Catharsis: From the Brew Crew to the Blue Crew
by Bill Baer on October 5th, 2008Posted in MLB, Media, Philadelphia Phillies | Print | No Comments »
In four NLDS games, the Phillies have disposed of the Milwaukee Brewers with relative ease. Three of the four games saw strong starting pitching from Cole Hamels, Brett Myers, and Joe Blanton (combined 23 IP, 3 ER, 1.17 ERA) with great support from the bullpen (10 IP, 4 ER, 3.60 ERA). The offense wasn’t impressive (3.75 runs per game) but did enough to back up the pitching.
Picking the LVP — the Least Valuable Player — of the series is easy: Corey Hart. He was 3-for-13 in the series with 4 strikeouts and grounded into a double play that helped Brett Myers escape a tense first inning in Game 2. To add insult to injury, he made a base running gaffe in Game 3 where he was too aggressive rounding first base on a single to right field and Jayson Werth threw a laser to first baseman Ryan Howard who tagged him out.
Picking the MVP of the series is a bit harder. Shane Victorino was 5-for-14 with a home run (yeah, that grand slam off of C.C. Sabathia), five RBI, and three stolen bases. Pat Burrell came into Game 4 0-for-8 but went 3-for-4 with two dingers and four RBI in the Phillies’ 6-2 win in the clincher. Cole Hamels pitched eight shutout innings in Game 1, Myers pitched 7 strong innings giving up only two earned runs, and Blanton threw six strong innings giving up only one earned run.
In general, the Phillies’ starting pitching was the MVP, but if you have to award it to one person, Victorino’s the winner.
The Phillies advance to the NLCS for the first time since 1993; the Dodgers advance to the NLCS for the first time since 1988.
Stay tuned for a preview of the Dodgers-Phillies NLCS preview at The Hardball Times. Once again, I’ll be collaborating with John Brattain. And sometime between now and the weekend, I’ll have my picks for the regular season awards posted.
