If you want to win the World Series despite a three-games-to-one deficit and need to finish off the comeback with a pair of wins on the road, the best formula to follow would be the one employed by the Detroit Tigers in 1968.

For the final three games of that Series, manager Mayo Smith had the good fortune to look at his pitching staff and come up with this rotation: Mickey Lolich, Denny McLain, Mickey Lolich.

It worked out well for the Tigers, one of just three teams in World Series history to pull off exactly that sort of comeback. The New York Yankees also accomplished it in 1958 against the Milwaukee Braves, as did the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1979 against the Baltimore Orioles.

The Phillies painted the first panel of their difficult triptych Monday, when they beat the short-rested A.J. Burnett of the Yankees to win Game 5. They resume the quest tonight in Yankee Stadium and, weather and outcome permitting, look forward to taking their chances with a Game 7 tomorrow.

Unlike Smith, however, Charlie Manuel does not have the luxury of throwing McLain, merely a 31-game winner in 1968, and Lolich in the final two games, both of whom worked on two days' rest, by the way. If Manuel did follow the same philosophy - and if he had lost his mind - he would send out Cole Hamels on three days' rest and then Cliff Lee on two days' rest. That's the way the game used to be played.

Lolich had three complete games in the 1968 Series, working on three days' rest for the second start and then two days' rest for that final start, a matchup against Bob Gibson in the bright sunshine at Busch Stadium.

Pitching a shutout until the ninth inning, Lolich gave up just one run as the Tigers won the championship. He helped himself along the way by picking Curt Flood and Lou Brock off first base - a nice idea - and the final pitch was thrown a sprightly 2 hours, 7 minutes after the first one.

In the 41 years that have passed since that World Series, baseball has changed in many ways, but perhaps nothing has changed more than how pitchers are used and in the physical limitations ascribed to them that are now assumed to be gospel. In that same span, the world record for the mile run has been reduced by only eight seconds, so not very much has changed about the overall physiology of the human race. But asking most major-league pitchers to throw a complete game or to pitch on short rest is like asking them to empty the Augean Stables with a thimble.

Manuel, who is old enough to have batted against Mickey Lolich (0 for 1, lifetime), has accepted these changes as well as the next guy, but that doesn't mean he either likes or understands them. He said after Monday's game that he'd ask if Lee would be available on two days' rest. Lee indicated he would do whatever was necessary, which is the right answer. A five-hit complete game probably won't be required.

The position Manuel finds himself in is more like what faced Casey Stengel in 1958 or Chuck Tanner in 1979 as they cobbled together their comebacks. Stengel had to mix and match his pitchers throughout the Series. Most notably, he got a complete-game win from Bob Turley in Game 5, used him to get a one-out save after just one day off in Game 6, and then brought him back in the third inning of Game 7 the following day to finish the clincher.

In the three-game comeback over four days, Turley pitched in all three, compiled 16 innings, allowed just one earned run, and was named the most valuable player. Not bad for a guy whose start in Game 2 ended after one-third of an inning and four earned runs.

For the Pirates in 1979, Tanner played musical pitchers with John Rooker, Bert Blyleven, John Candelaria, Bruce Kison, and Jim Bibby. They started, they relieved, they did everything to get the game into the hands of Kent Tekulve. It wasn't pretty, but it worked.

Manuel needs that kind of luck to drag the Phillies past the Yankees for the next two days. He certainly needs Pedro Martinez to give him a reasonable effort into the middle innings with no more than three or four runs allowed. Anything less and the Phillies will either have to tax their bullpen too much in order to force a Game 7, or there won't even be a Game 7.

For the potential final game, Manuel should actually be sitting perfectly. He has the MVP from the previous season's World Series lined up on his regular four days of rest. That would be the case if Hamels had not suffered a crisis of confidence and performance so profound that he's blathering nonsense about wishing the season were over. If that's really how he feels, then his season should be.

If no better option arises, maybe Manuel can check on the availability of Mickey Lolich. On 30 years' rest, he should really be something.

Contact columnist Bob Ford

at 215-854-5842 or bford@phillynews.com.

Read his blog at http://philly.com/postpatterns.