Catcher Carlos Ruiz wrapped Lidge in his arms.

And then his teammates began dashing at him from every direction: from the infield and outfield, from the dugout and bullpen.

Suddenly, Lidge found himself at the bottom of a pile of bodies.

As joyful as the occasion was, it was also a frightening one. Lidge has had a history of knee problems and told the Daily News last December that he began to feel his knee "give" under the increasing weight on top of him. Lidge said, "I remember thinking, 'They need to get off here. Just for a second I was thinking, 'Well, if you're going to blow it out, this is the way to do it.' Then I thought, 'No, wait a minute, I don't want to do that. So people better get off.' "

Spontaneous eruptions of joy on the playing field can have some consequences. In Lidge's case, it was speculated this summer that his poor showing this season was due to an injury he suffered during the World Series celebration. Circumspect on the subject of his health this year, Lidge found himself in decidedly less unruly circumstances when he closed out Game 5 of the NLCS to advance the Phillies to World Series, which begins this evening against the Yankees. In any event, it was far more subdued than the scrum that developed at the end of Game 4, when Jimmy Rollins drove in the game-winning run and ended up under a pile that included 259-pound Ryan Howard.

"I had to curl up in a fetal position and start throwing punches back," Rollins told TBS. "Then [Jayson Werth] put his arms around my neck and gave me a choke and I was finished after that."

Howard added with a chuckle, "That was pretty violent with all those cleats and stuff."

Luckily for Rollins, he came out of it unharmed (that is, excluding the shaving-cream pie that was later slammed in his face). But the same could not be said for other players who have found themselves the jaws of jubilation. In fact, some players have come out of the celebrations with some fairly severe injuries. While it occasionally happens during the regular season - especially if there is a walkoff home run - it seems to become increasingly dangerous out there as the stakes become elevated in October (and this year, of course, November).

"Some of them even wear goggles now [to project their eyes from errant champagne corks in locker-room celebrations]," said Dodgers manager Joe Torre, who has been around more than a few celebrations during his championship years with the Yankees. "[Even in the regular season], the game can get so intense and so pressure-packed that players just have to blow off steam. But on the field it is dangerous. When I think back on the celebrations we had, the way guys would throw their bodies in the scrums . . . well, you hope for the best. I guess it is just the price we have to pay."

And some of them pay a hefty price. Two players were injured during celebrations in September: Mariners catcher Rob Johnson jumped up at home plate to rejoice in a game-winning home run by Ichiro Suzuki and sprained an ankle when he landed wrong; and Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee was slapped in the helmet by a teammate in an act of congratulations in the dugout and ended up with neck spasms. The latter was what Chicago manager Lou Piniella would call a "Cubby Occurrence," which is to say another in a series of inexplicable events that have conspired to keep the Cubs from winning a world championship.

But even worse were the unforeseen incidents that befell others. Righthander Jake Peavy was injured as the Padres celebrated their clinching of the 2005 NL West crown; Peavy pitched Game 1 of the NLDS but left early and was later sidelined for the balance of the postseason with broken ribs. A few years before that, Twins infielder Denny Hocking caught a pop fly for the final out of the 2002 ALDS against Oakland and had one of his fingers stepped on during the ensuing mob scene. He ended up getting stitches and missed the ALCS.

Phillies reliever J.C. Romero played on that Minnesota team. And he learned a valuable lesson.

"Last year, I stayed away from pile when we won the World Series," said Romero, who was hampered this season by arm trouble and deactivated for the postseason. "And whenever they open [champagne] bottles, I am very careful to stay behind the plastic sheets. Because you have to protect your eyes. You have to be careful."

Romero said the pile of players who swarmed on top of Lidge last year was "very scary." "No one plans on hurting someone else, but you have to be aware that it can happen," Romero said. "Someone could hurt their arm or neck or ankle, and that would be a very silly way to get injured. So I just look on from the outside."

Centerfielder Shane Victorino said that players just get caught up in having fun.

"What surprises me is that we do not hear more players [getting injured]," he said. "But, you know, no one intends for that to happen and it would be unfortunate if it did. We are just trying to enjoy the moment."

Someone asked Dodgers pitcher Randy Wolf if he had ever been involved in a rowdy celebration.

Wolf laughed.

"[Teammate] Andre Ethier body-slammed me and I caught my elbow on a spike," Wolf said. "It was after Mark Loretta had his walkoff single against the Cardinals [in the NLDS]. We went out there and there was this crazy celebration. I was on top of Mark and all of a sudden there were these arms around me and I got slammed back. I immediately thought, 'You've got to be kidding me.' "

Ethier shrugged. "Hey, you have to be aggressive," he said with a wry smile. "The way I look at it is: You better take somebody down before they take you down."

Dodgers reliever George Sherrill remembers seeing former Padres prospect Tagg Bozied take himself down. "He was playing for Triple A Portland and he hit a walkoff home run," Sherrill said. "As he came to home plate, he jumped in the air and tore his ACL. Of course, that was a freak thing. But you know what? When you are in one of those scrums and everyone is hopping around and diving on each other, so what if you get a knee to the head? You are so happy, who cares?"

Sherrill recommended that players take some precautions, especially when it comes to two parts of the anatomy. He said: "Cover up your head. And cover up your private parts."

Victorino said he is lucky to be an outfielder.

"So I am never at the bottom of the pile," he said. "I get to be on top."

He laughed and added, "And I always get a running start." *