Phils ride early lead, hold on to beat Dodgers 8-5

In a game that followed no logical script, the Phils earned all their runs without the long ball and received a 3-for-3, 3 RBI day at the plate by Brett Myers, as the Phils downed the Dodgers to take a 2-0 lead in the NLCS.

Shane Victorino continued his torrid Victober with a two-run single, two-run triple and a highlight-reel catch in the seventh. While Myers was a star at the dish, he labored on the bump, allowing five runs and four walks over five frames, including a three-run shot by Manny Ramirez to cut the Phillies’ six-run lead in half. To the delight of a sold-out Citizens Bank Park crowd, that's where the score would stay thanks to four shutout innings by the bullpen highlighted by Ryan Madson’s brilliant eighth. Brad Lidge turned the ninth into another adventure, but he struck out the side for his 48th-straight save.

Beerleaguer: Myers’ game will never be forgotten, but neither will the work of several others. Victorino has been a delight this entire post-season and has been the Phillies' best overall player for months, period. I loved the look of the Carlos Ruiz double into the gap that got it all started in the second. Old-school Chooch. The job of both bullpens cannot be overstated. Just when the game appeared to be slipping away, Chad Durbin worked a scoreless sixth, J.C. Romero was as nasty as I’ve seen against the left-handers Ethier and Loney. And then there was Madson, who dialed it up to the high 90s and absolutely annihilated Jeff Kent, Rafael Furcal and Russell Martin in a huge spot in the eighth.

Something smells, and it's coming from the lockers of Myers and Victorino. It smells like destiny.

Comments

[p. Red]

Crowd didn't seem to be as into it as last night, but they sure were loud at times, as evidenced by this account.

The place is rocking … literally (5:15 p.m. ET)
They say one of the great things about RFK Stadium, where the Washington Redskins used to play football, was the place literally shook during big moments. Well, it happened last night in Philadelphia when Chase Utley and Pat Burrell went deep. It's happening again during Game 2. After Phillies pitcher Brett Myers singled home a run, the left-field seats -- where the auxiliary press box is located -- shook enough to have computers dancing on the tables.

--Nick Pietruszkiewicz, ESPN.com baseball editor

[phanatic's brother]

yeah baby
just think what the score would be if we were firing on all cylinders!

go Phils
Take it to LA !!

[EastFallowfield]

Phils second 2-0 postseason series lead since the 80 WS...

[vegas]

I'll be in La on Sun. and I hope it's nice and quiet there so I can enjoy Poppy Moyer dance around the plate.

2 to go!

[Replacement Player]

I dedicate the only thing I can, my vast satisfaction I feel right now, to the memory of June Manuel. For all his foibles, Uncle Charlie is our skipper, and my heart goes out to him. I can't help but admire his gumption in soldiering on today. Hats off.

[timr]

Vic is the kind of high energy player that is absolutely key to a successful playoff run. The guy is just excited to contribute every at-bat--it looked like he was smiling before he even made that catch!

[RSB]

I'm never one to make excuses for Brett Myers, but I have to think he would have pitched a better game if he wasn't all over the bases every time up.

[Mike]

Great that we took two. I'll be able to enjoy the game on Sunday at Dodger Stadium a little more now. Loge level seats here.

[GoPhilsGo]

Brett pitched just fine except for one mistake to Manny, and his plate appearances were very fruitful and even more entertaining. It was a good trade off, especially since the bullpen has been so strong.

[doubleh]

On PGL it was reported that Shane Victorino's Grandmother died today also.

Two in one day? My heart bleeds for Vic and Cholly.

[phanaticinDC]

I saw in one article that Vic was told about his grandmother after the game. My thoughts & prayers are with him, Charlie and their families tonight.

[EastFallowfield]

Myers said he twisted his ankle rounding second in his postgame interviews. Says he'll be fine.

[LA Jeff]

I'll be at the game Sunday. Who wants to meet up and do a round at Dodger Stadium? We can cheer to Beerleaguer!

[GoPhilsGo]

Wow, how sad is that. First Cholly's mother, now Vic's grandmother. Talk about a bittersweet victory.

[EastFallowfield]

The Phillies became the 19th team in history to win the first two games of the NLCS. Of the clubs that have jumped out to a 2-0 lead, 16 of the 18 teams have ended up winning the series.

[Kutztown fan]

Manny's homerun doesn't count because it would've been an out in any other ballpark. Right? At least that's the argument we got about the HRs from Chase and Burrell last night.

Oh, and I tried the mute button with McCarver and Buck today. Very relaxing to take a break from them.

[EastFallowfield]

Wondering if the Spanish SAP audio is worth a try. You get to hear the "BEAT LA" chants and no Buck and Timmy.

[BloodStripes]

That smell is wafting all the way down to Australia. Sniff, sniff.........smells good.

Go you Phils! Win the NL Pennant.

[Mr. Mack]

It still amazes me that even with a 3 run, 9'th inning lead, we all felt a bad case of nerves. As Philadelphia fans, we have been conditioned to expect the worst. For the fans of a city who has been punched in the gut more often than we care to remember, this is a perfect place to start cringing, bracing for a roundhouse blow.

However...Maybe, just maybe, this year becomes one of those magical sporting seasons that takes all of the Philadelphia fans for that once-in-a-generation joy ride that we all have prayed so hard for. Pinch me if it happens, 'cause it would be hard for me to believe it's not a dream.

[kbless]

Well said Mr. Mack! Just bought my tickets for Game 6. Hope the Phils can at least pull one out of LA. I would like to go to the game with the possibility of clinching, but I wouldn't complain if the series is over by then either.

[diggitydave]

I guess this is an interesting development, as according to my calculations Brett Myers threw offspeed stuff (curveball, slider, splitter, change) in 59 of his 98 pitchers (when you take away the IBB he had), resulting in a 60% clip.
I don't know if Brett just didn't have his good stuff, command, accuracy, velocity, etc.

I would say, however, that if Brett pitches at the pre-demotion-to-the-minors-Brett Myers, J Roll and Howard both look extremely lost at the plate, and yet we still are putting up 8 runs on the board and winning games, that bodes extremely well for this team once Jimmy and Ryan actually wake up and start mashing.

Oh and I was at the game tonight, I'll vouch for the crowd - I think everyone had that sinking feeling in their stomachs and expected the Phils to inevitably blow the game. Still, the place was rocking when Myers got his hits and Victorino's ridiculous catch sent the crowd into a frenzy. Madson shutting down the Dodgers' big bats in the 8th and, especially, Lidge slamming the door in the 9th took the noise to another level and the place really was rocking when Nomar went down swinging...

[Ben Rivera]

So who's the ump for Sunday? What's the word on his strike zone?

[GoPhilsGo]

I love the smell of destiny in the evening

[RSB]

Kuroda's going to be a much bigger problem for this team than either Lowe or Billingsley.

[Pops]

So where did Ryan Madson get this 96 mph heater from? He was filthy - good tonight.

[UD Hens]

Let's go Phils! Take it in LA. I'm tired of hearing from all the so called experts about how Manny is going to beat the Phils. whatever!

[doubleh]

Kuroda is good, but if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best.

Go Phils! I still see this going 6 or 7 games, but if they can take at least 1 in LA, we'll be OK, I think.

[Bob]

Couple of comments:

-I found the trade off of the nuisance of a several second delay well worth the pleasure of watching the TV with no sound and having the local guys on the radio in the background.

-Was commenting to a friend when Nomar came up to bat, "Not exactly who you want to see come up now with guys on base. This guy has done this a few times before." Then we both watched with our jaws dropping as he took three horrendous swings that made Howard's worst K's seem smooth by comparison.

-Was dismayed by Myers' bottom line stat-wise. But...all in all, he ground through some jams and maybe picks up a little confidence boost knowing he doesn't have to be lights out to help the team. He picked them up, they picked him up.

-Was frustrated after the Manny HR. But again, after thinking about it, it did not seem as if Myers grooved the pitch. The guy turns on an inside pitch on his fists and muscles it out of the park with two guys on base? You kind of have to tip your hat to him. Same thing last night, different result. That liner that just happened to be right at Feliz' glove looked like Manny reached out across the plate for an outside pitch just below the knees and hit a rocket. Jeez, just pitch around him. I know, I know, it's a lot easier said than done.

-I missed the showboating/hot dogging by Manny that ticked some people off. What was that about? But I also saw a picture after the game of Cholly with his arm around Manny; he must have been consoling Cholly about his Mom. In all seriousness, a very touching shot about something more important than the ballgame.

-What a time to be a Phils fan. Loving the deafening silence of the Dodgers bandwagon as they realize the Phils just might not cooperate with an LA coronation.

[Pops]

Boston about to go up 1-0. Zero surprise there.

[BloodStripes]

Unless the following ballpark dimensions I researched off yahoo and rotowire are wrong. Could somebody please tell me why Cit Bank Park is a bandbox and Dogger stadium is a pitchers park? The Phillies have way more power bats but whats the diff aside from that? The biggest discrepancy is a lousy 6 feet in right center. This bandbox talk is crap. There is no argument. All 3 homers hit so far in the series would have gone out in LA as well.

Phils Park:

329 - LF, 374 - LC, 401 - C, 369 - RC, 330 - RF.

Dodger Stadium

330 - LF, 375 - LC, 400 - C, 375 - RC, 330 - RF.

[UD Hens]

Wow, look at that guy's sports coat on TBS!

[doubleh]

I know I'm a girl, but this quote from Victorino almost made me cry:

"Charlie stayed strong, kept us all strong," Victorino said. "It's a tough time. Charlie just lost his mom. I just lost my grandmother. It's definitely an emotional time, but it's all about baseball right now. That's what we're focused on. Like I said, it's about baseball. I'm still smiling about that. We won the game. Maybe she helped me make the catch. Maybe Charlie's mom helped me make the catch."

[Vonderful]

I think the ump took Myers out of his game a little bit. Brett seemed to be aiming the ball after the first inning rather than just letting it go. Billingsly was effected by the inconsistent strike zone also. Billingsly also complained about the "pitch selection" by his catcher tonight.

[BloodStripes]

That smell is getting more and more potent.

[BloodStripes]

"Billingsly also complained about the "pitch selection" by his catcher tonight."

Nice. A bit of in-fighting. Let 'em self combust.

[bay_area_phan]

Kuroda's only the third best starter on the Dodgers and a distant third at that. However, he has been lights-out for the last 2 months, and he seems to have the Phillies' number in a big way: 2 starts, 13 IP, 4 hits allowed, 1.38 ERA.

[Jack]

If people haven't read Jayson Stark's article on the game on espn.com, you need to.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs2008/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=3637332

[Ben Keeler]

Great article by Stark. Tough to read the part where he says Manuel wont get the daily phone call from his mom postgame.

[mike cunningham]

about to read the rest of the game thread that I kept up on at the ballpark.

what a feeling it was leaving the park... and heading out into town... there's something... well... i'll just say the weather is nice. a little nicer than the temperature says, if you know what i mean.

something.

reading the manuel stuff breaks my heart. i've been critical of the man in the past. onmy blog, i spent time mocking him. on podcasts i imitated him. but what he went through managing this game when really it's just an f'ing game, no matter how important it is. my parents are both away tghsi week... and my mom was texting me from Vegas. I get to share that with her. And cholly doesn't. that's a shame.

heck of a night fellas. i'll give more in in the morning on the crowd and other notes.

[GM-Carson]

That's what October baseball is all about. The Phils won a crazy game on a crazy day. Manuel lost his mom and Vic lost his grandmother. Vic made a great play and showcased his great bat. Myers is working his mystical powers, collecting his 4th hit of the playoffs after only 4 all season. Of note- Myers has a mild sprained ankle from running the bases, lets hope that's not more serious.

[EastFallowfield]

The percentage of Phils postseason runs scored on HRs dropped to 50% after yesterday's effort.

[EastFallowfield]

By the way, I wondered yesterday what the trolls would have to complain about after an 8 run/no HR game.

Turns out we're lucky to have such an easy playoff schedule.

First, the Sheets-less Brewers (who did have the 3rd best record in the league) and now the lousy Dodgers (who did have a better regular season record than the 2006 Cards, who won the WS and beat a certain clutch team in NY).

Whatever.

As for LA, they're still complaining about the dimensions of the park, because Blake's ball was caught by Victorino.

[Yikes!]

Complain about dimensions? Why not complain that he Green Monster in Boston is practically touching the shortstop's ass. Or that the right field pole is practically directly behind firstbase. Nope, bitch about the Brick Cit House, but Boston is golden and quaint for some reason.

[Ribbies]

God, what an emotional roller coaster. I'm now just reading the game reports and getting the news. It reminds me of that late 90s Yankees team when Torre's brother was sick and the team rallied around. Another amazing day.

I'm trying to follow all this from the Middle East but I will be back on Oct. 18 just in time for game 7, or maybe a few days before the beginning of the World Series. Go Phils!

[squatter]

Magnificent article about Charlie Manuel by Bill Lyon in the Inquirer today. Class-act writer (rare) writing about a class-act manager (rare).

[phargo]

Good Morning.

What a game. I am feeling me some extra Chooch-love right about now (I always love Vic). In addition:

I thought the Phanatic introducing the lineup was hilarious.

I don't get why Manny had his finger in the air after his homerun. It didn't even tie the game or the series, much less put them ahead. Whatcha pointin' at Manny, and why?

I sure do feel for Charlie and Vic. I like Vic's take on it.

Have a good day. It's a little tricky to truly enjoy the weekend when I am so eager for Sunday night!

[Bob]

squatter, thanks for the heads up. What a great picture as well. I bookmarked the article.

[RSB]

Ramirez was so over-the-top after that dinky homer that it was almost comical - almost as if he were deliberately trying to incite the crowd, or incite *something*. He gesticulated so frequently, it made Jose Reyes look like Scott Rolen rounding the bases, and then took the hackey sacks out of his mouth long enough to shout smack out to Myers (and then deny it later). I don't think it was even possible to get angry at him, you just had to look at him like some sorry freak from the circus sideshow. Maybe he's not a bad guy, as he so often claims, but him to put on the act he does, something ain't quite right with him.

[curt]

Laughable as it would have sounded 6 months ago, Vic is easily the 2008 Phillie MVP. His bat and energy were there all year, unlike any of the others. Lidge was great on ~45 days, but Vic takes it for 168 days (and counting) of solid work.

[Dave P]

Watching Howard swing over those curve balls last night reminded me of Pedro Cerano swinging over the curves in Major League. Not even close to close to those balls.

"You no help me now...I say f*$& you, Jobu."

[d]

the phils are a sh**ty team letting the wife beater still pitch for them. get some class.

[rdgcans]

"Magnificent article about Charlie Manuel by Bill Lyon in the Inquirer today. Class-act writer (rare) writing about a class-act manager (rare)"

Ditto in today's Washington Post by Thomas Boswell: www.washingtonpost.com

[RSB]

d sounds like he's having a conversation with himself.

[king myno]

Anyone see the comments by Billingsley and Martin? Billingsley blames "pitch selection" and Martin blames "the stuff." I love internal strife; looks like they bought into all the "Dodgers will win" crap and have no idea how to react now that the Phils aren't rolling over and dying.

I feel very, VERY comfortable with Jamie on the mound in a pitcher's park.

[vegas]

This Phillies group is playing like a "team." The Dodgers did a great job pitching to Utley and Howard and took thier bats out of the game. Rollins and Burrell just couldn't come up with the big hit. It was the supporting cast of players that stepped into the spotlight and got it done when the "big four" were neutralized. Chooch, Vic, Brett the bat and Dobbs picked up the slack to foil the Dodgers game plan. It shows that opposing teams can shut down one or two Phillies but not the whole group. This is the team that I love to root for.

[Joe Penn Wynne]

If the trends continue, and the Phils meet the Red Sox in the WS, then imagine the teeth-gnashing in New York City!

[Sophist]

Dobbs-Ruiz-Myers-Vic-Utley were 8-16 with 5 walks (.812 OBP).

If Utley were batting before Vic, the Phils probably would have tacked on a few more last night. Amazing that our #3 hitter can walk 4 times and never score. And the Phils scored 8 runs anyway.

[Sophist]

Not sure if it's been mentioned yet, but both Maddux and Kershaw have pitched relief innings now. Wonder who's going game 4 (probably Lowe if the Phils win tomorrow.)

[PHIinBK]

What is up with Howard? How can he be devastator one minute then completely useless the next? I don't buy this "i'm too agressive to lay off breaking balls" crap he's peddling. Two weeks ago he'd break the game wide open, now he's swinging at flies. If we're to finish this thing we need him to be a force not an automatic out.

[Grumpy Gramps]

He's been getting a lot more love recently, but I can't stress how much Ryan Madson has meant to this team, especially down the stretch and into the post season. His emergence as a solid 8th inning guy has really allowed guys like Chad Durbin, JC and the rest to settle into what I feel are more comfortable roles.

I think I read that in the off season he was trying a new strenght and conditioning regime? Could that be the reason for his new found velocity? If so, lets get a few more on that program.

[Haddon Heights Harv]

I know I often sound like Mary Poppins, but think about it:

Any other year, Vic's leap at the wall come up an inch short... Dobbs error leads to 4 or 5 runs... Myers takes his usual 0-3 collar... the pen implodes. This year, Vic makes the catch. Dobbs glove causes no major damage. Myers does a Manny Mota imitation. Durbin and Madsen pitch lights out.

Awhile back, after we lost a couple to the Braves we shouldn't have, a lot of people were breaking their ankles jumping off the wagon. I posted then that this season would produce one of those "shining moments" that come so rarely to the Phillies and to those of us who live and die with them. Most of you who bothered to read it probably rolled your eyes.

I'm not a big stats guy like most of you who regularly post here. I have spent most of my life in sales, and have needed to read faces and situations to make my living. My intuition is pretty damn good. Something very special is happening with this team, and I don't believe that Joe Torre and Manny can stop it. Enjoy the ride, men. We're going to need another tall flag pole at the ballpark.

[ozark]

That smell is Howard's putrid series thus far. Sure glad the bottom of the order is picking up the pace. He ended 3 innings with whiffs.

[diggitydave]

Sophist-
If the Dodgers win tomorrow, I bet Kershaw starts 4 with Maddux ready to go in the 'pen if Kershaw falters early. Maddux only pitched one inning in game 1, and Kershaw pitched 1 2/3 yesterday. Kershaw and Maddux pitching in the games are akin to their "side sessions" which pitchers take in between of their starts.

Assuming they don't enter the game tomorrow, I would assume either one will start on Monday.

If the Phils win tomorrow, still, I would assume Kershaw or Maddux starts game 4. If you're down 0-3, even after game 4 you still need to win 3 more games, in which games I would assume Torre would want his top 3 starters to start - Lowe, Billingsley, and Kuroda.

[RSB]

"What is up with Howard?"

It's really so simple. He's in pull mode again. When he tries to be Reggie Jackson, it doesn't work. When he just hits the way he naturally hits, he's a terror.

[Bonehead]

I think its great how CBP is getting into everyone's head....all the comments to the press....all the articles being written. Opposing pitchers pitch differently....Opposing hitters hit differently. Its become a real home field advantage.

Kinda reminds me of Eagles opponents at the Vet. From the Vet's reputation, the opposition all worried that they would come here and blow out their knees, break their ankles, turf toe, etc. It took them out of their game sometimes.

[Yikes!]

Funny Dave P mentions the Howard/Cerrano comparison, as we did that on WSBGM's today.

[Ira]

gotta love the LA Times:
"RECEIVED A bunch of angry e-mail from the folks who live in Angryville. Imagine that. Most were loaded with obscenities, people so angry about what someone in L.A. might think of them, they just ran a bunch of bad words together.

A Philadelphia Daily News columnist ran the first half a dozen or so paragraphs from Page 2 in his newspaper and told a story about Buddy Ryan,who when asked about Joe Namath receiving death threats, said don't stand by him.

But it was interesting to note that a newspaper columnist, who is just writing about sports, would introduce the notion of death threats and bodily harm into the conversation. As if the thugs residing in Angryville need any more ideas."

"BEFORE THE game, the scoreboard asked the fans to wave their towels and they did. Good thing they didn't ask them to jump off the Whitman Bridge."

"MORE STUPIDITY from Angryville: The Phillies' mascot brought out a mini-Dodgers helmet with dreadlocks hanging from it, set it on the ground and then with the crowd howling, smashed it to bits with something akin to a sledgehammer. Later the mascot took the Dodgers cap off a fan, stomped on it and then tried to rip the Dodgers shirt off him.

It's no wonder kids around here grow up thinking violence is just part of the game."

[GoPhilsGo]

"That smell is Howard's putrid series thus far. Sure glad the bottom of the order is picking up the pace. He ended 3 innings with whiffs."

Yes, you're right. If Howard hadn't whiffed in those ABs, the Phils might be up 2-0 instead of...oh, wait...

[FlaPhilsGrl]

Actually, if you want even more amusement from our favorite LA Times writer, Simers' article today mentions how mature Billingsley is to blame himself for the loss. Yet Amy Nelson's article for espn.com is entirely about how immature Billingsley must be because he blamed his catcher's pitch selection for his problems. Don't go read Simers' article though, the guy just wants our page views so he can prove how popular he is. Also, not hearing any talk from LA about how unfair it is that Manny's home run, which was shorter than Burrell's, would have been an out in Dodger Stadium.

Wanted to note how much I enjoy the commentary though . . . times like these make me really miss living in Philly

[GoPhilsGo]

Jack, thanks for that link to the Jayson Stark article. Excellent.

[vegas]

I'm not worried about Howard at all. He was pitched around and he took the bait on those sliders down and away. The Dodgers pitched to him like we should have pitched to Manny the last two games. Howard was aggressive at the plate and tryed to blow the game open. He had a good Brewer series, and I expect him to keep slugging away.

[Mark B.]

Nice piece on the game. Stuff happens when you're hot. Who'd have thought -- Myers 3 for 3 with 3 RBIs. And Victorino has been super. Phils win and Vic should get NLCS MVP.

[Jack]

Howard's performance is about what I expected, if you remember from one of the threads right before the playoffs started. In the playoffs, pitchers and managers are simply able to neutralize players who have such drastic split as Howard. His performance against Lowe was somewhat disappointing, but to expect him to have any success after the 6th inning is pointless, because he's only going to be facing good lefties, and Billingsley is a very tough strikeout pitcher, so it's not exactly surprising that he struck out against him.

I said that if the Phillies were to win, they'd have to get great pitching and timely hitting by guys other than Howard. So far, so good.

[mike cunningham]

What a great night last night was.

Today, I shot the worst possible round of golf my life. But I just have this contentment that I can't contain. Talking to my parents who are away, was the best.

Winning like this makes this town a different place. Hugging strangers. high fiving people on a random street corner, just because. I literally felt drunk last night without drinking a beer. (that changed after the game.)

I should be nervous about tomorrow. But Jamie Moyer is going. And he's not going to let his Brewer performance affect him.

I think Moyer may have his best outing ever.

Book it.

[diggitydave]

When discussing game 2 on baseball tonight, Fernando Vina begins with a rant about how he's shocked the Phillies scored any runs without the aid of the long ball. Chris Singleton (who I like usually) made no mention of the Phillies offense but just said that Billingsley disappointed and "will get a lot of rest between now and his next start in this series." Buster Olney (a notorious Philly hater) topped everything off, however, with a rant about how he expects Joe Torre to get his team back on the winning track, supplying a story about Joe guaranteeing a World Series victory to Steinbrenner in 1996 in the process. "Kuroda wins game 3, Lowe goes in game 4, and I fully expect the Dodgers to be right back in this series."

I know this shouldn't bother any Phils fan, as the only thing that matters is that the series is 2-0 at this point - I just wonder when people will finally give the Phils the credit and respect they deserve. A veteran pitcher with a phenomenal track record in the playoffs is going for the Phils in game 3, while the offense has proven once and for all that they can score plenty of runs sans the long-ball.

One would think that at least some of the supposed "baseball experts" who thought the Dodgers would win in 5 or 6 games would admit that they may have been erroneous in their estimations, and that we, too, have a pretty damn good team club in Philadelphia.

[Whelkman]

Awesome post, diggitydave, and, you're right, I'm so used to the non-attention that I've come to expect this from all media outlets. That's okay, Phillies are always best as underdogs. We're right where we want to be. Keep on underestimating us, Los Angeles; we're bringing it to your town.

[bathtubhippo]

my folks just got back from a vacation in hawaii and showed me this photo today, thought you all might get a kick out of it as i did:
vic's sign

for what it's worth this seems to be mentioned in an article from 2007
on phillies.com! check the bottom of the article. pretty cool.

[GoPhilsGo]

Baseball writers are like hitters. If they succeed 3 out of 10 times, they're doing pretty good.

[HEY CHOLLY]

diggitydave - RIGHT ON! I watched that BT last night too. the amount of time BT gave to the bosox - devil rays (they are always the devilrays to me) vs. the amount of time given to LA-PHL was horrible, then the dodger-Phillies talk to revolve all around manny's flower garden HR & how LA would come back made me ill... I hope the Phils sweep and then Buster, Tim, Karl, Vina, Phillips can eat Manny's dirty sox!!

[king myno]

diggitydave - Absolutely. My roommate and I were talking about that this morning - after watching BT, as far as we could tell it was Dodgers versus _______. If we end up sweeping (God willing, knock on wood, etc.), expect lots of talk about what the Dodgers did to blow the series, not what we did to win it. Even though we've outplayed them for two games in a row in two very different ways.

[BARRY SNYDER]

Now Charlie Manuel has another bat on the bench in Brett Myers. Yeah Howard better adjust to those breaking balls and off speed pitches. Because Kuroda probably will pitch the same way on Sunday Night.

[Whelkman]

I just dropped by to say, "My the Flyers suck!" I mean it's a total butchery!

[The Truth Injection]

I'm trying to be careful herre becasue a 2-0 lead is still a lead and not indicative of anything.

JW I agree with you smell of destiny thing though. This time of year is usually won by teams that get the unlikely contributions. That win yesterday was in large part to the bottom of the order.

The bullpen has been great so far.

The little things that go unnoticed- the things that usually ended up not going in our favor- are starting too. This is feeling and looking like a team who can not only win the NLCS but put up a helluva fight in the World Series

[brother]

There's been some question about the Utley and Burrell home runs in game 1 being a result of the "bandbox" nature of CBP.

This clever website has the tale of the tape:

http://www.hittrackeronline.com/

Utley's home run was estimated at 373 feet and would have been out in 20 out of the 30 ballparks in MLB.

Burrell's home run was estimated at 375 feet and would also have been out in 20 out of the 30 ballparks in MLB.

Now, Manny's home run in game 2 was estimated at 353 feet and would have been out in only 5 ballparks, so this one was more of a "bandbox" home run.

None of this is to say that there is anything at all "unfair" about ANY home run or its impact on the outcome of the game. As other posters have pointed out, both teams are playing in the same ballpark and have equal opportunity to take advantage of whatever there is to take advantage of. I was merely addressing the claims that these home runs were cheap or "shameful" because they would not have been home runs in any other stadium.

[BARRY SNYDER]

Why would say its a band-aid box at CBP? They were HR's. Jamie Moyer is gone to pich a good game. Gone keep them off balance. Actually make them look silly.

[Jack]

No offense, but getting worked up about what people say on Baseball Tonight sounds pretty close to the biggest waste of time I can imagine. Seriously, who cares?

[hey cholly]

jack - ya know --> you're right:

BT is a WOT

Here's hopin the crafty LH from Sellersville can work his magic tonite @ 822 edt....

later...

[MG]

Can't believe that no one mentioned that Brett Myers tonight looked like pre-call down Myers. Threw a ton of pitches tonight because he was missing location early and often and was lucky to make it through 5 innings. Basically had no confidence in locating his fastball and relied upon an assortment of junk to get by.

I guess Myers bat overcome the below average pitching performance for the 3rd time in his last 4 outinggs but I don't have a whole lot of confidence on him if there is a Game 6.

[Yikes!]

MG- you're right, Myers pitched poorly. Take into consideration that he spent a lot of time on the basepaths and a lot of time sitting on the bench during those first few innings because the Phils were having long innings at the plate (2 bat arounds). It was also mentioned that he slight sprained his ankle while running.

[GM-Carson]

From Larry's Shenk's Phillies Insider:
Kind of a crazy game yesterday. Two out, no one on base and we wind up with four in the second. Another 4-spot in the next inning put us in the driver's seat.

And, we won without hitting a home run in our "bandbox" as the media likes to call Citizens Bank Park. The park got a new description in the Pasadena Star this morning, "quirky." Explanation, Dodgers have hit two balls to the deepest part of the quirky place and have only a 1-run double to show.

Hey, Manny did his thing to make it close with a ball that just landed in the first row of the left field seats. Andre Ethier in his blog after game 1 described Utley's 2-run homer as a pop up. He didn't describe Manny's homer in his blog today.

Can't say enough about the bullpen, especially Mad Dog Madson and "Lights Out" Lidge. They have been simply outstanding. Speaking of outstanding, how about the fan support and noise.

Here's another testimony of the fans' support. Game 1 rating in Philly was 23.9 with a 35 share. In LA, the numbers were 9.4 and 18.

[phargo]

I wonder how it did in Fargo...