52:  Is it Park?  If someone gets on, does he go to Madson?  God, we’ve got another one of these games going.  How can we do this seven times in the next nine days?  At least I have my chewing towel.

10:58:  I know hindsight is 20-20, but I don’t like the Bastardo move.  Bases empty, you gotta let Park pitch the inning, right?  Even though it’s a lefty to start.  Don’t you save Bastardo for a lefty when there are guys on base?  Or, well, don’t you not use him at all, if you can help it?

11:09:  First of all, Chan-Ho Park looked incredible in the 7th.  Absolutely lights-out, and unless he comes up with the bases loaded and 2 outs in the 8th (which is the only way he would come up without the Phils scoring), he’s gotta come back out for the 8th, right?  Second of all, I mentioned the lineup of the Dodgers in the opening and how the 3-4-5 hitters being all right-handed, because they moved Ethier to 2 and Loney to 6, makes it a little easier to manage the later innings.  Well, that really helped out in that inning.

11:14:  Quickly, I don’t understand why teams don’t do what the Dodgers do with the “shift.”  Why, on God’s green Earth, would you move your SS over with two other fielders and leave your 3B to cover the whole left side?  It has never made sense to me, and I guess Torre agrees.

11:17:  GINORMOUS 3-run BOMB by Raul Ibanez.  I told you the Dodgers bullpen was vulnerable……

11:18:  Raise your hand if you miss Pat Burrell.

11:28:  Dodgers greet Madson with three straight ringing singles in the 8th.  Are we not allowed to be comfortable in the postseason?  My towel has seen better days…

11:45:  Godammit, this stuff is killing me.  Yes, Doogan, I agree with the fact that Charlie has to ignore that stupid 3-for-6 Ethier vs. Eyre number.  That’s ridiculous.  That is the matchup, in this series from the Phils ‘pen.  You cannot avoid that.  But, what I think he was thinking is that if Eyre doesn’t get Ethier, then what?  Also, I don’t think it’s out of the question to see Madson at least to start the 9th.  He didn’t look good, but he is the best reliever we have right now.  Man, this postseason baseball stuff is BRUTAL on the fans!  I don’t know if I can take much more…

11:51:  I also think it’s kind of nice for our 1-2-3 hitters, at least, get a chance to see Broxton in a spot where they don’t absolutely need to score.  I hope that Howard and maybe even Werth get a look, as well.  Take some pitches, guys, take a look.  We may all be thankful a couple days from now.

12:00:  As the clock strikes midnight, you can stick a fork in me.  I’m done.  And, in theory, we may still have 6 more games in this series.  Is it Lidge?  What is going to happen…just wake me up and tell me what happened, I’m done.

12:09:  F the game, doesn’t Tommy Lasorda look exactly the same as he did 20 years ago?  Shouldn’t he look a lot older by now?

12:10:  WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Great job, Bradley!  That was a truly professional win.  What a game, what a team!  One win closer; seven wins to go.  An all-around team effort.  You can talk about Ruiz, Ibanez, Howard, Victorino, CHAN-HO PARK, and Brad Lidge.  Oh, and CHARLIE MANUEL.  But, it was a total team effort.  One down, seven to go.  We are now less than 16 hours from another EXHAUSTING game, so I’m going to try and get some rest.  I have no idea how I’m going to work tomorrow, but either way, Game Two, tomorrow, 4:00 eastern.  It would be great to head back to The Bank up 2-0, but either way, we’ve got the homefield advantage back.  The way I see it is that if we can take 3 out of 4 games started by Lee or Hamels and then 1 out of the other 3, and we’re heading back to the Series.  Before we signoff, I’ve just got one word, in closing, and think of this for the next 16 hours:  CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCH!!!!