So for the second game in a row Chase Utley does the unthinkable. In Game 1 he messes up a double play allowing the Dodgers to stay alive and next thing you know, BOOM a two run homerun and the Dodgers are down 1.
On to Game 2. Pedro pitches a gem and now its Park time. Yeah he gets in a jam BUT he gets the batter to hit into a double play BUT Mr. Utley finds away to throw the ball away. I honestly sat there with my mouth wide open. I couldn't believe "the best second baseman in the game" would make such a a crucial mistake in back to back games.
Chase you honestly owe the city. You got lucky in the first game because the team bailed you out by scoring more runs. But in Game 2 they couldn't. And then with a chance to extend the game in 9th to get the hottest hitter in the postseason up, you fail!
Chase I will say it again YOU OWE us. This defeat hurts a lot. Not because the series is tied but because we had the game until your blooper.
Thanks a lot Chase, once again I want you to realize you owe us.
And as always please remember these are just my thoughts!
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No matter how many times you write it, the fact is that Chase Utley owes us NOTHING. Chase is the reason why we are even in the NLCS in the first place. It was Utley's AB in the 9th inning of Game Four in Colorado when he drew that walk down when the team was down to their last strike of the game that allowed Ryan Howard to come to the plate and tie things. Also, the botched double play in Game One of the NLCS was not Utley's fault, it was Jimmy's. Had Jimmy been able to get the ball out of his glove right away and give it to Chase they may have been able to turn the double play, but with Ethier running it still would've been close after the turn. Utley simply should've eaten the ball. His wild throw had no impact on Manny's HR.
ReplyDeleteWhile it would've been very nice to be up 2-0 on the Dodgers heading home with Lee on the mound for the next game, YOU have to realize that sometimes errors happen in baseball. The problem with yesterday's game was that Charlie Manuel took Pedro out of the game too early when he was dealing. No Phillies starting pitcher had thrown a better game all season (considering the situation) than Pedro did yesterday for 7 innings. The blame for yesterday's game falls on Manuel's managing, and our hitters' impatience at the plate against that nutball, Vicente Padilla.
Before you go off against people like Utley and Hamels, please learn the game of baseball. Thanks.
These were my thawts.
I understand what you are saying "Thawt man," technically Chase does not "owe" me anything. He played well last year and was a big part of the championship run.
ReplyDeleteHowever I would not say he is the "reason why we are even in th eNLCS." He did get a big hit however if Ryan Howard does not finish the job we would not even have an opportunity to go back and forth with each other.
And as far as Game 1, yes Jimmy did have trouble getting the ball out of his glove BUT it was Chase who continued to try and make the double play and ended up committing an error. If Chase completes the double play the inning would have been over and Cole would have gotten out of a jam and continued to build up his confidence. Also if Chase would have "eaten the ball" then your pitcher does not have an opportunity to get rattled because of the error. And when Many comes up to bat maybe he has a little more confidence when he faces him and possibly forces him to pop out. But instead Chase threw the ball away and the rest is history.
And I do realize that errors happen sometimes in baseball, but I also realize that an error occurred in similar situations by the same guy that ended up allowing for a game changing inning to occur in both games.
I will agree with you that Charlie should have left Pedro in, but he has made questionable decisions all season and also the playoffs and shockingly they have worked out. Would I have liked for Pedro to come out for one more inning, yes. But I will not fault Charlie for pulling him and putting Park in the game.
Lastly I do know the game of baseball. I played for years, covered the game for years and was able to pick the brains of many of the most knowledgeable baseball minds around. And oh yeah I also watch plenty of games every year. I appreciate your comments and I understand that sometimes I may be wrong but please remember as always that these are just my thoughts.
The problem with the double play attempt in Game 1, though, is that Jimmy not being able to get the ball out of his glove cleanly WAS the reason why they weren't able to turn the double play. Even if Chase had thrown the ball on the bag at 1st, Ethier would've been safe. The only way they would've turned the double play (and again, this isn't even a guarantee because of Ethier's speed and how hard he hit the ball) was if Jimmy got the ball out of his glove and got it to Chase at 2nd on time. Chase's throw was a bad play, but all it really did was advance the runner one base and take away the force at 2nd with two outs.
ReplyDeleteAs for Cole being "rattled," he would've been in the same state of mind whether Ethier was on 1st OR 2nd. All year, he has let his emotions take over and it's hurt him. He rightfully thought that he had a DP and was going to be out of the inning. Once that didn't happen, he briefly lost his focus and went away from the fastball with Manny (which he wasn't catching up to all night) and threw him 3 straight changeups (which you really can't do with Manny with a 2-0 count) and the rest is history.
As for yesterday's game, even if Chase had turned it, it would've been a runner on 3rd with 2 outs. While that is a much more favorable circumstance, it's not like it's Chase's fault for not being able to throw strikes and walking in the go ahead run. There was still a chance to get out of the inning tied. The problem yesterday was our approach with Padilla, who has mental problems. They were able to work Kershaw eventually, so why not Padilla? It would be nice to see Rollins take a walk every now and then, and then see Vic not swing wildly at balls out of the zone. Don't get me wrong - Chase's error was horrible and it brought the Dodgers back into the game, but there were still ways out. You really need to be able to throw fastballs for strikes when the shadows were how they were yesterday. The bullpen should've challenged the Dodgers with more fastballs cause they would've had a harder time getting their timing down on their swings.
So, again, just to be clear - not turning the DP in Game 1 was Jimmy's fault, and not turning the DP in Game 2 was Chase's fault. Simple as that.
Also, I'm really enjoying this blog very much. I'm happy that now we have a discussion going on and I look forward to more in the future. A word of advice though: while I do love a good catchphrase, we know that everything you're saying are just your thoughts. That's what blogs are. By saying at that at the end of every post, you're almost negating the weight of your opinions. Stay strong in your corner and don't back down to yourself. Obviously, it looks like you're getting a lot of traffic here, and I hope that continues. Your voice is a strong one, so stand by what you say and don't give in before your post is done, because this blog has some legs and can go quite a long way. Keep at it, my man.
-TM