Philadelphia Phillies All-Decade Team

The Phillies all-decade team was not too hard to come up with to be honest, especially since the team has been solid most of the decade, especially recently, and has a team with great offensive players, and full of all-stars and MVP’s. Jim Thome deserves mention, but Howard still easily gets the nod at 1st base. Even though Scott Rolen is not much a Philly guy, we went with Rolen at 3rd base. The only other discussion we had was Victorino or University of Pennsylvania's own Doug Glanville in CF. We went with Victorino. Team MVP was a tough choice considered there are 2 actual league MVP’s on this team, and that doesn’t include Chase Utley. We went with Rollins for the MVP because he has been with the team since before we became one of the best in the league.

Here is our Philadelphia Phillies all-decade team--

1B- Ryan Howard
2B- Chase Utley
SS- Jimmy Rollins
3B- Scott Rolen

LF- Pat Burrell

CF- Shane Victorino

RF- Bobby Abreu

Catcher- Mike Lieberthal

Starter: Cole Hamels
Closer: Brad Lidge

Lineup

1. Rollins
2. Abreu
3. Utley
4. Howard
5. Rolen
6. Burrell
7. Victorino
8. Lieberthal
9. Hamels

Manager: Charlie Manuel

MVP: Jimmy Rollins

Close Calls: Jim Thome, Doug Glanville

What To Do With Brad Lidge

Brad Lidge blew his 9th save of the season Tuesday night against the Pirates, in a game that the Phillies really should have won. With the Phillies large lead in the NL East, the actual loss doesn't hurt as much as it does to see Brad Lidge blow another save, and continue to not be able to get batters out. The Phillies went to the 9th down 1 run, and managed to get 2 across off of Pirates closer Matt Capps. For Capps, that was his 4th blown save, to go along with his now 3-7 record, and 6.38 ERA. Those numbers look horrible, but aren't even close to the horrible numbers of Brad Lidge - 9 blown saves, 0-6 record (record isn't really big deal for a closer), 7.33 ERA.

Lidge threw 6 pitches last night, allowed 2 singles, a home run, and threw a wild pitch. Lidge didn't record any outs, and gave up 3 earned runs. If Lidge had to continue pitching until he got 3 outs, he still might be pitching right now. Not only do I think that Brad Lidge had nothing on those pitches, he admitted this after the game, saying that he struggles when he goes out 4 games in a row. In a way, this in Manuel's fault for sending him out there, but Manuel probably wanted to send Lidge out to get some confidence against a crappy Pirates lineup that he should be able to mow down even if he threw 50 days in a row. But he couldn't. And this is officially getting to be ridiculous. Lidge has been the worst closer in baseball this season, and it isn't even close. Late August isn't the time when we can still continue to wait for Lidge to find his stuff, or figure it out in his head, or whatever is going on with him.

These games are going to matter in the playoffs. Again, we can get away with it now with such a big lead, but we won't be able to get away with it come playoff time. We actually have to win 1-run games in the playoffs, and since it is the playoffs, there probably will be many close games we are going to have to hold onto.

I will support whatever decision Manuel makes, but he has to at least do something. If you want to continue to run Lidge out there, then fine, but give him some 1 out saves. If a lefty is starting the inning, start the 9th with Eyre, or Romero when he comes back. Even if a righty is starting, send out Madson, or Park, or Myers when he comes back to start the inning. Manuel could also send Lidge to the 15 day DL if he thinks Lidge needs to re-focus and almost start over when he comes back. Madson or Park could close while Lidge is out, and even possibly Myers if he shows his stuff is nasty when he comes back. Or you could completely demote Lidge, and make Madson, Park, or Myers the closer. This is also risky since it is so close to the end of the season, and a lot of pressure filled games will be coming up. What Manuel will probably do, and what he says he is going to do is continue to ride Lidge out until the end, hoping to have another happy ending to the season like last year.

Let's just hope this doesn't turn into another Mitch Williams incident.

Speaking of Mitch Williams, as if I wasn't mad enough after watching Lidge blow the game, I have to watch Phillies Post Game Live, and listen to Mitch Williams of all people let us all know what Lidge is doing wrong, and what he can do to correct that. Yeah, Mitch is exactly who I want to hear from in this situation... go back to the MLB Network.

Charlie Can Do No Wrong

Charlie Manuel will forever be a legend in Philadelphia. But it is no accident. Manuel made every right call. He out managed Joe Torre, a 13-time postseason veteran, in the NLCS and made uber-manager Joe Maddon look foolish in the World Series. The man could do no wrong.

With his slow southern draw and pot belly that sits above his belt, many in the baseball community—Phillie fans included—have questioned the wisdom of Manuel. FOX Sports’ own Ken Rosenthal once predicted that he would be the first manager fired…and that was several years ago! But Charlie never flinched in the face of adversity.

Manuel shuffled Jayson Werth and Shane Victorino between the 2 and 6 spots. And it paid off: Victorino crushed a game winning slam off of CC Sabathia. Manuel never wavered on Carlos Ruiz even though many called for Chris Coste. And it paid off: Ruiz was the unsung hero of the postseason. Manuel sent Matt Stairs to the plate in a tie game. And it paid off: Stairs crushed a 2 run bomb that still hasn’t landed. Manuel left Ryan Howard in the clean-up spot. And it paid off: Howard hit three home runs between games 3 and 4. Manuel let J.C. Romero bat in the late innings of game 5. And it paid off: Romero threw a scoreless 8th that paved the road to Lidge.

Manuel knew he had the players, and never tried to over manage. He understood how the Fightins got to the Series and he let the players do what they had done all season. For that, he should be applauded. And for that, Manuel will forever be remembered as the man who helped bring a championship to Philadelphia. All hail Charlie Manuel.