IS TAKING DOC TO SEE THE DOC
The Phillies boarded a flight to Philadelphia on Wednesday night after they clinched the National League pennant. But Charlie Manuel took a different plane home. He flew to Roanoke, so he could attend his mother's viewing Thursday and funeral yesterday in Buena Vista, Va.
Manuel is expected to be back today for the team's workout at Citizens Bank Park.
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Bob Ford talks about how experience doesn't matter in the World Series.
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The Phillies have six days between the NLCS and Game 1 of the World Series, but they're not going to use that as an excuse.
Nothing is official, but I expect the 25-man roster to remain the same for the World Series. It also wouldn't surprise me to see the Phillies keep the same rotation. Asked if he felt the rotation needed to be changed, pitching coach Rich Dubee said yesterday he liked the current setup.
Everybody has been talking about Brett Myers' home/road splits this year, and think maybe he should pitch Game 3 at home instead of Game 2 on the road. That's because Myers went 7-5 with a 3.01 ERA in 14 starts at home and 3-8 with a 6.21 ERA in 16 starts on the road. But let's take a closer look at those splits because Myers was two different pitchers this season: First Half Brett and Second Half Brett:
Other than one start against Florida on Sept. 19, Myers pitched just as well on the road in the second half as he pitched at home. It makes me think the Phillies aren't that concerned about his overall home/road splits, but we'll see. I've been wrong before. There's reason to consider pitching Jamie Moyer in Game 2 instead of Game 3. Moyer was 10-3 with a 2.92 ERA on the road compared to 6-4 with a 4.61 ERA at home. Then again, he hasn't pitched well on the road so far in the playoffs.
UPDATE: Manuel said before the team's workout today that the rotation WILL stay the same, meaning Myers will pitch Game 2 and Moyer will pitch Game 3.
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Frank Fitzpatrick has been vacationing in Italy during the postseason. Sucks to be him.
Bob Brookover and Matt Gelb team up for their third straight season covering the Phillies for the Inquirer and philly.com.
This is Brookover’s second stint writing about the Phillies, having joined the coverage team after seven years as an Eagles beat writer. Brookover was hired by The Inquirer in 2000 as the Phillies beat writer after spending 13 years writing about the team for two suburban newspapers. While on the Eagles beat, Brookover, who had covered just two winning Phillies teams in 15 seasons, saw the Phillies move into a cash-cow new ballpark and begin playing a brand of the game he found unrecognizable. Follow him on Twitter here.
Gelb is in his third season covering the Phillies. He was hired by The Inquirer in August 2009 after graduating from Syracuse University. He has also covered baseball at The Star-Ledger and Cape Cod Times. Born and raised in Bucks County, he attended Central Bucks High School West. Follow him on Twitter here.
To submit a question for Matt Gelb's Phillies mailbag, click here.
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