It was a good Series, but not a great one. It wouldn’t have been a great one even if the Phillies had won, though coming back from 2 games down would have been worthy of note, and might have raised the level of the whole affair in a way.
Basically, enough more things worked for the Yanks than for the Phils. I am left thinking that perhaps the key decisions took place before the Series even started. For the Yanks, of course, it was the decision to go with their three best starters only (which worked, though I agree with many commentators that it was risky). For the Phils, I wonder if Martinez’ start in Game 2 of the NLCS left him worn down. He reportedly was throwing very hard in that game and he went a full 7 innings, more than the conventional wisdom used to say he was good for. Still, he was mowing the Dodgers down that day, so it’s hard to argue that the 87 pitches he threw were too many. Given that the bullpen lost the game, perhaps 87 wasn’t enough… but they won the pennant anyway, so it’s moot.
In Game 2 of the Series, the way that the Phillies lost NLCS Game 2 replayed itself, and the Phils didn’t get it right either time. Against the Dodgers, they lost when they didn’t send Pedro out in the 8th; against New York, they lost when they did send him out in the 7th. Of course, in New York they were already behind, and the Yanks only got one more run, so the real problem was the failure of the Phillies’ bats (more on that in a moment). Still, when Pedro gave up hits to Hairston and Cabrera, I admit to having flashbacks to the 2003 ALCS.
The inability of Ryan Howard to get good swings against the New York lefties was not a surprise to me. The Phils can beat mediocre pitchers whether lefty or righty, but tough lefties severely cramp their style. Howard’s gaudy RBI totals are not a good indicator of his ability to hit Damaso Marte. This kind of thing can get you into the playoffs, but after that you need more ability and some good luck. I don’t want to single out Howard, since it’s clear that the only Phillie to really make a lot of noise at the plate was Utley.
Anyway, the Phils can always say “wait ‘til last year.” They won the pennant again, so it’s not as if they rested on their laurels in 2009. The 2010 rotation looks like Lee, Hamels, Happ, presumably Blanton, perhaps Martinez, and as far as I know, all the major offensive pieces should still be in place. That’s a good place to start. The offense will probably regress towards the mean, but it’s hard to imagine it won’t still be one of the better batting orders in the NL. The last few years have been kind of a refreshing time to root for the Phils, after the rudderless 1995-2002 period.
Keys: baseball
