myerstownherald.com

By ERIC FISHER
Why not the Phillies?
Only one team in the past 15 years has won consecutive World Series. Why not the Phillies?
A National League team hasn’t won consecutive World Series since the Cincinnati Reds in 1975-76. Why not the Phillies?
Why not the Phillies? That is the question I asked before this season started. It’s the same question I’m asking today.
Why can’t the Phillies repeat as World Series champions? The Phillies have already become the first NL team to make consecutive trips to the World Series since Atlanta in 1995-96. So why can’t they be the first NL team in 33 years to win the Series two straight years?
There is the fact that the Phillies are facing the New York Yankees. This is no small matter. In fact, based on pre-Series commentary, you might have thought the Yankees were the defending champions instead of the Phillies.
The Yankees happen to be the last team to win consecutive World Series, having reigned supreme from 1998-2000. But history isn’t all the Yankees have on their side. They also have a loaded lineup.
The best team money can buy features an all-star infield that includes Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira. Perhaps more importantly, their roster features starting pitchers CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, both of whom were signed to big free-agent contracts during this past offseason. If the series goes seven games, Sabathia and Burnett may pitch five times, with Sabathia likely to pitch three times.
Sabathia and Andy Pettitte are left-handed. That should be effective against the Phillies’ left-handed power trio of Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Raul Ibanez – at least according to conventional wisdom. Utley, however, turned conventional wisdom on its head Wednesday night with two solo home runs off Sabathia.
In fact, the Phillies haven’t shown any fear of Sabathia, who had just one loss since August 1. The Phillies knocked Sabathia out of the game during last year’s playoff series against Milwaukee – Shane Victorino’s grand slam was the big blow – and beat him again Wednesday even though he entered the World Series with a 3-0 record and 1.19 ERA during this year’s playoffs.
The Phillies, however, have some pretty good starting pitching of their own. Cliff Lee, a midseason acquisition, has been outstanding during his first postseason appearance. Lee picked up two victories against the Rockies, one against the Dodgers and got the Phillies off on the right foot in the World Series with a dominating Game 1 performance.
Lee did not allow an earned run during his start against the Dodgers or Wednesday’s 6-1 triumph. He struck out 10 and walked none as he calmly silenced the Yankees’ big bats.
(Imagine how Cleveland fans must feel watching former Indians stars Sabathia and Lee starting Game 1 of the World Series.)
Lee is joined in the rotation by fellow Cy Young Award winner Pedro Martinez, the Game 2 starter. (For those reading this column in Friday’s newspaper rather than Thursday at www.myerstownherald.com, Game 2 ended too late to be included in this column.) That duo is followed by Cole Hamels, who has struggled this season but was the standout pitcher of last season’s playoffs and the MVP of the World Series. It would be a huge boost for the Phillies if Hamels could find his old magic.
Starting pitching is almost always the crucial factor in a seven-game series. As much as the Phillies and Yankees are renowned for their powerhouse lineups, pitching will determine which team will prevail.
The performance of the Phillies’ starters is particularly important. The Yankees, with perhaps the best closer of all-time in Mariano Rivera, have the edge in the bullpen. The Phillies bullpen, despite success against the Rockies and Dodgers, is a bit more suspect.
The Phillies bullpen came through with saves in the NLDS and NLCS, but those relievers allowed an awful lot of runners to reach base. They escaped most of those jams unscathed, but the Phillies don’t want to take the same chances with the Yankees.
That is why it’s so vitally important that the Phillies’ starters pitch deep into games, as Lee did during Game 1.
Lee’s complete-game victory broke the Yankees’ World Series winning streak against the Phillies. The Yankees swept the Whiz Kids in 1950. The Phillies are seeking revenge in 2009.
The Phillies’ players, of course, weren’t even born in 1950. Some of them weren’t even born in 1980, when the Phillies won their first World Series. But these Phillies do have a sense of history.
Beating the Yankees wouldn’t merely give them two straight championships. Beating the Yankees would validate their claim to greatness.
These aren’t the Tampa Rays. These are the Yankees.
The big, bad Yankees. Jeter. A-Rod. Johnny Damon. Hideki Matsui. Sabathia. Burnett. Teixeira. Rivera.
Make no mistake about it. The Yankees were the marquee team entering the World Series.
But the Phillies entered the World Series as champions. Will they leave it as champions?
Why not?