PHILLIES: Movin’ On

It may have taken just under two weeks, but I think I finally got over the fact that the New York Yankees are the current world champions of baseball, as the late Harry Kalas would say.

Before I view it as just water under the bridge, first, a moment of clarity.

As hard as it is to say, the Yankees deserved it. They were the best team in baseball, something that they paid a lot of money to ensure. Nonetheless, they didn’t let the names on the roster define their play, but their performance on the proved it, and A-Rod, Tex, Jeter and company will be sporting some new jewelry come opening day 2010.

Now, onto the Phillies. Tremendous run this year, and that’s not something I would have said moments after Shane Victorino grounded out weakly to first after he was jammed by a historic Mariano Rivera cut-fastball. Plagued by injuries, bullpen issues, and inconsistent play, there were times throughout the season that I truly believed that the Phillies would be watching the playoffs from the bar on the golf course. That obviously wasn’t the case. The credit to get the Phillies two game shy of back-to-back championships goes all around the organization. However, there are two people (besides of course the players) that are mainly responsible for making this past postseason run back to the fall classic possible.

1. Ruben Amaro: Pulling the trigger on a trade that gave the Phillies an ace (Cliff Lee) and a solid utility outfielder (Ben Francisco) for essentially four minor leagues backed up Amaro’s creditability as a general manager. He didn’t let the Blue Jays J.P Richardi bully him into giving up too much for Roy Halladay, and instead “settled” for Lee, who not only was the ace of the Phillies staff down the stretch, but also pitched worlds better than Halladay in the second half of the season. Also, signing Pedro Martinez midway through the season when so many people, even within the organization, questioned the decision, was a good move. Martinez surpassed all his individual expectations, and also bolstered the teams’ pitching staff and overall intimidation level.

2. Charlie Manuel: He will never be the most well-spoken manager in baseball, but based on success and overall approval by his team, Manuel has to be considered among the best skippers in all of baseball after this season. While he may over-manage at times (something that all managers are guilty of), a majority of the major decisions Manuel made over the course of the season were correct. Some of those decisions included benching Jimmy Rollins for a three-game stretch in June, sending both Raul Ibanez and Brad Lidge to the D.L against their will, and sticking with Lidge as a closer in the playoffs (yes, this was the right decision). He’s a tremendous presence in the clubhouse, and should be with this team for a long time. 

As I said before, a great run it was. We got to see Ryan Howard and Chase Utley have tremendous seasons and historic postseasons, solidifying their status as perennial stars in the world of baseball. We got to see the birth of one of arguably the best outfield tandems in all of baseball, as Raul Ibanez, Shane Victorino, and Jayson Werth all had career years, with Victorino and Werth seeming to be just entering their prime. With pitching, we got to see Cliff Lee prove he wasn’t a fluke Cy Young award winner, Pedro Martinez resurrect his career, and a rookie in J.A Happ flourish into one the organizations bright young stars.

Needless to say, the future is bright for the Philadelphia Phillies organization.

Now, the show must go on, as the first step to repeating as NL champs is already about to begin.

Free Agency.

In the next post, we will talk about those who may join the Phillies through free agency, along with those who will surely leave the club because of the process.

PHILLIES: Back to the NLCS

Tied 1-1 after two games in Philadelphia, I highly doubt many people thought that the Phillies would take care of business and end their NLDS series in Colorado by sweeping the Rockies at Coors Field.

Well, they did it.

In doing so, I found a strange trend.

Two heart-wrenching games later, defined by clutch performances ranging from two tenuous Brad Lidge saves to Ryan Howard winning his battle against one of the NL’s most consistent closers this season in Houston Street (twice), the Phillies are now set to face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS  for the second time in, yes, the past two seasons.

Ironic isn’t it.

If only you could win a playoff series in two games, I would classify this coincidence as example of those above pulling for the Phillies to win their SECOND World Series in TWO years.

Harry the K is surely smiling from above right now.

With that said, here’s the Preview of the Phillies/Dodgers Series.

SCHEDULE

Game 1 (in LA): Thursday at 8:07 ET (Cole Hamels vs. Clayton Kershaw)

Game 2 (In LA): Friday at 4:07 PM ( Blanton/Happ/Pedro vs. Vicente Padilla)

Game 3 (In Philadelphia): Sunday at 8:07 ET (Cliff Lee vs. Hiroki Kuroda)

Game 4 (In Philadelphia): Monday at 8:07 ET (TBD vs. Randy Wolf)

Game 5 (If Necessary in Philadelphia): Wednesday at 8:07 ET (Hamels vs. Kershaw)

Game 6 (If Necessary in LA): Friday 10/22 at 8:07 ET (Blanton/Happ/Pedro vs. Padilla)

Game 7 (If Necessary in LA): Saturday 10/23 at 8:07 ET (Lee vs. Kuroda)

 

Defense

First of all, defensively, both teams are virtually even. In the infield, each team is solid around the diamond with one standout gold-glove caliber player (James Loney for the Dodgers and Jimmy Rollins for the Phillies). In the outfield, both teams have two tremendous defensive players (Matt Kemp and Andre Either for the Dodgers and Shane Victorino and Jayson Werth for the Phillies), and one defensive liability (Manny Ramirez for the Dodgers and Raul Ibanez). Just for the fact that Manny Ramirez is one of the worst defensive outfielders in recent memory, and the Phillies with Rollins and Victorino will probably have one more gold-glove award winner than the Dodgers in Matt Kemp, I have to go with ’08 champs on this one.

Advantage: Phillies

Offense

Another tough one. Probably the two most potent, deep lineups in all of baseball. One through eight in the order, each team is flat out dangerous. On pure power numbers alone, the advantage the Phillies have is tough to ignore. Four guys over 30 homeruns, five all-stars in the middle of the lineup, and a former MVP at the top of the lineup sounds about as good as a Jim’s cheesesteak (wiz with) right now. However, the Dodgers might be a little more balanced at this point. Kemp, Either and Manny are stars in the middle of the order while Loney, Russell Martin, Rafael Furcal, and Casey Blake are all dangerous hitters who have had success in the playoffs.

Advantage: Push

Bench

This one is not even close. The Phillies do have Ben Francisco, who has been an x-factor down the stretch run for Philadelphia, and Matt Stairs, who I am sure still gives Dodgers fans and players nightmares from last season. But to be honest, the Dodgers  have a plethora of more than quality options to come off the bench. Most notably, 2009 all-star Orlando Hudson and future hall-of-famer Jim Thome are available for manager Joe Torre to pinch-hit, pinch-run, defensive switch, or whatever fits his fancy.

Advantage: Dodgers

Starting Pitching

This one is a little intriguing. Most people who see a potential rotation with Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and Pedro Martinez (rumored starter for game 2) will say that team has the advantage in a seven-game series. Not so fast. While the Dodgers four-man rotation of Kershaw, Padilla, Kuroda, and Wolf (sounds like the name of a law firm) may not be nearly as dominant as Philadelphia’s, they have the potential to give the Phillies problems. Two left-handed starting pitchers who differ completely in they way they pitch (Kershaw: Young power pitcher; Wolf: Crafty veteran) for the Dodgers isn’t a good sign for Ryan Howard, who barely hit over .200 against lefties this year. Now, players don’t define teams, but this is the same Ryan Howard who was responsible for the producing the game-winning run in game 3 against the Rockies and the game 4 tying-run in the series clincher against the Rockies. With that said, I’ll take a rotation with a two different former Cy Young award winners (Martinez and Lee) and a World Series MVP (Hamels) any day over a team who’s game 1 starter is my age (21).

Adavantage: Phillies

Bullpen

Wow. The Dodgers actually dominate the Phillies in their best categories. The comparison with two bullpen’s is as drastic as they come. LA’s bullpen had the best E.R.A in the NL, while the Phillies bullpen was the main reason the Phillies had the most come from behind victories in the NL with 43. Next, Jonathan Broxton was an all-star closer this year for the Dodgers, while Brad Lidge blew 11 saves this year and lost his job for a three-week period at the end of the regular season. Lastly, the Dodgers George Sherill has been the best set-up man in baseball for the second half of the season (0.65 E.R.A), while the Phillies have struggled finding anyone consistent in the bullpen this year without an injury or some mechanical flaw. If the Dodgers are going to win this series, it’s going to be because of this.

Advantage: Dodgers

As I said in my last sentence, if the Dodgers win, it will be because of their bullpen. I’m not sure if it will get that far for them to play an important role in the series. I say if Hamels continues his dominance against the Dodgers (2-0 with a 0.65 E.R.A this season) starting in game 1, that the Phillies, riding that wave of confidence with a couple close calls in between, should have a good chance to go back to the World Series for the second time in as many years.

Prediction: Phillies in 6

 

PHILLIES: RIP Harry Kalas

It was a somber meal at the dinner table tonight. Eating shrimp and rice, listening to the recorded voice of the recently-deceased Harry Kalas on the radio as part of a ceremony that would induct the long-time Phillies announcer to the Citizens Bank Park “Wall of Fame”, I couldn’t control the chills running down my spine.

The nostalgic ceremony just provided a flashback to one simple moment. I was in the Ernie Pyle School of Journalism library completing a paper, and I checked philly.com for about the tenth time of the day, and I saw the headline that changed my life forever.

HARRY KALAS DEAD AT AGE 73.

Just as people remember where they were when they found out about 9/11, JFK getting shot, and Pearl Harbor, I will always remember where I was when I found out that Harry Kalas had passed away.

Now, that may sound dramatic, but as a person who has dreamed of being a sports broadcaster since childhood, it really does equate.

To put the impact of Friday night’s ceremony into perspective, here is something I wrote for my other blog in the hours after I found out that Kalas had passed. In the spirit of tonight’s ceremony, this seems to be appropriate.

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RIP Harry Kalas (Posted April 13th, 2009) 

This is one of those things that no one can prepare for. Friends and family members die, death is a part of life, it happens. But, for an entire city along with millions of other people to feel that they all just lost a beloved member of their family for a person that have never met, that’s saying something.

Harry the K was special.

Like Harry Carey, Vin Scully, Joe Buck (the older one), Kalas was the best in the business.  His trademark voice was directly linked to the Philadelphia Phillies from the time he stepped in the broadcast booth in 1971, to the time he collapsed prepping for one of the 162 games per year that he almost always announced.

Look at Harry the K, look what he’s done.

First of all, he is one of the few people in the past and present day media that had the ability to make sentence fragments like  “it’s outta here” catch phrases.  In an age of broadcasting that has transformed in time to where ex-athletes  use garble, half-sentences, and bias analysis as dialogue during games, there was Harry the K, using his years and years of experience and a signature voice to grace the Philadelphia radio airwaves.

Honestly, he was and still is so respected, that no one even mentions that he turned over to the dark side (he did play-by-play for the New York Giants as recently as this seasons), which is almost worthy of being put in the witness protection program. As some aspiring broadcasters like myself do, we witness those who are linked in the media to Harry Kalas everyday. Stephen A. Smith, Howard Eskin, both considered members of the sports media in Philadelphia, just like Kalas was for almost four decades.  Eskin and Smith are both Radio and T.V personalities respectively, who have gained notoriety and fame just like Harry.

But that’s where the comparisons end. 

While Eskin and Stephen A. Smith may be entertainers, they are not class acts like Kalas was.  Harry the K was broadcaster, as pure as they come, and a damn good one at that. For those who don’t believe in a higher being, after today, I challenge that.  Good people like Harry Kalas don’t deserve to suffer, and hopefully he didn’t. He collapsed and passed away in his sanctuary, his cathedral, where the combination of the smell of green grass, ballpark franks, and overpriced beer made for a proper setting for the game that Kalas viewed so sacredly (To put this into perspective, this is like Hugh Hefner passing away in the grotto of the his Playboy Mansion).

As far as we know, there was no cancer, no stroke, and no chronic health problems.

Just another day at the office, his beloved game to broadcast, and as fitting of manner as there is, he went.    

RIP Harry Kalas 1936-2009

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I’ll leave you all with this.