As the long offseason process begins in Philadelphia many questions will surround the team in the months to come, drawing a lot of attention from the Philadelphia faithful.

Most of those questions surround Pedro Martinez and Pedro Feliz.

It was pretty clear this season that Feliz was probably going to be the odd man out, and it has finally come to fruition with the Phils declining Feliz’s 5.5 million dollar option with no prospect of trade in sight.

The good news for the Phillies is there are more third basemen available than there is a demand for them making the club’s options wide open.

Players such as Chone Figgins, Adrian Beltre, Mark DeRosa, and Placido Polanco lead the way in the overstock at the very crucial third base position; some very intriguing prospects indeed.

But third base isn’t the only area of concern for the Phils.

The bullpen situation in Philadelphia is another major concern for Ruben Amaro Jr. and company with Brad Lidge being at the forefront.

Lidge, the victim of a very topsy-turvy season this year, will have his elbow looked at to determine if he needs surgery, and if he does, Lidge could be out until after spring training. With a bullpen that is already suspect and basically makeshift, the Phillies will undoubtedly look towards other options in an attempt to improve the pen either through trade or free agency.

The pitching staff as a whole is also caught in the middle.

Hamels dug himself in a hole with not only his World Series performance, but some of his comments, Kyle Kendrick has always held a special place in Charlie Manuel’s heart but could find himself on the outs, Andrew Carpenter could become trade bait so long as pitching prospect Kyle Drabek is kept, and Jamie Moyer is simply turning the corner in age.

But what about Pedro Martinez?

Ruben Amaro Jr. hasn’t closed the door on Martinez, but acknowledges their pen situation and their third base situation commands more attention.

November 20^th is the first day of free agents can sign with other clubs before setting the 40 man roster, so keep your eyes peeled and you ears on full alert and check back for more updates and possible signings as we get closer to the deadline.

Through an almost angelic cascade of a fine mist descending upon Yankee Stadium, the Philadelphia Phillies strike first blood in a  6-1  win.

In a night that was regarded as a huge showdown of old lefty teammates, Cliff lee and C.C. Sabathia, the Phillies overcame a powerful Yankee hitting squad with a lights out, 10 strikeout performance by Cliff Lee.

But it wasn’t only the pitching that was the highlight here.

Anyone remember the two bad throws Chase Utley had in the NLCS? Yeah, me either thanks in part to Utley’s performance that single handedly beat the Bronx Bombers.

Utley becomes the first person to have a multiple HR game in a World Series since Ryan Howard, and if that isn’t any inclination of things to come then I don’t know what is. Now, in Game Two, Pedro Martinez will take on the boys from NY before bringing it back home for Game Three.

The wild ride started in the third inning when Chase Utley took Sabathia deep, for the game’s only score until the fifth inning when Utley struck again, sending a towering fly ball over the heads of the discontented Yankee fans increasing the Phils’ lead to 2-0.

All was quiet and the minimal lead had endured until the eighth inning.

The inning began with two straight walks to Rollins and Victorino, and after another gratuitous walk afforded to Jason Werth, it was Raul Ibanez who slipped in a 2 out 2 RBI single to double the lead to 4-0 before the close of the inning.

The Phillies took out an insurance policy with Victorino’s RBI single, and Ryan Howards RBI single lifting the score to 6-0.

The Yankees tried a rally with Jeter and Damon both hitting singles, and there was even an errand throw by J-Roll that afforded the Yanks the only run of the night for them before the Phillies finally put the Yankees to bed.

At this point the Phillies were just making it look easy.

But aside the Phillies hitting and scoring and aside the majestic, almost effortless pitching was Cliff Lee’s fielding that was the icing on the cake.

Early in the game a pop up fly that soared right above Lee literally fell right into his glove with Lee barely even moving to catch the ball and it was his demeanor that was about a blasé as ya get.

In the eighth inning, off of a line drive hit from Robinson Cano, it was Lee who caught the ball as he was half-spun around—he basically caught it behind his back!

It was a complete team effort, and the Phillies showed a disposition that suggested they had no concern for whom they were playing, rather, they were in complete focus of the task at hand: take at least one win back home for Halloween Night.

Mission Accomplished.

Now in Game Two, the Phillies will deploy Pedro Martinez against the evil empire who is no stranger to playing in New York. Martinez has had plenty of time to rest and with Wednesday performance fresh in his memory; you can bet Martinez will enter in with a world of confidence which can be a deadly thing to face if you’re the opposition.

A little tidbit for all of you out there; the team to win the first game of the World Series has won the last six World Series…can someone say repeat?

The two most dominant southpaw pitchers in the playoffs, will take their anemic ERAs into Game One of the 2009 World Series in an attempt to calm the high powered offenses that have simply ruled with heavy hand—or  in this case bat—in this year’s postseason.

Both the Yankees and Phillies have literally inundated their competition with unstoppable torrents of homeruns and hits, mirroring their regular season output; the very output that got them here in the first place. But for the Phillies, it will be up to last year’s Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee to stop the Bronx Bombers from continuing on their frenzied offensive spree.

No problem right?

The matchup for Lee vs. the Yanks shows itself to be a favorable one with Lee going 2-1 with a 1.89 ERA in his last three tangles with the evil empire, and if that’s not enough to make Phillies’ fans salivate over the matchup, how bout chewing on Lee’s undefeated postseason record and paltry 0.74 ERA since the postseason race to the Fall Classic began.

Not without notice to his equally impressive 2 earned runs in a smidgen over 24 innings.

Lee has the ability to deal with power hitters as well as the small ball guys, making the Yankees hitting strategy face serious jeopardy. Lee deploys 4 different changeups at anyone given time along with two overpowering fastballs making his pitching repertoire as diverse as Wall Street’s finest investor.

And it’s that diversity that has afforded Lee the type of success he and the Phils have enjoyed thus far.

But the Yankees are not without their own governing left arm, and C.C. Sabathia is just as dangerous as his one-time teammate.

Sabathia has been a solid foundation of success for New York this year, and his 3-0 postseason record is adorned with a 1.19 ERA and complimented with 20 strikeouts; stats that have supported the bloated 7 year, 161 million dollar Willie Wonka contract the Yanks penned in this year.

Sabathia is not the type of guy who will come in and dazzle you with finesse pitches, nor will he limp to the barn with subpar stuff, rather, Sabathia forces teams to beat him even if he is giving up hits or dingers.

The 2007 Cy Young Award winner will try and deal specifically with the power portion of the Phillies while letting his merry melody of quality fielders deal with the potential myriad of hits that are sure to come from the Phillies happy bats.

The Intangible Side of the Fall Classic:

1. The Phils have enjoyed some great pitching, but they have also had their fair share of headaches dealing with 189 deep balls this season; something they will need to control early if they are to repeat. 

2. The Yankees were right behind the Phillies in deep ball disaster with 181.

3. Raul Ibanez will DH in Game One for the Phillies, while there’s potential for Gregg Dobbs or Matt Stairs to DH in Game Two. Having Stairs and Ibanez in the DH spot is not the type of situation the Yankees can be happy about, and it is a prime situation for the Phillies to take full advantage of before returning home.

4. For whatever reason unbeknownst to man, the Yankees went with a three man rotation during the postseason, and yes it did work. The problem is, you can’t have that much activity in your starting rotation— after a full season mind you— and think these guys will still be fresh roses on the mound. This presents yet another situation to exploit for the Phillies; the curious ways of Joe Girardy’s peculiar handling of his pitching staff will come back to haunt him, possibly Halloween Night?

The X-Factor and Predictions:

Remember Miguel from the original 1976 Bad News Bears? The one that never spoke, but wound up being an X-factor for Buttermaker’s band of misfits?
Well, the Phillies are anything but misfits, but Miguel reminds me a lot of Carlos Ruiz who is normally the most forgotten player on the Phillies roster—that was until the postseason.

Ruiz has been one of the hotter bats for the Phils posting a .346 AVG with 7 RBIs and a single HR, and if he can continue this success the Phils will have yet another advantage over the men in black.

If Cincinnati doesn’t mind so much, one can coin the Phillies the Little Red Machine, and the way this year has been, there is little doubt that the Phils aren’t destine for a historical repeat; one that fans of the National League—and of course Philadelphia fans— have been waiting for since ’76.

I like the Phillies to take the Yanks in Game 5 at home.

The storied franchise vs. the defending World Series Champions, the Bronx Bombers vs. Dem Phightin Phils, Philly vs. New York, and yes it’s BROAD ST. VS BROADWAY BABY, so roll up your sleeves and get ready for one helluva roller coaster ride as the Phils travel to the Bronx to duke it out with the evil empire as the last seven games of the season are set to commence on Wednesday.

Now this is a fall classic!

The pretty boys in black and grey will square off against the scrappy defending champions adorned in red and white in a matchup that has everyone from your grandmother to your next door neighbor talking about.

As the season closed this year, many expressed the sentiment that it would be, what is being called a “turnpike series”—I know it’s a pretty bad tag, but let’s get beyond that shall we?

Make no mistake about it; there is no love here between the two teams. Although the Yanks play in the AL, Philly and New York are just as synonymous of a rival as Kane and Able, they hold just as much distain towards one another as a Blue Jay does to a Cardinal.

Yikes, where did that come from?

This Wednesday will feature two pitchers who donned the same jersey at one point in their careers, only to make their exodus for greener pastures, and low and behold they did it: Cliff Lee and C.C Sabathia.

Lee, the dominant and unbeatable post season grace afforded to the Phillies, will enter in this contest still shouldering the burden of something to prove; he is that damn good.

Lee has been nothing short of spectacular, making most people feel he has attained indomitable form, utilizing an incredible changeup that rears four different looks, as well as utilizing two types of fastballs that has left most hitters seething at the plate.

On the other side is Sabathia, who simply pitches to win. Sabathia is a gritty pitcher who will not win with grace and form, rather he’ll win with a forceful, almost commanding notion of ” beat me if you can” approach.

And this is just the pitching.

The Phils boast a league best in RBIs, road wins, HRs, and just about everything else you can think of; the Yanks boast A-Rod, Jeter, Damon, Cabrera, and a dominant starting rotation.

But it is that rotation that comes into serious question as we approach Game One.

Yes, the Yankees have pitched well, but a three man rotation? Unless I missed something, you don’t tax your starting pitchers at the most important time of the year; apparently the Yankees felt this was a good idea.

Now, with nominal rest at best, the Yankees have deal with the best hitting, run producing machine in all of baseball, and after their famed two game start at home they will have to do it for 3 in Philadelphia—trust me the City of Brotherly Love will quickly transfer to the City of We Hate Your Freakin Guts!

Resting a team of potent hitters doesn’t come without its price however.

The series will open up in some pretty frigid temperatures, and the resting bodies of the Phillies’ hitting squad will be a bit tighter than their Yankee counter parts, so errors and a discerning eye on the ball when hitting will be the most important factor in Game One.

If the Phils can jump out to a big lead early they can set the tone in this contest as they quest themselves towards another WS title.

Tuesday we will look at a Game One breakdown.

Down 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth with two outs J-Roll smacks a two run double off of Jonathan Broxton to win Game 4 in dramatic fashion. Combined with the 11-0 explosion win from last night, the Champs take a commanding 3-1 series lead.

Now how’s that for clutch?

Game three opened up with a two run shot by Ryan Howard who has come alive in the postseason in record fashion, but  the game didn’t get interesting until the Dodgers scored runs in the 4^th, 5^th, and 6th inning to take what seemed like a commanding lead in the game in route to the win.

But the Phillies yet again kept their cool and calm.

The win sets up a familiar tone, and has the eerie Halloween-ish remembrance of last year’s Game 4 when Broxton gave up a two run walk off to Matt Stairs. Now in Game 5, the Dodgers season will be on the line, and the Phillies are yet again one game away from the World Series; only this time it will be their second time around.

The Dodgers will put their season on the back of their number one ace Vincente Padilla who pitched 7 innings, gave up 4 hits and struck out six to help the Dodgers take Game Two, but so did Chase Utley.

The Phillies will go to their second staff ace Cole Hamels who won Game One vs. the Dodgers thanks largely in part to the Phillies hitting; he will be working on three day’s rest.

Quick Stats:

Cliff lee is 2-0 with a paltry 0.74 ERA, 20 SO, and an almost nonexistent WHIP of 0.70; a career best numbers line.

Ryan Howard aka Mr. October is hitting .379 with a .793 SLG percentage with 2 HRs and more importantly 14 RBIs.

The most surprising player of all, Carlos Ruiz is hitting an amazing .391 with a .565 SLG percentage with 1 HR and 7 RBIs on 9 total hits.

“Just get me to the plate; just one more time…” Had to be the one thought on Ryan Howard’s mind in the ninth inning; the same comment he made in Game One before hitting the dinger that helped win the game.

This time it never happened.

Chase Utley threw his second wild ball to first base in as many games, the Dodgers capped the eighth with a pinch hit single and two walks, and the 2 games to none lead the Phillies had hoped to achieve before coming back to Philly is now just an afterthought.

Now, in Game Three which is set for Sunday, the Phils will go with another one of their aces as they try to rise above a forgettable Game Two to take the lead with Cliff Lee going against Hiroki Kuroda.

Kuroda himself is yet another ace for the Dodger staff that is as deadly as Chase’s two throws to first, and unless the Phillies man up now they could be in for a long night on Sunday.

But Kuroda will have his own set of issues to deal with.

In L.A. things are sunny, warm, pleasant, heck you can grab yourself a Margarita and head to the beach if ya wanted.

Here at home, in PHILLY, things are …well not so nice. It’s miserable, cold, wet, and there will be about 40 to 45 thousand angry fans waiting to make sure Kuroda understands the term ‘City of Brotherly Love’.

But for the type of pitcher Kuroda is, the weather could be our best friend.

Kuroda is a finesse pitcher. He will not over power you with Fastball after Fastball, but he will get you to chase his pitches more than a cat does a mouse. Despite his utility pitches—two and four seam Fastballs—Kuroda also throws and Splitter and more importantly a Slider; his shut down pitch.

But in inclement weather, especially wet and cold weather, those types of pitches tend to become very ineffective.

Why?

Grip! The Slider and Splitter rely heavily on the grip you have and the better it is, the more successful the pitch is going to be, the worse the grip is the more you may have to lean off them which would be disastrous for Kuroda.

The movement on the Splitter and Slider are brutal on power hitters which is why Torre probably decided to go with Kuroda in Game Three, so guys like Ryan Howard and even Raul Ibanez would typically struggle against such a repertoire.

Howard lifetime is 0-8 against Kuroda.

Enter in Cliff Lee and his own brand of throwing magic. Lee has a bag full of tricks and at least (to my count) 3 or 4 versions of the changeup to compliment his Fastballs, so the collection of pitches along with his multiple options could serve the advantage to the Phillies pitching.

Lee, in the postseason, has shown himself to be the ace the Phillies thought he would be when they picked him up earlier this year shutting down the Rockies twice and literally needing no bullpen to do so.

If the Phillies can handle the cold, and Lee can step up yet again, the Dodgers should have a world or problems adjusting and it could afford the Phillies a crucial Game Three victory.

PITCHING STATS:

Cliff Lee:7-4 / 3.39 ERA with the Phillies
2-0 this postseason with a 1.10 ERA
Lee will have to work quickly if he is to be successful since he has already thrown in 249innings including the playoffs which is a career high.

Hiroki Kuroda: 6-3 / 3.55 On the Road
2-0 this postseason with a 1.46 ERA
Kuroda is lights out when he is on and has otherwise owned Ryan Howard. But there is the lingering issue of whether or not his health will hold up in the cold particularly the herniated disk.

The sellout crowd, home field advantage, and the best bullpen in the NL weren’t enough to stop the Dem Phightin Phils as the boys took it to the Dodgers in a thrilling 8-6 win to take Game One of the NLCS.

The Phillies touted a few advantages of their own coming into last night’s game, and it showed in their brilliant performance. The league leader in runs scored—not to mention the postseason leader—and the best road team in the majors, were some of the keys to winning a crucial matchup with a Dodgers team that showed they too can hit.

The Dodgers bullpen helped out a little too.

Up until the 5^th inning, the Dodgers seemed to have complete control of the Phillies as Kershaw dazzled the punch less Phils with strike after strike. More often than not, the Phillies were caught looking as Kershaw made it clear he wasn’t going to back down from challenging the Phillies’ hitters.

But it was that stout approach that eventually hurt Kershaw and the Dodgers, as the Phillies had a 5 run fifth inning that put them ahead and provided the momentum they needed to close out an otherwise tight contest.

Capitalizing on a three run home run by Carlos Ruiz and a two run double by Ryan Howard, the Phils rose to a 5-1 lead only to have it immediately threatened by the Dodgers in the same inning, as they scored three runs themselves to make it a 5-4 game.

Then everything got quiet.

It wasn’t until the top of the 8^th where the Phillies watched Raul Ibanez delivered a three run homerun of his own to elevate the lead to 8-4, but again, the Dodgers came right back in the bottom of the inning to score two more runs and cut the lead to 8-6; what would wind up being the final score.

The Phillies did everything they needed to do to beat a very good Dodger team.

1. They kept their cool.
2. They capitalized on the extra base hits and gratuitous walks afforded by the Dodgers.
3. They used their power when it counted and more importantly,
4. The bullpen came through in a big way with Lidge’s double play that sealed the victory.

Now, in Game Two, the Phillies will pit Mr. Clutch Pedro Martinez against Vicente Padilla; a matchup that seems favorable for the Phillies before coming home for a three game stand.

Keys to Today’s Match:

1. The name of the game is opportunities. The Phillies were able to display more control on the mound than L.A. was, and that went a long way despite taking a very long time, and it is precisely this aspect of the game that needs to be built on if the Phillies want to go up 2-0. Taking advantage of walks, extra base hits and any other fielding erros that may come will all go towards the win.

2. L.A. is not going to go away as easily as the Rockies did, so the Phils will have to keep the Dodgers hitters at bay and one way they can do that is to pounce on early opportunities that may come.

With that said, the Phils need to simply keep playing their style of ball and prevent the Dodgers power from coming alive early since the Phillies do not want to get into another slug fest.

3. Create the disadvantage now! The Phillies have a golden opportunity to go up 2 games to none before returning home, and if they can achieve that, there is little chance the Dodgers will win this series regardless of how good they are. But dealing the blow will prove to be harder than it seems. The Dodgers are inevitably going to come into this game with one thing in mind, and that is tying things up.

Today’s game is being broadcasted at 4:07 EST.

PITCHING STATS:
Pedro Martinez:
Season Record: 5-1 /3.63 ERA
Road Record:    3-1/5.66 ERA
VS. Dodgers:     3-5/4.02 ERA in nine career starts.

Vincente Padilla:
Season Record: 12-6/ 4.46 ERA
Home Record:    5-4/5.35 ERA
Currently unbeaten as a Dodger and 0-1 vs. Phillies giving up 7 runs in 6 innings.

KEY MATCHUPS FOR THE PHILLIES:

Manny Ramirez is perfect against Pedro and Matt Kemp and Russell Martin are lifetime.667 against Pedro. Establishing mound dominance early is an absolute must if Martinez is to offer game control to the bullpen later in the game.

The Phillies have only faced their ex-pitcher once, and it was Howard .500BA, 1HR, 2 RBI and Utley .333 BA, 1 HR, 1 RBI that had the best outing against the unbeaten Padilla. Padilla plays in a weak division and while his unbeaten streak should not be overlooked, it should also not be taken too seriously.
       

The Phillies open up Game One of the NLCS in Los Angeles tonight in a repeat of last year’s contest in which the Phillies took in 5 in route to their World Series Championship.

The stage couldn’t be any better quite frankly.

The ever methodical and sometimes hauntingly aggressive Cole Hamels—the new daddy by the way— will face an equally aggressive, no-nonsense Clayton Kershaw that will not back down from challenging the Phillies both inside and outside the zone; something the Dodgers did not do a lot of last year.

Last year, the Phillies enjoyed what appeared to be an almost easy series against the Dodgers pitchers and part of that reason was largely due to underestimating of the Phils hitting. Relying almost solely on the outside pitch— hoping the Phils bats would chase more than hit—the Phillies made the Dodgers pay dearly with hit after hit and near total control of last year’s series from beginning to end.

This year, the Dodgers think they have learned from their mistakes of last year.

The Dodgers come into this season with higher expectations and increased confidence, and with a 50-31 record at home where they have the advantage, the Dodgers have plenty to build on in this series.

The Dodgers will try to build success around their league best bullpen in George Sherrill and Jonathan Broxton—quite possibly the deadliest one two punch in the NL. The Dodgers have also secured their bullpen with setup men Ronald Belisario, Ramon Troncoso, and Hong-Chih-Kuo.

In the postseason thus far, the Dodgers’ relievers are 2-0 with a 1.86 ERA and were a NL best in the regular season with a 3.12 ERA despite a shaky starting rotation.

But let’s not forget who they are facing.

The Phillies continue dominate long after spending nearly all season making statement after statement:

1. They led the league in runs scored with 820
2. They led the league in homeruns with 224
3. They led the NL as an Away team and were tied first overall with the Angels posting a 48-33 road record.

But it doesn’t stop there.

Currently the Phillies lead the postseason in RBIs, Batting Average, Walks, Runs Scored (sound familiar), and Hits, total Bases and are second in HRs only to the Yankees.

The pitching for the Phillies will feature Cole Hamels which —by all accounts—is a Dodger killer. In last year’s NLCS matchup, Hamels won both games with a 1.93 ERA, and this year vs. the Dodgers he continued that success.

On May 14^th Hamels pitched 7 innings and gave up 2 earned runs for the no decision. ON June 4^th he pitched a 5 hit shutout; both games at Dodger stadium.

In addition to all of this is the Phillies ability to win games even if things seem grim. The Phightin Phils are still playing like that last year team that couldn’t be stopped, that couldn’t be beaten and even if you did get one, that  was it.

The Phillies are going to be challenged in the outfield and in the hitter’s box no doubt, but they already faced the second hottest hitting team in the NL and we all know how that side story ended.

My predictions are the Phils take L.A. in identical fashion 4-1 at home in Game 5.

After an exhilarating Game One performance, the Rockies inch past the Phillies in a 5-4 win and show that they are not gonna go quietly. Hamels never made it out of the 5th inning and it was Aaron Cook taking an early control of the game while the potent Rockies’ offense that led them to the playoffs jumped out to a 4-0 lead and never truly let go of. The Phillies now travel to Colorado into the lion’s den to face the Rockies in a pivotal Game 3 that will undoubtedly set the tone for the rest of the series. The game was not, however, without its highlights as the Phillies nearly pulled the comeback win, but the formidable Huston Street (substituted in place of Franklin Morales at the last second) showed why he is one of the best closers in the NL shutting down the Phillies’ bats. The pitcher for Saturday’s Game three is still a mystery as Manuel is trying to keep the Rockies guessing. It will either be Happ, Martinez, or Blanton.

The Philadelphia Phillies close out Game one of the NLDS is dramatic fashion, defeating the Rockies 5-1 further supporting the notion that YES the Phils can very much repeat!

Lee masterfully pitched a completed a near shutout game relegating the Rockies’ hot hitting to a dismal underachieving outing setting up the other Phillies ace Cole Hamels in game two; it doesn’t get much better than this Phillies fans!

A sellout crowd in Citizens Bank Park was on their feet and roared in cheer as Lee closed the first of five for the Phillies and sent a message to the rest of the National league.

Lee’s line:

9IP, 6H, 1R, 1ER, 5SO

If there were any questions as to whether or not Lee was beginning to slump they should have been answered in this game, as Lee dominated hands down. Now, the Phillies will have to deal with Aaron Cook in Game Two to try and go up two games to none.

The Rockies undoubtedly had hopes of sweeping the Phillies again as they did once before, but that is now nothing more than a passing fancy.

Interestingly enough, there were no homeruns in this matchup as the Phillies did all their damage with the small ball.

If this game is any inkling to what Game Two has in store, the Phillies are gonna be primed for a sweep of their own.

Congrats Phils on a dominating performance!