All Good Things...

Pat "The Bat" Burrell is headed back to the World Series, but unfortunately for the white-rally-towel twirlers, not as a member of the Phillies.

Brotherly love wasn't enough for the boys in red pinstripes as they saw their season end with a 3-2 loss in Game 6 of the NLCS to the San Francisco Giants, who needed to beat the San Diego Padres on the final day of the regular season just to make the playoffs.

Now the two teams that were expected to meet again in the World Series for the second straight year will both be watching from home. An offensive blackout led to the demise of the both the Phillies and the Yankees, though the writing was on the wall for Philadelphia.

Injuries took a heavy toll on the Phillie hitters for a significant part of the regular season. While the addition of Roy Oswalt led to a dramatic turnaround over the last two months and another NL East title, that same old magic that carried the team through the previous two postseasons was nowhere to be found. And playoff teams that boast some of the best pitching in baseball took a note from the Yankees on just how to handle such a dangerous lineup.

It was no surprise, then, that Ryan Howard was the strikeout victim who ended Philly's 2010 dreams.

Howard is now first or tied for first for the most strikeouts in two separate postseason series, and drove in nary a run from the clean-up spot this October. Since his infamous whiffing in the 2009 Fall Classic, the Big Piece has struck out in 30 of his 56 playoff at-bats. That means that in more than half his trips to the plate, the man who is paid $20 million per year to crush balls over the fence didn't even put the ball in play. Of the 26 times Howard managed knock the ball between the lines, only one left the yard.

Ironically, Howard was the only starter in the lineup to hit better than .300 in the postseason this year, though he was typically all alone on the basepahts. Raul Ibanez was a distant second with a .226 average. Carlos Ruiz, who had never hit below .262 in any previous postseason, was dead last at .192.

As Charlie Manuel explained, the Phillies were too concerned with working the count, rather than being selective. They stood and stared at too many fastballs down the middle of the plate, making it easier for pitchers to get them to chase at breaking balls that tailed out of the zone. Combined, Cincinnati and San Francisco held Philadelphia to 3.7 runs per game - compared to 4.6 in '08 and 5.5 last year - and not even the likes of Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels can carry you to a championship with that kind of production.

The beleaguered Phillies pitching staff still consistently put the team in a position to win. Aside from Game 3, each one of Philadelphia's losses in the NLCS could have gone the other way. It was basically the Giants coming up with the big hits, and some would add Halladay not getting the start in Game 4. No one can predict what would've happened in that scenario, but as close as each game was, such decisions loom very large.

But the shadows cast on the end of this season will quickly fade, as the sun shines brightly on a new day for the Phillies in 2011. All three elements of H2O are returning, as well as the entire starting lineup, aside from the likely departing Jayson Werth. Should the corner outfielder follow in Burrell's footsteps and find his way back to the Fall Classic with another team, the Phillies hope that when he gets there, they will be staring him down from the opposing dugout.

Can Phillies complete comeback?

What Roy Halladay did Thursday night is not unprecedented.

Some fans remember well, and others would love to forget, Curt Schilling's gutsy performance in Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS. With the Boston Red Sox facing elimination, Schilling led them to victory while sutures struggled to hold together a ruptured tendon in his right ankle.

Admittedly, a strained groin is not the same as a bleeding ankle, but Halladay adjusted to the pain and the sinking fastball he was forced to abandon. After the Philadelphia Phillies took the lead in a crazy third inning, Halladay made it stand up as his team went on to win 4-2 and send the NLCS back to Citizens Bank Park.

The law of averages tells us that the Giants will win one of the next two games and advance to the World Series, and the way this series has gone for the Phillies, that's a good bet to make. The hitting just isn't there like it was in 2008 and '09, but then again, teams have a way of rallying around a wounded teammate. Boston did it in '04 and the New York Yankees seem to be doing it in the ALCS for Mark Teixeira.

Either way, this is turning out to be a thrilling postseason. It's the first time since 2004 that both LCS's have reached Game 6. And with both teams that were down 3-1 winning Game 5, it makes an improbable comeback in one of the series seem more likely.

How likely is it for the Fightin' Phils? Of the six times it's been done since the LCS went to the best-of-seven format in 1985, three have come in just the last seven years, and three of the six teams won the last two games on the road. The latter fact doesn't hurt or help the Phillies, but their success in the postseason centers around playing well in their own digs. Since 2008, Philadelphia boasts a 15-4 playoff record at home. That's the kind of clout the Texas Rangers wish they had right now.

Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels (if it gets that far) will do their jobs, but the offense must do theirs. Manager Charlie Manuel can help that along - and atone for a plethora of bad choices in Game 4 - by putting Jimmy Rollins back in the leadoff spot for Game 6. He's proved that he's at least close to where he was before his latest injury setback. Since Game 2, he's 5-for-15, and he swiped second and third base in the seventh inning of last night's triumph. Shane Victorino, meanwhile, is clogging the top of the order with a measly three hits in the series.

If the Phillies continue hitting at their present .190 clip, their season will end at Citizens Bank Park. That hasn't happened yet in the postseason (their playoff runs in '07 and '09 ended on the road) and for a hostile fan base so used to seeing their team succeed in October, it won't be a pretty sight. It's in the Phillies' best interests and the well-being of Philadelphia to reward Halladay's effort, stun the Giants and punch their third straight ticket to the World Series.

Bitter Sweet 16

note: My role as an MLB writer for sportshaze.com has increased and shifted to the AL West. Considering this new position and my regular sports writing job, I must unfortunately curtail my blog postings about the Phillies. Time simply will not allow me to continue to do so at the rate I have been all summer. I'll still post when something monumental happens, but those one or two of you who were getting their Phillies news from me, you'll have to choose another outlet. Thanks to all of my readers, regardless of frequency. As always, GO PHILS!

Charlie Manuel may have been able to pencil in his entire starting lineup for Tuesday night's game, but he never would've guessed what the lineup would look like by the end of it.

Ryan Howard single-handedly wrecked the night for my Fantasy Baseball offense with his 0-for-7, five-strikeout performance. His final strikeout on an attempted check swing to end to the bottom of the 14th resulted in just the second ejection of his career. With Raul Ibanez moving over to first base in the top of the 15th, Manuel figured Roy Oswalt may as well face his former team in some capacity, so the good sport ace trotted out to left field to replace Ibanez.

Naturally, Oswalt then made the first put out of the frame, and the consummate professional couldn't help but crack a smile at the absurdity of it all.

The smiles didn't last long as Houston took a 4-2 lead in the top of the 16th, and Oswalt failed to come through with a walk-off, three-run shot in the bottom half to keep Philadelphia in sole possession of first place in the Wild Card.

The loss also continued a frustrating trend, holding the Phillies exactly 2.5 games behind the Braves in the NL East for the eighth consecutive day. Both teams are 5-4 in their last nine games and each has picked up every win and loss on the same day. The scenario is pretty intriguing, but mostly just annoying.

Unfortunately, the Phillies seem to be returning to their late-May swoon, as they've managed more than two runs in a game just once since their 8-2 win over the Giants a week ago. Howard and Chase Utley have been non-factors since their return from the DL, making the basepaths a lonely place for hot-hitting Jimmy Rollins.

As J-Roll used to say, Philadelphia still is the team to beat in the division, and the National League. Its pitching rotation is as good as any in baseball, and a strong September is still in the cards for the offense. As long as Howard doesn't get thrown out of anymore games and the Phillies start winning when the Braves lose, the baseball universe will unfold as it should.

We will get by

Now THAT was more like it.

The last time Cole Hamels had a shaky outing (June 26 against Toronto) his team scored just one run for him. Tonight, the hitters kept on battling as the lead bounced back and forth.

The Phillies scored multiple runs in four different innings, and a potent, but impatient Diamondbacks lineup couldn't keep up. And the 3-5 hitters in Philadelphia's order, the constant source of scrutiny and frustration since late May? They went 6-for-11 with two bombs, six RBI and five runs scored. Please sir, can I have some more?

Jayson Werth finally went yard again, and you can expect some more of that in the near future. His jacks always come in bunches, and his signature blast is the one that lands in the center field vines at Citizens Bank Park. Raul Ibanez is working on a six-game hitting streak, batting .429 (9-for-21) in the span. He's also driven in at least one run in his last four starts. The 3-hole seems to be agreeing with him.

A 3-0 loss to the Strasburg-less Nationals can't be a good sign for the Braves, as their seven-game lead in the NL East has been chopped in half in less than a week. It's looking more and more like the Phillies will be nothing but spectators as the Trade Deadline nears, so they can't let up.

In the midst of all this success, Philly lost another key piece for at least a few days as Shane Victorino left in the seventh inning with an oblique muscle strain. The way things have been going, I was waiting for the next starter to go down, and I'm not surprised it's Victorino. He made trips to the DL in 2007 and '08 after constantly pushing his small frame to the limit with his blazing speed in the outfield and around the bases. A warning light goes off in my head whenever I hear about an oblique injury. I didn't even know what an oblique muscle was until 2006 when Albert Pujols was sidelined for a month with an injury to his, ending what would have otherwise been a career year (and would probably have cost Ryan Howard his first and so far only MVP award).

The Phillies shouldn't let this stop their current surge, and Jimmy Rollins (sore left foot) should be back on the field by the end of the week. As I alluded to in a post last week, the lineup will do just fine with Placido Polanco hitting leadoff.

The only problem is with Victorino out, Werth is no longer a bargaining chip for an upper-tier starting pitcher, and he's the best one Philadelphia had. Then again, if he really is heating up, would Ruben Amaro want to trade him anyway? The Phillies are still near the top of the list of teams who may land Roy Oswalt, but no matter how interested the Houston Astros may be in J.A. Happ, or how many young prospects the Phillies are willing to part with, I can't see Oswalt wanting to play in Philadelphia. It would give him a shot at another World Series appearance, no doubt, but he can get that much closer to home.

However, if a deal is somehow made and Oswalt becomes a Phillie, Amaro might finally silence his critics.