Those of you who have been following my posts all summer and fall know I believe that numbers speak louder than words, or actions.  When a bad game befell a player or the team as a whole, I would always look to the law of statistics and probablilities.

This means, that even a pitcher who comes from the American League and goes 5-0 with a .68 ERA in his first five starts is eventually going to get shellacked.  Or a hitter with 40-plus home runs and 120 plus RBIs for the past three seasons is eventually going to have an 0-5 with 3 strikeout night. 

Thus it goes with our beloved Phillies.  After a wasting an effort by Pedro Martinez the game before, all of the sudden the Phillies were firing on all cylinders and absolutely destroyed the Dodgers in the Game 3 matchup that ended late last night.   This surprised some people, but as I have been saying all along, just like the occassional bad game by a player or team will occur, so will games like this.  And the numbers support it.

Let us throw out all statistics for the previous 162 and just focus on the 7 games they have played this postseason to date.  There simply are no better balanced teams than these Phitens. 

All 8 starters have hits, runs and RBI’s.  6 have doubles, 3 have triples, and 6 have homeruns.  4 are batting over .300, 1 over .400.  4 players have stolen bases.   Howard set a new MLB record for consecutive games in one postseason with an RBI, and took the Phillies team record for postseason RBI’s as well.   The 8 hitter is batting .429 with 7 runs driven in !  I repeat, the 8 hitter.  The weak link on any team, is leading the team with average in the postseason, adding 2 more key hits in last nights trouncing.

The team has an on base % of .367 and is slugging nearly .500.  This is after 7 games.  Normally you have a player or two who might go cold for a week or more and the sheer length of the season helps them to average out their statistics.  Not these Phillies.  They came to the postseason to defend their WS championship and they mean business.  And if one of them isn’t going to get you, another one will, just ask Dodgers pitchers.

Speaking of pitching, the Phillies team ERA is under 3.00 for the entire postseason.  That is after facing the Rockies in 4 games and the Dodgers, the leagues #1 offense all year, for 3 more.  They starters have gone 3-1 in their 7 starts, with one game lost by the beleagured bullpen that also has 2 wins and 3 saves.  Take out Chan Ho Parks’ awful stint in game 2 and the bullpen is throwing a 4.00 ERA against the best hitters in the league at crunch time.   

This is a team that seems destined to go back to the World Series and become the first National League team in over 30 years to repeat as champions.  They will do it because they are balanced.  Any one player on this team can do what needs to be done to secure a victory.

Look deeper into the numbers, consider all the postseason statistics, encompassing all the “best” teams from both leagues and what do you see ?   The Phillies have 4 of the top 5 RBI guys,  4 of the top 10 in slugging,  5 of the top 10 scorers and  4 of the top 15 batting averages.  That is MLB wide.  What other statistics really matter in post season play besides hitting the ball, driving in runs and scoring ??

Add to that the most dominant postseason pitcher and closer (statistically) and don’t forget Pedro, only starting 1 game but with a 0 ERA and one of the craftiest managers wearing a baseball cap today and you have the makings of a dynasty.  Many of these players are already contractually committed for several more years.  If we lose a key part (see Burrell)  we just replace it with an equally talented player (see Ibanez)   It is a joy to watch, and when a game comes along where we should have won (see Pedro’s game 2 1-0 lead lost in late innings for a 2-1 loss) then we as Phillies fans should not be disheartened, because the numbers don’t lie, and they say, if we live to play again, we will come out on top.  And for the last 2 years, this is precisely what we have done. 

So here is looking forward to Game 4 tonight. It should be another balanced attack and team effort resulting in a win.  Once the Phillies are up 3-1, it will be very difficult if not impossible for the Dodgers to dig their way out of that one !

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