Be excited, but tread lightly. Enjoy all of this, but celebrate with guarded optimism.
The Philadelphia Phillies are one win away from capturing this city’s first World Championship in any sport since 1983. Forgive me for trying to spoil the fun, because the Phillies still have a job to do. They have won nothing yet.
After last night’s explosive 10-2 victory, the Phillies are knocking on the door or history. In Game Five tonight they send their ace and MVP to this point, Cole Hamels, to the mound to try and finish what he started. After capturing the opening games in each series, Hamels can put the exclamation point on years of futility. But just be cautious, there is still another game to be played.
As for yesterday, the Phillies' bats came alive and their pitching staff continued to dominate. Joe Blanton pitched six awe-inspiring innings, striking out seven Rays batters while chipping in on the offensive end as well. Blanton’s offensive production was a home run to left center field off of Rays' reliever Edwin Jackson. "Big Joe" sent a 93-MPH heater into the night and left Phils' fans, and teammates, in a frenzy.
Beyond Blanton’s great effort, it was nice to finally see Ryan Howard producing offensively. He had been mired in a power slump for the better part of the playoffs; that was until his Game Three bomb that helped seal the deal.
- B/R Ticket Guide
Game Four turned out to be twice as nice. Howard sent two out into the seats, one being the real nail in the Rays proverbial coffin, an opposite field three-run shot that told all of Philadelphia Ryan Howard was back.
His second statement shot was a laser beam to deep right center that could have taken the head off of a fan from 400 feet away. That eighth inning blast was the icing on the cake, and it made everyone believe that a championship was on the horizon. It’s a shame we had to wait so long for Howard to revert back to his old self, but as the adage goes, better late than never.
Jayson Werth was yet another hero from Game Four, as he smacked a two-run bomb off of Dan Wheeler in the eighth inning, two batters before Howard. Werth had been struggling from time to time during the playoffs, but he is now hitting .400 in the World Series, and has given the Phillies a devastating one-two punch at the top of the order, alongside Jimmy Rollins.
Speaking of J-Roll, he too put together yet another outstanding performance, reaching base four times. He too seems to have snapped out of his lethargic streak, finally putting forth consecutive consistent games. We all know that when J-Roll rolls, so rolls the offense—or something like that.
If the series ends tonight, and if you could give the MVP to a group instead of just one human, how could it not go to the Phillies' bullpen?
It started off as a question mark way back in spring training and has blossomed into one of the best in baseball. The ‘pen as kept us in so many games and deserves a lot of the recognition it is not receiving.
Other than Brad Lidge, who has not blown a save all season, Ryan Madson has been the true anchor of the late-inning lock down. He has been absolutely spectacular, and deserves credit for getting the game to Lidge without incident. JC Romero, Scott Eyre and Chad Durbin have all stepped up in the postseason and made this possible.
So we are one win away from a Philadelphia championship. Most people didn’t think this was possible, but here we are, on the edge of it.
Tonight will be a very special occasion if they do clinch the title, so make sure you celebrate it in style. Have fun, and most importantly be careful, because the city is brimming with intensity, and the lid is about to blow off.
Just nine more innings of Phillies baseball, and we can call ourselves champions.
Sounds good to me.
http://www.examiner.com/x-1164-Philadelphia-Phillies-Examiner
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