Let me start off by saying the following: this was by far the most dominating performance by a Philadelphia team in a Finals in my lifetime. I am 36 years old. I have not seen any team do what the Phils did this evening. They put on an absolute clinic.
It all started with pitching. Joe Blanton gave the Phils 6 extremely solid innings. He basically gave up one cheap home run and one mammoth home run to a pinch hitter. Otherwise he was masterful. Plus, Big Joe chipped in with a totally unexpected home run. (As my man the Captain pointed out, Blanton now has more hits in the Series than Pat Burrell.) His performance tonight will go down in Phillies lore. I just know that when we talk about big time unexpected championship performances in this city, I think Blanton's Game 4 performance will top the list.
After waiting most of the postseason for J Roll and the Big Man to come alive, they both were completely dominant. I've been saying every day that the Big Man had to take a ball the opposite field to counteract the way he's been pitched all postseason. Finally, he absolutely crushed a breaking pitch the opposite way and the route was on. Since the series came back to Philly, J Roll has hit just about every ball hard. I'm wondering if he had a hard time seeing the ball.
The defense was great once again. The play Feliz made early in the game on a ball hit off Blanton was tremendous. Despite his big RBI tonight, I really could care less that he is horrible at the plate. He means so much to the defense and I'm sure makes the pitchers much more confident. Think about it. Our city has been truly blessed with outstanding defensive third basemen, whether it is Schmitty, Scott Rolen, Abe Nunez (yes, he was very good also), and now Feliz. Tell me another city that has been so blessed at the hot corner over the years.
The bullpen came in and shut things down once again. You really can't say enough about Ryan Madson. He has been outstanding. Whoever is behind his improvement over September and October deserves a bonus.
We now come to a crucial, crucial game. I can't stress how important tomorrow night is. We have our best pitcher going with the chance to win this at home. If we lose, we give them a ton of confidence heading back to their place. We have to contain our excitement and take care of business.
(By the way, that is the most positive I've been in a blog in about two months...maybe ever. Who am I all the sudden? I must be sleep deprived.)
Other thoughts......
-Comcast just showed a stat that the Phils are playing over .700 baseball during September and October. That is an unbelievable stat. .700 friggin' baseball! Streaks like that do not come along often. Enjoy it!
-Is it me or could Joe Buck and Tim McCarver be any less excited with the Phils' domination so far?
-D Mac was at the game all Phillied up. That's great to hear. Jim Thome was also around to support his old teammates. That's nice to see as well. You can't forget that he started the turnaround of the culture of this franchise.
-The Joe Blanton cap issue is great. I love stuff like that. I long for the days of all the speculation of whether Mike Scott of the 'Stros was scuffing balls.
-Ok...sleepy time!
2 comments:
Holy crap...thats all I can say. There is no way I am going to be productive at work today. Im way too fired up.
Well when I say one more game, it really is just one more game. I can't believe it is this close. People are alread talking parade and yes I have it in the back of my mind so I know what day to take off of work, but there is still one game left and let's just see the Phils close it out in fashion tonight and give us all what we have been waiting way to long to see in this city.
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