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Reviewing the 5 keys to why the Phillies lost the World Series
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Feelings running throughout the city of the just dethroned champions of baseball were mixed today.
While many expressed disappointment of such a near miss, wondering just what was lacking in the Phillies six-game loss to those damn Yankees, others came to the conclusion Charlie Manuel’s club had simply lost to a better team.
The debate will rage on for the next few weeks. Did Manuel mishandle his rotation, in particular lefthander J.A.Happ, who never approached the same level of consistency once he was banished to the bullpen? Why did players like Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Pedro Feliz and Ryan Howard struggle so noticeably? What happened to Cole Hamels and Brad Lidge, among others. Should they have mixed up the lineup or done something different even at the risk of ruining player’s fragile confidence
With all that went wrong over the past week, it’s easy to forget all these Phillies did accomplish in 2009, becoming the first team in franchise history to win back-to-back pennants. Yes, there’s work to be done. But first, take a moment to appreciate how far they got.
Having done that, it’s time for review just how many doors of the five keys we said could win the World Series they unlocked
1. Get into the pen—The Phils had mixed results here. In Game 1, after C.C. Sabathia left, they broke it open against the Yankees’ bullpen, scoring four in the eighth and ninth. In Game 5 once they chased A.J. Burnett, New York did a better job, keeping them off the board until Chase Utley and Raul Ibanez went deep late against Phi Coke.
Otherwise, though the Phillies weren’t able to take advantage. In Game 3 Joba Chamberlain, Damaso Marte and Phil Hughes allowed nothing until Carlos Ruiz’ ninth-inning homer, then Mariano Rivera shut the door. Game 4 saw Feliz slam a game-tying solo homer off Joba. But when the Yanks responded with three in the top of the ninth, Rivera sailed through a despondent team to give the Yanks’ a commanding 3-2 Series lead.
The story was pretty much the same in the finale, with Chamberlain and Marte holding the Phils off once Andy Pettitte ran out of gas, until Mariano could put them out of their misery.
Overall, you’d have to say the Yankees’ bullpen did better than expected. And as good as Rivera was, the fact is he had leads of two, three, three and four runs to work with, giving him plenty of wiggle room.
2. Return of King Cole—Once Cole Hamels fell off his high horse, he never got back up. The 2008 NLCs and World Series MVP was a shell of himself throughout the post-season. As for the Series, he was staked to an early 3-0 lead—which could’ve been more—and couldn’t make it out of the fifth inning. A-Rod’s controversial homer off a TV camera hanging over the field opened the door, then a RBI single to Pettitte followed by Johnny Damon’s two-run double spelled Hamels’ demise.
To make matters worse he was heard after the game lamenting how he couldn’t wait for this season to end, hardly inspiring faith he would’ve gotten the job done had Manuel handed him the ball for a Game 7.
It’s probably just as well the Phils never found out..
Make the routine plays—For the most part the Phillies executed their fundamentals well. They bunted and hit sacrifice flies and ran the bases at a high level. But whenever they did break down fundamentally, invariably it cost them.
Damon’s critical double steal in the ninth inning of Game 4 will go down as the most glaring example, the one single play that probably tipped the scales towards the Yanks. But there were others, including first Shane Victorino, then Ben Francisco misplayed Derek Jeter fly balls into hits in Game 6. That wound up costing the Phils five runs.
This was a recurrent theme with the Yankees in the post-season, with the Twins and Angels having key breakdowns before the Phillies followed suit.
It can’t all be a coincidence.
4 Take advantage of DH /no DH rules—No contest here. While Ibanez was technically, the Phillies DH in two of the three games in New York, the extra bat, Francisco, did not get a single hit in the Series. Matt Stairs, the Game 2 DH managed an RBI single.
All Yankees’ counterpart Hideki Matsui did was hit three homers---including one as a pinch hitter in Philadelphia—and drive home six run in Game 6 to win the Series MVP.
Not only that, but Pettitte’s RBi single off Hamels in Game 3 keyed a three-run inning that put them ahead to stay.
5. No place like the road—The Phillies started off in great shape, winning Game 1 at Yankee Stadium behind Cliff Lee. But after that they managed just four runs and 12 hits in the Big Apple.
Rollins hit just .100 in the three games there, which was better than Feliz’0-11. But Utley’s two homers off Sabathia were his only hits in 10 tries, while Ibanez (.272) Victorino (.250) and Howard (.231) didn’t produce close at close to their usual level.
Before the Series we said they’d probably need to win twice in New York to win it. Turns out, thanks to the Yanks going 2-1 at Citizen's Bank Park, that wouldn’t have been enough.
That pretty much sums it up. The Yankees will celebrate and hear how the world is finally right now that they’re back on top. The two-time defending National League champion Phillies—first team to do that since the 1995-96 Braves—vow they’ll be back next time more determined than ever.
For a team that accomplished so much, though. you can’t help but think this won’t be the an off-season for celebration.
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