Ruiz has become quiet force behind plate for Phillies

Carlos Ruiz will never be Pudge Rodriguez or Mike Piazza. He probably will never hit 30 homers or drive in 100 runs. But what he does is call a good game from behind the plate and put himself in front of balls in the dirt.

Ruiz hit .219 during the regular season and was just 1-for-14 (.071) in the Milwaukee series. Catcher and shortstop are probably the two positions where teams might sacrifice offense for defense. Especially in October.

"He's learned how to handle each guy individually," said Moyer, who at 45 is 16 years older than Ruiz. "[Manager Charlie Manuel] has a lot of confidence in him and so does [pitching coach Rich Dubee].

"And us, as pitchers, have a lot of confidence in him. That's important from a pitcher's standpoint. If you have a catcher behind the plate you can tell if he's uncertain about giving a sign. I don't sense that with Carlos. When he gives a sign he means it and there's usually a reason behind it. You can also communicate with him, too. There's a lot of give and take and that's important."

Manuel was not available to address the topic yesterday, but his confidence in Ruiz is evident in how little backup Chris Coste has been used lately. Coste has started a game since Sept. 19, not counting the meaningless regular-season finale.

"The one thing you try to remember at this time of year is your strengths," said Fox analyst and former catcher Tim McCarver. "I think that's what Charlie is trying to do with Ruiz. If you had a Greg Dobbs-type hitter as the other catcher, then you can say, 'We have to get a lefthanded bat in there.' While Chris Coste is a good player, he's not that much greater [offensively]. What are you going to do? They've gotten this far with Ruiz."

Closer Brad Lidge, who is in his first season with the Phillies, has said his confidence in Ruiz is similar to the relationship he had in Houston with Astros catcher Brad Ausmus. Lidge is a two-pitch pitcher and one of those is a nasty slider that often is as difficult to catch as it is to hit.

Ruiz' defensive efficiency is one of the things the staff has come to appreciate. Another is his developing demeanor, especially when things get hairy.

"I've told him that there are times when pitchers need a kick in the butt when you come out to the mound and there's times when they need coddling," Moyer said. "There are a lot of things that are important with that relationship. A lot of times you have to communicate [non-verbally] from 60 feet away. So reading body language is important. He's really picked up on it and really come a long way as a catcher."

Ruiz recalled that encounter with Moyer from a season ago.

"I had to [get after] Moyer and he liked it," Ruiz said. "He always tells me not to hold anything back. 'If you want to say something to me, say it. I have respect for you.' "

Eye on the prize

The Phillies centerfielder said there were larger stakes than trying to determine whether Philadelphia was now a baseball town. Instead, he said, it is a city thirsting for the taste of a championship and it's just his team's turn on the calendar.

"I'm not going to say it's a Phillies town now. It's Philadelphia. It's not about the Eagles, not about the Flyers, not about the 76ers," Victorino said. "It's about us as athletes trying to win a championship for this city. Whether it be the Eagles, Flyers, the 76ers or Phillies, I think this city is hungry. The fans will be here for us. That's the big picture and the small picture. We want to win a championship." *