The Ticket Chest

Phillies Reach World Series with 4-1 Series Win over Dodgers in NLCS

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 | Andre Ethier, Brad Lidge, Charlie Manuel, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Jayson Werth, Los Angeles Dodgers, Manny Ramirez, MLB, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Ryan Howard, Shane Victorino, Sports | No Comments

For the 2nd straight post-season, it took just 5 games for the Phillies to eliminate the Dodgers from October playoffs in a dominating NLCS victory.  Overcoming another poor start from Cole Hamels (4 1/3 innings, 3 ER on 5 hits and 1 walk), the Phillies scored early and often to make it clear that they intended to defend their World Series title all the way to the end.

Jayson Werth led the Phillies offense – Werth’s 2-out, 3-run home run in the 1st inning gave the Phillies a 3-1 lead after Andre Ethier had put the Dodgers on the board 1st with his solo home run.  It was a great answer for the Phillies who quickly showed that they would not be denied.  Werth added a solo shot in the 7th inning and finished the night with crazy numbers – 3 for 4, 4 RBI’s and 3 runs scored.  Not bad, especially against his former team.  Shane Victorino also had a solid night in the win – 2 hits, including a 2-run HR in the 6th inning, with 3 RBI’s and 1 run scored.

The only negative was the starting pitching off Hamels.  Hamels made it into the 5th inning with a 6-2 lead, but after giving up a solo HR to pinch-hitter Orlando Hudson and a 1-out double to Rafael Furcal, Manager Charlie Manuel did not want to take any chances.  Manuel pulled Hamels for J.A. Happ and later Chad Durbin who got the Phillies out of the jam unscathed, still leading 6-3.  Manuel was forced to use 5 relievers, but knowing that if they won they would have a week of rest before the World Series started on Wednesday, October 28th, he wasn’t too concerned.  Brad Lidge even closed out the 9th inning in perfect fashion with 1 strike out.  Manuel should be feeling good about Lidge right now – in 5 playoff appearances this October (4 innings), Lidge has given up just 1 hit and 3 walks and no runs period.  He has saved 3 games and won 1 game and looks to have regained that form that makes him one of the more dominating closers in baseball.  Assuming the New York Yankees close out their ALCS against the Angels, it will be interesting to see how Lidge handles a World Series save situation in front of thousands of screaming fans in the Bronx – should be fun to watch.

The Phillies major concern should be starting pitching after Cliff Lee.  Hamels continues to struggle and who knows how Pedro Martinez or Joe Blanton will fare against a solid Yankees lineup.  The Phillies have been there before though, and their lineup is so deep and good, a Phillies-Yankees World Series should be fun to watch…

Phillies Deliver Knock Out Punch – Take Game 1 over Dodgers 8-6

Friday, October 16th, 2009 | Brad Lidge, Carlos Ruiz, Clayton Kershaw, Cole Hamels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Manny Ramirez, MLB, Philadelphia Phillies, Raul Ibanez, Sports | No Comments

The Phillies defeated the Dodgers 8-6 in Game 1 of the NLCS to take a 1-0 lead in the best of 7 series – home field advantage right back to Philly.  For the 1st 4 innings, it looked like we were going to have a pitcher’s duel between Cole Hamels and Clayton Kershaw.  Up until that point, the Dodgers led the Phillies 1-0 with the lone run scoring on a solo home run by James Loney in the 2nd inning.

But with the 5th inning came an explosion of offense – - Carlos Ruiz’s 3-run bomb to deep left gave the Phillies a 3-1 lead and Ryan Howard’s 2-run double increased that lead to 5-1.

But the Dodgers answered right back in the bottom of the inning with 3 runs of their own – 1 run on Andre Ethier’s RBI groundout and 2 runs on Manny Ramirez’s 2-run bomb to deep left center. 5-4 Phillies on top.

It looked like the Phillies had put the game away for good in the top of the 8th inning when Raul Ibanez’s 3-run HR gave the Phillies an 8-4 lead.  But the Dodgers answered in the bottom of the inning with 2 runs on a Russell Martin RBI single and a Rafael Furcal sacrifice fly.

Give some props to Brad Lidge for closing out the game in the 9th inning.  We only know about Lidge’s struggles in 2009 – 0-8 record, 7.21 ERA, 31 saves but 11 blown saves.  But after a lead-off single by Matt Kemp, Lidge induced a Casey Blake double play to pick up 2 quick outs.  And even after a James Loney walk, Lidge buckled down and got Ronnie Belliard to pop out to end the game.  Despite shaken confidence during the regular season, Lidge has earned the save in 3 of the 4 Phillies wins in the 2009 post-season, and he has yet to give up a run in 2 1/3 innings pitched.

Hamels notched the win, despite giving up 4 ER on 8 hits and 1 walk in 5 1/3 innings.  Kershaw struggled with his control too much on Thursday night – walking 5 and giving up 5 ER on 4 hits without even making it out of the 5th inning.

The 2 teams won’t have much time to dwell on Game 1, as they square off in Game 2 at 4:07PM EST today on TBS.  Pedro Martinez will take the bump for the Phillies against Vincent Padilla of the Dodgers.  It will mark Martinez’s 1st post-season start since he won a World Series game for the Boston Red Sox back in 2004.  It becomes a must-win for the Dodgers who do not want to go down 2-0 to the Phillies having to face ace Cliff Lee in Game 3 back in Philadelphia on Sunday…

Brad Lidge – - A Tale of 2 Seasons

Saturday, September 19th, 2009 | Brad Lidge, Charlie Manuel, General, MLB, Philadelphia Phillies, Ryan Madson, Sports | 1 Comment

The following is almost incomprehensible – how bad has Brad Lidge fallen – he has gone from perfect to downright awful.  In 2008, Philadelphia Phillies closer Brad Lidge appeared in 72 games and saved 41 games in 41 chances.  That’s right, Lidge did not blow a single save opportunity in 2008 and he helped lead the Phillies to the World Series title in October 2008.  His numbers looked like this – 2-0 record; 1.95 ERA; 1.23 WHIP; 92 K’s; & 35 walks.

Flash forward to 2009.  This is shocking – Lidge has saved 30 games, but he has blown 10 save chances throughout the course of the 2009 MLB schedule – yes 10 blown saves!  How can this be?  Lidge is 0-7 in 2008.  He has a 7.21 ERA and a 1.81 WHIP.  Lidge has walked 32 and struck out only 56.  Lidge was recently demoted for a few days to try to clear his head, but Manager Charlie Manuel let him close in his last 2 appearances.  On 9/13, Lidge entered the game against the Mets with the Phillies leading 5-2.  Lidge got the save but he gave up 2 runs on 3 hits in the process as the Phillies held on for the 5-4 win.  On 9/17, Lidge entered the game against the Nationals with the Phillies leading 4-1.  Lidge got the save again, but once again he gave up another earned run.  What is the deal?

Lidge has gone through this transformation before.  In 2005 and 2006, Lidge was lights out for the Houston Astros – 42 saves against 4 blown saves in 2005 & 32 saves against 6 blown saves in 2006.  But he struggled mightily in 2007 in his last season with the Astros – only 19 saves with 8 blown saves.  Ouch… Lidge seemed to find the magic touch last year in his 1st stint with the Phillies, but he has lost his confidence again in 2009.

A closer has saved 30 games with an ERA over 6.00 only once in the history of Major League Baseball.  That occurred in 2004 when Shawn Chacon saved over 35 games for the Colorado Rockies with a 1-9 record and a hefty 7.11 ERA.

Not sure Manuel is going to do come playoff time.  Manuel called on Ryan Madson to close during Lidge’s “rest period” and Madson saved 4 of the 5 games he entered in save situations.  In any event, we will likely see some interesting Brad Lidge stat lines during the next 2 weeks and in the playoffs…