Oh, it's on!

Welcome to another clinching day where we will have inning-by-inning updates as necessary. There's a definite fall-like nip to the air at the ballyard tonight and a larger media contingent, too. My guess is it will be much more crowded around here from here on out. In the interim, we have Pedro Martinez (5-1, 3.32) in his first outing since he took that wild swing in Atlanta and hurt his neck. I didn't see Pedro around the clubhouse before the game so I suspect he's off getting fired up. He thrives on games like this.

As Charlie Manuel said before the game about Pedro: "I didn't like him. He was cocky and he threw hard..."

That's all changed now. Charlie loves Pedro. Moreover, pitching coach Rich Dubee was surprised to see how intense he was on games he pitched. In fact, Dubee said Pedro is a great guy on the four days he doesn't pitch, but that fifth one...

Look out.

Lineups Phillies 11 - Jimmy Rollins, ss 8 - Shane Victorino, cf 26 - Chase Utley, 2b 6 - Ryan Howard, 1b 29 - Raul Ibanez, lf 28 - Jayson Werth, rf 7 - Pedro Feliz, 3b 51 - Carlos Ruiz, c 45 - Pedro Martinez, p

Astros 21- Michael Bourn, cf 10 - Miguel Tejada, ss 17 - Lance Berkman, 1b 45 - Carlos Lee, lf 27 - Geoff Blum, 3b 9 - Hunter Pence, rf 3 Kaz Matsui, 2b 46 - J.R. Towles, c 38 - Brian Moehler, p

Pregame: Lineups, lunch and notes

LOS ANGELES – We’re back here at Dodger Stadium after a morning run through Pasadena and Santa Anita. Soon it will be time to find something to eat, which looks very promising. Guys with my habits and mindset do better with the culinary choices in California than in Philadelphia. So far I have seen concession stands by Panda Express, California Pizza Kitchen, Corona and a few other progressive-styled eateries. Yes, a guy like me could do well here in Southern California.

The big question will be if Jamie Moyer and the Phillies do well in LaLa Land. A victory tonight will be (as they say) huge. A 3-0 advantage could make this trip to California shorter than planned.

Then again, the Dodgers have been down 0-2 in the playoffs and come back to win three different times and in all instances they won four games in a row. In 1955 the Brooklyn Dodgers rallied to beat the Yankees; in 1965 Sandy Koufax helped the Dodgers come back against the Twins; and in 1981 the old gang with Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell, and Ron Cey finally beat the Yankees.

But all of those comebacks were in the World Series, not the NLCS.

In the meantime, here are the lineups for this afternoon’s game:

Phillies 11 – Jimmy Rollins, ss 8 – Shane Victorino, cf 26 – Chase Utley, 2b 6 – Ryan Howard, 1b 5 – Pat Burrell, lf 28 – Jayson Werth, rf 7 – Pedro Feliz, 3b 51 – Carlos Ruiz, c 50 – Jamie Moyer, p

Dodgers 15 – Rafael Furcal, ss 16 – Andre Ethier, rf 99 – Manny Ramirez, lf 55 – Russell Martin, c 5 – Nomar Garciaparra, 1b 30 – Casey Blake, 3b 27 – Matt Kemp, cf 33 – Blake DeWitt, 2b 18 – Hiroki Kuroda, p

Pregame: Game 2 news and notes

Quick turnaround today and an even quicker one tomorrow bright and early before the sun even comes up. The cool thing is that tomorrow at this time I will be in California. Nope, that is not a state of mind… this time.

Anyway, we’re going to start with the sad news that Charlie Manuel’s mother, June, died this morning. As I write this Charlie is watching batting practice next to the cage, but there have been no official announcements whether or not the skipper will leave the team for a short time.

Nevertheless, Charlie can take solace in the fact that his mom raised a pretty good son. If a parent is judged by how much other people like and respect their children, then June Manuel did alright.

As far as the baseball goes, there were a few minor lineup tweaks for Game 2, which will begin at approximately 4:30 p.m. It looks like it will be a gorgeous day for a ballgame.

Phillies 11 – Jimmy Rollins, ss 8 – Shane Victorino, cf 26 – Chase Utley, 2b 6 – Ryan Howard, 1b 5 – Pat Burrell, lf 28 – Jayson Werth, rf 19 – Greg Dobbs, 3b 51 – Carlos Ruiz, c 39 – Brett Myers, p

Dodgers 15 – Rafael Furcal, ss 55 – Russell Martin, c 99 – Manny Ramirez, lf 16 – Andre Ethier, rf 7 – James Loney, 1b 27 – Matt Kemp, cf 33 – Blake Dewitt, 2b 30 – Casey Blake, 3b 58 – Chad Billingsley, p

Check back soon… going to make the rounds.

Game 1 lineups

There e a lot of topics to discuss today so we’ll just start with the most important stuff with a spate of random posts until we get into the meat of things at game time. But first I suggest everyone click over to check out the new CSN web site. Looks pretty sharp, huh?

Here are the lineups for Game 1 of the NLCS:

Phillies 11 – Jimmy Rollins, ss 8 – Shane Victorino, cf 26 – Chase Utley, 2b 6 – Ryan Howard, 1b 5 – Pat Burrell, lf 28 – Jayson Werth, rf 7 – Pedro Feliz, 3b 51 – Carlos Ruiz, c 35 – Cole Hamels, p

Dodgers 15 – Rafael Furcal, ss 16 – Andre Ethier, rf 99 – Manny Ramirez, lf 55 – Russell Martin, c 7 – James Loney, 1b 27 – Matt Kemp, cf 30 – Casey Blake, 3b 33 – Blake Dewitt, 2b 23 – Derek Lowe, p

Opening day for some

The Phillies have the left-handed lineup out there this afternoon, meaning they're prepared to take on lefty pitcher Matt Chico of the Washington Nationals. At first glance Chico seems to be an odd choice for an Opening Day starter until one realizes that it is not Opening Day for the Nats. Fotr some silly reason they had to play a single game against the Atlanta Braves last night on ESPN to open up their brand-new ballpark, and then roll up to Philly to start the season in earnest.

What the...

Why not just let the Nats open the season at home or - even better - allow them to play a week on the road before returning to The District for an opening series.

Crazy.

Anyway, the lineups:

Phillies 11 - Rollins, ss 8 - Victorino, cf 26 - Utley, 2b 6 - Howard, 1b 5 - Burrell, lf 7 - Feliz, 3b 28 - Werth, rf 51 - Ruiz, c 39 - Myers, p

Nationals 15 - Guzman, ss 44 - Milledge, cf 11 - Zimmerman, 3b 24 - Johnson, 1b 25 - Kearns, rf 16 - Lo Duca, c 10 - Belliard, 2b 1 - Harris, lf 47 - Chico, p

Boy, that's different

Here's the Phillies' lineup for Opening Day as compared to the one skipper Charlie Manuel used against the Padres on Wednesday night. April 3, 2006 vs. St. Louis ss - Rollins 3b - Nunez rf - Abreu 2b - Utley lf - Burrell 1b - Howard cf - Rowand c - Lieberthal p - Lieber

bench 3b - Bell of - Dellucci c - Fasano ss - Gonzalez of - Victorino

bullpen Cormier Franklin Fultz Geary Gordon Rhodes Santana

starters Myers Lidle Floyd Madson

July 5, 2006 vs. San Diego ss - Rollins 2b - Utley rf - Abreu 1b - Howard lf - Burrell cf - Rowand 3b - Bell c- Ruiz p - Mathieson

bench of - Dellucci 3b - Nunez of - Victorino c - Coste of - Roberson

bullpen Castro Cormier Franklin Fultz Geary Gordon Rhodes White

starters Hamels Lidle Madson