Phils post-mortem

I'm sure, by now, that Phillies fans have gotten over the loss to the Giants in the NLCS or maybe not. I'm sure the least popular guy in Billy Penn's town is 1st baseman Ryan Howard. To put it mildly he had a terrible series. Here are the brutal #'s--7 for 22 with no homers and no rbi's plus 12 strikeouts. Everytime he came up in a big situation for the Phils he seemed to wave and miss. Let's give some credit to the Giants pitchers. The San Fran starters and relievers did an amazing job in the series of staying away from big innings. Think back to most of the big wins the Phils had late in the season and in the divisional series...they were all fueled by 1 big inning. The Giants pitching staff limited those big innings and won the series. I know Phillies fans want to crucify Howard but without his late season hitting they would never have made the post-season! Give the guy a break.

I think the World Series will be an interesting affair. If the Giants pitchers can continue their mastery on the mound I think they win a pennant for the first time in 56 years. My gut tells me they can't and the Rangers win but it could very well be a 7 game series. One little thing to watch...all the games in San Fran will be played in twilight conditions--4 pm starts--I think that will be a huge advantage for the pitchers.