World Series: Damon's double steal all flash

PHILADELPHIA—Already they are saying it might be the most clutch play in recent World Series history. Strangely, that’s not just from the hyperbolic New York press who has the innate ability to turn even the most mediocre ballplayers into Hall of Famers. No, the lauding of Johnny Damon’s one-man, one-pitch double steal has been pretty universal. All across the board the praise as appropriately reflected the proper bias. But make no mistake about it… it was a great play.

Actually, it was one of those plays where everything had to go perfectly. If Damon was going to steal second and pop up out of his slide and take off for third where no one was within 45 feet because of the defensive over-shift for Mark Teixeira, any deviation would have thwarted the play.

First, pitcher Brad Lidge and catcher Carlos Ruiz have to fail to cover third base. Secondly, the throw to second by Ruiz not only has to be fielded by Feliz, but if it is caught at the bag Damon can’t go anywhere. If Feliz thought to catch the ball at the base, there was no way Damon could have gone anywhere.

More importantly, if Ruiz had been able to hang on to a foul tip with two strikes on Damon during his nine-pitch, five-foul plate appearance, the inning would have ended. Instead, Damon lived to see another pitch and laced a single to left.

On pitch later he went from first to third on a steal(s).

Crazy, but smart.

But was it really necessary? Sure, Damon taking off for third was an aggressive, heads’ up play. If Lidge throws a wild pitch he could easily score the go ahead run from third base, but with Teixeira or Alex Rodriguez due up it wasn’t really necessary to take third other than as an insult.

In other words, it was flashy (and smart) but much ado about nothing. After all, Teixeira was plunked on the arm before A-Rod doubled home the go-ahead run. Without the hit, it doesn’t matter where Damon was standing.

At least that’s the way Charlie Manuel sees it.

“A-Rod got a big hit,” Charlie said. “Damon going to third base, only thing Damon did by going to third base, he put his team in a better position to maybe score a run by a fastball or a high chopper or something like that. But the big hit was A-Rod. A-Rod's hit was the big hit because it was two outs. They got the big hit, Rivera came in, shut us down, and they got the win. They've been doing that to us.”

So while us media types hyperventilate over Damon’s smart move, ask yourself if it would have been as big a deal if he was playing in the World Series for Tampa Bay.

The NLCS: No blowing it for the Phillies

Watching Carlos Ruiz take that wide turn around second base with his short legs moving as fast as he could make them go, the first thought (obviously) was, “Wow! They’re really going to win this thing.” It was as dramatic a victory as there could be in a postseason game without a home run. Needless to say it immediately conjured remembrances Matt Stairs’ home run to beat the Dodgers and Jonathan Broxton in Game 4 of the 2008 NLCS, too. That homer, off course, was the seminal moment of the 2008 postseason where we finally realized that, yes, the Phillies were going to go to the World Series and win it.

Those old feelings surfaced again last night as Jimmy Rollins circled the bases only to be tackled by Ryan Howard and the rest of the team when Chooch finally made it to home plate.

Unlike last year it’s much easier to put the Game 4 heroics in perspective because there is a frame of reference. We’ve seen this all before, which caused some of us to be less stunned than when Stairs hit his homer. Oh, it was dramatic alright, because, really, how many times does a team get to win such an important game?

Once in a lifetime, maybe, if the team is especially lucky or good? But never in back-to-back years in the same game of the championship series against the same pitcher, right?

Well, obviously these are not your father’s Phillies. Or you grandfather’s Phillies. There simply is no precedent for what we’re watching with this team.

Oh sure, in 1980 the Phillies had some pretty crazy comebacks. Take Game 5 of the NLCS, for instance. Back then the series was just a best-of-five so when Nolan Ryan took a three-run lead into the top of the eighth at the Astrodome, it didn’t look so good for the Phillies.

But Larry Bowa hit a single to open the inning. Bob Boone followed with another before Greg Gross beat out a bunt to load the bases. When Pete Rose walked to force home a run, the Astros turned to Joe Sambito and Ken Forsch to try and stave off more damage.

Two outs and a two-run single by Del Unser followed by a two-run triple from Manny Trillo and the Phillies went from four outs from elimination to holding a two-run lead with six outs to go.

Actually, Tug McGraw was four outs away in the eighth before the Astros rallied. It took a two-out double from Garry Maddox in the 10th to finally send the Phillies to the World Series.

OK, so maybe there is a precedent, but not one with an exclamation point or a moment that folks will talk about forever and ever. Make that two moments now. Stairs and Rollins linked by generations by stories fathers and grandfathers will pass down.

Indeed, that is unprecedented.

So the next thought that came after wrapping my head around what had just happened on the field when Rollins laced his game-winner into the gap, was, “OK, how are they going to blow this? Are the Phillies going to cough up three straight to the Dodgers or go belly up against the Angels or Yankees in the World Series?

“Would something like that just render the glory of Game 4 useless?”

Well, yeah… but it’s not going to happen. The days of epic failures and catchphrases like “1964!” are long buried in the attic of hazy memories like a sweater that doesn’t fit and has gone out of style.

The Phillies are going to the World Series again. They might even win it…

What, are you surprised?

The Big Piece

ATLANTA – OK, let’s take a break from all the injury talk and bullpen question marks for a day… or at least until J.C. Romero and Scott Eyre complete their bullpen sessions on Saturday. And then there is the issue of Carlos Ruiz’s sprained wrist suffered on a play at the plate during the second inning on Friday night.

Oh, and J.A. Happ came out of the game after three innings because Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley saw him grimace after a play and alerted Charlie Manuel. Needless to say, Happ wasn’t too pleased about coming out of the game.

“There was a lot of debate and I lost,” Happ said after the game, adding that his argument to stay in the game included a lot of nodding and telling anyone who would listen that he was OK. “It seems like the player always loses those debates.”

But what about Ryan Howard? After all, for the second straight game he got drilled by a pitch on the same exact spot on the right forearm.

What are the odds of that happening?

“Probably pretty high and I beat them,” Howard laughed.

Ruiz’s injury as well as the injuries to the relief pitchers is of the most concern to Manuel, who believes Happ will take the ball in his next start. As far as Howard goes, well, those two shots to the forearm should have felt like nothing more than a bee sting to the big fella.

Make that, “The Big Piece,” as Manuel calls him.

“He’s all right,” Manuel said. “What did I tell you about getting hurt? Don’t be getting hurt. That’s three feet from Ryan’s heart. He ain’t dead by a long shot. If I had arms that big, hell, a baseball wouldn’t hurt me.”

It’s more like the other way around. Howard has been the one hurting the baseball these days. Actually, make that a lot of days since it appears as if The Big Piece is well on his way to becoming the most prolific slugger in team history.

Friday night’s pair of homers made Howard the first Phillie ever to bash 40 in four different seasons. And not only did Howard hit his 40^th homer for the fourth season, but he did it with panache.

For Howard it’s 40 homers AND 120 RBIs in four straight seasons. Not only hasn’t a Phillie ever pulled off such a feat, but very few Major Leaguers have accomplished it. In fact, Howard became just the fourth member of the club on Friday night at Turner Field.

The Big Piece joins Babe Ruth, Ken Griffey Jr. and Sammy Sosa as the only sluggers in Major League Baseball history to slug 40 homers and drive in at least 120 RBIs in four straight seasons. That’s it.

But get this, only one other hitter accomplished the 40-120 trick in more than four straight seasons and that was The Sultan of Swat himself. The Babe did it in seven straight.

Here’s the amazing stat for Howard – in 717 career games, he has 620 RBIs. That comes to an average of 140 RBIs per 162 games, which is the career high of Hall of Famers Harmon Killebrew and Jim Rice.

And that’s Howard’s average.

There’s more to consider, too. Howard doesn’t turn 30 until November 19, he never drove in more than 149 RBIs in a season which points to his uncanny consistency. However, the numbers that really stand out are the splits from August, September (and October) from the Big Piece.

Check this out: 91 of Howard’s 217 career homers have come in the last two months of the season. Additionally, 254 of his 620 career RBIs have come in the last months, too. That means Howard feasts on pitching late in the season when the games take on added significance.

Enjoy it folks… sluggers like this Howard kid don’t come around that often.

Opening Night: third inning

OK, maybe Brett Myers is just getting his work in? That can be the only explanation considering the Braves are tee-ing off on him. In fact, little Yunel Escobar ripped one high off the wall in deep left-center for a double. Myers was lucky, too, because it came inches away from being the fourth homer of the game. Then again, before his late June demotion to Triple-A last season Myers was leading the Majors in homers allowed by a wide margin.

But unlike his first two frames, Myers stayed away from trouble. After the double, the pitcher whiffed Chipper Jones, got Brian McCann to pop out and Garrett Anderson to ground out to end the frame unscathed.

Nevertheless, Charlie Manuel got J.A. Happ up in the 'pen.

Meanwhile, Derek Lowe made it once through the Phillies lineup and finally got the first hit of the season. The honor goes to Carlos Ruiz whose ground-rule double inside the third-base bag.

So far the Phillies are 1-for-10 this year.

Second inning: Throwing the curve

They just showed all-time Dodgers great, Sandy Koufax on the TV here hanging above my head. If he is sitting where I think he is, Tommy Lasorda is directly behind him. Great… Sandy Koufax is going to go home with pasta stains on his shirt and peanut shells in his hair.

“Dammit Lasorda, chew with your mouth closed…”

It goes without saying that Sandy Koufax was one of the greatest pitchers ever. Actually, it might be more apt to say he put together four of the greatest seasons in a row. Sandy was like a comet – he developed late and before anyone knew what they were looking at, he was gone. That actually enhances his legend because Koufax’s career was cut short because of that curve ball he threw. It simply put too much pressure on his arm until he just couldn’t do it anymore.

So yes, Sandy Koufax suffered for his art. That makes him a genius.

If you don’t think so, just look at the stats from his last four seasons. Better yet, find the box score and play-by-play from his perfect game against the Cubs. Just awesome.

Legend has it that the pitch Koufax suffered for – the curve – was the best ever. No one before or since could chuck the deuce like Koufax. Brett Myers tried in the second, but Sandy’s old team posted the first run of the game set up by a leadoff single by Andre Ethier and a long double from James Loney.

But Myers limited the damage by getting a strikeout, a grounder and a fly ball, though his pitch count soared to 36.

Chad Billingsley brought the heat. To start the second the righty whiffed Pat Burrell and Jayson Werth with an overpowering array of pitches. Even though Greg Dobbs broke his bat fighting off a slider, he got just enough to get a two-out single.

That changed everything. Big time.

Carlos Ruiz laced a fastball into the gap in left-center for an RBI double then scored the go-ahead run when Myers, inexplicably, poked a slider into center for an RBI.

Yeah, that’s Myers’ second hit of the playoffs. And yes, he had just four hits during the entire season.

Brett Myers: Professional hitter.

Another two-out single by Jimmy Rollins set the table for Shane Victorino’s two-run single on a 2-2 pitch.

That hit set off epically loud “Beat LA!” chant that rattled the row homes in South Philly all the way up to Lombard.

These people… good fans.

Here’s the thing – it all happened with two outs. Better yet, it all happened without the long ball.

End of 2: Phillies 4, Dodgers 1

Fifth inning: Fernando!

Here’s one for you: The great Fernando Valenzuela is here at the park doing the commentary for the Dodgers’ Spanish language radio broadcast. I know this because Mike Radano came running over a few innings ago screaming, “You know how they say there are so many celebrities at games at Dodger Stadium? Yeah well, guess what? I just took a leak next to Fernando Valenzuela!”

Sometimes it’s a who’s-who of baseball greats in the men’s press box restroom. Besides, it’s good to know that even ex-baseball greats have to answer nature’s call, too.

Anyway, Phillies fans know all about Fernando Valenzuela. In 1981 the Phillies were the first team to beat him and derail “Fernando-mania!” Fernando also pitched against the Phillies in ’83 NLCS and was the only Dodger to win a game that series.

Better yet, Fernando pitched eight games for the Phillies during the strike-shortened ’94 season. In fact, I remember going to a game at The Vet with my old pal Ben Miller where we saw Fernando’s first game with the hometown team. In his first at-bat he clubbed a double.

I also remember Darren Daulton breaking his collarbone when he got nailed by a foul ball. As soon as it occurred you knew something bad happened because the noise from Daulton’s broken bone sounded like a gun shot.

Anyway, Cole Hamels faced four hitters in the fifth and notched a pair of strikeouts. So far Hamels has thrown 84 pitches with six strikeouts.

How much longer can Hamels go?

Derek Lowe continued to deal in the fifth, recording his 10th and 11th outs on ground balls before Carlos Ruiz and Hamels knocked out back-to-back singles. As a result, the Phillies got their first runner in scoring position.

It stayed there, though, when Jimmy Rollins flied out to left to end the inning.

End of 5: Dodgers 2, Phillies 0

Friday morning: Short rest and small ball

The concept of short rest is one the Phillies' starting pitchers are going to have to wrap their heads around in... ahem... short order starting now. After Jamie Moyer picked up his 14^th win of the season by turning in nearly six innings of solid ball on just three days rest, Thursday night, Brett Myers might try to pull the same stunt on Sunday. A lot can happen between now and Sunday, but depending on the reviews of a regular, between-start bullpen session on Friday, Myers likely will declare himself ready to go with just three days rest, as well. But then again Myers would start both ends of a doubleheader if manager Charlie Manuel let him. The point is the Phillies aren't leaving much to chance with just 15 games to go.

"I'll pitch [Thursday], I don't care," Myers said after Wednesday's start. "If it gets us to the playoffs, whatever it takes."

Deep down, Myers probably wasn't joking.

Technically, Manuel has a handful of options for this Sunday's series finale against the Brewers, though only one seems to be a sure bet. So for the sake of argument, let's just say Manuel could choose the following options:

•          Kyle Kendrick - Sunday would be his normal turn in the rotation and the young righty has missed just one start (later made up) all year long. However, Kendrick has been downright dreadful in his last six starts. Though he has 11 wins in 29 starts, Kendrick is 1-4 with a 11.35  ERA since Aug. 11. Numbers like that make it difficult for Manuel to be confident with Kendrick on the mound.
•          J.A. Happ - The lefty has pitched well in two starts this season, but sending Happ to the mound in the middle of the pennant race for just his fourth big league start seems like a big risk. Happ will have a solid Major League career, but he's not going to be Marty Bystrom for the Phils this year.
•          Adam Eaton - Yeah, never mind.
•          Brett Myers - The opening day starter has worked on short rest just once in his career, however, last season he pitched nearly every day down the stretch out of the bullpen. Is there a difference? Yeah, most definitely. Nevertheless, the pressure is something Myers thrives on. If the Phillies take the first three games of the series, look for Myers to go after the sweep on Sunday.

Expect a hint about a decision on Friday afternoon.

*** The Phillies added an important insurance run during the eighth inning of Thursday's win over the Brewers with a suicide squeeze from runner Shane Victorino and bunter, Carlos Ruiz. With one out in the inning, Manuel said he waited for the right chance to flash the sign, which came on a 2-1 pitch.

Ruiz laid it down perfectly to allow Victorino to score with ease.

"I guess I'm finally acting like a National League manager," Manuel joked. "I figured it was time to show them I knew the squeeze sign."

The inspiration to give Ruiz the sign came from the catcher himself, Manuel said.

"I heard Ruiz when he went up the steps. He turned around and asked, ‘What's the squeeze sign?' That kind of told me ... he wants to squeeze. Seriously, that's the truth. I figured I might as well let him squeeze."

Good idea.

*** Elsewhere, Bob Ford chronicled the rise of Mr. September, Ryan Howard. The big fella added to his league-leading home run and RBI totals in the win over the Brewers and just might have inserted himself into the MVP discussion again.

Fonzie, Richie Cunningham, Joanie, Chachi, Laverne, Shirley, Jeffrey Dahmer, Liberace, Heather Graham and Todd Zolecki all come from Milwaukee. But only Todd wrote about the Brewers' September swoon and Jamie Moyer's top-shelf effort on short rest.

Coming up: Floyd Landis preparing for a comeback? Plus, regular-season awards.

Weird, wild stuff

How does a guy get into the game in the eighth inning and go 4-for-4? Really, how does that happen? And not only did Chris Coste enter the game as a pinch hitter in one of manager Charlie Manuel’s spate of astute double-switches in the late innings of last night's 8-7, 13-inning win over the Mets, but also he remained in the game to catch.

Coste could have stayed in the game to play third base, a position he played many times during his long, pro career, but starting catcher Carlos Ruiz – a second baseman in Panama when the Phillies signed him – had moved over to the hot corner. Besides, Ruiz was the third of four different third basemen in the game against the Mets. You know, Charlie had a plan.

Watching all those players shuffling in and out of the game and into odd-looking arrangements, one had to have the sneaking suspicion that Charlie knew his fourth third baseman and his second catcher were going to deliver for him.

Strangely enough they did. Eric Bruntlett, who went up to pinch hit with two outs in the ninth smacked the game-tying run to force extra innings and help the Phillies finish up the seven-run comeback. He remained in the game at third and added another hit and a walk to help set the table for Coste’s game-winner in the bottom of the 13th.

There was a method to the madness.

“I started to put Bruntlett in the game and I told (bench coach) Jimy (Williams) that I want to save Bruntlett to hit,” Manuel said. “Ruiz has been catching balls at third base and working out there. Actually he was an infielder before they made him a catcher in the minor leagues. At that time I thought what have we got to lose? We needed a run. I wanted to keep Bruntlett back to hit for the pitcher, who had a good chance of hitting.”

Don’t you love it when a plan comes together?

“I don't ever recall getting not only four opportunities but four hits when you come in in the eighth inning,” Coste said.

Well, no. Of course not. But last night’s game was just one of those wildly absurd things. In fact, so pressed for players was Manuel that he used two different starting pitchers to pinch hit in the smooth sailing five-hours, 17-minute, 8-7 win over the Mets. One of those pinch hitters, Cole Hamels, was called on for duty for the second time in three games with a chance to send home the game-winning run. In Hamels’ case, Manuel wanted his man to be a hitter and knock ‘em in.

But with Brett Myers, Manuel gave the take sign the whole way. Actually, one has to think that if Myers would have moved the bat from his shoulder the manager would have charged out of the dugout and beat him over the head with it. With the bases loaded following Shane Victorino’s leadoff triple and two straight intentional walks, Manuel had to send someone up there to hit for one-inning pitcher Rudy Seanez. Yet there was no way Myers was going to go up there and ruin the rally by actually swinging at the ball.

Give credit to Myers not just for following orders, but also for having an entertaining at-bat. Strutting up to the plate to be nothing more than a suit with a pulse to stand there and not hit into a double play, Myers crouched, wiggled his bat and took an exaggerated front-leg lift while striding into a pitch from Scott Schoenweis that would have made Sadarahu Oh blush.

When Myers “worked” the count to three balls, no one could believe that it had come to this. Was Myers going to win the game with a walk-off walk in the 13th? Please tell us this isn’t happening.

Thankfully, order was restored and Coste singled in Victorino from third to end it.

Still, Coste says Myers’ at-bat paved the way.

“He was intimidating,” Coste said. “I know I was intimidated standing at the on-deck circle.”

“There were a lot of things happening in this one,” Manuel said. “It had everything except for a fight.”

Maybe they can work on that for tonight.

Mr. Coste goes to Washington... has lunch

WASHINGTON - One of the neat things about this city is that sports really aren't all that important. Oh sure, Washingtonians love their teams - especially the Redskins - but what drives the news and the talk here is the industry. In D.C. it's all about the government.

Sports seem to be nothing more than a pleasant diversion unlike in Philadelphia where it is everything. In Philadelphia the athletes just don't play for the local teams, they represent us.

It's definitely unique in that way.

D.C. is unique, too. Even though Nationals Park is barely a month old, the Nats rate 17^th in the Majors in attendance and 13^th in the National League. Usually it takes a year for teams with a new ballpark to see the business at the turnstiles wane, but it's happening right away here in The District.

But the power structure is different here than it is in Philly. The jocks don't have the Q-rating - the folks with the power do.

Nevertheless, I'm sure there are plenty of reasons why the attendance has been so low here. For one, the Nationals aren't very good. At 20-27 they are in last place in the NL East. Plus, aside from Ryan Zimmerman, Dmitri Young and Nick Johnson, the fans don't have too many players to rally behind.

Additionally, this is a presidential election year. That's like the biggest thing they do in these parts, so people are focused on it all day long. Couple that with the fact that Congress (and school) is still in session and our representatives are busy trying to make laws and stuff and it's easy to understand why the last-place Nats kind of fall between the cracks.

Yet before he went to work trying to override a presidential veto of his farm bill and dive into his work as the chairman of the senate budget committee, Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) took the time to hang around with one of his constituents this afternoon.

Chris Coste, the Phillies catcher from Fargo, N.D., spent time with Conrad in his Hart Building office, talked some baseball, signed copies of his autobiography and then had lunch in the U.S. Capitol building. There, Coste and some of the hangers-on from the Phillies enjoyed the senate dining room's famous bean soup and also chatted with Democratic Pennsylvania senator Robert P. Casey Jr.

According to reports, a good time was had by all. Plus, the Phillies' group was quite impressed with Sen. Conrad's baseball knowledge.

Meanwhile, Coste found himself in the lineup against Nats' lefty Matt Chico tonight. Actually, Coste has been in the lineup more than "regular" catcher Carlos Ruiz lately. One reason for that could be that Coste hit .438 (7-for-16) during the last homestand.

However, the Phillies are 17-11 in games started by Ruiz this season.

Back in it

Oh, I just couldn’t resist. Hamels is back to dealing after sitting down the Rockies in the fifth in order. That’s 10 in a row, with only two coming on fly balls. Was it a matter of getting back to the changeup, or is he still working that curve? It’s hard to tell from my vantage point.

And here comes the Phillies…

Just like that and the crowd is back into it thanks to back-to-back home runs from Aaron Rowand and Pat Burrell. Both were CBP Specials, which means it’s doubtful that they would have carried out of any other ballpark. Maybe Coors, but there the aid of low-altitude is somewhat significant.

But as the M-V-P! chants rained down on Jimmy Rollins with two outs in the fifth, and Chooch Ruiz swiped second base on a 2-2 count, it appeared as if it was Jeff Francis’ turn to scuffle. Rollins walked on a full count to put two on with two outs for Shane Victorino.

Before the game Charlie Manuel said he put Victorino in the lineup against the lefty instead of Jayson Werth because he wanted to the Hawaiian’s speed at the top of the order. Who would have guessed that it would have been the catcher to swipe the first base of the series?

Either way, it’s 3-2 heading into the foyer of the late frames.