Who the hell is Vance Worley?

One of the fun things about the Phillies this season is checking the box score to see which ace was throwing today.

You have an 80% chance of seeing a kick ass potential Cy Young contender. You have two former NLCS MVPs... and neither one of them is named Halladay or Lee.

So I saw the Mets were clobbered by the Phillies, who held New York scoreless until the 9th, I checked to see which ace was on the hill.

It was of course Vance Worley.

Who?
Seriously, hands up if you heard of Vance Worley.
(Put your hand down, Mrs. Worley.)

Here he is.

He is 23 years old and pitched fine as a September call up last year. This year he shut down the Mets in his first start of the season.

What if he continues to pitch well?
I mean he only has 4 aces to take him under his wing.

Good luck with your injury Joe Blanton.

Show of hands, Giants fans...

If I told you at the beginning of the NLCS that the Giants would beat Roy Halladay AND Cole Hamels, raise your hand if your would take it.

That if in Game 4, the Giants would face Joe Blanton, who hasn't pitched in nearly a month, and throw Madison Bumgarner, raise your hand if you'd take that.

Now how about if I told you that if EVERYTHING goes wrong in Game 4... they lose 20-0 and are no hit... they would still be tied 2-2 with Tim Lincecum on the mound at home? Show of hands if you would take it.

I expect to see a LOT of hands in the air.

I thought the Phillies were winning in 5.
They've got to run the table to win in 6.

And tomorrow is the ONE TIME the Giants aren't going to face a former Cy Young winner or NLCS MVP on the mound.

Blanton is a decent pitcher with a big heart.
Bumgarner is a solid pitcher with great stuff.

You'd have to favor the home team in that match up.

Hands up if you'd take that.

I know Giant fans shouldn't get ahead of themselves... but isn't cool to be in a situation where they SHOULDN'T get ahead of themselves?

Win tomorrow... then start getting giddy.
The Giants are half way there.

Hands up if you were expecting THAT?
(Mine would NOT be up.)

Hey Phillies... you call this a Pennant Defense?

Seriously... I thought you guys were ready for a 3rd straight World Series appearance going into this weeks series against the Astros, who aren't exactly world beaters.

On Monday the Phillies were 2 1/2 games out of first place and were up 3 games in the loss column over the Giants.

And the Braves were thrashed apart by the Rockies, including blowing a 10-1 lead yesterday. This should have been the moment that the Phillies made their big move in the standings.

And what did they do? They dropped FOUR AT HOME TO THE ASTROS!!!!

They not only GAINED nothing but they let the Giants tie them in the loss column for the Wild Card.

They got great starts out of Blanton and Hamels and a monster clutch homer out of Jimmy Rollins. And tonight had Roy Halladay against former Phillie J. A. Happ.

NOTHING! THEY GOT GOTCH!

And now they have to go west and play the Padres. This SHOULD have been the week where the Phillies made a run at the best record in the National League... instead of wondering if the Giants, who are hosting the lowly Diamondbacks, will overtake them.

Then again, the Diamondbacks could be a problem for the Giants... they have nothing to lose... just like the Astros.

The decade turns to Joe Blanton for salvation

This hasn't been a banner decade for the World Series.

There has only been one great one this decade... the 2001 World Series which was jaw dropping, heart breaking and leap off the couch exciting depending on your opinion of the Yankees.

The 2002 Series was back and forth right down to the 7th game and broke my dad's heart as the Angels (then in Anaheim before their move to Los Angeles of Anaheim) beat the Giants.

And in 2003, the Marlins stunned the Yankees in an exciting 6 game series.

Since then, we haven't had a heart stopping series.

Yeah it was great to see my Red Sox win in 2004 and 2007... but they were sweeps. The outcome wasn't in doubt?

Yeah each game in 2005 was competitive and 3 of them were truly wonderful... but again it was a sweep.

The only thing merciful about the 2006 World Series was that it was over quickly.

Last year the Rays and Phillies fought hard, but again, it never went back to the original host city.

So that means the last 5 World Series were all but decided after 4 games.

Now CC Sabathia, who has been awesome in the post season and didn't pitch badly in Game 1 is throwing against Joe Blanton, whose ERA against the Yankees has an area code.

Blanton and the Phillies have to come up big, somehow hit Sabathia and shut down the Yankees bats, otherwise the decade will conclude with 5 straight World Series that failed to have that "man this is coming down to the wire moment."

Come on Joe!

I know the odds are long, but what were the odds that you'd homer in last year's World Series?

I wish Cole Hamels went as 2008 Cole Hamels for Halloween

For 3 innings it looked so great, didn't it?

Phillies up 3-0.

Hamels pitching well.

The Phillies would be up 2-1.

And if you assume the Yankees would win behind Sabathia in Game 4 and the Phillies would win behind Lee in Game 5... then you would have the Phillies up 3-2 going back to the Bronx... and the chance for the most exciting series since 2001.

And then.... ugh.

And here's my other pet peeve: The tack on runs.

I knew when A-Rod was hit with 2 outs and 2 strikes in the 7th that the game was over. Werth had homered the inning before and the Phillies might have thoughts of a comeback in their heads.

Then A-Rod was hit and I thought "The Yankees are going to score."

And they did.

Think about that run... and the solo shots by Swisher and Matsui... A World Series winner shouldn't let a team pull away like that.

Well here we sit. Joe Blanton vs. CC Sabathia. Gee whiz, I wonder who is going to win THAT match up!

A friend of mine wrote "You never know what will happen in October."

I agree. Too bad it is now November?

Hey Edwin Jackson

Next time you find yourself wondering "Why did I get left out of the post season rotation?" just remember this moment:

Joe Blanton homered off of you.
A guy who prior to that swing was 2 for 32.


And your job was to stop the runs.
The Phillies were up 5-1... Eric Hinske, a trusted 2007 Red Sox, homered.
Thoughts of coming back danced in Tampa's head... provided you kept them off the board.

2 outs, nobody on...
And you let a .063 homer off of you in the World Series.

Good job.