Phillies fall to Marlins, lose ground in playoff race

Ricky Nolasco out-pitched Brett Myers, and the Phillies’ bullpen continued to struggle in the eighth inning, as the Marlins dumped the Phillies 7-3 to take the three-game series.

For a team that just got out-pitched, out-hit and out-managed in a key best-of-three, Charlie Manuel’s post-game press conference, aired live on Comcast SportsNet, could have been uttered by a sage manager who’s gliding into the playoffs easily, pulling all the right strings and bending minds as the great Philadelphia Phillies dynasty reaches for more glistening hardware to place upon the mantle. Instead of urgency, or trepidation to face the fire after managing this series so foolishly, the fourth-year boss seemed downright casual about his club digging themselves into a hole they might not escape. "You never know when you're going to get hot,” he resolved, referring to their upcoming series against the Wild Card-leading Brewers, who won today.

You never know. You never know, for example, when Chase Utley will summon the supernatural power to heal the injury he’s obviously hiding. Or the day when none of Manuel's star players are mired in some sort of major crisis slump. Or when the multi-year search for a capable set-up man would end with a clear victor. Perhaps one will fall from the heavens.

In the world of Phillies baseball, there’s always tomorrow. Eternal tomorrow. And tomorrow, Manuel will ask his 45-year-old starter to start the digging, pitching on short rest.

Comments

[NEPP]

Its ashame to see the season slip away like this...Granted its always possible they could make up the ground but the Mets are leading right now and the Brewers too. Season's starting to look pretty much over.

[Mo Vaughns Nutritionist]

Guys, Met fan here. I'm not here to gloat. I just want to point out the eerie similarities between the Mets' postgame conferences of '07 and the Phillies' of this season. While the Mets were tanking, us Mets fans were just yearning to see our manager show some sort of emotion. Show us that he cared about what was happening. It was so frustrating to hear him in his post game conference say the same thing after ever brutal loss, "I trust my guys...the champagne will taste much sweeter... yadda yadda yadda." Its so refreshing to have a manager now who tells it as it is. Maybe you guys will dump Charlie and get a real manager.

[TK]

WHAT A WASTE OF 5 MONTHS OF MY LIFE. THANKS, PHILLIES. YOU ARE ALL PIECES OF
SH!T

[NEPP]

Thank god we traded away Outman and Cardenas for Joe Blanton...cause without him we wouldn't be in 2nd place.

[Matt]

FIRE CHARLIE MANUEL. He's a home-spun, babbling idiot.

Can't they just send this hillbilly yokel back to the Shenandoah Valley so he can stump break his cattle?

He sure as hell doesn't know how to manage a baseball game....

[TK]

Nothing I hate worse than underachievers.

I hate this team.

[KoolEarl]

I will wait a while longer before shiveling dirt on the Phillies, but presuming the Mets hold their lead tonight its 4 down in the loss column. This season has been so disappointing and has really been drag since the benchmark 20 run game vs St Louis. Even snaking a WC will still leave a residue of puke in my mouth. If I thought that not making the playoffs would result in some kind of shakup, I would hope they didnt make ut, but this staid country club will dawdle on trying to add pieces abd failing and while the short term future looks like the same old mid-upper 80's, we could be 2 years away from decline.

[EastFallowfield]

2008: 79-67, 3 1/2 back

2007: 77-69, 6 1/2 back

1980: 79-27, 1 1/2 back

If only we were chasing the Expos. Or last year's Mets.

[bay_area_phan]

TK: Are they really under-achievers? In the last 5 seasons, the Phillies have won 86, 86, 88, 85, and 89 games. This year, they're on pace to win 87.6 games. That's pretty compelling evidence that the team is performing almost exactly to par. The fault is not with under-achieving players, but with an under-achieving front office which has been unable to improve the team despite 5 straight years of trying.

[Joe Koppe]

It's over, Johnny.

[MG]

BAP - Exactly. I don't think they are underachievers as so much they are playing to par with their talent level.

I do have to say though that this team has been relatively healthy this year. No excuses there.

[dick allen-15]

I really do hope that the supposed injury to Utley has caused his dramatic dropoff in power and clutch hitting productivity. If not, we are screwed for years to come. This must be determined in the offseason. Also lets screw up the entire rotation because we decided to send our BEST PITCHING PROSPECT BACK TO VENEZUELA. What an organization..
P.S. All you Mets fans, please die in your sleep tonight..

[mustafa]

bay_area - dead, spot-on, analysis. What is different about this year's team from last year, is it does not seem the Mets are ready to hand them the Division.

[KoolEarl]

The Nats have gotten back into the game, but the way things have been going for the Mets, the BP will throw 4 innings of 1 run ball and Delgado will park one to ice the game/division

[TK]

BAP: We've been waiting for this kind of pitching for 15 years. The bullpen was terrific. Hamels and Moyer were great all year. Myers was great for half a year, and we got 'decent' production from our 4 and 5 spots (Adam Eaton being the one exception). With this lineup it is a travesty this team probably won't make the playoffs. An absolute travesty that seemingly everyone in the lineup, particularly Chase Utley, decided to have an off year offensively. I am disgusted right now, and feel I wasted 5 months of my life and a good few hundred dollars going to the first Red Sox game in June and four games down here in D.C. It is a sad day to be a Phillies fan.

[KoolEarl]

If somebody had said the Phillies overall pitching would rank 4th in the NL, I would have said that they would win 95 games, even with an expected offensive drop-off

[Hugh Mulcahy]

Not trying to sound a note of optimism . . . Just want to say, you gotta play it to the whistle. I don't hate the team for failing. I will not forgive a quitter. I haven't seen that from anyone but the fans, yet.

[PhillR]

TK- The starting pitching was meh at best. Credit Meyers with a suprising and nice 2 months, however
Blanton/Eaton/Kedrik have combined for 2.5 seasons of mediocrity to disaster.

[NEPP]

Being a Phillies fan and being Sado Masochistic is very similar...both are painful and unpleasant experiences.

[NEPP]

I dont think anyone's quitting Hugh...just being a tad annoyed and deflated by the teams seeming inability to win games they NEED to win. It ain't over yet but its starting to get pretty bleak.

[PhillR]

Nats tied it up.

[KoolEarl]

Maybe Aaron Heilman becomes the Phillies MVP after all

[EastFallowfield]

I'm wondering what Utley will do after the season. Will there be some surgery for whatever it is? Would we have been better off having him go ahead with it during the season and come back later in the year rather than play at his current level?

[NEPP]

The problem is the Mets can afford to lose this game...we're still in a hole even if they stumble.

Tomorrow will be Moyer's most important start in a Phillies uniform...we NEED a win.

[NEPP]

Its not like Uts has been dogging it really...he's still the best 2B in the game right now. He's just not a top 10 player in the game right now.

[TK]

Last year I had MLB TV, and was watching one of the Cardinals games in late Sept. on my laptop late at night. My roommate peered over to me and said, "dude, you are a masochist."

I will continue my masochistic ways tomorrow night, but it will be hard to take much more of this.

[PhillR]

I'm always shocked that they let him pitch with less then a 5 run lead or a 5 run deficit. The guy is just a disaster.

Keep in mind that their are worse things then no setup man; one could always have Heilman as your setup man.

[KoolEarl]

Looks like 3 inning game in NY. It is pretty pivotal as its all going to be "in the loss column" until the games even out next Thursday. If the Nats win its 3 games out in the loss column and picking up a game by the time the Mets finish their game Monday keeps things in play while having to pick up 2 games over the next 4 is a stretch.

[BobbyD]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. This season has been neither fun nor entertaining. As for Manuel, he's done. 4 seasons of the same. If not for the Mets collapse last year (which the Phillies had a lot to do with) he would have accomplished the same as Bowa. Except Manuel had better players and a higher payroll. This team needs to look a lot different next year. And no more platooning! They need eight everyday starters. I love Burrell, but like Abreu, it's time to move on.

[gg allin]

Delgado ties it up with a sac fly. It is getting a little out of hand with this guy.

[UD Hens]

Let me say I am not ready to give up yet.

[KoolEarl]

Geege- That was the go-ahead run and the little bit of hope I had has just about flickered out.

[GoPhilsGo]

UD, good for you, because the season isn't over yet.

[msb]

Jason's post on the "there's always tomorrow" mentality is what drives me crazy about the Phils mgmt, players and F/O. They are the biggest bunch of rationalizers. They play games like they can always come back in the 9th, and they run the season like they can always overcome the 4 game disadvantage with bonehead trades for Joe "I eat donuts not innings" Blanton. Mets won't fold this year, and this series with the Brew Crew is either going to be inspirational or brutal. They may have two more wins than last year, but the situational hitting has dried up, and you have to play each year to your level of competition. They had the lead in this race for once, and they blew it!

[clout]

BAP makes an excellent post showing that what we see is exactly what we get with this team. It's a mid- to high 80s win team, depending on injuries.

Why? Because while the core of Phillies stars as as good as any NL team's core, the supporting players are weak. You have Hamels and Uts and Howard and Rollins and Burrell and Myers and you tell them to win with a supporting cast that includes Ruiz, Feliz, Bruntlett, Eaton, Gordon etc. etc. Ownership is too cheap to hire a decent supporting cast. And that's the difference between the high 80s and the 90s. And the core hs maybe 1 or 2 years at best before those high 80s wins slip into the low 80s. Such a sad waste of talent. It's like blowing the engine on a Maserati because you insisted on using recycled oil and a crappy filter to save a few bucks.

[MG]

Last year I thought the Phils were done really early when Utley went down with his wrist injury. I thought it was over for certain since it meant No-Hit would start at 2B for at least a month.

This season I have been much more patient and relaxed but if the Phils are back 4 or more games on Sunday in the WC & NL East, I have will think the Phils will have raised the white flag on the 2008 season.

[MG]

Misc note - Do the Phils still break their all-time single season attendance record if they pull an el foldo against the Brewers this weekend?

[clout]

It's really simple. Teams that beat up on weaker teams deserve to win. Teams that lose to weaker teams don't.

[phanatic]

Mets fan here, was in Philly tonight getting a cheesesteak at Genos... I heard a fat lady singing outside of Citizens Bank BP

[MG]

phanatic - Why did you go to Geno's for a cheesesteak? Waste of time and money.

[me]

Season. Over.

It's done I am afraid. No magic this year. It is officially time to switch gears to the Eagles.

[Marc H]

This season has been less fun than some of the seasons wqhen they were bad. Underachieving bothers me more than ineptitude.

[PhillR]

MG: What is your preferred purveyor of cheesesteak?

[PhillR]

Guzman is trying to give Delgado a run for MVP. lol.

[MG]

What is a shame is that for the first time in several years the Phils actually have a pitching staff that would be capable of actually making some noise in the playoffs. Hamels/Myers/Moyer would be decent for Games 1-3 and their bullpen is still solid enough compared to the lies of the Brewers or Mets.

[PhillR]

I really am not as high on this rotation as most in the playoffs. Meyers has been a nice surprise, but I have zero confidence. Moyer, postseason, he would need more then smoke and mirrors.

[MG]

PhilR - Just about any place over the greasy and chopped up Grade D meat you get from Geno's. Steve's in NE Philly is really good and in South Philly I would go to just about any place before Geno's. Hell even Pat's is better right across the way (no by much but still).

[PhillR]

Its been so long, but I recall really liking the grease at Pats. Cheese steak was a rare enough treat I never really worried about lean beef.

[Hugh Mulcahy]

I'm partial to the steak sandwich you get in those corner joints in REading. At least, before tehy all closed down and became taco joints.

As for Delgado, when gg allin tells you someone is out of hand, they're out of hand.

I can't believe Charlie is going to start Moyer tomorrow. It's like elder abuse. I would have looked seriously at Madson and/or a starter by committee (no, sorry, Mr. Eaton, you aren't on my committee). I know they're all MUST wins now but, I have a hard time believing that Moyer can do it at this stage of the season.

[gg allin]

Wright homerun.

Damn it all.

[PhillR]

Crap. If Beltran, Deglado and Wright are all hot, Reyes' struggles don't even matter. They look incredibly confident and relaxed right now.

Again, my eyes look to the Brewers as our best shot.

[bay_area_phan]

TK: You do have a point about this being the best starting pitching the Phillies have had in years (even if it really is just 3 pitchers). And I suppose you could say that we under-achieved in the sense that none of our star everyday players has had a big year, and a couple have had very below average years. Still, that sort of reinforces my point about the front office's failures. The F.O. has built a team that might be capable of winning 92 or 92 games if everything worked to perfection -- i.e., all their stars have big years; most or all complementary players perform to par or better; key injuries are avoided; and one or two guys come out of nowhere to have surpisingly big years. Problem is, it almost never works like that. In a typical season, some guys do better than expected; some do worse; some get injured; some don't pan out at all. You have to plan for these eventualities, and the Phillies have consistently planned poorly. An example which springs right to mind is not having a backup plan for Tom Gordon, even though literally every poster on Beerleaguer knew that he was going to come down with a serious injury at some point.

[wally]

Phillies have had misfortune this year, but injuries have not been their problem.

[TK]

Yeah losing Tom Gordon was big, and having Chad Durbin fizzle out the past month when he looked capable before of being a good setup guy really hurt them. It is infuriating how this year turned out. In mid-June I was looking at 95 wins. Then the entire offense decided to go cold at once, and the rest is history. And to top it all off, the Mets have been lights out for 3 months, getting jump started by taking 3 of 4 at CBP over July 4 weekend.

I will now light myself on fire.

[Im a Met Fan]

Wow is anyone else seeing this temper tantrum from Elijah Dukes? Wasnt he a huge huge prospect a few years ago? I can see why the rays didnt hang onto him.

[Ryn5]

Here's what the voice on the machine says:

"Hey, dawg. It's on, dawg. You dead, dawg. I ain't even bulls-------. Your kids too, dawg. It don't even matter to me who is in the car with you. N-----, all I know is, n-----, when I see your m-----f------- a-- riding, dawg, it's on. As a matter of fact, I'm coming to your m-----f------ house."

She also says Dukes called her and told her to check her cell phone.

He sent a text message with a photo of a handgun, she said.

[bballscientist]

Yeah dukes is ridiculous, He seems to always have words with fans also. He needs to know that the attitude is gonna have him out of baseball soon.

[Im a Met Fan]

Honestly im all about reclamation projects with huge upside, i guess because i dont have to deal with them personally. I still think bonds is the best player ever, and if myers were a met id root for him because i want to win (as long as past deeds dont occur again). But ive never seen a temper tantrum like that before in front of the fans albeit rocker

[bballscientist]

Yeah Gary cohen said that Dukes travels with someone like josh hamilton does, But is dukes a addict? or does he just get arrested all the time? I heard he's like the anthony mason of baseball with all these kids he has scattered around with different women

[MG]

Dukes is a scumbag. Pure and simple. If the Nats were smart, they would just release him ASAP and at least get rid of one of the malcontents on their team. Can't believe that Bowden not only assembled such as awful team but one that had so many players that would root against including Dukes, Lo Duca, and Milledge.

[MG]

Right now the Phils have the 11th best Winning Pct in MLB and 5th best in the NL. Pretty damn accurate. A pretty good team but not one of the upper echelon teams.

[MG]

I have to give the Mets a lot of credit though the last 3-4 weeks in particular. They have found the ways to win the tough games or the occasional rough starts that the Phils just haven't seemed to.

[bballscientist]

Milledge is just a cocky young kid. Dukes makes milledge look normal. Dukes is just a thug. You would hope that when you make a decent paycheck you would try to lay low and do your job.

[dw]

what exactly happened with Dukes??

[bballscientist]

Pelfrey threw inside and Dukes flipped. He looked like a moron more then anything. Then later on he actually got hit by Pelf and didn't do anything.

Then later got booed walking back to the dugout and decided to wave his arms at the fans sayin basically "I can't hear you". Then went in the dugout and knocked over a cooler which resulted on some spillin on bonafocio. That last part was funny

[Slocs]

Yup. It is done. 3-way tie with Cards and Ed Wade's Astros 4 back of Brewers. We may split or even win 3 but the Cards and Astros look more together than us. Moyer on short rest and than Happ starting Sunday... Yikes. Utley, Burrell and too many others coming up small. Let's hope Foxsports is right and the Rays end up moving to Philly in a year or two and we can watch a team that has been built the right way - young, strong defensively, fast and great pitching.

[MG]

Thinking back it is not the lack of a "setup-man" per-se that is killing this team the past 3 weeks - it is the fact that the 3 primary bridge guys in the pen (Madson, Durbin, and Romero) have all pitched pretty poorly while last year the 3 primary bridge guys in the pen (Romero, Gordon, Geary) caught lightning in a bottle for a month.

Basically the biggest difference this year is that Gordon and Romero both had relatively fresh arms (Gordon spent a longt-time on the DL last summer and Romero spent some time on waivers not pitching) and Geary came out of nowhere last year to pitch very effectively in Sept after he was called back up.

This year there isn't a single fresh arm in the pen except maybe Eyre and there were no callups to bolster the pen come Sept. 1. That is real the real crux of the problem with the 8th inning.

[BobbyD]

Mets this week = taking care of business.
Phillies = choking situation, starting with the manager.

[Ribbies]

Seems like Charlie has been saying "You never know when you're going to get hot" for the last three months. That's not managing, thats just hoping.

I think he's shown he deserves to go if the Phils don't "get hot" in the next two and a half weeks, this tailspin has been taking place in slow motion since the end of June.

[MG]

All year this year though for the most part it was liking watching one of those old Westerns where the army (Phils regulars) was surrounded by indians (typical regular season woes) and there really was no cavalry to save them.

[MG]

Sounds likes the Beerleaguer fans are sharpening the long knives in preparation for pulling them out on Cholly. I wonder if the guys in the media do the same or the F.O. drops any inklings that they too are thinking of making a change when the season ends.

[BobbyD]

I'm not a Manuel basher, but 4 seasons, all basically the same.. it's just time for a change.

[MG]

Eeiry to go back and read the concensus on Beerleaguer before the season began but it was 88 wins (JW's calculation from the various posts) and no playoffs for the Phils posted.

Here was mine:

Interesting yet disappointing season. Offense isn't quite as potent as last season while the pitching is actually marginally improved (in terms of runs allowed). Basically adds up to 87 wins and a second place finish 4 games behind the Mets (who win the NL East with 91 wins).

Reason I have hope - this team is so close to being a playoff team that even a little luck or a marginal move could put them over the top. Neither the Braves or Mets are good enough to run away with the East this year with 95+ wins.

[MG]

Seems like the overall "wisdom of the crowds" at Beerleaguer maybe pretty damn spot on for the 2008 Phils season.

[MG]

A possible tagline for Beerleaguer - "Smarter than the average ESPN baseball analyst"

[Mets Rock Hard]

Here is my advice to the Phillies: If you want the division, why don't you stop doing what you're doing whil waiting around for the Mets to choke again and do something! They're not gonna choke again, so start busting your asses play like division winners! On second thought, keep doing what you're doing, you're playing great.

[BobbyD]

The Phillies aren't capable of busting their asses and playing like division winners. Have no fear Mets fans. The playoffs are all yours. (bridge, jump, splash, dead)

[Mets Rock Hard]

You really think so?

[Rollinsux]

Just got back from Shea.

Damn, what an awesome night! You can forget about Delgado for MVP. Who cares when the entire team is hitting.

Is Aaron Heilman on the Phillies payroll? He should be.

[Mike]

I'm not willing to declare it officially over until I see the outcome of the Brewers series. Nevertheless, I'm extremely confident that I will likely get to see playoff baseball. Unfortunately, I'll probably be watching it at Dodger Stadium.

[G-Town Dave]

I was at the game this afternoon. At least the weather was nice. Once again I am reminded of the fact that Charlie Manual is one of the ***DUMBEST*** managers I have ***EVER*** seen. History teaches the man nothing. Every move he made (& didn't make) from the middle of the 7th on was not merely wrong, but outright stupid:

Letting Myers bat in the 7th. Sending him out to pitch in the 8th. Waiting a batter too long to pull Myers once it was clear he was done. Continuing to make pitching changes when the game was already lost. The guy may well be a genius in the clubhouse, but he's a certified moron in the dugout. Jeez, 5 hours after the game ends & I'm still pissed off. Nevertheless ...

2008: 79-67, 3 1/2 back

2007: 77-69, 6 1/2 back

Last season was an eye-opener. I'm not going to be ready pull the plug on '08 until the Phils have been officially eliminated. Also, ypu trolling Mets fans can go take a flying f*ck at a rolling donut. With a payroll of $120 million, your team should've already clinched. Talk about underachieving ...

[baxter]

I'll watch it, but I don't expect the Phils to make the playoffs. Right now, they aren't a playoff team. They could get hot, but they look like they're fading fast. Maybe if they brought Carrasco up Sept 1st, he could've given the a lift down the stretch, but its too late now. We desperately need new blood in the rotation and bullpen, but for some reason the front office didn't notice all our pitchers walking around with an icepack.

Howard is hitting a homerun everyday and the Phils can't win a game in September. Signing Howard to a long-term deal should be a priority this off-season. Howard should be a cornerstone of this franchise, like Utley. Then we find some pitching.

[Im a Met Fan]

G-town -- I understand the frustration with the trolls, but dont use the payroll as an excuse... With Alou and Pedro giving us essentially nothing this year and Wagner about 70% of the season we have nearly the same payroll as you do. Its been noted on here that you guys have had some bad luck this year, but injuries havent been with the exception of rollins bein out a few weeks and gordon. We on the other hand lost our number 2 for about the last month our 4 being gone or a negative factor all year our LF and RF being gone either all or most of the year and our closer for the stretch run.

[Im a Met Fan]

G-town -- I understand the frustration with the trolls, but dont use the payroll as an excuse... With Alou and Pedro giving us essentially nothing this year and Wagner about 70% of the season we have nearly the same payroll as you do. Its been noted on here that you guys have had some bad luck this year, but injuries havent been with the exception of rollins bein out a few weeks and gordon. We on the other hand lost our number 2 for about the last month our 4 being gone or a negative factor all year our LF and RF being gone either all or most of the year and our closer for the stretch run.

[Im a Met Fan]

Err sorry for the double post and also G-Town i shouldnt say "dont use it as an excuse", what i meant is its kind of a whiney way to complain for the sake of complaining. The Phils can spend as much as the mets i think, and i believe the mets can spend as much as the yankees, its just not productive because you get stuck with more than just a few bad long term contracts that can really hurt you.

[Mike]

In Myers' defense, there should have been a double play on the hit by Jacobs if the shift hadn't been on. He didn't get hit hard. That said, I have zero confidence right now in Romero's ability to get guys out with runners on.

[WillyFromPhilly]

Someone tell me again how great Mike Arbuckle is when the major league team has to start a 45-year-old on 4 days rest.
You know what time it is? It's time for Mike to go.

[denny b.]

Fearless prediction time....

If the Phils win game 1 against Sheets tonight, they sweep the Brewers and tie up the WC race by Sunday evening.

The Brewers are struggling badly right now. They barely snuck out one win today, against the Reds at home. Their bullpen, top to bottom, is bad. Their manager is bad as well.

This would be classic Phillies. Just when you think they are on the ropes, or in desperation mode, they come back to life. Its their MO.

I think, at worst, the Phils take 3 out of 4 from Milwaukee, and get right back into the thick of things this weekend. And, if they can find a way to win on Thursday, they sweep and the race truly begins.

[Mark B.]

Guys, I'm not tanking the season, but;

I’m just going to focus on what I see as the paradigm moment of this game and of the current play of the Phillies; 2 out in the eighth inning, bases empty. Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez brings in lefthander Arthur Rhodes to pitch to 2nd baseman Chase Utley.

You remember Arthur Rhodes don’t you? The bane of all Phillies fans’ existence in the 2006 season. For those who don’t remember just how bad Arthur Rhodes is; check out the 2006 stats; 0-5 w-l, 45 2/3 innings, 47 hits, 27 runs, 5.32 ERA.

Well, getting back to yesterday’s game; Rhodes vs Utley — 3 pitches, 3 strikes (the first 2 looking) as the Utley of September 10th is but a shadow of the Utley of May 10th. Check it out on Utley’s game-by-game log.

[JToy25]

It's sad sitting here watching this team play like this when we know they are better...Uncle Charlie needs to go he's lost this team and is prolly the worst manager in baseball and makes the dumbest decisons like leaving Kyle Kendrick in until he's given up 7 runs and letting a 45 year old pitch on 3 days rest...Changes sure as hell do need to be made to this team after this season.

[seth.]

The division should have been automatic, but instead it was Charlie Manuel.

[EastFallowfield]

Mets fans show they're better at frontrunning then us.

If we had 3 starts like they've had in their last 4 (Pedro 4 inn, 6 ER, Perez 3 1/3 and 7 and Pelfrey 5 and 5) we'd all be panicking about our starting pitcher falling apart at crunch time.

Instead, they're here gloating.

[GM-Carson]

After last season's historical comeback in September, I vowed to never give up on the team until they were mathematically eliminated...but you can color me highly skeptical right now.

[EastFallowfield]

Kept telling my kids that usually teams don't do what the Phillies did last year. Now they'll get to see it (again) with their own eyes.

[phargo]

Good Morning.

Urrrrrgh.

[NEPP]

I hate Delgado (Pujols should win MVP)

Tony Lukes on Oregon in S. Philly is a great cheesesteak (their roast pork sandwich is great too, make sure to get sharp provo on it)

Moyer on short rest scares me to death.

On that, a sweep and we're right back in this. 3-1 gives us life too...though not nearly as much.

[THe ANdy]

season≈over

[Ribbies]

There's a good post over at 700level.com about Utley's disappointing year, especially in the second half, especially when it matters most. Some stats: "When the margin is more than four runs, Utley is batting .350. He's hitting .281 when it's four, .279 when its three, .273 when the lead is two for either team and .252 in one-run games. When it's considered "late and close" he's hitting just .233 with 12 RBI in 90 AB. He's also batting just .206 against the Mets, while hitting well over .300 against the rest of the division."

[Bob]

Some great posts by gurus BAP, clout, and MG.

I also had that same moment that Mark B had. When Rhodes came in to pitch to Chase, I remember thinking, not, "Here we go, time for Chase to hit one of those raking line drive doubles he always seems to", but rather, "Jeez, Arthur Rhodes is going to K Chase Utley. We all knew Rhodes would come back to haunt us."

When I snapped the radio off after listening to the three pitch strikeout, I was thinking how that moment summed up much of the last half of this season.

[Andy]

I remember living in Oakland when the Yanks beat them in the first round of the playoffs after being down two games to none. (The turning point was that catch and toss by Jeter where he was not where he was supposed to be, but exactly where he needed to be.)

The next year, the Oakland A's (highly rhetorically thought out) advertizing campaign was: "We Owe You One." I'm thinking we're gonna get something like that from the FO all Winter and Spring.