Rust and relaxation are Phillies' enemies as they await Giants

LESS THAN 48 hours after capping off their first-ever postseason sweep, the Phillies will gather today for the first of several workouts in preparation for their third straight National League Championship Series, which begins Saturday against the Giants at Citizens Bank Park.

The opponent they will battle over the next few days is an invisible one. After 6 months of daily competition, the Phillies will look to combat the rust that can occur during a layoff such as the one they now face. That means revamped throwing programs for the starters and relievers, as well as simulated games and live batting-practice sessions designed to keep hitters in a rhythm at the plate.

"I don't know what can be done," Charlie Manuel said. "If you advance to the next round [and] you do good, nobody says nothing. But if you don't, people say the rest hurt 'em, things like that."

Last year, the Phillies had only 2 days off between the end of their four-game Division Series win over the Rockies and the start of the NLCS. In 2008, they had 3 days to kill between the end of their NLDS victory over the Brewers and the start of the NLCS against the Dodgers.

Nevertheless, the current layoff is not unprecedented. After their five-game victory over Los Angeles in the NLCS last season, the Phillies had 6 days off before the start of the World Series. The Yankees, who beat them in six games, had only 2 days off. In 2008, they had 6 days off between the NLCS and World Series. The Rays, whom they beat in five games, had 2 days off.

After Roy Oswalt struggled with his location early in Game 2 on Friday, leaving with a 4-0 deficit after five innings, he blamed some of his issues on rust. Oswalt had gone 9 days between starts, his only action coming in an inning of relief in the Phillies' regular-season finale in Atlanta.

Roy Halladay, who will start Game 1, seemed unconcerned with the layoff. By the time the NLCS begins, he will have gone 9 days between outings, giving him 5 more days of rest than his regular-season routine usually allows. The extra time off served him well in Game 1 of the NLDS, when he no-hit the Reds on 8 days' rest.

"Physically, you feel good," Halladay said Sunday after the Phillies' series-clinching, 2-0 victory over the Reds in Game 3. "It's just a matter of making sure you keep yourself ready and you do enough throwing and enough stuff in between that you feel ready."

Starting pitchers are not the only ones who will have to alter their routines. Take, for example, the bullpen. By the time the NLCS starts, Brad Lidge and Ryan Madson will have appeared in three games in 18 days, dating back to an NL East-clinching win over the Nationals on Sept. 27. Same goes for Chad Durbin. Jose Contreras will have pitched in four games and J.C. Romero in five over the same stretch.

"You've got to get some reps in at some point," Durbin said before Game 3. "If your body does need to heal, it's a good thing. But healing too much for us, I don't feel as good with 4 days off as I do throwing 3 or 4 days in a row."

History is mixed on the success of teams who sweep in the first round of the playoffs.

Since divisional play began, NL teams who sweep the NLDS are only 3-12 in the NLCS. Of the three teams that won the NLCS, only the 1997 Marlins went on to win the World Series.

The last 2 years, the Phillies advanced to the World Series with an NLCS win over the Dodgers, who had swept their first-round opponent in both years.

American League teams who sweep the LDS have a much better track record. Seven of the 10 who have swept the first round advanced to the World Series, and six of those went on to win.

For more Phillies coverage and opinion, read David Murphy's blog, High Cheese, at http://go.philly.com/highcheese. Follow him on Twitter at

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