We are the champions

Phillies rally in 8th, hold on for NLCS Game 4 win

Wow. If When the Phillies move on to the World Series for the first time since 1993, the top of the 8th in NLCS Game 4 will be replayed for years to come.

After giving up a single to Ryan Howard to start the 8th, Dodgers manager Joe Torre chose to replace reliever Hong-Chih Kuo with Cory Wade. This is significant because Kuo had stymied the Phillies for all but Howard's lead off single. Kuo pitched masterfully in the 7th, striking out Jayson Werth and Chase Utley. Torre decided to remove Kuo after Howard's single in the 8th to play the percentages. Kuo is a lefty and Pat Burrell was coming to the plate, a righty. Lefty to a righty is a no-no in baseball protocol. So Torre took the ball from Kuo and handed it to rookie Cory Wade, a righty. Smart move, at first. Wade got Burrell to pop out to 2nd and the Dodgers were now 5 outs from evening the 2008 NLCS at 2 games. The Flyin' Hawaiian had other plans.

Shane Victorino has undoubtedly been the Phillies postseason MVP. He has been masterful and energetic, exciting and clutch. When he stepped to bat last night versus Wade something was in the air. Victorino is a switch hitter so whoever Torre through out there he was able to counter. Torre stuck with Wade. Mistake. Victorino drilled a pitch down the first-base line. It was long enough. It was high enough. Home run, game tied 5-5. Wade would get Pedro Feliz to line out before facing Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz, who has been hitting better of late. Ruiz singled on the first pitch from Wade. Torre had seen enough; time for the closer. Enter Jonathan Broxton, an imposing man standing 6 feet 4 inches and weighing in at 290 pounds. And his stuff can be electric. And also a bit unpredictable.

Associated Press

Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino celebrates his game-tying 2-run home run in the 8th inning of game 4 of the 2008 NLCS.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel sent up a pinch hitter for pitcher Ryan Madson. His choice? 17-year veteran Matt Stairs, acquired from the Blue Jays by Pat Gillick in August. The Phillies are Stairs' 11th team. This was an obvious decision by Manuel; Broxton was a righty, Stair batted left. Good match up. This was only Stairs' 7th postseason game and 13th postseason at-bat ever. He had 0 runs and 0 RBIs in the postseason. Until last night.

Stairs worked Broxton. After throwing a 1st pitch strike Broxton got in a hole, throwing 3 straight balls. With the count 3-1, Stairs waited for the fastball. And he got it on the 5th pitch of the at-bat. Without hesitation Stairs unloaded on the ball. Suddenly the Phillies had the lead, 7-5.

(Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

Phillies pinch hitter Matt Stairs belts this pitch deep to right field, giving the Phillies a 7-5 lead in the top of the 8th inning of Monday's game 4 of the 2008 NLCS.

Matt Stairs is congratulated by his teammates as he enters the dugout after his 8th inning home run.

J.C. Romero would get the 2 batters he face in the bottom of the 8th out but it wasn't without a little drama. He walked Rafael Furcal, bringing the tying run to the plate in the form of Andre Ethier. Fortunately for Romero and the Phillies, Ethier grounded into a double play. Next up, Manny Ramirez.

The Phillies have been a perfect 79-0 this season with a lead during the 8th inning (74-0 regular season, 5-0 postseason) thanks in large part to Madson, Romero, and closer Brad Lidge. Manuel turned to Lidge for his first 4-out save of the year. And it would start with Ramirez. Things would get a bit shaky. Ramirez drilled a 3-2 pitch to center field for a double. With 2 outs and a man in scoring position, the Dodgers could tie the game with one swing of the bat. Lidge would strik out the next batter, catcher Russell Martin, on 3 pitches. Despite the strike out, technically the 3rd out of the inning, the 8th wouldn't end. Lidge's slider got away from Ruiz and Martin easily made it to 1st while Ramirez trotted to 3rd. Crap. The next batter was first baseman James Loney, who was having a great day at the plate, going 2 for 3 with a single, double, and a walk. He has the power to put the Dodgers back in front and shift the pressure back to Philadelphia. Loney tried. Boy did he try. After a first-pitch ball, Loney fouled off 4 straight pitches. On the 6th pitch of the at-bat Loney flied out to Eric Bruntlett, who was a defensive replacement for Burrell. Inning over. One more to go.

It would be nice to get another insurance run plated. Utley got things going in the top of the 9th with a single. Howard stepped to the plate and grounded into a fielder's choice to second base, rendering Utley out. The same thing happened to Bruntlett during the next at-bat. With Shane Victorino up, and down in the count 0-2, Bruntlett attempted to steal second on the next pitch. The Dodgers nailed him on an out pitch, inning over. No insurance runs. Lidge back to the mound to close out game 4 and secure a 3-1 Phillies lead in the series.

Things went surprisingly easy for Lidge in the bottom of the 9th. Pinch hitter Nomar Garciaparra flied out to center on his 2nd pitch, Casey Blake struck out on 3 pitches, and pinch hitter Jeff Kent lined out hard to third baseman Pedro Feliz. Game over. 7-5 Phillies. 3-1 series lead.

Brad Lidge went 1-2-3 in the 9th inning to save the win for Philadelphia.

Cole Hamels will face off against Chad Billingsley in Wednesday's game 5 in Los Angeles. A Phillies win sends them to the World Series for the first time in 15 years.

Phillies win postseason game for first time in 15 years

from Sports Propaganda

The Phillies made the playoffs for the first time in 14 years in 2007, coming back from 7 games down with 17 play to grab the N.L. East. They proceeded to get swept in the postseason by the upstart Colorado Rockies. A year later, with their second straight N.L. East division title, they got their first postseason victory in 15 years, a 3-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Cole Hamels pitched 8 dominant innings, allowing 0 runs and striking out 9. Brad Lidge, the N.L. Comeback Player of the Year, pitched the ninth. He didn't avoid drama for the second straight appearance. Lidge allowed 2 hits, walked a batter, and allowed a run. Runners were on 2nd and 3rd before he struck out Corey Hart to end the game.

Philadelphia and Milwaukee face off again tomorrow evening (6pm) at The Bank. Facing off on the mound will be Brett Myers and Brewers ace C.C. Sabathia. The Phillies will try to take a commanding 2 games-to-none lead in the best-of-5 series.

The Phillies last playoff victory was game 5 of the 1993 World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays. Curt Schilling pitched a complete game shutout, giving up 5 hits on October 21st, 1993. The Phillies won 2-0, forcing a game 6.

Lidge wins NL Comeback Player of the Year

Awards for the Phillies organization have started to come in. Brad Lidge was named the National League's Comeback Player of the Year for 2008. Lidge, the Phillies closer this season, was a perfect 41-for-41 in save opportunities. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, no Phillies closer with more than 20 opportunities has ever been perfect since the save became an official statistic in 1969. Until now, that is. Besides the 41 saves, Lidge posted a 1.95 ERA and had 92 Ks in 69.1 IPs with a WHIP of 1.23. Lidge had an inconsistent 2007 season with the Houston Astros, converting only 19 of 27 save opportunities and being demoted from the closer role.


This may not be the last of the awards for members of the Philadelphia organization. Votes have been cast for all of the prestigious MLB awards, like MVP and Cy Young, but results won't be made public until the season is over. First baseman Ryan Howard is a NL MVP candidate and Lidge will garner some consideration for the NL Cy Young. Plus, Charlie Manuel could win NL Manager of the Year.

Philadelphia Phillies: 2008 NL East Champs!!!

from Beerleaguer

THEY DID IT!!! And not without drama. Jamie Moyer pitched 6 solid innings, giving up 1 run on 6 hits. The score was 4-2 heading into the top of the 9th when Brad Lidge, 40 for 40 in save opportunities, took the mound. After a strikeout things got interesting. The next 4 batters reached base, the lead was cut to 4-3, the bases were loaded, and Ryan Zimmerman was at the plate. Zimmerman was 2 for 4 going into the at-bat. No worries. Lidge got Zimmerman to ground into an inning-ending, Division Championship double play (with the help of an amazing play by Jimmy Rollins). TWO STRAIGHT, BABY! Now let's try to win a playoff game this year...

from The 700 Level

Tom Mihalek, AP

Phillies Acquire Lidge

The Philadelphia Phillies made the first big offseason move that wasn't a player opting out. In a five player deal with the Houston Astros and former GM Ed Wade, the Phillies acquired Brad Lidge and Eric Bruntlett for Michael Bourn, Geoff Geary, and Mike Costanzo. The move will allow the Phillies to move former starter-turned-closer Brett Myers back to the rotation, despite his preference of staying in the bullpen. The Phillies, in essence, killed two birds with one stone. A proven closer, Lidge will help solidify what was Philadelphia's Achilles Heal last season - relief pitching and finishing games. Myers also moves back into the rotation and, barring a free agent signing, the 2008 starting rotation is set. Myers will slid in behind young gun Cole Hamels as the second starter giving the Phillies a solid 1-2 punch. Following Hamels and Myers will be Kyle Kendrick, Jamie Moyer, and, unfortunately, Adam Eaton (unless he has a setback from offseason surgery). The Phillies may be interested in Japanese pitcher Hiroki Kuroda, former Twin (and Phillie) Carlos Silva, or resign Kyle Lohse. The chances of signing another SP is slim with the acquisition of Lidge but may be useful considering the injuries Phillies SPs experienced in 2007.

With the rotation set for now, the Phillies can continue looking for more middle and long relief pitching. Hopefully they will strike an accord with free agent J.C. Romero and also bring in David Riske, Scott Linebrink, Troy Percival, or Kerry Wood. The other area of need is third base. The Phillies would be content going into the season with a Wes Helms/Greg Dobbs platoon. However, Dobbs may see an increase in playing time in right field if Aaron Rowand leaves via free agency, especially now that Bourn is gone. This leaves Helms and newly acquired Bruntlett as the main options at third. It is unlikely the Phillies grab Mike Lowell, who will more than likely resign with Boston or travel to the Bronx and play for the Evil Empire. Other options include trading for Colorado's Garrett Atkins (who the Rockies are now saying is unavailable) or signing Mike Lamb. There is no chance the Phillies sign Alex Rodriguez or trade for Miguel Cabrera. Sorry folks.

The most intriguing possibility is another trade with the White Sox. As A Citizen's Blog mentions, obtaining SP Jon Garland and 3B Joe Crede aren't out of the realm of possibility. It would probably take three above average minor leaguers to snatch these players from the South Side. A Citizen's Blog mentions Greg Golson, Jeremy Slayden, J.D. Durbin, J.A. Happ or Kyle Drabek. I don't think they should trade Kendrick in this package. If the Phils acquire Garland and Crede (and lose Rowand in free agency) the starting lineup and five-man rotation would be:



This is obviously going to change. The Phillies will carry more than 6 RPs and who knows if Romero will resign or if the Phils will actually utilize Mateo. But you get the idea. I hate to lose Rowand and Bourn but this team is already improved on paper. They have 2 reliable starters already and if they obtain Crede and Garland they are much more formidable than the team that came out of nowhere to win the NL East in 2007.