Mannyfest Can't Beat Phillies
The NLCS talk has been Manny Ramirez and Joe Torre, but the Phillies beat the Dodgers in Game 1, 3-2.
Mannyfest Can't Beat Phillies
Todd Zolecki
Manny Ramirez. Joe Torre. Manny Ramirez. Joe Torre. Manny Ramirez. Joe Torre. Manny Ramirez. Joe Torre.
Game 1 ... the Phillies.
That threw a wrench in the works, didn't it? There has been a Manny-Torre love fest in the National League Championship Series -- OK, we get it, everybody wants Manny to play the Red Sox in the World Seris -- but the Phillies beat the Dodgers last night in Game 1, 3-2, to lead the best-of-seven series. Phil Sheridan points out that the Phillies found their Inner Manny, which I guess means they out-Manny'd Manny. Or something.
Bob Ford talks about Chase Utley's big night.
Bill Lyon is back and writes about Cole Hamels' big-game performance.
Can't forget about Pat Burrell, who has three homers in his last two playoff games.
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Sounds and sights from Opening Night.
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Jim Salisbury takes us Inside the Game.
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Ramirez thought he had hit a two-run homer in the first inning. Yeah, not so much. Derek Lowe left a sinker up to Utley and it cost him. Brad Lidge got the save in the ninth, but Ryan Madson got the biggest outs in the eighth.
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John Gonzalez talks about T.J. Simers' much discussed column in the Los Angeles Times. Gonzalez, Ford and Sheridan then chit-shat about Brett Myers, who pitches Game 2 this afternoon. Myers faces Dodgers righthander Chad Billingsley.
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In the Phillies Notebook: Carlos Ruiz is Charlie Manuel's everyday catcher. Ruiz got some hits last night, too.
Thank yo Zo for pointing out the lovefest. I allueded to it in an earlier post - Buck and McCarver were disgusting last night for the first 5 innings. If someone tuned in for the first time ever last night, they would have thought Torre invented the game, and Manny was the second coming.. Which actually makes beating them so much better!— Gary Varsho- If the Phils keep winning, hopefully that will put a stop to the "I love LA" fest. I truly hope that the sports pundits are wrong and that the Phils "show Pat the $$$" and he stays in his red-pin stripes. GO PHILS!!— KarenA
- Playoff Baseball!! Is there anything better????— Beef69
Comment removed.- You could almost hear the disappointment in the announcers voices. They sounded stunned after the Burrell HR. Let's ruin their plans of a nirvana series. I want a Phils-Rays WS! GO PHILS!!!— James TL
- What I also want to know is - WHERE IS CHASE UTLEY?? Oh wait, he hit a 2 run HR? Ah, there he is.— Gary Varsho
- Did anybody else notice? When Chase came back to the dugout after the home run, a shot on TV showed Dobbs with concern on his face. He was in front of Utley and you could read his lips asking Utley, "Are you OK?" Or did I misread it?— Transplanted Phils Phan in NY
- My thing to do when FOX is the broadcaster for TV is to turn off the sound on the TV & put my favorite announcing team on 1210am radio. I can avoid all the bias against the Phils, the city, the fans by listening to the guys who know the game and the fans in our city! I luv Harry, Larry and Scott!— Goo
It was great to see Utley finally jump on one of those batting practice first pitch fastballs he's been watching all year. What a time to sucker them in. If he keeps hitting, the Phils wil take it. It's pretty obvious Milwaukee and now LA are pitching around Howard. I don't hink he's seen more than one or two hittable pitches in the playoffs. My Dad told me when I was a little kid that power hitters like Aron, Mays, and Mantle were paid to swing at bad pitches in the playoffs. Now that Burrell is formidable again, look for Howard to see better offerings this evening.— RAS- How 'bout when McCarver said Madsen has the best changeup on the staff? NOT! They didn't even recognize Hamels' changeup. They were calling it a cut fastball if I recall.— RAS
- XM Radio is reporting that Charlie Manuel's mother passed away this morning. Charlie is stil with the team, but its got to be a tough day for him. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Manuel family.— wkharrisjr
- The thing I loved about Buck/McCarver....After Chase's HR, and they said "Game tied.", there was ABSOLUTE SILENCE from the booth! All the while Chase was rounding the bases, the fireworks, Chase getting high-fives in the dugout, his curtain call, phans going NUTS. Everything! They didn't open their mouths again until Howard came to the plate. You just know they were thinking, "F***! Did he really just do that?!" LOL!— Norma
- Transplanted....I noticed Dobbs concern, too. Couldn't tell if he was asking "Are you OK?". I still have my recording of the game. I'll go back and check. At first, I thought maybe he was asking Chase about how to hit off Lowe. But he wasn't up to be put in to pinch hit. I did catch a brief SMILE from Chase during his high-fives, though. Guess he couldn't have been hurting too bad! I would hope that, besides my *ice, heat, Advil* suggestions, that the training staff is treating him for his hip, also.— Norma
- Dobb's definitley did say "Are you OK?". You can actually hear it. Hopefully, he is!— Norma
- I just hope whatever is wrong with Utley's hip, it's fixable and has a fast recovery time in the offseason. I hope it's nothing too serious.— Transplanted Phils Phan in NY
