Phillies even series behind signature start by Oswalt

Roy Oswalt fanned nine over eight stellar innings, while the Phillies offense methodically broke down Jonathan Sanchez, as the hometown nine pulled even with the Giants with a 6-1 win Sunday. (Getty Images)

Beerleaguer: A brilliant effort by Oswalt, who had a bead on every hitter except Cody Ross (no middle-in fastballs, please). No matter what, whether he's mowing down the side, surrendering a bomb to that troll, running through Sam Perlozzo's stop sign or deflecting Charlie Manuel back into the dugout, the diminutive veteran wears the same, deadpan expression, the perfect front for his sneaky dominance. Tonight, the Giants couldn't resist his rising fastball. Oswalt is simply a different breed.

On to the offense, which smartly got after Sanchez with the running game in the first inning, with Chase Utley swiping second on Sanchez's slide step. A throwing error moved Utley to third and from there the Phils allowed Sanchez to get himself into trouble by luring a bases-loaded walk to Jimmy Rollins. Give the Phillies credit for their patience, but also their plan and execution of that plan. The key to the game came on back-to-back sacrifice flies in the fifth by Chase Utley and Placido Polanco to cash in Shane Victorino's lead-off double. The Phillies rarely bludgeon the opposition anymore, and it's certainly not going to happen this series. But this station-to-station blueprint is something they can follow all series and outleg the Giants' lineup.

Footnotes: Tim McCarver said he wouldn't have taken the bat out of Victorino's hands in the seventh. So much for that; his bunt to move Oswalt to second turned into another key to the game. It was pretty clearly the right way to play it considering how the Phillies are scoring their runs this postseason. ... Nice work by Raul Ibanez to track down a couple of tricky balls in left. ... Excellent job by Ryan Howard to stay on the ball against Sanchez. ... Last but not least, the rumors of Jimmy Rollins' demise have been greatly exaggerated.

Comments

[dlhunter]

the rumors of Jimmy Rollins' death have been greatly exaggerated.

Warhols's still selling paintings...

[Malcolm]

If anything, and we've seen it regularly, Jimmy Rollins turns it on in the big spots.

When he stepped up in the seventh, he was dancing in the box. Very loose. Almost shaking about. It was almost a certainty he was to strike a ball for a few RBI. Once he saw the count to 2-and-0, it was a certainty.

There's something beautiful about Rollins in big situations. In the obvious most important game of the year, Rollins saw the opportunity. He usually does.

[Jim]

The best game they played in a few weeks. Oswalt stepped it up and did what he did almost every start since the trade.

Jimmy has been awful, but is it a suprise that he came up with this teams biggest hit in the postseason...

We have a series now and I love the matchup for Tuesday I think it favors us, tonight was going to be tough and they came through, this team seems like it is better when they have their backs against the wall.

[Jack]

The bunt was still the wrong move. With the pitcher running, you don't sacrifice an out to get him to 2nd base, because he's unlikely to score on a base hit anyway. You're taking the bat out of Utley's hands there and setting up a DP situation for Polanco, who is the type of hitter who hits into DPs.

The fact that Oswalt did score (by running through a stop sign and terrible execution by the Giants) does not make it a good decision. 95 times out of 100, the pitcher doesn't score on that play.

[J. Weitzel]

As great as it was to see Jimmy do what he did, the work done by Victorino, Utley and Polanco in the fifth - moments after Ross sucks the oxygen out of the place - was really the key to me. Utley finishes with 0 hits. Big, big difference between his game and that of Raul and Werth, who were totally overmatched/clueless against Sanchez.

[Jack]

I will say, that's the only tactical error Charlie made all night. The lineup switch was perfect, and exactly what should be done against a lefty pitcher. Leaving Oswalt in against Huff was also the right move--Huff has reverse platoon splits, and Romero's control issues make him a poor choice in a 5-run game where the most important thing is not to give them free baserunners.

Charlie has turned into quite a good playoff manager.

[Jim]

I thought they should have played Ben tonight and I was right Raul was awful in this game.

@jack

Oswalt runs well for a pitcher, he runs better than half our lineup it was the right play...we have to stop waiting for 3 run home run. I loved the approach tonight the patience with Sanchez early, eventhough it stopped after 1st inning, and the aggresion on basepath..

[Meyer]

Cole Hamels pitches next? Am I dreaming? Every game another Ace.

[sifl]

JW, tough to call a 5'11" guy "diminutive"!

[Jack]

JW: Utley is the perfect 2-hole hitter (unlike Polanco, who gets that label but doesn't really deserve it), because of how much work he can do while getting no hits. Walks, SBs, sac flies to move the runner, and he has virtually no platoon splits.

I'd like to see this lineup every time against a lefty pitcher.

Raul's bat looked incredibly slow again tonight.

[Jim]

@j.weitzel

my text I sent out to 5 people after that run in the 5th was holy sh*t we manufactured a run, that was a great run and took the mo away from them after that troll hit another hr off of us.

[J. Weitzel]

Jack: I'd agree with you if this was 2008. These days, I'm putting my ducks into scoring position and trusting in the lineup to get them home. Taking the bat out of Utley's hands just isn't a good enough reason for me these days.

[Jack]

Jim: Agreed that I would have considered playing Francisco over Raul tonight as well. Charlie needs to consider that in Game 6, unless Raul gets hot over the next three games.

Still disagree on the bunt.

[J. Weitzel]

Hey, Allen Iverson was 6'0"

[RSB]

I did not like the way that game was going until Oswalt took matters into his own hands and barreled home with that third run. I was again not impressed with the hitters' approach to Sanchez; they had a game plan in the first and stuck to it for that one inning only (and in Werth's case, to a fault). Whereas they hadn't made Lincecum get the ball up, here they didn't make Sanchez get it down. And they still looked very much back on their heels through most of the game. Oswalt's aggressiveness on the basepaths seemed to really put a spring back in this club's step more than anything tonight.

The great news, of course, was Oswalt being every bit as tough on the mound as anyone could have asked. The other good news is, grumbling about the hitters' approach aside, they've now seen Lincecum and Sanchez and both looked pretty beatable.

If Halliday can win his rematch game, the Phillies own this series.

[Jim]

I know Ben was 0 for 8 against Sanchez, but I just didn't see Raul doing anything against him, and he looked worse than I thought he would.

Like JW just said this isn't the 2008 lineup and they aren't going to be walking in that door anytime soon, they need to try to create ways to find offense at this point.

[Jack]

JW: It's about the fact that Oswalt is unlikely to score on a base hit anyway (again, 9 times out of 10 he either holds up like he was supposed to, or the Giants execute that play competently and he's a dead duck at the plate), and you're setting up a DP situation with Polanco, who is a DP-type hitter.

I don't mind the sac bunt with this team these days in some situations-you're right that the homers aren't there the way they used to be. But in that particular situation? It was a poor decision. Glad it worked out though.

[Jim]

I agree with RSB, I said that in my first post. They had a great approach in the 1st made him throw 35 pitches. For somereason they decided to change it up and start free swinging again after that and until the 7th I was very nervous.

[J. Weitzel]

RSB: See, I disagree with that. You didn't think Howard, for example, had the right approach? Sanchez is pretty damn hard to hit, and I think we saw a couple of guys - Raul and Werth in particular, Werth doesn't have a career hit against him, just struggle to do much of anything.

They were patient when they needed to be, but I also don't have a problem when fastball hitters like Rollins or Vic go after a fastball early.

[Jack]

I give him a lot of crap, but Howard's ABs tonight against Sanchez were as good as I've ever seen him against a tough lefty.

[Jim]

@JW

Howard had a good approach tonight, so did Utley and Polly, but I thought Chooch had an AB where he went hacking early, and Shane and Jimmy did as well, Jimmy got bailed out when the Giants let that ball drop.

I will say this though this is the best this offense has looked in weeks, and hopefully that 7th inning and the way they got the lead back in the 5th is the thing this offense needs to get started, because if they do everyone else should look out.

[Meyer]

Great weather forecasted for San Francisco . I'll be there, either at the games, at the Philly bars or on a kayak in McCovey's Cove.

[Jim]

Howard was doing that little drill with his shoulder, which was great to see when he is staying on the ball and driving it the other, he is at his best.

[bananagrabbers]

I agree with JW. They started going after more pitches because Sanchez seemed more determined to throw strikes if they were going to come up looking.

I thought that, Werth and Ibanez aside, they did a great job at the plate tonight.

[RSB]

Howard was definitely an exception; he had a really nice approach in all of his at-bats and looked especially relaxed at the plate.

I saw too many guys swinging early in the count at high fastballs and getting themselves out, though. They weren't swinging at strikes, and they weren't doing much with them besides. Bear in mind he led the league in batting average against. He's not an easy guy to hit. I know Sanchez had thrown 75 pitches by the fourth inning, but I felt that they abandoned too much of their patience after the fist inning. He should have walked quite a few more than he did, and furthermore a lot of guys didn't wait around for a good pitch to hit.

[Jim]

I think Chooch could be added to that list with Raul and J-Dub

[sifl]

Maybe Howard is evolving into Tony Gwynn with a little more punch...

[Jim]

He weighs alot less these days

[Meyer]

Ruiz was guessing wrong for sure while Werth decided he was going to yank one rather than go to right. Hope Raul isn't back to the June swoon.

[Jim]

@meyer

Werth was horrible, nothing to say about him. Your right he was trying to jack everything.

I thought Chooch was is probably the most patient hitter on the team was very impatient tonight.

[Meyer]

You rarely see a moon shot pop up to an infielder from Howard. I don't get it. Miss or hit with this guy.

[Jim]

@meyer

Are you talking about Werth? he has always been that way, it is strange..

[mainerob]

@JW

If you're going to use expressions that are time tested, you should go to Google to confirm them. I'll let you get away with "death" instead of "demise." However, draw a "beat"? Huh? Try "bead" next time. As in "the hunter drew a bead on the rabbit."

I take no umbrage with your analysis of tonight's game. Oswalt was terrific. He breathed life back into the Phillies lineup. They needed a boost like that. Going into SF down two would have been very hard to overcome.

[Meyer]

Time to make a beed line to the boudoir.

[sifl]

Mainerob: What did you do, google "draw a bead" into Google and look at the first result? Where the verbatim example is "The hunter drew a bead on the rabbit"? If you're going to call someone out for grammar, don't get your caught with your pants down plagiarizing on your research.

[Fatalotti]

It's funny; everyone was hoping the Giants would grab the two seed so we wouldn't have to face them in a five game series.

Well, as it turns out, we are now facing them in a five game series, and we spotted them homefield.

But with Hamels going in game 3, and hopefully the late rally sparking some life into the Phillies offense, I like their chances of grabbing homefield back and putting the Giants backs up against the wall.

If Hamels can win game 3, the Giants will have to get through Blanton and Halladay to not have to come back to Philadelphia facing an elimination game.

[Iceman]

Well if RSB wasn't impressed, then that's all that matters.

[RSB]

I'll tell you who I'm especially not impressed by, Iceman: you.

[Jim]

@Fatalotti

Also if we win game 3 which I am more confident with facing Cain than I was Sanchez is that Bochy would have his hand forced as to pitch Lincecum on 3 days rest, and as I am sure you know he has never gone on 3 days rest so that could be advantage us.

[BloodStripes]

Yeah man

[GBrettfan]

So, I saw this:

Cole Hamels - Hates to face: Cody Ross (9-for-30, 4 HRs)

Great!

Also, there was this about Hamels... Pitcher beware: Top of Giants order has good number against him

The good news, is that for Cain...Pitcher beware: Chase Utley, Ryan Howard have hit him hard in the past

[Fatalotti]

Well GBrett, I doubt Cody Ross is going to get anything inside anymore the rest of this series. The Giants lineup, outside of Ross, has been horrific. Truly bad this series. If you're the Phillies, you take their one weapon (yeah, I can't believe I just referred to Cody f@#kin' Ross as a weapon, either) out of play, and make the other guys beat you.

The way for the Phillies to win this series is to expose the Giants offense and do just enough against the Giants pitching. It will be tough, but it can be done.

[Jim]

I think another factor in this series is to get the lead on this team, I think it makes their offense worse than it already is if you get a lead on them.

[Old Phan]

" It's about the fact that Oswalt is unlikely to score on a base hit anyway (again, 9 times out of 10 he either holds up like he was supposed to, or the Giants execute that play competently and he's a dead duck at the plate), and you're setting up a DP situation with Polanco, who is a DP-type hitter. "

Jack, the thing is, none of that actually happened. That's a lot of shoulda/coulda/woulda and all that, but what happened was it was the right call executed well. I liked that UC was trying avoid Roy getting into a double play situation and having to slide into 2nd (of course, he ended sliding into home anyway)
Some may not believe in trying to manufacture runs but it's necessary, especially when the offense isn't firing on all cylinders.

[Rob McC]

@Jim

At this point (where it will be 2-1 either way) I think Game 4 is all but guaranteed to be Blanton-Bumgardner. I don't see Manuel or Bochy pushing a short rest start unless one of them was down 3-0 in the series.

[Fatalotti]

Rob McC & Jim, Charlie didn't push Lee on short rest last year in the WS down 1-2 to the Yankees. I doubt he would do it down 1-2 to the Giants in the NLCS. Remember, as long as the Phils get 1 win in SF, they get to bring the series back to Philadelphia. You want to make sure that you get a start out of Halladay on normal rest, because you want him at his best.

[Jim]

@Fatalotti and Rob mcC

I don't think the Phillies will change anything in Game 4 regardless of what happens in Game 3, but Bochy may...which would be advantage Phillies knowing Lincecum has never done it before.

Im with you Fatalotti, I don't want the Phillies to do it, because I want the Big 3 all on normal rest to end the rest of the series, but I am confident after tonight they will win at least 2 out of 3 in SF, despite the past struggles they have had there. The playoffs is a different animal and if we can get that troll Cody Ross out I just don't see how they score runs.

[Jim]

@old phan

You said it, it was the right play. They need to stop waiting for the 3 run HR. Oswalt probably runs better than anyone in the lineup other than Shane, Jimmy, Dubs, and Chase...so it's not you were bunting Joe Blanton over.

[Jim]

One thing I loved about this game tonight, and now this may have been only 1 night, but the 7th inning reminded me of the past years Phillies teams.

It was a tight game, but in the 7th, they had a sac bunt, a clutch single by Polly, a double steal, and a clutch 2 out bases clearing double by Jimmy.

They went for the jugular in that inning and got like they used to so often in the past. One thing I used to love was how they would turn close games into laughers in the late innings, and hopefully it is a sign of things to come. It was nice to see it again tonight.

[ftljohn]

Giants have scored 5 runs so far this series.

Cody Ross has three of them on solo home runs.

Color me not entirely impressed with the Giants thus far. Feeling very good about the rest of this series, although I do expect the Giants to steal another game.

[Jim]

They beat us 4-3 last night in a game we played awful in....now I was terrified going into this game tonight, knowing how bad we were against Sanchez and with how bad the lineup was struggling.

But if you look back at last nights game, they got 2 HR's from a troll, and their other two runs came on a Burrell double that should have been caught, after Doc got squezzed and lost his mind and was irratated with the ump which effected him on the pitches that Burrell and Uribe hit. I don't expect the combination of a ball that should have been caught and Doc losing his composure happening very often.

[phargo]

Good Morning!

I wasn't worried.

Have a great day.

[NEPP]

Phillies will win in 5.

[EastFallowfield]

.

[NEPP]

I wonder if Little Roy is happy he waived his no-trade clause yet?

I mean, he was hesitant to come here originally because of the tough Philly crowd, etc. Do you think the ridiculously loud, "You're a Hero and we LOVE you" ovation he got both when UC left him in and when he recorded the final out of the 8th really sunk in? That's about the loudest a crowd can physically get. I mean, that's got to feel pretty good after several years of below average teams in Houston.

[cut_fastball]

Jimmy Rollins defied my expectations -- before the game, I presumed he'd be in a virtual wheelchair taking his hacks. He's the most amazing money player ever with a .228 BA in the post season.

Heck, Ryan Howard even put good wood on the ball and was not crippled by Sanchez. Sure miss his home run swing though. Where's it go?

Great win. My negative post yesterday is as far as I go with the reverse Beerleaguer jinx. Think of it -- one lousy 3-game win streak, and we're going back to the Series for the 3rd time. What a difference 24 hours makes!

[Hugh Mulcahy]

Hated that bunt. I thought Oswalt was going to be dead at home. Love the aggression, in hindsight. Batting Utley second was a stroke of managerial genius.

Meyer, if you're looking for a good sandwich, do Giordano Bros. on Columbus in North Beach. Get the cap and cheese, with egg.

[NEPP]

Utley should always bat 2nd. He's a great 2-hole hitter. With his power numbers down thanks to thumb, he's even a more prototypical 2-hole guy.

If we batted him 2nd all year, he'd probably give us 100+ Runs, 20+ HR, 20+ SB and around a .400 OBP every year. He's miscast as a 3 hole hitter. I love our lineup with him batting 2nd.

And Polly actually works as a 3 hole hitter despite no power whatsoever.

[NEPP]

Bored and exhausted from no sleep, but here's the lineup I'd love to see:

1. Vic
2. Utley
3. Ruiz
4. Howard
5. Werth
6. Polly
7. Ibanez
8. Rollins
9. (Pitcher)

I know, I know, it will never ever happen.

[phlipper]

Jack - do you actually think that Oswalt doesn't score from second base 9 out of 10 times on a single? Really? Do you have some evidence for that, or are you just pulling that stat out your a$$?

Remember, Jack, last night you went on a rant about how useless small ball is. When you're facing pitching like the Giants have, sometimes it pays to play for one run.

[Fatalotti]

NEPP, it will never happen for good reason.

Just because Chooch has produced out of the 8 hole (and the 7 hole when Valdez is in the lineup) is no guarantee that he'll produce out of the 3 hole. Remember, in the 8 hole (and even in the 7 hole with Valdez behind him), the pithcers are going to attack him differently than they would if Howard were on deck.

Ruiz has done a tremendous job this year working out of the bottom of the order, and there's no reasong to change that, especially since you have no idea how he'd respond to the 3 hole.

On the other hand, Rollins is a terrible 8 hole hitter. You want a guy down there is NOT a hacker. Ruiz is that guy, and Rollins everything but that guy. Rollins' job down there is to turn the lineup over, and every once in a while, to take advantage of a scoring opportunity and knock in some runs. But Rollins isn't the kind of guy to focus on turning the lineup over.

Just not a good lineup.

[Jack]

phlipper: And sometimes it pays to hit bases-clearing doubles, which plated as many runs in one swing as the Phils "manufactured" in the rest of the game combined.

And yes, I think Oswalt doesn't score 9 out of 10 times on that ball. Most times he wouldn't been running at all--Perlozzo correctly gave him the stop sign. If Huff doesn't stupidly cut that ball off, he's dead in the water at home plate.

Getting lucky in the end results does not justify the decision. Bunting there was stupid. As I noted before, it was the only mistake Charlie made all night (his managing was spot-on otherwise), and it still worked out. That's usually a sign you're going to win the game.

I liked how aggressive we were on the basepaths last night overall. I still don't like the bunt.

[Jack]

Otherwise, though, that win was the exact blueprint of why most people picked the Phils to win.

Good starting pitching shuts down a mediocre lineup, and the Phils offense does just enough of what they're good at (working wild pitchers, aggressive baserunning, and a couple key hits here or there) to get enough runs to win. That's precisely the type of game that people imagined the Phils would win before the series started.

I say the prediction of Phils in 6 (as I and a lot of others made) looks pretty good.

[Fatalotti]

Jack, don't forget that Oswalt actually slowed up and hesitated on his way home in between 3rd and home.

If he doesn't slow up there, he might have beaten the original throw home, even if Huff didn't cut it off.

Oswalt is a good baserunner, and I think it was a smart move on his part going home. What wasn't smart was hesitating midway down the line. Once you're that far, there's not second guessing. He lucked out that Huff cut the ball off, but Huff was obviously caught off guard that Oswalt actually went.

Also, small ball is what you have to do, especially when your pitcher is on like Oswalt was on last night.

If the Phillies can keep Ross in the yard this series, which hopefully they can in San Fran, this Giants offense is just bad enough to play themselves right out of the series.

[NEPP]

****Just because Chooch has produced out of the 8 hole (and the 7 hole when Valdez is in the lineup) is no guarantee that he'll produce out of the 3 hole. Remember, in the 8 hole (and even in the 7 hole with Valdez behind him), the pithcers are going to attack him differently than they would if Howard were on deck. ****

Maybe but the pitchers also wouldn't want to put him on base with Howard coming up so he'd probably get pitches to hit. One good fastball and he's on-base or runs are scored.

I get what you're saying but Chooch is a legitimately good hitter as he's shown lots of times with RISP. Lots of times in the 8 hole, he simply gets pitched around. He'd get more pitches to hit higher in the lineup.

[NEPP]

If Oswalt didn't hesitate, he's safe easily. Also, Huff cut it off because he thought the throw was goind off-line towards 1B. Odds are it wasn't but it might have gone a bit further up and then Oswalt is safe easily too.

Oswalt is pretty fast for a pitcher.

[Jack]

Fat: I imagine Sandoval will replace Fontenot in the lineup for Game 3, which will help their offense somewhat.

Still, it's a mediocre lineup, especially in a park less conducive to HRs (power is their best, and only, offensive strength). As long as Hamels and Blanton locate their pitches and don't get themselves into trouble, I don't expect any high-scoring performances from the Giants.

[philwynk]

I like that lineup, NEPP. Sign it and mail it to Charlie, I'm sure he'll make it happen ASAP.

I also think you're on the mark with Phillies in 5. The Giants really don't have much; I think the Reds are a better team.

I do love the 2nd-guessing of the plays that worked; BL wouldn't be BL without it. And sarcasm aside, I really love that the coaching staff doesn't treat Roy Oswalt like a china doll, but actually uses his athletic ability. The man knows how to run the bases, and in truth he's not a terrible hitter.

[NEPP]

The key to winning the series will be holding Cody Ross to just 1 HR a game instead of 2. If we can do that, we're golden.

[Heather]

"Great win. My negative post yesterday is as far as I go with the reverse Beerleaguer jinx. Think of it -- one lousy 3-game win streak, and we're going back to the Series for the 3rd time. What a difference 24 hours makes!"

Cut fastball, I'd like to think it was our combined efforts. You had some good stuff, but I think I pretty clearly summarized why the Phils were going to be swept.

I'm already preparing my dissertation on why the Phillies lucked out to win Game 2, but cannot possibly win any more against these Giants. Yes, you all can thank cut fastball and I later. ;-)

Just a great game by Oswalt, and so nice to see the offense come alive.

It's going to be tough not to have the Phils on tonight, but should be an exciting matchup with Pettite and Lee.

[NEPP]

***Fat: I imagine Sandoval will replace Fontenot in the lineup for Game 3, which will help their offense somewhat. ***

Between Sandoval and Renteria on the left-side...and Burrell backing them up, I think a bunch of balls should fall in or make it through to the gap out there.

Is there a worse left-side defense in baseball?

[Fatalotti]

Sandoval's a bit of an upgrade over Fontenot offensively, but his 95 OPS+ shouldn't change things that much.

[philwynk]

"If he doesn't slow up there, he might have beaten the original throw home, even if Huff didn't cut it off."

The original throw was coming in pretty far to the right of the plate. Posey was going to have to move off the plate to the right, then dive back into the play to get Oswalt. If Oswalt slides well -- which he did -- Posey's got no chance, even though the throw beats the runner to the plate.

Of course, "coulda woulda shoulda" doesn't buy any bread. Perlozzo was right to throw up the stop sign but Oswalt missed the sign and took a reasonable chance. It paid off. In my humble opinion, it's never wrong to press the Giants and make them perform, they seem ripe to ***k it up and give up the run.

[Heather]

"If Oswalt didn't hesitate, he's safe easily. Also, Huff cut it off because he thought the throw was goind off-line towards 1B. Odds are it wasn't but it might have gone a bit further up and then Oswalt is safe easily too."

Yeah, it's hard to tell. I think if you listen to the Giants broadcast, they think it was misplayed by Huff. If you listened to the Fox National Broadcast, they said he did the right thing by cutting it off as it would have hit the mound otherwise.

Judging by replays, it's close enough where you can't conclusively say that Huff misplayed it.

"Oswalt is pretty fast for a pitcher"

I believe one of the announcers mentioned Oswalt used to be used as a pinch runner occassionally in Houston.

I think the real question we need to be asking here is "What can't Oswalt do?" Play left field, pinch run...I expect his next trick will be to hit a home run with the bases loaded.

[phlipper]

Jack, obviously, with Oswalt on second base as opposed to first, the chances are he scores on almost any single, and his scoring on a double is guaranteed. They needed an insurance run.

There's always a valid question about bunting in that kind of situation. But when you say it was the "wrong move," or an "error," or "you don't bunt" in that situation - you're going overboard.

[NEPP]

Interesting split to consider for Fat Panda:

In 2010:
vs. LHP: .227 avg

however...
at home: .330 avg

So, that should be interesting.

[Jack]

Phlipper: I disagree with your statement that "the chances are he scores on almost any single."

He wouldn't score on almost any single because the Phillies wouldn't send him on a lot of singles. Like, you know, the one in this case. It isn't second-guessing of the team when the team itself didn't want Oswalt to run.

Am I happy Oswalt scored? Obviously. That was awesome. Does it make the bunt the right play? Not in my opinion.

[NEPP]

Bunting avoided the DP and considering our lack of situational hitting this post-season, it was the smart move.

[Fatalotti]

My only fear with Hamels is that he likes to cut his fastball in on right handed pitchers. If you miss with that pitch (Not get it in enough), it's right in the wheelhouse of dead red fastball hitters like Burrell and...Cody Ross.

If he can control that pitch, and work his changeup away well, and of course, control his 4 seamer, with good speed, he'll be in good shape.

I expect a strong outing from Cole, in the neighborhood of 7 innings and 2 runs.

The Phillies need to jump on Cain early, and maybe get into the Giants bullpen before the 6th inning. If they do that, they win the game.

[MG]

Few thoughts from attending the game:

- Thought Bochy made the miscues tonight. Leaving in Sanchez to start the 7th vs. Oswalt was a clear mistake. Oswalt already had a good AB against him and Sanchez had nothing left on his fastball. The fastball that Oswalt hit out to the OF was at 85 on the stadium gun. Also would have brought out Romo in the 7th instead of Casilla.

- Sanchez had one of the most effective nights throwing ineffective stuff. Looked tired by the 3rd inning pacing around & just generally uncomfortable out there. The only inning he looked good was the 5th when he finally got a bit more command on his curveball.

- Best sequence all night was the Utley & Polanco ABs that ultimately scored Vic after the leadoff 2B.

- Raul is willing but the body isn't able. He was overmatched all night especially against Castilla late. Yeah, he made all of the plays in LF but Cholly should seriously consider substituting Brown in late for him as a defensive sub. His range/arm are that limited. Ibanez's jump off balls is as bad as Burrell.

- Things I thought would let the Giants down this series (bullpen and defense) did tonight and I bet it happens at least 1 more time this series in a notable way.

- Why, why do the Phils continue to throw fastballs to Ross? It baffles me.

- Leaving Oswalt out to face Huff wasn't a bad move. Throwing him 4 straight fastballs was pure idiocy. Huff tagged that last one and if it had been slightly over it would have been a 2-run double and made the game 6-3.

- Madson had the 'DITHL' look last night after the opening BB. Fortunate it was a 6-1 game.

- Bochy please keep starting Renteria at SS. Uribe might tag a fastball or hanging breaking ball out. Renteria will just hit a single. Another washed-up veteran that Sabean overpaid dramatically.

[philwynk]

" If you listened to the Fox National Broadcast, they said he did the right thing by cutting it off as it would have hit the mound otherwise."

I don't know what they were talking about. Huff was on the mound and caught the ball above his head. The ball wasn't even going to hit the ground before it reached the plate.

But they were correct about the throw being off-line, and the Giants announcers were dreaming. When you look at the replay, remember that the throw was coming from VERY shallow center field, not too far from 2nd base. If allowed to continue, that throw would not even have been in the left-side batters' box by the time it got to the plate. Posey didn't have a chance if that ball doesn't get cut.

[GreysFan]

Great win last night. I'm looking for the Phils to win 2 of 3 in SF so I can use my tickets for the clincher at home.

Love the second guessing of a bunt that resulted in a key run. Charlie does a good job playing the dumb-ass hick manager, but most of his moves seem to work out pretty well. In the last couple post seasons he clearly out managed both the new school genius Joe Maddon and the old school HOFer Joe Torre. Not bad for such a lousy manager.

[MG]

philwynk - No way. It would have bounced in front of Posey but he likely would have had a great play on Oswalt at the plate. Oswalt completely ignored a 'Hold' sign that Perlozzo was frantically putting up & Posey was stunned when the throw was cut off. It was one of several Giants' defensive miscues.

[NEPP]

Brown has never played LF (he has maybe 5 starts there in his career in the minors).

Asking him to do it in the playoffs on the road in a huge OF like SF is a recipe for disaster. Maybe BenFran but definitely not Dom Brown.

[Jack]

NEPP: Bunting opened up 1st base for the intentional walk to Utley (the obvious play), meaning that the DP was right back in order, except this time with Polanco instead of Victorino, and Polanco is much more likely to ground into a DP.

So, yeah, not really.

[phlipper]

Jack. Are you saying that the majority of times there is a single with a pitcher - who runs well - on second, he doesn't score?

You keep isolating on that particular hit - to say that the majority of times he wouldn't score on that particular hit. But in evaluating the strategy, you have to consider the larger context.

They are facing tough pitching and they aren't hitting well. In that situation, late in the game, sacrificing and playing for one run holds up as a percentage play.

[Jack]

Again, even though I disagreed with the bunt, Charlie clearly out-managed Bochy all night, starting with the lineups.

[Heather]

"I don't know what they were talking about. Huff was on the mound and caught the ball above his head. The ball wasn't even going to hit the ground before it reached the plate."

So...what you're saying is that Joe Buck and Tim McCarver don't know what they're talking about.

Interesting.

[philwynk]

Oops, I meant the RIGHT-side batter's box, the one that left-handed hitters use.

[MG]

Jack - Agreed. The lineup was a good move and one I hope we see again vs. Sanchez/Bumgartner in Game 4.

NEPP - True. I would put Francisco out there but Cholly won't do that. Vic also takes terrible routes to balls but his speed covers up for his lack of ability to read the path of a ball.

Another underrated thing - Chooch. Madson was all over the place (kind of like a number of drivers after the game including numerous DUIs) and Chooch blocked at least 5 dirtballs that either bounced in front of or off home-plate. Chooch's ability to block pitches and the plate is far by his best defensive attribute.

[philwynk]

MG -- how does a ball thrown hard from very shallow left field and reaching the pitcher's mound above a man's head, bounce before it reaches the plate?

Review the replay. You'll see it.

[philwynk]

Dern, what's wrong with my head? Thrown from very shallow CENTER field.

[phlipper]

MG - you want to put Brown in as a defensive replacement? Have you watched Brown play the outfield?

[Bay Slugga]

Cody Ross backwards is Sory Doc.

I would love for a BLer to rent a kayak and hold up a sign that says Season = Over.

[MG]

philwynk - It likely would have bounced on a short-hop. At least that was the way Posey was positioned to pay it instead of having his glove up high to catch it out of the air.

[MG]

philipper = NEPP made a good point about lack of experience in LF. Yeah I do becaue Ibanez is that limited range wise right. He takes good routes to balls but it takes him a while to get going. Turns what should be relatively routine catches into dives/extensions.

[jason.tp]

After readnig thru the thread, i can sum all my thoughts with two words:

Ditto Jack.

[NEPP]

Lots of guys (pitchers included of course) have trouble scoring on shallow singles to the outfield. I think Oswalt has a better or equal chance of scoring than Howard (in his current health), Chooch or Ibanez.

****you want to put Brown in as a defensive replacement? Have you watched Brown play the outfield?***

Exactly. He's not the best defensive OF right now despite his speed and arm. Putting him in an unfamiliar position (LF is totally different than RF) is asking for some major mistakes. Vic is 10 times the defender that Brown is despite his interesting routes.

[NEPP]

****I would love for a BLer to rent a kayak and hold up a sign that says Season = Over. ****

I assume bap will be out in the bay with a sign saying "Feels like a Loss. -bap" written on it.

[Bedrosian's Beard]

FWIW: Fox announcers said Huff cut the ball off b/c he saw the 3b coach putting the stop sign up to Oswalt, but at that point, Huff didn't see Oswalt ignore it. Even with the cut off, it was a relatively close play.