Idiots

I'm sure the excuses for this pathetic loss will be "the Eagles are a young team." They are, but the reason they lost today is because they are a dumb team. They have completely failed to learn from previous near collapses in games vs. the Lions and the 49ers. Today they also took their foot off the neck of their opponent and failed to put them away and close out the game. Only this time they ended up losing badly because the opponent wasn't totally horrible and didn't give the game away like in the previous examples. Redzone failures, penalties and turnovers killed them.

The Eagles had complete control of this game for almost 3 quarters and were leading 16-9. Then a fumble on the exchange between Kolb and McCoy at the 3 yard line going in for a TD changed everything. It maybe wouldn't have mattered as much if the defense could have held and forced a punt, but the worst player in today's game, Ellis Hobbs who was horrible and stupid all day, bailed Tennessee out with a stupid pass interference penalty. Titans took that gift and drove for a field goal. The Eagles answered with a nice kick-off return across the 50 but they crapped out in the redzone, like they did most times today and only got a field goal. And that was it for the Eagles offense for the rest of the game.

Titans responded with a long bomb catch and run for a TD by Kenny Britt, the only player you needed to cover all day, but the Eagles failed to cover him all day. Britt set a record with 225 yards catching and he didn't even play all 4 quarters. Great job McDermott. Keep Ellis Hobbs on him! He isn't horrible or anything.

The offense responded with their first 3 and out since the first quarter. Titans responded with a field goal to take the lead. Eagles responded with another 3 and out, Titans responded with a drive ending with a wide open Kenny Britt TD catch to go up 27-19. The Eagles responded with another 3 and out. Nobody stepped up, nobody made a play. Maclin cried for a pass interference instead of going up and getting the ball.

The Titans tacked on 10 more garbage points off of bad turnovers to further embarrass the Eagles for a final score of 37-19.

Other notes:

• Wow, 2 weeks in a row defense starts with a 3 and out.
• Kolb was perfect on passes over 20+ yards last week, not so great today.
• McCoy has that same crucial skill Westbrook had - he makes the first guy miss every time.
• Pleasantly surprised Reid is still committing to the run and not just when they are ahead.
• It was a small play in the scheme of things, but the simple short pass to Schmitt coming out of the backfield that he caught and converted for a first down is a pass that McNabb could never make.
• Who knew Joe Sestak, a former Navy vice-admiral and the highest-ranking former military officer currently serving in Congress, was practically a member of al Qaeda? Thank you cowardly, fear mongering Jews for Republicans for alerting me to this danger.
• The idiot Juqua Parker gave the Titans 7 points with his stupid roughing the passer play. Don't body slam Collins and the Titans are punting.
• Mikell started the game well with a pick and a forced fumble, but finished weak. Hobbs was terrible all game. Samuel made the pick that should have put the game away, but the offense fumbled away. He then blew an interception in the endzone that would have preserved the 19-17 lead and may have stopped the disaster that unfolded.
• I hate gadget plays that take forever to develop. Cooper had to make a great play to save the Eagles from disaster on whatever you call that wildcat reverse flea-flicker/ QB lined up as a wide receiver pass something or other thing. Nice that he got rewarded with a TD a few plays later - the only time the Eagles got a TD in the redzone.
• Akers responded to last week's disaster with 4 field goals and 5 touch backs.
• Defense held Tennessee to 87 total yards in the first half and Johnson to 44 yards rushing. It didn't last. They did shut down Chris Johnson really well though all game.
• Fox announcers were impressed by Kolb after the first half, but he really should have been picked off 3 times.
• In all the lauding of Kenny Britt neither Fox announcer bothered to mention the police investigation of his bar fight and why he was not playing in the first quarter. Good job.

Hope Dallass loses tonight to the Giants to make me feel good about something.

Phils being Phils

You can't say the Phillies didn't have every opportunity to win tonight and send the NLCS to a Game 7. But they blew too many opportunities, and will be watching the World Series from home for the first time since 2007.

Both teams stranded 11 base runners — and a lot of those situations weren't exactly guys stranded on first after a two-out single. There were a ton of dangerous situations that went for naught on both sides. But the Giants found a way through with a Juan Uribe solo homer off Ryan Madson that barely got over the right field wall in the eighth.

With the lead, and despite a vaunted back end of the bullpen, the Giants went with Tim Lincecum to start the bottom of the eighth, and it felt like a comeback was more than possible. After K'ing Jayson Werth, Lincecum was throwing mostly breaking balls, and didn't seem to have it. After surrendering singles to Shane Victorino and Raul Ibanez, Lincecum was out of the game and the Phillies were on the cusp.

Then it all went pear-shaped.

With Giants closer Brian Wilson in the game, Carlos Ruiz sent a laser to first base. Ibanez recognized the line drive and dove back to first. Victorino didn't, and was easily doubled off second.

I'm not sure why the announcers just let that play go, but Victorino can't get picked off in that situation. Bottom line. If you make sure the ball gets through, you can still probably score. If not, at least you have the bases loaded with one out.

Victorino, since being moved to the leadoff spot late in the season, played much smarter baseball. But he fell back on his "dumb baseball" tendencies with two bad baserunning plays in this series, and the last one cost the Phils.

Hope was still alive in the ninth, with Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley working walks off Wilson, but Howard struck out looking and that was that. Queue annoying Giants players celebrating on Philly turf.

Game 6, in the end, was a microcosm of the Phillies' season. Good starting pitching (even if Oswalt had to work out of a bunch of jams) and a brutally inconsistent offense, with some mental and physical errors sprinkled in for fun.

Changes are likely afoot for 2011, but I'm hoping the management took note of what the offense looked like against left-handed pitching in this series. Because the point isn't to reach the playoffs, it's to win the World Series.

NOTES:

— I'm hearing people complain about the last strike to Howard, and about umpire Tom Hallion hesitating slightly before calling it a strike. Looked like a strike to me, albeit a borderline low one. And I have to give Wilson credit for good pitching. He froze Howard with an almost identical slider at 2-1 in the count, and he came back to it after Howard fouled off a few fastballs.

— In a very Charlie Manuel move, Rollins was reinstated as the leadoff batter. I liked the move, even if Rollins annoyingly swung at the first pitch in the first (he came back to work a full count).

— I haven't been keeping track — how's Cliff Lee doing these days?

— Ruben Amaro Jr. at this point is known, above all else, for trading Lee. Does this loss affect the chances of Werth being back? Are several moves necessary at this point?

— Jonathan Sanchez losing it and having to be taken out of the game in the third might have been the best piece of luck the Giants had in the game.

— I'd love to know what Ruiz and Buster Posey were saying to each other with Posey at the plate in the fifth. Didn't look friendly.

— If Howard's double in the fifth doesn't bounce perfectly off the wall for Andres Torres, Rollins scores the Phillies' third run. But he had to be held at third or else easily be thrown out at home.

— I wouldn't be shocked if Oswalt purposefully hit Uribe — who's been having success off Oswalt — in the ribs in the sixth in order to set up a potential (and realized) double play off of Edgar Renteria. The first pitch almost hit Uribe too, and I don't think Oswalt got that wild all of a sudden. Definitely more entertaining than an intentional walk.

— I hope Pittsburgh got something good for lefty reliever Javier Lopez, because that guy was awesome in this series. (They probably didn't, though.)

— Way too many missed opportunities for the Phillies to even get into here. If the World Series loss last season hurt, at least the Yankees were favored by most. The Phillies should have been the better team in this series, but weren't in the end.

First and Tennessee

10/24 1:00 PM ET	Opening	betED	5Dimes	SPORTSBETTING	Logans
Philadelphia @ Tennessee	43 -2.5	42.5 -3	42.5 -2	43 -3	42.5 -3

Matchup

Bonus Question: Was last week's performance by the offensive line for real?

Goin' back to Philly

Roy Halladay wasn't in Terminator mode tonight, but was good enough to get the win.

The Phillies offense — again — wasn't great either, but made good on mistakes from the Giants and the ump, and added in some hits to put up 3 runs against Tim Lincecum in the third.

Those 3 runs held up because the Phillies bullpen — in the form of Jose Contreras, J.C. Romero, Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge — was excellent, surrendering only a single in the seventh. Madson was lights out, striking out the heart of the Giants order in the eighth, and Lidge looked very sharp in the ninth, allowing no base runners.

Back to Philly for Game 6 Saturday night — Oswalt vs. Sanchez.

NOTES:

— More sloppy play in this one, but the Phillies made the Giants' mistakes more costly.

— Jimmy Rollins finally let loose on the base paths, stealing second and the third in the seventh. Good to see. Rollins' defense at short has also been excellent.

— The umps blew another call in the third when Halladay's sac bunt went straight into the plate, and then rolled to the right of the plate, making it foul. Except it was called fair, and the runners advanced. Ricky Botallico, on the CSN postgame, was correct in pointing out that catcher Buster Posey was trying to steal an out at third and likely blocked the ump's view by jumping over the ball and dropping his mask. If he makes a good throw to third it's a good play, but it ended up backfiring on the Giants.

— After Chase Utley's lame effort in Game 4, injury rumors once again creeped up. He looked much better tonight at the plate, but still managed to boot a double play ball in the first that allowed a run to score. It wasn't ruled an error because of the stupid "can't assume a double play" rule, but it was one. His throws have become sketchy again, too.

— Halladay apparently pitched with a slight groin pull he picked up in the second. Because he's Roy Halladay. That said, I don't know why people are asking if he can go in Game 7, assuming there is one. He was far from lights out tonight, and you do need someone to throw in the World Series if you get there.

Being in the wrong place at the wrong time

Bottom line, the Phillies have to win that game.

Can they win three in a row behind Halladay, Oswalt and Hamels? Sure, it's possible, but not likely based on how they've played so far in this series.

This game saw a lot of questionable calls that will be discussed ad infinitum until tomorrow night's first pitch, as they should be. For me, Joe Blanton starting wasn't one of them; he pitched well enough and came out with the lead.

There were a ton of decisions/moments in this game that could have swung the result one way or the other. Let's examine.

1) The big one, for me, came in the eighth. Ryan Howard doubled to lead off the inning, and Jayson Werth doubled him in to tie the game. Jimmy Rollins then popped out to shallow left, failing to move the runner to third with less than two outs. Charlie Manuel went with his gut here, but the book was the right play. Rollins should have bunted, or somehow has to get the guy to third so he can be knocked in for the lead.

2) That Manuel went to Roy Oswalt to start the ninth didn't bother me. How Oswalt pitched did. Buster Posey had been hitting pitches out over the plate to right all night, and again against Oswalt to rack up two strikes. But instead of going back inside, Oswalt stayed outside and Posey singled to set up first and third. He then throws a changeup to Juan Uribe who sent it to left for the winning sac fly. This despite Uribe had a bum wrist and Oswalt had just hit his hand (despite it being called a foul ball). He should have gone after him with the fastball.

3) In the bottom of the sixth, Chad Durbin had Pablo Sandoval set up for a much-needed strikeout with two on and no outs, and went with the wrong pitch. The at bat sequence was: fastball pulled down the line and ruled foul; slop breaker at Sandoval's feet that he swung at; another slop pitch he looked at for a ball; fastball up that he ripped foul. At this point the count is 1-2, and Sandoval clearly wants the fastball. Durbin and Carlos Ruiz went with a high fastball when I think another slop breaker would have gotten the strikeout. Instead, Sandoval (to his credit) ripped the neck-high fastball to the wall, scoring 2.

4) With two outs in the third, Posey doubled off Blanton to score Aubrey Huff from first, making the score 2-0. Off the bat I thought the ball was in the glove, but Francisco could not get to it. Announcer Joe Buck said he thought Francisco got a slow start on the ball, and while there was no replay showing Francisco's reaction, I bet Buck was right.

Rollins getting the runner over, and Oswalt pitching the ninth will get a lot of attention. But inside the game, the pitch selection on Posey and Sandoval was just as important.

So, the Phillies are now in a three game to one hole. I've heard of an ace in the hole, but can the Phils produce three?

NOTES:

— This was not a example of stellar umpiring tonight. There was the Sandoval ball that might have nicked the foul line in right; there was the pitch apparently off Uribe's hand but called a foul ball; there was the Glad grounder to short in the ninth that he actually beat out at first (tie goes to runner, but tough call); and there was the pickoff of Rollins in the second that Giants starter Madison Bumgarner balked on two different ways, and then Rollins was safe at second anyway but called out.

— The Phillies finally put together a solid offensive stretch in the fifth to take a 3-2 lead. Why Shane Victorino wasn't on second base after he singling in Francisco and while Ruiz was getting thrown out at home, only Shane Victorino knows. That was a great play by Posey at the plate to field a short hop throw from Aaron Rowand and make the tag.

— I don't know why they play "God Bless America" in the mid-seventh inning, but I thought it was funny that the fans stepped up and sang the words while it was played by a violin "maestro."

— According to the radar gun graphic, Bumgarner hit 66 mph while tossing the ball to the ump in the fourth. Good to know Fox.

— Soundtrack to this post provided by Del.

Frustrating Cain

Let's take a look at some names here: Edgar Renteria, Freddy Sanchez, Buster Posey, Pat Burrell, Cody Ross, Aubrey Huff, Juan Uribe and Aaron Rowand.

Posey looks like he will be a star and Ross — in hockey goalie parlance — is standing on his head right now. But overall that has to be one of the weakest lineups ever thrown out by an LCS team.

But if your own lineup of all-stars struggles to get base runners, strands the base runners they do get, and puts a goose egg up on the scoreboard, then it doesn't much matter how weak the other team's lineup is, does it?

Cole Hamels pitched pretty well for the Phillies, but Giants starter Matt Cain was better.

With two games scheduled for the next two days (for some stupid, likely Yankees-related reason), the Phils are expected to go with well-rested Joe Blanton tomorrow against rookie Madison Bumgarner. Unless they choose to go back to Roy Halladay on short rest. What would you do?

NOTES:

— If Matt Cain ever plays for the Phillies, I fully expect a group of rock and roll clowns out in left field tallying up all his ka-ka-ka-ka K's.

Kolb Sucks

Just sayin'. (A come from behind game winning drive into the wind after some rough moments against the Skins' (I'm ignoring Avant's drop), followed by two nice performances and W's. Not a bad return for the guy folks weren't willing to even give a chance.)

Ouch to DJ's gettin jacked. Hope the guy is ok. Didn't watch the game yet, but I couldn't resist some form of an update.

The phone's off the hook, but the Giants aren't

In the NLCS Game 1 write-up, I noted that "if there's some reason Jimmy Rollins isn't batting eighth in the lineup I'd like to hear it." I guess J-Roll game me a reason in Game 2.

The Phillies hitters — in the form of Rollins — finally made Giants pitchers pay in a big way with a bases loaded, bases clearing double in the seventh.

But as overdue and as welcome as that game-sealing offensive outburst was, Roy Oswalt was the story of this game. That's eight innings of 1-run pitching Roy Oswalt, obviously. But it's also single-hitting and jacket-wearing, base-running terror Roy Oswalt.

Oswalt scoring from second on Placido Polanco's single up the middle in the seventh was one of the crazier plays in recent Phillies history. Oswalt — seemingly taking over the then tied game by himself — ran right through third base coach Sam Perlozzo's quite reasonable stop sign and scored.

Fox announcer Tim McCarver is crazy himself if he thinks Aubrey Huff's cutting off the throw at the pitching mound was a good play. The throw from center fielder Andres Torres was on line and plenty high enough to clear the mound. There would have been a play at the plate without the cutoff. Not sure if Huff just didn't know Oswalt was running or what, but it wasn't the right call in that situation. (Then again, Huff did attend that bastion of intelligent athletes — The U.)

Hero status in place for Oswalt, the rest of the lineup did its thing with Rollins' double sealing the win. Appropriately, Oswalt even talked Charlie Manuel out of removing him when he let a couple guys get on in the eighth. It was his night.

NOTES:

— Phillies need more hitting like they got in the seventh inning, less like they had in the first when only a Rollins walk drove in a run with the bases loaded and one out.

— After a huge drop against the wall the night before, Raul Ibanez made a great diving catch of a Pat Burrell line drive in the ninth. Had it dropped, the Giants would have had two on with no outs, and things might have gotten nervous.

— Speaking of nervous, I'm nervous every time Shane Victorino starts running backwards when fielding fly balls. He fell over fielding a wind-aided fly in the second, but still caught it.

— How awesome is Tim Lincecum blister-cam?!?! Does MLB.tv offer that camera view all game?

— Cody Ross hit another homer to left off an inside fastball, this one off Oswalt. I'm all for pitching him outside for a while and seeing how he does with that (even if Ryan Madson struck him out looking on an inside heater in the ninth).

— Game 1 forgetfulness: Forgot this on the last post, but the Game 1 ump yelled "strike 3" and demonstratively rang up Rollins in the second inning, but it was only the second strike. Never seen that one before.

— I'm glad the Phillies had to wait six days between the NLDS and NLCS, but will have three games in three days this week. Game 3 starts at 4:19 p.m. Tuesday.

— Soundtrack for this blog post here.

xfaility

The much-hyped matchup of Cy Young-caliber aces turned into a battle of 8-hole hitters as the Giants took Game 1 of the NLCS 4-3.

Late season, Padres-spiting waiver signee Cody Ross homered twice off Roy Halladay, and the Giants made the most of a two-out rally in the sixth to take the win. The Phillies' 8-hole hitter Carlos Ruiz homered himself, and Jayson Werth got the Phils back into the game with a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth, but the lineup couldn't get enough going off lefty reliever Javier Lopez and closer Brian Wilson, who pitched the last inning and a third for the save.

As much as Fox announcers Tim McCarver and Joe Buck made Giants starter Tim Lincecum out to be the greatest pitcher ever, he was far from dominant tonight. Phillies hitters left him off the hook numerous times. It felt like the 2009 lineup would have put up 8 or 9 runs, but this year's lineup just does not string together hits. When they batted around against the Reds, errors were helping their cause.

That said, it looked like they might steal this one anyway. Wilson hit Ruiz with a pitch with one out in the ninth, bringing pinch hitter Lil' Matt Stairs — aka Ross Gload — to the plate. I had visions of Stairs-esque heroics, but Glad struck out, and so did Victorino, and that was that.

NOTES:

— If there was a day off before Game 2, there'd probably a lot of talk about Halladay not getting the 0-2 call against Pat Burrell in the sixth, which resulted in Burrell's RBI double on the next pitch. The pitch was a strike and called low, but the ump was consistently calling that pitch low all night for both teams. And Raul Ibanez probably should have caught the ball, which would have ended the inning with the Phillies only down one run instead of three.

— Fox uses that Fox Track graphic (not a glowing puck) to show where pitches crossed the plate during select replays, but if they should leave it on the screen all the time. The camera angle behind the mound is angled too severely to gauge if pitches are hitting the corners or not.

— If there's some reason Jimmy Rollins isn't batting eighth in the lineup I'd like to hear it.

— Brian Wilson should just go all out and add face paint and a red nose, because he looks like a clown with that beard. Just for Men is a privilege, not a right.

Giant Series Preview

I don't have one, but the Halladay/Lincecum matchup is previewed here, and it's a nice read. Dang, Halladay is so darned likeable. He's a total stud.

Phils in six.

Battle of the birds

1:00 PM ET	Opening	betED	5Dimes	SPORTSBETTING	Logans
Atlanta @ Philadelphia	41.5 -3	OFF OFF	41.5 -2.5	OFF OFF	41.5 -3

Matchup

Bonus Question: Will the defense look worse trying to stop the run or the pass?

49errors

If the Eagles were a good team this game would not have been in doubt late in the 4th quarter. After they went up 24-10 they would have put the 49ers away and just played out the rest of the game. But if the Eagles were not playing the 49ers, it probably would not have been in doubt either, but with the Eagles on the losing end.

Once again the Eagles started the game with terrible kick coverage and a somnambulant effort by the defense and they were quickly behind 7-0. Alex Smith looked like Joe Montana. Kolb, in response, led the offense in a very efficient drive to tie the game at 7. Kolb was perfect on the drive and looked like he had his confidence back making decisive and accurate throws and even overcame a killer holding penalty.

But after trading impressive opening drives, the teams' offenses reverted to their usual selves. 49ers began a trend they continued all night on the next drive - bailing out the Eagles defense by making a critical mistake, this time a Frank Gore fumble. And the Eagles offense began a trend they continued all night as well - failing to make the most of the 49ers gifts and stalling out, this time only getting a field goal.

The next 49ers drive ended with a bad Alex Smith interception; the next Eagles drive started with promise but ended with a sack. You get the picture.

Eagles did take advantage of a DeSean Jackson punt return as the player of the game (and near goat), LeSean McCoy ripped off a 29 yard run for a TD to put the Eagles up 17-7. The defense would go soft before the half and the 49ers would get a long field goal, but crucially they would also miss a closer one in the closing seconds after Kolb was sacked and fumbled. This miss of course would prove to be huge.

The second half was more of the same from both teams - the 49ers making mistakes and the Eagles repeatedly failing to take advantage of them and of their good field position as they repeatedly failed to convert on third down. It was looking like the Eagles were going to find a way to blow the game. But then Alex Smith stepped up with a killer bad play and let Brandon Graham swipe the ball out his hand and Quintin Demps would scoop it and run it in for a TD putting the Eagles up 24-10. The 49ers fans then rained downed thunderous boos and chanted for David Carr.

Then, just like the Detroit game, the defense relaxed and Smith led the 49ers to a relatively easy TD to make it 24-17. Eagles offense did respond with a crucial Akers field goal in a whipping wind, but the special teams would once again fail spectacularly and give up a huge return on the following kickoff. The defense couldn't stop the 49ers from scoring another TD to make it 27-24, but the 49ers were running out of time. One Eagles first down after the kickoff and the game would be over, but they didn't get it because McCoy slid down short of the first down like a dummy.

So 49ers had 1 more chance to win or tie. Two crucial plays were made to preserve the victory for the Eagles. The first was by Nate Allen who blitzed and batted down a pass that Frank Gore would have probably run in for a long TD or at least into easy field goal range. The second was by Trevor Laws who hit Smith as he threw which resulted in a Trevard Lindley interception and the end of the 49ers hopes.

Other notes:

• Fokou made Sean McDermott look like a genius by making several big plays.
• Frank Gore should get some new cleats, maybe the same make and model as McCoy's.
• Asante Samuel's coverage was missed in this game.
• After a slow start, the defense stopped the run pretty good for the majority of the game.
• Don't know if the Eagles were doing anything or Smith just sucks, but Vernon Davis seemed an afterthought for most of the game.
• I like the way Kolb throws the screen pass. He zips it in there instead of floating it and giving the defense more time to close.
• On the Kolb sack where he fumbled either Jackson or Chad Hall was left uncovered way downfield.
• Mike Bell still sucks even though the Eagles run game was very impressive this game.
• Why does Andy Reid suck? On third and 1 with the team driving he calls a stupid wildcat play with Buckley as QB, who as far as I can remember last touched the ball opening game and fumbled. Shocking that the play failed along with the drive.
• Celek dropped a bunch of passes this game.
• Last 3 trips to San Francisco the Eagles have returned a fumble for a TD.
• Singletary wasn't ripping Smith on the sidelines, he was encouraging him.
• Herremans may have saved the game with his excellent hustle and fumble recovery technique.
• Bradley yelled at Lindley to go down and not risk a fumble after his interception. Smart call.
• Eagles were terrible on 3rd down conversions, only converting on 3 of them.
• Eagles thankfully reduced their number of penalties.
• In the new Cialis ad the dude is literally pitching a tent.
• I can't wait for the 18 game season. Has everyone looked at the injury list not just for the Eagles, but for the entire league?

Red Dead Elimination

The Reds started off NLDS game 3 like they were still playing game 2 — making an error that gave the Phillies a run and the lead. Down 1-0 after one, Reds fans may as well have gone home and started getting psyched for the T.Ocho Show, because their baseball season was effectively over.

Cole Hamels was dominant, and for the second time in three games the Reds hitters looked like they had no chance.

Hamels was sharp from the start despite not pitching in a week, and was especially effective with his A+ change-up. He was also efficient — eventually throwing 119 pitches, but never having to go deep into the well.

That he finished the game was down to Charlie Manuel, and maybe a little surprising given conventional baseball thinking, given the situation.

After Carlos Ruiz doubled off fireballer Aroldis Chapman with one out in the top of the ninth, Hamels was sent to the plate. Normally in that situation — and especially in a playoff game where an extra run could be that much more critical — you'd probably see a pinch hitter, and then send the closer to the hill in the ninth.

But Manuel obviously wanted Hamels to pitch the ninth, which probably had everything to do with MVP candidate and left-handed slugger Joey Votto set to bat second in the bottom of the inning. So Hamels was sent to the plate, but not made to bunt. Manuel trusted Hamels to handle a bat, but probably didn't want to risk him squaring for a bunt in front of a 105 mph fastball.

Ruiz was stranded at second, but Hamels was still in the game to pitch to Votto in the ninth, which may have been critical as he induced a double play after Brandon Phillips led off the inning with a single. A strikeout ended his five-hit shutout, and the Phillies are in the NLCS for the third consecutive year.

NOTES:

— The Phillies still weren't hitting a whole lot, but did get a homer from Chase Utley off a hanging Johnny Cueto slider in the fifth. The umps took mercy on the Reds in reviewing the play, but it was clearly well over the wall and not a case of fan interference.

— Hamels dominated, but things might have been different early had Shane Victorino not made a great catch on the run, snagging a Phillips line drive smash to the left-center gap. There could have been a run in a a man on base with no outs, otherwise.

— Game 1 of the NLCS will be Saturday night in Philly.

Wugly

Fred McGriff — wearing an ill-fitting blue cap — would not endorse the defense and fundamentals on display in the Phillies 7-4 win over the Reds tonight. But the Phils and their fans will most certainly take the win.

That's the kind of game you really want to win, because the loser — in this case the Reds — have to feel like they threw a game away. Four errors, three hit batsmen, a picked off runner, a bases loaded walk and at least one costly mental error (Rolen throwing to second instead of first, failing to get any outs) gave the Phillies all sorts of opportunities, and they eventually took advantage.

The Phillies were playing pretty ugly themselves early, with Roy Oswalt giving up some bombs and generally off his game, and Utley making a throwing error that resulted in a run. And Reds starter Bronson Arroyo effectively kept the Phillies batters off balance, mixing up his pitches and speeds.

But then Arroyo got pulled in the sixth — thanks in part to a great at bat and lead-off single by Ibanez — and the cavalcade of ugly baseball began for Cincinnati. Maybe the biggest moment came in the seventh when Rollins sent a soft line drive to right with two on and one out. Right fielder Jay Bruce looked like he lost the ball in the lights, and it went right past his glove. The throw in to second baseman Brandon Phillips was dropped, allowing the go-ahead run to score.

The bright spot in the game for the Phillies was the bullpen, with Romero, Durbin, Contreras, Madson and Lidge finishing out the game with no runs and not many base runners allowed. If it wasn't lights out, it never got nervous, either.

NOTES:

— Rollins was out of the leadoff spot again, as he had been the last week or so of the regular season. He pretty obviously is not 100 percent running. Not sure I would have him in front of Ibanez, though.

— Chase Utley didn't sound too convincing when asked if he was hit by that Aroldis Chapman pitch. Replays were inconclusive. I'm not real sure he touched third base when scoring in the seventh, either.

— I would question pulling Arroyo when Reds Manager Dusty Baker did. He still looked effective to me and had only thrown 103 pitches. That would likely have been his last inning, though, and Baker had no reason not to trust the back end of his bullpen, which had been excellent all season. But facing anyone but Arroyo seemed like a positive from the Phillies' perspective.

— Game 3 set for 7 p.m. Sunday night on TNT, not TBS for some reason. So think "We know drama" instead of "Very funny." UPDATE: Because the Yankees won, game 3 is now set for 8:07 on TBS.

The 0 and 49ers

10/10 8:20 PM ET	Opening	betED	5Dimes	SPORTSBETTING	Logans
Philadelphia @ San Francisco	39 -3.5	38 -3	38 -2.5	38 -3.5	38 -3.5

Matchup

Bonus Question: Will the Kafka era begin in this game?

All killer, no hitter

Roy Halladay just threw a friggin' no-hitter. In the playoffs. In his first-ever postseason game.

There's not really a lot you can say. You just have to marvel at Halladay's dominance. Even though he was going for a no-hitter — only the second ever thrown in the playoffs after Don Larsen's perfect game in '56 — the situation never seemed tenuous. I, personally, felt no nervousness at all watching him shut down the Reds over those last three innings. They just didn't have a chance.

The only time Halladay seemed to pitch carefully to a hitter resulted in his lone walk, to left-handed power hitter Jay Bruce. Other than that one at-bat, every pitch went exactly where he wanted it. He had good steam on the fastball, movement on all his pitches, and the Reds hitters just looked hapless at the plate.

Halladay also had a critical two-out RBI single in the second to keep an eventual three-run inning going. Opposing starter Edinson Volquez didn't make it out of the inning. And while the Phillies bats went quiet after posting four runs through two innings, they'd done more than enough for the win.

After the game Halladay was quick to credit catcher Carlos Ruiz for getting him in a rhythm early. And while Chooch's defensive and game-calling qualities are substantial, I think I've had some catchers in softball that might have been good enough tonight.

Ruiz did make a sketchy play to end things though, picking up a 2-foot grounder laying against Brandon Phillips' discarded bat, and then firing to first from his knees. Watching that play was about as nervous as things got, though.

NOTES:

— Polanco didn't play with back issues, not his lingering elbow issues. Wilson Valdez filled in nicely with a hit and a run, and with his typical excellent defense.

— The Phillies hitters didn't dominate tonight, but they were patient against the young fireballer early, showing their experience.

— Game 3 is Sunday night, crossing into the Eagles' Sunday night game against San Fran. Who schedules this stuff?

Lame

In a battle of mediocrity the Eagles came out on top, unfortunately that means they lost. Eagles and Andy Reid started the game seemingly in an effort to give the Redskins confidence and momentum via very conservative play calling and timid effort against the worst ranked defense going into the game. Throw in typical horrible special teams play, boneheaded penalties and horrible tackling and the Eagles were quickly behind 14-0.

The Eagles offense finally got something going and a great run by Vick put the ball at the inch line, but a holding call destroyed that effort as Vick's rib cartilage was torn into pieces by a crunching sandwich tackle. Eagles had to settle to a field goal.

Redskins answered with a field goal to make the score 17-3 as the defense played poorly again.

But the worst of a bad half was yet to come. If you were pitching a movie, "Andy Reid, Worst Game Manager in NFL History" and you included the scene that ACTUALLY HAPPENED at the end of the first half they would force you to remove it because it would be too preposterous. I challenge all the current and future coaches in the NFL to get a delay of game penalty after 5+ minutes of replay review AND A TIMEOUT. You simply can not do it.

Because of Andy Reid's unbelievable idiocy the Eagles had to settle for a field goal at the end of the half and went in trailing 17-6 instead of 17-10.

McNabb and the Redskins would never really threaten again except for a drive that ended with a Nate Allen interception, but the Kolb lead Eagles offense weren't doing anything either and self-destructing too. One good drive ended when McCoy fumbled on the 20. Others were ended by penalties. Kolb looked scared and skittish in the pocket, and did not make quick decisions. Replays showed open receivers downfield that Kolb failed to throw to and instead dumped off to McCoy.

Kolb did eventually lead the team to a touchdown with a hurry up offense but failed on the 2 point conversion that would have made it a 3 point game. The Redskins answered with a drive that ran a bunch of time off the clock, helped by a big 3rd down scramble by McNabb where he stupidly ran out of bounds (typical McNabb).

The Eagles did get the ball back and did have a chance for the win though. With time running out Kolb threw a Hail Mary to the endzone that was stone cold dropped by Avant in the endzone. This was probably the most frustrating play of the entire game. If Avant makes that catch it would have erased everything that came before it.

Other notes:

• This defense is terrible. The run defense is awful and the reason they lost more than anything.
• Asante Samuel gets crap for terrible tackling, but how about Quintin Mikell?
• When are the special teams going to improve?
• They should play with a pink football too.
• Kolb has to make that throw to DeSean Jackson, that was the game.
• Bradley has to make that interception, that was the game.
• That Toyota Camry family should buy less cars and walk more.
• Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Damn, after all the hype this game was bad.