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Surprise, surprise…coveted free-agent ace Cliff Lee has signed with his former club the Philadelphia Phillies.  According to multiple media outlets, the 32 year-old All-Star hurler will make a return to the team who he helped lead to the 2009 World Series and reportedly has agreed to a five-year, $120 million deal with a vesting option for a sixth year.

Lee put up sparkling numbers that postseason with a 4–0 record, 33 strikeouts in 40.1 innings pitched, and a microscopic ERA of 1.56 ERA and was the only Philadelphia starter earn a victory during the 2009 World Series with each of their two victories.

In a move that will stun baseball fans across the nation, Lee turned down the advances of the New York Yankees who defeated the Phillies during that same World Series.  By joining Philadelphia, he will have rejected a seven-year offer from the Yankees that would have paid him in the range of $160 million. 

It should also be mentioned that Lee would have earned significantly higher endorsement contracts if he opted to put on the pinstripes and the opportunity to team up with close friend C.C. Sabathia.

The Texas Rangers were said to have given Lee multiple deals to consider including one that worth more than $20 million annually over six seasons.  Rangers‘ manager Ron Washington admitted that he was confident that the star hurler telling reporters “that he’ll be here.” 

Lee’s performances this past postseason propelled the Rangers into the 2010 World Series where they lost to the San Francisco Giants in six games.  Some baseball insiders felt that Texas held an advantage in negotiations due to the Rangers’ proximity to his Arkansas home.

Lee will now form a piece of what experts will undoubtedly refer to as an “All-Star” Phillies rotation.  Along with Lee, Roy Halladay is one of the most revered pitchers in the game. 

Philadelphia will now have a one-two combination that no team across the MLB can match.  Completing the “murderer’s row” of top-four starters are Roy Oswalt, who after July trade from the Houston Astros recaptured his dominant ways, and Cole Hamels who enjoyed a terrific comeback season in 2010.

The capture of Lee will give Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel an arsenal of supreme starters to choose from in potential playoff matchups as the Phillies are surely a “shoe-in” to make the playoffs in the upcoming season. 

Club general manager Ruben Amaro will likely deal away Joe Blanton to free up some funds as 26-year-old Kyle Kendrick is their fifth starter to fill out the rotation.

Lee is coming off of a fine 2009 regular season campaign where he put up a 3.18 ERA, 185 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.00 in combined duty with the Rangers and the Seattle Mariners.  A nine-year veteran, his career ERA stands at 3.85 with a win-loss record of 102-61.

As Phillies fans awake to Tuesday morning, the will be greeted by the sensational news that their club has reacquired one of the predominant starters in baseball to add to their already stunning rotation. 

Late-night message board “Phanatics” are already predicting a return to the “fall classic” for their beloved Phils.  Only time will tell if this group can live up to the lofty expectations that most MLB pundits will place upon the Phillies in 2011.

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According to a report by Jim Salisbury, Philadelphia Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. has acknowledged that the Phillies have not only discussed dealing for Kansas City Royals’ ace Zack Greinke internally, but they have also talked to the Royals about potentially making a trade. While Amaro contends that the possibility of this deal occurring remains slim, any acknowledgement of interest from the highly ambitious and normally tight lipped Amaro means that the possibility does exist.

Much like Pat Gillick, the former Phillies GM and upcoming Hall of Fame Inductee who mentors him, Amaro has developed a reputation of being willing to trade for top quality talent, especially starting pitchers. In his two year stint as general manager for the Phillies, he has traded for three legitimate ace pitchers in Cliff Lee (who he later traded away to Seattle), 2010 National League CY Young winner Roy Halladay, and former Houston Astros ace Roy Oswalt. 

What do all three of these trades have in common? They were all preceded with very little fanfare on the part of the Phillies and Ruben Amaro in particular. In the weeks leading up to the Cliff Lee trade near the trade deadline of the 2009 season, it was well known throughout baseball that the Phillies were trying to work out a deal for Roy Halladay, who was then a Toronto Blue Jay. As the deadline approached, Amaro decided to trade for Cleveland Indians’ pitcher Cliff Lee at a relative bargain price rather than sell the farm in order to acquire Halladay. Of course, this turned out to be a very good thing when Lee, pitching in his first postseason, led the Phillies to within two victories of a second consecutive World Series Championship.

In the end, however, Amaro got his man, acquiring for Roy Halladay last December in a trade that caught many off guard. In the time leading up to the trade, Amaro admitted that the Phillies still had an interest in Halladay but repeatedly said that the possibilities of a deal remained remote. Even more shocking though, was his decision to trade World Series hero Cliff Lee to Seattle in order to lower the payroll and restock the farm system. It was a decision that still haunts him to this day, although he did partially redeem himself by acquiring Roy Oswalt at last year’s trade deadline. (This trade was also a bit of a surprise.)

It is clear that Ruben Amaro is not only willing and able to make big time trades, but that he also likes to fly under the radar when doing so. This does not mean, however, that Amaro is being deceitful by calling any deal for Greinke a long shot. There are multiple obstacles that would hinder any trade for the Royals’ ace.   

First and foremost is that the Royals are listening to offers for Greinke, but have no pressing need to move him, so they will not accept anything less than what they feel is fair value. The Phillies’ farm system has lost some of its more valuable prospects in the previously mentioned trades, but there are still enough quality pieces there to get a trade done. The question is whether or not they will be willing to lose even more of their prospects, especially as fears that the Phillies are becoming too old have started to be raised by both the fans and the media.

Another potential problem is Greinke’s trade clause, which lets him veto trades to up to 15 different teams. Whether or not the Phillies would be one of these teams is not known, but it has been reported that Greinke wants to go to a contender, which the Phillies are. However, it has been speculated by some people that he would prefer a small market team where he would not be hounded by the media.

From the Phillies’ side of things, the biggest hold up if they decide that Greinke is worth the Royals’ asking price is the additional payroll that Greinke would add. In order to acquire him, they would either need to trade away at least one of their big league players (possibly Raul Ibanez or Joe Blanton) or go over their self imposed $150 million cap. They have stated that they would be willing to go over their cap for the right player, which Greinke, the 2009 AL CY Young Award winner, would probably be. 

Despite all of these obstacles, if the Phillies do find a way to acquire Zack Greinke, they would have not only the best pitching staff in all of baseball, but one of the top rotations of all time. With the offensive output down across the board last season, adding Greinke could go a long way, especially if this downward trend continues.  Although starting pitching is relatively low on the Phillies’ priority list for this off-season a pitcher of Greinke’s caliber is worth acquiring no matter what your other needs are. In his short time as general manager, Ruben Amaro has consistently shown that he usually has a card or two up his sleeve, and don’t be surprised if this time that card is another ace.

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Next week, the Baseball Writers Association of America will begin to unveil its picks for Major League Baseball’s most important end-of-season awards: Rookies of the Year, Managers of the Year, Cy Youngs and Most Valuable Players.

But Bleacher Report’s featured columnists didn’t have the patience to wait for the BBWAA to announce their picks, so we responded with our own mock vote.

With this post, we have reached the end of Week 3 of our 16-part series on the MLB awards.

Yesterday, we looked at the best skippers in the American League, so naturally today is time for the results of our NL Manager of the Year vote.

The top five vote-getters are featured here with commentary from people who chose them. The full list of votes is at the end.

So read on, see how we did and be sure to let us know what we got wrong!

Begin Slideshow

After the Phillies failed in their League Championship quest, I planned a hard luck blog in my head.

While words festered in there like a zit from a chocolate Ding Dong, I asked my dad to share a story I’d once heard him tell. But before he did, he wanted me to make one promise:

“Title your blog: My dad says, ‘Don’t pick on the heavy guys.’”

I had to commit because every writer loves a theme and every story needs a hero, and my old man was the key to both. So after I exchanged a title for a gift, he fed me one:

“Bradley was his name. Bradley Johnson. He was our second baseman. Good little leaguer. Always was the best dressed eleven-year-old I ever coached. Hard-nosed and bright—extremely so. We were playing Guttenberg and their pitcher was good-sized for twelve and threw hard. Smoke came behind the ball. After three innings of him it seemed we had done nothing but hit foul balls and cower.

Now I had kids who were not usually afraid because our pitchers threw hard to them in practice. But this guy was exceptional and just that much faster, and perhaps because he was bigger, they were jumping out of the box. So I had a talk about this between innings. I was never one to sugarcoat things, and to stick with this philosophy, I said, ‘Maybe we shouldn’t play teams that are this good. Or maybe I could ask their coach to throw the ball slower. Or perhaps we should just put some girl teams in the schedule.’

No one had anything to say.

The next batter up was Bradley. I don’t remember which pitch it was—the second or third, but he sent it screaming into center field. I was coaching first and after he rounded the bag and hustled back, he looked up from under his too large helmet with bright eyes—eyes that said he’d heard me, and said, ‘That’s a lot harder than you think.’

Our next hitter one-hopped it off the wall and before the inning closed, their coach walked to the mound, head down, and took his pitcher off the field in tears. I found out this was the first time any team had ever hit him. I didn’t share that with my players until much later, and their reactions are a bit foggy in my mind now, but I still vividly recall Bradley’s eyes when he glared up at me and said, ‘That’s a lot harder than you think.’”

The Phillies are still feeling the sting of elimination in a playoff season where all signs pointed to world domination.

We could talk on and on about who was out-pitched, out-hit, out-coached, or out-dueled; we could analyze the stats and ascertain why the underdog came out on top and the odds lied.

We could examine why the Padres “hit the ball where it’s pitched” while the Phillies were looking for their pitch to hit.

We could compare Charlie’s devotion to his starters to Bochy’s bench theory of musical chairs.

We could analyze the shortfalls of a long-ball game and the benefits of small ball.

And we could live the rumors that Phil’s fans are frontrunners or we can stand behind our team and buy what Charlie says, “That’s baseball.”

The reason I’m not distraught about the night where all the rally stayed on the towels is because I spent the hours before that game reflecting on the life of a friend. Glenna’s last wish was to be celebrated in an atmosphere of joy and gratitude with friends rejoicing in the music she loved and the service she had planned.

But as hard as I tried, every word that was spoken made it harder to breathe. Each attempt to utter a word to a song she had chosen made my face tremble, my throat seize and my tears run. It was a trifecta of sadness.

A few hours later, it occurred to me that I had failed miserably to carry through on Glenna’s request to pay my last respects with happiness in my heart, but it wasn’t for lack of effort or desire.

And if I ever see her again, I know exactly what I’ll say: “It’s not as easy as you think.”

I’m sure that’s how the players who made up the postseason roster feel about baseball—someone wins and someone loses.

We can sit back and point fingers, pass blame, analyze misfortune, and harbor guilt, or we can accept that everything worth having in life is hard to get.

I’m not embarrassed by the loss nor do I feel let down by the performance. What disappoints me is that most of the post game reports still refer to the series as lousy.

Maybe they’re writing this because that’s what people want to hear. Perhaps fans aren’t happy until they know the loss has taken its toll on the team.

One loss that day had taken its toll on me and I refused to let the outcome of Game 6 do the same. So I decided since I’d started Tweeting the series in Game 5, I’d bow up and do the same in Game 6.

I’d failed to keep my chin up for a friend so I thought the least I could do was be there for the Phils. My attempt went something like this:

“If the Phils lose I’m gonna start making Jayson Werth paper dolls—I’ll dress him in whipped cream.”

“If the Phillies are facing elimination, they just had a Kaopectate inning.”

“Ken Rosenthal is hanging out in the Phillies dugout hoping the momentum will help him grow.”

“Jayson Werth’s hair is wild. Man, I wish it was regulation to wear no pants.”

“Blown opportunity. I will not expand on that as an innuendo.”

“Watching Jayson Werth on TV through my binoculars definitely enhances a few things.”

“I’m so nervous I’ve had four hairstyles in five innings. Lincecum’s had two.”

“I wish I was a base. What I’d give to be tagged by Jayson Werth.”

“If ears get longer as we age, Lincecum better grow more hair.”

“I’ve been watching pitch placement on the Fox Tracker. Sooner or later they have to find me.”

“Giants are as hot as jalapeño peppers. You’ll feel the effects the next day too.”

“They said, ‘Buster’s the kind of guy who would sneak behind the barn to ‘chew a piece of gum.’’ I wish I’d thought to call it that.”

“I’m gonna brew a new Phillies beer. It’ll have no calories, no carbonation, and no color. I’m calling it, ‘O-fer’”

“Phillies have a double play deficiency. I probably have a salve for that.”

“My son said if you take the first letter from his name, you have ‘ick.’ I said, ‘If you do that to mine, you’re left with an ‘itch.’”

Harmless these one-liners were, but the Tweets that got me in trouble with my dad accumulated over the last two games:

“Sandoval took 10 pitches. They’re giving him oxygen.”

“How to get Pablo Sandoval to hit a single: put a chicken pot pie on first base.”

“The Giants gave Sandoval #48 because they needed numerals that covered a lot of space.”

“If I made a Pablo Sandoval paper doll, I don’t know that there’s enough whipped cream in the world to dress him.”

“I can’t tell the difference between Juan Uribe and Pablo Sandoval, especially at the buffet.”

That’s when my dad said, “Don’t pick on the heavy guys, they’ll come back to haunt you.”

Sure enough, Uribe did. He got me and Ryan Madson with a rare dinger over the right field wall for the go-ahead run. If you want to blame me for the Phillies’ downfall, go ahead.

Since my chest is flat, my shoulders have very little to do but carry this burden.

It will simply add to the pain of my Jayson Werth withdrawals.

One fan said to me, “You ho, what happened to your lust for Raul last year?”

Guilty as charged. Matter of fact, that’s probably one thing I qualify for: The Phillies Whore. It has a nice ring to it: A middle-aged woman with a knack for turning a lewd phrase about baseball doesn’t have a lot of options.

My husband says, “Tell them it’s not as easy as they think.”

Now you know why I keep him around.

All the attention I pay to men in uniform including pregame, post game, news and blogging certainly doesn’t pay an enviable hourly wage, but it’s a wonderful passion to have.

Like my friend, Glenna, said about her obsession with playing music: “You might have to pay me to stop.”

That’s exactly how I feel.

See you at the ballpark.

Copyright 2010 Flattish Poe all rights reserved.

Catch life one-liner at a time on Twitter.

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The San Francisco Giants lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 5 of the 2010 NLCS. The Giants lead the series 3-2 but must now return to Philadelphia for Game 6 and Game 7 if needed. They are only one win away from from earning their fourth National League pennant since the team moved to San Francisco in 1958. It would also be the team’s first pennant since 2002.

If Game 7 is needed, the Giants can place their champagne dreams on hold for next season. The window of opportunity for them to advance to the World Series is growing ever shorter. The Phillies have been the most dominant team in the National League for the past three seasons, advancing to the World Series in the past two seasons.

I believe that the Giants have all of the tools necessary to split the final two games in Philadelphia. I also believe that they are at a severe disadvantage in a Game 7, should it be necessary.

Here are 10 reasons that Game 6 is a do or die game for the Giants.

Begin Slideshow

I am a Phillies fan and am one of the few people who has said from day one that Phillies manager Charlie Manuel is terrible.  I have said the Phillies have won despite his ineptitude because they have an extremely talented team.  When the Phillies lose, they lose because of him. When they win, they win despite of him.

Manuel is a hero to most people in Philadelphia. People love Charlie and think he is an amazing manager.  I always ask people what he does that is so amazing, and they say he won a World Series and wins games.  However, this is what people don’t understand.  He won a World Series because he has an immensely talented team.  He wins games for the same reason.

The Phillies’ success is solely because they are so good, and Manuel has not been able to screw it up in the past.  He has never been a good manager and it was exposed last year when he was badly out-strategized by Joe Girardi and it is being exposed again this year when he is being badly out-managed by Bruce Bochy, who is an excellent manager.

I have never seen a more evident example of Manuel’s poor abilities than in Game 4 of the NLCS.

First, the Phillies continue to pitch Cody Ross inside with fastballs.  It’s the only pitch he can hit; stop throwing it to him there!

Second, Charlie came out to get Joe Blanton in the fifth inning, then decided to leave him in to give up a hit to give the Giants another run when he should have pulled him for Contreras right then.

Third, he left Chad Durbin in way too long when he was getting shelled.

Fourth, he did not give Jimmy Rollins the bunt sign in an obvious bunt situation with a runner on second base and no one out in a tie game.

Fifth, he let Oswalt pitch the ninth inning.  While it would have been okay to pitch Oswalt if the game went to extra innings, he still had Romero in the bullpen and he should have went to Romero there (especially since Huff a lefty was at the plate).

Sixth, he left Bastardo in to face right handed hitters, when he should have just faced the lefty.

Seventh, the Phillies inexplicably sent Carlos Ruiz with one out in the 5th inning on a hard hit ball to center field, I know, Manuel isn’t the third base coach but it’s his coaching staff, so I believe he still gets part of the blame.

Finally, he did not double switch in the fifth inning and let Contreras pitch to only one batter.  He also could have let Contreras bat with two outs and no one on in the sixth. 

Charlie knew Blanton got chased early, so he could have left Contreras in to start the sixth inning. Had he done that, he may still have had more arms available in the ninth, like Ryan Madson. 

If Contreras pitched the sixth, Chad Durbin could have moved to the seventh, Antonio Bastardo/Madson doesn’t happen till the eighth and most likely Madson stays in to pitch the 9th. 

There are probably more examples I am forgetting.  The reality is that Manuel often leaves pitchers in too long, fails to double switch when he should and uses no strategy whatsoever in the everyday context of the game.

He is one of the worst managers in baseball, and gets away with being a moron because the Phillies are an extremely talented team.  Anyone could win with this team, and Manuel is trying his best to screw it up.

Manuel also missed a great chance to fire his team up in the first inning.  He should have been out of the dugout to argue a horrendous called third strike on Victorino on a pitch that was about a foot inside.  If I am Charlie Manuel in that situation, I argue that call and if I get ejected, I get ejected.  It would have sent a great message to the team that you have their back and probably fired up your team.  Lou Pinella would have been out of the dugout faster than Michael Johnson ran the 100 yard dash.

I have pointed out to people all the mistakes and dumb decisions Charlie makes on an almost regular basis.  People used to tell me I was crazy, but then they started paying attention and now most people I know agree with me.

Notice that I have not mentioned starting Blanton as a bad decision, because personally I think it was the right move, even though they lost.  I would rather have the big three on full rest than have them all on short rest, so to be fair, I don’t blame Manuel at all for that one.

He costs the Phillies about 10 wins a year with his poor managerial decisions, and he will likely cost them the NLCS with his stupidity as well.

The only good news is the Phillies have three very good pitchers in the next three games and they might pull it out. If they do, it will once again be in spite of Charlie.  Manuel does nothing to help this team win.

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Many experts are saying that the Phillies are in trouble in the NLCS against the Giants. Personally, I disagree.

If the Flyers taught the city of Philadelphia anything, it’s not over ’til it’s over. 

Many experts are also saying that the Phillies need to make a change in Game 4, and I agree with them; the Phillies do need to make a change, just not the change most experts are saying.

The experts are saying the Phillies should start Roy Halladay on three days rest instead of Joe Blanton.

As you probably saw in the article I wrote about A.J. Burnett, starting Halladay on three days rest would be the worst thing the Phillies could do. If they start Halladay, then that means Oswalt and Hamels have to go on three days rest too. 

Even if they lose Game 4, I would rather have the big three rested than have them pitch on three days. Pitching them on three days rest means the series is likely over.

However, I do think the Phillies need to make a change to the lineup in Game 4. That change is simple: insert Ben Francisco into the lineup in left field and bench Raul Ibanez. 

I understand Ibanez makes a huge amount of money (it’s a terrible contract and the Phillies are stuck with him), but the reality is Ibanez is absolutely killing the Phillies right now. He is 0-for-15 at the plate, with strikeouts in half of his at-bats, and he has hit into a double play (so he actually has made more than 15 outs); he also dropped a fly ball in Game 1 that had he caught, the Phillies would have won. 

I know it was a tough catch, but he was under it and should have made the play; any good fielding left fielder catches that ball.

See, that’s the problem: Ibanez is in the lineup for his bat, and if the bat isn’t hitting, then he shouldn’t be in the lineup. 

Francisco is faster and better defensively, and he can not do any worse at the plate. Even if Francisco goes 0-for-4, his defense still makes him a better start than Ibanez.

I have long been a fan of Francisco and a detractor of Ibanez. I have said since day one that Ibanez’s contract was ridiculous and that Francisco could put up the same numbers as Ibanez if given the playing time.

I will make it clear that I don’t like Raul Ibanez as a ballplayer. 

I think his hitting is average and he can’t field. As a Phillies fan, I dislike him because the $13-14 million a season he is making will be the main reason the Phillies lose Jayson Werth in the offseason.

If they had not signed Ibanez to that ridiculous deal, they could platoon Dominic Brown and Francisco in left field and the two combined would make about $1 million and probably give you equal or more production at the plate and better defense than Ibanez.

The nice part of this argument is Charlie Manuel can sit Ibanez down without making it look like he has lost faith in Raul.

See, the Giants are pitching lefty Madison Bumgarner in Game 4 this evening, and Manuel often sat Ibanez in favor of Francisco when a lefty was on the mound. This way, Manuel can hide behind the fact that he is making the move simply to get a right handed bat in the lineup and that it is not because he lost faith in Ibanez.

Thus, he can sit him down without making Ibanez look bad. He has a built in excuse already provided by the left handed pitching matchup. 

Gregg Doyel of CBS Sportsline wrote a great article about how Manuel may have already phoned it in on the Phillies because Charlie said that it was getting kind of late to be making moves. To that I say, Charlie, you are paid to manage the Phillies, and any manager can see a guy who is a below average fielder and is 0-for-15 at the plate shouldn’t be in the lineup. 

Look at Bruce Bochy, who sat down Andre Torres in favor of Aaron Rowand; Torres was only 0-for-8 in two games, and the series was tied. Good managers recognize when changes need to be made and have the guts to make them.

The next 24 hours will tell us a lot about Charlie Manuel’s ability to manage this team. If he sits Ibanez down, then the Phillies might still have a chance in this series.

If Charlie sticks with Ibanez, then his stubbornness may just cost the Phillies their chance at a third straight World Series appearance.

Here’s hoping Charlie does the right thing for the team and the city. Playing Ben Francisco tonight is really a no brainer.

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The 2010 season will go down in baseball history for what will be perhaps the biggest loss of managerial talent the game has ever suffered in a single year.

We now know that Tony La Russa will be back with the Cardinals next year, but that only means the damage is being contained; Major League Baseball will nevertheless begin next season without managerial icons Bobby Cox, Joe Torre, or Lou Piniella.

With Charlie Manuel not getting any younger, and Jim Leyland and Cito Gaston looking just plain tired at the end of last season, who knows where the carnage will end?

To commemorate the retirement of three legendary forces inside the clubhouse, we take a look at the Top 100 Major League Managers of All Time.

Begin Slideshow

When Philadelphia Phillies manager Charlie Manuel walked to the mound in the eighth inning, talked with his starting pitcher, and walked back to the dugout, as a San Francisco Giants fan I was hoping this would be his Grady Little moment. Little, once the manager of the Boston Red Sox, infamously left ace Pedro Martinez on the mound in the 2003 ALCS and watched him implode against the New York Yankees.

But with the way Roy Oswalt was pitching, it was a fool’s hope. He was clicking on all cylinders, and there was little the Giants could do to make Manuel pay.

Oswalt was what Roy Halladay was not in Game 1: stifling. On the other side, Giants left-hander Jonathan Sanchez, who struck out 11 Atlanta Braves in his first postseason start, struggled out of the gate. Sanchez was a very dependable third starter this season for the staff that led the major leagues in ERA, winning 13 games. But if there was one knock on him it was his wildness. He led the majors with 96 walks in 193 innings, a concerning ratio. And the negative managed to rear its ugly head, in the form of three first-inning walks and 35 painful pitches.

He was all over the place, but the home plate umpire was too, calling clear balls strikes and clear strikes balls. One blown call came with the bases loaded. Entering his appearance against Jimmy Rollins, the 27-year old  had struck out two, walked two, and witnessed a throwing error by third baseman Mike Fontenot that brought Aubrey Huff well off the first-base bag. Forty-six thousand were on their feet as Rollins dug in, then they cheered profusely as umpire Dan Iassogna inexplicably called a 3-1 pitch that clearly nipped the inside corner a ball, allowing Chase Utley to walk home for the game’s first run.

Iassogna gave pitchers the outside corner throughout, but he was far from kind when they painted the inner portion. For Sanchez’s pitch to reach the inside corner, as a lefty the ball has to cross the plate somehow. But, Sanchez somehow managed to put that blown call behind him and allow just the single run, striking out Raul Ibañez to end the threat.

When the bases were loaded, the Giants were wary of Sanchez’s rough start, as reliever Guillermo Mota was loosening in the bullpen. But Sanchez forced Mota to sit back down in limiting the damage, and the bullpen didn’t stir for a while as he settled into a groove. A lot of pitches were thrown. Some more walks were issued and hits were allowed, but he persevered, putting up three straight zeros and then was rightfully rewarded for his efforts by an unsurprising bat.

Oswalt had cruised through the first four innings, pitching very effectively and economically to keep his pitch count low entering the fifth. With one out in that inning, Cody Ross stepped to the plate. The same bearded Cody Ross who slugged two inside fastballs in nearly the exact same section of the left-field seats in Game 1. Oswalt missed away with the first pitch, but then made a costly mistake.

A fastball was fired in, approaching the inside corner, right in Ross’ wheelhouse. And he didn’t miss it, crushing the pitch to nearly the same exact spot as Saturday night’s two. It was an amazing scene, and for the third time in as many nights groans from Phillies fans and screams of joy from Giants fans could be heard after liftoff.

Groans turned to cheers and cheers screams of joy turned to groans as Philadelphia quickly fought back, receiving a leadoff double by Shane Victorino just past a diving Fontenot at third and two sacrifice flies by their big hitters to snag a 2-1 lead. San Francisco now had to get another run out of Oswalt to have a chance of heading home with a 2-0 series advantage, but Oswalt made sure Ross’ majestic shot was all his opponent would muster.

His fastball was lively, sitting at a deceptively quick 93 on the gun all night. His sinker was sharp, and his changeup had its late movement. Sanchez managed to pitch into the seventh, which was a tremendous feat given his first-inning woes and early high-pitch count, but Oswalt was the man of the match. Tim Lincecum unquestionably led his Giants in Game 1, and Oswalt did the same for his Phillies, striking out hitters right and left to put together a superb outing.

Despite his excellence, it was only a one-run margin. That was, until the seventh, when the bullpen fell apart. Manager Bruce Bochy, who trusted Sanchez enough to pitch him in the do-or-die 162nd game against the San Diego Padres, sent him back out there to only pull him one batter in. His 100th pitch was slapped up the middle by Oswalt of all hitters, and then Sanchez, receiving a bevy of high-fives, took his seat on the bench and looked on in horror as the bullpen imploded.

After his replacement, Ramon Ramirez, allowed the Phillies third run to score, Rollins delivered the crushing blow against Santiago Casilla, lacing a double into the right-center gap to plate three teammates. The lead was now 6-1, and Philadelphia would go on to win by that margin, as Oswalt pitched the eighth and Ryan Madson handled the ninth to even the series.

The series now heads to San Francisco, with the Phillies bats hot and every Giant except for Ross not. He can’t do it all, and if the Giants are going to reach their first World Series since 2002 they need other bats to wake up so Oswalt’s performance can’t be duplicated.

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Dominant. That is just about the only term that could justly describe the Philadelphia Phillies’ 1st Round sweep of the Cincinnati Reds.  The Phillies rode the arms of Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels and got themselves back to the NLCS for a 3rd consecutive run.  Add that in with timely hitting and taking advantage of costly Cincinnati miscues and that is exactly what we saw over this short, 5-day series.

This all had to start somewhere so why not with ace #1 Roy Halladay.  Halladay set the tempo on Wednesday afternoon in his post-season debut.  His no-hitter of the Reds let them know early that the “H20” rotation was all about.  Halladay only allowed one base-runner and was thisclose to perfection again.  

Cole Hamels’ stellar start on Sunday against the Reds made this series and quite frankly, the past few years of Hamels’ life come full-circle.  Ever since being awarded the 2008 World Series MVP questions have surrounded Hamels’ ability to perform in big games.  Those questions may now be put to rest as it appears as if vintage Hamels circa 2008 has returned and is hopefully here to stay for the Phillies. 

The most surprising thing in this series was the Reds’ struggles on the field defensively.  They had committed only 72 errors all season, yet committed seven in just three playoff games.   Most notably, 7-time Gold Glover Scott Rolen had a poor defensive series for the Reds.

In Game 2 the Reds had the defending two-time NL Champs on the ropes for most of the game.  A few errors later and the Phillies turned this into an advantageous scenario and took a 2-0 tilt to The Queen City.  Jay Bruce’s error in particular was the tell-all of this sloppy game.  

From the beginning of this series one thing was crystal clear.  Even in having the top NL offense in the regular season, the Reds were going to have trouble solving H20.  They hit .123  as a team and never really got the offense started throughout this series.  This was mainly due to MVP favorite Joey Votto’s struggles.  He was 1-10 in this series and was totally shut down by the Phillies in this series. 

Now the Phillies look ahead to the NLCS, where they will face either the San Francisco Giants or Atlanta Braves.  Though both teams boast very solid pitching, they simply will not be able to hit with Charlie Manuel’s club.  This could be the difference in the NLCS which starts Saturday evening in Philadelphia. The Phillies’ rotation will look to stifle the opposing offense once again and be the ending place for another NL foe en route to a 3rd consecutive World Series appearance.  

The bottom line is that Cole Hamels is at the top of his game right now and this could lead to another parade down South Broad St.  He has been here before and knows what it takes to get it done.  Along with Halladay and Roy Oswalt, this trio of aces could deliver another World Championship.  

This champagne-poppin’ thing will never get old for these Phillies as they have done it in each of the past three seasons.  This current period is the greatest in Philadelphia Phillies baseball history.  This dynasty, as many refer to it as, seems to be growing by the year and looks to now be at its peak.  Only time will tell how the rest will play out for these Phightin’ Phils.  

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