Philadelphia Phillies – Page 2

Stop whining about MLB’s playoff system. Phillies, Astros show how to have October success

15Oct

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Stop whining about MLB’s playoff system. Phillies, Astros show how to have October success

“We feel like we’re built for these moments.” — Phillies catcher J.T. RealmutoPHILADELPHIA — He was puffing on a cigar that looked to be about the size of the Walt Whitman Bridge. The party beverages were still dripping off every crevice of his clubhouse and its occupants. And on the gigundous scoreboard just behind him, six words said it all:THE PHILLIES — ON TO THE NLCS.But as Realmuto roamed the infield of Citizens Bank Park, hugging a procession of family and friends Thursday night, he knew the big baseball story across America was not: THE PHILLIES — ON TO THE NLCS. No, what America seemed way more focused on was this:THE BRAVES — NOT ON TO THE NLCS.And …THE DODGERS — ALSO NOT ON TO THE NLCS.Not to mention …THE ORIOLES AND RAYS — NO LONGER SCHEDULED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ALCSSo here’...

MLB’s best playoff ballparks: Ranking the most raucous places from replaceable to Phanatical

By Chad Jennings, C. Trent Rosecrans and Stephen J. NesbittIn one American League Wild Card Series, the whole thing turned on a play designed around crowd noise. It was too loud at Target Field, Twins shortstop Carlos Correa realized, for the third-base coach to warn Blue Jays baserunners about a developing pickoff play. The Twins used the noise to their advantage, picked off Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and secured a two-game sweep.In the other AL Wild Card Series, empty seats were everywhere. The Rays are an excellent team that thrives on their underdog status — low payroll, injured players, they always find a way — but playing in front of two of the smallest postseason crowds in the past 100 years, the Rays were swept by a Rangers team that had nine fewer wins in the regular season. The indif...

Phillies-Braves 2.0: Ready for an NLDS rematch featuring baseball’s best rivalry?

Here we go. Or should we say: Here we go again.Saturday in that feverish baseball hotbed of Atlanta, Ga., it’s the National League Division Series rematch we’ve been waiting for the last 355 days. It’s Braves versus Phillies in the finals of the NL East October Madness Regional.And while it’s mostly true that the sequel is never as good as the original, are we sure that’s going to apply to Braves-Phillies 2.0?Let’s go with no, because A) this isn’t “Return to the Blue Lagoon,” and B) that was clearly how the occupants of a beer-soaked clubhouse in Philadelphia were voting Wednesday night.“It’s gonna be a war,” said Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm, looking as if he’d just completed swimming 800 meters in an Olympic-sized pool filled with Budweiser.Minutes earlier, the Phillies had finishe...