Game 1: Second inning

Had a early-game browser change on the old (literally) laptop a few seconds ago. A few bugs and kinks in Firefox and Opera led to some research and now I’m running Flock. We’ll see how it goes.

In the meantime the first dramatic play of the series occurred in the top of the second when Clint Barmes skied out to Jayson Werth in right and catcher Yorvit Torrealba was thrown out on a three-hopper at third trying to tag from second. Replays showed that Torrealba was safe, and that the decoy on the cut off by Jimmy Rollins was pretty solid, so mark that one down for the Werth and the Phillies.

To follow it up, Werth laced a one-out single to left for the Phillies’ first hit.

But that didn’t lead to anything. A handful of pitches after the hit, Ubaldo Jimenez got Raul Ibanez to ground into an inning-ending double play. He also struck out Ryan Howard on and 80-mph curve that was set up with fastballs ranging from 97 to 99.

That’s not fair, is it?

End of 2: Rockies 0, Phillies 0

Game 1: First Inning

PA announcer Dan Baker just told everyone to stand up and wave their white rally towels because the game was about to go live on TV. Nothing like some manufactured enthusiasm to get these playoffs started. Apparently the fans in Philadelphia need help to know when to cheer.

They let out a loud one when Charlie Manuel was introduced before the game. The Phillies also introduced their players in reverse order, perhaps to feed Jimmy Rollins’ ego?

But we got a look at how much the wind is going to be a factor in the opener when Cliff Lee’s first pitch of the game was lifted harmlessly to right field but it sent Jayson Werth nearly to the warning track.

Nasty.

Nevertheless, Cliff Lee’s playoff debut got off to a strong start with a scoreless first. He also fired first-pitch strikes to the first three hitters he faced, so that was a good thing.

Speaking of Cliff Lee, if you read one story about the Phils’ starter, make sure it is the one Martin Frank wrote for the Wilmington News Journal. It’s an excellent read.

The difference in the first inning for the Phillies was that they went down in order while the Rockies managed to get a pair of hits. Moreover, Ubaldo Jimenez hit 100 on the stadium radar gun, which probably is not wind aided.

Watch Jimenez. He’s going to be really good.

The Rockies win again... ho-hum

Last night’s plan was to get everyone in the house to bed, finish up some work on my laptop, and then relax in front of the couch to watch Ubaldo Jimenez pitch for the Rockies in Game 2 of the NLCS against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The kid throws hard, and everybody talks about his stuff, but sometimes you don’t get to see the finer details when you are in the press box for a game. Though Ubaldo pitched against the Phillies twice in the past month and I was there to write about it, I didn’t get the chance to appreciate it. Hey, this is what constitutes as a wild Friday night these days.

Anyway, though I did get a chance to watch most of Ubaldo’s five-inning stint (5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 6 K – 94 pitches, 50 strikes), that was about all I saw. Ubaldo finished up at about 12:30 a.m. EST. By that point I was fighting to stay awake – as I mentioned, it was a wild Friday night – and since the Rockies had a one-run lead, I figured that was enough. So I went to bed.

As I’m reading now, the game went on for another two hours when Manny Corpas and his shirtball couldn’t hold the lead in the ninth. In the 11th that wily Willy Tavarez – the guy who challenged Ryan Howard for the Rookie of the Year Award in 2005, drew a bases-loaded walk to send in the winning run.

That’s right: a bases-loaded walk in the 11th gives the Rockies the winning run…

But that was after Tavarez (apparently… I didn’t see it) made a diving catch in the seventh inning to rob Tony Clark of a game-breaking hit.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The Rockies will not lose again for the rest of the year. What are they up to now? Nineteen of the last 20? And last night they did it will one extra-base hit in an 11-inning game with a 23-year old rookie on the mound?

Admit it, you didn’t have the Rockies vs. Indians in the World Series when the season began, did you? How about Rockies vs. Red Sox?

*** Speaking of the Red Sox, the erstwhile Paul Hagen had an interesting tidbit in today’s Daily News in which Curt Schilling admitted that he wouldn’t mind pitching for the Phillies in 2008 IF (and it’s a big IF) the Red Sox did not want him back.

My guess is that Schilling will return to the Red Sox for 2008. I’m not basing that on anything, but if a dude helps pitch a team to the World Series twice in four years, bringing him back for one year to sail off into the sunset is kind of the sporting thing to do.

Then again, it appears as if both the Phillies and Schilling are giving the matter serious thought. Plus, the big-mouthed righty has “reinvented” his repertoire by fine-tuning his changeup and off-speed pitches. Could that fact save some wear-and-tear and give Schilling, 40, a couple more years?

Could he be the loud yin to Jamie Moyer’s thoughtful yang in the Phillies rotation?

Maybe.

*** Meanwhile, it appears as if Jimy Williams might be looking for a gig elsewhere. According to Todd Cougar Zolecki of the Inquirer, the Phillies have reached an agreement with all of the members of the 2007 coaching staff except for Williams.

The team also will not renew conditioning coordinator Scott Hoffman's contract. Hoffman was the guy who led the team through its pre-batting practice stretching routine. He was also the most ignored man affiliated with the team.

Later: The Chicago Marathon and the trip to the B&N… I promise.