Could Have Been 4-0: Phillies 7, Dodgers 2

1. This series reminded me a lot of the series we had against the Cubs last July or August. That series was also a 2-2 series split, and the bullpen (the middle relief in that case, not Lidge) blew both losses in gut-wrenching fashion. But even though it was a huge missed opportunity, there were a lot of positives to take out of the series. The Cubs were clearly the best team in the NL at that point last year, and the Phillies showed that they could hang with them – the Cubs were the ones who were lucky to get a split against us, not the other way around. Same thing this year. Of course, this year’s series feels different because as defending champs, we’re not looking for a confidence boost like we were last summer. But still, if you think about it, there are some similarities.

2. We might have something with this Bastardo (as well as Happ) and I, for one, would like to find out exactly what it is we’ve got. To be clear, I’m perfectly willing to hear offers regarding Peavy, Oswalt, and co. But we should not be in any hurry to clean out the farm just because of some alleged “window”.

3. I happened to catch Jim Jackson doing the play-by-play on radio for two of the games filling in for Franzke, and I was really impressed. He had a really good rhythm, he was very descriptive, he very rarely relied on catch phrases or filler words, he was funny, he showed that he had done his homework about the other team’s players and gave them due credit when appropriate, he conveyed a lot of excitement at big moments without sounding too homeristic, and he was able to channel LA and keep him under control rather than just letting him run amok with his pet theories and whatnot. I think he’s far superior to either T-Mac or Franzke. I know they can’t really use him as a regular play-by-play man though, because of his responsibilities with the Flyers.

Last night’s game was the epitome of everything positive that we have come to love over the past 15 months of the Phillies – good starting pitching, jumping out to a lead, and then suffocating the opposition just as the opposition thinks they can mount a comeback.

+1 on the Cubs comparison from last year. I believe we lost the first two in that series and then came back to win games 3 and 4. While this series could have been a sweep, the Phils did hold the Dodgers to nine runs over the series (and only 5 by starting pitching in four games).

If you had told me that the Phillies would go 5-2 on their coast trip beforehand, I would have certainly stood up and applauded at the good fortune. 7-0? Nice, indeed, but 5-2 is nothing to sneeze at, and now the Phillies have a real shot at putting a hurting on the Mets this week.

If, if, if. Bottom line is Lidge is on the team, and the team lost the two games. The offense also could’ve scored more runs and left many runners stranded. They didn’t sweep, and that’s that.

Charlie has shown very little propensity for that particular type of loyalty during his tenure (that is, the type of loyalty that would keep a player in his existing role despite poor performance). Just because a manager explains his actions in a certain way in his media statements doesn’t mean that that should be taken as the literal explanation.

Most likely, the explanation is that Charlie, based on observing Lidge’s velocity, “stuff,” etc., has come to the conclusion that there’s nothing fundamentally wrong with him — that his performance is attributable either to bad luck or to a problem that’s fixable with repetition. That is a judgment call that might well be wrong, but I haven’t seen anyone make a persuasive argument one way or the other.

In any event, if you were Charlie and you believed in that premise, then riding out the storm with Lidge now and taking a temporary hit could be a better option than replacing Lidge now and potentially messing with his head for the rest of the season. It might also make sense to tell the media that you’re sticking with Lidge out of loyalty as a motivational technique, even if you’re really sticking with him for a more complex set of reasons.

If told pre season that the phillies would be at 600 and have the second best record in the league after 55 games – how many would have said ’that’s kind of cool’