Stinkbomb offense squanders chances, Phils lose 4-2

As they did in Game 1, the Phillies got ‘em on, but couldn’t get ’em in, in a poorly played, poorly officiated loss to the Rays, who evened the series 1-1. The Phillies' offense is 1-for-28 with runners in scoring position during the World Series, and none of them crossed home. Full Game 2 review tomorrow.

Comments

[clout]

Can't blame it on Chooch.

[bay_area_phan]

clout: True. Chooch and Bruntlett: our offensive heroes of the series.

[EDGE]

It came down to three strikeouts with a runner on third and less than two outs, 2 by Dobbs and 1 by Werth.

[king myno]

Bad calls, even worse situational hitting. They deserved that loss.

[Verdeforce]

Zelasko just called us the favorites - I'll take it - Phils in 5, or 6, or 7!

[Knight]

If the offense doesn't play better than this for the rest of the WS, I think I'm going to swear off baseball forever.

Shields really had a bad game to be honest, but the Phillies just couldn't capitalize at all.

[king myno]

Dobbs looked lost out there. Something else 2, Beerleaguer/Charlie's Gut 0 on the DH issue.

[GoPhilsGo]

Again, the Rays were not impressive. This one is on the Phils (not that it matters)

[GoPhilsGo]

Chooch and The Gnome. Wow.

[diggitydave]

Tonight Kerwin Danley joined Leon Stickle, Lance Barskdale, and Bruce Froemming on the Mt. Rushmore of officials that have f-ed over a Philly team to the point where even the commentators feel the need to point out the heinously bad officiating.

Take some positives from tonight tough:
1) Myers pitched good enough to win - he kept this team in the game while the offense sputtered around and did nothing.
2) Chooch looks locked in, not just getting hits but making pitchers work (which is what you need from an 8 -or 9- hitter)
3) Ryan got some good swings on Shields today. That should definitely carry over into games 3 and 4.
4) Bullpen was saved - even with the off day tomorrow, it's good to have an extra day of rest for Mad-dog and Lidge

As far as Jimmy is concerned, that is beyond me as he has looked unspeakably bad these last couple games. More than fixing his swing, they need to make sure his head its screwed on right or else we're not winning more than 1 more game this series.

[MG]

I have no problem with women in sports and it is a shame that you generally still have to be very attractive to get a sports TV gig if you are a women but Zalasko is a zero just like most of the Fox baseball studio crew.

[847]

Knight -- something weird about that park as visitors all struggle to hit there. we did look lost but it wasn't just the glare of first time in the ws. something odd there. turn it around at the cb.

[petey]

folks are right about this: the phillies won the first game, and they lost the second game (with a minor assist from kerwin danley). the rays haven't distinguished themselves in this series yet at ALL. that's a very encouraging takeaway going into saturday.

[Mr. Mack]

Cholly should have thrown out the red flag for a replay on Rollins getting HBP. Replays in baseball? Nahh, it'll never work.

[847]

mg -- not sure how zalasko supports the 'have to be very attractive' to get a job in sports argument..

[Mike]

I have not been impressed with this Rays team at all in this series. They did what the Phillies couldn't do tonight though (or at all this series so far). It's hard to be upset at a split on the road but this game was theirs for the taking and they just didn't capitalize. As long as the Rays team that showed up in games 2-4 of the Red Sox series stays stashed away somewhere, I still like our chances. I'm trying to convince myself that the abysmal situational hitting will turn around back at CBP.

[MG]

That missed call on JRoll was huge though. You have to wonder if the pressure gets to Price a bit if the Phils had the tying run on base with Utley and Howard coming up.

[king myno]

peter - it's encouraging if we could time travel to Saturday night at 8:30 PM (and also pray to the rain gods for clear skies on the way). we can't, so it's small beans to me, at least.

[Matt]

I was surprised Jimmy didn't put up more of an argument in the 9th inning. To be honest, he hasn't looked very interested all year.

[MG]

847 - Zolasko gets knocked but she is 42. Not bad looking for her age. She just can't bring anything to the table though besides reading the words on the teleprompter.

[MG]

Gary Matthews post-game commentary is always hilarious. They should call it the "Cap'n Obvious Post-Game segment with Gary Matthews."

[Drew]

According to ESPN.com the "strikeout/walk" was a "wacky checked swing". Really? Wacky, huh?? Well golly, now I feel better. Oh, that Kerwin Danley and his wacky hijinks. Thanks ESPN for remaining a paragon of sports journalism (and by that I mean cesspool).

[Matt]

Will Bunch made a good point on his blog: "If the Phillies are such a loose team under Charlie Manuel, why do they not hit with runners on base. That's the dictionary definition of 'uptight.'"

[Mr. Mack]

I really hope Cholly shuffles the line up Saturday.

Plus notes: Chooch is finally getting his chance to make it up for a mediocre season with his hitting and defense. Great block of home plate tonight too.

JRoll is horrible at the plate but his defense has been stellar so far. Vic had better be hitting 2'nd. JRoll might hit better when Vic hits #2.

Myers pitched good enough to win. Tough to do so with no run support.

[timr]

Terrible game, bad performances all around (I refuse to give Myers credit for allowing four runs in the first four innings). If the Phisl can't score guys from third with one out, they lose the series, period.

But its still a split on the road, and the Rays still haven't looked very good, so we'll see.

Good night.

[Baumer]

Definitely a poorly officiated game but this loss can be blamed entirely on our situational hitting. We should have put up at least three runs in the first four innings. Instead, we managed nothing...

One encouraging sign is that Myers gave us a solid outing despite Werth's error and Danley's botched call with Baldelli at the dish.

Time to regroup, use the poor officiating as motivation, and follow Pappy to victory on Saturday!

[Mr. Mack]

Totally agree MG. Price was struggling for his game there. No BP action. Pressure was on him. Tim Donaghy behind the plate, er, Kerwin Danley basically gave the rally the sign of the cross. Guess he figured they weren't gonna knock them in anyway, so why not get home in time for a quick night cap.

[king myno]

That really was an almost unwatchable game. I didn't even notice that Myers had only 75 pitches in the 6th, because I was so disgusted with the offense. If you told me he had 100, I would have agreed/not cared.

[MG]

Don't believe the "Shields pitched well" or "Myers pitched decently" feedback. They both aren't true. Shields was average with his stuff tonight and Phils should have put up 2 against him tonight. As for Myers, he was really shaky the first 4 innings and the Rays had their share of pitches to hit tonight too that they didn't do much with.

[MG]

Howard has always looked decent at times against RHP this offseason. Against LHP and their offspeed stuff, he has been brutal though.

As for JRoll, he is just in a terrible funk with nothing positive tonight including missing on some fat fastballs and looking at some bad strikes. Just hope he sees the ball better in CBP and can bring something to the plate offensively.

[MG]

Hopefully Moyer can not get lite up early and the Philly crowd get on Garza who is a guy who can get rattled and mentally distracted at times.

[Mike]

Nevermind Rollins' complete uselessness at the plate. Why does he look like someone shot his dog before he even has a chance to fail? Where's the life? I can't believe how little he argued that HBP.

[Matt]

Cannot disagree more with the Myers hate. Three earned runs in 7 innings (should've been less, only two or even just one), 85 pitches, 55 for strikes, 7 hits allowed, a lot of broken bat/bloop/infield hits, bad fielding, horrible umpiring...Myers pitched well, had some horrible luck, and I can't believe people are saying he stunk.

[J. Weitzel]

MG: Agree on Shields, disagree on Myers. Thought he pitched quite well in the face of a good Rays offense, Werth's error, the lousy effort behind him overall and certainly the incompetent officiating. It could have unraveled into a real mess. To his credit, he changed it up and really settled down.

[MG]

Mack - Agreed. I bet that Cholly puts Vic back in the 2 hole and shift Werth back down to the 6 spot.

With Moyer on the mound it is a guarantee that Feliz starts at 3B but the Phils could use Dobbs bat given that the Phils' offense haven't been able to make great contact so far and likely will need to score 5-6 runs to win Game 3 with Moyer on the mound.

[Jon]

Pathetic managing.

Even more pathetic umpiring.

Most pathetic - 1 for 28 with RISP.

[MG]

JW - Yeah I will give Myers credit for hanging in there and giving his team a shot to win by going deep and keeping the damage within reason.

Myers leave some fast pitches out there though that the Rays didn't do much with it tonight. Completely overlooked but the Rays' big guns so far (Longoria, Pena, Crawford) have done squat the first 2 games. Only Upton has showed up offensively tonight and he didn't have a great Game 1 either.

[Jon]

Rollins and Burrell need to start hitting. I would think the RISP numbers change while back in Philly. I also agree on the line-up change. I still cannot believe the all-around lameness of the game tonight.

[MG]

In fact Longoria has had a really bad first 2 games in the field and at the plate. I bet he turns it around in CBP to a degree.

[MG]

JW - One real positive for Myers. He kept the ball in the park. He really has struggled to do this largely on the road this year. If I had to give Myers a 1-10 tonight it would be a solid 6. Not great not certainly not bad either.

[doubleh]

Myers handled the adversity really well tonight; he pitched well enough to win and the rest of the team just didn't show up. Shields does not impress me, but he seems to be the kind of pitcher that freezes most of our lineup. Throws enough junk to keep them off balance.

The Phillies weren't all that impressed with David Price; seems to have some splits going on with lefty/righty. That was a good sign and perhaps Maddon doesn't bring him in against us in a 1 run game.

Officiating doesn't cause lack of hitting with RISP, but it shouldn't take so much focus away from the game. When Joe Buck is talking about how egregious a call against Philly is, that should tell you something.

[GoPhilsGo]

Yes, the Phils could use Dobbs bat. Maybe next game he'll bring one.
Considering Myers could have gone off the deep end tonight, he really kept his cool and kept the game within reach.

[ms26]

Obviously the Phillies are primarily to blame for tonight. We all know it, and I'm not going to repeat the same crap we all know to be true.

That being said, the homeplate ump tonight was a disgrace. Ed Hochiluli (the NFL ref) got a demotion after that blown call in the San Diego/Denver. That, if memory serves, happened in WEEK 2! I'll give him the benefit of the doubt on the check swing call--he was obviously wrong, but what can you do?--but the missed HBP in the ninth was absolutely pathetic. The ball was obviously not going to be a strike; his ONLY job at that point is to see if the ball hits him. You could see in the replays, too, that he had a clear view of the ball hitting Rollins' jersey.

MLB has to hold him accountable for this.

[ms26]

Oh, and did anyone see Rollins' eyes closed in the dugout at one point? I was listening to the radio, so I don't know if the Buck/McCarver team, but I'm HOPING that it was some kind of concentration thing, and not, "I was out on the town last night and can't keep my eyes open for game 2 of the World Series."

[wp]

Jimmy, get on base any way you can. Stop with the lazy swings and work the count. How many times has he swung at the first pitch this post-season?

[ms26]

*if the Buck/McCarver team referenced it.

[John]

Completely overlooked but the Rays' big guns so far (Longoria, Pena, Crawford) have done squat the first 2 games.

I seem to recall Crawford hitting a solo home run in game 1.

[J. Weitzel]

MG: I'd give him higher than that. I'd give him an 8 all things considered. 3 ER, could have been 2 or possibly 1 ER because of Kerwin's gift. Tampa scored three runs without the ball leaving the infield.

FWIW: 1-for-28 w/RISP is debatable because Werth's RBI in the ninth shouldn't have been ruled an error.

Stuff: Howard's 2-5, 1 K, 3 LOB night is the most celebrated mediocre night in history watching these post-game shows. His double was a pitch out over the plate and the other hit had eyes and beat the shift.

Other stuff: The dirty little secret about Jayson Werth is that his glove is wildly overrated, as we saw tonight.

Even more stuff: I have a hunch Rollins goes on the attack once he's back home.

[doubleh]

I think the Phils need to spend some quality time with their rubber duckies before Game 3.

They obviously had some lodged in their collective butts tonight.

[Len39]

Nothing fun about this one at all. In fact, I feel like I just completely wasted 3 1/2 hours of my life, BUT...

We weren't going to sweep this series. The Rays haven't looked great either. Now it is a best of 5 game series and we have homefield advantage. It'll be interesting to see the Rays react to cold weather and it'll be nice to be back in a real ballpark. They did what they had to do and split in Tampa.

Time to stay positive and not dwell on this one for 24 hours.

[ms26]

Len39: I understand your optimism about coming home, but really, when have the Phillies play in cold weather? This isn't exactly the Eagles/Bucs, where the games are played in the winter...

[doubleh]

Other than Hamels, if casual baseball fans or fans of the sport who don't follow Philly or Tampa are tuning in, so far they haven't seen much in the way of good or entertaining baseball.

Hopefully, getting to CBP with some real crowds (and real crowd noise) will help liven it up a little and bring our boys back to life. I know I'll do my best as I will be there at Game 3. Can't wait. Go Phils!

Wouldn't it be awesome if all of the Phils' hitters put it together and all start hitting at the same time for the next 3 games? I'm dreaming, I know...

[doubleh]

Even Beasley Reece is getting in on the Tampa fan bashing:
http://cbs3.com/sports/Philadelphia.Phillies.Tampa.2.847383.html

Read Frank Fitzpatrick writing about this in the Inky today, too--and he usually reserves all of his cheap shots for Philly fans--but man, they are a c*cky bunch of mofo's for just realizing they had a team in September.

[Slocs]

Still can't believe Werth's smash in 9th inning was called an error so werth doesn't get an rbi and Price only allows one earned run.

[vegas]

If Myers had given the Phils 7 innings and 3 earned runs every time in the regular season he may have been a 20 game winner.

Great pitching for the Phils so far. It's a darn shame that Myers did not get the win.

Romero was excellent.

Maybe Ruiz should be batting in the 5 spot and Vic leading off. Jimmy should try to work a walk like Ruiz use to hope for.

[Slocs]

doubleh, I'll be there too. Plan to have no voice by 5th or 6th inning. BTW, selling some Flyers tickets, if you and your hubby are interested, email me at slocum_john@yahoo.com

[Slocs]

Vegas, Ruiz looks much better because he isn't hitting in the 8th hole in front of a pitcher. great at bats and he got some pitches to hit, he rarely gets pitches to hit when the pitcher is on deck. Can't wait to see how Rays do without a DH and their pitchers hitting. Need a big start by Moyer and get a run or two in the first few innings.

[vegas]

Slocs- good point on Ruiz in a DH line up. But he had a good Brewer and Dodger series as well. He gets my vote for most improved player on this team and he has been hot this month.
Moyer worries me on Sat., the last two bad starts has come after off days. I'm leaning towards a rain out Sat. so Blanton goes Sun. and Hamels on Mon. As much a Jamie deserves a WS appearance, you got to do what's best for the club.

[Sophist]

I thought Myers pitched well. He was hurt by the Werth error and the bizarre ball 4/strike 3.

We'd all take the split despite the clear SP advantage the Rays have in games 3 and 4. But you can't like the way the Phils gave this one away. That game had extra innings all over it, but the Rays had the BABIP advantage.

Dobbs looked lost. Howard looked better.

Adjustments in game 3? Hopefully Dobbs at 3rd and Stairs DH. This time needs a shake-up. You can't strand all these runner and not adjust the batting order.

[Durbinator]

Does the offense think this is the 2007 NLDS and we are facing the Rockies?

Wake up bats! It better become "hitting season" soon or the season will be over soon!

[RSB]

I freaked out when the Phillies played like puke in Game 3 of the Division Series, and then again in Game 3 of the NLCS. And all for nothing, as they came right back with wins the next day. So I'm going to try my hardest not to get too upended about this reeking crapfest of a performance tonight.

Besides, I'm still too much in shock from Bruntlett's homerun to process much of anything right now.

Two thoroughly lousy World Series games. Hopefully the change of venues will help matters. Although I'm already cringing at the thought of Pedro Feliz facing Matt Garza in 45 degree weather.

[bay_area_phan]

I agree with HH about the entertainment value of the first 2 games: simply horrific. The games have been low-scoring but these have not been taut, well-played pitcher's duels. They have been sloppy, error-filled affairs with terrible clutch hitting, no really memorable moments, and only one truly oustanding performance by a starting pitcher (which really wasn't even that outstanding, compared to his other playoff starts).

Of course, Phillies zealots like us are riveted but there can't be too many casual fans out there who tuned into the first 2 games and immediately canceled their Saturday night plans so they can watch Game 3.

[bay_area_phan]

Myers did end up pitching a pretty decent game. Timr and MG are caught up in the fact that he immediately yielded a 2-0 lead & then allowed 2 more runs before the 4th inning. But a run is a run whether it's in the 1st inning or the 6th. Once Myers got himself straightened out, he pitched well enough to win. Remember, too, that 1 run scored solely because of Jayson Werth's error & another because of that ridiculous walk call to Rocco Baldelli. Myers really should have allowed only 2 runs.

I do agree with Timr that it wasn't exactly a performance worth celebrating. But Myers certainly pitched well enough to win. Frankly, I thought Shields looked far more hittable than Myers. But when you're 1 for 28 with RISP, you're not going to score too many runs, no matter how hittable the pitcher is.

[Tray]

Yeah, b_a_p, this hasn't exactly been the 2001 World Series. We are closely matched enough, though, that the series ought to have a tight finish. Which is more than you can say for the last four Serieses.

[Mark B.]

I'll second the motion on Myers -- he pitched a winning game -- the offense just vanished.

The Phils appear to be in one of their "failure to score with runners on funks." We've had Rays' pitching on the hook numerous times and have come away empty. In game 1, they got lucky because Phils' pitching was THAT GOOD. But, to win this series, they will have to capitalize on a far high percentage of scoring opportunities than they have thus far. With a bit of offensive elbow-room provided to this pitching staff, this series is winable.

[BloodStripes]

When the Rays enter the cauldron that is the brick cit they will want to hide in the dugout because they'll be packing chit.

[brett]

Side note: You have to wonder, has Dobb's found his niche as a pinch hitter?

Every time I see a loss like this I question the clubhouse atmosphere. From what I've seen throughout this year (including playoffs); I believe the team will bounce back, as resiliency has been their M.O. thus far. You might knock Philly down but you can't knock Philly out!

[EastFallowfield]

Waiting to see if the sun comes up today. So far, not yet.

[ozark]

I only lasted 2 innings. 2 on, no outs, then Vic popped out on the first pitch, Dobbs didn't get the bat off his shoulders, and Feliz hit it well but caught, I knew it was gonna be that kind of night. Better to catch up on much-needed sleep.

[phargo]

Good morning.

I will be starting my day at the ND DMV (driver's licence expires tomorrow). It suits my mood- somewhat purgatorial.

Greg Dobbs really looked bad. My husband pointed out that he hardly even moved when the one pitch went whizzing right by his head! Even that one he didn't seem to see.

I think Myers did well last night. It's not hard for me to imagine the previous version melting down with all the poor officiating and such. At the end of one inning, he covered his mouth with his glove so he could drop the F-bomb. Sweet.

I still feel fine. J Roll is bound to show up in Philly. And I am so happy that HH wil be there! Now they have to win.

Go Phillies!

[TK]

Sports Center highlights completely ignored J-Roll's HBP that wasn't in the 9th inning. How do you ignore that?

[phanatic's brother]

Positive note - Phils didnt give up another run after the 4th inning. Sad thing is
that should have been plenty of time for the bats to mount a comeback.

IMO Charlie should have come out of the dugout and got his ass thrown out of the game on that 3rd strike ( appeal to first ) ball 4 walk.

We needed a spark and he put his tail 'tween his legs and stepped back down into the dugout.
When they showed Chollie he had the look on his face of "wait fellas I missed that, what happend I was tyin my uh shoes"

[Tony D]

That was probably the worst game they played this postseason. To lose 4-2 against their supposed #1 and have the tying run at the plate in the 9th is a good sign, I guess.

The RISP thing will turn itself around. We hit a couple piss missles right at their guys while they were getting "seeing eye singles" all night. It's baseball these things happen.

Petrified of Moyers start. Instead of rally towels they should give fans in the OF seats catchers equipment to protect themselves from HR balls.

[joe l]

Re: Chooch - do 9 hole hitters get more pitches to hit in the AL? He looks locked in, but I wonder if the AL pitchers are giving him something to hit rather than walking him and flipping over the lineup.

[Jerry]

I don't get something. Shields is "Big Game James" after allowing 9 baserunners in 5 innings? And Price--who will be a stud--gives up 2 runs in 2 innings and is Mariano Rivera? Is the press that hungry for a Cinderella story? One big hit, it's 2-0 and the story would have been that Tampa's done.

[BobbyD]

How anyone can have a problem with Myers is beyond me. The Phillies lose that game no matter who pitches. Myers, Hamels, Moyer, Blanton. It's a loss no matter what.

[GM-Carson]

I haven't experienced such a painfully gigantic waste of 3 hours since I was dragged to the movie theatre to view Meet Joe Black. Last night's game was apparently over before it started because the homeplate umpire decided to rewrite the rule book, Brett Myers continued his 1st inning pitfalls, and the Phillies offense continued to be a big ball of butt-substance.

[Ribbies]

Intellectually I was (and am) fine with a split, but emotionally it was awful to watch.

[EastFallowfield]

I'm guessing if we flipped the order of the win and the loss we'd all be about 80 percent happier this AM.

[loctastic]

I'd be able to live with this loss more easily if they scored in ONE of those 'man on 3rd, less than 2 outs' situations. The fact it kept happening is tremendously disappointing.

I do feel happy for MLB that they've come so far to let a blind umpire call a world series game, it really is inspiring for people with disabilities!

[thephaithful]

The reason a split on the road doesnt look as good as it usually does is because Tampa's #3 starter might be their best pitcher right now where as our #3 has been the worst pitcher in the entire playoffs by far.

That being said, you can't possibly be worse than 1-28 RISP, just can't. I can't fathom they can get any worse and they're still having the game come down to the 9th innings. The thing that sucks is - they're going to need a lot more than just a few hits with Moyer and Blanton on the mound. a 3-10 or something isn't going to cut it. They need wake up and start mashing.

[clout]

Utterly, utterly baffling that anyone could label Myers performance bad. Two earned runs in 7 IP, only 85 pitches. He deserved better from his offense:
Feliz 6 LOB
Rollins, Dobbs, Utley 4 LOB each.

[clout]

doubleh, BAP: So Game 1 wasn't an entertaining, exciting game? Why, because mistakes were made? Gee, that never happens.

[clout]

phaithful: "The reason a split on the road doesnt look as good as it usually does is because Tampa's #3 starter might be their best pitcher right now where as our #3 has been the worst pitcher in the entire playoffs by far."

That is a very good point and why, if form holds, the Rays will be up 2-1 before Blanton evens the series at 2-2 vs. Sonnenstein on Sunday.

[UD Hens]

My head says that I am happy with a 1-1 split with the series coming home for 3 games. My heart is really disappointed because that game was a missed opportunity to take a 2-0 lead. Very winable game for the Phils if they could have capitalized on only a few of those lead off hits.

I think everything turns the Phillies way starting Saturday night. They are finally away from that ugly state-fair livestock tent in Tampa (the cowbells were appropriate). The home field energy for the Phils will be a huge boost. Expect a Moyer-versus-the-Marlins-type performance. And our fans will be overwhelming for the Rays. I can foresee Garza wilting under the pressure (earplugs won't help him). Momentum goes our way from here on out.

[Bryan]

Anyone know what's going on with the ticket situation if the game gets rained out Saturday?

I've heard it both ways (game 3 stays game 3) (game 3 becomes game 5).

[thephaithful]

If moyer gives up more than 2 runs in the first inning, you gotta yank him. They cant not afford to completely be taken out of the game before they even bat. I think you throw out all the bullpen rest thing and just ride those arms until they fall off, hopefully that wont be until after Game 7. Durbin Happ Condrey Madson are all experienced with going multiple innings. Believe I do not want to put my WS hopes on Clay Condrey - but you have no other choice if moyer can't even get through 4 outs

[Greg S.]

O.K. So the Phils blew it, but if not for the crappy calls by the UMP, Ryno's AB in the 9th could have been like this:

RBI groundout, scoring Jimmy Rollins - the tying run. 3-3 ballgame.

[Ribbies]

The Rays were a .500 team on the road this year and 3-2 so far on the road in the playoffs. Other matchups aside I really do hope the home field gives helps us to 2 out of the next 3.

I'm a bit worried Hamels could get all California on us in next week's cold temps, but at least there won't be confusion as to whether he should wear long sleeves.

[thephaithful]

Brian - You'd think there would have to be a monsoon for them to cancel the a World Series game, they go though hell just to get in regular season games. If it does however, I am 99% sure that your game 3 ticket would be valid for Game 5. No sense of ruining plans for the fans going to both games by pushing both tickets back.

[Bryan]

Yeah, but the weather reports just look terrible at the moment.

I understand not ruining other people's plans, but I bought game three because I wanted to see the first ws game at the bank. So that's not really fair either.

[UD Hens]

Brian - I heard this morning on XM that MLB make the decision on the game not the Phillies. Also, they said that the game 3 tickets would be for game 3 of the series. Everyone gets bumped.

[MPN]

Carson: But the Phillies are living on borrowed time for you. This is all gravy. Remember? The Phillies were only supposed to win 82 games this year.... right?

[king myno]

Wouldn't you think, if rain seems like it'll be consistent, MLB would call the game ASAP? I doubt they want the game to go til 2 AM; it probably makes more sense to push everything back a day and get them all in (relatively*) prime-time.

*relatively because most people can't stay up til midnight for baseball

[Jack]

What is it with NL hitters when they become the DH? Dobbs is a good hitter, when they showed that NL DH's have hit like .079 in the WS, I figured Dobbs would raise that somewhat. Instead, he gave 2 of the worst at-bats of the night in huge situations. Probably his worst at-bats of the season against a righty. That just sucks, and knowing Charlie, I'd be surprised to see Dobbs play in Philly. He should start at least one of games 3 and 4, probably both, but since Charlie is already reluctant, I don't see any way he does it after watching how badly Dobbs struggled last night.

[Mick in Houston]

Morning all, Does anyone else think James Sheilds did not pitch all that well last night. He threw over 100 pitches in 5.2 innings, and gave up 7 hits. Sure no runs, but was that his pitching or the phils bats?

[thephaithful]

kingmyno: i've been two at least 3 games this year where they were calling for 100% chance of rain and I would go to the park anyway and plan to go to the TurfClub for the night or something, and not even a DROP of rain each time. so you can't call a game based on weather forecasts days in advance.

[GoPhilsGo]

I think I would give Stairs a chance as the lefty DH. Dobbs looked lost and we need to see the long ball since guys are having issues with hitting singles with men on base.

[bay_area_phan]

clout: Both games have been poorly played. The teams have already combined for 5 errors. There have been several base-running gaffes, as well as terrible clutch/situational hitting, mediocre pitching, lousy umpiring, and a complete absence of drama or standout performances. If I were a neutral observer, I'd say the first 2 games of this series were excruciatingly boring. As a Phillies' loyalist, I'd remove the word boring from my description, and drop the "ly" off the word excruciatingly.

[Ribbies]

We won't need another DH if the Phils end it in 5!

Yeah, I know, I agree I'd like see Stairs get a shot at DH also.