Four weeks ago, you never could have imagined this. As Carlos Delgado rocketed his second home run off of Phillies starter Cole Hamels deep into the New York night, the Phillies were on their way to a two game deficit in the National League East. However, a funny thing happened on the way to the playoffs. A sweep of the Brewers at home, a second straight division title, a series win in the NLDS, and three thrilling victories against the Dodgers in the NLCS later and the Philadelphia Phillies find themselves just one win away from advancing to their sixth World Series in franchise history.
It's not the fact that the Phillies simply managed to finally win a game this year at Dodger Stadium to give them a three games to one series lead over L.A., it's the tension filled, spine tingling, come from behind victory last night that will have Phillies fans talking about this game for the rest of their lives.
From the outset, it looked like the Phillies were in the drivers seat against starter Derek Lowe, who was pitching on three days rest. The Phillies jumped to an early 2-0 at the end of the first. Starter Joe Blanton, not unlike game three loser Jamie Moyer, was not as sharp as he was against the Brewers in the previous week, yielding a game tying rbi to (who else?) Manny Ramirez in the bottom of the fifth. The Dodgers eventually took the lead on a ground out. After the Phillies tied the game on a wild pitch by Dodgers reliever Chan Ho Park, reliever Chad Durbin surrendered a go ahead home run to Casey Blake in the bottom of the sixth, and only a tremendous game saving double play by Chase Utley prevented the Dodgers from blowing the game wide open to ending the inning with a 5-3 lead. Truth be told, the Phillies looked dead in the water. They had a game that was seemingly in their grasp slip away from them. What could have been a commanding three games to one series lead was looking more and more like a series tied at two games a piece.
Then it happened. A base hit and a pop up later, Shane Victorino laced a game tying home run to right field. After a base hit by Carlos Ruiz, late season acquisition Matt Stairs launched a 3-1 fast ball off Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton deep into the right field seats, and suddenly the Phillies had a 7-5 lead. After a four out save by Brad Lidge, the Phillies stunned the Dodger Stadium crowd, and ended one of the most unlikely comebacks in the post season history of the franchise. With staff ace Cole Hamels on the mound for the possible clinching victory in game five, the Phillies put themselves in a very good position to clinch the pennant tomorrow. Once again, they are not arrogant but confident. An example of this could have possibly occurred this afternoon when Pat Burrell called a team meeting just prior to their workout. Nobody is sure exactly what was said in the meeting. It does however, speak volumes when Burrell, a notoriously quiet presence in the clubhouse is becoming quite vocal in the wake of the current circumstances.
The home run was sweet redemption for Victorino, who was a victim of retaliation on behalf of Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda in game three. After Phillies pitchers threw inside to Dodger hitters Ramirez and Russell Martin in games two and three respectively, Kuroda threw over Victorino's head an inning later. The center fielder made it clear that throwing above the head was off limits, which the Dodgers seemed to understand. However, after Victorino was retired to end the inning, more words were exchanged and benches cleared, but order was eventually restored. Many insiders were wondering whose team this would fire up more, the Phillies or Dodgers? The answer to that is unclear, but we do know one particular Philly who let his bat do the talking. Victorino is our Pete Rose, Scott Stevens, and maybe a little bit of the good T.O. all rolled into one. Always maintaining an upbeat attitude while remaining confident, always being part of the action, and doing whatever it takes to put a spark into your team. It's no surprise that most of the biggest moments in the playoffs this season have centered around Victorino, who right now should be the odds-on favorite for the NLCS MVP should the Phillies win this thing.
If the home run was redemption for Victorino, it was validation for Stairs. The seventeen year veteran and the quiet owner of 254 major league home runs has only been with the Phillies for a few weeks. Some fans called me and didn't even know who he was! What everyone soon knew was that the ball he hit would still be travelling if it wasn't such a cool night in L.A. The emotion on Stairs' face after rounding the bases said it all. A great guy and a good influence in the clubhouse, you really couldn't think of a better defining moment to have the biggest hit in your major league career. Hopefully for Stairs and the Phillies, there's much more to come.
Not unnoticed in the Phillies win is that the team is continuing to play exactly how all teams should play: Like a team. Ryan Howard may not be hitting the ball out of the park, but his base hit led to Victorino's home run. Carlos Ruiz may have only hit .219 this season, but if it weren't for his two out single, there is no Stairs home run, and I may be writing a completely different column right now. Ruiz's performance in the playoffs is much reminiscent of Bob Boone's performance in the 1980 NLCS. While Boone only hit .228 in 1980, his stellar defense and timely clutch hitting in the playoffs were enough to compensate for some of the subpar performances of the team's superstars.
Don't get me wrong, this team does have some concerns if they are to advance to the World Series. Chad Durbin is clearly exhausted after pitching in almost 80 games this season. Jamie Moyer has looked downright abysmal in the only two losses the Phillies have suffered this postseason, and Ryan Howard is seriously suffering from a bad case of Steve Sax disease. However, when your team overcomes such obstacles as game four of the NLCS with timely hitting from the unlikliest of heroes, one might dare to think that everything will pan out, and that luck for once may be on your side.
Don't believe me? We'll find out in a few days.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
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