Double trouble for the Phils?

Tim Hudson and John Smoltz. Could the Phillies have asked for a worse pairing in their most important series in recent memory? In order to avoid another winter spent lamenting the chances that got away during the past six months, the Phillies have to beat Hudson tonight and then Smoltz tomorrow.

Impossible?

Maybe.

Then again, maybe not.

The Phillies do have the top offense in the league, afterall. Can a good offense beat good pitching? The Phillies better hope so. After all, Hudson might get a Cy Young vote or two. At 16-9 with 3.34 ERA, Hudson has been the team’s co-ace with Smoltz and ranks in the top 10 in the league in wins (5th), innings pitched (3rd), ERA (8th), WHIP (8th) and winning percentage (10th).

Regardless, the Phillies have had some success against Hudson this season, including tuning him up for five runs and 11 hits in five innings in the game in which the Phillies took a six-run lead into the eighth inning.

Yeah, that game.

Smoltz, meanwhile, is one of the greatest big-game pitchers in recent baseball history. In 1991 he was one of the starting pitchers in the greatest game I had ever watched and, truth be told, is putting the finishing touches on a Hall-of-Fame career.

Better yet, Smoltz is the last of a dying breed of pitcher. When he goes to the mound he’s going to bring the heat and a nasty slider every time. Fascinatingly, Smoltz has been doing the same way since 1989. Since then it has been a pile of 200-plus innings per season, tons of strikeouts a short detour as the best closer in the game all mixed in with 24 playoff series.

Yep, that’s the guy the Phillies have to get past if they want to make it to the playoffs. To counter that, the Phillies will send Kyle Lohse to the mound tonight fresh off a start and a relief appearance in Washington last weekend. Forebodingly, Lohse’s one-inning relieve stint was half as long as his start.

Kyle Kendrick will face Smoltz on Thursday night, which should be interesting for a lot of reasons. The biggest facet is that Smoltz broke into the big leagues when he was 21 after a quick ascent through the minors, kind of like Kendrick. The other point of interest is that when Smoltz broke in to the majors in 1988, Kendrick was a month away from turning four-years old.

Even more interesting than those nuggets is the dichotomy of the pitching styles. Smoltz is a power pitcher who racks up the strikeouts. Kendrick is a sinkerballer, who thrives on grounders and by throwing strikes.

Needless to say, it should be an interesting two days.

Thanks for pointing out the obvious, huh?

Oh wait, there’s more where that came from:

Charlie Manuel: “Our team knows what they have to do. We've been coming back all year, scratching and clawing. We'll keep playing.”

Bobby Cox: “We know what we have to do. We have to win. We'll give it our best shot.”

Chase Utley: “Every game we approach the same way. We try to win. There's no extra pressure added.”

Jimmy Rollins: “We’ve been in this situation for a long time. We have five games left (and) we have to win five games.”

No, I don’t think they got together to rehearse the answers beforehand.

*** For those wondering (and I know you are), I am not off the Floyd beat. For now I’m a little preoccupied with the baseball pennant race and a little bit of music writing. As soon as the work load dissipates a bit, I hope to dive into the post-ruling fray with a new story or two.

In the interim, check out Trust But Verify for everything Floyd.

Catch him now

At one point last season, I tried to get Jim Thome to buy into a theory I had about John Smoltz. The theory was that in 2005, Smoltz was the last of a dying breed of pitcher who was going to throw a really hard fastball and an equally hard slider and come straight at a hitter with that. He wasn’t going to be fancy or cute.

According to the scouting reports, 60 percent of the pitches Smoltz throws are fastballs, while 22 percent are sliders. More telling is that 72 percent of the first pitches he throws to hitters are heaters, and in the rare chance he falls behind a hitter, 70 percent of the time he’s coming with the No. 1.

So with Smoltz, you know what you’re going to get, and there aren’t too many guys left like him. There’s Roger Clemens, when he pitches. Curt Schilling, of course, and Randy Johnson. But as far as guys who will challenge a hitter with nothing more than heat and guts, well, there are still a few guys who are on the way but still have to get a few more years under them.

Needless to say, it’s a treat to watch John Smoltz pitch. If you get the chance, do it now before it’s too late.

Anyway, I think Thome bought my theory, but I really wasn't able to get him to engage. I think he was a little preoccupied at the time – you know, trying to get ready to play a game when some punk writer walked up to him to ask about a guy who likes to throw fastball. Nonetheless, here’s the story from back then. I especially like the first quote from old favorite Todd Pratt.

Man do I miss that guy.

Did anyone see that? Catcher Sal Fasano made one of the funnier plays you'll see in last night's victory over the Marlins. No, we're not making fun of Fasano, we're just enjoying a moment of levity after a comeback win. So thanks to the magic of the Internet, the good folks at YouTube.com and our old pal Dan McQuade at Philadelphia Will Do, Fasano's wild fake-out is posted here for your enjoyment.