Phillies win Game 1, 3-2
The Phillies win Game 1 of the World Series, 3-2. Three to go, folks.
Phillies win Game 1, 3-2
Todd Zolecki
Comments (55)
Yeah Karen, Howard and Rollins looked really bad, and Coste too. It's funny because during the pregame show, somebody mentioned that Rollins said the layoff was going to help him get his line drive swing back and Howard's home run stroke. I did not see that. They looked really lost outhere, like when they were in that horrible slump in July and August. Let's hope is just one game.— EL Zorro- I guess he is one of those Philly guys living in Tampa. It also could be that they were giving those cowbells at the gate, like they do with the towels in CBP, and he said, what the hell, let's make some noise too.— EL Zorro
- That DP in the first inning was huge. I couldnt believe the play Rollins made. And that play where he was on teh wrong side of 2B..He may not hae hit, but his D was much needed. I still think they should let Myers hit. He's hot at the plate right now. Can't do worse the Coste did last night— jeff gross
On the Howard/Hamels play, yup, they both messed up. My point was that it's really reaching to give Howard credit for not running Hamels over. What he should have done was make the toss. Hamels was late, but got there in time to at least make it a close play. If not, then he just should have held the ball and conceded the play. Instead he did charge first and therefore risked a collision. More importantly than Howard in the field is Howard at the plate. He looks completely lost and frustrated up there. Check swings for strikes, swinging wildly at the low outside pitch, taking strikes right down the middle. Doesn't he remember (like we all do) back in September, when he was patient and took those pitches, forcing the pitcher to throw strikes? These pitchers are just pulling his strings. And if there was any question of that, seeing them walk Utley to get to Howard says it all. He's so out of sync right now, it's hard to imagine he can turn it around in time to be a force in this series. Let's hope facing a righty will help tonight. Shields did not do well in the ALCS. Hope that continues...— bobby- 2 of those checked swing called strikes were border line at best. I didn't think he broke the plane or his wrists. He is lost right now though. When was the last time a team intentionally walked someone to get to the reigning HR and RBI champ??— jeff gross
- I must still be groggy from the late night and celebration over the win. For a minute I thought I saw someone seriously suggest Myers hitting tonight instead of Stairs or Dobbs. Nah, must have been a bad dream. No knowledgeable baseball fan would say such a thing.— bobby
- I am usually very doubtful of the check swing calls from the base ump. But Howard clearly brought the head of the bat across the plate, so I don't think he has any argument there. Even more embarassing was when he argued the called 3rd strike that was right down main street. That tells you how off his confidence is right now.— bobby
- Even I could tell at Howard's last at bat there were a couple of hittable beauties for him. Truth-maybe you need to be his "hitter whisperer" ala a horse whisperer and tell him it's not really October, but September and you're the hitman!— KarenA
- On the Victorino play, I liked it, eventually. At first, I thought it was nuts with the top of order coming up. But the more I thought about it, I liked the idea of putting pressure on the young team in the spotlight early, especially considering it was Upton. I know he has a great arm, but he also has a track record of lackadaisical play, and if you watch closely, one of the reasons it was close at the plate is because Upton was a little too deliberate about transferring the ball from his glove, and was not overly quick getting off the throw (that and the fact that Shane can just fly). Why not try to force him into a bad play, and maybe take the kid mentally out of the series from the jump? With a two run lead early, I thought it was worth the risk. Now that he has made the play, though, I wouldn't try it again. Especially not in a similar situation, with the top of the lineup up.— RollinsWasRight
- Myers hitting was in jest-relax Bobby, you use Dobbs as the DH with Feliz on Third. As for howards' K's, if you saw him go around, I'll trust you. the game here started at 2:30Am and finished as my kids woke up for school— jeff gross
- RWR: you are so correct. The whole tiem he was on Second Victorino was the center of attention instead of teh batter. It was worth teh chance with a 2 run lead and Hamels on the mound. As for tonight, I just hope someone convinces Myers that he really is at home in the Bank and not in Fla.— jeff gross
- Can't say enough about Ryan Madson. He has finally found his place on this team. To use a Rocky cliche, he really has "the eye of the tiger" now. That's something I don't recall seeing until the last 6 weeks or so.— bobby
- jeff: it certainly looked to me like Howard went around. In fact, I thought the umps did a great job on all the check swings last night. The only one I even questioned was Pena against Lidge in the 9th, but I wasn't about to complain. I did have a little bit of a beef with the home plate umpire, because it seemed the strike zone was very tight the first 3 innings, and then suddenly widened. That being said, he was pretty consistent; once he picked a strike zone, he stuck with it. Oh, and memo to Joe Maddon: I agree with you that a left-handed pitcher making a step kind of toward first, kind of toward the plate, is a balk, and should be called. It is a blatant attempt to deceive a runner, and I couldn't care less about the angle of the stride. This is baseball, not geometry. That being said, I have been screaming at umpires for letting Andy Pettite get away with that bull$h!t move for 13 years, so if they suddenly decided to start calling it in the World Series, I would've gone absolutely bonkers.— RollinsWasRight
- Fascinating, my second and third posts show up before my first post does... when it finally shows up, people are going to think I am schizophrenic.— RollinsWasRight
- I'm OK with Victorino going home on that play. Could go either way on it. But I wish he had made a better attempt to score at the plate. If he was going to take out the catcher, then he needed to really be physical and make contact to knock the ball loose. Or if he had slid to the inside of the plate, away from the catcher, and reached with just his right hand, he may have avoided the tag. Sounds easy, right??!!— bobby
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The Phillies Zone is the place for up-to-the-minute Phillies coverage from the Inquirer.
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