You gotta know when to hold 'em?

I never thought of Phillies' manager Charlie Manuel as much of a gambler. But tonight -- 3,000 long miles from home and with his back hard up against McCovey Cove -- he's betting all 168 games the Phillies have played until now on one wild card, No. 4 starter Joe Blanton, and he will also likely keep some of the non-hitting jokers like ice cold Raul Ibanez in the starting lineup.

Although I might swap Ibanez for Ben "The San" Francisco "Treat," I do think No-Drama-O-Manuel is making the right call in sticking with Blanton here. It's not so much a case of going with the No. 4 Guy in the biggest game of the year as Charlie betting that the Phillies' No. 4 Guy is better than the Giants' No. 4 Guy, Madison Bumgarner, which seems like a smart play.

If it works, you have a best-of-three series with the Phillies pitching their three aces with the home field advantage. If it doesn't work, Philadelphia will still get to look forward to..."Michael Kolb"?