NLCS Game One Recap - Phillies defeat Dodgers 3-2

You know, I just spent two hours driving home from the game on the NJ Turnpike thinking about what to write about this game.  Lemme start with a little WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am of a particular generation that barely remembers the great Phillies playoff teams of the early 1980s but has by and large suffered with tons of mediocrity and general misery, 1993 excluded.  Being in the NLCS, and getting to watch the game in person (a VICTORY no less) makes the drive worthwhile!

Now that that's out of the way, it's hard to understate just how well Cole Hamels pitched tonight.  His command wasn't at its best, there were some hard hit balls, but he still didn't walk everyone and give away baserunners, and he kept his head together in the face of adversity.  His gutty performance made Chase Utley and Pat Burrell's 6th inning heroics possible and meaningful.

At the risk of speaking too soon, how great has Ryan Madson been?  The "Bridge to Lidge" indeed.  Hopefully his new found velocity and general nastiness is not just fleeting.

And Brad Lidge, thank you for the 1-2-3 save (although those flyballs to center field were a LITTLE scary).

In less than 15 hours, Brett Myers will throw the first pitch of Game Two.  If Myers does half as well as Hamels did tonight, we should be in good shape headed to L.A.