Obstacles to a World Series rematch

Charlie Manuel quoted a general after Game 6, in pronouncing that the baseball world has not seen the last of the Phillies. "I'll tell you something -...

Blog Entry | Conversation | November 05, 2009

Six key matchups for Game 6

...other Yankees pitcher winds up walking him -- and instead winds up having to face the slumping Ryan Howard -- that's an alternative he'll likely be comfortable with. Shane Victorino versus his finger pain...

Blog Entry | Conversation | November 04, 2009

Howard's slide-step hurting the Phillies

...Nick Swisher is seeing a ton of breaking balls. Shane Victorino is being pitched inside. And Ryan Howard is seeing a ton of sliders. Before the World Series began, 23.4 percent of the...

Blog Entry | Conversation | November 02, 2009

The leftovers tell us a lot from Game 2

It has been a World Series of pitching so far, with the inevitable umpiring controversy sprinkled in. Some leftovers from Game 2: Mariano Rivera is ...

Blog Entry | Conversation | October 30, 2009

The top matchups of the World Series

...opportunity. They will be batting behind the most dangerous and most feared hitters in this series, Ryan Howard and Alex Rodriguez, so there presumably will be many times when the opposing pitcher chooses to...

Blog Entry | Conversation | October 28, 2009

Instant replay for the World Series? Yes

Umpires make mistakes, just like players do. So why not institute instant replay for the World Series?

Replay for the World Series could work

...for umpire challenges, writes Hal McCoy. Phillies-Dodgers The backbone of the Phillies is stars like Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins and Cliff Lee, but what separates Philadelphia this time of year is...

Blog Entry | Conversation | October 22, 2009

Walk-off wisdom

This October has presented a treasure trove of comebacks and gut-wrenching moments and improbable finishes, and Monday was all about them. Some things...

Blog Entry | Conversation | October 20, 2009

Top 10 matchups of the LCS

...left-handed hitters. The Phillies have a murderers' row of left-handed hitters, with Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez, and they all are very good at hitting left-handed pitching. But late...

Blog Entry | Conversation | October 15, 2009

Manuel's faith in Lidge pays off

The fates of managers and pitching coaches are tied to their pitchers, and when a pitcher starts to go bad, some staffers instinctively separate thems...

Blog Entry | Conversation | October 13, 2009

Philadelphia Phillies' Ryan Howard watches his two-run double in the ninth inning of Game 4 against the Colorado Rockies...

Howard's two-out double, Werth's RBI single in ninth blast Phils into NLCS

Ryan Howard hit a two-run double with two outs in the ninth inning and scored on Jayson Werth's single as the Philadelphia Phillies rallied past the Colorado Rockies 5-4 Monday night to reach the NL championship series.

Phillies wind their way back to NLCS

DENVER -- The champs have been here before, riding down this same October highway. They know where it leads. They know each twist in the...

Umpire acknowledges missing call

Shane Victorino joked about Chase Utley's single off his right knee that put the Philadelphia Phillies on the cusp of advancing to the NL championship series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. In the other clubhouse, it was no joking matter.

Phillies-Rockies Preview

Phillies-Rockies Preview