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Epitaph for a Season

There's no GOOD way for a baseball team to be eliminated from the playoffs. But of all the ways there are, taking a called third strike for the final out has to be the worst. Not that I'm blaming Ryan Howard for the Phillies losing. Howard, like most sluggers, isn't very good at fouling off wicked tough pitches on the border of the strike zone. So he trusted his fate to a 50-50 proposition and lost.

Howard's last out, however, was an example of why the Phillies lost. The Giants got a good many run-scoring hits with two outs in the NLCS, and the Phils got almost none. It's really that simple.

Hits with men on base and two outs are hard to get. I almost never expect them to happen, even during the regular season. But you don't get to be champions without them.

posted by Michael Gee @ 8:02 AM