Offense Derails Phavored Phils in NLCS
October 25, 2010
by Tom Krasovic
Filed under: Giants, Phillies, MLB Playoffs, National League Championship Series
PHILADELPHIA — Not without good reason, many Phillies fans were overconfident about the National League Championship Series that ended Saturday night with the San Francisco Giants earning the World Series berth via a 3-2 victory in Game 6.
The Phillies seemingly had the better player at seven of the eight field positions — take a bow, Buster Posey — and would trot out not one, not two, but three aces, all of them rested
For all the talk about how their offense coughed and wheezed during the season, the Phillies, buoyed by improved health, led the major leagues in runs scored from Sept. 1 through season’s end. Momentum lovers could cite also the first postseason sweep in Phillies history, which broomed the Cincinnati Reds in the Division Series.
All that remained was for the Phils to win four games over an NL West champion for the third straight NLCS. Then, await the Texas Rangers and Cliff Lee, the pitcher the Phils shouldn’t have traded last winter, for Game 1 of the World Series.
Except when the NLCS ended Saturday, Phillie Fan was forlorn and fleeing a home ballpark whose sea of blue seats was empty.
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Jonathan Sanchez: Chase Utley ‘Not Professional’ in Tense Incident
October 24, 2010
Filed under: Giants, Phillies, MLB Playoffs, National League Championship Series
PHILADEPHIA — Giants lefty Jonathan Sanchez, who sparked a bench-clearing incident by hitting Chase Utley in the third inning of the Giants’ 3-2 NLCS-clinching victory said Utley did not act professionally by throwing the ball back to him.
“If you are professional you don’t do that,” Sanchez said. “You just take your base and let me pitch. He threw the ball back to me. That’s not professional.”
Utley didn’t have much to say to reporters after the game: “It’s just part of the game. You’ll have to ask him.”
There had been some history between Sanchez and Utley, dating back to 2009, when Sanchez threw a ball over Utley’s head, and then Utley called time late. Utley then hit a homer.
It’s doubtful that this incident had anything to do with that one. Sanchez was clearly shaky. He gave up two runs in the first inning and he had walked Placido Polanco just before hitting Utley with no outs in the third.
FanHouse in Philly: Lisa Olson | Jeff Fletcher | Tom Krasovic
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Benches Clear After Giants’ Jonathan Sanchez Plunks Phillies’ Chase Utley
October 24, 2010
Filed under: Giants, Phillies, MLB Playoffs, National League Championship Series
PHILADELPHIA — The Giants and Phillies cleared the benches for an angry confrontation after Jonathan Sanchez hit Chase Utley with a pitch in the third inning of Saturday night’s NLCS game.
Utley became the seventh hit batsmen for the Phillies in the series. There were some angry words and then players from both teams streamed onto the field. There was some shoving, but no punches thrown. No one was ejected.
The incident was sparked immediately after the plunking, when the ball rolled in front of Utley as he trotted down to first. Utley tossed the ball underhand back in the direction of the pitcher’s mound, an action that elicited a long glare from Sanchez and then an exchange of words between the two that appeared to include profanities.
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Umpire Watch: What’s the Point of Replay if We Won’t Even Use It?
October 20, 2010
Filed under: Giants, Phillies, Rangers, Yankees, MLB Playoffs, MLB Umpires, American League Championship Series, National League Championship Series
Controversial calls have become as much a part of the Major League Baseball postseason as Derek Jeter and patriotic bunting. In Umpire Watch, we intend to document those calls, at least until commissioner Bud Selig puts us out of business.
After two relatively uneventful days on the umpire front, it was a fascinating and largely unfortunate day for the men in blue Tuesday. We’ve got a lot to go over, so read on below.
Worth a Look
The Situation: It’s scoreless in the bottom of the second inning with no one on and one out. Robinson Cano steps in to face Rangers right-hander Tommy Hunter. Cano fouls off Hunter’s first pitch.
The Play: Cano belts a long drive to right field that heads toward the stands. Rangers outfielder Nelson Cruz moves back on the ball and attempts a leaping grab. Cruz is unsuccessful and several fans in the first row appear to hinder his attempts to catch the ball.
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California Corps Leads Phillies as NLCS Moves to West Coast
October 19, 2010
by Tom Krasovic
Filed under: Dodgers, Giants, Padres, Phillies, Rockies, MLB Playoffs, National League Championship Series
SAN FRANCISCO — Without the Golden State, where would the Philadelphia Phillies be today?
Likely, somewhere other than California and not playing in yet another National League Championship Series.
When the knotted NLCS moved here for Monday’s workout as prelude to Tuesday’s Game 3, another happy October homecoming awaited Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Cole Hamels and Ryan Madson. Californians all drafted and developed by the Phils, they’ve played major roles in Philly’s franchise-record runs of four NL East-winning seasons and three NLCS visits.
“Where would we be without those guys?” said Phillies scout Jim Fregosi Jr, who lives in Southern California. He laughed. “We’d be in trouble.”
Rollins, Utley and Hamels have combined for nine All-Star selections. Rollins was MVP of the NL in 2007, Philly’s breakthrough year that gained the club its first NL East title in 14 years. Two Octobers ago, Hamels, the left-handed pitcher who will face the San Francisco Giants in Game 3, merely led Philadelphia to its first World Series title since 1980 and the city’s first sports championship since 1983. Last October, Utley hit five home runs against the Yankees, a World Series record for an NL player. Madson, like Hamels, is a vital contributor unfazed by Philly’s home ballpark that’s a hitter’s delight.
“I’d like to see another club with a group of Californians as good as ours,” Phillies outfielder Jayson Werth told West Coast Bias, and I had no snappy reply.
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California Connection Puts Finishing Touches on Philadelphia Sweep
October 11, 2010
by Tom Krasovic
Filed under: Phillies, Reds, MLB Playoffs, National League Division Series
CINCINNATI — On behalf of California, West Coast Bias expects payment from the Philadelphia Phillies and their fans. Cash or check is acceptable, which I’ll forward to San Diego’s Rancho Bernardo High and UCLA’s baseball program.
The Phils surfed past the Reds 2-0 Sunday, thanks to the two Southern Californians whose smooth work also sent Philadelphia to its third consecutive National League Championship Series.
San Diego dude Cole Hamels threw a shutout, which decided Game 3 of the Division Series and wrapped up the Phillies‘ first postseason sweep in franchise history.
Hushing a sellout crowd, which hooted at him whenever his name was announced, Chase Utley socked a solo home run in the fifth to give Phillies fans reason to chant U-C-L-A.
“Tough dudes,” Phillies outfielder Jayson Werth had said of the Californians on Saturday.
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Comedy of Errors Pushes Reds to Brink
October 9, 2010
by Tom Krasovic
Filed under: Phillies, Reds, MLB Playoffs, National League Division Series
PHILADELPHIA — When West Coast Bias picked the Phillies to win it all this year, I figured the Phils would stroll though the tissue-soft National League playoffs.
The Reds aren’t putting a dent in that case.
No-hit by Roy Halladay in Game 1, the Reds showed up for Game 2 on Friday, went up by four runs, then turned into seventh-graders in the school play who, upon looking into the crowd, forget their lines.
Philadelphia claimed a 7-4 triumph that was just, but also felt like victory by default.
Starting in the fifth inning, poor Dusty Baker, the Reds manager, had to watch a series of goofs and gaffes that began with consecutive fielding errors by his two best infielders and ended with his right fielder losing a seventh-inning flyball in the lights to bring home the tying and go-ahead runs.
Between those blunders, there was a Red getting picked off first base by several feet, a leadoff walk issued with a two-run lead and a bases-loaded walk by a LaLoosh-like Reds reliever who also hit a Phillies batter, Ben Francisco, in the helmet bill.
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Dusty Baker Defends Umpires Amid Calls for Expanded Instant Replay
October 9, 2010
by Tom Krasovic
Filed under: Phillies, Rays, Reds, Yankees, MLB Playoffs, MLB Umpires, National League Division Series
CINCINNATI — Curious to hear informed thoughts on baseball’s media-driven drama of the moment, West Coast Bias sought out a California sage on Saturday
Does Dusty Baker favor a move to expanded use of replay?
It appears not. One day after two key calls went against his sloppy Reds, who erred far worse than the umpires in losing to the Phillies on Friday, Baker defended the men in blue.
“That’s a job I wouldn’t want — because you are only scrutinized when things aren’t right,” said Baker, whose team has lost both games of the best-of-five series.
Baker jokingly came up with a way to help the umpires.
“The only way to make an improvement is, you’ve got to get them some slow-mo glasses,” he said. “You give them some slow-motion glasses, then they might see the same things that you (sportswriters) see, and the same thing everyone sees on TV.
“It doesn’t work like that, so you have to leave the human element in there I believe to some degree. Or else we wouldn’t have nothing to talk about.”
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Umpire Watch: A Chase Utley Devotional
October 9, 2010
Filed under: Braves, Giants, Phillies, Reds, MLB Playoffs, MLB Umpires, National League Division Series
Controversial calls have become as much a part of the Major League Baseball postseason as Derek Jeter and patriotic bunting. In Umpire Watch, we intend to document those calls, at least until commissioner Bud Selig puts us out of business.
The funny thing about this extremely young endeavor is that if everything goes right, I have nothing to write about. Once again, I’ve been left with plenty of fodder, though I’d be much happier to have none at all. On to the blown calls.
Lucky No. 7, Part I
The Situation: The Reds are clinging to a 4-3 lead in the top of the seventh inning and in comes stud reliever Aroldis Chapman. The Cuban left-hander quickly goes up 0-2 on Chase Utley with a 100-mph fastball and then a 97-mph slider.
The Play: Chapman delivers a fastball up and in to Utley, who appears to lean out of the way and then begins a trot down to first base.
The Call: Home-plate umpire Bruce Dreckman rules that the pitch hit Utley, giving him first base.
The Fallout: Uh, we’ll get to the full picture in a minute, but lets start with this. Chapman struck out the next hitter, Ryan Howard, and Utley looked totally overmatched before the HBP was called. There’s a good chance there would have been no one on and two men out if Dreckman hadn’t ruled as he did.
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Lights, Not White Towels, to Blame for Jay Bruce’s Key Error
October 9, 2010
by Tom Krasovic
Filed under: Phillies, Reds, MLB Playoffs, National League Division Series
PHILADELPHIA — Looking for a flyball, Reds right fielder Jay Bruce searched the Pennsylvania night.
Instead he saw only bright lights. Then the Phillies turned out the lights on Bruce and the Reds.
“You feel pretty helpless,” Bruce said. “It’s embarrassing.”
Taking advantage of Bruce’s two-run error in the seventh inning on a flyball lost in the lights, the Phillies claimed a 7-4 victory and now lead the Division Series two games to none.
The lights at Philadelphia ballpark helped the defending NL champions move past the bumbling Reds.
“All year long, guys lose the ball in the lights,” said Phillies second baseman Chase Utley. “It’s unfortunate, but I’m glad it came out for us.”