About a minute before Brad Lidge threw the last pitch of last night's game, the Atlanta Braves lost to the Florida Marlins, assuring that the Phillies had clinched the division. But that didn't matter, because the Phillies were well on their way to their third NL East championship in a row, with a 10-3 drubbing of the Houston Astros.
Pedro Martinez went four uninspiring innings, giving up three runs. He gave way to Kyle Kendrick, who pitched three scoreless. Chad Durbin handled the eighth, then, with Lidge warming up in the bullpen, Scott Eyre came on to get the first two outs of the ninth. At that point, Charlie Manuel came out, took the ball from Eyre, and called for Lidge to face Lance Berkman. Lidge came in to the roar of the crowd and the frenzied waving of rally towels and with one pitch put the game away. It was an awesome moment. Gotta give it to Charlie Manuel for setting up one of the sweetest moments in an evening filled with memorable moments. No wonder his players love him. No wonder this is a true team.
Awesome moments: Pedro Martinez pitching in the clinching game, to be followed by Kyle Kendrick, who, after toiling all season in the minors to add supplementary pitches to his sinker, has come back to demonstrate that he got the message. It was good, too, to see Scott Eyre, though still battling pain, out again on the mound. Last was the wonderful Brad Lidge moment.
Other things to remember: back-to-back triples by Rollins and his "shadow", Shane Victorino, more clutch hitting by Pedro Feliz, and a second-deck two-run homer by Raul Ibanez, which gave him a career high 34 for the season. Last, Carlos Ruiz was back behind the plate.
After the usual splash party in the locker room, the team came back out and assembled at the HK sign in left field to toast the late broadcaster Harry Kalas with champagne and cigars. (See the fab photo of a smoke-breathing Jayson Werth at http://zozone.mlblogs.com) Lots of players, including newcomer Raul Ibanez, spoke eloquently about Harry and how much he still means to them. Utley and Werth later returned to the sign and sprayed it with champagne, to the delight of the many fans still in the park.
One of the coolest scenes occurred in the bullpen, with all the bullpen guys gathered in a knot, hands stretched to the center. I guess Brad Lidge was the guy in the middle of it all. The bullpen has gone through a lot this year but they remain tight. It was another sign that this team is a band of brothers.
There was also the smiling face of GM Ruben Amaro Jr, who gave kudos to his predecessors, Ed Wade and "genius" Pat Gillick. Amaro looked truly happy. So did the players, so did the fans. The only downer was the news that Jamie Moyer, injured the night before, will have season-ending surgery.
I was at the clinching game in 2007, a party from the get-go, then again last year, which ended with a spectacular double-play turned, of course, by Rollins and Utley. I spent last night switching between TV and radio and could only wish I were there.
Congratulations to the Phillies. In the past 30 years only four NL teams have even made it to the play-offs the year after winning the World Series.
October baseball. As the song goes, "better than anything except being in love."
