Only Jimmy Rollins could find himself all over the internet the morning after losing the World Series to the Yankees without blowing the game the night before.  Jimmy obviously made a big old prediction to start the series because... that's what he does.  The Phillies didn't make good on that prediction, but that's not why he's dominating the blogosphere.  No, this is:

"They were the better team this series," Rollins said Wednesday night. "Do I think we're the better team? I really do. They just executed. I think we weren't playing bad, but they were playing that much better. ... They got the hits, we didn't. It's that simple."

Naturally, there's a pretty uniform response to him thoughts: just Jimmy being Jimmy, what an idiot. Step back a little here and take a breath.  What was Jimmy supposed to say?  Yes, he could've said the "ah shucks, they're better than us, get 'em next year" line that every guy gives, but that wouldn't be who Jimmy is.  What made him a great player and an MVP is his supreme confidence, if not cockiness.  That's the same reason that Rollins constantly says big bold things in the media, but it's what motivates him.  He loves to talk big and go out there and back it up.  Granted, he was poor on the field this year, but no one can take away the fact that the guy is a gamer and plays hard and fast for a terrific ballclub.

So who cares if Jimmy Rollins thinks the Phillies are better than the Yankees?  Should we put the parade on hold until he apologizes or sees the light?  Jimmy is going to be brash and bold as long as he's still lacing up the cleats.  The lesson if you don't like it is ignore it.  I personally like it.  Rollins is part of what makes the Phillies the team they are and gives them the identity we all love.  So Jimmy whatever you've got to say, I'm listening, even if it's a little foolish.

If I learned anything in winning the World Series last season, it taught me nothing about how to deal with losing one.  Watching a season slip away after coming so close spawned some emotions that I have never dealt with as a Phillies fan.  It takes everything I have to fight off the bitter and spiteful hatred I have for the Yankees right now and congratulate them on definitively being the best team in baseball.

I’m torn about this Yankees team despite all there is to hate about them, there is so much to admire.  Enraged and disappointed, I came back to earth when I saw Jeter and Mariano find each other during the celebration and hug like brothers.  Those are two baseball players that I have more respect for that any other guys in the league.  Watching Derek Jeter play is one of those things that I won’t forget and I’ve spent the majority of my life despising the Yankees.  Mo is another guy that is so historically great and likeable that it takes some of the sting out of this loss.

Now that the series is over most of all, I’m proud of my Phillies.  If you’d have told me three years ago that we’d win the World Series and then take the title defense all the way to the World Series (against the Yankees no less) I’d have been ecstatic.  That’s why it’s so tough for me to let tonight bother me.  Don’t get me wrong, watching the title slip away was excruciating, but the way the game played out game me some time to prepare for the depression and honestly, it’s not that bad.  I’ve had more fun watching Chase, Jimmy, Howard, Werth, Shane, Cole, Brad, and Cliff than I ever would’ve dreamed not so long ago.  I’ve sang “High Hopes” down Broad Street and hugged complete strangers in pure joy.  I’ve got the World Champs gear and I got to go toe to toe with all my buddies from home who’re big Yankees fans.  All in all, it was an awesome run and I’d give anything for the Phillies to keep it rolling next season.

Congratulations Phillie!  You earned it!

This Cole Hamels story has taken on a mind of it's own.  I've probably read about it at every website and blog I visited yesterday.  The response was largely the same, "how dare you", "send him home", "he sucks".  That had to be expected because Cole committed one of team sports biggest crimes -- apparently, he quit on his team.  Benny already talked about this at length, so I won't reprint the quotes because I'm sure you've heard it by now.  Also, apparently the entire clubhouse is splitting over the Myers/Hamels blowout, or so the media would have you believe.  I'm more inclined to think they were just joking/there was a misunderstanding and that more of the clubhouse is indifferent to the situation.

If a game 7 is forced, Cole Hamels is the man to pitch it.

So Cole "quit" on the team and is ready for the season to be over?  Come on.  Yeah the comments were unforgivable if you take them at face value, but they came in an honest response about how tough this year has been for him.  In that interview he talked about Game 7 and how important it is.  Cole Hamels did more to seal this town their first championship in a quarter century during last years playoffs than anyone.  The guy stepped up bigger and bigger every single time he threw.  The guy is struggling this time around and understandably his confidence isn't what it was when he was mowing down hitters into November last season.

And it's not the first time that Cole has answered an question candidly and got himself in trouble for it.  As the Mets fans won't let anyone forget, Cole had his comments about the Mets being choke artists (get over it, it was a pointed question and he answered in the context of the question and you can't be mad if it's true).  Now it happens again and everyone wants to jump down his throat like he was trying to recreate the 1919 Black Sox scandal.

More importantly, Cole Hamels is the best pitcher the Phillies have available to pitch a potential game 7.  J.A. Happ has had a great season, but he hasn't started since Colorado.  Big Joe Blanton is good, but he'd be on short rest.  I think this controversy might actually help the old ace to become his former self on the biggest of all stages in the biggest game of his career.  Game 7 is a long way away, but should we make it there, Hamels is going to take us home.  Until then, let's get a W tonight one inning at a time.

Sorry for this post coming so late in the day, but I think I developed an ulcer during the ninth inning of last night's game.  Two men on and Derek Jeter up, with no outs nonetheless, I was in knots.  Madson closed out the game for the win, but not without nearly causing me to develop a hole in my stomach.  Just glad that's over with.

Chase Utley continues to make me look smarter and smarter by mashing home run after home run and carrying this Phillies offense through six games.  Chase's resurgence might be the first prediction I've gotten right in weeks and I feel damn good about it.  The man is unstoppable at the plate right now and you can tell that none of the Yankees pitchers want any piece of him (let alone Sabathia).

As far as predictions of mine go, here are two more for you:  In game 6, Ryan Howard is going deep and Raul Ibanez will have two hits and two RBIs.  The big boy has had his struggles and that's just fine, he's a streaky hitter, but that ends tomorrow.  Ryan Howard can snap a slump with one swing of the bat and I think he'll do just that.  As far as Raul, I'm counting on the bomb he hit last night to propel him into a strong game 6.  If Howard and Ibanez step out of the black hole that has been their spots in the lineup, one to nine, the Phillies are going to wear out Andy Petitte.

I don't think Andy Petitte is going to hold down the Phillies lineup in Game 6.  He survived on guts and glory in the later innings of his first start and on three days rest I don't think he can make magic happen a second time.  On our side of the mound, I think we can expect a similar outing from Pedro which the Phillies will have to hit enough to support.  6-7 innings, 2-4 runs from Pedro and I think the Phillies win.  Yes, that involves two innings from the bullpen but I think they can handle it.

If the Phillies can force a game 7... anything can happen.

We all know Cole Hammels has a big mouth, or perhaps just doesn't think before he speaks....or both.  After last year's dominating performances during the regular & post seasons, he had the right to flap his gums; most notably with his "Mets are choke artists" barb.  But this year, Cole has been a shell of himself.  Sometimes you see flashes of the old Cole, but for the most part he has been mediocre to flat out horrible.  One would think that his performance would be punishment enough, and that he would learn to keep his mouth shut. Apparently not:

Showing his frustration after giving up five runs in just 4 1/3 innings, Hamels told reporters in the Phillies' clubhouse that he "can't wait for [the season] to end."

"It's been mentally draining," the lanky left-hander said. "It's one of those things where, a year in, you just can't wait for a fresh start."

Ummmmmmm,  Whaaaa? Listen, I know that you just got pounded.  I understand it has been a long a grinding season.  But open your eyes douche bag!  Not only did you and your team make it to the world series, YOU ARE STILL PLAYING IN IT!  You can't go moping around and saying that type of stuff to your teammates in private, let alone to the press!  And to make matters worse, Cole is slotted to be the Game 7 starter.  I know it is too early to talk about Game 7, with Game 6 yet to be played, but this has got to be very concerning for Manuel.  A true gamer would not act this way.  He should be hoping, praying and cheering his ass off to get to a game 7.  Not only is it a chance to win the World Series, it is a chance at redemption Cole.  If you go out and pitch your team to a Series victory, do you think anyone is going to remember your shitty year?  No.  In fact, it would forever cement your name in Phillie lore. Instead, you have a divided clubhouse, with  Brett Myers calling you out:

Teammate Brett Myers reportedly walked by Hamels in the clubhouse after Philadelphia's 8-6 victory in Game 5 on Monday night and blurted: "What are you doing here? I thought you quit," Yahoo! Sports reported.

According to a witness cited in the report, Hamels replied with an expletive and the two were quickly separated.

Actually, you should keep your pie hole shut too wife-beater Myers, but I can't blame you for saying something.  I don't see how you can start this guy if there is a game 7.  Then again, I don't see how you can't start him.  I suppose Blanton could get the nod, but then if he falters, are you going to turn to the dejected Cole to pick him up?  It probably is best to keep him on track to start, and if he still has his head up his ass, yank him for Blanton.  This would really piss me off if I was a Phillie fan...hell I am pissed off anyway.  Quite frankly, it's disrespectful to the game of baseball.  I would expect a story like this to come from my team, the Mets, not the Phillies.  You guys got plenty on your plate to worry about this type of nonsense.  Regardless of the outcome of the series, it is going to be very interesting to see how this shakes out.

Other Random Thoughts:

Ryan Howard.  Hi!  How ya' doing.  Care to--you know--maybe, get a hit?  How bout just getting wood on the ball?  If the Phillies have any chance of taking two at Yankee stadium, and more importantly, keeping the Benny B. curse alive, you are going to have to produce.  Obviously, 6 runs is not a safe lead.  As I stated before, you guys are gonna have to slug your way to victory.  Utley can't continue to do it alone.

I believe that Manuel made the right move keeping everyone on regular rest.  Petite is 146 years old.  So is Pedro.  But I think that extra day is going to serve him well.  If Phillie can force a game 7, C.C. will be pitching his 2nd consecutive game on short rest.  I think the starting pitching is now tilted in your favor.  The real wild card for both teams is relief pitching, and I believe that is where these games are ultimately decided, a task made more difficult with the 2009 version of Lidge vs. the machine Mariano.

Stop with the "Ya Gotta Believe".  That is a Mets mantra.  Period.  If you don't want to hear anymore about NY envy, then stop biting our slogans.

Everyone's favorite blogger (you didn't know it was Hyperbole Monday around here?) was interviewed between the douple-dip yesterday and there's all kinds of good quotes in the interview.  Here's some quotes from the article and there's even a video compilation to go with it.

PHILADELPHIA — The noise swelled along Pattison Avenue — cars honking, fans shouting, tension building — and Mike Mariano tried not to dwell on his impending academic doom.

“I should have brought some of my school stuff,” said Mariano, a 20-year-old from South Brunswick and a junior at the University of Pennsylvania. “Because I’ve got a midterm tomorrow that I’m probably going to fail.”

Then he shrugged it off. So what? He was too busy Sunday afternoon, soaking in the day-long party at the South Philadelphia Sports Complex as the World Series and the NFL converged for fans from the Delaware Valley to the Tri-State Area.

***

Mariano grew up a Phillies and Eagles fan in central Jersey — and he had tickets to both games. School could wait.

“I’ve been talking trash all day, to all my friends at home,” Mariano said. “Text messages, phone calls, little side bets and all that kind of stuff. It’s been exciting.”

***

The Eagles’ victory energized Phillies fans who were downtrodden after Saturday night’s 8-5 shellacking by the Yankees in Game 3.

“I wasn’t feeling all too confident,” Mike Mariano said. “And then once things started rolling our way, you kind of remember how good the teams are and how exciting it all is.”

The noise swelled around the third-base gate as the baseball game neared. The line for McFadden’s wrapped around the stadium, past a statue of Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt.

In the back of Mariano’s mind, he stressed about his midterm, a survey on the philosophy of astronomy, spanning from Greek philosopher Aristotle to German physicist Albert Einstein. But he still had a chance to tailgate with his family.

And another game to catch.

“I prioritized probably in the wrong way,” Mariano said. “But I decided it could be a once-in-a-lifetime thing.” He added, “It’s not something I wanted to pass up.

“So I think I’m going to be pulling an all-nighter tonight after I get back.”

For the Video I'm the last guy talking.  Hell I think the camera loves me...:

Well that sucked.  That's been about my only concrete thought for the past twelve hours since the game ended.  The series isn't over and in baseball anything can happen, but I'm undeniably in a deep state of melancholy and depression today.  It's not so much the fact that we're down 3-1, it's more of how we got here.  The Phillies had the lead in all 3 of the first 3 games and were tied 4-4 with 2 strikes and 2 outs in the top of the ninth last night.  Things could be so different right now and it hurts to think of where we'd be if not for a few breaks.

I did the douple-dip yesterday which started off fantastically when the Eagles waxed the Giants at 1.  This surprising mollywhopping really set the tone for the Phillies game.  People were excited and loose and ready to take Game 4 and even out the series.  The fans went into last night's game as champs, you could feel it.  The Phillies trailed all game, but the whole time you could sense that we were going to pull it out. When Pedro Feliz homered I thought it had come circle.  No problem, Lidge shuts it down and we walk it off with a home run.  Stairs, Rollins, Vic, Utley, somebody would've blasted one and it would've been pandemonium.  A 2-2 Series and Lee going in game 5, things would be fantastic.

Instead, the wheels fell off.  It's incredible how dominant Lidge was until Damon stole second and third.  He looked like he'd never give up a run, he was dominant.  Then he flipped the switch and became tenative and got bashed around.  In retrospect I'm not mad that Charlie took out Madson, I think that was the right move.  Lidge had Damon K'd on that pitch in the dirt that he somehow fouled off and in the end, Damon outlasted Lidge and broke all our hearts.  How sweet it would've been.

That's all the coherent thoughts I can put together right now.  Much more to come.

Who the hell was that guy pitching for the yankees last night?  That wasn't the human base on ball machine that I've been so used to.  The guy has incredible stuff, we knew that, but since when does he fill the strike zone like that?  He threw first pitch strikes to over 20 hitters.  Now of all days he decides to show up and earn a little of his massive contract.  Damn.

Burnett took apart the Phillies lineup from start to finish.  He was incredibly impressive throughout and really surprised me.  I'm still in disbelief that he was as good as he was.  The normal Burnett is exactly the kind of guy that the Phillies hit well.  He throws a ton of balls, they work some deep counts, he gets tired, the Phillies put up runs.  But none of that happened last night.  Burnett was fantastic and Mariano Rivera closed it down to seal the win.

There wasn't much to be excited about for the Phillies.  Pedro looked good and you can't ask for much more than what he gave us.  3 earned over 6 is a solid outing from him, a team like the Phillies isn't expecting to be held to less than 3 most nights.

Offensively, a whole lot of nothing as well.  All game there was a waiting for the Phillies to do something.  Waiting for a rally.  Waiting for a home run.  Waiting, waiting, waiting.  And it never happened.  Some games it just doesn't happen at the plate.

Frankly, I think we still need to be in good spirits despite the loss.  The Phillies needed to take one of two in New York and they did just that.  We're going back to Philly in good shape.  Halloween night should lead to some wacky happenings.  Game 3 should be fun.

Game one couldn't have gone more perfectly for the Phillies.  A dominant win over the Yankees was exactly what the doctor ordered to start the series.  Wild hangovers prevented me from blogging this morning, so I'm sorry for this late entry.

How cool is Cliff Lee?  He dominated from start to finish.  He had all three pitches working strong.  He big leagued the shit out of it on that pop up (which was awesome) and went complete game near shutout.  He has taken his dominance to the next level.  This is '08 Hamels-like, he should pitch on two days rest.

Chase Utley.  What more needs to be said?  My predicition of a Jerter vs. Utley series is looking great after last night where they both put forth a terrific effort for their teams.

It was amazing to watch the difference in attitude and body language between the teams.  From the first pitch the Phillies were loose and confident and polar opposite of the Yankees who seemed nervous and appeared to be pressing.  The Phillies jumped all over Sabathia and the Yanks were taking poor defensive swings against Lee.  It was a complete win in all facets by the Philly ace.

Tonight, Big Poppa Pedro goes out there to sweep the games at Yankee Stadium.  I think the Phils might drop this one but I'm expecting a great game.  Make sure you get to the bar early to find a good seat, you don't wanna be standing all night long!