This whole umpire crew has been terrible the whole series so far, but at least they are making bad calls both ways. And yes, Charlie refuses to play small ball and bunt runners into scoring position and now he has lost 2 games by 1 run. Brilliant! :-?

That is what's killing me Jeff. I don't care that he started Blanton, Joe did his job. But the refusal to play small ball in a close game....I mean they teach that in Babe Ruth League at 14 and 15yrs old.

I think they're done, I mean it's certainly possible they can come back, it's possible with their lineup but it's highly unlikely. Kudos to the Giants for getting hot at the right time and kudos to the Phillies for making them look better than what they are.

Giants/Rangers WS...yawn. I'll be watching hockey.

After last years Stanley cup playoffs with the Flyers I dont count any Philliy team out ( except for the Eagles) until it is over..

Very true, if any team can do this it would be the Phillies...but winning 3 games in a row vs. their top 3 while not swinging the bats well(aside from last night) is gonna be tough.

man, philly fans are rough. he's won you 1 series, got you to another, and 3 straight trips to the NLCS and you cut him zero slack! lol

I love Uncle Charlie(in a completely hetero way), he's a great coach but sometimes he/the overlooks the little things.

you can't applaude him for playing hunches that work and boo him for hunches that don't!

I do, he's very rarely steered this team wrong, last night was just a glaring example of them not playing the small ball. They could hide it when the bats are on fire, they can just knock the ball around power their way to runs but when you're not doing that, in a close game you need to do the little things. Just my opinion.

I'm certainly not saying Charlie sucks, in fact I like him a lot. He's probably STILL the most underrated manager in baseball.

Its the players... Ryan Howard is great during the season but the past 2 yrs he has not done anything really in the playoffs.. Last year in the WS he struck out how many times? Utley has had a bad year all year long. Raul is slumping, Victorino is not a good leadoff hitter.. Chooch, Werth, and Polanco are the most reliable players we have. They picked up sweeney for a reason. I would let him pinch hit or let him play against lefties.. The only flaw I have on Charlie is that sometimes he is to loyal to his players..

i think charlie heard you frosty.....because that bunt just put us in position to put 2 runs in...and the next batter it did. :nod:

another bad call. that bunt was foul

Wow, time to sit back and wait to see how much uglier this game can really get. :shock:

Would have hit Sweeney instead of Gload.. Needed a Fly ball and whith a Righty at bat you avoid that line drive double play..

That might end up being the play of the series! That hurt big time. At least it was a good play and not somebody making an error. I just hope the Phils can stay focused enough to get through the last couple of innings.

Lets go Phillies... The bridge to Lidge just struck out the side in the 8th.. We need to get an insurance run..

Woot! :w00t: Madsen and Lidge with a nice cleanup job. Werth with the insurance run.

Its both the ALCS and the NLCS that the umps are having a strange strike zone. I watched 100's of games during the season but it seems that the strike zone during the season is different then the strike zone during the playoffs. Dont know if its because fox and tbs use that stupid strike zone box and that throws off my perception or what not..

dammit. I think the fat lady is warming up

i'm afraid so! dammit is right.

well look at the bright side- they won't have to embarassed themselves against Lee again.

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet, the Yankees look like they're going to lose which means Phillies at 8pm.

So that's the meet tomorrow + Phillies game=a nice happy Saturday.

woooooooooooooooooo **** the yankees :nod:

To quote Rob Schneider in The Waterboy: "Oh, no! We suck again!"

and now the phillies :moon: karma bit you. lol

howard, what a joke series he had. as bad as a-rod

Absolutely pathetic. Ah well. Classic example of your clutch players not being clutch.

I hope Cliff Lee gets his ring, I hope Giants get swept. The Phillies made them look better than what they are....even garbage can smell nice once in a while.

muhahahah I hate baseball, but I hate philly more, so this has made my day.