Philadelphia Phillies

Just when you thought the Phillies could not make things any more exciting, drama struck again Monday night in Game Four of the 2009 NLCS.

It has been a parade of "Can you top this?": The unlikely 5-4 NLDS Game Four victory this year against the Rockies highlighted by Ryan Howard's two-run, two-out ninth inning double or last year's dramatic Game Four NLCS 7-5 win featuring Matt Stairs' two-run eighth-inning home run in 2008.

With swagger in his step, Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins made the on-field interview rounds following his walk-off double in Game Four of the NLCS. That familiar confidence seems to never leave the 2007 NL MVP—the pivotal hit that plated two runs against the Los Angeles Dodgers explains why.

On another bone-chilling night, in the last of the ninth inning, the Phillies still preserved the biggest hit. A shot on a night that dictated the Dodgers' season.

If there’s a veteran the Phillies can depend on, Jimmy Rollins is the name to single out.

First off let me give kudos to Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee—who pitched an eight-inning shutout in an 11-0 whitewash of the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday during Game 3 of the National League Championship Series in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee continued to enjoy his maiden voyage in the National League and the Phillies' bats provided him ample run support in leading the defending World Series champions to an 11-0 Game Three victory and a 2-1 edge over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS.

By the end of the fifth inning with the Phillies up by eight, I was thinking, this game can’t be over fast enough . But after the eighth, when the home team added three more to the score, the Dodgers were thinking the same thing.

The signs said it all.

“City of BrotherLEE Love”

One morning my kid wandered into the kitchen half asleep and accidentally sent my favorite coffee mug to its demise on my hard ceramic tiles. Okay, accidents happen. But this wasn’t just any mug. This was a 32-ounce monstrous work of art I earned from an overpriced jousting show at the Excalibur in Las Vegas on one of our rare real vacations.

In what might have been a game that could have put the Los Angeles Dodgers back against the wall, this series stands even at one game a piece. Charlie Manuel’s decision to remove Pedro Martinez after seven brilliant innings in Game Two, only to see his bullpen give away the game in the eighth inning.

The bright side is that Pedro will certainly be ready for a repeat performance in Game Six if it should go that far. As I have mentioned in earlier stories I like the way the Phillies rotation sets up for the rest of the series.

For Phillies fans, the joy of Game One of the NLCS was gone, when the Dodgers walked away with a 2-1 victory Friday.

The series is now tied 1-1 with Game Three in Philadelphia on Sunday night.

Wasted was a two-hit, three-strikeout, no walk performance by veteran Pedro Martinez, who hadn't pitched in 17 days. Martinez's day was over when Greg Dobbs pinch hit for him in the top of the eighth inning.