Reply With Quote
Congrats on winning your first world series, Tampa Bay
LOS ANGELES -- Using a Hollywood script without a surprise ending, the Phillies captured the National League pennant Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium with a 5-1 win over the Dodgers.
With the triumph in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series comes Philadelphia's first trip to the World Series since 1993. That team lost to the Blue Jays.
"Yes, we're going to the World Series," Ryan Howard said, shouting. "That sounds really good to say."
Never straying from their opportunistic best, the Phillies leapt out when Jimmy Rollins scorched a homer on the game's eighth pitch -- much like he did in the deciding Division Series game against Milwaukee.
"I didn't see it," Rollins said. "I just hit it and took off, not taking anything for granted. I knew [if it dropped in] I was getting on second, and if they made a mistake, I was going to get on third."
He got home. With a 1-0 lead and the ball in ace Cole Hamels' sterling left hand, a ticket to the World Series seemed inevitable.
The Dodgers never had a chance against Hamels, who was named the NLCS MVP. The left-hander bested his Game 1 performance with seven innings of five-hit ball, allowing one run and striking out five. The Phils await the winner of the American League Championship Series, in which the Rays lead the Red Sox, 3-1.
Rollins' homer to right-center field, the 10th leadoff homer in LCS history, rattled Dodgers righty Chad Billingsley, and the 24-year-old unraveled in the third. Walks to Rollins and Chase Utley followed by two-out RBI singles by Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell pushed the lead to 3-0. Billingsley's final act was issuing an intentional walk to new Phillies postseason hero Shane Victorino.
Sloppy Dodgers defense, specifically three errors by shortstop Rafael Furcal, led to two unearned runs in the fifth. While Hamels welcomed the support, he was at his dominating best, posting a 1.23 ERA in three postseason starts. He ended each of his final five innings with strikeouts.
The final one came on his 104th pitch, and caught Jeff Kent looking, preserving a four-run lead. At that moment, the Dodgers had two runners on and Kent could've have pulled the Dodgers within a run with one swing.
He didn't.
Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge handled the final six outs, setting off a celebration that had been coming for 15 years.
"Our six most important outs of the season," Jamie Moyer said.
The final out, a Nomar Garciaparra foul popout to Carlos Ruiz, had the catchers' eyes bulging out of his head.
From the dugout, Moyer yelled, "Two hands!"
"I was so happy when I knew the last out was in my hands," Ruiz said. "It wasn't too high, but it took forever to come down."
How long did it take to land?
"About 10 minutes," Joe Blanton said. "It was a while. I was running up the steps, and [was] out of breath at the end. That out seemed to take longer than the whole inning, combined."
The celebration spilled onto the field and into the tiny visitors' clubhouse at Dodger Stadium. The third celebration was louder and more boisterous than the first two, as the reality of playing in the World Series began to sink in.
Rollins was doused by Howard, then later returned the gesture. Pedro Feliz, in a rare display of emotion, screamed in the center of the party and paid for it with a five-pronged attack.
Off to the side, Chris Coste pinched a few of his teammates, starting with Clay Condrey.
"It's real," Condrey said. "Seriously, We're here."
When the clubhouse became claustrophobic, the celebration spilled onto the field, where West Coast Phillies fans were waiting. With banners with slogans like Tug McGraw's "Ya Gotta Believe," and "One More," transplanted fans tried to make the players like the were in Citizens Bank Park.
Acknowledging the sea of red jerseys, players offered high fives and pointed to their faithful. In Philadelphia, some 3,000 miles away, the fans were rollicking in the streets.
"I can only imagine what it's going to be like when we land, how excited the people are going to be," Victorino said. "It's going to be a fun time, but we're still not done. This means a lot, but we don't want to stop here."
Fifteen years after the Phillies suffered a six-game loss to Pat Gillick's Blue Jays, the Phils are returning to the Fall Classic. This time, they are led by Gillick, the 71-year-old general manager who intends to retire after the season.
Returning to the World Series are Lidge and Eric Bruntlett (2005, Astros), So Taguchi (2006, Cardinals) and Feliz and Scott Eyre (2002, Giants).
Heading the list of first-timers include the 45-year-old Moyer, whose eyes remained red through the entire celebration, and Pat Burrell, the longest-tenured Phillie who made his Major League debut in May 2000.
As the Phillies got closer, Burrell said he couldn't help but think of the lean and close-but-not-close enough years.
"Almost daily, especially now with what we've been doing," said Burrell, who could barely contain himself as the final out was recorded. "It's easy to get caught up in the moment, but when you look back ... We see where we've come and where we're at. It's a of a feeling. There's no way to describe this. Now it's time to keep going."
The city waited 15 years for the Phils' sixth journey to the biggest stage, and the organization has a chance to capture its second World Series championship. A le would snap a 25-year drought by the city's four major sports. No professional team in Philadelphia has won it all since the NBA's 76ers in 1983.
"After hearing about the '93 team and the '80 team over and over and over, we finally have a chance to make our mark," Rollins said. "It's crazy. [Getting to the World Series] is always worth the wait, and you always want to come back for more. We're here now, four games away. It's something everybody says they're going to do once in their career, and you hope it happens. That day has come. We don't have to watch October."
Unlike the ball that nestled in Ruiz's huge catcher's mitt, the Phillies hope they won't come down. While flying across the country, players will reflect on the postseason moments that got them here.
They'll see Rollins' home run leaving the park in Game 5 or Brett Myers' single shooting up the middle and another past a diving James Loney in Game 2. They can remember either of Hamels' intimidating efforts in Games 1 and 5 or Victorino's and Matt Stairs' homers in Game 4, pivotal in that they gave the Phillies a 3-1 series lead, rather than a 2-2 tie.
How about Chase Utley's stabbing of Russell Martin's line drive in Game 4, and tagging the base to squelch a rally?
Pick a moment. They're all good.
The Phillies have taken three steps, and want a fourth. At 99 wins, 103 is where they want to be.
"We've got one more big step, then we're going to take a grand parade," manager Charlie Manuel said.
Congrats on winning your first world series, Tampa Bay
That 1993 Phillies team was among my all-time favorite teams to watch. I'm not particularly a Phillies fan and am ambivalent about them being back in the Series, but if it means that people talk more about that 1993 team and its characters, I'm all for that.
Micky Morindini
Some interesting guys on that team no question.
Oh, that might have been the biggest collection of red asses who could really play in baseball history -- Kruk, Morandini, Dave Hollins, Dykstra, Incaviglia, Daulton, Schilling, Williams, led by a red ass like Fregosi; and with useful supporting players around that core: Kevin Stocker, Jim Eisenreich, Milt Thompson, Mariano Duncan, Danny Jackson, and Tommy Greeene.Micky Morindini
Some interesting guys on that team no question.
It takes a special team to lose a World Series game 15-14; those guys were that kind of team.
Didn't incaviglia have a disorder of some sort?
I can't remember for the life of me what it was.
Milt Thompson, that dude, man did he cause some problems on the Cardinals
Had that little finger movement thing he did on the bat ...
I can still never forget Williams, falling off the mound, and the mullet.
How that guy saved so many games with that crappy of stuff is beyond me
I think you're talking about Jim Eisenreich. He had terrible Tourette's and actually was out of baseball for a while -- basically most of 1984 and all of 1985 and 1986.
Nah, i could swear one player on that team had a sickness or disorder of some sort....
Eisenreich. I swear, it was Eisenreich. It's not like Tourette's doesn't have a significant impact on a person -- particularly a baseball player trying to hit 95+ mph fastballs.
I loved that team too (of course, I'm a Phillies fan). I hope they talk about that team a lot also, but I fear that every highlight reel will end with Joe Carter's home run....
I don't doubt you. I'm talking about that specific team though in 93. I could swear one of them had a medical problem that he was treating. Maybe I'm wrong. Definately wouldn't be the first time.
My teacher calls them the Jets for some reason.
victorino made the dodgers his . good for him, hes a good story
Grats to the Phils. They went out there, and stomped us. Better get ManRam or CC, McCourt.
It was Eisenreich and Tourette's Syndrome.
Kruk discovered he had testiclular cancer after Mitch Williams hit him in the nads with a pitch during spring training a couple of years later.
My college roommate was from Philadelphia, and a huge Phillies fan. They played their spring training games down the road from St. Pete (Cardinals and Orioles). I think it was in Clearwater. At any rate, we saw them play several times in spring of 1993, and we thought the NL East was the Phillies' to lose all season. That team was INSANE. Any time John Kruk and/or Darren Daulton are your emotional and intellectual leaders... We called them the "New Gashouse Gang."
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
