SAYS GOODBYE TO BIG 5 HOOPS FOR '09-'10
The Phillies are often hailed as a resilient team. You know, they get their nose bloodied one night and come right back and slap somebody around the next.
You can call it resilience.
What it is really is talent.
The Phils are a good club. They are stacked with all-stars. That, not some word you find on dictionary.com, is the secret to their ability to bounce back after getting knocked down.
They have a prolific offense.
And when Cliff Lee is on the mound, they have one of the best pitchers in baseball.
This is how the Phils stayed alive in the World Series last night - with lots of offense (led by Chase Utley's two homers) and another good postseason start from Lee.
Sure, the final two innings were a trip through the meat grinder. But in the end, the Phils beat the New York Yankees, 8-6, to force a Game 6 tomorrow night in the Bronx.
At 48-33, the Phils finished tied for the best road record in the majors this season.
But the Yanks had the best home record, at 57-24.
For the first time since 2003, the World Series has been extended to six games.
Call it resilience. Call it talent. The Phils got the job done last night in their final 2009 appearance in front of the home fans, but there's more work to do, and there's no safety net, because they are down three games to two in the Series.
A look back at Game 5:
The Phils carried an 8-2 lead into the eighth inning. Lee was at 103 pitches, but manager Charlie Manuel let him come to the mound for the inning. Part of Manuel's thinking was that Lee looked strong in getting through the seventh inning in 12 pitches.
"Was I thinking about taking him out? Somewhat," Manuel said. "But I wasn't ready to take him out."
In the eighth, Lee gave up a single, a double, and a two-run double before Manuel replaced him with Chan Ho Park. A sacrifice fly made it 8-5, and suddenly the blood pressure inside Citizens Bank Park was on the rise. Park eventually ended the frame with a fly out.
Manuel bypassed closer Brad Lidge in the ninth and went with Ryan Madson, who allowed two hits and a run on a double-play ball by Derek Jeter. Jeter is never a guy you want to face with the game on the line, but Madson got him. Johnny Damon kept the Yanks' hopes alive with a single before Madson closed it out with a strikeout of Mark Teixeira. Madson got ahead of Teixeira with two fastballs, then threw back-to-back change-ups to end it.
Manuel took some criticism for not pitching Lee on short rest in Game 4 on Sunday night. Manuel has used pitchers on three days' rest before. Brett Myers completed an important doubleheader sweep of Milwaukee in Sept. 2008 while pitching on three days' rest.
Photos: 2009 Phillies 
