Philadelphia Phillies Baseball Team

Some of the highs and lows of watching Dodgers-Phillies Game 4: Say hey Tough opening montage for Dodger fans on TBS, accompanied by the voice of Manager Joe Torre says, "You never want to get your rear end kicked, no question about it." Thanks for the memories of the 11-0 Philadelphia win in Game 3. Say what? This is a general impression, but Chip Caray, on the play-by-play, makes every fly ball sound as if it's going to be a home run. And then, when there is a home run, it sounds as if it wasa fly ball out. An announcer's tone actually sets the tone.

History will show that the Dodgers lost when Jonathan Broxton's fastball was hit. Honesty will show that they lost when his fastball was haunted. The crack of Jimmy Rollins' line drive, the roar of a stunned crowd, the shaking of a chilled stadium will live forever in the minds of those who witnessed an incomparable Dodgers' heartbreak. But it is the soft shuffle of Matt Stairs jogging toward first base three batters earlier that will live forever with the man who caused it. With two out in the ninth inning Monday, two strikes from a Dodgers victory that would even this National League Championship Series, Rollins hit a two-run double into the right-field gap against Broxton to give the Philadelphia Phillies a shocking 5-4 victory and probably insurmountable three games to one lead.

Jonathan Broxton was a man of few words Tuesday. He said that the two-out, two-run walk-off double he gave up to Jimmy Rollins the previous night was in the past. He said he hadn't watched video of the play and had no intention of doing so. But Manager Joe Torre , who spoke with Broxton on Monday night and again Tuesday, said he believed his All-Star closer would recover from the shock of blowing a save on a night the Dodgers could have tied the National League Championship Series at 2-2. "I think he's all right," said Torre, adding that he told Broxton that if there is a save situation in Game 5 tonight, he would get the ball.

Jonathan Broxton descended to a place on Monday night visited by only a select group of players in Dodgers history. Ralph Branca was there in 1951 when he gave up a pennant-winning three-run home run to Bobby Thomson in a series-deciding playoff game against the Giants that came to be known as "The Shot Heard 'Round the World." Terry Forster was there on the final day of the 1982 regular season when he served up a home run to Joe Morgan that cost the Dodgers the National League West title.

Jonathan Broxton was sweating. Russell Martin was fearing. Joe Torre was grumbling. The Dodgers hanging on the dugout rail were clenching. The Dodgers fans watching at home were dying. Manny Ramirez? He was bathing. While the Dodgers were taking on the brunt of postseason pressure in the ninth inning here Monday night, their star was taking a shower. While his teammates were wilting under the spotlight, their leader was relaxing under the spray. By the time the Dodgers had finished staining themselves with a ninth-inning collapse in a 5-4 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series, Ramirez was just scrubbing clean.

Manager Joe Torre downplayed the significance of how Manny Ramirez was showering when Jonathan Broxton served up a walk-off, two-run double to Jimmy Rollins in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series, saying he was surprised by how much coverage the incident received. "You guys that know Manny know that was no disrespect," Torre said. "It's his style. It doesn't have anything to do with not being interested." Ramirez was replaced by Juan Pierre in the ninth inning of Game 4 and, as was his custom whenever he was pulled from games in the regular season, immediately hit the showers.

The coach turned back into a pumpkin. The emperor realized he wasn't wearing any clothes. Vicente Padilla ran out of magic. Like that, the Dodgers' season was over, with Manager Joe Torre and his group of miracle workers falling three victories short of the World Series for the second time in as many years. Again, the Dodgers were turned away by the Philadelphia Phillies in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series in five games, this time dropping the deciding contest by a 10-4 margin at Citizens Bank Park on Wednesday night.

Some of the highs and lows of watching Dodgers-Phillies Game 5. Say hey "It's do or die for the Dodgers in Game 5." That was the opening of the final TBS NLCS telecast by lead announcer Chip Caray. Even with a day off, Caray couldn't come up with something more creative? Say what? In the top of the eighth, on Matt Kemp's line-drive single, Caray's description: "Fly ball to center field by Matt Kemp." It was never a fly ball. It was what it was -- a hard-hit line drive.

Ryan Howard took measures to protect his eyes, donning a pair of goggles in the Philadelphia clubhouse. He never imagined he would have to worry about his underwear. But there was Pedro Martinez , pouring beer on a pair of the slugger's shorts that dangled from a coat hanger Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Park. "I don't think I've ever played on a team that's been so fun," Howard said after the Phillies eliminated the Dodgers from the National League Championship Series with a 10-4 victory in Game 5. "It's one of the funnest teams I've played on."

If the World Series at all resembles the first two rounds of the baseball playoffs, an umpire will make a bad call, a call so bad that instant replay will reveal the error for all of America to see, in living color, in high definition, and within seconds. The manager will charge onto the field to argue. The umpire will defend his call. The game will go on. The error will not be corrected. With a limited replay system and supporting facilities already in use, Commissioner Bud Selig could authorize a broader use of instant replay by the time the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies play Game 1 of the World Series tonight at Yankee Stadium.