Would love to see the Cardinals pull the upset but it is not going to happen. They might win the game that Carpenter pitches but that will be about it.
Pence's amped up nature can be a huge plus in the doldrums of the regular season but it may get the best of him in this environment where cooler heads often prevail. I'm sure Manuel knows what he's doing by putting him in the 3-hole but that seems like a questionable move to me despite the fact that Pence was their best hitter since the trade. Add the increased intensity of the playoffs to Pence's natural intensity and you may see quite a few ABs like his last one where he's overly eager to make something happen, esp. with the added mental pressure of hitting in that spot. At the time of the trade, I mentioned that it would be interesting to see what kind of effect a different hitting coach and set of players would have on Pence's plate approach. Initially, he looked like the same guy we've watched for years but I seemed to notice some differences in his patience and selectiveness in some of his PAs that I caught later in the season. I would use Utley or even Victorino in that spot, regardless of how they were hitting coming into this series. Take some of the pressure off Pence until he can settle in and have some of those better quality PAs that he seemed to be having down the stretch. And if he's still drinking a 6-pack of Red Bull or whatever it was before games, I'd suggest he cut his intake in half. :grin: No need for that kind of boost in this environment. He's probably nervous enough as is.
philly fans look like they're attending a funeral. always been a card hater...and i really like pence...but would be kinda fun to see phillies lose, honestly.
They're usually among the loudest. Berkman sucked some energy out of them early. They seem to get loud strategically. Houston arenas, stadiums, etc... are more of the funeral type based on my experiences. That'll wake 'em up... :grin: 1st hit and run for Pence. I really don't care who wins/loses. I'd be happy to see Berkman or Oswalt, Pence, Lidge advance.
I haven't watched every single pitch but I can't remember the last time a ball even left the infield on Halladay. I have the game on mute but just saw that he'd retired the last 16 batters before the last 2 outs. He's been amazing as usual since the 1st inning. Anything can happen in a short series but it's more than your typical uphill battle from here on in for the Cardinals. They'd better bring their climbing gear.
i was only able to catch 7th inning , onwards . But from what i saw the Phillies offense looks unstoppable.
