Stairs home run lifts Phillies over Dodgers
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Stairs home run lifts Phillies over Dodgers
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
OK, so you already knew that.
But it was still fascinating last night to watch the complete replay of Game 4 at Dodger Stadium, which aired on Comcast Sports Net. I'm sure most of you watched it on TV, but it was my first time doing so, which gave me an entirely new perspective on the game. Keep in mind, when all of the events of that night were unfolding in real time, I was sandwiched in between Paul Hagen and Jim Salisbury in the not-so-modern press box of the stadium while pounding away on my laptop, deadline on the East Coast fast approaching. For the previous 30 minutes, I had been re-writing my "Phillies win, take 3-1 series lead story" into a "Rough sixth inning evens series" story. Then Shane Victorino did the improbable to tie the game, and I stopped tying and started watching. A couple of batters later, when Matt Stairs walked to the plate with a man on base, I turned to Hagen.
In jest, I said, "Watch, now Stairs will hit a home run" (We sports writers can be a cynical lot).
Four pitches later, Stairs swung, and the ball leapt off the bat, and there was never a doubt, and as soon as ball met wood, I channeled my inner-Utley and said the first thing that came to mind:
"No (bleeping) way."
From that point on, I don't remember anything, just the mad flurry of fingers on key board combined with the almost audible hope that Brad Lidge would not blow his first save of the season and cause me to hit the delete key.
Anyway, back to the original point. I watched the game on the television last night, which was a study in dramatic irony.
A few observations that have since been overshadowed by the Stairs home run:
1) Almost as remarkable as Stairs' home run was the fact that the Phillies were still in the game after the sixth. They had men on second and third with no out and bases loaded with one out, yet allowed just two runs to stay within striking distance.
2) The diving double play by Utley to end the inning didn't get nearly as much press as it should have.
3) Ryan Madson was absolutley electric in that frame, and Scott Eyre's contribution (retiring Andre Ethier) was almost as important.
4) Speaking of Ethier, how about that diving catch he made in the bottom of the fifth to rob the Phils of two runs?
5) I swear Dodger Stadium seemed louder on television than it was in person.
6) Geoff Jenkins is in just about every camera shot. I know he struggled at the plate this season, but he was a great presence in the clubhouse. Probably the most memorable shot from that game is him grabbing Charlie Manuel's shoulders from behind and giving him a High 10 after Victorino's home run.
Here's the game story from that night, by the way.
Have a great Christmas
Another HR that should have some consideration for tops in Phil's history was the Luzinski HR in Game 1 of the 1980 NLCS. It may have seemed ho-hum, but it was a much needed one to give the Phils an opening game lead. It was also the only HR in the series - of which went into extras 4 of the 5 games.— Phila in Cal- I haven't totally scanned through all the previous posts, but after the few I did get through, I'm shocked Victorino's Salami off Sabathia wasn't mentioned. That was the momentum builder. The game changer, if you will.— rich_gelman
- Wow! How refreshing is it to read about such great memories, instead of a qb of an 8-6-1 team saying he played great! To me, the Stairs home run was the most amazing moment of the whole playoff run. The way the ball jumped off the bat was unbelievable. Biggest home run I've seen at least since Schmidt's in 80, although Dykstra was huge in 93.— psu05
Comment removed.- Stairs , a Phillie for literally a few weeks, became a Phila legend. Interesting to ponder: where does he fit in 09 ? Most likely PH only, but how do you take AB'S away from Dobbs ? As for Jenkins, great guy apparently, but is limited by slow bat and inconsistency. Will be fun to watch the great Cholly figure it all out, once again, without the help of the dethroned "King", Eskin— mick314
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- I agree with rich-geldman. The Victorino Grand Slam was the biggest, a David vs. Goliath moment that probably turned the whole postseason around. Without it maybe Stairs doesn't get a chance to hit his. Remember, Victorino had a homer in that game also.— EL Zorro
- When he hit that ball, I knew right then the Phils were going to win the World Series. The Utley play in the 6th to keep the deficit manageable was amazing. If Jeter had made that play there would have been 100 Gatordade commercials made with it already.— wtphillies
- It's kinda funny but I still cannot get enough of this past post season. It was so improbable. We fans (and some writers) were complaining that the Phils couldn't score runners in scoring position and yet they won everything. Can't wait for spring training. What a b'day treat that it starts on Feb 14th.— therefump
- I watched the game at the Irish Pub. The sound of the ball off of Stairs' bat was so loud. I rose up out of my bar stool and pumped my fist in the air. What a classic Phillies moment!— PhiladelphiaWings
- Dykstra's 93 hr was comparable. Stair's was majestic but Victorino's hr was clutch and more important. They were going to win after that. Torre screwed up taking Chu out. They were barely gettin around on him.— greenflyer
- Victorino was an obvious oversight on my part. I have been saying that was the moment that I felt this team has a shot to win it all. I would definitely put it in with the honorable mentions at the least. Maybe as high as tying it with #3.— fiveforone
- It's hard to separate Stairs' HR from Schmidt's in 1980 HR. Schmidt's resulted in the only memorable HR call ever made by Andy Musser: "He buried it." Which was true--I don't recall anyone else that game came close to the warning track. You knew that Stairs homer was an absolute bomb from the moment it left the bat. I think the DN ran a photo from behind the plate with Stairs finishing his swing and the ball in view just off his bat: it's been my desktop picture since Oct. 14. Both two beautiful memories.— UserFPC
- best line ever...channel my inner utley...love it.. almost as great as the stairs home run, was larry anderson's reaction in the broadcast booth..classic, memorable..fantastic!— zdog
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