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

May 25, 2009; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard (6) celebrates his homerun with right fielder Jayson Werth (28) at home plate during the sixth...

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

Girl gets ball back after lawsuit

A Florida girl who grabbed a historic home run ball hit by Ryan Howard has her prize back after suing the team for its return.

Porcello's fastball will be his tell

Rick Porcello's fastball will be his tell Tuesday, a longtime scout said Monday. A poker player might betray something with the way he shifts in his c...

Blog Entry | Conversation | October 06, 2009

Tigers, Twins and my award picks

Carl Pavano seemed almost out of breath Sunday night, naturally, at the end of a day in which he and the Twins had won a game they had to win, after t...

Blog Entry | Conversation | October 05, 2009

Hoover lifts Phils in final postseason tuneup with RBI single in 10th

Paul Hoover hit a game-ending RBI single in the 10th inning and the Phillies beat the Marlins 7-6 on Sunday.

Marlins-Phillies Preview

Marlins-Phillies Preview