Cole Hamels found trouble in the second inning. Better yet, Todd Helton found Hamels… that’s right, Todd Helton is trouble. On the first pitch of the inning, Helton smacked it off the wall above the 409 sign in the deepest part of the park. After a crazy carom past Aaron Rowand and to Shane Victorino pursuing from right field, Helton beat the ball to third for a triple.
Half-dozen pitches later, Garrett Atkins (Chase Utley’s UCLA teammate) laced a single to left to open the scoring. A one-out walk and single made it 2-0. Hamels, strangely, is clearly struggling. He’s also sweating like Dom DeLuise at a clam bake. It’s quite humid outside today, which for the folks arriving in town from sunny and temperate Colorado, feeling our heavy, thick east-coast air must be misery.
Speaking of misery, the Rockies added another run as sweaty Cole Hamels walked Troy Tulowitzki with the bases loaded.
Hamels is teetering on the edge. He whiffed Holliday to end the threat, but strike one to the possible MVP was a freaking bomb that sailed over the foul/fair pole, onto the concourse and very likely onto the street that borders the park to the north… is that Phillies Way?
Either way, it was a bleeping rocket. Worse, Hamels threw 40 pitches in the second inning.
Contrarily, Jeff Francis continued to deal. He whiffed Ryan Howard to start the frame, got Rowand to ground out on a two-strike pitch and then made Wes Helms pop out harmlessly to second.
Nevertheless, Pat Burrell walked to become the Phillies’ first post-season base runner in 14 years.
It’s loud. In fact, I doubt Citizens Bank Park has ever been louder. The fans are cheering for everything. Strikes, foul balls, ground outs… everything.
Yet when MVP candidate Matt Holliday dug into the batter’s box, the fans let out a loud, “BOO!” Then they morphed into an even louder, “OVERRATED!” chant.
Big cheers for Tadahito Iguchi, J.C. Romero, Pat Burrell, Jimmy Rollins (of course), and shudder Charlie Manuel.
Have the Philadelphia fans finally warmed up to Chuck? If so, it’s about time.
Just ran into Ryan Madson in an elevator. He’s obviously still on the disabled list (though he hopes to return for the NLCS) and was trying to get back to the clubhouse to change into his uniform so that he could be part of the pre-game introductions.
It seemed like Madson wanted to get down to the field level via the concourse, which by that point was loaded with fans. Knowing this, Madson pulled a cap over his eyes, threw a hood over his head and dashed into the fray.
Undoubtedly, whenever Jimmy Rollins steps into the batters’ box during the first two games of the NLDS, the packed house at Citizens Bank Park will scream, “M-V-P!” over and over again as if they have some odd social disease.
Likewise, when we go to Coors Field in Denver for the second pair of games (if necessary), the friendly fans will also shout, “M-V-P!” from the mountaintops whenever Matt Holliday comes to bat.
You know, kind of like in that really bad Kevin Costner movie… wait, that didn’t narrow it down. I meant like that really bad Kevin Costner movie about baseball… that didn’t narrow down either, did it?
Busy, busy, busy, busy day today for 50 percent of 
The Phillies set their playoff roster and there is a surprise or two mixed in. Instead of going with 11 pitchers, the Phils have opted to go with 10. Adam Eaton and Geoff Geary are out, but Jose Mesa is in. To round out the 25, the club decided to go with three catchers.
Here’s who the Phillies will be sending out there for Wednesday’s opener of the NLDS:
A few industrious types learned that Wednesday’s opener of the NLDS would be at the Bank at 3:30 p.m. and that all of the games of the series would start during the daytime hours.
That was wrong.
I noticed that the fans at Coors are chanting, “M-V-P!” whenever 
The only Major League Baseball game my 3-year old son ever attended was at Coors Field during the 2005 season. I mixed a little pleasure with some trade-deadline action that trip and can vividly recall Charlie Manuel sitting in the visitors’ dugout before the game and telling stories about how he had to kill snakes along with some other country life vs. nature tales.
Piling on is just mean. That’s why I’m not going to add anymore cheap shots to the barrage the Mets and their fans are taking right now. That just ain’t cool. Besides, from the sounds of things, the Mets are taking a beating from all of the vultures in the NYC press.
OK, where do I start?
After all this time of wondering what it was like to be in the clubhouse when the players are going nuts and pouring beer and champagne all over each other, I finally got to witness it firsthand. And to tell you the truth, it’s a lot like a couple of the really good parties I help throw when I was in college. Only we had a 
Anyway, you know it’s was a good party when mirthful catching instructor (and all around good guy) Mick Billmeyer noted that he had more beer on him than in him, and Pat Burrell’s English bulldog, Elvis, was one of the first to arrive in the clubhouse.
Three outs to go in Philly.
A long, stark winter ahead for the Mets.
Interestingly, Ryan Howard homered for the fourth game in a row in the seventh inning. It was his 47th home run of the season.
What’s so interesting about this, you ask? Well, the 47 home runs is the same total that 
With one outs and two on in the sixth as Jamie Moyer approached 100 pitches and made his third time through the Nationals’ lineup, Charlie Manuel sauntered out to the mound and called for Tom Gordon.
Even though Moyer allowed just five hits to go with six strikeouts and no walks in 5 1/3 innings, Manuel’s move was pretty smart. After all, when teams catch up to Moyer, it gets ugly fast. Moreover, the Phils’ skipper likely will have Kyle Lohse to add to the bullpen mix with Gordon, J.C. Romero and closer Brett Myers. That gives him a full arsenal to work with.
The Marlins posted another run as Jamie Moyer cruised through the fifth. It looks as if it’s safe to say that the Mets are cooked against the Marlins.
But the question remains:
