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If This Baseball Thing Doesn't Work Out, There's Always Esquire and G.Q.

Wow, look at Charlie Manuel:

Apparently, in the offseason, Manuel kept up with the Nutrisystem diet he began during the 2009 season and it's paid off. He's supposedly gone from 286 pounds to 230 pounds [story and picture].

He looks like a new man.  Geez, I hope he still drinks whiskey and drawls.

Manuel Willing to Use the Kitchen Sink Tonight

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel told reporters this afternoon, "...We'll use anybody except Lee tonight." [link]

Wow, even Cole Hamels? Does that mean Manuel is planning on using Cliff Lee to start a possible Game 7 on two days of rest?

Was Chase Utley Safe or Out?

A crucial moment in last night's Game 2 of the World Series came in the top of the 8th.  The Phillies were down 3-1 and Jimmy Rollins was on second base, Shane Victorino on first.  Chase Utley was at the plate, Mariano Rivera on the mound.

With Tim McCarver clamoring for the Phillies to send the runners once Rivera had two strikes on Utley, almost on cue, Utley grounds into a 4-6-3 double-play, ending the Phillies rally before it really got started.  Rivera would go on to lock down the game for the Yankees in the 9th.

Afterwards, in the press conference, Charlie Manuel was peppered with questions about his decision on that play.  He explained his reasoning for not running on the pitch, which was just as good as the reasoning to send the runners, and took another question.  But then, unsolicited, Manuel offered, "By the way, if you want to know the truth, go back and look at it, Utley was safe."

Take a look for yourself [click to enlarge]:

Looks like Charlie's right again.

What a Whirlwind

Shane knocks one out... Clifton Phifer Lee paints the corners... Werth puts on his hulk hands and makes it 2-0... Raul pulls a mini-Holliday... Pete Happy swings at the first pitch [first pitch!?!?!]... Lee comes out for the 8th and gets into trouble, Madson and Ben Francisco in, Lee and Ibanez out... Fly to leeeft, BENNY BABY!!! Charlie's a genius until... Rockies knock around Madson, we're down two runs with only three outs left... Dobbs K's, Jimmy singles... Shane almost hits into a DP... Uts walks... The Big Piece doubles!... Shane almost misses third on the way home, Chase is chasing him, they both score and we're tied at 4!... Werth singles and The Big Piece rumbles home! 5-4 Fightin' Phillies!... Eyre and his loose bodies and sprained ankle come out for the bottom of the 9th... Two outs and two singles later, Charlie calls on Lidge to face Tulo... the Delaware Valley holds their breath... Struck him out!

It's 2:14 AM, Do You Know Where Your Save Is?

Caught in a tight spot in the 7th inning, with men on first and third and no outs, Charlie Manuel called on Ryan Madson to get three crucial outs.  He allowed the runner on third to score and tie the game at 5, but no other hitters reached base and eventually, Jimmy Rollins would score the winning run in the top of the 9th [earmuffs!].

For the bottom of the 9th, all that was left for Charlie was Brad Lidge.  Though he struggled with command, and a runner got to second base, Lidge did not allow a hard hit ball, and got the save at 2:14 AM EST.

A tight, close game -- playoff baseball personified.  But more importantly, as for Lidge are the lights out again?

That's too long a conversation, I'm going to bed.

See you and Cliff Lee at 6:07 tomorrow.

Poll: Game 3 Starter?

Three-Peat!

With Brad Lidge on the mound for the final out, the Phillies beat the Astros 10-3 to win the National League East for the third year in a row!

Pop the bubbly!

[And by the way, what a great move by Charlie Manuel to bring in Brad Lidge for the final out]

Update:  Did you see all of the champagne-and-beer-soaked Phillies run out to the "HK" sign in the outfield to touch it and douse it?!?  Excuse me, there's something in my eye...

Charlie Does it Again

It's the winter of 2009-2010 and an aged, stuffy corporate-type, dressed in a classic dark suit/red tie combination, is at a lectern in a mahogany and leather adorned board room.  He introduces Charlie Manuel to the audience, other similar corporate-types, congratulating him on another World Series victory.  Manuel, clad in his dark, pinstriped suit from the parades, shakes the man's hand, taps the mic lightly with his finger, momentarily causing a hint of squealing feedback.  Satisfied with the signal, he leans down and bellows, "You know, uh, like, we had this mountain, and you know like, at the same time, we uh, had to go to it."

Those assembled take to their feet and erupt in applause.  In the back of the room, Manuel's agent sees dollar signs. 

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Not that he needs it, but if Charlie Manuel needs some extra cash this offseason, his agent should know exactly where to find some, setting him up with plenty of dates as a corporate motivational speaker.

The concept would have seemed unfathomable a few years ago, but at this point, all Manuel's agent would have to do is point to the Phillies record after Manuel calls a team meeting.  By my estimation, it's something like 151-1.

He added to that record yesterday.  With the Phillies reeling a bit, the cause of which could have been any number of things -- mental fatigue, physical fatigue, shaken confidence from so many blow leads, etc. -- Manuel called a team meeting and told the Phillies in proverbial terms that the mountain was not going to come to them, they had to go to it.  By all accounts in the post-game interviews, the players loved it, wished he had done it sooner, and they put up 7 runs in the win over Houston.  Plus, with the Marlins win over the Braves [perhaps Manuel made a video Skype call to the Marlins locker room], the Phillies magic number now sits at just 1.

Who knows how he does it, who knows how many times Manuel can still call such meetings and have it bear fruit.  Of course, that's really something to worry about when the time comes.

Try ANYTHING

In baseball, good teams win 85 or 87 games, very good teams win 90 or 92 games, and great teams win 100 games.  The Phillies have 88 wins with 11 more games to play.  If they go 6-5, they'll end up with 94 wins.  Not too shabby, but think about this:  Brad Lidge has 9 losses on the year.  Imagine if the Phillies won 5 or 6 of those games and Lidge was a more serviceable 0-4 or 0-3, then we'd all be talking about how the Phillies are a great team, on their way to a 99- or 100-win season.

My point?  Brad Lidge is preventing the Phillies from being a great team.  Now, teams with the highest regular season win totals don't necessarily win the World Series, but I think you see where I am headed with this.  Lidge's performance is costing the Phillies greatness.

To be fair, at this point, it's not only Lidge who is preventing greatness, it's also manager Charlie Manuel.  We understand there are significant injuries in the bullpen, we understand he doesn't have many options to close out games, but he does have options.

Again, the Phillies have 11 games left.  There's no more time to fool around.  Try Scott Eyre and his loose body.  Try Tyler Walker. [And by the way, wouldn't it be fun to see how much Tyler Walker sweats in a closing situation?  You'd need a bean-bag chair sized rosin bag out on the mound.]  Try anything else, Charlie, because time is running out and after 63 craptastic appearances in 2009, you can bet the 2008 version of Brad Lidge is not walking through that door any time soon.

Charlie Manuel Exposes His True Feelings About Managing a Bullpen

Charlie Manuel exposes how he, and probably most managers, feel about managing today's bullpens [link]:

"It's always good for a guy to kind of know what his role is," he said. "The public likes it. You guys [the media] like it. Me, I don't like it. I think if I'm the manager, I ought to be able to put you in the damn game when I want to, if you want to know the truth.

"And when you think about it, roles change. You might have a guy you want in the sixth who has thrown and you can't use him, things like that. But for some reason, they like it when you find a role for them. To a certain degree it's good, but it's also hard to stick to."

I've got news for you Charlie, you are the manager and you can bring them in there when you want to do so.  As a matter of fact, for someone who isn't too keen on the idea of relief pitchers having set, defined, carved-in-stone roles, you certainly manage that way.  When Manuel's bullpen is healthy, you can pretty much guess who enters a game when.  Romero in the 7th, Madson in the 8th, Lidge in the 9th.  Lather, rinse repeat.

Here's more news:  There are a lot of fans who would like to see the team's best reliever used in the toughest spots, whether it's the 7th inning or the 9th inning.  The hell with the "save" stat, which was only created by agents anyway.

He'd Finally Seen Enough

With the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th inning in Washington, only one out and an all-of-a-sudden razor-thin two-run lead, Charlie Manuel strode to the pitcher's mound and took the ball from Brad Lidge.  Ryan Madson would enter the game and get the final two outs to preserve the win.

Based upon Charlie Manuel's post-game comments, he made the change in order to preserve the win.  If you read the comments online or in the newspaper, that's how it sounds.  But if you saw Manuel make those comments on television, and saw the look on Charlie's face, then you have to wonder if it wasn't so much about preserving the win as it was saving Lidge from himself.  In other words after a hit, a hit batter and wild pitch, Manuel couldn't bear to let another blown save and the attention that comes with it avalanche on Lidge for the 11th time this season.

[An aside: To those of you who think sports is all-business these days, I would point you to the look on Manuel's face last night and the tears Pat Gillick shed when the Phillies received their World Series rings a few months ago.]

Manuel claims Lidge is still the closer, but if you listen to him closely, it doesn't sound like an automatic decision either.

Dr. Manuel Needs to Make the Move He Doesn't Want to Make

Charlie Manuel has proved over the years that he has certain patterns for dealing with struggling players, and almost all of them are geared towards rebuilding confidence or preserving and protecting it.  He might not have a Psy.D. or Ph.D. in psychology, but he certainly practices it from time to time.

The first strategy involves continually sending the struggling player out on the field.  This isn't a sadistic move with the intent to shatter the player's psyche, rather it's a move that says, "I know you're a good player, you've done it before, and since I believe in you, I'm penciling you in."  The use of Ryan Howard against left-handed pitchers is a great example of this strategy.  Another, is of course, Brad Lidge.  Lidge was perfect last year in save opportunities and this year, despite his numerous and well-scrutinized struggles, Manuel has stuck with Lidge.

The second strategy Manuel employs with struggling players is actually the opposite of the first strategy.  This strategy involves Manuel removing the player from the field for a period of time.  The reasoning here is that a few days away from the game will get the player's mind off of his struggles, allow him to relax and hit the "reset button", if you will.  A perfect example of this strategy is Manuel's handling of Jimmy Rollins.  Rollins' batting average earlier in the season was threatening to dip below .200 when Manuel elected to give Rollins four days off.  Since then, Jimmy has been more like the Jimmy we know and love, the one that fuels the offense.

Finally, there's a third strategy for dealing with struggling players that Manuel has used:  stop using them altogether.  See Adam Eaton.  Another example -- but by no means a comparison to Adam Eaton -- would be Jamie Moyer.  Moyer just wasn't getting anybody out as a starter, and has hard as it must have been for Manuel, he knew that no amount of psychological voodoo was going to make a difference, and so he removed Moyer from the rotation.

As much as it pains me to say it, I think it is time Manuel takes Brad Lidge out of the closer's role.

It's amazing to think it has come to this, and I think Manuel has been correct in sticking with Lidge to this point.  Brad Lidge was indispensible last season.  He's a World F. Champion.  I respect the hell out of him and you should too.

At the same time, as Doc Manuel would say, he's just not getting the job done this year and we've seen nothing to think Lidge can get it back for more than a few games at a time.  Look, we all knew Lidge would struggle at least a little bit this season.  There's no way a reliever can keep up the pace he had in 2008 forever.  But there's a difference between coming back to earth and what Lidge is doing.

Some would say that if Lidge remains the closer for the rest of the regular season, it won't change a thing, the NL East title is essentially wrapped up.  I would agree.  However, we aren't interested in just another NL East banner, we want the Phillies to remain World F. Champions and to do that, you can't lose a 9th inning lead every 4th or 5th game.  Can't do it, period.

And, since none of the other relievers on the Phillies staff are sure-thing closers, that's why the time has come to make the change.  Manuel needs time to figure out who Plan B is and make sure they're a serviceable closer before the heat of cool October nights set in.

He's Ba-aaaaack

Don't ask where he went, don't ask why he came back, just be glad Cole Hamels... is back.

He's rattled off 19 consecutive scoreless innings and in his last two starts has 17 innings pitched, one complete game, 16 strikeouts, only 3 walks and only 9 hits allowed.  It's been a thing of beauty to watch.  Carlos Ruiz sets up on the outside corner and a split second later, the ball that was once in King Cole's fingers is dancing right into Chooch's mitt.

Don't look know, but things are really coming together for defending World Champions.  More thoughts below.

Good Move, Charlie, Good Move

At SI.com on Thursday, Tim Marchman wrote the following regarding a few teams making use of the “closer-by-committee” strategy:

All those who militate for such bullpen reforms as not feeling the need to designate a single closer have really ever argued is that teams should use a strategy that fits their personnel.

While Charlie Manuel is certainly not employing a closer-by-committee strategy [and I am by no means advocating that he should], it was interesting to see him do just what Marchman coincidentally wrote about one day before.

With the lefthander Adam LaRoche due to lead off the top of the 9th for the Pittsburgh Pirates, trailing the Phillies by 2 runs, Manuel elected to leave lefty J.C. Romero in to face him.  Not only was the matchup preferrable from a lefty-lefty standpoint, but also from the fact that LaRoche has been 3-4 against Brad Lidge [yes, small sample size caveats do apply, but still, just because it is a small sample doesn't automatically mean it means nothing].

Romero struck out LaRoche looking, Lidge came in and got the save -- albeit with the obligatory home run drama, this time Brandon Moss.

No doubt, Brad Lidge is and should be the Phillies closer.  However, that doesn't mean you can't make his job easier for him at times when the game situation allows it, as it did last night.  Often, Charlie Manuel's bullpen usage is very paint-by-numbers, but last night, his thinking was perfect.

Charlie Manuel Takes a Page from Sam Snead

[I'm well aware that some of you are not terribly fond of the golf content around here, and so for those of you, hang in there with this, it will be worth it.]

There's a story often told about an elderly Sam Snead, playing at Augusta National in a practice round prior to the Masters.  He was playing with a much younger player who could really crank the ball out there off the tee.

Most of the way around, the younger player asked Snead for advice on how to play the tricky Augusta National course and Snead was more than happy to oblige, his Southern hospitality ingrained in the mountains of Virginia was too reflexive not to do so.

As the two stood on the 13th tee, a par-five dogleg left around tall Georgia pines and Rae's Creek, Snead offered this peace of advice.  "You know, when I was your age, I used to just take a driver and hit it high up and over those trees."  The younger player had the honor, so he addressed the ball with his driver, took a mighty cut, and the ball sailed into the trees, hitting the pines only about halfway up their trunks.

The younger player looked bewildered and Snead followed-up.  "Of course, when I was your age, those trees were much shorter."

That anecdote came to mind when I read this one from Larry Stone of the Seattle Times in a notebook that unkindly discredits every one of Raul Ibanez' five home runs this season:

Game Thread: Your 2009 Philadelphia Phillies Begin Their Title Defense

Charlie Manuel has posted tonight's starting lineup:

6:59 PM: SS Jimmy Rollins, RF Jayson Werth, 2B Chase Utley, 1B Ryan Howard, LF Raul Ibanez, CF Shane Victorino, 3B Pedro Feliz, C Carlos Ruiz, RHP Brett Myers.

That's three lefties in a row against the Atlanta Braves' RHP Derek Lowe.

Don't forget, the game situation and win probability will update in the right-hand sidebar as the game goes along [the first few entries are from a game used for beta testing].

Philadelphia Needs a Charlie Manuel Day, Just Like Buena Vista

Saturday was a big day in Buena Vista, Virginia.  It was proclaimed Charlie Manuel Day and the man of honor traveled to his boyhood home for the event and to sign autographs at the Blues Education Foundation's Signature Event and Silent Auction, hosted at Manuel's alma mater, Parry McCluer High School.

The two papers of record in the lower Shenandoah Valley, the Staunton News-Leader and the Roanoke Times, covered the event.