PHILADELPHIA (AP) -Game 5 is all on the bullpens.
Starters Cole Hamels and Scott Kazmir will watch the end of Game 5 from the bench whenever that happens.
Philadelphia’s Ryan Madson, J.C. Romero or Brad Lidge will be needed once play resumes in the game that was suspended because of rain in the sixth inning Monday night with the scored tied 2-2. Tampa Bay’s Grant Balfour, David Price or Dan Wheeler could get the call from the bullpen.
That’s fine with both managers, who have confidence in their relievers.
“We have a pretty rested bullpen,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “Grant is in the game as of right now.”
Hamels allowed two runs in six innings for the Phillies. Kazmir lasted only four innings for the Rays and Balfour had just pitched a scoreless sixth.
“Naturally we’re not happy Hamels is out of the game, but one of our strengths is our bullpen and that’s where we’ll pick it up when we play,” Phillies general manager Pat Gillick said.
ut in helping them take the 3-1 World Series lead. Their relievers have allowed one run and two hits in 8 2-3 innings. Lidge hasn’t been needed since saving Philadelphia’s Game 1 victory.
“They did it all year,” Phillies starter Brett Myers said. “It’s ridiculous how good those guys are. They deserve a lot of credit. It’s fun to watch those guys pitch. You have full confidence when they come in.”
The Rays need to be better to have any shot at sending the Series home for Games 6 and 7 if they are needed. They allowed eight runs and 11 hits in 12 1-3 innings entering Game 5.
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PHILLIES GM: Ruben Amaro Jr. isn’t ready to talk about possibly replacing Pat Gillick as Phillies general manager after the World Series.
“What I can say is that we’re pretty much focused on winning the World Series and trying to do what we can to bring home a championship to Philadelphia,” Amaro said before Game 5 against Tampa Bay on Monday. “As far as the GM situation is concerned, that’s a decision that’s not mine to make. I think most people in the organization are thinking on what their job is today.”
The 71-year-old Gillick said last year he wants to retire after this season, and he hasn’t backed off that plan. Gillick has a home in Seattle and his wife lives there throughout the year.
buckle, an assistant GM since Oct. 2001, also would have to be considered.
Amaro joined the Phillies immediately after his playing career ended in 1998. He worked under former GM Ed Wade for seven seasons and the last three with Gillick.
Arbuckle was promoted to his current position after seven seasons as the team’s director of scouting.
Whoever gets the job has big shoes to fill. Gillick turned an underachieving team into a winner. He’s also taken four different teams to the league championship series.
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FAN BEHAVIOR: Joe Maddon has enjoyed some good-natured ribbing about beer and baseball with fans behind the Rays’ dugout.
The Tampa Bay manager, though, was angered when some of that notorious bad behavior by the Philadelphia fans surfaced during Games 3 and 4. Maddon said family members of players and other members of Tampa Bay’s organization have been verbally harassed by Phillies fans. He said some Phillies fans even threw mustard packets from the concession stands at his granddaughter.
“I know it’s been well documented. I’ve attended events here as a fan myself,” said Maddon, raised about 100 miles outside Philly. “But when it strikes home at your family, then you have to say something. I think somebody has make a stand at some point.”
prove the hostile situation.
“Throwing mustard packs at my granddaughter is not very cool,” Maddon said. “The other part about it I’m good with. If you want to be vociferous with us, I am fine with that. If you want to have arguments about Coors Light versus Rolling Rock, I’m good with that, but leave the families alone.”
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FLY, PHILLIES, FLY: Andy Reid is ready to trade some Eagles green for Phillies red.
The Eagles coach is doing more than pulling for the Phillies to win the World Series. The mild-mannered coach is doing something he would never do before a big NFC East showdown: guaranteeing victory.
“You know what, they are going to win,” Reid said Monday. “I’m going to take the ‘if’ out of that for you. They are going to win, and the city will love every minute of it. It will be great for the city.”
Reid and Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb attended the Game 4 victory. McNabb wore a red Phillies cap while he visited with players outside the clubhouse.
“I’m going to be pulling hard for the Phillies, baby, and for Charlie (Manuel),” Reid said. “I had a chance to go to the game yesterday and that place was electric over there. They have a great thing going, and I’ll have the red on today.”
es to win the NFC championship in 2003.
If there is a victory parade down Broad Street, Reid said he’d watch.
“I will just open my curtains and it will go right past me right there, so I’ll be there,” he said.
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BALLGIRLS VS. RAY TEAM: Here’s an idea for some pregame entertainment: Have the Phillies ballgirls play the Ray Team in a softball showdown.
“If it were logistically possible, we’d love to have our own friendly version of the World Series,” said Michele DeVicaris, supervisor for the Phillies ballgirls.
The Philly gals are confident they’d win, even though the Ray Team has two guys on their squad.
“Play them in softball? A real game? Maybe we should play them in MLB 2K8. It might be more fair,” said Lindsay Brown, a two-year member of the ballgirls. “Maybe they at least have athletic hands. Even with their team being coed, we’d still make them look silly. Well, sillier than they already look.”
Now, that sounds like a challenge.
The group of 17 Phillies ballgirls were selected among 600 candidates. They work the foul lines during games and participate in various charity events, including softball games. They won a summer tournament that included the 76ers dance team and Flyers ice team and other girls.
ving away prizes and sometimes dancing on the dugout.
“We have an unfair advantage since we actually play softball,” said Jocelyn Brown, a second-year ballgirl and team blogger. “To be fair, if there happens to be a ‘Dance on the Dugout while Wearing Sarah Palin Glasses,’ or ‘Pretend You’re Sweaty and Pose for a Calendar Contest,’ they’d probably win, because they have more experience.”
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NEVER A PHILLIES FAN: Rays manager Joe Maddon grew up in Hazelton, Pa., about 100 miles north of Philadelphia. And while he followed the Phillies some because they were close to home, he was a big fan of the St. Louis Cardinals – not the Phillies. He has no real recollection of the Phillies’ run to its first World Series title in 1980.
“I was a baseball fan, but I wasn’t a Philly fan and it didn’t make a whole lot of difference to me. So I don’t have a lot of strong memories of that particular World Series,” Maddon said before Game 5.
“And again, even though I’m from this neck of the woods, I’ve never really got caught up in Philly lore. I remember Johnny Callison well. I saw Johnny Callison hit a homer in 1964, but I’ve never been a huge Philly fan to the point that I know so much about Philly history, quite frankly.”
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n Oates. … Surprise Phillies slugger Joe Blanton donated his bat to the Hall of Fame. Blanton became the first pitcher to homer in a World Series game since 1974 in Game 4. … The last time a World Series game was suspended in Philadelphia was Game 3 of the 1931 Series between the Cardinals and Athletics.
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AP Baseball Writer Ben Walker contributed to this report.
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