ReadingPhilly wrote:lauber

So, speaking purely hypothetically, what would have happened if Brad Lidge had thrown so many pitches in the eighth inning or to open the ninth last night that he was unable to finish the game?

Brett Myers would've pitched.

In a meeting today with the beat writers who cover the Phillies, Charlie Manuel said he and pitching coach Rich Dubee had sent Myers to the bullpen in the ninth inning just in case Lidge ran into trouble.

Interesting, isn't it?

Phillies are taking batting practice on the field right now. We'll have more in a bit.

MattS wrote:did they have one of those memory erasing devices from men in black to make him forget about it afterwards?

CFP wrote:LOL

If Victorino is reprising the role of Dykstra in the 1993/2008 Phillies' team parallel, then playing the part of John Kruk as the portly left-handed source of power is Matt Stairs. Stairs came off of the bench to deliver the game-winning, eighth-inning two-run homer off of Jonathan Broxton in his first at-bat of the NLCS on Monday. The colossal blast to right made Stairs the oldest player to hit a pinch homer in the postseason, at 40 years of age. The feel-good narrative of Stairs' heroics also calls to mind the last pinch-hit homer in October at Dodger Stadium, which was of course Kirk Gibson's walk-off shot to right off of Oakland's Dennis Eckersley that won Game One of the 1988 World Series. Stairs and Gibson, two lefty sluggers, possess remarkably similar career totals: Stairs has 254 regular-season homers and 864 RBI in 16 seasons, while Gibson finished with 255 and 870 in 17. If the Dodgers are looking for some sort of cosmic sign pointing to a win tonight, they can find it in the fact that today, October 15, is the 20th anniversary of Gibson's immortal blast. The baseball gods might therefore demand that a gimpy-kneed Jeff Kent hobble out of the dugout to face the unhittable righty reliever with the devastating slider—Brad Lidge, this time around—should LA find itself again down by a run in the ninth.

1 wrote:i don't believe that's true. it can't be. it just can't.

Paul, Philly: Do the Phils close out the series tonight?

SportsNation Steve Phillips: I do think the Phillies will win Game 5 and get a chance to head back home and rest. Cole Hamels has been October's best pitcher so far, and I expect him to pitch another very good game tonight. His changeup has been phenomenal, and he's kept hitters off-balance with it inning after inning. I think they have momentum after stealing Game 4 and will ride that to the Series.

1 wrote:i really wish i had the money (and energy) to fly out there for a night. 15 dollars to get in? jeez.

Bucky wrote:

1 wrote:i really wish i had the money (and energy) to fly out there for a night. 15 dollars to get in? jeez.

IT'S THE TIME MAN IF YOUR PLANE TOOK OF NOW YOU STILL WOULD'T GET TO THE PARK UNTIL THE 8TH INNING