Statement: Phillies Confirm How To Play Like Champs

You practically can feel the loving wealth, spreading around the streets of Philly. At a point when Philly cheese steaks aren’t as tasty or lovable as the Philadelphia Phillies, the rabid town has again went nuts, not over the Eagles or Michael Vick’s craze, not over the Sixers season-opener next week, and definitely not over the Flyers.

For now, a fervid and rambunctious crowd is crazy for the Phillies on a raucous Broad Street, where the uncontrollable fanatics are wilder than the Philly Phanatic, yet celebrating a back-to-back appearance in the World Series.

No wonder why there’s a crack in the Liberty Bell, when loud echoes are heard in an entire community that gives its heart to the luckiest franchise in Philly this century. No wonder why boos have turned into cheers the last few seasons.

So, on another frigid night at Citizens Bank Park, the large capacity erupted on nearly each homer crushed out of the hitters-friendly park. Much of the night, fans erupted spirit and sounded off with “Beat L.A.!” chants.

That’s technically all you need to know, describing a well-experienced and mettlesome core predicating the factual character of champs. After all, entering the season, the Phillies knew what it took.

Despite struggling and overcoming adversity, Philadelphia never quit and raised intensity a notch when producing wins suddenly became meaningful. Similar to last year, the Phillies informed to the entire world, where the champion banners belong. Similar to last year, they were overmatched for the Dodgers, having fun and precisely romped Los Angeles in five games and clinched the NLCS with a 4-games-to-1 differential.

Greater than clinching the National League Title, the Phillies are in good position to repeat a NL pennant in 13 years. If the Phillies happens to reach an agenda and writes a new chapter in the history books, it will be the first franchise to complete such an unforeseen achievement since the Cincinnati Reds defined tenacity, longevity and unity. It’s the same features, the Phillies constitutes greatly, staying together as a unified core and illustrated the significance of having chemistry.

Meanwhile, Joe Torre’s squad is still growing. The Dodgers have good chemistry inside the clubhouse, but a feeble rotation was a vital factor in a horrid letdown. Missing out at the non-waiver trade deadline badly blemished the Dodgers, like watching Rocky Balboa in a one-sided heavyweight fight, or similar to watching Vick single-handedly thrash defenders in the” Wildcat” formation and rush for all-purpose yards.

No need to take a guess, our country was earnestly awaiting Broadway vs. Hollywood, New York vs. Los Angeles, Steinbrenner vs. Torre, Yankees-Dodgers World Series. A newborn rivalry was waiting to produce fresh blood, but now it has the makings of an East Coast clash among two top-profile clubs with large influences on the market.

When it consists of two teams with dangerous sluggers, a pair of strikeout aces, an epic classic is bound to happen. For instance, take Ryan Howard, a legitimate big man who beautifully makes contact with a hard-throwing pitch to crush a massive shot, which normally goes the distances. He’s the high-profile hitter who emerged into a slugfest machine, depositing nearly all baseballs into the stands. Believed to be one of the purist hitters in the game, $5 foot-longs at Subway are a factor, lifting his performance level. That’s one way to enhance your performance level, right?

Not much of a factor in Game Five, Howard was greatly appreciated at the end of the night. Honored with the series Most Valuable Player award, and absorbed more chants and cheers, rather than boos when his endless homers devised momentum and intrepid. As the Phillies still believe with enough zest to win it all, Howard said excitedly, “we have one more step: then we got action”.

The cleverest general manager, Ruben Amaro Jr. also stood before a large capacity crowd thanking all the loyal fans for their support, when credit goes to him for assembling and bringing in proper necessities to contend for back-to-back jubilance. He was very successful in fortifying the rotation, realizing how shaky the bullpen was for much of the year. All his savvy arrangements paid off, and now Philadelphia advances to the World Series again as the Dodgers were hammered for the second straight year against a franchise that made smarter decisions and aggressively pursued in acquiring depth improving in the second half of the season.

Heavily, the front office put too much effort in retaining Manny Ramirez. In the offseason, Ned Colletti overacted, centered on continuous negotiations with baseball agent and manipulator Scott Boras, just to hold on to the Mannywood marketing product that has abruptly deteriorated. There’s not much left to see from a so-called slugging wannabe who damn-near contaminated an entire era as the masses never considered the Great Manny a bust.

But his numbers have plunged since the league banned the most despised hitter in the game for a 50-games suspension. In just 32 at-bats the wannabe or Manny Being a Dope Idiot had disappointing results, finishing with a homer, four RBI’s and six strikeouts. Just from staring at the stat sheet, I noticed he had more strikeouts than RBI’s.

If you ask me, I just can’t see a player who falsified the game returning in a blue uniform.

Hopeful days are approaching for the Dodgers. In a 10-4 rout, Los Angeles lost swaggering, but refused to leave without a fight. Despite losing, positive signs were presented when outfielder Andre Ethier and first baseman James Loney each belted solo shots. The youth of the Dodgers are developing an identity, but has yet risen to a premier level, needing to consolidate the pitching rotation.

A series summarized by dominant pitching, despite a substandard bullpen, the Phillies relied on the brilliant heroics of Cliff Lee, a left-handed ace who’s artistic throws, by far, is the greatest breaking ball in the game. Pedro Martinez was star-studded and kept the Dodgers’ bats quiet, a midseason acquisition that was very productive in timely situations.

After all, the Phillies aren’t a fluke. Other players shined in critical roles, burning the Dodger Dogs, mostly on hits soaring through the chilled skies of Philly. There was outfielder Jayson Werth, collecting five homers this postseason, and likely the biggest one of his career in the seventh inning when he lofted a solo shot.

There was center fielder Shane Victorino, the Flyin’ Hawaiian and pest in center, rarely dropping shots traveling his direction. But offensively, he came up big, nailing a two-run homer off the sensational Clayton Kershaw in the sixth inning to give the Phillies a commanding 8-3 lead.

That led to a Philly-tastic celebration, when players jived on the mound like big children. When Victorino caught a fly ball to record the final out, fireworks brighten the skies, just as the Phillies energized the crowd igniting a towel-swinging party. The champagne was chilled, and when they made way to the clubhouse the party started as teammates were drenched.

But on the other side, in the dugout, sat the helpless Dodgers upset on how it all ended somberly and stared at the celebration reflecting from a disappointing letdown. Overcoming the heartbreaking defeat when the young Jonathan Broxton blew the save in Game Four, they came into the game with a readiness mindset, but the Phillies weren’t a match, having all the weapons to overpower faith.

Theory is, the Phillies weren’t only smarter, but overlooked and overmatched, confirming to the world that they still are the experts to beat. In the City of Brotherly, champs reside and believe.

Amaro, Phillies Smart Handling Business, But Dodgers' Bungles Prove Costly

On another bone-chilling night, in the last of the ninth inning, the Phillies still preserved the biggest hit. A shot on a night that dictated the Dodgers' season.

If there’s a veteran the Phillies can depend on, Jimmy Rollins is the name to single out.

The unexpected heroics turned a tense moment into another celebration in the stands, with only a game remaining before the Phillies make their second consecutive appearance to the biggest stage.

The late heroics Monday night smeared the Dodgers’ favorable outcome. It seemed to be a sure victory for Los Angeles until momentum shifted, confidence plunged, and body language appeared sluggish. But it was mostly momentum and the well-experienced veterans handling desperation and crucial moments in the game.

It is important to have a clutch hitter in the lineup, especially a veteran stepping up in moments when a critical shot into the gap is needed. Jimmy Rollins laced a two-run, scoring double off hard-throwing closer Jonathan Broxton, to put a stranglehold on the Dodgers.

Meanwhile, Rollins gave the Phillies cushion, and secured belief in a team aiming for their second straight title. A dramatic 5-4 victory over the lowly Dodgers describes fortitude of defending champions.

Besides characterizing champs, it identifies the shrewdest club in baseball. Last night illustrated and unleashed the true colors of the Dodgers' postseason failures, just as it delivered facts about the Phillies.

I'm not saying the Dodgers are unintelligent, but it is moderate admitting that general manager Ned Colletti has failed the organization in his fourth season serving as team executive. Although he was unsuccessful during the trade deadline, owner Frank McCourt is loyal to the so-called genius when he desperately acquired Manny Ramirez.

Of course, it made Colletti seem as if he was the cleverest general manager in baseball. Back then, Ramirez was portrayed as the purist slugger in the game, before getting humiliated for shamefully storing a fertility drug that produced artificial testosterones, which banned the inglorious juicer for 50 games.

Perhaps the Mannywood campaign is a great marketing product, but the bad thing is, the Dodgers have a no-good fraud that hasn’t done much.

Fans are too naïve to garner the truth and take advantage of the discount seating in the Mannywood section.

But instead of the long negotiating that took forever during the offseason, McCourt and Colletti should’ve tried adding veteran pitching to strengthen the paltry rotation. In the midst of their offseason shopping, the Dodgers were more comfortable appeasing and compromising with the manipulator Scott Boras and his deceptive client Ramirez.

Granted, Colletti made relevant transitions and upgrades, with his midseason acquisitions in the past two seasons, which included Casey Blake, Greg Maddux, George Sherrill, Jon Garland, Vicente Padilla, and Jim Thome. From the list, he had sense enough to acquire four pitchers, but, still, none are strikeout pitchers.

So that’s why the Phillies are lasting longer in the postseason, and could incredibly win it back-to-back. Between the Yankees and Philadelphia, they won the offseason or midseason sweepstakes, overwhelming us with their assertive pursuits to build a noteworthy franchise leading into October.

Right now, it seems the rookie leads. Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro is the smartest in baseball, outsmarting other executives who’re afraid to spend valuable profit.

He doesn’t mind granting enormous investments to players, and expects a lot from the well-experienced club.

Before the trade deadline, Los Angeles had ample chance to acquire the best pitcher in the postseason, Cliff Lee. Imagine if he was available to shut down the Phillies with a wicked breaking ball, or if he had a 0.72 ERA with more hard-throwing strikeouts than any pitcher, currently.

Simply, the Dodgers missed out during the deadline, when they were listening to offers and considering acquiring the greatest pitcher in the game today, Roy Halladay, but allowed the offer to vanish without attempting to negotiate and deal some of their young prospects to reinforce unreliable pitching.

But the big-name ace they can utilize right now is Lee or Pedro Martinez. Fact is, the Dodgers need a strikeout pitcher to stay alive with opponents, all having indomitable aces who control momentum. Truth is, Amaro accomplished good results in his first year, a savviest sequence that average general managers cannot master as a rookie.

At 44, Amaro imprinted a stout legacy, bringing aboard unfamiliar faces but enough talent to keep the Phillies crisp.

Immediately, it was good to overhaul and keep potentiality of winning multiple titles intact, signing free agent pitcher Chan Ho Park, who has thrown effectively against the Dodgers, and left fielder Raul Ibanez, who started off the season by seeing the ball well.

Above all, Amaro ensured emphasis of building a future around the growing legend Cole Hamels and streaky hitter Ryan Howard, whose home runs are hotter than a Philly cheese steak, giving each of them multi-year contracts. I must say, $5 foot-longs at Subway are worth eating as long as it is legal for enhancing the performance level.

Aside from Howard’s enhanced diet, Amaro assembled depth when he pulled off the blockbuster deal of the year, which should earn him Manager of the Year. Somehow prices weren’t steep, keeping all pitching prospects at home, while stealing and landing left-hander Lee, who was acquired for nothing from Cleveland.

The upgrading has proved worthy. When the Phillies spent 141 days in first place, including 126 consecutive days since late May. And now has extended their dominant postseason streak, topping each opponent without facing legitimate challenges for unhittable pitching, as the Dodgers aren’t perennial contenders.

It’s hard not having a dependable ace to bail you out. But for the Phillies it’s a fairly easier task, only because management was smarter.

Cliff Lee Amazingly Unhittable, Dodgers No Match For Phillies

The population in Philly is thinking “Brotherly Lee”, rather than Brotherly Love, according to a sign a fan held up proudly. On a bone-chilling night, fans welcomed home the Philadelphia Phillies, believing for a second consecutive season that they can sustain back-to-back glory. It’s a town that doesn’t quit believing, and currently a town louder than people wearing blue in Mannywood.

For decades, the Phillies were humiliated, but was the first major franchise to celebrate, relieving dismay with a thrilling victory last season. In a hapless town, where winning titles never happened, the franchise accomplished a delightful deed. But other franchises in Philly haven’t been very successful reaching a pinnacle like the Phillies, who were the fortunate ones, capable of ending horrid droughts in an infatuated sports town.

It refreshes memories of the surreal finish a year ago, when the gifted left-hander Cole Hamels promptly emerged as a legend and was named Most Valuable Player for sensational effort on the mound. But more importantly, he led the Phillies to the most fascinating victory in franchise history, seesawing to their first championship since 1980.

So far, in the postseason, the pitching has what it takes to pummel the Dodgers for the second consecutive season, dismantling rapturous dreams of a Yankees-Dodgers World Series, Torre-Steinbrenner showdown.

Instead the world is possibly awaiting a Yankees-Phillies showdown, two franchises showcasing brilliant pitching mechanics. No doubt, most weren’t highly favoring the Phillies, and overlooked the powerful-arm and superb breaking ball thrower.

You ignored the reigning Cy Young winner Cliff Lee, who menacingly threw at the man in blue, gradually forestalling the Dodgers of advancing to the biggest stage. The Phillies are no match against the hitless team, now struggling to produce runs. A frenzied crowd will continuous erupt in Philly, if the sterling rotation tramples the fragile Dodgers' lineup.

Problem is the Dodgers aren’t getting enough out of their paltry rotation. Blame it on skipper Joe Torre, whose choices are anything but wise. Leaving Clayton Kershaw in the Game One for a long time, allowed the sensational ace to surrender runs. It might have been preventable if Torre summoned for a steady reliever.

It takes a blunder in one game to change the complexion of the series, and one game was enough to improvise momentum. Perhaps, Torre sacrificed a befitting rotation, juggling around pitchers, such as Hiroki Kuroda, who surrendered hits as the game turned into a horrific nightmare.

What is Torre thinking?

Sorry, but the intelligent team here appears to be the Phillies, knowing what type of pitches to throw at the Dodgers. It’s indeed a privilege to have a dominant ace, backing up Hamels and veteran Pedro Martinez. An experienced ace, with a wicked breaking ball, is an essential offering to the Phillies shaky bullpen. You never know where closer Brad Lidge’s state of mind is, and J.A Happ has a history of walking batters.

But Lee, a starter all of us slept on lasted eight innings, without allowing runs and walks. For the time being, refer to him as “Mr. October”, after becoming the first pitcher lasting eight innings without giving up runs and walks, while striking out 10.

It’s greatly impossible compiling hits against Lee, who merely has surrendered two runs in 24 1/3 postseason innings. It’s no better way to describe it, as his remarkable pitching, by far, is the best seen this postseason.

Before the trade deadline, rumors surfaced that the Phillies were set to make a trade with Toronto for ace Roy Halladay, but failed to agree on a deal. After all, the Phillies were smart enough to fortify their weaknesses, and surprisingly acquired Lee.

If they’d failed to acquire the ace, where would they be now? This season alone, he has boosted up their assurance and solidified the rotation. For much of the season, Lee has done exactly what he brought to our attention last night, dominating in the postseason with an unthinkable O.74 ERA. With brilliant command and location, it’s hard to envision anyone compiling hits on Lee, who continues smashing the strike zone.

He’s unhittable, he’s unstoppable, and he’s undeniable.

He highlighted a Phillies 11-0 rout, as well as slugger Ryan Howard, who became the first player to drive in a run in seven straight games in a single postseason, producing a two-run, triple in the first-inning. And former Dodger, Jayson Werth evoked damage by lacing a two-run shot over the center-field wall. From there, the Dodgers never looked back, amid Lee’s wonderful outing that dictated the Dodgers season.

Instead of Thinking Blue, Thinking Red is logical.